Chapter 298: A Transaction and A Compromise

Since the Lord of the Golden Seal was a spirit entity, it was a bit less crafty compared to humans.

Since it’d spoken thus, it was a true representation of its thoughts.

Jiang Chen mused silently and nodded, “Your power has to awaken to the point of surpassing the level of this mountain if you wish to leave. However, you also know that your body was formed and nurtured from the mountain. As high as your level of awakening can get, it will never surpass that of the mountain itself. Thus, this is a paradox. Theoretically speaking, you can never leave the mountain, unless...”

“Unless what?” The being asked anxiously.

“Unless you receive outside aid or the master of the mountain is willing to forgo the mountain and allow it to be fully absorbed by you, allowing you to become the mountain or the mountain become you!”

“You mean for the mountain and I to fully become one?” The figure asked.

“That’s roughly it, but with the will of the original master controlling you, how will you possibly become one with the mountain?”

The Lord of the Golden Seal was greatly depressed when it heard this. “So this means I have no hope of escaping? I can’t attain the freedom that I want?”

“I don’t think that’s what I said?” Jiang Chen ruefully smiled.

Two beams of light shot out of the Lord of the Golden Seal’s eyes. “Then you mean... ?”

“My meaning was quite clear, you have two ways ahead of you. Firstly, the will of the original master no longer controls you and so you are able to assimilate the mountain, or secondly, you receive outside aid.”

“The will of the original master no longer controls me?” The golden figure murmured to itself. Joy suddenly appeared on its face. “Human, if you pass the test and I give the magnetic heart to you, you will become the master of the mountain. Then, the will of the original master will no longer control me, and so that means I have hope of becoming one with the mountain?”

“Theoretically, yes. However, if I refine the magnetic heart, then the mountain is my mountain and I most likely wouldn’t want you to absorb it.”

“Don’t want me to? Why?” A violent light shone from the golden figure’s face.

“You also know that I’m of the third level spirit realm and I am weak. This magnetic golden mountain is a treasure that will protect my life. So tell me, why should I give it up?”

The golden figure snorted coldly, “Aren’t you afraid that I will kill you with one wave?”

“You can’t kill me because the will of the original master controls you. Since you are satisfied with my response, you can only use thirty percent of your power in your blow. I have hope of surviving such a blow, and I will be able to refine the magnetic heart according to the rules set by the original master. I will be your new master after refining the heart. At that time, any one of my thoughts will be enough to control your life and death.”

The Lord of the Golden Seal was depressed. It’d discovered that after making all these logical loops, it’d ended up trapping itself in the end.

This was indeed the case according to the rules left behind in the will of the original master.

Since it was satisfied with the challenger’s answer, then it could only use thirty percent of its strength in the next blow.

If it disregarded this rule, then it would automatically disassemble, and it would have no idea when the next time it would wake up would be.

“Human! As long as you forgo the mountain and let me absorb it, I swear to protect you for a thousand years. I will be your servant for a thousand years, is that enough time for you to grow into your strength?”

The Lord of the Golden Seal thought of this compromise after a moment. In its eyes, this was already a great concession.

That faint smile still remained on Jiang Chen’s face as he shook his head. “I cannot give up the magnetic golden mountain. And, even if I agree, you’ll spend at least a thousand years absorbing the mountain. Therefore, even if you swear, you’ll be unable to protect me for this thousand years. I don’t have the interest to wait a thousand years for you either.”

“Human, don’t you push your luck! Aren’t you afraid that our talks will fall through? If I go against my master’s will and kill you, I’ll just disassemble and keep sleeping. I will awake again one day. However, if you die, you’ll be unable to revive!” The Lord of the Golden Seal threatened.

“There is sense in what you say, but I can also promise that even if you awaken ten thousand times in the future, you won’t meet someone like me. Only I can help you leave the mountain and attain the freedom you yearn for. Apart from me, those who’ve come before me and those who will come after me will be unable to do so. You can gamble on this if you don’t believe me!”

Jiang Chen had also grasped the golden figure’s psychological weak point at this time.

Indeed, the being froze when it heard these words.

A pair of bronze eyes stared at Jiang Chen. Its enormous body would be able to crush this human to death by just taking a few steps forward.

This was without any doubt at all.

However, the Lord of the Golden Seal couldn’t see any fluctuations in the magnetic mirrors. That meant that this human wasn’t lying.

If a person lied, the images in the mirrors would fluctuate greatly.

But the mirrors were calm without the slightest ripple. What did that mean?

This meant that this human’s words were true without the slightest lie. The mirrors couldn’t find any flaw and agreed with his words.

Kill this human?

The Lord of the Golden Seal had always been a violent one. It’d brutally killed the countless numbers of humans who’d come here since ancient times.

However, it wavered now.

Because, its dream of freedom had never been so close to fulfillment. It’d never seen any hope from anyone.

However, this young human gave it glimpse a ray of hope.

Killing a human was an easy thing for the Lord of the Golden Seal to do. However, if it killed this human in a rage out of shame and broke the rules set by the master, it would fall to pieces and wake up again after some unknown time.

It wasn’t even sure if the consciousness that woke up in the future would be it.

“Can’t kill him, can’t kill him. This human is my only hope of obtaining freedom.” The being restrained its inner savagery with effort.

“Lord of the Golden Seal, I have a suggestion, are you interested in hearing it?” Jiang Chen’s voice sounded leisurely at this point.

“What... what suggestion do you have?” The being hastily asked.

“I said that there were two methods. I can’t bear to give up the mountain, but there is another way apart from having you absorb the mountain. Receiving outside aid will enable you to obtain your freedom all the same.”

“What outside aid?”

“Hope is minuscule with outside aid. If you can meet another treasure like the magnetic golden mountain in the future, you can possibly leave the mountain if you leverage the strength from it. However, treasures such as this mountain are hard to find.”

“What’s the point of all this talk if it’s hard to find? Do you want me to compromise with you because of some minuscule hope?” The golden figure said unhappily.

“Of course not. My suggestion is that I refine the magnetic heart and obtain the mountain. I will try my best to hunt down treasures for you in the future. If I can’t find any, when I grow into my strength and no longer need the magnetic golden mountain, I will naturally help you absorb the mountain and make it become part of your body, helping you thoroughly obtain your freedom. How about that?”

Jiang Chen offered his final suggestion.

“Lord of the Golden Seal, you can refuse, but this is the only condition that I can agree to.” Jiang Chen’s tone was quite final.

The Lord of the Golden Seal huffed heavily, heaving loudly, apparently it was quite conflicted as well.

Suddenly, the being’s gaze focused on Jiang Chen again. “Human, you are merely at the third level spirit realm, on what basis can I believe that you will grow into your strength? How many years will I have to wait?”

“How long was it until you achieved consciousness?” Jiang Chen asked faintly.

“I... I’ve never counted, I think it was around a hundred thousand years?” The golden being murmured faintly.

“A hundred thousand years?” Jiang Chen smiled. “A hundred thousand years is too long. I don’t need a hundred thousand, I will only need ten thousand years to grow into my strength.”

“Humph, who doesn’t know how to bluster? What gives you the right to say that?”

Jiang Chen spoke proudly, “What gives me the right? The fact that I’m standing right here, the fact that you want to kill me but can’t bear to. Is that not reason enough?”

The Lord of the Golden Seal was started and it couldn’t retort.

How many had made it to the tenth floor since ancient times, and how many had there been who’d been stronger than Jiang Chen?

However, those who had made it so that it’d couldn’t bear to kill them and continuously chip away at his psychological defenses, this human in front of him had been the only one.

This young man seemed less than twenty years old, but he was abnormally self assured. He was coolly composed even in front of him.

It was as if the matters of life and death were nothing in this young man’s eyes.

This kind of breadth of mind and shrewdness, this kind of bearing and aura made the Lord of the Golden Seal revise his estimate of Jiang Chen.

However, what truly tempted the being was Jiang Chen’s words.

The Lord of the Golden Seal was well aware that the young man in front of it wasn’t just talking drivel. He truly understood the relationship between the Lord of the Golden Seal and the mountain.

He also truly knew how to help the being break free of the mountain and obtain its freedom.

The Lord of the Golden Seal looked at the resolute young man and gave a long sigh, murmuring to himself, “Alright, alright. It seems that I have no choice.”

“Young man, I want to hear an oath from your lips.”

“I can do that.” Jiang Chen raised three fingers to the sky and spoke gravely, “I, Jiang Chen, swear in the name of the heavens and earth that I will help the Lord of the Golden Seal break free of the magnetic golden mountain in the future. If I still have yet to succeed in ten thousand years, then I will let the Lord of the Golden Seal absorb the mountain to gain his freedom. If I break my word, may the heavens and earth rip me asunder.”

The Lord of the Golden Seal nodded after hearing these words and it opened its arms, making all the magnetic mirrors transform into dots of star light and vanish without a trace.

“Jiang Chen, be prepared. You have to take one of my blows according to the rules. However, I will control my strength to ten percent in this blow. If you cannot take even ten percent of my strength, then you are destined to be unworthy of the magnetic golden mountain!”

The Lord of the Golden Seal’s massive legs took a few steps forward, like it was a moving mountain, its aura overwhelmingly powerful.