Amidst the constantly converging holy light, a tall figure gradually took shape.

Golden short hair, a white holy robe draped over its shoulders, its entire body enveloped in a translucent spiritual aura, its visage seemed to change continually with the observer's perspective, making it difficult to discern its true appearance.

The energy in the air was converging, its overwhelming pressure far surpassing any cultist seen before.

Hu Li immediately became alert, crouching on all fours to protect Yu Sheng, baring his teeth and growling menacingly.

Yu Sheng instantly recognized the person before him: he had seen them before at the Gate of Eden on the plains.

The supreme leader of the Venerate Saints Monastery, "Holy."

"It's that flashy poser!" Erin suddenly grabbed Yu Sheng's hair, screaming in panic, "Oh crap, it looks even shinier than before!"

To speak honestly, Yu Sheng did somewhat envy the carefree attitude of this little creature towards life.

In the split second he saw the figure across, every nerve in Yu Sheng's body tightened reflexively, with his heart pounding under the stimulus of Spiritual Intuition—later they were pounding so hard he had to take a moment to calm down—then he stared at the figure and spoke in a deep voice: "You've finally shown yourself."

The figure cloaked in Spiritual Illusion stood afar, upon hearing Yu Sheng's words, it merely spread its arms calmly: "You shall pay for this day..."

Holy had just uttered a few words when a series of deafening explosions erupted from the subterranean cavern. Seven or eight massive silver-white Fox Tails spewed propulsion flames as they smashed where he stood, and before the Fox Radish Missiles touched down, another network of scorching rays pierced through the air, shooting forth from all sides.

Countless mass-produced puppets emerged from the dark corners of the cavern, their innumerable blood-red eyes like blood-stained stars in the dark, beams shot from their fingertips abruptly illuminating the surroundings!

Holy was caught by surprise, clearly this Cult Leader, ruling from the shadows for so long, was utterly unprepared for the straightforward assault by the travel agency group, unable to gather the surging Spiritual Energy before being overwhelmed by the barrage and storm of rays.

And just when he hastily raised his defenses, another intense light burst out from behind Yu Sheng.

A figure with double wings emerged from the air, swinging a flaming greatsword the size of a door and launching a Light Cannon.

With an explosion shaking the earth and mountains, the enormous underground space resembled a sun's detonation, the entire cavern as bright as day.

"Scoundrels!!"

A voice of fury roared from the exploding "sun."

"Dealing with scum like you, why bother with chivalric codes!" Yu Sheng exclaimed while raising his arm, the Blood Needle Launcher softly whirred, firing over a dozen tiny needles, barely visible to the naked eye, at the figure enveloped in flames, "As if a righteous man like me would let you finish talking?"

Before his words were finished, the figure filled with potent Spiritual Energy tore through the smoke and flames, stepping forward, raising his right hand from afar.

However, hidden within the shadow of light and fire was a truly dangerous blade.

Luna's figure leapt ghost-like along the spatial trajectory twisted by the Light Cannon, and in an instant, several Fingertip Blades were pressed against Holy's throat.

Yet, blades capable of directly penetrating battleship armor couldn't pierce through that seemingly illusionary transparent skin.

The blade tips clashed fiercely with the Spiritual Energy in the air, sparks lit up Luna's figure and Holy's face, which seemed perpetually changing.

Holy slowly turned his head, calmly gazing at the steel puppet in the distorted holy light.

"Traitor..."

He slightly tilted his body, then reached out to grab Luna's neck.

Flawed mass-produced shells, fuel for creating Holy Spirits, an insignificant opponent.

This thought flashed through his mind, but in the next moment, the scene before his eyes abruptly underwent a bizarre transformation.

The Artificial Saintess, expected to be easily destroyed, vanished into thin air before him, replaced by an endless grey wilderness enveloping his vision, with a sensation of his soul being suppressed, rising from the depths, unformed chaotic winds blowing over the wilderness, carrying an empty echo akin to death.

Holy stared in shock, looking down to find his body hunching and decaying rapidly, the surging spiritual aura evaporating like steam under the scorching sun.

A blonde-haired girl wielding a silver-white Holy Sword stood amidst the tall grass not far away, knights clad in brass-colored armor surrounding her on all sides.

The knights charged forward.

In a panic, Holy retreated, promptly summoning a bolt of lightning.

This eerie place was suppressing his power, yet he remained tremendously strong.

However, in the next moment, he saw more figures emerging on the wilderness.

Similarly armored maidens, wielding swords and blades, pikes, battle axes, and longbows—they were gifts given by their families and friends when they left their homelands long ago, simple villagers hoped these weapons would provide an additional margin of safety to the departing children, and now these long-past hopes manifested as projections in the Soul World.

More knights rose from the nameless tall grass, like unceasing spirits emerging from their graves.

Some of these figures retained recognizable features, some had blurred features, others were nothing but a hollow illusion, with tattered armor and fractured swords floating in the air.

"Traitor..."

"Holy" was no longer as calm as he was initially, rage filled his eyes, then that slightly hunched and withering body once again stood upright.

The sky over the Soul Wilderness resounded with rolling thunder, and the sky shimmered with light, fissures appeared at the chaotic border of life and death, Holy stood upright, his husk constantly stretching and reshaping in the brilliance.

Luna, without hesitation, drew her sword and advanced, striking the husk before its energy could gather.

She was blown away by a rapidly expanding flash of lightning.

However, beside her were figures rushing forward.

At the same time in the real world, Hu Li leaped high, taking Yu Sheng to dodge a sweeping thunderbolt.

The crystal clusters in the underground cave resonated in chaos, large and small crystals reflecting the lightning. A tall, golden-haired figure floated in the distance, with three halos gathered above his head.

The Holy raised his head, his movements sluggish due to the assault in the Soul World, his eyes carrying a hint of confusion.

But this guy was still absurdly strong—at least more difficult to deal with than Yu Sheng imagined.

He had already used righteous mobbing, righteous surprise attacks, righteous ambushes, and even sent Luna for righteous home invasion and flanking. Against those so-called Great Sages encountered before, they would have been chopped fine by now.

It can only be said that this cult leader marinated by an Angel really has some tricks.

But fortunately, both sides are caught in a stalemate, and Yu Sheng likes a stalemate.

The faint scent of blood permeated the air.

"Who are you really?"

The "Holy" standing in midair lowered his head, his voice thunderous. His visage changed in the illusion, and each face now carried a seriousness not seen before.

"I already said, I'm your living dad," Yu Sheng wiped the blood off his face, his arm also bleeding profusely, "and we've fought this far. Does it matter where I come from?"

Erin, hanging on Yu Sheng's arm, looked up with wide eyes: "Hey hey! Yu Sheng, you're covered in blood."

Yu Sheng casually waved his hand: "Don't worry, it's all my own blood."

"Oh, that's good."

The little puppet muttered, rubbing its head against Yu Sheng's wound.

Their conversation seemed to provoke, and the Holy's aura of spiritual energy around him suddenly grew stronger.

"...Fools."

The "Holy" said in a deep voice.

The next moment, he suddenly opened his hands again.

A curtain seemingly forged from light yet floating like a veil suddenly descended into the vast cave space.

This curtain of light seemed to penetrate the thick earth, extending down to the depths below, while above it pierced through rock and soil. The layers seemed to turn transparent, and through the cracks in the curtain of light, Yu Sheng could even see the smoke-filled surface, the sky being lit by orbital bombardment, and the united fleet's landing shuttle cutting through the clouds.

Yu Sheng's heart grew vigilant, sensing a familiar aura condensing from the curtain of light, followed by seeing several tall figures passing through the curtain.

Wings spread, radiant, wielding flaming giant swords, filled with unspeakable saintliness.

Living Saints.

A bunch of Living Saints.

"What the hell—" Erin immediately flew into a rage, "This many?!"

Even Hu Li looked up, briefly stunned, instinctively blurting out: "...How many people need to be burned for this..."

"Today's setback is insignificant, the great foundation built over a millennium is far beyond your imagination," said the midair Holy figure, with suppressed anger and resolve, "We've learned from failures, many failures, someday our cause will rise again—and you will burn in today's fire."

This time, Yu Sheng didn't interrupt the cult leader's babbling.

Not because he abandoned his dignified aggressive play style, but upon seeing the crowd of Living Saints, he realized holding off during the speech to launch an attack would be futile.

His mind raced, preparing to open the door to let others escape while rapidly considering possible strategies.

Wondering if transporting the Dark Star Cruiser directly into this cavern would help.

Or pull the Otherworld Inn into this place.

If all else fails, smash the Star Gate from space into the northern hemisphere.

Then send Baili Qing and Red an invoice for the Star Gate to reimburse them.

The two would turn a blind eye.

Yu Sheng gritted his teeth, quickly deciding on a plan.

But just as he was about to notify Baili Qing of imminent big movements, the small puppet hanging from his arm suddenly exclaimed.

"Why aren't these specters moving?"

Yu Sheng paused for a moment, seeing that more than ten Living Saints emerging from the curtain were indeed just floating quietly in midair, their hollow, illusory faces seemingly all looking downward.

The distant "Holy" standing in midair seemed to notice some anomaly, though he still held his hands open, he tilted his head slightly at this moment.

The next second, one of the Living Saints closest to Yu Sheng suddenly moved.

However, she abruptly spread her wings not to charge at the "heretics" ahead but directly towards a massive rift below!