How to Use the Crystal Ball

"Uncle Markel, how much longer for the renovations, and how is the collection coming along?"

After securing the crystal ball, Wu Heng returned to the manor overnight, finally feeling at ease.

Throughout the week, while keeping a constant watch on Kirsty and the others, he had been overseeing the reconstruction of the backyard cabin.

This cabin was tied to his very life; he could only feel secure if he supervised it personally.

Wu Heng was currently questioning the butler about the arrangements he had made earlier.

"The main structure is complete; only the interior finishing remains."

"Additionally, we have procured one ton of blood through our channels, and collection is ongoing."

Butler Markel looked at his young master with concern. What was he planning? Was he intending to sacrifice to the devil?

He had already tried to dissuade him, but young master Dean's attitude was unyielding. As a butler who had been loyal for a lifetime, all he could do was provide his full cooperation.

"The structure is enough; no interior finishing is needed. The blood is sufficient as well. Notify everyone that today is a holiday and have them all leave the manor."

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

The most important item, the crystal ball, was already in his possession; now was the moment to decide his fate.

In the comics, this Ice Crystal Ball was delivered to Father Marcus at the church by a vagrant acting as a Hell Mediator.

In this world, the lackeys of Hell and the Hell Priests treated the church like their own backyard.

They would frequently smash the statues of Jesus and kill people inside the church, and God never seemed to intervene.

The Puzzle Box from Hellraiser required someone with deep desires, chosen by a mediator, to open it.

Even if Wu Heng obtained an ordinary Puzzle Box, he might not necessarily be able to open it.

Only this Ice Crystal Ball could be opened simply by reciting a slogan, requiring no specific desires or hand gestures.

This crystal ball was Wu Heng's primary target.

Once Wu Heng confirmed that Father Marcus existed in this world, he narrowed down the scope of the Ice Crystal Ball and began to widely publicize the meaning of the "Blazing Crystal Ball" he had fabricated.

He did this to attract any Hell Mediator who might be near the Glass Church by using a meaning diametrically opposed to that of the Ice Crystal Ball.

He believed that as long as the mediator for the Hell Priest of Ice heard such blatant propaganda about a Blazing Hell—a crystal ball completely opposite to ice—they would surely be angered enough to come knocking, just to let the other party experience what a Hell of Ice truly meant.

It was like someone suddenly announcing through various media outlets that savory tofu pudding tasted terrible, that it should be banned nationwide, and that only sweet tofu pudding should be sold from now on.

Everyone would be compelled to get a bowl of savory tofu pudding and shove it down his throat, forcing him to have a real taste before saying another word.

After confirming that all equipment was properly arranged, Butler Markel had all the servants leave the manor before he himself departed.

Wu Heng carried the wooden box containing the crystal ball, walking along the shaded path.

He arrived at the backyard of the manor and stepped into the inconspicuous cabin.

He opened a floor panel and descended the dark staircase, reaching a depth of 20 meters underground.

This was a doomsday bunker, the kind British wealthy elites loved to build to survive nuclear strikes.

In the center of the bunker's ceiling, a pipe as thick as a bowl extended all the way to the surface, reaching out from the cabin to the area outside the window.

Wu Heng sat on the carpet in the center of the room.

Candles were arranged in a square around him.

He sat cross-legged, shirtless, quietly waiting for the time to reach the appointed 12:20.

Wu Heng's first goal was to use the Ice Crystal Ball to open the gates of Hell and summon the Hell Priest.

Then, after dying and entering Hell, he would use his status as a Cursed Disciple to quickly utilize the blood and escape back to the human world in a very short time.

Wu Heng had no intention of becoming a Hell Priest in one go.

Because the souls of transformed priests were firmly controlled by Leviathan, the Lord of Hell, and their memories would be rewritten by him.

Leviathan wouldn't care about a mere Cursed Disciple and wouldn't bother to control one.

Theoretically, as long as he escaped back quickly enough, he could avoid being driven insane by the environment of Hell.

This world was insane; the only way to succeed was to be ruthless.

If he didn't seize the chance to fight, he would only face death. To survive, one had to be crazy.

He checked his watch: 12:19.

The hour of noon had arrived!

Wu Heng let out a self-deprecating laugh and took a deep breath.

He pulled the dagger from the box beside him, placed it in front of him, and then picked up the crystal ball, cradling it in his palms.

The swirling snowflakes inside the crystal ball spiraled and whistled with increasing intensity, as if urging Wu Heng on, or perhaps celebrating.

"Hell has no sulfur or flames."

"Only the bitter winter."

Wu Heng whispered these words.

As the words fell, the crystal ball in his hand underwent a transformation.

A biting, frigid gale poured down from the ceiling, and snow began to fall within the room.

A blade of ice and snow tore through the Crucifixion Painting hanging on the wall, as if God Himself were mourning the scene.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the stairs. Wu Heng quickly plunged a dagger into his own chest, then turned to look.

What a face it was—it was nothing less than a skeleton frozen in the depths of the earth, its chest cavity gaping open with withered wounds, the wailing of countless souls echoing from within.

Its fang-filled mouth struggled to open, emitting a hoarse roar, word by word:

"I have heard your prayer, and come to correct your dream."

"Hell is but the wreckage of Heaven left behind after God departed."

"There is no God here, no devil—only endless cold, emptiness, loneliness, and silence."

The Hell Priest of Ice roared as he slowly approached Wu Heng.

A prompt sounded deep within Wu Heng's mind:

[Plot Mission 1: Open the Lemarchand Configuration (Mission complete. Obtained 5,000 Survival Points, 10% Exploration, Plot Rating increased)]

Wu Heng had no time to pay it any mind.

He felt only endless cold; his body felt like a cracked block of ice, shattering piece by piece and sliding to the floor.

Before his body could fully disintegrate, Wu Heng was already dead. Everything returned to silence, leaving only the Ice Crystal Ball on the ground.

Wu Heng felt himself falling into an endless darkness.

All his memories drifted around him, and the most painful memories of the original owner surfaced with vivid reality, attempting to torture Wu Heng's soul.

A prompt sounded deep within Wu Heng's mind once more:

[Plot Mission 2: Enter Hell (Mission complete. Obtained 5,000 Survival Points, 35% Exploration, Plot Rating increased)]

[Exploration reached 30%. Obtained one World Plot Entry Ticket]

Wu Heng had no energy to concern himself with these; he guessed he had entered a Mind Cage within Hell. He had originally assumed that a soul like his, lacking extreme dark desires, would end up in the Rock Pit at the very edge of Hell.

He hadn't expected to ascend a level higher. Fortunately, these torturous memories belonged to the original owner, not his own past life, and the short-term agony remained within his threshold of endurance.

This, in turn, made the blurred memories of his past life clear again, and various forgotten plot details came rushing back.

The butler waiting outside the manor checked his watch: 12:30. The time had come.

He beckoned to the man beside him, who was driving a small water cart with a bewildered expression, and led him to the wooden shed behind the house.

"Connect the hose to this pipe. Yes, just like that. Open the valve."

As the butler spoke, blood surged out, flowing along the pipes down to the safe house twenty meters below.

The blood dripped straight onto the carpet in the center of the room.

As the carpet touched the blood, it bubbled like skin scalded by boiling water, emitting a pool of fluid resembling amniotic fluid.

The blood congealed into a piece of raw flesh, which began to grow; in the blink of an eye, it formed a beating heart.

Two bones gradually sprouted from either side of the heart, propping themselves off the floor and standing upright on the carpet, dangling the heart between them.

A skull grew from the ground, and a section of cervical vertebrae emerged above the heart, poking upward to connect with the skull—it was the upper torso of a skeleton.

As it absorbed the blood, the skeleton rapidly filled out, growing muscle and skin.

Wu Heng looked down at his newborn body; the stinging sensation of raw muscle exposed to the air vanished as the skin finished forming.

"Haha. Hahaha."

Wu Heng laughed wildly. He had won the gamble.

He had become a Cursed Disciple who had escaped from Hell back to the human world.

The rapid, effective escape and the brief journey through Hell had not altered or twisted his soul.

Feeling the strength in his body that surpassed human limits, this sense of ease and comfort brought him extreme pleasure.

It was like the satisfying itch after scratching a mosquito bite, Or the relief of a stuffy nose suddenly clearing up.

Magnified ten thousand times, that was what Wu Heng felt now. This feeling of becoming stronger left him intoxicated.

Moreover, he could sense that he possessed the two essential skills of a Hell Cursed Disciple: Siphon and Skin Graft.

[Siphon]: Unless the core flesh of the heart is completely destroyed, no matter how severe the injury, one can rapidly recover by siphoning blood.

It felt like being a vampire, yet he couldn't fly—though he also lacked the vampire's weakness to sunlight. Just like Frank, who became a Cursed Disciple in the movie, he could eat, drink, and enjoy life normally.

The other skill, [Skin Graft]: One can use the skin of the dead to create a suit that can be worn, allowing the Cursed Disciple to mimic the appearance and voice of the deceased.

After checking the abilities he had gained, Wu Heng immediately sent out five messages.

Notify the five teams currently in hiding that the plan is canceled; there is no need for them to sneak into the manor at their designated times anymore.

Since this concerned his resurrection plan, Wu Heng naturally would not put all his eggs in one basket by relying solely on the butler's cooperation.

He had arranged for five teams in the shadows, unaware of each other's existence, to infiltrate the manor at different intervals to deposit the blood.

Fortunately, no accidents occurred; Uncle Markel was worthy of trust.

Wu Heng picked up the crystal ball, rolled up the carpet, and walked toward the wooden cabin.

Would you be willing to trade your collections, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes with me for two plastic toothbrushes?