Maiden Galaxy

Chapter 77: Henceforth, I Serve You As My King

The black chess piece twisted apart the blood-dragon, striking apart all the whip-shadows. The black shooting star landed on Manao's chest. After using her Yellow Rank a second time, Manao had already depleted her Star Energy. She never imagined that even when she put everything on the line that Chen Mo would unexpectedly even have such a chess piece that concentrated Star Energy.

Struck by the piece, it was like a normal person was shot through by a bullet.

Manao fell over with a groan.

The purple-clothed woman could not conceal the surprise on her face. This young man surprisingly actually was capable of defeating the Scourge Of God. The current Manao already completely lost her overbearing manner from before. She herself did not dare believe that she would lose to a Star Cultivator.

Manao leaned back against a wall, gasping for breath. That Scattering Of God let out a whine like a dying dragon. Blood gurgled out of her, mixing with the sea of blood on the ground. But this signified that the Xiongnu's array already was unable to give her any assistance.

Anyone with eyes could see that the Manao already had no capability to resist right now. Anyone could dispatch her life.

"This King never thought that she would unexpectedly lose to a Star Cultivator." Manao said as she spat blood. Even with such an unbearably sorry figure, those black pupils did not lose one bit of their evil aura.

"Hmph, Chen Mo, quickly kill her, so as to avoid long nights." Zhongli Sanmei was afraid this Xiongnu chief had a trick up her sleeve. The more changes that occurred, the more trouble she would bring.

Chen Mo hesitated, but after looking at the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood, he knew that he could not be compassionate.

If the Scourge Of God made a comeback in the future, perhaps things would not be as simple as bathing a tower in blood.

Chen Mo grabbed his staff and walked towards her. Manao did not change expressions as she said: "Before you kill me, if I tell you where the ‘Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi'¹ is located, would you let This King go?"

Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi?

Chen Mo was taken aback.

The Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi was an ancient cultivation method of Star World, one that Star Cultivators used to cultivate Star Energy, practically the same as a Star General. Generally speaking, the greatest difference between a Star Cultivator and a Star General was in the usage of Star Energy. A Star Cultivator barely had these qualifications to enter the stage of cultivating Star Energy after breaking out of Dragon Wind In Man and reaching Earthly Star.

But this cultivation process was very difficult. To a Star General who innately inherited Star Names and the ability to refine Star Energy, there was no advantage to this. However, if one used the Star Manual to cultivate, then they would practically be no different from a Star General, minus the Star Name.

Currently, some of the cultivation methods circulating around Star World that cultivated Star Energy were mostly derived from the Star Manual.

Manao could see as well that Chen Mo must have been cultivating Star Energy to be able to contend against her, but his Star Energy was not practiced. Thus, he had no way to last for too long. If he had a cultivation method like the Star Manual, his future prospects would be unimaginable. It was not impossible for him to surpass the Purple Rose Star Emperor.

"Why should I believe you?" Chen Mo thought, his expression still very calm.

"Back then, This King's Star Name nearly trample the Outer Star Field flat, obtaining many good things which have all been hidden here and there. The Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi was also obtained by This Star Name, and This King knows some things." Manao weakly said.

"Don't listen to her sweet talk. Unless you take out that Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi right now, this is nothing more than stalling." Zhongli Sanmei stood up.

"You meet your end today, Scourge Of God."

"Come here, This King shall tell you the location of the Star Manual. You can decide my fate afterwards. Since you can kill This King, This King does not want to be the laughingstock of the world. I can lend you a hand. This way, I will not have shamed the prestige of the Scourge Of God." Manao said word by word, practically exhausting all her strength.

To a proud Star General, uttering these words was actually not strange. Should Chen Mo someday develop to a stage that even other Star Generals would need to fear him, then her death would not count for much.

"Then fine. I'll bury you with kindness." Chen Mo saw that Manao could put up a fight. In consideration of the friendly warning she gave him earlier, he nodded.

Manao smiled. "Come closer, This King does not want to let outsiders know."

He looked at Manao's pale expression, the blood drained from it, a pitiable look. Who could have thought that a moment ago, this Scourge Of God had been awe-inspiring, slaughtering all of the warriors in the tower, swearing to drown the Central Plains in blood.

Chen Mo first used his finger on her acupuncture point to help staunch her bleeding. Then, he used a silk cloth to wipe the blood from her mouth, his gestures quite tender.

Manao was taken aback, but she soon recovered her expressionless face.

"Talk." Chen Mo said: "If you have any other wishes, so long as they don't go against human or natural law, I can help you accomplish them."

"You really are a strange Star Cultivator." Manao could not help but smile.

Pausing, she said: "In the dozen years since This King succeeded the Star Name Attila, This King also gained understanding of the previous generation. Originally, the previous Star Name obtained this Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi to raise a Star General, to expand the Foreign Star Field. In the end, the Central Star Field found out about this situation, finally dispatching a Star General to interfere and repel her. The place this Star Manual is hidden at is…" Manao vigilantly looked around, suddenly moving even closer.

Chen Mo could even smell her mesmerizing scent.

However, out of the corner of his eye, Chen Mo was already secretly on guard against Manao's hands and feet. If she made any strange moves, he would not hesitate to strike her dead,

Chen Mo was guarded against Manao, yet he overlooked one point.

At the moment she drew close, Manao suddenly dove for Chen Mo's mouth. He completely did not anticipate this, and his lips were taken by Manao's kiss. Then, Manao seemed to suck, biting open the tip of Chen Mo's tongue.

"You bitch, you dare kiss my man!!" Zhongli Sanmei was enraged.

Chen Mo grasped Northern Dipper tight, subconsciously moving to kill her.

Just at this moment, markings as red as blood vessels suddenly spread all over his body. Finally, they quickly condensed on his forehead as swift as lightning. There was a crash, as if a branding iron had carved its way in.

A Star Crest suddenly wrapped around the two of them.

"Ah!!"

Zhongli Sanmei was flabbergasted.

The purple-clothed woman also stood up, her face showing astonishment.

Chen Mo took several steps back, still somewhat in disbelief.

"You're pretty good at kissing for a man." Manao sneered.

"What did you do?' Chen Mo felt his scorching forehead. Things pertaining to Manao appeared in his mind. This feeling was all too familiar. It was the same back then with Auntie, then with Zhongli Sanmei, and now she did the same as well.

"You signed a contract with me?" Chen Mo asked.

"How can This King die in this place, and how can a man like you ever be capable of achieving This King's wish." Manao stood up and spoke resolutely.

Red twin spears surrounded Manao's neck, the killing intent upon the short spears penetrating to her heart. But Manao was not frightened in the least. On the contrary, she looked very leisurely at Chen Mo.

"Of course you can kill This King, but you had best think of your man's future prospects." Manao coldly said.

After a long while, Chen Mo finally returned to his senses and realized Manao's intentions.

Star World's Servant Star Contracts placed a Star Cultivator in service of a Star General. If the Servant Star died, the Star General would likewise suffer severe injury. As a result, Star World's arrogant and proud Star Generals very rarely would select Servant Stars.

On the other hand, however, if the Star General died, the Servant Star would similarly suffer a blow. The Star Crests of a Servant Star and Star General were one. They could be said to share fortunes and misfortunes.

A Star Crest was like a second life for Star Generals and Servant Stars. If the Star Crest was destroyed, the Star Energy cultivated based on the Star Crest would wither away. It followed that not only would the Star Cultivator's cultivation drastically decrease, they would be unable to cultivate further for many years. They could even die together with the Star General.

Manao had been defeated by the combined forces of Chen Mo, Zhongli Sanmei and the purple-clothed woman. She was forced into a corner and was already without strength to reverse the situation.

But nobody imagined that the famous and practically top-notch level Star General, Scourge Of God Attila, would use a Servant Star Contract as a way to preserve her life.

This woman's tenacity was simply frightening.

Zhongli Sanmei could not risk harm or even death to Chen Mo just to go kill Attila. Otherwise, as she was also Chen Mo's Star General, she would suffer by their link and instead make things easy for others.

Zhongli Sanmei looked at the purple-clothed woman. She truly was angry to the point of grinding her teeth and breaking out in curses.

Let alone shamelessness, this woman had no moral backbone at all. She might as well learn from her if she was moved by a man. This woman was once known as a first-rate Star General who nearly trampled the Outer Star Fields flat; now, she surprisingly sold out her own soul to preserve her life. To be frank, a Star General's Star Name contract was a woman's greatest secret, but she gave it away so naturally. 

Manao definitely did not care about this at all.

Among rulers, even King Gou Jian of Yue slept on sticks and tasted gall, a promise to destroy Wu. What did this count as for her then. Besides, although it could be considered that she gave half her life to this youth, from her perspective, Chen Mo's potential was boundless. She had never seen such a Star Cultivator before.

This was no loss to her.

"Forget it. However, if someday you want to put the people in danger, to slaughter innocents, then I will not let you go, even if it kills me." Chen Mo took a deep breath.

Manao was expressionless. She shut her eyes then slowly opened them again.

Compared to their previous dimness, these eyes apparently were somewhat brighter. "This King has her own plans, there is no need for you to lecture…However, This King did not deceive you about that Star Manual. In the future, if your cultivation reaches a perfect Three Flowers Overhead, This King can tell you about it then." 

Chen Mo nodded, making no further response.

After contracting with Manao, a portion of his Star Energy had been siphoned away by that woman. Right now, it was like his strength was sucked dry, leaving him very exhausted. He only wanted to rest.

"Are we actually letting her go? She is the Scourge Of God." The purple-clothed slowly walked over, her hand gripping her sword's hilt.

"Don't tell me you still want to kill her and kill us, too, while you're at it?" Zhongli Sanmei blocked her path.

The purple-clothed woman thought for a moment. Finally, she returned her purple longsword to the void.

"This Star General with Purple Rose qi has a Star Name that should be exceptional. Why not the three of us kill her, or see whether or not she will hand over a Star Name contract." Manao's eyes rolled about as she spoke with words full of evil.

Zhongli Sanmei's eyes lit up.

The woman was heavily wounded. The three of them working together perhaps could take her down, but seeing Chen Mo's appearance, Zhongli Sanmei feared there was no chance.

Manao also noticed that Chen Mo was apparently at his limit. Fearing a change in the situation, she released the Nebula Chariot and boarded it.

Chen Mo hesitated a moment. In the end, he made no moves.

"Since I was defeated by you, according to my clan's customs, I naturally serve you as my king. This King shall not lay a finger on this Outer Star Field, however, I hope you will not disgrace This King's Servant Star."

Chen Mo sighed. "Cultivating is easy, keeping a Star Name is not. As I move forward, I will remember to cherish it!"

Manao harrumphed then threw another pile of materials to Chen Mo. These materials could be used to forge a second Nebula Chariot. This was considered recompense. No matter what, she, the Scourge Of God, understood how to repay favors.

1. 甘石星經, this is an actual IRL book, hence the long-winded name. ↩