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

Koschke did not move, but a part of his body suddenly transformed into countless mottled moths.

The pale moths scattered like broken ashes, their actions unseen, before quickly returning to Kosiché's side.

Moths landed on Koschche's body, and his body was restored to its original state. He stretched out his hand, and in his hand appeared a giant sword covered with mysterious patterns, as tall as a person.

The sword that once pierced Koschei's chest and was beside Talulah has now returned to Koschei's hands with the end of the previous ritual.

The mirror in front of Li Lin suddenly shattered. Kosichek stood up, pointed his sword at Li Lin's chest, and looked at him with a half-smile.

"just kill me."

Li Lin said expressionlessly.

Kosiché reached out and peeled the skin off his face bit by bit, then casually stuck his sword into the ground beside him: "No, I won't kill you."

"Your consciousness is strange; it has no defenses whatsoever, yet it burns as brightly as the sun."

Kosichrie shrugged. "You might ask if this is a lie? My answer is to wait and see—you succeeded. Through my greed, this ritual has failed. My transformation has been abruptly interrupted, and I am falling."

"It seems you don't trust me? Judging from your behavior and performance, you're like a madman with no bottom line. Everyone should hate madmen, but Nian cares about you a lot."

He paused.

"why?"

45. Damn it, why doesn't the "please take leave" message at the end of the main text count as a leave request? (Annoyed)

"Are you trying to coax your mother here?"

For the first time ever, Li Lin's intelligence kicked in. He stared directly at Koschche with his dark eyes and asked, "Why don't you just say you're lusting after me?"

He didn't mention the reason why his penis was so big, because his penis had just been pulled out by Kosic. Li Lin, who was of sound mind, would not use the enemy's strength to attack his own weakness. Moreover, Master Li, who harbored resentment over this, had probably already thought of some vicious revenge methods.

Kosiché laughed and clapped his hands. "I really liked your reaction earlier. You were angry, and you were ashamed of your physical disability."

The immortal said casually, "This proves that, in some ways, you are no different from those pathetic and despicable mortals."

“I do not despise those lowly mortals. I love others as I love myself. I love every life on this earth. When I appeared before you before you in the guise of my daughter, you described me as a creature of the will to power, which I think is very apt.”

“Am I not loving them in this way? I am equal to them in this Ursus. This land is cold and scarred. The great Emperor once made most of the people of Ursus equally great, but his life was too short to bless the Infected.”

“But I am different.” Kosiché’s words were like the fluttering of a moth’s wings, his pupils carrying a shadow that moved like a dark pearl. “I will give them direction. I will fill every irrational corner of their mental palace, guiding them with chaotic yearning and longing, making them noble again like their ancestors.”

"I transcend monarchs; all social and moral systems are meaningless to me. My long life has elevated me to a level far surpassing that of the masses in the kingdoms of Terra. I am an ideology, an idea—an all-pervasive thought that springs from the heart of anyone who has the potential."

"A creature of the will to power, what a beautiful word. How can the base good and evil of the world judge me? My lifespan is as long as that of this kingdom. Even when the eagles were still tribes, I have been watching them for a long time. I watched them forge swords, teach martial arts, and curse around the campfire on the eve of war. Civilization itself is intertwined with war. I watched them fight against evil, watched their blood flow like rivers, and watched them be overthrown."

"Have you ever seen the Kheshig Khan's cavalry? Have you ever heard the sound of cavalrymen's sabers scraping against skulls? Have you ever seen the Gallic Emperor's artillery? Have you ever heard the roar of cannons during the Battle of the Four Emperors? When time leaves its mark on you long enough, most things will just be fleeting memories, and only a few things that are ingrained in your bones will remain."

“These pitiful people want to live, so I will let them live; they want to climb up, so I will let them climb up; they want more, so I will let them get more—this world doesn’t need anything too civilized, nor does it need kindness that can only be imposed on individuals! In the face of grand narratives, individual joys and sorrows are weak and powerless, not worth mentioning.”

“Few among them are wise men, and the North is destined to have no need for wise men.”

"Those who think but do not act are harmful to the world; they should be tamed by folly rather than wisdom."

Kosiché interlaced his fingers: "Want to oppose me? No problem, you have plenty of time. You can slowly observe the future of this land. You are different from my daughter. Your nobility lies not in your bloodline, but in your wisdom, vision, and knowledge."

"You may judge me, but how are you going to save all the infected? Are Reunion and Rhodes Island your pawns? But they are also deeply involved in this war. My thousand-year lifespan is coming to an end, while you have plenty of time. You can save them, but what about the next one, and the one after that? What will they become in the end?"

“You will see Reunion and Rhodes Island become the next Ursus. Their initial ideals were full of light, and their original leaders were as radiant as the sun. But their successors will fall into depravity and corruption. Ideals will eventually become worthless. As long as our bread feeds those fools, the actions of the ruling class are justice.”

Kosiché smiled and remarked, "It's strange, how did you come up with the idea of ​​driving epochal change?"

His tone shifted, as if offering a considerate explanation: "Even I, the embodiment of the will of this nation, would find it difficult to sway your mind. But what if it is just the truth itself? You will stay here in my place and watch the course of Terra until you grow weary of it all and give your life to the next idealist."

“I have seen you through the eyes of a vessel, and you once borrowed my name, didn’t you? Then you should be able to understand me—I come from the mountains, I come from the riverbank, I come from the grasslands, I come from the desert, I come from a deserted village on the border, I come from a small city destroyed by natural disaster. My life is as insignificant as dust under the rolling wheels of history, who cares how many bones it has crushed?”

Li Lin paused for a moment, which Kosiché interpreted as a sign of deep thought.

"Are you saying you're going to give up on living?" Master Li turned and stepped into the wind.

Li Lin's tone gradually rose: "Do you think righteous police officers would believe your nonsense?"

"How do you think we can come to understand everything? Only by giving civilization time," Kosiché explained slowly. "Long before I had a body—not a vessel for the name of an apostle, but a real flesh—I received authority, or some knowledge that describes the true nature of the world. Before I understood it, I knew nothing about it; I couldn't even describe it, nor could I imagine it; it was beyond my reach."

Li Lin frowned slightly.

There was no change on the system interface, except that the card symbolizing Koschke was faintly glowing white. Although there were two cracks on the edge, it was still not broken or gone.

In the game mechanics of the Cultist Simulator, an immortal must suffer three injuries before dying, but that's just a convenience provided by the game mechanics. The immortals who jump out of the Apostle Bureau to oppose the protagonist are essentially simplified versions that have been slashed countless times.

It's clear that Kosiché, that old bastard, is mostly faking it. You can't trust a single word from the immortal Moth, but that doesn't stop Li Lin from stalling for time, waiting for Nian to be blasted in from the outside.

The mirrored sky is now riddled with cracks. Nian has found the central point that holds this world together, and will soon be able to shatter Koschche along with this world based on Chernobog.

"This knowledge only took effect when my physical body was destroyed, at which point I fully understood the world. I was like a snake constantly shedding its skin, or a moth. This path required me to constantly discard myself until I transformed into something else. Sometimes I imitated others to live, and sometimes I hid my true self under the skin until the old self became an empty shell in the ritual, becoming the resources for the new self."

He chuckled. “It’s not easy to understand because even if I describe it in vague terms, there’s a risk of it getting out of control. Because knowledge itself has its power—and the result is obvious: I became the sole beneficiary of this knowledge itself.”

Kosichrie snapped his fingers, and the wind rushed past the ruined tower from all sides, causing the mirrors suspended in the sky to sway back and forth like ocean waves.

Something connected him and Li Lin, transcending both the physical and the spiritual; from a certain moment on, they seemed to be able to sense each other's thoughts.

Li Lin smiled indifferently: "Rather than beneficiaries, they are slaves."

Kosich's eyes twitched slightly.

"I'm stalling for time, and you're stalling for time too. The more the riddle is answered, the more it expands; the more the secret is revealed, the harder it is to dispel. Why don't we have an open and honest talk?"

Li Lin spread his hands and calmly said, "I've heard that it's not people who are constantly pursuing knowledge, but rather knowledge that is constantly pursuing people. But I know that's wrong. Knowledge doesn't pursue people; it chases them. Its pursuit is cruel and emotionless, like a falcon and a hound catching a rabbit."

The translation module conveyed this passage to Kosiché verbatim.

"Knowledge is pollution, knowledge is poison, knowledge is a corner of the truth about the world, knowledge is taboo, and taboo has its own power. It's not that you possess knowledge, but that knowledge shapes you. Koschche, Talulah is your vessel, and you are the vessel of this knowledge."

"But that doesn't mean the vessel has no right to resist. Even an apostle can rebel against their mentor through various means, let alone you who has gained immortality through this."

Li Lin tapped the tower built from ruins with his bare feet and said in a gentle and compassionate tone, "If you want to share this knowledge with others, you must first create a general understanding in the minds of your listeners. You first instill your own values ​​in me, and then tell me this secret, which is actually turning me into your shape."

“But that doesn’t make sense.”

"Because I already knew this knowledge. And what you said before was utter nonsense to me."

Li Lin stared directly at the dark green tabletop that rose in front of him and calmly and quietly uttered the name of the ceremony.

Metamorphosis: Scaled Worm.

Kosiché smiled and nodded: "But you can't escape now. In that case, why not accept immortality?"

His form became increasingly fragmented, as if he were just a bunch of dying moths struggling with all their might, while his smile seemed to come from the distant and mysterious ends of the world.

The immortal laughed maniacally, and the shadows on his face began to writhe and become quite familiar, like a mirror standing in front of Li Lin.

He abandoned his previous self and instead existed in the form of Li Lin. Even without a presiding person, a ritual will automatically find the most suitable holder. In the world of Terra and Arknights, there is no one more suitable for this secret technique than the Black Serpent Kosie.

He has now gradually assimilated into Li Lin's understanding, and although he may become insane in the future due to Li Lin's influence, it doesn't matter.

Since Abraham Leigh was able to provide that secret manual symbolizing opening and dismantling, he must have possessed other similar knowledge. Koschke, like a moth drawn to a flame, could no longer contain his desire.

"Who I am is not important at all. What is important is that you, like me, are not obsessed with abstract morality or truth. We both stand on the other side of good and evil, tasting a loneliness that no one can understand, looking directly at our desires, and mocking everything."

Li Lin's breathing gradually became rapid, and his breath was scalding hot as if it had been ignited. The suppressed pain deep within his body began to surge back, and his face became uncontrollably distorted.

Only his eyes remained indifferent, devoid of much emotion, like an unmelting icy sea under the eternal night.

He stared at the immortal before him, who was becoming more and more like himself. His consciousness rapidly began to rise through the void of his thoughts, and as it gradually withdrew, Li Lin heard a sigh coming from his own mouth.

"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 molting; 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—"

On the dark green tabletop, the card symbolizing Kosicchi suddenly lit up, and all the cards trembled slightly. At the very top of the tabletop, a black window appeared, and a gray-white card lay quietly inside.

The black window opened, and the gray-white card suddenly flipped over. The blurry card flashed from the top and flew towards Li Lin's side.

You have mastered a high-level secret technique!

[Currently, the highest-level secret technique is a ritual!]

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

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.

[Current ceremony leader: Abraham Leigh!]

"There's one more thing I need to tell you, Kosiché."

Li Lin raised the crowbar in his hand, and blazing flames and bright light overflowed from the spiral patterns on the bar. The mirror in the sky suddenly froze, all the chaotic light was frozen, as if someone had hastily pressed the pause button, and the rapidly rewinding film was stuck here.

The next moment, the entire mirror of the sky collapsed, and silver fragments fell like a torrential rain.

It rained heavily throughout Chernobog, and every raindrop reflected countless rays of light, making it seem as if the whole world was burning in flames.

A hand engulfed in flames reached out and grasped the crowbar Li Lin extended. Then, the hand stepped out from outside the world and appeared beside Li Lin.

"I'm a console user! You two-faced, rotten-ass, freeloader, if you don't like it, don't play!"

Li Lin laughed gleefully, like a lion tamer, and raised his torch to the sky, making a loud noise:

"I beseech the forge of daylight, to end all nighttime!"

46 Recycling Introduction

The next moment, the dark green tabletop began to shake violently, and all the cards cracked in the process, with a large amount of mysterious aura and agitation appearing and disappearing again.