Hearing the Golden Skeleton's maniacal laughter, Sun Fei subconsciously went to observe the mysterious stone pillar within his inner space.
Sure enough, at some point, the mysterious stone pillar began to tremble slightly, conveying a strange and reluctant emotion to Sun Fei.
At the same time, the cosmic space conjured by the [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] formation continuously released waves of extremely strange energy. It was gentle and subtle, like waves washing over a beach, without any offensive capability. However, it contained an extremely hidden and insidious energy. It was not meant to attack Sun Fei, but rather to gradually dilute the blood-related connection between Sun Fei and the mysterious stone pillar.
"The [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] magic circle doesn't have any apparent offensive capabilities, so I haven't been in any real danger for a while. But precisely because of this, the mysterious stone pillar—the [ Scepter of Creation ]—didn't actively release its power to help me break this God Level magic circle... All of this shows that this Golden Skeleton understands the [ Scepter of Creation ] far better than I do. It meticulously planned this scheme, it's flawless, without the slightest flaw, it anticipated everything."
Having figured out the key point, Sun Fei was secretly alarmed.
This Golden Skeleton holds unimaginable secrets; its very identity remains a mystery.
Sun Fei guessed that this monster must have been a great figure from the ancient era of gods and demons. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so arrogant as to call itself a god, wouldn't have known so many secrets, wouldn't have appeared in the [ God and Demon Altar ], wouldn't have recognized the [ Throne of Chaotic Times ] and the [ Scepter of Creation ] at a glance, and wouldn't have survived so miraculously even after countless years, with its body turned into a skeleton.
Such an existence is a living fossil.
Anyone who stands on the opposite side of this monster will tremble with fear.
In the previous encounters, Sun Fei had gained a slight advantage, but this time, he was truly outmaneuvered by this monster.
The day the half of the Scepter of Creation was pulled from the monster's body was like opening Pandora's box, unleashing demons and disaster. Was everything, from beginning to end, predetermined?
"We must find a way to break through this formation as soon as possible. D'Alessandro is leading over forty Moon Class experts to Zenit, and they should arrive within six or seven days. What will happen next is unpredictable. Both Zenit and Chambord City are in great danger. I must return as soon as possible... But this formation before us..."
Sun Fei calmed himself down and began to carefully consider a way to escape.
Outside the magic circle, the Golden Skeleton gradually calmed down.
With a cat-and-mouse gaze, he carefully examined Sun Fei, who was trapped in the formation. The blood-red light in his eyes gradually faded and eventually disappeared. His wild, windless white hair slowly fell down, and the demonic and murderous aura on his body vanished. He returned to the image of the first person of the Holy See Lyon Empire Diocese. There was no indication that a terrible devil was hidden beneath this kind and gentle body.
He slowly walked out of the main hall of the First Church.
Twenty high-ranking divine masters, dressed in black robes with white crosses, stood respectfully on either side of the gate. Upon seeing him emerge, they all bowed in salute.
"Disaster has struck; a demon has invaded the Divine Domain. It has trapped the church hall within the divine array. I need all the children of the Gerland diocese to open their hearts, offer their strength, and pray to the Father God to enhance the power of the divine array and refine this terrible demon."
Bishop John issued a decree.
"Yes, sir." The five divine masters dared not disobey or question.
In an instant, as the bells, which had not been rung for countless years, rang out, a series of commands were quickly conveyed throughout the Gerland Diocese. More than 60,000 priests, novice priests, priestly knights, novice priestly knights... all the clergy, were either awakened from their sleep or put down their work, and all knelt on the ground, holding crosses and praying devoutly to God the Father.
Streams of silver Holy Power gushed from their bodies, like streams converging into a great river, gradually increasing in number. In the dark night sky, they manifested as streaks of milky white light, like stars and sand, surging towards the magnificent and towering First Church at the very center and disappearing into it.
This is an extremely terrifying force.
The continuous influx of Holy Power made the [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] formation in the First Church even more powerful. Strands of white patterns radiated an unbearable brilliance, and the entire hall became a sea of Holy Power. Milky white, misty flames engulfed everything. This God Level formation was fully activated, evolving into great power to refine Sun Fei, who was located within it.
In Sun Fei's vision, the vast and profound cosmic void appeared even more expansive, with stars shining brightly, making the illusion of the cosmic void even more real and deceiving the five senses.
The strange power that was constantly spreading from all directions like a tidal wave had become even more pronounced and powerful.
This power was like a divine lullaby, making Sun Fei feel drowsy and his thoughts slow down. Like a snail stuck in a swamp, countless strange fragments flashed through his mind, chaotic yet clearly perceptible. He could feel this power invading his internal space, constantly surging into the mysterious stone pillar, the [ Scepter of Creation ].
The entire process was one of passive acceptance.
Sun Fei was unable to resist, and the mysterious stone pillar only swayed gently, like a drunken child drinking fine wine, unable to refuse the infusion of this power, absorbing everything without resistance.
Sun Fei's senses were becoming increasingly blurred.
"This force..."
Inside the Lyon Empire Palace, Emperor of Lyon Juninho of Lyon, who was having a private conversation with Lloris, suddenly became startled and abruptly stood up. Through the stone window, he looked towards the direction of the Holy Church diocese of Gerland. In that direction, clusters of white flames filled the sky, like milky white milk washing over the dark night, beautiful and enchanting.
"What happened that made the Holy Church so alarmed, sounding the alarm bells?"
Emperor Juninho wore a solemn expression.
At this moment, Lloris also noticed something. After thinking for a moment, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face, as if he had thought of something, and his expression changed drastically.
"You know? What happened?" Emperor Juninho noticed Lloris's expression.
"This... this must be the commotion caused by King of Chambord. He must have gone to find some mysterious powerful figure..." Lloris made no attempt to conceal anything from his most respected and revered king, recounting everything about the Blood-Colored Skull, the events that had occurred along the way, and Sun Fei's deep respect and awe for the mysterious powerful figure. He concluded, "I don't know why, but I always felt that King of Chambord was deeply troubled by this matter, even more so than by the framing of D'Alessandro. If I'm not mistaken, he probably went to the parish to find that mysterious powerful figure before leaving Gerland City to attend the Zenit crisis."
"So that's what happened. Why didn't you say so sooner?" Emperor Juninho's expression changed rapidly, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Finally, he looked at Lloris and said seriously, " The Holy Church has been operating in Gerland City for so many years. I wonder what kind of earth-shattering methods they have set up. It's not so easy to break in. It seems that King of Chambord has been discovered and is being treated as an enemy. An irreconcilable conflict has arisen between the two sides."
" King of Chambord's strength is extraordinary and unfathomable. The people of the Church should be unable to do anything to him?" Lloris said with skepticism.
"You're oversimplifying the problem," Emperor Juninho said, shaking his head with a complicated expression.
"Then... what... what do we do now?" Lloris sensed a hidden meaning in the king's words; it seemed there were many things he was completely unaware of.
"Let's wait and see; perhaps King of Chambord can break through."
Sun Fei attempted to open Teleport to temporarily Avoid in the Diablo World.
However, due to the interference of the strange power fluctuations from all directions in the universe, it was impossible to successfully Summon Teleport or form an effective long-distance Teleport. [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] truly lived up to its reputation as God Level array. Moreover, it was personally arranged by the mysterious and unpredictable monster, the Golden Skeleton, which blocked all of Sun Fei's escape routes and trump cards.
As time went by, Sun Fei's thoughts became increasingly chaotic.
Like a patient with a high fever, hallucinations and reality are mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
Meanwhile, the mysterious stone pillar within Sun Fei's inner space trembled more and more violently, and under the infusion of that mysterious and strange power, there was a faint sign that it would break through Sun Fei's inner space and fly out.
"To break a magic circle, the most basic principle is that if it can't be broken from within... then it can only be destroyed by external force. If... if someone can intervene from the outside, slightly disrupting the operation of [ Sigh of Divine Grace ], I can... I can find a gap and use [ Throne of Chaotic Times ] to travel through time and escape this... this damned magic circle. Now, I can only pin my hopes on King of Buckingham Lloris. He's the only one who knows the truth, and perhaps he'll discover a clue and take action!"
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, a day and a night have passed.
Endless Holy Power surged into the First Church, providing a source of strength and enhancing the [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] magic circle.
Bishop John's face showed impatience.
"I didn't expect him to be able to hold out for so long, and still not be able to separate the [ Scepter of Creation ] from his body... But hehe, I don't believe that a God Level array activated by the combined power of the entire diocese can't subdue you."
On that day, the Holy Church diocese of Gerland City announced that the diocese had been invaded by a terrifying demon, which was being trapped, refined, and subdued. The entire diocese was closed from that day forward, and believers were prohibited from entering to worship and pray.
Another two days and two nights have passed.
Bishop John paced back and forth impatiently; so much time had passed, and he still hadn't achieved his goal.
"The demon is powerful and difficult to subdue. The proclamation calls upon believers throughout the city and even the entire Lyon Empire to pray day and night, contributing their power and Holy Power to enhance the magic array and help us subdue the demon."
As night fell, countless other believers of the Holy Church, unaware of the truth, held crosses in their homes and prayed devoutly. Streams of Holy Power flowed from their bodies, and these countless streams eventually converged into an astonishing energy, which was then poured into the towering First Church of the diocese.
The [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] magic circle was almost pushed to its limit.
The patient received intravenous fluids in the morning, but the high fever persisted and could not be stopped.
Despite the extreme discomfort, I continued writing. I managed to produce just over three thousand words in a whole day. The plot was in my mind, but my body refused to cooperate.
I'm taking the train tonight with my wife to Lanzhou for surgery. I hope I recover quickly and can take care of her.
These past few days have been the most difficult time for me in recent years. I am grateful for the unwavering support of my brothers and sisters. Without you, I would have nothing.
The update schedule is slow, but I will definitely make up for it.