My health recovery is incredibly fast.

"Defeat the demon army and destroy the demon church headquarters?"

No, it's not.

Even if the temple defeats the demon army head-on, it will be unable to track down the demons hiding in the Dark Chamber dimension.

"After the defeat in the war, the alien demons that were sent into the Dark Chamber dimension as a spark will inevitably take away the energy center in front of us, as well as the blood vessel that is supplying life force to the Dark Chamber. They will rise again one day."

The elemental golem shrugged at the bloodline servant, “We are in a giant cage that has been sealed for tens of thousands of years. There is primordial smoke in the sky, and the Star Demons and Vasaksat are helpless against the surface. The temple is in an invincible position. However, the temple cannot truly win, because the demons will grow in the shadows, and the Star Demons will not retreat until they achieve their goal.”

"There is only one way to completely get rid of this situation: let the Temple master the manufacturing method of this dimensional device and make a replica." The elemental puppet pointed to the large sphere. "The Temple can use the replica of this thing to seal all the passages between the natural world and the Dark Chamber dimension, cut off the retreat route of the alien demons, completely eliminate the alien demons and that piece of blood vessel, and then accumulate strength to counterattack the starry sky. I came here for this purpose."

After listening to the other party's eloquent speech, Xia Zuo seriously suspected that the temple had set up a trap within a trap, and that the elemental puppet in front of him was definitely not just a specially made product.

He wove words together to ask, "What are you going to do? And who exactly are you, and why do you know so much about the Church of the Otherworldly Demons?"

"Good question." The elemental golem smiled and countered, "Do you know why the Quasar bloodline died out?"

“Of course,” Xia Zuo wrote. “In the Tambus massacre many years ago, all the hybrid mages with the Quac bloodline were killed or wounded, and only the Blood Demon Qualuoqi, far away on the Western Continent, survived. But after it returned to the Silver Moon Federation, its Bloodstone was destroyed, and since then, there has been no more Quac bloodline in the Church of the Otherworldly Demons.”

“Yes, but not entirely,” the elemental golem said. “There is another reason why the Quach bloodline was cut off.”

The elemental puppet pointed to the large sphere. "It's related to the energy center. As I mentioned earlier, the Church of the Otherworldly Demons discovered they couldn't open the energy center from the outside. Later, they changed their approach and decided to work from the inside. As long as a sacrifice is offered to the energy center, it will devour the offering. Powerful sacrifices can survive inside it for a short time. If there's a strong connection between the sacrifice and a particular Otherworldly Demon, the two can communicate before the sacrifice truly dies. This is a good opportunity for the sacrifice to reveal the internal structure of the energy center."

Xia Zuo suddenly realized, "So, the half-blood mage with the Quak bloodline was sent to sacrifice his own blood magic puppet?"

“No.” The elemental golem shook its head. “These hybrid mages were sacrificed to the energy center. The images of their dying moments were transmitted to the blood magic golem placed outside the energy center, for the other hybrid mages nearby to observe.”

"Why is this happening?" Xia Zuo was stunned.

The elemental golem explained:

"Because hybrid mages are ambitious and cunning, if they are sacrificed to blood magic puppets and given control of the internal structure of the energy center, they will use this as leverage to demand more power and status within the church. Moreover, hybrid mages will stay in the energy center longer and see more. In contrast, blood magic puppets are both honest and fragile; they are merely expendable resources."

"The Church of the Otherworldly Demons used deception to trick the hybrid mages with Quach blood into giving them full control over blood magic puppets, and then forcibly sacrificed these hybrid mages to the energy center."

The elemental puppet paused, giving Xia Zuo some time to process the information, before speaking:

"This plan was directly overseen by Nukoalov and was a top secret within the Church of the Otherworld. The plan was initiated even before the Tambus massacre. The combined effect of these two events brought the Quao bloodline to the brink of extinction, which is why the Church of the Otherworld spared no expense to bring Quao Wuchi back to the Church."

The elemental puppet let out a long sigh of relief. "Phew~ Alright, after telling you so much, I think you should know what I'm going to do."

It looked up at the towering energy center. "Originally, I wanted to temporarily create a powerful blood magic puppet, sacrifice it to the energy center, and then return to the temple with the intelligence I had gathered. Now, I have a better idea."

The elemental puppet had a slight smile on its face when it said this.

Xia Zuo hesitated for a moment before asking, "You want to sacrifice my blood magic puppet?"

“No, no, no.” The elemental golem shook its head. “I want to sacrifice myself to the energy center, so that your blood magic golem can receive the intelligence.”

Xia Zuo was shocked... The other party actually wanted to sacrifice himself to the energy center?!

Before Xia Zuo could express his doubts, the elemental puppet continued:

"I've already checked outside the church headquarters; the anti-magic field has been severely corroded by the dark chamber. I imagine you, as the blood magic puppeteer, aren't inside the anti-magic field, are you? Otherwise, you should be thinking about how to escape this hellhole right now, instead of chatting with me here."

"As for where you are, I have a guess. You are likely in a secret chamber within the temple, surrounded by numerous guards and protective barriers. This is not hard to guess. Because using a blood magic golem to explore an anti-magic field is a top-secret and extremely dangerous matter. According to the temple's laws, you should be protected and isolated. Am I right?"

Xia Zuo remained silent, and his silence was the best response in the eyes of the elemental puppet.

The elemental puppet continued, “My plan is simple. Rather than me gathering intelligence myself and then risking being corrupted by the shadows and being hunted by the demons to return to the temple, it would be better for you to receive the intelligence directly and submit it to the temple.”

Chapter 78 Saguma's Eternal Obsession (2-in-1)

“The plan is good, but how can I trust you?” Xia Zuo asked. “The sacrifices offered to the energy center will inevitably face torment and death. You speak of sacrificing yourself so lightly, aren’t you afraid of dying?”

“I am not afraid of death.” The elemental puppet shook its head. “What is in front of you now is just a magical clone of mine. The real me is not here. He has fallen into a deep sleep and will only awaken after I bring back information from the energy center.”

Xia Zuo frowned upon hearing this, his confusion about the other party's identity growing stronger. "Speak, who exactly are you? If you want to use this magical clone of yours to connect with my blood magic puppet, then you'd better be honest. Do you really expect me to share my blood magic puppet with a stranger?"

From the moment Xia Zuo saw the other person, he kept using his detection spell to check their identity, but to no avail.

The moment Xia Zuo learned that Blood Element Servants could be used to observe the internal structure of the energy center, he deeply understood the significance of the Blood Magic [Blood Element Servants] to the Church of the Otherworldly Demons.

If the other party is a cunning demon, then we'll be in trouble.

Once you grant the other party access to Blood Elemental Servants, it's highly likely that this blood magic will be leaked.

Furthermore, the idea of ​​sacrificing oneself to the energy center was completely foreign to Xia Zuo. He had no idea what would happen afterward and could not trust the other party's words.

Xia Zuo will only believe it if the other party removes all its disguises, reveals its identity, and its words match the information fed back by the detection spell.

“Alright, let me tell you who I am.” The elemental golem removed its narrow-brimmed hat, opened its arms, and said sincerely, “I am Sodike Black Flag…”

"!!!" Xia Zuo was shocked and immediately controlled his blood servants to move away from the other party, ready to dismiss the servants at any time.

The elemental puppet anticipated Xia Zuo's reaction and raised its voice, saying loudly, "Wait a minute, let me finish! I am one of the Sodike Black Flags, a human separated from its body."

"Humans?" Seeing that the other party showed no obvious signs of attack, Xia Zuo stopped his blood servants and asked from a distance of ten meters, "Why are there humans inside the alien demons?"

"Let me tell you some facts," the man in the trench coat said.

"Judging from your reaction just now, you already know about Sodike Black Flag's existence, right? But I suppose you only know that Black Flag is a cunning Otherworldly being who has repeatedly caused infighting and disaster among humans, but you don't know how it managed to disguise itself so perfectly."

The man in the trench coat rolled up his narrow-brimmed round hat, tucked it into the strap on his shoulder, and continued:

"Sodike Black Flag's true identity is a [Multi-functional Aberration] from outer space. But not the kind of cannon fodder in an army of alien demons from outer space. It is an extremely rare, fully-formed Multi-functional Aberration."

"The aberration can transform into the organism it has fused with."

"There are more than 3000 common creatures inside Sodike Black Flag, not only the Otherworldly Demons, but also many other creatures."

"It can switch its own form and physiological structure at will, and master all the memories, habits and logical thinking of the object it changes to."

"This ability is very similar to the blood magic of blood mages, such as [Reshape Flesh and Blood], [Flesh and Blood Disguise], and [Replace Body], and the price to pay is also similar, requiring a large amount of life force to be consumed."

"It is precisely for this reason that the Black Flag possesses extremely high physical activity. At the same time, due to the fusion of thousands of creatures with varying physical qualities within its body, the Black Flag's bloodline characteristics are exceptionally prominent. This is why the Church of the Otherworldly Demons first dispatched a hybrid mage to search for the Black Flag."

The man in the trench coat paused briefly, then shrugged and said:

"And I am an unlucky soul who was once absorbed into the Black Flag's body. As you can see, I am a blood mage, and a pure-blood mage at that. There are many unlucky blood mages like me inside it. I was lucky; many years ago, the Black Flag separated me from the Silvermoon Federation, and not long after, I was discovered by the Temple and began to serve the Temple."

"So how did you get here?" Xia Zuo asked.

“It’s all because of a certain pure-blooded mage from the Western Continent,” the man in the trench coat said. “The Temple made me impersonate him and become the target of the Otherworldly Demons. I was brought here by the Blood Demon Ufaris and became its test subject. Hmm... he should also be one of the Temple’s people. He didn’t mistreat me much, but instead tried his best to hinder the research, preventing the experiment from making any progress. That’s why I was able to retain most of my strength.”

The man in the trench coat pointed to an energy pipe. "Follow that pipe all the way, and you'll find the research lab where I'm being held. Just a few minutes ago, I discovered that the sealing device was not powered properly, and since no other demons came to check, I took the opportunity to break the seal and come here to carry out the mission the temple gave me."

"What is your mission?" The Blood Element Servant looked at the large sphere.

“Yes, this is it, the structural diagram of the energy acquisition center.” The man in the trench coat nodded. “My main body is being secretly held by the Temple somewhere within its territory. Only by bringing the information back can I gain the Temple’s complete trust, be accepted by the Temple, and have the seal on my main body lifted.”

"Who can prove that what you're saying is true?" Xia Zuo asked.

“Rexor, Serites, Seresporina, and the high-ranking Temple intelligence officer codenamed ‘Lone Peak’,” the man in the trench coat announced four names. “Find these people and ask them one question: Is intelligence officer number 3889310 trustworthy? They will tell you the answer.”

"Huh?" Xia Zuo was taken aback.

Good guy.

Of the four people who were reported, one had already sacrificed his life, two were on the verge of death, and only Seresporina was still alive.

"I happen to know them. Wait a moment."

Xia Zuo took out Selena's secret message ring and sent a secret message.

One minute later, the secret message returned.

Selena's reply consisted of only two words: "credible".

Just as Xia Zuo was about to reply to the man in the trench coat, Selena sent another secret message.

The secret message said that the Temple had gathered its forces, and a team ostensibly to observe the anomalies in the anti-magic field had already set off. Their real mission was to rescue as many Temple members as possible who were trapped in the anti-magic field, and Selena herself would be going along.

Xia Zuo thought for a moment and sent the other party a private message: Thank you.

He put down the coded ring and brought up the perspective of the hemolymph servant in his mind.

“I have confirmed that I can trust you.” The Blood Servant outlined the words and wrote to the man in the trench coat opposite him, “Remove your disguise, open your heart, and then I will connect with you.”

"Okay." The man in the trench coat nodded and ran his hands over his body.

His trench coat, shirt, suit trousers, shoes, and socks all vanished in a flash of blood, leaving only his underwear covering his genitals.

While enduring the cringe-worthy scene, Xia Zuo manipulated his Blood Element servants to move closer.

He didn't forget to use his detection skill to check the other party's character template.

This time the feedback was much more detailed, and there were no more questions.

Xia Zuo carefully checked the information on the character template and what the other party said. After confirming that everything matched, he had the Blood Element Servant extend a tentacle to touch the other party's outstretched right hand.

A minute or two later, the connection was established.

Next to Xia Zuo's bloodline servant's perspective, a new perspective appeared—the perspective of the man in the trench coat.

The man in the trench coat put his clothes, woven with blood magic, back on and said, "After I sacrifice myself to the energy center, you must immediately use alchemical tools or spells to record everything I see and hear."

"Hmm... Will the mind imprint interfere with the observation results?" Xia Zuo asked, manipulating his blood element servant to slightly separate the outer shell, revealing the mind imprint contained inside.

"Oh? You brought this in? Did you replace your sensory information?" the man in the trench coat asked.

"Correct."

"No wonder you're so calm." The man in the trench coat pondered for a moment. "Just to be on the safe side, you should remove the mind seal."

The man in the trench coat looked around and reminded her, "Before removing the mind seal, remember to drink a calming potion first, otherwise the terrible environment here will be hard for you to adapt to."

Once the mind seal was removed, the Blood Servant could no longer cope with the [Forced Devotion Aura] of the shriveled blood vessels. Shazo could no longer control it and returned to the large plaza atop the church.

After weighing the priorities, Xia Zuo finally decided to remove the mind seal.

He rummaged through his alchemy pouch, took out several bottles of perfect-quality master-level energizing potions, drank them, and then cast a 100-point power [Calm Mind] spell on himself, using the powerful effects of the potions and the high power of the spell to force himself to calm down.

Then, he took a deep breath and released the mind seal that Rexor had placed inside the Blood Elemental servants.

The appearance of the Blood Servant immediately changed drastically.

The smooth energy pipes transformed into fleshy conduits with hanging dark red blood vessels and strips of flesh, covered with deep yellow pustules-like tissue.

The large sphere in front of the Blood Element servant transformed into a fleshy ball covered in short, thick black hair.

Compared to these twisted, fleshy figures, the dark corners devoid of light seem almost "kind and welcoming."

Xia Zuo slightly shifted his perspective from the Blood Element Servant's point of view, ignoring the large, slowly pulsating ball of flesh.