Chapter 1 The Powerful Nightmare Shadows of Past Popes

The powerful Nightmare Shadows transformed from past Popes, the evil force cultivated in Lokmarton's mad will, a psychic shock powerful enough to destroy an entire legion, had no effect because it hit a weakling whose brain was already full of mush. It even caused a group of Nightmare Shadows to suffer psychic backlash and be defeated – to be honest, even Hao Ren found this explanation hard to believe…

But there was no other choice, because there wasn't a more reasonable explanation. And thinking about it carefully, it actually made sense: the little weakling was weak, but she was also a pure-blooded member of the chaotic evil faction. Her brain was the Goddess's personally-selected cornstarch water mixed with mush. Hao Ren even maliciously suspected that even a mind completely destroyed by a Nightmare Shadow would probably be clearer than the little weakling's brain – unleashing a psychic shock on a mind that was already a mess, it was hard to say who would go crazy first.

The result had already proven it – it was the Nightmare Shadows that went crazy first.

Of course, Hao Ren also vaguely had some other ideas, that the reason for this result had nothing to do with the little weakling's sanity, but rather depended on her "evil thought body" attribute. As a contaminated component in Vivian's bloodline, the little weakling probably had some connection with existences like Lokmarton…

But all these guesses were impossible to verify, and so far he could only speculate.

The smoke cleared, the chaotic power gradually disappeared, and the people who had been in a state of madness and absent-mindedness finally woke up one by one. Hao Ren ignored the little weakling struggling in his hands, hissing haha biubiubiu, and came to Kalaxius: "How are you?"

"Still alive…" Kalaxius gasped heavily, his voice bitter and strange. His eyes fell on three of his compatriots not far away – a high-ranking knight, two high-ranking priests, now lying on the ground with no breath left. Their eyes were wide open, but their faces wore strange smiles, and the turbid light in the depths of their eyes seemed to tell that their souls had gone to a distant place.

And in Lily's bodyguard, a giant had also fallen, never to stand again.

Even though Hao Ren had tried his best to protect these people, casualties were still unavoidable.

"God will comfort these pure souls," Kalaxius prayed simply, then threw off all negative emotions and stood up resolutely. "No one will stop us anymore. Uh… what's this?"

The high-ranking monk saw the little evil spirit struggling in Hao Ren's hands.

"… She's called Ruo Ji (weak chicken)," Hao Ren struggled for a long time but couldn't think of a better-sounding name, so he simply used the transliteration. "My… partner, well, considered a partner. She suddenly teleported over just now, and played a role in reversing the battle. Don't ask about the specifics, it's too difficult to explain."

When the little weakling saw Kalaxius, she immediately bared her fangs and claws: "Ssha – scare!! Biubiubiu…"

Kalaxius looked at this scene in astonishment, somewhat at a loss to block those corrosive energy arrows, his face blank.

Hao Ren raised his head and searched the crowd for a figure he had been concerned about since just now.

A voice came from behind: "I'm here."

Hao Ren looked around and saw that An, wearing a black cloak, had stood behind him at some point. Her voice was calm, her figure steady, and there was no sign that she had been affected by the psychic attack just now, as if she had been standing here the whole time.

Hao Ren suppressed the growing doubts about this woman, gave a simple "hm," and led the crowd through the shattered and seriously collapsed garden area, continuing to the high-level platform that was said to lead to the interior of Asu Man.

For the rest of the way, they encountered no further obstacles.

The interior of the Icon Palace was eerily quiet. From the moment they entered the second floor, they could no longer feel the gloomy and oppressive negative magic, as if the attack they had suffered in the garden area before was just an illusion. Only the little weakling in Hao Ren's hand, constantly biubiubiu-ing, reminded everyone of the reality of what had happened before.

It seemed that the only danger in the entire Icon Palace was the lower garden – this abnormal situation aroused Hao Ren's vigilance.

If Lokmarton or his minions had used the Icon Palace as a breeding ground for dark monsters and a line of defense against enemies, then the quietness of the upper area could only have one explanation: they had completed some preliminary work, and this place had been abandoned.

Until they reached the upper platform, everyone had not suffered any attacks.

"This is it," on the long bridge platform between the Twin Towers, Kalaxius pointed to an arc-shaped platform protruding from the long bridge. On this platform, Pope Augustus VII had long looked at the gradually extinguishing Asu Man Sacred Mountain, and personally issued the order for him to go to Ansu Continent to find hope. But now things were different, the investigation team returned after completing its mission, but could only face a ruined homeland. The former Pope had disappeared, and even this sacred platform was shrouded in darkness. "Here you can summon the gatekeeper, but… I don't know if the gatekeeper will still appear. If she doesn't appear, we can only forcibly attack a divine magic array below the platform. That would still have a certain chance to open the passage to Asu Man, but that would probably be the last time Asu Man is opened."

Hao Ren did not walk to the platform, but turned to look at An, who was not saying a word: "If I'm not mistaken, it's your turn to speak."

An's hood moved slightly, but she didn't speak. Instead, she walked directly onto the platform. After a moment, she said, "The gatekeeper will appear. She has always been good at preserving herself."

Almost the instant An finished speaking, a ray of light appeared out of thin air on the platform, and a figure wearing a white robe, with a blurred face but vaguely recognizable as a young woman, walked out of the light. Her voice was ethereal: "Preserving ourselves is our first mission."

An nodded slightly: "Long time no see, One."

"Life in the human world has changed your way of thinking," the woman in the white light said. "We have been maintaining a connection, so we can't say long time no see, Two."

Kalaxius and the others looked confused, but Hao Ren's face showed a knowing expression. He saw An finally reach out and lift her hood. With this action, her black cloak, which she never took off, also shook like a phantom and gradually disappeared.

Under the cloak was not a solid body, but a hazy, illusory form formed by dark blue light and thin mist!

Except for the different colors of the light and mist that made up her body, An was almost identical to the "gatekeeper"! The same energy form, the same blurred face, the same height and build, the same clothing style, all of this… was like a duplicate.

Kalaxius stammered: "You… you are…"

"I am Asu Man," An turned her head, her face formed by light and mist expressionless, only mechanical light spots flowing, like a data stream. She pointed to the gatekeeper in the white light. "She is also Asu Man."

"You are the consciousness of Asu Man?" Lily asked curiously.

"No, the consciousness of Asu Man is still sleeping in the Will Nexus. We are just its backups," An said, as a large number of flashing light spots appeared on her body, and similar phenomena occurred on the "gatekeeper" standing next to her. The two seemed to be resonating, as if they were exchanging a large amount of data. "In order to communicate with you, we have simulated your form."

"Backup…" Hao Ren nodded suddenly. Compared to the confused Kalaxius, he obviously understood these concepts better. "The gatekeeper stays in Asu Man, and you, An, travel the secular continent… is this to store data more safely?"

"Preserving ourselves is our first mission," the gatekeeper said in a mechanical tone. "Backups must be stored in different locations."

An nodded lightly: "But now the situation has changed, the highest threat protocol has been activated, and the backup must return to the core to prepare for restarting the host."

Kalaxius was at a loss: "Host? What host?"

"Too much explanation will delay the opportunity," the gatekeeper interrupted Kalaxius bluntly. "The intruders have entered the depths, and part of my functions have been destroyed. I am unable to stop them. You must enter Asu Man to intercept them… Two, my functions are damaged, and the next operation needs to be completed by you."

As she said that, the light on the gatekeeper's body dimmed slightly, and An stepped forward and skillfully took over some kind of control, preparing to open the portal to the interior of the sacred mountain. Kalaxius was stunned, and his tone instantly became stern: "Intruders?! Someone has broken into the sacred mountain?!"

"They are going to the Final Protocol Area…" the gatekeeper said, but suddenly her image fluctuated violently. After a few seconds, the fluctuation gradually subsided, but the image dimmed a lot with the naked eye. "Correction – interception failed, the intruders have entered the Final Protocol Area, the Will Nexus is locked… need to restart the Will Nexus… Two, the next work is up to you."

After saying these unclear words, the gatekeeper's figure continued to dim, collapse, and finally disappeared completely.

And a portal has already taken shape in front of "An", and on the other side of the portal, a dimly lit crystal hall can be vaguely seen.

Kalaxius and his subordinates were still confused and troubled, somewhat hesitant because of the secrets suddenly revealed by the Crystal Sacred Mountain, but Hao Ren knew very well what to do at this moment. He clapped his hands to wake everyone up, then drew his weapon and took the lead: "Let's go!"

At the same time, inside the Crystal Sacred Mountain Asu Man, a barrier condensed from crystals and light shattered with a sound of fragmentation.

Three figures rushed out of the smoke and dust generated by the shattering of the barrier.

Walking in the front was none other than the Pope of the Holy See, Augustus VII!

It was just that this once dignified and benevolent old man could no longer see his former appearance. His face was hideous and distorted, and black lines and blood vessels protruded from his face as if they were about to burst his skin. Streams of black smoke were spewed out with his breath, mixed with sparks like burning sulfur. Even the Pope's holy robe on his body had been stretched to tatters by his inflated figure. In the "Pope's" right hand, he was holding a strange long sword.

The long sword was dark and deep, with a strange shape. It didn't look like a weapon, but rather like an irregular fragment. On the dark, detail-less blade, one could only see countless starlike spots wandering. The whole sword… was like a piece of the universe!