Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 563 The Divine Heir of the Abyss
Hey, hey, hey.

Bang, bang, bang...

"..."

On the dragon corpse at the Blood Sacrifice Altar, its enormous heart was still beating powerfully. Luo Xiu's outstretched hand, which was about to touch the heart, stopped abruptly, and he slowly withdrew his hand.

Luo Xiu did hesitate for a moment when he saw the dark red patch of light from his special ability, "Death Realm Intuition".

His mind raced, trying to figure out what it was after touching that heart that could have caused him to be so severely injured in an instant.

Even Fafnir Ramzanx, the "Devourer Dragon," would find it difficult to do such a thing if the true "Primordial Demon" stood before him.

The only thing capable of inflicting such severe damage on oneself in such a short time is a "demigod"!
Or perhaps it is an existence that is almost equivalent to a "demigod"!

"..."

Staring at the still-pulsating dragon heart before him, Luo Xiu's face showed unprecedented vigilance.

He had detected the heart at the same time, but nothing was displayed for the time being—perhaps the existence hidden in the heart was blocked or obstructed in some way, and only by tearing open the heart's membrane could he truly see it.

"What's wrong, Archbishop?"

"..."

As Luo Xiu pondered, the voice of "Radiant Knight" Elias came from behind him.

Unlike before when Elias had personally witnessed the phantom of the "Devouring Dragon," this time, Elias did not sense any unusual danger from the heart of the dead dragon.

Perhaps Elias could "touch" that heart, and whatever happens, it would allow him to avoid potential danger...

For some reason, Luo Xiu subconsciously had this thought from the depths of his heart.

He knew that his evil thoughts were not entirely without reason.

Even though the phantom of the Devouring Dragon has vanished, the influence of other profound spiritual forces still exists here, and these influences do not originate from the Devouring Dragon, but from other [Abysses]!
Luo Xiu was also an extraordinary being destined for the Abyss; he was a "Demon Mentor." Even though that aura was hidden extremely deeply, he could still sense its subtlety.

"..."

“I’m fine… Elias.”

Luo Xiu withdrew his hand, stood up, and took three steps back.

That was also the distance between Elias and the dead dragon.

"The spiritual energy contained within this 'dead dragon cocoon' is quite rich."

Luo Xiu said,

“Your previous feelings were correct; the profound spirituality within has indeed become active. Perhaps something happened while we couldn’t see it, but at least for now, it hasn’t erupted.”

“Listen carefully, Elias. I will place a proper seal here so that even if the deep spiritual energy within goes out of control or becomes disordered and erupts, it will not seep out or affect the outside of the barrier.”

“After that, we will leave, and you need to stand guard at the entrance and not let anyone in until either of us, Lord Daveld, returns.”

He told Elias these things, but out of caution, he did not tell Elias about the unusual danger he felt from the dragon's heart.

“…I understand.” Elias nodded.

Elias clearly didn't understand anything either. In his intuition, he probably just felt that the archbishop had already completed the examination, and the result was that it was a dead dragon with a more profound spirituality.

The instructions given to him by the archbishop were simply the usual instructions given after the inspection was completed.

Elias then stepped back as Roshu had instructed, while Roshu began to pray.

The tip of the [Divine Grip] scepter in his hand was already radiating strands of shimmering golden spiritual energy. The woven golden barrier enveloped the dead dragon and the blood altar in layers, completely severing their connection with the spiritual world.

Only after completing the formation of the Radiant Gold Barrier did Luo Xiu turn around and say to Elias:

"Okay."

“Now, let’s go out. Elias, wait for Lord Daveld to return, and then we’ll proceed with the next steps of the investigation.”

“…Okay.” Elias nodded.

Luo Xiu nodded slightly, then said nothing more. He simply patted Elias on the shoulder and walked past him toward the entrance.

Elias also turned and left.

But what he didn't notice was—

Right behind him, in the shadows cast by the dim cave lamps, something was slowly wriggling.

His "shadow" was finally completely separated from him.

That was the shadow of Fenrir, the "Eternal Night Wolf"—

It appeared silently at Luo Xiu's invisible summons.

And it's not the only one.

The "Eye of the Lunar Eclipse" in the foggy night, the vast expanse of black mist that it spread and dissipated gradually condensed into the image of another "Luo Xiu".

Along with another True Ancestor Demon who had completely concealed his aura—"Lord of the Dead" Sasser—he also silently emerged from Fenrir's shadow.

After their "Lord" Rosh, along with the "Radiant Knight" Elias, had completely left this deepest chamber.

They silently passed through the barrier set up by Luo Xiu and walked towards the heart of the dead dragon on the blood altar.

……

Luo Xiu and Elias then left the Blood Cave.

Before returning to the surface, they actually did some more things—the remnants of the Dark Army and the cultists lurking at the bottom of the Blood Cave were almost completely eradicated by Luo Xiu and Elias.

Their leader, at best, only attained the "Fourth Destiny." For Luo Xiu now, dealing with them was merely a matter of convenience—

However, the journey back to the surface from the deepest chamber involved taking a more circuitous route. Luo Xiu calculated that on this return trip, he had almost wiped out six strongholds and personally annihilated all their remaining forces to ashes.

The free attribute points gained from the [Exalted Divine Punishment] specialization are still being accumulated as a result.

In Luo Xiu's plan, before advancing to the seventh level of destiny, he will collect all the free attribute points that can be obtained from this sacred skill, so he can never have too many enemies to judge.

From another perspective, it was because he had secretly summoned the Abyss Beasts and Demons he had contracted, so that what they were about to do would not be affected by these unstable factors lurking at the bottom of the Blood Cave.

He will undertake a very risky attempt—

If successful, it will benefit one's advancement in the [Abyss] destiny.

—Then perhaps we won't need to wait for the "Crimson Tide" and the "Abyss Hanging Upside Down" to arrive, and can advance the [Abyss] to the fifth level of destiny before then!
"..."

Luo Xiu thought about these things before returning to the ground with Elias.

According to the information Luo Xiu knew, the most important step in advancing [Abyss] to the fifth level of destiny and crossing the threshold of sainthood was to bathe in the true River Styx.

As far as the Abyss is concerned, the River Styx is the blood of the gods—but the Sevenfold Abyss is not yet open, and the true River Styx has not yet appeared.

Even though Luo Xiu could summon a projection with the same effect as the Styx River using the skill "Bathing in the River Styx," it was ultimately just a projection and couldn't be used for true advancement. This was also the real reason why, after advancing [Abyss] to the fourth level of destiny, although the spirituality of his own [Radiance] was enough to cover and suppress his [Abyss] from advancing to the fifth level of destiny, he hadn't continued to advance.

But now, Luo Xiu has indeed glimpsed the possibility of further advancement—

Just as Luo Xiu had guessed.

The only thing capable of inflicting such severe injury on me in such a short time could be a "demigod" or an entity nearly equal to him.

After calm reflection, he felt that the most likely explanation was "divine offspring"—

Previously, in Red Maple City, when he was still in the fourth stage of his destiny, he had encountered a monster called a "divine offspring." It was the [Lost] Divine Offspring of Death, and even though it was just a mutated larva at the time, it had already displayed terrifying destructive power.

What remains at the bottom of the Blood Cave is likely the offspring of the Abyss, and a highly accomplished one at that.

From the perspective of advancing one's own destiny in the Abyss.

If the dragon that was devoured is hidden... or nurtured in the heart of a dead dragon's cocoon, then it is indeed the offspring of a certain [Abyss] god, and its blood is equivalent to the true "Styx", and its purity even surpasses that of the Styx!
Immersed in it, isolated from its corrosive influence, the advancement one can achieve in the [Abyss] will definitely be greater than expected.

More importantly, if one can use this to achieve complete control over a true divine heir of a certain [Abyss], one can gain a significant advantage before the true "Crimson Tide" and "Abyss Upside Down" arrive, thus achieving a tremendous leap forward under the calamity of the world.

This is the "Apocalypse World" version, "using divine offspring to command the abyss".

These are all benefits that Luo Xiu finds hard to refuse.

Now, Luo Xiu recalls the sentence he received from the divine oracle when he had just completed the "Divine Radiance Proclamation" ritual.

—[He will awaken the corpse of that divine son, and plunge the city that gave birth to Him back into devastation.]

At the time, I thought that the so-called "heir of the gods" referred to the "devouring dragon" itself, or was a modifier. But now I realize that it's not just that; "heir of the gods" really does mean it literally!
"..."

On the journey back to the surface with Elias, Luo Xiu kept thinking about these things.

And then Luo Xiu and Elias finally returned to the ground.

Before descending to the bottom of the Blood Cave, Elias stopped in his tracks before reaching the square well seat.

“I will stay here, Archbishop.”

Elias said:

“I have taken up too much of your time, Archbishop. I will wait here until you and Lord Daveld return.”

“Okay.” Luo Xiu nodded in response.

Although there are other entrances to the bottom of the Blood Cave, only the square well guarded by Elias is the known path leading to the Blood Sacrifice Altar.

After giving him a few more instructions, Luo Xiu turned and left, heading towards the temporary church headquarters in Fafnir City.

His figure disappeared at the end of the street under Elias's respectful gaze.

But Luo Xiu did not actually go to the church's residence—

As Luo Xiu passed through the entrance of a deep alley on the side street of Fafnir, he spread his senses and found that there was no one else around, so he turned into the alley.

He went straight into its depths, completely concealing his presence along the way, and found an unoccupied ruin, which he then entered.

He then stood still in the dimly lit corner and raised his right hand.

A deep red light flashed on the back of his hand, the mark of the "Isol Royal Court," and several rings of deep red magic circles appeared under his feet, teleporting him to the "Sacred Abyss."

Before consciousness vanishes into the void and vision sinks into darkness.

His spirituality—the spirituality connected to the beasts and demons with whom he had made a pact—has received an echo.

Fenrir, Foggy Night, and that "Mourning the Dead" Sasser,

They had completed the task temporarily assigned to them, and had "brought back" the cocoon of the dead dragon to the Holy Abyss.

……

Holy Abyss.

On the golden throne, Luo Xiu reopened his eyes, and clear colors gradually returned to his vision.

This time, his retinue, "Faceless" Indis, was not present, and the entire royal palace had been completely sealed off and placed under martial law a few minutes earlier.

No one could enter, including the "Apostles of the Holy Abyss"—the only creatures that appeared before Luo Xiu were the Abyss Beasts and Demons he had contracted.

and also--

The dead dragon that was at the bottom of the Blood Cave and on the Blood Sacrifice Altar just minutes ago has now appeared on the ground in the center of the Royal Court Hall.

The enormous dragon heart was still pumping, emitting a heavy, drum-like thumping sound.

Luo Xiu stared at the heart.

His left hand gently rubbed the bracelet on his right wrist, from which he took out the black-patterned puppet mask that symbolized his identity as the "Lord of the Holy Abyss" and put it on.

His right hand gently patted the armrest, causing a hidden compartment to pop out from beneath the golden throne, from which he retrieved the [Divine Prison Lock], which sealed the "Spirit of Authority" Hastia.

That was the key to his "domination".

After doing all this, Luo Xiu's gaze returned to the cocoon of the dead dragon embryo.

His time is limited, and every minute and second is precious.

Now, what he is about to do—

It was before any of the Saints of the Sixfold Path of Radiance—Daveld, Prandell, and Royce—returned from the battlefield outside Fafnir City that the heart was broken open.

He wanted to witness the birth of the divine offspring with his own eyes and to control Him personally. Then, he would send this cocoon of the dead dragon embryo back to the real world, back to the blood altar.

This was his only chance to do this before Daveld and the others returned.

Thinking this, Luo Xiu stood up from the golden throne.

He had already gripped a giant scythe radiating black flames in his right hand, [Saint's Decapitation], and had walked step by step toward the dead dragon.

As he walked, he began to pray, applying all the holy aids that could be used to help him.

When he finally reached the dead dragon, he raised the Saint's Scythe high, its blade aimed at the enormous heart, and swiftly brought it down—

boom! ! ! ! !
A terrifying, profound spiritual energy suddenly surged forth from the cleavage like a torrent!
Indeed, something welled up from that heart—

His name has also appeared in the panel detection that Luo Xiu has always maintained.

That was a name that Luo Xiu had never expected.

And just as Luo Xiu had predicted, it was a demigod—

That was one of the three demigods of [Authority].

—Helmond, the "child of the Dragon God"!
……

(End of this chapter)