Chapter 18: The Wish-Fulfilling Pearl

Shield Man died, but Crossbow Man escaped, right when the Purgatory Fire was consuming Shield Man.

And he was incredibly fast. It wasn’t clear what divine ability he used, but within just a few breaths, Li Si could only see his retreating back.

At that speed, unless Li Si had Swift-Walking Talismans on his legs and a pair of happy little wings, catching up was impossible.

“This is bad. I’ve shamed my master, failed the title of the First of the Four Heroes of Floating Cloud, and let down the nurturing grace of the Floating Cloud Sect.”

Li Si felt profoundly ‘guilty’.

Evil God Cultists traveled in hordes. These three were clearly scout patrols; letting one escape meant a large group would arrive soon.

Though, on second thought, if these cultists had scouted this far, discovering their deserted village was only a matter of time.

Still, Li Si remained deeply ‘guilty’. Overcome by this profound guilt, he first restored his own condition and then forced the kill on the wounded female summoning priestess whose magical reservoir had been breached earlier.

The process wasn’t complicated; the hard part was enduring the Alienation Contamination.

“Alienation Contamination Degree increased by 20%. You are noticed by the power of the Evil God.”

“Your Bloodline and Bone Evolution Progress has reached 20%. You resist 5% of the Alienation Contamination Degree.”

“Due to your Mind-Cleansing Aura and Steadfast Mountain Seal, You resist 1% of the Alienation Contamination Degree and the risk of being controlled.”

“You killed an Evil God Cultist. You gained one portion of Black Firewood. You stole a divine ability bestowed upon followers by the Evil God.”

“Because you directly confronted the Evil God’s power to kill its follower (killed immediately while grievously wounded, preventing the Evil God’s power from escaping), You gain an additional 99 portions of Black Firewood.”

Just killing two cultists had increased Li Si’s Alienation Contamination Degree by 28%. He had no choice but to spend all his available Gray Fortune to push his Bloodline and Bone Evolution Progress to 23%, finally suppressing the Alienation Contamination Degree back down to 30%.

“These Evil God followers are far too dangerous. Killing just one gets you marked by the Evil God. Even with my Fate Forge, too many at once would cause indigestion.”

Fear gripped Li Si. These were likely minor figures he killed today. If he accidentally killed a major Boss later, he’d probably perish on the spot.

Thankfully, based on the Bloodline and Bone Evolution, higher progress meant greater resistance to this Alienation Corruption.

Moreover, killing these cultists yielded high profits – he directly gained two portions worth of Black Fortune.

Next, Li Si melted down the two hundred portions of Black Firewood, reapplied his Evil-Warding Aura and Mind-Cleansing Aura, and began searching the battlefield.

The leather armor and cloaks worn by Shield Man and the summoning priestess were completely burned; unusable, or even if usable, Li Si wouldn’t dare take them.

The twisted shield was the same.

However, just as Li Si was about to bury the ruined shield, a line of text appeared.

“Obtained Mid-Grade Demonic Artifact. Status: Damaged. Can be disassembled by consuming one portion of Gray Fortune.”

“Huh? An option like this?”

Li Si was surprised, but he didn’t have a single spare Gray Fortune right now. He decided against it for the moment.

When he picked up the spirit-tablet-like plaque from the hand of the summoning priestess, his expression instantly became fascinating.

“Obtained High-Grade Demonic Artifact. Status: Undamaged. Can be refined into a High-Grade Magic Artifact by consuming fifty portions of Gray Fortune.”

“Damn it,” he muttered. This was unbearable. Black Fortune was precious, sure, but this was a High-Grade Magic Artifact! It sounded incredibly powerful.

Time was short. Li Si didn’t have a chance to gather any Strange Grass or Alien Trees. He directly disassembled one portion of Black Fortune, gaining one hundred portions of Gray Fortune, and chose to refine it immediately.

In an instant, all the Fortune transformed into a beam of azure light that slowly descended, enveloping the High-Grade Demonic Artifact. Moments later, a miraculous scene unfolded: images and silhouettes appeared within the azure light.

The scenes depicted life before the Evil God invaded this world. Farmers tilling fields, craftsmen forging tools, merchants trading goods, soldiers fighting enemies, scholars governing, and even Cultivators soaring on clouds. Everything seemed captured within that glow.

Though the scenes had no narrative, Li Si could guess: this seemed to be the very source of Fortune.

Interesting.

The azure visions lasted nearly a full minute before the High-Grade Demonic Artifact suddenly melted within the light, becoming part of it.

The next second, the azure light flew back into Li Si’s hand. As the light faded, what appeared before him was a green pearl, about the size of a broad bean. It felt warm and smooth like jade, veined with sky-blue patterns. It was beautiful.

Information appeared.

“Obtained High-Grade Magic Artifact: Wish-Fulfilling Pearl. This artifact can be used for detection and targeting. When activated, it consumes 10 Magic Power per minute, precisely detecting any Evil Entities, Cultivators gone evil, Evil Spirits, or Fiends lurking within ten kilometers in the Mortal Realm. It cannot detect the Illusory Realm. In combat, it can lock onto enemies, ensuring all attacks and divine abilities from the wielder or their allies hit the target with 100% accuracy.”

“Top treasure!”

Li Si was overjoyed. With this thing, Mom wouldn’t worry about me being ambushed!

Plus, it boosted accuracy in attacks – practically an angel for his Demon Slaying Thorn.

Li Si stored the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl in his hide pouch. With just a thought, it flew out as a streak of azure light. Another thought recalled it seamlessly. Simple and great! But he’d have to stop others from rummaging through his pouch.

Next, he found some damaged trinkets on Shield Man and the summoning priestess’s bodies. They were all demonic artifacts, mostly Low-Grade. Li Si spent eight portions of Gray Fortune to disassemble them all. The results brought another wave of excitement.

“Obtained Mysterious Essence Iron: one catty and eight taels. Can be used to forge Magic Artifacts.”

“Obtained Sky-Spider Silk: 15 coils. Can be used to forge Magic Artifacts.”

“Obtained Azure Mountain Jade: 6 pieces. Can be used to forge Magic Artifacts or craft Jade Talismans.”

“Obtained Refined Gold Wire: 3 coils. Can be used to forge Magic Artifacts.”

“Obtained Void Stone Shards: 13 pieces. Can be used to forge Magic Artifacts.”

… …

Li Si didn’t recognize any of the materials, nor did he know how to craft artifacts, but he knew these were absolutely good stuff.

He packed everything neatly into his hide pouch. Thankfully, the items were compact, and the small pouch managed to hold them all.

Without any delay, Li Si summoned Demon Slaying Thorns, turning the bodies of Shield Man and the summoning priestess into piles of Gray Ashes, completely erasing any trace.

Then, he activated the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, starting a rapid sweep of the surroundings within a ten-kilometer radius.

The Pearl was exceptionally useful. It was like Li Si grew six eyes at once, capable of scanning the sky, the ground, and even scouting terrain features.

His first priority was checking if Crossbow Man was hiding beyond the mountain pass ahead, waiting to tail him secretly.

The result: Crossbow Man truly vanished without a trace. There was no sign of him within ten kilometers. Instead, the Pearl detected vast numbers of Evil Entities.

Within its detection range: at least over one hundred thousand patches of Strange Grass, over ten thousand Alien Trees, and over ten thousand Strange Stones. Also, towards the northeast corner of the Northern Mountain ridge, Li Si discovered a mindless, wandering Fallen Demon.

This wandering Fallen Demon was clearly different from the Evil God Cultists. It looked utterly inhuman: one head sprouted from its chest, another from its back, and a row of sharp bone spikes grew along its spine. Utterly bizarre.

Tattered remnants of clothing clung to it, remarkably durable clothes.

However, when the Pearl got within one hundred meters of this Fallen Demon, the utterly still creature suddenly lifted its gaze. Li Si saw a dozen blood-red eyes flip open, locking onto him. In the next instant, he almost lost control of the Pearl!

“Alienation Contamination Degree increased by 3%!”

“Resisted 2% Alienation Contamination due to your Bloodline and Bone Evolution Progress.”

“Your High-Grade Magic Artifact: Wish-Fulfilling Pearl is locked onto by the Fallen Demon. Gray Fortune can be used to cleanse the connection.”

—

“Fk me!”

Li Si was genuinely terrified, breaking out in cold sweat. This world was too dangerous! He thought getting a High-Grade Magic Artifact meant he could pull off cool tricks wherever he went. Screw that!

He frantically used two portions of Gray Fortune to cleanse the Pearl, finally breaking the Fallen Demon’s lock.

After that, Li Si dared not linger outside. He rushed to collect the six Aberrant Wood Husks and hurried back towards the Deserted Village. Outside was too perilous; hugging the Old Madam’s leg felt infinitely safer.

That Fallen Demon was only about a dozen kilometers in a straight line from their village. One wrong step and it might just wander right up to their doorstep.

On the way back, Li Si used the remaining forty portions of Gray Fortune to boost his progress in the second layer of the Heaven-Turning Scripture. This helped increase his Magic Power reserve.

His cultivation progress now reached 7.7%, and his Magic Power reserve had grown to 920 points.

Progress was frustratingly slow. Cultivation really was difficult.

Finally, he examined the two divine abilities he had stolen.

[Divine Ability: Demon Armament Command]: A fragmented divine ability bestowed upon followers by the Evil God. Part of its core has been erased, so even followers of insufficient strength can wield it.

Description: Can be refined and perfectly restored using ten portions of White Fortune, granting mastery of the divine ability Sword Lord Command. Alternatively, can be downgraded and refined using one portion of Black Fortune, granting mastery of the Dao Technique Lord of Hundred Weapons. This technique allows controlled manipulation of various weapons or Magic Artifacts in combat, providing significant advantages.

[Divine Ability: Seven Emotions Command]: A fragmented divine ability bestowed upon followers by the Evil God. Part of its core has been erased, so even followers of insufficient strength can wield it.

Description: Can be refined and perfectly restored using twenty portions of White Fortune, granting mastery of the divine ability Seven Emotions Tribulation. Alternatively, can be downgraded and refined using two portions of Black Fortune, granting mastery of the Dao Technique Grand Quad-Happiness…