Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Devil Lord's First Temptation

The warrior glanced around, smiled slightly, and said,
“No one will disturb us now.”
Chu Cheng surveyed his surroundings, his heart somewhat anxious.
At this moment, he already had a guess as to why this Abyssal Hellfiend had set its sights on him. It was most likely due to the mark of the Void on his body.
Void Mark (Chaos): A mark left by a creature of the Void, imbued with mysterious power.
Attributes/Passive: Attacks carry an additional shadow damage equal to Intelligence x1.
Negative Status: Enemy of Justice, Favored by Evil.
Enemy of Justice: You are always viewed with suspicion by the forces of justice, starting with a cold reputation among them.
Favored by Evil: You are favored by higher evil beings, making it easier to gain the trust of evil factions. You start with a friendly reputation among evil forces, and loyalty checks for evil creatures are reduced by 50%.
This thing made it much easier for him to gain the trust of evil factions, granting him an initial friendly reputation among any evil group.
Simply put, right now he was a natural-born villain in the eyes of evil factions.
Fortunately, when he acquired this mark, he had already grinded his reputation up to Revered in the joint exam instance. If he had started with only a cold reputation, he would have had to use special methods to raise it to neutral before earning any more, which would have been extremely troublesome.
Though he had avoided that hassle this time, he would still face it the next time he entered a different instance.
“I need to find a way to purify this mark as soon as possible, otherwise it’s going to be a real headache.”
For now, seeing that this Abyssal Hellfiend seemed to mean no harm, he relaxed a bit and asked,
“Why are you looking for me?”
The projection of the Abyssal Hellfiend, called Imotal, smiled back at him,
“In truth, I have no particular business. I simply happened to notice a soul yearning for freedom in this realm, and my curiosity compelled me to take a look.”
Chu Cheng’s expression was doubtful.
“Really?”
“Of course,” Imotal spread his hands with earnestness. “I did not come here for you; why would I bear you any ill will?”
Chu Cheng fell silent.
He had to admit, this was true. The Abyssal Hellfiend hadn’t been summoned by him—it was Sun Yu who had called it forth.
Imotal continued,
“Of course, if you wish to make a deal with me, I would welcome it. While I can still linger in this realm for a time, as long as you are willing to pay a sufficient price, I can grant you any wish.”
Chu Cheng pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
Imotal maintained his gentle smile, and after waiting a moment without a reply, he asked,
“Let me guess, is your wish in conflict with that of my summoner?”
Chu Cheng blinked in surprise, glancing up to see Imotal’s confident smile.
“Never doubt the power of a great devil. We are masters of the mind—your thoughts cannot escape my gaze.”
“You’re quite frank about it.”
“Naturally. We are devils, not those vermin next door.”
Chu Cheng…
Those ‘vermin next door’ were, of course, demons—the eternal rivals of devils.
“So, tell me your wish. As long as you are willing to pay a higher price, I will help you fulfill it.”
“Can I ask what price your summoner paid for your services?”
Imotal pondered for two seconds, then shook his head.
“I cannot reveal the secrets of my employer.”
But in the next breath, he smiled and went on,
“However, our contract did not stipulate any prohibition on disclosure.”
“He hired me to act on his behalf, and each time requires a payment of one unit of realm essence.”
“If you wish to hire me in this plane, the price for each action is likewise one unit of realm essence. Should your wish conflict with that of my employer, you would need to pay extra realm essence to secure my aid.”
“Uh… I don’t have any realm essence.”
“No matter. You can offer something else, such as your soul!”
Imotal’s smile deepened, his gaze settling on Chu Cheng with a strange, luminous intensity. The longer he looked, the more delighted he seemed. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said,
“Your soul is very valuable—worth 126 units of realm essence. As long as you sign a fair contract, you can use that essence to empower yourself. You could obtain mighty strength, powerful magical weapons and equipment, all kinds of wondrous artifacts, or request my assistance—including commanding even my true form.”
With a wave of his hand, Imotal conjured a glowing screen before Chu Cheng’s eyes.
Three names radiated a dazzling orange light, nearly blinding him.
“Legendary equipment!”
Focusing, he saw the three orange items were called the Ring of Omniscience, the Blade of the Doomsday Sentinel, and a legendary gem known as the Eye of Insight.
Regrettably, he could see only their names, not their properties.
Imotal, evidently pleased by his expression, smiled and said,
“You needn’t worry about your life. Until the 126 units of realm essence are exhausted, I will not appear before you again.”
“Ah!”
In that instant, Chu Cheng understood why, despite everyone knowing that making deals with devils was like asking a tiger for its skin—never ending well—so many were still tempted by devils’ offers.
With terms like these, it was difficult for any ordinary person to resist, let alone those already desperate and at the end of their rope.
The offer was both generous and seemingly lenient, even containing what looked like exploitable loopholes.
Theoretically, as long as your soul’s value was not depleted, the devil would not claim it, allowing you to live out your days.
If one could ascend to the rank of legend, living for several centuries was quite possible. If one became an archmage, a millennium wasn’t out of the question.
Or, if before death you found Imotal’s true body and killed him, the contract would be null and void, and all the benefits received would not need to be repaid.
But theories are theories; in practice, these things were nearly impossible.
The former scenario was unlikely—no matter how long you lived, a devil lord would outlast you. They were, in theory, ageless, and a mortal could never outlive them.
The latter was even less probable. Even if you could find a devil lord’s true body, actually harming it would be another matter.
To become a devil lord required at least legendary power; within their own domain, they possessed immense strength, rivaling gods or demon kings. Killing one in its own realm would require you to ascend to the rank of god or demon.
If you had that kind of power, the contract would have ceased to be a problem long ago.
As for the rank of god or demon…
Let’s put it this way: for an ordinary Descender who awakened the laws of data embodiment, even reaching the extraordinary level was a formidable challenge, let alone advancing to legend, then to demigod, and finally to god or demon—each step was a chasm.
Out of a million Descenders, not one might become a legendary powerhouse.
Ninety-nine percent of legends would never cross that final threshold—the odds of reaching god or demon were virtually nonexistent.
But that was for ordinary people.
For regular folk, the odds of ascending to that rank were negligible.
But he was different. With a golden finger in his grasp, Chu Cheng had high expectations for his own future. He believed he truly had a chance to walk the whole path and become one of the fabled gods or demons.
Which meant, if he could reach that level, the contract would no longer bind him, and he would have reaped all those benefits for free—a boon of incalculable value in the early stages.
Chu Cheng bit his lip, temptation stirring in his heart.
Yet, despite his longing, his lingering caution kept him from accepting at once. Instead, he said,
“I need some time to think it over.”
Imotal smiled faintly.
“Of course. I have marked your soul. So long as you remain in this realm, call my name from anywhere, and I will appear before you immediately.”
With that, his form faded and vanished. A burst of noise arose, and the passersby and sounds, gone just a moment before, returned once more.