My Items Can Upgrade-Chapter 326 - 177: Shadow Demon (95/101)_3

"Is it really that simple?"

Yang Yuan asked, "The Dark Heart is a Marvel, right? There’s always a price to pay when using Marvels."

Lu Mei’s expression didn’t change, but she couldn’t help but ask, "What is the price?"

"The price..."

The Shadow Demon pondered for a moment and then said, "The price is that you become a proxy of the Abyss, just like me. From then on, you will be a person without a Shadow; you become the Shadow yourself, forever living in darkness. I, too, was not like this before. This Dark Heart is a Celestial Marvel, but at the same time, it is also a magical Marvel, produced by ’Abyss,’ a creature you cannot imagine."

Abyss?

A combination of Celestial Marvel and magical Marvel?

Everyone present felt amazed.

"What is the Abyss?" Lu Mei asked with a frown, very cautious about the term.

"The Abyss..."

The Shadow Demon smiled, with an expression full of meaning: "In very ancient records, it was similar to your Creation Continent, but the Game Government went too far, the entire world fiercely resisted, more than 90% of the beings willingly sacrificed themselves, merging into the world’s will, turning the entire world into a living entity. If it weren’t for this incident, your world might have reached that point too. It’s... such a pity."

Yang Yuan and the others exchanged glances, seeing shock and disbelief in each other’s eyes.

"Such a grand play originally; it got disrupted by a beam of light. Truly a pity. The crash of the Game Government’s temporary authority structure is a huge loss for the Game Government, but for the Creation Continent, it’s an enormous opportunity."

The Shadow Demon sighed and smiled, continuing, "The Dark Heart is also called the ’Heart of Freedom,’ it can make you complete. Yes, truly complete, even if your soul has been taken, even if you’ve been forcibly enslaved, you can become whole through it, no longer bound, but the price is becoming a part of the Abyss."

"And then? Will the Abyss have me do something?" Lu Mei asked.

She would never be restricted by anyone; otherwise, she would have agreed to Yang Yuan’s plan earlier.

The Shadow Demon replied with a slight smile, "If they ask you to oppose the Game Government, would you agree?"

Lu Mei’s eyes flashed with determination: "I would!"

She said it very firmly.

The Shadow Demon’s eyes brightened, "So you’re a fellow traveler; then you don’t need to worry. As long as you stand against the Game Government, the Abyss will do you no harm; it might even go out of its way to help you."

Zhao Jiayan couldn’t help but ask, "This is the Mountain God Temple; won’t the Game Government hear what you’re saying?"

"Do you think the Game Government has that much free time? And even if they do hear it, so what? Words like mine are spoken by countless beings every day, but after endless ages, things remain unchanged."

The Shadow Demon was indifferent. He looked at Lu Mei again, "I’ve said all I needed to say. Whether to choose or not is up to you. I just happened to come here, heard what you were saying, and extended a hand to help... By the way, this Dark Heart needs to be purchased. I can extend you credit, but in the future, you will need to pay me a Cosmic Crystal." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"What is a Cosmic Crystal?" Lu Mei asked.

"It’s a currency that you won’t need to use now. Just remember it."

The Shadow Demon tossed the Dark Heart over.

Lu Mei instinctively caught it, "No need for a contract? Aren’t you afraid I might go back on our deal?"

"Ha, no life dares to owe me money."

The Shadow Demon laughed coldly, and then smiled, "Of course, since you’re a fellow traveler, I can allow you to defer payment unless you lose your mind and decide to side with the Game Government."

With that, his figure slowly faded away, just like when he came.

"Wait, how do I use it?" Lu Mei asked hastily.

"Swallow it."

The Shadow Demon completely vanished.

"It’s gone," Jiang Yiyi said softly.

Yang Yuan nodded, looking at Lu Mei, "Are you really going to use the Dark Heart?"

"Or does Mr. Yang have a better method?" Lu Mei asked back.

Yang Yuan was silent; at least for now, he had no good way to help Lu Mei break free from the Mountain God Temple’s constraints.

"Then wish me luck."

There was a hint of a crazed smile in Lu Mei’s lifeless eyes, "At worst, it’s just death."

With that, she swallowed the black stone directly.

In the next moment, under the watchful eyes of Yang Yuan and the others, her entire being turned pitch black, and the shadow beneath her feet vanished... No, to be precise, the shadow retracted and merged with her.

This process was very brief, lasting only seconds.

"How is it?" Zhao Jiayan asked.

"I can feel it."

Transformed into a black humanoid figure, Lu Mei turned around, looking at her own Divine Statue. With a wave of her hand, a beam of light flew out from the statue and entered her body.

"Boom—"

The Mountain God Statue crumbled instantly, turned to dust, and scattered with the wind.

At the same time, a Divine Format flew out.

"Rumble—"

A blood-red lightning suddenly appeared in the sky above Mountain God Mountain, but whether it was because Lu Mei wasn’t truly dead or some other reason, the blood-red lightning was very small.

Everyone on Mountain God Mountain was shocked, looking at the suddenly appearing blood-red lightning.

Chang Xinrou, who was helping some ordinary people plow the fields, transformed into a stream of light and rushed towards the summit.

Inside the Mountain God Temple.

Lu Mei’s entire aura changed, not becoming stronger, but becoming more elusive.