202: Chapter 202 Joining the Star Cult? But Should I Really Join?

"Let her go... let's talk this out..."

Watching the once extremely arrogant white-haired girl now plead somewhat humbly, the purple-haired woman's lips curled up slightly.

"Weren't you just being very arrogant? Come on, keep it up!"

Xing Yaoyan had just confirmed that the little cat girl in her hand was real, making her hesitant to act for a moment.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down from her temple; Xing Yaoyan felt that the situation was incredibly thorny.

If the opponent were simply strong and using force to suppress her, she wouldn't feel this way; but now the other party truly held the life of someone important to her in their hands, meaning many of her aggressive backup plans couldn't be used...

"Haha... Big sister, you must be joking. I was immature before. Please, show some mercy and let her go. This is just between the two of us, isn't it?"

Xing Yaoyan lowered her stance once more, her tone exceptionally humble.

"Hmph..."

The purple-haired woman gave a soft snort and slightly loosened her right hand.

The unconscious Ying Linglong fell onto the table.

"Now, she is one of the bargaining chips in my hand. If you want her to live, join our Star Cult; otherwise, she dies."

She spoke quickly with her head held high, as if she had prepared this speech long ago.

"Sure..."

Xing Yaoyan responded without a second thought; it was just a verbal promise anyway, and it didn't differ much from the development she had initially envisioned.

Anyway... she'd deal with getting through this crisis first...

"Oh? Agreeing so readily? It's hard not to doubt whether you're being sincere."

The purple-haired woman covered her mouth and revealed a playful smile.

The next moment, she reached out, and a dense mass of black energy appeared in her palm.

"Relax your mind and take this Breath of the Abyss into your spiritual sea."

She had originally thought her words would make the white-haired girl before her look troubled, or even stop pretending and prepare to attack her.

But to her surprise, this girl actually nodded with confidence.

Then she watched as Xing Yaoyan closed her eyes. As a golden light flashed, the black mist tunneled into her forehead.

['Tian'... She should be fine, right?]

[...]

There was no response in her mind, which meant "Tian" did not object.

She had no choice but to finish playing out this "act" that was gradually deviating from her original plan.

Xing Yaoyan keenly noticed the subtle changes in the purple-haired woman's expression, but she interpreted it as her not expecting Xing Yaoyan to be so reckless as to directly absorb so much Breath of the Abyss.

In reality, she had indeed absorbed that much Breath of the Abyss, but it was all done using the Star Swallowing Art. One had to know that she had previously accumulated so much Breath of the Abyss in her spiritual sea and was still perfectly fine.

This was also thanks to the conversion-inhibiting effect of the Star Swallowing Art.

Now that her strength had broken through a major rank, this conversion-inhibiting effect was even stronger, so absorbing this much was no problem at all.

But she was very shrewd, deliberately pretending to be in a weakened state with a pale face and purple lips.

"Now... can you give her back to me..."

Xing Yaoyan pointed tremblingly at the little cat girl on the table.

"Of course, this Young Miss keeps her word."

With a casual wave of her hand, the little cat girl's body was drawn by her power and fell into Xing Yaoyan's arms.

However, the moment she caught the little cat girl, a golden light suddenly flashed in Xing Yaoyan's eyes.

Using the little cat girl as a medium, she made brief, indirect contact with the purple-haired woman's spiritual power, and through this contact, she discovered something very interesting...

"Alright, since you've inhaled the Breath of the Abyss that I personally refined, you're now a member of our Star Cult. Don't worry, our Star Cult takes good care of new priests."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself..."

The purple-haired woman tapped her head in slight frustration.

Xing Yaoyan suddenly felt that this girl was inexplicably a bit cute...

"I am the first seat of the Star Cult Priests, 'Phantom Butterfly' Huan Wuxing."

Xing Yaoyan's eyes flickered as she watched every expression and smile of the purple-haired woman; that somewhat crazy idea in her heart was slowly being confirmed.

However, she still didn't act rashly.

Information—she needed more information now...

And now was not the time...

"I'm a priest as soon as I join?"

Xing Yaoyan tentatively raised her first question.

After the "Blood Refining" ended, she had specifically looked into the basic information of the Star Cult with Tushan Qing's help and knew their hierarchy.

For instance, the lowest-level believers are called "Consumables," all of whom are cannon fodder that can be discarded at will; then come the official employees, the Star Cult Apostles; further up are the Star Cult Deacons; and finally, the Priests and the Cult Leader above them.

One should know that there have always been only ten Star Cult Priests. One could say that being a priest is the highest Realm for a Star Cult worker; not only are they very powerful, but they are also the most loyal group to the Star Cult.

Yet this purple-haired woman had just verbally acknowledged her status as a priest. She certainly wasn't a minor figure in the Star Cult—one of the top-ranked priests? The Cult Leader? And... did she really trust a newcomer like her?

And based on what she said, wouldn't they have to demote an existing priest just to let her take the spot?

Isn't this a bit too casual...

"Don't worry, the rules of the Star Cult were set by our Cult Leader and won't change. For you to become a priest, it must mean one of the ten of us is about to die. As for making you a priest... it's not that strange, is it?"

Huan Wuxing shrugged, the curves of her chest becoming prominent with her movement. Xing Yaoyan looked on with disdain, yet an inexplicable trace of indignation rose in her heart...

"After all, you slaughtered your way through the fifth-rank 'Abyssal Transformers' in the underground bar; your strength is obvious to all. Moreover... you're only at the Four Marks, so there's still huge room for improvement! Besides, some of the top-ranked priests among us are also seven or eight-mark Star Beasts..."

As if she truly considered her a colleague, the purple-haired woman seemed like a different person, starting to talk incessantly.

She looked like a total chatterbox.

Watching her speak so passionately, Xing Yaoyan's gaze sharpened.

She knew that the woman's vigilance had now dropped to its lowest point.

Xing Yaoyan quietly shuffled a step forward. The other party didn't react at all, likely due to extreme confidence in her own strength and complete reassurance from Xing Yaoyan having swallowed the Breath of the Abyss.

"Let me tell you, despite our Star Cult's reputation for being bloodthirsty, we've actually always been the final protectors of this world..."

Huan Wuxing began saying things she couldn't understand, and she seemed to get more excited as she spoke, even resting her hands behind her head and leaning back in her chair, tilting it on its legs.

Suddenly!

"Star Swallowing Art: Soul Detention!"

Seeing the once-weak white-haired girl suddenly launch an attack, her two jade-like hands glowing with golden light reaching for her chest, Huan Wuxing was dumbfounded.

"Eh?!"