Seeing the lanky Awakened, "Glow," with a pumpkin-sized head squeezing over and sitting next to him, Dongbo Cheng's brows slightly furrowed, but he did not issue any words to drive him away.

At this moment, his inner voice was roughly: Ugly freak, stay away from me.

However, "Glow" had managed to locate a long-lost token of the Dongbo Family, which counted as a credit; Dongbo Cheng had a certain degree of affection for him and could only bear the visual discomfort slightly.

"Lord Dongbo, you need to be cautious of this person, he does not have an Oath Curse Seal!" Glow said.

Dongbo Cheng replied, "I know... Didn't you say this person was a Demon lurking around, ready to attack you? But the result wasn't as you claimed."

Glow gritted his teeth and said, "He knows Lord Dongbo is beside, so he doesn't dare to act!"

Dongbo Cheng glanced slowly over.

Bai Pu simply chuckled softly and directly pulled open his coarse cloth shirt (Spirit Realm Will's Illusionary Clothing)!

On his shoulder and chest, the mottled scars left by the Demon Spider Lady were still clearly discernible.

Especially since the spider's claws of the Demon Spider Lady carry poison that, although does not continuously drain blood, reduces the Life Value limit by 10% until the poison is removed—considered a non-lethal yet nasty long-term chronic poison effect.

On Bai Pu's body, it manifested as slight swelling at each pierced location, showing purplish red blood threads and white pus!

Returning to the city, Bai Pu didn't immediately deal with the poison; he didn't even activate the Adaptive Evolution ability of "Deactivated Blood Image" to mitigate the poison's impact on his body.

The purpose was to leave the scars from the battle with the Demon Spider Lady in front of the natives—these were the medals of a Demon Exterminator.

"These are scars left by the poison of the Demon Spider Lady... truly ugly scars."

Dongbo Cheng slightly frowned, clearly disliking Bai Pu's scars on his body due to his mild cleanliness disorder.

However, Dongbo Cheng's gaze was not one of disdain for Bai Pu, but rather for Bai Pu's scars—

That gaze was as if he saw a fine porcelain vessel smeared with bird droppings, desperately wishing someone would clean off the droppings, leaving behind the beautiful porcelain for appreciation!

Thus, Dongbo Cheng directly took out a bottle of poison-removing ointment and said to Bai Pu, "Clean off those scars quickly; such a magnificent body shouldn't coexist with such ugly scars."

Bai Pu received the ointment and got a prompt from the Spirit Realm Will.

[Evergreen Ointment (Temporary Loan): A-level Artifact, instantly clears all abnormal states below priority (5) of the user, removes scars, and increases the user's Hidden Attribute: Charm by (10) points, lasting for 24 hours. Remaining usage: 10/10, cannot be taken out of this world.]

Evidently, Dongbo Cheng lent it to Bai Pu for use.

Such a powerful A-level Artifact, according to the principle of gains through the Spirit Realm Will, would not be given to Bai Pu without compensation.

Unless Dongbo Cheng was a woman who developed a high degree of Affection for Bai Pu. A woman in love doesn't follow rational judgment; only then might she give Bai Pu the [Evergreen Ointment].

But even if Dongbo Cheng was willing to give it, Bai Pu couldn't take it out of this world.

Otherwise, in the world of [Flesh and Blood Plague: Origin], Bai Pu would have flaunted the noble Qin in eighteen different poses, and asking for a few golden equipment or A-level Artifact would be a breeze, wouldn't it?

The point is that items obtained this way cannot be taken out of this world, rendering them meaningless.

Bai Pu took the Evergreen Ointment and used his fingernail to pick up a matchstick-sized amount, applying it to his chest.

The medicinal power automatically traversed the surface of Bai Pu's skin, causing the previously swollen area due to poison to quickly subside.

"These wounds can demonstrate my stance and strength."

Bai Pu returned the Evergreen Ointment to Dongbo Cheng, and then asked, "Lord Dongbo, may I ask if you are willing to grant an Oath Curse Seal?"

The main task merely says "acquire an Oath Curse Seal," without specifying that it must be a Black Tortoise Curse Seal; obtaining a Cyan Dragon Curse Seal is also viable.

But according to Bai Pu's estimation, the likelihood of Dongbo Cheng carrying a "Cyan Dragon Oath Curse Seal" is no more than 30%, and the probability of him willing to grant it is under 10%.

Nevertheless, he must attempt.

Sure enough, Dongbo Cheng shook his head and said, "I've been traveling and don't carry extra Oaths. Besides, this is the Black Tortoise Mountain Range; if I give you a Cyan Dragon Oath, it is against the rules."

In simpler terms, it is the territory of the Beiming Family; Dongbo Cheng is allowed to travel but to develop forces here would be excessive.

Glow let out a cold sneer. If there wasn't a complete certainty that Dongbo Cheng would not help Bai Pu accomplish the main task, why would he possibly invite Dongbo Cheng here to make an encounter with Bai Pu possible?

Bai Pu's expression remained as calm as ever, saying to Dongbo Cheng, "I was thoughtless. Even without an Oath Curse Seal and unable to gain the trust of the Guardians, I am still willing to serve them. If Lord Dongbo has any needs, I will give my all."

This was in exploration of possible side quests existing in Dongbo Cheng.

Glow, filled with hatred and jealousy, interjected, "Stop wasting effort. Without an Oath Curse Seal, who dares to trust you're not a Demon? Even if you're not now, should you fall into demonhood without the Oath's warning, we might get stabbed in the back!"

The biggest advantage of the Demon Camp is the possibility of strong figures in the Guardian Camp succumbing to demonhood.

Hence, for mutual trust, the Guardian Camp developed Oaths through the four legacy families. Obtaining an Oath equates to gaining recognition from a legacy family.

Once an Oath-bearer martial artist succumbs to demonhood, the Oath Curse Seal self-destructs while other oath-bearers receive a warning.

The significance of the Oath is deeply rooted, and even the carefree Dongbo Cheng cannot ignore it.

Bai Pu chuckled lightly and said, "Before acquiring an Oath Curse Seal, I won't act collectively with other Guardians. But I reckon there are tasks I can accomplish alone."

Dongbo Cheng nodded slightly, "Alright, since being insistent, initially Mr. Beiming Chuan entrusted me to make a trip to the Black Swamp to investigate the intelligence of Demon strongholds... This task will be assigned to you."

The Spirit Realm Will conveyed the prompt:

[Side Quest: Investigate Black Swamp]

[Task Description: Head to the Black Swamp in the Black Tortoise Mountain Range and investigate the intelligence distribution of Demons.]

[Task Difficulty: Unknown]

[Task Deadline: Equates to your remaining time in this plane]

[Task Rewards: Guardian Camp Merit Points: ??? (Depending on task completion)]

[Failure Penalty: None]

This is a side quest Bai Pu has excavated relying on his personal charm, its difficulty being dynamic, and the rewards are also dynamic.

Assuming task difficulty and reward extent are contingent on the completeness of Bai Pu's intelligence.

If Bai Pu merely glances over the edge of the Black Swamp, the difficulty might be low, and likewise the rewards. However, if Bai Pu delves deeply into the Black Swamp and uncovers detailed intelligence of most of the swamp's areas, he can earn ample Merit Points, though the difficulty would be extremely high.

While the Guardian Camp has formidable figures like Beiming Jihu and Dongbo Cheng, the Demon Camp naturally does too; their high-level combat ability even tends to overpower the Guardian Camp!

The saying, ten times stronger when embracing darkness, weakened by three when being redeemed applies accurately in the world of [Heart Demon: Oath].

Ghost Warriors often fully exploit the power of Demonized Weapons upon succumbing to darkness, with combat ability typically not falling but rather rising, especially considering the rapid healing speed of Demon injuries; unless beheaded, they can swiftly regenerate.

In the Black Swamp, besides elite Demons like the Demon Spider Lady, there are "General" level Demons, or Demon Generals, capable of maintaining a region, matching Dongbo Cheng's native strength.

As for the most formidable Demon in the Black Swamp—Black Emperor—, even Beiming Jihu dares not claim victory.

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