Chapter 106: Chapter 104: Poisonous Hand

Wu Chang looked at Erin, who was both familiar and unfamiliar, and asked, “Who are you?”

The Erin in front of him, although still maintaining Erin’s appearance, clearly had an entirely different presence within her body.

That feeling of superiority and indifference, as if looking down on ants, reminded him of Jermaine, who almost became an artificial Evil God.

Erin smiled, her face lighting up with a liveliness unusual for her. With a hint of mockery, she looked at Wu Chang and said:

“Mortal, didn’t you boast you could see through everything, so why not take a guess at who I am?”

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow and asked, “Great Saint Mother?”

The atmosphere instantly became silent.

The mockery on Erin’s face froze.

I’m telling you to guess, and you actually did.

“Did Ebert tell you?”

Pfft.

Wu Chang couldn’t hold back and laughed, “You lot of oldies, do all your brains have walnut-sized neurons? Whenever something happens, you always think someone snitched for others to guess it out.”

He pointed at the Light Wheel above Erin’s head, “The appearance of the Holy Mark was too deliberate. How could a mere Church obtain such Power, and why would they believe Ebert’s plan would succeed?”

“The Church higher-ups are nothing more than two types of people: one, clear-headed businessmen who know religion is nothing but a business where they only seek profit and Power; the other, unclear-headed antique thinkers who would hang Ebert the first chance they get and burn his manuscripts.”

“Unless there’s an issue with the source of the Holy Mark.”

Wu Chang glanced at Jermaine beside him who hadn’t yet cooled down.

Thanks to Jermaine’s creation of the Fallen Holy Statue, it demonstrated to him the blackening of the Holy Mark, allowing him to discover that there was no essential difference between Evil God and True God.

Their distinction might only be in the source of their strength.

Leman can descend miracles, and the Great Saint Mother can also descend miracles.

Leman can transport his eyeball to the lower realm, using its projection as himself.

The Great Saint Mother could also throw a part of herself to the followers in the lower realm, descending through that.

Originally unsure about this, upon seeing Erin retrieve the Holy Mark, he completely confirmed his suspicions.

This is also why the hidden task from the Church equates finding Erin with retrieving the Holy Mark.

If the Holy Mark is found directly, all parties are joyous, and the Great Saint Mother can continue playing dead until Erin and the Holy Mark are merged, pretending she never appeared.

If only Erin is found, and the Blessing of the Great Saint Mother is handed to her, the Great Saint Mother can use it as a proxy to retrieve the Holy Mark herself.

As for why the Holy Mark went missing, the reason probably lies with Ebert.

Within the Starlight Lighthouse, Ebert’s connection with the Church never broke. Wu Chang reasonably suspects Ebert, this traitor, and has informed the Church of the island’s affairs.

Jermaine needs the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Church wishes to remove Erin’s Seven Deadly Sins, meeting as needs arise.

The Church tricks Erin into coming, allowing Jermaine to execute the plan.

Once Jermaine truly separates the Seven Deadly Sins from Erin, and she becomes the perfect vessel, the Great Saint Mother can descend using Erin’s perfect vessel form and personally wipe away the stains on the Holy Mark.

Having her identity exposed by Wu Chang, Erin, or rather the Great Saint Mother within her, stopped pretending.

The black robe she wore transformed into a white dress. The Light Wheel above her head became a flower crown woven with flowers and wore upon her forehead.

Green grass and flowers sprouted wherever her bare feet tread, accompanied by holy chants and warm radiance.

“Interesting ant, regardless of how you deduced the results, what do you plan to do now?”

“Will you kneel and kiss my feet, offering your devotion to obtain immortality? Or will you follow the path of the wretched Jermaine, turning into a Blasphemer and meeting his end?”

Wu Chang scratched his head and asked, “Can I choose both?”

In the National Church of the Ogre Kingdom, the True God possesses omniscience and omnipotence, but the most beloved Saint, the Great Saint Mother, is known for her supreme wisdom.

Even the supremely wise Great Saint Mother found herself perplexed by Wu Chang for a moment and asked, “How will you choose both?”

Wu Chang said, “Kissing your feet while being a Blasphemer.”

The Great Saint Mother paused and then her expression turned cold.

Believers gain eternal life, non-believers fall into Hell.

Since Wu Chang has already made his choice, she wasn’t planning to waste more words.

Seeing the Great Saint Mother’s disdain and cold expression, Wu Chang suddenly felt even more certain.

Seeing the Great Saint Mother prepare to take action, he gestured for her to wait.

Great Saint Mother: “Mortal, it’s too late to change your choice now.”

Wu Chang shook his head and said, “I just wanted to ask, is your consciousness within the Holy Mark or in the necklace you blessed?”

“What do you mean?” the Great Saint Mother felt a bit irritated.

“Nothing, just afraid of collateral damage. By the way, in your hurry to retrieve the Holy Mark, did you not notice what’s missing from it?”

As Wu Chang spoke, a chess piece appeared in his hand.

It was the Proof of Arrogance he had yet to place into the Fallen Holy Statue’s body.

“Item Name: Proof of Arrogance”

“Item Type: Special”

“Item Description: By holding the Proof of Arrogance, you can freely enter the special space—Dominator Manor. In the Dominator Manor area, you will be regarded as a Divine Envoy, who may choose one attribute as a standard to judge the target. If the target’s attribute is lower than yours, the target will be dominated by the Divine Envoy.”

He activated the Proof of Arrogance, transforming into the Arrogant Divine Envoy.

The arrogant one, whose original sin lies in irreverence towards God, believes that his own splendor is not inferior to that of gods.

At this moment, Wu Chang fully embodied the original sin of arrogance.

In the Dominator Manor, transformed into the Arrogant Divine Envoy, his body’s surface shimmered with a radiance not inferior to that of the Great Saint Mother.

For a moment, it was difficult to distinguish who was the true deity.

As the vessel for the descent of the Great Saint Mother, Erin was originally created in the image of the Great Saint Mother.

The characteristic of the Great Saint Mother is greatness.

Perhaps to match the common aesthetic, the Great Saint Mother was only large where she should be, like her broad mind; her muscles and physique were not immense.

Thus, Wu Chang gambled that the Great Saint Mother did not excel in power.

He chose strength as the determining attribute and used the Power of Domination against the Great Saint Mother.

If the Great Saint Mother’s attribute was lower than his, she would be dominated by him.

How much was his strength attribute?

points!

In the Desolate Realm, not to mention the Great Saint Mother, even if the Valkyrie came, they might not possess such an overwhelming value!

“The target’s strength attribute is lower than the Divine Envoy’s, judging successful, the target falls into a dominated state.”

Wu Chang pointed at the Great Saint Mother and shouted, “Halt!”

The Great Saint Mother seemed truly struck by the Body Stabilization Technique, her body frozen and immovable.

If this were in a certain island nation, it would be called the Time Stop series.

The Great Saint Mother looked at Wu Chang with surprise in her eyes, unable to believe that she would actually be controlled by a mere mortal!

In the state of Giant Whale Transformation, Wu Chang reduced his size back to that of an average person for ease of movement.

He approached the Great Saint Mother, looking at her, now in a dominated state, and a dark thought arose in his heart; there was something he had always wanted to do in the presence of the sacred Great Saint Mother.

In front of the Great Saint Mother, he pinched a lock of her hair, inserted it into her nostril, and gently tickled it.

As he did so, he commanded her not to block the sensation or use any method to forcibly endure it.

Watching the Great Saint Mother trying to sneeze yet struggling to maintain her dignity, he felt uplifted.

Bliss!

A few minutes later, Wu Chang finally tired of the tickling, contentedly releasing the strands of hair now glistening with a clear liquid.

On the other side, the Great Saint Mother now looked at Wu Chang, rare fear appearing in her eyes.

Demon!

This man before her was surely a born demon!

Even the true Evil God wouldn’t commit such excessive deeds; beginning with such acts, who knows what he might do next, she dared not imagine.

She regretted, thinking that possessing severed Seven Deadly Sins, alongside an almost complete Holy Mark, would suffice to subdue this mighty mortal.

Unexpectedly, she still miscalculated.

After having enough fun, Wu Chang stretched and asked:

“Jermaine tempted me with a hidden sub-quest, and you also tempted me with immortality, but I refused both. Do you know why?”

He stared into the Great Saint Mother’s eyes and found the answer within them.

“Becoming a god? No, no, no, you misunderstood. Even if I were to become a god, I would achieve it through my own strength. The method of creating artificial gods is far too inferior for me to consider.”

The Seven Deadly Sins represent human desires, yet isn’t living as a human all about satisfying one’s desires?

Wu Chang is not an Ascetic, nor does he believe in binding himself with anything; living is all about pleasure.

Taking Erin’s path, forsaking all negative emotions and Seven Deadly Sins, would leave one barely even aware of their own existence, unfit to be called a god.

Following Jermaine’s path, focusing solely on the Seven Deadly Sins, is too extreme and could easily turn one into a madman or pervert.

Moreover, even a true God is merely an entity active on the second and third layers of the Abyss, far from truly immortal.

Just like the Evil God’s Leman, coming to the Desolate Realm, only to have his eyes gouged out nonetheless.

The Abyssal Game has already shown him a path towards the ultimate; how could he cast his eyes upon such a narrow trail?

He looked at the Great Saint Mother and said:

“There are always self-aggrandizing individuals who believe their status or abilities entitle them to control the fates of others. What I love most is saying no to people like you.”

The Great Saint Mother, utilizing the power of the Holy Mark, barely broke through part of the domination, regaining her voice, spoke in a panicked tone; “Mortal, I think we can talk.”

Wu Chang clicked his tongue, sighed, and asked: “Do you remember what I said when I drew the circle?”

The Great Saint Mother cautiously replied: “You said that as long as we stand within the circle, demons and monsters cannot approach?”

Wu Chang shook his head, “Wrong, I said if you step out of the circle, you’ll meet your demise.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep