Every time they ingest a gene seed, they must endure intense and prolonged agony.
Now there is an ability to store the memory of pain and use it as a means of attack, significantly enhancing the benefits brought about by gene seeds.
Most importantly, this is a method of spiritual attack.
Besides the transmission of the sensation of pain, it can also cause substantial spiritual shock damage, essentially a mix of true damage.
"Since you are willing to learn, stay by my side in the coming days. I will prepare various potions to gradually increase your tolerance to pain, laying a foundation for you to study secret techniques."
Hearing this, Xia Sheng couldn’t help but ask curiously:
"I have a question. Since you developed this secret technique to combat the Horror Black Tide, but the characteristic of the Black Tide Demonic Spirits is the absence of intelligence and self-awareness, the spiritual shock effect of the Touch of Pain can harm the Evil Spirit, but the transmission of pain seems to have no effect. In my view, this ability is not much different from ordinary spiritual damage and has very limited effect on the Evil Spirit."
The elder smiled and shook his head at the question:
"It seems the intensity of the Black Tide you’ve encountered is still too low; you obviously don’t quite understand the various traits of the Black Tide."
"As far as I know, the power of the Horror Black Tide is divided into two types. One is the Demonic Spirits derived from the Evil Moon, affected by the changes in the Moon Phase. The stronger the Moon Phase, the stronger the derived Demonic Spirits will be, and they will also appear and disappear with the changes in the Moon Phase. They generally lack self-awareness, so my Touch of Pain cannot effectively harm them."
"However, the main force of the Black Tide is not the Demonic Spirits derived from the Evil Moon, but the Black Tide Demonic Spirits. They are commanded and controlled by the Mind Evil Spirit. In addition to the low-level Demonic Spirits without self-awareness, there are also a large number of high-level Demonic Spirits with self-awareness. This type of Demonic Spirits can be affected by my Touch of Pain, and a strong enough Touch of Pain can even kill them directly on a spiritual level."
"Moreover, even the low-level and unconscious Black Tide Demonic Spirits are controlled by the behind-the-scenes Evil Spirit, and the Evil Spirit controls them through some unknown spiritual connection. My Touch of Pain can be transmitted through these unconscious low-level Demonic Spirits directly to the behind-the-scenes Mind Evil Spirit controlling the Black Tide, causing damage to it."
After listening to the explanation from the Ascetic, Xia Sheng suddenly understood the purpose of creating this secret technique:
"A decapitation strike?!"
The Ascetic looked at Xia Sheng with a hint of appreciation and nodded in explanation:
"Exactly, I deeply know that the Black Tide capable of breeding endless Demonic Spirits is not something any racial forces can contend with through a prolonged war. The longer the war drags on, the stronger the Black Tide will become. A prolonged war is doomed to failure, only a decapitation strike is the key to a quick victory...Without the control of the Mind Evil Spirit, the remaining Black Tide Demonic Spirits are nothing but loose sand, allowing for gradual eradication."
"I’ve endured countless sleepless nights, pondering how to break the situation. The Touch of Pain is the only solution I could think of... Accumulating enough pain, and using the Black Tide Demonic Spirits’ spiritual connection to strike and kill the behind-the-scenes Evil Spirit."
While explaining the reason, pride was evident in the Ascetic’s eyes.
But after the pride, what followed was a sense of desolation:
"As an ordinary mortal, my abilities are ultimately limited. The Touch of Pain is the culmination of my life’s work, but I am running out of oil and am unable to continue to ascend."
With that, the Ascetic looked up at Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng:
"I hope that you, who inherit the secret technique, can carry my will and contribute to the fight against the Black Tide."
Thinking back to the countless tombstones they saw when they entered the Great Yan Clan Land, Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng felt the helpless anger behind the elder’s expression.
All their clan members died fighting the Black Tide, but he was powerless to help.
Essentially, he wanted to develop a secret technique to counter the Black Tide throughout his life, but by the time the technique was initially completed, his lifespan was nearing its end, and he no longer had the strength to fight the Black Tide.
The flames of revenge were still burning, but his depleted body was about to enter the earth.
This was also one of the reasons the Ascetic chose them.
The native races of Monster World are destined to be enemies of the Horror Black Tide.
As for defecting to the Black Tide, no native races could do it.
Members of their Player Faction had contacted Earth Thought Evil Spirit and tried to do so, only to be killed on the spot by the Evil Spirit.
In fact, in the eyes of the Horror Black Tide, there are no allies, nor is there a need for any allies. In the eyes of the Black Tide, the entire world is mere nourishment for growth.
This was clearly understood by the Ascetic, hence why he selected native races as the inheritors.
And as they ingested the gene seeds on the beach, enduring intense pain, the Ascetic saw his past self, the one who continually endured suffering to develop the Touch of Pain through challenging times.
Behind this inheritance was the hope that they, the inheritors of the secret technique, would carry on his spirit of revenge to fight the Black Tide.
Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng were soaking in a vat filled with dark green liquid.
As the effects of the potion took hold, their skin turned bright red and painful, causing them to grit their teeth.
But as they endured the physical torment, their hearts harbored both pain and pleasure.
Although the Ascetic formulated the potion to temper their willpower and it was highly irritant, for their safety, many precious spirit plants that are easily absorbed by the body and can heal injuries were also added to the potion.
During the process of enduring pain, their Body Refining Experience continued to increase.
Each soaking session brought about an increase of approximately 1000 points in Body Refining Experience, akin to a free version of gene enhancement.