The idol lost control of the spatial passage. It tried to reclaim it, tried to expel the tentacles, but was entirely helpless against the tremendous deluge of the four elements.
On one side, the tentacles plundered with wild abandon; on the other, the fire element spearheaded the charge.
To any onlooker, neither party seemed passive—or rather, it was a mutual rush toward each other.
Idol: *Turns out I’m the outsider here!*
Indescribably vast swarms of four-element light motes streamed ceaselessly through the spatial conduit. Such an enormous volume triggered a qualitative shift, packing a truly terrifying momentum.
If this was a flood discharge, the idol had initially commanded the floodgate of the spatial passage; how much Wayne received had depended entirely on how much the idol was willing to bestow.
Now, however, the gate had been completely obliterated. Until Wayne's life essence was thoroughly satisfied, this deluge would not cease.
In the fundamentals of magical theory, earth, fire, water, and wind corresponded to the essence of human life, serving as the prerequisites to igniting a hexagram and becoming a mage.
If one viewed the vast, boundless world as a single living entity, earth, fire, water, and wind were the cornerstones of the cosmos. They constructed the realm, stabilized space, formed the foundation of all things, and served as the critical core of cosmic life, death, growth, and decay.
The idol had no desire to lose its elemental space. Shifting from its initial surprise and ecstatic joy upon meeting Wayne to outright fury and madness, it roared, vowing to tear Wayne to shreds and reclaim everything that belonged to it.
Wayne didn't hear it—and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
*What are you yelling so loudly for? Go take it up with the Book of Greed!*
Wayne and the Book of Greed merged as one, indulging his desires to the fullest. With his appetite indulged, no matter what perils or horrors lay ahead, he would never halt his plundering march.
The reserve of the four elements stored within the elemental space was immense, abundant, and thoroughly filling. The progress bar of Wayne's life essence crept upward, breaking through the initial bottomless void to rise from 0% to 1%.
At the four corners of the Book of Greed’s cover, the four slightly larger eyeballs—ochre, gold-red, azure, and emerald green—gradually shed their ashen pallor, marking another step forward in the grimoire’s awakening.
Wayne truly had the Lord of the Void to thank. The Book of Greed had elevated his life essence to an absurdly exaggerated scale; even if he possessed tens of thousands of tentacles and meditated desperately day and night, it would normally have taken him eight to ten years to satisfy his life essence.
Now things were different. Two to three months would suffice.
Rounded up, Wayne had just shaved thirty years off the grind!
Wayne: *Lord of the Void, I don't want to work hard anymore.*
So, regardless of whether the Lord of the Void harbored ulterior motives, the benefits were undeniably real. For a deity who had acted with such absolute lack of virtue, it wouldn't even be out of line for Wayne to kowtow in gratitude.
Wayne: ᕙ(⋋‿⋌)ᕗ
He felt utterly fantastic!
The enhancement of his life essence brought about a surge in mana, accompanied simultaneously by an expansion of his intellect and perception.
Power coursed through his entire body. This abrupt rise in strength filled him with supreme confidence, leaving him convinced that he was omnipotent. Swelling with so much arrogance that he practically floated, he felt that forget Isabella, he could probably take down even Xifei with a single punch.
Wayne knew this was an illusion, but he remained ecstatic all the same. He gripped the idol tightly, refusing to let go under any circumstances. To ensure this divine artifact would never be lost or stolen, he decided to keep it on his person.
*Rustle—*
Wayne’s chest rippled, and a vertical black slit split open. A pale, vein-creased tentacle reached out, coiled around the idol, and dragged it into the dark fissure.
The vertical slit snapped shut. His chest looked no different from an ordinary person’s, save for the addition of an eye-shaped tan mark.
At a glance, his custom tan looked rather stylish.
The consciousness within the idol had no idea what Wayne had done. Blind to the outside world, it only knew that the light had abandoned it, plunging its senses into pitch darkness.
This was a bottomless abyss devoid of space and time, lacking even the four fundamental material elements. The abyss hungered for all things; anything would do, so long as it could fill itself—matter or energy, it accepted all without distinction.
The idol grew somewhat panicked. It had no idea what Wayne truly was, but of one thing it was absolutely certain: Wayne was indulging his desires. Mad, obsessive, and reckless, he was destined to march toward oblivion because of that insanity.
To salvage the elemental space, the idol decided to grant Wayne his wish. Since the brat wanted to die and had no sense of restraint, it would bestow upon him the very knowledge that every mage drooled over.
"*Kekeke!* Brat, accept this knowledge with gratitude!"
"This is the power you crave as well; these are the true essence of the cosmos..."
"Take it! As you come to know everything, you will understand what magic truly is, what gods are, and what the true face of all things looks like!"
"You need not fear madness—only madness can comprehend all!"
*Hum-m-m—*
Radiating thousands of golden rays, the idol unleashed an infinite brilliance that spread outward like sunlight, manifesting in the form of wave-particle duality.
This knowledge encompassed the lifelong learning of a legendary mage, along with the truths of the Astral Realm. Flooding into Wayne’s body in an instant, its destructive force was comparable to the Gate of Truth opening wide for an ordinary mortal.
Anyone could acquire knowledge, but whether one could endure it fell entirely outside the Gate of Truth’s consideration.
As an apprentice mage who had yet to ignite even the first node of his hexagram, Wayne was hardly different from an ordinary person.
Barring any surprises, there was no way he could endure it!
The Book of Greed shuddered, eagerly extending its tentacles to sweep every shred of radiant light into itself.
The Book of Greed came alive. On its cover, a dense network of veins and vessels bulged outward as row upon row of eyeballs trembled, straining to open. Three eyes—representing the sun, moonlight, and nature—officially began their awakening.
The nature eyeball progressed the fastest; its eyelid slowly peeled open, and the ashen eyeball within could already swivel.
The large eye situated at the center looked toward it, meeting the gazes of nature and death while urging moonlight and death to awaken as quickly as possible.
As the four eyeballs at the corners—earth, fire, water, and wind—gradually brightened, the scene Wayne had envisioned came to fruition. He had found the correct way to open this book.
The massive central eye was the core of the Book of Greed—which meant Wayne himself. The countless smaller eyes covering the binding represented the complex truths of the cosmos; the more he understood and the more he learned, the brighter these eyes would become.
Furthermore, Wayne could wield these truths without falling into madness from knowing too much, and without worrying about becoming a puppet of desire. The Book of Greed was itself the greatest madness and desire in the world.
*As long as I'm crazy enough, I'll never go mad!*
"..."
The idol fell silent, choked with curses it could not utter. It had never seen anyone this utterly deranged.
At this moment, it came to a profound realization: Wayne was exceptional. The constitutions of different men could never be mentioned in the same breath; some people were simply born destined to scale that unreachable summit.
It felt envy, jealousy, and deep-seated hatred toward Wayne—alongside an equally overwhelming craving.
***
Headquarters of the Church of the Earth's Core.
Banners were strung up everywhere, colorful streamers fluttered in the breeze, and believers spontaneously released white doves symbolizing peace and beauty, driving the rally’s atmosphere toward a fever pitch.
The true climax came from the speech delivered by Yvon, Archbishop of the Church of the Earth's Core.
The bald elder concluded his singing and dancing with the flock, stepping onto the podium with a warm, amiable expression before raising a passionate fist into the air.
"The Church of the Earth's Core is a pragmatic faith! We do not encourage holy wars, nor do we care for conflict, and we have no wish to create strife with any other denomination."
"All we care about is whether everyone is well-fed and warmly clothed, whether you can provide for your children, and whether those children can grow up healthy in both body and mind!"
"Our Lord of the Void once bestowed an oracle: the Church of the Earth's Core pursues lifelong peace, and so does every single believer. We follow the guidance of the Lord of the Void; we speak no empty, grandiose platitudes, and we will dedicate ourselves to serving each and every one of you!"
"Today, on behalf of the entire Church of the Earth's Core, I, Archbishop Yvon, make this solemn promise to every believer and townsman present: you are all my family! As long as the Church of the Earth's Core remains in Enrold Town for even a single day, my family will never go hungry—everyone will have an endless supply of eggs!"
Yvon pumped his fist, while the cultists and townsfolk waved their hands in the air. Led by the town mayor, applause thundered through the crowd; everyone had received what they desired, and everyone had a bright future ahead.
Above the gathering, cheers of "Long live the Archbishop!" echoed through the air.
Yvon pressed his hands down modestly. A century of life was plenty for him; only the Lord of the Void was worthy of eternity.
Right then, his master’s summons rang in Yvon’s ears:
*"My servant, the Holy Son has descended. Lost in his path, he has strayed into error. Bring him before me immediately, without delay, and at any cost. I shall personally illuminate the way forward for him."*
Activating his red-name vision, Yvon spotted in the distance a crimson beam of light descending outside the town—marking the exact location of the idol, and where the Holy Son was to be found.
Chapter 48