Chapter 547 - 480: With a Heart of Compassion, Brought to Justice

Chapter 547: Chapter 480: With a Heart of Compassion, Brought to Justice

The ruins.

’This way, Qinghua’s guilt is pretty much confirmed.’

’At the very least, he’ll be put in the spotlight, drawing suspicion and requiring an investigation.’

’Even if my frame-up is only moderately effective, it will still draw their fire and divert the Jade Void Sword Sect’s attention...’

The plan worked!

Su Ye hummed a little tune, feeling pleased.

With his fifth-order Divine Sense and the Netherworld Skill, he had created an illusion to impersonate Qinghua.

A Nascent Soul True Monarch might have seen through it with their sharp eyes, but there was no way these Golden Core cultivators in the ruins could!

With that thought.

Su Ye moved nimbly, making his way through the darkness toward the second underground level.

...

"ROAR!"

A withered, bluish-black ghoul lunged from around the corner!

Completely unfazed, Su Ye raised a finger.

CHI!

A thread of icy-silver water shot from his hand.

As fine as a hair and nearly transparent, the water thread possessed an ultimate sharpness.

SWOOSH!

The water thread danced wildly!

Flashes of icy-silver light streaked across the ghoul’s body.

No wounds were visible on its body, but its piercing shriek came to an abrupt halt.

Then, carried by its momentum, the ghoul continued its lunge.

SPLAT.

With elegant ease, Su Ye sidestepped, letting the ghoul fall to the ground.

SHLK.

Clean cuts appeared at its neck and knees, and its entire body was divided into three pieces.

—Like a sliced sushi roll.

Dark red, filthy blood gushed from the ghoul’s body, staining the ground.

BZZT. The panel’s information lit up.

[Killed a God’s Attendant Knight. [Pastor of the Sea] EXP +5313]

[Class: Pastor of the Sea Lv. 15 (129,243/150,000)]

Su Ye glanced at it and smiled. "Not bad, not bad. The EXP for [Pastor of the Sea] is almost at one hundred thirty thousand..."

This abundant reserve of EXP gave Su Ye a sense of security.

Even with the panel’s miraculous abilities, refining the Dao Source would still consume EXP.

If he failed to refine the Dao Source because he ran out of EXP, that would be a real joke!

’If things go wrong...’

’I might turn into one of these things too...’

Su Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced down at the dead ghoul.

According to the panel, this now-crazed, deformed, bloodthirsty monster had once, long ago, been a God’s Attendant Knight guarding the temple...

"Haaa..."

He shook his head, dispelling the thought.

Su Ye continued onward, following the Dream-warden’s map. He killed a few more ghouls, maxing out his [Pastor of the Sea] EXP at one hundred fifty thousand points!

’Now, it’s foolproof!’

Su Ye nodded in satisfaction, feeling confident.

Then, at the Dream-warden’s urging, he hurried toward the second underground level.

The place where the Dao Source was located!

BZZZ.

A bronze door stood there, inscribed with numerous runes.

The weight of history, settled by the ages, flowed naturally from the door.

Su Ye stared intently. He knew that the fifth-order deity suppressing the Dao Source was just behind this door.

’Good.’

’So far, no other cultivators have reached the second underground level.’

Su Ye nodded to himself. It was a good thing to be undisturbed.

Then, he asked inwardly,

"Dream-warden, what’s the current state of this deity?"

"Is he still sane?"

"His condition isn’t optimistic... However, he’s in better shape than the one you met before... I’ve already communicated with him."

"He will suppress the Dao Source and do his best to remain rational. You must hurry and refine the Dao Source."

The Dream-warden’s reply came almost instantly.

It was clear they were far more anxious for him to refine the Dao Source than Su Ye himself was.

"I understand."

Su Ye nodded slightly.

He pushed the door open, and the second underground level was revealed before him.

Unlike with the Undead Lord, the place where this temple’s deity slumbered was not a coffin.

But a stone statue.

The statue was dozens of feet tall, not human, but in the shape of a dragon-headed man.

At the sight of it, Su Ye was reminded of the Dragon-man Race that had once ravaged the Day Flame Sea Region.

The two were almost identical.

Except this dragon-man statue appeared far more sacred and majestic.

’Perhaps... the Dragon-man Race in the outside world traces its bloodline back to this very deity?’

Su Ye mused, murmuring the speculation that surfaced in his mind.

The thought vanished as quickly as it came. He walked toward the statue, and when he was about fifty paces away, the lifeless stone suddenly came alive.

"Sea-child."

"Did the Dream-wardens entrust you with refining the Dao Source?"

The dragon-man statue’s voice echoed in the empty square.

A scrutinizing gaze, carrying a majestic and immense power, locked onto Su Ye.

This immediately told Su Ye that this deity’s power—or rather, its current state—was much better than the Undead Lord’s had been.

His eyes flickered as he pondered.

’The power of Laws... A true Domain of Law?’

’To still possess such power even now... This deity must have been at the middle or even late fifth order in its prime, right?’

Whether for a Nascent Soul or a deity, the source of power was one and the same: the utilization of ’Law’.

The only difference was in its expression: one concentrated great power within oneself to achieve the Nascent Soul, while the other entrusted it to a divine office to become a True God.

"Yes."

"Please manifest the Dao Source."

Su Ye bowed slightly, showing his respect.

"Very well,"

the deity replied.

KRAK.

The surface of the statue began to crack.

It revealed crimson scales beneath, which interlaced to naturally form some kind of special pattern.

’The deity’s true form.’