Luo Ge soon guided his Candle Spirit Body to the shores of the mysterious island.
Through the eyes of his Candle Spirit Body, he could see the island in its entirety.
Under the moonlight, he saw withered, low-hanging trees and shattered stone statues. A blood-stained stone path snaked from the coast to the island’s peak, where the corner of a ruined building was faintly visible.
After a moment of observation, Luo Ge lit the guiding Candlefire. He directed the Candle Spirit Body to set foot on the mysterious island and began ascending the stone steps toward the summit.
"Hrrgh..."
Along the way, Luo Ge saw several Living Corpses in tattered rags.
After effortlessly dispatching a Living Corpse that tried to attack him, Luo Ge crouched down and picked up a Dagger from the ground. It was engraved with strange markings.
’I can’t make them out.’
Luo Ge stored it away and continued on.
Before long, he reached the island’s summit and finally got a clear look at the building before him.
It appeared to be a chapel.
Luo Ge then looked to a dilapidated stone monument by the path. It seemed to have been shattered, with a section of it lying on the ground.
He walked over, righted the fallen piece, and was finally able to make out the characters engraved on it.
"Qi Xin Chapel..."
Just as Luo Ge was lost in thought...
A gray blur suddenly lunged at him from behind.
But Luo Ge had anticipated it. He made his Candle Spirit Body sidestep the attack, then swung his Greatsword in a powerful slash.
CLANG—
A crisp clash of metal rang out. Seeing its strike fail, the attacker quickly pulled back, flicking a cloud of turbid, grayish-white mist from its sleeve.
Although Luo Ge was prepared, the inherent stiffness of the Candle Spirit Body meant it couldn’t fully evade the gray mist’s influence.
The Candle Spirit Body’s Life Value began to slowly decline.
But this was no ordinary decrease; its maximum Life Value was falling as well!
At the same time, the skin and flesh of the Candle Spirit Body began to turn into flakes of ash and slough off, as if its entire form was a piece of paper that had been burned away.
This strange Effect made Luo Ge frown.
The figure opposite, concealed in tattered gray robes, rapidly closed the distance, preparing to finish off its enemy.
But just then, a Candlefire flickered to life behind it. A phantom image appeared and instantly slashed out. Azure flames surged toward the attacker.
In an instant, the gray-robed attacker was engulfed and dissolved by the wave of azure flame.
[You have slain (Unnamed)]
After slaying the creature, Luo Ge’s true self quickly set down the Spirit Candle and vanished once more.
The Candle Spirit Body moved forward, touched the Spirit Candle, and sat down.
A moment later, the Candle Spirit Body was fully restored.
Luo Ge, however, did not relax.
The Attack from the gray-robed attacker had an Effect with the same characteristics as the "Rotten" Effect from the Rotting Prisoners in the prison!
They could both inflict permanent damage on the Candle Spirit Body. The only way the Spirit Candle could repair this kind of damage was through a "reforging" process, which consumed Wax Oil.
Fortunately, the Spirit Candle kept a record of a sort of "framework" for each Candle Spirit Body.
Although the damage from these two strange Effects wasn’t insignificant, as long as this "framework" remained unharmed, Luo Ge wouldn’t need to create an entirely new Candle Spirit Body.
Reshaping was only necessary in cases like Niuniu’s, who had foolishly touched the Dark Boundary.
After killing the gray-robed attacker.
Luo Ge had his Candle Spirit Body pick up the items it had dropped.
The Wax Oil was a given. The gray-robed attacker had been an Ember Tier monster, so the amount of Wax Oil it dropped was decent.
[Extinguishing Blade (Excellent)]
[Type: Weapon]
[Effect: Each time damage is dealt to an enemy, applies a weak "Extinguishing" Effect, slightly reducing the enemy’s maximum Life Value. Agility +1 while equipped.]
[Explanation: The blade that extinguishes the Fire of Life. No one knows who forged this terrible Weapon, and its wielders do not care. Their only purpose is to extinguish their target.]
"Extinguish the Fire of Life..."
Luo Ge carefully pondered the residual information fed back to him through the Spirit Candle’s senses.
’It seems this gray-robed attacker was most likely here on some kind of "mission."’
’But, just like in other parts of this world, it had somehow become a mindless monster...’
After storing the Extinguishing Blade in the Spirit Candle, Luo Ge looked toward the Qi Xin Chapel before him.
The "Soul" he had sensed was inside this chapel.
’The gray-robed attacker’s original target seemed to be this place as well.’
Luo Ge walked inside.
Tonight, the Moon was bright. Silken moonlight poured through the chapel’s ruined roof, illuminating a spot in its center.
The Candle Spirit Body, radiating a gentle glow, slowly entered the chapel. It walked toward the center, its feet rustling the dead grass growing through cracks in the shattered floorboards.
The chapel was cavernously empty. The pews were covered in dust and rot, but otherwise, there was nothing.
Luo Ge’s gaze was immediately drawn to a human body lying on the floor ahead.
Whether by coincidence or design, she was lying directly in the moonlight...
She was shrouded in a black robe, lying on her side with her legs slightly bent, clad in long leather boots.
Judging by her slender frame and the curve of her waist, it appeared to be a young woman.
And... strangely, her body showed no signs of being Rotten or desiccated. If it had, her bones would surely be prominent.
She looked as though she were merely asleep.
Luo Ge, however, remained perfectly calm.
He wouldn’t have been frightened even if the corpse had suddenly stood up and given him a gruesome smile with a wrinkled, rotten face.
He was all but immune to the bizarre occurrences of this world.
Thus, he remained unfazed, continuing to guide his Candle Spirit Body forward as it clutched its Greatsword and Shield, approaching slowly.
According to the senses coming from the Spirit Candle, the "Soul" was on this very body.
After reaching the body, Luo Ge gently lifted the hood covering her face, confirming his suspicions.
It was indeed the body of a young woman. Her features were beautiful and serene, her eyes were shut tight, and her skin was pale from blood loss.
There were bloodstains on her chest and on the ground beneath her. In her hand, she clutched a strangely shaped Dagger, its blade turned inward.
It appeared she had died by suicide.
Luo Ge’s brow furrowed in deep confusion.
Judging by the monsters outside and the gray-robed attacker, this entire mysterious island was undoubtedly like everywhere else: its inhabitants had suddenly turned into mindless monsters, and any corpses left behind were mostly desiccated husks.
The Gulard Soldiers were an exception, of course; they at least appeared normal.
But...
...even if this young woman’s body was like that of the Gulard Soldiers, she should have turned to Ashes and vanished upon death...
Why did it look like this?
’Could it be that she just committed suicide a short while ago?’
After a moment of thought, Luo Ge took a deep breath.
"My apologies."
He muttered apologetically, then reached out his hand...
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