Fate's Gift, Black Stone Tablet

"Then I have nothing to be afraid of."

"Let's begin, fortune teller."

A delicate white scale gradually emerged, its entire body pure white, as if crafted from the finest white jade.

A flash of light appeared on both sides of its scales, and the next moment, Mike felt himself fall into a strange space.

Beneath his feet was a very wide, white, flat surface.

Mike looked around.

Several hundred meters away, they discovered a white wall, about half a person's height, standing there.

Mike quickly ran towards it, and when he got to the white wall, he realized what the white wall with its circular arc was.

It turned out that he was standing on one end of a very large balance scale, and the scale was raised very high.

Mike quickly looked at the other side of the scale.

There was chaos there.

But strangely, he seemed to know what was on the other end—it was... the fate he wanted to change.

Seeing that he stood on the scales but couldn't lower them even a little, one could tell that this fate was not so easily shaken.

What else can he offer?

Mike wasn't afraid or anxious because he had asked the fortune teller, and since the fortune teller had said it wouldn't require him to give up his life or the things he valued, it meant he had other things he could offer in return.

What is it?

Mike hasn't figured it out yet.

Mike could only look around, and on the other side of the scale where he was, he saw a huddled-up, somewhat pitiful-looking dark figure.

Huh? What's that?

Mike approached curiously, and the closer he got, the more strangely familiar the thing seemed.

When he got within about fifty meters, he suddenly stopped. This distance was enough for him to see clearly what that pitch-black mass was.

"Hey, isn't this Lord Deity? You've gotten so tired in just a few days!"

Forgive Mike for his smug look at this moment.

Indeed, this idol is the source of all his tragedies.

If the Eternal Kingdom hadn't tempted his mother, and if his mother hadn't brought back the idol, he would probably still be the introverted, transparent Mike he always was.

Thinking about it this way, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

However, Mike knew he shouldn't thank the idol; his good fortune in surviving was only because he had met the Contract Anomalist.

And many more unlucky people are already dead.

The statue huddled up, unmoved by Mike's arrival.

It terrifies this place.

This is the territory of another eerie creature, even more powerful than it, and the surrounding area is filled with that creature's strange aura.

This powerful aura rendered it unable to move.

It had developed a clear awareness that once it stood on this scale, everything about it no longer belonged to it.

Therefore, the prey that would have piqued its appetite when placed outside no longer inspires any aggression in it.

Balance scales, price, mystery.

After putting these three together...

Mike suddenly remembered that he also had a strange entity inside him—no, the idol in his house could also be considered one.

Since they are both inside his body and in his home, can they be considered his possessions?

Mike tried using these two strange things as bargaining chips.

Soon, the worm inside his body, while it was completely bewildered, was pulled out by a force of rules.

The eerie presence within the statues that should have remained peacefully in his home was also captured from afar.

Mike was overjoyed to see the two eerie creatures appear. It worked! It really did!

After placing the chips.

Mike received a gift from fate.

Mike wanted to save the lives of tens of thousands of people and didn't want that Evil Deity to harm others.

He was unable to defeat this Evil Deity.

Because he can't afford that price.

However, some people can.

Mike received a hint.

Then, the scales disappeared, and he left that space.

Mike saw the witch wearing a knowing smile, "Fortune teller, I have obtained what I wanted."

The shaman nodded.

Mike thanked him and left.

He's just an ordinary believer; it's not good for him to stay too long.

After meeting up with his mother who was waiting outside, they got into a car driven by other believers and returned to the place where they had initially gathered.

After getting off the bus, they hailed another car and took it home.

Mike took out his key and opened the door.

Upon entering, you'll see a statue of a deity placed in the very center.

This time, the eerie aura that had unsettled him was gone from the statue; the entire statue appeared much more peaceful and natural.

Once the eeriness inside is gone, it's just an ordinary statue of a god, devoid of any power.

But it was reassuring; at least Mike didn't have to worry about being harassed by those black fog demons again.

Having resolved a major concern, Mike slept soundly tonight.

Early the next morning.

He packed his bags and set off on his journey to find that thing.

The location was very far away, so Mike contacted the Investigation Team and, with the help of the government, quickly obtained the necessary permits to leave the country.

He boarded a plane, traveled through several countries, and spent a lot of time before finally finding what he was looking for, guided by locals.

This trip took him five days.

The end of the month is fast approaching, and the time when the Eternal Kingdom plans to summon the Divine Descent is fast approaching.

He rushed back to China as fast as he could.

It took some effort to reconnect with the fortune teller.

"Hey, fortune teller, I've got what I wanted."

Could you please take a look?

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Ever since the witch dripped her blood on the idol, the people of the Eternal Kingdom seem to believe that he has been under some strange control and has become one of them from the inside out.

Therefore, the shaman's actions were not restricted.

Aside from occasionally being called over to perform divination, the shaman is mostly quite free.

The Eternal Kingdom did not stop him from continuing to run the divination shop; in fact, it directly asked the shaman to select some people from among his customers and recruit them into the Eternal Kingdom.

The shaman hadn't chosen a single believer in the past few days, and they hadn't questioned him further.

Instead, they were busy preparing for the ceremony, welcoming the arrival of their god.

When the witch saw Mike again at the fortune-telling shop.

Mike had gotten a shade darker and looked much more energetic.

"Fortune teller, I've found this."

Mike took a stone slab out of his backpack.

This stone slab is quite heavy, probably over twenty pounds; it's impressive that he carried it on his back the whole time.

"This is..."

The first thing the shaman saw was that the stone slab was entirely black and had no patterns on it.