Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 671 Three Strongholds (3k6, First Update)
Outside the city of Aguz.

One of the hiding places of "First Cardinal" Finlake, as mentioned by Monigne and Frania, was an abandoned factory a mile outside the city of Agus. Luo Xiu was already standing deep in the ruins.

Enclosed by the rusted metal walls on all four sides, what appeared before Luo Xiu was a dark, chaotic scene, and just as Monigne had said—he saw a horrifying sight of corpses—a considerable number of human corpses, as well as the corpses of various animals.

Those who died were indeed extraordinary beings. As for the animals, there were wild beasts active nearby, which Finlake may have hunted to fill his belly.

There was also the corpse of the "Abyssal Beast"—that must have been the work of the "Primal Demon" behind Finlake, who tore open the "wound" and released the Abyssal Beasts from it to use as his own fighting force, while also devouring them to enhance his own power.

The corpses were covered with lacerations and bite marks, but not a single drop of blood flowed from them; all of it had been stolen—the stolen blood seemed to have been collected and taken elsewhere. When Luo Xiu arrived at the stronghold, he only smelled the stench of decay, not the smell of blood.

And these corpses, just as Franya had said, were piled up in a rather bizarre and brutal way, forming an altar—

The flesh and bone were interlocked, with bone spurs piercing the flesh, while the flesh wrapped around the bone, thus pressing together to form a round jar.

If described using knowledge from his previous life, what Luo Xiu faced was a compressed package of various corpses tightly bound together—

Corpse.zip
In the very center of the "altar" was a huge bone spike—which should have been the horn of the "demon"—pointing straight up and piercing a corpse, the only intact corpse on the "altar".

It was a naked corpse, its body riddled with holes like a honeycomb. Its eyes had been gouged out, and its jawbone had been brutally ripped open. Even as it died, its mouth remained uncontrollably agape.

In those two empty eye sockets and in his wide-open mouth, there was a small snake covered with black, gold and blue patterns, which also died there. Before it died, the snake opened its mouth and its sharp fangs pierced the man's tongue, and so it did until they both lost their lives.

Before Luo Xiu, he was watching this scene: black smoke was still billowing from the dense holes left on the corpse, emitting an unpleasant stench, and thick, black liquid was accumulating and flowing out.

It's like melted rubber.

That was a spirituality that had become corrupted, filthy and turbid... Luo Xiu could sense that it was filled with a spiritual aura that was a mixture of [nothingness] and [abyss]. The person who was killed here as a sacrifice and vessel for the "snake" was probably also a saint who had entered the path of [nothingness].

But he was already dead, and the panel could not detect anything more about him. His soul had been completely plundered, leaving not a trace, just an empty shell.

This is what Finlake and the primordial demon behind him did here... Luo Xiu thought to himself.

He frowned slightly. Standing before such a bizarre altar of corpses, he felt an instinctive disgust. From the perspective of a "saint," he would never believe that this was done by the "First Cardinal" of the Holy Court.

Now Luo Xiu could guess what Franya and Monine were thinking when they arrived here.

They must have been quite shocked, and then, amidst doubt and anger, completed their investigation here before returning to Argus City to tell themselves all this…

"..."

Luo Xiu thought to himself.

Earlier, Monigne had told herself that she suspected Finlake might have used a "disembodied snake meal" ritual in the "divine revelation," but the scene before her seemed to suggest otherwise.

Although Luo Xiu did not know the specific name of the ritual, he guessed that it was probably about transferring Finlake's own [nothingness] spirituality to these corpses, then having the primordial demon transform them in some way, and then obtaining some kind of alien power from these corpses.

That was indeed more efficient than "the snake's meal of molting"—at least the [Void] power cultivated over a long period wouldn't be so extravagantly fed to snakes. The cost was that a considerable number of corpses were needed as vessels to hold the power and for transformation, but for Finlake and the "Primal Demon" behind him, this was far from a cost.

Luo Xiu observed his surroundings, pondering these thoughts.

At the same time, he gradually extended his spiritual perception, especially exploring the underground of this stronghold—the "scars" that Franya and Monine mentioned were located underground.

The reaction transmitted back from Luo Xiu's spiritual perception—he did indeed feel it: the chaotic and violent aura constantly surging up from the depths of the earth, something was constantly rising upwards like breaking out of a shell, and within the next two days, they would tear the earth apart, causing this "scar" to appear on the ground!

"..."

Luo Xiu silently experienced all of this.

He then began a summoning chant right there.

A deep, dark spirituality emanated from him—a tall and slender figure, "Lord of the Dead" Sasser, appeared before Luo Xiu in response to the summons.

“You have called me… Your Majesty.”

Sather's oval face and slender mouth hummed, emitting overlapping trembling sounds.

"You will take the 'True Ancestor Demons' who have submitted to you and descend into this underground, deep within the 'Scars'. I want you to discover the greatest 'Demons' among them. If you can defeat Him, I will allow you to act immediately."

“His power belongs to you, Sather. Then, I will make all the abyssal beasts and demons that emerge from this ‘scar’ submit to me. You can do it, Sather, I want to hear a satisfactory answer.”

"..."

“As you wish, Your Majesty…” “The Lord of the Dead” Sasser responded to Luo Xiu in a low voice, and at the same time, the gesture that He had been holding in a certain sacrificial posture was separated and replaced with a gesture of submission.

Luo Xiu ordered Sasser to do these things, and at the same time he lightly raised his right hand, and a round ball emitting a deep dark hazy light appeared in his palm. An ancient demonic rune filled with chaotic spirituality and power floated in it, sometimes rising and sometimes sinking.

“I give you new power, Sasser.”

Luo Xiu stared at "the Lord of the Dead" Sasser, then turned his palm over, and the dark ball of light flew toward Sasser and quickly poured into his body.

Om-! ! !
A brand new sense of power—a surging and intense spiritual surge—was immediately emanating from "Lord of the Dead" Sasser. His power rose layer by layer, and his status broke through the boundaries of "True Ancestor Demon" and reached "Primordial Demon"!
This is the power that Luo Xiu temporarily granted to Him—the skill enhancement of "Demon Ascension" and the strengthening He gained through the contract relationship. As long as He is not directly facing Finlake and the "Primordial Demon" behind him, this power is enough for Him to suppress this "scar".

"If you do indeed encounter a demon more powerful than yourself, Sather."

At the same time, Luo Xiu said to "the deceased master" Sasser:

“Bring Him to the ‘Holy Abyss,’ bring Him before me. I will kill Him, and He will become a part of my power.”

After advancing to the fifth level of the [Abyss] destiny and becoming a "Styx Apostle", Luo Xiu mastered a special skill called [Feast on the Blood Hunting Path]. This skill allows the [Abyss] beasts and demons killed by Luo Xiu to be unable to be resurrected through the "Styx". If Luo Xiu permits, they will become his followers after being resurrected through the "Styx".

Through this skill, Luo Xiu was able to fully utilize "Mourning Lord of the Dead" Sasser as a "headhunter" for his "Holy Abyss"—those more powerful than Mourning Lord of the Dead were those that Luo Xiu could use, and those would become reliable forces when "Crimson Tide" and "Abyss Hanging Upside Down" arrived.

The demon that Luo Xiu has contracted, "Lord of the Dead" Sasser, is still a "Chaotic Spirit" and remains at the same rank as the angel Tatia. Under this standard, the selected demons will basically be progenitor demons or super-powerful true progenitor demons, and have the value of taming Him.

Luo Xiu thought to himself.

Before him, Sasser, the "Lord of the Dead," bowed slightly.

"Thank you... Your Majesty."

"Please witness... I will bring you... what you desire..."

"..."

After He finished speaking, His already blurry and illusory body, like a ghost, gradually sank downwards.

Soon, He sank completely into the ground, heading towards the location of the "scar" to carry out the "mission" that Luo Xiu had entrusted to Him.

Matters related to "demons" should be left to "demons" to handle.

This was a completely different approach that Luo Xiu could take compared to Monine and Franya. "The Mourning Lord of the Dead" Sasser was not dealing with these wounds for the first time; He was quite skilled at it. And most of the "True Ancestor Demons" who were brought to the Holy Abyss were also discovered from these "wounds."

Before facing the "First Cardinal" Finlake and the "Primal Demon" behind him, Luo Xiu will deal with the threats that may emerge from the "scars" one by one.

……

Afterwards, Luo Xiu went to two other strongholds that Franya and Monine had already investigated.

The dilapidated grain shed in a deserted field and the den of a giant beast in these two outposts are not much different from the scene in the ruins of an abandoned factory outpost.

There were large numbers of bloodless corpses, squeezed together like compressed packages, piled up in the shape of an altar. In the very center, a huge demonic horn pierced through, like a steel rod, piercing a corpse, which had a snake in its mouth and patches of honeycomb-like black holes on its body.

Finlake and the primal demon behind him performed the same ritual at these three strongholds. One of the corpses appeared to have died recently—about four days ago. Some of its spiritual essence remained, allowing Luo Xiu to discern its specific spiritual level and affiliation.

That was indeed the [Void] destiny, and a saint who had entered the sixth level of the [Void] destiny.

It comes from the [Void] secret cult that Luo Xiu had encountered before, and is an apostle of the "Serpent's Candle" secret order. The reason he can confirm this is because Luo Xiu found a specially made secret candle, along with other destroyed ritual implements, in a corner of the stronghold in the Beast Cave. These were the implements of the "Serpent's Candle".

Within the Empire, the "Serpent's Candle" was considered a relatively large esoteric organization. However, it now appeared to have been completely infiltrated—a significant portion of its followers were controlled by Duke Harkas, while another portion was controlled by Finlayk. The followers of this esoteric order had essentially become "expendable resources."

Like a tantric order kept in captivity, this tantric order is, objectively speaking, already extinct. Its actions are not of its own making, nor even of its own destiny, but are merely manipulated by the "Supreme" or a powerful force like Finlake.

This is actually the state that many small and even medium-sized esoteric organizations have already fallen into.

Luo Xiu knew all this, and after investigating the three strongholds and confirming the situation of the "scars" surging underground, Luo Xiu left and set his sights on the location of the fourth stronghold.

That is, the most likely place where the "First Cardinal" Finlake is now hiding.

……

(End of this chapter)