Chapter 366: Becoming a Cup Believer
As the ritual began and her body was enveloped in crimson light, Xu Zhi vaguely recalled the Cup fanatics she had encountered in Cloud City and the ritual array they had constructed.
The circuit here was clearly more complete than the one used by those fanatics in Cloud City, and the ritual process was far more rigorous.
Naturally, the effects were much stronger as well.
The instant the crimson glow rose, Xu Zhi felt an intense sensation of being watched and torn apart, as though some gaze from the abyss had fallen upon her.
Dark red energy seeped from the circuit, crawling across her skin and invading her body.
It transformed her flesh.
It reshaped her blood and bones.
At the same time, it tugged at her soul, guiding it toward corruption.
The most dangerous part was that it did not hurt.
Pain kept people awake.
Comfort lulled them into surrender.
Her soul felt as though it were soaking in a warm spring.
Even the sensation of being torn apart felt no more threatening than fingers gently combing through her hair.
It encouraged relaxation.
It eroded vigilance.
Until eventually, the scarlet tide shattered one’s consciousness.
But…
As dangerous as the sensation was, Xu Zhi could still barely resist it and remain lucid.
There were two reasons.
First, her consciousness was currently divided in two.
Her true body, deep within the Lost Land, continuously reminded her to stay awake, preventing her from sinking completely into the experience.
Second, she had already endured the overwhelming temptations she faced while leaving the Lost Land.
Those temptations had repeatedly brought her to the brink of losing herself.
Perhaps because of that experience, her resistance had increased.
Now, when facing the Cup, she found herself capable of resisting this strange sensation.
The Spirit Body possessed neither extraordinary abilities nor the Eyes of Hidden Secrets.
She could not see the changes occurring within herself.
Yet she could clearly sense something constantly invading her body, altering every part of her being.
The only thing she could do was ensure that her consciousness did not fall.
Even so, strands of scarlet energy seeped into her mind and tangled themselves around her thoughts, as though unwilling to stop until they stained the Spirit Body with a trace of crimson.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Body itself continued changing under the influence of the Cup and the distant will beyond it.
Its already-superior physique became even stronger.
Decaying vitality poured into it.
Scarlet threads connected her to the extraordinary world, breaking through the barrier that separated mortals from power.
A crimson circuit emerged within her body.
The moment the Spirit Body stepped into the extraordinary realm, Xu Zhi clearly felt that portion of her consciousness suddenly connect to an invisible network.
She had seamlessly entered some kind of vast collective.
Through the existence of this network, she could instantly determine whether someone was one of her own kind.
She could suppress believers beneath her rank.
Command them.
Even kill them with ease.
The crimson light of the circuit continued to shine.
The three portions of blood food placed before the ritual had already been completely consumed, yet the glow showed no signs of fading.
A flash of jealousy crossed the priest’s eyes.
He immediately realized what this meant.
The new recruit’s talent was simply too exceptional.
She had received the Lord’s favor.
But after the jealousy came another emotion.
Something resembling brainwashing.
Something like a mental brand engraved upon the soul.
An instinctive joy at the appearance of a powerful fellow believer.
“Wonderful!”
“From now on, she’ll be the congregation’s Saintess!”
“With her, our congregation will grow much faster and bring even more faith to the Lord!”
A congregation of only three people already had a priest.
And now, with a simple declaration, the newest member had been elevated directly to Saintess.
No matter how one looked at it, the situation was absurdly comical and childish.
Yet the other two people present nodded solemnly, as though the priest’s words were absolute truth.
Immersed in her struggle against the scarlet corruption, Xu Zhi never heard this simple yet ridiculous decision.
Ever since the Spirit Body entered the extraordinary realm, she had noticed something unexpected.
The Cup-attributed extraordinary energy did not stop flowing into her.
Instead, more and more continued to pour into her body.
The Spirit Body’s rank rose steadily.
At the same time, the temptation of the Cup became increasingly difficult to resist.
Xu Zhi had to constantly rely on her true body to remind herself to stay awake.
Even so, she could feel the Spirit Body’s consciousness gradually being swallowed.
Fortunately, it had not yet reached a dangerous point.
As long as her true body’s mind remained clear, she could still maintain control.
After entering the extraordinary realm, the Spirit Body could also perceive its own circuit.
The freshly formed crimson circuit continued expanding at astonishing speed.
Xu Zhi encountered no bottlenecks whatsoever.
Nor did she need to pass through the Wanderer’s Lodge.
That was far too strange.
What extraordinary being advanced without passing through the Wanderer’s Lodge?
Everything about the Cup was strange.
She had only just “joined” it and had already witnessed something so bizarre.
Yet no ordinary extraordinary being seemed aware of this fact.
If people discovered that Cup believers could advance without following the path through the Wanderer’s Lodge…
The moment Xu Zhi allowed her attention to wander toward that thought, the Spirit Body’s consciousness instantly slipped to the edge of collapse.
She immediately snapped back to her senses and dragged the other half of her mind back from the brink.
Eventually, the scarlet energy completed its transformation of her body.
Her extraordinary circuit grew until it approached the level of Second Rank Longevity.
Then, suddenly—
A voice descended into her mind from an incomprehensibly high place.
The voice carried no command.
No message.
It merely conveyed a simple fact:
I have noticed you.
The instant she received that voice, the Spirit Body’s spiritual power increased by roughly half.
Xu Zhi immediately realized what this likely was.
The voice of the true Cup God.
Most believers would probably be ecstatic to receive such attention.
Xu Zhi only felt a headache coming on.
Fortunately…
The being did not seem to have noticed anything suspicious.
At last, the scarlet energy gradually faded.
What remained within the Spirit Body had already become Xu Zhi’s own power.
A vast amount of knowledge suddenly appeared in her mind.
All of it belonged to the Cup.
For example, she immediately understood that she had reached the rank of Messenger.
Among Cup believers, this rank encompassed everything from Longevity to Named.
Translated into ordinary extraordinary terms, she was probably around Second Rank Longevity.
Although her actual combat strength was likely somewhat stronger than a normal Second Rank Longevity expert.
She also comprehended numerous universal Cup circuits.
And…
Knowledge regarding blood food.
How to judge its quality.
How to create high-quality blood food.
How to preserve it.
And much more.
Beyond that, Xu Zhi felt as though some kind of static had appeared inside her mind.
It was similar to the brief bursts of visual snow that occasionally flashed across an old television screen.
It did not interfere with normal functioning.
Yet it was impossible to ignore completely.
She also felt hungry.
Or perhaps thirsty.
The sensation was familiar.
Back when she had accidentally acquired a Cup foundation, she had experienced something similar.
Compared to then, however, the craving was much weaker now.
More importantly, the Spirit Body’s emotions and thought patterns had begun to diverge slightly from those of her true body.
Previously, even while operating two bodies simultaneously, Xu Zhi had always felt that she was still a single person.
It was admittedly a little awkward.
But both bodies thought in exactly the same way.
There was no difference between them.
Now, however—
That was no longer the case.
