The statue had exquisite features and a graceful figure, its six wings frozen behind it, radiating an imposing majesty.
Even judged solely by its appearance, it was a rare work of art.
But Qi Xuan felt as though he had plunged into an icebound abyss.
The moment he laid eyes on it, Qi Xuan perceived its chaotic essence.
An unseen horror seemed to lurk within the exquisite statue.
Zheng Hua prayed on the circular dais. Before long, everyone present was a devout worshipper, with only Qi Xuan mingling among them like a sham musician in an orchestra.
Amid the rising prayers, the statue seemed to come alive. Its lips curled into a smile, and its gaze fixed directly on Qi Xuan.
Those pitch-black eyes held an undisguised desire for him.
Qi Xuan felt as though needles were piercing his brain. Thoughts that were not his own seemed to guide him, calling him to offer everything to this angel.
His lips moved twice, as though he, too, was about to join this chorus.
"Stay calm! These are all illusions!" Elder Yi's gray mist shrouded Qi Xuan's brain. "Do not waver. This is an extremely invasive soul fluctuation!"
Little Thunder Dragon seemed to sense something. With a soundless, furious roar, it unleashed an explosion of lightning within Qi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness.
It was simulating the Heavenly Tribulation from before.
Divine Firmament Righteous Law-thunder across heaven and earth!
Qi Xuan abruptly snapped out of it and hurriedly lowered his head to avoid looking at the statue again.
In that hazy instant, he seemed to see a single tear fall from the corner of the statue's eye.
By now, towering waves were crashing through his heart, for he had just seen the statue in its entirety.
Those six enormous wings had been branded into his mind.
This was a Holy Angel!
No, it should be called a Fallen Angel now.
This had once been the Martial Soul passed down through the Spirit Hall's papal lineage, an existence explicitly recorded in history as having ascended to godhood!
But since the great battle at Jialing Pass ten thousand years ago, no Angel God had appeared for a full ten millennia!
Then what exactly was the divine aura Elder Yi had sensed on this statue?
Zheng Hua's prayer continued. "Supreme emissary, eternally sleeping shattered one, six-winged lord of the veiled face, with blood we humbly beseech you to open your eyes and descend upon this mortal world."
As he spoke, several black-robed figures pushed two iron cages in from the back, each holding an unconscious girl.
Qi Xuan looked closely. The girl in the cage on the right was none other than the unconscious Cui'er.
Judging by the "blood" Zheng Hua had just mentioned, these girls seemed intended as living sacrifices.
Zheng Hua's ritual had yet to end. Beneath the statue was a blood pool, now a deep, blackish brown. There was no telling how much blood had stained it.
Zheng Hua drew a bronze dagger from his sleeve. "People of God who have yet to offer a blood sacrifice to the angel, you shall deliver these two lost lambs."
How despicable.
Qi Xuan cursed inwardly.
Among those gathered here were undoubtedly apostles of the Angel Society who had committed every evil imaginable, but there were surely ordinary townspeople who had been brainwashed as well.
Zheng Hua intended to stain those ordinary townspeople's hands with blood, leaving them no way back.
I had to act.
Qi Xuan made up his mind. If worst came to worst, he would take Cui'er and force his way out.
Zheng Hua showed no Soul Power fluctuations. Other Evil Soul Masters might be hidden here, but if Qi Xuan moved quickly enough, they might not have time to react.
He sighed inwardly. As for the other girl, the blonde, there was nothing he could do for her.
The Fallen Angel's divine aura still exerted its oppressive force here. Without Elder Yi, Qi Xuan probably would not even make it through the door.
At that thought, Qi Xuan simply stood up, walked to the dais, and took the dagger from Zheng Hua.
Zheng Hua maintained his charlatan's smile. "We shall ultimately walk the same path and heed the Holy Lord's proclamations. Which lost lamb would you like to deliver first?"
"Those awaiting guidance will not quarrel over precedence," Qi Xuan said, adopting the same sanctimonious manner of speech. "Regardless, the two of them shall reunite beneath those wings."
The black-robed figures behind them then unlocked the iron locks wound around the bars and carried the two girls out.
Qi Xuan approached Cui'er first. Only after checking that her breathing was reasonably steady did he relax.
Then he walked toward the other girl, the blonde.
So beautiful.
Although the girl's eyes were closed, her golden hair lay scattered in disarray, making her look all the more delicate and captivating.
Every aspect of her features was perfectly proportioned, giving her an air of both nobility and gentleness.
Even the blood staining her could not diminish her beauty in the slightest.
Her face was a peerless beauty of the mortal world, yet it inspired not the slightest profane thought.
Qi Xuan's gaze flickered, and he grew wary.
Such beauty should not have been found among the rural common folk. Women of the lower classes, weathered by years of labor, could not possibly have maintained themselves so well.
Qi Xuan slipped an arm around her waist.
Soft and cold.
Her skin was fair and her fingers slender, but her arms and thighs were full of strength.
She was a Soul Master.
Qi Xuan reached that conclusion immediately. But how could a Soul Master have been captured by a few ordinary people?
Even if an Evil Soul Master had intervened, they could not possibly have confined her so casually.
Any Soul Master with two Soul Rings could have broken out of that iron cage through brute force.
I had to find a way to wake her. A Soul Master would be an enormous help in escaping this place.
Zheng Hua instructed Qi Xuan to secure the girl above the blood pool, then cut open her blood vessels and let her blood flow into it.
This was the blood sacrifice used to summon the angel.
Holding the girl in his arms, Qi Xuan pressed his right hand against her back, secretly gathered a strand of Soul Power, and thrust it into her body.
The girl in his arms opened her eyes in an instant, her golden pupils brilliantly bright. Then a dazzling light shone from her body.
Four Soul Rings rose around her.
A Soul Ancestor!
A sacred radiance erupted from her, forcibly knocking Qi Xuan away. At the same time, a longsword appeared in her hand, blazing with Holy Light Flame, and she slashed straight at him!
Qi Xuan rolled across the ground to evade the strike, his heart jolting with shock.
A Soul Ancestor could not possibly have been captured by these people without revealing her identity.
Two illusory light wings appeared behind the girl, faintly radiating a powerful majesty that made her face look noble and sacred.
The sudden brilliance caught everyone off guard, Qi Xuan and Zheng Hua alike.
The girl surveyed her surroundings and held her longsword upright before her as her third and fourth Soul Rings flashed.
"Holy Praise!"
"Holy Light Spirit Array!"
Her clear, ringing cries resounded, and light instantly filled the entire church, making those within feel compelled to bow in reverence.
Many of the black-robed figures struck by the light began to emit white smoke, rolling on the floor in agony.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Qi Xuan scooped Cui'er into his arms and retreated toward the back of the hall.
Pfft!
As though provoked by something, the statue suddenly seeped blood-colored black smoke from its six wings after the light struck it. The smoke slowly condensed into a human form.
Qi Xuan vaguely sensed that the girl's appearance while possessed by her Martial Soul bore some resemblance to the statue.
A flash of insight crossed his mind. He knew who the girl was.
Holy Angel, Ye Guyi!
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