The finger, slick with brain matter, slowly withdrew from Bobbi’s brow, and Gu Xichen smiled faintly at the grim-faced general of the Wolf Clan.

“Killing my kin. How does it feel to kill my brothers?”

The Golden Wolf General roared, “Are you going to oppose our mighty Seven Great Clans?”

With a clap, Gu Xichen crushed Bobbi’s skull, casually tossing a stream of Taiyin Xuan Yan to annihilate his soul, letting Bobbi’s broken corpse plummet toward the ground. Gu Xichen said serenely, “So what if I oppose you? I swore an oath. I will wipe out you Wolf Clan descendants. Not only the Wolf Clan descendants, but all the followers of the Dark Gods of the Pantheon Alliance—I will kill them one by one.”

The Silver Wolf General sneered, “On your own? With the little strength you possess now?”

After a moment of thought, Gu Xichen nodded. “The strength I have now is insufficient. You once boasted to Bobbi about the power of your Seven Great Clans. Hmm, but I have time.”

No longer wishing to waste words with seven wolf-men, Gu Xichen moved his mind, and the Golden Armored Puppets surged forward. Heavy warhammers whistled down with torrents of thunder and fire, smashing the seven wolf-man generals until their bones cracked and tendons snapped, reducing them to a tangle in the sky. Gu Xichen swept his wide sleeve, storing the seven figures within it, and then sped towards the Pantheon Federation with his thirty-six Golden Armored Puppets at maximum velocity.

Several warships streaked across the sky, thousands of sword lights and divine glows slicing through the heavens.

The various sects of the Dao Alliance, who had relocated to Heaven Star, arrived as reinforcements, but they were still slightly later than Gu Xichen. It took time for the warships to reach the Ten-Star Domain from the Heaven Star Domain—they required acceleration and deceleration—which wasted a considerable amount of time. Gu Xichen, however, came directly through the spatial barrier, riding the True Magnetic Liangyi Separating Light Sword; his speed far outpaced that of the warships.

Several white-bearded old Daoists flashed to the site of Banruo and Mo He’s self-detonation. Sensing the wildly fluctuating spiritual energy in the air, their expressions immediately shifted in horror. The self-detonation of a mid-stage Void Realm expert left behind residual fluctuations potent enough to cause cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage to suffer Qi Deviation and madness upon contact. The old Daoists hastily stopped the Dao Alliance disciples whose strength was insufficient from approaching the area. One old Daoist shouted sternly, “Quickly notify all the Patriarchs. Tell them to return here immediately to hold the fort.”

Riding the True Magnetic Liangyi Separating Light Sword, Gu Xichen and the Golden Armored Puppets phased into the spatial barrier. Following the primordial spirit restrictions he had left within Blackjack, Gu Xichen leaped directly out of the Pantheon Alliance headquarters, appearing precisely in the grand assembly hall. Here, nearly a hundred leaders of the various temples were slamming the tables and shouting accusations at one another in a frenzy.

With a cold laugh, Gu Xichen shook his sleeve and flung out the seven wolf-man generals. The Golden Armored Puppets roared and charged outwards. Their massive bodies brutally clashed back and forth within the venue, their huge feet stomping down, trampling more than half of the Pantheon Alliance executives present to death or injury. Following that, their gigantic warhammers smashed down, reducing the remaining small fraction of leaders to pulp.

In the vast hall, only Blackjack remained, his face pale with terror. Only after the Golden Armored Puppets finally ceased their actions did Blackjack shriek, “Heavens, my great Boss! It’s you? Terrifying, truly terrifying, you—you killed them all?”

Blackjack lunged forward with all his might, smoothly reaching Gu Xichen’s front, tightly clutching his thigh, and rambling through the sequence of events.

These wolf-man warriors had arrived twelve hours earlier through some massive magic array. Bobbi apparently had long-standing ties with them and shifted all the blame for Ganggru’s death onto the Earth Federation. The cruel and violent wolf-man warriors rested briefly, consumed vast amounts of alcohol and meat, and then launched a full-scale assault on the Earth Federation. Bobbi hardened his heart and mobilized the elites of all the major temples within the Pantheon Alliance to join the offensive.

Blackjack’s own strength was insufficient. The Pantheon Alliance headquarters was covered by a magic array laid down by the wolf-man generals, preventing any signal from penetrating or escaping. They could not break through the array to send word to Gu Xichen. Anxious and desperate, Blackjack could only maintain a cheerful facade while arguing with the leaders of the various Pantheon temples here, squabbling over the division of future spoils.

Understanding the entire sequence of events, Gu Xichen patted Blackjack’s shoulder, signaling that he did not blame him.

Seven peak-stage Void Realm wolf-man generals—even a grandmaster of the Dao Alliance would be overwhelmed by them, let alone Blackjack?

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Xichen commanded Blackjack to seal the assembly hall and bar anyone from entering. Then, Gu Xichen took out a large quantity of innate materials and busied himself. The Taiyin Xuan Yan erupted fiercely, rapidly melting the innate materials, which possessed dark and evil attributes, into a thick juice, ultimately forming a human-head-sized, bluish-black, semi-molten colloidal substance.

Three Golden Armored Puppets strode forward, surrounding the gelatinous mass emitting sinister evil energy in a three-point formation. They methodically condensed the Golden Crow Heavenly Fire energy within their bodies and cast spiritual techniques, striking ancient and profound rune seals into the substance. As the final creations of the Great Uncouth Hermit before his death, these Golden Armored Puppets served not only as protectors and guardians but also as excellent assistants in artifact refinement. They were capable of executing virtually all the artifact refinement techniques the Great Uncouth Hermit knew, functioning as perfectly as robotic arms on an assembly line.

Although these Golden Armored Puppets lacked a certain spiritual flair during artifact refinement, the seals they cast were absolutely standard and precise, without the slightest flaw.

After observing the actions of the Golden Armored Puppets for a while, Gu Xichen confidently handed over the subsequent work on this mass of innate materials to them. He then snatched up the Golden Wolf General and, under the horrified gaze of Blackjack guarding the main door, tore open the general’s chest, extracting his heart and digging out the core—the heart-core that held the Golden Wolf General’s entire energy.

Next were the Silver Wolf General’s meridians and bones. Gu Xichen expertly dissected the Golden Wolf General, breaking him down into a pile of materials exuding potent energy.

Then came the Silver Wolf General and the Moon Wolf General. Amidst the desperate wails of the seven wolf-man generals, Gu Xichen, with a faint smile and an unchanged expression, flayed and dismembered them into raw materials.

Smiling at the completely unnerved Blackjack, Gu Xichen chuckled and said, “A cultivator must first be ruthless. Many rules and bottom lines from the marketplace are actually burdens to those who pursue the Dao. You pity these seven, but have you considered the tens of millions of Earth Federation soldiers they killed?”

Methodically, Gu Xichen assembled the bones of the seven wolf-man generals into the skeleton of a massive, monstrous bone-wolf. He then piled the fur, muscle, and viscera on top. The seven hearts and seven heart-cores, radiating powerful energy fluctuations, were placed at the core of the pile. “These beasts, according to the common understanding in the cultivation world, are not even human, but fiends. Thus, killing them counts as slaying demons and eradicating evil. Heaven itself will reward me for this righteous deed!”

Just as he finished disposing of the pile of flesh and bones, the three Golden Armored Puppets nearby simultaneously ceased their hand seals. The bluish-black colloidal substance had become misty and crisp, like a cloud of fog, with countless specks of golden light flickering within, entirely binding the Yin and evil energy inside. The divine light was contained, held within but not revealed—this mass of fog was beginning to take the form of a top-grade magical artifact.

After a moment of thought, Gu Xichen sliced open his wrist pulse, forcing out a stream of vital essence blood which he shot onto the massive skeleton pile. Immediately, vital energy surged, and the dead, lifeless skeleton gained a degree of vibrant vitality from nowhere. His colossal divine sense spread over the mass of fog. Gu Xichen silently communicated with the spiritual techniques within the mist, instantly gaining control of the fog. He formed an ancient Taiyin divine seal with both hands, silently recited the Taiyin Divine Incantation, and slowly twisted his hands, driving a beam of Taiyin divine light into the fog.

With a few muffled sounds, cold air continuously poured out of the fog, transforming in the blink of an eye into thousands of extremely fine, snake-like wisps of mist that coiled toward the bone pile below.

The flesh, bones, and other remains of the seven wolf-man generals melted upon contact with these wisps of mist, dissolving into seven-colored spiritual light that merged into the fog. Seven-colored light flashed continuously in the void, and shrill cries of ghosts and howls of wolves constantly emanated from the fog, wherein the faces of the seven wolf-man generals could vaguely be seen flickering in and out of existence. Their contorted faces displayed that they were enduring boundless suffering and torment. When they opened their mouths to shout, the ghost cries and wolf howls in the mist only grew more piercing.

“Exquisite!” Gu Xichen sneered. He waved his left hand lightly over the high-ranking executives of the Pantheon Alliance lying on the ground, and nearly a hundred souls shot into the air and submerged into the seven-colored mist. The souls and vital blood of these temple leaders, whose strength ranged from Nascent Soul to the Spirit Transformation stage, merged into the seven-colored mist, becoming nourishment for the seven wolf-man generals within, making them appear increasingly ferocious. They thrashed wildly, roaring as they attempted to burst out of the mist to fight Gu Xichen to the death.

“If they couldn't best me alive, do they think they can cause trouble after death?”

With a mocking laugh, Gu Xichen tapped his finger, effortlessly erasing the true spirits of the wolf-man generals, leaving behind only their brutal, bloodthirsty, and insane instincts. The seven true spirits were swept into the Waterfall Sleeve, and streaks of Cai Water Yin Thunder activated, blasting these true spirits into powder.

His fingers moved continuously, shooting streams of spiritual light into the seven-colored mist. Gradually, the seven-colored mist began to spin wildly, stirring up a tornado in the vast assembly hall. In the eye of the storm, the faint outline of a thick, purplish-black staff could be vaguely discerned. This staff was as thick as a sea bowl and thirteen feet long, covered densely with distorted faces of gods and demons of various kinds. The head of the staff was crowned with seven massive wolf heads howling towards the sky. Seven-colored light faintly flickered in the fourteen pupils of the giant wolves, shooting out dazzling rays of light, chilling the air.

Grabbing the observing Blackjack, Gu Xichen shoved him into the seven-colored mist.

Blackjack had barely managed to let out a scream before the massive staff pierced his body from the crown of his head, vanishing without a trace.

Enormous energy surged wildly within Blackjack’s body, his physical tissues instantly disintegrating. The staff released hundreds of millions of strands of black divine light, each strand adhering to one of Blackjack’s somatic cells. This barely maintained the integrity of his body. Energy flooded into his cells, gradually destroying them while simultaneously stimulating their regeneration. In the process of destruction and rebirth, Blackjack’s physical strength advanced at an astonishing rate.

All the vital essence and blood from the seven wolf-man generals merged into Blackjack’s body. He effectively possessed the bloodlines of the seven great wolf clans simultaneously, and these were extremely powerful and pure bloodlines. The potent vital essence continuously nourished his body, causing his physical strength to soar even higher.

Gu Xichen retrieved the True Magnetic Liangyi Separating Light Sword. He gripped the hilt, which was as faint as a wisp of blue smoke, and walked around Blackjack, circulating his Qi and forming a protective aura. He trod out profound steps on the floor, gradually drawing in the immense power that had existed in the void since ancient times but was utterly imperceptible to ordinary people.

He recited an incantation, the beginning of every line bearing the honorific title, “North Dipper First Star Lord, Heavenly Wolf.” As Gu Xichen chanted, streams of blue-white starlight gradually coalesced at his sword tip.

When the incantation was finished, Gu Xichen, having completed the Seven Star Steps, returned to his original position. He pointed the True Magnetic Liangyi Separating Light Sword at Blackjack, and instantly a thread of extremely fine blue-white starlight shot down from the void, landing precisely on the brow of the howling Blackjack.

The Big Dipper Seven Star Diagram flashed behind Blackjack, with the position of the First Star, Greedy Wolf, shining exceptionally bright and dazzling. An aura of killing and profound coldness surged into Blackjack’s body, forcefully merging his physical form with the magical staff. With a sharp cracking sound, the staff inside Blackjack suddenly disintegrated into streams of purplish-black spiritual energy, perfectly merging with Blackjack. Streams of frantic, savage, insidious, and treacherous negative energy erupted from Blackjack’s body. Brilliant light shot from his two eyes, chilling anyone who looked upon him.

In Gu Xichen’s Sea of Consciousness, among the countless golden stars rapidly circling the giant Taiji vortex, a bright spot several times larger than the other golden stars suddenly stirred. It seemed to want to leap out of the vortex’s pull, yet it appeared unable to escape the suction due to insufficient energy. It fiercely shook its body in slight annoyance.

A profound secret technique surged out of that golden star at that very moment. After being absorbed by the Haotian Pagoda, it transformed into a stream of divine sense that merged into Gu Xichen’s Soul Pearl.

The North Dipper First Star Lord, Greedy Wolf Killing Art! This was the cultivation method transmitted to Gu Xichen by that golden star; it was the inherent life-bound technique cultivated by the ancient Star Lord Greedy Wolf.

Gu Xichen smiled with satisfaction. He tapped Blackjack’s brow with one finger, inputting this unfathomably profound technique into his soul. Having merged with Gu Xichen’s Taiyin Blood, possessing the pure bloodline of the seven great wolf clans, and further tempered by the starlight of the Greedy Wolf Star, Blackjack now possessed the qualification to cultivate this technique. Naturally, Blackjack could not cultivate to the true level of the Greedy Wolf Star Lord using this method. But as long as he persisted, becoming a top-tier Da Luo Immortal was not out of reach.

Not only that, but Gu Xichen had also used a secret technique to plunder the entire essence, spirit, and energy of the seven wolf-man generals and inject them into Blackjack. This granted Blackjack a power no weaker than a nascent-stage Void Realm expert. Aided by the Seven Wolves Spirit Slaughtering Technique refined by the ancient Xie Xiao using the Great Desolation Sutra's secret methods, his actual combat power would probably not be inferior to any of the wolf-man generals.

It was only because Gu Xichen possessed the assistance of the Celestial Immortal-grade Golden Armored Puppets that he could achieve such a heaven-defying feat. Even so, the drop of Taiyin Blood he lost would require a long time for him to gradually recover. In the short term, he could not use his vital essence blood to help others again.

Furthermore, he no longer possessed materials as potent as the wolf-man generals; even if he wanted to create another subordinate like this, he lacked the means.

Blackjack, holding the menacing, bizarre, and fiercely murderous Seven Wolves Spirit Slaughtering Staff, knelt before Gu Xichen, tears of emotion welling up.

“Boss, my Master, Blackjack will never betray you in this life! I swear by my soul, if I ever entertain the slightest thought of betraying you, my soul will be instantly annihilated!”

Biting his fingertip, Blackjack drew a strange talisman on his brow, swearing an oath of loyalty to Gu Xichen with his soul.

Gu Xichen did not highly value this oath; Blackjack’s soul was entirely within his grasp, so he did not care if he betrayed him. However, he was pleased by Blackjack’s absolute loyalty. Between voluntary allegiance and forced obedience, Gu Xichen naturally knew which allegiance was superior.

Patting Blackjack’s shoulder, Gu Xichen selected a batch of immortal artifacts from the secret treasury of the Tian Gong Palace, whose energy attributes leaned towards darkness and evil auras, and gifted them to Blackjack. From this day forward, Blackjack would be the sole Grand Archbishop of the Pantheon Alliance, the supreme leader of the Earth Federation, and the supreme master of the Federation’s ten billion citizens.

Gu Xichen only required Blackjack to ensure that when he needed it, these ten billion followers of the Dark Gods would fight for him like rabid dogs.

Blackjack kowtowed heavily, swearing to Gu Xichen that he absolutely could achieve this. With such immense power, coupled with Gu Xichen having eliminated all the Pantheon Alliance’s high command, if Blackjack could not even manage this small task, he might as well not live.

After discussing the subsequent plans for a while, Gu Xichen, led by Blackjack, arrived at the hall where Bobbi had recently performed his blood sacrifice ritual.

The place was strewn with corpses, and blood churned within the massive magic array. The huge silver wolf statue was already shrouded in thick blood-light, and the entire array was emitting dazzling blood-red illumination. The wolf-man warriors used this array as a guide to cross the boundless void of the sub-space, accurately tearing open the void to arrive in this world. This magic array was equivalent to a spatial positioning lighthouse, or perhaps a great door. With it, the wolf army could be deployed here at any time.

Recalling the intelligence he had gleaned from the memories of Bobbi and the seven wolf-man generals, Gu Xichen frowned deeply.

Any single one of the seven great wolf clans possessed the strength to easily annihilate the Dao Alliance. The combined strength of the current seven great wolf clans was no less than the Angel Race during its peak, perhaps even surpassing it. After all, the Angel Race had suffered a fatal blow from the all-out efforts of the ancient cultivators, and they had endured internal strife caused by the Dark Angel husband, Mnemone, leading to their near extinction. In contrast, the foundation of the seven great wolf clans remained undamaged from the great war of that era, and their lineage suffered no harm. After so many years of recuperation and recuperation, their strength had swollen to a terrifying degree.

Now was not the best time to settle scores with the wolf-men. They could not engage in any actual contact yet; otherwise, the Earthlings would certainly suffer the loss.

Especially their Son of God, who was about to break out of the stars—Gu Xichen was perfectly clear about his origins. He was a life form as formidable as the True God of the Sun! Unless Gu Xichen could refine the physical body of the True God of the Sun into his own clone, all the combined strength of all humanity could not withstand a mere casual slap from that Son of God.

“There’s no other way, I can only take it one step at a time.” The thirty-six Golden Armored Puppets surged forward and dismantled this magic array piece by piece.

With the memories of Bobbi, Gu Xichen now had a thorough understanding of the principles of this magic array. Coupled with the memories of the seven wolf-man generals, Gu Xichen was crystal clear about everything in the wolf-men’s world. Once he accumulated sufficient strength, Gu Xichen could effortlessly reach the wolf-men’s world.

By destroying this magic array, it would be almost impossible for the wolf-men to accurately arrive in this star system.

Their only path to this location was the spatial rift through which Ganggru and others were exiled long ago. However, Gu Xichen learned from the memories of the wolf-man generals that to open that spatial rift for their private matters, it would be almost impossible for the Wolf Clan to manage, given the presence of the Supreme Temple of the Dark Creatures deep within.

What reassured Gu Xichen most was that the Supreme Temple of the Dark Creatures only appeared once every thousand years, and only for a brief period each time. Normally, that temple was uninhabited, and the Dark Creatures could not even locate where that temple was. Therefore, for the wolf-men to arrive here through that channel would take at least nine hundred and ninety years. By then, Gu Xichen should have amassed sufficient power.

He patted Blackjack’s shoulder, encouraging him to work hard and ensure the entire Pantheon Federation became his most effective sharp blade. Amidst Blackjack’s ceaseless affirmations, Gu Xichen, carrying a deep killing intent toward the Wolf Clan, departed the Pantheon Federation without alerting anyone.

Three hours later, Blackjack convened a high-level meeting of the Pantheon Federation, announcing that many high-ranking members of the various temples, including Bobbi, had perished under the blades of the Romans. He declared that he would inherit Bobbi’s will and take control of the entire Pantheon Federation. He announced the merger of all temples into one entity, establishing a Dark Pope modeled after the Church, with twelve Dark Cardinals, under whom various power structures would be set up to manage all the daily affairs of the Dark Church.

After easily executing several hundred individuals who harbored dissatisfaction, Blackjack ascended the throne of the Dark Pope, treading on blood.

Black Jack’s newest posts were Dark Pope and Chief Financial Officer of the Holy See. When Gu Yechen learned this news, he could only shake his head with a wry smile. Truly, the mountains and rivers change, but the nature of man does not—Black Jack, that fellow. He’s been obsessed with money his whole life.

After leaving the Federation of Gods, Gu Yechen did not return to Heaven Star to rejoin the others. Instead, he led the Golden Armored Puppets straight to the Papal State with murderous intent. Cut the weeds and dig up the roots, grasping all variables firmly in his own hands, absolutely forbidding anything beyond his control from happening again. Since the Federation of Gods was already under his control, then—

As they entered the atmosphere of the Papal State, Gu Yechen tapped his brow and summoned the Four Generals of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning. No verbal communication was needed; the Four Generals transformed into four clean breezes and merged into the clouds, unleashing the full divine power of their offices. Above the Central Cathedral, which had been clear sky moments before, countless dark clouds immediately surged. Layers of pitch-black cloud masses gathered and rubbed against each other, the dull rumble of thunder shaking the very earth. Tens of thousands of lightning bolts roared down toward the ground; the mountain behind the Central Cathedral was shaved down by several hundred meters amidst the thunder.

Fierce winds swept low to the ground from all directions toward the Central Cathedral, the wind force rapidly converging with the Cathedral as its core. In the blink of an eye, a black tornado, nearly a thousand meters thick, stretching from the ground straight up to the clouds, enveloped the Cathedral. Sharp as blades, the screaming Knights of the Holy See rushing toward the Cathedral were swept up by the gale. Streaks of azure wind blades, several meters long and clearly visible to the naked eye, fiercely slashed through these knights, cleaving their bodies in two at the waist.

Gu Yechen’s divine sense quickly spread outward. After the snap of a finger, he located Gu Yuru’s position. He injected a sliver of his divine sense into Gu Yuru’s sea of consciousness and fiercely roared at him: “Want to be the Pope? Bring your men to the Central Cathedral immediately. Once Andre is dead, establish Xuan to inherit the two Holy Artifacts of Light from him, and seize control of the Holy See through brute force.”

Gu Yuru, who had been playing the part of an obedient grandson before Gu Juechen, was first stunned, then inwardly ecstatic. Gu Yuru now possessed a degree of cunning. He bowed and took leave of Gu Juechen without showing any emotion, saying he sensed some unexpected trouble at the Central Cathedral and, as a member of the Holy See, felt obligated to see what had happened. Under Gu Juechen’s concerned admonishments, Gu Yuru hurriedly took a few staunch confidantes and rushed toward the Central Cathedral. Fearing that delay would mean others would reap the rewards, he urged his six golden wings into action and soared into the air.

The wind and thunder raged; the buildings surrounding the Central Cathedral were blasted into wreckage. Nearly a thousand Knights of the Holy See had already died under the lightning and wind blades, but countless more knights and soldiers of the Papal State were rushing in from all directions, shouting the holy name of the Heavenly Lord, fearlessly charging toward the Central Cathedral enveloped by dark clouds, gales, and thunder.

Heavy rain roared down, raindrops the size of fists slamming onto the ground. Although these raindrops were composed of gentle water, they were as hard as alloy and possessed terrifying speed. Within a radius of ten kilometers, tens of thousands of knights and soldiers were smashed until their bones were broken and flesh torn, dying instantly. The rain continued to fall on the gradually stiffening corpses, pounding their bodies into a pulp. The glorious and sacred Cathedral, at this moment, resembled a scene from hell.

Gu Yechen hovered in the dark clouds, overlooking the core stronghold of the Holy See below like a deity controlling everything in the world.

“Breaking through again, let me test my current power.”

With a slight curl of his lips and a sinister smile, Gu Yechen swept his flowing sleeves toward a distant hilltop. The gentle yet profound power of the Water Element shattered that mountain, which was over two thousand meters tall, at the waist. Gu Yechen remotely lifted the mount—nearly a thousand meters high—into the sky. He exhaled a breath of True Essence, formed a hand seal from the Great Desolation Sutra called the Heaven-Shaking Yin Fiend Mountain Summoning Seal, and gently pushed upward toward the sky with his palm. The mountain silently ascended beyond the atmosphere, flying upward for nearly another ten thousand kilometers.

“Andre, this is a small gift! I’m truly curious what kind of commotion those beings behind you will make when you die and Gu Yuru becomes the Pope?”

With a strange chuckle, Gu Yechen pressed his palm lightly. The massive mountain spun and plummeted directly toward the Central Cathedral.

A cubic meter of rock weighs several tons; a mountain thousands of meters high must weigh at least one hundred million tons. Coupled with the acceleration from its descent from high altitude and the force of the Heaven-Shaking Yin Fiend Mountain Summoning Seal that Gu Yechen imbued it with, if this mountain struck the Central Cathedral in earnest, it could reduce everything within a thousand-mile radius to dust.

“It is such a wonderful feeling to possess power. Heh heh heh, I have only broken through to the second level of the Mortal Scroll. What would it feel like if I truly possessed the strength of a Celestial Immortal?” Gu Yechen recalled what Xin Jia had said back then. Xin Jia and the others often lifted massive mountains and dropped them from high altitudes, shaking and killing the populace of a city as a form of heavenly punishment. When he first heard it, it seemed merely miraculous, but now that he was doing it himself, he discovered how marvelous this feeling of being high above and in control of everything truly was.

The feeling between being an entity standing at the apex of power and being a crawling, scheming merchant was absolutely different.

Gu Yechen’s mind surged again; the crimson in his scarlet eyes became increasingly dense, his entire eyeballs turning the blood-red color of rubies, never to fade again.

The mountain violently scraped against the atmosphere, generating a massive rush of wind and a streak of light nearly a hundred kilometers long hurtling toward the ground. Gu Yechen feared the mountain’s power might not be enough. As the mountain passed by him, he fiercely whipped his sleeve, striking the peak. Augmented by the power of the Flowing Waterfall Sleeve, the descent of the mountain became even more terrifying. In the blink of an eye, it shot down from hundreds of kilometers high to hover above the Central Cathedral. The almost tangible wind pressure and shockwave had already crushed the ground around the Cathedral.

Just from the wind pressure and the resulting shockwave, the ground surrounding the Cathedral cracked and subsided. When the mountain was still hundreds of meters above the ground, the surrounding earth had already sunken by over three hundred meters. Thousands of Knights of the Holy See desperately rushing toward the Cathedral were blasted outward by the wind pressure, spitting blood as they retreated.

“The dignity of God cannot be violated; all wickedness shall vanish before Him!”

A faint voice, light as a spring breeze, drifted from within the Central Cathedral. Andre, enveloped in white holy light, slowly walked out of the Cathedral, slowly raising his head to gaze at the mountain descending from the sky. The speed of the mountain's descent was so fast, and Andre’s speed of emergence so slow, yet by the time Andre reached just outside the Cathedral doors, standing on the plaza, the mountain was still hundreds of meters above the ground, as if time itself had suddenly frozen.

As soon as Andre finished speaking, the gigantic mountain turned into dust and scattered.

The Heaven-Shaking Yin Fiend Mountain Summoning Seal that Gu Yechen had imbued into the mountain was shattered. The backlash struck, but it was easily neutralized by the energy of the Grand Yin. For any other Daoist cultivator, having their spell broken would result in at least vomiting blood and suffering internal injury. But for Gu Yechen, possessing the Innate Body and cultivating the utmost Yin and softest Grand Yin True Scripture, this collision was like a small stone thrown into a deep pool—it caused ripples, but it could not injure Gu Yechen’s true body.

“I am here. Come up!” Gu Yechen sent a divine sense toward Andre.

Andre ignored Gu Yechen’s challenge. He merely looked at the devastated and dead Knights of the Holy See with eyes full of pity and compassion.

A white light broke through the thick clouds and shone upon Andre. He called out slowly, “Under the Lord’s glory, we disregard death!”

A brilliant light surged from Andre’s hands. The corpses that had been pounded into pulp by the raindrops rolled, and in an instant, they reformed into complete bodies. Andre shouted the holy name of the Heavenly Lord; the powerful Light flooded heaven and earth. The dark clouds in the sky faintly showed signs of collapse, and the Four Generals of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning controlling them simultaneously spewed blood from their seven orifices.

Gu Yechen’s divine sense followed the light projected by Andre, probing into a strange space in the void. There, the souls of tens of thousands of people were hovering tentatively. But in the blink of an eye, these souls were drawn in by the power of light. All souls simultaneously rejoiced; they easily escaped the suction of that space, effortlessly detaching themselves and returning to the atmosphere. Andre’s power guided these souls back into their reconstituted flesh. A powerful life force descended from the sky, pouring into these bodies.

The tens of thousands of slain Knights of the Holy See and soldiers of the Papal State were resurrected. The first thing these people did upon returning to life was kneel down and piously extol the might of the Heavenly Lord.

A massive spiritual force, the so-called power of Faith, surged into Andre’s body. The Light within Andre instantly expanded several hundred times. In the blink of an eye, all the power of Faith was purified and condensed through Andre’s body; some insufficiently pure power remained within Andre, becoming part of his strength. The other 99.9% of the vast power of Faith passed through the crimson jewel hidden in Andre’s eyes and shot out of the atmosphere at near-instantaneous speed, immediately pouring into the sun of the Thirteen Connected Star Field.

Gu Yechen’s divine consciousness attached itself to this stream of Faith, tracking it as it flowed into the sun.

At the core of the massive star, an angel with twelve wings lay asleep. The power of Faith flowed into the angel’s body. The twelve-winged angel’s eyes opened slightly, and a smile of approval appeared on his calm, water-like face. This twelve-winged angel intercepted approximately one-third of the Faith sent by Andre. All the other power passed through the angel's body, transforming into an energy pattern incomprehensible to Gu Yechen, traversing the void to another location in the void.

A subtle thread of divine sense shot out along the direction from which the Faith came, instantly merging into Andre’s body.

Gu Yechen was astonished to discover that this tiny bit of divine sense increased Andre’s soul strength by about thirty percent, and his soul became more condensed, showing signs of cultivating the Nascent Soul of a Daoist cultivator. The light emanating from Andre’s eyes became increasingly sharp, truly like a pair of sharp swords.

“Sinner, I have arrived!” Having performed such a powerful forbidden spell of resurrection, not only had Andre’s energy aura not weakened, it had multiplied several times over, especially his soul, which had greatly benefited. His aura had expanded to an entirely new height. Six graceful white wings sprouted from Andre’s back. He flapped his wings and soared into the high sky.

The dark clouds churned and surged toward them, obscuring the sight of everyone on the ground.

Gu Yechen flashed to a position in front of Andre and smiled as he performed a kowtow gesture towards him.

Up until now, even when facing seniors of the Dao Alliance like the Corpse Emperor, Gu Yechen would either bow or kneel—he seldom performed a koutou (kowtow). When facing opponents like Andre, he was more inclined toward handshakes, hugs, or cheek-to-cheek greetings. He had never kowtowed to any of them.

The koutou, a traditional etiquette of Daoism, appearing on Gu Yechen, symbolized that he had abandoned everything from his past; he had transformed, from soul to body, into a righteous Daoist cultivator!

A pure Daoist cultivator.

A Daoist cultivator possessing the Innate Body and cultivating a Primordial-level Dharma Codex.

A Daoist cultivator possessing the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Haotian Pagoda, and the Grand Yin Profound Pearl, commanding the divine spirits of the Thirty-Three Heavens.

A Daoist cultivator possessing abundant resources in the secular world, numerous connections, and a group of brothers and friends he could trust with his life.

Most importantly, a Daoist cultivator whose heart was frozen, hard as iron.

“You, commit suicide!” Gu Yechen said calmly, looking at the astonished Andre.

“Commit suicide?” Andre burst into loud laughter. He pointed at Gu Yechen and roared, “Commit suicide? On what grounds? Who do you think you are?”

Gu Yechen made no sound. He retreated backward, merging into the thick dark clouds.

Millions of strands of electric light, as thin as hair, shot out from the clouds, relentlessly blasting Andre’s body. These lightning bolts were different from ordinary heavenly lightning; upon hitting Andre’s body, they spun desperately, attempting to bore into his pores, like a drill boring into wood. Several thousand streaks of light took advantage of Andre’s inattention, penetrating more than an inch beneath his flesh. The electric lights exploded inside him, tearing thumb-sized holes across his body.

Andre’s entire body turned blue; he was paralyzed. Although they were only a few small bloody holes, the potent electrical energy in the lightning bolts caused his nerves to numb. Even the surging Holy Light energy within him could not effectively expel this electricity that clung to him like maggots on bone. Andre looked in terror toward where Gu Yechen’s figure had vanished, roaring hoarsely, “What kind of evil demon—!”

Gu Yechen hid in the dark clouds, coldly watching Andre, offering no intention of answering his question.

A heavy war hammer whistled out from the dark clouds, carrying intense electric light, and slammed violently into Andre. With a crack sound, Andre was hit head-on by the war hammer, his facial bones and ribs smashed to pulp, his body flying backward rapidly. Holy power continuously repaired his body, and his collapsed and shattered bones quickly regenerated.

Another war hammer struck with a piercing whistle, slamming into Andre again. Most of the energy in Andre’s body was diverted to repairing the damage to his front and frantically expelling the lightning energy that had invaded him. At this critical moment, the war hammer struck his back, shattering his pelvis and lumbar spine.

Andre cried out in pain, terrified, trying to turn his head to look behind him—

Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning simultaneously surged toward Andre. Gale, ice shards, fierce thunder, and shocking electricity—various attacks violently rained down upon Andre. Andre was battered beyond recognition, his vision blurred. He had completely forgotten how to resist, merely staring in near despair at the thirty-six colossal Golden Armored Puppets faintly visible in the dark clouds. “It’s you! It was you who murdered the great Zite!” A huge fear suddenly surged in Andre’s heart; every pore on his body twitched and trembled, as if cold air was constantly spewing out.

Gu Yechen still remained silent. He merely looked up, his gaze piercing through the dense dark clouds toward the sun in the Thirteen Connected Star Field.

“This should fool them for a while, right? After Gu Yuru takes power, divert the catastrophe eastward. It’s best to inflict this scourge upon the Roman people.”

With a slight thought, the thirty-six Golden Armored Puppets simultaneously boosted their internal energy to the limit. Intense golden light swept across heaven and earth; even the thick dark clouds could not block the jet of golden light. The power of the Golden Armored Puppets merged into one, erupting with the attack power of a Golden Immortal in that instant.

With the power of a Golden Immortal, the space surrounding Andre’s body was shattered. A patch of pitch-black circular space locked down his body, rendering him immobile like a fly trapped in amber.

Dozens of beams of solidified golden light shot in from all directions, easily piercing Andre’s body and shredding his flesh into fragments.

Andre let out a desperate scream. His soul, clinging to the crimson jewel and the silver-gleaming crossbow, lifted up, ready to flee using the power of the two artifacts.

Blood light flashed in Gu Yechen’s eyes. He emerged from the dark clouds like a phantom, and without a word, he waved his great sleeve, delivering one hundred and eight consecutive strikes to the crimson jewel.

The jewel remained motionless; the power of Gu Yechen’s flowing sleeve caused it not the slightest damage, but it shattered Andre’s soul into pieces. In the blink of an eye, only a tiny remnant of his soul was attached to the jewel. The innate aptitude of this jewel was too powerful; Andre could not merge with it. He was merely attached to it like a wisp of vapor on a glass bead, unable to utilize the jewel’s might, and thus unable to use the jewel’s core to evade Gu Yechen’s attacks.

Even more unlucky for him, he was caught off guard by Gu Yechen and was utterly smashed before he could even borrow the jewel’s power.

Grabbing the last remnant of Andre’s soul in his hand, Gu Yechen absorbed his memories. With a cold sneer, he used the Grand Yin Profound Flame to burn the remainder of his soul to ashes.

An enraged roar sounded from below: “Who dares violate my Holy See? Your Holiness the Pope, I have come to help you repel the enemy!”

A golden light, accompanied by seven-colored faint light, rose from the ground. Gu Yuru rushed into the high sky, his face set with determination and a sense of duty.

The dark clouds instantly enveloped Gu Yuru’s body, hiding him from the sight of the people of the Holy See below. Gu Yechen slowly burned the last trace of Andre’s residual soul with the Grand Yin Profound Flame, his gaze coldly fixed on Gu Yuru, who was charging straight up. This fellow was not hesitant; once the dark clouds enveloped him, he pounced toward Gu Yechen’s feet, embracing Gu Yechen’s thigh with both hands, and flattering him with a smile: “Great-Uncle Zong, you’ve worked hard! Did you finally eliminate that insane dictator, Andre?”

Glancing down at Gu Yuru, Gu Yechen pointed at the crimson jewel and the crossbow, and commanded in a low voice, “Try to see if you can merge with them.”

Gu Yuru did not argue. He stood up and cautiously reached out to touch the two artifacts. Very smoothly, the two treasures merged into Gu Yuru’s body. A subtle thread of consciousness emerged from the two artifacts, and Gu Yuru immediately grasped how to use them. The harsh demands they placed on the user and the abnormal power required made Gu Yuru’s expression change.

“Very good. From today on, you are the Pope of the Holy See. Do you know what you need to do?” Gu Yechen gazed at Gu Yuru.

Gu Yuru frankly shook his head repeatedly: “I don’t know what I need to do. I only know to do whatever you tell me to do.”

Nodding with satisfaction, Gu Yechen said coldly, “I don’t care what you do or how you do it. In short, ally with the Alliance of Gods and point the spearhead toward the Roman people. No matter how many casualties, keep the Roman people firmly trapped in the Thirteen Connected Star Field. Use every means available to develop the population and train the army. Use the Roman people as a whetstone to forge a sharp broadsword for me. Do you understand?”

“Yes!” Gu Yuru agreed completely with Gu Yechen’s requirements.

“Hmm,” Gu Yechen murmured for a moment, then said casually, “I will pass on some minor techniques to you. While developing the population and army, you must control everyone in the Holy See; make sure everyone becomes your staunch confidante. Can you do it?”

“I can!” Gu Yuru immediately puffed out his chest: “With your help, what can’t I do?”

Gu Yechen smiled faintly. He inscribed some vicious forbidden arts from the Great Desolation Sutra into Gu Yuru’s soul using his divine sense, then commanded the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning to create a significant disturbance.

The people of the Holy See only heard successive thunderous roars overhead, the deafening sound jarring them so much that they almost collapsed to the ground.

When the Archbishops were preparing to ascend to the heavens to help Gu Yuru and Andre fight the enemy, the dark clouds suddenly dispersed, and brilliant sunlight poured down from above.

Gu Yuru, looking infinitely sorrowful, let pale gold blood drip from his hands, staring blankly at the horizon. He murmured to himself, “Your Holiness the Pope, leaving this mess to me? How can I?”

He glanced down at the pale gold blood on his hand—the characteristic color of the Roman people’s blood. Gu Yuru growled fiercely, “Roman people! My Holy See will never rest until we are through with you!”

An hour later, Gu Yuru, declaring he would fulfill André's final wishes, ascended the Papal throne.

Several Cardinal Archbishops voiced opposition to Gu Yuru seizing supreme authority. These objectors, along with their core confidantes, were swiftly summoned and instantly reduced to ash by the crimson bead Gu Yuru produced.

Witnessing the boundless might emanating from this bead, all dissenting voices within the Curia immediately vanished, allowing Gu Yuru to become the new Pontiff without further hindrance.

The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness—both now fell entirely under the subtle, overarching control of Gu Xiechen.

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All written in one go and released at once; I keep no backlog and am too lazy to divide things into chapters. Unless the word count exceeds the system limit of twelve thousand characters, all future installments will be released as single, sweeping chapters. (To be continued)