Eldritch Horror Theatre

The endpoint of this cultivation path was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.

Fu Qian clearly noted the crowd’s reaction, but he had no intention of explaining. He simply seized every passing second to fully experience this sensation.

Though he had long ago reminded Classmate Liushuang to manage the relationship between cultivation and the self, that advice had mostly stemmed from an intuitive impression at the time.

Later, during the battle against his inner demon, he had directly confronted something akin to the endpoint of the sword path. The magnificent sight of that man and woman, the two Sword Saints joining forces, still left a deep impression on him today.

If what lay before his eyes truly represented Master Yuhun’s Zen endpoint of ”form is emptiness, emptiness is form,” then his warning back then hadn’t been an overreaction.

Old Yasui Tokiyuki was a prime example of the traditional path to godhood.

Despite a perilous process and even fundamental flaws in his foundation, his condition still seemed quite normal after ultimately incarnating as a New God.

He could still run and jump, and even hold a grudge—rushing over to deal with Fu Qian at the first opportunity.

It was just that his presence lacked a certain sense of sublimity and immortality.

Could this be the difference between Fruit and Sugar?The former wasn’t as pure as the latter, meaning that while its manifestation was more concrete, it didn’t possess a crushing advantage.

At the same time, because the latter was excessively pure, those who ascended to godhood along this path seemed to become an appendage rather than the one in control.

However, this also brought its own benefits. It instantly carried the flavor of Longevity Equal to Heaven and Earth, forming a far more stable Transcendence.

That wasn’t even the only benefit. Compared to the traditional path to godhood, this route appeared highly inclusive—Impermanence.

In this moment, Fu Qian finally understood what that name meant.

It was another flawed projection of the ”indescribable.”

Exactly... Master Yuhun, or rather his own inner demon, wasn’t the only one.

The endpoint of this cultivation path was reflecting itself in yet another erroneous form.

Equally lacking a concrete shape, equally silent and doing nothing but watching, yet Fu Qian simply knew its title. It was the very Impermanence Silei had spoken of earlier.

With this, certain mysteries seemed to unravel in an instant.

The relationship between the titles of Impermanence and Master Yuhun was truly unusual.

He had previously joked that one might be a courtesy name like ”Impermanence,” and the other a moniker like ”Master Yuhun.” At first glance, he seemed to have guessed wrong, but on careful thought, it actually served as a crude analogy for the current situation—

The main entity was the ”indescribable” endpoint itself. Whether it was Impermanence or Master Yuhun, both were merely titles meant for human comprehension.

They accompanied the immortal main body, yet remained nothing more than crude names and titles.

Building on that logic, there was every reason to suspect that posthumous titles and the like could be endlessly added.

The endpoint of cultivation certainly seemed highly inclusive.

This even seemed to explain the situation with that male and female Sword Saint duo from before.

Could they share a similar relationship?

This path of the Transcendent Tier truly challenged one’s imagination.

Amid his musings, the muzzle of Fu Qian’s gun slowly rose, aiming at that face that had yet to fully develop.

Eldest Miss Wen had once again reassuringly listened to advice, having already terminated her Kaleidoscope.

Though it had only been a brief moment, the broken body before him still looked as if it were about to collapse.

The skin robe of human faces spasmed and contracted tightly around the figure, twisting its limbs into grotesque shapes.

Freed from the influence of the Kaleidoscope, the joy on those countless faces vanished, turning into an array of deformed emotions.

”Professor Fu, what are you doing?”

Following Fu Qian’s movements, Old Man Vielle’s voice finally rang out, unable to hold back any longer. He was clearly worried Fu Qian might do something reckless.

Bang!

Unfortunately, Fu Qian ignored him entirely and pulled the trigger.

...

A bountiful harvest.

Judging by the current results, this inter-departmental collaborative project was the most successful one of them all.

Simply having the chance to catch a glimpse of the endpoint of the cultivation path was an incredibly precious experience.

Perhaps the credit didn’t solely belong to Linghui Courtyard; there were also various serendipitous factors at play, such as Master Yuhun’s contributions and the Pope’s assistance.

But the sheer effort put forth by Old Man Vielle and the others alone made it worth providing as much help as he could.

The current problem was actually looking quite clear now.

The name Silei had mentioned was Impermanence, while Vielle and his group claimed that the will affecting them had no distinct title.

This wasn’t contradictory in the slightest. The direct cause might have been Master Yuhun’s previous ”digestion” of them, but after successfully achieving Transcendence with his help, the entity influencing them now was the ”indescribable.”

So it wouldn’t be strange no matter whose name appeared.

In fact, looking down from his current vantage point, Fu Qian could completely sense the ”scripted state” of his surroundings.

That’s right, it truly was a brain dance. His imagination wasn’t just running wild.

At this very moment, the actions of the numerous Linghui Courtyard members made them look like a unified whole. It was just like the banquet he had attended in Baerluk, only the script had been modified to be more flexible.

Earlier, when Vielle and his group mistakenly believed they had the situation under control, that illusion was also part of the premise. They had never once stepped outside the script.

So if their current state was caused by Master Yuhun’s actions, what about Baerluk?

Impermanence?

Though he still wasn’t sure of this entity’s exact origins, Fu Qian made the simplest deduction.

And whether that was true or not, he had to admit that the ancient organization known as the Blind Eye Society indeed possessed profound foundations.

Not only did they pry into Deity Emblems and craft the Holy Grail and Sacred Cloths, they even faintly touched the endpoint of an unorthodox path like cultivation through some special method.

Moreover, the state of Collins and his group was clearly far milder. Even though the heads of these Linghui Courtyard members hadn’t been cracked open, their condition was noticeably more severe.

Furthermore, it was suddenly very easy to understand why Old Man Vielle had run over to his side earlier—

As someone in the highest tier of strength, even though he might not have been self-aware after being trapped in the brain dance, he still instinctively struggled and sought help.

And now, that cry for help had been answered.

Its power couldn’t even compare to an Air Bullet, nor did it trigger the Boon of Release.

Yet at the sound of the gunshot, the skull right in front of him was instantly blown open.

Amid the scattering fragments of bone, the tortured convolutions of the brain were fully exposed to the air.

It even seemed to pulse slightly, a physical demonstration of what a brain dance truly was.

”What did I do?”

Having done all of this, Fu Qian turned to look at Vielle the very next second, asking the question nonchalantly.

Hmm...

Despite the grisly murder unfolding right before his eyes, His Excellency Vielle seemed cowed by the murderer’s brutality. In the next moment, his eyes were completely blank, as if he simply couldn’t see the body still twitching on the ground.

Very nice.

Bringing the muzzle to his lips and blowing away the smoke, Fu Qian was exceedingly satisfied with this scene.

His harvest this time wasn’t limited to just knowledge.

In this unique state, he seemed capable of partially reproducing the might of the Angel of Comfort.

My body is the Other Shore, delivering the world with Mercy.