Chapter 133: The Divine Dark Attribute

Looking at his palms, now stained a brilliant gold, he felt nothing more than a faint, lingering warmth.

This was a relief. As a skeleton, it stood to reason that coming into contact with such sacred power should have reduced him to ash in an instant. Yet, far from being incinerated, he found the sensation rather pleasant.

Before Li Ren’s very eyes, the golden luster underwent another transformation. The hue seemed to possess a contagious quality, creeping along his slender arms and spreading across his entire body. Li Ren was truly powerless against this golden dye; he could only watch with resignation as it coated him from head to toe. To his surprise, the color seemed insatiable, spreading from beneath him onto Mao Mao as well. He had no idea what this substance was composed of—even with ordinary paint, the color would usually thin out over a large enough surface area. This stuff, however, seemed entirely oblivious to the concept of dilution, continuing its steady spread until both Mao Mao and Li Ren were completely gilded.

Lania, who had been trailing behind him, was forced to retreat to a distance the moment the fusion began, unable to withstand the surge of overwhelming sacred power. The aura was far too antithetical to her nature. Watching Li Ren transform into a golden statue, she pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "My Lord, you really have a knack for finding trouble. Now that you've turned into such a holy skeleton, how are the guards at Falling Cloud City supposed to tolerate an aura like that?"

Li Ren, however, was entirely oblivious to such concerns, his focus consumed by his own body. Watching himself and Mao Mao change color together—and into such a brilliant gold—stirred a memory. If they were to stand perfectly still in this state, striking a solemn pose, passing players would likely mistake them for a memorial statue erected to honor some legendary hero. Indeed, that was exactly how Li Ren felt; from a distance, the resemblance was uncanny.

Once the gold had fully enveloped them, a layer of transparent flame began to flicker slowly over their forms.

The moment those translucent golden flames ignited, the sacred power erupted like a powder keg. Lania was forced to retreat once more. Struck by the shockwave of that sacred outburst, she felt a momentary tightness in her chest; she found herself harboring a genuine, lingering fear of the aura Li Ren now exuded.

Li Ren himself felt little from the flames, though he found it bizarre to have such potent sacred power radiating from a skeleton like him. Upon reflection, however, he could guess why this had occurred. The primary reason was Mao Mao. Had he not merged their essences while awakening the creature, this sacred power would surely have turned him to dust long ago, leaving him no chance to ponder the mysteries of life within these terrifying holy flames.

A fusion of the sacred and the dark, then?

Li Ren surveyed his current state. The sacred aura radiating from his body made him look like the preserved remains of a Paladin who had spent a lifetime in ascetic devotion—it felt terribly ill-omened. He checked his attributes. Before the flames had enveloped him, he had felt significantly stronger, but he hadn't known by how much. Now, checking the status screen, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Name: Bone by Bone
Level: 104
Race: Lord Skeleton (Sacred-Dark Affinity)
Attributes: HP 4,800,000/4,800,000 | MP 4,800,000/4,800,000
Strength: 250 | Intelligence: 250 | Constitution: 250 | Agility: 250 | Bone Potential: 1999 | Luck: 15
Soul Absorption Count: 1,950,000
Class: Skeleton Guard
Hidden Attributes: Free Progression, Absorption Attribute (Level 1)

Upgradable Skills:
Blink (Level 10): Instant teleportation across 1500 meters, ignoring terrain. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Can carry other living beings; maximum of 10 people per use.

Self-Created Skill: Crescent Slash.

Innate Skills:
Summon Super Skeleton Guard (Guard attributes are 70% of the host; each summon consumes 100,000 souls. Duration: 12 hours. Max summons: 10. Upgradable).
Blood Essence Conversion.
Sacred Judgment Aura: Targets within this aura are burned by sacred flames, reducing all attributes by 5%. There is a chance for the target to suffer Sacred Judgment, dealing damage equal to the damage they themselves dealt, ignoring all defense.
Apprentice of Creation (Level 3, Max): Can freely reconstruct and combine skeleton forms below level 150. Reconstruction never fails; attributes are determined by the resulting form. (The sacred mission is to create.)

Learned Skills: Rain of Dust, Dragon War in the Wild, Fire of Judgment.

Sacred Dark Demon Domain: Within this domain, all creatures have their Light and Dark resistance reduced by 10%. Allied units gain 10% more Light and Dark damage. Attacks have a chance to absorb life equal to 10% of the maximum attack value. Attack speed increased by 10%, life recovery speed increased by 10%. Attacks have a 10% chance to trigger Light Judgment, dealing damage equal to 150% of the current damage dealt.

Virtually all of his skills had been enhanced by the absorbed Wish of Holy Light. What excited him most was that his aura had evolved from its original state, shedding the penalties it once imposed on his dark-aligned allies and becoming significantly more powerful. The skill he had once admired, similar to Fire of Judgment, had now been integrated into his Dark Demon Domain. Although the proc rate was reduced to 10%, it now dealt 150% of his current damage. If he were to unleash a "Dragon War in the Wild" or "Rain of Dust" and trigger that 150% bonus, the results would be catastrophic.

Li Ren was quite looking forward to it. As for the newly acquired Sacred-Dark affinity, he remained unsure of its function. It didn't seem to have any immediate, massive effect—it was simply an extra attribute.

Li Ren controlled the sacred flames, drawing them back into his body. The explosive surge of energy subsided until it was nearly imperceptible. Save for the occasional flicker of sacred energy, he appeared exactly as he had before.