Chapter 837: Source of Corruption

The moment Lu Mi's finger touched the jet-black, lustrous bone ring, searing pain exploded from the point of contact and surged through his entire body.

He lowered his head and saw blue-purple brimstone flames curling from every pore, slowly blackening the nearby skin and emitting a pungent stench.

This pain was so familiar to Lu Mi that he merely furrowed his brow, clenched his teeth, and showed no visible reaction.

He immediately pulled out the "Whisper of the Devil" bone ring, slipped it onto his right middle finger, and adjusted the twisted, agonized demon face to face upward.

Lu Mi's gaze turned icy; deep within his blue eyes, a darkness no light could penetrate spread.

The malice within him surged violently, overwhelming the "Ascetic's" capacity for endurance, while the excess clashed fiercely with his own will, forming a fragile equilibrium.

As Lu Mi took out stored "Ice Lemon Fish Slices" from "The Traveler's Satchel," shoved them into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed to temporarily boost his resistance to flame damage, he sensed the malice around him.

He was searching for "The Man in the Mirror," Gey!

One of the negative effects of the "Whisper of the Devil" was that it made the wearer and everyone within a hundred meters more prone to malice and impulsiveness; "The Man in the Mirror," already inclined toward extremism and distortion, would be affected far more intensely.

Under this condition, the "Whisper of the Devil" also possessed the ability "Malice Perception," allowing the wearer to detect whether those nearby harbored malice toward them—though it could not, like a true "Devil," foresee impending danger before it formed, it still counted as a form of mystic perception.

If "The Man in the Mirror" harbored malice toward him and was within a certain range, Lu Mi believed he could use "Malice Perception" to locate him!

Lu Mi, whose skin slowly burned with brimstone flames, coldly scanned the surrounding area and saw corpses clad in iron-black full armor scattered across the wasteland, with residual fires still smoldering in many places, as if a battle had just ended.

Similarly, near-invisible flames burned at various points along the corpse mountain.

These flames illuminated the wasteland and sky, preventing darkness from dominating the place, allowing Lu Mi, Aunis, and Salist to remain visible despite having lost their lanterns and torches.

Just one or two seconds passed when Lu Mi's lips curled slightly, revealing a cruel, cold smile.

He felt intense malice directed at him from just over ten meters to his side and rear!

It came from a corpse—no, from the smooth, mirror-like jet-black breastplate on the corpse.

Found you… Lu Mi did not turn; as he moved slowly, he suddenly "Teleported" beside the corpse and activated the "Mirror Clasp."

Inside the jet-black breastplate, "The Man in the Mirror," Gey, peered through the metallic mirror surface at the outside world.

After using the power of the special mirror world to detect the two "Witches" arriving via the mirror realm, he had quietly withdrawn, leaving the area to Zhu Li and Salist.

He was not worried they would seize "0—01" first, for based on his knowledge and field observations, he believed no one could gain "0—01"'s recognition until its proxy, Vanaq, was eliminated—whether by force or exploiting loopholes; only when the "Throne" remained vacant and chaos ensued would others have a chance.

Gey was glad he had made this wise choice; closely tied to the special mirror world, he had truly felt the destruction of the world's projection.

It was an apocalyptic scene where even a ripple could reduce him to ash.

He confirmed Vanaq's death, then used the ordinary mirror world to sneak back near the corpse mountain, seeking an opportunity to gain "0—01"'s recognition and take it.

He saw Zhu Li turn into foul blood and fall, saw Aunis Medich transform into a flame spear to stop it, saw Salist grimace as she cursed Aunis Medich, and saw Lu Mi Li calmly don the ring, waiting to make the final appearance and reap the victory.

Gey suddenly felt overwhelming malice:

"It's all you! All of you stopped me from completing my mission!"

After entering "Morola," as a rare "Reader" path "Man in the Mirror," Gey had been confident—he supplemented his knowledge at the Temple of Knowledge while conducting field investigations to gather information for his final move.

But after secretly observing the performances of Aunis Medich, Vanaq, Zhu Li, and Lu Mi Li, Gey began to doubt himself:

With the power of the special mirror world, could I defeat any one of them in a one-on-one? Probably only Lu Mi Li—the one my leader told me to watch closely…

If it came to learning, though my efficiency far surpassed Lu Mi Li's by countless times, my body's tolerance for corruption seemed vastly inferior to his…

Am I, then, the one among them with the least hope?

This blow led "The Man in the Mirror," Gey, to devise a plan: hide in the shadows using his unique abilities, wait for the powerful ones to turn on each other and inflict mutual harm, then emerge to clean up the wreckage.

So far, his plan had progressed smoothly:

The greatest obstacle, Vanaq, and the most dangerous opponent, Zhu Li, were both dead—their souls utterly extinguished, unable to return as undead beings through "0—01"'s leaked power!

"Once Aunis Medich and Salist determine the victor, I can join the contest, kill the survivor, and face the weakest—Lu Mi Li…"

"Should I… should I ambush Lu Mi Li now while he's unguarded? He's not a 'Witch' or a 'Man in the Mirror'—he has no substitute. If he's hit, he'll truly die…"

This malicious thought grew clearer and stronger within Gey.

Before he could decide, Lu Mi suddenly loomed large, appearing right beside him.

Then Lu Mi vanished from his sight.

Immediately beneath his feet, a thick, viscous liquid surged—a phantom black fluid formed from the deepest, most sinister desires of the human heart.

"Incarnation of Desire!"

The black fluid shot upward, engulfing Gey.

Crack!

Inside the phantom black liquid, the sound of shattering glass echoed; Gey's silhouette was outlined at the edge of the dark, void region behind the metal mirror.

He saw the black fluid rapidly coalesce into Lu Mi's form, who chuckled softly, patronizingly:

"You didn't know I had a 'Mirror Substitute'?"

This direct attack only costs me one mirror.

Before Gey finished speaking, an unusually violent emotion surged within him.

He instinctively reached for his neck and felt warm, crimson blood.

Pain stabbed into his mind from that spot.

Crack!

Gey actively activated his "Mirror Substitute," scattering countless shards of glass across the ground.

His figure reappeared in another corner of the mirror-realm, yet a thin, deep blood trail still marked his neck.

His emotions had fully turned furious, savage, and insane; his facial skin rapidly aged and withered, becoming patches of brownish bark; the voice "My child, my child" echoed in his ears; his shoulders writhed as if two new heads were about to sprout.

His abdomen swelled slowly; his eyes turned silver-white streaked with black; his aura dissipated rapidly; his body visibly collapsed, chunks of flesh and muscle falling away, wriggling like maggots…

Lu Mi saw, with direct clarity, the corruptions on his own body.

It was a complete mess!

After using "Incarnation of Desire," the phantom black liquid contained not only his own emotions and desires, but also those induced by the corruptions closely tied to him and deeply influencing him.

For any being lacking divinity, this was an unresistible corruption—even Saints suffered severe effects!

Faced with such high-level corruptions, if one did not actively use the "Mirror Substitute" to evade at once, and instead waited until the phantom black liquid touched them before passively activating the "Mirror Substitute," it was already too late—they were already corrupted!

Now, Gey was a monster layered with corruptions.

Seeing "The Man in the Mirror" spiraling toward the indescribable, Lu Mi had the instinct that if he watched any longer, he too would undergo a similar transformation.

He immediately stepped back, away from the metal mirror, returning to the corpse's side, to the wasteland surrounding the corpse mountain.

He then saw thin streams of black mist seeping from the mirror-smooth breastplate, phantom-like shadows reaching as if to grasp him.

Lu Mi spun around and sprinted toward the corpse mountain.

He alternated between climbing on all fours, "Teleporting" dozens of meters, and ascending as a blazing white flame spear, constantly climbing the peak formed by countless corpses and bones, littered with smoldering embers.

He intended to lure the corrupted, collapsing "Man in the Mirror," Gey, to Aunis Medich and Salist—and say to them, "You're welcome."

Whether Lu Mi climbed with hands and feet, used his contract ability for short-range "Teleportation," or ascended as a flame spear, a powerful oppressive presence always followed behind him, projecting shifting, indescribable black shadows onto his body and ahead of him, inevitably filling Lu Mi with fear.

He no longer knew what the monster chasing him had become or its current state—he only knew it was absolutely not something a normal human should observe or identify.

Suddenly, Gey's deep voice echoed in his ear:

"Mother…"

Mother… Lu Mi's lips twitched; even with so many strange corruptions on his body, the one from the "Great Mother," from Oumibela's bloodline, remained the most outstanding—after all, the "Fool" had left a seal, not a corruption.

Lu Mi ran faster.

Finally, he saw the peak of the corpse mountain—Salist and Aunis Medich.

(End of Chapter)