Chapter 134: Interrogation, Near-Divine Realm, Transmutation Sickness, Treant Syndrome (4K)

Chapter 134: Interrogation, Near-Divine Realm, Transmutation Sickness, Treant Syndrome (4K)



The surgery was successful?

Aqin blinked, her consciousness gradually clearing as she realized something was odd about her field of vision.

Her left eye also throbbed with a dull ache.

"What...what did you do to me?!" She was both furious and terrified, her first instinct being to draw upon her divine power...

But the 'Stigma' did not respond to her call.

"Are you looking for this?"

The handsome young man across from her set the bowl down on the table and casually pulled a colorful, round gem from his pocket.

No, that's an eye.

That's my eye! My Stigma!

"Give it back to me!" Aqin demanded angrily.

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow. "Woman, it seems you still don't understand your current situation."

He tossed the eyeball onto the table, and it bounced high into the air, hitting the ceiling before falling back into his hand.

"Oh? Quite bouncy."

Xue Jing held the eye in his hand, spinning it with his finger like a basketball, a smile in his voice as he said, "Hey, if I were to throw this thing outside, it would probably bounce out of sight and be lost forever. I'd better be careful with it."

Aqin's mouth twitched. "Don't... don't mess around. Let's talk properly."

"Then let's have a proper chat," Xue Jing said, nodding.

As he continued to spin the colorful eye in his hand, he said, "From now on, everything you say will not be used as evidence, but you do not have the right to remain silent. Whether or not you're lying, if I think you're lying, I'll boil this thing. Understand?"

Aqin sighed in resignation. "Fine, I give up. Ask away."

Xue Jing's tone remained flat. "You're very cooperative... How important is this eyeball to you?"

"It's not that important..." Aqin tried to put on a tough front, but her words trailed off as she saw Xue Jing narrow his eyes.

Recalling what he had said earlier, she quickly changed her tune. "I mean... it's pretty important. It's the 'Stigma' of the blessed. If I lose it, even the gentle Mother Goddess would be angry..."

Xue Jing gave an indifferent "oh," then stood up and walked to a small table beside him. He pressed the button on an electric kettle, filling the room with the sound of boiling water.

Aqin blinked and added, "...or rather, she would be very angry. Usually, unless the Mother Goddess truly loves the blessed individual, she wouldn't bestow a second divine favor and grant them another Stigma."

She hesitated for a moment, then continued uncertainly, "But it's hard to say if the Mother Goddess is angry... We only guess at Her emotions based on Her reactions. Thinking that She's angry may just be our wishful thinking. Humans cannot truly understand the mind of a god."

Xue Jing nodded. "I see."

"Second question: who sent you here and why?"

Without hesitation, Aqin replied, "Professor Lu. Professor Lu from the Department of Horticulture at Fengcheng University. She's your sister, Xue Wan's, mentor."

"She's the priestess and head of the Flower God Association's Fengcheng branch. She's the one who arranged everything, and I'm just a tool to carry out the mission!" Aqin quickly sold out the person who had sent her.

Hearing his sister's name, Xue Jing frowned slightly, his expression turning serious. "Why? What does it have to do with my sister?"

"Your sister, like me, is a blessed recipient of the grace of the Lord of Myriad Reds and Purples," Aqin explained. "Professor Lu personally performed the blessing ceremony for her."

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes. "When was this?"

Aqin readily answered, "It should have been within the last two months... I only met your sister about a month ago at a regular gathering. That was the first time Professor Lu brought her to meet us."

Xue Jing thought back; the timing matched up with when his mother, Nan Jiayu, had felt that something was off about Xue Wan.

Was it because of a mother's intuition?

"Your sister has excellent aptitude," Aqin said, then added, "Very excellent."

Xue Jing remained silent, his eyes urging her to continue.

"The so-called aptitude of the blessed refers to 'the degree to which they are favored by the deity,'" Aqin explained.

"Your sister is one of the few who directly triggered the 'Dream Medium' during the blessing ceremony."

"'Dream Medium' is the only way the alien god beyond the mortal realm communicates with us. Specifically, it's similar to a dream visitation, where the god speaks to the blessed in their sleep."

"Of course, it's not exactly talking. The way these alien gods express themselves is very abstract. For example, your sister's account described how she found herself in a dream, in a place with endless fields of flowers stretching out, each one chattering away in a language she couldn't understand. It was deafening."

"Those who can trigger this Dream Medium, we call them 'Scions', meaning those deeply beloved by the gods and capable of communicating with them. They are ranked above the ordinary blessed."

Aqin shifted uncomfortably, her bound hands and feet restricting her movement. She sighed and continued, "Your sister possesses such rare talent; her future is boundless. As long as she doesn't become warped, she could very well reach the 'Near-Divine Realm'..."

Xue Jing's gaze remained calm as he asked, "Warped?"

Aqin tilted her head, "You don't even know this... Indeed, you're not one of the blessed. That strange black flame ability of yours must have come from some divine artifact, am I right?"

Xue Jing remained silent... In a sense, she had guessed correctly.

Shadowflame had indeed been activated from the [Villainess's Diadem], so it wasn't wrong to say it came from a divine artifact.

He brushed it off, "Something like that... Don't interrupt. What is this warping you mentioned?"

Aqin glanced at him, "We mortals, when we try to obtain power that doesn't belong in this world, naturally have to pay a price."

"Just like implanting alien organs or you martial artists taking forbidden drugs and practicing forbidden techniques, it will cause the body to become polluted and warped... The blessed, who receive the power of alien gods that doesn't belong in this world, are no exception."

"The warping caused by alien organs and forbidden drugs is mostly physical, and can be suppressed with various anti-warping medications and surgeries... However, the pollution warping suffered by the blessed is mental."

"During the blessing ceremony, when we touch the spirit of the god with our own, the divine power naturally seeps in and pollutes our spirit. Because their status transcends all mortal things, nothing can interfere, except for resisting the pollution with our own willpower, which is nearly impossible."

Xue Jing frowned, "What are the consequences of warping?"

"It depends on the warping rate," Aqin said in a deep voice.

"If the warping rate is below 10%, there are no effects. Below 30%, the effects are negligible, and most blessed keep their warping rate suppressed below this threshold."

"Once it reaches 50% and above... various 'warping sicknesses' will start to appear."

"Such as aging syndrome, berserk syndrome, immortal syndrome, self-melting syndrome, face-changing syndrome... Different blessed individuals exhibit different symptoms. The blessed of our Thousand Reds and Purples sect will develop a condition called 'Treant Syndrome', where their skin turns into bark, flowers, branches, and leaves sprout from their bodies, and their physical features continuously transform into those of a plant. Their minds also become more and more sluggish, like that of a plant, unwilling to move."

"The higher the warping rate, the more severe the warping sickness symptoms become, until it reaches 100%, completely erasing all traces of their humanity and transforming them into another existence... For the individual, this is no different from death."

Xue Jing furrowed his brows, "Is it difficult to suppress warping?"

Aqin nodded, "Very difficult."

"Different people have different methods of suppression, such as meditation, but generally speaking, the purer one's spirit is, the easier it is to suppress warping."

"The more attachments and complexities one has, the harder it is to suppress warping. That's why many blessed try to have as few attachments as possible."

She glanced at Xue Jing meaningfully.

"Your sister values her family deeply, and she values you."

"She is fated for the path of the Compassionate Mother Goddess... Her affection towards you will turn into a hindrance on that journey."

"I believe Professor Lu's idea was that if your sister couldn't sever her earthly ties, then she might as well have you by her side forever... Hence, she sent me to invite you to join the church."

A sarcastic smile played on Xue Jing's lips, "Or if the blessing failed, that would solve the problem too, right?"

Aqin shook her head, "I don't know about that."

Xue Jing held the colorful eyeball in his hand, rolling it around like a walnut, "You blessed people, it seems like you've received more of a curse from the gods than their power."

Aqin smiled, but her face took on a pious expression, "No, this is a blessing from the gods, not a curse. If one cannot bear it, it's simply because mortals are unworthy, not because of the gods' fault."

"They merely bestow their power, and it's up to us to use it. If we use it poorly, it's also our fault."

Xue Jing remained noncommittal, "I have no intention of arguing about this with you..."

He paused, then asked, "By the way, that plant you control, the one called Nagusumchalatrous or something..."

Aqin pouted, "Nagusumchalatrous! Are you still a high schooler? At an age when your brain should be at its best, and you can't even remember a name?"

The electric kettle started making gurgling sounds, signaling that the water had boiled. Xue Jing glanced at her and pinched the eyeball in his hand, raising an eyebrow.

Aqin immediately changed her tune. "It's just a little more complicated, so it's normal if you can't remember it all at once..."

Xue Jing smiled and said, "It's too troublesome. Let's just call it the 'Oxygen Tree'... Give me one of those things, or even a seed will do."

Aqin's remaining right eye lit up.

"Then give me back my Stigma, and I can summon it..."

Xue Jing stroked his chin. "If you touch this thing, you should be able to use it to pull off some kind of trick, right?"

He remembered how, during the final battle with this woman, she had reached for her eye at the very end.

"Eh... No way, I only have that one ability, and you completely crushed me, didn't you?" Aqin said, a little embarrassed.

Xue Jing didn't say anything and instead walked over to the electric kettle, turning it on. Steam billowed out, and he made a move as if to throw the eyeball into it.

Aqin turned pale. "Wait! Big brother, dear big brother!"

Xue Jing didn't plan to pay any attention to her, but he stopped anyway.

Because his phone rang.

He took out his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen.

It was from Wu Youqing.

Xue Jing returned to his seat, answered the call, and said, "Hello, Boss."

"I've found out," Wu Youqing's serene and ethereal voice came through the receiver. "The Flower God Association said it was someone acting on their own initiative."

"You can deal with the one you caught as you like; they won't pursue it."

Xue Jing nodded. "I understand."

"Thanks for the trouble, big sister."

After chatting for a while longer, Xue Jing hung up and turned his gaze to Aqin, his expression unreadable.

Aqin felt a little creeped out by his stare and stammered, "So... what now?"

Xue Jing didn't respond right away. Instead, he paused for a moment before slowly saying, "Actually, you and I don't have any major conflicts."

"Letting you go just like this isn't out of the question."

Aqin nodded repeatedly, her eyes brimming with tears. "You're absolutely right..."

"However..." Xue Jing's tone shifted.

"...letting you go without any consequences makes me seem easy to bully, and that doesn't sit well with me."

Aqin's face suddenly turned red, and she stammered, "Then, well, I can give you... that, um."

Xue Jing: "..."

He was speechless. "What are you thinking, you little shrimp of a girl?"

Aqin pouted. "What? I, a beauty, am taking the initiative, and you're still not satisfied?"

"Wake up," Xue Jing chuckled. "Look at me, then look at yourself in the mirror. Who do you think is getting the short end of the stick here?"

Aqin: "......"

She really wanted to retort that it was obviously him.

But looking at Xue Jing's face... she somehow found it hard to say it.

She pouted and said, "Then what do you want?"

Xue Jing thought for a moment and said, "You have to give me one of those Nagusumchalatrous things, or even a seed will do."

Upon hearing this, Aqin quickly nodded. "That's no problem."

"Also..." Xue Jing said, then suddenly changed his mind. "Never mind, forget it."

He stood up and walked in front of Aqin, holding up the colorful eyeball and saying,

"There shouldn't be any problem with putting this eyeball back in directly, right?"

Aqin paused, then said, "No problem... As long as the Stigma is in contact with my body, I can use the power of the Mother Goddess to heal myself, and the nerve connections in my eye will also heal quickly."

"That's good." Xue Jing pulled open her left eyelid, aimed, and with a squelch, pushed the colorful eyeball back into the empty socket.

"......At least wash it first," Aqin said helplessly.

Thinking about how Xue Jing had not only kept her eye in his pocket but had also been playing with it... she felt extremely uncomfortable.

But with the Stigma returned, she could use the divine power again, which relieved her. She quickly activated it, and her left eye began to glow with a pale green light.

After a while, she blinked, and her vision was completely restored.

At this moment, Xue Jing casually asked, "So, is everything alright, or is there something wrong?"

......

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end