Chapter 110 (3/3): The Defector Priest, Divine Power of Mending the Heavens

Death was not frightening—there was even a chance for resurrection but to be cursed… that would mean no peace for all eternity.

Su Fu’s heart pounded; her palms were slick with sweat as she unconsciously gripped the Silver Candle tightly. 

‘What to do?’ She looked around. 

Dai Li, Jiang Nanchen, and the others seemed completely unaware that anything was wrong, faces calm as they stood in place holding their Silver Candles.

Hou Zhu had even closed his eyes, silently praying with pious devotion.

Su Fu: “…”

‘Help.’

At that moment, the priest began reciting the prayer: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

His words had a strange power, compelling people to follow along.

“The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

The crowd began to pray with the priest, and the formation on the ground started to glow, little by little.

“Let there be light,” said God, “and there was light.”

The first layer of the formation lit up faintly, its glow spreading outward in ripples.

In Su Fu’s vision, “Polluted” had now changed to “Mildly Polluted”.

The priest’s voice continued: “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness…”

Su Fu’s heart was pounding like a drum. 

She couldn’t wait any longer—if the priest finished reciting the prayer, the polluted array would be fully formed.

It would surely inflict irreversible harm on everyone, herself included.

But what could she do?

Interrupting would only get her killed faster. 

If this priest really was the Fugitive Priest, what did she have to fight him with?

Minute by minute, the second layer of the formation lit up.

Su Fu’s mind buzzed. 

She hadn’t expected a trip to the Saint Land would land her in such misfortune.

Wait, where were the teachers? 

Where had they gone? 

Hadn’t they noticed?

Suddenly, she realized—they were probably in a meeting, discussing how to deal with the Fugitive Priest.

Heavens above—they were here!

The Fugitive Priest was here!

What should she do?

The priest’s prayer continued in her ear: “God said, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water’…”

Su Fu didn’t dare to pray along, but she couldn’t run, and she couldn’t fight. 

The pollution wasn’t complete, and she had no idea what the priest intended to do with this corrupted array.

But there was no doubt—it could not be anything good.

Her thoughts raced—’maybe it was a sacrificial array?’

All the examinees participating in the ritual would become sacrifices, their souls drawn away and bodies turned into walking corpses.

‘Damn it, had no one noticed the array had been twisted and corrupted?’

Su Fu suddenly froze—’twisted? Polluted?’

‘Yes! The pollution was a distortion of the original array. If it could be restored… would that fix everything?’

Su Fu’s heart pounded—a daring idea surfaced in her mind.

‘Restore. Yes, restore.’

And she just so happened to possess such a divine ability—[Patch the Sky: Restoration]!

A power from the myth of Nüwa patching the sky, containing the authority of creation and restoration, capable of repairing twisted laws and order.

With the formation beneath her feet already activating the third layer, the light growing brighter, she had no time to think. 

She immediately unleashed her divine ability.

[Patch the Sky: Restoration]!

Concealed by an illusion, her divine power flowed silently into the array.

Up on the high platform, the priest’s smile widened, his voice soaring: “God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures, each according to their kind!'”

With each word, the array’s radiance blazed, pillars of light shooting up to the sky.

Every time a pillar appeared, the examinees standing within it vanished from sight.

One after another disappeared, yet those around remained lost in prayer, oblivious to anything amiss.

They still held their Silver Candles, devoutly listening to the priest’s every word, softly following along.

The priest ignored everything before him, continuing to lead the remaining students in prayer, until his final words fell and the ritual ended.

Now, the square was empty, only he stood alone in the center, bathed in moonlight.

He snapped shut the doctrine, smiling as he said, “May you all have sweet dreams tonight. My most merciful Lord, these lost lambs, I offer them to You.”

The priest turned to look toward the Temple of Knowledge, satisfied: “Thank you for your gift, Inspector.”

Did they really think he didn’t know the Inspector was already here?

Since they dared interfere in his affairs, this was their punishment.

Let him think—an Inspector present, yet students from both great academies vanished into thin air. 

What a sensational event that would be.

“The Dusk Judgment” would claim another glory.

He intoned softly, his voice dissipating into the night— “All who resist the dusk shall first drown in the eternal night. We are the end, and also the beginning.”

***

At the same time, in the Temple of Knowledge.

High Priestess Olivia’s eyes snapped open, then she let out a long breath.

She turned to those behind her and nodded heavily: “It’s done.”

Behind her were Central Inspectorate’s Claude, Tianqiong Path Academy’s Priestess Belina Yvan, and Primordial Scar Branch’s Raymond.

She was slightly out of breath as she said,  “Using the Silver Candles as anchors, I intercepted halfway and transported all examinees back to their dormitories.”

“The entire barrier of the Life Garden is now activated. No one can enter, and no one can leave. They’re safe. Now we can begin the apprehension operation.”

As she spoke, Olivia presented a golden-glowing Six-Pointed Star Compass to the group.

This was the Divine Artifact [Judicator], specially designed for apprehending fugitives. 

The compass needle was now spinning, successfully pointing northeast of Eden.

At the same time, the compass projected a three-dimensional image—Fugitive Priest Lilyth stood amidst the night, surrounded by twisting black mist.

It was through these mists that she freely changed form, making her nearly impossible to capture.

“Fugitive Priest Lilyth’s influence is too great,”

Belina, both fearful and angry, glared at Claude, “Never thought you’d use the examinees as bait, luring that fugitive priest to make a move!”

She hadn’t expected Central to approve either.

“Those children know nothing, yet they were pushed to the front lines of danger! If something happened, who would take responsibility?”

For the first time, Belina was truly afraid. 

If she’d known beforehand, she’d never have let those children risk themselves.

Olivia let out a deep sigh, “It’s all my fault.”

“And she took Forbidden Item 005: Eternal Lock. If we don’t apprehend her quickly, the consequences will be unimaginable—even… the entire Eden Saint Land might vanish.”

The roots of the Tree of Life were already being eroded by the Dark Realm, and 005 was the only artifact that could slow and suppress the corruption.

Now that the forbidden item was stolen, the Tree of Life was on the brink. 

If it fell, all of Eden would be destroyed and turned to nothingness.

And not just Eden—countless dimensional spaces linked to it would collapse as well, causing an unthinkable disaster.

This is one of the oldest Saint Lands in the world—how could it disappear on her watch?

Such a cataclysm would send shockwaves through the entire interstellar community.

She had no other way but to seek help from the Central Education Department.

“Yes, the examinees were put at risk, but this was the only way to lure Lilyth out. She’s far too cunning. We’ve run countless predictions; this is the plan with the highest chance of success.”

Olivia sighed deeply.

“As for the examinees…” She paused, “I’ve already used the Angel Feather Pen. They will be safe.”

At these words, Belina’s head snapped up, tears instantly brimming in her eyes.

She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately just lowered her head.

Raymond looked pained and murmured, “High Priestess…”

They all knew what this meant—the last person to use the Angel Feather Pen had died. 

It was a forbidden item that granted a wish at the cost of one’s life.

Olivia had paid with her own life to foresee and guarantee the examinees’ safety.

No one could bear the responsibility for the deaths of so many prodigies. 

Only when Olivia herself offered such a condition would the Central Education Department approve this risky plan.

Even the coldest Inspector couldn’t refuse a high priestess willing to sacrifice herself.

After all, they had saved humanity from catastrophe time and time again without hesitation.

Olivia smiled in relief and said,  “It was my fault from the start. It was I who trusted Lilyth and caused this disaster.

Fortunately, I still have a chance to make amends. But no matter what, those examinees ended up risking themselves because of me.”

“As long as they don’t touch the roots of my Eden, they can take any Divine Artifact out with them.”

This was her compensation—the utmost she could do within her authority.

No one had anything left to say.

“If that’s settled,” Olivia’s expression turned solemn as she faced them all.

“Then now—operation codename: ‘Judgment of Light’ to capture the fugitive begins. Our sole objective: capture Lilyth and bring her to justice.”

She paused, then declared solemnly, “No matter what the cost.”

***

Su Fu blinked. 

Underfoot was soft earth, tall trees looming all around.

Moonlight like water. 

The trees rustled as wind stirred their branches.

She was dazed for a moment.

“Wait—where did I end up?”

Didn’t she repair that ritual array? 

Why was she still teleported away?

What was going on?

And looking around, this place was obviously not the Eternal Garden—no pervasive floral fragrance everywhere.

So where was this?

At that moment, a familiar voice sounded by her ear, full of surprise: “Heavens! You’re that fast?! You managed to reach the very core of Eden single-handedly?!”

It was the Serpent of Temptation.

The excitement in its voice was palpable—never had it expected someone so effective.

It had only just opened its eyes, only to see she was already at the core area, just one step away from setting it free!

Wonderful, what a windfall!

Su Fu: “….”

At those words, her vision darkened.

Heavens above!

She knew something was off—why was she sent right to the core area?

‘Help!’

If she was discovered, she’d definitely be expelled from Eden—who knows what further punishment might follow?

The Tree of Life area—Eden’s most forbidden zone.

If she said she’d arrived here just by closing her eyes, would anyone believe her?

…Probably not but she truly had no idea what had happened.

At that moment, another voice sounded in her ear, painful and weak: “So uncomfortable… so uncomfortable… I’m going to die… Save me… Won’t someone save me… Olivia…”

“Olivia… where are you?”

Su Fu’s body tensed.

Oh heavens, what now?

Then the Tempting Serpent’s gloating voice sounded: “Hey, looks like the Tree of Life is about to die!”

Su Fu: “?”

‘Tree of Life?’

She crept forward a few steps in the direction of the voice and finally saw, behind the trees, a colossal silhouette.

Bathed in moonlight stood a giant tree, at least a hundred meters tall, faintly glowing with golden light. 

If one looked closely, one could just make out golden apples growing on its branches.

But those apples… seemed to have a problem.

Su Fu’s expression grew subtle. 

She asked the Tempting Serpent in a low voice, “What happened to it?”

The Tempting Serpent answered honestly: “Corrupted by the Dark Realm. Its roots are rotting. Didn’t think that it’d die before I did.”

At that, its voice grew anxious, “So hurry up and get me out of here. I don’t want to die along with all of Eden!”

Su Fu: “!!!”

‘What the heck?’

‘Dark Realm corruption… Tree of Life… Eden…’ She sucked in a cold breath, guessing a frightening possibility but the conclusion was too shocking.

Yet just then, a bold idea suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Her heart hammered wildly, every cell in her body screaming.

Her body moved before her mind caught up.

She could no longer hear the voices around her—not even the frantic shouts of that annoying serpent.

All she could see was that tree—the dying Tree of Life.

Su Fu walked to its base, looking up at the dying god tree. 

She asked softly: “Maybe… you need some help?”

Divine Ability: Patch the Sky— Can mend all things.