Zhu Tianqi emerged from the Guanyin Hall, her entire being steeped in melancholy.
Her entire worldview, her understanding of life, had shattered.
Thinking back to how she had cultivated demonic arts in order to advance, to gain greater energy, how she had changed from a man to a woman without hesitation – it was the act of the biggest fool in the world.
Listlessly, she walked towards the main entrance of the Buddhist Hall.
Before the hall, the great Pope Gregory was stroking the black rose in his hand.
A petal was missing from the rose. The loss of a fragment of the Mirror Hell was of no consequence; it did not dampen his good mood.
“Qin Yexuan, a fellow that even the great Haotian fears, is nothing more than this.”
Just now, Qin Yexuan’s life and death were entirely in my hands.
The only reason I didn't kill him was because the great Haotian said that person was the key to everything.
But what that meant, Lucifer had no idea.
The people from the three major sects had already retrieved the fragments of the Great Prophecy Book.
The remaining monks of Qinglong Temple were also excavating the Golden Body of the Mingben National Master, buried deep underground.
The three fragments of the so-called prophecy book were yellowed silk, with faint, strange characters on them.
These fragments, when pieced together, formed a rectangular scroll, but the most crucial area in the center was empty.
It was like an ancient scroll with a hole dug in the middle.
Lucifer, in the guise of the Pope, frowned as he looked at it.
“Great Pope, you can directly burn these forbidden fragments,” his subordinate suggested.
The Pope shook his head.
He wanted to see the complete Great Prophecy Book with his own eyes.
This was not merely curiosity; it was the reason he had acted privately, without Haotian’s knowledge.
Those extraterrestrial powerhouses who disagreed with Haotian had concentrated their energy and lent it to him, for one purpose only.
To see what was written in the Great Prophecy Book!
“The great Haotian attaches great importance to the Great Prophecy Book, and even more to Qin Yexuan. He is so fearful that he is unwilling to descend from his floating island to confront Qin Yexuan in person.”
“Therefore, in that Great Prophecy Book, there might be…”
They dared not speak.
Only Lucifer voiced his inner thoughts: “Perhaps there is a way to deal with Haotian.”
All the extraterrestrial powerhouses, forcibly subdued by Haotian and now in a position of oppression, put on forced smiles.
What Lucifer said was the thought they dared not voice but were about to explode with.
A way to deal with the invincible Haotian!
Indeed, some extraterrestrial powerhouses even considered taking a risk and cooperating with Qin Yexuan.
But this line of thought was quickly rejected.
“We are merely secretly examining the Great Prophecy Book to find a possible way to oppose Haotian. Even if we are discovered, we will at most be punished, not annihilated.”
“But if we directly cooperate with Qin Yexuan, we would be committing the greatest taboo of Haotian, and no extraterrestrial powerhouse would be spared.”
In essence, the former plan had a chance of salvage, while the latter was suicidal.
He sighed inwardly.
The great demon lord Lucifer was even a little hesitant.
That human, Qin Yexuan, did not appear to possess great strength. His power was even less than that of a low-level werewolf subordinate.
As for the Great Prophecy Book…
Judging by the current fragments, there was no content related to Haotian.
“When can the Golden Body of the Mingben National Master be excavated?” Pope Lucifer asked with a frown, his handsome face showing signs of impatience.
“We have already dispatched two vampire princes and four werewolf dukes to assist, but… they encountered a wall made of pure silver. As a result, the vampire princes were burned, and the werewolf dukes were severely injured.”
His subordinate gave a wry smile. “Beneath those pure silver structures, there were strange talismans and incantations. We have already lost many werewolves.”
“Trash!” Pope Lucifer immediately said, “Let that human assist. He is a person of real power in Goryeo.”
The director of the Intelligence Agency, being so devout, was thrilled by the great Pope’s request for help. He immediately summoned over a thousand subordinates.
Thus, the originally difficult excavation work was completed with the help of dozens of excavators, directly unearthing the Mingben National Master’s Golden Body, covered by a kasaya.
After who knows how many years, the kasaya remained intact, unrotted, and not even a speck of dirt had stained it.
As the kasaya was lifted, the lifelike Golden Body of the Mingben National Master was revealed.
The Golden Body had a smiling expression, seated cross-legged, his left hand forming a fist and his right hand holding a circle.
Pope Lucifer frowned as he looked at it.
A subordinate suddenly exclaimed, “The posture of this Golden Body is very strange.”
“What’s strange about it?”
“Mingben National Master of Goryeo should be a great figure of Zen Buddhism, but his posture is not that of a meditating Buddha, but rather the standard hand gesture of another Buddhist sect, Esoteric Buddhism.”
Pope Lucifer had already recognized it. “The hand seal of the Esoteric Longevity Art!”
“So, this Mingben National Master was actually a successor of Esoteric Buddhism?”
The Pope smiled. “According to records, this Goryeo scholar followed the servant of the imperial preceptor Basiba of the Great Yuan Empire. It’s quite normal for him to know a little about Esoteric hand gestures.”
In the past, at the Battle of Tongguan, Basiba died in meditation, and Mingben National Master eventually returned to his homeland.
As the entire incident was pieced together, there were always strange aspects.
“So, where is the last scroll fragment?”
“It is said to be in the mouth of the Mingben Golden Body!”
Pope Lucifer nodded. “Smash the Golden Body and take it out. I will only look at it once before destroying it!”
The survivors from the three major sects closed their eyes in pain.
Even the most devout intelligence director hesitated.
Mingben National Master, who built Qinglong Temple, was the most respected wise man of Goryeo. He was worshipped by kings of successive generations and was a legacy of Goryeo’s culture.
Were they really going to smash his Golden Body?
The monks of Qinglong Temple burst into tears and desperately defended the Golden Body.
Lucifer snorted. The four monks blocking the way turned into white bones. The twisted bones even rose and, brandishing sharp claws, tore the remaining monks to shreds.
“This, this is not the great Pope of the Holy See, he is the devil!”
Someone bravely shouted, “Look at the cultivation method he is using!”
The intelligence director hesitated and took a step back. “Damn it, wait, no one move!”
He finally came to his senses and ordered his thousands of subordinates to guard the front of the main hall of Qinglong Temple.
Pope Lucifer slowly turned, looking at him with a sinister smile. “Those who betray my lord will be burned and rained upon. That fire will be cold, and that rain will be corrosive acid!”
Instantly, ice-blue flames appeared at the feet of the mortals, including the director.
Their entire bodies were burning, but there was no smell of scorching. Instead, they shivered and exhaled white mist, desperately wrapping their clothes tighter.
The stronger the flames, the colder they became. Soon, their hair and eyebrows were covered in frost.
At this moment, a heavy rain appeared directly above their heads.
It was not a cold rain, but a strong acid carrying poisonous gas.
The intelligence director stretched out his hand and let out a pained roar. His hand quickly became only bone, and then even the bone was corroded.
Pope Lucifer’s face lit up with joy as he greedily absorbed the fear of those around him as they died.
To him, that was the most beautiful aroma.
The scene instantly turned into hell, with only rotting bones and burnt flesh remaining.
Just then, a light laugh echoed. “As expected, a cliché scene. The Holy See Pope and the devil have combined, yet produced such trash.”
Zhu Tianqi, clad in a trench coat, appeared with her hands behind her back, exuding an air of effortless grace.
The survivors lying on the ground, especially those from the three major sects and Qinglong Temple, looked up and showed expressions of surprise and joy.
Never before had they so eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Demonic Sect Queen from Great Xia.
The Demonic Sect was terrifying, and they were rivals, but at least they were still human.
Now, it was not the Daoist or Buddhist sects, but the Demonic Sect that could save them!
“Kill that fake Pope! We, we would rather submit to the Demonic Sect!”
This was the unspoken sentiment of everyone present.
Pope Lucifer sneered and waved his hand.
On the path leading to the main hall, fierce werewolf dukes appeared, along with vampires cloaked and hidden in the sunlight.
As the last ray of sunlight fell, darkness descended.
Lucifer smiled. “The Demonic Sect Queen from Great Xia? You have come at a most inopportune time. When night falls, it will be our world.”
Zhu Tianqi looked at the group of werewolves and vampires. Ancient monsters of the Duke and Prince rank.
Yet, she couldn’t help but scoff, “Energy level of zero point zero zero seven? How ridiculous!”