My health recovery is incredibly fast.

He scratched the back of his head. "I think I've seen this before..."

"Oh? Really? You've had contact with the Crystal Remnants?" Hillenburg asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I remember now, on the day of the loyalty ceremony, there were quite a few Crystal Remnants in the queue. Their skin was similar to this crystal artifact.”

“I see. That saves me the trouble of explaining.” Hillenburg held up the crystal artifact and gestured as if to put it on. “These crystal components can be worn. Once activated, they will isolate the user from the outside world. Evil spells or items used by flesh alchemists, such as [skin ulceration], [rhabdomyolysis], and [pustule eruption], will all be blocked by the crystal components.”

"Skin ulceration? How can there be such a spell?" Xia Zuo was taken aback. "Is this a curse spell? It sounds similar to the Curse of Decay..."

“These aren’t curse spells, they’re blood magic.” Hillenburg shook his head, not going into too much detail about the topic. “Getting back to the point, the armor made from crystal components is the first generation of elemental husks.”

Hillenburg put the crystal components back. "Later, the relationship between the Crystal Remnants and the Alchemy School deepened. The former came up with more ways to use the crystal components, such as incorporating obedient elements to improve spellcasting efficiency, and so on. This led to the second-generation elemental shell."

Hillenburg held up three fingers. "The third-generation elemental shell has undergone a qualitative change, making crystal components no longer a necessity for the elemental shell. This is thanks to the Tower Scholars."

Xia Zuo raised his eyebrows. "So... the elemental body we're currently condensing has a deep connection with the scholars of the Tower?"

“That’s right.” Hillenburg nodded. “If you want to become an outer member of the Tower Scholars in the future, I suggest you choose the general-purpose elemental shell. It has the widest range of applications and more options for further modification. On the other hand, if you don’t plan to become a Tower Scholar, then choose the alchemy-specific elemental shell to save yourself the trouble of modifying the elemental shell in the future and get it right the first time.”

"What kind of transformation can the universal elemental shell undergo?" Xia Zuo asked. "Add new functions? Or change its appearance?"

"This is why the alchemical school deliberately omitted this history when compiling 'The Complete Explanation of the Elemental Body'," Hillenburg said.

"The Tower Scholars and the Alchemy School have reached a secret pact. The former does not want many mages to know the advanced uses of the Elemental Body, while the latter intends to weaken the influence of the Tower Scholars and consolidate its own foundation."

"That's all the information I can provide," Hillenburg said, spreading his hands in a somewhat helpless manner.

"Back in our day, a fully qualified mage could apply to join the Tower Scholars, but I failed. In the end, I could only choose the Elemental Body, which was specifically for the study of artifact alchemy."

Now, one must condense an elemental body to become a high-ranking mage before applying to join the Tower Scholars. This essentially closes a small loophole—the application outcome is considered first, then the type of elemental body is determined.

Krestor had promised that Shazo would join the Tower Scholars directly after advancing to the rank of High Scholar.

He was now almost certain that he would choose the universal elemental body.

"Hmm..." Xia Zuo pondered for a few seconds, "Thank you, team leader. This information is very useful. I will consult my mentor again."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Xia Zuo took advantage of the darkness to say goodbye.

...

Flying all the way to the top floor of the Lumington Building, Xia Zuo's figure disappeared in the light of the teleportation crystal.

When Xia Zuo opened his eyes, he saw an office that was covered with a faint bloody light.

This is Christo's office in the outer sanctuary; Shazor has been here many times.

He had also sent Christo a secret message today, and was prepared for the message to be intercepted. After calmly waiting for a minute, he saw Christo in a long dress.

"Good day, Your Excellency." Xia Zuo bowed slightly in greeting.

The two haven't seen each other for months since the last time they arranged the backup plan for Neoxat's bionic lungs.

As usual, Christo summoned two sofas and, after Shazo sat down, asked, "Did you go to see Hillenburg earlier?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Did he tell you about the history of the elemental body?"

“Uh…” Xia Zuo hesitated for a moment, “The team leader only briefly mentioned the characteristics of the first to third generation elemental bodies, without mentioning anything else.”

"Don't worry, I won't punish him with the law," Christo said, knowing what the other was worried about.

"So now you must want to choose the universal elemental body, right?"

Xia Zuo nodded.

“That would be perfect if you could do me a favor. I’ll give you a reward.” Christo smiled sweetly, crossed one leg, and rested her chin on the back of her right hand. “How about it? Interested? You have to agree first before I can tell you the details.”

Xia Zuo scratched his head. "Your Excellency, if you are not worried that I will fail, I am willing to accept this commission."

“Very good.” Christor snapped her fingers. “You are the perfect person to handle this. Others are either untrustworthy or already have elemental bodies and have missed their chance.”

Christo ran her fingers along her collar, revealing a wooden box between her fingers.

"After acquiring the shrine of Devantana, the Temple found a High Tower scholar who could merge with it. In the past few months, we have searched for three more shrines in the Shamanic Chiefdom of the Crater."

Christo used an invisible force to bring the wooden box to Shazo and open it, revealing a small candle on a white velvet cushion.

"This is a core material for one of the shrines, which the temple has temporarily named the Shrine Candle. I need you to grind this candle into powder and add it evenly to various parts of the elemental shell while you are condensing it. See what happens. Whether you succeed or not, I will give you a reward."

Xia Zuo leaned back, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and used his detection spell on the candle.

...

[Item Name] Shrine Candle (Tentative Name)

[Item Type] Spiritual Item

[Item Grade] Unknown

[Item Quality] Completeness 20%, remaining uses approximately 1 to 2 times.

[Item Description]

It is predicted that the correct use of this item will be known after certain conditions are met.

[Item Effects]

Place this item in an empty shrine to obtain a complete shrine.

...

Adding spiritual items to an elemental body?!

They're making him a guinea pig!

"Your Excellency...is this...will this work? Will there be any drawbacks?" Xia Zuo asked. "Has the Temple conducted similar experiments?"

Christo could sense the other person's worries.

Adding uncertainties to the process of condensing an elemental shell is like playing with fire. At best, the condensation will fail and months of preparation will be wasted; at worst, the elements will dissipate and even the spiritual ocean will be damaged.

“Shazo, I’ll be frank with you, there will be risks, and there will be unexpected events.” Christo’s expression turned serious, and she said with emphasis:

"With each generation of improvements to the elemental shell, someone has to make sacrifices. I can't guarantee that you can completely avoid the damage you might suffer, but I can make up for your losses and provide double compensation."

Christo looked at Shazo, who was deep in thought, and continued:

"The temple's decision to fuse the shrine candles with the elemental body was not a spur-of-the-moment, random decision; it was related to what happened during the search for the shrines in the crater."

There was a slight problem with Chapter 80.

The crater is located on the island of the same name, 110 kilometers south of the southern coastline of the eastern continent.

The terrain there is very peculiar.

From above, it looks like a water tank.

Two massive, semi-circular mountain ranges, one to the north and one to the south, surround the central rainforest basin.

The dramatic vertical ecological environment with its vast elevation differences, abundant rainfall, spring-like temperatures year-round, and fertile soil have nurtured a secluded place with diverse biodiversity and countless wondrous natural creations.

The universal antidote comes from the crater.

The search party sent by the temple used the Kintasa Temple in the rainforest basin as its base and searched all the shaman tribes in the basin.

In the first month after arriving at the crater, they discovered a shrine controlled by a small tribe.

The tribe's leaders, taking advantage of the tribe's small size and ease of control, secretly extended their lifespans by possessing the bodies of their children.

The temple's forces conducted a secret trial of the tribe.

“The person holding the shrine at the time was the deputy chieftain of that tribe. When he fought against the mage holding the shrine in the temple's ranks in spirit form, the length of his shrine candle was approximately this much.” Christo held up her right index finger. “The mage holding the shrine in the temple's ranks could assure him that he hadn't misread it.”

“But when we captured that deputy leader and forced him to hand over the shrine, the candle in the shrine had shrunk to what it is now.” Christo tilted her chin slightly. “It’s the one in front of you.”

Xia Zuo glanced at the candle, which was only about half the length of a finger. "Two-thirds is missing, right?"

“Yes.” Krestor nodded. “We disarmed the deputy leader and sealed his spellcasting abilities. Something strange happened when we tried to strip away his elemental shell.”

Chris paused. "His elemental body is gone."

"Gone?" Xia Zuo scratched the back of his head. "Disappeared into thin air?"

“That’s right.” Christor frowned slightly, as if remembering something. “We clearly saw his elemental body during the previous battle, but why did it disappear after we captured him? The Temple team questioned him for a long time, but he refused to reveal anything. Then, we connected his unusual behavior with the missing shrine candles…”

Krestor adjusted her posture, leaning back in her chair. "The temple team later found several shrines. We used the shrine candles, which were longer than some of the ones, to conduct a few experiments. For example, we had several mages attach or couple the shrine candles to their elemental bodies, or we crafted the shrine candles into spiritual materials to use as engraving or enchanting materials."

Christo took a breath, her chest heaving, and sighed softly, "Unfortunately, we haven't gained anything. In the spiritual realm, the Temple is always at a disadvantage; it's a clear weakness. Perhaps things will only improve when the Shamanic Society completely hands over the relevant scriptures."

"In short, after controlling for specific variables and conducting a series of experiments, we obtained no results, and nothing happened. Now, we have eliminated most of the wrong answers, leaving only one experimental idea that has not yet been verified." Christo pointed at the other person, "Using the spirit shrine candles in the process of condensing the elemental body is the experiment I want you to do."

Xia Zuo remained silent, lost in thought.

Christo did not disturb him.

Only the person involved can overcome the fear or apprehension of the unknown.

“I am willing to give it a try, Your Excellency.”

Shazo made this decision not out of a spirit of adventure, nor to seek Christo's reward.

He had given it considerable thought.

Based on the spiritual items we've encountered so far, they seem to have a stronger connection to spirits.

What is related to spirits is the spirit thread.

The Golden Finger is located within the Spirit Line.

If the shrine candles cause trouble for spirits, it will definitely be related to cheat codes.

So, what can possibly counter a cheat code?

Furthermore, Krestor also stated that... nothing happened after the candle merged with the elemental shell.

Xia Zuo guessed that he would probably get the same result.

"Are you sure you want to accept?" Christo asked.

"Confirmed, Your Excellency."

“Alright, take this.” Christo put away the wooden box and handed over a crystal. “When you’re ready to condense your elemental body, rent a meditation room at the academy and send me a secret message. I will use this crystal to give you the shrine candle.”