The Astral Phantom's heart was filled with bitterness. The only reason she'd dared to come here was because she knew the Clockmaker was the only Reflection of Heaven and Earth on Skyfire Avenue. She didn't know anyone else.
Most of the other Paragons were new to the Astral Phantom. If she wanted to run, it wouldn't be a problem.
But who could have guessed a freak like Lan Qing would show up, a Reflection of Heaven and Earth as soon as he became a Paragon.
"Stay your hand!" The Astral Phantom shrieked.
Lan Qing's aura receded, and his Solar Truefire receded. But it still swirled around her, ready to explode at a moment's notice.
The Astral Phantom bit her lip and said through gritted teeth, "You want me to submit to you? That's impossible.
I can promise to do three things for you, no matter what it is.
I'm a Paragon, and my promise … "
Just as she said that, the Great Sun True Fire in the surroundings rose up again, and this time, it was even more intense than before. The scorching heat caused her to scream, and she used all of her strength to barely resist it.
Lan Qing's voice was calm. "You don't have the right to bargain with me.
Either you die, or you submit!
That's all. "
The Astral Phantom couldn't speak in order to defend himself against the Solar Truefire. Trying to play petty in front of the God of Wisdom wasn't going to work.
Lan Qing's demeanor was unassailable.
The Solar Truefire receded again, and the Astral Phantom breathed a sigh of relief. But fear still lingered in her heart. She'd felt like she was about to be swallowed whole.
"My patience has its limits. I'll give you one last chance." Lan Qing's eyes blazed as he looked at her.
The Astral Phantom's breasts heaved as she panted.
She wanted nothing more than to skin Lan Qing alive. But here she was, under his roof, and had no choice but to bow her head!
"Ten." Lan Qing uttered a number.
"Nine." Lan Qing repeated.
"Wait, what the hell?
What are you doing? "The Astral Phantom shrieked.
"Eight!" Lan Qing ignored her.
He just continued reading.
"Seven!"
"Wait a minute. You have to let me think about it. Give me some time."
"Six!"
Lan Qing's eyes gradually turned cold. He slowly raised his hands, and the sun behind his head shone brightly. A low Sanskrit chant could be heard.
It began to resound throughout the entire Buddha Light Illumination Domain.
To outsiders, it seemed peaceful and peaceful. But to the Astral Phantom, it was as terrifying as if it wanted to devour her soul.
"You …" The Astral Phantom's eyes were filled with struggle. She knew what it meant to have her soul branded with protogenia.
"Three!" Lan Qing suddenly counted from six to three.
At the same time, he raised his hands.
"Wait a minute! Where's Four and Five?" The Astral Phantom jumped.
The surrounding Solar Truefire had already begun to boil once more.
"Two!"
Lan Qing had a perfect grasp of her heart. At a time like this, how could he give her the slightest chance to breathe?
"Wait. Fine, I agree!"
Seeing that Lan Qing was about to strike, the Astral Phantom's last line of defense crumbled.
To her, nothing was more important.
Lan Qing retracted his Solar Truefire, his expression unchanged. "Open up your protogenia and soul.
Don't try to play tricks.
I don't have the patience to play mind games with you.
If I find anything amiss, you won't get a second chance. "
The Astral Phantom looked at her with a conflicted expression. She was panting heavily. She regretted being so greedy. If it hadn't been for her own greed …
If it hadn't been for greed, things wouldn't have gone this far.
Everything would have been different.
Her beautiful life wouldn't have been so far behind.
"You, you're branded into my soul.
Can you not … "
The Solar Truefire in Lan Qing's hand flared again.
"I told you, you have no right to bargain."
"Fine!
You win! "The Astral Phantom could see the murderous intent in Lan Qing's eyes.
She didn't want to delay any longer. She was afraid Lan Qing would strike and kill her.
No matter how unwilling she was, she had no choice but to make a choice at this moment.
She took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and closed her eyes. The purple light around her body disappeared, and a faint purple vortex slowly appeared on her forehead. There seemed to be spots of black light flickering in the vortex, and there seemed to be a small silver person sitting cross-legged in the center of the vortex, but it was not clear.
Soul solidification!
Only a Paragon could do such a thing.
The Astral Phantom's arrogance and anger were gone, replaced with pain and sorrow.
When she opened her eyes once more, her eyes were filled with tears. Coupled with her peerlessly beautiful appearance, it was truly a pitiful sight.
"You're a man, and you're bullying a weak woman.
Is there really no other choice? "
Any other man might have softened in the face of such a beautiful woman.
Unfortunately, none of this had any effect on Lan Qing.
The Astral Phantom pointed a finger, and a beam of golden light shot forth. It was surrounded by dazzling runes, each one brimming with the power of Buddha. They flew peacefully towards the vortex.
The vortex trembled slightly, trying to dodge.
Suddenly, the Astral Phantom felt the heat of the Solar Truefire rise around him.
After trembling for a while, the purple vortex finally stabilized.
It allowed the golden light to pour into it.
The silvery figure within the vortex became clear, and a scream from the depths of the Astral Phantom's soul echoed through the air.
The golden light fell on the silvery figure's head, and a Buddhist character was imprinted on her forehead.
The Astral Phantom toppled to the ground from the pain. Her body trembled violently, and large beads of sweat rolled down her face.
Imprinting another Paragon's protogenia on her soul meant she had to obey their commands. If she didn't, the Paragon could destroy her soul with a single thought.
It didn't matter how strong she was, it wouldn't matter.
In the history of human Paragons, it was rare to see someone else imprinted their protogenia on their soul.
Not many Paragons would allow their pride to be tarnished.
However, the Astral Phantom didn't care about her own strength. She didn't care about her pride or dignity.
She chose to be imprinted in order to live.
The golden light lasted for nearly a minute before fading away. In the blink of an eye, the Buddha's light vanished into Vairocana's dharma image behind Lan Qing's head.
Both he and the Astral Phantom grew larger, and the minor world vanished without a trace.
(To be continued)