Chapter 143
In response, Ye Bai, who was still trying to grasp the current situation on the edge of the Mo Bu Qing Di, could only murmur, “How is that even possible…”
This could be interpreted as questioning whether the deep sea was hidden within the purgatory space, or it could be seen as doubting the existence of a crack within it.
The devil seemed to have anticipated this, a hint of smugness in his voice as he said, “I just discovered this secret myself. It turns out the deep sea hasn’t vanished; it’s merely shifted into the crevice of purgatory. I know of a crack, and on the other side is a safe island…”
As Ye Bai listened, she analyzed the information hidden in the devil’s words. It appeared that the original deep sea had disappeared from the perspective of the divine realm, and the devil had only recently realized that the vanished deep sea had appeared in the purgatory space. Given the marine life that had surfaced earlier, it seemed that the purgatory lord, Yili Si, was also aware of and could utilize the crack.
After finishing his explanation, the devil turned to Ye Bai and said, “My bargaining chip is the coordinates of that spatial crack.”
Ye Bai raised an eyebrow. “There must be someone guarding that crack, right?”
“No, even Yili Si doesn’t know about that crack…” The devil paused for a moment before adding, “At least she didn’t know before I was locked up. We can write that into the contract. What do you think?”
Ye Bai pondered for a moment, as if weighing her options carefully, then nodded. “Let’s sign the soul contract then.”
With that, she lowered her head and slowly picked up the magical scroll in her hand.
After all the effort spent negotiating with the devil, it should be enough for the paper figure to complete the ‘forgery,’ right?
“Of course.”
Under the devil’s expectant gaze, Ye Bai felt a bit nervous as she slowly unfurled the rolled-up magical scroll.
Normally, when a magical scroll is unfurled, it would trigger the magic contained within. However, as Ye Bai moved, this high-level counter-magic scroll did not activate. Instead, a mysterious and peculiar script emerged from the opened scroll.
Upon seeing these purgatory characters, Ye Bai’s historian subclass was triggered, and a system prompt echoed in her ears:
[You have discovered the ‘Demon Language Manuscript,’ gaining 5 points of historical experience and 10,000 experience points.]
[You have gained 1 point in ‘Demon Language’ proficiency.]
The system even certified the forgery, and unexpectedly, she had gained some experience points and proficiency. The paper figure truly had some tricks up its sleeve!
Ye Bai praised it in her heart, feeling a surge of confidence.
Indeed, when the devil saw the ‘soul contract’ in Ye Bai’s hand, he didn’t notice anything amiss. He even complimented, “This is a soul contract disguised as a magical scroll? Quite a clever idea.”
“Ha ha.” Ye Bai chuckled awkwardly.
—In reality, it was a magical scroll disguised as a soul contract.
Unaware of the terms of the contract crafted by the paper figure, the devil nodded after glancing at it through the bars. He then extended a finger and began to write his name in the designated spot on the magical contract.
“Then, the contract is established.”
As the devil inscribed his name on the magical scroll, Ye Bai watched the strange characters appear on the scroll. Although she didn’t understand the demon language, her mind automatically translated it, and she memorized both the writing and pronunciation of that name.
‘Alicio Bal Croni…’
In the next moment, a series of prompts rang in her ears:
[You have learned a demon’s true name.]
[You have gained 10 points in ‘Demon Language’ proficiency.]
At the same time, the coordinates promised by the devil naturally appeared in Ye Bai’s backpack. As soon as she clicked to use it, she would receive a location guide.
Seeing that the deal was done, the devil changed from his previous humble demeanor to a boastful laugh. “Ah, the newly born devil! The terms aren’t clear enough, you know. I’ve fulfilled my promise, heh heh heh… But I forgot to tell you, safety is relative to me; it doesn’t necessarily apply to you.”
Devils are a wicked and malevolent race, deriving pleasure from the suffering of others. Even though Ye Bai appeared as a ‘kindred spirit’ in his eyes, he still relished the thought of her potential downfall.
Unfortunately, Ye Bai had never intended to take the bait the devil offered.
“Now, hurry and get me out of here! Just use your power to attack this cage… What are you doing?”
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Ye Bai turn and walk away.
“Do you dare to violate the contract?! Ottofis, I know your true name! Aren’t you afraid of the soul contract’s constraints?!”
Hearing the devil’s shout, Ye Bai paused for a moment, almost losing her composure—wow, the paper figure really knew how to make the most of its resources.
Ignoring the devil, Ye Bai quickly left the fortress area, just as she had come.
Then, she arrived at an empty place, stopped, and began to call out the imprisoned devil’s true name.
“Alicio Bal Croni…”
In the next moment, the space in front of Ye Bai twisted, and a cloud of black mist floated out. As the mist dissipated, the devil, Alicio, appeared unexpectedly.
Unlike before, Alicio now wore a translucent red soul chain around his neck.
[Devil Alicio] (Summoned)
Level: 55
Health: ?????/??????
Traits: Non-corporeal
Skills: ????
Weakness: True name of the devil
As stated in the weakness, the devil, being a special non-corporeal being, had only one weakness: its true name. By mastering the true name, Ye Bai could temporarily summon and bind the devil, and to some extent, compel him through threats.
The true name summoning was a special state and took precedence over others. If Ye Bai canceled the summoning, Alicio would return to his previous prison.
“What have you done?! How did you come to possess my true name? The soul contract?! The contract…” Mid-sentence, the devil finally realized the issue: “The contract is fake?! Impossible! How did you manage that?!”
“You’ll have to ask him.” Ye Bai held up the magical scroll.
The paper figure appeared on the scroll, greeting the devil, “First, I admit you are indeed quite cunning. But if the contract you provided is entirely fake, how will you respond, my lord?”
The devil stared at the paper figure in disbelief. “You? What kind of thing are you?!”
“That’s quite rude of you to say,” the paper figure shook its head.
“How did you do it? Where’s the contract? It was supposed to have my true name!”
The paper figure replied, “Fake, all fake.”
Beside them, Ottofis shook his head with a look of sympathy.
“I… I was actually deceived?!” The devil finally noticed the inexplicable donkey standing next to Ye Bai, which he had overlooked until now.
At the same time, three system prompts rang in Ye Bai’s ears:
[You have successfully deceived a devil! You have gained the achievement ‘An Impressive Deception.’]
[You have gained 100 points in ‘Deception’ proficiency.]
[You have mastered the skill ‘Deception I.’]
Ye Bai’s successful trickery against a being known as a ‘master of lies’ had caused her deception proficiency to skyrocket, filling her deception skill bar and granting her the active skill Deception I.
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Chapter 103
Ye Bai opened her subclass panel and saw the new life skill ‘Deception I’ appear among them.
[Deception I]: Active skill. When used, the chance of your lies being accepted by the target increases by 40%. Cannot be used on the same target again within 30 minutes, costs 20 stamina points.
In simple terms, this skill could be summarized as ‘the art of persuasion.’ Its primary function is to make the target more susceptible to deception, but it also depends on the situation and the individual, as the skill’s effectiveness builds upon existing conditions.
For instance, if someone already trusts Ye Bai, using deception would mean she only needs to avoid outrageous lies for them to believe her. However, if she were to use it on a devil who had just realized they had been tricked, it would undoubtedly fail.
Nonetheless, aside from the devil’s true name, gaining a life skill was an unexpected bonus for Ye Bai. Such skills often proved to be surprisingly useful in certain situations.
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