Chapter 403: Kua Bada! I

Ang instinctively sidestepped, letting the punch pass under his armpit, then clamped down on the opponent's wrist, advancing instead of retreating, and with the precision honed over a thousand years—able to strike any target—he pressed the Pure Countenance Art onto the opponent's face.

This refined technique left Luo Ke utterly stunned; he tried to elbow, but before he could exert force, he felt a push against his face, his whole body tilting backward, losing balance, and instantly losing all strength.

When she finally stabilized herself by engaging her waist, she realized the other's palm had remained pressed against her face, a holy light filling her entire field of vision.

Her hands instinctively gripped the opponent's arm bones, and immediately a tremendous force surged through her—she was lifted like a bundled bundle of straw, swung through the air, and thrown to the ground.

Huh? What happened? Where am I?

Luo Ke remained dazed for a long while before suddenly pushing herself upright, staring at Ang in shock.

Nageleisi and Du Luo also stared in shock; Nageleisi asked from within his soul: "Martial art? Is this a martial art? Kua Bada, when did you learn such a refined martial technique?"

Ang tilted his head, puzzled: "No. Moving straw."

"Pfft! You call this refined martial art a technique for moving straw?" Nageleisi spat blood, but upon closer thought, it really did resemble it—harvesting rice, tying the stalks into bundles, turning around, and tossing them onto the cart behind.

Ang nodded.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Who are you?! Anyone who can defeat me, the Saint of Divine Fall Sword, cannot be unknown—quickly, reveal your names! Why did you ambush me?!" Luo Ke's reaction was fiercer than being thrown to the ground; she leapt up and roared.

Defeating her was bad enough, but now mocking her with talk of "moving straw"? Wasn't this an insult?

Du Luo smiled: "Enough, enough. We haven't even held you accountable for offending our lord—look at your face."

At Du Luo's reminder, Luo Ke suddenly remembered why they'd clashed—it was because of the holy light?

Luo Ke instinctively touched her face, and wondered suspiciously: Why didn't the holy light hurt? It had been pressed right against her face—why didn't it hurt?

Her fingers brushed against her skin, feeling a springy texture.

Liches have no sense of touch, but this rebounding sensation could be felt even without tactile perception.

Luo Ke extended her will in shock, focusing on her face—and saw a smooth, dewy, pale, delicate complexion.

Luo Ke was stunned as if struck by lightning, frozen in place.

As a native undead, Luo Ke had never cared much about her appearance.

But after prolonged contact with humans—especially innocent, adorable children who couldn't hide their emotions—they would fear her and resist contact, which deeply troubled her.

After awakening her Soul Armor, she noticed that while children still feared her while she wore it, once familiarized, they no longer resisted her touch; over time, they even sought to play with her, sometimes riding on her shoulders.

Thus, Luo Ke grew accustomed to wearing her Soul Armor, and over the years, many young people under a hundred years old in town no longer remembered what she looked like without it.

With this gradual, subconscious shift, Luo Ke's aesthetic slowly drifted toward human standards, and she now favored fresh, pale, living flesh—so when she saw her own face, a thought arose in her heart: This woman is truly beautiful…

Luo Ke's thoughts were interrupted as Du Luo said: "See? This isn't holy light, right? Don't assume every white light is holy light—overreacting like this. Only my master's immense power saved you from being injured. We are very angry about your offense."

"I… I see—it's not holy light. I misunderstood. I apologize sincerely." Luo Ke, both excited and flustered, offered a heartfelt apology.

Du Luo wasn't fooled by this. He spoke with deep implication: "In your place, if you offend someone, is an apology all it takes? Don't you owe some form of compensation?"

"Ah! Yes yes yes! Compensation! Compensation!" Luo Ke summoned her maid, and soon a pile of local specialties was brought out.

Luo Ke smiled apologetically: "These lake snow juice and dried goods are all local specialties—small tokens of goodwill, please don't disdain them, honored guests."

Du Luo rolled his eyes, giving up—he realized he and Luo Ke weren't on the same wavelength at all.

Nageleisi also noticed a problem, and couldn't help speaking up: "The materials for full-body animation are extremely expensive. Town Chief Luo, do you have money?"

"Yes yes yes!" Luo Ke pulled out her purse and said: "I have six hundred soul crystals. Is that enough?" As she asked, she glanced curiously at the bronze book in Ang's hand.

The moment Luo Ke pulled out her purse, Nageleisi knew she was broke—such a simple bag, opened casually with no spatial fluctuation, even if full, held only a few hundred soul crystals.

But in Meishencheng, the full-body animation package started at three hundred thousand—add-ons like nail beautification and hair growth pushed it to half a million.

The exchange rate between soul crystals and magic crystals varied, usually two to three times—so even at a 1:3 ratio, she'd need over a hundred thousand soul crystals, far beyond what this small bag could hold.

With only a few hundred soul crystals, this town chief was poorer than Ang—Ang could casually pull out more than six hundred in one handful.

It seemed Du Luo's plan to trick a town chief into paying for the teleportation array's construction had collapsed before it even began.

Thinking of this, Nageleisi couldn't help muttering: "You don't even have enough to pay for animating your face."

"This… this expensive? Six hundred soul crystals could feed our entire town for a year! And why is this book talking?" Luo Ke finally couldn't help asking.

As a lich, the moment she spoke, Nageleisi knew she couldn't be fooled—now that she'd seen through him, he simply floated up and said:

"Because food is the cheapest thing in the world—it's priced not by the richest, but by the poorest; otherwise, the poorest would starve."

Luo Ke looked utterly confused; though she didn't fully grasp the meaning, she understood the word "poor."

Seeing her expression, Nageleisi knew further explanation was useless, and said bluntly: "Do you have any other assets or valuables? Full-body animation requires over a hundred thousand soul crystals. Even if we charge only cost price, it's still forty to fifty thousand—unless you provide the materials yourself, and we just charge labor."

At the mention of a hundred thousand soul crystals, Luo Ke's legs went weak, as if she might slide to the floor—she'd never seen more than ten thousand in her life—but when she heard forty to fifty thousand, the drop felt like a bargain.

Whether she could afford it or not, seeing a 40–50% discount made her feel like she'd won something.

"Assets, assets—I've got it! Would these work? Come, I'll show you—they're too big to carry out—I don't know how much they're worth." Luo Ke exclaimed excitedly.

She looked exactly like the wealthy ladies in Meishencheng who'd seen the beauty effects and planned to mortgage their husbands for a facial.

Following Luo Ke, they walked deeper into the castle.

As they went further, they realized the castle was enormous—not just built against the mountain, but carved entirely into its interior, with vast underground space.

"Only because you're undead do I bring you here," Luo Ke said as they reached a heavy iron door, pulling out a key and unlocking it while speaking:

"This is where a god once dwelled—if anyone found out, they'd come and mess things up."

"God's domain? Mess things up?" Nageleisi said, startled—not by the idea someone would come to mess up, but by the phrase "mess up"? Shouldn't it be "steal"?

This was a god's domain—and Luo Ke didn't look like she could defend it.

"Steal? They dare not. This is my territory, officially registered. Who dares seize my land? I'll cry out to the Necropolis Council, and a dozen Black Knights will come to chop them down." Luo Ke spoke with full confidence.

Through Luo Ke's explanation, they learned that in this world, every village and city had an owner, certified by the Necropolis Council—once confirmed, no one could take it.

Anyone who invaded another's territory would be punished by the Necropolis Council.

"Even undead can't seize your land?" Nageleisi asked.

"Of course not. The Necropolis Council governs all the deceased." Luo Ke replied.

"But isn't the Necropolis Council gone now? Shouldn't they have followed the King to attack the skyward Starburst Array?" Nageleisi asked.

Everyone felt Luo Ke stiffen, her steps suddenly unsteady.

The upper undead of the Necropolis Council had all followed the King to assault the sorcerers' stronghold—no one remained to uphold justice.

Realizing this, Luo Ke's soul was flooded with cold flames—what should she do? What should she do?

Seeing she'd been frightened, Nageleisi quickly said: "Just joking, just joking—we'd never rob you, you're so poor."

Don't believe a word of it—Luo Ke's soul and body tensed completely; three percent of her attention went to leading the way, ninety-seven percent was on guard against Ang's group.

They descended a staircase, finally arriving before a massive door.

The door was six meters wide and ten meters tall, incredibly thick, carved with a shield, a sword slanted through it, and a pair of hands spread wide to protect them both.

"Is this the god's domain of the Goddess of War and Peace?" Nageleisi asked.

But his tone held little surprise—he'd already suspected it upon entering, especially since Ang had just found the War God's Seal. Who else could it be?

Ang tilted his head; since entering, the scattered points of faith around him had grown denser.

"Yes." Luo Ke tried to push open the door, but couldn't budge it. She smiled awkwardly and turned back: "It's been so long since I opened it—I bet it's rusted shut. You help me push."

Du Luo stepped forward, touched his Golden Rod to the door's seam, and gave a gentle push. With a soft creak, the door swung open easily, revealing a hollow underground chamber.

"When I built Divine Fall Town, I accidentally collapsed this area and discovered it. So I built the castle here and claimed it. But besides a few statues, an altar, and some gold and gems, there's nothing of real value." Luo Ke led them into the chamber, pointing to the lone statues and altar.

Nageleisi looked around and asked: "You said there were gold and gems—where are they?"

"I spent them all—how else could I have built Divine Fall Town? Only the statues and altar remain. Are they worth anything? Can they be exchanged for beauty materials?" Luo Ke asked.

Nageleisi truly wanted to grow huge and slap her on the head—these broken statues and a mysterious altar, and she thought they could buy a beauty package?

If they were truly valuable, wouldn't this broke lich have sold them long ago?

"Forget it. Let's go. We'll have to find another way." Nageleisi turned to Du Luo and Ang—but turned back to find Ang staring intently at a corner.

Thud! Nageleisi instantly realized Ang had found something—he flew over and whispered: "You found something?"

Ang nodded: "God's domain."

"Yes, god's domain—this is the War Goddess's domain." Nageleisi replied.

Ang scratched his head, thought for a moment, then said: "Redemption. God's domain."

"What do you mean? Are you saying there's a hidden god's domain here, separate from this space, like the one in Redemption Goddess's domain?" Nageleisi guessed.

Ang nodded rapidly—talking to Nageleisi was efficient.

"Ssshh—" Nageleisi quickly glanced at Luo Ke—she looked utterly confused, hadn't heard them.

Could this idiot not even realize the hidden god's domain exists?

The Redemption Goddess's domain had one side as natural environment, the other as god's domain—with a clear boundary. This was essentially layered space, like a farm barrier.

If a god concealed their domain, ordinary people couldn't detect it.

"Can you open the god's domain?" Nageleisi asked.

Ang nodded, patted his chest—where a god core inscribed with the War Goddess's seal resided. All he needed to do was walk over, and the domain would open naturally.

Du Luo, who'd been listening, drew his Golden Rod and whispered: "So what now? Kill her and claim it?"

"What are you thinking? Principle of equivalent exchange—how could we just steal someone's property?" Nageleisi scolded.

"But… she never discovered this domain, so it's not hers. Whoever finds it owns it—we'll just give her a little finder's fee." Nageleisi said as if it were obvious.

Du Luo immediately smiled knowingly.

Nageleisi floated over, amiably saying: "After studying this place, I think it has some value. How about this—we buy everything here." He emphasized "everything."

Luo Ke immediately agreed: "Give me full-body beautification, and everything here is yours." She also emphasized "everything."

"Good. Everything—visible and invisible—belongs to us. Swear a soul oath." Nageleisi said.

"Agreed. Swear!" Luo Ke swore the soul oath; Nageleisi immediately swore the corresponding one.

The oath flame sank into their bodies; Nageleisi reiterated: "Alright, the oath is binding. Whatever we find here, you won't renege, right?"

"Never! How could I break a soul oath? Even if you find something hidden in the secret domain, I won't renege." Luo Ke grinned slyly.

Kua Bada! I've been tricked!