"It affects the body’s hormones and, combined with indirect methods similar to psychological induction, creates a state resembling affection."
"What you think is an unforgettable love or love at first sight is actually just a rise in dopamine providing that so-called heart-fluttering sensation, and oxytocin establishing social connection and trust."
"Then, serotonin provides emotional balance and satisfaction, adrenaline gives you a sense of excitement, and an appropriate amount of testosterone is secreted to increase attraction and desire."
"In essence, it’s your own hormones influencing your entire body."
"Using such a method to bewitch people is certainly wrong. However, it has excellent effects when used for the clinical treatment of mental illnesses, like depression."
Qi Suian had researched the Eternal Love: Mutual Aid Necklace using a large number of test subjects and had come to quite a few conclusions.
Although its effect seemed underwhelming—merely increasing affection from the opposite sex and creating special psychological effects like the return of an unforgettable love or love at first sight—it actually possessed all sorts of medical, combat, and biological value if utilized more deeply.
For starters, when used on himself, it could significantly alleviate Qi Suian’s psychological and spiritual problems.
It would allow Qi Suian to remain in a relatively peaceful state, and the torment from his afflictions would be drastically reduced.
Even though he had already grown accustomed to the pain, any bit of comfort was welcome.
However, Qi Suian ignored this option and decided to use it in reverse.
’By combining it with the Abyssal Virus, I can induce pathological hormonal changes in myself, further stimulating the virus to produce symptoms that target the mind and Spirit.’
’Besides increasing its potency, it can also serve as another layer of defense for me.’
Qi Suian possessed immense adaptability and rapid growth, so he would quickly adapt to these afflictions and gain a corresponding resistance.
The afflictions would never disappear completely, but they would grant him sufficient power.
’As for using it in combat, that’s simple. The Abyssal Virus can cause enemies to develop mental illnesses, psychological issues, and more.’
’It just needs to be cultured directionally. I have the Plague and Disease Set module, which allows for control, but achieving directed mutation will probably take a significant amount of time.’
’And I’ll need a suitable Sacred Artifact for that.’
Qi Suian frowned. He had discovered another shortcoming of the Plague and Disease Set.
’Native Sacred Artifacts are indeed very effective. Especially when integrated as a module, forcibly upgrading them from A-rank to SSS-rank not only enhances their original power but also removes their side effects and costs.’
’However, as a native Sacred Artifact, its singular focus is both a strength and a weakness.’
’It’s a strength because its effect can be fully realized. It’s a weakness because it’s incomplete. To make up for what’s missing, I’d either have to complete the set or use other modules to compensate.’
’It’s specialized, but that’s all it is.’
’Jigsaw Sacred Artifacts could compensate, but they aren’t suitable for the Tai Sui God.’
’This should be able to solve the problem.’ Qi Suian’s gaze shifted to another Sacred Artifact.
It was one he had confiscated from a School Officer of the Eternal United States, named Nightingale Street: The Noble’s Pain.
Its ability was to randomly combine the syphilis, gonorrhea, and other venereal diseases its wielder carried into new ones.
The more diseases that were combined, the more potent the resulting affliction would become.
As for the cost, the wielder would contract every single one of those venereal diseases.
That was why it was part of a Jigsaw Sacred Artifact, not meant to be used alone.
The cost was truly immense.
In Qi Suian’s view, this artifact could be a perfect component for his Plague and Disease Set module, specifically for achieving directed mutation.
Combined with the control effect of the Shepherd Priest, he would be able to perform directed mutations.
The only problem was that the Tai Sui God didn’t have enough module slots to install it yet.
But that was no matter. The Tai Sui God was about to evolve soon anyway.
Aside from this native Sacred Artifact, The Noble’s Pain, he had thrown all the others into the Melting Furnace.
This was a decision he came to after careful consideration.
There were two reasons for this. First, there were simply too many artifacts, and he lacked the energy to study them all. He had to be selective, so he chose the Eternal Love series—which his Protagonist’s Halo had selected for him—as his primary research subject.
Artifacts involving things like space or transformation were too complex and unsuitable for him to research at his current stage.
The two Sacred Artifacts from the Eternal Love series, on the other hand, were not only a set but also allowed for more comprehensive research. Furthermore, there was a high probability he would obtain other native Sacred Artifacts from the same series in the future.
The Mutual Aid Necklace involved the manipulation of Spirit, consciousness, and the self, while the Ring of Unwavering Loyalty, which could fuse non-living objects and non-Sacred Artifacts, touched upon the issue of rejection by the human body.
Finally, assembling them into a Jigsaw Sacred Artifact would yield an enhanced effect. It provided a complete research path; all he had to do was immerse himself in studying it.
The second reason was the current political climate. Because he had killed numerous military leaders, the Eternal United States had issued a full-scale manhunt for him.
This was no longer a minor skirmish like before; his actions had been officially classified as an invasion.
Therefore, his pursuers weren’t some search party but elite soldiers wielding Sacred Artifacts, a force capable of waging a large-scale battle deep within the Xuan Empire’s heartland.
There were even covert units constantly tracking and monitoring him.
To avoid dying at the enemy’s hands, Qi Suian had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Improving his own strength was a difficult process, so he chose to upgrade the Tai Sui God instead.
The fastest way to do that was to burn the confiscated Sacred Artifacts as fuel. He didn’t have the energy to research them all anyway, so he might as well burn what he could.
Most importantly, he had discovered the limitations of Sacred Artifacts.
Their power was like the sword of a fallen dynasty, useless against an official of the new one.
Once he left the Sacred Artifact World, Qi Suian estimated that standard-issue Sacred Artifacts would become completely ineffective. The power of native Sacred Artifacts would plummet, and he’d be lucky if they retained even a D-rank quality.
Jigsaw Sacred Artifacts would also lose their powerful abilities, their quality regressing significantly.
It was the same situation as cold energy, which was extremely dependent on its environment.
Likewise, the percentage-based fuel effect was unique to the Sacred Artifact World. Once he left, they would only burn as fuel at a conventional rate.
Therefore, Qi Suian’s plan was to use as many Sacred Artifacts as possible for fuel before he left.
For his research, he would focus on the Eternal Love series.
After all, his Protagonist’s Halo had chosen it for him. It was unrealistic to think there wasn’t some special benefit to it.
Was he supposed to distrust his Protagonist’s Halo and trust the simplistic panel of the doomsday game instead?
No matter how powerful a Sacred Artifact was, it had to be studied to extract useful knowledge before that knowledge could be converted into actual strength.
It wasn’t that Qi Suian didn’t want to research subjects like space and time, but tackling things so far beyond his current capabilities would be a futile effort, like trying to draw water with a bamboo basket.
Not only would he fail to produce any results, but he would also delay his own growth.
What suited him was what was best. Something powerful but unsuitable was most likely an illusion, like a flower in a mirror or the moon’s reflection in water.
[Spatial fluctuation detected. Please prepare for enemy contact.]
The AI gave a warning.
Qi Suian deftly tossed all his equipment and test subjects into his Subspace Pocket.
’Running away all the time isn’t a long-term solution.’
"Those Sacred Artifacts are almost done burning, anyway. Time to refuel," Qi Suian said coldly.
Since he had thrown the native Sacred Artifacts into the Melting Furnace at around the same time, they would also finish burning at roughly the same time.
It wasn’t a case of one burning before the other.
[Have you been affected by the conflict? Do you require an inactivation cycle?]
The AI had triggered a pre-set keyword, generating a critical feedback alert.
"A little," Qi Suian said, checking the time. Twenty-eight minutes had passed since his last thirty-minute inactivation cycle.
"But we do need more fuel."
"I’ve already dodged them three times, and they still won’t let me go."
"Barbarians. They respect power, not principle!" Qi Suian cursed, then said, "First, I’ll set a trap and see what I can get out of them. Then I’ll relocate."
Qi Suian glanced at the fuel progress in the Melting Furnace, then checked the time again.
The time it would take to set the trap should be just enough for him to undergo one "Death Reforging." Afterward, it would be perfectly clear whether he was being affected by combat psychosis or not.
He had it all planned out.
[As you command.]
The AI, of course, did not disobey and began to carry out his instructions immediately.
-----------------
"Are you certain there’s no mistake this time?" Sandton asked, his expression grave.
He was a Major General in the Eternal United States, dispatched by the United States to resolve the "contact" incident that had shocked the entire nation.
The enemy was cunning, having already evaded three of their attempts to corner him.
He managed to detect them in advance and escape every single time. It was highly likely that he was detecting the Sacred Artifact they were using for tracking.
They had already changed tracking personnel three times, all with unsatisfactory results. The pressure on Sandton was mounting.
Failing once or twice could be written off as a mistake, but if they couldn’t find him this time, Sandton would have to answer to the United States.
"There won’t be any mistakes. This time, we’re equipped with a real-time teleportation ability, but..." The Colonel holding the tracking Jigsaw Sacred Artifact trailed off, hesitating.
"It can only teleport one person. I’m aware of that, which is why I have to be the one to go." Sandton, who had sought out this particular officer, was naturally aware of his Jigsaw Sacred Artifact’s capabilities. "Enough talk. Since you have a lock, send me over."
Through the Jigsaw Sacred Artifact’s power of retrospection, Sandton knew exactly what had happened during the incident.
The enemy’s strength didn’t lie in his individual power, but in his ability to achieve devastating results after having time to prepare the battlefield.
Therefore, in terms of raw power, the target was weaker than even a School Officer.
As a Major General, as long as he didn’t allow the target to finish his preparations and build momentum, killing him would be a simple matter.
His goal was to resolve this matter as quickly as possible, as the incident had already stirred up a media frenzy in the Eternal United States.
This was a good thing, however, as it had further boosted morale for the war against the Xuan Empire.
The effect was a positive one, but the incident still needed to be resolved quickly. Doing so would demonstrate the decisive power and deep reserves of the Eternal United States, maximizing the resulting boost to morale.
"Understood. I’ll teleport you immediately. Please don’t move during the process to avoid any issues." The officer didn’t hesitate and immediately activated his Jigsaw Sacred Artifact.