Eldritch Horror Theatre

Stimulating fleshly vitality was only the process, not the goal.

The Toothed Throat's original owner had completely missed its true purpose.

The secret concealed within it would only reveal itself after absorbing enough flesh and blood in a single feeding.

Yet other than a "fool" like him, who else would do such a thing?

The omnipotent advancement ritual... regardless of his ability, as long as he followed the instructions and used that special material, he could break through his bottleneck and advance further.

What a beautiful dream!

His shoulders shook, and Jiang En laughed out loud, deeply admiring his own imagination.

Ever since suffering defeat at the hands of Dayun Mingwang days ago, he had wallowed in despair and let himself waste away. Was he really reduced to comforting himself with things like this?

Special material... Come to think of it, that scalding sensation still seemed to linger on his skin...

The irony, of course, was that his confidence had immediately vanished after bottling it, leaving him too afraid to actually try—wait!

Slowly raising his head, Jiang En halted his self-deprecation to stare in a certain direction, his breathing turning ragged.

Was it even slightly possible...

Standing with slight hesitation, Jiang En quickly closed the distance on stiff legs.

He kept his hand pressed against the door for several seconds before finally yanking it open.

...How!

The transparent little bottle that entered his vision in that instant left him rooted to the spot, utterly stunned as if struck by lightning.

...

"He's this cooperative?"

Even knowing they were observing from the shadows, Wen Li couldn't help leaning in, lowering her voice to express her amazement at the unfolding scene.

"Do not bully a young person in poverty."

Fu Qian wore a solemn expression, moved by this scene of how the painstaking person is not failed by heaven.

Just as Wen Li noted, upon discovering the elixir and weathering the initial shock, Jiang En practically lunged forward to snatch it up.

Judging by his current trajectory, he was already looking for a dark place.

Like his secret training room, the one Fu Qian had visited before.

This just went to show how crucial a good guide was.

What had just transpired was actually quite simple.

The moment Wen Li selected the advancement ritual, Fu Qian packaged the relevant information, dressed it up a bit, and transmitted it over through a dream.

Specifically, the half-asleep Jiang En suddenly discovered a fortuitous opportunity hidden in his arm accessory.

He chose the Toothed Throat specifically because it perfectly fit the theme of sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall.

Only by enduring the bitterest hardship could one rise above others. Had Fu Qian just casually tossed an opportunity out there, Brother Jiang En might not have believed it.

But by nourishing it with his own flesh and blood to discover a secret no one else could, he would enter a comfortable zone of belief, exactly as Fu Qian had explained to Wen Li earlier.

As for why he hadn't changed the packaging?

To make the emotional journey feel authentic, the dream naturally needed to introduce a few appropriate twists and turns.

Now, he believed the subject in question would have no more doubts.

...

"He took that thing off."

This just went to show that a person truly needed dreams to live. Jiang En's subsequent movements could only be described as swift as the wind.

Though he kept his jaw clenched tight to maintain his composure, he immediately began preparing for his comeback ritual, exactly as expected.

As a fellow observer who could deeply empathize with those emotions, Wen Li spoke with far more sentiment than surprise.

The thing she mentioned was, of course, the Toothed Throat on Jiang En's arm.

After stowing the wax fluid like a precious treasure and hurrying all the way into the Underground, Jiang En quickly removed the peculiar arm ring and carefully set it aside.

"That's not surprising. If he kept wearing it, he could probably bleed for a day straight without dying. The level of risk inherently affects the ritual's success rate to some degree, doesn't it?"

Jiang En had already shut and locked the door the moment he went inside.

Given the importance of the matter, this minor precaution was entirely reasonable. Naturally, it did nothing to hinder Fu Qian's observation.

It was also clear that Wen Li's perception abilities were quite impressive.

Jiang En's reason for removing the Toothed Throat was simple. That item drastically boosted physical vitality; with it equipped, he could probably chop off his other arm and let it bleed out, and his body would completely hold up.

Where would the threat of death come from under those circumstances?

"Yeah... but is he really that confident he can draw the gaze of a Divine Being?"

Wen Li clearly understood this consideration, but as she gave a slight nod, she still couldn't help marveling at his sheer resolve.

"This advancement ritual is so dangerous. Even if his relationship with his family is terrible, wouldn't it be better to try and seek a little help?"

"That's naturally because his ritual doesn't require a Divine Being," Fu Qian said.

Yet Fu Qian didn't find it strange at all.

"To him, this is merely a trial to conquer the fear of death."

"...Huh?"

Wen Li was instantly taken aback.

"You changed the ritual's contents?"

"More accurately, I changed the ritual's contents within the subject's own perception."

Fu Qian emphasized the accuracy of the description, pointing a thumb at himself.

"The ritual itself is intact. When the time comes, a Divine Being will naturally step in."

"Of course, in the subject's version, his fearlessness toward death is what finally allows him to break through the bottleneck."

As expected of Mr. Fu. His schemes were absolutely watertight, not even giving anyone a chance to hesitate...

Clearly not expecting him to pull off such a maneuver in the blink of an eye, Wen Li stared at him with profound admiration.

Sent as a 'gift,' it left Jiang En with absolutely zero room to refuse.

In fact, at this very moment, having finished a final self-reflection, Jiang En had already opened the elixir bottle and begun smearing the scorching liquid over his eyes.

...

Actually, the most amusing part was the third version.

While Wen Li focused entirely on the advancement ritual, Fu Qian, the guiding hand behind the scenes, was thinking about something else entirely.

This trip was originally meant to serve as a positive example for the Greed Worms, so he hadn't performed any overly covert operations.

In fact, by following the Greed Worms' connection through faith, he knew that Jiang En's erratic actions had already drawn their attention a short while ago.

It wasn't strange. After all, just like their damage sharing, perception among Greed Worms could also be transmitted unidirectionally.

And given their recent experiences, their interpretation of this scene was bound to be even more amusing.

Especially when they saw the final result.

...

Not bad. He's executing it strictly.

As they waited with immense patience, Jiang En's life aura began to slowly ebb away.

Even while using a sketchy reagent alongside a sketchy plan, his sheer dedication was still obvious.

And although Jiang En actively rejected the King of the Abandoned Prison's posture, likely due to his special connection with the Greed Worms, Fu Qian could still scrutinize him as a higher entity.

So much so that Fu Qian easily noticed the body part where Jiang En's focus was concentrated: one of his own teeth.

Exactly as the advancement ritual had instilled in him.

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