Investigation Report of the Gods

Chapter 70: Skull Pyramid

The crystal skull beside him had already dimmed under the suppression of the mysterious power from the right eye. Yet unexpectedly, in an instant, an indescribable spiritual power was transmitted through the connection between the crystal skulls.

This spiritual power activated the vitality of the crystal skull in front of Han Su.

On the skull, the brilliant colors suddenly gathered toward the two empty eye sockets.

At the peak of this accumulation, the gaze seemed to become tangible, abruptly locking onto Han Su’s face. This gaze even displayed a certain characteristic of the living, precisely bypassing Han Su’s right eye and projecting onto his right hand.

At this moment, Han Su was in a state of mental exhaustion, nearly defenseless, feeling only an icy breath coalescing on his right hand.

Even the low-sensitivity fiber glove suddenly became tattered.

These fiber gloves, made of material similar to that used in the construction of the suitcase, were chosen as protective gear by newcomers precisely because they could effectively block spiritual penetration. Who would have thought that the power projected from the skull's eye sockets could corrode even the glove?

In a rush, Han Su pulled back. A cold breath was winding up his arm.

“Invasion?”

Han Su instantly realized that this already-decayed corpse actually held a will belonging to a living being.

Or perhaps, it was a kind of living substance.

Originally, it had been suppressed by the power in his right eye and was on the verge of dissolution. But that mysterious woman had remotely activated and strengthened its will, causing this crystal skull to develop ambition.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the will even attempted to go all-in, launching a full-force spiritual invasion on him.

And the chosen target was his right hand—because it bore the paper-sensitive fiber glove, typically worn by newcomers for protection. This signaled to the opponent that his spiritual penetration vulnerability was there.

Han Su’s mind tensed. In that instant, only two feelings of astonishment arose in his heart:

One was that the crystal skull organization was indeed more terrifying than he had imagined. Across an unknown distance, it could recognize his weakness through the connection between crystal skulls at a single glance.

Infiltrating from this point could not only pollute him faster, but also prevent resistance and seal his vital point.

The second was: of all the places to choose, why his right hand?

He even felt a little bemused. Suddenly, Han Su gripped his right hand with full force, halting the will's invasion.

Not only that, while suppressing the invading will, he took a deep breath, his gaze focused on that crystal skull, and he spoke again:

“Gods descend with their divine decree…”

“……”

Although his spiritual power had just been depleted, after this moment of respite, he had fully recovered and once again recited the spell. Spiritual power then once again seeped from his right eye.

The invisible and immense power instantly descended upon the crystal skull that was radiating strange colors.

This time, without the obstruction of the Crystal Plague, the power from the right eye landed more directly and concretely on that crystal skull, immediately suppressing its reawakened luster. Then it was dissolved, stripped away, turning into a dull, lusterless hue.

The power came with such ferocity and dominance that it even dissolved and shattered the mysterious connection between it and the other crystal skulls.

As if through brutal means, it severed the countless intricate threads.

In that instant, the invading will in his right hand became rootless.

“Effective!”

This was something Han Su had discovered long ago—reciting this spell would indeed rapidly deplete his spiritual power, causing dizziness and mental fatigue. However, after a brief rest, he would recover.

He didn’t know the exact reason but had already mastered the pattern.

In a flash, Han Su seemed to hear a furious scream. The will emerging from the crystal skull was collapsing.

Within its rage was bewilderment, seemingly unable to understand why, despite successfully invading his spiritual gap, the opponent's strange power was completely unaffected.

On the other end, the woman connected to the crystal skull also experienced an indescribable shock when she sensed that the connection between the crystal skulls was being destroyed by such a high-ranking force:

‘He clearly had exhausted his spiritual power…’

‘……’

In this despair, the last remaining will within the crystal skull surged with unprecedented madness and ruthlessness. It even carried a certain greed as it climbed up Han Su’s right arm, attempting to drill into his brain and seize control of his body.

However, in the very next moment, that greed turned into panic.

The moment it entered Han Su’s brain, it saw the uncontainable and unrestrained vast ocean—a scream that nearly pierced the ceiling echoed in Han Su’s mind.

Amid that scream was the only clearly conveyed message from the crystal skull’s will.

Cursed viciously:「You… are not human…」

「……」

「……」

There was no way to describe the despair of the Crystal Skull’s will at this moment.

Even Han Su only began to understand his own Spiritual World after the invasion of this skull’s will.

It was like being punched in the face by someone—only then would one realize how resilient they truly were.

The essence of the Crystal Skull was to spread Spiritual Plague, a form of Spiritual Invasion.

And Spiritual Invasion meant using one's own spirit and will to contaminate another person's spirit and will.

Devouring the other’s Life Memories, starting from the most recent and tracing back by age—60, 50, 30… until polluting the two or three-year-old recollections at the beginning of memory, thereby completing the contamination of the entire Life Line.

In such invasions, Older Individuals had a great advantage over Younger Individuals.

The older possessed decades, even centuries of memory, while the young had far less—several times or even ten times less. So when it successfully entered Han Su’s Spiritual World, even with little remaining will, it still attempted one more gamble.

That gamble turned disastrous.

Invading another’s Spiritual World would usually reveal a Straight Road, aligned with time, progressing year by year in a direct line.

But after invading Han Su’s Spiritual World, it did manage to move forward several years—ten years to be precise.

Then, it got lost.

Branch after branch, intricate and complex, like a Maze.

Even the dead couldn't hold it together. What kind of goddamn life was this?

This shock and despair nearly caused its will to collapse instantly.

「I was actually cursed as ‘not human’ by a living skull?」

Han Su couldn’t help but feel both amused and speechless. He finally understood why, when attempting trials with Miss Crow and Cui Qiao, he had sensed that his Spiritual Power was somewhat different from ordinary people.

He had… too many lives.

Flash after flash, returning to the past again and again, and once more to the future.

He no longer knew how much he had experienced, nor what kind of tempering his spirit had undergone across all these Life Lines.

The only certainty was that in terms of Accumulation of Spiritual Power, from the moment he first grew up to now, he had amassed hundreds of years’ worth—though this length had been severed and chaotically stacked together.

This also explained why each time he recited a Spell, his Spiritual Power would indeed deplete rapidly, yet just as quickly recover.

Each segment of Spiritual Power had its limit, drained entirely by high-intensity Spells.

But he could switch to another segment.

As simple as swapping a battery.

……

……

『So, my spirit and soul… have, to some degree, transcended time and space?』

『And only, only this Spell can activate it?』

With a silent sigh in his heart, Spiritual Power surged wildly from his Right Eye, the invisible force rushing toward the Crystal Skull on the ground.

The skull, previously unshattered even by a full-force punch from Han Su’s Left Hand, now echoed with the sound of shattering glass.

On the surface of the skull, countless spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared, and its luster instantly dulled.

Meanwhile, the will within his Spiritual World began collapsing and tried to withdraw from Han Su’s mind in a hurry, seemingly to preserve some secret of its own. But it did not expect that even its retreat had been cut off.

The now shattered and dulled Crystal Skull could no longer bear its will, leaving only bizarre and pure Spiritual Streams flooding the narrow space.

At the moment of collision with Han Su’s Spiritual World, an endless stream of fragmented Images suddenly surged into Han Su’s mind.

Han Su suddenly realized:『This is Information?』

Spirituality had the instinct to carry Information, and the human mind was filled with limitless content.

Normally, Information released by someone was controlled by will and would not include hidden messages—just like how people could choose whether or not to reveal the secrets in their hearts.

This particular Crystal Skull, due to a certain peculiarity, retained the abilities of Thinking and Storing Information. Though it intended to invade him, it ended up trapped in his Spiritual World.

With its collapse, all Information was fully exposed.

Now, he was essentially reading countless Spiritual Fragments.

According to Miss Crow, this might be an extremely dangerous act?

But thinking of Song Chu‑shi, who had deliberately led him here, and the mysterious connection between the Crystal Skull Organization and that Woman, Han Su hardened his resolve. More Spiritual Power seeped out, penetrating into the endless Spiritual Fragments.

For Han Su, this was even quite familiar—every time he returned from the past to the present, he would undergo a process akin to Memory Reading.