Soul Trigger

Chapter 553 Shu's True Form
As the dust settled, Ji Li suddenly pulled his fist out, slightly taken aback.

The enormous coffin stood there on the ground, its heavy lid showing signs of cracking, and a deep, despairing aura emanated from within—

paradox.

Ji Li looked at his fist in disbelief; he hadn't even entered his demonic form yet.
He shattered a paradoxical psychic artifact with a single punch.

As for the attacker who tried to steal the coffin, he had already been punched through the coffin by Ji Li, turning him into a blurry skeleton with mixed internal organs, and he fell to the ground full of shattered pieces.

Just as he was about to examine the coffin with one arm around Shu, a figure rushed up like a madman:

"Do not!!!!"

Khalid, horrified, threw himself into the pile of coffin fragments, trying to piece them back together.

At the same time, Ji Li noticed a surge of black energy rising from the coffin. He grabbed the menacing Khalid and retreated, quickly demanding:
"what happened?"

Khalid, however, acted as if he had gone mad, clinging to Ji Li's arms like a madman:

"It's all over...it's all over! It's free...it's about to break free!!"

Then, noticing Shu, expressionless and seemingly oblivious, nestled in Ji Li's other arm, he became even more horrified:

"Monster!! Get this monster away from me!! Monster!!!"

Was there anything else in the coffin besides this girl?

Ji Li's eyes flashed, and he tossed Khalid and Shu to Naf, who was standing there dumbfounded.

As the crater beneath his feet burst open, a streak of rainbow light flashed by, and he had already thrown a punch at the billowing black smoke—

Shu is a paradoxical being, so whatever is sealed in this coffin must also be a paradox.

Ji Li didn't know if the power he had gained from his thousands of points of willpower could repel what was inside, but it was the only remedy he could think of at the moment.

Not to mention that his dual-dimensional transformation is still out of control, with various unexpected events constantly popping up. Therefore, the only solution is to deal with all unforeseen circumstances in the shortest time possible—

Pure violence.

Before Naf could react, Shu's body fell into her arms as Ji Li threw the two people at her.

This made her scream and throw Shu to the ground. At the same time, she helped Khalid, who had fallen flat on his back, and tried to get away from the other party. But she saw Ji Li already appear in front of the black smoke and throw a punch.

What might happen next flashed through her mind instantly, and Naf lunged at Ji Li almost without thinking:

"Ling Sizi!!! No!!!"

However, with his super high willpower boost, Ji Li's speed and strength have reached their limits.

The instant Naf's first syllable burst forth, Ji Li had already punched into the black smoke.

In an instant, a dazzling golden light erupted, engulfing everyone's gaze—

The crimson light was as vast as the sea, obscuring the entire space, and an immense pressure descended upon us.

But faced with this terrifying power that seemed paradoxical, Ji Li was more concerned about the burning sensation coming from his side.

It wasn't the searing pain of a branding iron when the curse seal from the underworld took effect, but rather the sensation of scalding liquid metal flowing and solidifying on the surface of the body:
It is the spiritual circuit that Naph originally engraved on her body!

In the instant the thought flashed through my mind, golden light completely engulfed the entire space.

When Ji Li's vision returned to normal, he found that the surrounding environment had completely changed.

This is a magnificent hall adorned with stone and gold, with a colossal golden sphinx standing at the far end of the space.

Nearby is a black jackal statue several meters tall, holding a staff and looking straight ahead.

In front of the jackal statue was an altar guarded by gold, where a coffin with a shattered surface lay horizontally.

Pfft!
Nefertori knelt on the ground, staring blankly at everything in the hall, her eyes lifeless.

"It's over... it's over..."

Khalid's face was ashen, his lips trembled, and he could no longer utter a single coherent syllable.

Shu Ze lay on his side on the ground, raised his head and looked at the golden hall in front of him, a look of confusion appearing in his eyes.

She felt that everything in front of her was familiar, but she didn't know why.

"I need an explanation."

Unable to sense any unusual spiritual energy within the main hall, Ji Li looked at the two people.

Khalid shuddered as if regaining his senses:
"You've truly liberated me..."

"True comfort?"

Ji Li looked at the bewildered Shu, the brown-skinned girl was feeling the uneven surface of the stone floor tiles.

It's as if they're completely unaware of what's happening right now.

Khalid fell silent, his eyes filled with inexplicable despair.

Naf, head bowed and face ashen, answered Ji Li's question:

"The coffin and the princess are two sides of the same coin..."

"The one in that coffin is the real princess, or rather, the real Shu."

"That is a terrifying being that harbors complete malice towards all living beings, a true artificial god capable of destroying the Seventh Pillar..."

Menes' spiritual system is a distinct school of thought, different from the doctrine of inherent evil and the "dragon armor" produced by the dragon under a special spiritual system.

But in essence, it is a special system that is a mixture of "demon-contractors" and "demon addicts".

Or rather, most of the spiritual psychology theories in the two branches of "Cryptoman" and "Cryptoman" come from Menes, which is one of the sources of both.

The "Divine Descent" system involves sealing away evil entities and using spiritual circuits to extract their power and strengthen oneself.

The sealed objects are special coffins containing spiritual circuits. The divine beings who descend will have a large number of sub-circuits engraved on their bodies to receive power, and the evil beings that are sealed are the "mummies".

The strength of the mummy affects the strength of the divine being.

Unlike the current system of contracted demons, the contract forged between the divine beings and evil spirits during a divine descent is realized through the spiritual circuits on the coffin.

The initiator was the human spirit, not the evil sovereign, because it was the human spirit that controlled this power transaction.

This raises many questions, such as the compatibility between the divine being and the mummy, and the strength of the mummy's seal.

But the biggest problem is that there is a limit to the power of mummies that a human spirit can capture.

How can the power seized from a Dominator-level Abomination be used to fight against a Dead Apostle-level being?
The later development of the divine descent system provided the answer: "man-made gods," that is, "gods among men."

To tailor a tremendous ordeal to the soul of a person, to seal him in a coffin in despair, filled with intense resentment and anger, and to subject him to torture to become a mummy.

This method was not always successful, but the Menes did indeed create five earthly gods.

They are called gods because they are the five most powerful evil beings created in this way.

Over the long course of time, these gods will gradually be worshipped, and the gods will be worshipped and sacrificed to.

As one god after another reached the end of their lifespan and died, these earthly gods grew stronger and stronger in the long darkness and suffering.

In order to suppress these earthly gods who might break free of their seal, the priests brought positive emotions such as "hope" as part of the seal to suppress the mummy in the coffin.

The Menes also continuously improved the divine descent system, dividing and sealing the power of the gods on earth.

Part of it is the mummy inside, representing the beautiful aspect born from the hope entrusted by human spirits by the gods during a long period of worship.

The other part is the coffin itself, which represents the true, deep, and dark nature of the gods on earth.

Shu is one of them, and also the only artificial god in the long history that has never had a true divine descendant.

If "princess" represents her human side, she would have emotions and desires, and she would be born from long suffering, harboring hatred and disdain for the divine beings and the Menes.

The part that the coffin itself carries represents her as a "god".

But the "god" here refers to a power so great that it can be considered a god; its essence is a consciousness and power distorted by negative emotions accumulated over a long period of time.

Therefore, it would probably be more appropriate to describe this existence as a "demon".

Ji Li learned about the Divine Descent system after the port incident.

The profound connection between the princess and the coffin was revealed to him by Nephrodite, who was now trembling:

"You have broken the coffin... The true Shu will be liberated from the world..."

She didn't know why Ji Li was able to break through the coffin that even Mingzhao couldn't shake, just like she didn't know why Ji Li's soul was strong enough to open the coffin that night.

But it's no use thinking about all this now, because it's all over:
"You have unleashed a world-destroying demon..."

A demon... Ji Li touched his burning lower back:

"I find something rather strange."

As the last syllable faded, the coffin emitted a dull, heavy thud.

The textures of the stone and metal rubbed against each other, slowly shifting and opening, releasing bursts of black smoke.

When the smoke cleared, another "Shu" figure appeared on the altar.

She looked almost exactly like Shu, with no difference in appearance alone—the same face, long black hair, and the same jackal headdress.
However, she was not wearing the black and gold robe that she was wrapped in, and the ends of her hair had a reddish-gold luster, like flowing metal, or like part of the hair ends.

Black leather and gold patterns intertwine on her body to create a Menes-style gown.

The formal attire didn't cover much area, leaving large swaths of brown skin exposed to the air. The gold-soled boots lightly touched the altar, making a crisp sound.

However, at this moment, her eyes were closed.

In that deathly silence, the "princess" stared blankly at herself appearing on the altar, lost in confusion, while Khalid and Naf's eyes were filled with utter despair.

She opened her tightly closed eyes, her crimson-gold light sweeping over everyone present, and an expression completely different from that of the "princess" appeared on her face.

Those cold eyes looked at all living beings and matter with undisguised indifference. After just a moment of eye contact, a deep malice began to seep into Ji Li's mind.

Ji Li sensed the paradoxical power hidden within that endless malice, and the spiritual circuits on his side were still burning hot.

He didn't know what that meant.

But just as he shattered the black smoke and golden light erupted, he sensed an anomaly occurring deep within his soul—

His physical and spiritual distortion stopped the instant he was unsealed.

Shu, whose eyes met Ji Li's, suddenly smiled and raised her arms high.

On the ring finger of one of her hands was a gold ring that extended out of black leather, clinging to the curve of her arm and extending to her armpit, where it was tightened by a crimson gold armband.

One hand revealed smooth, brown skin, adorned only with gleaming crimson gold bracelets, one on her wrist and the other on her arm, each engraved with an eye pattern.

This action allowed Ji Li to clearly see that the extreme curves of the breasts, which were only lifted up by the middle of the dress, became even more perky.

Amid Khalid and Naf's ashen faces, she suddenly flashed a captivating smile:

Why don't you come forward?

She spoke in a language that Ji Li couldn't understand, but the content echoed in their ears perfectly.

The Rizhao duo froze, their necks twisting towards Ji Li as if they were rusty.

The terrifying power that was expected to tear everything apart did not arrive; instead, it greeted Ling Sizi first.

Was it because... he opened the coffin, and thus showed a moment of pity?
Ji Li remained calm, raising his hand to press on his lower back, which was gradually cooling down.
"Did you instigate this chaos?"

Shu's smile widened, and a long, thin black tail emerged from behind her and swayed gently.

Then his figure disappeared in the brilliant golden light, and when he reappeared, he was already close to Ji Li.

Those shapely, yet strikingly large breasts pressed gently against his chest, one hand directly gripping Ji Li's chin, a herbal fragrance wafting over:

"What do you say?"

Is this the spice you use when making mummies...?

Ji Li glanced at the astonished duo from Rizhao beside him and said:

"So the abnormality I'm experiencing is something you did... just so I'd break your coffin and release you?"

"My reaction wasn't slow... my 'rainbow'."

Shu cupped Ji Li's face in her hands and examined it carefully.

But Ji Li could sense that the other person wasn't examining his face, but rather other parts of his body—

"Indeed, your soul is completely different. What makes you so special that I can't see through you at all..."

"If you want to get out, you can simply tell me why you're doing it this way?"

Ji Li's voice was neither sad nor happy, but Shu smiled and leaned closer, saying:
"That's right..."

She tilted her head, and a crimson-gold light flashed in her eyes:

"But why should I trust someone of my own kind whom I cannot see through?"

"That makes sense. You already had a plan that night when Naf used the spiritual circuits to establish a connection with the coffin?"

"how come……"

Shu stroked his face as if caressing some treasure she had never seen before:

“I can’t see through the composition of your soul, so I can’t see your future… But I can sense that you are trying some very dangerous things, and I’m just going with the flow.”

This guy... can see the future?
Ji Li raised his hand and pointed, the tip of his finger pointing directly at Nafu and the other person:
"So what is their future?"

Shu glanced at the two of them, his eyes flashing with a chilling, murderous crimson-gold light as he swept them away.

"of course……"

Before the word "death" could be uttered, Ji Li pressed down on both cheeks with his hands and forcibly turned his face back—

That golden light wasn't some special effect; it was a terrifying spiritual substance capable of killing two people instantly.

Meeting Ji Li's gaze, Shu was startled, then revealed a meaningful smile:
"Powerful yet gentle, what a captivating soul. Will you be my companion on the journey to the other shore?"

"Now that you're free, what do you want to do?"

Shu stepped back gently, revealing her alluring figure, accentuated by her sensual attire, to Ji Li.

Those legs were tightly wrapped in gold-patterned leather boots, which tightened at the high part of the thighs, leaving alluring marks.

Her lower body was barely covered by a high-slit bodysuit, leaving large areas of her waist and buttocks exposed to the air.
"This is a special ceremonial garment created based on the emotions extracted from your spiritual essence..."

She raised her eyes, no longer concealing the deep malice within them, which pierced completely into the depths of Ji Li's soul:

“I will annihilate the entire cluster of human spirits in the real dimension, starting with Menes. I want you to become mine, I want you to help me.”

Ji Li paused, then slightly turned his palm back, revealing something clenched within it:

"Then you're probably going to be disappointed. I'm not interested in beautiful women."

Shu was stunned for a moment, then clutched her stomach and covered her mouth, letting out an uncontrollable soft laugh:

"How humorous... but your spiritual essence doesn't lie."

"I'm not joking." Ji Li clenched the thing in his hand.

His words caused Shu's smile to gradually fade:
"So, you refused?"

What benefits would I get if I agreed?

"After a ritual, you will become my divine descendant. After fulfilling my wish, you will completely possess my power, the power of paradox, and look down upon the entire dimension of reality."

"A ceremony?"

Shu smiled, and a flash of golden light appeared—

The heavy, broken coffin appeared before Ji Li, opening itself towards him:

"Experience everything I have been through."

"When you understand my pain, you'll see through my memories. Only then will you be the 'rainbow' I can trust... I think you'll understand, right?"

Faced with Shu's smile, Ji Li fell silent.

In the long silence, the breathing of the two duo could be clearly heard as they stared intently at Ji Li, praying for his reaction.

Ji Li slowly turned his head and glanced at the "princess" who had lost focus from the moment Shu's true form appeared.

Then a sliver of glass fell from his wrist, reflecting the surrounding golden light; it was the Time Domain Dagger given to him by Da Lei.

"I reject."

Shu's gaze instantly turned extremely dangerous, and Ji Li's words continued:
“I don’t think your childish suffering means anything to me, so I refuse.”

He suddenly gripped the fragment of time tightly—

With a sudden change in Shu's expression, the power of Felin began to unfold.

(End of this chapter)