Corruption

The moment the realization struck that he was the one who was corrupted, Zhang Yuanqing felt as though his personality had split in two—one half clear and rational, the other chaotic and twisted. It was just like in folklore, where a walking corpse, unaware it was already dead, was suddenly jolted awake. "This is an Aberrant's dungeon, an evil class dungeon. I replaced Demonic Beast Haas. I'm the villain on this ship. Why did I think the crew were the monsters? My perception has been warped..." No wonder the crew feared him so much—everyone knew he was an Aberrant monster, yet they had to play along with him to keep him stable. No wonder the quarters had been cleared out—the crew hadn't wanted him to remember his identity as "Lieutenant Stephen." Lieutenant Stephen's perception in the journal had also been warped. Stephen had believed all the crew members had mutated into Aberrants and only he remained normal. That was a glaring logical flaw: if the entire crew had turned into monsters, how could Lieutenant Stephen alone have been spared? In truth, Stephen was the mutated monster all along. "Damn it. From the very moment I entered the dungeon, I was corrupted. My perception was warped subconsciously, spawning hallucinations... Why can't the divine power of the sun cleanse this distortion?" Zhang Yuanqing slumped weakly onto a bench, pressing his right hand against his head, an expression of agony on his face. His expression twisted, his gaze alternating between calm clarity and cold gloom. This was his conscious will warring against mental corruption. If he had opened the captain's desk drawer last night and read James's notebook, he would have realized the truth immediately. But he had chosen to "play it safe"—a decision that was most likely influenced by the corruption itself. Subconsciously, he hadn't wanted to open that drawer. Back then, he hadn't wanted to be awakened. "What's wrong with you?" Commandery Princess Yinyao stepped forward, a touch anxious. She didn't know what Yuanshi Tianzun had encountered, but she could tell his current state was terrible. "My mind has been corrupted... corrupted by a high-ranking evil power..." Zhang Yuanqing pounded his head. "I... I can't tell which one is the real me. I can't distinguish reality from illusion anymore." From his perspective, the crew and the Holy See's spirit realm walkers were all mutated monsters covered in scales and tentacles. He had seen it with his own eyes. Yet James's notebook and countless details in the dungeon told him that Lieutenant Haas was the corrupted one. Clearheaded, Commandery Princess Yinyao raised her small loudspeaker to his ear and yelled: "Hurry and circulate the Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record! Believe in the power of the sun! All foul filth will turn to ash under the sunlight! Your mind is indeed corrupted. In the battle just now, you subconsciously neglected the divine power of the sun. You didn't want to use it because it would purge the corruption and improve your condition!" Zhang Yuanqing immediately sat cross-legged and began to breathe in and circulate the divine power of the sun, letting his breath turn scorching and a golden glow slowly illuminate his lungs... Suddenly, that mysterious, ethereal whispering echoed by Zhang Yuanqing's ears once more. It sounded like mindless muttering, yet also like some unknown tongue. Zhang Yuanqing's mind instantly plunged into chaos, breaking his concentration so that he could no longer maintain the circulation of the divine power of the sun. Veins bulged across his forehead, and fine, hard flesh buds sprouted across his neck—ugly and repulsive—crawling toward his chest beneath his clothes. "A bit disgusting..." Commandery Princess Yinyao commented. Seeing Yuanshi Tianzun's contorted, agonized expression, she knew this was no time for snide remarks and hurried to say: "Evil-Breaking Talismans! Do you have any Evil-Breaking Talismans left?" "What's an Evil-Breaking Talisman..." Zhang Yuanqing's brain was sluggish. Only after several seconds of stupor did he answer, "All gone long ago..." His agonized expression vanished abruptly, replaced by a calm look tinged with icy detachment. He smiled. "Nice work, Yinyao. We've dealt with the Holy See's spirit realm walkers. Next, we just need to seal the demon seed. I plan to use that coffin to seal it. "Right, two Knights are still alive down in the hold. Let's head down and finish them off." He seemed to have completely forgotten what had just transpired. Commandery Princess Yinyao's heart sank. Yuanshi Tianzun's perception was warped, and he had even begun hallucinating. Stepping back several paces, she gripped the Mountain God Scepter in one hand and raised her small loudspeaker in the other. "Yuanshi Tianzun, you've been corrupted! You've been corrupted! You've been corrupted!" A crackle of static came from the speaker in her waist pouch: "Important things must be said three times." Zhang Yuanqing paused, scrutinizing Commandery Princess Yinyao closely. His expression darkened, his gaze growing colder. "Yinyao, you... have you been corrupted too?" Having become a yin corpse, Commandery Princess Yinyao's body had long lost sensation, yet in this moment, she felt a long-forgotten tingling on her scalp. In Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes, she might have turned into an Aberrant as well, covered in tentacles and scales, monstrous and hideous. So was he going to kill her next? Just then, she heard Yuanshi Tianzun sigh. "Yinyao, I can only seal you away for now. Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to save you. If all else fails, I can summon the old crone—no, my Youqing." The Elvis speaker crackled with static, a deep male voice ringing out: "He still loves you!" Commandery Princess Yinyao didn't bother replying to the speaker, her expression solemn. He truly had gone mad. "Old crone" was a nickname Yuanshi Tianzun only dared to utter when he was feeling mischievous, but "Youqing" was a name he wouldn't dare say even if he were beaten to death. *Clang!* Yuanshi Tianzun had already retrieved the black coffin, preparing to seal Commandery Princess Yinyao inside, completely oblivious to his earlier remark about sealing the demon seed in it. Sealing the demon seed was his sole remaining shred of sanity, but subconsciously, corrupted by the demon seed, there was no way he would actually seal it. Commandery Princess Yinyao backed away a few steps, her mind racing for a solution, only to realize with despair that she was powerless inside a Spirit Realm dungeon. If this were the real world, she could ask the Saints of Return of the Dead for help, or at worst, call Heaven's Punishment for backup. Yet here in the Spirit Realm, she was isolated and helpless. The only items she had on hand were a pair of sliding shoes, a scepter, and a speaker that could only spout nonsense and play vulgar, smutty audio. Even if she wanted to summon her master, she lacked the summoning ritual and materials. As thoughts flashed through her mind, Commandery Princess Yinyao had an idea. She slapped the Elvis speaker. "Drums!" *Bzzzt...* Static hissed from the Elvis speaker. A second later, heavy drumbeats sounded, echoing through the enclosed captain's cabin. *Thump, thump, thump...* Zhang Yuanqing frowned. The drumbeats agitated him. He bared his teeth in a smile. "Elvis speaker, even you've turned traitor? Fine, I'll seal you too..." Suddenly, he clutched his head in agony. "Yinyao, I... I can't tell! I can't tell reality from illusion!!" Seeing this, Commandery Princess Yinyao breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't made the Elvis speaker play drumbeats to suppress Yuanshi Tianzun—the suppressive effect of the drumbeats was negligible against a peak Level 6 Saint. Her purpose was to use the Elvis speaker to awaken Yuanshi Tianzun's normal side. The only person who could defeat Yuanshi Tianzun in this dungeon was himself. Commandery Princess Yinyao told the real Yuanshi Tianzun about the existence of the "cold, detached Yuanshi Tianzun." Cold sweat drenched Zhang Yuanqing as he listened. "Princess, I've realized something terrible. If I wipe out the Holy See's spirit realm walkers and smoothly complete the quest, I might completely lose control and become a Corrupted One." This was Demonic Beast Haas's dungeon. As an Aberrant, Demonic Beast Haas's mission was to slaughter the crew and the Holy See's Orderly classes and release the sealed demon seed. The Orderly forces on this cruise ship were powerful—so powerful that even Zhang Yuanqing, a dual-class Saint aided by three yin corpses, had nearly perished under the Cardinal's lightning explosion. —Though part of that was because his warped perception had made him reckless and frenzied, preventing him from fighting at his usual standard. Still, against the cruise ship's Orderly forces, Demonic Beast Haas faced a near-certain death. Therefore, the demon seed down in the hold would whisper to Haas, bolstering his power. With each passing day, the boost grew stronger. After five days, Demonic Beast Haas's power would be great enough to sweep the ship clean. That was the underlying logic Zhang Yuanqing had pieced together. Demonic Beast Haas belonged to an evil class; the demon seed's empowerment and corruption were like divine nectar to him. But to Zhang Yuanqing, they were lethal poison. The reward for clearing the dungeon would turn him straight into a Corrupted One. Now that the Holy See's people were dead and the demon seed's whispers were growing stronger, the second day had already split his mind. By the third day, his sanity would sink completely, beyond the ability of the Elvis speaker to wake him. Having explained his concerns and predicament, Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "My mind isn't clear. I need a guiding light. Yinyao..." Before he could finish, the Elvis speaker emitted a *click*—the sound of turning on a lamp. Both Zhang Yuanqing and Commandery Princess Yinyao looked at the speaker together. "Do you think you're funny?" The Elvis speaker chickened out and quietly played dead. Zhang Yuanqing continued, "Yinyao, the only way now is for me to lie inside the coffin and seal myself. Three days remain until the quest ends. If the President comes to pull me out within three days, there's still hope. If the President doesn't come..." *Then I'll become a Corrupted One.* If the demon seed were merely a Dominator-grade entity, he would still stand a chance of regaining his sanity—so long as a Day Wanderer intervened, his madness could be cleansed. Yet Zhang Yuanqing harbored a nagging worry. For a Level 6 Saint-stage dungeon, the setting was a cruise ship in the year 1900. If it were only B-rank, or even A-rank, that would be one thing. But "Horror Cruise" was an S-rank dungeon. The setup of an S-rank dungeon was never just about a straightforward crisis; there was bound to be a deeper hidden plot. Hence, the demon seed was almost certainly far more than a simple Dominator-grade object. Zhang Yuanqing feared that the demon seed's corruption was extraordinary. If so, even upon returning to reality, he very likely wouldn't be cleansed. Commandery Princess Yinyao didn't reply, remaining silent. Yuanshi Tianzun was delirious and mentally exhausted. She was the only one he could rely on now. After a dozen seconds, Commandery Princess Yinyao suddenly said, "Why did you destroy that magic circle?" "What?" Zhang Yuanqing froze. "Why did you destroy the magic circle?" Commandery Princess Yinyao repeated. Zhang Yuanqing clutched his head, his temples throbbing painfully as his mind turned chaotic once more. "I... I don't know... No, I do know. Because I was afraid of it. An instinctive fear." Commandery Princess Yinyao spoke rapidly: "The demon seed was sealed, right? That Cardinal of the Holy See had a way to suppress the demon seed, which means he had a way to suppress you too. Why not seek help from the Holy See's people?" "But the Cardinal is already dead." "Aren't there two Knights left? Even if the Cardinal is dead, his spirit is still there!" The two exchanged a look. "Back to the hold!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't put the coffin away. He worried that if he went mad, he might kill Commandery Princess Yinyao outright instead of bringing out the coffin to seal her. And if he didn't leave the coffin out, even the option of self-sealing would be lost. Together with Commandery Princess Yinyao, he transformed into starlight and vanished from the captain's quarters. Down in the bottom hold, two bursts of starlight flared. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the two Knights still fighting the yin corpses, then turned his gaze toward the Cardinal's carbonized body. A soft gasp came from Commandery Princess Yinyao's small loudspeaker. She hurried over to the charred corpse, crouched to inspect it for a few seconds, then looked up in delight and raised the speaker: "He's still breathing." Zhang Yuanqing hummed in acknowledgment. He could tell as well. The Cardinal's body was heavily carbonized, but a faint, nearly imperceptible heartbeat remained. The Cardinal had carbonized from the backlash of his own lightning explosion, but he hadn't actually suffered the impact of the blast, since the explosion had been centered on him. "Then hurry and save him!" Commandery Princess Yinyao urged. Across from them, seeing their enemies return and seemingly intending to finish off the Cardinal, the two Knights panicked and desperately tried to charge over to the rescue, only to be held down firmly by Bai Ren Zhan and Greed Divine General. "Yinyao, you've mutated too?" Zhang Yuanqing suddenly assumed a cold, detached expression. "Then I have no choice but to destroy you. Youqing won't blame me." Commandery Princess Yinyao's heart sank. "Drums!" The Elvis speaker immediately blared the drumbeats. At critical moments, it remained dependable and didn't drop the ball. Amidst the heavy, resonant drumming, Zhang Yuanqing clutched his head in anguish, gradually regaining his senses. "Save him, hurry! Your condition is getting worse!" Commandery Princess Yinyao held up the small loudspeaker, her voice somewhat shrill. At the same time, she pressed the Mountain God Scepter against the Cardinal's chest, coaxing emerald light from the gem at its tip to temporarily keep him alive. Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly pulled out a vial of life fluid and peeled away the charred crust on the Cardinal's neck, only to find it burned to the bone, offering no veins for injection. Right at that moment, the demon seed's whispers drifted into his mind once more, warping his perception and corrupting his spirit.