"Create Sin Coins? Of course we can create Sin Coins."
The woman beneath the statue extended a pale thumb and slender index finger, plucking the Blasphemy Seed from Jenkins's hand. This gesture signified that she could answer his question.
"But making Sin Coins cos at a price."
Jenkins had never felt there was a price.
"It is a process of direct contact with sin, a process sufficient to drive any rational being mad. The creation of Sin Coins inevitably exposes one's body and soul to[Sin], the most corrupting of all things. With the exception of a deity like you, who possesses a great soul, [Sin] has the power to irreversibly taint and harm all other life."
"So, most of you appear deranged? Because you must co into contact with sin to collect Sin Coins?"
Jenkins asked.
"Yes. Once we completely lose our minds, we forfeit the right to reach the end of this path. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, we are extrely cautious about extracting the sins of intelligent beings. Even when we do, we operate only within the scope of our abilities, which further binds us to a specific domain of authority.
We must strike a balance between the gradual corruption of our souls and the continuous collection of sin. The most effective thod is to carry out this process over a long period, avoiding too much contact with sin at any one ti. But not everyone has such patience; you have likely seen many counterexamples. I know you also want to ask about the difference between Cursed lifeforms and Extraordinary lifeforms, and I can tell you that as well—before we ca to the material world, many individuals were already tainted while coming into contact with the power to create Sin Coins, a gift from the great ones. It is a matter that depends heavily on aptitude."
she replied, then squeezed the Sin Coin in her palm.
"To answer that question, one Sin Coin is sufficient."
Jenkins nodded, agreeing to the transaction. This answered a long-standing question of his, further completing his understanding of the second path to godhood. In comparison to the first path, becoming a Savior, the second path was far more arduous and perilous. But the first path was by no ans simple. From the dawn of creation until now, there had only been eighteen Epochs, so the number of mortals who had truly walked this path to its end was certainly less than twenty. And yet, there were currently 365 Pseudo-Gods, aning the number who had achieved godhood through the second path must be greater than twenty.
"Besides the path of the Savior and your thod, are there any other ways to reach the end of the road?"
He asked a direct question, but out of caution, he avoided using the word "godhood." He still rembered the man in the golden Mysterious Realm of the ancient castle whose head had exploded for asking about becoming a god.
"Do you believe I am qualified to answer that question for you?"
The woman shook her head, a regretful expression on her face.
"Then what's the deal with this fellow?"
Jenkins kicked the stone statue of the cursed man again and placed a soul-gold coin in his palm.
"But this question isn't worth a Sin Coin, so you'd better provide so information that will surprise ."
"Of course, that's no problem. You will be satisfied."
The woman plucked the gold coin from Jenkins's palm.
"A vampire used the[Scarlet Banquet]arcane lock at a manor outside the city. This arcane lock is also a type of banquet, which falls within my sphere of influence. The lock is currently on the verge of collapse; the amount of curse it contains is simply too great. I imagine that woman who calls herself the Countess can last three more days at most. I brought this one out—yes, as a show of sincerity and to prove I have the ability to interfere with the[Scarlet Banquet]arcane lock. But I assure you, no curse spread while I was bringing it here. As for your Sin Coin, I can tell you the arcane lock's weakness. If you're willing to spend nine Sin Coins, I can intervene directly and resolve the arcane lock and all the troubles within it."
Clearly, Jenkins didn't have that kind of wealth. The[Sweet Dream Crystal]had cost him too much of his savings.
"Go on," he prompted. "What's the weakness?"
"In its original form, this arcane lock was used during vampire family gatherings to provide power to every participant. In other words, the true purpose of the Scarlet Banquet is to draw upon the power of every vampire within the lock and then feed it back to all its mbers. The version that has appeared in the material world cleverly exploits the[Blood Mosquito Curse]'s ability to transform humans into vampire-like creatures. At the sa ti, it uses the curse's ever-strengthening nature to make the feedback loop more and more powerful, thereby achieving a 'resurrection' effect.
Therefore, to defeat the arcane lock, killing the Countess is the most direct thod, but it is very difficult. A simpler approach is to nullify the concept of the[Banquet]itself. This would cause the feedback process to fail, directly weakening the power of all the cursed creatures within the lock."
"How do I do that?"
Jenkins's[Lie]couldn't affect concepts yet, unless he was willing to use his divinity. But if he were to use his divinity, he might as well just kill the Countess directly to achieve his goal. There was no need to take the long way around by destroying the arcane lock.
"You can use this. It is a part of and possesses the power to interfere with the concept of a[Banquet]."
She plucked a long strand of her hair.
"As long as you carry this within the arcane lock and get within thirty feet (about 9.1 ters) of its creator, this strand of hair will take effect. Maintain this state for two minutes, and the cursed beings inside will lose their ability to resurrect, while the creator's power will be greatly weakened. You can take advantage of the brief backlash from the arcane lock's destruction. In that state, even if that vampire is a demigod bearing a curse, her power will probably be no greater than yours in your mortal state."
Jenkins had thought the strand of hair would also co at a price, but to his surprise, the woman gave it to him directly. He casually broke off a stick from a nearby bush, wrapped the hair around it, and tucked it into his pocket.
This ti, the cat showed no curiosity, probably because sothing as common as hair didn't interest it at all.
"So, what else do you require?"
The woman asked with a smiling squint, looking as if she wanted to drain Jenkins of every last Sin Coin he had.
"How did you find ?"
"I can answer that question for you directly.
You need not worry about following you. The mont you defeated that monster in the dream world a few days ago was exceptionally brilliant. To beings like us, the sin of a Beast of Calamity and the radiance of divinity are as conspicuous as the sun. That is how I noticed you. It just so happened that you were about to attend a gathering, which is why I appeared here."
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