A Tainted Soul (2) / The Ox That Died of Exhaustion (3)

"He seems to hold a very high position in the Earth Mother Church?" Qin Chu raised an eyebrow. He had absolutely no recollection of this person during his first playthrough. "I don't quite understand."

Saint Monica's expression grew increasingly helpless. "Onions is the current Holy Son of the Earth Mother Church..."

Inas is a saint, and so are her son and daughter; no wonder they're a couple.

"You know, even within the Church, there are always some unavoidable ties. Onions's mother was the previous head of the Earth Mother Church Cult, so..." Saint Monica explained with a wry smile.

So it turns out he got in through connections. No wonder someone like him could have climbed to such a high position. If it weren't for the mother of a former pope, the Holy Son wouldn't have gotten such a useless position at all.

"Around Onions is a group of sycophants of the former Pope. Onions grew up in that environment, which is why he developed a somewhat arrogant personality..." Saint Monica seemed to feel that it was a bit inappropriate to talk about the former Pope's son like that, so she quickly added, "However, once you spend some time with him, you'll find that he's actually a pretty good person."

"Inas and Onions are lovers. From the time they were candidates for sainthood and sainthood, they were the only opposite sex they faced, and feelings naturally developed. They were just waiting to get married after they turned thirty and ended their status as sainthood and sainthood."

"Now that Inas has been chosen as a member of the Hero's Party and will have to separate from Onions, he is naturally somewhat unwilling."

Qin Chu smiled gracefully, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'm not that petty. I'll take my leave now. May the gods protect you."

May the gods protect you.

The two sides parted ways, and halfway there, Athena, Ekaterina, Aili all found excuses to leave.

It's clear that what happened today is very important to them, and they need to get together and carefully discuss what to do next.

Only Sylph remained by Qin Chu's side. As soon as they returned to the palace, Sylph immediately grabbed Qin Chu's hand and headed towards her room.

"Miss Sylph, what's wrong?" Qin Chu asked, somewhat puzzled.

Sylph bit her lower lip hard and said in a deep voice, "Start the second treatment immediately!"

The beautiful elf has nowhere to escape!

Many thanks to reader 20221028152648132 for the donation and support.

Chapter 192 A Defiled Soul (2)

Sylph's anxiety puzzled Qin Chu.

Previously, this elf was very resistant to the second and third treatment options, so what's going on now?

Only after being dragged to her bedroom by Sylph did Qin Chu finally have a chance. "Sylph, tell me what happened?"

Sylph's reaction was very abnormal. Qin Chu could sense that her mental fluctuations were extremely exaggerated, and her will could completely collapse at any moment.

Regardless, Sylph had experienced battlefields, fought against terrifying Magic Creature, and even dueled with Abyssal Demon General knowing she might die. In Qin Chu's view, while Sylph's personality was somewhat flawed, she shouldn't be so afraid of death.

Once inside the room and no one else was around, Sylph's expression seemed to calm down a little, but her body was still trembling. The elf was terrified, clutching her shoulders tightly and curling into a ball.

Upon hearing Qin Chu's words, after a brief hesitation, Sylph lowered the collar of her long dress and opened it.

Upon seeing the skin covered by the fabric, Qin Chu's brows furrowed tightly, and his expression gradually darkened.

While Qin Chu did indeed deceive Sylph in some of what he told her, he at least genuinely reduced the extent of Sylph's corruption and purified some of the impurities.

He simply divided the filth that could have been completely purified in ten sessions into one hundred or two hundred sessions.

However, the filth that had been purified from Sylph's body has now returned, and is even more concentrated than before. It seems to have worsened, which explains why the elf is in such a hurry to begin the second step of the treatment plan.

Now, the only person Sylph can trust is Qin Chu. Apart from Qin Chu, Sylph feels that everyone else, even her former teammates, looks at her with suspicion, as if they have seen through the changes in her body.

Especially during the previous meetings, every minute and every second was an agonizing ordeal for Sylph. The gazes of Rosweisse and Augustus filled Sylph with extreme fear, as if a large number of Knight would suddenly appear and surround her at any moment, and then, just like Karthus before her, she would be publicly judged in front of everyone.

Amidst the pointing fingers and mocking laughter, it gradually met its demise.

Sylph was more terrified of that scene than anyone else.

"Why, why is this happening? It was already lowered before..." Sylph murmured nervously. She was going crazy. She wanted to scream but dared not make a sound, afraid of attracting more attention.

She had never felt so helpless in her entire life.

"Sylph ..." Qin Chu suddenly sighed, his voice growing heavy. "Open your soul completely to me..."

Sylph's body trembled slightly; she was clearly somewhat resistant to this. The soul was the origin, and once the soul was opened to Qin Chu, it meant that all her secrets would be exposed to him.

This was even more unacceptable to Sylph than having her clothes stripped off in front of Qin Chu.

"The root of the corruption lies in the soul. If the problem isn't addressed at its source, no matter how many times I cleanse your physical body of its impurities, it will reappear," Qin Chu said in a low voice.

"The decision is yours. I won't force you if you don't want to."

After saying that, Qin Chu prepared to leave Sylph's room.

As soon as I took a step back, I immediately heard Sylph's piercing scream:

"Don't want!"

The woman's reaction was even more exaggerated than Qin Chu had imagined. Almost instinctively, she rushed to Qin Chu, grabbed Qin Chu clothes tightly, and her eyes were even somewhat unfocused. "No... I give you everything, soul and body... I don't want to become like Karthus!"

From Sylph's words, Qin Chu sensed something: what she seemed to fear wasn't death itself, but rather the possibility of becoming a monster like Karthus, which seemed more terrifying to Sylph than death.

From those vacant pupils, Qin Chu could still sense a strong will; if she couldn't be saved by Qin Chu, this woman might even choose to end her own life.

Qin Chu patted Sylph's head and said gently, "Sylph, you have to believe me. Only I can help you now. I genuinely want to save you, otherwise I would have handed you over to Augustus long ago, wouldn't I?"

Sylph nodded repeatedly. No matter how much she hated Qin Chu before, or even plotted to kill Qin Chu, at least for now, Qin Chu was her only lifeline. Sylph had almost no doubt about Qin Chu now.

"It's great that you trust me completely, so now go and get ready..." Qin Chu whispered something in Sylph's ear.

A blush gradually rose on Sylph's pale cheeks. She felt extremely ashamed, but as long as she could avoid becoming like Karthus, Sylph could endure anything.

After a long time, Sylph, dressed in a light gauze dress, reappeared before Qin Chu: "Qin Chu, let's... begin. I'm ready."

The thin gauze dress could not conceal Sylph's beauty at all; her full figure and fair skin were faintly visible.

Just as Qin Chu poured the power of Holy Light into Sylph's body, the elf experienced intense pain due to the impact of the collision between the Holy Light and the filth. She couldn't help but let out a piercing scream, and her body trembled involuntarily.

Just then, a sharp shout suddenly rang in Sylph's ears, "Sylph, release your consciousness..."

For a fleeting moment, Sylph's consciousness went blank.

Her eyes became dull and lifeless.

Taking this opportunity, Qin Chu's consciousness directly invaded the deepest part of Sylph's consciousness.

In the deepest part of every life's consciousness lies a separate space, the world where the soul resides.

Sylph's Soul World is clearly abnormal.

He felt his consciousness drifting in a gloomy Void.

Above, crimson lightning occasionally tore through the dark sky. The muddy ground burned with deep, frenzied flames. Rolling black mist filled the air. Movement was severely restricted, and every step forward was extremely difficult.

The stench of decay and blood constantly assaulted Qin Chu's consciousness. Qin Chu even felt that if his soul were immersed in this environment for a long time, it would definitely be corrupted and he would go insane.

It's quite remarkable that Sylph's soul could endure for so long under such circumstances, and that her mind only became extreme rather than completely out of control.

What Qin Chu found even more bizarre was that, judging from Sylph's Soul World alone, the corruption she suffered definitely didn't begin on the night of the crimson descent. This corruption must have been going on for quite some time. On the night Karthus was purified, Sylph was bathed in crimson light, which seemed to have merely awakened the corruption that had already existed within Sylph.

This is a space filled with filth and grime.

Qin Chu's consciousness drifted through this endless space, searching for the place where Sylph's soul was hiding.

Qin Chu's spirituality extends, exploring every corner of this twisted and filthy Soul World.

Here, there is no concept of time; it feels as if a long time has passed, yet it also feels like only a fleeting moment.

Qin Chu saw Sylph's shadow... but that shadow seemed a little different, slightly more immature. Qin Chu knew that it was Sylph's memory from the Soul World!

Sylph in her girlhood, Sylph in her teenage years, Sylph as an adult...

Such memory fragments are everywhere. Qin Chu only sensed a few of them and roughly understood why Sylph was so afraid of becoming like Karthus.

Because Sylph is an elf who has regressed to her ancestral form, she has shown differences from normal children since childhood, and being special in this world also means being an outcast.

Rejection, ridicule, humiliation, bullying...

This is the kind of life that outcasts inevitably experience, and these experiences have made Sylph extremely sensitive to this aspect.

Even though her elven bloodline granted Sylph immense power after she grew up, and no one dared to mock Sylph anymore, the shadow still lingered. Becoming an outcast like Karthus was more despairing for Sylph than being killed.

Qin Chu couldn't stay here too long; he needed to find Sylph's soul body as soon as possible, not these memories.

Suddenly, Qin Chu seemed to hear a faint sound.

Her consciousness drifted towards the direction from which the sound came, not knowing how far she had traveled; perhaps this was already the very edge of Sylph's Soul World?

In the farthest corner, Qin Chu finally found Sylph's soul.

It was an entity exactly like Sylph, only slightly smaller and more transparent, more like a phantom.

Perhaps due to the nature of her soul space, Sylph's soul was not as pure as her body; instead, it was filled with darkness. Her soul was curled up in a corner, huddled together.

He hugged his knees with both arms.

His face even looked somewhat blank, completely unlike the liveliness of a normal soul.

Around Sylph's body, one could even see hazy, blurry shadows constantly wriggling.

Sylph's lips parted slightly, as if she were whispering, but no one could understand the inexplicable syllables; it was like some kind of indescribable murmur.

Below her soul was a vast pool filled with a dark red liquid, like thick blood.

I never imagined that a person's Soul World could be so bizarre.

Qin Chu felt a chill run down his spine. His consciousness seemed to swallow a non-existent saliva, moving closer to Sylph's soul, becoming clearer the closer they got.

On Sylph's body, Qin Chu suddenly saw some blood-red threads, as thin as spider silk, intertwined and divided into two parts, crossing on the left and right sides, binding Sylph's body.

Just like the brand that appears below Sylph's collarbone.

Just like the mark that appeared on Karthus's chest...

Looking closer, there are thirteen on the left and thirteen on the right...

Sylph is twenty-six years old this year!

Many thanks to Damengqianqiu. cc for the 30,000 points reward. I originally owed four chapters, now I owe seven...

Chapter 193 The Ox That Died from Exhaustion (3)

The sudden thought that surfaced in Qin Chu's mind sent chills down his spine.

Could it be that... Sylph was chosen from the very moment she was born into this world?

Twenty-six-year-old Sylph, with twenty-six blood-red threads.

This is definitely not a coincidence.

What exactly do those mysterious and eerie beings want?

The images Qin Chu glimpsed from Sylph's soul made him realize that the Void's erosion of this world was far deeper than he had imagined.

If Sylph is like this, could Karthus be in the same situation?

What about the other members of the Hero's Party?

Qin Chu's consciousness seemed to tremble slightly; this discovery was truly astonishing... Qin Chu suddenly thought of Ekaterina. Although he had controlled Ekaterina's mind with the Love That Topples Cities, the control of the magic potion was probably insignificant compared to the erosion of the Void's power.

If Ekaterina's situation is similar to Sylph's, with the power of the Void within her that is activated one day, would she suddenly break free from the shackles of the Love That Topples Cities and immediately betray them?

In an instant, a multitude of thoughts surged through Qin Chu's mind.

After a long time, the turmoil in my consciousness gradually subsided.

Qin Chu's consciousness looked ahead again. Sylph seemed unaware of his presence; her soul remained curled up above the blood pool, where the blood churned as if about to boil.

The churning blood had even submerged Sylph's small feet, spreading upwards along her rounded calves.

Within the pool of blood, Qin Chu could even see faces floating on the surface... and deeper still, faintly visible white bones.

Three faces. If Qin Chu's glimpses of Sylph's memories were correct, then they should belong to her father, mother, and... her younger brother.

These three people, who should have been closest to Sylph, were killed by her own hands.

There must have been some very tragic events in the past, but Qin Chu had no intention of exploring them.

His consciousness slowly approached Sylph's soul. Saving Sylph was secondary, even irrelevant, to Qin Chu. What Qin Chu wanted more was to obtain from Sylph's soul a method to combat the Void's erosion. For Qin Chu, this was a good test subject.

Just as Qin Chu got close enough, Sylph, who had been muttering to herself in incomprehensible murmurs, seemed to sense it and suddenly raised her head.

Her dark, empty eyes stared in the direction of Qin Chu's consciousness; she had sensed the intruder.

Then, I saw those eyes become increasingly red.