Zhong Shenxiu slowly opened his eyes.
Before his eyes were two bright moons.
His head throbbed with pain, and he couldn’t help but let out a groan, pressing his temples as if his brain was stuffed with a lump of paste.
After a long, long time, some key memories began to emerge: the Blood Moon Night, ancient gods, rituals...
Zhong Shenxiu said subconsciously.
Before him, a faint light appeared, revealing information only he could see.
At the top, there was a chaotic string of characters, clear evidence that the system had indeed been invaded and was significantly affected.
The light was even dimmer than before, and operating it had become much more mechanical and stiff.
Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t help but start to reproach, "Could it be, has the idiot system turned into a dumbass? Why is there gibberish? Hey, hey, don’t scramble it, I want to see..."
After fiddling around for a while, he gave up on viewing that segment of the history record and instead turned his attention to his attributes:
[Music, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting: Third Level]
[Spirit Turtle Breathing Skill: Third Level (Incapable of Advancement)]
[Azure Dragon Cloud-Exploring Hand: Third Level]
[Profound Yin Soul Fragment: Third Level (Incapable of Advancement)]
[Heavenly Show Points: 5 (5%)]
[Myriad Gates: Opening (1%)]
"So much new stuff, is this... feedback from the ritual?"
Zhong Shenxiu murmured to himself.
He was well aware that ancient gods didn’t purposefully satisfy the desires of believers, and the extent of their blessings depended largely on luck.
Recalling the ritual sacrifice, his memory was a blank.
But on the attribute panel, there were a few new entries, the only characters he could make out amid the chaos:
[Data Fragment One: Its revered name—Myriad Gates, High-Dimensional Overlooker...]
[Data Fragment Two: Discovered the Pastor profession, prerequisites—Acknowledgment by wraiths, Ritual of Flesh, Blood, and Bones, Shepherd Soul Secret Medicine...]
[Data Fragment Three: Digesting foreign power, anomaly in the travel function... Myriad Gates opening!]
"Heh heh..." A slight smile curled at the corner of Zhong Shenxiu’s mouth.
He had even tricked the system, just in case there was any hidden hand setting up backdoors or such.
Now it seemed that this was either an idiot system or a dumbass system, but the outcome of the trial was quite good, and there were many unexpected gains.
"There are many more Heavenly Show Points as well, seems that while there were few viewers, the quality was high..."
He looked at his palm, where his fingers, once blackened and stiff to the point of immobility, now moved with agility, his skin rosy and lustrous, clearly having returned to normal.
Even the wound on his chest had vanished without a trace.
"I seem to be able to completely control the vengeful spirit inside my body... It’s as if it’s dead, even its instinctual madness has disappeared. Is it because of the influence of ancient gods, or is it the power of my professional title?"
Zhong Shenxiu had a feeling that he had taken on the role of a Pastor and thereby gained the title.
In fact, in the Western World, such a high-level profession was difficult to assume, and it came with a series of prerequisites.
For instance, to become a Pastor, one must first become a Spirit Summoner, a prerequisite profession, then completely subjugate a vengeful spirit, gaining its recognition. Only after completing a ritual and using a secret medicine was there a chance of successfully taking on the profession.
But in the clash between the power of the ancient gods and the system, a series of requirements had been blurred out, forcibly granting him this profession.
"As for the abilities of a Pastor, they can manipulate souls, command them to fight for you, and even directly use the skills of vengeful spirits..."
"At this moment, I don’t know how many souls I can control, but just controlling the Headless Earl is more than enough. This life-and-death crisis has finally been resolved..."
Zhong Shenxiu lay there for a long time, feeling much better, and finally got up, bursting into loud laughter.
Having crossed over to live a third life, he had discovered this thing inside his body, and who knows how much suffering and pressure he had endured.
Fortunately, the breakthrough came, and it was as if the skies had cleared after a rainstorm.
After his laughter, he looked around and noticed that the altar had somehow shattered.
That eerie feeling had disappeared without a trace, and even the black weeds nearby had withered into nothingness at some unknown time.
"Such rituals require the right time, place, and harmony among people. With this one passed, who knows how many years it will take to have another opportunity... Even if there is a chance, I might not be willing to try. I was compelled to do it previously since I wouldn’t have survived the night without it, due to the vengeful spirit inside me..."
He descended from the altar and thought for a moment. By using the abilities of a Pastor, he manipulated the Headless Earl inside him, and suddenly he saw another dimension.
In that space, to his surprise, there was another person still alive, Feng Xixi.
After the Headless Earl’s head was sacrificed, the darkness did not attack again, allowing Feng Xixi to survive. As for Delia and her servants, they were utterly destroyed by Zhong Shenxiu’s ruthless actions, not even a trace of their bodies could be found.
"Looks like there might be more to do?"
Zhong Shenxiu stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers.
Feng Xixi in the alternative dimension suddenly felt darkness surge up and fainted.
With a flash of light, her body appeared in the real world, collapsing weakly to the ground.
"The Headless Earl’s dimensional ability really is quite handy!"
Zhong Shenxiu exclaimed in admiration, though he did not have the intention to kill this beautiful Colonel.
He wanted to maintain his identity as Su Daoshi, thinking about his future cultivation.
After all... it was clear that the Pastor’s profession was part of the Western system, erratic and inconclusive. Although at the moment, by manipulating the Headless Earl, he was almost comparable to a Superpower Expert of the Fourth Realm, there was no potential left to explore.
Blending into the Eastern Empire, it was still important to find methods of immortal cultivation.
He glanced at Feng Xixi and, without any courtesy, frisked her thoroughly, but unfortunately, aside from some tokens, handkerchiefs, and miscellaneous items, there were no cultivation spells to be found.
It made sense upon reflection; how could ordinary people carry Daoist Skills on their person and risk leaking them? Only a spy would do such a thing!
He sighed and looked at his chest.
There, a blood-colored wound had emerged again, resembling a sword cut, but with very little bleeding.
This was also the result of using the power of the vengeful spirit to manipulate flesh and fabricate injuries.
Zhong Shenxiu bandaged himself up and then kept watch around Feng Xixi, waiting for the little vixen to wake up on her own.
After all, no one was sure he had died earlier when they saw him fall after being struck by the sword.
Now, saving Feng Xixi, his superior officer, was a great merit!
This was the true essence of winning by laying low to the end!
If there were any outsiders present, they would certainly want to tease him, "Where’s your integrity?"
Zhong Shenxiu shrugged his shoulders as if to say, haven’t you seen me tricking even my own system? Where do you think it went?