This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

The magical potions left behind by Rebecca and the agricultural technological revolution brought about by the research guided by her donations directly reduced the number of starving people on the continent by half. Although most commoners are still poor, the number of people who starve to death due to lack of food has decreased significantly.

What about the technology that these three geniuses spent over a thousand years developing here? Will it be able to feed the remaining half of the starving population?

Unfortunately, these three people did not use their skills for good.

Having gained a preliminary understanding of the power of the Three Venerables, Abyss did not rush to take Flora out on an immediate mission. Instead, he held a meeting in the Palace of Eternal Night for a more in-depth discussion.

No one except Sheila was invited to this meeting, and Abyss did not share the results of their discussions with his subordinates, making it seem quite mysterious.

The meeting lasted for nearly half a day, and Abyss and his retinue discussed a great many issues. However, apart from the attendees, no one else knew the contents of the meeting. Abyss seemed to have no intention of involving his men in the matter.

As the meeting drew to a close, Agnes' cat ears suddenly twitched. She looked up at Abyss and said to him, "It's time to go."

"Has the Sacred Tree detected anything unusual?" Abyss glanced at Agnes.

“Hmm.” Agnes nodded and replied, “The Three Venerables are using magic to disrupt the spatial rift; if we don’t get out soon, we won’t be able to get out.”

Abis raised an eyebrow.

It seems the Three Venerables are very serious about dealing with him.

The magic Agnes was referring to was the interference magic the elders had used at the high-level exchange to prevent the "slaves" from escaping.

If this magic were cast by the Three Venerables, it's likely that no more spatial rifts could be opened within the entire Shadowfall area.

The Abyss currently has no way to counter this magic unless it fundamentally changes the structure of Helheim—which is impossible in the short term.

Now, Abyss must go out with his retinue before the three venerable ones fully activate the magic.

Chapter 328 Horrifying Sighting of the Council of the Dead

Two days after the Abyss and its followers hurried back to the Shadowlands, the necromancers of the Council of the Dead noticed that some of the people around them had suddenly become very strange.

Jeff, a mid-level senator, encountered something terrifying yesterday while buying potions at the exchange...

As Jeff entered the exchange, which had just been damaged and was not yet fully repaired, but was only open because the Council of the Dead wanted to keep the necromancers in line, he saw someone he recognized.

An aged halfling was walking around the exchange, leaning on a staff, and looked like he was going to buy something.

This person is Holick. Originally, he was a loner and had no companions. He didn't have much influence in the Council of the Dead. But after the Abyss officially began its attack on the Council of the Dead, Holick's name gradually spread throughout the council.

Because this guy lost two apprentices after the Abyss launched its attack.

The elders had already issued an order for all necromancers to be on the lookout for people, and soon someone thought of "Anita," who had just been promoted to the Intermediate Council.

The first to discover the problem were, of course, the unfortunate few who had been swindled out of their money by the Abyss. Apart from that oddball who had begun to believe in the God of Nature and had no interest in worldly affairs, the others reported the scam they had experienced directly to their superiors.

Upon receiving this report, the Council of the Dead immediately noticed that Anita and Spin, the two peripheral mages, seemed to have some issues. However, when they launched an investigation, they discovered that the two had already disappeared.

This essentially confirms that Anita and Spin were actually Abyss and one of its henchmen in disguise.

However, although this matter was confirmed, the parties involved had all fled, and the Council of the Dead could do nothing about it.

They only noticed the old man Holick—who had been so enraged during the days he infiltrated the Council of the Dead in Abyss disguised as his apprentice that he had even become somewhat mentally unstable.

Although this guy was pitiful, the necromancers had no sympathy for him, and everyone spread the story as a joke.

Therefore, even Jeff, who didn't know Hollick before, now knows that this old and frail halfling necromancer with wide-open eyes is the fool that the Abyss used as a breakthrough point.

He intended to go up and pretend to care about Hollik, but found that Hollik seemed a little strange today.

He walked very slowly, muttering something to himself. His wide, bloodshot eyes looked as if he hadn't slept for ten days or half a month, making him appear exhausting to others.

"His mental illness has worsened again? Sigh, what a pathetic idiot." Jeff shook his head inwardly.

Since the other party's mental illness, which was caused by the Abyss, was getting worse, Jeff didn't want to get involved with this guy anymore. What if his mental illness suddenly flared up and he hit Jeff with a spell? This guy was from the Soul Reaper school; if he got hit by him, it would be bad enough.

"Seize...revenge..."

At that moment, Jeff heard Hollick muttering to himself.

What is he reciting?

Jeff couldn't contain his curiosity and moved closer to Hollick, wanting to hear more clearly.

"Capture the Abyss...I want revenge...Capture the Abyss...I want revenge..."

Hollik's voice was hoarse and cracked, like a broken gong, and his lips were chapped, but he still talked to himself tirelessly.

"How furious must he be?" Jeff muttered under his breath. "What on earth did that Abyss do..."

"The Abyss!" Hollick suddenly turned around, raised his hand, and grabbed Jeff by the collar. "Where's the Abyss! Catch the Abyss! I want revenge! The Abyss! Revenge!"

Jeff was startled by those bloodshot eyes. Hollick's expression was now extremely terrifying, and his undisguised killing intent was like that of a hungry beast.

"Ouch!" Jeff turned pale with fright. Being grabbed by the collar by such a madman was terrifying.

He struggled desperately to break free, but Hollick's hand gripped his collar like a pair of pliers.

Stab it!

When Jeff broke free, a piece of the mage's robe he had been wearing for several years was torn off. Even after Jeff broke free, Hollick still held the piece of cloth in his hand.

"Where is the Abyss! Where is the Abyss!"

Hollik roared, revealing a mouthful of crooked, rotten teeth. His height of only half that of a human now made him look terrifying. Jeff didn't even care about his clothes and got goosebumps all over his body.

Everyone in the exchange looked over in surprise; they hadn't expected Hollick to go crazy here.

“How should I know! I’ve never seen the Abyss!” Jeff quickly explained.

Just after Jeff explained, Hollick suddenly calmed down. He stopped staring at Jeff and threw the piece of cloth in his hand to the ground. Leaning on his staff, he slowly walked away with faltering steps.

"Capture Abyss...I will take my revenge..."

He kept repeating those two sentences to himself.

Jeff's eyes, however, caught something unusual as Jeff left.

Inside Hollick's collar... there seemed to be a clump of wriggling black sludge...

"What is that thing..." Jeff dared not speak any further, covering his mouth and staring in horror at what was hidden inside Hollick's clothes.

That's the Shadow Demon's black sludge? No... the Shadow Demon's black sludge doesn't coat a person's body, does it?

What kind of monster did Hollick turn into?

……

It wasn't just Jeff; in the past two days, many mages in the Shadowlands have had similar experiences to Jeff.

They discovered that some people they knew—most of whom were eccentric and paranoid—had become very strange, constantly repeating some purpose in their mouths as they wandered aimlessly.

Once someone says or does something that touches on those people's sensitive points, they will become extremely aggressive. However, as long as the person they have harassed quickly clarifies the situation, they will lose their aggressiveness and return to their wandering state.

The fact that part of their bodies had turned into black mud added to the horror of the sighting.

They had no idea about the puppets of the Lord of Delusions, so the Council of the Dead was once again filled with unease.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. The chief mage's voice reached the minds of all the necromancers after Jeff returned home and had his apprentice sew up his clothes.

"Our collaborators are extraterrestrial evil gods. The black mud monsters you have seen recently are all those who have obtained the power of these extraterrestrial evil gods. Do not panic, this is a normal phenomenon. Do not disturb these comrades."

The necromancers then realized that it wasn't the Shadow Demon impersonating them, but rather the work of the Three Venerables and their previously undisclosed collaborator—the extraterrestrial evil god.

We have an extraterrestrial evil god here!

The necromancers' fear quickly turned into confidence.

Chapter 329 The Hideout of the Lord of Delusions

"Yes, the spatial rift should be closed now. The unusual magic in the air this time should have been released by the chief mage, Haynes."

Abyss and Flora are currently sitting on a large rock, protected by divine magic, and will not be seen by any outsiders.

“I don’t plan to try using spatial rifts anymore. With this abnormal magic around, I’m worried that using spatial rifts will be detected by Haynes immediately,” Abyss said to Flora.

"That Haines must be very strong, Abyss. Are you well prepared?"

Flora asked with some concern.

Her concerns were not without reason.

The magic of the Fallen Shadows should have been controlled by Agnes using the Sacred Tree, but even so, the Abyss could still sense the presence of abnormal magic around it. Clearly, Haynes had still released the magic that interfered with the use of the Abyss spatial rift.

Abyss had just asked Agnes if she could purify the magic here, and Agnes's answer was that she couldn't for the time being.

The unusual magic released by Haines not only interferes with the appearance of spatial rifts in the Abyss, but also has extremely strong regenerative properties. Even if Agnes absorbs it with the roots of the sacred tree, it will automatically regenerate.

Just as Agnes could not completely purify the raging magic of the Storm Sea with the Sacred Tree, but could only absorb a portion and send it to the Druid Gathering, the magic released by Haines' spell could not be completely purified either.

“My preparations should be considered sufficient, and the time is ripe now,” Abis said with a smile. “However, I cannot guarantee that my preparations will be able to handle all unexpected situations. In the end, it will depend on our ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”

“I understand.” Flora nodded solemnly.

She also knew that it was impossible for her to obtain all the information about the three Venerables, as these mysterious three were extremely protective of their information.

"Now, our support has been basically cut off, but that's fine. We've enjoyed the convenience of the spatial rift for too long, it's time to change things up."

Although the Abyss has lost its previously convenient means of support due to the influence of Haynes' magic, the Abyss remains relatively optimistic about the situation.

Actually, he hadn't planned to ask anyone for help. He and Flora working together were enough to handle most situations.

"Abyss, do you think the elders' intelligence is reliable?"

As Flora enjoyed her time alone with Abyss, she softly asked Abyss, who was sitting next to her.

"It's not necessarily reliable. I think it's about 50/50 whether it's true or false. However, based on my observation, this place might actually be a special location."

Before the two was a barren, rocky mountain. It looked like any other landscape found in the Shadowfall, but according to the information provided by the elders, this was the place where the Three Venerables and the Lord of Delusion collaborated to produce magical bombs.

According to the elders' intelligence, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Lord of Delusion should also be in this mountain.

The Abyss's ability to sense underground cavities cannot reveal what lies beneath this mountain. However, the Abyss does not rely heavily on this ability—intelligence and observation of the surrounding environment are also very important.

Right above where they were, a crack hung in the sky.

This is not a spatial rift in the Abyss, but a rift left behind when the Lord of the Dead brought his followers into this world.

The rift has now been closed by the world's self-healing power; however, the corrosive power left behind by the Lord of Death and Silence makes it impossible for the rift to ever disappear.