Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 719. Missing Hierophant

Almost everyone inside the temple heard the explosion. The temple members rushed to the location where the sound was heard. When they learned that it came from the hierophant’s chamber, they froze out there. They were unsure about what to do. They didn’t dare to barge in. What if they offended the hierophant by doing so? So, they just stood outside, confused.

Some, who could think more clearly, exited the temple and checked the situation from the outside. They saw the huge hole in the roof then, right above the hierophant’s chamber. They peeked in from afar. They were afraid of offending the hierophant in case he was still inside the room.

After several careful glances and seeing that no one was inside, they finally gathered the courage to approach.

Inside the temple, many guests had also come after hearing the explosion and feeling the tremor. They had retired to the guest rooms available inside the temple to rest. Zhang Daofeng never said they had to stay inside the main hall the entire night. He only said he wanted to see them there tomorrow morning.

Dim Loog, Huang San, and the others stood outside the grand lobby that led into the hierophant’s chamber. They stood there like the temple members who had arrived beforehand and waited. No one dared to take the initiative to open the door.

Finally, the door opened from the inside. A priest came out. He was one of the temple members who investigated the chamber from the outside.

"The hierophants are not inside," the priest informed.

"What about Xing Hui?" One of the nobles asked. Xing Hui was one of the women Zhang Daofeng had taken when he left the hall earlier.

"That..." The priest was lost for words. He didn’t know how to reply.

The priest’s expression and tone told the noble everything he needed to know. Fear and grief took over. He no longer cared if barging into the room would cost him his life. He did just that. Entering the room, he immediately saw the two headless and naked women on the bed. Although the heads were gone, he could still identify the one he was looking for.

Everyone heard his wail. The relative of the other headless woman also rushed into the room after hearing the wail. He joined the wailing soon.

Dim Loog, Huang San, Xan Chi, and other prominent people entered the chamber. They surveyed the room. There seemed to be a confrontation, but the lack of broken objects aside from the missing ceiling proved that the confrontation was swift.

The only person they could think of who could end a fight so quickly was Zhang Daofeng himself. They didn’t dare to consider the alternative. But if that was true, why was the hierophant not here? Was there another assailant? Did Zhang Daofeng go in pursuit of it? Hence, the reason he was not here?

Thinking that, they decided it was prudent not to linger in the room. They left and returned to the guest rooms.

*

The next morning, they returned to the main hall and sat at the tables, resuming the celebration. Everyone waited anxiously for Zhang Daofeng to appear, but he didn’t.

The guests remained.

This went on for five days. At the end of the sixth day, Dim Loog stood. He didn’t know what had happened, but if Zhang Daofeng hadn’t appeared till now, something must have happened to him. He couldn’t imagine anything in this world causing the hierophant trouble, but facts were facts. The only other reason he could think of was that Zhang Daofeng was toying with them. Probably the Hierophant wanted to see whose patient would run out first.

Even so, Dim Loog had reached the limit of his patience. He decided to take the risk. He called one of the temple members, a bishop. The bishop seemed to be the highest-ranking member of the temple after Zhang Daofeng executed most of the high brass.

"Your Majesty, do you need more wine?" The bishop asked. He was confused why Dim Loog didn’t just call one of the deacons serving around the table for that.

"I’m done with this celebration. Show me to the temple’s vault," Dim Loog ordered.

"The... The vault? But... The vault contains the temple’s treasures," the bishop said.

"I know. Lead me to it," Dim Loog insisted.

The bishop appeared to be looking for reasons to reject the request. The one he could think of was, "The... The hierophant will be furious if he finds out."

"The hierophant is gone!" Dim Loog exclaimed.

Everyone gasped upon hearing it. Silence ensued. Everyone waited.

Like Dim Loog, most guests also considered the possibility that Zhang Daofeng was toying with them and hiding somewhere, monitoring their actions. They expected the hierophant to appear any second now and punish Dim Loog for his statement.

They waited for ten minutes. Nothing happened.

"Lead me to the vault," Dim Loog repeated. His voice was less loud but more confident this time.

The bishop looked around uncertainly. His cultivation level was only at the Intermediate Mystic Stage. Not many temple members with high cultivation remained. Seeing that he had no choice, he complied with the request and started walking.

Some guests followed Dim Loog and the bishop, but many remained in their seats. These were the ones who still didn’t believe that Zhang Daofeng was gone.

The bishop led them to the temple’s basement. They descended many floors and traversed through a confusing labyrinth enhanced by a protective formation. Finally, they reached a large door with an intricate lock. The bishop opened the lock using a key. This key used to be held by Khei Lifeng, the leader of the Khei Ji Sect within the Temple of Divinity. The bishop took over the key after Zhang Daofeng executed the sect leader.

When the door was opened, they saw that the inside was an empty room with a cubic shape. The only things inside the room were three portals.

Dim Loog surveyed the three portals. He sensed that two of the portals had broken seals, while the last one was still intact. He ordered Gu Wen to enter the two unsealed portals. He then went to the one with the intact seal.

He put his hand on the portal. The seal resisted his attempt to enter.

"How to enter this portal?" He asked the bishop. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"I... I don’t know," the bishop answered. "To be honest, this is the first time I’m in this room. Only the sect leaders, the Hierophant, and the Holy Mother were permitted to come here. I have no idea how to unseal the portal.

Dim Loog harrumphed. He took a deep breath before uttering loudly, "Hahh...!!"

He shoved his palm at the portal using all his strength. To his surprise, the recoil from the portal’s protective enhancement was stronger than he expected. It was so strong that he was flung back to the opposite wall. He hit the wall. The words of power enhancing the wall flared to life. Even so, the impact still caused cracks in the wall.

He stared at the portal in disbelief. The protective enhancement was extremely strong.

Gu Wen exited the first portal he had entered. He reported, "Your majesty, the vault inside is empty."

"Check the second one," Dim Loog ordered.

It didn’t take long for Gu Wen to enter and exit the second portal. The second vault was also empty.

They were empty because Zhang Daofeng had cleaned them out. He was the one who broke the seals. The first was always accessible to him and the sect leaders. The second and third ones were exclusive to Mu Qin. It was the one he sneaked in using his formation-sage expertise to learn a fraction of Mu Qin’s secrets.

After he ascended to a demigod, he no longer needed subtlety. He broke the seals of the two portals using brute force and stole their contents. When he tried to do the same to the third portal, he was shocked to learn that even with his demigod power, he failed to break the seal.

He thought perhaps because he had just ascended, so he was not yet fully in control of his power. He planned to wait a few more days to let his inner energy stabilize before giving it another try. Fate, however, had a different plan for him.

Dim Loog and the other guests now stared at the sealed portal. Xan Chi also tried breaching the seal, which irritated Dim Loog. Even a Lord Stage cultivator like him had failed. What could a Spirit Stage cultivator like Xan Chi do?

Even though Dim Loog didn’t gain anything from this vault, he didn’t think his visit here was wasted. The fact that Zhang Daofeng didn’t appear after they violated the temple’s inner sanctum proved that he was truly gone.

He said, "Gu Wen, go out and call our soldiers. Enter this city and slay every member of the Temple of Divinity."

The bishop was shocked by the order. He asked, "Your majesty, what do you–"

He couldn’t finish his sentence because a long spear pierced his skull. Dim Loog held that spear. It was his substitute weapon, since his white spear was broken.

The bishop’s body dropped to the ground. Dim Loog stored his spear and declared, "Raze this temple to the ground...!!"