Odd Containment Specialist.

Chapter 997 Who Has Reached the Pinnacle Here
"In other words, because of the fear of death, they ended up paying a higher price," Xia Shou pondered.

Indeed, upon careful reflection, in the memories left by that nameless man, he always chose to go all out when he was making a desperate gamble and fighting with his back against the wall, leaving himself no room for maneuver whatsoever.

Such decisiveness aligns with the true meaning of reaching the pinnacle in solitude. No, it should be said the other way around: it is precisely this decisiveness, along with the desire to protect alone, that created this skill.

Although it may seem that the sheer power of self-destruction leads to increased costs of sinking, the fact that self-destruction leaves room for retreat does indeed contradict the ultimate goal of reaching the pinnacle.

Does it also have anything to do with the alignment of desires?

Xia Shou pondered.

Once the underlying logic of this skill is understood, the direction for optimization can be determined.

The biggest advantage of reaching the pinnacle is that it ignores the opponent's resistance, but the effect of refreshing the extraordinary skill is not often used. In addition, it conflicts with the self-destructive path, which has become the biggest gap in deep consumption.

Furthermore, the skill refresh effect also corresponds to a debuff that causes an instant drop in depth. This negative effect turns what could have been a phased repayment of the pinnacle into a one-off deal with immediate payment. The cost of the Root Sea caused by the sudden drop in depth is simply too terrifying and exaggerated.

Compared to the advantage of skill refresh, its negative effects are far too great, so this part should be cut!

The fact that information cannot be disseminated a second time means that for one minute, all other extraordinary skills are exempt from this skill.

This function is very powerful, giving Xia Shou a feeling of subtle influence. If it is not mentioned, it is almost invisible, but upon careful recollection, one realizes how much it has contributed.

For example, prefabricating the future within one minute eliminates many other negative costs and saves a significant amount of hidden costs.

Unfortunately, he couldn't possibly activate the Pinnacle of Mastery just to eliminate the cost, since the costs of other skills were negligible compared to Deep Descent.

However... now that skill refresh, a major expense, has been removed, we might be able to use it to our advantage.

For example... if you don't choose to use the "Peak of Perfection" skill on the target, and then use "Future Prefabrication" to create a large number of finished products within one minute, thus eliminating the cost of subsequent production, that would be a huge win if it were feasible!

Of course, the specific cost-effectiveness needs to be carefully considered, since the depth of the Root Sea is a matter of life and death.

Xia Shou scanned the other skills one after another, and then suddenly noticed that his "eyesight" was starting to decline. Although he could still see the details of the other skills, they were much blurrier than when he first reached the pinnacle.

"It seems that the observation benefits provided by this ceremony have a limit, and we can't keep watching indiscriminately from now on."

Of the remaining skills, which one best matches the goal of reaching the pinnacle?

Xia Shou had repeatedly considered and weighed the options before the ceremony began, and his conclusion was the skill he obtained from Huangfu Zuoren's father, Huangfu Buren, which was imbued with the aura of [Forget-Me-Not] – [Delayed Blade].

……

Snip, snip, the golden scissors cut through the force.

The flower of strength was planted on top of another flower.

From Xia Shou's perspective, when the golden scissors fell, a part of the garment, which had reached its pinnacle in solitude, was smoothly cut off like fabric, and his hands inexplicably began to move, as if a woman were holding his hands and teaching him how to cut clothes.

He had no idea what to do next, but suddenly he understood and very naturally took the perfect piece of fabric that should have been discarded. So the cut-off fabric was cut even thinner, so thin that it lost its original shape and became a long, thin ribbon.

Another delayed blade, after being cut, was planted in a remote and uninhabited place, and the connection between the two was "bound" with threads cut from waste materials, just like a cutting for fixation.

Xia Shou felt that he was not doing it himself, but rather that the power of the ritual was driving him to do it.

He told the skilled Golden Scissors Lady about his request, and she fulfilled his wish by cutting the two pieces into shape, which were then grafted and pieced together by the Flower Herder.

And so, the skill that perfectly met his expectations was born...

Who has reached the pinnacle here?

[Summary: No one remembers me, and I have no one to remember me—at this pinnacle, no one will remember me.]

【Effect:
1. Lock onto any number of hostile targets. For one minute, you will be immune to their supernatural resistances and the cost of all supernatural abilities except this one.

2. You can freely set the total number of days for paying the cost, so the sinking cost caused by the skill in the Origin Sea will be spread out over the set number of days to complete the cost payment.

(Example: This skill activation will cause the Root Sea to sink 200 meters in depth. The host decides to pay this price in 200 days. Then, the Root Sea will sink 1 meter more each day as a result of this price.)
3. Upon activation, you can reserve any number of items imbued with mysterious power (relics or vessels of desire) as offerings.

During the one-minute ultimate skill period, everyone who witnesses you will be marked. After the skill ends, all witnesses will forget all memories related to you during that minute, and you will also forget all memories related to them during that minute.

Witnesses below LV3 will not consume offerings, while witnesses above LV3 must consume the Secret Power from the offerings to be affected by this effect. The higher the level, the greater the power consumed.

If the offering contains enough power, then all witnesses will be affected and forget everything about you.

If the offering's power is insufficient, it will prioritize affecting lower-level targets.

[Cost: If the locked target is still alive after one minute, you will die;]

Your actions within this minute will be considered 'secret', and if the secret spreads further, you will die;

After the one-minute peak performance period ends, all currently available extraordinary skills will be forcibly frozen and cannot be used.

Frozen skills will be forced into cooldown after the full cost of their effects has been paid.

The extraordinary grafting was completed, and the golden scissors formed from gathered light in Xia Shou's hand slowly dissipated.

The petals in the magic circle had all withered, and the bear blood and honey no longer seemed bright. The flowers that had grown due to the power of the ritual had all turned into fine dust, just like the legend of the flower shepherd.

"call……"

Xia Shou looked at the text about the new, unparalleled skill that appeared before him and breathed a sigh of relief.

There's nothing to criticize... This is simply a work of art!

(End of this chapter)