The lengthy ceremony was finally over. Every church member on the floor who had been crouching on the ground raised their heads and gathered their gazes on Han Shuo at the center.
Although the crowd couldn’t hear the dialogue between Han Shuo and the highgod, the unnatural atmosphere inside the shrine gave them the sense that something must have happened during the ceremony.
The Pope, too, cast his gaze towards Han Shuo. There was an overtone of inquiry showing in his eyes. Han Shuo knew what the Pope wanted to ask and nodded his head to affirm that he indeed had communicated with an evil god – they were above words here.
He had a rough understanding of the will of some evil gods of the Calamity Church. As, in the end, he was merely a basegod, too puny to be regarded by actual gods, Han Shuo saw no point in revealing any more details of the matter to him.
The next realm after basegod was lowgod. Although the divide between mortals and gods was just the difference of one realm, the chasm was very, very difficult to cross. Even the mightiest of basegods would be dead without a doubt when pit against the weakest of lowgods. To the gods, basegods weren’t characters worthy enough for them to talk to directly. Without divine energy, a divine soul, or a Domain of Divinity, basegods were as puny as ants to the actual gods. They may have been the strongest among the ants, but ants nonetheless.
Han Shuo did not explain to the fat man, nor did the fat man ask about it. As the Pope of the Calamity Church, he could discern exactly what questions he should and shouldn’t ask as well as what information he should and shouldn’t know. That was the reason he was able to fill the position he was in.
As the ceremony had concluded, at the command of several cardinals, the Calamity Church members dispersed orderly.
These people who had participated in the ceremony made out that, from the peculiar atmosphere in the shrine as well as Han Shuo’s behavior, the evil gods they worshipped had communicated with Han Shuo alone. This made them revere Han Shuo even more than they already did.
Those who used to have close relationships with Kironlo, after attending the ceremony where Han Shuo communicated with their gods, managed to open their eyes to the true state of matters and they very straightforwardly burned the bridges with Kironlo. They were afraid that any ties with Kironlo might affect their relationship with Han Shuo.
After communicating with that highgod, Han Shuo did not linger around at the Calamity Church any longer. He left the headquarters after a brief chat with the big fatty.
Han Shuo had to traverse the vast desert on foot to come to this place. But when it came time to depart, he merely used a magical transportation matrix and arrived at a secret base of the Calamity Church in Lancelot Empire.
As Han Shuo’s identity in the Calamity Church had changed, and so had the treatment he received. Wolf and Burt Zili, who accompanied Han Shuo to headquarters were previously in charge of the issues in this region. However, they now answered only to Han Shuo.
It was the largest secret operation base of the Calamity Church within Lancelot Empire. It was located in the Kerlan Valley near the Sunshine Valley. It was situated in between a group of mini mountains. Thick mist obscured the air and the terrain seemed a complex combination.
After walking out from the transportation matrix, Han Shuo left Wolf and Burt Zili with a few instructions and departed the valley. He returned to the Cemetery of Death right away. The three spirit demons he refined had entered their final stages. Han Shuo observed for a moment and made sure that there wouldn’t be a problem with them before he walked to that large-scale interplanar transportation matrix at the center of the Cemetery of Death.
After learning all the secrets of the Cemetery of Death, Han Shuo knew how to use and operate this large-scale interplanar transportation matrix. To ensure that nothing could go wrong, Han Shuo carefully inspected the transportation matrix and replenished it with energy that could sustain interplanar transmission. Only then was he at ease.
As he returned to the Cemetery of Death, Han Shuo went over and over in his mind about the words of that highgod of destruction. He knew that he really didn’t have a choice. Once the Primordius Dragon welcomed experts from foreign material planes, then he wouldn’t have only the Primordius Dragon to face, but very possibly mightier gods of greater realms.
Han Shuo was confident but not conceited. He understood that given his current strength, he would certainly win against an expert of his realm. However, if the comer exceeded his realm, even a late-stage lowgod could very possibly kill him, let alone a midgod.
Therefore, Han Shuo knew that he did not have a second option nor a way out. All he could do was gang up with the Calamity Church and strive his best in this ineffable battle. Moreover, he could only emerge victorious – there was no room for failure of any degree.
After the conversation, the ever-unyielding Han Shuo let his mood grow much heavier.
It is only by becoming strong and mighty to the point where no one can cause me threat that I can preserve myself!
After contemplating for a long time, Han Shuo decided that he had to further his strength without delay.
Of his three souls, those that could make the most rapid advancement were his avatar of death and his main body. His avatar of death could make use of the last piece of the divine essence of death he scavenged from the Void to advance his strength. Meanwhile, his main body could speed up in trying to comprehend and master the nine changes of demonic arts.
As his avatar of destruction was formed with the help of the energy within the Demonslayer Edge, Datara’s divine energy, as well as the origin crystal of destruction, it never had a solid foundation on the edict of destruction. Therefore it really wasn’t easy for it to advance one step further.
Han Shuo, of course, was not discouraged. Inside this Cemetery of Death, Han Shuo started to digest the third and final piece of the divine essence of death with his avatar of death while his main body strenuously and meticulously studied how to use the nine changes in the Nine Changes realm.
Time soared. Han Shuo stayed in the Cemetery of Death like a fool. His three bodies all sank into complete stillness. It was as though they had been fossilized.
One day, while Han Shuo was sitting quietly inside the Cemetery of Death, he suddenly sensed that there were multiple lifeforms approaching the Cemetery of Death.
All three souls of his were roused from their cultivations. Han Shuo, who was greatly startled, hastily expanded his consciousness to get a glimpse of the situation outside the Cemetery of Death.
After communicating with highgod Terokk at the Calamity Church headquarters, Han Shuo was stricken by the realization that perhaps his status wasn’t as safe as he had imagined. From Terokk’s words, the Primordius Dragon could receive his allies ahead of time. This also meant that if the Primordius Dragon were to detect his location now, he would possibly be confronted with grave danger.
Especially worrying was that the Cemetery of Death was also located in the Dark Forest and wasn’t that far away from the Dragon Valley that the Primordius Dragon presided most of the time.
After a pulsation of his consciousness, Han Shuo heaved a sigh of relief. The comers had weak auras which obviously didn’t belong to the class of existence as powerful as the Primordius Dragon.
Han Shuo’s avatar of destruction, the most leisurely of the three, got up and went outside.
After exiting the Cemetery of Death, Han Shuo saw the faces of Emily, Phoebe and Fanny. Emily and Fanny wore normal expressions while Phoebe, whose last encounter with Han Shuo ended in a big quarrel, looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Bryan! I knew you’d be here!
Emily said with a sweet grin on her face. She then grabbed Phoebe’s lily-white hands, walked towards Han Shuo, and said,
Whatever happened before, just let it pass. Phoebe has gotten over it now. You should shake off that temper of yours too!
It appeared that during the time Han Shuo was away, Phoebe finally yielded to Emily and Fanny’s persuasion. Perhaps they thought that the reason behind Han Shuo’s disappearance was that he was still blaming her for being selfish and overly possessive.
Phoebe looked at Han Shuo, abashed and embarrassed, yet red with anger. She could hardly look him in the face as teardrops formed below her eyes. She bit her lip and said in a hateful tone,
How could you be away for such a long time and not even think of consoling me!
Guilt was the last thing Han Shuo expected to feel that day, but that was just what he felt when she said those words. As Han Shuo thought about it, it dawned on him that it was he who was in the wrong. He had only lost his temper when Phoebe reacted with a bad attitude. But now when he saw Phoebe on the verge of tearing up, a completely different person from her usual icy arrogance and undeserving self, Han Shuo’s heart ached.
After the trip to the Calamity Church, Han Shuo came to recognize the dangerous situation that he was in and felt as though he could lose his feeble life at any moment. His mind wasn’t as relaxed as before. Now, after hearing Phoebe’s words, his heart had sunken so far that he feared it would never see the sun again. He forced a smile, gently wiped away the tear on the corner of Phoebe’s eye, and said,
I’m sorry for being so over the top that day. How about we put it behind us?
Huhu…
contrary to expectations, Phoebe couldn’t hold back her tears when Han Shuo treated her so tenderly. She cried louder and louder as though wanting to vent all the grievances accumulated during the many days prior through her tears all at once.
Emily and Fanny had indeed built a genuinely close relationship with Phoebe as of late. When they saw that torrents of tears coursing down her face, they rushed over to console her. They were a little flustered.
With that, Han Shuo too was a little flustered. He tried his best to calm Phoebe.
After a long, long while, Phoebe got tired of weeping into his chest and finally stopped crying. Han Shuo heaved a gentle sigh of relief. It was at this moment that he recalled the possible threat he faced and he said in a deep voice,
You all must return without delay. Do not come back unless I tell you to. This place just too dangerous right now!
What’s wrong? Fanny was startled. But soon after, she smiled and said,
Bryan, you are not welcoming us to your secret hideout, are you? Ha, the Profound Continent may be big, but who could possibly harm you? It sounds like you don’t want us here! Hmph!
Obviously, Fanny thought that Han Shuo was joking with her. She absolutely did not believe that anyone on Profound Continent could lay a finger on him. Emily and Phoebe had the same thought, thinking that Han Shuo didn’t want them to disturb him. They all put on the same disgruntled appearance.
The three ladies had blind faith in Han Shuo all along and were ignorant of the situation. Han Shuo didn’t know if he should laugh or feel proud of it. However, the situation wouldn’t allow for any slacking. Han Shuo put on a stern face and said solemnly,
This is not a joke. Profound Continent is huge and there indeed are people who can pose me a threat!
Who? We aren’t buying your lies!
Fanny said, giggling and not taking him seriously at all.
Han Shuo wanted to sigh, he wanted to roll his eyes; alas he stopped himself short. Just before he could reply, his eyes widened and his lips stiffened. He sighed and said in a low voice,
Here he comes!
An ancient dragon aura came gushing without one bit of concealment. Han Shuo could tell that the Primordius Dragon had sunken into a fury. He was charging straight at the barrier of the Cemetery of Death with terrifying momentum. Han Shuo glanced at the three ladies who were at a loss and realized that the Primordius Dragon must have found his way there through the three unsuspecting dames.
