Chapter 139: Chapter 137: The Strange Core

The Master of Right Words’ statement left everyone stunned.

Martin?

"Why are you here?" Bai Zhou couldn’t help but ask.

"Who says I can’t be?" Martin’s retort left Bai Zhou speechless.

Martin went on to talk about his book again.

He had studied his own power in depth and knew how to use his books to propagate and trigger the conditions for the Blood Exchange Therapy.

When the robed figures exchanged blood with their companions, the distortions created in their bodies by the Core would deepen. This made them feel that their pronunciation was becoming more standard, and they would even gain more knowledge.

The plants documented in the books each had their own effects.

Some could make the robed figures’ bodies stronger, some could clear their blood vessels, and there was also a special type of leaf that would allow them to find the location of the Stone Gate, understand how to open it, and so on.

Martin had written about all these plants in his books.

Martin had the robed figures of Black Tower City copy and distribute the books themselves, spreading this "textbook" far and wide.

Afterwards, exhausted in both body and mind, he feigned illness and went into hiding, pestering the Core every day.

"I had no idea they’d changed the book to this extent. No wonder the correction process has been so slow lately. The success rate of the Blood Exchange Therapy must be too low," Martin said with a helpless shake of his head. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

’So that’s how it is.’ The robed figures had altered Martin’s books without permission, causing problems with his Blood Exchange Therapy. That was why those self-harming robed figures had appeared.

Only a few lucky ones were able to coincidentally trigger the conditions for the Blood Exchange Therapy and successfully find the Stone Gate.

Martin said helplessly, "And now, two people who can’t be distorted have appeared in the Black Tower. The correction plan will definitely never be completed now. I’m going back to sleep."

"Wait!" Bai Zhou stopped him. "Haven’t you looked for other ways to get out? Why are you so set on helping the Core?"

Martin shook his head. "Of course I’ve tried. The Black Tower is like a ghost wall—a type of spatial superposition. The Core used sound to create countless identical spaces, wrapping the tower layer by layer like an onion. There’s no way out unless it opens the path itself."

"I also tried to kill the Core, but I can’t harm it. It used the same trick to envelop itself, and I can’t break through its defenses."

"What else can I do?" Martin spread his hands. "If you want to give it a shot, be my guest."

Martin walked toward the back of the church, where there was a small, hidden door. Behind the door, a hole extended straight down.

"The Core is down here. If you trust me, then follow." Martin, with a nonchalant expression, started walking down on his own.

Bai Zhou hesitated for a moment, then followed.

The hole was incredibly dim. Martin once again summoned that strange black light to illuminate the surroundings.

Bai Zhou and Li Luo followed cautiously behind him, still suspicious of Martin.

Mo Ling’s vision penetrated Martin’s body, but as always, it was completely empty, like a hollow shell.

’He appeared in the Black Tower out of nowhere, completely unconcerned about the distortion of humans, as if he were a mere bystander. He even helped the Black Tower with its "correction plan," yet he’s been very friendly to the two of them.’

’Based on the previous records, Martin shut down the sanatorium after discovering the relic phenomenon within himself, which shows he still had a conscience.’

’Why did he become like this?’

’Not only that, but Martin seems to have acquired many strange abilities—his ethereal body, and the power he mentioned to travel freely within the Black Tower.’

’Just what did this "senior," who gained the power of a relic in the early days of the Great Cataclysm, go through?’

Just as he was thinking, a dazzling Purple light emanated from up ahead.

An enormous Purple crystal appeared before them. It floated quietly in the air, and at its center was a point of white light that ricocheted constantly within the transparent crystal.

Upon noticing their arrival, the white point of light suddenly coalesced at the front like an eye, staring intently at the newcomers...

"Core, I brought people here to kill you!"

After arriving, Martin suddenly shouted this at the crystal, then hopped to the side and waited as if to watch a show.

Bai Zhou and Li Luo immediately became guarded, staring warily at the Core.

But the white point within the crystal remained unchanged, gazing quietly at the two of them.

Then, a conical beam of light flashed from the white point and shot toward Li Luo and Bai Zhou, beginning to scan them.

A moment later, the Core’s white point began to ricochet again, moving ceaselessly within the crystal.

A mechanical voice emanated from within the Core. Its timbre was like glass beads falling on the ground—crisp and hard:

"Targets cannot be corrected. Excluded from correction plan."

The Core’s words stunned everyone present.

Martin was visibly excited once he processed it. "I thought you two would bring the correction plan to a halt."

He then pointed at the Core and said to Bai Zhou, "You can try killing it. It won’t resist at all."

After saying this, Martin picked up a rock from the ground and threw it. The rock chipped a piece off the crystal’s outer shell, but the Core remained quiet, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"It only answers questions and scans humans. It won’t do anything else. You guys can do whatever you want with it."

Martin walked over to a nearby tea table, sat down, and started brewing tea, watching the two of them with great interest.

There wasn’t much dust in the teacups. It seemed he came here often.

"Come have some tea with me when you’re tired of playing. You can also call me if you need muscle." Leaning back in the comfortable chair, Martin actually closed his eyes.

Bai Zhou didn’t attack the Core as Martin had suggested. Instead, he began to converse with it, trying to convince it to stop the correction plan and reasoning with it in various ways.

But, just as Martin had said, the Core was completely impervious to reason, stubbornly sticking to its own ideas.

"I must complete the correction plan. After the correction plan is complete, she will come find me." No matter how Bai Zhou tried to persuade it, the Core’s answer was always this one sentence.

Bai Zhou was at a loss. After a moment of silence, he asked, "If I kill you, will the distortions stop?"

"Yes." The Core gave an affirmative answer.

"Then how can I kill you?"

The Core, seemingly incapable of concealment, casually listed all sorts of strange methods and just kept talking:

"Use the relic ’Suicide Technique’ to lock onto me and make me kill myself."

"Place me in the Growth Forest on the first layer of the Abyss and let my overgrown self kill me."

"Use ultimate power to shatter my sonic protection and kill my true body."

...

The Core unhurriedly explained its various ways to die, but most of them were impossible to carry out.

To kill the Core, one would need certain special relics, access to strange locations within the Abyss, or absolutely overwhelming power.

None of these conditions could be met within the Black Tower.

However, Bai Zhou still found a few potential openings. After thinking for a long time, he asked, "Where is your true body?"

The Core’s crisp voice echoed once more:

"Within the sound."