Chapter 256: The Oath is Sworn

Chapter 256: Chapter 256: The Oath is Sworn

Unfortunately, the other party was no fool.

Jiang Xu hesitated.

While he wasn’t in a desperate rush to leave, Passage Orders were incredibly rare, and their monthly distribution was random.

If he missed this chance, there was no telling when he’d get another.

More and more Cultivators wanted to leave, but the number of Passage Orders issued was fixed.

Furthermore, once obtained, a Passage Order would be bound to its owner. Even if it were stolen afterward, it would be unusable.

In other words, if Jiang Xu missed out on this Passage Order, there was no telling when he might get his hands on another.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t just wait and bid for one at the next auction.

But he knew without a doubt how intense the auction would be.

With his financial resources, it wasn’t impossible for Jiang Xu to win one.

He’d just likely be bankrupt afterward.

As for going to other State Domains instead of the Demon Spirit State...

Jiang Xu suspected it would be the same, perhaps even more difficult.

’Thinking it over, it seems that if I want to leave Dinghai State anytime soon, I have no choice but to agree to his terms.’

"I can agree to your terms and make a Heart Demon Oath."

A flicker of joy crossed Xiong Liangsheng’s face, but then Jiang Xu continued:

"But there are a few conditions. I’ll do my best to find them, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to deliver the items if your descendants are already dead, or if they’re in some special location where I can’t find them. The same applies if searching for them puts my own safety at risk."

"Also, there must be a time limit for the search. I can’t spend the rest of my life just looking for people."

"Furthermore..."

Jiang Xu went on to list a long string of other conditions. But far from getting angry, Xiong Liangsheng’s eyes only grew brighter.

After all, someone who had no intention of agreeing wouldn’t bother proposing so many conditions.

Only someone who was genuinely considering the offer, like Jiang Xu, would haggle.

Xiong Liangsheng knew, of course, that his demands were extremely harsh.

But he was truly out of options.

Over the past few decades, Xiong Liangsheng’s longing for his wife and children had only grown.

Late each night, after finishing his Cultivation, he would gaze toward the Youxian Sea, his heart filled with silent longing.

He never regretted his actions from back then, but he was forever weighed down by the guilt of having wronged his wife and children.

It wasn’t that Xiong Liangsheng didn’t want to go back and find them himself.

But he knew the extent of the Seven Stars Association’s control over the Youxian Sea.

Even though decades had passed...

...he understood clearly.

Once you were on the Seven Stars Association’s blacklist, you could forget about escaping their grasp within the Youxian Sea—not just for decades, but for centuries.

That was why he no longer dared to hope he would ever see his wife and children again.

His only wish was for someone to take the things he had prepared, find his family, and deliver the items to them.

But in all these years, he had never found a suitable person for the task.

They either demanded an exorbitant price, walked away the moment they heard about the Seven Stars Association, or left upon learning they had to find people who might already be dead.

But the step that scared off the most people was the requirement to make a Heart Demon Oath.

Xiong Liangsheng felt helpless about it.

Entrusting someone to go to the Youxian Sea... With such a great distance involved, he truly couldn’t rest easy without some kind of binding constraint.

"Alright. Everything you’ve mentioned is negotiable."

After hearing Xiong Liangsheng’s reply, Jiang Xu hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"First, you make a Heart Demon Oath guaranteeing that everything you’ve said is true and that you have no intention of harming me. Only then will I accept this task. Otherwise, I’m walking away right now!"

Xiong Liangsheng was stunned for a second, then he chuckled and immediately swore the oath:

"I, Xiong Liangsheng, swear on my path of Cultivation! My previous words were true, and I have absolutely no intention of causing you harm. My only desire is for my wife and descendants to receive the items I entrust to you. There is no other scheme. If I violate this oath, may I be devoured by a Heart Demon and perish!"

Seeing Xiong Liangsheng make the oath without any signs of trouble, Jiang Xu began to swear his own:

"I, Yao Xu, swear on my path of Cultivation! Upon receiving the Passage Order and the items from Xiong Liangsheng, I will do my utmost to deliver them into the hands of his wife, children, or descendants. I will never covet them for myself, nor will I become greedy and steal the Treasure. I will not inform the Seven Stars Association or threaten Xiong Liangsheng."

"However, this is contingent on several conditions. First, that Xiong Liangsheng’s wife, children, or descendants are still among the living. Second, that they are still within the Youxian Sea region. Third..."

Jiang Xu rattled off a long list of preconditions, covering basically every unexpected situation he could think of.

As he listened, Xiong Liangsheng’s eyelid began to twitch. He suddenly wondered if he’d chosen the wrong person for this task.

"...The above are the preconditions for delivering the items. Furthermore, if the task fails due to unforeseen circumstances not of my own volition that I have not covered, the oath shall not be considered broken. If I violate this oath, I, Yao Xu, am willing to be devoured by a Heart Demon and perish!"

When the Heart Demon Oath was finally complete, Jiang Xu suddenly felt his Sea of Consciousness tremble.

Jiang Xu quickly focused his mind to investigate and saw a thin layer of black mist floating within his Sea of Consciousness.

He was shocked. Upon closer inspection, he realized that this wisp of black mist was the very oath he had just sworn.

The black mist was not a physical entity, yet it existed deep within his soul. The power of the oath it contained was like an invisible shackle, binding his spirit tightly.

For now, Jiang Xu didn’t feel any harm from the black mist. But he understood that the moment he violated the oath, it would immediately envelop his Sea of Consciousness, birthing a terrifying Heart Demon powerful enough to shatter his will.

Then, the Heart Demon would cling to him like a fiend, tormenting him with endless pain, regret, and fear.

First, it would hinder his Cultivation progress. If Jiang Xu still failed to fulfill the oath, it would cause him to suffer a qi deviation, leading to a sharp decline in his Cultivation until, in the end, death was the only outcome.

’It seems trying to be clever is useless against a Heart Demon Oath,’ Jiang Xu thought. ’Perhaps it operates on its own special set of rules?’

He had used a false name when swearing the oath, but it was clear that both false and real names had the same effect; either could make the oath take hold.

Jiang Xu’s cleverness wasn’t because he didn’t want to help Xiong Liangsheng. It was a self-preservation habit, as well as a test.

A test of the Heart Demon Oath itself.

’In the future, I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with these Heart Demon Oaths often.’

If he were ever forced to swear an oath under duress, like the Wuji Fairy, being able to nullify it would instantly turn a passive situation into an active one.

It could very well be the difference between life and death.

In fact, Jiang Xu had another, bolder idea.

His Thousand-Faced Illusion Body allowed him to transform into someone else.

This transformation was already astonishing at the Master Level.