"This isn’t the statue of the Black Lotus Sect’s Vacuum Progenitress Mother!"

Su Yu made an instant judgment. He had read intelligence reports about the Black Lotus Sect from various sources. They worshiped the Vacuum Progenitress Mother, which looked nothing like this Divine Statue!

A wave of intense surprise and shock washed over him.

He never would have thought that the Zhenyuan Escort Agency would be hiding such a hair-raising Divine Statue in its basement.

No wonder Pei Zhan didn’t dare to reveal this secret chamber.

If the crime of worshipping an unknown evil god were exposed, it would be no less serious than treason.

The Great Xia Dynasty strictly forbade the worship of evil gods, and had even launched several wars throughout history to tear down mountains and destroy temples!

Su Yu continued forward, wanting to get a closer look at the Divine Statue.

He had only taken a few steps closer when something suddenly changed!

As if sensing the approach of a living person’s Qi and Blood, the countless pale, stone-carved eyeballs on the eerie, previously lifeless Divine Statue swiveled unnervingly in unison, locking onto Su Yu!

A nauseating, terrifying suction force instantly erupted from within the Divine Statue, attempting to forcibly drain Su Yu of his soul and Qi and Blood!

However, before Su Yu could even retaliate...

BZZZT—!

The system panel deep in his mind suddenly flared with brilliant light, and the suction force vanished in an instant.

The familiar ink-wash text immediately appeared before his eyes.

[Divine Blood detected. Absorb?]

This sudden turn of events caught Su Yu off guard, but he immediately understood what was happening.

’This Divine Statue contains Divine Blood?’

He had seen a similar scene with that terrifying suction before. Whether it was the Huyan Family’s Tributor, Huyan bo, or the high-level deacons of the Black Lotus Sect, when they died and were absorbed by the Divine Blood, the suction force seemed just like this.

’But can Divine Blood also absorb the life force of the living?’

Su Yu was a little surprised. If it had been anyone else, they might have really been ambushed and killed by this strange Divine Statue.

HAAAH!

Su Yu let out a long breath, stepped forward, and gently touched the Divine Statue.

’With the system here, there’s nothing to be afraid of. As long as I absorb this Divine Blood, it won’t matter what’s wrong with the statue!’

As Su Yu touched the Divine Statue, the familiar suction force returned, just as he expected. But this time, he wasn’t the one being absorbed—the Divine Statue was.

Soon, the drop of Divine Blood seemed to approach him of its own volition, gathering at the Divine Statue’s fingertip before flowing into Su Yu’s body.

[Divine Blood successfully absorbed. Purifying...]

[Absorption complete. Two options are available. Please choose, Host:]

[1. Fuse the origin, continue to unlock the current divine ability "Annihilation".]

[2. Retain the origin, attempt to deduce a new divine ability.]

"It really is a drop of Divine Blood!"

Looking at the options before him, Su Yu was overjoyed.

’I can’t believe this trip to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency would have such a reward!’

’My divine ability, Annihilation, is already at 83% unlocked. After absorbing this drop of Divine Blood, it will most likely be fully unlocked!’

’Besides, a single drop of Divine Blood can increase my Breakthrough Point progress by 100%. To me, it’s a treasure of the highest order!’

"Option 1!"

Su Yu didn’t hesitate in the slightest. Prioritizing the unlocking of his divine ability was the most logical choice right now!

[Fusion successful! Divine ability "Annihilation" unlock progress +50%!]

[Breakthrough Point progress +100%!]

[Divine Ability]: Annihilation (Tier 1) (Unlock Progress: 33%)

[Traits]: Annihilation. All things have a beginning and an end; this Skill governs their return to ruin. The will of Annihilation descends, forcibly stripping away all "life force" and "spirituality." Those struck by this will find their Qi and Blood stilled, their flesh turning to ash and decay, completely severing all possibility of self-healing and regeneration. All dharmas are void; only deathly silence remains.

"It unlocked!"

Su Yu couldn’t contain his excitement as he stared at the changes on the panel.

’This is a divine ability! It’s not a power that a mere Flesh Refining Realm cultivator like me should be able to grasp. That’s something only Martial Arts Grandmasters begin to touch upon!’

’But this divine ability has tiers? It’s a lot like Breakthrough Points. It’s now Tier 1, 33%. That drop of Divine Blood just added 50% unlock progress, which means there must be a Tier 2, and maybe even a Tier 3...’

’I wonder how powerful this Tier 1 divine ability is. I really want to find a place to test it out right now!’

However, Su Yu immediately suppressed the thought. This was not a suitable place for that.

He looked at the Divine Statue again. Having been deprived of its Divine Blood, it seemed to have completely lost its spiritual aura. When Su Yu looked at it now, it seemed no different from an ordinary stone carving.

’It seems the problem really was with that drop of Divine Blood all along!’

His gaze moved downward, finally landing on the huge black stone that would take one person’s full embrace to carry. He couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

Although the items here weren’t related to the Black Lotus Sect, this matter was by no means small!

Setting aside the bizarre statue and the drop of Divine Blood he had absorbed, just this enormous black stone alone could lead to a great many things.

He had previously suspected that the strange phenomena were the work of the Black Lotus Sect, but after the Black Lotus Sect appeared, the phenomena actually stopped.

The Public Security Bureau hadn’t had time to continue investigating the matter, but he never expected to find a black stone again, this time in the underground altar of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

’This black stone is so large. If it were actually thrown into the Black Water River, who knows what kind of powerful monstrosities it would attract!’

’If the Black Lotus Sect attacks, and these monstrosities run rampant again, Black Stone City will be in grave danger!’

’This matter must be reported up the chain of command. I have to let the higher-ups make a decision as soon as possible.’

Having sorted out the stakes, Su Yu wasted no more time. He quickly returned to the surface and brought Feng Ting and Pei Zhan down into the secret chamber together.

When Feng Ting got a clear look at the hellish altar and the twisted, tentacled Divine Statue, the color instantly drained from her dashingly pretty face.

"An evil god?"

Feng Ting sucked in a sharp breath. As a Commander of the Public Security Bureau, she clearly knew some secrets about evil gods.

Her face filled with shock, she stared at Pei Zhan and questioned him harshly, "Pei Zhan! Has the Zhenyuan Escort Agency gone mad? How dare you secretly worship an evil god within Black Stone City? Are you trying to get yourselves killed faster?"

Facing Feng Ting’s furious questioning, the severely injured and weakened Pei Zhan simply leaned against the cold stone wall and let out a bitter, tragic laugh.

"Heh heh... *cough cough*... Commanders, now that this underground altar has been exposed, my Zhenyuan Escort Agency is completely finished. This old life of mine has also reached its end."

Pei Zhan lifted his cloudy eyes and shook his head in self-mockery. "But you don’t really think a small Outer City Escort Agency like mine has the guts or the ability to acquire such a terrifying Evil God Statue and a giant black stone, do you?"

"These damned things were all part of a private escort job that I was forced to take! If I hadn’t taken this job... my Zhenyuan Escort Agency would have been uprooted by those ’important people’ over a year ago!"

Hearing this, Feng Ting’s pupils contracted sharply.

She turned her head and met Su Yu’s gaze. Both could see a heavy sense of apprehension in the other’s eyes.

To threaten a top-tier Escort Agency—one overseen by a Refining Flesh Realm Perfection expert—with annihilation and force them to act as a pawn... there was absolutely no faction in the Outer City of Black Stone City capable of doing that!

The behemoths of the Inner City had to be involved!

These waters were too deep!

Right now, Su Yu didn’t want to get involved in the Inner City’s games too early. If they learned something they shouldn’t, who knew if a Profound Bone Realm expert would suddenly appear to silence them.

After all, Profound Bone Realm experts were known to take action in the Inner City!

However, he still wanted to know more about the Water Snake Gang, so he asked, "Chief Pei, the Public Security Bureau has seized these black stones several times before, and they’ve always been related to the mutated monstrosities outside the city. I also previously confiscated a few small black stones from the Water Snake Gang."

"Let me ask you, are you involved with the Water Snake Gang?"

Hearing the words "Water Snake Gang," a flicker of hesitation was evident in Pei Zhan’s cloudy eyes.

Seeing this, Su Yu softened his tone. "Chief Pei, it has already come to this. What is there left to hide? Your only hope now is to provide valuable clues and redeem yourself through meritorious service. After all, for the Public Security Bureau, fighting the demons of the Black Lotus Sect is the absolute top priority. If you cooperate, you might just be able to save your own life."

At this, Pei Zhan’s expression softened. He sighed deeply and said dejectedly, "It doesn’t matter if I tell you. The black stones in the Outer City that can trigger the strange phenomena were first salvaged by the Water Snake Gang from the dangerous death-vortices throughout the Black Water River."

Hearing this, Su Yu immediately thought of the death-vortex he had visited with Qian Qinghong. He hadn’t expected this to be connected to that place as well.

The mysteries were just piling up!

"Is the Water Snake Gang colluding with the demons of the Black Lotus Sect?" Su Yu asked directly, getting straight to the point of what he most wanted to know.

"That, I do not know. The Black Lotus Sect is guilty of treason, a crime my Zhenyuan Escort Agency would never be involved with. If the Water Snake Gang is connected to them, I certainly wouldn’t know about it."

After saying this, Pei Zhan wearily closed his eyes, turned his head to the side, and adopted the posture of a man ready to meet his executioner, unwilling to say another word.

"Commander Su, this matter has implications far beyond the authority of a Vice Commander to handle. We must seal the scene immediately and report this to the Grand Commander for a decision!" Feng Ting said decisively, seeing that they couldn’t get any more information out of him.

"Mm. Let the higher-ups worry about it," Su Yu nodded.

...

「An hour later.」

The Public Security Bureau’s Grand Commander, Wang Yungui, personally led over a hundred of the most elite Heavy Armor Security Guards to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. They swiftly raided the entire agency, and all involved personnel were put in stocks and shackles and thrown into the death-row prison.

「In the dark, underground altar.」

Wang Yungui stared at the twisted Divine Statue, now devoid of its spiritual aura, and the giant black stone that emanated a cold, sinister energy. His expression was extremely grim as he slowly uttered three words:

"The Mud Abyss Statue!"

Standing to the side, Su Yu’s eyes flickered slightly upon hearing the name, and he silently committed it to memory.

Wang Yungui cautiously approached the Divine Statue to inspect it. Upon confirming that its interior was completely empty, his tense nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath.

"This Divine Statue is indeed a ritual tool for worshipping an evil god. Fortunately, it hasn’t condensed any true evil god’s blood or substantial divine power contamination. Otherwise, this would have been a huge problem."

Wang Yungui turned his head and explained to Su Yu and Feng Ting with a serious expression.

"This business with the Evil God Statue has too many entanglements. Neither of you has reached the Muscle Forging Realm or comprehended ’Aura,’ so it’s best you don’t get involved for now. However, by discovering this evil god’s altar, you have both performed a great service!"

"Otherwise, if we had waited for the Black Lotus Sect’s rebellion and allowed these evil gods to make their move, it would have posed a tremendous threat to Black Stone City!"

"I will personally handle the follow-up on this matter. You two have worked hard today. Go back to your respective stations to rest and await the Lord Manor Master’s generous reward!"

"Yes, Grand Commander!"