Chapter 211: The Shattered Holy Spirit Heart

So she never believed Negrilis's self-introduction—but could a dimensional beast possibly beg for help from something weaker than itself?

Realizing this, Serenina quickly placed a hand over her chest and bowed, pleading: "Great gods, please save this big cat! It's so pitiful—it's been sealed by the Church of Light in the Land of Despair, forced to work every day, and if it doesn't work, it gets no spirit beans. It's so pitiful! Please save it!"

"How are we supposed to save it? It's so powerful it can break through dimensional space—and yet it got sealed? How could we possibly save it?" Negrilis hurriedly said, giving Lightning a meaningful glance.

Lightning immediately understood: "Yeah, yeah, look at us—we're all old, thin, sickly, and handsome. How could we possibly save a Dimensional God?"

When it said "old," its big hoof pointed at Negrilis; "thin," at the little angel; "sick," at the little zombie; "disabled," toward the direction Lu Se had fled; and "handsome," at itself.

Serenina nodded in agreement: "I thought the same thing—maybe the big cat got it wrong. Sigh, it even said whoever saves it can have its dimensional space."

"Wait a minute!" Negrilis rubbed its tiny paws, its expression as calculating as a silver coin, asking: "You mean… a dimensional space? That kind of independent world?"

Serenina smiled: "Yes, exactly—that kind of dimensional space equivalent to an independent world. It's the Dimensional God's innate talent—it can tear space into pieces and reassemble them into independent realms."

"How big?"

"A few hundred square meters. The big cat saved up for a long time."

Negrilis took a deep breath—even though it didn't need air, it needed the motion to calm itself: "Let's discuss this."

Turning around, Lightning's scrutinizing gaze landed on it, warning: "You're tempted, little yellow dragon. You've been lured."

"Wait until you understand what a dimensional space is—you'll be tempted too. Come here, come here, let's talk." Negrilis called out.

Ang, the little angel, the little zombie, and the copper dragon all sat hugging their knees in a circle. Lightning couldn't squat, so it sprawled out on all fours.

But seeing this lineup, Negrilis felt it wasn't enough. It looked up and shouted toward the direction Lu Se had run: "Lu Se, come back!"

Lu Se, who hadn't gone far, dashed back in a flash.

Seeing him unharmed and with both eyes intact, Serenina immediately realized the truth and shouted angrily: "You bastard! You're not blind at all!"

Lu Se gritted his teeth and replied: "Oh, madam, perhaps you've mistaken me? You saw my twin brother—he's been blind since childhood, but he trained hard and is now a Judge Swordsman. He's the blind one."

Serenina was furious. She didn't believe a word of it, but without proof, she could only grit her teeth: "Don't let me see your blind brother again—or I'll cut out his eyes!"

Lu Se felt a chill run down his legs, knew he was in the wrong, and shrank into the circle with Ang and the others.

"Here's the deal: saving the Dimensional God grants you a dimensional space. What do you say? Save it or not?" Negrilis asked, glancing at Lu Se and Lightning.

Among everyone present, Ang's opinion was decisive—but what opinion could Ang possibly have? Even a ghost could guess.

That's why Negrilis had to drag Lu Se over and get Lightning involved.

"Uh, Lord Negrilis… what's a dimensional space?" Lu Se asked, embarrassed. Don't blame the kid for his ignorance—dimensional spaces were too advanced; even Lightning barely understood, his big eyes curiously fixed on Negrilis.

"You've all been inside the Palace of Rest, right? The Palace of Rest was built on the foundation of a dimensional space," Negrilis said.

Lu Se and Lightning stared blankly. After a long moment, they processed the information. Lu Se gasped: "You mean… saving the Dimensional God gives us a Palace of Rest?"

"No, no—just a space similar to the Palace of Rest. The Palace of Rest was built on top of a dimensional space, covering dozens of square kilometers, essentially an entire world. The dimensional beast's space is only a few hundred square meters."

"Moreover, the Lich King used methods I can't comprehend to construct a farm barrier directly layered onto the dimensional space—complexity multiplied exponentially. But no matter how complex, it's all built on the dimensional space's foundation."

Lightning and Lu Se understood. Lu Se still looked dazed—holy hell, a few hundred square meters of independent space? His space ring was only a few cubic meters—couldn't even fit a bed. A few hundred square meters? That's almost like a small manor!

Lightning had grasped the key point and sneered: "And then? The Lord already has a Palace of Rest spanning dozens of square kilometers. Why risk everything for a few hundred square meters?"

"True, we don't need it—but have you forgotten the Land of Slumber? That part is missing. The current Palace of Rest is incomplete. If we restore those missing parts, what might happen?"

Lu Se and Lightning exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

…

The Land of Despair is a defenseless world like the Abyss of Rest—a nexus between multiple planes, a crossroads, a vital transit point. To reach the Prime Material Plane or other realms, the best route is through here.

Of course, you can bypass it—but that requires massive teleportation arrays, like a World Transit Station, or extremely high-level spatial magic to find detours. Otherwise, you're stuck going through here.

The Undead Empire was once vast, its influence spanning dozens of planes, its subjects numbering in the hundreds of millions. Then one day, the Lich King vanished. No one could contact the Palace of Rest. What did they do?

Naturally, they returned to check. But when they arrived at the Land of Despair, they found it occupied by the Church of Light. The Land of Despair led not only to the Abyss of Rest but also to the human world of the Prime Material Plane. Humans reacted faster and seized control immediately.

The undead wanted passage—they had to fight for it. Thus began a protracted war that lasted over a thousand years. The frontline of the Land of Despair became a diocese, permanently garrisoned by a Cardinal. Over a millennium, countless Cardinals have come and gone. The current one is Dai Sen.

Though an independent diocese, Dai Sen's status pales beside the two great ecclesiastical regions of the Prime Material Plane. As people say, this place is like a mistress's quarters—low pay, heavy work, far from home, harsh conditions, poor treatment.

Far from the Papacy, far from the center of power, no privileges to claim, all the blame to shoulder. Talented people won't come; those who do are the rejects—either lazy and incompetent, or rebellious and uncontrollable.

Like Julian—he acts on his own whim, even Dai Sen can't control him. They call it: "Freedom walking in the shadows…"

Dai Sen dreams of being transferred back. He doesn't want to die here. If he can't return while still young and become a strong contender for Pope, returning later means only retirement.

To that end, he's done a lot of work…

I've done all this—and ended up like this? Why?! Why?! Anthony was dead! Why did he come back, and why is he so young now? What damn divine favor! Do you think I don't know whether the gods favor him? He must've used some dark art to become like this!

Dai Sen roared in rage. Before him stood the projections of a lich and a demon. If Ang could see this projection, he'd recognize it—the same demon who tricked the insect repeller outside Black Mountain Principality.

Unmoved by Dai Sen's fury, the lich and demon conjured a table and two chairs, sat down, picked up tea and pastries, and began savoring them with mock elegance, occasionally smacking their lips to critique.

If this weren't a pitch-black basement, and if these weren't lich and demon projections, it would look like a serene afternoon tea.

Dai Sen knew exactly what these two were doing. Wasn't he doing the same? Seeing they showed no reaction, he dropped his furious act, snapped his fingers.

Behind him, two clean-robed Holy Servants carried a table forward and placed it before him. A third Holy Servant brought a high-backed velvet chair, poured tea, arranged pastries, bowed silently, and withdrew.

Seeing this, the lich and demon's illusory tea and pastries instantly lost their appeal. The lich swept its hand, dispelling the illusions, and drifted closer.

Now it was Dai Sen's turn to be calm. He sipped his tea and savored his pastries with elegance.

The lich sighed: "You killed him once—you can kill him again. What's the fear? Kill him, and all your problems vanish."

So it wasn't Nicholas who assassinated Anthony—it was Dai Sen.

"You make it sound easy. Anthony no longer goes alone. How many men do I need to kill him now? Besides, before, Nicholas took the blame. If he's assassinated again, the whole world will know it was me," Dai Sen snapped.

Of course, this was just poor intelligence gathering. If he knew Anthony had recently slipped away to the Elf Forest, he wouldn't say this.

"So what? The situation's changed now. If you kill Anthony, Gulianni won't punish you—he might even reward you handsomely," the lich said.

"That's true—but where are the men? Last assassination cost me dearly. Now, facing a wary Anthony, I need at least several times the force I used before," Dai Sen finally revealed his true intent.

A Cardinal of the Land of Despair wouldn't lose control and rant like that. Everything before was theater—to force his allies into giving him greater support.

To assassinate Anthony again, his own forces weren't enough. Picking men from the Church was too risky—so many now worship Anthony as a hero, especially after his slogan: "Pure Light, Rebuild the Church."

In the Church today, anyone with even a shred of faith can feel its corruption and decay. If not for their dependence on Church wages and benefits, and if they didn't have families to feed, someone would've revolted long ago.

Anthony's Holy Church has shown Church personnel in the West and the Land of Despair another possibility: first break away from the outside, then reshape the Church from without.

Such people aren't just numerous in the Eastern Church—they're also common in the West and the Land of Despair. Dai Sen couldn't tell who held these thoughts, so he decided to seek outside help.

As the lich said, the situation is now completely different. If he kills Anthony now, Gulianni won't punish him—he'll reward him.

"Of course we support you! Eliminating Anthony is everyone's duty! This traitor who splits the Church must be bound to the pyre and burned with Holy Flame!" the lich declared indignantly—but its form, shrouded in dark mist beneath its hood, made the words ring hollow. If there were Holy Flame, the first to burn would be it.

"But…" the lich changed tone, "there's an easier way. Anthony has a group of Holy Spirit Angels. Do you think he can fully control them? If a higher-rank Holy Spirit appeared, which would these low-rank ones obey?"

Dai Sen frowned: "Higher rank? How high? Even a four-winged Holy Spirit is just a dumb fool who only knows how to shine Holy Light. What good is that?"

"What if it were a six-winged Seraph?" the lich chuckled, pulling a box from its robes.

Dai Sen's expression turned serious. The box's lid was made of transparent crystal. Inside lay half a Holy Spirit Heart.

Half? Dai Sen looked up, puzzled.

"Here we must mention our great Alchemist Lich King Du Luo. He invented the 'Shattered Holy Spirit Heart.' You know the Holy Spirit Heart's trait—it repairs itself automatically. But if the other half hasn't fully vanished, this half won't heal. Understand?"

Dai Sen shook his head.

"I know you don't. Du Luo sealed a complete Holy Spirit Heart in two parts. Releasing one half can temporarily transform a being into a six-winged Seraph. If you tell the Seraph that Anthony split the Church—what do you think she'll do?" the lich smiled.

Dai Sen perked up, but then noticed something: "Temporarily? How long?"

The lich shrugged: "A few days? Ten days? I'm not sure. This half was missing for over a thousand years—it only recently healed, meaning the other half survived at least a millennium, though we don't know where it was sealed. When you reach Anthony's location, implant this half into a low-rank Holy Spirit—it'll be enough for one strike."

The lich paused, then said solemnly: "The Seraph's name is Luna. Her memories stop at the moment her Holy Spirit Heart was shattered. Remember—don't slip up. If you do, she won't help you—she'll kill you. She's Luna, the Supreme Holy Spirit who dared slay a god."

Dai Sen nervously took the box.

…

In a subterranean space of the Land of Despair, suddenly, a giant cat's head squeezed through a dimensional rift. It glanced around, saw no one, then puffed up into a perfect sphere right where it stood.

Soon, from within its fluffy fur emerged: one human, one dragon, one horse, one skeleton, one angel, one zombie, and a woman with a stunning figure.

Once everyone was out, the cat zipped back inside, and the dimensional rift vanished. It had secretly transported Ang and the others—it couldn't let the Church find out.

Negrilis looked around and couldn't help cursing: "Damn it! Why here?! Why pick this place?!"

Serenina asked, confused: "Didn't you ask for this? No farmland, no plains, no fertile land—so we picked this as the teleport point."

"Damn it! Are those not farmland? Abandoned farmland is still farmland! Now how are we supposed to move? Someone's too weak to walk!" Negrilis hadn't finished when he saw Ang sprinting excitedly ahead.

Ahead lay a dry, parched, cracked field, barren and devoid of any vegetation.

"But… but it's dry—it's been abandoned! How can that count as farmland?" Serenina was bewildered. Even if Ang loved farming, without water, nothing would grow.