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"A deal? Hehe, it seems that no matter if they're from the Xianzhou or somewhere else, they all love to make deals with us..."
Fuyan paid no mind to Ron's disgust, maintaining that strangely mocking attitude and letting out an extremely grating laugh...
But although the laughter was piercing and dripping with sarcasm, he wasn't wrong.
...After all, whether it was the people of the Xianzhou or other humans who could come into contact with the Heliobi, they were all quite interested in making deals with them.
The most famous among them was, of course, the hero who stood forth in the history of the Xianzhou Alliance when the Wingweavers led the "Qiongsang" to invade the Xianzhou [Luofu], intending to lay their hands on the Luofu's Ambrosial Arbor, and nearly succeeded—the Reignbow Arbiter.
At that time, the Xianzhou Zhuming had observed the gravitational pull of a certain massive celestial body, but they were unable to capture any light signals from it. Only when the Xianzhou Alliance drew close enough did the stargazers witness this behemoth: a treelike world that fed on stars, the homeland of their ancient enemies from the old country, the Wingweavers' [Qiongsang].
The giant beast-ships of the flesh-and-blood abominations also appeared in their sights at the same time. The Wingweavers drove the abominations, and the two sides had formed some sort of symbiotic relationship. As if drawn by the power of the [Ambrosial Arbor], the [Qiongsang] began to slowly approach the Xianzhou [Luofu]. Not long after, the two sides erupted into the most brutal war in the history of the Xianzhou.
The people of the Xianzhou, who had just experienced the War of the Squabbling Siblings, the betrayal of the Golden Men, and their migration plan, were powerless to resist such a massive crisis... They were forced to open the frozen prisons and awaken all the criminals who had been sealed in ice for their sins.
Among them was the true "Reignbow Arbiter."
To repel the Denizens of Abundance, the Reignbow Arbiter went against all advice and entered the deepest prisons of the Xianzhou Zhuming. He convinced the long-imprisoned Heliobus leader, [Suihuang], to make a possession deal with him, trading his own body for the Heliobus's aid.
Many on the various Xianzhou ships, in response to the Reignbow Arbiter's sacrifice, chose to make the same deal. They joined a suicide squad, marching alongside the Heliobi, vowing to be like obscuring clouds in the sky, to shield the Xianzhou, and never fall. This was the origin of the name [Cloud Knights].
And after the Reignbow Arbiter made his deal with the ancestor of the Heliobi, he gained an endless and terrifying power from a creature like "Suihuang"...
He was originally nameless in the records, but afterward, he relied on this power to truly establish the name of the Reignbow Arbiter—
According to Ron's understanding of the game's lore, the true Reignbow Arbiter should have been on the Xianzhou Yaoqing, where he drew his bow at the ship's prow and fired his world-shattering arrow—
A single arrow from the Reignbow Arbiter destroyed the Ambrosial Arbor, pierced the giant beast, and severed the connection between the Xianzhou Luofu and the Qiongsang; on the spot, it tore open a rift leading into the depths of the void, from which a massive amount of Imaginary Energy spewed forth.
After firing the arrow that turned the tide of battle, the Reignbow Arbiter was completely drained of strength and fell into the Imaginary rift. However, Suihuang still left a part of his body behind and did not disappear with the Reignbow Arbiter...
It had to be said, Ron was quite interested in that arrow the Reignbow Arbiter fired back then. Although Lan of [The Hunt] and that Reignbow Arbiter were by no means the same person, and most of the stories in the "Ballad of the Reignbow Arbiter" were artistically exaggerated, with the legends on the Xianzhou misattributing the title of Reignbow Arbiter to Lan, it was not impossible that the original Reignbow Arbiter had reached the level of an [Aeon] at that moment...
After all, from the current perspective, when he fired that arrow, he had truly pierced through reality and fallen into the inner side of reality. It was even possible that he had fallen onto a branch of the Imaginary Tree.
Ron had truly shattered reality and set foot on the branches of the Imaginary Tree before...
Unlike how Ron had deliberately stepped onto a branch of [The Destruction], if Ron wished, he could actually seek out the branch of the Path he wanted to forge—that is, the Path of [Salvation].
Although the operation was different from how he had previously drawn upon the wishes of an entire sea of stars as a source of power, the final result was similar... Because this was the method of ascending to become the master of a Path when one possessed a Path but was not yet its master.
That Reignbow Arbiter was the same. Perhaps after shattering reality, he could have truly stepped onto a branch of a Path—but there was a huge problem with him. The power that supported him in doing all this came almost entirely from that Heliobus ancestor, "Suihuang."
...So, even if he could truly become an Aeon, it would have just been "Suihuang" attempting to open a Path.
And this Heliobus ancestor did indeed possess such power. Back in the era of the Xianzhou's crisis of faith, that is, after surviving the unprecedented war with the Wingweavers, there were some who came to believe in Suihuang, thinking that even if this Heliobus ancestor was reduced to fragmented pieces and locked in the Xianzhou Zhuming's power furnace to boil water, he was destined to become an Aeon...
Although this idea was ridiculous, it was enough to show just how deeply the power of this Heliobus ancestor was ingrained in people's hearts.
But if a true comparison were to be made, Ron didn't think the currently fragmented Suihuang could be that powerful...
Perhaps, Suihuang's current power was at most on par with Phantylia.
Maybe a little stronger than Phantylia? But there certainly wouldn't be a massive difference. After all, Suihuang was already fragmented to such an extent that he still hadn't been able to retrieve the part of himself that was lost with the Reignbow Arbiter...
Ron thought silently, discerning the distrust in Fuyan's words.
Although the Reignbow Arbiter was indeed a true hero of the Xianzhou Alliance, if one switched the perspective to that of the Heliobi, then the Reignbow Arbiter and the Cloud Knights who decided to participate in the possession deal had all broken their promises, ultimately betraying the Heliobi who had done their utmost to help them...
...Alright, though it wasn't certain they had truly done their utmost, after experiencing all that, it was perfectly normal for Fuyan, as one of the Heliobi, to no longer trust humans.
So Ron casually tapped the scorching furnace again and promised:
"I am different from that Reignbow Arbiter... He was a hero of the Xianzhou Alliance, unwilling to leave even a shred of danger for future generations. But I'm different."
"I don't mind you all escaping your confinement and doing whatever you want... After all, there are many important things happening right now. Your possessions and pranks, in most cases, don't have much of an impact. The casualties you cause might not even be as many as those caused by the insane Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
As Ron spoke, his tone was full of sincerity:
"How about it? As long as you help me find the hiding place of [Lord Ravager Phantylia], I am willing to help you out and fulfill a small wish of yours... On the condition that the request isn't too outrageous, I will do everything in my power."
But although Ron's words were sincere, the voice that came from the furnace was not very friendly.
Fuyan laughed mockingly for a good while, then his tone sank, becoming grim and filled with malice:
"Help us out? Fulfill a small wish that isn't too outrageous... in a way that you'll do everything in your power?"
"Who do you think you are? An omnipotent Aeon?"
A flurry of agitated noises came from the furnace. Besides Fuyan's voice, there were other fragmented voices overlapping, the cold ridicule of other Heliobi.
And Fuyan spoke again, mockingly. The sound, muffled by the furnace, was like an arrow aimed straight at Ron's heart—
"Since you know Phantylia is a great Heliobus blessed by [The Destruction], how can you be so sure your promise can move us?"
As he spoke, a trace of fear entered his voice for the first time:
"That one is a truly great Heliobus... with the potential to be on par with our ancestor, 'Suihuang'!"
"Don't even talk about what our 'Liaoyuan' used to be... Even if time rewound to when 'Liaoyuan' still existed, when countless 'Liaoyuan' surged towards Phantylia, the end result would be nothing more than being swallowed by her..."
"We are just an ordinary fusion. Becoming 'Liaoyuan' is merely a temporary state of being ruled, of being gathered into one—but if we really encounter Phantylia, we will be thoroughly devoured, truly losing our sense of self and becoming a part of Phantylia!"
Hearing Fuyan's words, Ron frowned slightly:
"So you are unwilling to make this deal?"
The rustling sounds in the furnace went silent for a moment. Fuyan suddenly spoke again, his tone tinged with temptation:
"Agreeing... is not entirely out of the question."
"A Heliobus does not die. Losing consciousness is only temporary... As an Emanator of [The Destruction], Phantylia wages war in all directions. There will always be a time when she fails and is defeated."
"At that time, even if we have lost consciousness, we will reawaken and burn freely in this sea of stars—the price is still acceptable."
He said, then suddenly changed the subject:
"But even so, you still need to offer us sufficient compensation."
"Sufficient compensation?" Ron promised openly, his tone calm. "Whatever you want, you can ask for it now."
"I want..."
As he spoke, his voice suddenly became extremely fierce, and the sounds layered upon one another, as it was clearly the other Heliobi speaking the same words as him:
"I want to continue the battle between the great Heliobus 'Liaoyuan' and the General from all those years ago! As long as you can bring the current General of the Luofu before me, let him fight us with all his might, and settle the score once and for all, I am willing to do this for you!"
Ron frowned. These Heliobi were truly whimsical. This indeed seemed to be a thought from the bottom of their hearts...
But the Xianzhou [Luofu] was currently facing a crisis of collapse. Where was there time to help them find Jing Yuan for a fight?
Forget it... Even if they really want to play this boring house game, I have to get them to find Phantylia first, Ron thought, then said gravely:
"It's not impossible... but that will have to wait until after you find Phantylia."
"Once the Xianzhou [Luofu] has passed this crisis, I believe the current General of the Luofu would be more than willing to have a match with you..."
"And after?" Fuyan's voice became somewhat ethereal. An extremely faint sound whispered, making it hard to hear clearly, as if the Heliobi were discussing something.
After a moment, Fuyan spoke again: "After... is not impossible."
"We will help you find Phantylia's hiding place, but you must also remember to help us find the Luofu's General—we'll be mutually beneficial, and neither will owe the other anything. How about it?"
Ron nodded. "Rest assured. I, Ron, am a man of my word."
As he spoke, he casually pushed open the extremely heavy lid on the furnace before him.
"Get out here and get to work... Don't damage this Furnace of Creation. It's an old artifact from the Artisanship Commission. If you guys misbehave again in the future, you might have a chance to live here for another few tens of thousands of years. Don't be too rough with it..."
Ron reminded them with good intentions, but what answered him was not the thanks of the Heliobi, but an extremely crazed laughter—
One wisp after another of turquoise flame rushed out of the furnace, then tacitly merged into one, one wisp after another fusing into a small figure...
That turquoise, will-o'-the-wisp with slightly sanity-draining large eyes swelled with the wind, growing larger and larger, until it blotted out the sky, becoming as large as a mountain, a truly terrifying behemoth—
It laughed maniacally, its gaze falling upon Ron, mocking his greed-clouded heart:
"You actually dared to let us out? Are you so cornered by Phantylia that you'll grasp at any straw you see?"
"I really have to thank you..." he said with sincere gratitude. "If it weren't for you, it wouldn't have been so easy to convince the other fragments of my spirit to agree to merge with me..."
"Thank you for opening the iron gate of this broken furnace and letting me out..."
Its single giant eye squinted slightly, revealing a sense of ecstasy.
"I'm... finally free!"
"I will continue the war from a thousand years ago with the General of the Luofu! I will completely defeat the General of the Luofu, make him admit defeat with his own mouth, and thoroughly trample him under my foot!"
"I..."
But before he could finish, he was impatiently cut off by Ron:
"Alright, alright, fine, fine, yes, yes, yes... I know you want to fight the General of the Luofu."
"But that's all for later—you still have work to do. Don't waste time. Go find Phantylia for me."
"Phantylia?"
The voice came to an abrupt halt.
A somewhat puzzled voice came from the mountain-sized eye. It looked at Ron, its gaze filled with confusion, as if looking at an idiot.
"Why would you think I'd actually help you? Phantylia is a great Heliobus who can stand shoulder to shoulder with our ancestor 'Suihuang'! She is our beloved friend, our sworn brother, our most holy and sagely teacher!"
"You think you can get us to help you with just a few words? Idiot, I just wanted to trick you into letting me out!"
"Now that I'm out, I can go wherever I want, fight whichever general I want!" Fuyan said, casually dismissing Ron, and was about to fly away.
"A boring pawn... For the sake of you helping me open the furnace, I'll let you off the hook for now..."
"Next, I'm going to find the General of the Luofu. Don't bother me with your trivialities..."
Listening to Fuyan's arrogant words, Ron felt rather helpless for a moment.
He helplessly turned his head to look at Herta beside him, met her gaze, and shrugged.
"Looks like a beating is in order after all... But that's fine. I wouldn't feel safe using them without having beaten them up first."
Herta nodded silently, took a small step back, and handed the stage over to Ron.
And Ron turned to look at the about-to-turn Fuyan, who was preparing to fly away. He raised the lantern in his hand—
The originally somewhat dim flame in the lantern suddenly erupted into a fierce blaze. A brilliant golden flame shot up within the lamp, and at the same time, it burned in the depths of Ron's eyes, turning his pupils completely golden...
He looked indifferently at the mountain-sized Fuyan in the sky and lightly snapped his fingers—
In the next instant, Fuyan, as a Heliobus, the very concept of "burning," was stained with a trace of resplendent gold and began to burn...
Watching the Heliobi, whose very essence of existence was now being burned, fall to the ground in agony and instantly disperse into countless sparks of fire, Ron spoke indifferently, his voice filled with tranquility:
"Sometimes, a good beating is indeed necessary to feel at ease... I think you'll be obedient, right?"