Chapter 359: Lord Divine Envoy, You Have Finally Emerged!

"Su Mu is... Pride?" King Chi froze, the elegant figure of a young aristocrat surfacing unbidden in her mind.

She suddenly shook her head. "Impossible. How could he be Pride? He's just a Silver transcendent. Even if he has some special methods... it can't be him. I've met both Pride and Su Mu, and they give me completely different feelings. A single glance at Pride is enough to make a person loathe him, but Su Mu is different. He's very..."

King Chi stumbled over her words. "Anyway, it just feels different," she stammered. "This is a wom—a Gold King's intuition!"

"I was merely guessing," Gongsun Quan said. "Logically speaking, it is indeed impossible for Su Mu to be Pride, because his life trajectory is completely traceable. As he is a key figure in the investigation plan, the Empire Intelligence Department already delved into his hometown, Star City District 13, and conducted a thorough investigation.

"Our intelligence personnel contacted Su Mu's neighbors, his schoolmates, the Poisonous Snake Gang, and others. The information gathered from them is virtually identical.

"There is no possibility of collusion. The scope of people involved is far too broad. One person might lie and provide false intelligence, but it is impossible for everyone in District 13 who knows Su Mu to lie at the exact same time."

Gongsun Quan analyzed the situation rationally. His logic was indeed sound, but he never could have imagined that back in District 13, even a stray dog knew to call him Leader.

"That is exactly what I said," King Chi agreed. "Su Mu absolutely cannot be Pride. How could he be? The way I see it, the various nations' current analysis of Pride is correct. Such an expert couldn't have just popped out of a rock. Since there are no traces of his existence in the Real World, it proves that Pride comes from the Nightmare World.

"Furthermore, our recent deep exploration of the Nightmare World has proven that a massive number of humans exist there, including entities like the Primal Pope, who are not the slightest bit weaker than a Gold King." King Chi breathed an inward sigh of relief. Even she didn't know why she had felt so tense when Su Mu fell under suspicion.

Gongsun Quan nodded. "Logically, Su Mu cannot be Pride, but the timing was far too coincidental. I still feel there is some sort of connection between the two of them. However, now is not the time to discuss this. Tomorrow's Seven Kings Council is the true priority."

"And Supreme Heaven?"

"Supreme Heaven has already returned to the Abyss, so we can only set that aside for now," Gongsun Quan replied. "Even if you returned to the Empire immediately, it would be useless. Moreover, this Seven Kings Council was initiated by the Undead King, and he explicitly wrote in the invitations that the goal is to deal with the Seven Deadly Sins. With Supreme Heaven suspected to be in Pride's hands, we had better prepare for the council first."

...

...

At the entrance to the Abyss.

An elderly figure waited at the entrance, his eyes burning with intensity. Like a stone statue, he stood absolutely motionless before the massive Abyss.

This person was none other than the Primal Pope—or more accurately, the First Red King wearing the Primal Pope's skin!

The First Red King had been waiting here for several days. Ever since Su Mu entered the Abyss, he had spent all his time waiting in this spot, save for a single trip back to Holy Brilliance City to capture Su Qing and the others.

Like an incredibly patient old hunter, he was waiting for his prey to appear.

What he didn't know, however, was that his prey had already appeared—and had even swaggered right past him.

Su Mu had merely taken one look at the First Red King, then turned around and left.

Earlier, after settling Supreme Heaven, Su Mu had transited through the Present World and left the Abyss. As expected, the First Red King had been waiting at the entrance.

It was obvious he was waiting for Su Mu to emerge.

It perfectly illustrated just how desperate the First Red King was for Supreme Heaven.

Holy Brilliance City.

Su Mu's figure appeared out of thin air inside the great hall of the Primal Divine Cult. This grand hall, which enshrined the Primal Divine Statue, was normally accessible only to the Pope. Now that the Pope was gone, the place was naturally empty.

He gazed at the massive Primal Divine Statue, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The words the First Red King had spoken that day were still vivid in his mind.

"No one would ever imagine that I hid them inside the divine statue. Aside from me, no one else in the world can open this isolated alternate space!"

Remembering those words made Su Mu want to laugh.

In truth, the First Red King had been right. If the real Pope hadn't died, no one else would have been able to open this alternate space. Unfortunately for him, the devout Pope had endured five full years of torment from the Shadow Divine Power, surviving countless brushes with death to hold on until now.

Now, for Su Mu—who possessed the Pope's memories—opening this Primal Divine Statue was as simple as unlocking his own front door with a fingerprint.

Suddenly, Su Mu mobilized his spiritual energy, sending it into the Primal Divine Statue at a peculiar frequency.

Crack!

A massive fissure split down the center of the holy Primal Divine Statue. Inside the gap lay a dark, deathly silent alternate space. As sunlight from the outside world spilled in, it revealed the unconscious figures of Su Qing and the others.

Looking at Su Qing's delicate sleeping profile, Su Mu narrowed his eyes. He wondered if he could use her to unlock Supreme Heaven's restrictions.

But after a moment of thought, he abandoned the idea.

Although Su Qing was only at the Silver Grade, her soul's core belonged to a Gold King. Trying to control a Gold King's consciousness? That was completely unrealistic.

Furthermore, the main body held absolute control over its avatar. The moment King Chi sensed that her avatar's consciousness was being manipulated by someone else, she could simply retract the consciousness inside Su Qing, turning the girl into a living corpse, or even detonate the Nirvana Holy Flame within Su Qing to self-immolate.

With his current strength, he couldn't control Su Qing silently without King Chi noticing. The matter of controlling her would require long-term consideration.

Perhaps he could pin his hopes on the Dream Law he would acquire after Silver 3, or on advancing to Gold himself.

Suppressing his thoughts regarding Su Qing, Su Mu waved his hand and swept everyone directly into his Dream Space.

It was worth noting that after devouring the Shadow Divinity, the Dream Space had grown increasingly stable. Previously, an eruption of Silver-tier power inside would have caused the dream to tremble, but now its upper limit had been raised all the way to Gold.

Once that was done, Su Mu closed the alternate space in the Primal Divine Statue and left Holy Brilliance City.

...

...

At the entrance to the Abyss.

The patiently waiting First Red King's gaze suddenly flickered, a burst of wild joy exploding in his eyes as he spotted a familiar figure slowly emerging from the Abyss.

"Lord Divine Envoy, you have finally emerged!"

The First Red King rushed forward to welcome him in excitement. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was genuinely thrilled by the Divine Envoy's return.

Watching the First Red King hurry toward him, an inexplicable smile surfaced on Su Mu's face. "I've kept you waiting."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Waiting for the Lord Divine Envoy is my—" The First Red King abruptly stopped in his tracks, his aged eyes narrowing subtly. "Lord Divine Envoy, why do you not reveal your true body? Why appear as a mere illusion?"

Su Mu's smile widened. "As expected of the First Red King. What sharp eyes you have."

The moment those words were spoken, the smile vanished from the First Red King's face, and his expression turned dangerous.

"That old bastard isn't dead yet?"

Su Mu shook his head. "No, he is already dead."