Chapter 1 Opportunity to See a God?!

Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. He subconsciously thought that Catherine was going to hold a "welcome ceremony" for him, just like they had corrupted Emma.

It didn't make sense. Based on the negative energy he showed last time, and his Illusionist profession, there shouldn't be any need for a corruption ritual... Zhang Yuanqing was both bewildered and worried, but on the surface, he revealed curiosity and doubt:

"See a god? Heh, if you want to corrupt me with a high-level being, control me, then I refuse."

Even evil professions fear corruption and madness. Their own obsessions can lead to distorted personalities, but they won't affect intelligence. However, if they suffer severe corruption, their intelligence will decrease.

Zhang Yuanqing said this to test Catherine.

If her purpose was to have him accept the ritual, then he would have to come up with a reasonable reason to refuse.

Or, relying on being a clone, he could take a risk and endure the "brainwashing" of a high-level being.

"You don't need to!"

Catherine smiled and said, "Your evil thoughts are like a bottomless swamp. On the surface, it looks calm, but in reality, it can pollute a whole lake."

After teasing him, she said seriously, "Tomorrow night's battle may involve the gaze of high-level Dominators, and even demigod-level experts. We need to add some insurance for ourselves."

"Insurance?" Zhang Yuanqing allowed a hint of expectation to appear on his stern face.

In his heart, he became even more solemn, because he had no reason to refuse. Who would refuse a life-saving trump card? Refusing would be suspicious.

Catherine smiled mysteriously and said, "To be precise, it's protection! Don't underestimate our Hunter Guild. Our foundation is much deeper than that of the Order organizations."

Protection from a god... Zhang Yuanqing's heart felt slightly heavy. If the Heavenly Punishment dared to start a war, they must have made thorough preparations and had complete confidence. But the evil faction wasn't to be trifled with either.

In a major factional confrontation, one side almost never has an overwhelming advantage in combat power or intelligence. Who wins and who loses can only be left to fate after doing everything possible.

Furthermore, he didn't know if the so-called "god" would see through his disguise. The clone replicated the original owner 100%, but only up to the Dominator level and below. High-level methods and core essences couldn't be replicated. For example, the clone didn't have the pitch-black heart.

It couldn't replicate or modify the Spirit Realm d and the function of devouring character cards.

If the god in Catherine's mouth detected that he was a clone, then the identity of "Tongtian Jiaozhu" couldn't be used, and Hui Zhang's plan would fall through.

But if his main body came, he wouldn't dare to take the risk.

Feeling a bit of a headache, Zhang Yuanqing quickly thought of a solution.

Ten seconds later, he had an idea. He looked at Catherine, who was wearing a black dress and was bright and charming, and said calmly, "Protection? How will it protect me, and when does it start?"

"In half an hour." Catherine glanced at the clock.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded without changing his expression and said, "I'll be back in a bit."

Catherine stared at him. "What are you going to do?!"

Zhang Yuanqing chuckled. "Make some preparations. I don't want to become a madman."

After saying that, his dark brown pupils reflected a bizarre and motley dreamscape, and his body disappeared from the private room.

Catherine didn't stop him.

A deserted house at the intersection of Queens and Manhattan.

Beams of starlight lit up one after another. Tongtian Jiaozhu and Ju Mang met in the bedroom.

Ju Mang quickly grabbed the Perfect Human Skin and handed it to Tongtian Jiaozhu. "Hurry back. I'm betting that the bullets in Catherine's gun are blanks."

Now he could only hope that the so-called "protection" wasn't a one-on-one service from a god to their devotee. Otherwise, even causal-type items might not be able to hide from the god's gaze.

After all, the rank of the Perfect Human Skin wasn't high.

"If we lose the bet, this causal-type item will be gone too," the clone said regretfully.

Losing the bet would mean losing a Perfect Human Skin, but if he didn't bet, Hui Zhang's plan would fall through.

Zhang Yuanqing seemed to be talking to himself in a mirror, analyzing the logic for himself: "Catherine said that gods can't descend into the human world, which means you won't face a god directly. If we also rule out one-on-one service, then the possibility of a causal-type item deceiving the heavens is extremely high."

The clone gave a thumbs up. "As expected of the main body. I'm just a weak clone. You're the best!"

After saying that, the clone put on the Perfect Human Skin, restored his original appearance, then wiped his face again, re-disguising himself as Tongtian Jiaozhu. But his core essence was completely the character of Zhang Yuanqing, bearing all the karma of the main body. In this way, he was a living person, not a clone.

"I'm off!" The clone waved his hand and disappeared into starlight.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing returned to 69 Hamburg Street and pushed open the door of the private room again.

"If there really is any corruption, do you think you can stabilize your personality and state with your Illusionist skills?"

Catherine leaned lazily on the sofa, her smile playful.

I knew you'd think that. Smart people like to overthink and be confident in what they've imagined.

Zhang Yuanqing said calmly, "Enough nonsense!"

He sat on the single sofa opposite Catherine, waiting for the time to arrive.

Tongtian Jiaozhu had only joined the Hunter Guild for a short time and couldn't possibly trust the organization 100%. In addition, he had a piece of the Holy Plate on him. Hearing that he would face the protection of a high-level expert, it was reasonable to be wary.

In this state, it was also reasonable to buy himself some time to prepare for defense.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Catherine became even more convinced that she had guessed Tongtian Jiaozhu's thoughts. She smiled charmingly,

and stood up gracefully. From the wooden cabinet in the corner, she took out a canvas, a pitch-black, oily bowl, and a purple glass bottle.

She unfolded the canvas, pressed down the four corners with heavy objects, then pulled open the wooden stopper of the glass bottle and poured the dark green liquid into the black bowl.

Zhang Yuanqing sat aside, watching curiously.

Catherine stretched out a delicate finger, quickly stirred it in the bowl, and dipped it in the dark green liquid. Using her finger as a brush, she drew snail-like runes on the canvas.

These runes were twisted and ugly, seemingly chaotic at first glance, but when combined, they had a strange harmony, like a whole, a complete entity that was consistent with the Dao. Like countless mortise and tenon joints.

When Catherine finished drawing the last rune, the canvas suddenly surged with dark green light, condensing into a two-meter-high gate of light.

"Let's go in." Catherine smiled back and stepped into the light gate.

Dark green ripples rippled as she passed through the light gate and disappeared from the private room.

The god Catherine mentioned isn't in the Spirit Realm... Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and followed Catherine through the door.

A flash of illusionary light, and then Zhang Yuanqing found himself in a vast space. The gray-white sky had no sun and no moon.

The chaotic and unclear sky light shone through the gray-white clouds, keeping this world in a semi-bright and semi-dark state.

What entered Zhang Yuanqing's vision was a lake of bright red, like a ruby inlaid on the earth.

Blood lake? A blood lake!

And the location of the blood lake was in a God's Kingdom!

Is this the God's Kingdom that the Free Alliance talks about?

Zhang Yuanqing's heart pounded wildly, and he almost couldn't control his emotions. The god he was going to "see" was really the god who created the Free Alliance.

Catherine walked to his side, her expression devout and respectful, and whispered, "This is where the elders of the Free Alliance swore an oath to overthrow the tyranny of the Holy See."

As expected... Zhang Yuanqing lowered his voice. "What exactly is the god, in the blood lake?"

Catherine nodded. "The blood lake is His place of slumber."

As she said that, she knelt on the ground and bowed towards the blood lake, her smooth forehead piously touching the ground.

This shouldn't be the Spirit Realm, but it's not the real world either. Is it a legendary secret realm? A secret realm opened up by a high-level expert, independent of reality! Zhang Yuanqing secretly guessed.

When Catherine straightened up, he asked, "Didn't you say that gods can't descend into the human world?"

"Who told you that that was the god's true form?" Catherine's fair forehead was stained with dirt. She chuckled. "What's sleeping in the blood lake is His incarnation in the human world."

An incarnation in the human world... Zhang Yuanqing pressed, "What does the god's incarnation look like?"

Catherine smiled mysteriously!

"You'll know in a moment."

Under Zhang Yuanqing's gaze, she walked to the edge of the blood lake, cut her wrist with her fingertip, let the blood turn into a trickle and flow into the blood lake, then leaned over, scooped up a handful of blood, and drank it. The bright red blood flowed down her snow-white neck, giving off a tragic and enchanting beauty.

The next moment, Catherine covered her ears, fell to the ground, and let out a heart-wrenching scream, as if she was suffering from some terrible torture. The intense pain caused her, as a Dominator, to roll around on the ground. After a dozen seconds, Catherine stopped rolling and stared blankly at the sky with dilated pupils.

After a moment, she regained her composure, sat up, and let out a breath as if relieved of a heavy burden.

She looked at Zhang Yuanqing and smiled. "Offer your own blood essence in exchange for the divine water of the blood lake, and you will be blessed by the gods. The divine water will imbue you with the aura of the gods. Once you are attacked by a high-level expert, the gods will cast their gaze and save you."

"The high-level experts I'm talking about are peak Dominators or demigods. The attacks of level seven or eight Dominators are not within the gods' field of vision. Doing this is mainly to add some insurance for us."

Will drinking the god's bathwater lower my intelligence on the spot? Zhang Yuanqing looked at Catherine and felt that her mind was pretty normal, not showing signs of mental problems, so he was slightly relieved.

In addition, realizing that he could obtain protection in this way, he breathed a sigh of relief. Since he didn't have to face the gods directly or be served one-on-one by the gods, the probability of his disguise being exposed was greatly reduced.

He walked to the edge of the blood lake. Catherine reminded him, "The divine water contains the power of the gods. Drinking too much will only lead to two results. One is the collapse of your physical body, and you will immediately return to the Spirit Realm. The other is that you will mutate into a terrifying demonic beast. Although you will have the power to destroy everything, you will also lose your intelligence, which is equivalent to the death of your consciousness, and you will not be able to recover."

"That's why we only add insurance for ourselves, instead of using the divine water to obtain divine power."

Mutate into a terrifying monster? Is this god a *Breaking Bad* style occupationalist?

Zhang Yuanqing said, "How much should I drink?"

Catherine said, "You are at the peak of Saint level, but your physical body is weak, so your intake should not exceed five liters."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded and scooped up a tiny bit with his palm.

This isn't hygienic. Should I boil it first to kill the germs? He hesitated in his heart, but realizing that he was a clone, he gritted his teeth and slurped it into his mouth.

Instantly, it was as if he had drunk lava. A scorching taste exploded on his tongue, rushed into his throat, and landed in his stomach.

Zhang Yuanqing only felt that his internal organs had been burned to charcoal. More deadly, he heard terrifying whispers in his ears, like murmurs in a dream, like ancient languages he couldn't understand.

Like Catherine just now, he covered his ears and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

But at this moment, the pain in his body and soul couldn't mask the shock in his heart.

A demon seed!

The demon seed at the bottom of the cruise ship cabin!!