Conspiracy 3

The instant Yang Jun's Ice Soul Heart stabbed toward the clan leader's chest, fine ice crystals suddenly condensed in the air—the unconscious fluctuation of Soul Power released by Bibi Dong's Silk Soul Crystal. But a golden light colder than ice arrived first, separating the Ice Soul Heart from the clan leader.

The man who emerged from the pillar of light had silver hair like cold iron tempered by moonlight. The pressure flowing through his golden eyes froze even the Abyssal aura within the cage. Holding the Angel Scepter in his left hand, he casually waved his right, shattering the Soul Power chains around the clan leader into dust.

"Yang Jun, stop." Qian Xunji's voice was like a bell pronouncing heavenly punishment. "This person is involved in Spirit Hall secrets and must be taken back to the Holy Church for judgment."

Bibi Dong's Eight Spider Lances suddenly stabbed toward the clan leader's ankle, violet-black Soul Power condensing into poisonous spikes at their tips. "Judgment? Like how you judged my father back then, imprisoning him to death in an Ice Coffin under the charge of 'mental instability'?"

Qian Xunji swept his scepter sideways, and golden light knocked the Eight Spider Lances away. Bibi Dong let out a muffled grunt, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her lips—the blood was strangely violet-black, corroding tiny pits into the bluestone slabs where it fell.

"Bibi Dong, how dare you." A chill flashed through Qian Xunji's golden eyes. "The rules of Spirit Hall are not for you to question." He turned to Yang Jun, and the Angel Statue atop his scepter glowed with soft golden light. "As for you... Yang Jun, your Ice Soul Heart can Purify Abyssal Power, while Bibi Dong's Silk Soul Crystal can sense Abyssal aura. Spirit Hall needs your strength to resist the coming Abyssal Tide."

Yu Xiaogang staggered backward and slammed into the cold stone wall. Only a wisp of golden Soul Power remained where his mother had vanished, slowly seeping into the Blue-Silver Pattern between his brows—the emblem of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, now glowing with thunderous blue light.

Soul Tool lamps on both sides of the secret passage cast a dim blue glow. Yu Xiaogang knelt on the bluestone floor, his fingertips digging into the cracks between the bricks. The final image of his mother before she vanished replayed endlessly in his mind: when she poured all her lifelong Soul Power into his body, her eyes had held a relieved smile, and her lips had moved soundlessly to form two words—

"Key..."

"Yu Xiaogang." Qian Xunji's voice came from ahead, the sound of his scepter striking the floor echoing through the passage. "Your mother was corrupted by the Abyss, and her Soul Power had already fallen into evil. Her disappearance was a release."

Yu Xiaogang suddenly raised his head, and the Blue-Silver Pattern on his forehead erupted with blinding blue light. "A release? It was the greed of your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan that drove her to a dead end!" Thunder trembled in his voice, shaking dust loose from the ceiling of the passage.

Qian Xunji's golden eyes turned toward Yang Jun. "Yang Jun, your Ice Soul Heart can Purify Abyssal Power, while Bibi Dong's Silk Soul Crystal can sense Abyssal aura. Spirit Hall needs your strength to resist the coming Abyssal Tide."

Mockery filled Bibi Dong's violet eyes. "So you allowed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to trade with the Abyss just to 'study' Abyssal Power?" She licked the violet-black blood from the corner of her lips, her Eight Spider Lances swaying slowly behind her. "Or could it be... Spirit Hall's upper ranks reached a new deal with the Abyssal Mother Nest long ago?"

Qian Xunji slammed his scepter against the ground, and the angelic halo surged. "Spirit Hall's decisions are not for you to speculate about!" He turned and walked toward the end of the secret passage. The massive bronze doors slowly opened beneath the scepter's golden glow. "Come with me. See the true threat of the Abyss."

The instant the bronze doors opened, a foul Abyssal stench rushed over them, mixed with the reek of rotten flesh and sulfur. A huge crystal floated in the center of the observation platform, sealing within it a writhing mass of black matter—a parasite from the Abyssal Mother Nest extracted from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan leader's body.

"Three months ago, we discovered the first Abyssal Beast at the border of the Star Luo Empire." Qian Xunji pointed at the crystal. The Angel Statue at the tip of his scepter glowed golden, and the scene within the crystal abruptly changed. "The parasites they carry can erode a Soul Master's Soul Power and transform them into Abyssal servants."

In the image, an Abyssal Beast the size of an elephant tore at a Soul Master's chest. Black parasites crawled from its claws and burrowed into the Soul Master's wounds. The Soul Master's pupils were instantly covered in black mist, and he howled as he lunged at his companions.

"What is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan doing for the Abyss?" Yang Jun's blue eyes stared fixedly at the black mass in the crystal as the Ice Soul Heart slowly spun in his palm.

Qian Xunji pointed his scepter at the crystal, and the scene abruptly shifted to the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan Forbidden Ground—dozens of Soul Masters were bound to an altar with chains, Soul Tools engraved with the clan emblem embedded in their chests as their Soul Power was drawn into an Abyssal Rift at the center of the altar. Countless black tentacles stretched from the rift, transforming the Soul Power into viscous black liquid.

"They're using their clansmen's Soul Power to expand the Abyssal Rift." Bibi Dong's voice was icy. "Spirit Hall knew about this long ago?"

A shadow passed through Qian Xunji's golden eyes. "Spirit Hall sent three groups of spies into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and every one of them disappeared. Only after you brought Yu Xiaogang back did we confirm their plan."

Yu Xiaogang suddenly rushed toward the crystal, the pattern on his forehead bursting with blinding blue light. The black mass within the crystal suddenly writhed violently and let out a piercing shriek!

"Watch out!" Yang Jun threw himself toward Yu Xiaogang, turning the Ice Soul Heart into an ice shield before them. The crystal exploded with a BOOM, and the black mass became a cloud of black mist that lunged at everyone!

Bibi Dong's Eight Spider Lances instantly wove a Spider Web, violet-black Soul Power flowing into the silk. The black mist crashed into the web with a sizzling corrosive sound, and the web melted at a visible rate—tiny black Runes emerged across the strands, the curse of the Abyssal Mother Nest!

"Yang Jun! Purify it!" Bibi Dong gritted her teeth and forced her Soul Power onward. The edges of the Spider Web began to char black, and cracks appeared in her Eight Spider Lances!

Ice crystals surfaced in Yang Jun's blue eyes. The Ice Soul Heart floated above his head, and freezing air swept across the entire observation platform. Frost spread along the Spider Web, freezing the black mist into black ice crystals. Countless twisted human faces surfaced on the crystals, letting out miserable howls.

The Blue-Silver Pattern on Yu Xiaogang's forehead suddenly fired a bolt of lightning, shattering the ice crystals. The black mist gathered in the air into a twisted human face and released a hoarse laugh:

"The Abyssal Tide... is about to descend... Spirit Hall... shall also fall..."

The face exploded into black smoke, and the observation platform fell into dead silence.

Qian Xunji drove his scepter into the ground, and the angelic halo completely purified the remaining black smoke. He turned toward the three of them, an unprecedented gravity in his golden eyes:

"From today onward, the three of you will form the Abyss Hunting Squad, directly under the Holy Church's highest command." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the Ice Soul Heart in Yang Jun's hand. "Yang Jun, you are the Child of the Earth. The Ice Soul Heart is the only divine artifact capable of Purifying Abyssal Power. Bibi Dong, your Silk Soul Crystal is a detector for Abyssal aura. Yu Xiaogang..."

He looked at the Blue-Silver Pattern on Yu Xiaogang's forehead, which had yet to fade. "Your mother's Soul Power may contain the key to resisting the Abyss—before she was corrupted by the Abyss, she was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's strongest Soul Engineer and mastered the technique of Thunder Purification."

Morning light pierced through the clouds. Yang Jun leaned against an ancient pine at the cliff's edge, the Ice Soul Heart slowly spinning in his palm. Bibi Dong walked to his side, her violet eyes fixed on the rolling sea of clouds in the distance. "Qian Xunji is lying."

"I know." Yang Jun's voice was soft. "He knew about the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's altar long ago, yet deliberately allowed it to continue—he needed Abyssal Power to test the Angel Scepter's purification capabilities."

Bibi Dong's Eight Spider Lances lightly tapped the ground, the black Runes lingering on the Spider Web slowly fading away. "Spirit Hall wants to use Abyssal Power to unify the continent. And Qian Xunji..." She paused, a cold glint flashing through her violet eyes. "He needs Abyssal Power to sustain the Angel Scepter's strength."

Yu Xiaogang's voice came from behind them. He held his mother's ring, and the pattern on his forehead glowed faint blue. "Before my mother died, she said the Abyssal Mother Nest's parasites... are hidden within Spirit Hall's sacred artifact."

Yang Jun's blue eyes suddenly narrowed. "A sacred artifact?"

A cold glint flashed through Bibi Dong's violet eyes. "The Angel Scepter... Qian Xunji's Angel Scepter."

The three silently gazed toward the Holy Church's tallest spire. There, Qian Xunji's silver hair fluttered in the morning wind, and the statue atop the Angel Scepter faced their direction—the corners of its mouth held a twisted smile eerily similar to that human face.

A gust of wind passed by, and a wisp of nearly imperceptible black mist appeared at the tip of the scepter held by the statue.