I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

A murderous intent arose from the ground; dragons and snakes rose from the land.

When people harbor murderous intent, the world is turned upside down.

—Twelve-year-old appearance, Mysterious Giant Weapon!

44 Damn, it's only been two days since I last updated, how come my collection dropped so quickly? (Annoyed)

The moment the Xuanji Giant Weapon appeared, Li Lin was so excited that he trembled all over.

What man wouldn't love a giant, moving metal figurine like this? Thinking of this, his crowbar became even stronger, like a broken-down jackhammer.

Suddenly, a violent tremor came from below, and an immense force flipped Li Lin upside down.

The instant Li Lin stopped suppressing him, the skin on his lower body was completely stripped off, and the exposed blood vessels began to gush blood violently. His muscles twitched and contracted in the cold wind... Li Lin's fate was sealed.

The immortal slowly rose from the ground, each movement accompanied by a piercing shriek in the air. He casually tossed away Li Lin's skin and smeared the blood on his face with his fingers.

Talulah's face was peeling away bit by bit, revealing the Duke's face beneath. The two mutilated faces overlapped as if grafted together. A swarm of pale moths flew out from the void, landing one after another along the seam of the faces.

The long tail belonging to the Phidias extended out along the spine, while the dragon horns belonging to Drak still grew on the head of the immortal.

New skin clung to old skin, and the veins beneath the immortal's skin were clearly visible. Pale moths kissed every inch of his skin exposed to the air, and with each flap of the moth's wings, Koschche would tremble violently, like a leaf swaying precariously in the wind.

Koschke's reincarnation, or rather his metamorphosis, failed, but he did not fall apart on the spot.

He was not one of the rare, immortal beings of the lamps. These immortal beings, known as the Radiant Ones, had abandoned their frail bodies and gathered in the Land of Dawn, in the present world.

Very few other immortals can survive in this world after discarding their physical bodies. Koschche's physical body was destroyed by the Year of the Year a thousand years ago. Over the long years, he has relied on a ritual called "Metamorphosis: Scale Worm" to repeatedly seek out Apostles as vessels to exist in this world.

This is not Originium Arts, nor even Sarkaz magic, but a kind of knowledge that resonates with the reality of the world; knowledge has its own power.

It is called "the art of the invisible," or "the secret tradition," and among the secret traditions, Kosiché has mastered the rarest kind of "ritual."

You have directly confronted a high-level secret technique!

The current ritual is a metamorphosis: molting into a scaled worm.

In the silent dwelling, on the waterless land, we seek the opportunity for transformation. I must wait bitterly at the end of each winter for the possibility of shedding my skin; my limbs wither like dead branches, my skin tattered like scales, but my life will be extended once more, like a winged creature undergoing metamorphosis.

Who is in charge? What are the incantations? What magical powers are offered? What can I become?

The current ritual requirements are: leader, secret tradition, corresponding influence, and desire.

[The current ceremony has no leader!]

With a ripping sound, Li Lin's still relatively intact upper body cracked open with hideous and terrifying lines, and several lines of blood extended upwards along both sides of his arms, stopping just before crossing his shoulders and reaching his throat.

However, compared to the horrific damage to the lower body, the upper body was only superficially injured, which was not too serious.

“When a person is killed, they die.” Li Lin rolled over, supporting himself on one hand to prevent his skinned lower body from directly touching the ground.

Although the pain felt like coming home to Li Lin, he wouldn't let go of any opportunity to perform performance art.

The peeled lower body looked like a tempting, juicy fruit. Li Lin chose to stand upside down, letting the gushing blood flow down and blur his own vision.

"Oops."

Li Lin knew things were going badly, but for the sake of his precious performance art, he chose to sing to distract himself.

"Unforgettable tonight, unforgettable tonight, no matter where you are in the world..."

On the battlefield, where blood gushed forth, a disheveled song echoed faintly.

The black snake, whose condition was not good, was awakened by Li Lin's singing and realized his current situation—he had taken a huge risk by voluntarily stopping the transformation of the vessel Talulah and separating himself from his physical form to come to the real world.

This not only required Koschei to maintain constant control over Talulah, but also to hold back the other side's immortal, Nian. This is why he couldn't exert his full strength, which allowed Li Lin to find an opportunity to interrupt his control.

Li Lin possessed knowledge that was closer to the truth of the world than Originium Arts and ancient witchcraft, which made the Black Serpent eager to devour him.

But it's clear that Kosiché went too far.

How could someone who possesses such knowledge be as docile and easily bullied as Talulah?

The immortal's shattered spirit slowly mended itself. He raised his head and looked at the rapidly approaching metallic sun and the endless burning wind, revealing a slightly mocking smile.

Pale moths descended from the void, carrying specks of light, and hovered and gathered around Kosicche, as if draping him in a tattered silk robe.

The laughter abruptly stopped, and Kosiché lowered his eyes: "You can destroy my body, but you can never defeat this land itself."

"Oh? I think I hear someone patting themselves on the back."

Li Lin's sarcastic voice came from not far away, "No one really thinks they represent the will of the ruling class, right? No way, no way? Why didn't Ursus use your skin as a bulletproof vest?"

As the New Year approaches, Li Lin's motivation to trash talk is back strong.

The news that Li Lin was still alive surprised both of the immortals. The metal sun wheel falling from the sky suddenly stopped, and the speed of the endless burning wind slowed down instantly. The sky above Chernobog was filled with scorching fire, and the natural disaster clouds that had not yet become dense were pushed to the other side.

Even so, the rich concentration of casting phases began to sink, the repeatedly ravaged ruins began to burn out of thin air, and the space in all directions began to be distorted by the high temperature. Whether living or dead, their forms were constantly changing.

The power of casting altered them, causing them to cycle between destruction and transformation.

[Impact: The heat generated by evaporation.]

[The influence of third-order casting phases.]

This is the aura emanating from the edge of a volcano.

[A third-order influence! Power and danger intertwine and merge into one!]

Kosiché raised his hand without warning, like a venomous snake lurking in the dead leaves, and pressed his palm toward Li Lin. Then, a powerful suction force burst forth from his palm.

"You can no longer escape the effects of this poison."

Li Lin's cheeky voice came from not far away, while gray mist in the air surged toward Kosichek, covering him like a tide.

Kosiché's hand fell silently to the ground, a hint of bewilderment and confusion swirling silently in his eyes like mist.

On the system desktop, the secret [Smoke Ashes] has only one use left.

As a secret technique, [Smoke and Ashes] can not only create a smog large enough to cover the entire street, but also add emotions to the fog as an additional control effect. For Koschke, whose mental state is on the verge of madness, the effect of [Smoke and Ashes] is extremely powerful.

After all, the secret teachings are actually knowledge that interprets the true nature of the world, and they present a crushing trend to Originium Arts, a "modern discipline" that has deteriorated and deteriorated again.

Without hesitation, Li Lin used [Smoke Ashes] once again, and then merged the secret technique that had no safe uses left with his own [Fire in Stone] to upgrade it.

Koschke, who had been struggling to raise his hand, once again let his arm fall limply.

Li Lin shouted in a trembling voice, "Nian, come save me! Aaaaaaah!"

However, his voice stopped abruptly the next moment.

“No, she can’t come.” Koschche appeared in front of Li Lin at some point. The immortal’s body was like a vase full of cracks. He grabbed Li Lin’s hair and lifted him off the ground.

"She can't come."

Kosiché repeated his own words.

The immortal pointed to the sky, gesturing for Li Lin to look up.

Countless faint shadows suddenly swarmed in from all directions. Streets, buildings, vehicles, crowds—everything seemed to turn into abstract lines. The fragmented images switched rapidly, like film reels rolling in a projector.

Time seemed to flow at an accelerated pace, and this completely illogical scene possessed a moving beauty.

The drawn-out screams and howls intertwined into a river, and all the madness of Chernobog surged toward the fingertips of the immortal. No one, no power, nothing could stop this from happening at this moment. The faces of Nian and Xuanji Giant Soldier became abstract and distorted outside the world, like a pale piece of paper.

As the thick fog of [Smoke and Ashes] dissipated, a shimmering, mirror-like sky appeared before Li Lin's eyes. The massive mobile city was split in two by flames and illusions, and they were atop a tower built from ruins. Kosichrie casually placed Li Lin aside and looked at the blazing fire clouds in the mirror-like sky.

He even casually stopped Li Lin's wound, so that although Li Lin's lower body was still skinless, it stopped bleeding and he could not feel pain, just like a frog that no longer had nerve reflexes.

Thousands of shimmering mirrors radiated a cold temperature in the air. Kosichello waved his hand, and the maze of mirrors flipped again, the dazzling light almost blinding Li Lin.

"Look, this is Talulah. Now she has finally armed her mind with knowledge and avoided the fate of being a mere vessel. Is this what you wanted to see?"

Kosichello grabbed a mirror and handed it to Li Lin.

......

Talulah stared intently at the flashing light before her, completely forgetting where she was: her long-deceased father and mother were standing together, smiling and reaching out to her in the night of Lungmen. The dragon girl had thought she had long forgotten what her parents looked like, but an indescribable sadness welled up from the depths of her heart.

Her lips moved, and finally she burst into tears like a wronged child.

Everyone in the control tower was in a deep delirium: their faces showed a mixture of horror and disbelief, or they were stiff as wooden sculptures, or stumbled forward, desperately trying to grab something, or stood there blankly with a sad and dazed smile on their faces.

Dead lovers, departed friends, deceased parents, wife and daughters who died of illness... The old times surged in like a tide, and the winds of time enveloped them.

......

"Look, this is Rhodes Island, the pharmaceutical company that came for the infected. They came to save their leader, although they didn't succeed."

Koschei handed over another mirror, and the faces of the Rhodes Island people on the mirror flashed in Li Lin's eyes.

......

Ace saw his fallen comrades walking toward him, laughing and putting their arms around his shoulders. The air was filled with the aroma of Rhodes Island's special nutritional meals, and old movie music played on a loop in the lounge. They moved a long table to hold a chair-sliding competition, and the fluorescent lights were always on at midnight.

Lin Guang smelled the mingled scents of sweat and blood in the Kazimierz Knights' Arena. Titled knights raised their weapons in the light, the air filled with the roars of the crowd. But the scene shifted, and now the Silver Spear Pegasus had their family motto engraved on their shields. Seven men and seven horses shouldered their lances and charged into a battlefield they could not possibly win, the setting sun a blood-red hue behind them.

Dobermann felt the warmth of the Bolívar in a daze. Her former guards stood in the long street, raising their crossbows at their compatriots, each arrow piercing deep into flesh. Screams, wails, curses, and shouts pulled her down like a whirlpool.

Scout, leaning on his rifle, pointed it at every Sarkaz glaring at him. The calm sniper's eyes were bloodshot, and with each shot he accurately pierced the forehead of one of his comrades, until the chamber was empty, he was still futilely pulling the trigger.

The doctor strode through the shimmering illusions, his figure reflected in countless mirrors. A deep black hood covered his entire body as he passed through the chaotic scene of demons dancing, like a sober individual standing out among a group of madmen.

Until a voice made him stop: "Doctor, don't forget me."

......