Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 562 Devouring Dragon - Origin Crystal
"—Baptize me!"

As Luo Xiu chanted this sacred prayer in Sanskrit, the holy light shimmering on the back of his hand grew even brighter, and behind him, the phantom of an archangel rapidly coalesced and materialized—

The archangel holding the sacred bell gazed upon Rosh with eyes full of mercy and compassion, and gently opened his mouth to utter a divine proclamation.

"—You will be baptized."

"..."

—Wow!!!

A flowing sound came from the air. Twenty paces away, under the watchful gaze of the "Radiant Knight" Elias, he could only see a noticeable tremor in the air around "Archbishop" Roshu Carlos.

Strands of black and gray mist then emerged from the outline of Luo Xiu's body.

The aura emanating from it felt so dark and profound to Elias that he instinctively felt a sense of disgust.

And he wouldn't be mistaken—

The profound spirituality that was removed and stripped from Archbishop Rosh Carlos by the effect of the "Divine Seal"—a Level II authority of [Radiance]—was the very spirituality belonging to the [Abyss] and to the "Devouring Dragon"!
"how come……"

Elias's pupils trembled as he watched the archbishop baptizing himself, muttering to himself.

"Why……"

"..."

"The Devouring Dragon..."

……

—Buzz!!!!

In Luo Xiu's ears, a series of overlapping buzzing sounds came one after another.

Upon noticing the anomaly, he activated the Level II authority of [Radiance], "Divine Proclamation Seal," and simultaneously channeled all his spirituality, which began to flow throughout his body.

While releasing his authority, Luo Xiu also maintained a panel-based monitoring system for himself.

The "Status" section still showed no abnormalities. However, the profound spiritual energy was indeed emanating outwards in waves, and the overlapping, indistinct buzzing in his ears was indeed emanating the sinister whispers of the "Devouring Dragon"—

"you……"

"You shouldn't have..."

"..."

The source of that anomaly was indeed "The Devouring Dragon" Fafnir Ramzanx!
In the instant before He was sealed by the Pillar of Divine Retribution, He did indeed do something to Himself.

The time when it took effect... was perhaps when He wanted to "control" Himself? But the influence of His most important authority was offset by His extremely high "divinity" and "resistance" attributes, as well as the authority of the "Radiant Seal".

However, it is clear that the cleansing of the influence of Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devourer Dragon," was not thorough, which is probably why I felt such a strong urge when I first heard the "Dead Dragon Cocoon" from Elias.

And where Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devouring Dragon," truly hides his spirit—

It was on Luo Xiu's body that the wisps of mist emanating from beneath his holy robes came from the armor he wore close to his body.

—That's the [Hogmos Armor of the Holy Radiance]!
……

at this time.

Luo Xiu could indeed feel a chilling aura emanating from the armor that protected him.

Luo Xiu now fully understood why no abnormal entries had appeared in his "Status" section of the panel detection from beginning to end.

Because Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Dragon Devourer," targeted not himself, but the armor he was wearing with such a hidden method!
That ancient dragon armor originated from the reverse scale of "Silver-blooded True Dragon" Hogmoth, who ultimately fell and became the "Devouring Dragon" demon's servant, the "Silver-blooded Calamity Dragon" Hogmoth!
The Devouring Dragon is a higher-ranking demon than the Silverblood Calamity Dragon, and with its power, it is indeed capable of doing such a thing.

As the authority of the "Divine Proclamation Seal" gradually dissipates the meager spirituality belonging to the "Devouring Dragon" from itself and the Holy Radiance Armor.

Before Luo Xiu, a faint black shadow was rapidly coalescing and emerging. The shadow, which had the outline of a "devouring dragon" but was much smaller than its sky-covering body, emitted scarlet evil eyes and stared at Luo Xiu with anger and hatred.

Although He was small, the aura emanating from Him was indeed the genuine spiritual aura of Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devouring Dragon"!
Luo Xiu soon learned that after the "Devouring Dragon" was completely sealed by the [Pillar of Heavenly Punishment], it might have transferred its consciousness to this "avatar" that resembled it!
"--roar!!!!!"

The overlapping, ferocious roars then reverberated out!
The baptism of the "Divine Proclamation Seal" clearly could not completely purify the spiritual essence of the "Devouring Dragon," its phantom or avatar. After a violent roar, it instantly spread its six dark, shadowy wings and charged towards the exploding cocoon of the dead dragon embryo presented on the blood-sacrificing altar!
Luo Xiu immediately raised his right hand, holding the [Divine Grip], and chanted a sacred prayer. Golden light emanated from the tip of his staff, which pointed towards the back of the Devouring Dragon's phantom—

"—A fleeting moment of unparalleled grandeur!"

Luo Xiu prayed aloud:

"—I beseech your gaze, I beseech your grace, I beseech your hearing..."

"—I beg you to descend the 'Cage of No Light'!"

Buzz! ! ! ! !
The air trembled and hummed, and suddenly a black curtain, blocking out all light, blocked the phantom of the "devouring dragon"!

"--roar!!!!!"

He crashed headlong into the black curtain, and his spiritual body was completely blocked and isolated inside it!
Unable to break free, He could not attach His will, along with His spirit, to the cocoon of the dead dragon's womb offered on the blood altar. His plan to "activate" this spare corpse thus failed.

—Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devouring Dragon," continued to relentlessly ram into the deep curtain of the Cage of Darkness, but aside from causing the curtain to erupt with dull thuds and throwing the surrounding spirits into chaos time and time again, he could not escape the Cage of Darkness even an inch!

"you……"

His voice was filled with resentment and anger. At a certain moment, he turned his head, his deep, dark eyes staring intently at Luo Xiu—

"Why do you do this again and again..."

"..."

But His words were not finished.

--boom!!!!!

From the tip of the staff of the [Holy Grip] held by Luo Xiu, an extremely dense surge of brilliant golden light burst forth, which rushed straight towards the "Devouring Dragon" and completely dissipated its phantom and spirituality!
Since it is merely an avatar or "phantom" of Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devourer Dragon," it cannot be destroyed like the true form of the Devourer Dragon. Therefore, preserving its phantom form offers no benefit.

Therefore, Luo Xiu immediately launched an attack on His phantom.

Along with His phantom, several sacred spells that Luo Xiu had prayed beforehand also bombarded Him. The spirituality of [Radiance] instantly reached its peak, annihilating His voice and His existence into nothingness.

"..."

The air fell silent.

The deep whispers finally ceased, and the cold feeling gradually faded away.

The consciousness and spirit of Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devouring Dragon," attached to the Armor of Hogmos, were promptly stripped away and dispelled by Luo Xiu. Luo Xiu extended his senses and indeed found no trace of the "Devouring Dragon's" active spirit within the "Cage of No Light."

Only on the ground where His phantom had completely shattered did a magic crystal, shaped like a sharp cone, appear. It seemed to be a remnant of what He had dropped after shattering the phantom of the Devouring Dragon.

Luo Xiu stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the translucent black magic crystal.

He simultaneously performed panel detection on it and quickly obtained the identification results—

【Devouring Dragon - Origin Crystal (Golden Legendary/Monster Material/Extraordinary Material)】!
This is a magic crystal that fell from the phantom of the "Devouring Dragon" and carries a portion of its primordial power!

Although its spirituality was dim and restrained, Luo Xiu could still feel the surging, wave-like power deep within it.

This material can be used to forge new weapons or equipment. However, in Luo Xiu's initial plan, he wanted to use this legendary material to enhance the staff that represents the "Lord of the Holy Abyss"—the [Lament of Death].

This is the best use for this material, but there's no rush to do it now. After leaving this Blood Cave, find some time to return to the "Holy Abyss" and have the Ghost Craftsman Balin borrow the "Burning Steel Forge" to complete the enhancement of [Death's Lament].

"..."

Luo Xiu was thinking about these things.

He then put the crystallized material into his bracelet.

After spreading his spiritual perception and confirming that there was no longer any remaining spirituality of the Devouring Dragon in the Cage of No Light, Luo Xiu then opened his purification domain to purify the entire space without any blind spots. Only then did he remove the isolation barrier of the Cage of No Light.

"..."

When the darkness returned to a faint glimmer of light, Luo Xiu saw "Radiant Knight" Elias in the dim light, and he froze on the spot as if petrified.

His face displayed a complex mix of emotions, including fear, shock, and determination.

Seemingly sensing the spirituality of the "Devouring Dragon" and seeing its phantom, Elias instinctively trembled with fear. However, he did not flee; instead, he drew his holy sword and, in the brief moment that had just passed, completed several holy prayers of sacred magic.

He had already entered a battle stance—even though the "Cage of No Light" had been dispelled and the figure appearing before Elias was that of "Archbishop" Roshu Carlos, Elias still did not lower his guard.

“It is I, Elias.”

Luo Xiu then softened his voice, a gentle smile appearing on his face, and said to him:
"The threat of the 'Devouring Dragon' has been eliminated. You can now lower your guard."

"..."

"Is it really you, Archbishop?"

"Radiant Knight" Elias, his voice trembling slightly, did not lower his sword because of Luo Xiu's words.

He had just witnessed the profound spirituality emanating from Luo Xiu, which made him quite wary and panicked. Luo Xiu knew what Elias was worried about.

"Caution is good, Elias."

Luo Xiu still wore a gentle smile on his face. Then, he fully mobilized his spirituality, causing the spirituality of [Radiance] to be fully activated from the inside out. On the outline of his body, dazzling golden light burst forth like the sun!

Wow!

The surrounding air began to move more vigorously due to the rising temperature. And Elias could indeed feel the warmth.

That was a pure and radiant warmth that belonged only to [Radiance].

This pure and radiant spirituality—he was indeed facing that archbishop!

If the "Archbishop" Rosh Carlos before him was actually a Devouring Dragon in disguise, there would be no way he could display such a radiant and holy demeanor.

"..."

This finally put Elias's mind at ease.

He then sheathed the holy sword he was holding, bowed apologetically to Luo Xiu, and said:

“I’m sorry… Archbishop. I’m a little overwhelmed. You know, I witnessed Pacio…”

Elias stopped speaking. The sorrow on his face told Luo Xiu what he really wanted to say.

“It’s alright, Elias.”

Luo Xiu patted his shoulder lightly.

“Raise your head. A Radiant Knight should not show such a pathetic side.”

“He did indeed detach a part of his spirit and attach himself to me. I had noticed the abnormality before, but now I have completely removed his influence.”

"So there's no need to worry anymore. Once we've finished examining the demon cocoon, we'll leave and seal this place before we go."

“Okay.” Elias nodded.

He then followed Luo Xiu toward the core of the giant chamber, toward the location of the blood-profaning altar.

The cocoon of the dead dragon left behind by the Devouring Dragon was placed on the Bloodstained Altar. Luo Xiu and Elias walked up to it, and Luo Xiu reached out and touched the surface of the dead dragon.

Its surging, profound spirituality caused Luo Xiu to feel a distinct burning pain the moment his palm touched its surface.

This cocoon containing the embryo of a dead dragon indeed contains a very rich spirituality.

Perhaps the reason why the Devouring Dragon went to such lengths to separate itself from its origin and attach itself to itself, was to retrieve this "nourishing" power.

Luo Xiu guessed.

His hand then separated from the surface of the dead dragon, and his gaze fell upon its heart.

That is the core of the spiritual gathering of the [Demon Cocoon].

Luo Xiu then touched its heart with his palm.

And just as he was about to touch that heart—

Suddenly, a dim red light swept across his vision.

That wasn't the actual color we see, but rather a warning signal.

It originates from the long-dormant perk "Death Intuition," a warning that indicates possible "serious injury"!

—The dead dragon's heart was beating abnormally, and there were even obvious signs of life coming from it.

Something seems to be brewing within it!
……

(End of this chapter)