Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 249 Thoughts and Replies

After the secret conversation, Baines said goodbye to Luo Xiu and returned to the border with Lord Nelson.

After seeing off the "Grand Inquisitors" Baines and Nelson, Luo Xiu went to the Holy Office and began to deal with the backlog of church affairs.

Although Luo Xiu did give two days off to most of the church's holy inquisitors, this did not include himself - among all the clergy of the church, no matter who took the holiday, he could not have even one day of truly completely relaxing rest. This was what he had to sacrifice as the "officer of the high priest."

Now, Luo Xiu finally understood the real meaning of what Baines had said when he greeted him before: "it's hard for him to really relax."

……

After spending half a day to finish all the backlog of affairs, Luo Xiu returned to his high priest residence.

Returning to the bedroom, Luo Xiu first closed and locked the doors and windows, then opened the most protective "Golden Barrier", and sat on the edge of the bed.

Now is his first long period of "alone time" since the end of the decisive battle.

He was able to examine in more detail what he had gained from the previous decisive battle and think about some details about future plans.

After transferring the spiritual power within his body, Luo Xiu began to pray, chanting the blessing to summon the "Abyss Beast".

A moment later, "Cinder Wolf King" Fenrir appeared in Luo Xiu's room. He also felt the breath of "Shadow Raven" Misty Night. At this time, it was completely hidden, but the differentiated mist shadows filled every corner of the room.

Luo Xiu conducted panel tests on Fenrir and Wu Ye respectively.

Their levels have all been upgraded a lot, Fenrir has been upgraded from lv.41 to lv.45, and Misty Night has been upgraded from lv.41 to lv.44.

In the previous decisive battle, they each killed a large number of "Blood Corpse Hyenas". Although those were only "dangerous" monsters with levels between lv.5 and lv.20, after accumulating a huge number, they were transformed into the power of Fenrir and Wuye through "Devouring the Black Abyss", which could be regarded as a qualitative change.

In addition to the level increase, their respective basic attributes have also increased by an average of about 20%. Compared with those "bloody hyenas", they are well-deserved "top of the food chain".

After confirming the status of his two contracted abyss beasts, Luo Xiu recalled them and let them return to the abyss.

Afterwards, he removed the shining golden barrier and replaced it with a pale golden barrier. He then walked into the holy training room alone, sat on the soft chair, and began to think.

Luo Xiu already had some guesses of his own as to why the "Abyss Beasts" appeared early and how they broke through the seal.

By linking the differences with the previous life and controlling for variables, Luo Xiu could roughly draw the following conclusion:

...This matter may, probably, perhaps, be related to me.

Luo Xiu still clearly remembered the "Abyss Holy Book" he possessed, which recorded all the fate skills of the [Abyss]. It was a "Genesis-level" item belonging to the [Abyss] with the entry "unique".

If we assume that - from the moment he crossed over with the "Scripture of the Abyss", the "Scripture of the Abyss" that was supposed to exist in the "Abyss" disappeared inexplicably, then it goes without saying what kind of shock it would cause to the other side of this world - the "Sevenfold Abyss".

If the loosening of the Great Seal is indeed related to the loss of the Abyss Scripture, then when the seal was first set for the Abyss, the Great Seal should have been closely related to the Abyss Scripture. That might be one of the pillars of the seal - and the loss of the Abyss Scripture just shook this pillar.

Of course, there may be other reasons behind the loosening of the "great seal" imposed on the abyss, but Luo Xiu knows deeply that the possibility of "himself" being the biggest variable is only great. Before the real crisis comes, he needs to pave the way in advance.

As for the "Great Seal" loosening ahead of time, what consequences would this cause? Luo Xiu couldn't help but start thinking about the many possibilities in the future.

According to the timeline of the previous life, shortly after the 1.0 version of the "War of Judgment" ends, the 2.0 version of the "Scarlet Moon" will arrive.

By then, the only surface abyss clan, the "ghost clan" on the Scarlet Continent will end the disputes between clans, completely complete the integration, and blow the horn to raid the various continents of the Apocalypse World - Fanor Continent, Storm Continent and Broken Continent.

Version 2.0, that is the real time when the power of the "Abyss" will appear for the first time, but it is still too early for now.

Assuming that the Great Seal was loosened due to the loss of the Abyss Sacred Scripture, there would be two possible directions:

First, the various forces on the Fanol continent were aware of the existence of the "Abyss" in advance and made preparations for it;
Secondly, the Abyss Clan on the "Scarlet Continent" were able to draw more "Abyss" power from the loosened Great Seal, thereby increasing the difficulty of version 2.0!
Among them, the former can indeed be promoted by oneself, but the influence of the latter is uncontrollable, so one can only consider countermeasures when the time comes... Luo Xiu thought to himself, and his thoughts had already come to a more distant time.

According to the world line of the previous life, just after the 2.0 version of "Scarlet Moon" ends, the 3.0 version of "Echoes of the Abyss" will come.

——By that time, the great seal imposed on the abyss will be completely broken, and the many terrifying existences originally immersed in the "abyss" will all invade the ground, casting a shadow of disaster over the entire world!
And now, when version 1.0 has just been launched, if the great seal has already loosened, Luo Xiu has already foreseen the possibility that version 3.0 - "Echoes of the Abyss" may arrive ahead of schedule.

"What should I do..." Luo Xiu frowned slightly and pondered in his heart.

Since he traveled through time, he had thought about what kind of changes might occur if the "Abyss" lost the "Holy Book of the Abyss".

If the loosening of the great seal was really caused by the loss of the "Holy Book of the Abyss", this was actually not Luo Xiu's subjective intention - in his previous life, he killed the "Abyss Disaster Dragon", entered the Hall of Sin and touched a corner of the Abyss Book, but he never thought that such a change would happen today.

So, what should we do? Luo Xiu fell into thought.

In fact, the most straightforward and clumsy way to eliminate this world line change is to return the Abyss Book. But this is not realistic - even if the Great Seal is loosened, Luo Xiu has no way to the Abyss, and he does not intend to do so.

He had indeed gained power from the Abyss, and he had no intention of returning it.

Luo Xiu knew that, in essence, he was not a "savior" with mental mysophobia - even if the "Echoes of the Abyss" really arrived ahead of schedule, he would prioritize his own safety over the world, not the other way around.

Even if we take a step back, no matter whether the "Echoes from the Abyss" is advanced or delayed, "power" is the only guarantee to protect oneself and others.

Moreover, there are existences in the world that can contend with the "Abyss". If version 3.0 really arrives ahead of schedule, the result will only make the situation even more chaotic.

So, based on the premise of not returning the "Holy Book of the Abyss", Luo Xiu knew that he was not without a way out.

Luo Xiu, who has the memories of his previous life, knows that there are actually many beings that can fight against the "abyss".

For example, Luo Xiu has never seen the real believers of the "Balance" destiny in the world. They worship the real original pillar god "Apocalypse" and do have the method to seal the "Seven Abyss" again.

Unlike the other eight destinies, Balance can be said to be the most special destiny. The believers of this destiny do possess unknown power, and they are powerful, even more powerful than the extraordinary people of any other destiny.

But they rarely appear in public. Only when a real crisis strikes will they come with the will of "Apocalypse" and punish the creators of the crisis with the will of "Apocalypse".

In Luo Xiu's impression, the believers of the destiny of [Balance] were mainly active in version 2.0 and later.

However, in the 1.0 version of "War of Judgment", the believers of "Balance" were not active. In Luo Xiu's previous life, he had only seen them three times during this version.

If necessary, Luo Xiu would consider dealing with them in advance, but not now.

But in the final analysis, these speculations about the sudden appearance of the "Abyss Beast" are just "speculations" after all.

He can make the next decision only after the two-day holiday is over and the "Holy Judges" organized by Luo Xiu and Anthony have gone down to the seal of the coniferous forest to investigate.

"..." Just as Luo Xiu was thinking about this, his spirit suddenly trembled. Someone was applying to enter the high priest's residence.

That was the "Guiding Clergyman" Colen, one of the "Double Destiny" extraordinary people in the missionary station, and a clergyman who "voluntarily worked overtime" during the rare holiday, which was even more rare.

Luo Xiu then put these thoughts aside, removed the pale gold barrier, and allowed Colen to enter the high priest's residence freely.

After a short wait, there was a gentle knock on the door of the seminary room. After three knocks, "Knock, knock," Colen stopped knocking and waited quietly outside the door.

"Come in." Luo Xiu's calm voice came from outside the door, and Colen pushed the door open and walked in.

Luo Xiu's gaze fell on Colen. His attire was no different from his usual attire as a guiding clergyman, except that it was covered with a little more dust. In his hand, he was holding a gold-sealed letter.

As soon as he entered the holy room, Colen bowed slightly to Luo Xiu and said:

"Lord Luo Xiu, a messenger from Sina City has sent a letter to the church."

"It was sent by Lord Leonard, the 'priest' of the Church of Sina City, and the recipient is your name."

Priest Leonard sent me a letter? Luo Xiu pondered for a moment and roughly understood the situation.

He had previously sent a letter to Sina City, submitting an application for the knowledge of the "Obsidian Key" and the "Defense Barrier" to Bishop Fabion. Priest Leonard should have replied on this matter on his behalf.

"I see." Luo Xiu nodded and said to Kelun, "Put the letter on the table. Thank you for your hard work."

"No, no, Master Luo Xiu, this is my duty."

After responding humbly, Colen walked forward and placed the letter on the table in front of Luo Xiu. Then he said goodbye to Luo Xiu, left the holy room and closed the door.

After Colen left, Luo Xiu picked up the letter in front of him, cut the gold seal on it with a cutter, and took out three stacks of letter paper from the envelope.

It was a piece of pale white letter paper, exquisitely crafted and made of high-quality materials, and it exuded a faint paper scent.

Among them, deep black handwriting was flowing on it, and it was indeed Leonard's handwriting.

Luo Xiu browsed through the lines one by one, and his frown deepened.

Leonard wrote in his letter:
"To the 'High Priest' of the Red Maple City Wartime Church, Ross Carlos——"

"Bishop Fabion has received your application, but the Grey Blood Curse that he was suffering from has unfortunately worsened again recently, so it is not convenient for him to reply to you. So I, Leonard Bambers, will reply on your behalf."

"Bishop Fabion is pleased to see your growth, Luo Xiu. But for your first application, Bishop Fabion cannot satisfy you, because there are no extra 'Obsidian Keys' stored in the Church's Holy Storage Hall."

"I hope you understand, Luo Xiu, I haven't told you this before. Regarding the 'Obsidian Key', it is not like the 'Bronze', 'Silver' and 'Gold' keys that allow you to store in advance."

"According to the rules of the Holy See, the keys must be received by the applicant in person from the Archbishop of the diocese, and the promotion must be completed in the presence of another 'saint'."

"And according to the process, to apply for the 'Obsidian Key' you need to prove that you are qualified to 'become a saint'..."

...I really don't know this. Luo Xiu thought to himself that the rules and regulations regarding the promotion of the clergy in the Holy Court to the "Fifth Fate" were not written down, at least Luo Xiu had never seen them anywhere.

This can be seen as the "Holy Court"'s control over the "Obsidian Key", and it is also a strict screening of those who are promoted to the "Fivefold Destiny" clergy.

Luo Xiu was thinking about all this at the same time. He recalled that the players in his previous life could not be promoted to the "Fifth Fate" until the 3.0 version was launched. By that time, the promotion rules in the "Holy Court" had already been greatly changed.

Luo Xiu continued to read the letter. Leonard continued in the letter:

"However, Luo Xiu, this is a special period, and we have also received new regulations."

"I should have told you about the 'Holy War'. But what I didn't tell you at the time was that many of the 'Saints' currently serving in the 'Holy See' broke through the bottleneck and completed their promotion during the 'Holy War'."

"Bishop Fabion and I are well aware of your specialness. Since you applied to us for the Obsidian Key, it means that you have touched that boundary."

"At the same time as I was writing this letter to you, Bishop Fabion had already contacted the diocese and forwarded your application to the archbishop."

"Get ready, Luo Xiu. The test from the archbishop may come soon."

"According to the information we have, the person who will conduct your assessment will still be the 'Senior Deacon' Hubert."

"He has already left Songyuan City and the General Church. You should be able to see him again soon."

……

(End of this chapter)