"Um… Master, are you certain you don't want to go to the Alchemy Commission and borrow the Dragon Lady Healer, Bailu?" Chen Li once again asked Jingliu, who was holding the summoning talisman.
"Unnecessary."
"Or perhaps you have some extremely precious, long-cherished item related to Baiheng in your possession?"
"No." Jingliu shook her head.
"Then why is confidence written all over your face?" Chen Li was puzzled.
The Summoning Talisman was a 10-Crystal Curio that Chen Li had just forged using the three Entries: [Bond], [Heroic Spirit], and [Fox]. It could randomly summon a fox-related Heroic Spirit from the current world.
If one added an item related to the Heroic Spirit during the summoning, the probability of summoning that specific spirit would be greatly increased.
Although adding the [Fox] Entry narrowed the Curio's scope, Chen Li figured Jingliu wouldn't be interested in summoning any other Heroic Spirits anyway.
And once Baiheng was resurrected by Jingliu using a Revival Card, Chen Li could simply dismantle the [Fox] Entry from the Curio and make it a general-purpose item—in fact, this Summoning Talisman was reusable.
It could be used once every seven days, and each summoned Heroic Spirit would last for seven days.
However, if Jingliu chose to perform a random summon without using a relic as a catalyst, it was possible she would summon a different fox Heroic Spirit, especially since the Foxians had left a significant mark on the history of the Xianzhou Alliance.
"Because… I believe in the bond between myself and Baiheng!" Jingliu casually tossed the talisman into the air.
As the talisman flew to mid-air, a massive magic circle suddenly unfurled beneath it.
Then, under Chen Li's astonished gaze, during the phase where a holy relic should be added to call the spirit, Jingliu herself stepped into the glowing magic circle.
"Oh, I get it now. The Holy Widow!" Chen Li had a sudden realization.
So that's how she solved it? Incredible!
Only then did Chen Li realize that Jingliu had gotten the idea to use herself as a medium from the fun anecdotes about summoning Heroic Spirits he had casually mentioned while forging the Curio.
"Hundreds of years of obsession, hundreds of years of waiting, hundreds of years of longing… my dearest friend who once sacrificed herself to save all living beings… Appear!" Jingliu's voice was filled with an unprecedented amount of emotion.
This was the incantation phase. Because the [Bond] Entry was included, reciting the Heroic Spirit's life story through words could also increase the probability of a successful summoning.
The magic circle seemed to be stimulated by something and began to expand rapidly, kicking up a huge gale throughout the forge room.
As the intense light flared and then gradually dimmed, the three people present stared intently at the dissipating pillar of light and the graceful female figure within it, who had a pair of very distinct, upright fox ears.
"But speaking of which… does Jingliu really count as a Holy Widow?" Chen Li wondered curiously.
"Baiheng, I can finally see you again, Bai… who are you?" Just as Jingliu tore the black cloth from her eyes and eagerly took two steps forward to welcome her dear friend, she found that the friend before her was a little unfamiliar.
"Are you my Master? By the way, who is Baiheng?" The white-haired fox spirit who emerged from the magic circle couldn't help but scratch her head.
"…My good disciple, what is going on here?" Jingliu subconsciously turned her head to look at Chen Li.
Her already crimson pupils seemed all the more terrifying at this moment.
"How would I know? You're the one who went on about friendship and bonds, insisting on using yourself as a holy relic and summoning the wrong Heroic Spirit," Chen Li said, spreading his hands innocently.
"If I kill her, can I summon again?" A longsword condensed from solid ice suddenly appeared in Jingliu's hand. The explosive killing intent made the white-haired, fox-eared Heroic Spirit before her tremble in fear.
"W-wait, I have something to say! Give me a chance, big sis, give me a chance!" The white fox in front of Jingliu immediately hugged her leg.
"It's useless to kill her now. But I already thought summoning a Heroic Spirit without a relic was too risky, so I summoned a projection of the talisman beforehand. You can try again." Chen Li took out another Summoning Talisman that he had conveniently created before Jingliu used the first one.
"…What is your name?" Jingliu turned her head to look at the white-haired Foxian woman before her.
Seeing that Chen Li had a backup plan, Jingliu released the longsword of ice, allowing it to dissipate into endless cold mist like dust in the wind.
"My name is Kitsune Saiguu." Seeing Jingliu's killing intent subside, Kitsune Saiguu shot Chen Li a grateful look before immediately standing up to explain.
"Why did you come out of the Heroic Spirit summoning circle?" Jingliu's tone was icy.
Jingliu needed to know what went wrong.
"I don't know. I heard someone saying something. 'Hundreds of years of obsession, hundreds of years of waiting, hundreds of years of longing, a dearest friend who once sacrificed herself to save all living beings' and stuff. I thought they were calling for me, so I answered the summons," Kitsune Saiguu said, scratching her head.
"…You also had a long-life species as a dear friend?"
"Mhm."
"Your friend also waited for you for hundreds of years?"
"Mhm, mhm."
"You also had an obsession?"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
"You also sacrificed yourself to save all living beings?"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm."
"…" Jingliu almost lost her composure.
And upon closer inspection, this fox was white-haired just like her, and she even had a black streak on her face…
"Are you also afflicted with a terrible illness?" Jingliu couldn't help but ask.
"Not in life, but I am now. It seems to be because I was consumed by a black calamity, so I have a permanent debuff of weakness. But I have a Noble Phantasm. When I unleash it, I will reveal my strongest form, but I'll die right after using it," Kitsune Saiguu said after glancing at her status details.
"…" Jingliu's composure crumbled even further.
In a sense, with Jingliu, a white-haired Mara-Struck patient, using an incantation that perfectly matched the other's life story, the probability of summoning this fox was indeed higher than summoning Baiheng!
"Little Li, give her a Friends Circle terminal and send her a link to the Revival Card. Have her watch the Revival Card ads for seven days and try to win the tournament. Make sure she never shows up in the summoning pool again!" Jingliu turned and said to Chen Li.
"Got it."
"Wait, what do you mean? What's the Revival Games?" Kitsune Saiguu was stunned.
"The Revival Games is…" Seeing the utterly bewildered Kitsune Saiguu, Chen Li patiently explained it to her.
Chen Li had felt that this fox looked familiar the moment she appeared, and after hearing her self-introduction, he confirmed her identity.
Oh, so it's Kitsune Saiguu.
That makes perfect sense!
Kitsune Saiguu, heir to the Hakushin bloodline, was one of the most special among the youkai who served the Raiden Shogun, and also the most cherished friend of the Raiden Shogun and her sister at the time. When the dark calamity swept through Inazuma, she gave all her power to protect Narukami Island with all her might, and was ultimately consumed by the darkness.
"You mean that after being summoned in a state of death, I can watch Revival Card ads myself, collect enough cards to enter the Revival Games, and if I win, I'll really be resurrected?" Kitsune Saiguu was in disbelief.
"You don't need to repeat what I just told you," Chen Li said.
"Not only do I get a temporary revival for seven days after being summoned, but I might even be revived completely? This summons was totally worth it!"
"Shh, don't provoke my master," Chen Li whispered.
"Got it. But if you have such means, why not just revive that Baiheng directly?" Kitsune Saiguu was confused.
"Because a summoned Heroic Spirit can't stray too far from their Master and needs the Master to supply them with mana. If the Master has no mana, they'll need to supplement it through… getting close… you get it, right?"
"I get it. It's all upsides. This Summoning Talisman is truly a great item. Wait, what about me?" Kitsune Saiguu froze.
If, as Chen Li said, Jingliu had no mana, how could she supply her? And it was obvious the other party wasn't willing to "get close" with her. Could she… really survive for seven days?
In response to Kitsune Saiguu's question, Chen Li just blinked and said nothing.
What to do? Sucks to be you!
"But it's fine, I have another inherent skill. I can continuously supply myself with mana by drawing life force from the planet by standing on the earth… Wait, why isn't it working either?" Kitsune Saiguu froze again.
"Because this is the Xianzhou. It's a planet-sized starship, but it's not a planet, so there are no ley lines."
"…You might as well just kill me now. I don't want to live anymore." Kitsune Saiguu was in despair.
You can't play with me like this!
"You must live, or you will pollute the summoning pool," Jingliu's voice sounded from behind Kitsune Saiguu.
"The Summoning Talisman can be used once every seven days, and the summon lasts for seven days. My master clearly doesn't plan on summoning Baiheng just once. So, to prevent you from disappearing before Baiheng, re-entering the pool, and continuing to pollute it, you must be revived," Chen Li explained.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"I have a plan!" Chen Li held up a finger.
"What plan?"
"Actually, besides the normal mana supply and body fluid exchange, there are two other common methods for a Heroic Spirit to survive. One is to absorb the life force of the living, which I know you won't do. The other is to eat. We're all of the Lawful alignment, so I'll prepare a lot of food for you. For the next seven days, you'll just eat while watching ads. I guarantee it'll be fine," Chen Li said with a thumbs-up.
"…I feel like I'm going to eat until I puke. Is there really no other way?"
"No… wait, it's not like there's no way. I have something else here." Chen Li was about to deny it when he remembered a treasure he had on hand and quickly took it out.
"Holy crap, a Gnosis? And it's the Electro Gnosis! Where did you get this?" Kitsune Saiguu was dumbfounded when she saw the chess piece in Chen Li's hand.
She was way too familiar with this thing!
She had even touched it before!
A Gnosis was an advanced external mana organ granted by Celestia to the Seven Archons of Teyvat.
Although she wasn't in Teyvat right now, meaning the Gnosis couldn't connect to Celestia to draw power, Kitsune Saiguu discovered that the "battery" in this Gnosis was full, more than enough to last her countless seven-day periods.
Great, I finally don't have to watch ads while binge-eating!
"A friend of mine won this in a lottery. So, do you know how to use it?"
"I do."
"That's great! I was just worrying about not being able to find someone to help me use the Gnosis to charge myself!" Chen Li slapped his thigh in excitement.
Chen Li had long wanted to taste the flavor of lightning to increase his own lightning resistance.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm lending you this Gnosis for now. From now on, you'll be supplying me with mana."
"Huh?"