156: Chapter 156 Secrets

Tang Long didn't ask further and went into the water as told, quickly finding the so-called ice stele.

Under the Fire Eye, it was more appropriate to call this thing an ice pillar, as it was over a hundred meters long and extended deep underground. Beyond a certain depth, even the Fire Eye couldn't see clearly.

The Howling Queen's ability... was indeed ice and wind; there could be no mistake.

The river was seven or eight hundred meters wide, so Mad Dog would definitely need more time. Tang Long waited on the bank for a good while before Mad Dog finally surfaced on the opposite side.

Mad Dog gave him the agreed-upon signal, and Tang Long dove down simultaneously with him again.

The ice stele was indeed very hard, tougher than most spiritual metals. Tang Long was actually quite curious to see how Mad Dog would break it.

However, due to the urgency of time, a large amount of bubbles were stirred up in the river water from the moment he released his Spirit Blast, making it naturally difficult to see clearly.

Under the bombardment of the Spirit Blast, the ice stele continuously cracked and shattered, with pieces being washed away by the river water.

When he had damaged it to a certain extent, he felt the water around him vibrate violently, followed immediately by a powerful vortex. He quickly emerged from the water and returned to the bank.

Only a few seconds later, a roar like a large-caliber artillery piece suddenly sounded several hundred meters behind him.

Tang Long and Golden Scorpion looked over together and saw a thick pillar of fire soaring into the sky.

A few seconds later, another one rose from somewhere on the opposite bank.

The intervals between the rising flames grew shorter and more frequent. After ten or so seconds, the tremors were as dense as an artillery position.

At the same time, the water level of the great river was dropping rapidly. After two or three minutes, it had reached a state of near-dryness.

Amidst the earth-shaking movements, the ground collapsed, forming a massive sinkhole of unknown depth. The riverbed sank like a staircase, descending straight into the cavern.

Only after the vibrations ceased did Mad Dog appear in the riverbed and call out to them from a distance.

“Go down!”

Golden Scorpion hurriedly chased after him, while Tang Long took another look at the hundred or so pillars of fire still soaring into the sky. He let out a long sigh before following them down.

The descending stairs had thousands of steps, reaching several hundred meters deep.

When they reached the end of the stairs, what they saw was a massive crystal over three hundred meters high, a chaotic mixture of red and blue.

It was very eerie.

The riverbed and stairs outside were extremely cold, yet at the end of this frigid path, it was actually somewhat hot.

Deep within the red and blue crystal was a cocoon-like space where a figure floated inside.

“I haven't told you what I'm actually doing before, but now it's time.”

“This is a seal personally set by the High Priest. Sealed inside is the wife of my master, Ye Baiqiao—my master's wife.”

“She isn't human; she hails from the Blue Blood Clan of the Death Domain.”

“Because the White God and Red God of the Death Domain are mortal enemies, their romance was not tolerated by the Pope. Thus, my master's wife was sealed, and my master was exiled.”

“Dongyu originally meant nothing to me. But it is my master's home, and I cannot watch it be destroyed.”

“The Yuanwu and the Blue Sea People are all thinking about annexing this country. Those dukes, governors, great families, and careerists are all scheming against each other. Dongyu is finished, but my power is too insignificant to save it.”

“The only one who can save it is my master, yet I don't know where he is. Therefore, my plan is to first rescue my master's wife; she should be able to find him.”

Golden Scorpion listened in a daze.

Tang Long wasn't particularly surprised, as he had known for a while.

He was just curious now about exactly how Mad Dog was going to break this seal.

To the naked eye, this was just a special crystal.

But through the Fire Eye, one would discover that this crystal was formed by the entanglement and coalescence of extremely high-density Fire Spiritual Energy and Ice Spiritual Energy. It was impossible to estimate how strong a Qi Flow was required to compress spiritual energy to this degree.

This thing... if one were to touch it foolishly, they would likely either be frozen into ice or burned to ash.

Golden Scorpion was exactly that sort of fool.

“In other words, we have to break this thing.”

“Looks like a job for brute strength. I'll go first; you guys rest for a bit.”

He spoke while walking forward, only to be grabbed by Mad Dog.

“Like hell you will! This seal contains the power of two powerhouses, ice and fire, simultaneously. Flesh and blood will die upon contact.”

Golden Scorpion was startled. “Then... what do we do? Using only Battle Qi will be very slow, right?”

Mad Dog smiled at him and looked at Tang Long again.

“I said before that Wei Jian and the others weren't worthy of seeing my trump card. They didn't believe it, and you probably don't either.”

“Now it's time to open your eyes.”

“You are lucky. This kind of power is something you might only have one chance to see in your entire life.”

“Step back a bit. From now on, guard the passage well. I need some time.”

As Mad Dog spoke, he sat down before the massive crystal and closed his eyes.

————

In the Song City Great Cathedral, the bells continued to toll.

From time to time, streaks of red light landed around the cathedral; these were the followers of the Red God returning from the dead.

Above the flame altar inside the cathedral, the High Priest gazed into the blazing divine fire, seeing who knows what.

At this moment, footsteps came from outside the main doors.

Lv Yang and Governor Jiang Shiqi arrived beneath the altar, one after the other.

“Reporting to the High Priest, Mr. Jiang requests an audience.”

“What is it?”

Lv Yang hesitated slightly, but Governor Jiang Shiqi had already blurted out his words.

“You don't know what it is? Your people have already reached their hands into my home. So I've come to ask, what do you want?”

Lv Yang hurriedly said, “High Priest, it was Xiao Lan who invited Tang Long to the Jiang Family; this is just normal social interaction between young people. I swear before the divine fire that there was absolutely no intentional scheme.”

Governor Jiang Shiqi gave an exaggerated fake smile. “Oh, so it was an accident. I'm willing to believe Bishop Lu didn't have one, but whether others did, that's not certain. Don't you agree? My... Great-Granduncle? I didn't call you wrong, did I? Do you still remember what your surname is?”

“Presumptuous!”

The High Priest finally turned his head, his expression extremely solemn.

“So what if I am? Is the Jiang Family beyond investigation? Do you think I don't know about the taboos you are quietly researching?”

The High Priest's current majesty radiated a massive sense of pressure, making both Lv Yang and Governor Jiang Shiqi feel somewhat breathless.

Governor Jiang Shiqi's body trembled slightly, but he soon gritted his teeth and suddenly questioned loudly.

“What bullshit taboos!”

“Speaking of taboos, has The Sect engaged in any fewer?”

“What happened with the God-Son Project back then! And what's the deal with that Tang Long now!”

“If we're talking about taboos, you were the ones who touched them first! Hanwen and I tested forbidden drugs thousands of times, yet that Tang Long can endure them easily. Your research into Heterogeneous Spiritual Energy is even deeper than ours!”

“Among the various religions of all nations, which side isn't researching Heterogeneous Spiritual Energy! Has your God cared?”

“No! They haven't even let out a fart!”

“So there are no such things as taboos at all; you're just afraid—afraid that the world will discover the power of Heterogeneous Spiritual Energy!”

“If you want to know what stage my research has reached, you might as well come and ask personally, but you shouldn't have involved Xiao Lan!”

Lv Yang listened to Governor Jiang Shiqi's angry roar in stunned silence, occasionally stealing glances at the High Priest.

But the High Priest remained silent for a good while before letting out a deep sigh.

“That is why I have tolerated your little maneuvers.”

“That child, Tang Long, is more special than you imagine. His future is something no one can deliberately arrange, not even I can influence it.”

“Regarding Xiao Lan, I can caution him later.”

“Go back, and stop making a scene.”

Governor Jiang Shiqi still seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

But facing the High Priest, he didn't dare go too far. He could only give a heavy snort before turning to leave.

After watching Governor Jiang Shiqi disappear, Lv Yang waited a while before tentatively asking.

“High Priest, His Excellency Tang Long...”

The High Priest sighed again. “He does indeed possess Heterogeneous Spiritual Energy. I discovered this the very first moment I saw him.”