Eldritch Horror Theatre

The scientific expedition was mostly complete. It was time for bold hypotheses and careful verification.

Knowing that the essence of the Kamakura Family’s sword path was a ritual, was there any way to counter it?

Kasi’s idea seemed reasonable: find a way to isolate the higher-tier power.

But if his guess was correct, the entity on the other end of the ritual was likely a true Divine Entity.

The feasibility of a team led by a Demigod trying to restrict that kind of Rank was obviously doubtful.

At this point, it wouldn’t hurt to think in reverse. If they couldn’t do anything about that end, why not target this end?

The Kamakura Family’s situation was clearly special. Even if they did nothing, the cuts were inevitable.

A simple meditation session had been enough to drop Kamakura Shinji directly to the ground. This indicated that the Kamakura Family members were in a state far different from ordinary ritual supplicants; they were practically under the constant gaze of the Divine Entity.

Over the past few hundred years, that Nameless Deity had clearly anchored them.

The two glove dogs that Ni Huayuan lost were likely collateral damage. They were too close to the Kamakura Family and overly filthy, so they were casually slashed apart.As for how this was achieved, he was no expert in this field, making it difficult to guess.

Fortunately, there was no need to guess.

He had previous experience violently dealing with this concept of anchoring.

The newly acquired Decree of Return clearly had a dispelling effect on such concepts.

That was why Fu Qian had just decided to target the Kamakura Family and replicate the operation he had performed on the Emissary Mask.

If it truly worked, his guess about the ritual would essentially be confirmed.

”Mr... Yun!”

Kamakura Shinji’s eyes were visibly filled with shock and uncertainty.

Kamakura Ki had brought people in earlier and explained that they had found a solution, giving his tortured self a glimmer of hope.

However, everyone here was an adult, and they were not going to be blindly optimistic.

There hadn’t been much joy on Kamakura Ki’s and the others’ faces. No matter how he looked at it, they didn’t seem to have much confidence, making him realize he was very likely being treated as a guinea pig.

”Don’t be nervous. You’re already at rock bottom, so you might as well go all in.”

Fu Qian spouted nonsense casually, too lazy to explain further to this guy.

The power of words was immense. Kamakura Shinji instantly understood his situation and entered a state of resignation, ready to welcome the judgment of fate.

A moment later, his entire body jolted. He subconsciously looked down at himself, and then he was frightened out of his wits.

The cuts that had stabilized were actually beginning to tear open rapidly once again, blood streaming down.

”What’s going on!”

What else could be going on? Brother Ah Kai’s Miracle had dissipated, of course.

Watching Kamakura Shinji scream in panic, Fu Qian completely understood how he felt.

The situation wasn’t unexpected. No matter how miraculous Brother Ah Kai’s Miracle was, it was still a tier lower than a divine supplication ritual, so it wasn’t surprising that the Decree of Return had dispelled it.

But since he had already gone all in, he might as well look at his cards before getting excited.

On the bed, Kamakura Shinji was already exhausting his last ounce of strength in an attempt to crawl up and flee for his life. Unfortunately, he was slapped right back down the next moment.

”Young man, don’t hide your illness for fear of treatment.”

Why did saying that feel so natural?

The image of a certain wretched old man naturally surfaced in Fu Qian’s mind.

A healer had a benevolent heart. If that person saw how well the patient was recovering now, he would surely feel greatly comforted in his old age.

I should emulate this, hanging the gourd to heal the world.

...

No one came in? Was it agreed upon beforehand?

As he fell heavily back onto the bed, the severe pain and the sorrow of being abandoned by his family dissolved his final shred of strength. Kamakura Shinji appeared thoroughly in despair.

However, amidst the seemingly endless drain of his body heat, his entire body jolted at a certain moment. An inexplicable sense of relief washed over him.

Am I dead?

Kamakura Shinji subconsciously asked himself, but the unrelenting agony reminded him he was still being tormented.

Mustering his last bit of strength, he looked down at his body once more.

The crisscrossing cuts were still there; they hadn’t been healed.

The blood was still flowing just the same, and he wasn’t dead yet, either.

Most importantly—his heart skipped a beat in the next moment.

The innate Imprint on his body had actually vanished without a trace!

What’s going on!

”The effect isn’t bad.”

At this time, he heard the Sword Dao Demigod beside him muttering to himself while nodding.

”Is this... has the curse been lifted?”

The deeper cut on his neck made it extremely difficult for Kamakura Shinji to speak, but he also realized that the wound had stopped tearing.

”I thought you would be wailing about how your blessing disappeared.”

Fu Qian smiled and snapped his fingers, deactivating the Decree of Return.

”In a moment, I can have Professor Chang give you her remaining half-bottle of potion, but before that, I have a question to ask you.”

”Wh...at... question?”

Although it was hard to believe what was happening right before his eyes, Kamakura Shinji clearly didn’t dare neglect an inquiry from a Demigod.

”Before your meditation, what TV show were you watching?”

Fu Qian pointed behind himself.

...Show?

This question clearly baffled Kamakura Shinji.

”I was just watching Yasui Tokiyuki.”

After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke.

Paying respects to a Divine Emissary, huh? That wasn’t surprising.

Fu Qian nodded.

For a young transcendent, having the opportunity to see Emperor Yasui on TV could be considered an experience akin to chasing after a celebrity.

Coincidentally, Fu Qian had recently watched the exact program where Yasui Tokiyuki would make an appearance.

”Let me think. It was a show called Universal Infamy, right?”

”...Yes.”

”You didn’t happen to get a Badge as well, did you?”

Fu Qian recalled his trip to Wushe Temple.

”How could I... I am a true transcendent...”

Kamakura Shinji hastily defended himself.

”It’s fine. You can try to get one in the future.”

Fu Qian shook his head, then stood up in the next moment.

”I’ll go call the others in.”

What does he mean?

Thoroughly confused, Kamakura Shinji watched helplessly as Fu Qian opened the door and walked out.

...

Was it really that miraculous?

This world truly challenged one’s imagination!

After stepping out into the courtyard, Fu Qian tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle to look up at the sky, sighing deeply.

[Objective complete. Current task updated: clear all severing Imprints and establish contact with the Nameless Deity.]

Just now, while he was chatting with Kamakura Shinji about the TV show, a new prompt had appeared in his mind.

This indicated that he had just found the reason behind the Divine Seal losing control.

The topic of the TV show naturally wasn’t just idle chatter.

Just as he had deduced earlier, the Kamakura Family’s blessing going out of control might be because the supplicants themselves had undergone a change.

However, given how incredibly devout the Kamakura Family was, the probability of them voluntarily changing their faith was extremely low. Fu Qian quickly thought of another possibility—they had been corrupted.

This kind of corruption wouldn’t be the poison Ni Huayuan spoke of. For something to trigger a reaction from a Divine Entity, it had to be somewhat higher tier, right?

For instance, the Divine Blood Curse he had once been afflicted with, or cognitive corruption like what had happened to Lasik.

Upon realizing this, Kamakura Shinji’s answer about watching TV naturally resurfaced in Fu Qian’s mind.

And almost immediately, Fu Qian thought of Universal Infamy.

Now it seemed that this concept, which could even rapidly alert a Divine Emissary to pay a visit, was indeed more than just a product of entertainment.