Stirling didn't bring this white statue back to worship.

  Worshipping a deity might let an ordinary person enter the Garbha realm overnight. It could even help a samurai with weak talent break through when they felt hopeless. But Stirling believed nothing comes for free.

  Julio's words, "Once you worship a deity, you're no longer yourself," were still fresh in his mind. Stirling didn't dare to experiment with ease.

  The reason Stirling brought it back was that, after seeing the statue, a new idea jumped in.

  Could he profit from it and increase his lifespan?

  In destroying malice, Stirling had lengthened his life. So, he thought activating the statue could bring a constant stream of malice. This way, he could produce unlimited malice-slaying orbs. Wouldn't that be a perfect cycle?

  Stirling muttered, looking at the statue before him. He felt as if he had found a rare treasure. Stirling immediately took action. Fresh from a thrilling battle, his emotions were high, and he had no intention of sleeping. He immediately pulled out a malice-breaking orb and began experimenting.

  The orb in Stirling's hand showed no reaction to the white statue. Without saying, no malice around the statue, but it was in his expectation. Maybe because of the far distance? Stirling placed the orb on the statue's head. He stepped back at once, taking out the remaining orbs and preparing himself. Under Stirling's anxious gaze, the statue on the table shook with significant force. The orb on its head vibrated even more, clattering with a bang.

  Out of the blue, even with such a violent tremor, the Orb didn't fall from the statue's forehead. It was like a magnet attracting a magnet, or like lovers entangled in love. Seconds later, the Malice-Breaking Orb exploded with a bang. It dissolved into ash, like a heartbroken after entangled love.

  Stirling was jaw-dropping in this scene, but in the next moment, a series of prompts lit up his eyes.

  [Refined a trace of the White-level Pathos Statue, lifespan +1 day]

  [Refined a trace of the White-level Pathos Statue, lifespan +1 day]

  [Refined a trace of the White-level Pathos Statue, lifespan +1 day]

  ...

  The prompts flowed like a waterfall, pouring in for several minutes before easing off.

  Stirling estimated that, in that moment, he gained at least five months of life!

  Holy crap!

  Stirling stared at the statue on the table, stunned.

  It was only one Malice-Breaking Orb, yet it could grant so much lifespan! This...

  If this statue were enhanced, it would be a cash cow!?

  With this thought, Stirling's heart surged with excitement.

  Could it be that today he would achieve the age of over 100? To be an immortal being?

  Stirling rushed to the table and stared at the lifelike statue. He couldn't hide his excitement as he waited for the prompt to show up.

  Stirling had never seen the white statue up close. Now that he was near, this thought flashed into his mind without warning. But the next moment, Stirling felt a sudden flash before his eyes. In the dim light, beams and dark, cloud-like patches suddenly appeared.

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  These lights and shadows moved through Stirling's vision at a crawl, as if in slow motion. Then, a gigantic figure, with a powerful glow emanating from its head, appeared suddenly in Stirling's mind!

  The figure's face was unclear. He sat quietly, his figure radiating a sacred presence that made Stirling want to bow in worship.

  Stirling's vision gradually grew blurry. Amidst this bizarre scene, he could faintly hear a soft voice whispering again and again, "Bow, bow! If you bow, you will get power, money and women...". Stirling even saw countless people kneeling at his feet, cheering for him and calling him a peerless hero; countless beauties surrounded him...

  [Current enhancement requires a lifespan of 17 years and 121 days. Do you want to enhance?]

  Stirling noticed the prompt, but he had no way of responding. He had fallen into a trance, unable to help himself. Despite being drowsy, his subconscious was still alert. In a flash, he realized that an evil spirit was trying to occupy his mind.

  "Bow or die." The giant figure in his mind murmured.

  "No way!" Another voice roared in his head and continued, "Fuck off! " This is Stirling's own voice. However, his shout could not stop the figure's shadow from growing stronger. Moments later, his consciousness space was almost occupied. The figure grew taller and taller. And even though its face was blurred, Stirling could still perceive its gleeful yet malicious sneer at his insignificance as an ant being.

  In the nick of time, a familiar heat surged from Stirling's lower abdomen. The Aether flow was aroused and instantly spread throughout his body, rushing into his mind.

  At this moment, Stirling finally recovered from a long-suppression with the help of the Aether power and unleashed his fury. He imagined his consciousness forcefully slashing out with a saber. Then, in the vast darkness, a massive blade of light flashed. The next moment, the giant figure, head and neck split apart and collapsed with a bang.

  Stirling felt a sharp pain in his head. Then, he broke free from his strange fantasy. He staggered back three steps and fell to the ground. Fear filled his eyes, and his body was soaked in cold sweat.

  It was horrifying! What had happened? Stirling wasn't sure. But one thing was certain: Aether power saved him again in an invisible battle. He almost made an irreversible mistake just now.

  Stirling wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking back to what had happened. A question arose in his mind.

  Where did this statue come from? Was the figure in his mind the so-called god? Is worshipping gods essentially an attack of spiritual pollution?

  What is worshipping a god? Why did the entire order of the Saxon Empire fall apart so quickly after the worship? Even the Central Kingdom, full of samurai masters, struggled to defend itself.

  Stirling thought for a moment. Then, he took out a malice-breaking orb. He walked to the table and set it on the statue's forehead, covering its eyes. Stirling placed two more on the statue's shoulders at a brisk pace, one on each side. He then nodded subtly, stepped back, and observed in stillness.

  Sure enough, during his step back, the three Malice-Breaking Orbs on the statue vibrated in a frenzy. Then, a flood of text appeared before his eyes. This time, Stirling was more experienced. He stared at the text and counted it all. In the end, he found he had gained about one year and eight months of lifespan. Stirling thought that, along with what he had gained before, his lifespan was now about 62 years.

  Thinking about his remaining lifespan, Stirling sighed inwardly. Since crossing over, he had never gained such a rich lifespan. Once his lifespan exceeded a hundred years, even the world was vast, he dared to explore it for sure!

  Thinking of this, Stirling pulled out three more beads and walked over to the table. As he was about to stick them on again, he noticed a crack in the statue.

  Stirling avoided the statue's eyes and instead looked behind it at the crack. He was 100 percent certain it wasn't there when he first took it, meaning it had only appeared.

  The thought occurred to Stirling.

  Stirling had thought that after using up malice, the statue would lose its luster. Now, it felt more like a disposable item.

  Stirling muttered, then placed all the remaining malice-breaking beads on the statue.