Chapter 515

Chapter 515: Chapter 512: "Its Authority is Prophecy.The Lighthouse Church expanded rapidly.

Initially, Su Ming’an and others personally had to demonstrate their ability to eliminate curses in the first few settlements, but once word spread, it was like a chain reaction.

With "Believe in Lord Bai Shen, Praise the Lighthouse" as their slogan, many tribespeople put aside everything they were doing and dedicated themselves to spreading the light of the Lighthouse Church.

So far, there hadn’t been any player interference since the church’s reach was still quite limited, and many people were still unaware of its existence.

At dusk, after entrusting everything to Xiber and Yamada Machiichi, Su Ming’an headed for the cave in the east.

Since he played the part of Bai Shen more convincingly than the creature in the cave, no one was sending offerings to the latter anymore.

Carrying his longsword, he proceeded deeper inside.

"Drip-drop."

The crisp sound of water echoed in the cave, which had a damp, musty odor.

This cave was deep and had no side passages. It wasn’t until Su Ming’an had gone quite far that he realized it was empty.

...Had that person not returned yet?

The tribespeople had told Su Ming’an that the imposter Bai Shen was not afraid of curses and could move freely whether by day or night. If the person was timing their visits to collect the offerings, that could explain it.

Just as he was considering whether to retreat and wait for a while, he perceived a faint sound of rushing air.

...They’re back!

He immediately swung his hand behind him, and a powerful surge exploded behind him—

His wristwatch lit up, and he quickly turned around to see an enormous, looming black shadow. The Curse Black Beast was massive, bringing with it a hot blast of compressed air.

In the intense vibration of space, the shape of the Black Beast stiffened for a moment.

A green bar appeared above the beast’s head, reading .

The creature’s total health was an astonishing 5000 points, and it was rapidly regenerating.

...Was this the Curse Black Beast controlled by that person?

He took a step back, turned his longsword around, with the tip pointing upward, and activated the Amber Knife’s active skill.

"Boom—!"

A fierce wave of energy surged, the recoil numbing his hands.

He was surprised by the strength of this Curse Black Beast.

In Qiongdi, cursed creatures were usually small animals affected by curses, and once touched by them, the curse would immediately erupt.

They were generally not very powerful, equating to the strength of a rat or a stray cat. With cautious defense, one could avoid contact.

But this Curse Black Beast was incredibly powerful.

If it wasn’t for him, and just any top-ranked player were to encounter it, they would be in grave danger. After all, a single hit from the beast would infect them with a curse, and without spatial skills for ranged control, it would be impossible to restrain the beast’s incredibly fast attacks.

A red circle flashed in his vision, a Weakness Insight prompt indicating a vulnerability.

"Swoosh—"

The Judgment Strike determined the Black Beast’s movements, and he switched to the Blade of Freedom, approaching the right side of the Black Beast’s body and precisely chopping onto the indicated weakness. The golden fluid blade penetrated like cutting through tofu, and he heard a muffled grunt within the Black Beast.

He reached out and grabbed a shadow amidst the flesh and blood of the Black Beast, forcibly pulling the person inside out.

Muscles and bones shattered, blood smeared everywhere; he broke the internal organs of the Black Beast and tore out a figure drenched in blood.

"Cough, cough cough..." The person coughed up blood non-stop after being pulled out, as if they were a drowning person who had just breathed fresh air and was desperately clinging on for dear life.

"Were you the one impersonating Bai Shen in the cave?" Su Ming’an completely pulled the person out, dragging a large piece of the Black Beast’s flesh and filthy blood with them. The movements of the Black Beast had stopped, as if it had lost its control core and became completely immobile.

He delivered another strike, depleting all the HP of the Black Beast, earning 2000 experience points, and then looked towards the bloodied man lying on the ground.

The other party did not respond, but simply continued to cough on the ground as if he still hadn’t fully regained consciousness.

Su Ming’an reached out to wipe the blood from the man’s face, knowing that this person was most likely not a Player. In this World Replica, each Player would have their names floating above their heads, but this man had no name above his.

To temporarily remove the name above one’s head, one must have a prop that can completely disguise as an NPC, like his "Wang Han’s Human Skin Mask." Wearing this mask, the name above his head would disappear. Noel likely had similar props too; while posing as the Sacrificial Saintess, there was no name above Noel’s head.

He wiped the blood off the man’s face and saw his features clearly.

Western-like deep-set features, scattered red hair, and pupils the color of flames...

...This was the Guide ranked twelfth, "Fire Controller" Hettos, who was bonded by contract to Eni.

... But Eni was dead, and Hettos should have lost his sanity due to the death of the adventurer.

Su Ming’an did not expect to see him inside the Curse Black Beast.

Hettos lay on the ground, motionless, still with unfocused eyes, his sanity had not yet recovered. He couldn’t possibly be the one impersonating Bai Shen in the cave.

"Hettos." Su Ming’an extended a hand, placing it on the bloody hand of the other man: "I am signing a Guide contract with you."

He needed to know the information from Hettos’s mouth, and restoring his sanity was the best method. As for explaining it to Xiber, that could be dealt with later.

A faint light flickered, and Hettos’s eyes gradually regained their focus.

"You..." He looked at Su Ming’an, his pupils contracting: "Right, right. My adventurer died while carving the altar. Where is this... "

"I pulled you out from that Black Beast." Su Ming’an pointed to the Curse Black Beast that was now dead behind them: "Do you have any recollection of this thing during the time you lost your sanity?"

Hettos’s eyes were still somewhat vacant. After tapping his head, he remembered something:

"That’s right, I have a scrap of memory in my head... I remember..."

He staggered up from the ground and ran towards the interior of the cave.

He burned away the soil below, revealing an underground chamber.

Su Ming’an was somewhat surprised; Clue Insight had not indicated anything, and he had thought there was nothing below.

"When I lost my sanity, I was captured and brought here..." Hettos said: "That man in the black robe... he deliberately captured those wandering guides who had lost their sanity in the venue, and used them as an energy source to create the Curse Black Beasts..."

He entered the underground chamber, with Su Ming’an following behind.

As expected, there were more than a dozen Guides lying inside the chamber, their eyes vacant, motionless, and stiff like puppets.

Since the competition was already halfway through, dozens of Guides had lost their sanity due to the deaths of their adventurers and many had been captured and brought here.

Su Ming’an frowned slightly: "That person, do you remember what he looked like?"

"I was very confused during the period when I lost my divine wisdom," Hettos said. "All I remember... is that he was shrouded in a black robe, heavily imbued with the aura of curse..."

Looking at the dozens of Contractors in the basement who had lost their divine wisdom, Su Ming’an wondered if he could pick up a bargain. If there was a Guide suitable for his abilities among them, he could make a temporary contract and snatch a skill.

So far, he had only accepted the teaching of Kael Nashe’s space skills and could accept two more in this competition. Aside from Xiber’s Prophecy Authority, which he must acquire, he could choose one more.

"Could you introduce these Guides to me?" Su Ming’an asked.

Although Hettos was arrogant, he behaved quite peaceably towards his lifesaver and nodded.

"Fine, I will introduce them based on their rankings, from the highest to the lowest," Hettos said, pointing at them: "This is Mosang, the Saint Protector ranked seventh, wielding a defense power as solid as rock. This one is Marsa, the Duelist ranked fourteenth, who maintains exceptional combat power in one-on-one duels. And then this one, this is Rock, the Bomber ranked thirtieth..."

While Hettos was introducing them, Su Ming’an faintly heard a series of slight tremors from above, as if something was approaching from afar, with steps so light they were almost inaudible.

"...This one is ranked seventy-eight..."

"This one is eighty-sixth..."

Hettos’s voice continued, and the footsteps above were very faint. Su Ming’an looked up, sensing a dangerous aura slowly spreading from above.

"Wait, Hettos," Su Ming’an said.

"Then there’s the last one, ranked ninety-nine..." Hettos was still pointing at a Guide in the corner, introducing him.

"...The one who turned you all into Curse Black Beasts seems to have returned," Su Ming’an said.

Hettos’s voice stopped abruptly, his face turned slightly pale.

"Thump."

And at that moment, the footsteps above ceased suddenly.

The darkness faded away like ink, revealing a shadow standing above.

Clad entirely in a black robe, the person was slim and tall. A faint aura of curse flowed over him, and behind him, there were numerous giant shadows that almost covered the entire basement.

If he could capture so many Guides who had lost their divine wisdom, this person’s Curse Black Beasts must be more than one.

By now, they had completely surrounded this basement.

"Are you a Player or a member of the Tribe?" Su Ming’an looked up, only seeing the person’s face hidden in the darkness. This person didn’t have a name above his head, most likely an NPC.

The person didn’t reply but instead reached out a hand.

It was a pale hand with distinct joints, belonging to a male.

He stroked the fur of a nearby Curse Black Beast, as if petting a tame and docile animal. The highly dangerous curse sludge flowed down from the Black Beast, touching his arms but failing to penetrate even a bit.

No one could resist the curse from a cursed creature’s body; just touching it posed a risk of a curse outbreak.

To be able to contact it so closely and even alter the Guides’ physiques... This was beyond the realm of humans.

Hettos’s somewhat chaotic thoughts had only just cleared up momentarily when he suddenly realized— the being that could command Curse Black Beasts... it couldn’t be that simple. Even the strongest Guides couldn’t control such dangerous creatures freely.

So, who exactly was the person in the black robe...?

In Su Ming’an’s gaze, the person in the black robe pulled back his hand.

Darkness clustered by his side, as if guarding a king.

"...Adventurer, you’ve been traveling with my believers up to now, and you still don’t know who I am?" the person in the black robe said hoarsely.

As soon as he said this, Su Ming’an’s normally calm live stream room instantly exploded.

Upon hearing this, Hettos stepped back in fright.

He suddenly remembered, only the source of disaster and curse—Jiu Shen Aria—could have the power to create and purify a curse.

So...

"—Evil God!" his face flushed with color: "—It’s you who have awoken! I knew it, only an evil being like you could do something like turning us into disgusting cursed creatures! You—"

"Bang!"

Su Ming’an slightly startled.

Hettos’s blood stained his side.

He turned his head to see that Hettos, who had just been cursing, had now turned into a puddle of pitch-black sludge.

Guide ranked twelfth, Hettos, didn’t last even a second before dying unexpectedly from his body bursting.

It was almost as if... someone had instantly triggered the hidden curse within him.

Su Ming’an averted his gaze, yet his eyes remained calm.

"Alright, stop pretending," he said, "Even if you use a method that can kill someone instantly, I won’t believe you. Jiu Shen couldn’t possibly awaken now; there’s not enough energy."

He knew this black-robed person was definitely trying to scare him; it couldn’t be Jiu Shen.

Jiu Shen’s energy incarnation—the tentacle monster was now within Xiber, and he had already absorbed the "energy" aspect; Jiu Shen couldn’t possibly awaken at this time.

This black-robed person was likely just someone who got their hands on some tricks for deceiving others and wanted to play god like him.

The other party chuckled.

"Good," he said. "I knew I couldn’t fool you. How about this, you keep pretending to be Bai Shen, and I’ll keep creating my Black Beasts. We can see... who will take control of Qiongdi a step faster."

Su Ming’an drew his knife.

"No need," he said, "Let’s settle it here."

He was not someone who insisted on making life-or-death bets with others. If he spotted a threat, he would face it head-on and cut it off immediately.

Facing his blade, the person in the black robe looked towards a Guide in the corner of the basement.

"Just now, Hettos didn’t get the chance to introduce that Guide," the black-robed person pointed at the Guide in the corner: "Aren’t you curious what Authority the ninety-ninth-ranked Guide possesses?"

"Not curious," Su Ming’an approached him.

"The Authorities of the Guides are unique; they cannot overlap, as they all hold a unique Authority," the black-robed person continued: "So, if there’s an overlap, it means someone is lying."

Su Ming’an raised his knife, the blade gleaming with a cold light.

Now, whatever the person in the black robe said couldn’t distract him.

"...The ninety-ninth Guide, Ximaye," the black-robed person looked at him, voice still calm:

"—His Authority is, ’Prophecy.’"