Chapter 706: Underground Clash

In the converging holy light, a tall figure gradually took shape.

He had short golden hair, wore a white sacred robe, and was entirely shrouded in translucent psychic brilliance. His face seemed to shift with the observer’s perspective, impossible to see clearly.

Energy gathered in the air. The imposing pressure was far greater than any cultist they had encountered before.

Hu Li instantly went on alert, dropping to all fours in front of Yu Sheng, baring her teeth with a low growl rumbling in her throat.

Yu Sheng recognized the newcomer at a glance—he had seen him before at the Eden Gate on the plains.

The supreme leader of the August Hidden Monastery, the Holy See.

“It’s that flashy poser!” Erin grabbed Yu Sheng’s hair and screeched. “Holy shit, he looks even brighter than before!”

To be honest, Yu Sheng kind of envied the little thing’s carefree attitude toward life.

The instant he saw the figure opposite, every nerve in his body tensed. His heart pounded wildly under the stimulus of his spiritual intuition—so fiercely he had to briefly stop it—before he stared at the other and said in a low voice, “So you finally showed up.”

The figure shrouded in psychic illusions stood in the distance. Hearing Yu Sheng’s words, it calmly spread its hands. “You will pay for today…”

The Holy See had only gotten a few words out when a series of explosions erupted in the underground cavern. Seven or eight enormous silver-white fox tails, thrust flames trailing, slammed into the spot where he stood. Before those fox-tail missiles even hit, a net of scorching rays pierced the air, converging from all directions.

Countless mass-produced puppets crawled out from every dark corner of the cavern. Uncountable crimson eyes glittered like blood-stained stars in the darkness, and beams from the puppets’ fingertips instantly lit up the surroundings!

The Holy See was taken aback. Clearly, this cult leader, long accustomed to ruling in the shadows, was utterly unprepared for the Traveler crew’s straightforward tactics. Before his surging psychic power could coalesce, he was overwhelmed by the incoming bombardment and ray storm, scrambling to raise a defense.

But in that moment, a blinding light burst forth from behind Yu Sheng.

A winged figure emerged from thin air, swung a fire greatsword the size of a door panel, and fired a beam of light.

The explosion shook the earth. A sun seemed to detonate in the vast underground space, illuminating the entire cavern like daylight.

“Vile wretches!”

A roar came from the heart of the exploding sun.

“Why would a righteous man bother with courtesy when dealing with evil heretics like you?” Yu Sheng said, raising his arm as the blood needle launcher hissed softly. Over a dozen tiny, nearly invisible needles shot toward the figure in the fire. “Do you think I’d let you finish your speech?”

Before his words faded, the figure brimming with powerful psychic energy tore through smoke and flame, stepped forward, and raised his right hand from a distance.

But hidden in the shadow of the light and fire was a truly dangerous blade.

Luna’s form leaped along the spatial trajectory warped by the beam, her blade-tipped fingers already at the Holy See’s throat.

Yet the blades that could pierce warship armor failed to penetrate the seemingly ethereal, translucent skin this time.

Their tips clashed violently with the psychic energy in the air, sparks illuminating Luna’s figure and the Holy See’s ever-shifting face.

The Holy See slowly turned his head, calmly watching the steel puppet before him through the distorted holy light.

“Traitor…”

He shifted his stance slightly, then reached for Luna’s neck.

A flawed mass-produced shell, fuel for creating saints—a foe beneath notice.

The thought flickered through his mind, but in the next second, the scene before him underwent a bizarre change.

That artificial saint, who he expected to easily destroy, vanished before his eyes. An endless gray wasteland spread into view. The feeling of soul suppression rose from deep inside, formless chaotic winds swept across the wilderness, carrying a hollow, deathlike echo.

The Holy See looked down in shock to see his own body rapidly hunching and decaying, his surging psychic radiance evaporating like water vapor under a blazing sun.

A golden-haired girl holding a silver-white holy sword stood nearby in the tall grass, while knights clad in bronze armor closed in from all sides.

The knights charged.

The Holy See hurriedly retreated, then raised a hand to summon a bolt of lightning.

This strange place suppressed his power, but he was still strong.

Yet in the next second, he saw more figures appear on the wasteland.

More girls in armor, wielding swords, spears, axes, and longbows—gifts from family and friends when they left home long ago. The simple villagers had hoped these weapons would give their departing children a bit more chance to survive, and now those hopes from years past had manifested as projections in the soul world.

More knights rose from the nameless tall grass, like unending souls crawling out of graves.

Some of these figures still had discernible faces, some were blurry, and some were only hollow apparitions, remnants of armor and broken swords floating in the air.

“Traitor…”

The Holy See finally lost his earlier calm. His eyes blazed with anger, and then his once-hunched, withered body straightened again.

Continuous rumbling thunder rolled across the sky of the soul wilderness. Light flickered in the heavens as if cracks were opening on the chaotic border between life and death. The Holy See straightened his back, his shell growing taller and reshaping in the radiance.

Luna did not hesitate—she drew her sword and struck the shell before the energy could coalesce.

A rapidly expanding thunderbolt blasted her away.

But beside her, other figures kept rushing forward.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Hu Li leaped high, carrying Yu Sheng to dodge a sweeping thunderbolt.

In the underground cavern, the crystal clusters chimed chaotically, their surfaces reflecting the thunderlight. The tall golden-haired figure floated aloofly in the distance, three rings of light gathered above his head.

The Holy See raised his head. His movements were sluggish from the assault in the soul world, and his eyes held a trace of confusion.

But he was still absurdly strong—at least more troublesome than Yu Sheng had imagined.

He had already used righteous dogpiling, righteous surprise attacks, righteous ambushes, and even sent Luna for a righteous backstab and flank. Any so-called Great Sage they had encountered before would already have been minced into a fine paste.

You had to admit, this cult leader marinated by angels did have some tricks.

Still, at least they were deadlocked now, and Yu Sheng liked deadlocks.

A faint smell of blood hung in the air.

“Who… are you people?”

The Holy See lowered his head from his position in midair, his voice rumbling. His face kept shifting through illusions, and every visage now carried a gravity that had not been there before.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m your daddy,” Yu Sheng said, wiping blood from his face. His arm was also bleeding heavily. “And we’ve already fought this deep. Does it even matter where I came from?”

Erin was hanging from Yu Sheng’s arm, looking up wide-eyed. “Hey! Yu Sheng, you’re covered in blood!”

Yu Sheng waved dismissively. “Don’t panic, it’s all my blood.”

“Oh, okay then.”

The little puppet muttered, rubbing her head against Yu Sheng’s wound.

Their conversation seemed to provoke the Holy See. The psychic radiance swelling around him suddenly grew even more intense.

“…Fools.”

The Holy See said in a deep voice.

The next second, he spread his hands again.

A curtain of light that seemed forged from radiance, yet fluttered like gossamer, descended abruptly into the vast cavern.

That light curtain seemed to penetrate the thick strata, extending downward to the depths of the earth and upward through rock and soil. The rock layers appeared to turn translucent. Through the gaps in the curtain, Yu Sheng could even see the smoke-filled surface, the sky lit by orbital bombardment, and the landing shuttles of the Unified Fleet piercing the clouds.

Yu Sheng’s alert flared. A familiar aura seemed to coalesce from the light curtain, and then he saw several tall figures step through it.

With wings on their backs, dazzling radiance, flaming greatswords in hand, overflowing with indescribable sanctity.

Living Saints.

A whole bunch of Living Saints.

“Holy shit—” Erin flew up cursing. “That many?!”

Even Hu Li looked up, momentarily stunned, and murmured, “…How many people did they have to burn…”

“Today’s setback is nothing. The foundations of our great path, nearly a millennium in the making, are far beyond your imagination,” the Holy See said in midair, his voice filled with suppressed anger and determination. “We have experienced defeats, many defeats. One day, our enterprise will rise again—and you will burn in today’s fire.”

This time, Yu Sheng did not interrupt the cult leader’s rambling.

Not because he had abandoned his righteous preemptive strikes, but because the instant he saw the crowd of Living Saints, he realized that even if he unloaded everything while the guy talked, it probably wouldn’t help.

His mind raced. While preparing to open a door for the others to escape, he quickly considered possible tactics.

He wondered if teleporting that Dark Star cruiser directly into the cavern would work.

Or pulling the Inn of Alternate Dimensions in here.

Worst case, drop the space gate in orbit directly onto the northern hemisphere.

Then write invoices for the gate to Bai Liqing and Red for reimbursement.

They would turn a blind eye.

Yu Sheng gritted his teeth. The plan took shape quickly.

But just as he was about to notify Bai Liqing that something big was about to happen below, the little puppet hanging from his arm suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

“Hey, why aren’t these ghosts moving?”

Yu Sheng blinked and saw that the dozen Living Saints who had emerged from the light curtain were all just floating silently in midair, their hollow, illusory faces all seemingly looking downward.

The Holy See, standing aloft in the distance, also seemed to notice something off. Though he still held his arms spread, he tilted his head slightly.

The next second, the Living Saint closest to Yu Sheng suddenly moved.

But she didn’t charge at the “heretic” before her—instead, she spread her wings and dove straight down into a massive rift below!