Ashmi walked over to Bai Shi, Starfall Shadow in hand.
Ashmi, the automatic rune-farming machine, had successfully completed her task. The Dragonkin Soldier could no longer yield a single rune.
Behind her, the Dragonkin Soldier, which had been covered in signs of repair, lay shattered into countless pieces, large and small, beyond any hope of reassembly.
Patched together ti and again, not even the power of Rot could nd it now.
Ashmi tilted her head, looking at the transford Aeperia in Bai Shi’s hand.
“Huh? What happened to Aeperia?”
With that, she curiously reached out and poked the bountiful end of the twinblade.
A radiant power of life sprouted like a tender shoot of energy, responding to her touch.
Ashmi instantly felt a wave of warmth wash over her, and the few minor injuries she had sustained were completely healed.
This was the power of the bountiful end, capable of using the force of life to heal its wielder and others.
It also retained its ability to siphon life force from enemies and had even further enhanced the power of Aeperia's whirlwind attack.
As for the end imbued with Rot...
Besides the obvious ability to inflict enemies with the Scarlet Rot debuff, Bai Shi could now bloom as well.
The only problem was that if Bai Shi’s lingering flas were active, the blossom of Rot would be incinerated by them first.
But... if he didn’t use his flas, he would have to endure the very Rot he unleashed.
Holding Aeperia, now possessing the dual powers of Bountifulness and Rot, Bai Shi carefully observed and studied it.
He also took the opportunity to answer the clueless Ashmi’s question.
“That thing I was fighting earlier was a vessel for the Rot.”
“The god of Rot poured its power into that vessel, including a portion of its very source of power—its Divine Essence.”
“When I destroyed the vessel, the Divine Essence leaked out.”
Divine Essence was an incredibly potent force.
It was what the Formless Mother had used to save Mohg after he had been nearly vaporized by the aftershock of an attack enhanced by Fengling Yueying.
Not only did it pull him back from the brink of death, but it also directly strengthened him, allowing him to break through to the next tier of power, reaching the level of kings and gods.
That alone was enough to demonstrate the power of Divine Essence.
Of course, the Divine Essence infused into Mohg was far more than the small amount Bai Shi had just handled.
Still, that single mass was enough to elevate an ordinary being to the level of a demigod.
And when a power like that was used to enhance a weapon, the results were self-evident.
The current Aeperia was now far stronger than any weapon Bai Shi had ever seen.
Bai Shi twirled Aeperia, pointing the golden, glowing bountiful end upward.
Golden flecks drifted down, slowly falling toward the ground.
As they passed the midpoint of the blade, the flecks gradually faded and darkened, turning into Scarlet Rot by the ti they touched the floor.
“I tested it and found that under the influence of sunlight, the Divine Essence could be transford toward Bountifulness.”
“So I thought I’d keep it and use it to repair Aeperia’s damage.”
“And while I was at it, I wanted to see if I could fully restore the power of Bountifulness...”
“It was going smoothly at first, but the result... well, you’ve seen it.”
Ashmi nodded, watching as Bai Shi turned the weapon over, pointing the end of Rot upward.
Influenced by gravity, viscous Scarlet Rot imdiately began to flow down the blade.
However, as the Scarlet Rot trickled past the blade’s midpoint, it gradually lost its color, and by the ti it reached the bountiful end, it had turned golden once more.
Watching the constant transformation between Rot and Bountifulness, Bai Shi confird that the two forces within the blade were indeed in perfect balance.
That way, he at least wouldn't have to worry about Aeperia disintegrating in the middle of a fight.
Bai Shi rested his chin on his hand, reviewing the situation while explaining it to Ashmi.
“For so reason, even though I was maintaining its Bountiful state the whole ti, it suddenly turned into this at the very end.”
“The power of Rot erged on the other end, as if it was a part of its inherent duality.”
Bai Shi was still confused.
To prevent the Bountifulness from reverting to Rot, he had kept a constant stream of sunlight power flowing into his hands.
But right before his eyes, the Rot portion had separated itself.
And that portion of Rot was sothing Bai Shi had absolutely no desire to keep.
After all, he himself could be affected by it.
Coupled with his personal feelings on the matter, Bai Shi naturally believed that pure Bountifulness was better.
Having to worry about the Rot during combat was just ridiculous; it would only make him fight with one hand tied behind his back.
Ashmi was thoroughly confused.
Although she had been inside Bai Shi for a long ti and it wasn’t her first ti hearing these terms, it was still a bit too difficult for a Mimic Tear to fully grasp such concepts.
Ashmi didn’t quite understand, but she had a feeling it was sothing amazing.
For her, only one question mattered.
“Um... so, in short, Aeperia got stronger, right?”
Hearing this, Bai Shi hesitated for a mont before nodding.
“Yes, without a doubt.”
“Imbued with Divine Essence, Aeperia is extrely powerful.”
“After all, this is the fundantal power left behind by beings who are worthy of being called gods.”
“Even if this power is still a bit ambiguous, and the Scarlet Rot carries a certain risk...”
“But if you ignore all the ifs and buts, Aeperia has indeed beco vastly more powerful.”
“This is unquestionably a good thing.”
Hearing Bai Shi’s answer, Ashmi laughed twice.
“That’s great, then!”
“I don’t know what you’re worried about, Master. Of course a weapon should be as strong as possible~”
Ashmi's words put Bai Shi at ease, and he broke into a smile.
Though he couldn’t be as carefree as her, she had a point.
It was a weapon, and making it stronger was a good thing.
Besides, even if he was worried about the power of Rot, he could just let Ashmi use it.
As a Mimic Tear, she wouldn’t fear the corrosion of Rot.
Furthermore, Ashmi now possessed strength that was only a fraction less than his own, more than enough to wield the weapon’s power.
The more Bai Shi thought about it, the more feasible it seed.
He wasn't short on weapons; he had so many powerful ones he couldn't possibly use them all.
And it just so happened that Ashmi couldn't replicate a weapon this powerful and unique.
Having a suitable weapon would also increase Ashmi’s overall strength.
So Bai Shi patted Ashmi on the shoulder and said:
“Alright. Until I find a way to not be affected by the Rot, you can use this weapon.”
Ashmi’s eyes lit up, and she cheered.
“Yay!”
Now she had a new toy.
Ashmi dissipated, returning to Bai Shi’s body to continue digesting the power of the Teardrop Chalice.
Bai Shi put Aeperia away. The twinblade no longer had an upgrade level suffix, and its na had changed to ‘Aeperia, Bounteous and Rotten’.
Aeperia could no longer be strengthened; or rather, it no longer needed to be.
It had already reached the level of a ‘God-Slaying Weapon’.
Originally, a ‘God-Slaying Weapon’ had to be forged with the scales of the Dragonlord, imbuing it with their unique power to distort spaceti.
Only then could one break through the conceptual defenses that protected true gods.
It was similar to the Fingerslayer Blade’s ‘bonus damage against Fingers’ effect.
However, god-slaying weapons forged with Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones were more versatile and didn't require exploiting a specific weakness.
Naturally, their power was also reduced; they couldn't achieve the level of specialized bonus damage and could only be said to pierce defenses.
The God of Rot was an existence on the sa level as the Dragonlord, or perhaps even higher.
Although Aeperia lacked the power from the rifts of ti to slightly distort spaceti, the powers of Bountifulness and Rot were by no ans inferior.
And against certain gods, they might even prove to be exceptionally effective.
“Just how effective it is... I suppose I’ll have to use it to find out.”
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
Next, Bai Shi turned his attention to the runes he had collected during the battle.
Feeling the massive amount of runes within him, a smile spread across his face.
Right now, Bai Shi held a total of twenty-three million runes.
Last ti, in the Mohgwyn Dynasty, Bai Shi had spent over twelve million runes to increase his level by fifteen.
Even accounting for the increasing rune requirent for each level, this amount would easily be enough for another ten levels or so.
Bai Shi couldn't help but marvel at how cri really did pay.
This Lake of Rot branch bank had yielded far more runes than the blood bank, almost twice as much.
Last ti, after draining the blood bank and killing all of Mohg's followers, including the Mohgwyn Dynasty Knights, Bai Shi had painstakingly amassed eight million runes.
Adding the runes from Mohg and what he'd saved up before, he had barely scraped together thirteen million.
This ti, although the individual creatures of Rot dropped fewer runes and were of varying quality, their numbers were far greater.
After all, the Mohgwyn Dynasty was filled with recruited soldiers, whereas the Lake of Rot was ho to a constantly breeding population. The numbers simply weren’t comparable.
In the end, these creatures of Rot contributed over seventeen million runes.
The Dragonkin Soldier and the vessel of Rot, which had been squeezed dry, yielded a total of over three million runes.
As for the remaining two million, that was what Bai Shi had gradually saved up along the way.
The Hornsent Warriors and the Divine Beast Dancing Lion in the Tower Settlent, Astel outside Nokstella, Eternal City... all these foes had contributed a considerable amount.
The culmination of all this was this terrifying quantity of runes.
The runes Bai Shi currently held were more than enough to raise any one of his attributes to the point of breaking its soft cap.
Even those secondary attributes he had barely touched before.
Bai Shi smiled cheerfully.
There was nothing more pleasant than growing stronger.
And it was truly a curious thing.
He had just been thinking about how there weren’t many opportunities left to earn a large number of runes, and then this chance had imdiately presented itself.
Not only that, but the payout was even greater...
In any case, it would surely be a long ti before another opportunity this good ca along (he hoped).
Though he was eager to spend the runes on leveling up, he wasn’t with lina right now.
She was still in the Land of Shadow. He’d just find her and level up when he returned.
Perfect. This gave him so ti to think about his stat allocation.
Bai Shi planned to first raise Dexterity to its soft cap.
It was one of the attributes closest to reaching that threshold.
Once Dexterity also hit its soft cap, Bai Shi would have three such attributes while under the effect of a Great Rune’s attribute conversion.
This ant he would soon officially enter the next tier of strength.
The tier of kings and gods.
This was also the level of most of the truly powerful enemies he would have to face next.
Maliketh, Radagon, Godfrey...
As for those on an even higher tier, in the Lands Between, that probably only included the Elden Beast and the false Greater Will...
Recalling the unfathomable power of the false Greater Will, Bai Shi’s fervent heart gradually cald.
Feeling joy at becoming stronger was perfectly normal, but he couldn't get arrogant.
For now, he would focus on getting his attributes up under the effects of a Great Rune, to reach the level of a king.
After that, he could slowly work on his stats in his normal state.
Arcane had already passed the threshold, so he just needed to max out two more attributes for his base form.
Looked at that way, the goal didn't seem so far away.
At that point, he would have two forms: one focused on physical combat, the other on casting.
His Great Rune state would have all physical attributes, turning him into a brute like Hoarah Loux.
As for his normal state, once he added Intelligence and Faith, he would be an outstanding sorcerer and incantation-caster.
He would be a truly well-rounded fighter with no weaknesses.
After that, it was just a matter of waiting for the day all his stats broke their limits.
But... he didn’t know if he could accumulate enough runes by then.
After breaking the soft cap, the runes required to level up would be another astronomical figure.
Just how many runes would it take to reach the next tier...?
At that point, he would probably still have to rely on Fengling Yueying to bridge the gap with true gods like the Elden Beast.
Bai Shi sighed.
Sigh. The gas made by that old trickster were always like this.
Although, based on the gaplay, it just looked like you hacked and slashed your way through everything.
Hacking your way from the bottom to the top, from hollows to a weird egg, or from hollows to a Lord of Cinder.
But according to the lore, the leaps in power levels were just too imnse.
Right now, Bai Shi was already standing near the apex of the Lands Between, having created an insurmountable gap between himself and ordinary beings.
And yet, even in this state, he found it difficult to resist the false Greater Will.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that the Elden Ring was shattered and the power of life in the Lands Between was continuously declining. It wasn't like the ancient tis, when heroes abounded.
But even if it was the Dragonlord at his peak in the ancient era, Bai Shi didn't think he could sit at the sa table as the Elden Beast.
The closer he got to that level, the more Bai Shi felt the power of his enemies.
But he would win.
With Fengling Yueying in hand, Bai Shi had reasons he couldn’t afford to lose!
This was true when he first reached the strength of a demigod, and it was true now as he was about to step into the realm of kings.
And it would be true in the future, when he truly faced the Elden Beast.
He had overco so many challenges. What were a couple more?
Bai Shi took a deep breath, waded into the Lake of Rot, and walked toward its depths.
Regardless, it was ti to collect his spoils.
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