Chapter 603: A Pair of Embroidered Shoes

They, like me, are already doomed to die. We should have died on the battlefield twenty thousand years ago, but circumstances forced us to cling to life.

The Woodcutter Saint set his axe aside and sighed, "Varja, do you know? If this were the Kaihuang era, a minor demon god like you, prancing around, would have been sent to the God-Slaying Platform and executed long ago. But times have changed. I admire you greatly, and I'm aware of your capabilities and methods. You haven't invited anyone from the Celestial Heavens to assist you; instead, you've relied on your own strength to attack Supreme Emperor Heaven. From this, I know you refuse to be beholden to others. You possess grand ambitions and aspirations, aiming to use Supreme Emperor Heaven as a stepping stone to reach the Kaihuang Celestial Heavens. Your ambition is vast."

Varja smiled faintly. "What's the difference between a man living and a dried fish if he has no ideals?"

The Woodcutter Saint shook his head. "Have you considered whether you'd be eliminated once you've occupied the Kaihuang Celestial Heavens? Don't you understand the principle of 'when the cunning hare is killed, the running dog is cooked, and when the high-flying bird is gone, the good bow is put away'? The moment you conquer the Great Ruins and annihilate Eternal Peace, it will be the death knell for you and your people. The catastrophe of your clan's annihilation is imminent. You bear the name Varja, a great wise one of the demon race. Surely you can comprehend this?"

Varja shifted his neck, revealing his right face, and slowly said, "Saints excel at psychological tactics. You appear to be thinking of my well-being, but this is merely a tactic to sway me. I understand the principles you speak of, but I also know that I must find a path to survival for my clan. As for whether the Celestial Heavens will destroy me, that remains uncertain. At worst, I can prostrate myself and become a dog. Surely the Celestial Heavens wouldn't kill a dog, would they?"

His left face smiled. "A man should know when to yield and when to stand firm. Brother Dao, if you insist on threatening me with Mount Luofu, I won't need to kill you; someone else will naturally do so. Brother Dao, what harm is there in yielding a little?"

The Woodcutter Saint shook his head. "If I had wanted to be a dog, I could have done so twenty thousand years ago. As long as I can live standing, I prefer to stand."

Varja's eyes flickered. "But more people, after death, still lie prostrate, like dead dogs."

The Woodcutter Saint chuckled. "I fear no pulverization. I'd rather die utterly shattered; rest assured, I won't die prostrate. Before Qin Mu and his companions arrived, you proposed terms, asking me to cede a portion of Eternal Peace's territory to your demon race. Now that Qin Mu is here, I can tell you this."

His expression suddenly turned grim. "As long as we live, not an inch of Kaihuang's land shall be surrendered!"

"If your leg crosses in, I'll chop off your leg. If your head crosses in, I'll chop off your head! If your demon race dares to enter Eternal Peace, I will exterminate your demon race!"

He said coldly, "Don't even dream of Kaihuang's land!"

Hearing his words, Varja's three faces instantly darkened. He said icily, "Then there's nothing left to discuss. In that case, let us sign the Earth Overlord's Pact!"

He picked up his brush and swiftly wrote down an oath. With a gentle lift of his hand, the paper flew towards the Woodcutter Saint opposite him. The Woodcutter Saint also wrote down his oath and exchanged papers with him.

Both pondered the other's oath, checking for loopholes, then picked up their brushes to revise them. They exchanged their oaths back, meticulously re-examined them, and made further changes to parts they couldn't accept.

After several such exchanges, they finally finalized their respective oaths.

The two stood up and swore their oaths. Varja used the demonic tongue, while the Woodcutter Saint used the divine tongue. The divine and demonic tongues resonated simultaneously, each language possessing different mysteries and profound subtleties, even clashing with each other!

Qin Mu was proficient in both languages; he understood both the divine and demonic tongues and found himself listening intently.

Suddenly, space vibrated, and the mountain-like altar beneath their feet swayed erratically. Those on the altar quickly steadied themselves. Below the altar, Granny Si and Black Tiger God were confronting two other demon gods. The ground beneath their feet also began to float, and the four gods and demons hastily stabilized themselves, careful not to be taken advantage of by their opponents.

Granny Si swayed back and forth, seemingly due to insufficient cultivation, retreating several steps. One of her embroidered shoes unexpectedly slipped off, leaving her to steady herself on one bare foot.

The demon god confronting her, his eyes gleaming, reached out and snatched the embroidered shoe before she could react. With the shoe in hand, the demon god stared at Granny Si's dainty, fair foot, chuckled, and then sniffed the shoe under his nose.

Granny Si, feigning anger, held out her hand, a half-smile on her face. "Give me back my shoe!"

The demon god burst into laughter and tucked the shoe into his robes. "Little beauty, you're truly pitiable. I'll keep your shoe."

Granny Si, furious, took off her other shoe and hurled it at him. "You're a demon god, a lofty being, yet you behave so frivolously?"

The demon god raised his hand and caught the other embroidered shoe, staring at her pair of fair, small feet. He chuckled. "Excellent! I have a pair now! Little beauty, your feet are so fair and delicate. I have human concubines too, but if you follow me, I can make you my head wife. Just agree, and when I return, I'll devour my old hag of a wife!"

Granny Si giggled. "If you eat your old hag, I'll have to worry about becoming an old hag myself one day and you eating me! In any case, my tiny shoes wouldn't fit you. Consider them a gift."

Black Tiger God frowned deeply, thinking to himself, "Who is this woman? Her words are incoherent, and she's flirting with this demon god. She's as unreliable as Junior Brother Qin!"

The surroundings were enveloped in dense darkness. Suddenly, a fiery glow appeared in the darkness, and a pair of enormous, pointed horns slowly rose from the gloom beneath the altar.

Around the altar, it was pitch black. The horns, twisted and winding, towered into the clouds, far surpassing the altar's height.

Black Tiger God was greatly alarmed; his two hammerheads unknowingly fell to the ground, and he hastily picked them up. He looked up, watching the horns continuously rising from the darkness.

A moment later, the phantom of Earth Overlord finally revealed its head. Its two pairs of horns had already reached a height level with the stars beyond the heavens.

Earth Overlord's tiger-like face was hidden in the darkness. Its fiery eyes illuminated its own face erratically. The tall, majestic altar also flickered between light and shadow under its gaze.

Earth Overlord quietly awaited their oaths.

This was a phantom of Earth Overlord, not the true Earth Overlord, but a projection of his power into this world, witnessing the vows of two mighty beings.

Earth Overlord could not descend in person; his physical body was simply too vast. If he were to descend, this fragile world would not be able to withstand it.

Qin Mu grew excited and vigorously waved at Earth Overlord's phantom.

Earth Overlord's expression was solemn, and he ignored him.

Qin Mu continued to wave excitedly, calling out loudly, "Me! It's me! Earth Overlord, we've met! I'm Qin Fengqing, you even sealed me!"

Earth Overlord continued to ignore him.

Qin Mu continued to wave excitedly.

Earth Overlord's eye twitched. "Solemnity! Don't speak to me; I'm conducting serious business."

Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi exchanged glances, their hearts filled with awe.

After Varja and the Woodcutter Saint finished reciting their oaths and signed the Earth Overlord's Pact, the colossal head of Earth Overlord cast a glance at Qin Mu, who was excitedly waiting to speak with him.

Qi Jiuyi hesitated, then stepped forward and bowed to Earth Overlord.

Earth Overlord ignored him and said to Qin Mu, "Don't cause trouble."

Dropping that one sentence, he slowly sank into the darkness and gradually vanished, leaving Qin Mu and Qi Jiuyi stranded on the altar.

Once the horns had completely disappeared into the ground, the darkness dispersed, and light returned to the surroundings.

The Woodcutter Saint stared at Qin Mu, as did Varja, Zhe Huali, and Qi Jiuyi. Earth Overlord had always been a solemn and austere figure, controlling death, never cracking a smile. Whenever a powerful being swore an oath, his power would project itself as a witness, and the aura was truly dark and terrifying, suffocating anyone present.

However, this time, Earth Overlord's phantom not only spoke but also seemed quite familiar with Qin Mu. This couldn't help but make people wonder if Earth Overlord would handle oaths impartially and without bias.

Earth Overlord was chosen as the object of oaths precisely because he held no personal interests. If Earth Overlord were to have personal interests, it would be terrifying.

"I couldn't tell that Young Friend Qin has such a good relationship with Earth Overlord," Varja said with a faint smile.

Qin Mu closed all three of his eyes, refusing to look at him, and grunted. "If our relationship were truly good, he wouldn't have sealed me."

Varja felt relieved, then suddenly remembered Qin Mu's jade pendant and was startled. "That jade pendant is Earth Overlord's seal? That day, I suppressed the seal, which is why that demon king was released?"

A sudden realization dawned on him, and a great weight lifted from his heart. "Earth Overlord himself sealed him; it seems he won't be able to escape the seal. This way, I can deal with him without worry. It's just that this brat doesn't dare look at me now."

Just then, a scream came from beneath the altar. The people on the altar were startled and quickly rushed to the edge to look down.

Below the altar, a demon god who had accompanied Varja was rolling around, clutching his legs in agony. The demon god was wearing a pair of tiny embroidered shoes, barely three inches long, filled with needles that had pierced his large feet, making them bloody.

The demon god's body flickered between large and small as he tried to shake off the embroidered shoes. But the shoes only shrunk with him and wouldn't enlarge. At this moment, the bones of his two large toes were completely shattered, and the pain was unbearable.

Beside him, Black Tiger God and another demon god watched Granny Si with horrified expressions, each shifting away, not daring to approach.

"All the bones in both your feet are broken."

Granny Si spoke with a sweet smile and a soft, gentle voice, kindly advising, "You should just cut them off. If you wait until the embroidery needles travel to your heart and lungs, or to your brain, it will be too late."

The demon god trembled with pain, gritting his teeth, and hissed, "You tricked me into wearing tight shoes..."

Granny Si looked surprised. "You wanted to wear them yourself. When did I ever trick you?"

On the altar, Varja raised an eyebrow and sneered at the Woodcutter Saint. "Is this another one of your disciples? Just like you, attacking from the shadows!"

The Woodcutter Saint was also a bit surprised and shook his head. "Not exactly my disciple. But her cleverness rivals mine."

Varja snorted coldly, his voice echoing down to the ground below. "Mutu Lu, your divine abilities aren't refined enough; you can't suppress her fine needles. The longer you drag this out, the more perilous your life becomes. Cut off both your feet."

The demon god was doing his utmost to suppress the embroidery needles flowing from the embroidered shoes into his bloodstream. The needles in the shoes were extremely fine, almost imperceptible, yet they were as nimble and agile as tiny swords, drilling into his blood vessels. He used his vital qi to form various divine abilities, concealing them within his blood to block and suppress the needles. However, because it was inside his own body, he couldn't unleash powerful divine abilities, making it impossible to stop these fine needles.

Hearing Varja's words, he let out a sharp cry, tears streaming from his eyes, and with a tearful swing, he chopped off both his lower legs.

From the wounds of his severed legs, many fine silver needles poured out like water.

"The artifact refinement technique of the Heavenly Works Divine Race!"

Varja recognized the artifact refinement technique of the Heavenly Works Divine Race from the Kaihuang Celestial Heavens in these silver needles and was startled. He suddenly recalled the old blacksmith who had been with Qin Mu that day. Granny Si's silver needles must have come from that old blacksmith!

"Blacksmiths, embroiderers, painters, sellers of fake medicine... What kind of people does this Qin Mu surround himself with?" Varja couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.