"What in the world..."

By the time Wang Linchi hurried back, the entire city had transformed into an endless vortex.

The Ten Evil Demon had broken free.

And Yang Chenxu was, at that very moment, forcefully fusing with the Ten Evil Demon.

"System, didn't you fix the bug with The Demonic Rite of Fusion? How can someone still fuse?" Wang Linchi immediately reported.

[Detecting...]

He thought it would be enough to just repair such a severe bug, and he could avoid fighting the boss.

[Detection complete. Yang Chenxu is not using The Demonic Rite of Fusion as a fusion medium but is instead forcing the fusion via his Magic Blood Sacrifice.]

[The corresponding quest items have not been acquired. Unable to execute bug fix.]

It meant that without a sample, the cost of direct annihilation was too high, unless Wang Linchi could provide the corresponding sample as the source.

"Ah... okay. But what on earth is this NPC Yang Chenxu? Is his upper limit really that high?" Wang Linchi grumbled.

Now he somewhat understood how things would likely develop. That Sludge Elder probably hadn't succeeded in completing The Demonic Rite of Fusion but had been one-upped by Yang Chenxu, assuming there was no interference from Players.

However, even if Players did interfere, should they have taken the City Lord's questline and made Yang Chenxu an ally, they might have been betrayed in the end.

After all, from beginning to end, Yang Chenxu had harbored his own ambitions.

"Let's do this, just as the BOSS is finishing its preparations." Wang Linchi directly commanded the Saint Master to charge towards the vortex in the sky above the city. The Ten Evil Demon was not Lv. 70 at the moment, seemingly because it had been unsealed prematurely and hadn't grown to the dungeon's limit.

[BOSS: Abyssal Demon—Ten Evil Demon (Fusing) Lv. 65, Health: ???]

Although its level was insufficient, its Health was displayed as question marks. He didn't know why it wasn't shown.

"You've arrived much earlier than I anticipated."

Within the vortex, Yang Chenxu's face materialized. However, superimposed and seemingly folded onto his features was a grotesque second face—likely the original visage of the Ten Evil Demon.

Wang Linchi didn't respond, his brow furrowed as he watched the massive vortex clash with the Saint Master.

The primary concern was his realization that the Saint Master was actually at a disadvantage, something that shouldn't have been possible. Considering all the blessings the Saint Master possessed, his strength should have allowed him to easily crush the Ten Evil Demon; yet, inexplicably, he was the one being suppressed.

Indeed, the Ten Evil Demon was larger than the Saint Master, but size didn't necessarily equate to superior strength.

A blue whale in the ocean is larger than the Saint Master, yet a single punch from the Saint Master would reduce it to smithereens.

In his estimation, the Ten Evil Demon was merely a large, imposing façade. He hadn't anticipated it possessing genuine power.

He activated his auxiliary support and, by interfering with his spiritual power, immediately pinpointed the problem.

DAMN! No wonder you're so strong. So, you're using a plug-in! Wang Linchi couldn't help but swear under his breath.

After the Ten Evil Demon broke free, under Yang Chenxu's direction, the negative karma of everyone in Qing State had been consolidated into a single entity.

The Saint Master's attacks on the Ten Evil Demon would result in all the damage being transferred to the people of Qing State.

Therefore, if the Saint Master wished to slay the Ten Evil Demon, he would first have to eliminate every person in Qing State. Only then would the Ten Evil Demon revert to a vulnerable state. Otherwise, it was impossible to harm it.

An absolute defense forged from human lives.

Based on his calculations, Yang Chenxu had begun the fusion process around the time Wang Linchi started his journey back the previous day. He had been delayed for three days at the Demon-suppressing Alliance Branch; otherwise, he could have easily overtaken Yang Chenxu on his return to the city.

He didn't regret it, though. Scavenging the Qing State branch had yielded a significant haul, even if he had burned the entire city down in the process.

"For the favor you once did me, take your Evil Demon and leave Qing State," the Ten Evil Demon, wearing Yang Chenxu's face, spoke.

Judging by that statement, Yang Chenxu appeared to be in control, with the Ten Evil Demon actually being suppressed. This was truly unbelievable.

Wang Linchi didn't respond. The distance was simply too great; his attack Skills couldn't reach. As for his Fanciful and Fickle ability, it was useless when channeled through his game character.

"Sigh. Not to burst your bubble, but my Hidden Dragon Effect hasn't even upgraded to the Real Dragon Effect yet."

"That means you're either all show and no substance, or your damage output is just pitifully low." Wang Linchi wasn't fleeing. His decision was based on the fact that the Saint Master's Real Dragon's Descent effect hadn't activated, which indirectly proved that the enemy posed no threat to him.

Yang Chenxu faltered. He didn't quite grasp Wang Linchi's specific words but understood the underlying message: his offer had been rejected.

"In that case, stay here then." Without a shred of hesitation, Yang Chenxu attacked Wang Linchi.

Subsequently, Wang Linchi saw a barrage of negative status effects flood his screen.

All of them were sin-type effects, but most were converted into buffs.

The quest item, the Seven Jewelries Bracelet, had a 50% chance to convert sin-type negative skill and Talent effects into buffs. With his exceptional luck, the probability of this occurring was naturally even higher.

Initially, Wang Linchi had considered negative status effects and crowd control to be manageable. But what if he encountered attack-type abilities? Looking at it now, the Ten Evil Demon seemed to possess no offensive capabilities at all.

All of its power was focused on high Health, strong Defense, and negative crowd control. He surmised that any damage it dealt was likely indirect, manifesting as continuous or burst damage resulting from these crowd control effects.

However, even if some of these negative effects and crowd controls managed to slip through, they would be swiftly eradicated. He possessed Cards that purified one negative status effect from demonic-type enemies every second, and he had more than one such Card.

Thus, he could purify several negative status effects per second, remaining completely unfazed by them.

"How can you possibly be unharmed!" Yang Chenxu was somewhat stunned. He had never imagined that someone could withstand the sin of the Ten Evil Demon.

This sin wasn't just from the Ten Evil Demon; it was the collective sin of the entire Qing State. Its potency was unimaginable.

"Perhaps my skin is just a bit thick," Wang Linchi said, his form blurring into a shadow. Before Yang Chenxu could react, Wang Linchi had already entered the city.

Then, he checked the Lesser Title Removal Authority—its cooldown had ended. Wang Linchi used it without hesitation.

A ten-minute countdown appeared.

Ten minutes, one-tenth of my strength... Hmm, that seems a bit too blatant, doesn't it?

Wang Linchi checked again. The ten-minute countdown wasn't decreasing; it remained fixed at ten minutes. Moreover, the power he received wasn't one-tenth as he'd expected, but three-tenths.

If it weren't for the Game System's plug-in helping to disrupt the game's balance, no one would believe it if he told them.

More importantly, the restrictions on his game character seemed to have loosened slightly.

This meant his Fanciful and Fickle effect was no longer a combo that only inflicted -1 damage and required a ten-minute cooldown. Instead, it now functioned as it did in reality: as long as he had sufficient spiritual power, he could unleash it at will.

Rigidly adhering to useless rules wasn't the Game System's style. As long as the Abyss's power could be weakened, fairness was irrelevant.

The Abyss doesn't play fair with you. If you foolishly try to be fair with it, aren't you just courting disaster?

Wang Linchi directly channeled 200,000 units of spiritual power into Fanciful and Fickle and then unleashed it without hesitation.

Previously, it had been limited, and its range was insufficient. But now, with the plug-in activated, the range would surely be far greater than his game character's original range.

Is the Game System also resorting to underhanded tactics now? Wang Linchi suddenly sensed that a certain power had been imbued into his Fanciful and Fickle.

Wang Linchi guessed this power was The Power of Order, intended to grant his Fanciful and Fickle a special effectiveness against Chaos.

Otherwise, Fanciful and Fickle could, at most, severely injure the Ten Evil Demon; it could never deliver a killing blow.

Yang Chenxu also sensed the threat. Controlling the vortex-like body of the Ten Evil Demon, he frantically began to absorb the negative karma from everyone in Qing State.

Viewed superficially, this seemed like a good thing; after all, people devoid of sin would naturally turn towards good deeds.

However, if that were truly the case, the Ten Evil Demon wouldn't be an Abyssal Demon. While extracting sin to sustain itself, it was also draining everyone's lifespan, along with their Souls and life force.

The vortex abruptly swelled, and even Yang Chenxu's face within it grew larger and more distinct.

"Retract your attack at once, or the entirety of Qing State will die with me!!!" Yang Chenxu's voice and the Ten Evil Demon's voice overlapped.

Wang Linchi, however, couldn't care less about the fate of Qing State. The lives of all beings within the Abyss Difficulty were equally irrelevant to him. They were merely echoes, not actual people.

BOOM!

Fanciful and Fickle struck the Ten Evil Demon. A terrifying storm of power ripped at the vortex's form, tearing it to shreds.

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