Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost

Accumulating Blessings Temple was located ten li north of Ji City. The temple was frequented mostly by the city's elites and was thus not very crowded with common folk. However, its strategy targeted the upper class, as it wasn't interested in the insignificant income from commoners. A single offering from an elite could sustain the temple for an entire year.

Wang Linchi wasn't concerned about these details. Instead, he focused on the silver needle in his hand—a quest item he had acquired that could target the Wicked People.

"Plague Silver Needle"

"Type: Quest Item"

"Stored in the item bar, it inflicts a plague effect when attacking demonic-type enemies. This plague is contagious among demonic-type enemies of the same kind and helps in tracking all infected demonic-type enemies."

This tool was effective against those Wicked People capable of infecting others. If these Wicked People were afflicted with the plague, one could infect two; the effect was indeed excellent.

The plague effect didn't deduct Health directly but reduced the maximum Health limit.

The disadvantage was also obvious: it was too slow. Each day, it deducted ten percent of the previous day's maximum Health. At first glance, it seemed an Abyssal Demon could die in ten days, but that's not how it was calculated. For example, if the maximum Health was 100 today, ten percent was 10 points. The next day, with only 90 points of maximum Health remaining, ten percent would be 9 points, not the original 10.

More importantly, this quest only lasted ten days. It could only be used as an aid; relying on this quest item to complete the mission was pure fantasy.

The true purpose of this quest item was actually to locate the Wicked People.

It felt a bit superfluous. If you could find the Wicked People, you could just kill them directly. Why bother with... Wait a minute, it seemed quite useful after all.

Wang Linchi suddenly realized something. Killing ten Wicked People, even if they were Elite Monsters, wouldn't yield many Abyss Crystals.

But if he killed a hundred, or even a thousand Wicked People, the number of Abyss Crystals obtained would be substantial. If it were an entire city's population of Wicked People, then...

Good heavens, I think I've discovered the correct way to use this.

First, use the silver needle to inflict the plague effect on one Wicked Person. Then, let that person continually infect others, turning them into Wicked People while also spreading the plague. All Wang Linchi would have to do was follow behind and kill them.

He could even use this method to draw out other Wicked People.

Farming Abyss Crystals this way would be incredibly satisfying, but there was one major prerequisite: he had to possess the strength to easily kill the Wicked People.

Wicked People were powerful. While the Saint Master could easily crush them, Wang Linchi could not. Although it wasn't quite like he was just chipping away at their health, killing a single Wicked Person would still take a lot of time. This was mainly because his attack power was too low, and all his damage was Fixed Damage.

"Mage, we've arrived at Accumulating Blessings Temple," the Coachman reminded Wang Linchi.

Wang Linchi temporarily suppressed the plan to turn the entire city into Wicked People. The potential benefits were enormous, but he couldn't handle that many Wicked People, nor could the Saint Master kill so many.

So, he had to set it aside for now.

It was a shame that the Ji City turmoil was progressing so quickly. Players were currently just uncovering items like the Plague Silver Needle; they hadn't encountered other things yet. Or perhaps some Players had, but they hadn't posted guides on the forum.

Not every Player would think to turn their experiences into a guide and contribute it to the forums.

"Okay, I understand. You can head back first; I'll make my own way back later," Wang Linchi said, dismissing the Coachman.

Considering the time of day, taking a horse carriage back would be too slow. It would be better to have the Saint Master take him.

He had taken a horse carriage on the way there because he didn't know the route.

Otherwise, if he had just exited the city and headed north—the north was so vast—what if he missed the temple?

Getting lost and having to find his own way would be too troublesome; it was better to have a foolproof method.

"This... Yes, Mage." The Coachman hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to obey Wang Linchi's command.

A Demon Suppressing Sorcerer visiting Accumulating Blessings Temple certainly wasn't there to offer incense. Someone who didn't even fear Evil Demons, what else would they fear? Therefore, he must be there to suppress Evil Demons.

Upon entering Accumulating Blessings Temple, he saw a group of lay disciples performing daily chores like sweeping, chopping firewood, and fetching water.

The temple wasn't as magnificent and splendid as Wang Linchi had imagined. Instead, it was quite low-key, with a simple, unadorned appearance that projected an air of frugality.

It wasn't like those gaudy, vulgar establishments that practically screamed 'I'm rich!' from their signboards. It was quite the contrast.

"Benefactor, are you here to pray for blessings in our temple?" the Temple Master asked, hurriedly greeting Wang Linchi upon seeing him.

People were different. Wang Linchi, for instance, had smooth skin and wore clothes that looked expensive. Coupled with his youth, he undoubtedly looked like a young master detached from the mundane world. With a little deception, the Temple Master thought, he could definitely secure a large donation.

"Yes, recently everything has been going very smoothly, so I came to pray for blessings," Wang Linchi said.

"Things not going smoothly, you say? Then indeed... huh? Benefactor, you meant things *haven't* been going smoothly, right?" the Temple Master stammered, slightly taken aback. Weren't people who came to pray for blessings usually facing difficulties?

"No, I mean everything *is* going smoothly," Wang Linchi corrected.

This was true. Apart from the Abyss invasion, his life had indeed been very comfortable.

His words left the Temple Master somewhat speechless. He quickly recovered and offered Wang Linchi, this great potential donor, an out: "Ah, Benefactor, you must mean you're here to give thanks for blessings received, not to pray for new ones, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's exactly it. I misspoke earlier," Wang Linchi replied, going along with it.

Hearing this, the Temple Master's speechlessness vanished instantly. This is a good sign, he thought. He looks like an easy one to persuade.

"Then you've come to the right place! The Good Fortune God of our Accumulating Blessings Temple is the most efficacious in all of Ji City. If you don't believe me, just ask around. Why, even the City Master's Wife came here to pray for blessings just a few days ago!" the Temple Master stated proudly.

The two headed towards the Hall of Good Fortune God. Along the way, the Temple Master chattered incessantly, making Wang Linchi almost want to donate some money. The Temple Master's eloquence was wasted here; if he were selling goods, he'd undoubtedly be a top-tier influencer, raking in serious money daily.

The Hall of Good Fortune God was vast. Unlike the simplicity outside, its interior was lavishly decorated with gold and silver, and even the statue of the Good Fortune God was adorned with gemstones.

Wang Linchi found nothing unusual about the Good Fortune God itself. This so-called god was just a statue, devoid of any real power.

He felt a slight twinge of regret. If this were a quest item, given its enormous size, its effects would surely be extraordinary.

Usually, the more a Temple Master promoted their temple, the more enthusiastic they became. Seeing the Temple Master's efforts, Wang Linchi tossed a silver note into the Merit Box. It was for a thousand taels, making the Temple Master's eyes go wide. All his effort in flattering Wang Linchi had yielded a great reward.

"Benefactor, your generosity will surely be rewarded with abundant blessings and long life from our Good Fortune God!" The Temple Master kept lavishly pouring out flattering words as if they cost nothing.

However, Wang Linchi noticed something was amiss. The moment he deposited the donation and received the Temple Master's blessing, a status effect appeared on him.

[Curse of the Wish Demon · Abundant Blessings and Long Life: Your wishes will be fulfilled in a twisted manner, and you will receive twisted outcomes.]

"..." Wang Linchi gave the Temple Master a strange look.

He now understood why the City Master's Wife had found herself in this state. She had come to Accumulating Blessings Temple to pray for a child. So, the twisted means, coupled with the twisted results, had led to her current condition.

If it wasn't resolved, the City Master's Wife would conceive a Demon Infant, and eventually give birth to an Abyssal Demon.

As for his "abundant blessings and long life," who knew what twisted form that would take.

The best solution was to first kill this so-called Wish Demon.

Once the Wish Demon was dead, the curse would naturally break.

This Curse of the Wish Demon doesn't seem to be a negative status effect? Or is its level too high for my Card: Orchid to remove?

With his Card: Orchid, Wang Linchi could normally cleanse one negative status effect per second. This time, however, it wasn't cleansed. It was possible it had been cleansed but reappeared instantly, too fast for Wang Linchi to notice.

"Alright, I'll take your auspicious words to heart," Wang Linchi said, his expression unchanging. He then continued, "However, I'm currently facing a small difficulty and require your assistance. I hope the Temple Master will not hesitate to help."

The Temple Master didn't overthink it and asked, "Is it that you wish to copy a thanksgiving sutra, or perhaps you need us to go down the mountain to help manage some affair?"

Given the thousand taels silver note, the Temple Master naturally assumed it was related to some of their temple's services.

"Neither. I just wish to borrow the Temple Master's head for a moment," Wang Linchi said grimly.

"What?!" The Temple Master was startled. He hadn't expected Wang Linchi to actually want his life.

The Temple Master turned and fled, realizing Wang Linchi wasn't joking. However, the figure of the Saint Master slowly materialized, and then it was all over.