Immortal Paladin

111 Skull’s Temptations

Lu Gao opened his eyes.

Sand. Everywhere.

The golden dunes stretched endlessly before him, the wind sweeping grains into the air like a fine mist. Heat radiated from the ground beneath him, and his skin burned under the merciless sun. His last memory flickered like a cruel dream... pain, searing pain. Blue flames licked at his flesh. A woman with pink hair. Another with blonde. And then...

That monster.

Twin moons, each with grotesque, unblinking eyes. Arms sprouting from maws too horrific to describe. A nightmare given form, a horror that refused to fade from his mind. And then, it had shifted and warped, until it took on a humanoid form, its many faces merging, twisting, staring.

A sharp pang shot through Lu Gao’s skull. He groaned, gripping his forehead as he forced himself upright. His limbs felt like lead. Half of his clothes had been torn away, leaving his chest exposed to the elements. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps, his ribs protesting with every movement. He coughed, his throat raw, and then...

Blood. Thick and dark, it splattered onto the sand beneath him.

"Cure."

The word was spoken softly, but with clarity. A spell. A familiar one.

Lu Gao’s gaze snapped toward the source of the voice. A woman stood before him, her pristine white robes barely disturbed by the wind. Blonde hair framed her serene face, and her emerald eyes gleamed with quiet focus. The warmth of healing magic spread through him, soothing his battered body, knitting wounds that he hadn't even realized he had.

But Lu Gao did not relax. His instincts screamed at him... Enemy! Enemy!

He tried to move, to push himself away, but a firm grip landed on his shoulder.

His vision spun as he turned his head. Another woman, this one with striking pink hair and deep crimson eyes, gazed down at him. There was no hostility in her expression, but there was something unreadable, something that kept him frozen.

His breaths came shallow. His mind reeled. Where was he? Who were they? His body refused to obey his frantic will, leaving him vulnerable beneath their scrutiny.

Then, they spoke.

Not to him. To each other.

Their words were fluid, unfamiliar. A language he had never heard before.

He could only watch, caught in a daze, his heart hammering in his chest as the two women conversed in hushed tones, their gazes occasionally drifting toward him.

Slowly, the memories seeped into Lu Gao’s mind, filling the gaps left by pain and exhaustion.

The battle... he had fought alongside his Master. Himself, under the effects of Divine Possession, had stood beside these two women. There was familiarity in their movements, an ease in their coordination that suggested they weren’t just allies by chance.

They knew his Master.

The realization brought little comfort. His Master had many secrets, too many for Lu Gao to unravel. And right now, that knowledge did nothing to explain where he was or why he was still alive.

Before he could dwell further, a voice cut through his thoughts.

A deep, rasping cackle.

"Do you want power?"

Lu Gao blinked. The voice hadn’t come from the two women.

It had come from...

His gaze dropped, and there it was. A skull was strapped to the pink-haired woman’s waist, yellowed by sand and cracked with age. Its hollow sockets flickered with eerie blue flames.

"Riches? Bitches?"

Lu Gao felt his headache worsen.

The flames within the skull’s eyes flared as it continued, its words flowing in a Qi-infused cadence that vibrated through his bones.

"Tell me, mortal... what is your deepest desire? Strength beyond measure? Wealth untold? Love eternal? I can grant it all. You need only do one thing..."

The temperature around Lu Gao seemed to drop. A weight pressed upon him, unseen but suffocating.

"Accept me as your Master!"

A long silence stretched between them. The skull waited. The two women said nothing. The wind howled across the dunes.

Lu Gao, however, could only think of one thing.

"If I could talk right now, I’d tell this damn skull to fuck off."

His expression remained blank, unenthused, and unimpressed.

The skull was undeterred.

"Ah, I see. You are a man of refined taste. Mere words are not enough to sway you," it mused, the blue flames in its sockets flickering with amusement. "Then let me show you!"

The temperature around Lu Gao shifted again. This time, it wasn’t a chill but a creeping sensation, like invisible fingers crawling up his spine. His mind buzzed as an image was forced into his thoughts: visions of a throne carved from the bones of his enemies, treasures beyond imagination piled at his feet, and beauties draped around him, their gazes filled with adoration.

"You can have it all. Wealth. Power. Women. A life free of hardship. Accept me, and I will carve your destiny into the stars themselves!"

Lu Gao would have groaned if he had the strength. Instead, he shut his eyes, doing his best to ignore the damn skull.

Meanwhile, the two women were caught in a heated discussion, their voices rising in a language he couldn’t understand. The pink-haired woman’s expression darkened, her crimson eyes narrowing as she gestured sharply toward him. The blonde-haired woman’s response was calm but firm, her emerald gaze unyielding as she countered.

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From their tones alone, it was clear that they were arguing.

Lu Gao’s headache worsened. He was stuck between a tempting, scheming skull and two women locked in an intense debate, neither of whom seemed aware of the spiritual artifact trying to manipulate him.

"Still hesitant? Ah, you are truly wise! But you see, I am not just offering power. No, no, no. I am offering freedom. You will never bow again, never suffer indignity. You will be the one others kneel to!"

Lu Gao’s patience, thin as it already was, was now nonexistent.

"If I could move," he thought, "I’d punt this damn skull into the desert."

"Ah… Such hesitation. Such doubt!" the skull drawled, its eerie blue flames flickering with mockery. "You are wise indeed, but let me illuminate your path, my future king."

Lu Gao’s jaw clenched.

"Look upon them," the skull continued, its tone shifting into something archaic, almost regal. "These women... You see them arguing, don’t you? Do you know why? Because they are my slaves. Yes, mine. And they bicker because they are unworthy, unable to comprehend the true grandeur of my will. But you… You, Lu Gao, are different. You can have them too... if only you accept me."

Lu Gao inhaled slowly, his eyes drifting toward the two women.

They were still engaged in their heated discussion, their voices rising and falling in a language he didn’t understand. The pink-haired woman looked especially agitated, her crimson eyes ablaze with frustration. The blonde-haired woman remained calm but resolute, her expression unyielding. They seemed completely unaware of the scheming skull.

Lu Gao then realized something.

He could hear the skull, yes. But now, he could reply.

A thin thread of Qi connected him to the skull, a link subtle enough that he hadn't noticed it earlier. His fingers twitched as he tested the connection, his mind whirling.

A choice lay before him.

Frankly, he was conflicted.

He trusted his Master. That much was absolute. But these two women? No. Trusting them was too soon, too risky. It didn’t matter how familiar they seemed with his Master. For all he knew, they were acting. Feigning closeness.

After all, they had ambushed them.

Even if they were friends with his Master, such ties could shift like the wind. Cultivators were fickle. Alliances changed. Betrayal was common.

And yet…

Lu Gao was no fool.

The skull was suspicious... far too suspicious.

He was already at a disadvantage, trapped in an unknown land with two powerful women whose motives he couldn’t fully discern. Adding a scheming, Qi-infused skull to the mix? That was just asking for trouble.

No. Between suspicious and overly suspicious, the choice was obvious.

So, he ignored the skull.

The ancient relic, however, refused to be ignored.

"Ah, but do you not see? You hesitate because you lack vision! Allow me to correct that."

Its flames flared once more, and its tone grew poetic, almost theatrical.

"Ballads shall be sung of your name, Lu Gao! The world will tremble beneath your might! You shall sit upon a throne forged from the bones of your enemies, draped in the silks of celestial maidens, your enemies weeping at your feet as they beg for mercy that you will never grant!"

Lu Gao didn’t even blink.

The skull’s flames dimmed slightly, as if confused by his lack of reaction.

Still, it continued, its words now flowing like a grand prophecy.

"Oh, the future we could weave together! Kingdoms shall rise and fall at your whim! The heavens themselves shall bow before you! If only... if only, my dear Lu Gao... you would accept me as your Master!"

Lu Gao narrowed his eyes.

Really?

Really?!

A talking skull was trying to seduce him with ballads?

Suspicious.

Really fucking suspicious.

Lu Gao remained as still as possible, his mind set on ignoring the skull’s increasingly desperate attempts to lure him in. Unfortunately, the damn thing refused to give up.

"Ah, but my dear Lu Gao, surely you can feel it? The boundless potential within you? Accept me, and I shall unlock it! Unleash it! Mold you into a god among men! Come now, don't be shy! Take my ha...”

A sharp snap echoed through the air.

The skull screamed.

Lu Gao’s head jerked toward the pink-haired woman. Her hand moved through the air in a deliberate motion, fingers curling like she was grasping something unseen. The skull convulsed at her waist, its eerie blue flames flickering wildly.

"Aghh! Mistress, please! I was only... AAAAH! Mistress, NO!... Wait! YES! More! Ahhh~♥!"

Lu Gao winced.

What the fuck?

The blonde-haired woman, seemingly realizing what was happening, shot the pink-haired woman a sharp look before raising her hand. Another gesture, another snap, and the skull shrieked again.

"Ohhh~♥! Yes! Yes, punish me, mistresses! I’ve been so bad! Ahhh~ ♥♡♥♡!"

Lu Gao’s stomach turned.

He had seen many horrors in his life. The battlefield was ruthless, and cultivators had little regard for morality. But this? This was something different. Something vile.

Something disgusting.

His eye twitched as the skull continued moaning obscenely, its voice emoting in fluent Common, while the two women, clearly unable to understand the language, kept punishing it with deadpan expressions.

Lu Gao wanted to die.

He’d take the desert heat. The unknown landscape. The fact that he was bound by some unknown spell. Anything but this.

Then, cutting through the madness, a familiar voice echoed in his ears.

His Master’s voice.

A sensation like warm Qi wrapped around his mind, a gentle yet firm presence anchoring him. Through the miracle of Qi Speech, his Master spoke.

"Lu Gao."

Lu Gao exhaled sharply, tension leaving his shoulders. His Master’s Qi Speech had always felt miraculous, intimate in a way no spoken language could ever replicate.

"How are you faring?"

Lu Gao let out a dry laugh in his mind.

"Not so great, Master," he admitted. "I'm bound by some spell, stranded in a desert, and these women aren’t particularly friendly."

There was silence. Lu Gao could feel his Master thinking, a quiet contemplation that hummed through the Qi thread between them.

Finally, his Master responded.

"Cooperate with them. They are friendly."

Lu Gao frowned.

"I don’t know about that, Master."

His Master didn’t answer immediately. Lu Gao could sense the weight of consideration before the next words came.

"Stay calm. I will converse with them."

Lu Gao sighed. His gut still twisted with unease, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that his Master rarely made mistakes.

Still…

His eyes flicked toward the two women, who continued their silent yet thorough punishment of the skull.

The artifact, meanwhile, was still moaning in bliss.

Lu Gao’s doubt remained.

The women stopped.

Their argument died down, their gazes shifting as if listening to something unseen.

Lu Gao narrowed his eyes. His Master was speaking to them now.

That much was clear.

The pink-haired woman crossed her arms, her crimson eyes flickering with something unreadable, while the blonde-haired woman simply nodded, her expression calm but serious. They exchanged a few more words in their unknown tongue, their tones softer now, before turning their focus back to him.

Then...

"Ahem."

The skull cleared its nonexistent throat, its flames dimming as it spoke in that same language, the one Lu Gao couldn’t quite place. The two women listened, their expressions neutral, before one of them, most likely the pink-haired one, let out a scoff.

A moment later, the skull turned to him.

"Well, well. It seems I shall be your translator, my dear Lu Gao, bridging the divide between you and my slaves."

Lu Gao blinked.

Then, with cautious movement, he flexed his fingers.

He could move again.

His jaw ached, stiff from disuse, and his arms felt as though they had been bound for hours. He rolled his shoulders, stretching out the lingering tension.

The skull, apparently taking this as an invitation to continue, spoke in a much more subdued tone than before.

"My slaves feel rather sorry for how they treated you, considering the circumstances."

Lu Gao scoffed.

He turned his head, fixing the skull with a flat, unimpressed stare.

"You know I know they aren’t your slaves, right?"

The skull shrugged... or at least, it somehow felt like it shrugged.

"Do you have proof?" it asked, its hollow sockets gleaming with mischief. "Let me have my fun, you insufferable buffoon! Or do you want me to sunder your soul from where you stand?"

A chill ran down Lu Gao’s spine.

He wouldn’t admit it, not even under the threat of death, but he was intimidated.

There was something in the way the skull spoke now. The air around it seemed heavier, as if the weight of countless forgotten years pressed down upon it. It was a fleeting thing, a shift so brief that it was almost imperceptible.

Almost.

Lu Gao kept his expression blank, unwilling to let the damn thing know it had rattled him, but deep inside, a quiet, nagging thought took root.

Just what was this artifact?