Paluriel was the proudest person Anbaixiu had ever met. Even someone as haughty as Talos, the Lord of Storms, would never be arrogant enough to believe he was omniscient and omnipotent.
Yet Paluriel truly believed that of herself. In her eyes, there were only two kinds of things in this world: those she didn't want to do, and those she couldn't be bothered to do. There was simply nothing she could not accomplish.
When she was still alive, Paluriel had been an all-around genius.
No field could stump her—magic, martial arts, alchemy, literature, music, painting... She mastered every skill effortlessly, surpassing the vast majority of people with barely any time invested.
Once, Paluriel picked up a lute to take lessons from a bard. Half a month later, she had transformed a rundown tavern into the most famous establishment in the kingdom; her singing voice and melodies were so unique that people hailed her as an epoch-making artist.
Paluriel had also entered a magic academy to study. In just eighteen years, she reached the realm of a legendary mage. The spells she modified and invented could fill an entire bookshelf. *Legendary Spells* specially appointed Paluriel as a lifetime honorary advisor and invited her to join its review panel.
Ascending to godhood had never been difficult for her; duping believers to amass faith posed no challenge at all. It was only when she discovered that becoming a deity meant either serving as a subordinate deity to another god or earning the gaze of Ao that she abandoned the pursuit.
Paluriel only did what pleased her, chasing all manner of the unknown. Once the path to godhood had become known to her, the fun was gone.
Perhaps it was precisely because she was too intelligent that this woman's mind became twisted.
Paluriel never considered herself a mere mortal, nor did she bind herself to any moral shackles. She acted purely on whim—a textbook case of the chaotic alignment.
She could have lived on freely, indulging every desire, until she met Anbaixiu.
Paluriel was shocked to discover that in this world, there was a kind of knowledge that another mortal could master while she could not. That was completely unacceptable.
The only defeat Paluriel had ever suffered in her life came from Anbaixiu, from that ungraspable "power of fate." A magical ritual that should never have failed, a *Wish* spell capable of fulfilling any desire... yet Paluriel failed. Even though she had cast it successfully several times before, and no matter how meticulously she prepared this time, it ended in failure.
Every life-saving measure Paluriel had prepared bizarrely failed for one reason or another. The magical backlash directly destroyed her physical body, casting her soul down into Hell.
Meanwhile, Anbaixiu, who was supposed to have perished alongside her, was standing in a peculiar corner. When the violent magic detonated, the blast inexplicably missed his position entirely; the falling boulders and flying shards failed to harm him in the slightest.
Everything was so coincidental, as though arranged by design.
Paluriel had witnessed once more what "fate" truly meant. That was why, even now, she pathologically mimicked the habits of divination wizards, flipping coins to decide her actions and then using her own abilities to fulfill the "prophecy."
Even to this day, Paluriel yearned to master that power, to grasp that unknown.
Anbaixiu understood Paluriel's personality thoroughly. That was why he hadn't merely dangled the monumental feat of ending the Blood War before her—he had also baited her with the power of fate she had obsessed over for centuries.
Paluriel made no attempt to conceal that she was tempted. She was perpetually intrigued by such thrilling unknowns.
Yet she wouldn't be swayed by just a few casual words from Anbaixiu. She could sense his current feelings—"unease," "excitement," and "fear"... These complex emotions blended together, indicating that Anbaixiu himself lacked confidence.
Yet that only made it all the more intriguing.
Paluriel said to Anbaixiu, "You cunning bastard, you always know how to seduce others. Just like with that drow elf back then."
Anbaixiu said angrily, "That was your doing, not mine!"
Back then, Paluriel had coerced Anbaixiu into teaching her the power of fate, resorting to kidnapping and torture. Anbaixiu escaped several times only to be hunted down again. Later, Paluriel believed she had gained an epiphany and went into seclusion to conduct her research.
Anbaixiu had thought he was finally rid of that pervert. Yet a century or two later, Paluriel, brimming with confidence, reappeared before him to test her so-called "power of prophecy."
To make things even more depraved, Paluriel had decreed that if the coin landed heads, she would make a man sleep with Anbaixiu; if tails, it would be a woman. Knowing Paluriel was capable of anything, Anbaixiu had had no choice but to manipulate the power of fate to ensure it landed tails.
After all, Paluriel was a beauty. Gritting his teeth and making a small sacrifice wouldn't have been the end of the world.
Yet just when Anbaixiu assumed Paluriel would use herself to fulfill the so-called prophecy, she lured a drow elf and delivered her straight into Anbaixiu's bed.
And as it turned out, that drow elf was a chosen of Lolth the Spider Queen. After a fierce night of struggle, she sought to kill Anbaixiu as a sacrifice to Lolth the Spider Queen.
The outcome was that Anbaixiu fought desperately and, with Paluriel's "assistance," managed to kill the chosen of Lolth. But that earned him the enmity of Lolth the Spider Queen, embroiling him in an endless web of grudges thereafter.
After that ordeal, Anbaixiu knew he could not leave this lunatic alone any longer. Who knew whether the next person tied up and thrown into someone's bed would be him? What if she delivered him to an ogre next time?
Over the ensuing two centuries, Anbaixiu had ceased to be the defenseless weakling he once was. Ultimately, relying on "luck," Anbaixiu managed to do Paluriel in, finally escaping that psycho's clutches.
Paluriel, however, remained utterly indifferent to her past misdeeds. She simply said to Anbaixiu, "Ending the Blood War is indeed fascinating, but you didn't drag me into this without knowing anything, did you? Besides, your so-called reward is entirely intangible, devoid of any substance. Do you take me for a fool who's so easily deceived?"
"Of course it's not like I know nothing. I already have a rough plan..."
Anbaixiu shared the preliminary thoughts he had mulled over with Paluriel, making the pervert's eyes light up.
"Banishing the Blood War battlefield, severing the tributary of the River Styx, and finding an alternate way to punish sinners... Not bad. Very creative, very interesting, and practically feasible to some extent. However, I still want the power of fate more. Can you give that to me right now?"
Paluriel had waited hundreds of years, and the only thing she had never attained was the power of fate. Nothing in existence was more important to her than that.
Anbaixiu shook his head. "I told you back then, it's not something that can be forced. However, I'm not making empty promises either. Take a look at this."
A thick notebook flew out from the magic mirror and landed in Paluriel's hands.
Paluriel glanced at the cover. It was still that familiar *Introduction to Divination Wizards*. She said dismissively, "I've already read this book millions of times."
Anbaixiu countered, "This one is different. Open it and look."
Paluriel flipped the pages open and said in surprise, "This is... notes? No, wait, this is..."
The original text of the book had not changed, but tucked inside were countless slips of paper covered in densely packed insights and reflections. These were Harvey's notes—his personal interpretations of the text after reading *Introduction to Divination Wizards*, along with numerous suggestions for revision.
After reading just a few pages, Paluriel cried out in fury, "Why didn't you give me these notes back then?! If I had seen this earlier, I might have already mastered the power of fate!"
These notes were far simpler and clearer than the original work. Not only that, they explained fate from an entirely different perspective, giving an old antique like Paluriel, who had studied the subject for hundreds of years, an epiphany: *So fate could be interpreted like this!*
The so-called *Introduction to Divination Wizards* had actually contained deliberate "anti-self-study" pitfalls! That damnable wretch in front of her had definitely held something back.
Anbaixiu replied helplessly, "That is the wisdom of the next generation. Every discipline makes continuous progress, and divination wizards are no exception. I will introduce you to the author of these notes so he can teach you the basics. In return, you must assist me with all your might to end this Blood War."
Anbaixiu sent a contract before Paluriel. It contained hundreds of densely packed clauses, but Paluriel signed her name without glancing at a single one.
To master the power of fate, she didn't care if she gave away everything—including her body and soul.
Chapter 564