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Chapter 574: Living and Dying

However, at this point, no one cared about the dozen or so pitiful special agents scattered across the Moon.

Because the anomaly unfolding in the sky had captured the attention of countless people on the Moon, including those who were originally meant to rendezvous with them.

The "meteors" that plummeted into the Moon's artificial atmosphere expended the vast majority of their power to remain in the sky, with only a bare sliver used to protect their "passengers" during descent, preventing their deaths from the high-altitude fall.

Over a dozen orbs of light, suspended high in the sky, began to orbit each other in a peculiar fashion, resonating with the grand cathedral where a ceremony was underway deep underground.

A unique ripple, imperceptible to most, slowly emanated outwards, using the line connecting the celestial orbs and the underground cathedral as its central axis.

"I hereby declare, swearing by the name of the God of Contracts, that those who enter the Luminous Holy Covenant shall have their words and actions supervised by God, and transgressors shall face the absolute damnation of demonic possession!" Inside his Divine Path domain, Gang Duo uttered his declaration to the world, almost syllable by syllable.

Aside from himself, no one knew why he would undertake such a thankless task.

To pass this resolution in the Joint Council, he had made extensive concessions and traded many benefits elsewhere, to the point where opposition within the Church was almost impossible to suppress.

Yet in the end, he reached an agreement with the other supreme power holders within the Federation, allowing the Luminous Holy Covenant to be fully publicized through official channels.

"How to Use the Luminous Holy Covenant:

Depending on the specific circumstances of the contracting parties, before forming a covenant, one must purchase a corresponding quantity and quality of special crystals from the Luminous Holy Church, or directly sacrifice items of equivalent value to the divine as offerings.

..."

As the ceremony progressed, the specific instructions for using the Luminous Holy Covenant, now officially authorized for widespread promotion, began to play in rotation across major media outlets.

Fearing that some might find it too abstract to understand, the authorities thoughtfully included a price list, effectively marketing the Luminous Holy Covenant as a form of religious insurance.

As long as one purchased the insurance, and the other party breached the contract, the divine would, on behalf of the Moon, annihilate them.

"It doesn't seem expensive, does it? A 'forever and ever, never apart' contract is only 120,000 Federation Yuan."

The first round of promotion alone attracted a large number of interested individuals.

The Federation’s infidelity rate was climbing year by year, so if a hundred thousand Federation Yuan could prevent a partner from straying, many people found it quite a worthwhile investment.

"Upon contract expiration, if neither party has breached the terms, ninety-five percent of the offerings can even be refunded..."

"The Luminous Holy Church might as well change its name to Divine Insurance Co., Ltd."

...

While ordinary people were more concerned with the Luminous Holy Covenant’s pricing, cultivators were actually more interested in its lethality.

Demonic possession sounded terrifying, but if it merely involved common vengeful spirits, any Third Tier cultivator could easily eradicate them with Spirit Arts, rendering the contract largely ineffective.

"The higher-ups have spoken: the contract’s effective range is from Zero to Fourth Tier.

Those from Zero to Second Tier have virtually no hope of survival, unless a powerful expert happens to be nearby to save them when the contract activates.

Third Tier can endure for half a day, and by Fourth Tier, there is no longer any life-threatening danger."

The pronouncements from the higher echelons spread through the internet at an incredible speed, reaching the ears of countless cultivators under their command.

The primary reason they had allowed Gang Duo’s resolution to pass in the first place was that the contract simply couldn't affect them.

For Six Tier cultivators, perched high above, even if punished by the most potent special Luminous Holy Covenant, the resulting injuries would at most amount to a minor, swiftly healing scar, completely negligible.

If the contract could truly bind them, then no matter what Gang Duo promised, this group of people would absolutely never agree.

The outcome of death affecting up to the Third Tier was still acceptable to them.

...

"Why?" Bai Mo’s voice echoed from within a light orb.

Although he had agreed to assist in completing this plan, he didn't understand Gang Duo's reasons for choosing to do so.

Compared to the price paid, Gang Duo’s personal gains could only be described as pitifully meager.

"Eighty years ago, my heart died the moment she broke her promise," the Pope, his temples streaked with white, replied faintly.

High-tier superhumans could largely reshape their appearance; even an aged elder could gradually revert to the look of their prime.

Only the maverick Gang Duo had consistently maintained this elderly countenance, never changing it.

Eighty years ago, having grown up in a church orphanage, he was just an ordinary, poor boy who had to scrimp on his meal money just to buy a single bouquet of roses.

He had finally managed to win over the goddess of his heart, only to accidentally discover that while she swore eternal devotion to him on one hand, she was deceiving other men on the other.

After his goddess’s image shattered, his heart was too deeply wounded, and having completely lost trust in certain things, he chose to embark on the solitary path of religion for the rest of his life.

For decades before the advent of Spirit Qi, he lived in a world of self-deception, playing the role of a moral saint, treating everything with impeccable courtesy.

Had it not been for the chaotic arrival of Spirit Qi, Gang Duo might have continued playing this role of a good-natured old man, a revered elder, never shedding his false mask until he quietly passed away.

Even though his true heart had, in fact, disappeared many years ago.

"Is it worth it?" Compared to the other Luminous Holy Church adherents who remained in the dark, Bai Mo saw much more.

To maximize the effect of the Luminous Holy Covenant, Gang Duo had even sacrificed himself! In reality, with the added power, the Luminous Holy Covenant’s maximum punitive force was sufficient to threaten Five Tier powerhouses.

Numerous faint specks of light had already seeped silently from his body, flowing imperceptibly into the impersonal deity at the center of his Divine Path domain.

By the time this ceremony concluded, his life would also reach its end.

"Some people live, but their hearts are already dead.

I only wish that those who come after will never again be unfaithful and betray their vows."

Decades had passed, and Gang Duo had largely forgotten the details of that year, including the voice, appearance, and smile of his first love; all that remained was a lingering obsession.

Spirit Qi had made his body young and powerful, but it could not resurrect the long-dead nerve cells that had vanished along with their associated memories.

After all, when he awakened his powers, he was already an old man in his early sixties with a body not in the best condition; his brain’s memory system had long been severely eroded by time.

Unfortunately, the only one who heard these words at this moment, Bai Mo, was a person who had pushed egoism to its extreme; while he could accept sacrificing one’s life for a belief, he simply couldn’t comprehend it.