Chapter 782 - 447: Seventh Beast of Human Evil—Lilith of Desire (2)

"There’s no value in killing her."

"What if she’s really a prostitute?" Mimic Venerable King asked with respect. Somehow, this Mimic Venerable King enjoyed questioning philosophical issues like this.

"Simple. I brought a whole new life!" Xue Dili said, "You keep thinking about such stupid questions until it bugs you out. Only idiots need to think thoroughly about such issues."

Then he stepped out and walked into the sea. The morning sunlight just peeked over the horizon, rising above his head, and the sky turned fiery red as if aflame.

...

They actually devised numerous strategies to deal with the prophecy.

Like rotating night watches, avoiding solo actions, gathering in groups of four in the ancient castle hall, ensuring they could directly see one another.

But without even pretending, the half-elf was directly transported into the black tide-like sea, where endless resentful spirits frantically dragged her body down into the unfathomable abyss.

However, in the Divine Purification Demon Eye, those resentful spirits were merely simple energies, not souls, without any consciousness. The naked eye perceived them as resentful spirits, perhaps only a deception of sight.

The seawater pressed against her lungs, seemingly forcing out every remaining trace of air.

"Am I going to die..." the half-elf Rhythm thought.

Dying without any value, like trash, remaining like waste...

Bubbles escaped from her lips, glistening water droplets rising, light flickered overhead like a candle about to extinguish, limbs growing heavier, her strokes turning into meaningless convulsions.

Arms resembling deep-sea tentacles attempted to entangle her. As her consciousness waned, she suddenly remembered how as a child, she often played breath-holding experiments, submerging into the river, feeling the rhythm of the water and heartbeat.

That’s how she named herself, Rhythm.

But this time, she would no longer have the strength to rise.

The last trace of gas floated to the water’s surface as a bubble...

...

"Sorry, newcomer, this ritual won’t let you intervene. This is our only chance to return home," said the seasoned one with three rows of teeth, instantly blocking Xue Dili, pulling out a flintlock pistol and pointing it at his head.

He stepped on the water as if it were solid ground. Only now did Xue Dili notice he possessed many fish-like features, resembling aquatic creatures evolved into humans.

"Don’t think that just because you’re a spell caster outside, you can do whatever you want on the Death Cruise. Here, no matter who you are outside, you must obediently follow the rules of the Death Cruise!" he said, with no intention to attack. The pistol seemed merely a threat.

"So, you’re preparing this ritual to return to the real world?" Xue Dili asked.

"Indeed. It’s a task only teams that have completed 9 death missions can undertake — the only one without strange attacks. But here, we must sacrifice 4 people to complete the mission," he said, utterly indifferent to Xue Dili knowing the information and its potential consequences.

Perhaps the idea was to stall Xue Dili, given the half-elf wouldn’t hold on for long.

"You see, even though survivors endure 9 death missions, many teams fail this last task because everyone wants to go home, and no one wants to be the sacrifice. Thus, the final mutual slaughter exceeds deaths by strange attacks!"

"This task’s real challenge lies not in the monsters, but in human nature."

He spoke with no trace of pity, utterly ignoring the half-elf’s diminishing struggle beneath the water.

"I don’t care about this or that." Xue Dili reached out, prepared to slap him away.

Yet in the next instant, the power of authority suddenly fortified him, making his arm’s swing feel inexplicably obstructed.

"Oh, I forgot to mention when introducing you: attacking teammates in the task world is forbidden, by decree of the Evil God!" he laughed, revealing all three rows of teeth.

His earlier gun threat was purely due to Xue Dili’s ignorance of the rules.

"Slap!" Suddenly a palm struck his face with immense force, sending him flying onto the ocean surface.

"Ignorant fool, don’t utter such insulting nonsense before me." Xue Dili strode away without concern, proceeded straight toward the sea.

...

Consciousness was fading, the half-elf Rhythm felt her body growing stiff, powerless...

Was this how I would die...

Suddenly, hands stirred the seawater, stretching toward her.

"Hold on tight!"

The voice came.

"I..."

Upon seeing the rescuer, an immense desire to live surged, she clung desperately to the arm, yearning to survive...

She clasped the arm tightly, overwhelmed with post-survival joy and gratitude for the outstretched helping hand, instantly exploding.

"Thank you, thank you..." she said, trying to embrace the priest. Yet, realizing she could speak underwater puzzled her.

The half-elf turned fearfully, witnessing herself, seemingly unconscious, dragged by countless hands into the abyss.

"I see, I’m already dead..."

Feeling her soul resisting the pull, she heard: "Seems her body and soul have already separated, but it’s not a big deal, as I also brought another life..."

"Huh?" That was her final thought.

Xue Dili observed as he pulled up only a soul but thought it through, it wasn’t an issue.

For him now, the deaths of soul and body were not absolute.

However, that body couldn’t go to waste.

He swam to the corpse and asked: "Mimic Venerable King, does this ritual require only a body or the soul too?"

"Naturally needs the soul, just the body won’t meet the ritual’s criteria," Mimic Venerable King said, "Yet, I quite like you. This style aligns with my taste, so I’ll take her to the Pure Land within my main body, where she’ll live a new life."

"No need, I suppose I have a way to revive her now. But I ask you, if soul and body emerge as separate concepts, what happens to the Seventh Apostle post-ritual success?" Xue Dili proposed his idea.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Mimic Venerable King felt his mind stretching.

"Since the ritual went wrong, let’s take it further. The half-elf is the Princess — her father should be the Elf King, only he’s a bit deranged and birthed an illegitimate daughter with some human woman."

"Following the regular ritual procedure, disrupting the order guarantees ritual failure, but if I place a ’prostitute’s’ soul within her body, what then?" Xue Dili asked.

Mimic Venerable King: "?"

He genuinely felt his mind stretching.

However, calculation began forecasting the future...

"Indeed, if the body is the Princess but the soul is a prostitute, calculation shows a 98.7% chance of fulfilling consciousness activation criteria but predicts unpredictable consequences on authority’s source — 1.1% chance of ritual outright failure, and 0.2% chance of direct repercussion..."

Mimic Venerable King concluded, seeing possibilities!

Not you, boy, you always manage a twist!

Xue Dili grinned, sensing the Seventh Apostle’s authority loophole.

And this virus of his, ready to breach your loophole, Seventh Apostle!

"Innovation Era!"

"The Beast of Human Evil’s Seven, representing human’s vile desires, lust, and wicked degeneration — the most ancient holy prostitute, prototype of all Enchanting Demons — Lilith!"

A colossal monstrous shadow resembling an Enchanting Demon emerged behind Xue Dili.