Pope's Seal

The smoke of Bone Erosion Valley had yet to disperse when Yang Jun and Bibi Dong escorted the sealed Bishop and quietly infiltrated the core territory of Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall's dome towered into the clouds, Soul Power flowing through it like a river of stars. Every brick and stone was engraved with ancient Runes that suppressed the earth veins, while dim azure patterns intertwined in the night to form a vast net, as though even the air had been imprisoned. Earth Vein Power surged in Yang Jun's palm, Golden Patterns winding across the ground like serpents as he sensed every tremor in the underground veins. Yet he could never reach the deepest core of the Pope's Palace. Sweat beaded at his temples. The obstruction to his Earth Vein Power felt like thorns against his back, as if countless invisible shackles were constricting the pulse of the earth.

"The Pope's Palace's seal... was woven from Soul Bones and the origin of the earth veins by generations of powerful experts." Bibi Dong stared at the Soul Power crystals floating beneath the dome. Spider silk quietly wound around her fingertips, violet light flickering faintly in the darkness. "If we force our way through, we'll trigger the alarm throughout Spirit Hall. We have to move like ghosts, using the shadows and the gaps in the earth veins."

Suddenly, the Evil Spirit Mark within the Bishop's sealed Soul Core wriggled like a black insect and whispered hoarsely, "Foolish traitors... Do you think capturing me will let you turn the tide? His Holiness the Pope has long formed an Abyssal Contract. The defeat in Star Dou Forest was merely a discarded pawn in the greater game..." Bibi Dong's pupils constricted. Her spider lance pierced the Bishop's Soul Core, and purple venom coiled around the black qi like Vines, forcibly cutting off his transmission. Yet a wisp of black qi still burrowed into the ground like a poisonous vine, spreading toward the depths of the Pope's Palace. Wherever it passed, the suppression Runes on the floor tiles took on an eerie crimson glow.

"This is bad! The Evil Spirit Mark is sending a signal!" Yang Jun bit his fingertip, and blood dripped onto the ground. Earth Vein Power seeped into the soil like a boiling golden spring, trying to cut off the black qi. Agonizing pain spread from his palm through his entire body, as though countless steel needles were racing through his meridians. Still, he clenched his teeth and roared as he poured Soul Power into the earth veins. "Break!" The soil suddenly surged, forming a golden barrier. The black qi twisted and struggled before it, releasing shrill howls before finally being swallowed by Earth Vein Power. Bibi Dong glanced at him, her gaze complicated. "Your resonance with the earth veins... is becoming more and more like that of the legendary Child of the Earth Veins."

Using Bibi Dong's Elder's Authority Secret Order, the two raced onward beneath a veil of purple light. Earth Vein Power and spider silk intertwined as Yang Jun followed like a shadow, each step landing on a node of the earth veins and evading layer after layer of guards. When they passed a Soul Bone exhibition chamber, Yang Jun's earth vein perception suddenly trembled violently—countless bones of soul beasts and Soul Masters had been stripped into Runes and hung in the air, their resentment condensing into black mist that lingered around the chamber. The remnant soul of a thousand-year soul beast suddenly shrieked from its cage. Earth Vein Power unexpectedly resonated with it, and Golden Patterns appeared in Yang Jun's palm. He murmured, "Tell me, where is the core of the Pope's Palace?" The remnant soul transformed into a dim light and slipped into his palm. Earth Vein Power surged in response, pointing toward the Secret Chamber.

When they reached the Secret Chamber of the Pope's Palace, a suffocatingly foul aura struck them head-on. At the center of the chamber floated a massive Soul Bone Altar. Countless Soul Masters were chained around it, their blood drawn into the altar like streams and transformed into Abyssal Power. At the altar's core was a cracked Soul Bone emitting a familiar aura. Wrapped around it was the Soul Ring mark Yang Jun's father had worn during his life.

"That... is my father's Earth Vein Spirit Bone!" Yang Jun's eyes nearly split with rage. His Hoe and Sickle Spirit erupted with intertwining blue and gold light and slashed at the altar's chains. The chains rang out harshly, and Abyssal Runes surfaced upon them, resisting the Hoe-Sickle's strikes. Bibi Dong's Spider Emperor Spirit erupted as the Eight Spider Lances pierced the altar's seal. Violet and golden light collided, unleashing a blazing storm of Soul Power. The chains broke with a thunderous crash. Among the freed Soul Masters, an old man suddenly roared, "Stop the altar! The Pope is using Abyssal Power to repair the Soul Bone. Once he succeeds, he'll be able to directly control all earth veins and may even awaken the slumbering Abyssal Mother Nest!"

Yang Jun leaped onto the altar and plunged the Hoe-Sickle into the Soul Bone's cracks. Earth Vein Power poured in wildly. The pain was like ten thousand blades piercing his heart, nearly tearing his meridians apart. The Abyssal Black Qi seeping from the cracks gnawed at his flesh like venomous insects. Yet he gritted his teeth and roared as he poured Soul Power into the Soul Bone. "Father, help me purify the abyss!" A strand of golden light suddenly awakened within the Soul Bone's cracks and resonated with his Earth Vein Power. The Abyssal Black Qi began to be slowly forced out, letting out miserable wails. Beside him, Bibi Dong used spider silk to bind the Abyssal Power surging around the altar. Purple light and black qi clashed fiercely. The old wound on her left shoulder split open, blood soaking through her black robe, yet she still gritted her teeth and held on. "Keep going! Purify the Soul Bone, and we can sever the abyss's source!"

The Pope's furious roar came from the depths of the Secret Chamber. "Insects! You dare destroy my Abyssal Contract!" His pressure descended like a mountain. The Pope's phantom appeared, gripping a blood-red Abyssal Core wrapped in the resentful souls of countless soul beasts and Soul Masters. Every resentful soul howled the names of Yang Jun and Bibi Dong. Bibi Dong's face turned pale. Her spider silk wrapped around the Abyssal Core, but it was like sinking into a mire. "This is the abyss's source... His Soul Power has already assimilated with the abyss! We must destroy it, or all our purification efforts will be wasted!"

Without warning, the Secret Chamber's floor collapsed. An Abyssal Rift opened its gaping maw, and countless Evil Soul Masters and abyssal monsters poured out: skeletal knights wreathed in ghostly flames, abyssal worms covered in blades, and corrupted soul beasts with magma flowing from their eyes... Yang Jun's earth vein perception suffered a crushing blow, and the Soul Bone purification process came to an abrupt halt. The old wound on Bibi Dong's left shoulder split open again, but her Spider Emperor Spirit erupted with unprecedented violet radiance, forcibly withstanding the Pope's attack. A thousand-year Ice Phoenix dived down from the ceiling of the Secret Chamber, scattering frost from its feathers and temporarily freezing the Abyssal Rift's expansion.

"Ice Phoenix... It's the guardian soul beast of Spirit Hall's Forbidden Ground. Why is it here?" As Bibi Dong stared in astonishment, the phoenix shrieked, its feathers turning into Ice Blades that helped her block the Pope's fatal strike. Bibi Dong's reflection appeared in the phoenix's crystalline eyes as it sent a transmission filled with age and sorrow. "Elder... you have finally returned. The Pope's Abyssal Contract has long corroded the protective barrier of the Forbidden Ground. I will use a thousand years of cultivation to buy you fifteen minutes."

Yang Jun seized the chance to crush the Azure Stone Marrow. Earth Vein Power resonated with the Soul Bone's origin, and the Blue Crystal's light surged. The Abyssal Rift actually began to close. The Pope laughed maniacally as blood light blazed from the Abyssal Core. "A dying struggle! Watch how your 'companion' betrays you!" Within the blood light, a familiar figure appeared—it was Bibi Dong's personal maid. The Evil Spirit Mark in her Soul Core burned brightly as her spider lance stabbed toward Bibi Dong's back!

Bibi Dong's pupils contracted sharply. She twisted aside and barely avoided a fatal blow, but the spider lance pierced through her left ribs. Blood sprayed as she staggered backward, yet her spider silk instinctively wound around the maid's neck. The maid's face twisted as she shrieked, "Lady Bibi Dong... no, traitor! His Holiness the Pope promised that as long as I kill him, I will gain eternal life in the abyss!" Bibi Dong coughed blood and sneered. "As expected... Spirit Hall's 'loyalty' is nothing but a puppet show of the abyss." She suddenly bit through her tongue and infused her blood essence into the spider silk. Violet radiance flared, and spider venom instantly eroded the maid's Soul Core. The maid dissolved into black smoke, but Bibi Dong dropped to one knee from the agony. Eerie black blood seeped from the wound in her left ribs—Corrupted Soul Erosion had already penetrated deep into her bones.

The Ice Phoenix let out a long cry, burning away its ten thousand years of cultivation as a Frost Barrier enveloped the Pope and the Abyssal Core. Its body turned into an ice crystal amid blazing flames. In its final moment, a transmission came from within the crystal. "Child of the Earth Veins... I give you the Ice Soul Heart. Protect the last pure land of the Forbidden Ground." The ice crystal sank into Yang Jun's palm. Earth Vein Power suddenly surged, and the Blue Crystal shone as brilliantly as the sun. The Abyssal Rift closed with a thunderous crash! The Pope's Abyssal Contract was severed. Black qi churned within his Soul Core, and he could no longer maintain human form, transforming into a savage Abyssal Phantom that howled as it rushed toward Yang Jun.

At the critical moment, Bibi Dong's spider silk bound the Abyssal Phantom. Spider venom mixed into her Soul Power as violet light swept across its Soul Core. The phantom exploded, but its evil qi was swallowed by golden earth vein light. The Pope's Remnant Soul roared, "You may have won today, but you cannot defeat the tide of the abyss! Earth Vein Guardian, your bloodline... has long been marked by the abyss! When the Abyssal Mother Nest awakens, you will become our slave!"

The earth veins in the Secret Chamber returned to clarity. Having exhausted a thousand years of cultivation, the Ice Phoenix turned into an ice crystal and vanished. Bibi Dong leaned against Yang Jun's shoulder, blood seeping from her left ribs, yet she smiled softly. "It seems our road as 'traitors' must lead all the way to the end of the abyss." She suddenly pressed down on Yang Jun's hand as he tried to heal her. Spider silk wrapped around his wrist, and a complicated light flickered in her Violet Eyes. "Don't waste Earth Vein Power... My injury isn't that simple." Yang Jun gripped the Soul Bone tightly. Earth Vein Power merged with his father's remnant soul as he looked toward the brightening dawn beyond the Pope's Palace. "A mark of the abyss? Then I'll become the first light to pierce it." The Blue-Gold Twin Marks in his palm blazed ever brighter. They were the mark of the Earth Vein Guardian's struggle against Abyssal Power, and also the silent vow of their journey side by side.

Spirit Hall's bells rang in the morning light. Amid their chimes seemed to echo the cries of soul beasts from deep within distant Star Dou Forest. The two figures melted into the dawn. Ahead lay unknown undercurrents, but also a path of guardianship. And deep within the Secret Chamber of the Pope's Palace, an eerie Rune silently seeped into the earth from the shattered fragments of the Abyssal Core, like a dormant poisonous insect waiting for its next awakening.