The small wooden bow was drawn into a full moon in an instant. Releasing his grip, the avatar Amini watched the golden arrow turn into a streak of light, shoot clean through the true body's heart, and immediately bank sharply in midair, sweeping toward the voluptuous, mature Cynthia.
The hot-bodied goddess's face drained of color, and she cried out:
"Eriga, get me out of here!!"
She knew full well the properties of Cupid's golden arrow: once loosed, it could not be dodged, blocked, or intercepted. The only way to escape it was to rely on sheer speed superior to the arrow itself.
Of course, that was merely a stopgap to buy time, for once fired, the arrow would never stop until it struck its target.
Her only hope was that in the fleeting moments bought, Saiketia could seduce Amini, wrest Cupid's divine artifact from his grasp, and use the lead arrow to dispel the golden arrow's effect.
Flapping both arms, the bird-man Eriga, covered in golden feathers, hooked Cynthia with his razor-sharp talons. With a sharp whoosh, he turned into a dark silhouette and rocketed into the sky.
Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly covered Herasine's ears, threw back his head, and let out a shrill screech.
*Hummm—*
Everyone present stiffened as though struck by heavy hammers. Blood spurted from their nostrils and seeped from their tear ducts and eardrums.
More than half of the "demigods" collapsed with dull thuds, their souls disintegrating on the spot as they met unnatural deaths.
Eriga swayed, briefly losing consciousness, and failed to build up acceleration. Cynthia could only watch in terror as the golden arrow struck her square in the chest.
*Thump-thump, thump-thump...*
Her heart pounded violently, hormones surging wildly through her veins. The gaze she directed at Amini brimmed with pure adoration.
She was certain he was the love of her life—the kind that would never waver until the day she died.
Desperate to throw herself onto her beloved, she snapped her right fist into an uppercut, slamming it into Eriga's lower abdomen.
*Bang!*
Taking a solid blow to the gut, Eriga's talons went slack, and he tumbled backward through the air.
Cynthia landed heavily, her beautiful eyes sparkling with crystalline light as she sprinted toward Amini.
The avatar Amini caught the returning arrow once more. This time, he drew the bow and aimed directly at Saiketia.
The breathtaking goddess with flowing platinum hair offered one final bit of resistance. Her gorgeous eyes welled with glistening tears, and her expression turned utterly pitiable as she pleaded:
"No... please..."
The avatar Amini cursed, "Fuck, what a vixen. Even I can barely hold out. True body, teach her a proper lesson later!"
Cursing under his breath, he let the arrow fly.
Although the avatar could not replicate the rule-based property of Nothingness from the Heart of the Illusion God, its remaining abilities were a one-to-one replica, so temporarily resisting the allure of carnal desire was no difficult feat.
The golden arrow pierced Saiketia through the heart in the next breath.
She let out a soft moan, her eyes turning languid and sultry, a rosy flush blooming across her fair face as she gazed at Amini with boundless tenderness.
"Oh, Amini, my love!" She sprinted forward and threw herself into her sweetheart's embrace. "Nothing in this world will ever tear us apart again. Even if Paphos Island sinks, my love for you will never waver."
"Oh, Amini, my love!" Cynthia dashed over as well, crashing forcefully into his chest. "My love for you is greater than Saiketia's, not less!"
"Oh, Amini, my love!" Menia came running. Looking left and right, seeing no room left, she fumed, "My Amini! Saiketia isn't loyal in love, and Cynthia is coarse and violent. Only I am the most loyal and the gentlest!"
"Oh, my dear Menia, don't fret. While I don't have extra arms, I have an avatar," Zhang Yuanqing said with deep affection, his voice dripping with tenderness. "Please, throw yourself into my avatar's embrace."
The avatar felt an immediate wave of relief; the operational plan had achieved its initial success.
Through repeated stargazing deductions and analysis, the true body had devised a breakthrough scheme: kill Cupid, seize the bow and arrows suspected to be rule-based items, and then use the golden arrow to make the three goddesses fall hopelessly in love with him.
This way, first, they secured the sacrificial offering needed for the sacred relic—Cupid. Second, having the goddesses fall in love with him averted a decisive clash against the Paphos Island faction.
Finally, they could unite the forces of Paphos Island to wage a life-or-death battle against the High Priest of the God of Light and conquer the dungeon once and for all.
So far, the first phase of the plan had been executed without a hitch.
The avatar cast a look of utter disgust at the four entangled in their passionate romance. "Now's hardly the time to be sappy. Holy shit, is this item that potent? Even you couldn't resist it? If we take it out of the dungeon, won't anyone we shoot fall in love with us? We could gather every beauty in the world into our harem. Besides, our little lover is on the verge of tears."
Herasine stood to the side, weeping softly, her gaze a mixture of bewilderment and alienation.
On one hand, her lover was supposed to be the righteous, passionate Amini, not a deity who slaughtered Cupid like a sheep. On the other, whether he felt like a stranger or not, her sweetheart had just been stolen by three goddesses.
"Oh, my dear Herasine, you can throw yourself into his arms as well. He is me, and I am him," Zhang Yuanqing said tenderly.
Untouched by the golden arrow, the avatar could not bear to watch. "Stay away. Right now, I'm the clear-headed Yuanshi Tianzun, and he's the love-struck Yuanshi Tianzun. But whether clear-headed or love-struck, we still need to figure out what to do with that bird-man."
High in the night sky, Eriga hovered with his wings outstretched, looking down with equal parts dread and fury.
He wanted nothing more than to tear apart the Amini who had slain Cupid and enthralled his sisters, yet he feared their formidable strength and dared not strike first.
With his left arm around Cynthia, his right around Saiketia, and pausing to exchange a kiss with Menia beside him, Zhang Yuanqing squeezed out a moment to speak:
"Oh, dear avatar, I'm doing my best to suppress my carnal desires. Give me a few minutes! Handle Eriga for me—you know what to do!"
The avatar sighed, not bothering to look at the true body's stud-like state. Riding the wind, he soared upward to confront Eriga from a distance.
Eriga's eyes narrowed, summoning a dense storm of wind blades that fanned out to encircle and lock onto Amini's avatar.
"No need to be nervous. We aren't enemies," the avatar said with a smile.
Eriga had a human head and build, but his feet were sharp eagle talons, his body covered in a coat of golden feathers. His arms were wings, and along their leading edges grew a pair of human hands—as if a pair of wings had sprouted directly along human arms.
Eriga cast a glance down at Cupid's pulped skull and roared in fury:
"You killed Cupid!!"
The avatar replied calmly, "My killing Cupid was a private grudge. It has nothing to do with the rest of you, nor with Paphos Island."
Eriga sneered coldly.
The avatar continued, "Cupid used a golden arrow to make Herasine and me fall in love, violating a taboo. Then, when Paphos Island faced the threat of the God of Light, he abused his authority to settle a personal score, repeatedly tormenting me with impossible tasks. Dying an unnatural death today was entirely his own doing. Though you weren't on the island, you can ask Menia. She is the goddess of justice; she does not lie."
Eriga could not help but glance at Cupid's corpse.
Truth be told, no verification was needed; he believed Amini's words. That was indeed the kind of thing Cupid would do.
The avatar added, "Now that Cupid is dead, I hold no grudge against the rest of you. After all, I am Mother's child, raised on Paphos Island from childhood. If you can let bygones be bygones, why shouldn't we join forces against the High Priest of the God of Light?"
Seeing Eriga remain silent, the avatar's lips curled into a smile. "Could it be that you want to avenge Cupid? That makes little sense. Cupid, Saiketia, and Menia share both mother and father, but your father shouldn't be the God of War, should he?"
Eriga's cheek twitched.
The avatar pressed on:
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't waste all this breath talking. Granted, with your speed, killing you would be somewhat difficult, but driving you off Paphos Island would be simple enough. Don't forget, your sisters are already my lovers.
"Negotiating with you here is my greatest show of sincerity. The choice is yours: stay to defend Paphos Island together, or leave right now. Don't forget, Mother is still out there. She will surely return with reinforcements."
Eriga's expression shifted slightly. After pondering for several seconds, he said, "Under Menia's witness, you must swear an oath not to attack or plot against me."
The avatar chuckled. "No problem. But you shouldn't seal the covenant with me—you should seal it with the true body."
He quietly withdrew his emotional control over Eriga, no longer nudging him toward compromise and submission, for the objective had already been attained.
Looking down at the true body, the avatar called out, "Are you fucking ready yet?"
Zhang Yuanqing flashed an OK sign.
The avatar descended at once, tossing the small wooden bow and the two arrows to the true body. "This stuff is pretty good. Take a look at the attributes."
The avatar and the true body shared a single soul. Under normal circumstances, the true body could synchronize perceptions with the avatar, but the golden arrow's effect had prevented their minds from aligning—the true body had been plunged into a love-struck daze.
As such, Zhang Yuanqing had not yet learned the items' details.
Taking the small wooden bow, the golden arrow, and the lead arrow, he watched the item descriptions surface after a few seconds:
[Name: Bow of the Little God of Love]
[Type: Weapon]
[Function: Carnal Desire]
[Description: A bow crafted by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty, for her eldest son, Cupid.]
[Remark 1: Cupid's resentment over his inability to grow up and his vicious temperament were poured into this bow and arrows.]
[Remark 2: It is a component of the Bow of the Little God of Love set. The remaining two pieces are: Arrow of Desire and Arrow of Rejection.]
[Remark 3: Cannot be brought out of the Spirit Realm.]
...
[Name: Arrow of Desire]
[Type: Weapon]
[Function: Desire]
[Description: An arrow of desire crafted by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty, for her eldest son, Cupid. Once loosed, the arrow cannot be defended against or blocked, and will never stop until it strikes its target. Both parties struck by the arrow will gain eternal love and intense desire.]
[Remark 1: It is a component of the Bow of the Little God of Love set. The remaining two pieces are: Bow of the Little God of Love and Arrow of Rejection.]
[Remark 2: Cannot be brought out of the Spirit Realm.]
...
[Name: Arrow of Rejection]
[Type: Weapon]
[Function: Rejection]
[Description: An arrow crafted by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty, for her eldest son, Cupid. Once loosed, the arrow cannot be defended against or blocked, and will never stop until it strikes its target. Any target struck by the arrow will forever lose the ability to love anyone.]
[Remark 1: It is a component of the Bow of the Little God of Love set. The remaining two pieces are: Bow of the Little God of Love and Arrow of Desire.]
[Remark 2: Cannot be brought out of the Spirit Realm.]
...Looking at the item information, even with his nickname as the Item Tianzun, only two words lingered in Zhang Yuanqing's mind: *Holy shit!!*
A set plus rule-based!
This was the first time he had ever seen an item that was both a set and rule-based—truly worthy of a divine artifact personally crafted by a demigod.
The Bow of the Little God of Love had simple functions: the golden arrow symbolized desire, and the lead arrow symbolized rejection. But once elevated to the level of absolute rules, the implications changed entirely.
He could make any sentient creature in the world fall in love with him. Just imagine: when your enemies and nemeses all fell hopelessly in love with you...
You would be invincible, standing on unshakeable ground, free to manipulate and take vengeance upon them through the power of love to your heart's content.
The Arrow of Rejection operated on the same logic—the ultimate bane of couples flaunting their affection.
Moreover, the item's cost was merely that one's personality would gradually twist, turning vicious, vindictive, and petty.
Naturally, there was also a hidden downside: the golden arrow symbolized desire, encompassing both eternal love and overwhelming lust.
Using it to manipulate women was fine, but if used on a man, they would have to cross swords to settle who was on top—and if he lost, the worst outcome would be a battered backside and weeping until his tears ran dry.
And if what he enthralled happened to be a non-human creature... It certainly demanded prudent use.
*Too bad it can't be taken out of the dungeon. I wonder if it can become a settlement reward. After all, this is an S-rank dungeon...* Stowing away the Bow of the Little God of Love, Zhang Yuanqing then swore an oath of mutual non-aggression with Eriga under Menia's witness, bringing this high-stage Dominator firmly into his camp.
Finally, looking at the goddesses who wished for nothing more than to know him intimately down to the bone, he said in a solemn voice:
"Oh, dear goddesses, love is eternal and vast. Compared to love, the safety of Paphos Island is far more pressing. Please take me to the basement to awaken the sacred relic.
"Though before that, you must tell me: what exactly is the sacred relic in the basement?"
Chapter 945