The First Gospel

As more and more sentry posts came into view, Annan's heart sank deeper and deeper. If the princess truly wasn't in the high tower, but rather in the depths of the palace where they were currently heading, it would be virtually impossible for Yaxiu to make it here. There were far too many guards and sentries along the way; Yaxiu would inevitably trigger an alarm. Moreover, if her senses hadn't failed her, they had passed at least two Sanctuary Sorcerers just now. She had always known that Sanctuary Sorcerers were as common as stray dogs in Nabistin and Legendary Sorcerers walked every street, but she had never expected the concentration of high-ranking sorcerers to be this absurdly high! The Purple Moth was already somewhat regretting having Yaxiu stick to the original plan. Under the circumstances back then, splitting up had undoubtedly been the best option: if the princess was still in the high tower, Yaxiu could complete the mission directly; if the princess was on their end, she could notify Yaxiu to come in for the finishing blow. Yet with security this tight, the good news was that someone important was certainly being protected inside—in all likelihood, the new sovereign. The bad news was that they would have to finish the mission themselves. Annan tilted her head slightly, exchanging silent glances with Banjie, Igola, and Harvey, seamlessly updating their plan without a word. At some point, Harvey and Banjie had each palmed a card. Should a battle break out, their cards would instantly summon a coffin and the Twin Frostcurse Guns. Banjie obviously couldn't bring his suitcase into the imperial palace. Yet setting aside Harvey's coffin, they couldn't possibly flee on foot when escaping; they would need transportation. Whether they had spatial items would have a critical impact on their odds of survival. For that reason, Banjie had dismantled his suitcase and spent a massive amount of Gospel points to convert it into six cards with spatial storage capabilities. Any sorcerer could use them, but the cost was a ninety-percent reduction in internal volume, along with a limited durability lifespan. After passing the sixth sentry post, they finally reached their destination: a compact, ivory-white palace surrounded by violets. Inside the palace lay a passage leading underground. The servants filed down after the Secret Guard. Upon crossing a certain step, as if passing through an invisible barrier, the faces of everyone from Funeral changed drastically—their sorcery spirits cowered, and their void wings reflexively drew inward. This was the exact same crushing aura of supreme status from when the Empress had made her entrance! At this moment, they were utterly certain that the new sovereign was down below! What they hadn't anticipated was that the Empress had already transferred most of her power over—did they truly have any way to assassinate a saint destined to govern Gospel for the next fifty years? The Purple Moth cast a resolute glance over the others. Having come this far, there was no room to retreat! No matter what, this would be Funeral's final mission! Igola looked awful, clearly possessing zero interest in throwing his life away with Annan. Banjie looked calm, having long since resolved himself. Only Harvey's lips curved faintly upward, visibly excited. "Tch." Ahead, the Secret Guard's voice carried a tone of revulsion. "Ugh, hurry up and clean this mess." Annan and the others stepped into the underground hall below the palace. The first thing that met their eyes was a corpse that had died an exceptionally gruesome death: the head had burst open like a melon, sending brain matter and gore splattering across the floor. No wonder the Secret Guard had reacted with such disgust. Yet if their mood had been heavy and anxious moments before, right now it bordered on sheer terror! They could see the headless corpse's void wings dispersing, and the wings fading away were Silver Wings, Golden Wings, Seven-Colored Wings, and... Dark Wings! The Dark Wings were constantly pouring forth darkness, and every piece of matter caught in that gloom was rapidly corroded and assimilated! This had been a Legendary Sorcerer who had condensed his fourth pair—Colorless Wings. His primary school of sorcery was the shadow faction, which was why he had been able to dye his Colorless Wings with his exclusive color! This corpse belonged to a shadow Legendary Sorcerer who had died only moments ago! Even Harvey, who had the greatest fascination with corpses, had no room for curiosity now. Watching a great sorcerer whose strength and realm far surpassed their own smashed across the floor like a melon was an immense shock to any sorcerer. Yet when they raised their heads, an even more shocking sight completely shattered their sanity. There was only a single light source in the center of the underground hall, surrounded by sorcerers sitting cross-legged with their hands pressed together as if in prayer. With just a single glance, Annan recognized quite a few of them: Yiguan, Mondala, Boethia, Yabori... every single one of them was a Legendary Sorcerer who had successfully scaled Ruby Mountain over the past century! Yet they only held Annan's attention for a split second, because the entity at the center of the light source completely seized the gaze of Funeral. There stood a throne, and upon it sat a person. Or rather, that description wasn't entirely accurate, because this 'person' was composed of translucent, flowing radiance. He was the sole light source in the hall, with purple, gold, and silver luminescence coursing across him, shaping his form. Furthermore, he wasn't merely 'one' entity. He looked like two people stitched together—one half was a man clad in a dark red trench coat, while the other was a beautiful woman dressed in imperial court attire. Such a bizarre existence, seated upright upon the throne, actually stirred an impulse to prostrate and worship. What shocked Funeral most of all was that they recognized that male 'half.' Yaxiu Heath. Half of this figure formed of flowing light bore the exact appearance of Yaxiu! Harvey and Igola exchanged a glance, and Igola shook his head slightly. Not only did they recognize the male 'half,' but they also recognized the female 'half.' They couldn't possibly forget her, because back in the Void Realm colosseum, it was she and a female sword sorcerer who had struck them down, causing them to completely miss the chance to slay the Heroic Spirit Commander! Still, facial resemblances were hardly unheard of, and so much time had passed that they couldn't be certain she was the same person anyway. There was no need to speak of it. By now, the servants had already begun cleaning up the gruesome remains on the floor. Annan and the others naturally didn't dare slack off either, hastily getting to work—by this point, every thought of causing trouble had evaporated. "It's almost over, so why couldn't he keep his composure all of a sudden..." The Secret Guard muttered under his breath, then abruptly flipped open his Book of Gospel. "Hm?" Something seemed to have happened outside. The Secret Guard exited the underground hall directly, leaving the servants inside. Once the footsteps faded into silence, Igola gasped for air—he had been so tense he had forgotten to breathe. Although more than a dozen Legendary Sorcerers were still seated around them, Annan and the others had a strong intuition: these Legendary Sorcerers, just like the servants, were empty husks manipulated by Gospel. There was no need to worry about them. Harvey eyed the headless corpse greedily. "This body..." "Don't even think about it," Annan warned in a hushed whisper, staring intently at the radiant figure on the throne. "What on earth is going on here?" "Even you don't know?" Igola could no longer hold back his resentment. "I don't have that big a grudge against you, do I? If you wanted to commit suicide, couldn't you have just asked Harvey for help? Did you really have to drag us into this kind of dangerous mission loaded with endless surprises?" "That is a god." Banjie closed his Book of Gospel. "As for what kind of god, Gospel didn't say." "Why does a god have Yaxiu's face?" Harvey asked in bewilderment. "That's disgusting... Hey, look closely, isn't the part belonging to Yaxiu growing larger and larger?" Everyone focused their gaze and found that it was indeed true. If the luminous figure had been sixty percent Yaxiu and forty percent woman just moments ago, it was now seventy percent Yaxiu and thirty percent woman—and Yaxiu's 'encroachment' was accelerating! Annan's expression turned strange. "No way..." "Are you waiting for me to beg you before you share the intel?" Igola said coldly. Annan replied, "I'm not certain either... I once read about an ancient summoning ritual in my family's archives called 'Armored Sanctification.' The principle was for a sorcerer to imitate the behavior, demeanor, and appearance of a god, thereby summoning the god onto oneself or even thoroughly assimilating with the god, achieving the miraculous feat of wielding a god with a mortal body." "However, that ritual fell into obscurity long ago. After all, gods no longer exist in reality." "And what does that have to do with a god growing Yaxiu's fa—" Igola cut himself off mid-sentence. Realization seemed to strike him, and he froze entirely. "A mortal imitates a god in order to fuse with that god," Annan murmured. "So what happens when a god imitates a mortal?" Even as they spoke, the 'Yaxiu' within the flowing light finished claiming the remaining ground, reaching one hundred percent completion! At that exact instant, everyone's Book of Gospel popped open automatically. * * * *Creak.* The doorframe groaned with an aged, deliberate creak as Yaxiu and Lisi stepped into the princess's room to find the lights on. A soft bed was dressed in pristine white sheets, cherry-pink bookshelves held beautifully bound fairy-tale picture books, the carpet was plush and tidy, and a teacup decorated with a bear pattern sat upside down on the coffee table. Everything about the room proclaimed that a young girl lived here. Yet an extremely jarring piece of furniture stood inside—not only did Lisi and her sisters find it out of place, but Yaxiu thought so as well. Right in the center of the room stood an exquisite, ornate full-length mirror, positioned directly facing the door. When Yaxiu and Lisi walked in, their own reflections appeared in the glass. Just as they stood there in stunned bewilderment, their Books of Gospel suddenly flipped open on their own. *It's over. Everything is too late,* they thought. Yet far from feeling crestfallen, Lisi felt a great weight lift from her chest. Her body felt light, and her mood actually improved significantly. Since they were too late, there was no longer any need to cling to Nina; they had done their best. For the rest of their lives, they would live for themselves and for Yaxiu. Yet that bright mood full of hope for the future lasted only a split second before vanishing. [Gospel Board Rank 10: Art Champion.] [Gospel Board Rank 9: Shadow of the Clan.] [Gospel Board Rank 8: Origin of Wiles.] [Gospel Board Rank 7: The Other Shore of Happiness.] [Gospel Board Rank 6: Bane of Evil Arts.] [Gospel Board Rank 5: Nightmare of Assassination.] [Gospel Board Rank 4: Ruthless...] The Gospel Board updated rapidly, and Yaxiu's heart plummeted just as fast. By the time the Gospel Board reached the final page, Yaxiu had lost all strength to turn it. *Bang!* At that very moment, fifty fireworks blossomed in the skies above Nabistin. A fierce resonance tore across spatial distances, and brilliant purple spiderweb fireworks covered the night sky of all Gospel in an instant, blanketing the entire realm beneath the rule of the Spiderweb. [Gospel Board Rank 1: Yayin.]