Ambush

With the absorption of the Aurora Crystal, Fengyun's strength progressed rapidly. Moreover, as his strength increased, his absorption of the residual energy within the Aurora Crystal became increasingly effortless and precise.

"Level 8 late stage!"

Opening his eyes, Fengyun felt the immense battle qi within his body and said softly, "Just as I expected, after absorbing all the energy within the Aurora Crystal, breaking through to the late stage of the Level 8 will not be a problem!"

"And this is even with me focusing my main efforts on body tempering."

"Breakthroughs in physical strength are too difficult. I put most of my energy into body refinement, but I've only managed to stabilize my physical strength at the early stage of Level 8."

"The most regrettable thing is that in terms of understanding the laws, although I feel that I am closer to reaching the level of entering the Law of Light, I have not been able to formally enter the Law of Light."

Feeling the last remaining Aurora Crystal energy within his body, he sighed softly, "This remaining energy is of little use anyway. I'll absorb it slowly on the way."

"The most important thing now is to see if the organization has sent any Heavenly Treasures to the stronghold."

Before leaving Fenlai City, he proposed to the organization through Daili that Lin Lei be recruited in exchange for three portions of rare and Heavenly Treasures like Aurora Crystal.

Now that he has been in seclusion for two months, if the organization has agreed, the treasure should have already been delivered to the base. He needs to go and check on the situation.

After all, he wasn't absolutely certain he could break through to the Saint Realm with just the Earth Origin Fruit.

If he could use Lin Lei's status as a magical genius to extract some benefits from the Darkness Church, then his breakthrough to the Saint Realm would be completely secure.

However, when Fengyun arrived at the organization's stronghold Fenlai City, he sensed something was amiss.

He had been to this outpost a few times before, and to be honest, on the surface it was just an ordinary small town.

But secretly, the Darkness Church's spies guarded every major thoroughfare in the town, and experienced warriors could sense the subtle abnormalities in the town.

But now, as dusk approaches, Fengyun feels a distinct sense of unease on the already sparsely populated streets.

Fengyun, who was wearing a black hooded robe, suddenly stopped walking!

Although he had sensed something was wrong long ago, he only realized just now that the strange feeling the stronghold gave him was not because his cultivation level had increased or his perception had become stronger, making him more sensitive to the spies around him.

The reason he felt the unusual situation at the base was more pronounced than usual was because...

The stronghold has fallen!

Compared to the usual Darkness Church spies who, due to their long-term lifestyle, have become accustomed to integrating themselves into the small-town environment, this is a stark contrast.

Although the people on the street are all elites skilled in meticulous work, they are not familiar with this place and are not yet able to fully integrate themselves into their surroundings.

In this situation, the gaze of the spies secretly watching Fengyun would naturally make Fengyun feel something was amiss.

"Come out!"

As the Fengyun murmured, a woman with a graceful figure dressed in a red robe and a cold-looking man in a blue robe appeared on the street.

Many members of the Inquisition, dressed in white robes, also appeared in the surrounding houses.

"Marco, I must say, your Inquisition is much better at dealing with heretics. You said a big fish would appear, and a big fish really did appear!"

"But how exactly did you determine that someone would walk right into your trap?"

The sinister man known as Marco chuckled, "Marina, although you are stronger than me in terms of strength..."

"But you, who spend more time developing the faith of believers, still lack a proper understanding of these heresies."

"This place was originally a large stronghold of the dark heretics. To avoid any surprises, His Majesty even specially sent you here to help wipe it out in order to prevent any losses."

"So with the destruction of this place, some heretics who cannot get the news in time will definitely walk into the trap, just like the few small fish and shrimps we caught before."

"However, the reason I judged that there would be big fish walking into the net is because of the Dark Star Grass found here."

"Although this Heavenly Treasures contains only average energy, it is a treasure unique to the Darkness Church, just like the Aurora Crystal, a treasure unique to our Light Church."

"Extremely precious, with a slight possibility that it may allow the user to achieve a breakthrough in the realm of perception."

"Such treasures don't usually appear in strongholds like this. Otherwise, they would be handing food to our Light Church."

"The fact that this is happening can only mean that some important figure in the Dark Heresy needs to use this treasure."

"Therefore, I was certain that a big fish would appear here, so I immediately blocked the news as soon as I captured this place and had everyone set up an ambush!"

"Look, here comes the big fish!"

After saying that, he looked Fengyun up and down and said, "He's just an outcast who's a Level Eight Warrior. Normally, he could be considered a big fish."

"But the one who needs a treasure like Dark Star Grass is someone who has reached Level 9 but can't break through, and is trying to gamble on the effect of the treasure to break through his level."

"The real big fish we're waiting for isn't him!"

Marina laughed and said, "Alright, hurry up and take it, don't make too much noise, otherwise we might not be able to fish later!"

After saying that, she turned to leave. Anyway, with Marco at Level 9, Fengyun, a Level Eight Warrior, couldn't cause any trouble.

But...

Bang!

A dark shadow flashed past her, smashing through a house and then smashing several other houses along the same line!

At the same time, a light screen that rippled violently around her appeared.

Only then did Marina, whose pupils had shrunk dramatically, realize what had just happened.

The dark figure that had just smashed through several houses was her partner, the Special Class Steward Marco, while she was currently being attacked by a Level 8 dark heretic whom she didn't even consider a threat.

Seeing the protective shield generated by the protective scroll that could defend against attacks from Level 9 Peak expert fluctuating so violently and on the verge of collapse, Marina felt a chill run down her spine.

After instantly casting several protective Fengyun to defend against the upcoming attacks, Marina immediately began chanting magic incantations to prepare for battle.

At the same time, Marco, the Special Class Steward who had just been knocked away, came to Marina's side with blood at the corner of his mouth. Holding a knight's greatsword, he grinned and said coldly, "I was careless. I didn't expect that a mere Level 8 heretic would have such strength."

"If it were just me today, I might have been doomed. But with Archbishop Marina here, you are doomed today!"

As they spoke, the nearby Inquisition officials, their faces grim, gathered around.

Seeing this, Fengyun sighed helplessly. Upon discovering Marina and Marco, two Level Nine Experts, his first thought was to flee. However, after hearing from the steward Marco that Dark Star Grass was found here, his heart...

It moved!