novelraw Chapter 406: A Unique Path to Godhood, Abyss Destruction Demon
Chapter 406: A Unique Path to Godhood, Abyss Destruction Demon
[You possess the Shell of Desire Primordial Fire Child of Evil.]
[The Star Radiance Priest sees that you still refuse to leave with it. Just as it is about to scold you, it watches in horror as you suddenly change appearance. It reacts with lightning speed, immediately raising a Starlight Veil to protect itself.]
[You swing the Scarlet King’s Sword, and under its terrified gaze, you shatter the defensive spell. The crimson greatsword comes to rest across its neck…]
[The Star Radiance Priest’s expression changes drastically as it realizes you are an enemy who infiltrated the Polar Star Society in disguise, and that it has actually transplanted the latest research result into the body of an enemy.]
[It immediately says in a low voice that no matter what you want, as long as you can return the Eyeball Heart to it… you can rest assured, it will give your original heart back. No, it will transplant another heart just as powerful for you…]
With no one else around, Lin Xun could not be bothered to argue with this thing. He simply knocked it out with one sword strike and tossed it into the Time Prison.
With the help of such a powerful torture artifact, the Star Radiance Priest was soon sobbing with snot and tears, spilling everything it knew.
[…]
[Faced with your interrogation, the Star Radiance Priest wipes its nose and eyes and answers pitifully that it is not the only one conducting transplant research in the Polar Star Society. Many priests skilled in transplant techniques are carrying out related experiments on the orders of Executor Lord. There are plenty of priests stronger and more skilled than it is…]
[The research is not limited to hearts. Livers, spleens, kidneys, and other organs are also being studied. Research on other internal organs has already reached near perfection. Only the most important and most difficult organ, the heart, has remained stalled.][It never expected that it would accidentally break through the Heart Reinforcement transplant hurdle…]
Lin Xun could not help but sneer.
Without Flesh Authority to reinforce the body, the frail mage body of a Star-Favored would have already kicked the bucket.
[The Star Radiance Priest continues to babble like spilling beans. The purpose of the transplant research appears to be reinforcing the frail physique of star mages, but in reality it is far from that simple.]
[This is a great path to becoming a god.]
[Whether Knowledge Scholars or star mages, their power does not lie in their weak flesh, but in their powerful spirit.]
[However, the growth and strengthening of the spirit, just like the body, has a certain limit.]
[That is the barrier to godhood, the boundary between god and mortal. Those without exceptionally rare talent will often find themselves unable to advance further once they reach their limit.]
[The great figures within the organization, such as the Starrealm Envoys, already possess strength at the level of top demigods. But if they wish to take another step forward to become gods like the Executor Lord, even if only pseudo gods, it is absolutely impossible.]
[Because they have already reached their own limits and cannot grow stronger.]
[It is like a refined copper balance scale. One side holds a beaker, and the other side holds the weight of becoming a god.]
[As the ‘beaker,’ the star mage has already reached its limit. The beaker is full of the liquid called spiritual power, yet it still cannot tip the weight of godhood.]
[At that point, pouring more liquid into the beaker only makes it overflow and is meaningless.]
[Before the emergence of the disordered Veil of Knowledge, demigods could still ascend to godhood by absorbing the power of faith.]
[But now this path has been blocked off by the evil god Omniscient True Knowledge. If demigods lack absolutely overwhelming talent, then once they reach their limit and still seek a breakthrough, they can only search for some other method.]
[For star mages with weak bodies, since the beaker is full and cannot be filled with more liquid weight, why not take another approach and increase the weight of the beaker itself?]
[Transplanting organs to reinforce a frail body is the fastest method to increase the weight of the beaker itself.]
[It is a unique path to godhood.]
[With their vast experience in eyeball transplants, transplanting other limbs or organs does not present much technical difficulty.]
[At first, they used demon limbs as transplant materials, but the experiments did not progress smoothly.]
[This is because simply transplanting limbs is merely putting on a powerful outer shell. At its core, a star mage’s body remains extremely fragile. It is like a coachman driving a carriage. The carriage’s powerful motive force comes from the horses, not the coachman.]
[They realized that rather than transplanting limbs, which are outer flesh, they should transplant internal organs, the inner core, using powerful organ circulation to drive the strengthening of the body.]
[This direction was undoubtedly correct. After some initial success, however, they soon ran into another bottleneck.]
[Experimental results showed that transplanting demon organs did indeed boost physical strength and increase the weight of the beaker.]
[But the physical power gained this way was extremely incompatible with spiritual power. The ‘weight increase’ efficiency was terribly low, while the human body could not withstand transplanting stronger demon organs.]
[If they could not break through the extremely low weight increase efficiency, then relying only on the internal organs of low-level demons would fall far short of the experiment’s expected result.]
[When the many priests were at their wits’ end, the Great Star Priest of the radiant stars discovered that combining the eyeballs of the spirits of the stars with demon organs could greatly increase the efficiency of weight increase.]
[Although combining the two also increased the burden on the transplant recipient to some degree, the efficiency was far higher than transplanting demon organs alone.]
[From then on, the experiment advanced quickly. One internal organ after another was conquered in terms of fusion, modification, and transplant. Until now, only the heart remained – the most important and also the most difficult organ to transplant.]
[If they could complete the heart’s transplant and modification, the Starrealm Envoys within the organization would all be able to advance to godhood.]
[At this point, the eyes of the Star Radiance Priest gleam as it stares at your chest. Licking its lips, it goes on to say that the only experimental finished product, the only path to godhood, is beating in your chest right now.]
[Based on the combat data just now, this heart must have undergone some unexpected mutation, which is why its strength far exceeded expectations. Copying another one might not necessarily produce such outstanding results.]
[If you can return this first prototype to it, it is willing to pay any price.]
“So this so-called new path to godhood works like this… If Intelligence is not enough, make up for it with Strength. Now that is quite the alternative route.”
Of course, Lin Xun understood that the Star Radiance Priest’s experiment was far from successful.
Even if he gave the heart back and they transplanted it into another mage, not a single one of those star mages would be able to withstand it.
He could fuse with this heart only because of Flesh Authority.
Even with Flesh Authority, he had needed to respec and pump Strength and Vitality to endure the massive burden from the heart.
Any mage with that kind of physical toughness would not need any transplant at all. They could ascend to godhood directly.
[Hearing this, you take out the Illusory Knowledge Trap Device again, threatening the Star Radiance Priest that it has no right to negotiate with you. If it doesn’t want to go back into the Time Prison, it had better behave itself.]
[The Star Radiance Priest swallows hard. Fear flashes deep in its eyes as it quickly straightens its attitude.]
[You ask it if its body is this hideous, covered in mottled green scales, because it is related to the Saints lineage. You ask where those dragons are currently imprisoned.]
[The Star Radiance Priest explains that one must possess a very rare and special talent to learn healing magic. Those with such talent are one in a million even among Knowledge Scholars and star mages.]
[As someone without that talent, it could only steal bloodline talents from those legendary creatures in order to successfully learn healing magic.]
[To forcibly fuse and adapt to that bloodline, it had no choice but to transform itself into this neither-human-nor-ghost appearance.]
[As for the imprisonment site of the Saints lineage… All dragons who follow the evil god Omniscient True Knowledge are locked inside the same painting. But that painting, called Despair Abyss, is not here. It is in the headquarters of the organization.]
[Only a few Starrealm Envoys have permission to enter it. The Great Star Priest, of course, has permission as well, but the Great Priest is also at headquarters…]
[From your gaze, the Star Radiance Priest immediately knows what you are trying to ask. It hastily shakes its head and waves its hands, saying that it does not know how to enter headquarters. Priests like it may hold a status above ordinary members, but they are still not qualified to enter headquarters…]
[You nod to show that you understand, then draw your sword across its neck…]
[The Star Radiance Priest’s eyes widen in terror, then it slowly collapses to the ground, dying in unwillingness…]
[You have defeated Polar Star Society Starlight Priest Who Gazes Upward. Experience gained slightly.]
[You have obtained Fading Chunk Spirit Essence of Sanctity x1.]
[You have obtained Apizi Ore (item).]
[You look at the corpse on the ground…]
[Shell of Polar Star Society Starlight Priest Who Gazes Upward: Priests of the Polar Star Society not only wield healing magic, they also possess exquisite transplant techniques. The two complement each other and are inseparable. As rare healing mages and researchers, priests hold a higher standing than others of the same level. Compatibility: 96% (+65%).]
[Will you possess this Shell?]
“Even with a 65-point boost, Compatibility still isn’t over one hundred. That is really twisted.”
Lin Xun muttered a complaint, hit the possess option, then opened the panel to check.
[Shell – Polar Star Society Starlight Priest Who Gazes Upward.]
[True Name: Kaiyaer]
[Compatibility: 96% (+65%)]
[Shell Quality: Legendary]
[Shell Level: 110 (+15)]
[Shell Equipment: Star Priest Ritual Robe (epic+ equipment): …]
[Shell Equipment: Star Ritual Short Staff (epic+ weapon): …]
[Shell Skill: Starlight Veil (epic+ skill): …]
[Shell Skill: Thermal Star Ray (epic+ skill): …]
[Shell Skill: Starlight Baptism (legendary skill): …]
[Shell Skill: Star River Chorus (legendary skill): …]
[Shell Skill: Eyeball/Organ Transplant Technique (legendary skill): …]
Both of the Starlight Priest’s healing spells were legendary quality, one a single-target heal and the other an area heal.
Overall, although this Shell’s Compatibility had not broken one hundred to trigger a quality upgrade, its Shell grade was equal to that of Saio Chisoku-hime. However, its healing skills were one tier higher in grade, and its healing output slightly surpassed that of Saio Chisoku-hime.
“The Great Star Priest’s Shell grade and level should be very high. If only I could enter the Polar Star Society’s headquarters…”
The Star Radiance Priest had also dropped an item that looked quite familiar – Apizi Ore.
Back in the fourth chapter, he had obtained an item with the same name. It was a one-use item that consumed HP to restore stamina and could only be used by sturdy Shells.
[The fragmented memories within the Shell gradually resurface…]
[…]
The contents of the Shell’s memories did not differ much from what the now-deceased Star Radiance Priest had confessed.
Although this guy did not know the specific method of entering the headquarters, it knew there was a way to enter the headquarters from within the branch itself, and that the Starrealm Envoy had already gone to the headquarters to meet Executor Lord.
[You look up. Among the countless stars scattered across the void, four of the hundred plus cages still imprison Abyss Demons.]
[Inside the largest cage is the powerful and terrifying Abyss Destruction Demon.]
[Will you leave the Starlight Cage or remain here?]
“Is it an elite monster or a boss?”
No matter which it was, Lin Xun would not let it go. Clearing out every living monster in a place was only natural for an Apostle player with the trait of plucking every feather from every passing goose.
[You leave the small cage and guide the disc toward the Abyss Destruction Demon…]
[As you draw closer, you finally see the demon clearly emerge from the shadows.]
[It is as huge as a hill, its body towering and massive. Its entire skin is dark red, and thick, sharp black bone spikes grow from its spine and each of its joints.]
[When it sees you, a tiny being, daring to approach, it rises from its crouched posture on all fours into a bipedal stance and lashes its bone-spiked giant tail against the inner wall of the cage, making the entire cage shake and sway as if about to topple…]
[As you move nearer to the cage, you can clearly feel the surrounding temperature rapidly rising. With every breath, the air is thick with a pungent sulfur stench.]
[You ignore the demon’s attempt at intimidation and continue to approach the cage…]
[The Abyss Destruction Demon lets out an enraged roar that makes your eardrums ache. It opens its jaws wide, dark red flames gathering in its maw, and in an instant it spews forth a torrent of rampaging fire imbued with destructive power.]
[You possess the Shell of Desire Primordial Fire Child of Evil.]
[You instinctively stomp on the disc and leap aside, only to see the destructive flames blocked by the cage and unable to advance.]
[Even though the bars of the starlight cage have fairly wide gaps, the flames cannot pass through them to reach the outside world.]
[You immediately realize that as long as this Abyss Destruction Demon remains inside the cage, it cannot harm you at all.]
[And here, the Starlight Cages can block all attacks except those of star magic…]
“This Polar Star Society is really so considerate…”
Lin Xun recalled the large Knowledge Barrier outside the Multivision Association. It could block Veiled Aberrations, yet would not obstruct Knowledge-type spells.
Unless the entire large-scale defensive spell was destroyed, it would always be ‘I can hit you, but you cannot hit me.’
“In that case, I won’t be polite.”
Lin Xun stopped approaching the cage and instead used Bee Queen Visage to bombard it repeatedly with star magic.
In a situation like this, he could actually designate the Bee Queen as a mage, then use another drone’s extra mage skill so that both could channel and charge at the same time to deliver tremendous damage.
However, Bee Queen Visage had one drawback. Once he switched the Bee Queen, he had to die or refresh before he could change the Bee Queen again.
Under the frenzied barrage of spells, the mage could indeed fight the monster without taking damage. But the legendary-level spell damage of the Star-Favored was still a bit low. After struggling for a long time until he was almost exhausted, he had only managed to inflict ‘minor injuries’ on the boss.
Lin Xun was helpless. Even if he added the Direct Vision President and the newly acquired Starlight Priest, they probably still would not be able to whittle down much HP.
“Skipping the hard fight failed. It seems hardcore players still have to step onto the battlefield in person.”
“Sooner or later, I have to get my hands on a top-tier mage Shell. A Starrealm Envoy seems pretty good.”
“No, I am thinking too small. Executor Lord seems even stronger…”