Bai Zhu's Turmoil

Illumi retreated into the shadows in the corner, silently watching the chaos before him.

A group of low-ranking personnel in Purification Maintenance gray uniforms were let inside.

They carried rags, toolboxes, even prayer plaques. They were supposed to be responsible only for cleaning the floors and outer areas and had no right to enter this place.

But the duty badges on their chests had long been switched by Illumi's people. This place was now almost entirely under Illumi's control.

"Purification Maintenance, Passage Three."

The guards were already frazzled by the chemical leak on the eastern side. After glancing at the badges, they impatiently waved them through.

"Hurry up! Don't make more trouble inside!"

More than a dozen people walked in.

Then every one of them froze.

They saw the rows of bizarre glass compartments, the cold serial numbers on them, and the thick tubes brutally piercing the women's abdomens.

They also saw a nurse holding a record board, calmly checking the box marked "Fetal movement ceased" for one of the compartments.

Clang.

A young believer dropped his toolbox. The sound was especially piercing amid the dead silence.

"Th... what is this place?"

The older believer beside him went deathly pale, his lips trembling.

"Didn't they say... they were receiving the Lord's blessing?"

"That woman is still awake. Sh-she's crying..."

"Why are they tied up with straps?"

Hearing the commotion, the silver-robed bishop spun around, his face filled with fury.

"Who let them in?!"

The guard at the door was dumbfounded too.

"The badges... they were Purification Maintenance badges..."

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

A gray-robed believer was shoved roughly aside. As he stumbled back in terror, he suddenly pointed at Compartment Twelve, his voice cracking.

"Her stomach! That tube is bleeding!"

Those words struck the already crumbling hearts of the crowd like a boulder.

Several low-ranking believers began backing away uncontrollably. Some instinctively tried to recite prayers, but when the words reached their lips, they could not utter a single syllable.

Illumi remained hidden at the edge of the crowd, making no further move.

All three pieces he had planted had taken effect.

The core area's reagent supply had been cut off, the console alarms were all blazing red, and the most devout lower-ranking believers had seen firsthand the bloodiest truth behind their faith.

At that moment, the enormous Black Crystal Mother Stone at the center of the altar suddenly shuddered violently.

Thud.

The dull tremor spread through the floor across the entire altar, and everyone instinctively looked up.

On the raised platform behind the Mother Stone, the emaciated elder slowly rose from his wheelchair.

The Living Black Crystal embedded in his chest was pulsing violently.

Gripping the armrest, the elder spoke in a rotten voice that seemed to come from an ancient tomb.

"Who stopped the extraction?"

The silver-robed bishop immediately lowered his head in terror.

"Elder, there was a leak in the eastern reagent storage, the backup pipelines malfunctioned as well, and... and some outer personnel accidentally entered the core area..."

"Accidentally entered?"

The elder slowly raised a hand.

In the crowd, the gray-robed believer who had screamed earlier suddenly clutched his throat with both hands and collapsed stiffly to the ground without even a trace of struggle.

No one saw how the elder had attacked.

That was the final straw for the low-ranking personnel.

"He's dead!"

"The Grand Elder killed someone!"

"Shut up! Get on your knees, all of you!"

The elder completely ignored the chaos. He stared at the rows of red data on the instruments, the Black Crystal in his chest beating faster and faster.

"It is the Lord, testing our devotion."

A technician went pale and rushed beneath the platform.

"Elder! Numbers Seven and Twelve are already at their pressure limits! If we forcibly increase extraction again, the hosts will collapse!"

The elder stretched out his withered hand and pressed it against the Black Crystal Mother Stone.

The pores on the Mother Stone's surface opened slightly, as if it were breathing.

The women in those glass compartments instantly convulsed violently as though they had been electrocuted.

"Then let their collapse have value."

Hearing those words through his earpiece, Bai Zhu raised a hand and pressed it tightly against the device.

"Illumi, don't tell me you still aren't making a move."

Illumi's voice did not fluctuate in the slightest, as cold as stone.

"The chance of a successful assassination isn't high enough."

Bai Zhu frowned tightly.

"He's that strong?"

"He is too deeply connected to the Mother Stone. If I kill him, the Mother Stone will immediately lose control, and everyone connected to it will be drained dry in an instant."

Milluki immediately cut in as well.

"Bai Zhu, stop pressuring my brother! Just because he doesn't take risks doesn't mean he's afraid of trouble. The current level of chaos hasn't reached the result we want yet."

Bai Zhu irritably closed his eyes.

"Fine. You people are the professionals."

Illumi raised a hand and inconspicuously adjusted his collar.

In the distance, a low-ranking priest under his control immediately pretended to stagger, scrambling toward the silver-robed bishop.

"Bishop! Urgent news from the surface!"

The silver-robed bishop was suppressing the disturbance. Hearing this, he roared.

"Speak!"

The priest panted as if he were about to die.

"After Number Fifteen approached the underground area, the Mother Stone's reaction suddenly became extremely chaotic! The surface bishop suspects... suspects that the Holy Stone Shard was destroyed, causing Number Fifteen's connection parameters to fail. They must be recalibrated, or the connection will definitely fail!"

The silver-robed bishop's expression changed dramatically.

"Where is Number Fifteen?"

"She has already entered Underground Passage Two. The escort team is about to reach the outer edge of the core area!"

Upon hearing the words "recalibrate," the technician beside them seemed to seize a lifeline.

"Yes! That's highly possible! Number Fifteen's interface turned red early. It must be because the Holy Stone Shard was disconnected, confusing the Mother Stone's recognition! We must immediately recalibrate the core offering's access channel!"

The silver-robed bishop ground his teeth.

"Pull three guard squads to receive Number Fifteen! Tell the escort team not to touch her under any circumstances. Send her directly to the core interface!"

The guard captain beside him hesitated.

"Three squads? Then the core area's defenses will—"

"Do you want something to happen to Number Fifteen on the way here?!"

The guard did not dare say another word. He immediately led his people away in a hurry.

Watching most of the guards around the core area's perimeter get reassigned on the surveillance feed, Milluki could not help muttering.

"Beautiful."

Bai Zhu let out a soft breath and leaned against the wall.

"Making the enemy tear down their own door is far more elegant than hacking through it with a blade."

"You still have the nerve to mention your blade? That thing is basically a cane now."

"What's wrong with a cane? Even if it is one, mine is a limited edition."

"By the way, why won't you draw it? Don't tell me it's just for show!"

"What the hell do you know? My blade can't be drawn casually. The moment it's drawn is the moment the church is destroyed. Its power is absurd."

While Bai Zhu and Milluki were still bickering, Ella was being supported by the escort team as they moved through the deep underground passage.

Her legs had gone weak, and she was practically being dragged along by two people. Transparent pipelines were embedded in the walls, pale golden liquid flowing slowly through them toward a single destination.

Alarms sounded one after another in the distance. Medical personnel pushed emergency carts past her at a run, and no one spared her a second glance.

Milluki's voice came through the earpiece, lowered to nearly a whisper.

"Ella, stop shaking. Hang in there."

Ella's breathing was uneven.

"I... I can't control it."

"Then make it look even more convincing. You're their most important treasure right now. No one would dare let you fall."

Bai Zhu's voice cut in.

"Listen to him. An expensive prop needs the self-awareness of an expensive prop."

Ella choked on those words, but strangely, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"You're still alive?"

Bai Zhu sounded deeply dissatisfied.

"That question is extremely unlucky. Change it to: How is the boss recovering now?"

"...How is the boss recovering now?"

"The boss is almost out of battery and preparing to shut down."

Milluki finally could not take it anymore.

"Can you two show even a little respect for the atmosphere of this cult hideout?!"

At the front of the escort team, the priest leading the way suddenly turned back and stared hard at Ella.

"What are you saying?"

Ella immediately lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

"I was... praying."

The priest scrutinized her for several seconds.

"Pray that the Lord forgives your sins."

Ella looked straight at the priest ahead. Her fingers beneath her cloak lightly touched the shell of the Mechanical Spider.

Milluki immediately received the signal and swiftly marked her location.

"Eighty meters to the core area's outer gate. Brother, she's almost there."

Illumi turned his gaze toward the altar entrance.

A chain of "accidents" and "malfunctions" had successfully stalled the ritual's progress.

Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, the technician ran beneath the elder's platform again.

"Elder! The Sanctification Descent parameters have completely lost balance! Numbers Seven and Twelve can no longer stabilize, and Number Fifteen's interface responded early! If we forcibly activate it, the core offering may collapse on the spot!"

The elder slowly turned around. The rise and fall of the Black Crystal in his chest resembled a heart beating out a death sentence.

The silver-robed bishop kept his head lowered, not daring to look at him at all.

"Elder, Number Fifteen will be here shortly. As long as she connects successfully, the Mother Stone should stabilize."

"Should?"

The elder slowly repeated those words.

The technician's legs went limp, and he nearly fell to his knees.

"It... it needs to be calibrated on site!"

At that moment, the altar's heavy outer doors were pushed open from outside.

The escort team entered while supporting Ella.

In an instant, all the chaos, arguments, and alarms seemed to have been paused.

The women in the glass compartments were still convulsing soundlessly. The low-ranking believers pressed against the walls were filled with terror, the technicians were drenched in sweat, and the silver-robed bishop looked as though he had found a lifeline.

On the platform, the elder's lifeless eyes were nailed to Ella's lower abdomen.

Ella raised her head and saw the enormous Black Crystal Mother Stone at the center of the altar at a glance.

Milluki's voice sounded close against her ear through the earpiece.

"Don't look at the Mother Stone. Look at your feet. Shift half a step left. There's a spider Brother left there."

Ella did as instructed.

The elder raised his withered arm and pointed straight at the cold metal frame in the center of the altar.

"Bring Number Fifteen onto the altar."

Two deacons immediately supported Ella and led her toward the center of the altar.

Almost at the same moment, Bai Zhu, hiding behind a collapsed shed on the surface, abruptly raised his head.

A new line of blood-red text appeared without warning on the translucent panel in his vision.

[Hidden achievement triggered: Witness the core of Sanctification Descent firsthand.]

[Mission requirement: Enter the altar's core area and interrupt the Holy Infant connection.]

[Failure penalty: Number Fifteen dies, and the regional achievement chain is permanently severed.]

Bai Zhu stared at the final line, his entire body going rigid.

Milluki was still urging him anxiously through the earpiece.

"Bai Zhu? Bai Zhu! Why aren't you saying anything over there?"

Bai Zhu braced himself on his blade and slowly rose from behind the shed. Every bone in his body felt as though it had been shattered, and the pain nearly made him curse out loud.

"Milluki."

"What?!"

"Find me a way down."

On the other end of the comms, Milluki went strangely silent for a moment.

"Are you insane?!"

Bai Zhu raised a hand and wiped away the blood continuously seeping from his chin, his eyes locked on the newly lit achievement on the panel.

"Cut the crap."

"They're going to tie Ella up there."