Monica carefully searched among the skeletal remains of the collapsed altar, the light of her Appraisal spell shimmering at her fingertips.

Suddenly, she stopped moving.

Amidst a pile of charred bone fragments and sticky grime, she keenly spotted a faint metallic glint.

She carefully enveloped her fingers with the power of shadow, brushed away the residue, and picked up a thin metal piece the size of half a fingernail.

The thin piece is triangular in shape and appears to have originally been part of some kind of emblem.

But at this moment, its surface is covered with a thick layer of sticky, filthy scabs, and the edges even show signs of corrosion and melting.

Only faint marks could be seen under the scab, but the specific pattern was no longer discernible.

Monica frowned and put away the metal fragment that couldn't provide any useful information. She instinctively felt that it might be related to the runes that the wild god had passed on earlier, but the corrosion was too severe.

With her current level of expertise, she is not yet able to restore the original appearance of the item.

And since Ellen is a legendary character who advanced primarily as a Star Moon Mage, she probably wouldn't be able to identify any valuable information.

Perhaps she can only uncover the secrets behind that wild god after she successfully advances to the next level.

Mark was breathing heavily as the corrupt divine power emanating from the core of the Wild God within him was being forcefully decomposed and absorbed by the seven-colored black light of the cross necklace.

The excruciating pain was gradually replaced by an indescribable warmth and strength.

He looked down at the cross on his chest, which seemed to have absorbed all the light and appeared even more profound, feeling the purer and more powerful energy feedback it was transmitting back to him than before.

This energy not only healed his injuries and strengthened his physique, but also ignited a kind of...desire deep within his soul.

A primal yearning for more and more powerful "divinity".

His fingers unconsciously traced the warm edge of the cross, a dark light flashing in his eyes that he himself did not fully understand, as he muttered to himself.

His voice, tinged with a powerful hoarseness and an indescribable tremor, said, "My power... yearns to devour more."

His voice and demeanor were completely different from his usual gentle and firm image.

The air froze instantly.

"Mark?" Anna's voice trembled slightly, her grip on the Shadow Bow tightened, and she instinctively took a half-step back.

Having just been resurrected, she was particularly sensitive to this strange aura originating from the soul.

Enzo's massive body tensed, the light on his runic hammer flickering, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Mark and the cross necklace, filled with vigilance.

This honest and simple dwarf warrior has an intuition for danger far beyond that of ordinary people.

Monica had just put away the triangular metal fragment that was severely corroded by filth when she heard this and turned around abruptly.

Her perceptive eyes locked onto Mark instantly, her sharp gaze piercing through the dust, precisely capturing the fleeting, dark light in his eyes.

Her heart sank, and she cried out, "Mark! Wake up! Don't let the abyssal magic affect you!"

Mark seemed startled by her voice; his body trembled, and the darkness in his eyes quickly faded, restoring their usual clarity.

He looked up blankly at his companions' tense and worried faces, especially Monica's piercing gaze, and a look of confusion and apology appeared on his face:

"I... what did I just say? Sorry, it felt a little... strange."

“Strange!” Monica’s tone was urgent. She stepped forward, almost reaching out to grab Mark’s collar. “The way you looked just now…”

She didn't finish her sentence, but her worry and lingering fear were palpable.

"Enough." A lazy yet undeniably powerful voice broke the tension.

Ellen had already approached without anyone noticing. She crossed her arms, her gaze sweeping over the cross on Mark's chest before settling on Monica's face, a hint of bewildered helplessness in her expression.

"Relax, everyone. Don't look like you're facing a major disaster." Eileen's tone carried her unique, all-knowing calmness. "He won't die, and he won't be affected by any abyssal demonic energy."

She walked up to Mark, ignoring his slightly embarrassed expression from his earlier lapse in composure, her gaze seemingly able to penetrate his skin and see into the power surging deep within his soul.

“Listen, kid.” Eileen’s voice echoed clearly in the wolf’s den, “Your state just now was less about being influenced and more about resonating with something.”

“Resonance?” Mark repeated, puzzled.

“That’s right.” Ellen nodded slightly, her gaze drifting into the void, as if recalling the vast star map and knowledge.

“You absorbed the divinity of that wild god. Although it was filtered and transformed by the being behind you, it was still a fragment of ‘divinity’. In essence, it resonated deeply with the power flowing within you and the will of the ‘chief god’ behind you.”

She paused, as if giving everyone time to process the information, before continuing:

"This is a process that every professional seeking to enter the realm of legends, especially a priest like you who is deeply bound to the power of the gods, will inevitably go through."

"Your magic, your professional origins, and the divinity you inherit are undergoing fusion and transformation."

"This leap in power will awaken an instinctive desire deep within your soul—a desire for power itself, for the 'divinity' of a higher being."

"Just as a stream longs to flow into the sea, and a fledgling longs to soar through the sky, this is the most primal and purest impulse on the path of life and the evolution of power."

Eileen's metaphor is concise and powerful.

She looked at Mark, her tone calm yet each word clear:

"Therefore, the urge to devour more that you just felt was not entirely controlled by the main god behind you. To a greater extent, it was a hunger signal emitted by your own power in a state of resonance."

"This is the threshold for you to reach the legendary realm. It is the power telling you that it needs food to transform. As long as you can guard your own heart and not let this desire for power distort your will, lest you become a slave to greed or be assimilated by divinity..."

"Then this change will only make you stronger, allowing you to reach a whole new level of control and understanding of your own power."

Her words were like a cool ray of light, temporarily dispelling the fog in Mark's heart and some of his companions' worries.

Mark nodded thoughtfully, his fingers no longer unconsciously stroking the cross, but gently pressing it against his chest, as if sensing the restless and powerful force within him, his gaze gradually becoming firm.

He chose his career path himself, and naturally, he had to bear the risks involved.

Moreover, even after experiencing so much, I have also seen many people influenced by monsters or wild gods.

Mark, however, still felt he could maintain his true self.