Saul’s expression changed drastically, and the calm he had just maintained collapsed in an instant.
"You?"
Kongsha withdrew her foot and turned to glance at the ancient Soul-Devouring Mire still entangled with frost.
“Unfortunately, I can only control part of the tentacles. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been blocked by this palace for so long.”
She continued looking down at Saul. “No need to struggle. Just be obedient and listen to .”
Now that Kongsha had discovered the secret of his palms, Saul didn’t bother pretending anymore. He bared his teeth and cried out in pain.
“Ahh... You—are you dragging into this whole conversation, refusing to just finish off quickly, because you want my mind to collapse and turn into Veiled Crystal Essence too?”
Kongsha nodded with satisfaction. “That’s right. So I hope you’ll be as well-behaved as the first ti we t, and not play any tricks or sches. That way, I’ll make good use of your transford Veiled Crystal Essence—so you won’t be wasted, such a special existence.”
Her eyes were filled with madness. “If Gorsa finds out I used his stuff, he’ll definitely be furious. Haha! But with the state he’s in now, he wouldn’t dare co in to catch —he can only stomp his feet outside in frustration. Just thinking about it makes so happy!”
For a mont, Saul couldn’t tell whether Kongsha truly wanted his mind to collapse—or if she was simply chasing madness itself.
But looking at her now, Saul felt a chill spread through his heart.
After laughing for a while, Kongsha pulled her foot back, squatted down, and looked at Saul.
“But there’s no need to feel sorry for him. Do you really think he trained you out of kindness?” Kongsha tilted her head, tracing the blood at the corner of Saul’s eye with a finger. “Did he tell you he wouldn’t interfere with your studies to avoid misleading your understanding?”
Saul narrowed his eyes slightly. Master Gorsa had indeed said sothing like that.
“I’ve heard that kind of talk too. That’s why I agreed to the final transformation. He’s just pretending to let you research yourself, while quietly seasoning you into sothing more delicious. When his experints actually need you, he’ll turn the grateful you into his raw material. Do you know Ivan? He studied hard, ditated diligently, and completed his body modification with great effort…”
“But do you know what happened to him in the end? His carefully modified body was ground into paste by Gorsa and made into a graceful shadow coat for Lady Yura.”
Shadow coat?
Saul instantly thought of Lady Yura, whose body was a silhouette that could blend into various diums.
So that shadow… was made from the body of one of Gorsa’s students…
Kongsha withdrew her hand, then raised her bloodstained finger to her vivid red lips, speaking sowhat indistinctly, “With such excellent aptitude for ntal power, Gorsa must have had an eye on you. I’ve heard that his resurrection experint has made breakthrough progress. I think your soul will soon be taken.”
“Did he give you so kind of three- or five-year deadline? That’s just a lie to keep you obediently working for him.”
Saul said nothing, but his face grew increasingly grim. His lips were tightly sealed, the color drained from them.
Kongsha knew—Saul was getting nervous.
He was nervous because even if he survived today, he couldn’t escape Gorsa’s claws.
Death might actually be the best outco.
Worse than death was having his soul refined—enduring endless pain and tornt for all eternity.
To long for death and be denied it!
She could sense that Saul’s once extrely stable ntal form had begun to tremble.
Because the long-held beliefs in his mind had been upended in a single night.
Saul clenched his teeth, and his voice ca trembling through the gaps, “I admit we share a common enemy. That’s all the more reason we shouldn’t kill each other. Your thod of ascending through Veiled Crystal Essence is extrely dangerous. Let go. I’m very good at body modification—I might be able to help you.”
But Kongsha only shook her head. “Whether you’re sincere or not, thank you, Saul. But… it’s already too late.”
“Three years ago, when I took that elven doll, I stepped onto a path of no return. Elves are stubborn creatures. After being influenced by the elf, I beca even less able to accept what I’d been transford into.”
“Did you know? I used to be very beautiful, and I had great talent. Even without Gorsa’s modifications, I was confident I could advance to a Third Rank apprentice. But I had no choice—I gave up on myself and lost my future. So… I have to find myself again, even if it ans opposing Gorsa, even if it ans enduring the pollution of the elves!”
She paused. “At that ti, my eyes had already gone out of control. Without the elven relic’s suppression, I would’ve been completely corrupted long ago. From that point on, I didn’t dare stay too long in the Wizard Tower—I was afraid Gorsa would notice sothing was wrong.”
Suddenly, Kongsha pressed both her hands to her temples. With a bit of pressure—pop—she removed her head.
Beneath the beautiful face, Saul saw a familiar half of a lovely woman’s face.
But the glass do atop Kongsha’s head had changed.
The once milky-white substance had turned into dried reddish mucus, stuck to the inner wall of the do, half-dried and clinging.
And those eyeballs that sotis surfaced and sotis vanished—now lacking buoyancy—lay curled at the bottom of the glass do.
A thick layer of white fuzz covered the eyeballs, like food left in a trash heap for months.
The mont Saul laid eyes on this scene, his ntal form boiled like a pot of water.
He struggled desperately to suppress the violent chaos of his mind, terrified that the “steam” would blast his skull apart!
“Kongsha…” Saul gritted his teeth. “You’ve already mutated.”
But Kongsha didn’t care at all. “Yes. But it’s fine. Once I obtain the Veiled Crystal Essence from your collapse, I’ll be able to use your high-quality soul power to replace my locator device.”
She patted her still-beautiful head. “How about the head of an Elven King? Hehe… I’ll be the first one in the Wizard Tower to replace locator device. Once I fully fuse with it, I’ll gain complete control of the ancient Soul-Devouring Mire. Then I’ll personally take revenge on Gorsa!”
Kongsha’s head suddenly leaned in close to Saul’s eyes.
Even if Saul closed his eyes, he could still see the white-furred eyeballs and congealed blood inside that head.
Kongsha also sensed that Saul’s ntal form was growing increasingly unstable—already showing signs of losing control.
The ti was ripe. Kongsha smiled with satisfaction.
A collapsing mind, the special field of the Forest of Four Seasons, and a dash of Soul-Devouring Mire corruption…
She was about to obtain a perfect piece of Veiled Crystal Essence!
Kongsha’s lips stretched into a wide grin, all elegance and charm now gone.
“No… I can only… hold on… this far…” Saul’s breath was faint. Suddenly, in a mont of utter despair, he opened his eyes wide and looked straight at Kongsha’s face, shouting, “Penny!”
Kongsha froze. Then she chuckled. “A stunning beauty like is sitting right next to you, and you’re calling out another woman’s na?”
But just as she finished speaking, she suddenly saw a flash of silver light and then a silver butterfly appeared out of thin air, landing on Saul’s forehead.
“What’s this?” Kongsha’s mind instantly flashed through everything she had ever learned, but none of it matched the image of this butterfly.
Then she heard the butterfly speak.
“Emotion module suppression complete, Brother Saul!”
“Emotion…” Kongsha didn’t even have ti to think about why emotions needed to be suppressed. The next mont, she saw Saul suddenly open his mouth—clenched for so long—and extend a tongue that was deep gray, nearly black.
At the tip of his tongue—sohow, using an unknown intricate thod—was drawn an extrely complex magic formation.
Kongsha had a good mory. She instantly recognized that this formation looked very similar to the one on Saul’s palms.
In fact—it was an advanced version of the formation in his palms!
And now, this magic formation was emitting a dazzling black glow.
The mont she saw that black glow, Kongsha’s consciousness faltered.
But she quickly snapped out of it and pointed angrily at Saul lying on the ground. “You! That ntal form instability just now—it wasn’t a sign of collapse at all!”
“That’s right,” Saul’s voice suddenly beca relaxed, he retracted his tongue, and countless gray translucent tentacles suddenly grew out from his back.
These tentacles hooked onto Kongsha's arms and waist at a speed that was completely impossible to dodge, and lifted her up directly.
Kongsha tried to struggle, but found that she could not get rid of these tentacles at all.
She could use her ntal power to control these tentacles just now, but now she was easily bound by them.
Saul, who had just been imprisoned by the ice spikes, got up from the ground with a swift movent.
Kongsha's head was pressed by the tentacles, and she was forced to turn her gaze back to Saul. Then she was shocked to find that the man in front of her not only had no wounds on his body, but even his appearance had changed.
Saul actually changed from a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy to an adult man with a slightly similar appearance.
(End of Chapter)
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