The system sent a notification indicating the completion of a task. Niu Chang lost interest immediately upon seeing the notification, as it only had two digits. From this alone, he had already drawn a conclusion in his heart.
'There goes the task,' Niu Chang thought to himself. He had completed what he intended to do - destroy the brain of the demonic snake for his next experiment.
He commanded his partially destroyed right arm to heal itself using Authority.
The dim white transformation qi obediently followed his command, swarming into the injuries and starting the healing process.
Niu Chang noticed that the healing progress was much slower than that of the Verdant Will.
'That is to be expected; there are no strongest skills after all. In the realm of fantasy power settings, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. If you claim to have the power of death and the ability to kill anything, someone might come up with the power of anti-death or immortality just to counter you.'
With that in mind, he slightly adjusted the equilibrium of his consumption to leave room for the use of the Verdant Will.
Activating the Verdant Will, Niu Chang used Authority to enhance its effects, and it worked seamlessly.
The verdant green qi surrounded his half-destroyed arm and began repairing it at a visible speed. The blood vessels wriggled like worms, flesh grew grotesquely, and bones extended from where they had been damaged.
Before long, his right arm was completely healed.
He approached the headless demonic snake and began repairing its corpse.
'If restoring the corpse to its healthy state allows for revival, then destroying the brain should have a negative effect on resurrection. It might result in true death, where the newly resurrected self no longer remembers its previous existence.'
Once again, Authority enhanced the healing effect of the Verdant Will and reduced the time needed to heal the broken head by half.
In just a few minutes, the head had regained its shape.
Soon after, Niu Chang felt the breath of life rising once again from the newly healed body of the demonic snake.
The snake moved its eyeballs and regained focus, staring blankly at Niu Chang, who stood in front of its head.
Observing the snake's eyes, Niu Chang found no intense reaction or anything of that sort. Instead, driven by instinct, the snake attempted to attack him.
It shook off the hand that touched its face and opened its jaw, attempting to devour Niu Chang whole.
Niu Chang confirmed his suspicions and casually slapped the silly demonic snake with his hand.
Overwhelmed by the force, the snake's head was pushed sideways. Its reptilian eyes showed clear confusion. "What happened? Why did my food slap my face? And why is it so powerful and painful?"
However, with its limited intelligence, the demonic snake disregarded these distracting thoughts and charged once again.
Niu Chang was already done with the demonic snake and had no further use for it. He activated the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red, causing the now-diminished overflowing qi around his body to manifest slightly, showcasing its imagery.
A handful of red qi transformed into the essence of spring, with cherry blossom shadows dancing in a flickering manner.
The infantile intelligence of the demonic snake was easily stunned by the restricting effect of the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. A phantom shrine maiden appeared near its head and hugged it from behind.
With its unhealed spinal injuries and the newly improved Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red, the demonic snake was halted in place.
Niu Chang was momentarily dazed when he used the newly improved Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. A faint shadow enveloped his mind, rendering him immobile for a moment before he regained his composure.
'The improvement was successful, but the potency has also increased to the point that I was affected by it as well.'
Since he was not in a hurry, he delved deeper into his mind to eliminate any remaining hidden dangers. Then he carefully observed his surroundings to see the differences brought about by the improvement.
He had used the skill before, but only in a half-activated state. Now, when he activated it to its fullest, the improvements were clearly evident.
The first noticeable change was in the shrine maiden phantom, which was now infused with crucial traces of white. As the name implied, the shrine maiden should wear a red and white kimono, and now it had a tinge of white among the red in its robe.
The imagery around Niu Chang also changed slightly. The cherry blossom petals became more fantastical, defying the laws of physics. They floated in the air, refusing to fall.
As if trying to embrace him... 'No, this is wrong! I don't want to be embraced by the shrine maiden. I need to revise this new update when I have the time.'
Then he discovered two more differences: the conversion of red qi and the nature of the red qi itself. It became more subtle and potent.
The demonic snake was the first to experience the improved version of the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. It was now on cloud nine and had lost its own will.
'Well, it seems the core idea works, at least. Once you are held in her embrace, nothing else matters.'
After being embraced by Qiuyue for a brief moment, Niu Chang realized that his Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red lacked the essence of true emotion.
The lifeless shrine maiden phantom now exhibited compassionate and affectionate love through its embrace of the demonic snake's head.
Eternal Vow.
Executing the killing move, the red qi surged momentarily, and the shrine maiden phantom let out ethereal giggles that faded away.
As the demonic snake's soul was dragged into oblivion, the shrine maiden phantom became more defined and lifelike, as if absorbing the soul of the demonic snake to strengthen itself.
'A demonic technique indeed, taking from others to strengthen oneself... but I like it.'
Since it was taking too long, Niu Chang activated the Eternal Vow once again. The Eternal Vow could be activated at any time as long as the enemy was already affected by the first three skills of the Shrine Maiden under the Sacred Tree.
Activating it for the second time or more would result in a more potent attack on the enemy's soul and spirit.
Spamming the Eternal Vow like a bored gamer, Niu Chang finally killed the demonic snake, leaving behind an empty shell.
The shrine maiden phantom now appeared as a semi-phantom, half-real entity, but many details remained blurred due to Niu Chang's limited proficiency in the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red.
Through their connection, he could control the shrine maiden phantom, but it was currently useless as there were no enemies around.
He called back the shrine maiden phantom and compressed its essence to save it for later.
A lump of red qi filled with the spirituality of the demonic snake floated on Niu Chang's palm.
'If my guess is correct, I can turn the shrine maiden in my mind into a living being if I gather enough essences.'
Closing his hand, he stored the red qi deep within his body.
'Now, the final task,' Niu Chang turned his body and noticed Qiuyue looking at him with a crazed and uncontained idolization.
Her face was flushed and hot, her breathing slightly increased, and her gaze was too sharp, causing a pang in Niu Chang's heart.
'I know I'm not entirely sane, but what is that gaze? Her level of craziness surpasses mine. I need to tweak some gears in her head to my liking.'
Observing Niu Chang walking toward her, Qiuyue gradually returned to her usual innocent and pure personality.
"Did you digest more memories?" Niu Chang casually asked her.
Qiuyue nodded obediently, like a well-behaved child.
"I believe I already mentioned that not everything in those memories is meant for you to follow," Niu Chang began to educate her on how to be a perfect follower that suited his tastes.
Throughout the conversation, Qiuyue continued nodding, accepting everything Niu Chang said.
"Do you remember what I said?" Niu Chang asked to confirm if his long speech and specifications for an ideal follower were understood completely.
"Yes, savior. I will follow all your orders!" Qiuyue displayed a serious expression as she confirmed her commitment.
"Very well," taking her words at face value, Niu Chang instructed her to consume the demonic snake.
Qiuyue, who was possessed by the zombie Shen Sanhua, had inherited a unique constitution. Naturally, Niu Chang desired a strong follower who could perform various tasks on his behalf, as he himself couldn't cultivate like an ordinary person.
Instead of wasting such a healthy demonic snake at the master stage, it was better to feed it to Qiuyue.
Niu Chang healed the demonic snake's spinal injuries to improve its vitality so that Qiuyue could absorb more energy.
He watched as Qiuyue consumed the vitality of the demonic snake, along with its cultivation base. Despite this, Niu Chang didn't allow her to stop, as he continued healing the demonic snake while Qiuyue continued absorbing its vitality.
There were two reasons for doing this. First, Qiuyue firmly rejected the idea of absorbing Niu Chang's vitality, and second, Niu Chang was curious to see if Qiuyue's ghostly qi would undergo any upgrades after absorbing the potent vitality of a demonic beast.
Naturally, the Verdant Will couldn't restore the demonic snake's cultivation level, but it didn't diminish the quality of its vitality.