The white-robed figure’s gaze fell upon the area directly ahead.

There stood a colossal Angel Statue, one hundred meters tall.

The statue was exquisitely carved, its head slightly bowed, its face serene and holy.

Her eyes seemed to hold boundless compassion and wisdom, as if they could perceive all the suffering and hope in the world.

The Angel Statue had twelve wings sprouting from its back. The white wings were slightly open, fanned out behind it, and every single feather was rendered with lifelike detail.

It looked as if it could beat its wings at any moment and summon a powerful hurricane.

Suddenly, a beam of golden light streamed down through the stained-glass dome in the upper left of the Holy Hall, draping the statue in a sacred radiance.

Immediately after, an ethereal figure emerged from the surface of the statue, identical to the Angel Statue itself.

This figure seemed to be light incarnate, representing all the hope and beauty in the world.

Its ethereal gaze lowered, landing on the white-robed figure below.

A voice, like the soft chime of a Silver Bell, followed.

"I feel the presence of the Snake of Destruction. Xi Zhongsi, my Apostle, I require your aid to purify it! This will help you find its location."

As the words fell, a speck of light descended.

The white-robed man, kneeling on the floor, bowed his head slightly and responded with reverence and piety.

"Xi Zhongsi humbly accepts this Oracle. I will do everything in my power to fulfill this mission!"

As Xi Zhongsi finished speaking, the golden radiance that had enveloped the entire statue gradually faded and receded.

He lifted his head, revealing a stern face as if carved from stone.

He had a high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, and skin so pale it was almost translucent, seemingly emitting a faint glow.

A cascade of brilliant golden hair fell to his shoulders, each strand shining with the radiance of the sun.

Paired with a white robe embroidered with gold trim, his entire being exuded an air of sacred inviolability.

He looked up at the Divine Statue and saw that it had returned to normal, as if the previous scene had never happened and was merely an illusion.

Xi Zhongsi looked at the golden orb of light hovering before him and reached out to take it.

The next moment, the light receded, revealing a jet-black scale.

The scale was a deep, jet-black, like an endless, starless night, without a single fleck of another color.

As he took it, a bone-chilling coldness emanated from it.

’The clan of the Snake of Destruction... wasn’t it completely annihilated by my Lord? To think there are still remnants left!’

A cold glint flashed in Xi Zhongsi’s pale golden eyes.

’A menace like this should not exist. On this journey, I will eradicate you completely!’

At this, his gaze shifted to the distance.

He spoke.

"Erin!"

Before long, a tall, powerfully built woman in silver armor walked in. She had white hair, narrow eyes, a high-bridged nose, and green eyes.

"Holy Knight Erin, at your service, Your Highness Xi Zhongsi. For what reason have you summoned me?"

"I must leave to carry out an Oracle. While I am away, you are in charge of all matters at the Holy Hall."

With that, Xi Zhongsi took a palm-sized golden bell from his robes. It had a raised carving of an angel on its surface.

"If you encounter anything you cannot resolve, you can shake this to contact me."

With a wave of his hand, the bell transformed into a streak of gold light and landed before the white-haired woman.

"Rest assured, Your Highness. I will not fail the trust you have placed in me!" Erin knelt on one knee and respectfully reached out to accept it.

Seeing this, Xi Zhongsi nodded.

Then, his figure transformed into a dazzling ray of light, shot skyward, passed through the stained-glass ceiling, and vanished from the Holy Hall.

...

「Sea of Sumeru, Intertidal Zone.」

Within a vast, boundless ocean of green light specks, a white orb, like a Luminous Pearl, moved slowly.

As it drew closer, it became clear that this was a gigantic, bizarre creature.

Its body resembled that of an anglerfish, but it was far more savage and terrifying.

It had six eyes on its head, distributed in different locations and glinting with an eerie light.

Its broad body was covered in coarse scales, each one like a piece of indestructible armor.

Its mouth was huge and menacing, lined with sharp, black, serrated teeth that looked as if they could easily crush anything.

The swing of its massive tail stirred the surrounding green light specks and the waters of the Sea of Spirituality.

At this moment, two figures were sitting cross-legged on the Fish Monster’s back: Hu Qi and Ouyang Shuokong.

In the Sea of Sumeru, there was no sunrise or sunset, no turning of the seasons.

Upon entering certain special regions of water, even the surrounding space would slow down, making it impossible to accurately judge the passage of time.

However, this was not a problem for Hu Qi.

If one were to calculate it based on the flow of time in the Earth Star World, about a month had passed.

They were still in the Intertidal Zone.

Having Mother Earth’s memories was one thing, but personally being here was another entirely.

The sheer volume of the Sea of Sumeru was beyond imagination.

But Hu Qi had anticipated this and was not in a hurry.

The waters of the Sea of Sumeru had no effect on him.

Moreover, after breaking through to the Void Realm, his own Lifespan had reached a terrifying length: a full ninety million years.

Such a terrifying Lifespan.

It far surpassed that of other Apostle Level beings.

One must know that a Touching Yin Star Octopus like Mother Earth was considered an upper-middle tier Spirit Realm creature in the Shallow Wave Zone of Sumeru. Even after reaching the Apostle Level, her Lifespan was only just over ten million years.

Some weaker Spirit Realm creatures, even if they were lucky enough to break through to the Apostle Level, would only have a Lifespan of five to eight million years.

They couldn’t compare to Hu Qi at all.

And as his strength increased, his Lifespan was still growing.

This was highly abnormal. Even the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent only had a Lifespan of about fifty million years.

Perhaps it was related to his Bloodline Mutation.

He could now be said to be approaching the level of the Immortal.

He hardly needed to worry about his Lifespan. Although he had not yet reached the level of an Immortal, without external factors, he would have to wait a very, very long time to die.

Therefore, he had plenty of patience and time.

...

As for the anglerfish-like Fish Monster beneath them, it was a type of Spirit Realm creature from the Sea of Sumeru.

Its strength was roughly equivalent to a Secret Martial Artist at the Refining God stage, which, in the Sea of Sumeru, would be the Middle Stage Spirit Level.

As a Spirit Realm creature, its swimming speed was not slow.

So, he had captured it to use as a mount for transportation.

SPLASH!

Just then, the waters of the Sea of Sumeru churned to the side.

A huge, jet-black pincer emerged, snapping violently toward the anglerfish-like Fish Monster that Hu Qi and the other were riding.

The pincer was enormous, like a pair of giant guillotines.

And behind the giant pincer was a dark shadow even larger than the anglerfish they were riding.

The aura it radiated had already reached the Spirit Level Peak.

In the past, faced with such a scene, this anglerfish would certainly have been terrified into a panicked flight.

After all, the law between Spirit Realm creatures in the Sea of Sumeru was brutally cruel. The big fish eating the small fish, and the small fish eating shrimp, was a constant occurrence.

However, if one were to look closely now, one would discover something.

Of the Fish Monster’s six eyes, aside from the front two that stared straight ahead, the other four eyeballs had swiveled to the side, their gazes filled with a human-like mockery and a hint of schadenfreude.

Sure enough, the next moment, just as the giant pincer was about to slam down and cut it in two...

CRACK!

A serpentine shadow flashed by, and the giant pincer vanished instantly.

At the same time, a pained roar erupted. The dark shadow shot backward, causing the vast number of green light specks in the Sea of Sumeru to surge.

This caused the dark shadow’s appearance to be revealed.

It was a colossal crab, covered in a jet-black shell with rock-like patterns, looking like a huge fortress at a glance.

But now, one of its pincers had completely disappeared, and the break was jagged, as if something had torn it off.

Its eyes, like two giant lanterns, revealed fear and panic, as if it had seen something terrifying.

Its several thick, powerful legs paddled, leaving turbulent undercurrents in the Sea of Sumeru.

These legs paddled backward continuously, trying to propel its body away from this place.

The next moment, however, the entire giant crab vanished from its spot.

In its place, a soft crunching sound, like a cookie being bitten, came from Hu Qi’s mouth.

"Keep going."

Hu Qi chewed the object in his mouth a couple of times before swallowing it, then reached out and patted the back of the giant fish beneath him.

Instantly, the giant anglerfish below him shivered.

"Yes, milord! Please hold on tight!"