Chapter 745

Outside the barrier, Li Chen found the energy node with almost no effort, and he even found it dull.

Perhaps he had overestimated the strength of the Whisperer family’s barrier, or perhaps his own power vastly surpassed theirs.

He extended his finger, a faint, almost imperceptible stream of chaotic energy swirling around his fingertip, and gently touched the weakest point of the pale green barrier.

No light flashed, no energy exploded, not even a ripple stirred.

The barrier parted as if gently divided by an invisible force, silently opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Li Chen’s figure flickered, and he was already inside the barrier; the gap behind him sealed soundlessly the instant he entered, as if it had never existed.

Yet, the moment his feet touched the soft grass inside the castle, he unexpectedly realized that the spot where he breached the barrier lay right beside a dense cluster of glowing moonflowers.

And beside the flowers crouched a figure!

It was a young girl dressed in a thin white silk gown, her figure clearly that of a maiden.

She seemed to be searching for a lost item among the flowers, now frozen in a half-crouched posture, head tilted up, eyes wide with shock as she stared at Li Chen, who had suddenly appeared as if a ghost from outside the barrier.

Beneath the hazy moonlight and the faint glow of the flowers, Li Chen’s downward gaze could see the girl clearly.

She had silver hair, woven like moonlight, loosely cascading over her shoulders, her skin pale and nearly translucent.

Pointed ears protruded from her hair, revealing her half-elf lineage.

Her features were exquisitely carved, as if shaped by the finest artist; her large eyes now brimmed with terror, her long lashes trembling slightly with fear.

The thin silk gown outlined her delicate, budding figure, and under the moonlight she resembled a startled, tightly closed orchid—beautiful beyond words.

The girl’s name was Xie Ergai; when she saw the simple, clean, dark bishop’s robe on Li Chen’s body—the emblem of the Church—her face turned instantly as white as paper.

Just as Li Chen’s gaze grew cold, considering whether to instantly subdue or eliminate her to prevent future trouble—

“Pūtōng!”

Xie Ergai made the most correct and wisest decision of her life.

Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees on the cold grass, clasped her hands together before her chest, and pleaded in a voice trembling with suppressed sobs: “Holy Vessel! Spare me! I shouldn’t be here at night! I saw nothing! Please, don’t kill me! I won’t say a word!”

The faint energy Ningju at Li Chen’s fingertip dissipated quietly.

He had indeed intended to eliminate her, but her overly submissive—no, overly decisive—surrender stance stirred a flicker of curiosity in him.

He looked down at Xie Ergai, curled up in fear on the ground, and spoke with interest, his voice muffled yet deep and mysterious beneath his hood: “Oh? Why are you so afraid of me? Look up.”