Chapter 337: Finally... He Fell For It!

Su Mu stowed away the two supreme treasures of the Primal Divine Cult. Nodding in satisfaction, he leaped into the Abyss.

The massive, pitch-black rift swallowed him like a terrifying maw.

One minute, two minutes... ten minutes!

The Pope stood in place like a statue, wearing a benevolent smile. He waited for ten full minutes. Once the time passed, the benevolence on his face melted away like snow, replaced by a flash of twisted ecstasy.

The hideous smile grew wider and wider, bunching the wrinkles on his face so tightly they could crush an ant.

"Ha... haha... hahahahaha!!!"

The Pope threw his head back and laughed at the sky, his expression bordering on madness. "Finally... he finally fell for it! Hahaha..."

He laughed uncontrollably, a sickly flush rising to his aged face.

"I've waited so many years, and the moment is finally here."

He stood there laughing for at least five minutes before he managed to calm down.

"The plan is only half finished. I can't waste any more time; delays breed trouble!"

Forcing down his joy, the Pope muttered a chant. Boundless holy light surged from his body and shot into the void, tearing open a spatial rift. With a blur of motion, he stepped into the gap and vanished.

When the Pope reappeared, he was already back inside the church in Holy Brilliance City.

The moment he entered, Su Qing and the others immediately gathered around him.

"How did it go? Did everything go smoothly?"

"Did the Cap— Did the Divine Envoy enter the Abyss?"

The group bombarded him with questions, clearly very concerned about Su Mu.

Their captain was the backbone of the team. With him gone, venturing into the Abyss all alone, they were naturally worried.

The Pope ignored their questions. He seemed like a completely different person. His aged, cloudy eyes locked onto Su Qing, making no effort to hide the sheer ecstasy and excitement swirling within them.

Su Qing furrowed her brows, instinctively sensing that something was wrong. "Why do you keep staring at me?"

"Hahaha..." A bloodcurdling laugh escaped the Pope's lips. "What a perfect body. I have waited far too long for a vessel like this."

Su Qing's expression changed drastically. Crap, I ran into a lolicon!

"What do you think you're doing!?" Golden flames suddenly flared in her eyes, burning fiercely bright.

The others also realized something was amiss. They quickly drew their weapons and huddled together tensely, glaring at the Pope.

The Pope took a step forward, slowly closing in on the group. He looked relaxed and carefree, the very picture of someone holding all the winning cards. He didn't exude the oppressive aura of an expert at all, yet the mere sight of this frail old man pushed their nerves to the absolute limit.

They had witnessed the Pope's power firsthand. He had instantly killed a Gold Grade nightmare monster with a single strike and extinguished a thousand li of flowing magma. Such strength was beyond their imagination.

"Give up your resistance," the Pope said with a smile. "A bunch of Silver Grade ants huddled together are still just ants."

"You dare attack us? We are the Divine Envoy's people!" Lin Nanxing shouted nervously.

"Divine Envoy?" A sneer flashed across the Pope's lips. "He is nothing but a nightmare apostle who got lucky and obtained a sliver of Primal Divinity. And he dares to call himself a Divine Envoy?"

The group paled at his words. They never expected the Pope to already know everything.

"Alright, there's no need to be surprised. I know much more than you imagine. I was merely playing along with your little act earlier.

"Your name is Su Qing, isn't it?" The Pope smiled at Su Qing, making no effort to conceal the fiery lust in his eyes.

A chill ran through her entire body, but she was completely powerless. She simply was no match for the Pope. Even if her main body were here, she wasn't entirely confident she could kill him.

"D-don't come any closer!" she cried, flustered. She wasn't afraid of dying—this was just an avatar, after all—but she was terrified that the Pope might do something unspeakable to it. That would be a fate worse than death.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I just want to borrow your body for a bit." The Pope drew closer and closer. His silent, overwhelming aura actually drained the group of any courage to attack.

Borrow my body!?

"Go look for Lin Lingling instead! I might look clean, but I smoke, drink, and spit, and... and I don't even wash my feet! Lin Lingling is completely different. She eats strawberry gummies every single day, so her whole body tastes like strawberries. Go try her out if you don't believe me!" Su Qing shrieked in a panic.

Lin Lingling: "..."

She rolled her eyes so hard they almost flipped backward into her skull. "Are you out of your mind? Who sells out their teammates like this?

"Pope, you absolutely cannot believe a word she says! I do eat candy every day, but I never brush my teeth, so my mouth is full of cavities!"

Listening to the two of them—one who didn't brush her teeth and the other who didn't wash her feet—the Pope's expression darkened. "Enough! Shut up!"

Hum!

An invisible shockwave rippled out. To their horror, the group realized they couldn't open their mouths. No matter how hard they struggled, they could only let out muffled whimpers.

"Until my plan succeeds, all of you can just go to sleep."

"God says, sleep!"

Hum!

Another invisible ripple spread out. The group instantly lost consciousness, collapsing stiffly onto the ground and falling fast asleep.

The Pope stepped past them and arrived in front of the Primal Angel Divine Statue in the main hall. The towering statue stood over three meters tall. It was carved with lifelike precision, as white as snow, and radiated a pure, holy brilliance.

With a grand wave of his hand, a massive fissure split right down the center of the Primal Divine Statue.

"No one would ever expect me to hide them inside the statue. Absolutely no one else in this world can open this isolated pocket dimension but me!"

The Pope waved his hand again. An invisible force enveloped the unconscious Su Qing and the others, tossing them directly into the fissure in the statue.

Crack...

The fissure in the statue slowly sealed back together. Not a single fracture remained, making it look as though everything had just been an illusion.

Having finished his task, the Pope clasped his hands behind his back and walked away in an excellent mood.

Su Mu looked at the Primal Divine Statue, lost in thought.

In truth, he had never entered the Abyss at all. The very moment he leaped into it, he had retreated into the Dream World. He had then followed the Pope back to Holy Brilliance City and witnessed the entire process.

He had suspected earlier that there was something wrong with the Pope. Although the man's acting was flawless, he had acted far too submissive.

He was a peerless expert who possessed the God's Eye, yet when facing Su Mu—who also possessed the God's Eye—he had been entirely obedient.

Of course, that didn't prove anything on its own. After all, in the Pope's eyes, Su Mu was a Divine Envoy descended from Heaven. Perhaps the Pope was simply a humble person by nature.

What truly made him suspect something was amiss was that when Su Qing announced she was going to the Abyss, the Pope had actually seemed a little nervous. He had hidden it well, but Su Mu had still caught it.

The Pope didn't want Su Qing going to the Abyss. Why?