Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 123 Baptism of Madness (6k4)

"——Convert to the Holy Abyss and serve me as your Lord..."

"..."

In the mind of "Flame Burner" Byrne, strange whispers began to repeat over and over again.

At this time, Byrne's consciousness had been invaded by Fenrir. Although he still retained awareness of the outside world, intense fear and pain, like a nightmare come true, began to surge in his mind.

The nightmare scenarios woven by Fenrir, the "Wolf of Nightmare", were frantically corroding Byrne's soul. This caused Byrne's spiritual surge to become violently disordered, and the light of the magic flame phantom blade condensed in his hand also became much dimmer.

"Get out of here!" Byrne roared. He suddenly raised the phantom blade in his right hand and stabbed it towards his right chest.

——Sizzle! Deep red blood gushed out from the wound, wrapped around the magic flame phantom blade, and began to burn.

The intense pain and the destructive power forcibly stimulated by the "burning blood" temporarily curbed some of the erosion of the "nightmare".

……

The deep golden light that was constantly flowing in Luo Xiu's pupils gradually went out as Byrne "burned his blood to commit suicide".

The first attempt to use "Mad Devotion" on "Flame Burner" Byrne, who was still in full health, was not successful.

However, Luo Xiu stopped chanting this "holy art" during the preparation stage of "Mad Piety", which made "Mad Piety" enter the penalty cooling period of only half an hour.

But this was expected by Luo Xiu.

"Flame Burner" Byrne, like Luo Xiu, is a transcendent of "Triple Fate". Even though the "Nightmare Wolf" constantly weaves nightmares in Byrne's mind, Byrne has not fallen into a state of "serious injury" or even "near death", and still has considerable resistance to "mad piety".

Using "Insane Piety" on the full-health "Triple Destiny" extraordinary person was just an attempt, and Luo Xiu quickly got feedback.

As Byrne committed suicide, the spiritual energy emanating from his body suddenly increased a lot, and the scarlet flames that splashed out from the wounds on his body became increasingly strong and hot.

The next second, Byrne's gaze was locked onto Luo Xiu again.

"The Flame Burner" Byrne swung the magic flame phantom blade in his hand, and at the same time, his left hand gathered a burning flame fireball with powerful destructive energy, rushing towards Luo Xiu!
——Ding ding ding! Luo Xiu swung his sickle and blocked Byrne's swift series of slashes. Two balls of scarlet reflected in the air. With the sound of each slash, a burst of scattered sparks would splash out.

By raising the strength attribute to "20", and with the attribute corrections of "Ghost Face Scales" and "Moon-Cutting Scythe", Luo Xiu's "Physical Attack" value has already exceeded the fifty mark!

With the addition of many damage-enhancing effects, Luo Xiu's melee damage at this time is already enough to be compared with the "Warrior" profession of the same destiny level.

——Ding ding ding! The magic flame phantom blade in Byrne's hand launched a series of lightning-fast slashes at Luo Xiu, but it was unable to break through Luo Xiu's defense and it was difficult to cause significant damage.

At the same time, Luo Xiu also used the skill "Demon Flame of Disaster" from the "Ancient Heritage". The "Moon-Cutting Scythe" enchanted by "Disaster Fire" suddenly rose up on the scythe blade, emitting a scarlet flame that was far hotter than the Demon Flame Phantom Blade in Byrne's hand!
——Ding ding ding! The two scarlet shadows kept colliding, making violent explosions. The blades of both sides kept hitting each other, causing the surrounding air to vibrate to a considerable extent!
A piercing sound of breaking through the air was heard, and Luo Xiu waved the "Red Moon" shaped sickle in his hand, creating an impenetrable scarlet light and shadow in front of him.

——Boom boom boom! "Flame Burner" Byrne simultaneously condensed a destructive fireball in his left hand and fired it towards Luo Xiu's position!
Luo Xiu held the "White Oak Magic Staff" tightly in his left hand, on which a golden light ball of "Sacred Attack Art" was also condensed, and he threw the sacred art of "Annihilation" back at the incoming scarlet fireball. The fireball and the light ball collided in mid-air, canceling out most of each other's power with loud noises!
As the "Great Judge of Sin", Luo Xiu dared to fight in close combat with "Flame Burner" Byrne because of his confidence in his own strength.

After being promoted to "Grand Judge of Crime", Luo Xiu was able to clearly see all the panel information of Byrne, who also had "Triple Fate", and had clear preventive measures for the dangers he might encounter.

This was also the first time that Luo Xiu had fought an enemy of the same level since he was promoted to the third level of his destiny, "Great Blessing of Judgement". He needed to use "Flame Burner" Byrne to roughly confirm the upper limit of his own strength.

At the same time, on the foggy night of "Mist Hidden Raven", a deep and thick black fog had spread around Byrne, and countless "mist shadows" were shooting towards Byrne.

The health of "Flame Burner" Byrne was constantly being reduced, but thanks to the characteristics of the fate of [Red Lotus], Byrne was able to slowly recover from his injuries. Under Luo Xiu's intentional control, Byrne's health was always stabilized at around half.

……

Byrne, the "Flame Burner", looked at his opponent who was fighting with him in close combat with swords while continuously releasing more powerful holy arts to offset his destructive fireballs. Byrne's face gradually turned ashen.

"Flame Burner" Byrne felt insulted.

Having fought with the opponent for a long time, Byrne, as a triple destiny transcendent of [Red Lotus], could already sense the fate of this "uninvited guest" opposite him.

From the many golden "holy arts" he used, it was not difficult to tell that he was a priest of [Glory].

"Is it the Holy Judge?" Byrne pondered. His first reaction was that, like himself as a "Flame Burner", a profession that could fight in close combat for such a long time should be a "Priest" or a "Paladin"...

But soon, Byrne's pupils shrank and he rejected the idea.

Because the weapon used by the "priest" on the opposite side is not a "war hammer" or a "giant sword", but a "staff"!
——That huge sickle that was shining with deep scarlet light could actually be a magic wand!
Byrne watched several times as the sickle that was constantly fighting against him unleashed one powerful holy spell after another. That was something that only a "magic staff" could do!

That is a weapon that is often used by clergymen of the "Priest" profession!

There were even a few times when "Flame Burner" Byrne broke through the opponent's defense and successfully injured the opponent, but the opponent surprisingly easily cast a "healing spell" with his hands and healed his injuries with ease!

——That is a sacred art that can only be mastered by the "Priest" profession!

"Flame Burner" Byrne's blood suddenly boiled.

As a "Flame Burner" who received the power of "destruction", he was actually fighting in close combat with a "Glorious" priest, and the fight was evenly matched!
The strong sense of oppression when the opponent swung the sickle was even stronger than mine. After these rounds of sword fighting, it seemed that I was only better than the opponent in terms of "flexibility"...

However, the battle between the "priest" on the opposite side and himself did not require any twists and turns. Every time his magic flame phantom blade really hit the opponent, the opponent's injuries would always recover quickly. On the contrary, every time he really hurt the opponent, he would feel a needle-like pain!
It felt like punching a cactus.

Byrne found it unacceptable, and the opponent even seemed to not want to end the battle prematurely with "holy magic".

"What the hell are you doing, what the hell is going on..." The flame blade in Byrne's hand suddenly flashed red, leaving a burning mark in the air, forcibly stopping the fierce battle, and he took a big step back.

"——Who on earth are you?!"

Byrne glared at the "priest" opposite him and roared.

At this time, after a long and fierce battle, Byrne's combat power, which was forcibly increased by "burning blood and committing suicide", has gradually begun to backfire.

The flames flowing from the deep scars on Byrne's body began to burn deeper and deeper scars. The crackling sounds of his skin and flesh being burned began to explode slightly in the air.

The tremendous pain brought by the "backlash" made Byrne frown tightly.

And in the mind of Byrne the Flame Burner, Fenrir the Nightmare Wolf continues to create nightmares, constantly breeding new fears from Byrne's soul.

This made Byrne's consciousness become increasingly blurred, and the ever-growing "fear" also made his fighting spirit become increasingly low.

Suddenly, the "priest" opposite seemed to make a teasing sound from under the "black-patterned puppet mask" he was wearing.

"Byrne, you are pretty good..."

"...Accept my baptism. You have obtained the qualification to serve the Holy Abyss."

The "priest" opposite, at the same time as the voice from under the black-patterned puppet mask fell to the ground, a strange purple mist began to emanate from the palm of his left hand.

Byrne's consciousness gradually became blurred, but with his intuition and perception of danger, he had already sensed the great danger and terror hidden in the purple mist in the palm of the "priest" opposite him.

But it was too late for Byrne to escape. Just as the ominous aura emanated from the "priest", the "fog shadows" surrounding Byrne enveloped Byrne's figure in an instant!
The corrosion of "Dark Corrosion" quickly spread to every inch of Byrne's flesh and skin, and his vitality was being sucked out of his body like peeling off silk threads.

The flames on the Flame Burner gradually dimmed, and Byrne felt that he was becoming weaker and weaker.

Just as Luo Xiu was watching the panel, Byrne, the Flame Burner, had his health reduced to just two digits, and was on the verge of death.

Luo Xiu then stopped the erosion of the "Mist Hidden Raven" by the misty night, and at the same time raised the purple mist in his palm high to the sky.

——The Holy Abyss is coming!
This time, the purpose of using "Holy Abyss Descent" was to reduce the highest "divine" attribute of "Flame Burner" Byrne, so that his own "divine" attribute value could be as greater as possible than the sum of Byrne's "divine" and "resistance" attribute values.

Only in this way can the prerequisite for successful brainwashing of "madness and piety" be met.

After the previous fierce battle, the half-hour cooling time of "Mad Piety" has passed, and Luo Xiu has also completed the chanting of "Holy Blessing", allowing the blessed light beam to pass through the "Eye of Corrosion" and pour into Byrne's body.

Byrne was enveloped by black light and his "divinity" attribute value plummeted on the spot. Byrne only felt that most of the spirituality contained in his body disappeared without a trace in an instant.

At the same time, Byrne, who had been tortured to the point of near dementia due to the double trauma of both mental and physical trauma, saw the "priest" in his sight, who seemed to chant something and then walked towards him.

"You...what are you going to do..."

With a foreboding feeling in his heart, Byrne let out a final struggle from his throat.

However, the "priest" ignored Byrne's struggle. Golden light patterns flowed in his pupils again, and at the same time, a layer of golden light emanated from his left hand, and he gently pressed Byrne's forehead.

"——This is the kindness of 'Holy Abyss', this is the mercy of 'Shura'..."

"——You are the sinner who has lost his way, and I am the guiding light..."

"——Abandon destruction and follow me..."

"——Convert to the Holy Abyss and serve me as your master..."

"..."

As Luo Xiu chanted in a low voice, the eyes of "Flame Burner" Byrne gradually dimmed.

This is a "crazy and pious" prayer, and the chanted blessing was modified by Luo Xiu with a "holy prayer", distorting its direction.

Originally, "This is the mercy of 'Shengyuan', this is the mercy of 'Shura'"

Both "Convert to 'Shengyuan' and serve me as the Lord" have original texts.

The original text is——

"This is the mercy of 'holy light', this is the compassion of 'moment'";
"Convert to the 'Holy Light' and serve Him as the Lord"!
In other words, although the recipient will become Luo Xiu's "crazy believer", the ultimate source of faith is still in "Casting Sun Moment", and Luo Xiu is only their "indirect belief".

And here, the "Holy Abyss" replaced the Holy Light, and Luo Xiu also replaced Xuyou, becoming the "direct belief" of the "crazy believers"!
This means that Luo Xiu will be able to completely "restrain" and "dominate" these "crazy believers"!
However, there are limitations.

The "crazy piety" whose attributes are determined based on Luo Xiu's "divinity" is bound by Luo Xiu's own "divinity" to bind the "crazy believers".

If the number of "mad believers" who have "direct faith" exceeds the limit at the same time, the brainwashing effect of "mad piety" will loosen, which may lead to large-scale riots of "awakened".

But this is a later question. Luo Xiu conservatively estimated that with the divine attribute bonus of the "Great Judgment of Sin" of the "Triple Destiny", it should not be a problem to maintain about ten "crazy believers" of the same level at the same time. ...

"Flame Burner" Byrne, an extremely clear and strange whisper came into his mind.

"Holy Abyss", "Ashura"...all kinds of unheard-of strange words, like a brand, were engraved on his soul.

Byrne wanted to stop it, wanted to struggle and resist, but deep in his consciousness, there was a nightmare wolf lurking. It kept creating horrible nightmares, eroding and dissolving Byrne's remaining will, causing him to gradually sink into the bottomless abyss.

Byrne felt as if something strange was pouring into his soul.

But this feeling did not disgust him, it even made Byrne feel inexplicably comfortable.

In Byrne's mind, a vague image of the "Destruction Seat" began to emerge inexplicably. It was the purest and most original ball of fire of destruction enshrined on the Red Lotus Seat. However, this vague statue of the Pillar God began to shatter, peel off, and fall one by one in front of Byrne's "eyes" like a glass framed painting.

At the same time, a dark "eye" suddenly opened in Byrne's mind. In that "eye", golden and purple light continued to flow, emitting a sacred, great, and awe-inspiring aura that Byrne felt.

Byrne inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity with this breath. At the same time, he had an urge to "follow", "serve", and "kneel down" from the bottom of his heart.

In addition, as the "eye" continued to peer into Byrne's mind, Byrne felt that he seemed to be gradually forgetting something very important.

"Flame Burner" Byrne, his consciousness gradually fell into coma.

……

The first official attempt at "mad piety" was successful.

Luo Xiu looked at the prompt on the panel that the "Divine Test" had passed, and then looked at the "Flame Burner" Byrne who was lying on the ground, dying and covered in blood.

The belief in "Holy Abyss" and "Ashura" has been successfully implanted into Byrne's mind through "crazy piety".

Byrne, who had just been beaten up by Luo Xiuzhengyi and tortured both physically and mentally, had fallen into a coma and would need quite a while to wake up.

At this moment, in Luo Xiu's panel feedback on the detection of "Flame Burner" Byrne, there was an additional item in his status bar.

——"Crazy Devout (stable, permanent)"!
"This can be considered a success..." Luo Xiu murmured.

"Flame Burner" Byrne is the most important first step for him to cultivate a secret force outside the "Holy Court".

Among the extraordinary people of the "Triple Destiny", Byrne's strength can only be considered average. He cannot be compared with the "Body Destroyer" Samu and the "Spirit Adventer" Starro, whom Luo Xiu had fought before.

However, although Byrne's fighting ability is average, he is at least a genuine "triple destiny" extraordinary person.

The successful capture of "Flame Burner" Byrne is an important milestone.

While thinking, Luo Xiu recalled Fenrir who was hiding in Byrne's consciousness, and at the same time asked Wu Ye to differentiate into "Mist Shadow" to monitor the surrounding environment.

After making sure that there was no one around and that all the pagans in the entire Torch Party stronghold had been killed, Luo Xiu took back the territory of the "Holy Abyss" and began to chant the "Healing Technique".

Luo Xiu took out the "White Oak Staff" and condensed a golden glow on the tip of the staff. The light ball of "Healing" flew to the side of "Flame Burner" Byrne and turned into vitality that flowed into Byrne's body.

The deep wounds on Byrne's body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Afterwards, Luo Xiu activated the inherent skill of the White Oak Staff, Blessing of the White Oak, and treated Byrne again.

After two treatments, Byrne's injuries began to heal rapidly, from "near death" to "severe injury", and then to "moderate injury".

The consciousness of "Flame Burner" Byrne gradually awakened, but there was a barely perceptible golden light in his eyes.

"I am... 'The Burning Fire' Byrne..."

Byrne, who had just woken up, spoke in a somewhat stiff voice. He glanced at the "priest" opposite him, and no hostility emerged from deep in his heart.

"You are 'Shura'..." Byrne murmured.

"Well, I'm 'Shura'."

Opposite Byrne, a low voice came from under the black-patterned puppet mask of the "Priest".

"I am the Lord of the Holy Abyss. And you, Byrne."

"Answer me, your name and identity."

"..."

"Flame Burner" Byrne looked a little dazed when he was questioned by Luo Xiu.

When Byrne heard the word "Holy Abyss", his eyes gradually brightened.

"I am a servant of the Holy Abyss..."

Byrne raised his head and looked at the "priest" in front of him, who was wearing a black-patterned puppet mask, with a fanatical look on his face.

——Swish, Byrne lifted up his scarlet robe and knelt in front of Luo Xiu.

"——I am your loyal servant, my lord."

Byrne's expression was pious and his tone was firm.

"It is you who made me wake up, my Lord..."

"From now on, my life belongs only to Sheng Yuan, and my power is only for you to use..."

"Very good." Luo Xiu nodded imperceptibly.

"Then, Byrne. From now on, you will be my 'shadow'."

Luo Xiu said in a low voice: "Now, I will give you the first task..."

"Please give your orders, my lord." Byrne still knelt on the ground and spoke humbly.

Luo Xiu looked around and saw the corpses of the pagans scattered around.

"Byrne, I command you."

"This place was originally the base of the Torch Party. Now, it is up to you to clean it up."

Luo Xiu issued the first order.

Byrne raised his head and looked at the bodies of his former compatriots around him, with no expression of emotion on his face.

"Yes, sir." Byrne then said humbly:

"...I will follow your will."

……

at dusk.

After completing the cleanup of a medium-sized stronghold of the "Torch Party" and successfully subduing the "Flame Burner" Byrne as his first "Crazy Believer", Luo Xiu witnessed a "bonfire feast" with his own eyes.

At that time, "Flame Burner" Byrne, after receiving the first "order" from Luo Xiu, spared no effort to move the bodies of all the "Torch Party" members to one place.

At the same time, "Flame Burner" Byrne released the "Fire of Destruction" hidden in his body and burned the pile of corpses.

Flames shot up into the sky, and a burning smell filled the air. Luo Xiu stood at a distance, calmly watching the stronghold burn to ashes.

The best way to prevent the bodies of the "superhumans" from degenerating and deforming is to burn them. And now Luo Xiu has no interest in waiting for these bodies to degenerate into undead spirits before killing them again.

The corpses of the extraordinary people with "double destiny" that have degenerated into undead spirits are no longer attractive to Luo Xiu.

In Sina City, there are more experience packs that are more worthwhile to earn.

After confirming that the scene had been burned clean, Luo Xiu asked "Flame Burner" Byrne to return to the "Torch Party".

Byrne was not suitable to follow him openly. Luo Xiu knew that even if he was about to form a "Shadow Legion", he was still far from strong enough with only a "Triple Destiny".

Luo Xiu didn't want to attract too much attention.

As for the "shadows" like Byrne who are "crazy believers", their biggest role at present is to become the "nails" that drive into various pagan organizations.

This is beneficial to myself, as I can keep track of the intelligence about these pagan organizations at any time, and at the critical moment, I can righteously backstab the leaders of these pagan organizations!

Luo Xiu then dismissed "Flame Burner" Byrne. But before he left, Luo Xiu quietly split a "mist shadow" towards Byrne to conduct short-distance surveillance and convey instructions.

After completing all this, Luo Xiu did not return to Sina City immediately.

Luo Xiu immediately set off and headed for the next "pagan" stronghold.

While his hand is still hot, he plans to conquer the second "Crazy Believer"!
As for the target to be conquered this time, Luo Xiu already had a candidate in mind.

His gaze then fell on a river valley further away.

——“Whistling Valley”!
There is a secret medium-sized base of a pagan organization known as the "Beast Ancestors Association" and calling itself the "Beast Cult".

A "bloodthirsty werewolf" guards this stronghold.

He is a powerful extraordinary being with half "wolf" blood in his body and two "template specialties".

It is also the target that Luo Xiu is about to hunt.

It's a little late for a private Marseille! I'm dizzy orz
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(End of this chapter)