Chapter 424: Farewell at the Stone of Three Lifetimes

Visibly, the black patterns instantly stopped spreading the moment the black cloth attached itself.

And Lin Jing’s body, which had been gradually blurring into a mosaic, instantly regained clarity.

Clearly visible was that only one of his arms was covered in black patterns.

Jiang Ye stared for a while, then straightforwardly asked Zhao Dongliu:

“Do you know the principle behind this?”

Zhao Dongliu remained silent for a moment, then said to Lin Jing, “Try again. Press your hand against the flask body.”

Now clear again, Lin Jing also regained his mental clarity.

However, his entire person still seemed somewhat dazed.

Although the instinctive fear dark-type creatures have for light, and the punk’s reaction witnessed firsthand, could have forewarned him of the terror of Lightburn.

But only when he personally experienced it did he realize…

It was a pain that brought despair.

This despair even made one afraid to die!

Because, vaguely, he even felt…

Even death could not free him from this profound, bone-deep sensation of great terror…

At this moment, he inexplicably felt regret.

The reason was, he hadn’t told Jiang Ye—

That mysterious existence in the tombstone area had also taught him a method to suppress his instinctive fear.

So, he suppressed his instinctive fear of the Light faction.

But now, Lin Jing realized…

Humans shouldn’t defy instinct;
they should follow it!

If he had followed instinct, he should have, like all dark-type creatures, sensed the Light faction’s aura and hid far away.

Even without sensing it, merely knowing of the Light faction’s existence, he should have hidden far away!

He should have followed instinct, completely severing any possibility of contracting Lightburn!

This was the best choice instinct made for dark-type players!

Unfortunately, he realized it too late!

Now, no amount of regret could change things!

Lin Jing’s face was grim, but he still obediently followed Zhao Dongliu’s instruction, pressing the hand covered in black patterns against the flask body again.

After all, he could only rely on Jiang Ye’s black cloth to suppress the pain of Lightburn now…

However—

All Lin Jing sought was to avoid the pain of Lightburn.

But the moment his hand pressed against the flask body, Zhao Dongliu said to Jiang Ye, “Now, try removing the black cloth again.”

Hearing this, Lin Jing’s expression changed, almost causing him to lose his temper on the spot.

Fortunately, Zhao Dongliu followed up with reassurance, “Endure it for a while. Wait until the black patterns cover your entire body, then we’ll relieve you of the Lightburn pain.”

Lin Jing’s inner thoughts were a string of curses: Damn it, it’s easy for you to talk! Lightburn pain! You try enduring it, damn it!

Of course, he also wanted to endure…

He didn’t want to wail and howl like a worthless creature, devoid of dignity.

But when that bone-deep, unforgettable pain was inflicted upon him, he realized with absolute clarity—

His dignity and will were instantly shattered!

Such pain, no one could possibly withstand with willpower alone!

That is to say, it was simply impossible to endure!

He let out another piercing, miserable scream, during which he seemed to lose his humanity, leaving only animalistic instinct…

However, having already grown accustomed to the punk’s screams, the noise Lin Jing now produced was something everyone present could tolerate.

Thus, they watched as the black patterns on Lin Jing’s arm rapidly spread again as his body blurred!

Until, just as Jiang Ye had speculated, the black patterns covered Lin Jing’s entire body, similar to the red patterns on the mutant!

But…

What happened next was different again—

Just as earlier, the freezing effect of the Ice Crystal Tear Drop spread from Lin Jing’s body to the sphere…

Now, after the black patterns covered Lin Jing’s entire body, they continued spreading towards the flask body!

However, the flask body was already covered in black cracks.

Now, adding the black patterns only made it look more bizarre…

A significant portion of the patterns overlapped with the original black cracks on the flask.

Another portion seemed like patterns spreading out from the original cracks, appearing eerie and grotesque.

Once the black patterns covered the entire flask body, Zhao Dongliu instructed Jiang Ye again:

“Now, try placing the black cloth on the spot where Lin Jing’s palm meets the flask body.”

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and quickly complied.

He felt that this time, the black cloth on the flask body might undergo some change again?

Surprisingly, however—

The black cloth didn’t expand, enlarge, or become transparent again.

It merely added a patch of pure black to the flask body covered in black patterns.

Lin Jing’s palm pressed against that black patch.

But he didn’t stop screaming!

That is to say…

At this moment, the black cloth wasn’t suppressing his Lightburn pain!

Instead…

The black patterns on his body seemed to come alive, slowly flowing towards the hand pressed against the black cloth!

Yes! “Flowing”!

The black color flowed like blood!

As if… all the blood in Lin Jing’s body was pouring into the bizarre black cloth!

Witnessing this, Jiang Ye suddenly realized—

Lin Jing’s current state was almost identical to him having his blood drained!

Following this trend…

Probably once the black patterns completely flowed away from his body…

That would be when his entire person turned into a desiccated corpse!

Desiccated corpse…

Speaking of which, Jiang Ye had been curious not long ago: would an ordinary player, drained of blood and turned into a desiccated corpse, be the same as his desiccated corpse?

Of course, Jiang Ye soon witnessed and realized—

Lin Jing wasn’t an “ordinary player.”

Because the desiccated corpse he turned into was clearly different from an “ordinary player’s.”

Jiang Ye watched with his own eyes…

Lin Jing’s physical body didn’t turn into a desiccated corpse!

Instead, it turned into…

The spout on the flask body!

Yes!

That protruding section looked exactly like a spout!

The object that was originally just a bare flask body now looked even more like a flask!

However, many players present, including Jiang Ye, simultaneously saw—

On that protruding section of the flask body, the “desiccated corpse” resembling a “spout”…

Three dull gray stones were clearly displayed!

These were unmistakably…

The Three Life Stones that were previously embedded in the Three Life Stone Staff!

So, looking at Lin Jing’s desiccated corpse from this angle…

It seemed this guy’s physical body had transformed from the Three Life Stone Staff into the spout of a teapot?

So, did Lin Jing just… die?

No!

Jiang Ye suddenly remembered Lin Ling’s earlier attempt to lure the Guiwen…

Could it be that because the Guiwen didn’t take the bait, Lin Jing replaced the Guiwen?

After some thought, Jiang Ye suddenly called out towards the three stones, “Lin Jing? Are you still alive?”

Sure enough, after a moment of silence in the air, Lin Jing’s voice emerged from the stone suspected to be the [Next Life Stone], “Seems so.”

His tone was somewhat inexplicable.

The players witnessing all this were utterly shocked.

Especially Lu Fang, who had been the most excited earlier, now exclaimed again in surprise, “Holy shit! Brother Monkey, is that you?!”

“Can we really become gods or immortals by traveling through time?!”

Good grief…

Brother Monkey was mentioned…

The key was that old classmates like Gao Chang seemed to actually believe it!

Their eyes were all lit up as if injected with stimulants!

One classmate even excitedly chimed in:

“I don’t even need to become a god or immortal. I’d be satisfied just being one of the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals sent to capture Brother Monkey!”

Another classmate followed suit excitedly, “What? Your Brother Monkey is right in front of you, and you don’t want to be a monkey descendant, you want to be a heavenly soldier or general instead??”

“…”

Fortunately, stones have no expressions.

But the expressions on Jiang Ye and Zhao Dongliu’s faces probably represented Lin Jing’s feelings a little.

They didn’t bother with these rookies’ naive fantasies.

Jiang Ye directly asked Lin Jing again, “What’s your situation now? Any special feelings?”

Lin Jing was silent for a moment, finally saying:

“If I had to mention a special feeling…”

“That would be, the Lightburn is gone.”

“Good, I know.” Jiang Ye nodded seriously, then seriously pulled the black cloth away from the connection point between the spout and the flask body.

“AHHHHHHHH HISSSS AHHHH!!!!!”

“OK, I know again.” Jiang Ye pressed the black cloth back.

“…” Stone Lin Jing fell silent.

Beside them, Zhao Dongliu took the opportunity to give Jiang Ye a meaningful look: “Either Lin Jing intentionally hid something;
or, under the Forbidden Zone’s effect, the Next Life Stone cannot take effect.”

Jiang Ye turned to look at the stone again and asked directly, “Did you hide something?”

“I didn’t!” A panicked voice instantly burst out.

A moment later, Lin Jing explained, “I sense a black space, opposite in feeling to the Forbidden Zone space. Within the blackness, there’s a small white dot mixed in.”

“I’m trapped here, feeling a sense of confinement that prevents me from moving.”

“More accurately, I seem to have completely become a soul without a physical body. As for the Next Life Stone taking effect or anything, I truly don’t sense it.”

Jiang Ye felt he wasn’t lying, so he asked Zhao Dongliu again:

“In your prediction, he should be able to use some functions of the Next Life Stone? Or activate it?”

Zhao Dongliu didn’t answer directly, just reached out to touch the stone.

Of course, the yin realm person’s finger naturally couldn’t touch the stone.

Jiang Ye suddenly added, “Can this thing be pried off separately?”

“…” Zhao Dongliu’s expression was odd. “How about… you try?”

Jiang Ye actually did try.

His finger quickly turned icy to touch the stone.

And he actually managed to touch it.

Then, his frozen fingertip tried to pry at the spot where the stone was embedded in the spout…

Zhao Dongliu’s face instantly changed, “No, I was joking, don’t actually try!”

Jiang Ye was surprised, “Can this thing really be pried off?”

Saying this, he tried even harder…

“No? Whether it can or not, don’t try! Didn’t we agree to revive the Jade Flask together? After all I’ve said, don’t you understand the significant meaning of reviving the Jade Flask??”

“Of course I understand.” Jiang Ye was especially sincere. “But you said it yourself, the Jade Flask hasn’t been revived yet, right?”

“Your grand plan hasn’t even taken its first step yet. What’s wrong with me doing some research?”

“Aren’t you quite fond of research? Why are you so restrained now?”

“…” Zhao Dongliu looked somewhat speechless, momentarily unable to refute.

Lin Jing, hearing this, was actually quite panicked too, but influenced by Lightburn, he didn’t dare defy Jiang Ye.

Fortunately, Jiang Ye ultimately failed to pry off the Three Life Stones.

All three stones couldn’t be pried off.

While trying to pry the stones, he took the opportunity to ask Zhao Dongliu again:

“What were you thinking when you asked me to try dripping blood on the stone earlier?”

“Me?” Zhao Dongliu was stunned, pointed at himself, then realized after a moment, “You think I’m Lin Ling?”

Jiang Ye gave him a sidelong glance, “Aren’t you? By the way, under your [Personality Split], do the different personalities identify themselves as different people?”

After all, it was different from Jiang Ye’s multiple physical bodies sharing one consciousness.

In cases of schizophrenia, the split personalities generally see themselves as independent individuals and don’t coexist harmoniously with other personalities.

Some personalities even choose to kill the others.

Thinking about real-world cases of multiple personality disorder…

Jiang Ye suddenly shuddered, sharply turning to look at Zhao Dongliu.

Zhao Dongliu raised an eyebrow, “Yes, this is the Forbidden Zone. A mere [Personality Split] naturally won’t take effect here.”

Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes, staring at him, “What’s going on?”

Zhao Dongliu continued raising an eyebrow, “Relax, the principle is actually simple—”

“You witnessed Yu Mo’s mutation, right?”

“After his mutation, the mimic mask fused with him, correct?”

“So, I ask you, after he entered the Forbidden Zone, did the mimic mask’s effect disappear?”

A very simple example.

Jiang Ye instantly understood, his eyes widening suddenly, “You mean…”

“Changes brought about during the mutation process won’t be erased by the Forbidden Zone?”

“Can mutation abilities be used??”

No way? Seriously??

No wonder mutants have such an advantage in the Forbidden Zone!

However, while he was inwardly shocked, Zhao Dongliu shook his head:

“Not ‘use,’ but ‘maintain.'”

“Like Yu Mo’s face, it maintained the mimic mask’s effect.”

“Abilities mutated by players can only be maintained in the Forbidden Zone, not used.”

“Of course, there might be individual mutations with special circumstances in the Forbidden Zone…”

“The Defenders’ Alliance sent in a large number of mutant players partly to explore mutation situations.”

He calmly explained all this.

Jiang Ye suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The Three Life Stones truly couldn’t be pried off;
he withdrew his hand.

But his gaze remained fixed on Zhao Dongliu.

After a long while, he said, “You must have some idea about the so-called method to break the situation, right?”

Zhao Dongliu was silent for a moment, then shook his head, “I only provided a possible direction.”

“But in reality, with our current state, these conditions… can we still achieve mutation?”

Jiang Ye didn’t answer, just remained silent for a while before asking Zhao Dongliu again:

“How much do you know about mutants? If a mutant ‘dies’ in the Forbidden Zone, has its flesh and blood stripped away alive…”

“How can this mutant be revived?”

Yes, aside from the mutated clone listening to the bell toll…

In this Forbidden Zone, Jiang Ye had another mutated clone!

That is, Yu Mo’s body.

It was still in a state of death. If it could be revived, it might also serve some purpose.

However, that “dead” mutated clone had already completely lost connection within the Forbidden Zone.

In this state of lost connection, could it be revived remotely?

Jiang Ye instantly thought of something.

And the answer Zhao Dongliu gave also pointed in this direction: “I don’t know about this.”

“Because I also don’t understand how mutants and the mutation master that caused their mutation maintain their symbiotic relationship…”

He said he didn’t know.

But Jiang Ye had an answer in his heart—

Most likely… the Blood Realm Worm!

The already “dead” mutated Yu Mo body no longer had a Blood Realm Worm inside…

That originally belonged to his Blood Realm Worm had sucked the light clone’s blood dry and later merged into another mutated Jiang Ye’s body.

Jiang Ye somewhat suspected…

The reason the Blood Realm Worm merged with the shadow phantom but ended up parasitizing the portion of the shadow phantom brought out by his mutated clone…

Might also be related to Yu Mo’s clone?

Perhaps this could also be considered a form of indirect clone fusion?

Blood Realm Worm…

While thinking, Zhao Dongliu answered the question Jiang Ye had posed earlier:

“If someone asks you to try dripping blood on the Three Life Stones…”

“Then most likely, they want you to turn into a desiccated corpse.”

“More accurately, to add bricks and tiles to the ‘staff’ of the [Three Life Stone Staff].”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep