Chapter 336: Abyss

The two of them left the side hall and returned to the main hall, where Su Qing and the others were waiting.

Su Mu gave them a brief rundown of the situation. After all, if what the Pope said was true, he would have to enter the Abyss alone.

To his surprise, after hearing about the dangers of the Abyss, everyone immediately volunteered to follow him in.

"Take me," Lin Nanxing volunteered. "My Eye of the Sky will definitely be useful."

Su Mu shook his head. "You cannot look directly at a God. If you go, you'll only die faster. Besides, the more people there are, the more dangerous it becomes. I can only go alone."

"Let me go." Su Qing stepped out from the crowd. She felt she was the obvious choice—she was just an avatar and had no fear of death. Moreover, as the daughter of the First Red King and the master of Supreme Heaven, she was absolutely the most suitable candidate.

Su Mu was just about to refuse when the Pope suddenly interjected, sounding a little anxious. "You must not!"

Su Qing raised an eyebrow and looked at the Pope. "Why can't I?"

"I can sense a flame within your body that does not belong to you," the Pope explained. "It is no ordinary flame, and you are unable to perfectly conceal its aura. Going in there would be no different from holding up a lit torch in the pitch black. It would definitely draw the attention of the sealed evil god."

Su Qing's expression darkened. The Pope was right. The Nirvana Holy Flame inside her did not actually belong to this body; it was entirely the power of her true form.

"Then what about Lin Lingling? I think she's the best choice. Her ability is luck." Su Qing did not want Su Mu venturing into such a dangerous place alone, so she decisively offered up Lin Lingling.

Lin Lingling rolled her eyes at her, deeply disgusted by this blatant betrayal of friendship for the sake of a boy.

"I might be lucky, but do you know the secret to maintaining that luck?" Lin Lingling retorted. "It's staying far, far away from danger."

Seeing that they were about to keep arguing, Su Mu put his foot down. "All of you will wait here in Holy Brilliance City."

"Let's go," he said to the Pope.

"Right now?" The Pope hesitated. "Divine Envoy, you have only just arrived. Perhaps you should—"

"No, fulfilling the oracle takes priority."

The Pope's expression turned reverent. "As expected of the Divine Envoy. Please, follow me."

Su Mu followed the Pope away from the hall and arrived at a vast, empty clearing.

The Pope muttered a string of incantations, and bursts of grand, mysterious tones echoed around them. A moment later, holy light surged from his body.

He gathered the holy light at his fingertips and gently traced a line through the empty air. Immediately, a pitch-black rift tore open in the void.

"After you, Divine Envoy."

Su Mu glanced at the Pope before stepping into the rift. The Pope followed close behind.

When the two reappeared, their surroundings had completely changed.

Black Fog! An endless expanse of Black Fog.

Su Mu and the Pope levitated within the Black Fog. Beneath their feet lay a giant crater, like a massive wound torn open in the earth, presenting a sudden, shocking sight.

The walls of the crater were steep and treacherous, plunging downward at a near ninety-degree angle. The textures of the surrounding rock formations looked like abstract paintings, radiating a strange, mysterious aura.

"God said, let there be light!" the Pope bellowed. He swept his Gold Scepter, and a small orb of light materialized above the giant crater, bursting with blinding brilliance.

The intense light drove away the surrounding Black Fog, allowing Su Mu to finally see what lay inside the massive pit.

Figures! A dense, writhing mass of figures!

More accurately, it was an ocean of humanoid monsters composed entirely of shadow. They varied in size—some as small as normal humans, others towering five stories high—and came in all sorts of twisted shapes.

Some were completely bare like Bubai, while others were fully armed and clad in Shadow Armor.

Those armored shadow creatures resembled ancient generals, and every one of them exuded the terrifying aura of a Gold Grade powerhouse. At a glance, there were no fewer than ten of them.

Were these Bubai's kin?

Su Mu could feel Bubai writhing restlessly inside his own shadow.

"This is the Shadow Race," the Pope explained from the side. "The sealed evil god closest to the entrance of the Abyss is the Shadow God. His leaking aura has given birth to many of the Shadow Race in the surrounding shadows.

"Please look, Divine Envoy. At the very center of this crater lies a rift. Entering that rift will take you into the Abyss."

Su Mu observed the area carefully. Now fully revealed, the crater was perfectly circular. Right in its center lay a massive rift that cut straight across the entire pit. It was pitch-black inside—like a black hole that seemed capable of devouring even one's gaze.

An ominous, terrifying aura constantly leaked from its depths.

"Allow me to clear the way for you, Divine Envoy," the Pope said with a respectful bow. He lowered his Gold Scepter, and the giant orb of light illuminating the air slowly descended like a falling sun.

As the miniature sun sank lower, the crater grew increasingly bright, eventually becoming blindingly radiant. The Shadow Race creatures began to shriek in agony as their bodies melted away inch by inch.

Like melting candles, ink-black liquid continuously dripped from their forms.

The Gold Grade Shadow creatures managed to put up a slight resistance, but the moment the miniature sun bore down on them, they too began to melt.

At that moment, Bubai suddenly radiated an intense wave of desire. The ink-like fluid in the crater seemed to hold a fatal attraction for it.

"Leave a little. My pet is hungry," Su Mu said coolly.

"As you wish, Divine Envoy." The Pope was exceedingly obedient, instantly halting the miniature sun's descent. At the same time, he reached out and made a grasping motion toward the pit. The next second, a black sphere formed entirely of the inky liquid materialized in his hand.

"Divine Envoy, this is the essence of the Gold Grade Shadows. It is enough to feed your pet. Any more might cause it to burst."

"Mm," Su Mu nodded. He took the orb of essence and tossed it straight into his shadow.

Bubai let out a roar of excitement. The shadow writhed wildly as a hideous, massive hand reached out impatiently, snatched the essence, and swiftly retreated back inside.

A moment later, the miniature sun finally touched down, and every last member of the Shadow Race in the crater completely dissipated.

"Divine Envoy, the path is clear. If you please." The Pope wore an amiable smile. He looked exactly like a kindly old man, devoid of even the slightest hint of a powerhouse's imposing aura.

Su Mu shot him an indifferent glance. He was almost certain that the Pope's strength completely surpassed that of King Chi and the Undead King. Those two Kings might also be capable of killing these Shadow creatures, but they could never do it with such effortless ease.

Under the Pope's watchful gaze, Su Mu walked step by step toward the rift in the center of the pit. The crevice was bottomless, as if plunging straight into the depths of the earth.

He drew closer and closer until he finally reached the edge.

Watching Su Mu draw closer to the Abyss, the kindly smile vanished from the Pope's face, replaced by a hideous expression. A violently suppressed, feverish excitement erupted from his cloudy eyes.

Suddenly, right at the edge of the Abyss, Su Mu halted and turned around.

The Pope paled in shock. However, his control over his expression was flawless. He instantly reverted to his kindly, amiable persona, even conjuring a look of mild confusion.

"Is something the matter, Divine Envoy?"

A mysterious arc hooked the corner of Su Mu's mouth. "During my descent to the lower realm, I possessed this mortal body," he said flatly. "As a result, I am ultimately unable to wield certain divine powers. I wonder if Your Holiness might have any treasures to assist me."

The Pope froze, clearly not expecting Su Mu to ask this. "That was my oversight," he apologized hastily.

Right then and there, he removed the Gold Crown from his head. "Divine Envoy, this Gold Crown is a supreme treasure of the Primal Divine Cult. Its defense is peerless. I hope it can lend you a helping hand."

As he finished speaking, the Gold Crown rose into the air without wind and drifted over to Su Mu.

Su Mu caught the Gold Crown. He did not say a word, merely staring silently at the Gold Scepter in the Pope's hand.

The Pope froze again, then offered an apologetic smile as he handed over the Gold Scepter. "This scepter contains primal divine power, rendering its offensive might peerless. I gift this to you as well, Divine Envoy."