Chapter 2109: The True Efficacy of the Medicine

The degree of integration with the Other Shore was indeed remarkably high. One could leverage this to freely adjust their Rank to a certain extent, or to induce specific changes.

However, the range of this Rank adjustment remained limited—it could reach the Demigod Realm at most.

After confirming that the Spine Lock gifted by the Witch had a hearty appetite for this place, Fu Qian seized the final opportunity to record the changes in the assassin.

The initial tearing was undoubtedly his own doing. The Other Shore might be exalted, but it was ultimately akin to a lifeless object.

It simply could not easily withstand the pressure of a Complete-Form Tyrant.

This was no ordinary shattering of an object. No matter how much damage was inflicted internally, it meant nothing to the Other Shore.

The cracks were appearing across its very essence, and it was barely holding itself together.

Unfortunately, the introduction of the Spine Lock finally caused this instinctive effort to fail completely. The fracturing was now unstoppable.

The first to bear the brunt of it was the victim, Zhao Ran. Like a character in a comic book, he was torn to shreds directly along with his medium.

"Impossible... I am immortal..."

Utilizing his last shred of speech, the man had even managed to deliver a classic line.

Sadly, he shattered completely before he could receive a response.

In tandem with this, the Spine Lock came alive.

The bone spurs along its edges softened and swayed once more, rapidly elongating into long tendrils.

Pure white as jade yet threaded with fine lines of blood, they stretched frantically in all directions, swaying in the void. Every rhythmic pulse seemed to slice open a rift in space.

It was easy for Fu Qian to confirm that they were devouring the existential essence of the Other Shore, and their appetite was massive.

It was an insatiable greed with no sign of stopping.

The Pope's warning had indeed been justified. If he had used his own flesh and blood to feed it, having a long Health Bar would have been far from enough to survive. In all likelihood, his recently restored Tyrant power would have been torn to shreds once again.

So why did I say "again"?

For a moment, Fu Qian fell into deep thought, recalling the scene right before the Tyrant's fall, as well as a certain outlaw who had never shown their face.

Historically, the Tyrant had indeed been dismembered at the end of his fall, and the Dark Moon had been involved at the time.

...

The degree of integration was also divided into levels.

Fu Qian did not lose himself in the past, nor did he interrupt the Spine Lock's feast.

Standing off to the side and waiting silently, he used Brother Zhao Ran's final ripples to compare against his own sensations, continuing to draw conclusions.

The Other Shore was dying out. Being inside it, he naturally wouldn't be completely unaffected.

But overall, the effect was very mild. Fu Qian was confident that even if he dropped to the Demigod Realm like the assassin, he wouldn't feel any intense discomfort.

Comparing his own state at the end of that mission with Old Man Feng Yunhong's, one could clearly see three distinct scales of measurement.

Ranking downward from the assassin, the degree of integration with the Other Shore progressively decreased.

The assassin was clearly at the most thorough level, entirely fused as one.

While Fu Qian possessed a certain affinity, he had also maintained a degree of independence. That was why he could leave back then, but Zhao Ran could not.

Finally, there was Old Man Feng. Although his comprehension was average, fortunately, his ability to gather information was equally poor.

For so many years, he had failed to uncover the secret that the assassin refused to reveal, resulting in him consistently using that seat as nothing more than a sedative.

And while the Ambergris Scheme was crude and carried heavy drawbacks, it still retained the possibility of escape—he was even quite close to that limit.

Fu Qian had personally executed the latter two methods himself. By comparison, how Brother Zhao Ran had managed to go a step further was indeed thought-provoking.

The only explanation he could think of at the moment was somehow related to that House of Graffiti.

The other party had very likely hidden some core information, then used the remaining traces to weave a story for himself.

A dark and childish idea, though it could be said to reflect a certain spirit of rebellion.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Other Shore of his imagination was merely an illusion destined to end in nothingness, like flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water.

A moment later, Fu Qian raised his head, watching the gradually shattering, illusory, and overlapping surroundings, as well as the deep mist that seemed to sublimate from within.

The long tendrils extending from the Spine Lock had already spread into more twisted shapes, casting their reflection into every corner of the Furnace.

As for the original bone joints, they hadn't undergone any exaggerated mutation or expansion. Instead, they were held suspended in the sky by the tendrils, while an ink-like darkness surged wildly from within them.

Indeed, the sun hadn't even risen yet, but it seemed to have set once more.

In that moment, Fu Qian reached out and grasped a trailing wisp of ink-blackness—and the blackness grasped him back.

And a spectral blue moon shone upon his face.

...

He didn't flinch, nor did he make a sound.

Looking up at that familiar dark moon, Fu Qian could distinctly feel it was clearer than ever before. In the next moment, he lifted his hand higher.

The darkness had already overwhelmed the sky and blanketed the surroundings, making his gesture look as if he were holding up the empty void.

But only he knew that the strength of the returning grasp had become even clearer, even taking on a soft, delicate touch for a brief moment.

Following this, a trace of ink gradually appeared on the surface of that Dark Moon, as if drawn closer by the pull of the King of the Abandoned Prison... before finally descending from the sky.

Coral-like long wings danced gracefully as a familiar face looked down, scrutinizing him from above.

"Welcome. I had a bit of an ear issue earlier."

Because the Knight could not hear the holy teachings, the Pope had directly Descended to the scene to offer guidance.

With such a high honor, how could one not shed tears of gratitude?

That was right. It was far more than just the appearance of a Dark Moon; who else could this figure descending from the sky be but the Witch?

She looked to be recovering quite well. Aside from the twin wings on her back, everything else had returned to normal.

Observing this scene, Fu Qian warmly welcomed her while pointing at his ear to explain.

"It's fine."

The Witch shook her head, her gaze fixed on him the entire time, and she finally landed slowly on the ground.

"You've grown stronger."

It wasn't even a perfunctory courtesy. In the next moment, pointing at Fu Qian's body, she actually provided a reason, her expressionless face instantly breaking into a familiar smile.

...

Not bad. The Pope was always this straightforward when praising people.

Faced with such high praise, Fu Qian accepted it calmly, not feeling the slightest bit out of place.

As for the fact that after being fed, the Spine Lock did not help solve his own problem but instead aided the Dark Moon's Descent into the world, he wasn't too surprised either.

The loss of his inspiration could already be considered a rare medical case. For the Witch to just happen to have the right cure on hand, and just happen to be able to deliver it to him—how many coincidences would that require?

Rather than miraculously prescribing the exact cure from afar, the probability of her using this method to rush over for an in-person consultation was indeed much higher.

Of course, the pressure this kind of reverse traversal placed on the Witch was very likely much greater than what he would face going over to her side.

"I can't stay for long."

Sure enough, the Witch spoke directly in the next moment, finally turning her head to observe her surroundings.

"The current situation is quite a coincidence. I never expected to be able to reach this extent; this food you found is very special."