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Chapter 237 Forbidden Spokesperson

"No, it's nothing." Chen Xuan coughed and shifted his gaze back. "It sounds plausible, but you can't fool me. Don't the Angel Alliance members often cut flesh from Lucy's body? If they go in, they can't come out again. How did that flesh spread all over the world?"

The so-called Mind Ring and the Flawless Crystal are inseparable from the natal Lucy, a secret he already knew from the future.

Liuli looked up with slight surprise, parted the white veil in front of her, and revealed half of her lower eye. As she looked at Chen Xuan, Chen Xuan also saw her purple eye—it was definitely not a human pupil, but more like a complex system: in the center was a gem with ever-changing colors, surrounded by countless starlight, the paths they left behind forming an extremely intricate flower.

This made him think of Earth and satellites. If you were standing in a space station and taking time-lapse photos of Earth and all the man-made satellites orbiting it, this would be the scene.

"I didn't expect you to know so much." Liuli snorted lightly. "But I'm not trying to scare you. There are conditions to getting close to Lucy. Even the angel she loves most wouldn't dare enter when the stability level is 9. There is an angel among you, but that only means you've met half the conditions."

"The mother, Lucy... likes angels?" Elori asked doubtfully.

"Didn't I say that all humans originate from it, and angels are the more fortunate among humans? Your bloodline that carries power is a gift from the Mother."

“…Nonsense,” she muttered under her breath, her expression clearly showing disbelief.

Chen Xuan, however, sensed something different.

When he traded with Elori, he discovered that she did indeed possess an ability called "Blood of Affinity," described as forbidden. Since he had no better option at the time, he traded for this ability, adding it to his collection of forbidden abilities. After acquiring it, he tried equipping it on himself, but nothing changed; it was as if it didn't exist at all. Therefore, he put the ability back into his inventory and hasn't touched it since.

Could it be that the reason Ruri said the angels were so beloved by the mother was because of the ability of "affinity blood"?
If I were to acquire all four abilities—"Disintegration and Remelting," "Seed of Flesh and Blood," "Curse: Thirst for Flesh and Blood," and "Blood Affinity"—I would max out the taboo level and become an honored guest of the other party.

Compared to angels, he is the true representative of taboo!

"How do we increase the stability level?" Lin Qing couldn't help but ask.

"Feed it." Liuli answered succinctly.

"How do you feed it?"

She smiled. "What do you think?"

Lin Qing turned to Chen Xuan, a hint of shock flashing in her eyes. Clearly, she had guessed the meaning of the word "feed".

Whether it's the Tower of Flesh and Blood in Chang'an or the flesh and blood monsters Chen Xuan encountered, they were all doing the same thing: fusion, constantly turning other living beings into their own part.

Dead creatures won't do; they must be alive.

Considering the reputation and image of the Angel Alliance, this information is rather chilling.

Only Elori was still confused, "How exactly do I feed it? Does it eat rice or meat?"

“They know it’s troublesome to do this, so the last time they fed the mother was fifteen years ago.” Liuli spread her hands. “The longer the interval, the harder it is to satisfy Lucy’s hunger. Now, if we want to restore the stability to over 80, we’ll probably have to use up over a hundred people at once. There are less than ten people in the temple’s treasury. Even if you include all of you, it’s still far from enough. If we rush in now, we’ll definitely die.”

Elori paused for a moment, then finally understood what "fed" meant, and her face turned deathly pale.

"How can this be?"

She wasn't afraid; she just couldn't believe her own organization would do such a thing!
"What should I do?" Lin Qing was at a loss.

"Open the door first." Chen Xuan was quite calm. "We'll talk after the door is open."

If the Mother Lucy were truly so effective, the demons wouldn't have blown up the treasure vault along with it. Furthermore, he believed that the so-called Mother's flesh and blood were not the same being as the "He" who bestowed the curse upon the flesh and blood. There might be some connection between them, but their relative status was obvious: if it were Him, He would never allow himself to be confined to this small vault, satisfied simply by being fed a few people.

"He allows you to remain graceful until the great fusion is achieved."

This statement, while seemingly tolerant, can also be seen as a form of affirmation.

If the affinity blood could be sensed by the other party, then her forbidden abilities should have the same effect. "You guys are really... courting death." Seeing Lin Qing start chiseling at the door again, Liuli's tone was tinged with disappointment. She turned slightly to the side, her right hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

Surely not... Didn't you say you wouldn't care if the treasure vault was destroyed?
At the same time, Chen Xuan also entered the slowed state of the Divine Eye Technique, preparing to summon the Thousand Thoughts Sword to intercept the opponent.

Suddenly, a violent explosion came from outside the treasure vault!
The hall shook violently!
Amidst such violent shaking, all three instinctively lay prone to maintain their balance, except for Liuli, who remained rooted to the ground like a nail, completely unaffected by the floor's tremors.

She withdrew her hand from the hilt of the knife, let out a soft "hmm," and looked towards the north side of Vault Number One, which was also the direction of the gate to the Temple Treasury.

"What happened? Was there an avalanche?" Elori asked in a panic.

In places like this, an avalanche can be just as powerful as an earthquake.

As soon as she finished speaking, two more loud booms rang out, causing a large amount of dust to fall from the ceiling!
"No, that sound sounds like an explosion," Lin Qing deduced. "The explosion came from outside the building; someone is attacking this place!"

"Can you see what's happening outside?" Chen Xuan shouted.

"It should be possible. I'll retrieve the surveillance footage." Lin Qing could hack into the surveillance system, so she could naturally manipulate it as well. She hadn't done so before to avoid arousing suspicion, but now the situation had clearly changed. She moved between the cameras one by one and quickly found the surveillance point located outside the treasure vault.

The scene shocked her.

"It's an armed helicopter!"

A fully armed heavy helicopter hovered above the open space, its nose pointing directly at the disguised dilapidated wooden house. The house had been completely destroyed, and the accumulated ice had been blasted into shards. Deep inside, hidden by the house, a steel door had collapsed, with obvious marks from the metal jets gnawing at the door.

Without a doubt, even the sturdiest gate cannot withstand the repeated devastation of armor-piercing rounds.

But the question is, how did this thing end up in the Himalayas?

A bad thought suddenly popped into Chen Xuan's mind.

"Could it be that demons have come too?"

"Several more planes have arrived!" Lin Qing warned.

This time, it was a utility helicopter similar to the Black Hawk. They approached the flat ground one by one, opened the hatches, and dropped ropes. Then, one after another, masked soldiers in black combat uniforms grabbed the ziplines and descended, rushing into the burning wooden hut amidst billowing smoke and dust. Their target was none other than the Temple Treasury.

These men were not only well-equipped but also highly trained, and they immediately seized control of the main entrances and exits of the vault. Lin Qing switched to the indoor cameras and found that they had already engaged the guards in a firefight. The guards were all ordinary people, and they were still dizzy from the sudden explosion, so they were unable to put up any effective resistance. After a few stun grenades, the intruders quickly took them down. Even when some guards were wounded and surrendered, they had no intention of leaving them alive, shooting them in the head one by one to finish them off.

At that moment, all four of them heard intense gunfire.

Chen Xuan activated the Heavenly Cloud Technique, allowing his consciousness to spread outwards. Soon, he sensed that there were about thirty more points of light in the Holy Temple Treasury, of which at least five had diffuse spiritual energy, resembling the characteristics of demons.

His suspicions were confirmed: the one attacking the treasure vault was indeed a demon! However, the enemy's methods of combat were somewhat different from what he had imagined. Instead of forcing their way in, they had assembled a fully armed assault force.

"Someone is invading the treasure vault!" Chen Xuan said to Liuli.

“I know,” the latter nodded.

"Aren't you going to deal with them? The Angel Alliance's guards are going to be wiped out!"

If they could get her away from the fight and have her deal with the demons, that would be the best outcome. While the two sides were locked in a life-or-death struggle, they could focus on breaking into the door of warehouse number nine without any distractions.

But Liuli remained unmoved.

“I told you, my duty is to guard the treasures and make sure they are not lost or damaged. They haven’t even come in yet, have they?” she said dismissively. “Besides… I can’t leave this place either.”

(End of this chapter)