Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 588 The Fourth Trial
Val Fortress, within the "scarred" restricted area.

The "Dragon of Justice," Quesanx, was coiled here. Enveloped by the [Radiant] spirituality bestowed upon him by Luo Xiu, he had passed through the sealed barrier and was now perched before the cocoon of the dead dragon embryo left behind by Fafnir.

Ever since Monine sealed the Devouring Dragon with the Pillar of Divine Retribution, and "Dragonblood Knight Commander" Demosth sealed the Devouring Dragon into the Holy Dragon Slayer, the activity of the profound spirituality in all the cocoons of dead dragon embryos He left behind has gradually decreased, and now it is almost impossible to feel that surging aura.

Before Quesanx, the corpse of the dead dragon visibly began to rot. The "incorruptibility" maintained by the profound spirituality applied to it gradually lost its effectiveness, and the long-accumulated smell of decay began to emanate in waves.

"……Roar."

Quesanx growled in a low voice.

He did not like this feeling, and even though He had tried his best to block out his sense of smell, he still felt waves of discomfort.

However, He was also able to confirm some things from this—that the "Devourer Dragon" Fafnir, the ancient dragon who fell into the Abyss and became the progenitor demon, had indeed had his spirituality severed at its source.

By observing the state of the dead dragon's cocoon, we can actually deduce the state of the "devouring dragon".

The gradually decaying cocoon of the dead dragon reflects that the life force of the "devouring dragon" is becoming weaker and weaker, with no sign of recovery whatsoever.

Quesanx was reassured about this.

The Devouring Dragon is now under the control of "Dragonblood Knight Commander" Demosth. The one glimpse he had seen before made Quesanx keenly aware that Demosth would never "let Him go" easily.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it can be considered that the Devouring Dragon is dead. He is no longer a threat, and Quesanx can finally be freed from Fafnir's shadow.

"……Roar."

He roared once more.

He raised his long dragon neck, and his three-colored dragon eyes looked out of the barrier where he was, and he saw another figure - his contractor, the figure of "Archbishop" Luo Xiu.

"...You've arrived, Luo Xiu."

In Luo Xiu's ears, Quesanx's deep voice surged in—

[The eerie aura emanating from the cocoon of the dead dragon fetus left behind by Fafnir Ramzanx, the 'Devouring Dragon,' is gradually dissipating.]

[It's the same as the cocoon of a dead dragon he left behind at the bottom of the Blood Cave in Fafnir... Since the Devouring Dragon was taken away by Demosth, all the cocoons of dead dragons he left behind should have lost their vitality.]

Quesanx told Rosh these things.

As for the "dead dragon cocoon" in Fafnir City that He mentioned, although Luo Xiu caused it to "self-destruct," it still retained a considerable portion of its original "demon cocoon." Monine descended into the Blood Cave several times to investigate, and reached the same conclusion.

The aura of the Devouring Dragon was dissipating. These remains of the dead dragon no longer possessed the "Demon Cocoon" effect of the Primordial Demon.

“…Hmm.” Luo Xiu nodded.

He had arrived in front of Quesanx, his gaze fixed on the dead dragon placed on the blood altar.

He saw that the dead dragon's rotting flesh and putrid blood seemed to be writhing, and the putrid, decaying smell emanating from it made Luo Xiu subconsciously frown.

...It stinks.

Luo Xiu took a step back.

The stench seemed to have lessened, so Luo Xiu looked up at Quesanx and said:
"The decaying cocoon of the dead dragon indicates that the influence of the Devouring Dragon on it has been severed."

"That's a good thing... but I'm here for another reason."

"..."

"……roar?"

[Other matters?]

Quesanx lowered its dragon neck, its dragon eyes pressed close to Luo Xiu's body, and let out a low roar, the sound reaching Luo Xiu's ears.

"That's about Hastia, the 'Dragonborn King' and the 'Spirit of Authority'."

Luo Xiu said:

“I have sensed it. There is an unusual fluctuation coming from the Sacred Abyss. It comes from the [Divine Prison Lock], the divine object that seals Hastia.”

“I promised you, Quesanx—I would tell you this when the next avatar of Hastia appears. Now… tonight, it should be about time.”

"..."

"……Roar."

[...Hastia's incarnation...I understand.]

Quesanx raised his dragon neck, his enormous dragon feet supporting his massive body, causing the earth to rumble and tremble.

He stood up. And Rosh had already come aboard His dragon back. Then, Quesanx spread His dragon wings and flew towards the outside of Val Fortress and into the depths of the Great Rift Valley.

……

Above the Sacred Abyss.

This happened five minutes after leaving the location of the dead dragon's cocoon.

Luo Xiu and Quesanx arrived deep within the Great Rift Valley and activated the Royal Court Seal at a suitable location, teleporting themselves and Quesanx to the Sacred Abyss.

The instant his vision returned to color from the dimness, Luo Xiu felt a scorching heat—wisps of smoke were rising from the throne he sat upon. The golden throne had even turned a deep red, and hissing sounds emanated from its depths—

That was a reaction caused by the abnormality of the [Divine Prison Lock].

Luo Xiu's spiritual energy spread out, isolating himself from the abnormally high temperature. He then gently tapped the armrest of the golden throne, causing a hidden compartment beneath the throne to pop out, containing the [Divine Prison Lock].

The once jet-black, iron-like thirty-six-faceted crystal now bore deep, rugged cracks. From these cracks, streaks of crimson flame burst forth, trembling uncontrollably within the dark compartment.

The aura belonging to Hastia, the "Spirit of Authority," was indeed almost uncontrollable and was about to break free from the [Chains of the Gods]!

"..."

Luo Xiu had retrieved the [Chains of Gods] from the hidden compartment and stood up from the throne.

The crimson flames that burst forth from the fissures in the crystal, which had been scorched red-hot in his hand, wrapped around Luo Xiu the moment his fingers touched it, leaving dim marks on his palm and forearm.

At a certain moment, as Luo Xiu walked forward and arrived at the center of the royal court hall.

The intense heat had reached its peak, and the [Divine Prison Lock] erupted with an unprecedentedly violent tremor, breaking free from Luo Xiu's grasp!

laugh--

Hot smoke rose up.

Under Luo Xiu's gaze, he saw the [Divine Prison Chains] slam heavily into the ground in front of him, producing a loud "boom," leaving a clear, deep crater in its wake.

Then, the crimson spirituality of Hastia, the "Spirit of Authority," which was sealed within, began to overflow.

As the deep red color surged forth, the surrounding air erupted in waves of chaos and distortion.

Meanwhile, a vibrating, low-pitched buzzing sound was already reaching Luo Xiu's ears.

That was the voice of Hastia, the "Spirit of Authority," a voice filled with long-accumulated, deep rage and fury—"We, the Authority..."

"—Blood gives it!"

His incarnation has already appeared!

Along with it, Hastia's domain also appeared—the scenery around Luo Xiu quickly became blurred and plunged into complete darkness. He could no longer see any scene in the royal court, nor could he see his golden throne.

The deep red light that flashed before my eyes was like flickering flames, outlining a hideous human shape.

—That is “the incarnation of Hastia”!
Directly in front of Luo Xiu, about twenty meters away, stood the dragon-blooded knight clad in ancient dragon armor and wielding a massive flaming axe—Hastia.

Just as Luo Xiu had predicted, the "avatar of Hastia" he faced this time had reached level 80, the peak strength of the "Chaos Spirit" rank.

Going a step further, there is the "Star Spirit"—in Luo Xiu's prediction, after shattering this "Avatar of Hastia," shattering another "Avatar of the Star Spirit" will allow him to directly confront His true form.

Luo Xiu was thinking about these things.

Unlike the previous incarnations of Hastia, this incarnation is clearly closer to the true form of Hastia, the "Dragonborn King," within the seal of the [Divine Prison Lock].

Because this incarnation is wearing a "crown".

Above the dragon-shaped helmet, a ring-shaped crown blazing with crimson flames floated. Engraved on it were ferocious flame patterns, from which blood dripped, pouring onto Hastia's body.

It is obvious that Hastia is drawing some kind of alien power from that "crown".

"Durant's bloodline..."

From beneath the tattered mask, Hastia emitted a ferocious, hoarse voice—

"I will definitely...hunt—"

--boom!!!!!

Luo Xiu did not give Him a chance to continue.

The surge of light, burning with golden flames, burst forth completely from the scepter held by Luo Xiu, piercing through Hastia in the blink of an eye before he could even react!

—【The Torrent of Heavenly Punishment】!
After advancing to the sixth level of destiny, he specially created this permanent output skill. If he does not rely on the Ancient Dragon weapon's "Ancient Dragon's Ferocious Breath" and "Ancient Dragon's Devouring Slash", it will be Luo Xiu's main means of output in the [Radiant] form.

"--Well!!!"

“The incarnation of Hastia,” He groaned in pain.

Bombarded by the surge of golden light, His body was sent flying backward until He was swallowed up by the darkness He himself released, leaving only a dark red shadow visible.

The "Chaos Spirit"—a divine rank equivalent to the Saint level of the "Sixfold Fate Path"—is now nothing more than a toy to Luo Xiu.

According to the panel monitoring maintained by Hastia's avatar, this time [Heavenly Strike Torrent] blasted away one-third of His health.

Even though He possesses various specialties and characteristics that allow Him to fight more effectively when His health is low, He still cannot withstand Luo Xiu's entire cycle of holy arts, as well as the three consecutive uses of "Ancient Dragon's Ferocious Breath" and "Ancient Dragon's Devouring Slash".

However, Luo Xiu felt that this time, the "avatar of Hastia" was still a bit too weak.

"Durant's bloodline..."

"You...this power...you..."

"..."

From the depths of darkness came Hastia's voice.

His voice carried a clear sense of awe and a trembling fear. This was the first time He had truly faced Luo Xiu, who possessed the Sixfold Fate, and He genuinely felt the oppressive aura Luo Xiu exuded within the [Divine Prison Lock]—it was no exaggeration!
“I told you, Hastia.”

Gazing at the dark, flickering crimson phantom before him, deep within the darkness, Luo Xiu raised his scepter towards it—

“We don’t need to do this… Hastia. Even if I release your true form, you in your current state—so weak—won’t be mine…”

--boom!!!!!

This time, Luo Xiu didn't finish his sentence.

From behind him, a scarlet rift tore open in the darkness, and another "Hastia," the avatar wielding a giant greatsword, its scarlet blade slashing down towards Luo Xiu's back!
The dense spiritual energy in the darkness began to hiss and burn, and the surging crimson enveloped Luo Xiu. At the same time, a heavy slash and a terrifying burning erupted behind Luo Xiu!

"I will definitely... hunt you down!!!"

Hastia uttered such a ferocious and raging voice—His deep hatred for Durant was poured entirely into this sword.

Luo Xiu whirled around and saw an avatar that, apart from the weapon, was no different from the "Durant" from before—

The second one is "Hastia's Incarnation"!
Was the avatar he had seen earlier merely bait used by Hastia to distract him? He had indeed sensed the same intense surge of spiritual energy emanating from both of Hastia's avatars in front of and behind him…

Luo Xiu's mind was racing.

Then, gray mist was released around him, and the armor formed from illusion completely absorbed Hastia's slash.

That was the shield effect of Amber, the "Creator of All Things," which was permanently attached to her. Luo Xiu had already raised his scepter towards the "Avatar of Hastia" who had ambushed him from behind—

boom! ! ! ! !
Once again, a torrent of divine punishment!
The surging golden flames erupted from the tip of the scepter and then, while Hastia was still suspended in mid-air, pierced through his entire abdomen!
"—Ugh!!!"

Hastia let out a terrible scream.

Its already battered body was blasted away by a terrifying force. But it didn't fly far before crashing into an extremely hard behemoth.

"Roar……"

In the darkness, He heard a low growl.

Gu Long's roar.

The dragon's three overlapping colors, with the light bursting from them, had already enveloped Him, causing Him to feel a tremor from the bottom of His heart.

【Hastia…】

【…】

A deep, hoarse voice echoed in Hastia's mind—

You are indeed... Hastia...

【…】

But why are you so confused...?

Hatred, it has corrupted you to such a state... Hastia...

【…】

……

(End of this chapter)