Chapter 1196: The Stick Insect of the Sacred Night Capital (2)

Is this the so-called everything is the best arrangement?

Following behind Yuan Shan, Fu Qian felt even more satisfied as the new prompt echoed in his ear.

The Containment Conditions appeared right away, and sure enough, they involved Midas.

It was feeling more and more like his home turf.

Even though the situation remained brutally difficult.

After all, he would likely have to confront the performer in some form next. He had no idea if a hundred or so points of SAN Value would be enough.

Fu Qian looked up at the vividly lit night sky, almost seeing a pair of eyes gazing back from behind heavy layers of space and time.

He was incredibly confident that the Blazing Rainbow would notice the commotion inside the task.

This had been part of the plan all along.

As for taking the conspiracy theory a layer deeper—whether Midas was also a trap left by the Blazing Rainbow to lure him into choosing this final strategy—Fu Qian never worried about that.

His choice to tilt the odds this way was premised entirely on his trump card: Transcendence.

If the Blazing Rainbow was powerful enough to even know his skills, the situation would be no worse than the absolute worst-case scenario: hiding somewhere to gamble on the odds, with nothing more than an additional obstruction from a Higher Existence.

And if they were unaware of Transcendence, then this trap wouldn't have been able to lure him in the first place.

After so many dealings, they should have figured out that he wasn't naive enough to think a single point of SAN Value equaled one trial-and-error opportunity.

In short, the show had begun.

...

"When we have time, I'll take you to my place. It's a really nice spot."

Under the night sky, Chief Yuan spoke the same words she had said once before, though in a much more relaxed tone.

"Alright."

"But it's still quite early. Let's get down to business first."

"No problem. Are we not going to headquarters?"

Fu Qian cooperatively raised the question once more.

"No, my teacher has been retired for many years."

Satisfied with his observation, Yuan Shan chuckled.

"Why don't you guess where we're going to find him?"

"The Church?"

This time, Fu Qian chose a different answer.

"...Why do you say that?"

Clearly, the answer left Yuan Shan quite shocked.

"I've always heard about the Sacred Night Capital's devout atmosphere of faith. For a retired Night Watcher like Ming Su to stay in this city of dazzling luxury and debauchery, the Church is the only place I feel would be fitting for him."

Fu Qian spoke with a face full of reverence.

"He couldn't possibly be interested in casinos and the like, could he?"

"...Are you serious?"

This absurdly exaggerated praise plunged Chief Yuan into silence. She hesitated several times before finally asking in a low voice.

"Of course."

Fu Qian blinked, the very picture of innocence.

"Is there a problem?"

"You'll know when you see him for yourself..."

Yuan Shan looked as though she didn't know what to say anymore, eventually just squeezing out a single sentence.

"But we'll follow your lead. Let's check out the Church first."

"Alright."

Seeing Yuan Shan hail a cab by the roadside, Fu Qian readily agreed.

"Oh, right."

The next moment, as if suddenly remembering something, he gestured at the messy pile of items in his hands.

"This is a bit unsightly, isn't it?"

'Since when did you care so much about other people's feelings?'

Yuan Shan frowned slightly, silently roasting him in her mind.

"It's fine. Maybe just a little..."

"Hmm..."

Fu Qian examined the items in his hands, hesitating for a second as if considering how to handle them.

Yet the next moment, under Chief Yuan's horrified gaze, he raised the Giant Egg high and poured the surging metallic liquid straight into his mouth.

"What are you doing?"

This scene undoubtedly left Yuan Shan dumbfounded.

She had sensed earlier that the egg was highly unusual, possessing bizarre properties.

In Yuan Shan's estimation, he had likely pulled out his ultimate trump cards to guard against potential conflicts.

Having such a collection wasn't too strange.

However, they had only just arrived, and he swallowed the thing as casually as eating popcorn?

Although the exact effects of the item were still unknown, wasn't he being a bit too decisive?

Unfortunately, Fu Qian seemed completely oblivious to her reaction. He only stopped when the eggshell was thoroughly empty, asking with a smile.

"Is this a bit better?"

"What do you mean, better..."

Yuan Shan made no attempt to hide her shock.

"Didn't you just say it was a bit unsightly? Now that I've eaten an egg, it should be somewhat improved, right?"

'You really did just eat an egg...'

Faced with such a bizarre conversation, even someone with a mind as resilient as Chief Yuan was momentarily speechless. She subconsciously reached out, wanting to touch the eggshell.

Unfortunately, before she could make contact, the shell began to collapse as if it had lost all support.

In the blink of an eye, the rupture rapidly expanded until the remnants flowed through Fu Qian's hands, scattering into dust.

"Dust to Dust, earth to earth. Your final ripple, I have accepted..."

Witnessing this, Fu Qian seemed deeply moved, his expression turning instantly solemn.

'What exactly did you accept... do you just eat things like this indiscriminately?'

Yuan Shan obviously couldn't guess the true meaning behind Fu Qian's actions.

Or rather, no one could have imagined that a lunatic would undergo an on-the-spot advancement in such a manner.

In Yuan Shan's eyes, the probability of him cramming at the last minute and taking some kind of stimulant was much higher.

After all, it was obvious that after swallowing the liquid, he was rapidly undergoing some kind of transformation.

His skin turned pale and dim, brimming with an archaic, mysterious aura.

His eyes grew increasingly profound, seemingly rippling with invisible, concentric waves.

Even his presence faintly intensified. No matter how she looked at it, the item seemed meant to boost power for a short time.

Of course, this was only Yuan Shan's perspective, and she had been misled.

As the person in question, Fu Qian's sensations were undoubtedly much clearer.

First and foremost, the most intuitive change was that his injuries had healed.

All of his wounds—even the Dimensional Poison injury that had only started recovering at a noticeable rate with the Red Moon's help—healed completely in an instant.

Along with that, his body was transforming into a special form of existence.

Every part of him remained incredibly flexible, yet it felt as if he were breaking away from the realm of flesh and blood.

The kind of Eternity transcending time that he had experienced in the Blood Lake was now permeating every one of his cells.

That thing seemed to have truly undergone a deep integration with him, reaching a rather stable state.

Was this a False God? In a sense, it really did feel somewhat like it.

"Can we go now?"

Chief Yuan, who still didn't know what had just happened, finally took a deep breath and adjusted her mindset.

"Yes—oh, wait a moment."

Just as they were about to set off, Fu Qian suddenly looked like he had remembered something else.

The next moment, under Yuan Shan's fixed gaze, a crystal-clear Bell appeared in his hand.

Cling!

Fu Qian didn't hesitate at all; he rang the Eternally Lucid Mind.