Chapter 83: The Gods' Cult Moves Again

Deep in the ocean, ten thousand meters below.

In this place of eternal darkness where sunlight could never reach, the water was suddenly pushed aside by some force.

An invisible barrier propped open a space of a thousand zhang, the seawater shut out, exposing the pitch-black seabed rock.

Li Xiaotian tumbled out of a spatial rift, staggering two steps before steadying himself.

The old scar on his brow gleamed with a sinister hue in the faint light; his face was so overcast it looked like water might drip from it. The aftereffects of the Burning Domain's secret art still churned within his body, his meridians sending waves of stabbing pain.

Within the space, three pitch-black statues stood as if alive.

Before each statue, a person sat cross-legged, their auras terrifying.

A black-robed elder walked over from beside the altar, his voice hoarse: "Old Li, judging by your face, the mission failed?"

Li Xiaotian glanced at him coldly.

"You'd better give me an explanation. I toiled away undercover at the Huadong Headquarters for all these years, waiting for the critical moment to strike them a fatal blow. Why did you summon me back at this juncture, reducing decades of hard work to nothing!"

He was a Law Enforcement Officer of the Zhenling Bureau, but he had not betrayed them.

Because… before joining the Zhenling Bureau, he had already been one of the three Vice Cult Masters of the Gods' Cult. He had schemed his way into the Zhenling Bureau, and it took him decades to climb to the position of Law Enforcement Officer.

Li Ruyue was indeed his daughter.

He used that reason to launch an attack on Jiang Qin, wanting to cover up his identity as a member of the Gods' Cult and leave himself some buffer, otherwise it would be hard to operate in Huaguo in the future.

"Because there is no longer any need to stay hidden."

Before the central god statue, a figure shrouded in shadow spoke, his voice carrying a strange magnetism, as though it could pluck at the heartstrings.

"What do you mean?" Li Xiaotian asked, frowning.

That person looked up at the statue before him: "My god has issued a command. The final barrier between the two realms is about to be broken. What we lack now is one crucial person to enter the game… Once the barrier is shattered and the gods descend into this realm, we will no longer need to hide. We need only conquer this world with absolute power."

"We shall become the new masters of this land!"

Li Xiaotian's eyes flickered. If that were the case, then it was hardly surprising…

Those present, as Vice Cult Masters, had all made pacts with the gods and formed the very core of the Gods' Cult.

【Help the gods descend into this realm, at any cost!】

To achieve this goal, they could even offer up themselves.

"When do we act?"

"Soon… at most one month. Everything has already been arranged, and by then our gods will forcefully descend to help us complete this final step!"

——

During the two-day holiday, Jiang Qin didn't take Cangling to any famous scenic spots.

He took her to see a movie.

A terrible comedy; the whole hall was laughing, but Cangling kept a straight face the entire time.

After leaving the theater she suddenly said: "When that fatty fell down, I almost laughed."

Jiang Qin said why didn't you laugh then. She thought for a moment, and answered seriously: "I forgot how to laugh."

He took her to the riverside to feel the breeze.

The evening river was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, and the ferry's whistle sounded from far away.

In the car on the way back, Cangling watched the neon lights flashing past outside the window and suddenly said: "So living can just be living."

Jiang Qin said nothing.

He knew she didn't need a response.

Some words, she was saying them to herself.

Peaceful days were always short-lived…

Two days later, at the gates of Zhenling Academy.

Su Lingwei shoved a Storage Bag into Jiang Qin's hand: "This is some of the roasted meat. The rest I'll give you next time you come back."

"Alright… I'll wait for you at Huadong Headquarters."

Jiang Qin smiled and accepted it, then turned and boarded the aircraft.

The instant the cabin door closed, Su Lingwei suddenly stepped forward half a pace, as if she wanted to say something.

But the aircraft's engine had already roared to life, the air currents catching her hair and the hem of her clothes.

She stood in place, watching the aircraft lift off, turn, and pierce into the clouds, leaving a thin white line across the azure sky.

The white line gradually faded.

Until not a trace could be seen, Su Lingwei suddenly spoke:

"Grandpa… I want to go back to the Su Family."

Beside the guardhouse, the old man's cigarette-pausing motion paused, then slowly lowered.

"Is it for the second half of the Su Family Artifact Control Method?"

Even among the many martial arts forces of Huaguo, the Su Family's strength ranked among the top. The Su Family Artifact Control Method, hailed as the Su Family's absolute foundation, was no simple martial art—it was a method created by a Law Realm expert of the Su Family who had fused the Law of Artifacts.

The Su Family Artifact Control Method was divided into upper and lower halves.

After mastering the upper half, one could make artifacts move as the heart wished; this alone already far surpassed those S-rank artifact-control martial arts.

Yet the most important part of the Su Family Artifact Control Method was the heart method in the lower half.

To give a simple example, when she first fought Han Wenqing, Su Lingwei could only fight a war of attrition, and in the end still lost.

But if she had known the Su Family Artifact Control Heart Method at the time, she wouldn't have needed any tricks—she could have defeated Han Wenqing head-on.

And it wouldn't have been too difficult.

Such a method could be called heaven-defying. Perhaps for that very reason, the Su Family's only Law Realm expert incurred heavenly retribution and returned to the yellow earth not long after.

Some had also tried to seize this method by force.

But unfortunately, this method could only be learned by those of the Su Family bloodline.

Although Su Lingwei carried the Su Family's bloodline, she had long since been cast out of the Su Family.

Going there like this, the Su Family would definitely refuse to hand over the cultivation method, and might even make things difficult and resort to force.

Su Lingwei looked up at the blue sky. "The gap between him and me keeps growing. I want to catch up to him, and besides... the Su Family Artifact Control Method was originally created by my grandfather. I just want to take back what is rightfully mine."

"Sigh—do as you please. This old man doesn't want to bother with all this troublesome business."

The old man shook his head and sighed.

This matter was destined to be faced eventually. Now Jiang Qin's appearance had hastened the time when Su Lingwei would come into conflict with the Su Family—whether that was a good or bad thing, no one could say...

After returning to headquarters, Jiang Qin and Cangling once again took up their life of rushing about from place to place.

But compared to before, when they had to carry out several SS-level Tasks in a single day, things were considerably more comfortable now—at the very least, they could spare some time to cultivate and raise their strength.

Yet the world would not remain peaceful forever; unexpected events were the true norm of this world.

Half a month later.

On a flying vessel in transit.

Jiang Qin sat cross-legged on the bed, expelling a breath of turbid air from his mouth. His aura advanced smoothly into the mid-stage of the Divine Image Realm Realm.

He had just opened his eyes, not yet having had the chance to savor his newly elevated strength.

When Cangling walked in from outside.

"There's a new mission."

"Just an hour ago, members of the Church of All Gods appeared in various places across Huaguo, attacking cities and sacrificing ordinary people by every means available. It's very likely they've hatched some new plot. And among them... one of the Church of All Gods' Vice Cult Masters, Blood Ghost, has appeared in Tianyun Shi, launching attacks on a massive scale. Orders from above command us to rush there and wipe him out!"

Jiang Qin froze. It had been a long time since he had last heard that familiar name.

Tianyun Shi...

A small border town actually drawing a Vice Cult Master of the Church of All Gods to personally lead an attack—wasn't that a little too absurd?