Chapter 709 - 444: The Abyssal Spirit’s Whereabouts (Part 2)

Chapter 709: Chapter 444: The Abyssal Spirit’s Whereabouts (Part 2)

"The truth is, we are Gaia’s rightful rulers."

"Back in the primordial Era of Chaos, the Great Black Sun was the only one of the Deities in the World. It was He who created life. He is the one and only True God. Under His control, the children of the Black Sun lived without a care in the world...

But later, more Deities were born. They coveted the Great Black Sun’s position and joined forces to suppress Him. They rewrote history from that day forward, claiming to be Gaia’s rightful rulers while painting the Great Black Sun as a wicked heretic.

After a long period of recuperation, the Great Black Sun finally recovered His Power. He led His followers into a Divine War, determined to reclaim Gaia from the hands of the heretics.

It was a brutal battle. Countless brave Abyssal Spirits fell, but in the end, we achieved a hard-won victory. The Great Black Sun also reclaimed the Authority that was rightfully His.

The heretical Kings suffered heavy casualties and were left devastated. Unfortunately, just as the Great Black Sun was preparing to purge the heretics and restore Gaia to its pure state, the so-called ’gamified’ World Rule descended. Not only did it restrict the Great Black Sun’s movements, but it also brought with it a horde of immortal Demons..."

Zhou Chen appeared to be listening intently, but inwardly, he was already rolling his eyes in disgust.

’When it comes to twisting history and rewriting the past, you have to hand it to the Abyss Church. They can turn black into white. This is standard operating procedure for them. Every branch of the Abyss Church will mold the entity they worship into something powerful, and distorting facts or reversing black and white is common practice.’

’The Star Association investigated Gaia’s history long ago. The Black Sun is the true heretic and the source of all misfortune.’

"...So, Jill, you bear a great mission. I believe that one day, you will become the most valiant Black Sun Warrior."

"Alright, it’s getting late. I’ll grab a few more books for you, then you should hurry back and get some rest."

The Priest stood up and walked over to the bookshelf to make his selection.

Zhou Chen silently crept up behind him. After a moment’s thought, he decided to play it safe and swapped the ordinary long sword in his hand for the Silver White Sun Unrivaled Blade. ’The reason I’m not using the Demon-Breaking Sword or Dream Light and Shadow is because I’m afraid they might react to the Abyssal Power. It would be a huge pain if I attracted the attention of the Abyssal Incarnation.’

PSHHHT!

Backstab execution!

The Priest’s eyes went wide. He turned to look at "Jill" in disbelief, his lips moving as if trying to recite a Spell, but in the end, he could only collapse helplessly.

Zhou Chen was currently Level 78, while the Priest was only Over Level 40. The massive Level difference, combined with the backstab execution, instantly depleted the Priest’s health bar, turning him into a warm corpse.

Since he wasn’t a boss, his body didn’t explode into nothingness upon death and had to be looted manually.

Zhou Chen gave the body a quick pat-down before moving away. The Priest was only wearing an undergarment and wasn’t carrying any equipment.

He activated the system’s X-ray vision, scanned the room, and easily found a hidden compartment.

He opened the compartment behind the bookshelf. Inside were ten neatly stacked gold bars, and beneath them, a piece of parchment.

[Gold Bar x10]

[Abyssal Spirit Map x1]

Zhou Chen’s eyes lit up, and he immediately examined the Abyssal Spirit Map.

Five locations were marked on the Gaia Map. One of them matched his current position, appearing to be the whereabouts of the five Abyssal Spirits.

[Quest "Black Sun Cultist" Updated: You have killed the Priest and discovered a map in a hidden compartment. It records the locations of the remaining four Abyssal Spirits. Please travel to these four locations and kill the Abyssal Spirits loyal to the Black Sun.]

[You have triggered the side quest: "Abyssal Spirit"!]

[Quest Type: Event]

[Quest Difficulty: Epic]

[Quest Description: The Abyssal Spirits are the minions of the "Abyssal Incarnation," fighting everywhere for the Evil God. They are immensely powerful and difficult to kill. Empowered by their devout faith, each one is a fearless Berserker, and they were once formidable rivals to the Kings of Gaia.

The Kings of Gaia figured out a way to deal with them: using seals to wear away the Abyssal Spirits’ Power and let them fade away over time. Most of the Abyssal Spirits died within their seals, but a few powerful ones survived. The Desecration Church is now preparing to rescue them from their Prisons.

You have unexpectedly obtained a map showing the locations of the Abyssal Spirits and have decided to hunt them down and kill them.]

[Quest Reward: 100,000 EXP.]

"I remember now!"

Suddenly, Danika said in shock, "I remember! Begger is a direct descendant of the King of Gaia and a Frost Giant, while Carol is the King of Gaia’s sister and a student of the Star Empress!"

’They became Abyssal Spirits?’ Zhou Chen was stunned by this information for a long moment before replying, "They must have been corrupted by the Abyss during the war, which is why they turned into Abyssal Spirits. Corrupted people don’t care if you’re their father or brother. As long as you don’t pledge allegiance to the Abyss, you’re a mortal enemy."

"I just remembered something else..."

Danika paused thoughtfully before saying, "A long time ago, I saw a history book in the Church’s Library. It recorded various details of the Black Sun era, and in it, it mentioned..."

"The King of Gaia may have been among the first Kings to defect to the Black Sun..."

"That’s impossible."

Zhou Chen frowned. "If the King of Gaia had defected to the Black Sun, wouldn’t Gaia have been done for long ago? Begger and Carol’s corruption must have been an accident. In a war of that scale, anyone could be corrupted by the Abyss."

Danika said, "It’s just speculation. It’s possible someone fabricated it. However, many historical records do state that the King of Gaia’s personality changed drastically in his Late Stage..."

Zhou Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought. Connecting all these dots was actually quite terrifying.

"How about we just go and ask the people involved directly?" he suggested eagerly.

"That’s actually a great idea," Danika agreed.

Zhou Chen looted the Priest’s room, but unfortunately, these were the only useful items. The rest were just junk Artifacts.

He took out his Magic Staff and cast a Magic spell that created a lethal poison gas. Soon, a thick, toxic white fog enveloped the entire room.

This was a deadly gas. Inhaling even a small amount would cause one’s blood to coagulate, resulting in instant death.

’There are over four hundred Abyssal Cultists here. Killing them one by one would be too much trouble, and an explosion would attract too much attention. So, I’ll just use a chemical weapon and wipe them all out in one go.’

Zhou Chen conjured a dozen or so gas canisters, compressed all the poison gas into them, and, after making sure there was enough to kill everyone, pushed the door open and left.

He tossed one into the living quarters, one into the storage area, and one into the Library. The tavern was too crowded to act freely, so he stuck one to the rock wall nearby...

In no time, Zhou Chen had set up all the gas canisters. With a single thought—CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...—all the canisters activated, spewing white, toxic mist that spread rapidly.

"Urgh..." The moment the Cultists came into contact with the toxic mist, the blood in their bodies solidified, and they died on the spot.

As the toxic mist spread, not a single living thing remained within the sprawling network of caves.

Zhou Chen silently crept up behind the Black Sun Knight guarding the entrance and executed a backstab with his Silver White Sun Unrivaled Blade.

PSHHHT!

Blood splattered.

[Black Sun Knight’s Greatsword x1]

[Black Sun Knight’s Helm x1]

[Black Sun Knight’s Heavy Armor x1]

Zhou Chen kicked the corpse into the tunnel and flicked a ball of Cyan Flame after it to destroy the body and erase all traces.

The pale flame spread rapidly through the tunnel, and soon, the entire cave system was engulfed in a massive fire.

After dealing with the Cultists here, Zhou Chen rushed to the mines and finished off all the Cultists who were mining.

[Quest "Investigate the Desecration Church Stronghold" Complete. +30,000 EXP.]

[Quest "Black Sun Cultist" Updated: You have destroyed the Desecration Cultist stronghold and killed all its members. Keep up the good work. +30,000 EXP.]

Zhou Chen whistled cheerfully, summoned his Spirit Horse Bao Li, and mounted up.

"Let’s see which target is the closest..."

"Excellent. I choose you, ’Dark Frost Giant Begger’!"

"Bao Li, let’s go!"

With a flick of the reins, Spirit Horse Bao Li neighed and broke into a gallop.