It was night.
Jiang Lu, as promised, came again to the palace at the top of the black tower.
The God of Redemption, Yixina, had clearly been waiting for some time.
By this time, she had changed into a brand-new gown, reclined on the throne, exuding a languid yet enchanting temperament.
However, her complexion was somewhat pale, looking as if she was devoid of strength. Upon seeing Jiang Lu, a trace of light finally sparkled in her eyes.
"After a great deal of effort, I have finally created a disguise that can fool Heaven. Starting today, the Tower of Redemption is back under my control!"
She declared her victory to Jiang Lu, though this so-called victory was merely the retrieval of something that belonged to her.
With the mission on his mind, Jiang Lu chose his words slowly, "Congratulations, by the way, I have..."
Perhaps his voice was too soft, or perhaps Yixina was too overjoyed to hear clearly. She interrupted eagerly, "You've come at the perfect time. I've expended too much energy. Can you help me replenish my strength?"
This made Jiang Lu, who hadn't finished speaking, somewhat puzzled, "Me? Can I even assist in replenishing strength?"
"Yes." Yixina nodded, eyeing Jiang Lu up and down as if appraising a rare treasure, while her cheeks slowly flushed an alluring crimson, "This afternoon, when we... formed a pact, I distinctly felt the speed at which I was absorbing the power of the Tower of Redemption increasing. So, if possible... could you..."
"?" Jiang Lu raised his eyebrows.
Cultivating energy through dual cultivation of some evil practice?
But upon closer thought, his subordinates from before his reincarnation seemed quite keen after trying with him, initially thinking it was simply ambition, was there really some untapped effect that he had overlooked?
"But I'm already very tired."
After a pause, seeing Yixina's barely hidden disappointment, Jiang Lu, somewhat reluctantly, cleared his throat, "However, if it's you, I might be able to endure a bit longer, but you'll need to satisfy a small request of mine."
Although her interaction with Jiang Lu was brief, Yixina had already figured out some of his quirks.
Thinking he was playing hard to get, she asked softly in a weakened voice, "What do you want me to call you this time?"
"Call..." Jiang Lu began to respond reflexively and then suddenly realized something was off.
"No, that's not what I meant!"
"Ah?" Yixina sat up straight from the throne, hands propped in front, legs bent and parted on either side of her body, kneeling up, and tilting her head, blinking, "You mean seeing as I can now move freely, you want me to take the initiative?"
"Is there nothing else in your head..."
Jiang Lu couldn't imagine that one day he would utter such words.
"Because I really am quite exhausted and I want to relax." After being helped by Jiang Lu to break free from the divine curse's shackles, Yixina was like a switch had been flipped, and her goddess-like dignity at such times was long discarded.
Jiang Lu felt that if he delayed further, he would forget the task at hand, so he cut to the chase, "Forget it, I'll just say it. I want to take a few prisoners away from here."
Upon hearing this, Yixina was taken aback, "Take away? Where are you going?"
"I..." Jiang Lu looked up to the sky, "I need to prepare to overthrow God and might have to leave for a while."
"Are you mad?" Yixina finally regained her composure and spoke seriously, "It's impossible. No matter what grudges you have against Him, you cannot be His opponent."
Jiang Lu shook his head, "I have no grudges against Him."
"Then why..."
"Because I cannot stand that He has sealed you, my love, for so many years!" Jiang Lu slowly exhaled, his face showing a fierce expression, "Even if it is God, He... has also found the path to his demise!"
"Mmm..."
While Jiang Lu spoke, Yixina felt her heart race, and the moment the words fell, she gasped at Jiang Lu's domineering statement, crossing her legs.
"So, if you're trying to keep me here, there's no need; my mind is made up. I will definitely seek justice for you."
Jiang Lu waved his hand grandly. "For that, I need to leave for a while to further my training.
Because I am still too weak. I might be able to help you somewhat now, but ultimately, I am not yet worthy of you.
I will strive to become stronger, strong enough that one day I can help you seek justice, can stand with you openly and proudly, without concern for the opinions of others."
"Hmm..."
Yixina, with her mind in complete disarray, didn't realize that her messenger still perfectly preserved this conversation in memory, with a duplication rate of one hundred percent.
All she knew was that if she didn't hurry, she was going to be in trouble.
"It just so happens that I also need time to fully renovate the Tower of Redemption. Since you're about to leave, let's not waste time on these unimportant matters. As for the prisoners or whatever, you can just talk to my messenger; she'll arrange it all properly for you."
"Just... keep watching me for now..."
...
Dawn.
The curfew had just been lifted, and the three Ghostface Foxes had already gathered in the hall.
"Jiang Lu hasn't come back yet..."
The expression on Ghostface Fox's face grew serious. "He's probably run into trouble."
Although he had given Jiang Lu a revival coin, which could be said to provide temporary respite from worry, the group was not optimistic that Jiang Lu could rescue the Exorcist trapped in the black tower through the God of Redemption.
After all, the black tower was the domain of the God of Redemption, and it was unlikely to break the rules in her territory.
The safest method would actually be to attempt redemption one by one every day.
Jiang Lu had a successful precedent, so it seemed it should not be difficult.
However, the problem was that they could not identify the Exorcist by number alone, and once they entered the prison to confirm, they would waste an opportunity.
After all, the timelines between the two worlds differed quite a bit, so there was the possibility that overseers from another world were present, which means it wasn't as simple as just searching from back to front.
So theoretically, if they were lucky, they could rescue everyone in as little as sixteen days, but if they weren't, it was hard to say.
Heavy Cannon, though not talkative and seemingly expressionless, was actually very anxious. "Now we can only pray for him."
Only Heavy Cannon, who had already lost the defiant air they had upon first meeting, spoke somewhat dejectedly, "He's already done so well; even if he fails, we can't complain. On reflection, it was he who pushed all the critical nodes within the Spirit Realm. I'm adept in combat-focused Spirit Realms but not puzzle-solving, so I'm no help at all, sigh..."
Seeing him so self-critical, Ghostface Fox comforted, "It's not necessarily a failure, and don't talk like that. We are teammates, and in a strange Spirit Realm, teammates are supposed to support each other in their respective roles."
"I just feel like I'm freeloading..." Heavy Cannon said sentimentally, for some reason.
As Ghostface Fox was about to continue consoling him, Jiang Lu's voice suddenly came from the direction of the door.
"All awake? Then let's go!"
The three turned sharply and saw Jiang Lu leaning against the wall, looking tired but still energetic.
The messenger who never looked them in the eye was standing behind him, her head slightly lowered, completely deferential to Jiang Lu.
What happened? What did we miss?
"Go where?" Ghostface Fox asked blankly.
"What kind of question is that!" Jiang Lu, hands on his hips and quite pleased with himself, said: "We're obviously going to rescue people!"