A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 533 Returning to China
Even through the transmission of sound, Shen Tang could tell that the high priest's voice was no longer as gentle as before, but rather unusually cold and calm.

He was talking about Jialan.

He also specifically instructed Shen Tang to avoid Jia Lan in order to receive this oral message.

It turns out that as early as seventeen years ago, when Lunas first saw his son in the Cold Palace, he had already noticed that the child's condition was extremely strange.

Jialan harbored resentment and malice, which catalyzed the emergence of another corrupt side of her personality.

His resentment towards his mother and the outside world made him want to kill everyone who had ever bullied him.

At that time, Jialan was still young, and although this viciousness was only in its nascent stage, it was already foreseeable that it would spiral out of control in the future.

Unwilling to let him fall into the abyss of evil, Lunas used his power to suppress the curse within him.

Unfortunately, the personality cannot be eliminated; it can only remain dormant for now, and it is unknown when it will revive.

This time, Lunas also vaguely sensed that Jialan's condition was abnormal, but the other party hid it too well, and not even a trace of filth was revealed.

Although he had suspicions, he couldn't find any evidence, so he could only remind Shen Tang to be careful and to seek his help at any time if she noticed anything unusual.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Hidden dangers are hard to guard against, and once something has happened, it cannot be undone.

"Your Majesty, it is not advisable to return to the palace for the time being. I will escort you to the priest's temple."

In just three days, the temple was restored to its original state.

While in seclusion in his meditation room, Lunas suddenly sensed something, opened his clear golden eyes, and his aura became momentarily disordered.

He got up and went outside the hall, looked in a certain direction, and sighed deeply.

He then changed out of his plain robes and into a more magnificent and formal divine robe, and led two rows of attendants to the door to greet him. "I guessed you would come again... Is Your Majesty injured?"

Seeing that Garuda's white robes were stained with blood and the clothing on his left chest was torn, a barely perceptible hint of panic flashed across Lunas's originally calm expression.

He almost rushed forward, took Garuda from Shen Tang's arms, and said with a hint of nervousness in his voice, "Your Majesty, the temple has high-level healing physicians. I will take you there to heal your wounds right away."

Garuda coughed weakly, her face somewhat unnatural, but she couldn't care less at the moment and didn't struggle. "Thanks to Xiaotang, she has healed my wounds, and my life is not in danger for now, but..."

As Lunas placed his long fingers on her wrist, he sensed that her heart meridian energy was no longer as strong as it used to be.

The loss of most of her superpowers means that her heart and crystal core have been severely damaged and are almost impossible to recover.

"It was Lan'er who did it." He guessed.

Shen Tang nodded and informed the High Priest of what had happened in the palace.

Lunas's face turned cold, and he unconsciously hugged Garuda tighter. He knew that for the proud and arrogant Garuda, this moment was not only physical pain, but also heartbreak.

He was hurt by his dearest son and even nearly lost his life; there is no greater sorrow than a broken heart.

No amount of comforting could help; she could only slowly heal her wounds on her own.

“If Your Majesty has nowhere to go for the time being, you may stay at the Divine Palace,” he said. “You may stay for as long as you like.”

Garuda opened its mouth, only saying wearily and gratefully, "Thank you, thank you for your trouble."

Runas gazed silently at the esteemed Empress. Years had passed, and she had indeed changed a great deal; these events must have been a tremendous blow to her.

He couldn't help but raise his hand, his fingertips gently and restrainedly stroking the ends of her deep blue hair, as if offering silent comfort, before curling his fingers back, "...Your Majesty, you needn't be so polite, it's what I should do."

Garuda felt a chill run down her spine, a complex mix of emotions welling up within her. The priestly temple stood independently above imperial power, never involved in the succession of dynasties.

As the high priest, Lunas had no need to care about her life or death.

Last time, it was because Jialan asked for it; what about this time...?

She suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

Though she no longer possessed the stunning beauty of her youth, her pale face still radiated a myriad of charms with a faint smile, captivating hearts as it had in her prime. "Is this a matter of official business or personal love?"

Runas looked away and refused to look at her again.

Unable to answer the question, he simply carried Garuda to a room in the temple to settle her in, and summoned a physician to prepare a prescription to nourish her body and alleviate her post-traumatic stress disorder as much as possible.

Garuda didn't get the answer she wanted, but she had no regrets.

Often, the answer is no longer important.

After settling Garuda in, Lunas walked out of the palace, his gentle smile vanishing, replaced by an unusually cold and stern expression.

Shen Tang had been waiting at the door. When he came out, she quickly went up to him and said, "High Priest, I have another question to ask you."

Runas nodded. "Come with me."

The two came to the side hall.

Shen Tang took out the Wujian Box from his spatial storage. When he opened it, he was surprised to find a doll that looked exactly like Jia Lan.

That's right, the Infinity Box and the doll are with her, because the Infinity Box is a system item that can be recycled by the system.

She couldn't possibly leave something so important in Ryūya's hands.

But she just couldn't figure out how that guy Ryūya got out.
According to the system, the Infinite Box should be able to seal the curse power within Jialan's body; even if her personality cannot be destroyed, it will be forcibly put into a dormant state. Therefore, even though she sensed something unusual, she didn't think about it too deeply.

She had the system check it, and the Infinity Box was not malfunctioning; it couldn't have been opened from the inside. "This thing certainly cannot be opened from the inside, so it can only be opened from the outside." As expected of the High Priest of the Sea God, Lunas knew the purpose of the Infinity Box at a glance, and secretly marveled at how this little girl could produce such a treasure.

This box is indeed a good thing for suppressing the corrupting power within Jialan's body. If it is never opened, it can certainly ensure his lifelong peace.

“Jialan didn’t feel comfortable leaving such a dangerous thing with me, so he’s been keeping it safe. He couldn’t possibly hand it over to anyone else… Are you saying he opened it himself?” Shen Tang felt a chill run down her spine.

"It seems that this is indeed the case."

Shen Tang didn't understand why Jia Lan would personally open the curse if she clearly hated it so much.

Runas took out the doll from the box, his expression instantly turning icy cold, his voice reaching its deepest point, "Where did you get this?"

Shen Tang then told Lunas about Xivar's framing of Jialan, mentioning a mysterious person—the very person who gave the witchcraft doll to Xivar.

Unfortunately, despite their long investigation, they were unable to ascertain the other party's true identity.

Runas gently stroked the doll in his palm with his fingertips and sighed softly, "I see."

"Does Your Highness know who is the mastermind behind Jialan's murder?"

"it's me."

"what?"

“A trace of my spiritual power still remains on this witch doll.”

Shen Tang immediately realized, "The man in black who handed the Sivar witchcraft doll was another 'you'."

Runas nodded. "'He' hasn't disappeared after all."

“All these years I’ve locked myself in the temple, afraid of another accident. That’s why I’ve been in seclusion, cultivating myself and calming my mind. I never expected that person would still find a loophole.” Runas frowned, his voice low. “Perhaps when I was in seclusion and asleep, he briefly took control of my body and then used other methods to make my body forget this memory.”

"But... Jialan is also his own flesh and blood, how could he want to harm his own son?"

Runas shook his head. "He lied to Shivar. This doll's witchcraft won't kill Garan, but it will activate the curse power within him, helping another personality to completely take control of the body."

High priests throughout history have had a mission they must fulfill, and they can no longer live a peaceful and happy life like ordinary people, nor do they have ordinary emotions and desires.

To maintain their sacred and glorious image, they abandoned many things—greed, rage, pride, selfishness, hatred, deception… and even the desires that ordinary people should have.

These filthy and evil emotions, which were despised and rejected by high priests throughout history, became the fertile ground for the growth of another personality.

The two personalities are opposites from birth, and they will fight each other and try to devour one another.

Perhaps knowing that he could not escape the fate of being suppressed, another Lunas tried to cultivate a new cursed mermaid by procreation.

He naturally tried his best to turn Jialan into Liuye.

“However, ‘he’ should have completely disappeared by now.” Runas looked at the box in Shen Tang’s hand. “Now, Liu Ye is extremely powerful, perhaps even I can hardly suppress him. The reason he was able to make a comeback and possess such great power is because he completely inherited the power of the previous generation of cursed mermaids.”

After figuring out the reason, Shen Tang also received the reward for the mission to save the Sea Emperor, and it was time for her to leave.

The situation among the sea tribes is far too dire and complex for her, an outsider, to interfere with. As for Jialan… she doesn't know what to do either.

She also knows Liu Ye's secret, and he will never let her go easily; he will most likely send people to kill her.

She could only return to the Empire first to discuss countermeasures with the beastmen.

Besides, Shen Tang has been asleep for many days, and the beastmen must be extremely worried. She needs to go back as soon as possible.

Before leaving, Shen Tang obtained several precious water-repelling beads from Garuda, which would allow land-based beastmen to enter the sea.

Lunas will take good care of Garuda. Currently, the temple is the safest place in the entire sea area, and even if Ryuya wanted to assassinate him again, it wouldn't be easy for him to succeed.

Back to the palace of the Night Glow Empire, everyone was in a state of panic, like ants on a hot pan. The most anxious of all were the beastmen. They had received a message from Shen Tang earlier, informing them that something had happened in Jialan and the Sea Kingdom, so Shen Tang had no choice but to go and save Jialan.

Fortunately, she sent good news a few days ago, saying she will be back soon.

But to my surprise, three days passed in the end.

They promised to come back on a certain day, but I haven't seen a single cat hair.

All the messages and calls Xiao Jin and the others sent him went unanswered, leaving no trace.

This greatly worried the beastmen.

"boom!"

In a grand canal near the estuary, Xiao Jin, soaking wet, crawled out of the icy water, choking on a mouthful of water, his face and neck red from the cold.

This was his thirty-fifth attempt to go into the sea, but unfortunately, as a land-dwelling leopard, he was simply unable to enter deeper waters. Even if he tried a hundred or a thousand more times, even if he became a water ghost, he would never reach the royal palace of the sea kingdom.

He reverted to his human form, lying on the ground like a sick dog, and slammed his fist hard into the frozen ground, letting out a long howl.

In the freezing cold, all the blood vessels in my body felt like they were about to burst.

Xue Yinzhou stared fiercely at the direction of the sea, his aura dropping to freezing point, exuding a violent and cold aura, wishing he could freeze everything into ice!
Lu Xiao was equally anxious and could no longer pretend to be calm. He had already assembled the Empire's most elite deep-sea diving force, which could dive to depths of thousands of meters using military equipment. However, they would be unable to move freely in the deep sea and their strength would be greatly reduced. It was an extremely dangerous last resort, but they had no choice but to do it.

Just as Lu Xiao had finished organizing his troops and was about to force their way into the sea, he suddenly saw a familiar figure appear, which made them overjoyed to have him back.

"Tangtang!"

Three thousand words~