Shar's phantom reached out a finger, pressed it against the center of Anbaixiu's brow, and chanted an incantation.
The dark knowledge festering within Anbaixiu's soul transformed into countless venomous insects, frantically devouring his soul from within.
In mere moments, Anbaixiu's soul was torn to shreds.
Shar fared no better. The body she had formed from dark mist was ruthlessly ripped apart by an invisible force, wrenching a bloodcurdling scream from the goddess.
It seemed a mutual destruction—Shar had accepted Ao's retribution in exchange for Anbaixiu's total annihilation. Yet before Shar's phantom had even finished dissipating, Anbaixiu's shattered soul began to mend once more.
Though mangled beyond recognition, his soul was protected by a peculiar power, piecing itself back together bit by bit until it was fully restored.
Anbaixiu let out a long sigh of relief. Looking at the faint trace of Shar's fading silhouette, he said, "I really didn't expect you to lack the patience to hold back. Now that you're the one who breached the contract first, the knowledge of the Weave belongs entirely to me."
When the two of them had struck their pact, Anbaixiu had been forbidden to pass on the knowledge of the Weave to anyone, even in writing. Shar, in turn, was forbidden from using that knowledge to harm Anbaixiu directly. Since accepting the knowledge required infusing it directly into his soul, the condition had served as his insurance.
And now, Shar had broken that rule.
It was hard to say how severe her punishment would be. Anbaixiu was not Ao; he had no idea what went through the Overgod's mind. But he surmised it would hardly be light. Otherwise, Shar wouldn't have hidden in dark corners for so many years without Ao ever sparing a thought for whether she lived or died.
As for Anbaixiu himself... he had known all along that he would be fine. Having his soul shattered was an experience he had already tasted before.
It had happened when he plotted against Lolth's chosen, orchestrating the demise of the chosen she had spent so much effort creating and costing her a substantial amount of divine power.
In that moment, Lolth the Spider Queen had lost her composure and struck out at Anbaixiu.
The might of a deity was irresistible. From head to toe, Anbaixiu's body and soul had been pulverized together.
Yet before setting out, the Poet from the Elegy Poetry Society had bestowed upon him three wards similar in effect to Death Ward. Only after that battle had concluded did Anbaixiu discover that the enchantment lingered indefinitely—even now, the blessing remained active.
Moreover, the enchantment was remarkably high-grade, an exceptional effect that could not be dispelled by any means. It was potent enough to resurrect Anbaixiu in full even after he was ground to dust by divine power.
Lolth the Spider Queen had burned one use, and Shar had just expended the second.
Thus, Anbaixiu had revived without a hitch.
Looking at the phantom of Shar, now faded to the verge of invisibility, Anbaixiu waved his hand. "Farewell. Go back to your divine realm with your regrets, nurse your wounds, and next time we can continue doing business."
The faint silhouette opened her mouth as if to hiss some venomous curse, but Anbaixiu could no longer hear her.
A wave of relief washed over his mind, followed immediately by an endless flood of knowledge pouring in.
Every scrap of lore concerning the Shadow Weave and all the results of Shar's centuries of experimentation were gifted to Anbaixiu in their entirety, free of lingering complications.
Shar could never again use this knowledge to track Anbaixiu's location, nor could she employ it to exert any influence over him.
Without question, this was Ao's doing. Shar would never have honored an agreement so easily on her own, but she had sworn her oath before Ao.
This time, Ao seemed particularly generous toward Anbaixiu. Not only had he punished his "rebellious daughter" for breaking the rules, but he had also handed over all the spoils of the wager to Anbaixiu.
"Praise be to Ao. Your devout child heeds your teachings. Your grace is like the heavens and the earth, ever-present..."
Anbaixiu hastily recited prayers of praise to Ao several times—words he had pieced together from scraps of lore hidden in ancient tomes.
Unfortunately, he received no response whatsoever.
As expected, Ao never cared what mortals thought. His sole concern was whether the gods obeyed the rules he established.
With a twinge of regret, Anbaixiu unsealed the barrier, only to find the Rose of Decay looking at him with deep concern.
Anbaixiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, everything is fine. The hidden danger is resolved. The only pity is that I didn't manage to find the mastermind behind the scenes."
The Rose of Decay finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Did you reach an agreement with Shar?"
While Anbaixiu had been inside the barrier, she had possessed no way of knowing what transpired. That, too, was Anbaixiu's habit. One could never push things to absolute extremes; threatening a deity was best done in private, where the god had room to back down gracefully. Attempting such intimidation under public scrutiny would only force them to blow up in retaliation just to save face.
He simply hadn't anticipated that Shar would suddenly turn so reckless, completely defying her usual habit of weaving subtle conspiracies.
Still, the outcome was acceptable. A grudge had already existed between them anyway. Now he had not only purged the trouble from his soul, but he had also gained the entirety of the Shadow Weave's lore. Anbaixiu gave a brief explanation, leaving the Rose of Decay's mouth hanging open in astonishment.
"You... you got another goddess punished by Ao? And you're still walking around completely unharmed?!" The Rose of Decay was at a loss for words.
"What does it matter if she's a goddess? If Shar were truly capable, she wouldn't have been beaten so badly by Selûne that she had to go into hiding. What was in the past belongs to the past; right now, Shar will likely need centuries just to nurse her wounds. We won't have to worry about her causing trouble anytime soon."
The only pity was that he hadn't managed to knock out one of Shar's divine portfolios.
It seemed Shar hadn't been exaggerating. As a primordial goddess born at the dawn of the world, she had added color to creation and fought in its primordial wars—she was a goddess who had shed blood and earned great merit. Her misfortune had stemmed purely from fighting her own sister, which made it awkward for Ao, their father, to show blatant favoritism.
Now, however, Shar had merely tangled with a mortal. Ao's punishment was bound to be comparatively mild, far from stripping away her divine portfolios.
Not that he was accusing Ao of being unfair—Anbaixiu wouldn't dare. Having Shar punished according to the contract was more than enough; she wouldn't dare show her face again for centuries.
Better yet, Anbaixiu now held all the secrets of Shar's Shadow Weave. If he presented this to the Goddess of Magic, the credit would be immense.
Back when Anbaixiu was an apprentice wizard, he had fantasized more than once about meeting that goddess in his dreams, and then... but every time, it had ended up being just a dream. Trading this knowledge for a one-night stand with the Goddess of Magic wouldn't be asking for too much, would it? If that was out of the question, securing a position as her chosen would at least fulfill his youthful ambition.
Anbaixiu felt so elated he wanted to hum a tune, leaving the Rose of Decay marveling at his sheer audacity.
It wasn't as though she had never seen faithless mortals before. But in most cases, people abandoned their faith simply because they never received answers from the gods; the vast majority still held deities in awe.
Only Anbaixiu possessed a complete lack of fear toward any god, daring even to plot against them. By all rights, he was the only true faithless.
The Rose of Decay increasingly found Anbaixiu to be unique. There were countless gods in this world, yet Anbaixiu seemed more extraordinary than any of them.
Feeling a stir of excitement, she asked, "What do we do now? Since the hidden danger is gone, do we leave this place directly?"
Anbaixiu gazed toward the boundless sea. After a moment's contemplation, he said, "No. We've already set up our formation, and I still don't know who the real mastermind is. We could run now, but what about next time?"
He was done playing cat-and-mouse with the scheming gods behind the curtain. It was severely cutting into his profit-making efficiency.
Lolth and Shar—two goddesses had already been fleeced by him to the point of spitting blood. Right now, he just wanted to shout at the top of his lungs: "Who's next?!"
Damn it all. They dared to run their mouths in the mortal realm, thinking mortals were easy pickings?
Anbaixiu wanted those pulling the strings to realize that he was no longer the timid, second-rate legend of the past. Even in a direct, head-on confrontation, he feared no one.
It was time to show those gods exactly who they were dealing with!
To prepare, Anbaixiu needed to thoroughly remodel this small island.
He had no idea how many enemies he had accumulated, but fate would ensure that every single one of them received his summons. Regardless of how many chose to come, this battle would be no simple affair.
Therefore, Anbaixiu needed an impregnable base, transforming this island into his personal mage tower in the shortest time possible.
In the past, that might have been impossible. But now, Anbaixiu possessed a private space where time could be manipulated. All the magical apparatus could be manufactured inside at an accelerated rate, then carried out and assembled.
Beyond that, Anbaixiu commanded the complete knowledge of the Shadow Weave. These secrets deepened his understanding of magic considerably. Given time to study them thoroughly, they would suffice to push him even further—and right now, that knowledge could be used to construct a miniature Weave tailored specifically to this island.
After spending a single day inside his private space, Anbaixiu emerged carrying a massive trove of magical artifacts: fragments of a magic circle forged from countless precious metals. Handing the pieces to the Rose of Decay for assembly, Anbaixiu summoned the Golden Throne and drifted into midair.
Tens of thousands of Dice of Fate swirled around him, then shot outward like a dazzling meteor shower.
In an instant, these incorporeal Dice of Fate traversed dozens, then hundreds of kilometers, cascading into every corner of the sea.
Anbaixiu did not use his divination powers to alter anything. He merely wove a thread of an inconsequential future, ensuring that all his enemies would learn one truth: Anbaixiu would remain on this island for one month.
Anbaixiu proclaimed to the entire world: "I will wait here for one month. Whoever wants me dead, come and get me."
Whether they were demonic monsters dispatched by deities or individuals who had held grudges against Anbaixiu throughout his centuries of existence, every single one who still drew breath would receive this notice through one means or another.
Over the course of this single month, Anbaixiu would show the world what it meant to be a legendary divination wizard, and what the Elegy Poetry Society truly represented.
He would ensure that after this battle, the entire world would hear his name with reverence and dread, daring only to conduct honest business with him, without a single stray dog of a deity daring to step forward and threaten him ever again.
Chapter 382