Fountain of Temptation
The meaning of "Magician" Lady is:
The girl inside the Coffin underwent Mutation the moment she simultaneously gained the powers of the "Calamity Witch" and the "Undying" through a strange Ritual. Now, this Corpse, possessing Angel -level power, was born Monster.
Lumian, in her Witch form, frowned and said, "Isn't the Gift supposed to not affect the Spirit Body, but only cause the mind and body to gradually become distorted?"
Surely it wouldn't create a Monster outright?
Moreover, it seems that the powers of the "Witch" Pathway and the "Death God" Pathway are not so contradictory and can be integrated to a certain extent.
"What I described before was only Gift under normal circumstances," the "Magician" Lady said after a moment's thought. "The essence of Gift is actually closer to controlled, recyclable Corruption. Those who bestow Gift usually try to restrain their own spirit, consciousness, and emotions within the Gift Power, so that the Gifted won't be unable to bear it on the spot and cause problems. That would contradict the original intention of the Gift and fail to achieve the expected purpose."
Mr. The Hanged Man added, "In the cases of Evil God Gift we know of, if there aren't enough Sacrifice or enough human sacrifices, even if a passage is opened through Ritual, some of the Gifted will be unable to withstand the power, their bodies will collapse on the spot, they will either die, or they will turn into Monster."
Jenna confirmed with a sudden realization. "The ' Blood Emperor's' strange Ritual indicated that the High-Ranking Being bestowed the Gift did not control or restrain the spirit, consciousness, and emotions within the power, allowing them to exist as usual. Naturally, this girl, as the Gifted, could not bear it and turned into Monster?"
The Hanged Man nodded slightly and said meaningfully, "It may not be Gift, it may be Steal."
"Did Amon play a role in this Ritual?" Lumian's Gift Power came from Steal.
Mr. The Hanged Man smiled:
"Steal in another sense, for example, involves many Sealed Artifact. We can utilize their power to some extent, but we must be careful to avoid the corresponding dangers and find the most suitable method, because they have no intelligence. You can't negotiate with them to make them obey and not harm you."
"In this situation, a suitable method of exploitation becomes a relatively safe means of Steal."
Lumian recalled his experience after lighting the Corpse Oil Candle and nodded thoughtfully:
If he hadn't possessed both male and female bodies in the Dream City, his body might have collapsed and he would have become Monster.
"' The Blood Emperor ' is indeed bloodthirsty and insane..." Jenna couldn't help but exclaim.
The girl inside the Coffin most likely did not participate in this special Ritual voluntarily.
"Not necessarily," Franca said softly.
Seeing everyone looking at her, she cleared her throat and said, "Based on my experience before I Transmigration, if this matter is related to the Western Continent, the whole Ritual might not be what you imagine."
"It's possible that a girl was chosen in advance, born on a specific day, month, and hour, killed in a special way at a specific time, subjected to special treatment, then placed in this pre-made Coffin, with other arrangements made, and finally Ritual was performed to grant her power, allowing her to open her eyes as an ' Undying.'"
"Why do you want to do this?" Jenna asked, puzzled.
Franca laughed and said, "I just guessed that this might be the only way to please the corresponding High-Ranking Being, or it might be the only way to avoid the influence of the spirit and consciousness within the Gift Power. But for some reason, perhaps the ' Blood Emperor ' made Error when interpreting the Mysticism and missed some key points. It seems that the Ritual ultimately failed."
"Uh, maybe it wasn't Ritual to ask for Gift at all, but rather a method of corpse refining..."
Jenna paused for two seconds:
"Then why do you say the ' Blood Emperor ' isn't necessarily bloodthirsty and insane?"
This is even more cruel than previously speculated!
Franca explained, "I'm not saying the ' Blood Emperor ' isn't necessarily bloody and insane, but rather that it's not just ordinary bloody and insane; it could very well be 'extremely'."
The "Magician" Lady turned to the female corpse dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding gown, and said, "She has no Beyonder Characteristic. Let's go to the next room."
"Okay." Lumian had no objection.
After the "Magician" Lady made the Coffin lid fly up and close on its own, the group returned to the deep, spacious corridor.
Lumian raised his right palm, looked at the faded dark red spots, the dark "Pinhole," and the Paleness skin, and then put his hand into his "Traveler's Bag."
Maintaining this posture, Lumian continued walking forward.
He felt that encountering the female corpse was likely due to the effect of his right hand, so he needed to try to eliminate its influence.
A dozen seconds later, Lumian opened another door formed of Starlight.
At the same time, he saw a spring, and saw the spring bubbling with water.
The spring water had a sacred feel to it, exuding an alluring aroma. It was clear and pure, and it suddenly made Franca and the others, whose mouths had been dry from the influence of the female corpse, feel thirsty.
A series of shouts echoed in their minds:
"Drink it, it will restore your youth..."
"Drink it, and you will gain immense power..."
"Drink it, drinking it will extend your lifespan by thousands of years..."
"Drink it, and you'll become a heartthrob..."
"Drink it, and you'll Unaging..."
Lumian, equally tempted and having overheard the whispers, laughed:
"Don't worry, I'll drink it. I'm here to drink yours..."
Before he could even emphasize that he was a person who valued Ritual, the "Magician" Lady had already made her move.
As the layers of emptiness were peeled away, the clear, pure spring water suddenly receded, revealing the situation inside the spring.
There lay a highly decomposed female corpse, yet not yet reduced to White Bone. From within her disgusting flesh, pale yellow-green pus continuously seeped, mingling with the air to become sacred, alluring, and pure.
This is the Source of the spring.
The "Magician" Lady immediately raised her hands.
Tiny shards of glass and pale yellow blood immediately flew out of the Corpse, landing in two containers that had somehow become floating in mid-air.
Having done this, the "Magician" Lady sent the two containers flying toward Lumian:
"They can replace the Mirror God's Fragment and Gorgon Blood, two Auxiliary Ingredient, and are enough for four advancements."
As soon as Lumian put away the container, the Starlight that had condensed in the void suddenly pressed down, completely crushing the highly decomposed female corpse. This caused the enchanting, holy Gray-White light to quickly separate out and condense into a fist-sized, spring-like Crystal.
Illusory streams of water continuously flowed from the surface of the Crystal, only to fall back into it.
With a push from the "Magician" Lady's right hand, the Beyonder Characteristic of this "Witch of Unaging" quickly arrived in front of Lumian and were initially sealed.
The radiance emanating from the woman's corpse had not completely dissipated; the remaining parts recombine to form a transparent Eyes brimming with tears.
"Your ' Witch of Despair ' Beyonder Characteristic." The "Magician" Lady gave Jenna her beautiful, sorrowful Eyes. "As for Auxiliary Ingredient, you should still have ' Chariot ' and ' Two of Cups ' left."
"Thank you." Jenna quietly exhaled and quickly stored the sealed Beyonder Characteristic into the "Traveler’s Bag."
The "Magician" Lady nodded slightly and left the room.
"Go find the next document. This time, you're in charge of opening the door for ' Two of Cups '."
Just as Franca was about to take a step forward, she suddenly saw Lumian hand her a piece of Sheepskin.
The Sheepskin contained Old Feysac Vocabulary looked like rust:
Potion Name: War Bishop;
Sequence: 3;
Main Ingredient: Dual-Phase Centaur Heart, War Comet Core;
"Auxiliary Ingredient: 100 ml of Dual-Phase Centaur blood, fragments of War Comet, 1 Blood-Colored Tudor Iris, 8 grams of Flame Giant Tree bark;
Promotion Ritual: Lead your own team to victory against a powerful enemy force in a war.
Note 1: The aura of impending war will attract a comet symbolizing war through the Spirit World. It will streak across the night sky, bringing revelation. Among these comets, only a limited number actually possess physical form and can enter the real world.
Note 2: The stronger the enemy force during the promotion Ritual, the better the Ritual's effect.
Upon seeing the Sheepskin, Franca paused for a moment and asked, "Where did this come from?"
"The promotion was promised by the big shots, and Mr. ' The Fool ' gave me an extra reward," Lumian said with a smile. "What I want is the ' War Bishop's' Potion Formula."
Before Franca could respond, Lumian smiled and added, "I hope you have the right to choose."
Franca opened her mouth, then closed it again, seemingly agitated.
After a moment, she glanced to the side and whispered, "I didn't say I wanted to be a ' War Bishop,' I still have a mission..."
Lumian offered no advice and placed the Sheepskin back into the "Traveler’s Bag."
Jenna, with a slightly complicated expression, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This is good enough, this is good enough...
She doesn't want to change; she's afraid of change.
Because the "Magician" Lady and the "The Hanged Man" gentleman were present, Franca felt too embarrassed to say to Lumian, "You usually only make people grit their teeth, I never thought you could be so good at dealing with people," in order to ease her own emotions. So she simply walked forward and casually pushed open a door filled with Starlight.
As soon as the door opened, a delicate and beautiful Human Skin suddenly fell down from above.
The Human Skin was suddenly draped over Franca.
Franca's body turned Gray-White, and she seemed to turn into Stone Statues, making it difficult for her to dodge in time.
At that moment, the surrounding Gloom instantly curved and folded, quickly sealing the fair and elastic Human Skin inside.
Immediately afterwards, the "Magician" Lady clenched her fist.
The Gloom Orb suddenly collapsed, and the corresponding void completely disintegrated, with the Human Skin inside being rapidly torn to pieces by the Space-Time Storm.
"This is also an Beyonder Characteristic of the ' Witch of Unaging.' The secret cooperation between the ' Blood Emperor ' and the ' Primordial Witch ' was indeed very close back then." The "Magician" Lady said to Franca, Lumian, and Jenna while crushing the trait.
Franca paused for a moment, then broke into a bright smile:
Hey, I'm on a winning streak today!