Chuan City.
The faint tolling of bells echoed through the air—the bells of the Chosen Church.
It was time for worship at the Chosen Church. Doves circled above its roof, and beneath the vast starry-sky pattern, devout believers clasped their hands together and recited the doctrine...
Suddenly.
The doors were pushed open.
A pale-faced middle-aged man in white robes staggered inside.
The interrupted pastor showed no reaction, as if he had not noticed the man's arrival, and continued leading the believers in prayer. The believers merely raised their heads numbly to glance at him before continuing their low chant:
"Chosen bliss, eternal longevity..."
The middle-aged man expertly bypassed the praying crowd without sparing the believers a single glance, heading straight into the depths of the church.
After passing through a pitch-black corridor, he reached a large door that led to the underground palace.
The middle-aged man lightly knocked on the door.
Click.
The door opened.
Inside, two men in white robes looked at him. Upon recognizing his face, both lowered their heads in respect and stepped aside to clear a path.
"You have returned."
Clearly... the middle-aged man held no low status within the Chosen Church.
The doors slowly opened, revealing a path built from white jade. This place had originally been an underground altar, but it had now been transformed into an underground palace.
The middle-aged man entered with a pale face. Once he had gone in, the guards noticed that something was off.
His face was far too pale,
and his steps were weak and unsteady, as though he had suffered a devastating blow. Yet not a single one of the powerful men who had left with him had returned.
The middle-aged man grabbed a guard's arm, his fingertips turning bluish from the force. "Where is Father?"
"He