Due to the Ten Thousand Serpent Curse Mark, all of Lei Lin's data had plummeted and his remaining time had been reduced to just two years. These troubles were like a rope tightening ceaselessly around his neck, leaving him unable to draw breath.
But now, with the Filthy Bird's assistance, Lei Lin finally felt that time was no longer quite so pressing—he could afford to breathe a little easier.
"My seal of Chaos rules can at most delay the Ten Thousand Serpent Curse Mark by eighteen years. And after twenty years have passed, even if you find me or other Eighth-Level existences again, the seal cannot be delayed or reinforced any further... unless you can meet a Ninth-Level Eternal One..."
The Filthy Bird's voice rang out once more. But the gray bird now appearing before Lei Lin had taken on a somewhat illusory form, as though it had expended far too much energy.
"Thank you, Great Sovereign!"
Even so, Lei Lin expressed his gratitude with complete sincerity—without this, he wouldn't even have twenty years of breathing room.
"Half of your Sacrificial Power remains. Speak your remaining request!"
At that moment, the gray bird spoke again, its voice resonating directly within Lei Lin's mind.
"Great Wing of Fluctuation! I wish to obtain something that can conceal my presence. After all, to resolve the Ten Thousand Serpent Curse Mark once and for all, I will inevitably need to venture deep into the Hale Continent..."
Lei Lin pondered for a moment before revealing his intentions.
He had long since realized that in this Infernal Realm where the Path of Sacrifice held sway, no matter how well he disguised himself, there was one fatal flaw!
The existence of Sacrificial Avatars! Any Sacrificer who reached the Fourth Level could summon the avatar of a Sovereign—and if those avatars possessed sentience, they would certainly detect Lei Lin's disguise if he was nearby.
In the previous great battles, neither Iyas nor Belcrack had directly summoned avatars—they had only called upon partial phantoms and fragments of power. That was what had given Lei Lin the chance to keep his secret. But Lei Lin knew he couldn't avoid running into one forever, especially on the Hale Continent! So proper concealment was absolutely necessary—something capable of deceiving the avatars of rule-level existences.
Moreover, these rule-level existences likely possessed some form of specialized detection abilities. The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, in particular—the very origin of the Komoin bloodline—would undoubtedly have some special sensory connection to her own descendants.
Although Lei Lin had already made extensive preparations and disguises, there was no harm in adding yet another layer of insurance.
"You are clever!" The Filthy Bird nodded approvingly. "Once you appear within ten miles of any of our avatars, you will absolutely be unable to escape our sight!"
"I grant you the Feather of Chaos. The bearer of this object will be shielded by the power of Chaos—as long as you do not come face to face with a Sovereign's true body, you will not be discovered..."
The bird's form grew increasingly ethereal, until in the end it transformed within a burst of light into a single gray, dreamlike feather, floating gently before Lei Lin.
"Descendant of Ten Thousand Serpents! Sovereign of the Komoin! The Hale Continent will be yours to roam—tear apart the Divine Throne of the Ten Thousand Serpents..."
The gray avatar of the Filthy Bird vanished, leaving behind only a lingering trace of will echoing throughout the secret chamber.
Bang! The sacrificial formation on the ground instantly detonated, dissolving into countless wisps of ash.
"Whew... the effect is even better than I expected!"
Lei Lin let out a long breath, suddenly feeling a surge of relief.
Dealing with a rule-level existence like the Filthy Bird was tantamount to dancing on a tightrope—Lei Lin had been forced to consider every worst-case scenario.
Of course, given the mortal enmity between the Filthy Bird and the Eye of Judgment, it would naturally be more than willing to see the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes — an ally of the Eye of Judgment — suffer a setback. This was the very foundation on which the deal between the two sides could be struck.
More critically, Lei Lin's own strength and his meticulous arrangements meant that even if the Filthy Bird's clone suddenly turned on him, he was confident he could shatter the sacrificial formation and escape in an instant.
It was the combination of a shared enemy and Lei Lin's ability to get away that led the Filthy Bird to regard him as something of an ally.
Furthermore, Lei Lin had no intention of trusting the Filthy Bird completely — after all, the relationship between them was nothing more than mutual exploitation. That said, since the Filthy Bird currently held an overwhelming advantage and there was no conflict of interest between them, Lei Lin believed this pact could still hold for the time being.
The fact that Lei Lin, a far-from-devout worshipper, had been directly elevated to the fourth tier by the Filthy Bird was proof enough.
There were no eternal lucky souls in this world — only thorough, meticulous consideration and the anticipation of every worst-case scenario could serve as the best guarantee of success.
"A fourth-tier worshipper can already draw the other party's energy into their body, begin enhancing their physical attributes, and permanently fix those gains..."
Lei Lin mused, "The catch is that such enhancements invariably come at the cost of having the Filthy Bird's energy imprint branded across the entire body — possibly even irreversible tissue and cellular transformation, ultimately leading to complete control by the other party... Chip! Full scan of my body's energy structure!"
【Ding! Task established. Scanning now!】The Chip's mechanical voice sounded, followed by a dense array of fine blue light sweeping continuously across every part of Lei Lin's body.
【Unidentified energy structure detected! Identified as the Filthy Bird's energy imprint! Purge recommended?】After only a brief moment, the Chip delivered its feedback.
"Pull up the spectrum map!" Lei Lin had long been prepared for this result, so he showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, he issued his command with perfect calm.