Deep in Devil Rock

Lin Qin put away the ominous Black Crystal and continued deeper into Devil Rock. The farther in he went, the dimmer the light grew. The dark red rocks seemed to absorb it, and the air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur mixed with decay. The energy around him was even more chaotic, tainted with lingering traces of darkness and death.

He carefully released his spiritual power, probing ahead like a set of feelers. The rocky Maze was a tangled web, but the lingering evil energy was like a beacon, guiding him onward.

After about fifteen minutes, he reached the entrance to a vast underground cavern. Faint dark red light flickered deep inside. The source of that evil energy was in there.

Lin Qin didn't rush in. He hid behind a massive boulder and observed the area carefully. Broken bones were scattered around the cavern entrance, some human, others belonging to unknown creatures. Twisted, eerie symbols had been carved into the walls, giving them an air of blasphemy and ill omen.

So this is the place, Lin Qin thought. He concealed every trace of his presence and slipped into the cavern as silently as a ghost.

The inside of the cavern was even more spacious than he'd imagined. At its center lay a sunken blood pool. The liquid inside was dark red, thick, and foul-smelling, with bubbles rising to the surface. Several stone pillars covered in runes stood around the pool, each topped with a black gemstone that gave off a ghostly glow. The whole layout was unmistakably an evil magic array!

At that moment, two people in black cloaks stood beside the array. Their backs were to Lin Qin as they inspected its operation.

"The energy readings have weakened... Looks like that 'Grudge Devourer' was destroyed," said a slightly hoarse voice, sounding displeased.

"Useless! You couldn't even get rid of a bunch of desert bumpkins and passing merchant caravans, and you wasted so many of our materials!" another voice snapped, shrill and furious. "If we fail to complete the task the bishop gave us, we'll all become sacrifices!"

Lin Qin's thoughts stirred. A bishop? Sacrifices? It seemed this involved a rather large evil organization.

The hoarse voice tried to reassure the other. "Don't panic, Carl. The Grudge Devourer may be gone, but the core Soul Gathering Array is still running. The soul energy we've collected is enough for another summoning. As long as we summon something even stronger, we can seal off this whole area and complete the task the bishop gave us..."

"Who's there?!"

The shrill voice belonging to Carl suddenly shouted. She spun around, revealing a deathly pale mask that showed only two eyes filled with malice. She had clearly sensed something.

Lin Qin knew he'd been discovered, so he stopped hiding and stepped out from behind the rock.

"Who are you?!" Carl and the other cloaked figure immediately went on guard. Powerful waves of dark magic burst from them, at about the level of a Level Seven Mage. They hadn't expected an outsider to make it this far into Devil Rock.

Lin Qin didn't answer. His gaze swept over the bloody magic array and the blood pool. "Did you create the monster outside?"

Carl's eyes narrowed. "So what if we did? You dared to interfere with the Dark Church's plans. You're asking to die!" She had clearly mistaken Lin Qin for an adventurer who'd stumbled across the place. Although his silent entrance had surprised her, she had confidence in her own strength—and there were two of them.

"The Dark Church?" Lin Qin furrowed his brow. He'd heard of the organization, an evil force on the Yulan Continent that opposed the Radiant Church and operated in secret with ruthless cruelty. He hadn't expected to encounter them here.

"Scared now, are you?" Seeing Lin Qin frown, Carl assumed he was afraid and sneered. "Too late! Since you've seen this place, you're not leaving alive! Your soul will make perfect nourishment for our next summon!"

Before she'd even finished speaking, she and her companion raised their staffs and chanted obscure incantations. A dense mass of dark magic gathered, forming two enormous claws made of shadow. They came at Lin Qin with a bone-chilling cold and the power to erode souls.

Facing the attacks of two Level Seven dark mages, Lin Qin didn't even move. He merely glanced at the two shadowy claws.

"Purify."

A warm, heavy surge of life-giving earth energy rippled outward from him. The moment the two menacing claws touched it, they melted away like snow beneath the sun, hissing as they evaporated until not a trace remained.

"What?!"

Carl and the other cloaked figure's pupils shrank. Their faces filled with disbelieving horror. Their strongest combined attack had been dispelled so effortlessly? This was far beyond anything an ordinary adventurer could do!

"Saint... Saint Realm?!" the hoarse voice stammered, uttering the words that spelled their despair.

Carl reacted quickly and turned to activate some kind of mechanism in the magic array, seemingly hoping to take Lin Qin down with her or send out a message.

Lin Qin wasn't about to give her the chance. With a thought, the ground softened instantly. Two enormous rocky hands burst from the earth and clamped around Carl and the other cloaked figure's ankles like iron pincers, pinning them in place. No matter how they struggled or used dark magic to corrode the stone, the hands didn't budge. They only tightened their grip!

"Answer my questions." Lin Qin walked up to them, his tone calm but oppressively intense. "What are you doing here? What are the Dark Church's plans?"

"Spit! You'll never get a single word out of me!" Carl shouted, trying to sound defiant despite her fear.

The other cloaked figure looked much more terrified, his body trembling slightly.

Lin Qin didn't waste any more time. He turned to the frightened man and drove his spiritual power into the man's mind like a spike.

"Ah—!" The cloaked man let out a piercing scream, clutched his head, and collapsed, his body convulsing violently. Lin Qin searched through fragments of his memories using soul magic. It was a brutal method that caused irreparable harm to its victim, but it was the most efficient.

A moment later, Lin Qin had the information he wanted. The two were indeed fringe members of the Dark Church, ordered to set up the Soul Gathering Array here. They had used the summoned Grudge Devourer to kill passersby and gather their souls. They weren't important enough to know the purpose behind it.

Lin Qin pondered. Clearly, a greater scheme lay behind all this.

He glanced at the cloaked man, now a mindless idiot, and Carl, who was still struggling in vain. Without hesitation, he sent two concentrated streams of earth-law power into their bodies, instantly shattering their hearts.

After dealing with the two Dark Cultists, Lin Qin turned his gaze to the still-active Soul Gathering Array. Countless fragments of tormented souls churned in the blood pool, giving off a nauseating stench.

He raised a hand and channeled pure earth-law power into the heart of the array like a flood.

"Break!"

With a low shout, the magic array let out a groan as if under unbearable strain. The rune-covered pillars shattered one after another, and the black gemstones atop them crumbled to dust. The liquid in the blood pool was purified, its color quickly fading as the evil energy vanished completely.

When it was all over, Lin Qin felt a weight lift from his chest. He'd destroyed this evil stronghold and temporarily stopped the Dark Church's operations here.

He left the cavern and returned to the small village.

When the villagers saw Lin Qin return unharmed, they rushed over, their faces full of gratitude and hope.

"My lord! The monster..."

"I destroyed it," Lin Qin said. "I also found an evil magic array inside and destroyed it. There shouldn't be any more Black Storms or monsters now."

The villagers stared in stunned silence, then erupted into thunderous cheers! Many wept with joy and fell to their knees, bowing to Lin Qin.

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you for saving our whole village!"

"You're our benefactor!"

The village chief's eyes brimmed with tears as he clutched Lin Qin's hand. "My lord, we have no way to repay you... Please accept our humble bow!"

Lin Qin helped the old man to his feet. "It was nothing. This place is dangerous, so you'll need to stay alert from now on." After a moment's thought, he took out some gold coins he'd found on the Dark Cultists and handed them out to the villagers. "Take these and use them to improve your lives."

He didn't want to linger, so he said goodbye to the endlessly grateful villagers and flew away from the Death Desert.

This mission had not only eliminated the monster that had been terrorizing the area, but also uncovered a plot by the Dark Church. Lin Qin felt that beneath the Yulan Continent's peaceful surface, the undercurrents were even more turbulent than he'd imagined. He put away the Black Crystal and the information about the Dark Church, preparing to return to Red Flame City to turn in the mission and inform the Mercenary Guild and the Empire. This was no longer a simple A-rank mission. It might well involve a much larger situation.