[Sacrificial Magical Array complete! Please select the target of the sacrifice!]
On the Chip's screen, several strange symbols surfaced. These symbols seemed to transcend three-dimensional imagery, carrying an eerily ancient feel suffused with the aura of power and law.
Leilin Farell studied them in silence.
The Chip provided a total of seven runes, each corresponding to one of the seven Supreme Beings across the continents of the Infernal World. Among them, several designs were ones Leilin knew well.
A vertical-eye rune, a bizarre serpent-shaped twisted rune, and finally a rune depicting a great bird spreading its wings.
"Eye of Judgment! Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents! And the Tainted Bird!" Leilin murmured the names represented by these three symbols. Of those three Supreme Beings, he had by far the most experience dealing with all of them—though none of those encounters had been particularly pleasant.
"Sacrifice target selected: Tainted Bird!"
Leilin reached out and tapped the rune shaped like a great bird spreading its wings.
Hummm! Almost instantly, at the very center of the sacrificial array—the most critical blank space—the great bird rune materialized.
A foul yet chaotic force seemed to pierce through barriers, arriving here through some unknown channel in the indeterminate void.
Wisps of grey mist continuously coiled above the array, carrying faint, shrill cries.
Seeing this, even though Becklark was sealed in multiple layers, his body still reacted slightly, clearly anticipating his fate.
Being sacrificed—especially to the sworn enemy of the Eye of Judgment—was something utterly unacceptable to a devout follower like him.
Unfortunately, whether in Leilin's previous life or in the
"Great Master of Chaos, Wing of Fluctuations, free will soaring across countless dimensions! I, Leilin Farell, humbly summon your descent…"
The complex and guttural sacrificial incantations flowed ceaselessly from Leilin's throat, accompanied by faint ripples of spiritual power.
Driven by the force of his True Spirit, these liturgies acted like some mysterious key, opening an immense, invisible gate.
BOOM!
The entire sacrificial array roared to life, the great bird rune coming alive as it let out a piercing cry.
Masses of grey light condensed, space visibly warping. At the very limit, it exploded with a deafening blast.
WHOOSH! A burst of grey flame erupted from the center of the sacrificial array.
"Great Supreme Being! Lord Tainted Bird! Please accept my offering!" Leilin's eyes held a detached calm as the Evil Eye on the ground, as if pulled by invisible threads, was drawn into the center of the array.
BOOM! The small grey flame rapidly expanded, swallowing the entire Evil Eye.
"Aaah… I curse you… curse you…"
Within the grey flames, the massive Evil Eye began melting like a wax figure, its True Spirit corroded directly. At Leilin's ears came Becklark's dying curse.
But none of this caused the slightest change in his expression. Leilin's eyes remained fixed intently on the sacrificial process, making adjustments from time to time.
Obviously, a Fifth-level powerhouse was a sacrifice nearly impossible for any alien species newly initiated into the art of sacrifice—let alone that this Evil Eye was a Fifth-level priest of the Eye of Judgment.
And the original sacrificial Magical Array he had purchased at Iyas Port was, of course, nothing particularly high-end. It was sufficient for Fourth-level sacrifice use, but now its inadequacies were showing.
As the Evil Eye elder melted, terrifying energy kept overflowing from its waxen remains, to the point where the entire sacrificial array groaned under the strain.
"Well…" Leilin shook his head with some exasperation and began using his own True Spirit power to forcibly reinforce the array.
"Chirp chirp chirp chirp!"
Once the Evil Eye was more than halfway melted, this high-level sacrifice finally attracted the attention of some law-bound existence in the void.
Accompanied by shrill cries, the runes Leilin had set on the surrounding walls first began flashing violently, some even collapsing, and then the sacrificial Magical Array burst into blinding radiance.
The grey flames instantly turned crimson, and the Evil Eye elder's screams spiked several pitches higher.
BOOM! Crimson fire devoured the Fifth-level priest, Evil Eye elder Becklark, in the blink of an eye. The massive amount of wax condensed into a single mass, twisting and deforming under the searing red flames, until it ultimately took the shape of a small, nimble grey bird.
"I humbly greet the great Wing of Fluctuations! Lord Tainted Bird!"
This was clearly an avatar descent of the Tainted Bird. Leilin quickly bowed in respect.
The grey bird's eyes were initially blank, but quickly filled with a commanding will. It looked at Leilin, its gaze unmistakably carrying amusement.
"We meet again! Blood heir of the Ten Thousand Serpents! Emperor of the Comoyin!"
An ancient, mechanical voice resonated directly in the depths of Leilin's mind.
The grey bird fluttered its wings cheerfully. "The offering you have provided this time—this Lord is quite satisfied. Though it seems there is still some distrust in your heart…"
It was clearly referring to the powerful binding and isolation runes on the walls.
Leilin merely smiled. "Forgive the careful caution of a humble existence. I am certain that to a great Supreme Being such as yourself, they are like fine rain—completely harmless!"
"Cunning little one—it seems this is not your first time summoning this Lord! On your body, this Lord can sense the lingering traces of an Eye of Judgment contract…"
The grey bird seemed to sniff at Leilin and declared with certainty.
Recognition dawned in Leilin's eyes. That must refer to when he was still a First-level Warlock, when he had used the Tainted Bird Feather Solution to purge the Eye of Judgment contract from his body.
But now, with his much broader horizons, Leilin could be certain that the so-called Tainted Bird Feather Solution had merely been the name of some concoction. The main ingredient could not possibly have been an actual feather from this Supreme Being—otherwise, there was no way a First-level Warlock could have gotten his hands on it.
Naturally, the Eye of Judgment contracts used by First- and Second-level Wizards, constrained by their own limited strength, were nothing high-end either, which was why Leilin had been able to eliminate one by stumbling upon the Tainted Bird Feather Solution.
But even borrowing merely one hundred-millionth of its power, the Supreme Being had still keenly sensed it.
"Yes! The reason I was able to break free from the Eye of Judgment's binding back then was all thanks to your power, Supreme Being!" Leilin said respectfully.
"Chirp—there is no need to thank this Lord, young one! Breaking the bonds of the Eye of Judgment is this Lord's mission and duty!"
Perhaps because of this shared history, the Tainted Bird's gaze toward Leilin softened considerably.
"You did the right thing! If you had not immediately sacrificed this priest, the Eye of Judgment would most likely have pinpointed your location within ten sandglass hours!"
The Tainted Bird now provided an additional piece of information.
"And now, it can no longer detect you at all. Moreover, due to the presence of this Lord's chaotic power, everything related to you will be concealed by chaos and filth…"
Hearing this, Leilin's expression relaxed noticeably.
As expected, the only way to stand against a Supreme Being now was to borrow the power of other law-bound existences. The Tainted Bird's willingness to help with concealment made his earlier gamble entirely worthwhile.
"Then… Wizard! Tell this Lord your request!" The Tainted Bird spread its wings, its manner turning solemn.
"Great Master of Chaos, may I ask whether you can remove the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Serpents from my body?"
Leilin suppressed his excitement and asked in a grave tone.
"The Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Serpents is a curse from an existence of the same rank as this Lord—the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents! This Lord cannot completely erase it!" The grey bird shook its head. But just as Leilin's heart sank, he heard its addendum. "However, the power of chaos is sufficient to delay the Curse Mark's eruption. Shall this Lord suppress it?"
"Please, go ahead!" Leilin gritted his teeth. He had already taken the gamble of crossing into the Infernal World, so there was no way he would refuse now.
"This sealing will consume half of your sacrificial power!" The grey bird gave Leilin a deep look, and then terrifying grey chaotic force began pouring into his entire body.
Energy steeped in horrific, foul power spread from his skin and flesh all the way into his sea of consciousness and soul.
[Ding! Foreign energy intrusion detected. Purify?]The Chip displayed a red warning prompt.
"No!" Leilin gritted his teeth. "But maintain monitoring!"
[Suppression resistance released! Status monitoring initiated!]The Chip faithfully responded.
The flood of chaotic power spread throughout Leilin's body, eventually converging at the center of his forehead, where it formed a ring of silver seal on the outermost layer.
At its very core, the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Serpents seemed to squirm faintly, but was quickly suppressed by the overwhelming torrent of chaotic force.
[Ding! Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Serpents seal reinforcement in progress! Estimated eruption time: twenty years!]On Leilin's status panel, new information quickly refreshed.
[Subject's sacrificial rank upgraded! Current sacrificial target: Tainted Bird. Rank: Four!]
[Detected release of partial bloodline power. Sacrificial power amplification in progress. Body data exhibiting significant fluctuation. Re-scanning!]
Soon, the Chip had compiled new attribute data: [Leilin Farell, Warlock, Fifth Level. Bloodline: Comoyin Serpent Emperor (Complete Form). Strength: 51 (76). Agility: 46 (62). Constitution: 135 (176.9). Spirit: —. Mana: 1575 (mana determined by Spiritual Power). Soul Power: 158. Status: Fourth-rank sacrificial power amplification active! Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Serpents estimated eruption: twenty years!]
"Releasing a portion of my bloodline power, plus the sacrificial amplification—I've actually recovered this much!"
Seeing the dramatically transformed data, Leilin's face was overtaken by a burst of wild elation.