Chapter 73：From Demoness to Saintess

As Jiyan and the Birusk clansmen's eyes glazed over, Mukri trotted before them all, waving his tail at their faces to seek a reaction—none responded. Having maintained his consciousness, Harun made a grasping motion at Mukri, sending him rolling back to his initial seat.

"An illusion? But how did he cast it, and why were we left out? Because we don't cultivate the same path?" Gulseni pondered the sudden change. As only Mukri and she didn't suffer the mysterious attack, she guessed that their different paths made them unqualified for the game. But above that, did Harun's formless skill have no effect on non-plaguebringers? Or on the contrary, was it too extreme?

While Gulseni's thoughts trailed, the tendrils pumped a glistening liquid straight into the 316 victims' souls. Their surroundings changed, and each landed in worlds of endless wealth, madness, extravagance and debauchery. Trees of pure gold, with golden leaves and fruits at arm's reach. Fountains of wine sprinkling the grassy ground. Four-faced mountains of crystal, gold, ruby and lapis lazuli. Towers of diamond and sapphire revolving in the sky, surrounding the top of a stairway into the eternal eden.

The 316's most suppressed desires took shape. Whoever they wanted, whatever they wanted, appeared in the hundreds to supplement this world of wealth and decadence. 80% directly lost their mind to this dream—refusing to consider the possibility of an illusion. 19% struggled against their Ego, 3 stayed strong, but only one kept her cool.

"This place puts a heavy strain on senses and willpower," Jiyan inferred, and she was correct. The tendrils injected a spiritual venom straight into the victims' souls, awakening all their attachments, suppressed or acknowledged desires, dreams and more. Greed for all that stood at their fingertips would overwhelm the victims and, should they fail to resist it, the spiritual venom would overload their souls, and either take over or outright make their Ego explode. Even if they could break free, the experience would haunt them across centuries, ultimately twisting their personalities.

This was Harun's Attachment Venom, first of the Nine Venoms Legacy, and the Ancestral Venom all others would stem from. Naturally, as he didn't want to harm or scar his subordinates, Harun restrained the Attachment Venom's powers. And knowing that the Senses, Willpower and Dao Attunement stats were the most critical to resisting the venom and grasping its essence, Harun didn't doubt that Jiyan would succeed first. Thus, exposed to the hidden darkness of their hearts, and the presumed holiness of Jiyan, the Birusk clansmen's view of her would undergo a 180 change. What a foolproof plan.

And while the self-satisfied Harun stroked his beardless chin, trapped in their Corrupt Lands, the clansmen rushed toward the gates of eden—losing themselves in the madness. Others closed their eyes, struggling to no end. Only those with high stats in both Senses and Willpower could resist the Corrupt Land. But without a high Dao Attunement stat and profound cultivation base, they could only delay the inevitable.

Without hesitation, Jiyan crossed the stairway toward "eden," but at the top paused and summoned a short sword. Driving her sword in a 360 arc, Jiyan slashed all jeweled towers in one strike, splitting each into two perfect halves. The broken towers cratered, Jiyan pushed one hand into the gate and from it extracted a blue orb. The Corrupt Land collapsed, and Jiyan's eyes regained their light.

Blue energies billowed, forming a halo above her head. Meanwhile, one after the other, the clansmen that surrendered to the Corrupt Land collapsed, and soon their eyes opened to the sight of Jiyan bathing in a radiant glow, with the halo of sainthood marking her success. Awed, the defeated cast dazed stares at this divine picture, unknowingly forming circles around her.

Few noticed that unlike her starting position, Jiyan now sat in the very middle, but too dazed by the light, ignored that "negligible" point. As soon as Jiyan seized the Ancestral Venom's Essence, all regained consciousness—and observed her gain enlightenment in Harun's Attachment Venom. Exchanging complex stares, the clansmen saw the shame in one another's eyes, and heaved long sighs. Ultimately, they were too narrow minded. Having experienced the trappings of the Corrupt Land, they knew how easily level-headed men could lose themselves.

Even those that maintained a bit of alertness couldn't understand how someone could escape that place so quickly. Cildar estimated that he'd need at least one hour to escape the Corrupt Land—to say nothing of grasping its essence. Instantly, they recalled Harun's words.

"Only someone with a stainless and transparent mind, wholly devoted to the road and gospel, can take that seat."

Indeed, without a stainless and transparent mind, a pure and incorrupt heart, how could one succeed so fast? To think that they used to treat this saintess as a fox demoness and mistook their lord's motives in naming her great elder! How shameful!

Seeing his con have the intended effects, Harun decided to deal the fatal blow, "At last you understand. I initially wished to test your ability to look beyond first appearances and appraise the heart only. However, too awed by forces you couldn't understand, you picked hostility over reason. How...disappointing. Can you imagine her grief?" Harun's dramatic words rang in the clansmen's minds like rolling thunder. The System wanted to say that between Harun's teasing and relentless cultivation, Jiyan didn't have the time to care for such trifles. But knowing that none could hear it, it kept its mouth shut.

"This is fishy as hell. Why do I feel like I'm being taken for a fool?" Cildar asked himself. But as a Birusk clansman, he didn't have the heart to doubt his Spiritual Lord's words. Tears filled the other clansmen's eyes, and while Jiyan's eyes shone with enlightenment, they prostrated themselves toward her.

"Saintess, please forgive our ignorance!" They proclaimed in tandem, forcing Harun to restrain a victorious laugh. But at that time, Jiyan shook her head, making Harun blink in a stupor. Was the girl going to ruin his magnificent play?

"I can't accept that title," Jiyan said in a modest tone, and while the clansmen prepared to encourage her, she waved her hand dismissively.

"For us who wish to grasp causality, see through life and death, and achieve enlightenment. What's the use of vain honorifics? Saint? Who in this world can righteously claim such a title? A heart devoted to enlightenment, that's all I need." Here Jiyan closed her eyes, paused, and pressed her hands on her chest.

"For centuries I have wandered through Heaven's astral seas and learned to master my self. That's the only reason why I succeeded so easily. I do not deserve your praise or worship, and still have much to work on. This tile is...too much for me," Jiyan sighed. Mukri, Gulseni, Harun and the System, all stared slack jawed—unable to accept that tone.

Moved beyond words, the clansmen kowtowed. What was holiness? This was holiness. Sensing an opportunity to earn merits, Mukri suppressed his shock, moved past the crowd and proclaimed:

"We understand your concerns. But Saintess, you've already proven to us all that in this world, only you can live up to that title! Until someone more qualified shows up, Saintess, please accept the seat!"

And without hesitation, the clansmen supported his words, "Saintess, please accept the seat!"

Helpless before such words, Jiyan shrugged and reluctantly said:

"Then I suppose I will have to accept."

Cheers followed, Harun's self-satisfaction vanished, replaced by waves of doubt.

"Why do I feel like my cult just got hijacked?" Harun scratched his head. And this time, the System didn't spare him.

"Because you're too good at your job and raised another conman. You know what they say, right? The new generation exists to replace the old. Your CEO days are in jeopardy."

…

After leaving instructions behind, Harun boarded a chariot sent beforehand by his subordinate in the capital. To avoid questions, Jiyan subdued the driver's mind, a trick she mastered from training her Devil Essence. The pair then left for the Dark Stone Capital.

"I'm curious, what did you see?" Harun asked Jiyan as they set off.

"You don't know? Mhm...interesting." Jiyan's lips curled up. Raising her eyes in a ponderous look, she turned away from Harun, evading his gaze as if guilty of some unspeakable crime.

"What?" Harun's eyes narrowed at her.

"You really want to know?"

"Rubbish. Why else would I ask?"

"Ok, a circle of ten, two meters tall men with broad shoulders and chiseled faces—naked, of course," Jiyan said in a languorous and absent-minded tone, but when Harun's face twisted in a succession of awful grimaces, she burst into laughter.

"Come on, I'm joking. Don't wanna say..." She leaned against Harun's shoulder, oblivious to the changes in his face.

With an innocent smile and beady eyes, Harun aimed one index at Jiyan and said:

"Attachment Venom…"

Many squeals followed.