Chapter 203
Let’s not even mention that Tara probably hasn’t reached Boren City yet. Even if she does, any interaction between her and Xia Er would inevitably tie her to the Shenglin Sect—unless she were to sacrifice Tara and her trusted aides all at once, eliminating all traces.
But even if she got rid of Tara, it wouldn’t help.
Killing Lucy and Opode would essentially mean a direct confrontation with the forces of Dedun Manor and the upper-class nobility. Xia Er had no confidence whatsoever that she wouldn’t be discovered.
As for the second plan of dragging things out and simulating slowly, that was also difficult to implement.
The longer she delayed, the more variables would arise.
Right now, her advantage was built on the intelligence gained from simulations.
But intelligence has a time limit; once it expires, it becomes worthless. She had to resolve everything within the timeframe where she alone held the information.
Surely there must be a better solution that she hadn’t thought of yet…
Xia Er felt a bit breathless.
Just as her spirit and strength had recovered slightly, she used her hands to push against the mattress and turned over, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling.
Yet, even this simple act of turning over made her feel a wave of exhaustion wash over her again.
If she were to die in this room, it would probably be next month when the landlord came to collect rent that anyone would discover her…
Xia Er couldn’t help but think this way.
But in an instant, she cast those negative thoughts aside.
There was no time for self-pity now.
Although she had made progress in every simulation, in reality, she hadn’t taken any action beyond keeping her distance from the extraordinary.
Danger still lurked around her.
That feather quill seal, and the things swallowed within it…
Xia Er opened the system panel again, this time directly accessing the system shop interface.
Although she had fainted during the last simulation, before losing consciousness, she had held those sealed items tightly in her arms.
She might have been out for over ten hours, but if Tara had any sense at all, she wouldn’t have taken away what Xia Er was holding.
The system interface unfolded before her, and upon seeing the items stored within, Xia Er finally let out a slow breath of relief.
【【Transmuted Coin (Unawakened)】】
【Destined Points: 500】
【【Eye of Death’s Omen (Unawakened)】】
【Destined Points: 540】
【【Corrupted Touch of Fate’s Betrayal】】
【Destined Points: ???】
Seeing these sealed items, Xia Er furrowed her brow slightly.
She was aware that the names people used for sealed items didn’t always match the system’s terminology.
The first two sealed items, while expensive, were still in an unawakened state.
The original name of the “Lucky Coin” was “Transmuted Coin,” and from the name alone, it was clear that this was an incomplete sealed item; she had no idea what its complete form was.
As for the “Eye of Death’s Omen,” Xia Er had a vague recollection.
She had seen a similarly named sealed item not long ago.
Xia Er filtered the system shop by “sealed items,” and soon enough, she spotted the familiar sealed item.
“The Gaze of Death.”
This was the sealed item from the “Plague Doctor” Xie Lun, obtained from the Shenglin Sect.
Both items resembled eyes… Could it be that sealed items had a series concept?
What would happen if she gathered this series together?
Xia Er tucked this question away in her mind; she couldn’t solve this puzzle right now… because her destined points were far from enough to purchase any of these sealed items.
Finally, her gaze landed on the last sealed item.
【【Corrupted Touch of Fate’s Betrayal】】
【Destined Points: ???】
This was the first time Xia Er had seen a sealed item in the shop with a price marked by three question marks.
The fact that it was listed in the shop indicated that the intelligent spirit within had been erased by her, leaving behind a sealed item devoid of consciousness.
Although its efficacy was incredibly powerful, capable of rewriting the fate of third-tier extraordinary beings to grant them immense benefits or catastrophic misfortunes, the feather quill’s own description suggested that its abilities weren’t quite so formidable…
Xia Er clicked on “Corrupted Touch of Fate’s Betrayal” to examine its capabilities.
A new item detail panel appeared before her.
【【Corrupted Touch of Fate’s Betrayal】: Special sealed item, the holder can see the fate lines of those undergoing significant changes in destiny. By consuming extraordinary traits, rules can be established to rewrite fate lines. Those who follow the rules gain benefits, while those who defy them face misfortune. Accumulated misfortune can trigger three rounds of calamity, with intensity depending on the traits absorbed by the sealed item.】
【Side Effects: Can only be charged using the holder’s own extraordinary traits. The holder must continuously replenish extraordinary traits to avoid being completely consumed.】
【Corruption: This item has been uniquely corrupted, greatly enhancing its functions.】
【Uniqueness: Special items with uniqueness cannot be exchanged.】
So it’s a sealed item that requires the absorption of extraordinary traits to use… and only the user’s extraordinary traits at that.
In other words, a third-tier extraordinary being could be directly drained to the level of an ordinary person? Or perhaps driven mad?
To maintain a continuous supply, one would have to constantly ingest potions or extraordinary traits of the same kind… effectively piling up the side effects of the potions within their body.
The stronger the user, the stronger the feather quill becomes.
But if the user becomes overly reliant on the feather quill, they would ultimately be unable to escape madness.
Traits would be absorbed, but the ramblings and corruption wouldn’t simply vanish.
Xia Er had never heard of anyone being able to drink multiple bottles of potions—perhaps her exposure to extraordinary beings was still too limited—most people couldn’t even manage to digest a single bottle without exhausting themselves.
But Xia Er could confirm that a normal extraordinary being would never drink a second bottle of potion of the same tier.
Just look at Aivina.
If drinking a second bottle truly had benefits, Aivina would have long since treated potions like candy, rather than struggling to digest the “Psychologist” potion.
The system’s description revealed abilities that the mad feather quill had not disclosed, as well as things it had concealed or simply couldn’t recall.
Corruption and uniqueness.
This was the first time Xia Er had encountered these two concepts.
The system could replicate various sealed items to sell, but even it couldn’t duplicate something with “uniqueness,” highlighting the rarity of such items.
It truly lived up to the name “uniqueness.”
After reading this description, Xia Er’s understanding gradually deepened.
Her previous speculations were indeed correct.
The spirit of that sealed item had gone mad.
The thing that corrupted it was precisely the “uniqueness.”
As for what that “uniqueness” was, Xia Er could roughly guess.
It was what she had seen when using 【Spiritual Summoning】, from the orange light sphere.
The woman in the ruins and flames, fleeing from that “Mosaic” person, had let the feather quill carry something with “uniqueness” into a place resembling a portal.
But after escaping, the sealed item in its raven form couldn’t resist the temptation of “uniqueness” and swallowed it whole, leading to its complete mental breakdown.
So, when it possessed her, the vast knowledge and language it infused into her were mostly not from the raven itself?
But rather from the “uniqueness” trait it carried?
If that’s the case, it all makes sense…
Although Xia Er didn’t understand exactly what “uniqueness” referred to, just hearing the term conjured images of divinity.
In most people’s, including Xia Er’s, stereotypes, the abilities or authority of a deity are unique.
The “uniqueness” trait is likely related to the authority of a deity.
Xia Er recalled the words the raven had spoken while occupying her body, uttering madness through her mouth.
“(Ancient Ansu language) This is my power! This is my authority!”
“(Ancient Ansu language) You’re just a damned vessel!!!”
“(Ancient Ansu language) Who do you think you are!!!”
“(Ancient Ansu language) I am a god!”
…
In this light, its words at that time were likely the result of memory pollution carried by “uniqueness.”
It had completely lost the ability to distinguish between its own memories and those instilled by “uniqueness.”
What a dangerous thing…
Could it be…
Xia Er suddenly recalled the inexplicable sense of closeness she had felt towards that feather quill.
Could it be that this sense of closeness stemmed from the “uniqueness,” rather than the feather quill itself?
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