Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 99 - 98: Sinister Abilities

Chen Xuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Who says negative passive abilities aren’t considered abilities? In a way, even without the Holy Maiden’s blessing, he can be immune to all curses, provided he connects to Wi-Fi.

As for the replaced Thousand Thoughts Sword and Divine Eye Technique, they didn’t just disappear. Chen Xuan found these abilities again in his inventory.

"What’s up, something good happen?" Lin Qing asked while playing on her phone from the sofa. Liu Shuyue wasn’t in the store; she probably had returned to Hot Pepper Village.

"No way, a guest died."

Chen Xuan opened the Ability Manager app and, sure enough, couldn’t find Gildre’s name in the invitation return visit option.

He looked up and suddenly found Lin Qing staring at him in shock.

Chen Xuan immediately realized that his recent expression was quite misleading—he was summoned by a guest to go out, turned around, the guest died, and he came back without saying a word, laughing at the bar. This seemed pretty creepy to Lin Qing.

Because she is both a staff member and a guest.

"What do you think of me? How could I laugh because a guest died?" Chen Xuan glared at her fiercely and briefly recounted his fearful experience over there.

"I see... an entry point to a world close to collapse." Lin Qing’s expression became solemn, seemingly empathetic, "Though I don’t know how they moved toward destruction, it doesn’t sound like they perished due to a nano insect disaster."

"Is it possible there are many such worlds?"

"Who knows." She sighed lightly, "Unnoticed worlds might as well be nonexistent to us. But logically, countless worlds must have been completely destroyed before they were discovered. After all, even the birth of life is a rare event, let alone its safe and sound development into a vast civilization."

"I initially thought only our world would be invaded by the Otherworld." Chen Xuan sighed.

"That’s because this is our home, so we unconsciously treat it as special. Actually, our world is fundamentally no different from other worlds. If there’s any commonality, it’s that they’re all on Earth." Lin Qing said.

Chen Xuan thought for a moment and decided to reveal a bit more about his abilities.

"Do these invading and invaded worlds have no pattern at all? I think the situation might be different from what the Dimensional Limit Mechanism says."

"Hmm? Why do you ask?"

"I got an ability from over there; its description is somewhat unusual." Chen Xuan raised the scan gun and aimed it at Lin Qing. He wasn’t intending to trade but found it easier to explain, "The app only displays it as forbidden. I’ve encountered two similar abilities before."

The first was Black Magic from Gildre. Subsequently, it was proven that the book’s source was from that doomed world.

The second was Guess the Coin from Fei Wuniang. At the time, he was worried about it being detected by the mechanism, so he didn’t enter Fei Wuniang’s world through an entry point. But from the fragments of her past, it seemed like an ancient era.

The third is the newly acquired Decomposition and Re-Fusion, closely related to Black Magic.

These are obviously abilities from the same series.

"This... I don’t really know." Lin Qing racked her brain but couldn’t figure out the connection, so she lay down on the sofa, "Information not in the database is as unknown to me. Also, is there really a pattern between worlds? If molecular diffusion is random and disorderly, then the myriad worlds should be the same."

"I remember when blocking Fei Wuniang, there was a number under her avatar, right?"

Chen Xuan browsed his phone and found the record: SC-104-C1. "Does this number have any special significance?"

"SC stands for gravity wave characteristics, 104 is the sequence number, C1 indicates the hazard level with S being the highest." Lin Qing answered instantly.

"Gravity wave characteristics?" Chen Xuan quickly scanned through the information on the invasion points sent by the other side, finding almost none were identical. For instance, the Botanical Garden’s Guagua, its number is ATB-110-D2, "How does this correspond specifically?"

"I’m sure I don’t know about this because the machine capable of accurately measuring gravity waves is owned by the mechanism, and there’s only one, installed on a super submarine, considered one of the mechanism’s most valuable assets."

And such valuable assets are definitely out of reach for the split-off resistance organizations.

As for the current Dimensional Limit Mechanism, let alone a super submarine, they can’t even accurately measure gravity waves; they can only rely on a massive database to record each wave and then have computers match them.

This means the imminent technical revolution within the mechanism also includes detecting invasion points.

If he could get this information, it would be great.

"By the way, your new ability... Is it any good?" Lin Qing sat up from the sofa again, worriedly watching Chen Xuan. "It won’t turn you into one of those... creatures with legs on their stomach, will it?"

"I haven’t tried it yet; let me feel it first."

Though its description was simply forbidden, once placed in the ability frame, Chen Xuan could understand how to use it.

And "Decomposition and Re-Fusion" is indeed pretty twisted.

It can use one’s own body as a price to fuse designated living things, and the object of fusion doesn’t necessarily have to be oneself, nor does it have to be living.

The key is the price.

"Wait for me a moment."

Chen Xuan walked out of the shop, circled the greenery in the neighborhood, and quickly returned to Lin Qing with an autumn grasshopper.

Then he pinched a locust and a freshly broken twig together.

The moment he activated his ability, something unbelievable happened—the locust’s body seemed to melt, seeping into the branch. When he released his hand, the locust had fused with the twig into a single entity, its wings and head remained intact, while its abdomen and powerful legs were completely absorbed into the branch.

Even in this form, the locust was still alive, looking around frantically and occasionally flapping its wings as if trying to fly away. However, with its strength, there was no way to drag the entire twig, so it could only flap hopelessly in place.

Seeing this, Lin Qing couldn’t help but gasp.

"How disgusting..."

"Right, I thought the same when I saw the monster," Chen Xuan said, holding up the twig.

At first glance, it looked like a locust’s head had grown on the end of the twig.

And the price he paid was a hair follicle on his arm.

Indeed, this hair follicle completely disappeared, as if it had never existed. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"As you can see, I don’t need to absorb the locust, and humans are the same... As long as I designate a living creature to perform the action, the fusion target can be chosen arbitrarily. As long as I’m willing to pay the price, its effect is quite frightening."

This ability has no wind-up time and is harder to guard against than the Thousand Thoughts Sword or Guess the Coin attack spells.

"Are you sure you only gave up a hair follicle?" Lin Qing asked suspiciously, circling Chen Xuan, "Not missing any other organs?"

"For the locust, yes. I guess because it’s small enough, if it were a human, it would be different."

In fact, Chen Xuan had just tested it.

He randomly picked a passerby from the neighborhood to find that fusing them would require at least a finger or a piece of muscle. If the target were Lin Qing, it would take most of their body.

Of course, he didn’t actually use the ability, he just gauged it in his mind.

"I think this ability is quite sinister; even among the Wanderers from the leaked archives of the Mechanism, it’s unique. You better use it sparingly," Lin Qing clicked his tongue and said.

"Don’t worry, I have my limits," Chen Xuan nodded in reply.

Actually, this ability can greatly benefit humanity from another angle. When using it, Chen Xuan can clearly sense it scanning every part of his body. Once he determines his intention, the ability can take effect immediately. So what if it were applied to cancer patients? Couldn’t it be used as a non-invasive surgical knife?

For instance, using animals as fusion targets, repeatedly exercising the ability, the price could be those uncontrollable cancerous tissues, thus achieving precise cancer removal with minimal harm to the body. This effect undoubtedly surpasses all current treatments.

It’s a pity the ability can’t be repeatedly traded.

Otherwise, Decomposition and Re-Fusion could really be played around with by surgeons.

...

After settling in Chang’an City for a week, the manor unexpectedly welcomed several visitors from the Immortal Alliance, led by the Unclear Wine Hermit, Xu Yuanqing.

After receiving notice from the Envoy Team, Chen Xuan hosted them in the main hall.

"Have you encountered any difficulties?" he asked directly.

Chen Xuan’s heart stirred slightly; could they be referring to the annihilation event in Feng County?

"Why does the Governor ask such a question?"

"Because I haven’t received your Sect establishment application," Xu Yuanqing urged, "Considering the Sect Contest is about to open for registration, I came specially to check the situation."

"Is an application necessary to establish a Sect?" Chen Xuan asked in surprise, "I thought once the name and Sect location were determined, it was established."

Xu Yuanqing seemed slightly shocked by his statement, "Even as a Loose Cultivator, you should apply to the Immortal Alliance when establishing a Sect. Only after registration can it be officially considered a Sect. If you skip this process, how would you recruit disciples?"

Uh... He never intended to recruit disciples in the first place.

The brother and sister were purely accidental.

"It was my oversight not arranging someone to explain the Sect establishment rules to you," Xu Yuanqing pointed to the person beside him, "This is Historian Hongli from the Immortal Alliance, responsible for Sect registration affairs. I brought him here directly today, let’s apply now."

This counts as doorstep government service, right? Such an advanced concept.

That Historian smiled warmly, cupping his hands, "You must be really valued by the Governor; many outside wish to establish a Sect, waiting in line for years, and you’re getting special treatment."

Chen Xuan returned the gesture, "Thank you, Lord Xu, I’m truly honored."

The other party unrolled a paper scroll on the table, and an attendant immediately handed over a brush, "So, what is the name of the Sect you want to establish?"

He stated the name he had long decided, "Tianshang Tianxia Wei Wo Duzun."

The scene fell into sudden silence.