Translator: CinderTL
"Seal!"
The deep voice echoed through the ocean, as the raging storm and lightning suddenly erupted with immense majesty.
Delia and the others trembled in their souls, while the surviving Mermen wore expressions of utter horror.
Focusing their gaze, they saw a towering tornado, wreathed in silver lightning, plunging straight into the Abyssal Sea Eye.
Within its swirling vortex, a figure emerged, compressing all its power.
Buzz!!
In an instant, the invisible seal above the Sea Eye seemed to receive some kind of reinforcement, bursting forth with a rainbow-like, blinding radiance!
"This is..."
Delia and the others trembled, feeling the light as scorching as the sun yet as vibrant as life itself.
It seemed to be formed from countless swirling tornado-hurricanes, with patterns of flame and frost swirling within.
"They're reinforcing the seal!"
"It's an angel from the Storm Church!"
Delia and the others instantly understood. With their own eyes, they could see a figure seated cross-legged within the blinding light, clearly maintaining the revival and descent of some immense power.
A colossal roar, seemingly from some creature within the Abyssal Sea Eye, echoed out. But as the multicolored light curtain solidified, the struggling and resistance within gradually weakened.
The trembling and shaking seabed reefs began to halt their fissuring, and the rippling seal and seawater gradually calmed.
"Pseudo-Angel?"
Chen Feng squinted and saw a figure on the sealing light curtain. When the storm subsided, the figure's true appearance was revealed.
He wore a silver Church robe adorned with patterns of storms and lightning. His temples were gray, his face aged, and he sported a goat beard, making him look to be in his sixties.
At this moment, his eyes were tightly closed, and a powerful aura emanated from him, pouring into the seal.
In a daze, Chen Feng felt a gaze piercing through the sky and ocean, an invisible observer watching from afar. It felt like a raging storm, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.
Except for the absence of malice, the sensation was eerily similar to the gaze of the Serpent God he had encountered in the Serpent Spirit World.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Just then, another sound of water parting reached them. A small tornado, moving at high speed, churned the water as it approached. As it drew closer, Chen Feng could see four figures within the tornado. Three were Fifth-Tier cultivators, and the fourth was a Saint. They sat cross-legged on a circular compass, their bodies radiating spiritual light.
The tornado was merely an effect triggered by an Extraordinary Artifact. Soon, the newcomers stowed the compass, warily sealing off the area around them to protect the Church's Pseudo-Angel. They turned their gaze toward Chen Feng and his companions.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, the members of the Storm Church paused, their eyes lingering on Chen Feng.
Shock, confusion, curiosity—a multitude of emotions were subtly captured by Chen Feng's Perception. He even sensed a flicker of unusual familiarity in their eyes.
A deep sense of bewilderment rose within him. Though he found it utterly baffling, he refrained from interrupting. Instead, he joined Delia and the others in watching the seal's reinforcement.
The vast, black Sea Eye remained largely still, its thick, dark miasma forcibly contained by the glowing, invisible barrier.
Finally, everything settled.
The figure seated cross-legged slowly opened their eyes. A ripple of storm energy spread outward in a perfect circle, sending waves of seawater rippling across the surface.
"Master Gali," the four members of the Storm Church hurried forward, their voices filled with reverence.
The figure nodded slightly, their face pale, as if they had expended considerable energy. Their eyes seemed to hold both storm and lightning, and though somewhat dimmed, still radiated an aura of immense power.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the seawater trembled.
The figure slowly rose to their feet and turned to Chen Feng. Their gaze flickered with surprise and confusion before they broke the silence.
"Which angel has descended?"
"I am Gali, Archbishop of the Storm Church," the figure replied respectfully, but their words sent a shock through Lei Long and the others.
Tornado Gali!
One of the three Archbishops of the Storm Church, rumored to be a being beyond the Saint level.
He was at the very heart of the True God Church, truly standing at the pinnacle of the Bountiful Continent.
Noticing the reverence in Lei Long and the others' expressions, Chen Feng guessed that this man's status was quite high.
"Feng Chen," he said softly, without elaborating on his origins.
The elderly man named Gali's eyes flickered, as if recalling and pondering.
No angel was ever truly nameless.
His confusion deepened. He had never heard that name before.
However...
"It seems you must have received a blessing from our Church's patron deity," he said with a smile, radiating goodwill and respect. "No wonder we received divine guidance, allowing us to arrive here just in time."
Chen Feng was slightly taken aback, surprised by the mention of a divine blessing.
Could it be due to the Wrath of the Storm?
He recalled seeing text mentioning the Storm God's blessing when he first acquired the talent.
Suddenly, his confusion cleared. He finally understood why the Church members' gazes held not only reverence but also a hint of familiarity.
After quickly assessing the situation and confirming the newcomers' lack of hostility, Chen Feng engaged in casual conversation with them, subtly inquiring about the seal.
"This seal had weakened recently, likely due to the influence of the Evil God Angel and the Nether Sea's corruption affecting the Mermen here," Gali explained. "The Church received a secret message earlier, revealing rampant piracy at sea, possibly linked to some kind of Blood Sacrifice ritual. However, the ongoing war between the Two Great Kingdoms and the unpredictable Ocean Tide prevented us from intervening in time."
"I believe this is the reason the Merman Tribe has produced several Saints in quick succession."
Gali's attitude toward Chen Feng was exceptionally warm. Without any prompting, he readily answered many of Chen Feng's questions.
"So that's why," Delia breathed a sigh of relief. She had genuinely believed the Mermen Clan had gained the protection of a True God, leading to the sudden emergence of multiple Saints.
"What about this seal?" Chen Feng asked.
"It's been temporarily reinforced for now, but we'll need additional measures later."
Gali's energy seemed to be slowly recovering. As he spoke, a storm brewed in his eyes, fixed on the hundreds-of-meters-wide seal barrier.
"Though the Nine True Gods are of the same lineage, a special ritual is still needed to awaken the residual Divine Power of the other gods and reinforce the seal."
"Speaking of which, we owe you a great debt for your earlier intervention, slaying those Murloc Sages corrupted by several gods. Without your help, reinforcing the seal might not have been so smooth."
Chen Feng looked at Gali intently. He could vaguely sense that Gali possessed a powerful trump card, likely originating from the same source as the power that had reinforced the seal earlier. A trace of immense pressure lay dormant within it.
Therefore, even if Chen Feng hadn't intervened, Gali could have handled the Mermen Clan on his own.
As for the humanoid shadow, though it resembled a weakened version of Angelic Power, its strength was only at the peak of the Sixth Tier. It seemed constrained by the sealed rule power, and Chen Feng even suspected that without the Fragment of Divinity's enhancement, it might not have been able to pass through the seal's gap at all.
During this idle conversation, Chen Feng carefully observed Gali twice. Could his trump card, the so-called divine blessing, also be a Fragment of Divinity?
The thought flashed through Chen Feng's mind, but his Perception was blocked by an invisible force.
Shaking his head, Chen Feng suppressed the thought and turned his gaze toward the Merman Tribe alongside Bishop Gali.
Thousands of Mermen knelt in place, most with terrified expressions and crimson eyes fading. They dared not rise.
A few still had crimson eyes and attempted to resist, but Gata easily dealt with them.
"Your sea beast is quite extraordinary," Bishop Gali remarked. It was rare for a sea beast to reach the Saint-level.
Chen Feng remained noncommittal. Then, Gali waved his hand.
A Saint from the Storm Church stepped forward, carrying a portable kerosene lamp. Intricate runes adorned the carved glass, inside which a tiny flame burned, appearing like a faint glow.
Buzz!!
As the Church Saint channeled their Spirituality, the flame within the carved glass suddenly surged, its light expanding.
The Rift Strait was illuminated as if by a miniature sun, with a sizzling sound echoing through the air.
Visible to the naked eye, wisps of black gas rose from the Mermen's bodies, rapidly dissolving like mist under the scorching sun.
"This is the Church's Extraordinary Artifact, Blazing Sunfire, capable of dispelling most evil and corruption in the world," Bishop Gali said, stroking his gray-white goatee.
Though phrased as a question, Chen Feng sensed a deeper meaning in his words.
"What do you propose?"
"While the Church can assign personnel to guard the seal, we can no longer afford to divert our attention to this matter," Gali replied, subtly urging Chen Feng to spare some Mermen to continue guarding the site.
Reinforcing the seal didn't guarantee absolute security. If other sea beasts accidentally entered the area, it could still be affected.
"Very well," Chen Feng said, nodding thoughtfully. He hadn't intended to exterminate the entire Merman Tribe from the start.
However...
Gazing at the thousands upon thousands of Mermen, sensing the presence of several Fifth-Tier and over a dozen Fourth-Tier beings among them...
A thought flashed through Chen Feng's mind.
"I have a condition."
"Oh?"
Bishop Gali looked puzzled, then saw Chen Feng turn to Gata.
"Sha!!"
The Soul Flame link allowed Gata to understand. He quickly waved his hand, and the flame danced above the mermen's heads.
A Saint-level aura slowly rose, as if a blue flame were floating above the giant octopus's head.
Then, before Delia and the others' astonished eyes, the flame dispersed, scattering into countless blue sparks that appeared before each of the powerful mermen, all at least Fourth-Tier.
"Swear by the Soul Flame to submit to me, and you may live," Chen Feng said calmly, his words causing the mermen's eyes to flicker.
Bishop Gali, standing beside him, raised an eyebrow, recognizing this as a rare Soul Flame enslavement technique. By agreeing, they would surrender their lives to Chen Feng's control.
The Storm Church members present wore varied expressions, but none dared to object.
Finally, a scarred Orca Merman stepped forward. His voice was deep and resonant, his aura at the Fifth-Tier level.
"I, Podis, pledge my submission to you!"
An Orca Merman with a scar across his face made his choice, his voice deep and resonant, his aura at the Fifth-Tier level.
As he opened his mind, the blue Soul Flame surged into his forehead, leaving behind a mark.
"Sha!!"
Gata responded, as if cheering, sensing the successful enslavement by the Soul Flame.
As if this was the signal, more and more Mermen made the same decision.
Chen Feng remained silent throughout, witnessing everything unfold. He also took note of Delia's complex expression.
This was Gata's unique method, one even Chen Feng, his master, had not mastered.
Mermen, unlike the Merfolk Clan, had been forcibly conquered. Without special measures to prevent betrayal, it was difficult to ever truly trust them.
But after this battle, these Mermen, all with considerable strength, had become his Familiars. Their lives and deaths were now indirectly controlled by his will.
"With this, I can consolidate and command the forces of these tribes."
"If we combine this with the Ocean Gate in the future, perhaps we can even withstand a sudden outbreak of the Black Tide?"
(End of the Chapter)
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