Original God's Dark Priest

Filled with bewilderment and trepidation, along with a hint of anticipation and barely perceptible excitement, the group ascended the light-colored staircase leading deep into the earth's core. The staircase led to the heart of the magma, and venturing into it felt like entering hell.

"Chosen One of the Dragon... Advance... Eradicate the outside world..."

Then, they were able to enter the final paradise.

The strange words still echoed in their ears, this time seemingly reminding them that danger indeed lay ahead.

Saffir picked at his ear: "It's so noisy, it's giving me a headache."

"I can't even imagine what kind of danger would make Saffir so wary," Paimon said, unable to picture such a scene.

Ying couldn't imagine it either, but she subconsciously became alert.

As they got closer and closer to the lava, the scorching heat began to lick their skin, and a burnt smell seemed to fill the air.

Saffir took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled: "Good news, at least this liquid phlogiston isn't real magma, and there are no toxic gases here."

During a typical volcanic eruption, the magma that is ejected inevitably contains many toxic gases, such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride.

However, what's here isn't magma in the conventional sense, but rather liquid phlogiston. In other words, this is pure energy and doesn't contain any toxic gases. So, as long as you pay attention to your positioning, you generally won't encounter any danger.

Of course, if you accidentally fall into the phlogiston pool, then there's no saving you.

Hearing Saffir's words, Paimon shrank back: "Don't talk about this, I'm getting more and more scared."

"Shouldn't Paimon be worried about lava suddenly falling down when we're halfway there?" Saffir asked suddenly, looking back at the little guy.

Paimon exclaimed in surprise, "Whoa! Don't jinx it!"

“Ugh…” Krist was also a little scared.

Ridge Dragons cannot survive in liquid phlogiston; the only ones capable of doing so are the Fin Dragons from the Flowing Springs faction.

Seeing that Chris was also afraid, Paimon mustered up his courage and said, "Okay, okay, Chris is really scared. He won't fall. Even if he does fall, I'll pull you up and fly away!"

As for the others, she has no say in their affairs and doesn't need to.

These words were merely meant to comfort Crester. If something really happened, Paimon wouldn't need to lift a finger; Saffir would handle it all.

The group chatted casually and soon passed through a section of road enveloped in lava.

"Ugh, it's so hot... I feel like I'm being boiled alive." Paimon felt he had never experienced such heat since birth, not even in the Sumeru Desert.

Ying was also sweating profusely from the heat, and her clothes were soaked.

Sapphire was also sweating, but she could endure it. If it became too hot, she would use her power to insulate herself from the heat, but doing so might lower her evaluation in the trial. So as long as she could bear it, she would not act rashly.

Fortunately, the distance they traveled through the lava wasn't very far. After only a short while, everything went black. The light from the lava disappeared, and all that remained was the light staircase beneath their feet. After taking a few more steps, a bright spot appeared ahead, which was clearly the exit.

Saffir glanced back and saw a large, pale hole standing still in the direction they had come from, as if waiting for them to turn around.

But she only glanced at it before turning back; it wasn't time to leave yet.

As the group approached, the light spot ahead grew increasingly dazzling. Gradually, a bright yellow band of light appeared around the light spot, as if a singularity was spewing out energy.

Finally, the group touched the golden light. The moment they were touched, the light suddenly went out, and the whole world was plunged into darkness.

Paimon exclaimed in surprise, but before she could say anything, the space in front of her suddenly made a crisp sound, and the darkness shattered as if it were a mirror. The next second, everyone appeared in a completely different world.

This is the boundary of the initial disaster.

The space in front of me was much wider than I had imagined. As far as the eye could see, there was no end in sight, and above me was a dark sky that looked like it was covered by dark clouds.

But upon closer inspection, one can see that what hangs upside down in the sky are countless erupting volcanoes, with red lava gushing from the craters and pouring into the ground here.

The surrounding space is filled with floating rocks, and gravity seems to have lost its meaning here.

The whole world seemed to have just experienced a massive disaster, and the air was thick with the scent of death and despair.

However, as Saffir said, there are no toxic gases here, so those red lava rocks are not real lava, but liquid phlogiston.

Paimon, on the contrary, was no longer nervous. She opened her big eyes and looked around: "Wow, I didn't expect this to be the scene under the lava. We are, very, very deep underground?"

Saffir pondered for a moment: "Not necessarily. Maybe it's the effect of the teleportation array. We might be in another dimension."

"So, that fire-stealing sage whose name no one can remember... hid the token here?" Paimon nodded her little head. Whether it was a different dimension or not wasn't a big deal to her, since she'd been there before.

Ying shook her head: "That's not right."

She clearly saw the mark formed by golden patterns suddenly vanish, followed by a voice: "Here, I swear an oath with Shibarak..."

From this point on, we relinquish the future of both humans and dragons, but the enemy in the shadows is the only one we cannot forgive.

"Chosen one, face the mighty foe and prove you can ascend the sacred mountain from here."

"Ah!" Krest exclaimed, perhaps understanding the meaning of facing a formidable enemy head-on.

Carmos, on the other hand, remained indifferent. She felt physically weak and had no desire to fight.

"Wow, what's going on? Suddenly a chill ran down my spine..." Paimon felt goosebumps all over his body. "Something's about to appear."

The next second, a massive horde of abyssal monsters suddenly appeared, startling Paimon: "Ugh, how come there are so many beast-like hounds? Seriously! And looking closer, there are some strange ones too..."

Without a word, Ying threw herself into the battle, and Krest and Karmos also began their extermination of the abyssal monsters without hesitation.

Only Saphir calmly held little Paimon and stepped aside, as if these monsters were none of her business.

Indeed, that was the case; they were just some abyssal monsters, so why would she need to take action?

Ying and the two dragons leaped and bounded, quickly killing most of the abyssal monsters.

The remaining small group, whether out of stupidity or a strong will to survive triggered by the frenzied slaughter by Ying, charged towards Saffir.

Before Saffir could say anything, Paimon shook his head and said, "What's that saying again? 'You have a path to heaven but choose not to take it, you have no gate to hell but choose to barge in!'"

Saffir chuckled softly, a flash of golden light suddenly appearing in his heterochromatic eyes.

The next instant, a massive Holy Cross descended from the sky, gathering a huge shockwave upon landing. The golden shockwave swept over all the charging abyssal monsters like a tidal wave, annihilating them all in the blink of an eye.

They weren't even allowed to make a single howl.

"Hmm... It's late. Die quietly." Saffir's aura vanished, and the Holy Cross disappeared as if it had never existed.

Paimon shouted, "That's the move! You used that move when you instantly defeated the young master at the Opiclie Opera House, didn't you!"

"You recognized me? As expected of you, Paimon." Saffir was somewhat surprised, not expecting Paimon to remember even things from back then so clearly.

When she transformed into a cat, and her colleague Datalia suddenly attacked Frynn, she instinctively used this move to suppress her in order to prevent Frynn from being seriously injured.

Because she wasn't sure how much the young master's strength had increased, she didn't hold back much, and unexpectedly knocked him unconscious in one go. It proved that although Dadalia had improved rapidly, he was still no match for her.

In the Liyue era, this move could suppress Tartaglia but not defeat him, while in the Fontaine era, it could make him lose consciousness instantly.

As for now…

Stop teasing the child. Is the young master so evil? Why does he have to die?

After dealing with the abyss monster, Ying breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say something when she felt the surrounding space suddenly freeze, followed by a strange whistling sound in her ears.

Saffir's expression turned slightly solemn, because while Ying and Paimon were unaware of the howling sound, she knew perfectly well that it was the sound of the invisible river of time rushing by.

Something is coming, and it will appear with the authority of time.

She looked at a weak point in the spatial node, and the next second, with a crack, the entire space shattered, and a huge dog's head emerged from the spatial rift.

"What is that?!" Paimon's eyes widened.

Ying was also startled: "A beast-like hunting dog I've never seen before?"

“It’s the Golden King Beast, one of Rhinedot’s creations,” Saffir said, revealing the creature’s identity before falling silent.

It's normal that Ying and Xiao Paimeng don't recognize the Golden King Beast, since the one from He Guan has already been captured by Kong, so it's understandable that they haven't seen it before.

However, the golden beast in front of her gave her a bad feeling.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but it was probably... this guy looked bigger and more imposing?

As soon as the Golden King Beast appeared, it let out a long roar, and then jet-black undead skeleton missiles rained down on it.

This is no joke. Zhongli can face almost any boss with composure, but when facing this guy, he has to go to some hidden corner to find the dodge button that was removed and press it back.

As expected of the leader of the Beast Realm Hounds, the Golden King Beast's ability to ignore shields and cause bleeding to the entire team is a direct descendant of the same design.

Ying was only grazed by accident, but Saffir's expression changed because she clearly felt a burning sensation coming from her soul. This was a feeling that could only be experienced when hit by a beast hound, a continuous loss of life.

Now, the Golden Beast clearly considers her, Ying, and the two little dragons as a team. If Ying is attacked, the same effect will occur on Sapphire and the two little dragons.

This ability can no longer be described as bizarre; it's practically conceptual.

Saphir calmly used purification to remove the negative effects from everyone present, including himself, and became more serious about the golden beast.

Karmos felt a gentle aura emanating from within his body, which reassured him. He flapped his wings and rushed forward, knowing that his side possessed an extraordinary healer who could not only keep people alive but also bring him back to life in extreme circumstances.

Therefore, the correct way to fight is:

1. Go all out and leave no regrets.

2: Play it safe and avoid getting injured.

3: Ignoring pain and exchanging injury for life.

4: When a self-destructing truck.

Beidou's choice... is not important. She doesn't have the ability to self-destruct, nor does she intend to live a life of hiding.

Waving her little wings, she rushed forward, intending to peck out the eyes of the Golden King Beast. Naturally, the Golden King Beast wouldn't let her attack, and swung its claws to swat her down.

Its enormous claws struck Karmos like a fly swatter struck a fly; Karmos, though small, was incredibly agile and easily dodged them.

The claws missed their target. In the next instant, the Golden King Beast's forehead suddenly lit up. Karmos, who had already escaped, was suddenly back under the Golden King Beast's large claws, and was slammed to the ground by the claws, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Huh?" Paimon was all ready to cheer, but when he saw this incredible scene, his cheer got stuck in his throat, unable to come out or be swallowed, and finally turned into a hoarse, confused sound.

Ying was also puzzled. She clearly saw that Carmos had dodged the attack, so why was he hit again?

This is not reasonable.

Only Saffir clearly sensed it; it was the power of time. The Golden Beast, in that instant, reversed Karmos's time, returning her to the attack zone.

Sapphire frowned slightly and immediately cast a healing prayer followed by purification. The Golden Beast's ability was monstrous; if it hit her even once, she would have to purify and heal the entire team.

After healing Beidou, Saffir said, "Don't be impulsive, this guy's abilities are strange."

Without her saying anything, the others also decided not to rush in for the time being. When dealing with an enemy with a guaranteed hit attribute, the first thing to consider is who can withstand more damage, yourself or the other party. After all, if you can't dodge, you can only stand and fight.

But anyone with a brain knows that this golden beast is obviously more durable, at least more durable than Ying and the two little dragons.

Actually, Sapphire isn't that tough. Because the Golden King Beast's damage is percentage-based and continuous, if it hits Sapphire and damage numbers appear, then as long as it hits once, they'll see a long string of white numbers starting in six digits above Sapphire's head.

She doesn't have a hobby of boosting other people's DPS.

Summoning Veronica, without any command from Saffir, the hymn of rebirth resounded throughout the entire space. Then, Saffir switched forms, activating the Netherworld Mode.

A dark shadow enveloped the entire space. The Golden King Beast instinctively rose higher, trying to avoid Saffir's impending killing move. Its intuition told it that this woman was not a good sign.

Unfortunately, the hunting tactics of the Netherworld never differ based on altitude or distance.

A shadow descended from the sky, merging into the shadow of the Golden King Beast. The next second, it began to twist its body under the shadow's influence.

It tried to struggle, but felt the inexplicable restraints tightening, binding it so tightly that it could not move.

Sapphire appeared above the Golden King Beast's head in the instant its consciousness was dazed. Since it could manipulate time, it made its consciousness hazy and unable to accurately grasp the scale of time. This was a delicate task, and it could not be used when its consciousness was unclear.

As she expected, when the Golden King Beast was powerless to resist, its power of time became useless, and Sapphire successfully stood on the Golden King Beast's head.

Then, Saffir crouched down, reached into the head of the Golden King Beast, and took out a ball of light that shone with a blue glow.

"Is this its power of time?" Saffir examined the ball of light in his hand closely. "It's less than I thought. It seems it can only turn back time for a few seconds. It's better than nothing."

She overthought it; she thought it was something amazing, but it turned out to be nothing special.

Sapphire easily crushed the ball of light and leaped to the ground: "The rest is up to you. Do your best to complete the trial."

Her dealing with the Golden King Beast was bullying; resolving thorny issues was a test for her, but she couldn't interfere with anything more, as it would displease some people.