Capítulo 1066: Chapter 23: Vermilion Bird Divine Envoy

The moment the mask shattered.

Ian saw Chu Ling’s true face and was lost in thought. He had wandered the mortal world for over a hundred years and had never seen a woman with such striking beauty.

He couldn’t even imagine—

For such a breathtakingly beautiful girl, what must her soul taste like?

However!

The moment he bit down, something felt wrong!!

In the ritual of life sacrifice, biting the soul was merely an illusion; the real meaning was “life transfer.” Since the Longevity Technique he mastered was incomplete, a significant amount of life force would be lost in the void during the ritual, and he would only receive one-twentieth of the victim’s life.

But that was enough, as this girl looked just under twenty.

Even if he could only live for another sixty years.

His own life could be extended by three years…

But with the first bite, it felt as if he had “missed,” and Ian felt he had gained nothing… Was it just an illusion?

He quickly bit down a second time!

Nothing happened; his “lifespan” barely increased by a tiny bit, maybe… by just those few dozen minutes? In the long river of time he had experienced, those few dozen minutes were like a lone wave.

Unable to stir the water.

But soon, “something stimulating” arrived!

Ian’s pupils contracted, and he let out a muffled hum. He felt a torrent of “memories” surge forth into his Spirit Sea. Unquestionably, it was the “price” for taking those two bites and a consequence unavoidable in this world. If you want to consume the victim’s “lifespan,” you must consume corresponding memories.

It seemed like a good thing.

But in reality, it was a disaster.

The longer a person lives, the longer their memories stretch… For Ian, who had lived as a relic of 121 years, his spirit was already elderly, and his memory space was filled.

If he swallowed a portion of life, it means swallowing a portion of memories.

His Spirit Sea would be filled with a large amount of “memories”… He would gradually forget who he truly is, gradually losing his “self” in the war of memories within the Spirit Sea.

The Longevity Technique is the most powerful Forbidden Technique in the world.

Its side effects and costs are undoubtedly the most terrible.

…

…

Chu Ling did not resist; she even reached out a hand to hold back Gu Shen.

“I feel… my life has diminished.”

She said calmly, “Roughly a day less.”

A day, to her, was not insignificant.

Her lifespan was even shorter than a summer cicada’s.

A complete life cycle for her was only a dozen days.

Gu Shen hesitated slightly as he watched the “bewitching array pattern” spread with sanguine waves. If Chu Ling hadn’t stopped him, he would have tried to disrupt this evil ceremony of life transfer…

He respected Chu Ling and understood her reason for stopped him.

“This array pattern looks like the beginning of everything… but actually, everything is already over.”

Chu Ling spoke softly, “From the moment he took the first bite.”

She could feel that what was lost wasn’t just life.

But also, memories.

A mass of data, indescribable by words.

Data so vast that it could shatter a whole room’s hard drive, crazily burrowing into Ian’s brain. In a moment, the young man’s face flushed crimson, and even breathing became difficult.

A bizarre scene suddenly appeared in his mind.

A train flashing with electric light whizzed past the seabed of the Endless Sea.

Then followed mountains, snowfields, deserts, azure oceans, millions of frames flipping technologically, captured by the Deep Sea’s eyes. These images bombarded into Ian’s mind in an instant, and still divided further. The Longevity Technique’s power dragged him forcibly into the Soul Sea of the life’s original owner, allowing him to experience the primal scenes where these memories were born.

In Chu Ling’s Spirit Sea, these scenes were the most underlying, useless garbage data.

Veins bulged on Ian’s forehead, his eyes bulging.

“You are…”

Ian stared fixedly at Chu Ling, suddenly realizing.

Unfortunately, his mind was now stuffed full of data, leaving no space for his thoughts, making speaking a luxurious task.

With all his might, he tried to speak.

“You are!!!”

The next moment, with a “bang”—

His head exploded!

Everything happened abruptly, with almost no forewarning.

The scarlet array in the room dissipated at its peak, countless crimson no longer surged but slowly calmed.

Just a layer of blood covered the floor, making the basement scene look eerie and tragic.

No one could have guessed that Ian, who schemed all his life, brilliant all his life, would end in such a conclusion…

Such an end is indeed ironic.

“You already guessed it?”

Gu Shen looked at the headless body lying on the ground with a complex expression.

“He didn’t just eat ‘life,’ but also memories,” Chu Ling lowered her eyes and said slowly, “In this world, no one can bear my memories… He was doomed to burst from the moment he took the first bite.”

Blood reached the front of the two.

And reached that withered wheelchair.