Chapter 1020 Puppet Mask and Nuo Witch
Aiwass walked forward and picked up the red puppet mask on the ground.
This was a smiling mask crafted from carnelian, a flesh-red color—the same mask Xi Tiansi had worn earlier. When it wasn't worn, the holes where the eyes and mouth would be were transparent. However, once it was placed on the face, they filled with black, obscuring the facial features beneath.
“…Is that so?”
Aiwass held the mask and muttered to himself.
He could clearly sense the power of the Tao from it, but his system did not show any prompts.
This is normal.
Ever since Aiwass completely distorted the established future and made the world officially step into the "IF line", there are more and more things that the system cannot recognize.
In the original worldline, Xi Tiansi survived until the very end, successfully winning the game. After the Transcendence Tide ended, Xi Tiansi became the only remaining Tiansi from the Path of Beauty. He participated in almost no plot, even cleverly avoiding all shots... Because of this, Aiwass was completely unfamiliar with his abilities and personality.
Aiwass didn't actually know what Xi Tiansi's purpose was. If he came to get close to him like Shadow Tiansi did, because he didn't want to be dragged down by the Tail Ring Ceremony, that didn't seem likely... He could only sense that, at least for now, Xi Tiansi held no ill will towards him.
"What is this thing for?"
Sherlock walked over and asked Aiwass casually.
Aiwass raised his eyebrows in surprise, handed the puppet mask to Sherlock, and asked, "Why should I know?"
"After all, you seem to know everything."
Sherlock carefully felt the texture of the puppet's mask, with a deep blue light dancing in his pupils.
He responded slowly, "Didn't someone openly discuss the replacement of the Pillar God when he was still at the first energy level?"
"I don't know everything, I only know what I know."
Aiwass said seriously.
He wasn't kidding—it was the truth. Yassen might not understand what he was saying, but Sherlock, who knew Aiwass well, would surely understand what he meant.
Sherlock ignored Aiwass and concentrated on infiltrating the extraordinary power of the Path of Wisdom into the mask.
"...Oh," Aiwass was a little surprised, "You learned the art of identification?"
This is the "identification" ability that only high-level extraordinary people on the path of wisdom can acquire - by communicating with the source, they can skip experiments and proofs and directly obtain fragments of truth.
The mages of the Mage Tower were able to develop advanced products far surpassing those of top alchemists thanks to this almost cheating "Truth Prayer," which allowed them to trace and restore ancient technology to a certain degree simply by obtaining fragments. The Dream Monk's internal library possessed similar abilities, both of which were mystical techniques directly related to "truth."
"It's not difficult to learn."
Sherlock casually said, "This can be considered as the advance payment from the Duke, and it's also the reason why he must seek the help of a transcendental being of wisdom. I didn't expect that the first time I learned this skill outside of work would be to help you identify something..."
"You're not helping me."
Aiwass drew a line in the sand: "I've already said that even if I give something away, it's for you."
"hehe."
Sherlock sneered. "You're quite talkative, Mr. Fox. You speak as if we have the ability to use it... We've already roughly identified it."
As he spoke, Sherlock lowered his hand, and the azure glow in his eyes dimmed and dissipated.
He handed the red mask to Yassen and said simply, "Put it on."
Yasen didn't ask why or what to do.
He trusted Sherlock so much that he put the mask on his face directly.
The next moment, crimson smoke emerged from the gaps in the mask. Startled, Yasen tried to tear the mask off, but it thrust out chalcedony-like tentacles and fastened itself to Yasen's face.
Then, Yasen's raised hands suddenly stopped moving.
“Hehehe…”
Yasen suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
He raised his hands and flipped them in the air, then drew his right hand in an exaggerated arc in front of his body and placed it on the left side of his chest and abdomen.
He took a half step back with his left leg, bowed gracefully to Aiwass and Sherlock, and uttered Xi Tiansi's loud and joyful voice: "It is so joyful and surprising! I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon!"
“…So that’s what it’s used for.”
Ai Hua suddenly realized.
No wonder Xi Tiansi left so quickly and suddenly... He hadn't even explained what the reward he'd left behind was. It turned out he knew that as soon as Aiwass and the others began studying the mask, he'd return!
He had seen—even used—Isabel's puppet face.
But I didn't expect that the mask left by Xi Tiansi was actually his own puppet...
Let a celestial being descend upon your body—this is a genuine divine descent technique!
"Isn't this equivalent to a tradable high-level divine art?"
Aiwass asked Xi Tiansi who was possessing Yasen.
"That's different," Xi Tiansi replied with a smile, "I can't condense the crystals of the Path. In other words, only those who transcend the Path of Beauty can wear this mask. And the magic power I can use is only the magic power inherent in this body."
Hearing this, Aiwass shook his head slightly.
That being said...
But even with just one unit of mana, the Celestial Master could achieve far more than a mortal. The gap between Celestial Masters and mortals wasn't just a difference in mana.
And judging from what Sherlock said... this mask doesn't seem to have a limit on how many uses it has?
Sherlock seemed to have guessed what Aiwass was thinking and said directly, "This mask can be used once every two sunrises and sunsets. To be loosely speaking, it can be used about once every two days. As for the duration..."
When he said this, he looked at Xi Tiansi.
The fragments of truth obtained through appraisal were ultimately not as complete and comprehensive as the attributes given by the system. It would be better to ask Xi Tiansi, the person who created this mask, directly.
"Ha! There's no such thing."
Xi Tianshi laughed heartily. "Or perhaps you could say... this performance will end when I get bored, or when the Nuo witch explicitly refuses to let me control this body any longer. Unless the Nuo witch wearing the mask completely annoys me and tells me to crush it... otherwise, it can be used in this way forever. Even if the owner dies, the mask can continue to be passed down."
"...Nuo witch?"
Aiwass raised his eyes in surprise.
He vaguely remembered similar statements. It was a small amount of knowledge that remained in his fragmented memory... He only remembered that it seemed to be a traditional culture related to rituals.
"This is actually... the original use of this technique."
The Xi Tianshi laughed: "Invite the ghosts of the dead, invite the people who cannot come, invite the invisible gods... Let the actors who cannot appear on the same 'stage' perform, dance, and sing together -
"When you take off the mask, you are a human; when you put on the mask... you are a god.
"Take me out for a walk. This dream world is getting increasingly boring. It's better to say that this material world is about to become lively..."
After He said this, the overwhelming mysterious aura around "Yasen" suddenly dissipated.
Yasen paused, then when he spoke again his voice changed again: "What do you hear my voice like now?"
Before he finished speaking, he could already hear his own voice.
So Yasen took off the mask on his face.
After Xi Tiansi left, the mask lost its suction power.
At this time, its color has become a little darker.
Although it still looked like flesh and blood, it now looked like raw meat that had been left in the air for a while, becoming a little purple and dull - no longer as fresh and bright as before.
(End of this chapter)
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