Chapter 499: Heilong: I Am the Divine Chosen!

Heilong stared blankly at the Primal Angel radiating holy light. Thump, thump... His heart pounded uncontrollably.

The Primal Angel... answered me!?

The words Su Mu had just spoken looped in his mind, piercing his ears like a demonic whisper.

Why has the Primal Divine Cult failed to awaken the Primal Angel all this time under Zero's leadership? Could it be that Zero's selfish desires are simply too strong, making him distasteful to God?

Exactly! That must be it!

In the past, it was always Zero leading the hundred thousand cultists in prayer. Now that Zero is gone and I've taken his place, the Primal Angel immediately responded. What does this mean!?

I am the divine chosen! The one and only!!

Heilong roared with ecstasy in his mind. The truth was right before his eyes, leaving no room for argument.

Pride was right! The tide only began to turn after I joined the Primal Divine Cult. I was the one who heavily injured the heretics of the Temple of God Slaying. I led the cultists to occupy the interior of the Primal Divine Domain. I was the one who let them see the great Primal Angel. And now... I am the one who received the Primal Angel's response!

"Oh, great Primal Angel! Your devout—" Heilong was just about to shout in excitement when he suddenly froze.

The holy light upon the Primal Angel had abruptly gone out. He panicked like a frightened child.

After the panic came anger. He glared furiously at the hundred thousand cultists and bellowed, "Who told you to stop! Hurry! Keep praying! The great Primal Angel is watching me!"

The hundred thousand cultists could barely contain their own excitement. Trembling, they chanted the primal scriptures. Their feelings mirrored Heilong's; there was no zealot who didn't yearn to look upon God.

"Before heaven and earth were divided, chaos was like an abyss..."

The crowd's voices grew ever louder, nearly overturning the heavens. Unfortunately, the miracle only appeared once. No matter how devoutly they chanted, it did not manifest again.

However, the crowd did not give up. Their hearts remained burning with fervor.

Zealots were like this. Even when they couldn't see any hope in the past, they had always maintained their faith. Now that they had seen a glimmer of dawn, they would only try harder.

Yet what they didn't know was that there was no such thing as a miracle in this world. It was all merely the work of man.

Anyone who knew Su Mu understood: a push of his glasses, a flash of blue light, and an Illusion Technique appeared!

These people had spent several days in close quarters with an illusion master, listening to him preach day and night. How could they not fall under an illusion?

Previously, with Zero present, Su Mu couldn't blatantly use his Illusion Technique lest he trigger that eyeball-like divine taboo object. Now that Zero was gone, he could act with complete impunity.

While everyone prayed fanatically, immersed in the fading afterglow of the miracle, Su Mu set his next plan into motion.

He closed his eyes, seemingly praying with deep devotion, but in truth, his Soul of Nightmare had already quietly slipped away.

Outside.

"Temple Master, Pride has been gone for days. I bet he's betrayed us too. Why don't we just force our way in? Call all the demigods of the Temple of God Slaying. I refuse to believe that a dozen demigods striking together wouldn't be able to break this array!" The Warrior Monk's booming voice could be heard clear as day from miles away.

"Shut up, Warrior Monk," Wuming said expressionlessly.

"He's coming out," Huangquan, the girl in the black dress who had been entirely silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

The next moment, a figure enveloped in a faint blue halo slipped out from the illusion array.

It was Su Mu.

Seeing Su Mu appear, visible flashes of vigilance crossed the eyes of the Warrior Monk and Huangquan.

The Warrior Monk asked bluntly, "Pride, did you betray us?"

Su Mu ignored him, turning instead to Wuming. "The Primal Pope, Zero, has left the Divine Realm."

Wuming frowned. "Where did he go?"

Su Mu then explained the matter of Hell. However, this time he didn't claim to be the Primal Pope. Strictly speaking, he was telling the truth, because he really wasn't the Primal Pope.

Upon hearing this, Wuming's brow furrowed tightly, and he fell silent.

The Warrior Monk put on an exaggerated expression. "Are you saying you come from beneath the surface? That you saw the Primal Divine Cult down there, told Zero about it, and now Zero is heading to Hell to receive this batch of cultists?"

Su Mu nodded. "Exactly."

Huangquan took a step forward, her hollow eyes staring straight at Su Mu. "How are we supposed to believe what you're saying is true? I have never heard of humans still surviving in Hell. Perhaps you've already defected and are just using this story to get rid of us."

Su Mu smiled faintly. "Believe what you want. To be honest, it doesn't matter if you don't follow my plan. I can wipe out the entire Primal Divine Cult on my own; it would just take a bit more effort."

He didn't care whether the Temple of God Slaying helped or not. With his methods, destroying the Primal Divine Cult wouldn't be difficult. Heilong had already been half-turned. With just a little more prodding, Heilong and Zero would inevitably end up fighting each other.

"Understood," Wuming said with finality. "The Temple of God Slaying will move to intercept and kill Zero. However, we might not be able to keep him there. That divine taboo object in his hands is no small matter. Over the years, we've encircled the Primal Divine Cult multiple times, and Zero has successfully escaped using that divine taboo object every single time. I can only say that we will do our best."

"That's fine. As long as you can wound him, it will be enough."

"It's just that you were the one who gave him the map. If the Temple of God Slaying ambushes him, Zero will likely suspect you."

Su Mu offered a mysterious smile. "No, he won't suspect me. You just need to say one sentence."

"What sentence?"

"Just tell him that Pride provided the information."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was momentarily stunned.

...

...

Inside a valley out in the wilderness.

Zero looked at the map in his hand, then at the valley before him. After checking it several times, he put the map away.

"This should be the right place. Next is finding the gap in the seal. If Pride could find it with his level of strength, then for me, as a demigod, it should be a breeze."

Zero smiled confidently. He was already getting impatient to bring the believers from Hell up to the surface. With the addition of those million cultists, the Primal Angel's awakening would undoubtedly accelerate!

"Die, cultist!" In the empty air, a burst of deep crimson fire erupted.

The Warrior Monk descended from the sky, wielding a Bronze Staff wreathed in deep crimson flames.

Zero's expression changed drastically. Pure, holy angel wings instantly sprouted from his back, and a dazzling burst of holy light exploded outward, clashing head-on with the Bronze Staff.

The deep crimson flames seemed capable of incinerating anything. They pierced straight through the holy light and smashed violently against Zero's wings.

Zero grunted, his body sent flying backward. A scorched patch had already appeared on his pure white wings, where a vibrant, alluring red flame continued to burn.

His face turned pale. Forming his hand into a blade, he ruthlessly chopped off the burning section of his wing.

"World-Incinerating Karmic Fire! You're the Warrior Monk from the Temple of God Slaying!"

The Warrior Monk twirled his staff and grinned triumphantly. "Now that you know your Grandfather is here, hurry up and die!"