Chapter 96: Forging Immortality

Wu Chang looked at the key in his hand, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

No, buddy, with this, do I still need you?

Why are you still posting quests here? Don't you understand your own status and situation even now?

Ebeit saw the doubt on Wu Chang's face and asked, "Are there any other questions? If so, speak quickly; I am a bit tired."

Wu Chang shook his head, "There are no more questions. Please get some rest."

After saying this, he reactivated "Plague-Riding" and "Curse-Descending."

Ebeit had just felt his body improve, but who would have thought the illness would come back with a vengeance, even more intensely than before, and he immediately rolled his eyes and fainted.

Wu Chang curled his lips and turned around, his face filled with panic.

He ran to the door and shouted outside: "Nurse! Nurse! Professor Ebeit is failing!"

Ten minutes later, the illness successfully defeated Professor Ebeit.

This master-level scholar of the Oguri Kingdom's theology and history circles died inexplicably in a simple hospital room on a deserted island.

Why could Wu Chang be certain that Ebeit died inexplicably?

Because this old professor, whose willpower and inspiration were different from ordinary people, left behind a blood-colored last testament after his death.

The last testament was not attached to his body, but to the lighthouse key he had handed over.

The color of the blood-colored last testament was not a common bright red, but a deep crimson.

Wu Chang said to the young nurse beside him: "The world is impermanent, wouldn't you say?"

The young nurse nodded; she wanted to say something, but did not know how to start.

Wu Chang sighed: "He was an elder worthy of my respect. His passing makes me very sad, so I need a little comfort."

The young nurse's face flushed, and just like before, she gave Wu Chang a hug.

"You truly are an angel in white."

After experiencing the girl's innocence once more, Wu Chang left the town hospital, humming a tune, and walked toward the lighthouse by the sea.

The lighthouse by the sea was about fourteen meters high and had five floors in total.

The lighthouse was built by Count Jermaine when he first arrived on Brifer Island, mainly to point the way for merchant ships coming and going.

Later, when the Brifer port took shape and no longer needed the lighthouse as a guide, the top floor of the lighthouse was sealed off and handed over to Professor Ebeit to manage, used for studying the stars.

The lighthouse manager's main job was to maintain the normal use of the lighthouse, including the maintenance of the facilities inside and outside the lighthouse, and did not actually operate the lighthouse.

When Wu Chang arrived at the shore, he saw Jifeng following the old lighthouse manager, clearing away the bird droppings piled up outside the tower.

Jianxing had already told the other assistants about Wu Chang becoming a town councilor, and also attached Wu Chang's speculation about the good-and-evil value.

Precisely because of this, Jifeng was working extra hard at this moment and did not notice Wu Chang, who had already approached.

He did not ask to become a councilor himself, only that his good-and-evil value could be a little higher to avoid being attacked by the townspeople.

As a town councilor, Wu Chang was very gratified to see Jifeng working hard, so he intended to let him rest for a while.

He put on the Shadow-Reflecting Mask, summoned the Fog Demon, and whispered: "Let them sleep for a while."

A wave hit, crashing against the cliff by the lighthouse, exploding into a sky full of water mist.

The Fog Demon, wrapped in the water mist, turned into a cold wind and enveloped Jifeng and the lighthouse manager.

Under the ability of the level-15 Fog Demon, the two had no power to resist; their heads tilted, and they fell into an illusion and went to sleep.

Wu Chang beckoned to take back the Fog Demon, then walked into the lighthouse openly.

He went all the way up the stairs inside the lighthouse; the lighthouse was clearly equipped with ordinary wooden doors, but they opened automatically as he approached, welcoming his arrival.

The top floor of the lighthouse was a stargazing room, inside which was placed a large telescope, and Ebeit's manuscripts were scattered around, recording the trajectories of celestial bodies and his messy interpretations of the stars.

These manuscripts looked flashy and seemed like the real thing, but they were actually all illusions, just to deal with certain uninvited guests.

Wu Chang took out the key Ebeit had given him, closed his eyes, and following the guidance of his inspiration, inserted the key into the star map drawn on the wall.

As the key was inserted, a clicking sound of mechanical gears turning came from the top floor of the lighthouse.

Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling window on the stargazing side, one could see the top floor of the lighthouse rotating.

The top floor of the lighthouse rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, and after a distinct jolt when the machinery stopped moving, the lighthouse became quiet again.

Looking outward, the clear sky that the floor-to-ceiling window had been facing had turned into a deep starry sky.

He had entered the inner world belonging to the lighthouse.

Walking down from the top floor of the lighthouse, one could see that the lighthouse in the inner world was filled with all kinds of alchemy devices and occult ritual props.

The entire lighthouse was like a huge alchemy workshop.

In the center of the first floor of the lighthouse stood a huge obsidian slab, on which a complex human body diagram was carved.

The human body diagram was precise down to every blood vessel and every muscle; looking at this drawing alone, one would definitely think it was the most advanced anatomy textbook in the dungeon plane.

The human body diagram was densely filled with notes, marking what materials were needed to build each part of each area.

Only after looking carefully would one discover that this was not an anatomy diagram, but an assembly blueprint.

An assembly blueprint for a human body—no, a divine body.

If it were any other player, they would definitely be surprised by the discovery before them, but Wu Chang, having already seen Ebeit's resentment, was long mentally prepared for the scene before him.

He looked at the huge obsidian slab, but his gaze returned to Ebeit's resentment.

Ebeit's resentment was extremely deep; it was not the resentment of someone near death, but a resentment that ran through his entire life and into which he had poured his all.

...In the office, an elderly male wearing a professor's robe threw the thick manuscript in his hand directly into the fireplace and said angrily:

"Ridiculous, the gods are high above, the supreme existence born as gods. To explore the realm of the gods with human power is a blasphemy against the gods. Ebeit, you have committed such a blasphemous act; are you worthy of your faith? You deserve to be hanged more than that group of pirates!"

"Get out, Oguri First University does not need scum like you."

A team of fully armed knights kicked open the door of the barn and dragged a thin, middle-aged man out of it, like dragging a dead dog.

The leading knight stepped on the man's face, pointed at the bones, stone slabs, and various strangely shaped antiques piled up in the barn, and shouted:

"Burn this place of blasphemy for me! Then tie up this damned blasphemer and send him to the Inquisition!"

Inside the dungeon, on the cold floor, an archbishop wearing a black robe visited alone late at night. He said to the middle-aged man who was covered in wounds and dying on the ground:

"I have read your thesis; it is very interesting. I can give you a chance; do you want to try it?"

The next day, a heretic with a sack over his head was hanged in front of the church.

The day after, a group of hardened criminals escaped from prison and slaughtered wantonly in the city, with no fewer than several hundred dead or injured. Coincidentally, the middle-aged man's friends, colleagues, acquaintances, including the neighbor who reported him, and the commander of the knight order who captured him, all died in this man-made disaster.

!

A month later, Archbishop Gilman personally brought a church scholar to Oguri First University and appointed him as a professor of theology and archaeology.

Under the Oguri Holy Light Cathedral, a little girl opened her eyes wrapped in complex instruments. She did not cry or make a fuss, but smiled as she looked at the man in the distance.

The man subconsciously waved at her, a smile appearing on his face that had not been seen for many years.

But behind him, Archbishop Gilman looked at the golden crystal of the ritual terminal with a gloomy face.

"We failed. Souls are indeed born with original sin, even man-made souls. This defective product can only serve as a container for the Holy Mark and cannot exert the power of the Holy Mark."

The man in the resentment spoke for the first time, "Then what is to be done with her?"

Archbishop Gilman said coldly: "Decompose, recycle."

In the Holy Light Cathedral, the man taught the little girl knowledge while writing and drawing in a notebook.

The little girl finished her homework and ran over, asking: "Professor, what are you doing?"

The man smiled somewhat awkwardly, "Professors have their own homework too."

The little girl's body was a size larger, looking about three or four years old. She lay in the center of the instrument, looking at her surroundings with curiosity.

"Professor, when I wake up, can I really see the Great Holy Mother?"

The professor nodded.

Outside the ritual, Archbishop Gilman looked serious: "This matter concerns your future and mine; you must remove the Holy Mark."

As the ritual began, the little girl in her sleep let out a painful moan. The man showed an unbearable expression and, while Gilman was not paying attention, adjusted the details of a certain part of the ritual.

Five minutes later, the golden crystal shattered, and the ritual failed.

The man said decadently: "The Holy Mark has already merged into her original sin; forcing a disassembly may lead to damage to the Holy Mark."

Archbishop Gilman showed disappointment. He shook his head, but his tone was slightly relieved: "Then we can only find a way to make use of the waste."

At the King's banquet, the new Saintess discovered by the church became the focus of everyone's attention.

She was born favored by the gods. Although she was only eight years old, her smile was enough to infect even the most vicious evildoers. Appearing for only one year, she was loved by everyone in the kingdom.

Even the Pope, in terms of influence, was far inferior to her.

The man sat in the corner of the banquet hall, watching the Saintess in the center of the crowd from afar, and took out his notebook with a lonely expression, writing and drawing on it.

A nobleman with eyes as sharp as an eagle sat down beside the man and said in a flat tone: "I know your research, and I know you haven't given up yet. The royal capital is no longer suitable for you. Do you want to come to my territory and try?"

At the Count's manor, looking at the dolls scattered all over the floor, the man shook his head.

"The train of thought is correct, but the divine grace on the island is too weak to be used as the core of a true god."

Count Jermaine walked behind the man and said slowly: "So, we need the Holy Mark, right?"

The man looked at the broken dolls all over the floor, was silent for a long time, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes."

Count Jermaine smiled, "The church's missionary fleet will happen to pass by this island; I will take care of the Holy Mark matter."

On the top floor of the main building of the Count's manor, Count Jermaine stood with the man. Behind them, a faceless nun doll was rising from an alchemy device.

Jermaine gazed at the fire igniting the cathedral and the seven phantoms condensing above Brifor, pouring red wine for himself and the man.

"The Seven Deadly Sins are dispersed, the Stigmata are stripped away, and the ritual begins now. To the immortality you and I are about to forge."

With a whoosh, the surroundings plunged into darkness, and the scene within the resentment ended.

Wu Chang opened his eyes, and Ebet's blood-colored last words appeared before him.

[Destroy the ritual at Count Jermaine's manor and completely liberate Saintess Irene.]

(End of chapter)