88: Chapter 68: Demon Doctor?

Slap, Gone (Seeking Followers, Monthly Pass, and Recommendation Tickets) 88: Chapter 68: Demon Doctor?

Slap, Gone (Seeking Followers, Monthly Pass, and Recommendation Tickets) Splash, splash~

At half-past three in the morning, during a night without the principal,

Xu Shu stayed in Gu Pan’s room for a while and exchanged deep insights with her concerning “the Unclean.”

Afterward, unable to sleep anyway, he headed to the public women’s bathhouse in the shelter, washing off the faint scent of blood and smoke that clung to his body.

Next to the soap dish, there lay the Curse Crystal, borne from the union of a demon from the Abyss Path and a Transcendent, the Unclean.

According to Gu Pan, the so-called Unclean were contaminated by monsters from the Abyss Path but did not die; instead, they formed a crystal similar to the “Curse Seal” within their bodies.

Theoretically, they were also Transcendents.

However, they were officially expelled from humanity because these Transcendents from that path were utterly mad.

They retained human intelligence and all memories, but their behavior was indistinguishable from that of monsters.

Bloodthirsty and murderous, they preyed on humans.

Monsters from the demonic path were ranked from low to high: Little Demon, Great Demon, Overseer, and Lord, hence their names.

It was said they lurked within the dark abyss, mastering a special “polluting” power.

Contaminated by them, those who became half-human, half-monstrosity Transcendents were First Rank: the Unclean.

If they reached the Second Rank, based on different abilities, there were four branches: Soul Eater Ghost, Spirit-Eating Ghost, Energy-Eating Ghost, and Spirit-eating Ghost.

As for the Third Rank, Gu Pan hadn’t learned about it, so neither had Xu Shu.

“Useless, just this level of ability, and she still has the face to call herself my teacher?

How dare she?”

“But no wonder Yang Manman, although she recognized her father Yang Chong in the end, still ate him without hesitation.

It turns out that not only her body but also her mind was mutated by pollution!”

“Gu Pan said, based on Yang Manman’s dietary habits and her power to stir desires, she must be a Spirit-Eating Ghost!

Indeed feeding on that ‘spirit’?

Hilarious, completely countered by my Jingwei.”

“Those previous Nagou·Little Demons, I wonder which type of human Transcendents they correspond to?

If there’s Nagou, wouldn’t there also be Horror, Trickery, and others?

Indeed matching the four branches.”

“No wonder, previously on my journey, after interacting with them, what I got was something as bizarre as Shaye’s Song.”

“This path, whether it’s the monsters or the Transcendents, feels so filthy…”

Xu Shu, wrapped the Curse Crystal with cloth and scrutinized it carefully under the light.

It looked like a beautiful sapphire, and from every angle, one could clearly see the fifteen if strands of fluff suspended within.

Furthermore, it was a bit more mystical than ordinary Erosion Crystals.

Inside, there were those odd runes swimming about, like cute little goldfish navigating through a coral reef.

According to Gu Pan, this Curse Crystal, just like the Erosion Crystal, could also be devoured to upgrade the Curse Seal.

However, Xu Shu now felt a bit distrustful of her, not that he thought she was lying, but rather that her knowledge seemed insufficient.

This Curse Crystal was obviously a tier above the Erosion Crystal but not yet at the level of a Curse Seal.

And he happened to have a Mark in his possession.

Curse Crystal plus the Mark might just let it upgrade to a Curse Seal?

“It’s not impossible.”

Xu Shu’s gaze sank slightly as he attempted to hold the “Doctor’s” Seal in his left hand and the Unclean Curse Crystal in his right, letting the latter burn hot in his palm.

Although he did not know the specific process for creating a Curse Seal, the last time, “Heart of Steel,” the “Exotic” Curse Seal had undergone a similar process.

Xu Shu speculated that perhaps he could recreate the process and forge a new dual-class Curse Seal.

Moreover, having his own case as precedent, if successful, the resulting Curse Seal would be determined based on the quality of terms, deciding the ultimate professional affiliation.

An Epic Doctor’s Seal was naturally far superior in terms of status than the blue Curse Crystal itself, which could simply overwrite it.

No need to worry about becoming an Intellect-lost Transcendent like Yang Manman.

“Let’s give it a try.

If successful, this Mark will become a complete Doctor’s Curse Seal, saving me a lot of effort.”

“If it doesn’t work, I’ll immediately use this Curse Crystal to upgrade!”

“Sigh, if I had more time, I could wait for the Tai Chu Scroll to refresh tomorrow and then try.”

“Unfortunately, what I lack most is time.

With insufficient strength, I feel uneasy about everything in this wasteland!”

Xu Shu knew he was indeed a bit too impetuous at times.

But there was no helping it, stuck in a perilous place with insufficient strength, he couldn’t wait to be fully assured in everything.

Even if the journey allowed for simulations, it wasn’t foolproof; the future predicted was merely a prediction, the real future utterly uncertain.

Especially given that he’d encountered enemies at night several times consecutively, it pressed heavily on Xu Shu’s mind.

The Tai Chu Scroll could only predict the day, and at night, filled with unknown factors, even hiding might encounter monsters like Narrow Sleeve Guanyin knocking on the door.

This time being in the shelter, they had existed this long, so it should be relatively safe.

But without foresight, imminent worries arise, having lived two lives, Xu Shu pursued true “preparedness”—strength!

Only strength could prepare him for any eventuality.

Everyone had different personalities, but as the saying goes, “A blessing in disguise,” and he, he was just too eager to level up.

Xu Shu took a deep breath, and after a while, saw the Mark truly enter his body, slipping in like an electric shock, the familiar sensation of being electrocuted.

Soon after, a surge of energy flowed from left to right, across his flesh and through his body, reaching the Curse Crystal in the palm of his right hand.

Inside the blue Curse Crystal, a significant amount of golden mysterious inscriptions appeared, colliding everywhere.

“Haha, I did it!”

Xu Shu was instantly overjoyed.

He had once fully experienced the path of a Doctor in the legends and knew that the end of the path of a Doctor had a pitfall; transitioning from the fourth to the fifth rank would turn one into a female.

But this wouldn’t hinder the value of this Curse Seal; if sold, it would undoubtedly bring in a large income.

Of course, selling it was the worst-case scenario, as Xu Shu had already confirmed his Transcendent Path, which was unchangeable.

Xu Shu’s real plan was, being one of the relatively most popular professions within the three paths of life, could he not train a truly reliable Doctor to become his comrade-in-arms?

He was very familiar with the capabilities of a Doctor, considering it a support profession that, when combined with other Transcendents, could produce effects greater than the sum of their parts.

However, choosing the right person for this role required careful consideration!

“Gu Pan?

Although she qualifies as a Transcendent, she isn’t quite trustworthy.”

“If I really had to choose, haha, she would be much more reliable…” Xu Shu suddenly found himself back in the safe zone.

He had spent over a decade in the safe zone in his lifetime and, of course, there were absolutely trustworthy candidates.

However, the problem was that the other party currently did not qualify to become a Transcendent and was about to turn 18 but might not necessarily pass the qualification review by the Supervision Bureau.

“Unless…”

Xu Shu’s gaze grew heavy, his thoughts drifting far away.

He seemed to think of something, and a rare, warm, and pleasant smile appeared on his lips.

But just then, he heard a crackling sound.

The shaking blue curse crystal, crackling, had split open.

“Hmm?”

Had the synthesis failed after all?

Xu Shu calmly checked, but did not know the reason.

Fortunately, although the Curse Crystal had cracked, the Doctor’s Seal had also returned to Xu Shu’s hands.

He placed the seal back in the Tai Chu Scroll’s item bar, checked its attributes, found it truly undamaged, and then felt relieved.

As for the Curse Crystal…

well, if it broke then it broke, it seemed it was not destined to become part of the ‘Demon Doctor’ team.

“It looks like it’s because the level of the Curse Crystal was too low, unable to bear the golden seal?

Does a higher grade of seal require a higher standard from its carrier?

The Curse Crystal just cracked, no big deal, Gu Pan didn’t say that a cracked Curse Crystal would affect my upgrade.”

Xu Shu picked up the crystal split into six segments, each containing three or as few as one line, looking like dying earthworms struggling.

He sequentially stuffed them one by one into the Promotion Drive, devouring them.

Sizzling~

The eroding power exploded directly in his crotch area, Xu Shu was well-prepared and fell to the ground, starting exercises.

Within the overflowing black blood in his body, the title “Sit-ups (Forbidden)” glowed brilliantly, like an eternal, undying sun, guarding the path of Xu Shu’s upgrade…

…

The cock crowed three times, a trace of fish belly white appeared in the eastern sky, like a sword severing the heavens, obliterating the boundary between black and white, tearing apart this profound and dark eternal night.

Xu Shu gasped for breath, radiantly rising from the ground, now opening his upgrade network personal attributes to check.

*Upgrade Network

*Gu Pan (Tai Chu), First-tier Warrior

*Contribution: 13

[Curse Seal: Warrior (Legend) 11/20]

——

“The upgrade this time felt like it took longer, at least over two hours.

Jumping two levels to reach level 12, just one more level to go, it’s not far off, haha.”

Xu Shu was fairly satisfied.

Although the synthesis of the Curse Seal wasn’t successful, he wasn’t in a rush; after all, there was always a way to acquire such things.

Once he reached level 12, he would just have to look in the trade section of the upgrade network, and these things would be easily within reach.

This time, advancing two levels was an unexpected delight but also within reason.

First, the level 15 blue crystal had indeed provided a significant amount of curse power erosion.

Secondly, after devouring the alluring flower puppet last time, although it only elevated him one level, the experience actually exceeded the expectations.

Thus, this time, after taking on the major challenge, he ascended two levels.

He could distinctly feel that his bodily functions had grown stronger.

If he encountered that land shark at the prison gate again, Xu Shu was completely confident that, without relying on any items, he could directly confront it and crush it with his physical strength.

This was the confidence that the Warrior profession brought him.

However, somewhat disappointingly, killing Yang Manman did not earn him any contribution.

Otherwise, according to Xu Shu’s estimation, an excellent (blue) grade First-order monster should have granted 3 contribution points.

Xu Shu cleaned himself up, changed his clothes, and brushed off a bit of dust from his collar.

His entire demeanor was quite different from that of last night.

Xu Shu of last night was cautious and submissive, hiding behind the scenes, both showing and hiding his tail, cowering behind the Venerable.

Today’s Xu Shu was fearless and imposing, pressing forward boldly, dramatically revealing his ferocity, Iron Armor Barbarian Bull!

The reason was nothing other than…

The Tai Chu Scroll had refreshed.

[The sun rises in the east, all things revived, welcome back to Tai Chu Scroll, great master.]

[Today’s remaining opening counts: 3/3]

[You can freely choose between the following two modes…]

“No need for more words.”

Xu Shu, with a smile on his lips, slowly stroked the ancient, ethereal scroll before him, flipping it open for another night.

“Conquest Mode, activate!”