The Xiang Butterfly Of Chaos - Chapter 59 I Want Your Sister

“I’ll spill, I’ll spill! The plaque really does nothing, it only adds special attributes to the we distributed just a while back-hee!? No, it’s more of a failsafe, my dear Patriarch! Do put down that sword, the plaque is truly harmless!”

Balthazar pleaded with outstretched arms, preventing Jun Meng Chen from raising the sword to properly ‘teach’ a lesson. Raising his unfettered hand and thoroughly struck Balthazar on the head, causing the youth to cry out and scamper off, only to poke his head from behind a pillar.

He remained there until he asserted himself that Jun Meng Chen had not unleased another attack. Gradually emerging from behind the pillar, Balthazar released a relieved sigh, before stiffening in surprise and resignation.

Poking ever so gently into his back, was a cold, steel sword’s tip.

Shaking his head, Balthazar unleased numerous, exaggerated sighs before sitting on the ground, drawing circles on the soft earth with his index finger. Noticing that Balthazar had capitulated so quickly, a rather unusual occurrence, Jun Meng Chen allowed the sword to dissolve, before sitting down next to him.

“You see,” Balthazar spoke, a slight hint of resentment audible in his voice. “That plaque is something my father created from his agreement with the Divine Spiritual Vein.”

Seeing Jun Meng Chen’s confusion displayed on his face, Balthazar sighed, before grasping the mustard seed plaque in his right hand.

Infusing his hands with divine essence, he tossed the plaque into the air, smashing it into the ground at high velocity. Upon making contact with the earth, the plaque shattered, and a faint inscription resembling a mustard seed appeared before Jun Meng Chen and Balthazar.

“You might not know of this yet,” he spoke, while pointing towards the center of the cluster of inscriptions. “But my father established an agreement with the Divine Spiritual Vein. In exchange for guaranteeing failure for the users of the we distribute every century, the Divine Spiritual Vein will provide the incomplete diagrams of the .”

“!? Such a valuable object, the Divine Spiritual Vein released the blueprints for just a measly failsafe for the ?” Jun Meng Chen interjected, unable to contain his shock as he gazed incredulously at Balthazar. Seeing this, Balthazar chuckled before inserting his finger into the cluster of inscriptions floating before them.

As the finger made contact with the cluster’s core, the mustard seed trembled, before exploding into a chaotic web of inscriptions in the Divine Script. Spiraling outwards, these inscriptions covered the region of the courtyard the two were in.

Looking at the interlocked webs of light in the sky, Balthazar let out a chuckle before looking at Jun Meng Chen.

“The , a divine object created by the Progenitors. For what its purpose was, or what it was even used for, nobody has any idea. Why only the incomplete diagrams were left behind is also unknown. All we know is that the supposedly is capable of eviscerating the Divine Script and immortals’ constructs without any resistance.” Patting Jun Meng Chen on the shoulder, he continued.

“My father has already distributed the results of his agreement to the Demon Palace, and we intend on experimenting on utilizing the blueprints in forging,” he spoke, ruefully gazing at the sky.

“But in complete honesty, what does any of it concern us? Other than our identities as scions of the Divine or Demon Palace, what can we even do in the future turmoil caused by this agreement?”

Jun Meng Chen gazed at the ground, deep in thought. Indeed, what either he or Balthazar could do in such circumstance was wholly limited, far too limited. Both of them only had Deity Cores, nor were they even Heavenly Immortals.

“Say, what exactly does that mustard seed do in regard to the ?” he spoke, diverting the topic of conversation. Ignoring the startled Balthazar who had been silently lamenting, Jun Meng Chen laid out his analysis.

“You mentioned something about a failsafe earlier, and the agreement with the Divine Spiritual Vein that resulted in guaranteed termination. So are the provisions issued by the mustard seed benefits to the user to act as a balancing mechanism for immortals whose domains emphasize a balancing of detriment and benefit?”

“Mhm, you’re absolutely right. In exchange for a guaranteed assimilation into the Divine Spiritual Vein, the mustard seed’s additions provide for a small bonus towards the fated mortal.” Pointing towards certain inscriptions floating near them, he continued.

“See, the inscription directly above your head provides the elementary basis for controlling swords with a mortal will, without overdrafting the spiritual qi that mortals rely on. And the one directly left to that is an appended array, I think it was the ?”

“? You’re truly heaping benefits on these mortals,” Jun Meng Chen remarked. “However, you’re entirely sure that the failsafe works properly this time?”

“Of course!” assured Balthazar, patting his chest before frowning in distaste at the ripped robes. Conjuring a plate of violet, succulent grapes upon which he feasted on them, he spoke while resentfully repairing his robe.

“Father worked on the failsafe this time. Actually, he rewrote the spiritual cores engendered by the to stain the mortal’s soul with a distinctive attribute for the Divine Spiritual Vein to assimilate with. All of these benefits are to ensure that the mortal actually survives to the end, so the sheep is properly fattened up.”

Mumbling through a mouthful of grapes, Balthazar’s incoherent speech caused Jun Meng Chen to frown.

“Before we even disseminated the to the entire Immortal Realm, we tested it out in hundreds of domains you know, from the basic Precinct to even a Royal Immortal! Accelerating the passage of time to a million, billion times compared to the Immortal Realm, and all were successfully assimilated without a single failure.”

“If that’s the case, perhaps I won’t have to fret so much,” spoke Jun Meng Chen, standing to stretch his body.

“But this can’t be the reason for you to drop into my courtyard several times in a week, can it? Such information as this, you could have used a transmission.”

“No, it most definitely isn’t,” Balthazar remarked, throwing the platter of grapes away.

Standing and stretching as well, he examined the violet robe to ensure that the luxurious and exorbitant patterns were fully repaired, not a single thread out of place. His frivolous demeanor was muted when he gazed at Jun Meng Chen, and his voice became more refined.

“Brother Jun,” he spoke, clenching his fists. “I’ve made up my mind. I request for Ming Yue’s hand in marriage!”

“I refuse.” Jun Meng Chen immediately declined.

“Go take that request to my father, Jun Dong Min, or my elder brother, Jun Tian Ming.”

“Brother Jun, do not joke with me!” pleaded Balthazar, falling to his knees. “Both of us, and everyone else, knows that neither of them even cares about Ming Yue. I know, after all of these years, that you are the only one who can represent such a decision with sincerity!”

With a fierce look in his eyes, Balthazar abruptly stood. Spreading his arms wide, his voice resounded through the entire courtyard, professing both his determination and steadfastness.

“I, Balthazar of the Demon Palace, hereby swear. I swear on mine construct, on mine domain, and on mine soul that if I may take Jun Ming Yue as my wife, I shall pursue no other. The Avenger of Sorrows and Evil declares thus, and shall abide!”

The moment Balthazar finished his oath, the air around him shook, and an infinite amount of grey, rusted chains darted towards Balthazar at immense speed. Balthazar welcomed them with open arms, allowing them to coil around his arms, torso, legs, and neck.

He even sealed the padlock on his own accord, completing the oath’s manifestation. Once the padlock had been sealed, the chains vanished from Balthazar’s body, but Jun Meng Chen could detect a different attribute emanating alongside of his ordinary aura. One of refined nobility, but also of isolation.

When Balthazar looked up, he noticed Jun Meng Chen gazing at him with considerably warmer eyes.

“You’ve finally made up your mind, and crossed that step?” Jun Meng Chen spoke, clapping Balthazar on the shoulders.

“To even call down the on your own will, how brave! However, if you think I will let you take Ming Yue that easily, then your dreams are a little too fierce.”

“I know, this was the minimum guarantee I could offer my sincerity with.” Balthazar smiled.

“However, you know my father’s temper. Regarding my marriage, I can swear to my soul, my general identity, or even my immortal’s construct. If I dare to include either my specialized identity or Deity core, hehe, I’ll probably be massacred before even getting to approach the marriage ceremony.”

Having said his piece, Balthazar quickly waved goodbye to Jun Meng Chen. As he gazed at the departing back of the violet-robed immortal, Jun Meng Chen wondered whether he had made the proper decision. With a light sigh, he reentered the inner sanctum to rest.

–

The next day brought forth many troubles for Jun Meng Chen. The final selection was going to occur at noon for the investigation of the Ghost King’s domain, and frankly, the rest of the Pavilions’ younger immortals were displeased with Jun Meng Chen being their sole representative.

His combat was reputed for being subpar, and his construct wasn’t even compatible with his Pavilion’s doctrines, hence leading to his exile!

Faced with hundreds, even thousands of piercing glares holding both contempt, disdain, and some rare cases of curiosity, Jun Meng Chen maintained a stoic expression as he followed the Pavilion Heads to the centre of the Divine Palace. There, a rather large but empty plaza could be seen, and a massive fighting ring was present, fifty meters in radius.

Having led Jun Meng Chen to the plaza, the Pavilion Heads began grouping the immortals into their respective associations, quickly forming stands for spectators. Sweeping his gaze around, Jun Meng Chen noticed that only the younger generation of immortals were present, all of them less than twenty thousand years in age.

An elder quickly rose to the air, before silencing the plaza with a wave of his hand.

“Today, we have the final selection for the investigation of the Ghost King’s Domain,” he lightly coughed.

“As the Divine Palace only has one representative, a single battle will suffice. Will the Demon Palace’s representative step onto the ring?” Finishing his declaration, the elder descended before standing at the edge of the ring.

“Demon Palace? So that’s why they had a preliminary selection suddenly implemented?”

“Urk, those Demon Palace people are far too weird! Such sneaky, incorrigible bastards.”

“No way, they planned for such a thing from the start? That’s too much! We didn’t even know about the Ghost King’s demise until just a week ago!”

As the spectating immortals broke into a rowdy hubbub, three youths approached the ring. Jun Meng Chen noticed Balthazar in the center, followed by a grey-robed youth, his face covered by a shawl.

To Balthazar’s left stood an immortal dressed in an elegant tunic. With lace frills decorating his sleeves and chest, the youth sported a full head of brilliant golden hair extending to his waist.

Without even talking to Balthazar and the cloaked immortal, the youth quickly strode into the fighting ring, his graceful and refined voice containing a hint of disdain and loftiness.

“Just who is the challenger issued by the Divine Palace?” he spoke, outright ignoring Jun Meng Chen who stood directly outside of the ring. “This Alderan doesn’t see anyone here, don’t tell me they quit from fear?”

Behind the youth, Balthazar quickly palmed his face, before hiding behind the cloaked immortal to shield his face from embarrassment.

Alas, he silently lit fireworks for the elegant youth standing in the ring, spouting his noble dignity and disdain without reserve.