As they strolled, he listened to Mu recount the thousand-year foundation of the Death Church.

How they had diligently served the White of Death and Destruction.

How they performed Sacrifices to her and how they sought to earn her favor.

He indirectly mentioned that a thousand years of Sacrifices had earned them little in return.

But now, the descent of the true White Incarnation was the response to their millennia of diligent loyalty.

’Heh...’

’What a die-hard Church.’

’They served for a thousand years without any response, and they even risked being eradicated as Heretics to maintain their faith?’

Lu Cang didn’t quite understand that kind of thinking.

’Perhaps I need to slowly understand the Psychology behind their faith in the White of Death and Destruction.’

’Find the right approach, and then slowly dismantle the Source of their faith.’

’To eradicate a Church, cutting it off at the roots is more important than killing all its members.’

’Cut off the influx of new blood.’

The fact that this Church—with no publicly available Profession to join and a bounty on their heads across the entire continent—could still maintain an unbroken line of succession and even flourish everywhere was something that made Lu Cang very curious.

’How on earth did they manage it?’

"Lord Bishop, this is our Church’s treasury."

"The previous Sect Leader is dead. The Restrictions on the treasury are now under the control of us Elders."

"Lord Bishop, please accept the mark I will leave on you."

Lu Cang extended his left hand.

The back of his hand glowed faintly, and a black mark appeared upon it.

It was just a contractual mark for opening the treasury.

He didn’t find anything secret about it.

’Still, I should have Iz and Kumironi check it for any hidden risks after I leave.’

VMMMM—

RUMBLE...

The treasury door was located on one side of a long, narrow passageway.

It had an extremely strong Perception-distorting Effect. Any Perception that swept across this wall would only detect a solid surface.

It wouldn’t detect anything else.

An ordinary person passing through this corridor would subconsciously ignore the wall beside them and continue deeper inside.

The stone wall opened.

Revealing a mountain of shimmering gold within.

At first glance, it was all money.

However, Lu Cang wasn’t interested in such worldly things. He used his Perception to search and found quite a few interesting items within the mountain piled high with Gold Coins.

’Secret Scrolls for the Death Priest Profession...’

’There are quite a few.’

’Thirty-something of them.’

’Besides those, there are also Secret Scrolls for Professions like Assassin, Thief, and Destruction.’

’These Secret Scrolls are useful to me. I might have a use for them someday.’

However, Lu Cang wasn’t in a hurry to collect these Secret Scrolls.

In addition, there were many books on Death Spells, as well as some perfectly preserved Scrolls.

They seemed to be Scrolls for Tier Six Magic.

There were all kinds of precious materials—not materials from Demons, but various minerals and plants.

The types of treasures in the treasury could be considered all-encompassing.

Although most of them couldn’t compare in quality to the corpse of a Tier Six Submerged Land Level Demon, their strength lay in their broad variety. You could find useful items for almost any purpose.

But the most conspicuous of all...

...was a Dagger, plunged into the very center of the room and enveloped by a complex Ritual Array.

Lu Cang’s Perception reached out toward it.

He discovered that a powerful Evil Spirit resided within the Dagger! Furthermore, a large number of souls were also confined inside.

"What is this?"

Lu Cang gazed at the Dagger.

Now, bolstered by his newfound knowledge, Lu Cang no longer felt the same restraint he had when he first arrived in this world.

This world was full of strange and wondrous things; not knowing one or two of them wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

Besides, Lu Cang was now knowledgeable enough to come up with plenty of excuses to justify himself.

"Lord Bishop, this is a Weapon we happened to find in a Dungeon near the Secret Sea."

"This Weapon is bizarre. If it makes contact with someone, it will constantly pull at their soul."

"If one’s Control over their soul is weak, their soul might be ripped right out in a short time, leaving them at the mercy of others. Furthermore, if their physical body is killed by this Dagger while their soul is extracted, the soul will also be absorbed into the Dagger."

"However, this Dagger has a will of its own. If it leaves the Seal, it will indiscriminately attack any life it sees."

"Dozens of our Holy Church’s followers have already lost their lives to its blade."

’It sounds like a really powerful Weapon.’

’And if it pulls out a soul?’

’Couldn’t I just use Soul Dominator to absorb it directly?’

’Interesting...’

"Who was the strongest person to die by its blade?"

Mu replied, "A Level 4 Evil Mage named Ian. A Level 5 Reincarnator is already capable of handling its attacks and won’t be hit so easily."

"In the end, it was the former Sect Leader who sealed this Dagger. It’s a pity that even he could not master it."

Lu Cang nodded slightly.

Then, he reached out one hand...

SHWISH!

A soul was yanked out of the Dagger at extreme speed!

It appeared in Lu Cang’s palm in an instant!

"URGH—AH!"

"AHH!"

The Evil Spirit roared at Lu Cang! But it was useless. Its every move was now completely under Lu Cang’s Control.

This scene left Mu, who stood at his side, completely stunned.

He knew that an Evil Spirit resided within the Dagger.

This Evil Spirit was extremely difficult to extract, almost one with the Dagger itself. The former Sect Leader had tried to purge the Evil Spirit from it many times.

But he had always ended in failure.

And now, this lord before him had merely lifted a hand, reached through the Seal, and pulled the Evil Spirit right out?

’Was that something that could be done so effortlessly?’

Lu Cang looked at the Evil Spirit in his hand.

He thought for a moment, then lifted his hand again.

The dozens of remaining souls in the Dagger were also pulled out by Lu Cang all at once.

"Release the Seal."