Chapter 106: The Sage's Relic Visage and Clearing the Instance

The last one who used the Immobilize spell pinned down seven beauties fair as flowers, yet only stole the Peaches of Immortality and did nothing else.

While cosplaying the Immobilize spell, Wu Chang also imitated that one's method.

Facing the Holy Mother, whose body was frozen and completely unable to move, he reached out and removed the "Holy Mother's Blessing" from her neck.

"This is what you've been using to control Eileen, isn't it."

The Holy Mother felt a bit uneasy; the mortal before her had given her too many surprises, and for the first time she felt a wariness toward mortals.

"Mortal, what are you trying to do? That is an object of my blessing, and with your methods, you cannot destroy it."

Wu Chang smiled. "Who said I was going to destroy it?"

"I knew you couldn't do it." The Holy Mother finally won one back, showing a hint of smugness.

But the next moment, her expression froze.

Because she saw an extra pendant appear in Wu Chang's hand.

She was very familiar with that pendant; to be precise, it was also a divine-grace item she had bestowed upon the lower realm.

"Item Name: Holy Light Recast Talisman."

"Item Grade: C"

"Item Skill: Holy Light Recast."

"Skill Description: Consume this item to fuse one Holy Light-attribute special item into a designated item, recasting the designated item into a brand-new item. The new item will inherit the original item's attributes and skills, and gain an additional Holy Light blessing ability."

"Note: If the original item's grade is below C, the fused item's grade will be raised to C; if equal to C, there is a small chance of raising it to B; if above C, the original item's grade remains unchanged."

The divine grace she herself had bestowed meant she knew its effects perfectly; the instant she saw the Holy Light Recast Talisman, she truly panicked.

Who gave this to the guy in front of me!

There are traitors within the Church!

In an instant, the Holy Mother was as if she had teleported to some great Eastern nation and learned a national treasure; her lofty, cold face instantly transformed into a gentle yet delicate appearance.

She didn't even need to cover her face with a sleeve or a fan—so authentic it was.

"Mortal—no, esteemed human—I believe there is a small misunderstanding between us. I am merely taking back what belongs to me, and I have no intention of making an enemy of you."

Wu Chang sighed regretfully. "I still prefer the way you were at the start, all wild and untamed. Please go back to that."

He had seen too many soft, delicate beauties; he was already aesthetically fatigued by them.

It had to be the kind of noble and sacred mature big sister, putting on a lofty, cold look, looking at you with disgust and disdain, then reluctantly going along with every play—that kind was interesting.

The Holy Mother seemed to sense Wu Chang's inner thoughts, and her face could barely hold it together.

"Human, I am not afraid of you. You must understand that, as a deity, my existence is beyond your imagination. This is merely a projection I descended into; even if you destroy it, it will not cause much harm to my true body."

"If you stop here, you will gain a god's friendship and blessing; but if you insist on opposing me, what awaits you will be divine punishment."

Wu Chang curled his lip. "Yes, yes, yes, I'm listening. You're not the first deity I've dealt with. The last one who went on and on about being a mortal and acting like a mortal—I stuffed his eyeballs into a pendant and wore it as a necklace."

The Holy Mother's expression changed again; she actually sensed that this mortal was telling the truth.

"Looks like you've run out of tricks. Time to give Eileen's body back." As Wu Chang spoke, he activated the Holy Light Recast skill.

The Holy Light Recast Talisman in his hand turned into a liquid-like white flame; at the flame's center, the symbols of a sun and a hammer could faintly be seen.

Sensing the approaching crisis, the Holy Mother's composure broke, and she shouted with an almost meme-worthy expression:

"Wait, the Holy Mark is mine! My power! You thief, I will keep watching you and won't let you get away with this!"

"Getting anxious already? Looks like the Holy Mark and this projection aren't as dispensable as you claimed."

Wu Chang placed the white flame onto the Holy Mother's Blessing; the Holy Mother's Blessing immediately merged into the white flame, and the Holy Mother occupying Eileen's body instantly fell silent.

He looked up at the sky and blew a kiss with one hand.

You promised you'd keep watching me—don't look away now.

He took out Silver Dawn, preparing to recast this beloved gun according to the original plan.

From the very beginning of entering the Abyss Game, this silver revolver had been with him, saving his life countless times.

He was a sentimental person; even though Silver Dawn's power had already fallen behind the version, even though fusing the Holy Mother's Blessing with it was somewhat wasteful, he had no intention of giving it up lightly.

Just as the flame in his hand was about to be pressed onto Silver Dawn, he saw Eileen, who had fallen to the ground, and the Holy Mark purified by the Holy Mother—all merge into the flame.

No, the only thing I wanted to melt was the consciousness the Holy Mother hid in the pendant. Eileen, what are you joining in for?

This left Wu Chang completely stumped.

Could it be that the Holy Mother's consciousness had already fully assimilated with Eileen?

Or was it that the Holy Mark, Eileen, and the Holy Mother's Blessing were originally one whole?

Seeing the white flame in his hand becoming unstable, he had no time to think too much—he had to end this quickly.

He looked at the Silver Dawn in his hand and sighed. Little Light, you'll have to suffer a bit more.

If it were only the Holy Mother's Blessing, it could barely be recast, but adding Eileen on top—if I force a fusion, it'll be a dog riding Lü Bu.

With tears in his eyes, he stuffed the founding veteran back into his随身 space and took out the Mortal Poison and the Reflection Visage.

Among the items he currently possessed, only these two were worthy of being recast with the flame in his hand.

Just one glance was enough to know which was more suitable.

Wu Chang attached the flame in his hand onto the Reflection Visage.

The flame wrapped around the Reflection Visage and slowly fused with it.

"Special consciousness detected within the fused Holy Light-attribute special item. Continuing the fusion will permanently occupy one Reflection slot. Terminate fusion?"

That's exactly what I want.

"Continue fusion."

After choosing to clear the Reflection of Liu Shan from the records, on the black-and-white Reflection Visage, the white areas became covered in sacred runes, and delicate patterns were traced along the edges of the mask—a sense of sacred inviolability rushed forth.

The fusion lasted nearly ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, the recast was complete. "Item Name: Sage's Relic Visage"

Item Description: A mask that records the projection of the Great Sage and the artificial holy statue; its creation was blessed by Light, and wearing it grants you the status of a messenger of the Sage walking the earth, earning great favor from the Holy Light faction.

Item Rank: B (growable).

Item Skill: Reconstruct True Self.

Skill Description: Omitted.

Item Skill: Transcend to Immortal.

Skill Description: Omitted.

The Shadow Mask originally had two skills unchanged, but the skill Shadow Split split into two separate skills.

Item Skill: Shadow Split.

Skill Description: The mask (black) can record the silhouette of a target and summon that silhouette to fight. If the target's level ≤17, its combat power is perfectly replicated; if the target's level >17, its combat power fluctuates based on the user's level and energy attributes. If the silhouette is destroyed, it cannot be summoned again for 24 hours.

The level cap for recording targets with Shadow Split increased from 15 to 17—a significant boost, but compared to the new skill, it's negligible.

!

Item Skill: Saintess Projection.

Skill Description: Due to certain special circumstances, Saintess Elin fused with the Shadow Mask, becoming a permanent resident spirit and forever merging into the item. Elin enjoys all permissions of True Self. You may summon Elin anytime, anywhere to join combat; her level and attributes change according to the item user's level and attributes.

Under the Saintess Projection skill, Elin's skill panel is attached.

Elin

Race: Divine

Level: 10

Health: 21

Strength: 11

Agility: 10

Endurance: 10

Energy: 35

Inspiration: 68

Willpower: 92

Status: Artificial Deity (Incomplete)

Status Description: Elin's Holy Mark is incomplete, missing the most critical Holy Mark region. Completing the Holy Mark will allow her to ascend to Seraph.

Skill: Master of Light Magic.

Skill Description: As a saintess, Elin received formal magical training from childhood. Due to her Holy Mark, she can easily master any Light-based magic. Her compassion and mercy prevent her from ever initiating offensive Light magic.

Talent: Ocean-Favored Transformation (Inactive), Divine True Form (Incomplete).

Talent Name: Divine True Form (Incomplete)

Description: Elin can briefly manifest her Divine True Form by manipulating the Holy Mark, channeling divine power. Duration: (Energy + Inspiration + Willpower)/10 seconds. Cooldown: 15 days.

Wu Chang stared at Elin's stat panel, pinched himself twice, and confirmed this wasn't a hallucination.

He had truly fused Elin into the Shadow Mask.

Not to mention Elin possesses the same permissions as True Self, recognized by the system as a player, able to access his inventory space—greatly expanding his tactical options.

Just her growth potential and stat panel alone are terrifyingly strong.

Elin's attributes and level shift with his own; her level and total stat points match his, but her distribution is energy-specialized, with Willpower and Inspiration swapped.

The only difference is that Elin is an independent entity, capable only of replicating his base stat panel—she cannot benefit from Breakthrough Master's bonuses.

Even so, as a player, Elin is immensely powerful.

Her 35 Energy and Master of Light Magic make every other magic-user at her level look pale in comparison.

Moreover, if pushed to the brink, she has the ultimate trump card: Divine Transformation.

Recall that when Jemaine forcibly activated the Holy Mark to channel divine power, even Wu Chang's True Self with 140 Strength felt threatened.

If Elin truly unleashes her Divine Form, few in the Wasteland Realm could withstand her burst.

The only flaw is that Wu Chang never placed the Proof of Pride into the Fallen Saint Statue, leaving the Holy Mark missing a crucial component.

But there was no choice—he never imagined things would reach this point, and even if he had, he wouldn't have dared to gamble.

Not to mention the looming Great Holy Mother behind him; even Jemaine as an Artificial Deity, he likely couldn't handle.

After fusing with Elin and becoming the Sage's Relic Mask, the mask, tainted with divine aura, seemed draped in a filter—its appearance alone radiated supreme nobility.

The Mortal Poison, extracted alongside it, sensed the divine aura and grew excited, conveying to Wu Chang the message: "Want to eat."

"Eat eat eat, why do you want to eat everything? Is this even something you're fit to eat? This is mine to eat later! Get lost!"

Unable to consume the Sage's Relic Mask, the Mortal Poison reluctantly turned toward the Fallen Saint Statue.

"This one you can eat."

Wu Chang brought the Mortal Poison close to the Fallen Saint Statue; the massive statue was entirely sucked into the pendant.

"Absorbing divine remains, accumulating energy points: 2."

As everything stabilized, the earl's manor beneath his feet began to collapse.

Or rather, the Inner World of the entire Briver Island began collapsing at this moment.

Since the Quiet Town remained uncorrupted, the Mortal Poison absorbed only the basic副本通关 energy.

"Completed C-rank副本, accumulating energy points: 0.5."

"Current accumulated energy: 4/10."

Wu Chang retracted the Mortal Poison into his inventory space; system messages simultaneously appeared before his eyes.

"Due to early completion of the breakthrough, the main quest one is automatically considered completed: Survive thirty days successfully in the town."

"Player has completed main quest two: Investigate the missing earl and uncover the truth."

"Player has completed the hidden side quest: Find the missing Saintess or recover the Holy Stigmata."

"All main quests have been completed. All players will be forcibly teleported out of the instance plane."

The inner world and the outer world had always influenced each other, and the disappearance of the inner world caused a tremendous tremor across Blythe Island.

Amid the tremors, the lighthouse toppled, the cathedral collapsed, the Earl's manor crumbled into ruins…

Watching the townsfolk who had come out of their houses one after another at the strange omens, kneeling on the spot in terror and praying for the gods' protection, Wu Chang chose to leave the instance plane.

(End of this chapter)