Bai Qi's lips curled slightly as he watched the Skin Saint on the platform, a bone-cutting knife in hand.
Bai Qi had seen many methods of enhancement, but this was the first time he'd witnessed someone increasing their strength by sewing another's skin onto themselves, piquing his curiosity.
Facing the Skin Saint's attack, Bai Qi didn't rush to kill him. Instead, he used his telekinesis to parry the opponent's blows while allowing the small clock to analyze him. Along the way, Bai Qi even managed to cut off a piece of tissue from the opponent, placing it in a container for preservation, intending to see if he could cultivate something fun from it.
After the small clock finished its analysis, Bai Qi frowned slightly at the information obtained.
Who would have thought that this guy's source of power was actually faith? This guy likely worshipped some powerful, ancient god of flesh and blood in the void. By sewing large amounts of human skin onto himself as a medium, he gained power from the ancient god he worshipped.
Knowing all this, Bai Qi's interest in the Skin Saint waned considerably. Among various power systems, faith was the most troublesome. Even if the process was understood, it was useless without faith, and Bai Qi's strength would not lead him to gain power by believing in some ancient god, nor would he allow his subordinates or subjects to do so.
After all, once a connection of faith was established, although believers could gain power from the ancient god, the ancient god could also descend upon the believer, transforming them into its avatar to traverse various worlds. This was something Bai Qi could not tolerate.
"In that case, you are useless. Die."
Bai Qi used his telekinesis to block the bone-cutting knife wielded by the Skin Saint, then transformed his telekinetic power into an invisible net that enveloped him, exerting force from all directions simultaneously.
As the Skin Saint's body was continuously compressed, blood was forcibly squeezed from his pores, forming a mist of blood. By this time, the Skin Saint had been crushed into a palm-sized sphere, a mixture of flesh and bone, undeniably dead.
This method of attack was not Bai Qi's first use. Although the method was somewhat cliché, it was undeniably convenient. It was simple, requiring no incantations or anything, just a thought.
After Bai Qi finished off the Skin Saint, the Knight Captain staggered in. After a period of recovery, his overloaded body gradually returned to normal.
Seeing the Skin Saint, who had pushed him to the brink of death, easily crushed into a ball by Bai Qi, the Knight Captain was genuinely impressed by Bai Qi's terrifying strength.
Just as Bai Qi was about to check if there was anything useful in the church, the mysterious woman from the Volcanic Manor had already appeared before him silently.
At this moment, the woman knew that the Skin Saint and the Ghost Judge had been killed by Bai Qi. However, she showed no anger, but rather a hint of happiness.
Although the Ghost Judge and the Skin Saint were on the same world fragment, they did not belong to the same faction. In fact, they were somewhat adversarial. However, the Skin Saint, with his unique faith, had always stayed in the church and never stepped out, while the Ghost Judge only operated in the town and its surroundings, never entering the Volcanic Manor.
Furthermore, due to certain reasons, the Great Serpent could not act personally. The mysterious woman herself did not possess very strong combat capabilities. Even with two loyal knights by her side, without the Great Serpent's intervention, the two knights were no match for the Ghost Judge and the Skin Saint.
Over time, she had tolerated their presence.
Now that Bai Qi had eliminated both of them, he not only removed two potential threats to the Volcanic Manor but also further proved his immense strength.
The woman bowed slightly and said politely, "Lord Eltos has finished resting. Would you two like to go together, or..."
Bai Qi glanced at the Knight Captain behind him and said, "No need. Take me first. He can come later."
Seeing that the Knight Captain remained silent, the woman took it as his tacit consent. She nodded and said, "Very well, sir. Please do not resist. I will now use teleportation magic to take you there."
With a flash of red light, Bai Qi disappeared from the church and reappeared in a cave, the mysterious woman standing beside him.
"The Great Serpent you mentioned lives in a place like this?"
Bai Qi looked at the slightly damp cave around him, somewhat perplexed. Why would someone choose to live in a cave instead of a comfortable manor? The manor seemed far superior in every aspect.
The woman showed no emotional change in response to Bai Qi's grumbling. She pointed to a section of the tunnel and said, "His Excellency is waiting for you. You only need to follow the tunnel, and you will soon meet Lord Eltos."
After speaking, she vanished from the cave quickly, not giving Bai Qi a chance to ask any questions.
Bai Qi did not act immediately. Instead, he first probed the area with his mind and magic.
From the feedback, the aura of the ancient god was thickest here, and this was the area he had not been able to detect before, the misty zone.
As for other aspects, there was nothing special about this place. Apart from the dense ancient god aura, it was as ordinary as any other cave tunnel.
After walking through a long tunnel, Bai Qi saw a wall of light at the end.
This wall of light was dark gold, with streaks of black and gray mixed in.
Bai Qi made a brief probe and learned the specific function of the light wall.
The light wall was mixed with the aura of the ancient god. Any mental energy attempting to pass through would be repelled. However, it was only effective against mental energy; physical beings could pass through it with ease.
"It seems I can only find out by going in, doesn't it?"
Thinking this, Bai Qi was not afraid, though he couldn't understand why the Great Serpent would erect such a thing here.
Despite his confusion, after a moment of hesitation, Bai Qi decided to pass through and investigate.
As Bai Qi crossed the light wall, he instantly understood its true purpose.
In the tunnel, Bai Qi had only sensed the aura of the ancient god around him but had not smelled any other odors. However, after passing through the light wall, a strong smell of blood mixed with the stench of decaying flesh assaulted his senses.
Behind the light wall was a vast underground cavity. As far as the eye could see, rivers of molten lava flowed around the space. However, what shocked Bai Qi even more were the small mountains formed from countless bones.
It had to be said, this Great Serpent's taste was truly peculiar.
In the center of the cavity, a thick, massive serpent coiled, exuding a strong aura of an ancient god. This should be the Great Serpent Eltos the woman had mentioned.
From the current situation, this Volcanic Manor was truly not a good place.
The mysterious woman scoured for powerful individuals, sending them invitations to the Volcanic Manor, essentially fishing for them to become the Great Serpent's prey. As for the promised benefits, she never intended to fulfill them in the first place. After all, if they were dead, she would have no one to fulfill them for.