283: Full event cracking

Buzz!

In an instant.

Xiao Shi's diffused Soul Consciousness swept directly over the Coffin in the Shrine, easily penetrating the Coffin and seeping inside.

This allowed Xiao Shi, through his Soul Consciousness, to clearly see a mass of Black Qi existing inside the Coffin.

The entire mass of Black Qi was permeated with a terrifying aura of evil and chaos.

However, Xiao Shi felt that the Black Qi seemed to be in a dormant state and had not yet awakened.

But even so.

The mere fluctuations emanating from its dormant state were enough to alarm Xiao Shi.

"As expected..."

"This Coffin is indeed the source of the strangeness in this Ancient Town!"

Xiao Shi suddenly realized.

Out of caution.

He did not direct his Soul Consciousness toward the Black Qi in the Coffin.

Judging by the fluctuations emitted by this mass of Black Qi.

Its Status was very high.

If he rashly used his Soul Consciousness to investigate.

He might disturb the entity.

Once it was awakened, Xiao Shi worried that terrible things might happen.

His primary purpose for coming here was to investigate the secrets of the Ancient Town.

He had no desire to deal with matters beyond his capabilities.

Immediately.

Xiao Shi cautiously retracted all of his diffused Soul Consciousness.

He took out the Scroll titled [Nether Moon Secret Affair: Strange Ancient Town].

He clearly saw that the information on the Scroll had changed after he came into contact with the Coffin on the Shrine.

[Resolution Condition 4: Shrine in the Town Chief's Room] (Resolved)

[Event 4: In order to uncover the secrets hidden within the Ancient Town, the Loose Cultivator Gu Siyu secretly infiltrated the Town Chief's room. Inside, he discovered a Shrine, saw the Coffin on it, and the strange Black Qi within the Coffin. Gu Siyu realized this was both a crisis and a tremendous Great Opportunity. After weighing the options, Gu Siyu decided to take a gamble...]

"Not good!"

Xiao Shi's pupils suddenly contracted.

He realized he had overlooked one crucial issue.

That is, the Body Control Authority he possessed could be seized at any time as the event progressed!

In the end.

The Loose Cultivator Gu Siyu he was currently playing was fundamentally different from him in personality.

Gu Siyu was not a cautious person.

Instead, he was someone who was Profit-seeking and would risk his life for any perceived benefit or gain.

Many Loose Cultivators were like this.

After all, for them.

If they didn't fight, they couldn't rise, and they wouldn't acquire Resources and Treasures.

Everything they had was fought for with their lives.

They constantly walked on the edge of a blade.

This was completely different from Xiao Shi's style of acting cautiously from behind the scenes.

Therefore.

When Gu Siyu saw such a Great Opportunity, he would risk his life for it, even knowing the immense danger involved.

In an instant.

Xiao Shi immediately lost control of his body.

His figure moved.

He rushed straight toward the Shrine ahead, reached out, grabbed the Coffin on the Shrine, and pulled it down.

The moment the Coffin left the Shrine.

Rumble!

The entire Shrine immediately shook violently.

Amidst the shaking, cracks rapidly spread across the entire Shrine at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Then, with a crash.

The Shrine collapsed, revealing a deep, pitch-black Cave.

Waves of terrifying Strange Aura continuously leaked out from the Cave, instantly stimulating the strange Black Qi in the Coffin, causing it to awaken.

The entire Coffin trembled incessantly in Xiao Shi's hand.

And at this moment.

Xiao Shi found that he had regained Body Control Authority... "What the hell!!"

He finally understood.

His most important task here was to solve problems for this Loose Cultivator.

All major decisions were made by Gu Siyu.

He had no right to choose.

But the crises and consequences resulting from Gu Siyu's choices needed to be resolved by him.

This act of cleaning up someone else's mess made Xiao Shi extremely displeased.

Yet, if he did nothing, he wouldn't survive either.

Whoosh!

Waves of Black Qi escaped along the seams of the Coffin, sweeping directly into Xiao Shi's body.

The infiltration of this strange Black Qi.

Instantly caused Xiao Shi's body to turn black, as if it were being Inked.

Moreover, the parts that turned black seemed no longer to belong to his Physical Body; he couldn't control them, and even his senses were lost.

An unprecedented intense crisis.

Instantly filled Xiao Shi's entire mind.

The only power he could use here was his Physical Body Strength, but the infiltration of this Black Qi clearly couldn't be countered with Physical Body Strength.

After all, he was now Inked and immobile due to the Black Qi infiltration.

The Physical Body Strength within him could not be deployed.

The only Soul Consciousness and Soul Power he could mobilize were completely useless.

A large amount of Black Qi continuously spread toward his brain.

Xiao Shi knew that once the Black Qi permeated his brain, nothing could save him.

At this Life and Death Crisis.

He couldn't worry about formalities anymore.

Whether it was useful or not.

He unleashed every ounce of power he could mobilize.

At this point, the Black Qi had spread to his Glabella.

It continuously converged into the Moon Mark located at his Glabella.

Originally, his Moon Mark was just an Empty Shell.

There was nothing inside.

But now, under the convergence of this Black Qi, the entire Moon Mark was rapidly filled, turning it pitch black.

Moreover, the black Moon Mark gradually became nimble, as if slowly transforming from an inanimate object into a living one.

With a gurgling rotation, the Moon Mark on Xiao Shi's Glabella directly transformed into a pitch-black Moon Eye!

The entire Moon Eye emitted a terrifying aura of strangeness and chaos.

During this process.

Xiao Shi's consciousness continually blurred, and his Soul was gradually being devoured, growing weaker.

Just as his consciousness was about to be extinguished.

Xiao Shi used his last reserves of Strength to unleash... the Yin Flame within his body!

He didn't know if the Yin Flame would be useful.

At this moment.

He had no other means available.

Whether it was the black coffin inside him, the heavens secret mask, or the Myriad Treasure Pagoda Spirit, none of them could be used in this illusory world.

Now he just had to use whatever he had.

Boom!

The black Yin Flame immediately ignited from within Xiao Shi's body.

After coming into contact with the numerous Black Qi masses.

Hiss!!

The Black Qi immediately emitted a violent sound.

As if encountering their greatest Nemesis, they rapidly dissipated under the scorching of the Yin Flame.

Xiao Shi's consciousness successfully recovered significantly.

"The Yin Flame works!"

His eyes lit up.

He immediately mobilized the Yin Flame within his body to purge the Black Qi.

The Black Qi, which had previously spread unchecked and rampantly throughout his body, scattered and disintegrated under the scorching of the Yin Flame without any ability to resist.

His Inked Physical Body also returned to normal as the Black Qi dissipated.

In an instant.

Aside from the Moon Eye that had formed after burrowing into Xiao Shi's Moon Mark.

There was no longer a single trace of Black Qi remaining in his body.

At the same time, the black Moon Eye on his Glabella was showing panic and fear.

It seemed it hadn't expected such a terrifying Flame to exist within the opponent's body.

It tried to release a wisp of Black Qi, hoping to find a chance to escape, but it was instantly scorched and scattered by the Yin Flame.

It had no ability to resist whatsoever.

Fortunately, the Yin Flame seemed only able to burn outside the Moon Mark and was Unable to penetrate the Yin Flame.

This gave the Moon Eye a slight chance to breathe.

But the current situation was extremely disadvantageous for it.

It was like a weak lamb forced into a corner, trembling as it looked at the terrifying wolf pack surrounding it outside.

Originally, it was the Invader... yet now it was trapped inside the opponent's body.

Stuck in a Dilemma!

While breathing a sigh of relief, Xiao Shi gained a New Understanding of the Yin Flame.

The reason why the black coffin inside him, the Myriad Treasure Pagoda Spirit, and the heavens secret mask could not be used in this illusory world was that they did not exist during the Era of the Youyue Dynasty.

Naturally, they could not be used in this Era.

The effectiveness demonstrated by the Yin Flame now made Xiao Shi realize that the Yin Flame must have already existed during the Youyue Dynasty Era!

It could be said that the history of the Yin Flame... was even longer than that of the entire Youyue Dynasty!

This was truly unexpected.

However.

When he tried to use the Yin Flame to penetrate the Moon Mark and completely eliminate the Moon Eye within it, he found he couldn't penetrate it at all.

He could only trap it within the Moon Mark.

Fortunately, the Moon Eye was now at the End of its Rope and could no longer pose a threat to him.

Xiao Shi looked around.

The commotion he had caused this time was significant, especially the collapse of the Shrine inside the house... it was bound to be noticed.

Once the Town Chief returned, he would definitely see it.

"If I leave now, I will likely face Retribution later, and that will be dangerous..."

After some contemplation, Xiao Shi.

Turned his gaze toward the Cave revealed by the collapsed Shrine.

As things stood.

He had no other choice.

He could only continue to explore deeper.

At least now that he knew the Yin Flame could be used here and its power was considerable, Xiao Shi felt a bit more confident.

And judging from this current Branch of the story.

Perhaps as long as he completely uncovered the secrets of the Ancient Town, he would be able to successfully "Clear the Stage."

Immediately.

He began to venture deeper into the Cave ahead.

The entire Cave was pitch black and deep.

The further he walked inside, the larger the interior space of the Cave became.

At the same time, the Strange Aura within the Cave continuously intensified.

When he reached the interior of the Cave.

He saw at a glance.

That a Corpse was lying right there inside the Cave!

The entire Corpse was pitch black, and at first glance, it was very similar to his previous Inked state.

All the Strange Aura in this place emanated from the Corpse before him.

Moreover, the aura was exactly the same as the Moon Eye that had burrowed into Xiao Shi's Moon Mark!!

What drew Xiao Shi's particular attention.

Was the Corpse's Glabella.

Where the Moon Mark should have been, there was now a Hole, as if the Moon Mark on the Glabella had been forcibly dug out!

Xiao Shi stared closely at the Hole on the Corpse's forehead.

Although he didn't know much about the Youyue Dynasty.

He knew that the Moon Mark, as part of the Youyue Dynasty's Cultivation system, was generally difficult to remove!

Especially judging by the aura emanating from this Corpse after death.

It clearly possessed extremely formidable Strength during its lifetime.

It was even more impossible for such a Powerful Individual to have their Moon Mark dug out.

"If I'm not mistaken..."

"The Moon Mark dug out from this Corpse is the mass of Black Qi inside the Coffin, which is now the Moon Eye trapped within my Moon Mark!"

"And this Corpse..."

"Should be the biggest secret inside this Ancient Town!"

To verify the Conjecture in his heart.

Xiao Shi took out the Scroll.

Sure enough, another event appeared on the Scroll.

[Resolution Condition 5: Corpse in the Cave Behind the Shrine] (Resolved)

[Event 5: After Gu Siyu took the Coffin off the Shrine, the Cave hidden within the Ancient Town appeared before him, and the Corpse inside the Cave made him understand everything.]

[Complete Event Resolution: Within the Youyue Dynasty, there existed an Evil Energy Organization. This organization primarily conducted research on strange Pollution and the Possession of Powerful Individuals, creating numerous Test Subjects for this purpose. Among them was a powerful Test Subject that, hundreds of years ago, killed many Powerful Individuals of the same Realm under the control of the Evil Energy Organization. This brought it great fame, making the Evil Energy Organization's Test Subjects regarded by many as comparable to Divine Artifacts.]

[After several hundred years of development, the Evil Energy Organization's Test Subjects became increasingly powerful and mature, eventually shedding the name 'Test Subject' and being granted the Title 'Evil Energy User'. Following this, the Ten Evils Ranking was established.]

[Those ranked on the Ten Evils Ranking were ten exceptionally remarkable Evil Energy Users, akin to the Ten Great Divine Artifacts!]

[Four of these Evil Energy Users were unfortunately lost during battles with Powerful Figures and their whereabouts remain unknown.]

Seeing this.

Xiao Shi basically understood everything.

Obviously.

The Corpse in this Cave now was the so-called Evil Energy User.

And it was an Evil Energy User ranked on the Ten Evils Ranking!

For some reason.

This Evil Energy User was killed, its Moon Mark was dug out, and it was Sealed inside the Coffin.

As a result, the people of this Ancient Town were subjected to strange Pollution and gradually became part of the strangeness.

The only thing Xiao Shi didn't understand now was... whether this type of Evil Energy User was truly human or a controlled Puppet?

As he focused his gaze on the Corpse again.

He suddenly discovered that relevant information about the Corpse had appeared in his line of sight.

[Name: Evil Energy User Corpse]

[Type: Half-Human, Corpse]

[Grade: Unknown]

[Description: The Corpse of the third-ranked Evil Energy User on the Ten Evils Ranking within the Youyue Dynasty. Because the Corpse possesses a Body Refining physique and the Yin Nether Bloodline, its body remains immortal after death and can be regarded as a powerful Container.]

[Note 1: Injecting a Soul into the Corpse can resurrect it, thereby controlling the Evil Energy User.]

[Note 2: The Soul injected into the Corpse must be an independent Soul; no Split Souls or Residual Souls can survive within the Corpse.]

[Note 3: The Soul injected into the Corpse must carry Evil Characteristics; a Soul without Evil Characteristics cannot survive.]

[Note 4: Depending on the injected Soul, the Evil Energy User will exhibit different changes and characteristics upon resurrection.]

...Xiao Shi looked at the [Evil Energy User Corpse] before him. With the resolution of the entire event, even though this Corpse was not an item dropped by him after a kill, its relevant information was now displayed.

What shocked Xiao Shi the most.

Was that this Corpse... was not in an Illusory State!

This meant... he could take this Corpse back to his own Era!!