Yes!

The Curse of Despair!

Featureless Bald!

Chen Cang, who had just escaped his near-death state, briefly transformed into black mist before his body solidified into the form of a featureless bald figure…

This was unmistakably a symptom of the Curse of Despair!

The many players present, who were essentially just spectators, didn't have any particularly strong feelings about this.

At most, they just thought Chen Cang was unlucky…

Or they silently mocked him in their hearts for being too overconfident!

Relying on his [Protagonist Halo], he actually dared to take such a huge risk!

Ending up like this was exactly what he deserved!

Greed knows no bounds, and people ultimately have to pay the price for their own avarice.

However…

Among this group of players, there were certainly some with quicker minds and clearer understanding.

To Jiang Ye's surprise, Wan Xin was unusually sharp this time.

He instinctively wanted to say something…

But he probably remembered Lin Jing's warning and obediently closed his mouth again.

Li Ku, however, caught his hesitation.

After a moment of silence, Li Ku suddenly spoke up:

"Chen Cang randomly drawing the Curse of Despair seems to be confirmed now."

"Then what about He Yuliang… Could he truly have randomly drawn the 'Rebirth state,' and not also drawn the Curse of Despair?"

"I remember before He Yuliang was taken into the Blood Pool by that Jade Flask, his body also turned into black mist."

"In that aspect, their situations are quite similar."

"It's just that later, He Yuliang's mist-transformed body merged into the Prison watch;"

"While Chen Cang's mist-transformed body solidified again…"

Indeed, what Li Ku said was exactly what Jiang Ye had been thinking!

Just because of the phenomenon of the three pairs of eyeballs sinking into the Blood Pool…

Almost everyone assumed He Yuliang had randomly drawn the "Rebirth state."

Because that phenomenon had indeed occurred during the birth of the first moon infant.

But He Yuliang's situation had clear points of suspicion!

First.

Jiang Ye had previously speculated—

Could mere SSS-grade Luck really guarantee a 100% chance of randomly drawing the "Rebirth state"?

Li Si's previous experiments using Sun and Moon People had two Sun People with SSS-grade Luck effects under experimental conditions at the time.

But in reality, only one Sun and Moon Person randomly drew the "Rebirth state."

Moreover, this "Rebirth state" appeared under the dual effects of that individual possessing an SSS-grade Luck BUFF and being further boosted by Chen Cang's [Protagonist Halo].

And out of the two Sun and Moon People, only one got the "Rebirth state."

These details made Jiang Ye suspect—

He Yuliang might not be guaranteed to randomly draw the "Rebirth state" at 100%.

So, when all the players in the Blood Pool space were waiting for He Yuliang to produce the "Rebirth state"…

Jiang Ye's heart was filled with doubt.

Second.

The circumstances when He Yuliang produced his result were also off.

That three-minute time gap seemed unexplainable…

But what if someone intentionally wanted to create the illusion that He Yuliang had randomly drawn the "Rebirth state"?

Then, the eyeballs sinking seemed to be the best evidence for a "Rebirth state"!

And this evidence was something Chen Cang had personally witnessed!

Finally.

The situation after He Yuliang escaped his near-death state bore essentially no connection to the process of the first moon infant's birth!

Aside from those three pairs of eyeballs sinking into the Blood Pool!

Although Li Si explained all this as being due to the different environments of the Blood Pool space and the Misty Forest of Oddities.

Li Ku had even preemptively laid the groundwork, stating that in this Blood Pool space, the Giant Toad's Long Tongue couldn't reach inside…

These all seemed to provide reasonable explanations for why He Yuliang's birth process wasn't quite the same as the first moon infant's.

But this was actually just their own wishful thinking!

Assuming we disregard the phenomenon of the three pairs of eyeballs sinking into the Blood Pool…

Which aspect of He Yuliang's post-near-death situation matched the moon infant's birth?

None!

Therefore, Jiang Ye was ninety percent certain—

He Yuliang did not randomly draw the "Rebirth state" at all!

But Li Si had deliberately misled Chen Cang.

He even misled Chen Cang into developing the idea that "the moon infant uses the dark energy within the eyeballs as nourishment."

This made Chen Cang think the first moon infant seemed malnourished.

And now, He Yuliang, who was about to become the second moon infant, seemed poised to absorb the dark energy from Li Ku's eyeball, Wang Lingling's eyeball, and the Doll's eyeball…

These three heaven-defying eyeballs!

It appeared the soon-to-be-born second moon infant would eat very well, enjoying uniquely advantageous conditions!

Li Si even deliberately provoked Chen Cang, indicating these advantages could have originally belonged to him!

If only Chen Cang had trusted his [Protagonist Halo] enough and hadn't used He Yuliang for the experiment…

Then everything He Yuliang was enjoying should have belonged to Chen Cang!

So…

Chen Cang was practically led by the nose by Li Si and, driven by his desire for opportunity, made the most impulsive choice!

And it seemed…

He had paid with his life for this choice!

Because…

As this featureless bald Chen Cang stood up.

Using that faceless face, he emitted a low, gritty voice and slowly uttered:

"Yes… What I randomly drew was the Curse of Despair."

With just that one sentence.

Jiang Ye was almost certain—

This Chen Cang who had stood up again was no longer the previous Chen Cang!

As for whether it was an effect of the Curse of Despair?

Or the mysterious existence that gave Chen Cang the temporary Prison watch…

Or perhaps both?

Jiang Ye didn't know.

But he guessed that if Chen Cang were still alive at this moment, he would probably be truly "despairing" enough…

The other players, however, didn't seem to notice the change in Chen Cang.

Or if some did notice, they didn't dare point it out.

The group of players fell into an inexplicable silence for quite a while before someone finally tentatively asked:

"Um… you… what does the effect of your Curse of Despair specifically manifest as?"

"Is it just losing your facial features and hair? Are there any other negative effects?"

Chen Cang, without facial features, naturally showed no expression on his face.

One couldn't even see his lips move; that blank whiteboard face automatically emitted a hoarse voice:

"I don't know about other negative effects yet. However, if I were a Sun Person player, the consequence of having no hair would be quite serious."

"So using the Curse of Despair to strip Sun Person players of their authority is indeed a good line of thinking."

Now, even players who hadn't noticed the change in Chen Cang began to feel uneasy and suspicious.

After all, a normal person afflicted with the Curse of Despair should be worried and fearful, right?

But Chen Cang's tone…

Showed no trace of concern about the negative effects the curse might bring him.

For a moment, the atmosphere among the players became somewhat delicate.

And Chen Cang seemed unaware of this delicacy.

In fact, he seemed to belatedly remember the horror of the "Curse of Despair" and suddenly inexplicably blurted out:

"There's a problem! There's definitely a problem!"

"I bear the Protagonist Halo, how could I only randomly draw the Curse of Despair?!"

"Mere He Yuliang, with his mere SSS-grade Luck, could randomly draw the Rebirth state…"

"Am I inferior to He Yuliang?!"

"No! I don't believe it!"

"My fate is in my own hands, not heaven's! I will defy heaven!"

After this inexplicable declaration…

This faceless guy suddenly jumped toward the Blood Pool…

Leaving these spectators who had watched his performance utterly bewildered!

After a long while, Wan Xin, who had been warned by Lin Jing, still couldn't help but blurt out:

"This guy… is he on the wrong meds??"

After speaking, Wan Xin instinctively looked at Lin Jing, only to find Lin Jing's expression grave.

Wan Xin's heart skipped a beat: What? I was just casually complaining! What could I have said wrong?

But soon, he realized Lin Jing's gravity didn't seem directed at him.

But at… Li Si!

He saw Lin Jing, having thought of something, suddenly fix his gaze on Li Si.

After a long moment, Lin Jing questioned: "Was it you who guided Chen Cang, arranged for him to get the Curse of Despair?"

Li Si didn't respond.

Lin Jing continued on his own: "He Yuliang's situation is also the Curse of Despair, and not the Rebirth state at all."

"Two Curses of Despair… Both of them jumped into the Blood Pool!"

This statement, at first glance, didn't mean much.

But upon careful thought, everyone realized—

He Yuliang probably truly hadn't randomly drawn the "Rebirth state," but had also been afflicted with the Curse of Despair!

It's just that he didn't display the hallmark featureless bald appearance of the Curse of Despair.

Instead, he silently, along with the Jade Flask, jumped into the Blood Pool!

Yes, previously they thought He Yuliang sinking into the Blood Pool was part of the moon infant's birth process.

That the Blood Pool had sucked him in.

Just like it sucked in the three pairs of eyeballs.

But now it seemed…

He Yuliang had been afflicted with the Curse of Despair!

And then, he had actively, on his own, jumped into the Blood Pool!

Just like Chen Cang, who spouted some nonsense about "my fate is in my own hands" and also jumped into the Blood Pool!

Two victims of the Curse of Despair had both actively jumped into the Blood Pool!

At this point, everyone gradually began to understand…

"That Chen Cang, after the Curse of Despair, I suspect he's been replaced by someone else!"

"And the person who replaced Chen Cang actively jumped into the Blood Pool…"

"If He Yuliang's situation is the same as Chen Cang's, then that means… the person who replaced He Yuliang also actively jumped into the Blood Pool…"

Following this logic, the natural conclusion was—

"Then should we also jump into the Blood Pool to explore?"

Especially…

Lin Dong looked at Li Ku: "After all, your eyeball was also taken by the Blood Pool…"

As he spoke, Lin Dong tentatively added: "Speaking of which, was your eyeball passively sucked away by the Blood Pool, or were you also active?"

Jiang Ye's internal answer to this question was—Of course, it was passive!

His Doll clone's eyeball had been sucked away by the Blood Pool.

However…

To his surprise, Li Ku's answer was: "I don't know whether it was active or passive."

"My Glyph Pattern Ability does sometimes act independently of my control, taking certain actions on its own."

"So I can't determine whether it was my Glyph Pattern acting actively or the Blood Pool acting actively."

With that, he tossed the question to Wang Lingling: "Now, only you can answer this question."

Wang Lingling, by now, seemed to have adapted to the pain of losing her eyeballs.

She was no longer covering her eyes; her sunken eye sockets looked utterly bizarre.

She also seemed unable to see the others, reacting half a beat late to realize Li Ku was speaking to her.

After a moment of silence, she stated: "Actually, when I awakened that Glyph Pattern Ability, I felt an indescribable abnormality in my eyes."

"It was as if these eyes of mine didn't purely belong to me."

"I think I might be like you, unable to fully control this Glyph Pattern Ability hidden within the eyes."

"That is to say, my pair of eyeballs might also, like your Glyph Pattern, be capable of acting independently of my control, performing certain actions."

"So I also can't determine whether jumping into the Blood Pool was an active behavior of the eyeballs or an active behavior of the Blood Pool."

"…"

After all this, it seemed only the Doll Jiang Ye's eyeball could be 100% confirmed as having been sucked away by the Blood Pool?

Jiang Ye's Witch Gui clone was still floating outside at the moment.

He was hesitating whether to go explore the Blood Pool.

For one, Chen Cang's physical body was in the Blood Pool.

As long as Chen Cang didn't die, the Witch Gui nesting within him would naturally be fine.

For another, the Cheng Lin-version Doll clone had also entered the Blood Pool.

After entering, it had also lost contact with the Witch Gui.

If the Witch Gui also entered the Blood Pool, perhaps it could provide some assistance to the Doll clone?

However, if the Witch Gui entered the Blood Pool, he would lose grasp of the situation outside.

Just as he was pondering…

The Witch Gui consciousness floating in the air suddenly keenly sensed once more—

A red glow flashed again in Du Yuheng's eyes!

And when the red glow flashed, this guy was looking directly at…

The location of his Witch Gui consciousness!

Good grief?!

This guy… could he actually see him?!

With a thought from Jiang Ye, the Witch Gui seized Du Yuheng's body.

But just as it took over the body, before beginning the struggle for consciousness or nesting inner demons within Du Yuheng…

Jiang Ye's mind suddenly heard Du Yuheng's panicked, frightened voice: "Senior, spare my life!"

"…"

This kid!

Damn it!

Too sharp!

And Jiang Ye discovered…

A very strange phenomenon had appeared on this guy!

Generally, players whose bodies he seized would have their consciousness fall into a dormant state.

That is, the Witch Gui's consciousness would occupy the player's body.

There was also another situation where the Witch Gui parasitized within a player's body in a Heart Demon Nest.

The player's own consciousness would control their own body.

Although theoretically, Witch Gui Jiang Ye and other players had experienced a "dual-soul fusion" situation.

But those "dual-soul fusions" essentially had one "soul" either in a dormant state or stored within the Heart Demon Nest.

Not like the situation with Yang Wenchao and Wan Xin before, where one body was simultaneously controlled by two souls, even leading to left-brain-right-brain conflict, a chaotic state of fighting oneself.

But now…

His situation with Du Yuheng seemed exactly like that kind of dual-soul fusion of Yang Wenchao and Wan Xin!

He had indeed taken over Du Yuheng's body.

But Du Yuheng's consciousness had not fallen into a dormant state.

Instead, it remained within his body, coexisting peacefully with Jiang Ye!

This…

This phenomenon was truly strange!

Jiang Ye originally wanted to try nesting inner demons within Du Yuheng…

But his attempted seizure was already half a failure.

Nesting inner demons probably wouldn't succeed either.

So, in this special dual-soul fusion state, he spoke into Du Yuheng's mind, as if from within a Heart Demon Nest:

"You really can see me."

"Even my attempt to seize your body should be considered a failure, right?"

"It was you who actively accepted me, which is why this dual-soul fusion state appeared."