Arc 10The Crimson Trap

Lin En fought to save Ophiel after an unknown attacker nearly killed her, then joined Jiu in investigating the Youzhi family and uncovered a demonic ritual linked to the Lord of Crimson. With Clockwork City threatened, Lin En prepared its defenses and called on Firstborn for help.

  • Ophiel was found gravely wounded after a cloaked swordsman attacked her, and Lin En discovered that the attacker had targeted her Origin Substances.
  • Lin En brought Ophiel’s final soul fragment to Shinsen Saya, who began restoring her, while Jiu arrived to claim Ophiel and threaten Clockwork City.
  • Lin En convinced Jiu to help investigate Ophiel’s murder, and she identified the wounds as the work of a powerful physical fighter.
  • Lin En suspected Youzhi Liusi, Hana Ye’s father, and took Hana Ye and Jiu to the Youzhi castle, where Glass Lamp reunited with Hana Ye.
  • Lin En comforted Hana Ye after learning her father treated her as a ritual sacrifice, while Jiu’s Reality Reversion revealed a dark figure entering the castle.
  • The investigation uncovered a blood-sacrifice ritual and a trap that dragged Lin En, Jiu, Hana Ye, and Glass Lamp toward the Ninth Layer before Jiu pulled them back to reality.
  • Lin En concluded the trapmaker had also attacked Ophiel, ordered the Church to prepare for the Lord of Crimson’s assault, and contacted Firstborn for help defending him.
Chapters 226–250 Vol. 3 Read

Ch. 226The fall of Ophiel!

Ophiel was ambushed and killed in Clockwork City after leading the cleanup of escaped monsters, while an unknown swordsman vanished into the night. In the Holy City, Lady Jiu learned of Ophiel’s death and set out to retrieve her body and kill the attacker.

  • Ophiel oversaw the sweep of Clockwork City with the Exorcist Association and the Demon Suppression Corps after helping defeat the Great Demon.
  • Ophiel worried that the Valkyrie remained unreachable as she walked toward the Grand Cathedral.
  • A cloaked swordsman appeared behind Ophiel and killed her in a swift clash, leaving her wounded and bleeding on the street.
  • The statue of Lady Ophiel, the Sixth Divine Attendant, shattered in the Great Sun Church, alerting Lady Jiu to her death.
  • Lady Jiu said she would collect Ophiel’s body and kill, then left the church.

Ch. 227Every wound corresponded to an Origin Substance!

Lin En found Ophiel gravely wounded and apparently dead in a church after she was discovered unconscious in the street. The clergy revealed that her attacker had sealed her Holy Flame origin substances, and each of her blade wounds corresponded to an implanted origin substance.

  • Lin En arrived at the church with Mogans, Nero, and other officials to learn what had happened to Ophiel.
  • Clerics reported that Ophiel had returned to the Cathedral alone after helping seal the demonic hand, then was found at dawn in a nearby street.
  • Lin En entered the inner hall and found Ophiel lying amid a healing formation, covered in severe wounds.
  • Lin En checked Ophiel and found no pulse, breath, or heartbeat.
  • A clergyman explained that the attacker had corroded and sealed Ophiel's Holy Flame origin substances, preventing them from healing her injuries.
  • The clergy revealed that each blade wound on Ophiel's body matched a location where one of her origin substances had been implanted.

Ch. 228Then Let a God Do It!

Lin En discovered that Ophiel’s body and soul had been devastated by an attacker who knew her intimately, and he decided to seek the Valkyrie’s help by bringing her remaining soul into the Warp. Meanwhile, a mysterious Church-robed woman carrying a black coffin arrived at Clockwork City, which was surrounded by strange blade-like flowers.

  • Lin En learned that five of Ophiel’s Origin Substances and most of her soul had been severely damaged, leaving her alive only because her seventh Origin Substance preserved her soul’s foundation.
  • Lin En concluded that Ophiel’s attacker had carefully targeted her while she was exhausted and might have been someone she knew.
  • Lin En ordered Mogans, Nero, and the others to guard Ophiel, then went to see the Valkyrie and said he would let a god save her.
  • A mysterious woman in a golden Church robe arrived at Clockwork City carrying a black coffin.
  • Exorcists on the city walls saw that blade-like buds and vines had grown into a dense ring around the city.

Ch. 229You wouldn't want to do it again, would you?

Lin En returned to the Warp and visited the imprisoned Shinsen Saya, teasing her before revealing grim news. He told her that Ophiel, one of her Seven Divine Attendants, had died.

  • Lin En returned to the Warp outside the Great Rift and wondered how he could trick Shinsen Saya into maintaining the Great Sun.
  • Shinsen Saya worried that her fragile remote link to the Great Sun might fail and struggled to understand Lin En’s true nature.
  • Lin En appeared in Shinsen Saya’s cell, and she saw his human form beneath his monstrous exterior.
  • Shinsen Saya attacked Lin En with her golden greatsword after he teased her about their Soul Fusion.
  • Lin En told Shinsen Saya that Ophiel had died.

Ch. 230I'm only here to let you know!

Lin En told Shinsen Saya that Ophiel had been nearly killed and asked whether she could save her. He revealed that he had gained Ophiel’s trust by claiming to be Saya’s Divine Chosen, then warned that Ophiel’s death could leave the city open to the Spirit Realm and the Lord of Crimson.

  • Lin En described Ophiel’s targeted attack, the damage to her origin substance and Holy Flame, and how close she was to death.
  • Shinsen Saya attacked Lin En and demanded to know what he had done to Ophiel.
  • Lin En said he had not harmed Ophiel and asked whether Saya could save her if he brought her there.
  • Lin En revealed that he had pretended to be Saya’s Divine Chosen, gaining Ophiel’s trust in Saya’s name.
  • Lin En warned that the Lord of Crimson might have orchestrated the attack and that Ophiel’s death could allow the Spirit Realm’s forces to invade the city.

Ch. 231Jiu!

Lin En forced Shinsen Saya to agree to help restore Ophiel’s soul, then returned to find his church overrun by a powerful intruder. A hooded woman wearing the Church’s emblem sat beside Ophiel as Lin En faced the unexplained attack.

  • Lin En provoked Shinsen Saya and told her Ophiel’s survival depended on her help, threatening to make Ophiel serve him to protect the Goddess.
  • Lin En returned to his Vessel, intending to bring Ophiel’s soul fragment to Shinsen Saya for restoration.
  • Lin En discovered that Mogans, Nero, and the other church members had been subdued by a powerful attacker.
  • Lin En found a hooded woman in a Golden Robe beside Ophiel, with an open Spirit Coffin nearby, and recognized the Church’s emblem on her robe.

Ch. 232You're nothing but servants of a god!

Jiu, the Valkyrie's Third Attendant and Yan's elder sister, arrived in Clockwork City to claim Ophiel's body and avenge her. Lin En refused to let her take Ophiel, saying he could bring her back to life and take her to the Valkyrie himself.

  • Jiu introduced herself as Yan's elder sister and placed Ophiel in the Spirit Coffin.
  • Jiu's Blade Jungle engulfed Clockwork City and the First Layer of the Spirit Realm, killing countless low-level Weirds and trapping the city's clergy and bishops.
  • Jiu explained that Ophiel's Effigy had preserved a sliver of her consciousness to identify her murderer, and said she planned to purge the city in revenge.
  • Lin En told Jiu he would not let her take Ophiel because he intended to bring her back to life.
  • Jiu challenged Lin En's claim that he could revive Ophiel, but Lin En said he could take her to the Valkyrie and declared that he ranked above her as God's Choice.

Ch. 233You're the One Who Will Ultimately Get Her Killed!

Lin En tried to stop Jiu from delaying Ophiel’s treatment by claiming the Valkyrie had sent him to investigate corruption within the Church. Jiu remained suspicious, but Lin En’s Holy Flame and warnings left her uncertain as he blamed her for the consequences of Ophiel’s death.

  • Jiu challenged Lin En’s claim to be the Valkyrie’s Divine Chosen and said she would not entrust Ophiel to someone she did not know.
  • Lin En threatened that Jiu would be responsible if Ophiel died, then claimed the Valkyrie had sent him to investigate Warp entities infiltrating the Church.
  • Lin En suggested that Jiu or her former comrades might have been corrupted, prompting her to reconsider his warnings.
  • Lin En’s body blazed with Holy Flame, which Jiu recognized as the Valkyrie’s power but found suspiciously timed.
  • Lin En demanded that Jiu stop delaying Ophiel’s treatment and warned he would tell the Valkyrie that Jiu had caused her death.

Ch. 234He Should Be Her Master!

Lin En prepared a formation to protect Ophiel’s shattered soul so he could take her to the Valkyrie, while Jiu gave him seven days to bring Yan back. After Jiu left, Lin En learned of her fearsome reputation and wondered whether the Valkyrie’s connection made him Jiu’s master too.

  • Jiu warned Lin En that moving Ophiel’s fragile soul could kill her, but he decided to take her to the Valkyrie and use her blood.
  • Lin En inscribed a formation around Jiu’s Spirit Coffin to seal and protect Ophiel’s soul, reminding Jiu of a technique her elder sister Saya had once used.
  • Jiu gave Lin En seven days to bring Yan back and threatened to kill everyone there if he failed.
  • Jiu left Clockwork City, and Mogans told Lin En she was a legendary First Generation Divine Attendant feared for defeating Great Demons and the Gods’ Families.
  • Lin En wondered whether he could claim to be Jiu’s master because the Valkyrie was her master and Lin En was the Valkyrie’s master.

Ch. 235Lin En Was a Thoroughly Evil Man!

Lin En brought Ophiel’s surviving soul fragment into the Warp and demanded information about Shinsen Saya’s seven followers in exchange for handing it over. He forced Saya to agree by threatening to destroy Ophiel’s Origin Substance, then exploited Saya’s distress to gain more fragments.

  • Lin En activated the Magic Formation and took Ophiel’s Origin Substance, which held her last soul fragment, into the Warp.
  • Jiu recognized the formation as the one her elder sister had used and wondered whether Saya was still there.
  • Lin En showed Shinsen Saya Ophiel’s Origin Substance and demanded details about all seven of Saya’s followers.
  • When Saya resisted, Lin En pretended to throw the Origin Substance into the Black Mist, then caught it again and asked if she agreed.
  • Saya gave in, condemned Lin En, and vowed to watch his deeds bring about his downfall.

Ch. 236This is the only thing I can do for you

Lin En forced Shinsen Saya to share information about her Seven Divine Attendants, then watched her begin restoring Ophiel’s soul from its Origin Substance. After returning to his Vessel, he promised the sleeping Ophiel he would find her killer and kept her Spirit Coffin with him.

  • Lin En threatened Shinsen Saya into transmitting information about her Seven Divine Attendants, and she broke down in tears over betraying them.
  • Shinsen Saya explained that Ophiel’s Origin Substance preserved memories and soul fragments, then began restoring her while warning Lin En not to disturb her for three to five days.
  • Lin En asked whether Ophiel would still be herself, and Shinsen Saya said her surviving foundation and her knowledge of Ophiel’s soul would let her rebuild her.
  • Lin En returned to his Vessel, touched Ophiel’s cheek, and promised to find her killer and repay the blood debt.
  • Lin En closed Ophiel’s Spirit Coffin and stored it in the Ring so he could keep it safe until she recovered.

Ch. 237Do you like doing whatever you please that much?

Lin En confronted Jiu as she set out to investigate Ophiel’s attacker, warning that her impulsive arrival could worsen the danger. He invoked her past failure and the Valkyrie’s orders to make her stay with him, leaving Jiu furious and threatening to kill him.

  • Lin En told Jiu that Ophiel’s soul and body were in the Valkyrie’s care and that she would recover within days, while Jiu warned him to protect her and promised to reclaim her Spirit Coffin.
  • Jiu left to investigate alone, but Lin En argued that her public arrival and urge to attack Clockwork City would alert the enemy and endanger its people.
  • Lin En confronted Jiu about the previous Sixth Divine Attendant’s death, reminding her that her reckless advance had left the Church’s rear vulnerable.
  • Jiu summoned blades around Lin En, but he walked through them and ordered her not to interfere with his plans.
  • Lin En ordered Jiu to remain with him and follow his directions, citing the Valkyrie’s orders, and Jiu threatened to kill him.

Ch. 238He had only struck once!

Lin En kept Jiu under his watch and brought her to investigate the attack on Ophiel. Jiu concluded that a human attacker with exceptional physical enhancement and sword skill had killed Ophiel with one strike, leaving Lin En to investigate high-tier Ability Users in the city.

  • Lin En ordered Jiu to stay with him and asserted that Shinsen Saya would support his authority.
  • Lin En privately reflected on Jiu's immense strength, her distrust of him, and her loyalty to the Valkyrie and her friends.
  • Lin En took Jiu to the cordoned-off site where Ophiel had been attacked and asked her to assess the evidence.
  • Jiu identified the wounds as sword injuries inflicted simultaneously by a single strike from a highly skilled, powerful attacker.
  • Jiu ruled out a Weird from the Spirit Realm and advised Lin En to investigate local high-tier Ability Users who specialized in physical enhancement.

Ch. 239Hana Ye's Father!

Lin En suspected that the top-tier Ability User who killed Ophiel had targeted him and feared Hana Ye’s father was responsible. He identified Hana Ye’s father, Youzhi Liusi, as a powerful suspect, but the killer’s identity remained unconfirmed.

  • Lin En and Jiu considered the killer’s motive, and Lin En suspected the attack on Ophiel was a threat aimed at him.
  • Lin En hurried back to the Grand Cathedral, where he found Hana Ye still asleep and resolved to keep her identity secret from Jiu.
  • Mogans and the others sent Lin En records of body-enhancement Ability Users from Clockwork City.
  • Lin En found a file for Youzhi Liusi, Hana Ye’s father, and learned he had reached the sixth tier and possessed powerful Sequences.
  • Lin En recognized Liusi’s title, the White Killing God, and treated him as a major suspect in Ophiel’s murder.

Ch. 240Is she your mistress?

Lin En investigated Hana Ye’s father and resolved to find him before he could take Hana Ye away. When Hana Ye reunited with her sister Glass Lamp on Gear Street, Glass Lamp was suddenly shot in the head.

  • Lin En reviewed Hana Ye’s father’s records, suspected he had dealings with the Lord of Crimson, and ordered Mogans and the five Bishops to locate him.
  • Lin En took Hana Ye with him, while Jiu followed; Hana Ye mistook Jiu for Lin En’s mistress and teased him.
  • Lin En and Hana Ye reached Gear Street, where Hana Ye recognized her sister Glass Lamp among the Exorcists and ran to embrace her.
  • A deafening shot struck Glass Lamp, blowing apart her head as Hana Ye and the onlookers watched in horror.

Ch. 241Glass Lamp!

Lin En met Glass Lamp, Hana Ye’s sister, whose Eye of Truth-Piercing caused her eyes to explode when she looked at Jiu and possibly Lin En. After revealing that he needed Glass Lamp’s help with matters concerning her father, Lin En left her wondering why he seemed familiar.

  • Glass Lamp’s eyes exploded when she used her Eye of Truth-Piercing, and Jiu warned her not to look recklessly at people she did not understand.
  • Glass Lamp could not tell whether Jiu or Lin En had triggered her Sequence’s backlash, and Jiu introduced herself as the Church’s Third Attendant.
  • Lin En apologized to Glass Lamp and offered to help treat her eyes, but she said they would regrow on their own.
  • Glass Lamp recognized Lin En as the Divine Chosen and said he seemed familiar, while Lin En distracted her from pursuing the feeling.
  • Lin En told Glass Lamp he had important matters concerning her father that required her help.

Ch. 242Father's letter!

Lin En brought Hana Ye and Glass Lamp to the Youzhi Family Castle to investigate Youzhi Liusi and found it deserted. Glass Lamp showed them her father's reply to her worried letter about Hana Ye, which contained only the word “Okay.”

  • Lin En asked Glass Lamp about her family and suspected she was the biological daughter of Youzhi Liusi and a woman from the Red Moon Family.
  • Lin En, Jiu, Hana Ye, and Glass Lamp arrived at the Youzhi Family Castle, where Glass Lamp found no servants or butler.
  • Lin En asked Glass Lamp whether she had recently heard from her father, and she said he had replied to her letter two days earlier.
  • Glass Lamp handed Lin En her father's letter, and Hana Ye snatched it to read the single word it contained: “Okay.”

Ch. 243He wants you to become someone else's sacrifice!

Lin En investigated the vanished servants at the Castle while Hana Ye broke down over her father's cold letter. He told her that her father wanted her to become someone else's sacrifice.

  • Hana Ye read her father's one-word letter, tried to act as though it did not hurt, and handed it back to Lin En.
  • Lin En and Jiu suspected the missing servants knew something or were useful to the person who attacked Ophiel, so Jiu prepared to use Reality Reversion.
  • Lin En found Hana Ye crying in her room and comforted her as she questioned why her father treated her that way.
  • Lin En told Hana Ye that her father wanted her to become someone else's sacrifice.

Ch. 244He had come back!

Lin En told Hana Ye that her father had only kept her as a vessel for a Great Demon, then held her through a violent reaction tied to the Red Moon until she fell asleep. Jiu activated Reality Reversion and revealed that the person Lin En had been searching for had returned to the Castle the previous night.

  • Lin En told Hana Ye that her father saw her as a tool for a ritual and did not love her.
  • Lin En held Hana Ye as her emotions triggered a surge of power, and promised he would never throw her away if she married him.
  • Hana Ye's turmoil subsided, and she fell asleep in Lin En's arms.
  • Lin En recognized that Hana Ye's emotional changes were connected to the Red Moon and vowed to find the person who had taken her.
  • Jiu activated Reality Reversion, revealing a dark figure entering the Castle and the servants kneeling to greet him as their master.

Ch. 245Countless Bones!

Lin En, Jiu, and Glass Lamp followed a vision of the Youzhi Family’s servants into the family tomb, where they found an ancient blood-sacrifice formation. The formation concealed countless bones beneath the chamber floor.

  • Glass Lamp showed Lin En a vision of servants gathering in the hall around midnight and leaving for the family graveyard.
  • Lin En and the others followed the servants’ apparitions into the underground tomb, which Glass Lamp said her father had forbidden her to enter.
  • Lin En found a blood-stained Magic Formation at the center of the burial chamber, and Jiu identified it as an ancient demonic blood-sacrifice ritual.
  • Jiu shattered the stone slabs beneath the formation, revealing countless skulls and skeletons piled below.

Ch. 246You'll Be Back Soon!

Lin En realized the bone-filled chamber might have been used to keep the Castle owner’s wife alive, but Jiu began a Reality Reversion before he could stop her. The reversion connected to the Ninth Layer, where a white-haired figure waited beside a chained door for his prey.

  • Jiu identified the remains beneath the altar as evidence of Demon Rearing, a ritual that stole lives to raise something or prolong someone’s life.
  • Lin En suspected the Castle owner had used the ritual to keep his wife alive and wondered why he had returned instead of removing the evidence.
  • Jiu activated her magical implement to perform a Reality Reversion, intending to investigate the previous night and take the culprit to the Church for trial.
  • Lin En realized the reversion could expose a trap and shouted for Jiu to stop, but the chamber was already engulfed in light.
  • The reversion opened a connection to the Ninth Layer, where a white-haired figure waited beside a chained door and promised the being behind it would soon return.

Ch. 247One step from falling!

Lin En, Glass Lamp, and Hana Ye fell into a trap designed to send them to the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Realm, but Jiu pulled them back to reality. The Youzhi Family's Castle was gone, and Jiu explained that the Spirit Realm rejected her, preventing her from being trapped there.

  • Lin En realized that Reality Reversion had triggered a trap and the collapsing Tomb Chamber was pulling them into the Spirit Realm.
  • Lin En caught Glass Lamp and Hana Ye, then plunged past the First and Second Layers toward the Ninth Layer, where the Lord of Crimson might be waiting.
  • A golden chain stopped Lin En's fall and hauled him upward, where Jiu caught his arm and carried all three through the closing rift.
  • Jiu returned with Lin En, Glass Lamp, and Hana Ye to reality, where they found the Youzhi Family's Castle had been replaced by a vast pit.
  • Jiu explained that the trap breached the Spirit Realm's barriers but that the Spirit Realm would reject and expel her, making reality her shackle.

Ch. 248Meeting every change with constancy!

Lin En survived the Great Fall with Jiu’s help and told her that the Lord of Crimson was preparing to attack Clockwork City. Jiu agreed to help, and Lin En planned to wait for his enemy to make another move.

  • Jiu explained that she had saved Lin En because Yan’s body was with him, and Lin En thanked her while teasingly clapping her shoulder.
  • Lin En concluded that the person behind the trap was also responsible for attacking Ophiel.
  • Lin En told Jiu that the Lord of Crimson planned to attack Clockwork City and asked her to help defend it.
  • Jiu asked what Lin En intended to do, and he said he would wait because time was on his side.
  • Lin En picked up the unconscious Hana Ye and Glass Lamp as he watched the distance.

Ch. 249He was a master of catfishing!

After Hana Ye’s father’s plot was thwarted, Lin En fortified the Grand Cathedral and decided to contact Firstborn for help. Firstborn watched footage of Lin En’s parade in Clockwork City when Lin En called him.

  • Lin En ordered the Church to activate its barriers, impose martial law, and defend the Grand Cathedral.
  • Glass Lamp awoke and asked Lin En what had happened, and he told her that her father had fallen.
  • Lin En judged that he lacked reliable fighters against the Lord of Crimson and decided to contact Firstborn.
  • Lin En used feminization origin substance and the Impression Crystal to call Firstborn.
  • Firstborn watched footage of Lin En’s parade in Clockwork City as Lin En’s call came through.

Ch. 250Of course you're the strongest!

Lin En, disguised as Lin Yin, contacted Firstborn and asked him to protect Lin En in Clockwork City from another Crimson Divine Cult attack. Firstborn agreed to hear him out, while Lin En concealed his identity by claiming Lin En was his older brother.

  • Firstborn studied Lin Yin and Lin Ke's resemblance, concluded they were siblings, and grew irritated at the thought of Lin Yin's family traditions and his apparent brother.
  • Lin En, disguised as Lin Yin, called Firstborn through their paired Impression Crystals and denied that he had fallen into the Spirit Realm.
  • Lin En told Firstborn that the Crimson Divine Cult had attacked Ophiel and recounted Jiu's appearance and Hana Ye's Father's trap.
  • Lin En asked Firstborn to go to Clockwork City and protect Lin En, presenting him as his older brother and the Lucifal family's current head.
  • Firstborn said he would keep Lin En's identity secret and asked who was stronger; Lin En flattered him and declared that Firstborn was the strongest.
Arc 10 of 14