Chapter 144: Secrecy (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Looking at the damaged Extraordinary Item that had helped him many times, Oliver forcibly suppressed his sorrow, reached into his bosom, and prepared to use a Talisman that increased speed to flee.

He knew very well that in the absence of their leader, even if the entire Bone Worship Society were sacrificed, they might not be a match for an Evil Spirit!

"That Evil Spirit... how could it have gotten out?"

In his heart, Oliver thought of the leader's previous definitive judgment, filled with doubt.

The next moment, his hand froze in mid-air.

He discovered he could no longer control his own body!

"You have fallen, you are no longer human, you are the evil beast that the Holy Spirit has raised its spear to wage war against!" Nicholas said, enunciating every word.

Aaron said: "He succeeded?"

"Leader Sipeite believes so, but he also said that Roberts failed to balance the 'Red' and the 'Pupa' to walk the path of the Druid, instead opening up a brand-new, evil profession..."

Roberts made a hoarse sound: "Until I gradually grew old, my body suffered the torture of disease and pain, and I prayed piously to the Holy Spirit many times, but it never answered me once... From that moment on, I knew the Holy Spirit was merely a delusion! I wanted to pursue... the meaning of life! Therefore, I came to believe in that existence who holds sway over the fourth month... I sacrificed to Him many times, offering Him sweet blood and flesh... I obtained advancement because of this, but I was not satisfied..."

Aaron immediately recalled the news about the construction of Saint Avalon Cathedral being halted, then asked: "You have a partnership? In what regard?"

"What a pity..."

This is the ability that Ghost-type Spirit Bodies are most proficient in—Possession!

And the level of the Evil Spirit Possession was too high; it was simply not something Oliver could resist.

It gradually revealed its full appearance, a humanoid silhouette.

After Oliver finished answering the last sentence, he subconsciously stretched out both hands and gripped his own throat, applying more and more force...

"Obeying your will, my lord..."

'As expected, the Green Forest Cathedral is very dangerous... My previous divination and intuition were not wrong; a Non-human Grade danger was indeed hidden there...'

"A portion comes from selling artifacts, a portion comes from Archbishop Roberts John Schaller..." Oliver spat out a name that surprised Aaron somewhat.

Aaron was suddenly a little curious: "Your source of funding?"

"You are 'Owl' Oliver?"

'That Archbishop of the Green Forest Church, he really did embezzle the funds!'

Roberts reached out a hand, touching the now immobile Nicholas, his eyes filled with malice: "My thirst is the desire for constant advancement, the craving to obtain the true mystery of life... But I cannot become a 'Weaver' because the Secret Transmission I obtained is incomplete, and I could never find knowledge regarding it... And the intense hunger is already about to swallow me whole... I can only cooperate with other secret societies, using the knowledge of the 'Red' to complete the incomplete 'Weaver' Ritual... The vitality of life and the desire for reproduction are always a good match, aren't they?"

A large amount of viscous, fishy-smelling liquid flowed out, submerging his knees, his thighs...

Rip!

Nicholas Inamu looked at the black shadow wriggling inside the giant cocoon, as well as the evil symbols and twisted signs that flashed occasionally, feeling his own spirit being impacted.

This Bone Worship Society is far too wealthy!

This made him somewhat impatient to go and collect taxes!

And the method of directly interrogating a Spirit Body made it very difficult for him to lie, because the person one can deceive the least is always oneself!

"How much property is left in your camp, and where is it kept?"

Nicholas saw the Archbishop's mucus-covered head; his body had become abnormally tall, yet like a mummy-like skeleton frame, the surface was merely covered by a layer of tattered skin, with many ruptures.

Although Oliver felt that this ancient Evil Spirit did not resemble an ancient person at all, he still answered honestly: "Roberts had long since fallen and secretly made contact with the Mysterious... He wanted to become a Fourth Primordial Substance holder of the 'Pupa' path, but failed, so he cooperated with the Lotus Eaters. The Lotus Eaters taught him the 'Red' Secret Transmission, and he repaid them with funds, as well as the convenience for our operations here... Our leader is the middleman for the transaction."

Then, Oliver heard a voice in his own mind.

"You don't know how much I once believed in the Holy Spirit, even willing to die for it!"

"Every time an Extraordinary opens a Primordial Substance, they also open a kind of twisted desire within their heart; it will gradually swallow you, twist you... You try to satisfy it again and again, but you will never find peace..."

Roberts paced forward, arriving directly opposite Nicholas. As he walked, black beetles flew in and out from beneath his skin from time to time, as if his entire body had become a nest for insects!

Oliver immediately acted exceptionally humble; after all, an existence of the Fourth Primordial Substance was indeed a big shot in the occult world.

Nicholas felt that he was already close to death, but he was not afraid, firmly holding his head high as he looked at the wriggling black shadow.

"Nicholas..."

The next moment, he felt his Spirit Body being grabbed by a giant hand, with countless icy blades slashing across it, making him feel pain worse than death.

Occasionally, one could see through the skin structures resembling honeycombs and ant nests, forming a scene that could suffocate someone with trypophobia.

"Impossible... how could an Evil Spirit sealed for hundreds of years still retain its sanity? This isn't Occultism!" Oliver roared in his own mind.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow morning, my lord..." Oliver's heart was full of bitterness, knowing that there must be defectors in the Lingmu who caused the intelligence leak.

As an Evil Spirit, being able to directly attack someone's Spirit Body is also an instinct.

Nicholas endured the mental shocks accompanying the words wave after wave, shouting with his last bit of strength: "You have fallen; you have not only harmed yourself, but you have also harmed Chris, and harmed many people!"

"In my tent, there is a sum of funds just received, totaling 2300 pounds, as well as some Spirit Materials obtained within the Lingmu... A few Magical Items were taken away by the leader..."

"Life is a hunger, so says a certain existence high above the firmament..."

"I ask, you answer."

"When will Sipeite return?"

"Roberts!"

Green Forest Cathedral, underground storage room.

The next instant, he saw insect limbs similar to the forelimbs of a mantis pierce out of the giant cocoon, carving out a gap.

Looking inward from the rupture, one could see black beetle-like insects constantly crawling inside his body, inside his internal organs, inside his face and brain...

"It's a pity, I cannot walk the path of the Druid, because it requires opening the auxiliary aspect at the Second-tier... and I only underwent the transformation at the Fourth Primordial Substance..."

Aaron said calmly.

"Your knowledge is too narrow... that was only part of the Ritual, hmm, it has been so from the very beginning..."

Roberts seemed to have heard some joke: "Starting from that unlucky Mr. Benjamin, everything was a web I wove... Even if Jack hadn't been exposed, I would have eventually made him fail, thereby attracting more Extraordinaries and the Investigation Bureau into the game... Let me tell you a secret: Extraordinaries who advance to the Fourth Primordial Substance, called the Destined One or the Chosen Child in ancient times, all have their own Heavenly Mandate and need to complete large-scale rituals and meritorious deeds... My ritual referenced the 'Weaver', requiring me to net a large number of Extraordinaries, weave their dramas, change their fates, and complete a grand performance..."

(End of chapter)