Chapter 1036 - 452_2

He thought about it and figured this guy probably hasn’t felt his presence for a long time and decided to come looking for him.

After all, Chu Xiu was the first creature it met, so it was quite dependent on him.

"Let it be, I don’t have the energy to worry about these things right now."

Thinking like this, Chu Xiu stopped caring and focused entirely on the creation and cultivation path.

...

At the same time, in the Outer World, the three of the Red Swan casually cooked some food and were resting to recover physical strength.

But even while eating, they remained constantly vigilant of each other.

In the Inner City, the bounty for members of the Pure Sky Sect had reached as high as 2500 Contribution Points, and with the injured man included, it was 5000, enough for an adult man to eat normal meals for three years, which was a huge sum.

Not to mention, if they discovered the Pure Sky Sect’s camp through tunnels, or disrupted their communication channels... the reward for such information would be astronomical!

In such circumstances, any tiny disturbance could lead to a miscalculation and destroy this fragile peace.

"Pa."

Red Swan swept the last bit of gray-green mush from the bowl into her mouth, glanced at Sun Li, and got up to walk behind the injured man, pushing aside a pile of debris.

Then with a gentle twist, as an intricate mechanism was activated, a pitch-black hole appeared before the three.

Red Swan whistled, and with a light rattling, shortly after, a hard-shelled mouse about the size of a house cat emerged. Red Swan tied the recently written information about this place to the mouse with a thin thread, then fed it a sugar pellet, upon which the mouse swiftly ran into the depths of the passage.

"What did you write?" Li Mao couldn’t help but ask.

"Naturally, about you two and the statue," Red Swan said.

Li Mao was instantly anxious: "If you report it, your Pure Sky Sect won’t let us go! I don’t want to be associated with you!"

Red Swan snorted coldly, "You can try to escape."

Li Mao ground his teeth and finally shrank back, looking towards Sun Shisan, "Old Sun, didn’t you say you raised this girl? Please say something."

Sun Shisan smiled bitterly, "Blame our bad luck... But at my age, after scavenging for over thirty years with all sorts of ailments, I don’t know how many more years I have left. Joining the Pure Sky Sect doesn’t seem too bad; how worse can it get?"

Li Mao looked distressed, "Brother Sun, what are you saying? With your physical durability, living another two hundred years wouldn’t be a problem."

What he said was indeed about himself; Li Mao had lived in the city before and only became a scavenger after gambling away his ancestral house.

Scavenging isn’t an easy job. People surviving here all have some methods to strengthen their bodies, and the Human Race here is clearly ahead in evolution compared to the prior Human Race. Even if not a Holy Blooder, upon adulthood, they possess Mortal Tier level 5 or 6 physical strength, with scavengers averaging the strength of Warrior Tier.

If not, they couldn’t withstand the high radiation and pervasive mutant bacteria at the landfill.

Sun Shisan didn’t respond, just stared blankly ahead as if lost in thought.

Red Swan turned back around, leaned into the hole, but kept a watchful eye on Li Mao out of the corner of her eye. When she returned, she held a small bronze statue the length of a forearm.

The statue depicted a figure with arms behind their back, surrounded by mutant beasts.

"Bright Venerable above."

Red Swan placed the statue properly, earnestly bowed three times, then lowered her head and began reciting prayers.

"Majestic Bright Venerable, illuminating the heavens, the Torch Dragon carries fire, breaking the eternal night, Holy Blood into the marrow, uncontaminated by filth, enlightening my spiritual eyes, granting me true words..."

Seeing Red Swan seemingly focused on her prayers, Li Mao discreetly tugged on Sun Shisan’s clothes, hoping he would immediately understand his meaning and join him in seeking a chance to escape. To his surprise, Sun Shisan just stared intently at Red Swan’s praying figure.

Suddenly, he stood up, walked over to Red Swan, and knelt beside her. Red Swan glanced at him, then lowered her head again, the prayer briefly interrupted before resuming with Red Swan, the young man, and Sun Shisan’s voices intertwined, Sun Shisan seemed particularly familiar with the prayer, not making a single mistake.

"Crazy, they’re all crazy..." Li Mao muttered to himself, looking at the three as if observing three mad people.

"Even if there truly is a Bright Venerable, they must be long dead! Otherwise, where was He during the Investigation Bureau’s invasion? Where was He when His people were suffering and in distress?"

Li Mao couldn’t comprehend why the three didn’t understand these simple truths!

But suddenly, he had a chilling thought.

"Wait, could this be... an initiation test?"

Realizing this as he looked at Sun Shisan praying, cold sweat dripped down Li Mao’s face.

After a moment of hesitation, he grudgingly knelt beside the three and began to chant along.

At this point, he had no other paths available.

At first, his heart was filled with disdain and anxiety for the future. He didn’t know if Red Swan would let him go after reciting these scriptures, nor did he know if he would be executed alongside the Pure Sky Sect members due to this prayer.

However, as the chant continued repeatedly for no apparent reason, his heart gradually calmed down as if some invisible force dispelled his inner fears. By the end, he even closed his eyes, feeling the urge to repeat the chant over and over.

"Ah!"

But just as Li Mao was immersed in this unprecedented peace, a sudden shout shattered his tranquility like a snapped string in music.

He snapped out of that strange state and quickly opened his eyes.

Because he recognized the shout was from Red Swan and knew it must be something significant to make this devout believer interrupt her prayer.

Could it be they were discovered by the Investigation Bureau? No, how could the big shots from the Investigation Bureau come to this place? Then was it the hunters? Were they seen when transporting the statue?

When Li Mao opened his eyes, he saw a scene he never imagined.

No Investigation Bureau, no hunters, just a sapphire blue child suspended in midair, holding the Bright Venerable’s statue in his arms, curiously fiddling with it.

"This..."

Li Mao rubbed his eyes in disbelief, wondering if he’d been caught in some illusion technique, hallucinating.

Just then, he heard a hoarse shout in his ear.

"A God, a God has appeared!"

Li Mao was startled and turned to see the severely injured young man suddenly collapsing forward onto the ground, crazily worshipping. His wounds tore open due to strenuous movement, blood reddening his chest, yet he seemed oblivious.

"A God, a God has appeared?" Red Swan was stunned, quickly supporting the man, "Brother Haowen, wait a minute, what’s going on? Is this blue... child a God?"

"It must be, it must be!" The man was full of excitement, unknowingly, tears streaming down his face. "The High Priest said even though the Bright Venerable’s corporeal form has decayed, He has not died and never forgotten His people. Only sincere prayers will reach His ears, and His reincarnation will appear before us at some moment."

"The High Priest didn’t deceive us, the Bright Venerable has truly descended! We’re saved! Hahaha cough cough!"

The man laughed wildly, coughing blood yet still laughing.

The other three looked at each other, even Red Swan hesitated, Bright Venerable’s reincarnation? Appearing just like this? No, even if there was a response, it should be to the High Priest’s prayers, right? Who were they?

No matter how they thought, this thing should have snuck in while they were praying, a mutated creature, right?

Yet as the three were at a loss, the baby suddenly reached out a hand and placed it on the young man’s head.

The next moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded, the man’s injuries visibly began to heal, his blood vessels bulging as blood appeared to boil like molten lava, a brilliant gold-red color! Even the man’s pupils turned a noble dark gold!

"Holy Blood... Bright Venerable grants me Holy Blood!" The man shouted!

The three others watched the scene in shock.

They looked at each other, with only one thought in mind.

Could it be, the Bright Venerable truly manifested?