Reverend Insanity: The Gacha System

[Flashback]

It had been an arduous process. After many times of trial and error, Li Tianhuan had finally achieved the inspiration needed, courtesy of the Gacha system's Super Inspiration dice. That single moment of clarity had allowed him to comprehend the intricate interactions between Rule and Illusion Path energies.

The process began with gathering the materials—mundane on their own but powerful when combined in specific ways. Using Spirit Ink extracted from a Spirit Weaving Flower and crystallized fragments from a broken Illusion Mirror Gu, Li Tianhuan meticulously blended the components within an energy-binding array drawn directly on the floor of his room. The array pulsed with a soft light as he carefully guided his Scarlet Red Essence to stabilize the volatile mix.

As the minutes stretched into hours, the mixture began to coalesce, forming a tiny, flickering orb. It was unstable, threatening to dissipate with the slightest error. But Li Tianhuan's hands moved with precision, guided by both experience and an unyielding determination. Using his Rule Path attainment, he imposed order onto the chaotic energies, and with Illusion Path techniques, he masked the unstable fluctuations to ensure a smooth fusion.

When the process neared completion, Li Tianhuan activated a Rank 1 Rule Enforcement Gu to seal the energies within the forming Gu worm. The orb transformed, its surface hardening into the translucent, fragmented design that defined the Reality Fragment Gu. The moment it solidified, a surge of energy washed over him, signaling its success.

"Finally," Li Tianhuan had whispered to himself.

Next, he took another Gu from his aperture—the Fake to Real Gu. Channeling his primeval essence into both the Fake to Real Gu and the Reality Fragment Gu, he formed a new killer move: Real Fragment.

Activating the killer move, Li Tianhuan envisioned a desolate beast, its form mangled and battered. The power of the killer move materialized his thoughts into reality, and a small beast appeared before him. The creature, named Abyssal Desolate Rat, was a terrifying sight—its dark fur was matted with blood, and its crimson eyes glowed faintly amidst its tattered face. Measuring around 60 centimeters in size, the Abyssal Rat King had jagged, broken teeth protruding from its elongated snout, and its once-mighty claws were chipped and dull. Large gashes marred its sides, and patches of fur were missing, revealing raw, sinewy flesh beneath.

The rat beast lay sprawled on the ground, its labored breathing filling the room. Despite its injuries, a faint aura of menace clung to it, hinting at its former strength. Li Tianhuan took a sharp and sturdy axe from his inventory, its edge gleaming faintly in the dim light. With a single swing, he brought it down on the neck of the Abyssal Desolate Rat. However, as expected of a desolate beast, its resilience was extraordinary. The axe bit into its flesh but didn't sever the neck entirely. Gritting his teeth, Li Tianhuan swung again, each strike echoing through the room. After several determined swings, the beast's neck was finally severed, and its life essence dissipated.

At that moment, a notification from the system popped up before him. A sly smile spread across his face as he quickly accessed the system store. Without wasting a second, he navigated to the immortal Gu section and purchased the Second Aperture Gu . Within moments, the Gu materialized in his hand, as it was refined by him.

The system, however, reacted violently. Alarms and warnings flared across the red interface, resembling an enraged beast's howl. The system had entered an update mode previously and was in peace but now due to Li Tian's actions, it resembled an enraged beast. Li Tianhuan had anticipated this. The update occurred because he had used a relic Gu to go from Rank 2 Initial Stage to Rank 2 Medium Stage, forcing the system to adjust its parameters and enter update mode.

Smirking, Li Tianhuan thought to himself, "This was the weakness I discovered during the first version update. The system's updates only affect the Gacha and related rewards, not the store itself and at that the system's coginative will be low. It's a gamble, but one that paid off."

During the system's vulnerable state, he had executed his plan to perfection. By creating the Abyssal Desolate Rat—a false construct with the Fake to Real Gu—and defeating it, he had successfully fooled the system into believing he had slain a genuine desolate beast. The system awarded him 55,000 KP, a staggering amount, as it calculated the points based on the presumed strength disparity between a mortal Gu Master and a powerful desolate beast.

This was a one-time opportunity, and after this, the system would undoubtedly become more cautious. However, Li Tianhuan knew that during its update period, the system would still exhibit moments of vulnerability. While it might not enter another update soon, there was always a chance. Li Tian's plan was simple yet audacious—to exploit this window of weakness as many times as possible until the updates ceased entirely.

"Once the updates stop," Li Tianhuan thought, "the prices in the system will stabilize, but if the updates still happens they'll likely increase significantly. If that happens, I'll have to hunt endlessly to make up the difference. I'm far too lazy for that. It's better to stop the updates altogether. But if the updates persist, then I'll continue using this chance. Either way, I'll be the one to gain more benefit."

------

Meanwhile, back in the present, on the battlefield, chaos reigned as the Malevolent Shrine killer move wreaked havoc. Within the swirling crimson domain, the four Rank 5 elders exchanged uneasy glances.

"This domain... it's unnatural," one of them muttered. "We have to combine our strengths to break it."

But even as they prepared to coordinate, the pressure of the relentless swords and the Multi-Blood Mark Gu strained their defenses. An unspoken suspicion crept among them, their years of political machinations in the clan planting seeds of mistrust.

Finally, one elder snarled, "You! You've always wanted to lead the Yanxiao Clan. This chaos suits you, doesn't it?" His accusation cut through the din of battle like a blade.

"Don't be ridiculous! You think I'd risk my life for some petty ambition?" the accused elder barked back.

The argument spiraled quickly, mistrust fueling their reactions. Each elder, already exhausted from holding back the domain's relentless assaults, found themselves drawing their Gu worms against one another. The Malevolent Shrine seemed to feed on their discord, the glowing swords intensifying as they turned on each other.

As the elders' infighting reached its peak, a shocking development unfolded. Yan Shu, who had been secretly maneuvering to backstab Elder Meng Ruo, he used a wood type Gu called sharp point wood Gu and he used to stab in the abdomen of ELder Meng Ruo, but suddenly felt a cold chill run down his spine. Behind him, another elder, Yun Mun, had drawn his Gu worm, striked at Yan Shu, as his whole body tarted burning.

But the treachery didn't stop there. Elder Yun Mun, oblivious to the danger, had his own back exposed. Behind him stood Elder Yan Xiu, her eyes glinting with cold determination as she prepared her killer move. With a fluid motion, she unleashed her attack, obliterating Elder Yun Mun and reducing him to a grotesque mass of meatpaste in a single, decisive strike. Yet, before she could revel in her triumph, a sharp gasp escaped her lips.

Her body was suddenly pierced by countless swords materializing from the Malevolent Shrine. The light blades shimmered ominously as they struck with deadly precision. Her strength ebbed away as she staggered, her eyes wide with shock. "Senior, you yo—" she managed to whisper, but her words were cut short as her life drained away. In mere moments, all the elders had met their end, their ambitions extinguished in the unrelenting storm of betrayal and the Shrine's lethal power.

"Now then, let's get out of here. I am done with my work," Li Tianhuan murmured, his voice cold and decisive. Without sparing another glance at the devastation, he moved swiftly toward the hidden entrance to the underground spirit spring. Descending into the shadowed depths, he found the spring bubbling with a faint, ethereal glow, its waters radiating concentrated spiritual energy.

Li Tianhuan wasted no time. Taking out the Heavenly Treasure Lotus from his inventory, he carefully placed it at the center of the spring. The moment it touched the water, he activated his killer move, Real Fast. Time seemed to accelerate within the confines of the spring, the glowing waters draining rapidly as the Heavenly Treasure Lotus absorbed every last drop of spiritual essence. In mere minutes, the once-vibrant spring was dry, its energy now condensed into the lotus.

Satisfied, Li Tianhuan retrieved the Heavenly Treasure Essence Lotus,. With the precious Gu in hand, he turned and bolted from the underground chamber, his movements quick and precise. "Time to disappear," he thought, leaving the remnants of the Yanxiao Clan far behind as he vanished into the dense forest beyond.