Even if the parasite had been implanted before someone reached the Master rank, the moment their body completed its reconstruction, they would immediately sense its presence.

Destroying it afterward would be an easy task.

’In other words, this parasite is practically useless against anyone at the Master rank or above.’

Asher silently narrowed his eyes.

’So why is the Church investing so many resources into perfecting something with such an obvious limitation?’

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the parasite’s true purpose was far more complicated.

Another thought soon crossed his mind.

’Besides... there are already countless ways to keep watch on someone.’

There were surveillance spells, artifacts, magic formations, and even people whose sole purpose was gathering intelligence.

Compared to all of those methods, creating an entirely new parasite from scratch was far more troublesome.

The Church had invested years of research, countless resources, and who knew how many experimental subjects into this project.

All of that... just to secretly observe someone?

Asher found it difficult to believe.

’No,If simple surveillance were the objective, they wouldn’t need to go this far.’

He quietly looked at the ceiling.

’There has to be another purpose.A purpose that justifies all this time, effort, and sacrifice.’

However, after thinking for several more minutes, Asher gave up.

There were simply too many missing pieces.

Without enough information, every conclusion would be nothing more than speculation, and speculation had never been his style.

He slowly closed his eyes.

’Forget it.It’s pointless to keep guessing.This is only my first day in the Church Facility.I’ll understand their true objective once I gather enough information.’

After that, Asher simply stayed in his room whenever he had free time and completed the work that had been assigned to him.

There wasn’t much for him to do yet.

After all, he was still new to the facility and was only being allowed to assist with simple tasks while he became familiar with the work.

Just like that, one week passed.

During that week, Asher assisted Dr. Samuel in numerous experiments.

The research on the modified parasite had also made some progress.

Dr. Samuel handled almost all of the important work himself, while Asher’s role was mainly to keep the experimental subjects in stable condition using his healing abilities.

Occasionally, he was also asked to remove the parasites from the subjects’ bodies without causing further injuries and making sure that subject does not dies.

However, Dr. Samuel had made one thing clear.

If a few subjects died during the process, it didn’t matter.

Mistakes happens.

Thinking about that, Asher recalled a conversation they had a few days ago.

A few days earlier...

After one of the experiments had ended, Asher asked Dr. Samuel the first question he had been genuinely curious about since arriving at the facility.

"How do you obtain so many experimental subjects without attracting attention?" he asked.

"Don’t their families report them missing or file complaints?"

Asher had been curious about that for quite some time.

After all, he also needed a large number of vessels.

However, he couldn’t simply go on a killing spree.

That would inevitably attract attention.

More importantly, replacing someone who had family or close relationships was too risky, as even a slight change in their behavior could easily make others suspicious and acting like someone else is what Asher really hates most.

Because of that, Asher usually chose people who had already been abandoned by society.

Outcasts.

People with no family and almost no one who cared about their existence.

That way, even if they changed, very few people would notice, and even fewer would bother to investigate.

But Church was different,the number of subjects was just too much,there were about 100 in a single room and there were many rooms like this,so number is probably in ten thousand.

The Church undoubtedly possessed enormous influence, but even so, kidnapping this many people over the course of several years shouldn’t have gone unnoticed.

The opposing noble factions would never let such an opportunity slip away if they discovered evidence that could weaken the Church’s influence.

Dr. Samuel looked at Asher before replying in a calm tone,

"It’s simple.We buy them."

He paused for a moment before continuing with the same indifferent expression.

"And some of the fools volunteer to become experimental subjects because of their devotion to the Church."

Dr. Samuel continued in the same calm tone, "We buy them from many different sources. Slave traders, criminal organizations, underground markets... There is never a shortage of people willing to sell another human being if the price is high enough."

He paused for a moment before a faint, almost amused smile appeared on his face.

"Isn’t it ironic? Faith was created so people could believe in something greater than themselves and find a reason to keep moving forward. Yet, in the end, it became nothing more than another tool for those at the top to control the people below them."

He looked at the unconscious subjects lying on the metal tables before continuing,

"The people at the top preach salvation, while the people at the bottom willingly offer everything they have in return."

Asher didn’t focus on last thing and just thought inwardly,

’That wouldn’t work for me.The network is far too extensive for me to take over without exposing myself.’

He paused for a moment before continuing,’And even if I somehow managed to do it, someone else would notice sooner or later.’

Dr. Samuel looked at Asher for a few moments, as though waiting for some kind of reaction.

However, Asher’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Seeing that, Dr. Samuel let out a quiet sigh.

"You really are a strange person."

A faint amused smile appeared on his face as he continued,

"You’re probably the most emotionless person I’ve ever met. No matter what I say or show you, you barely react the way I expect."

He shrugged lightly.

"I suppose that makes you better at this kind of work... but it also makes you incredibly boring to work with."

Asher simply nodded and returned his focus to healing the experimental subject.

However, inwardly, he thought,

’You’re calling me strange?’

He glanced at Dr. Samuel for a brief moment before continuing,You’re the strange one here.You’re experimenting on living people... and somehow you still expect the process to be enjoyable.’

....

Back to the present.

During the past week, Asher had also discovered many new species of demons.

Most of them weren’t as interesting as the Dream Demons.

The majority of demon species relied almost entirely on the unique properties of their physical bodies rather than extraordinary abilities.

Because of that, most of them could never reach higher realms like the Master or Grandmaster rank.

One such species was known as the Aethervore.

The bodies of these demons could absorb ordinary elemental attacks, greatly reducing or even nullifying their effects.

Their flesh was also as hard as metal, making them extremely difficult to kill through conventional means.

However, this ability had its limits.

Elemental attacks from higher-ranked cultivators could still injure them, as those attacks weren’t powered by mana alone.

They were also infused with the cultivator’s Will, allowing them to bypass the Aethervore’s natural resistance and deal significant damage.

Most demon species possessed very low intelligence and were incapable of learning elemental manipulation.

For the vast majority of them, reaching the Master Realm was nearly impossible, making them relatively easy to deal with once their abilities were understood.

Even so, the Church continued researching them.

The reason was simple.

They weren’t interested in the demons themselves.

They were interested in the unique physical properties their bodies possessed.

The Church was attempting to integrate those traits into humans, hoping to create a superior breed of humanity.

However, most of those experiments ended in failure.

While the subjects inherited the demons’ physical abilities, they also inherited their instincts.

The overwhelming urge to devour other living beings gradually consumed their minds, causing them to lose control and become little different from the demons they had been modeled after.

However, Asher didn’t particularly care whether those experiments succeeded or failed.

What interested him was something else entirely.

He was curious whether he could turn a demon into one of his vessels.

Asher was fairly confident that it wouldn’t affect him much.

After all, Nothing could easily erase most of the demonic instincts that came with the body.

As long as those instincts were removed, a demon’s body would be no different from any other vessel in his eyes.

The real problem wasn’t controlling one.

It was obtaining a suitable demon corpse.

That wouldn’t be easy.

Most demon corpses were either destroyed after battles or kept under strict supervision by major organizations.

If Asher truly wanted one, he would probably have to travel to the Demon Continent himself.

Thinking about the Demon Continent, Asher’s thoughts shifted to another of his vessels.

During the past week, the vessel traveling toward the Grimwood Continent had already covered more than half of the journey.

At its current pace, barring any unexpected trouble along the way, it would arrive at the Grimwood Continent in just a few more days.