Lord of Prayer

On the rooftop, Zhou Chen quietly listened as the Wind Witch laid out the plan.

Perhaps this was the benefit of disguising himself as a Corrupter. The Abyssal aura on him was so dense, purer than that of many other Corrupters present, that no one suspected he was a turncoat.

Fallen Paradise and the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting’s primary objective was to extract the Essence of Calamity and immense despair from the Abyss to power the Giant Cannon and blast open the Light-Burning Barrier.

After shattering the Barrier, they needed to seize the Royal Tower, corrupt the core of the Overthrowing Matrix, and drag all of North Carolina into Hell. Then, amidst the despairing wails of hundreds of millions of lives, the Abyssal King - Ancient Calamity would complete its Divine Descent upon this Hell on Earth.

Furthermore, they also planned to drag Enoch, who was on the Ascension Ladder, into Hell along with everything else, hoping it might create an Abyssal Demigod.

That was the plan in broad strokes. Within it, Fallen Paradise and the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting would surely have their own minor schemes: rituals, Advancements, experimental records... Most importantly, Zhou Chen believed that the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting was definitely not the only Abyss Church in North Carolina. Perhaps other Abyss Churches like the Eternal Fire, the Crimson Sect, and the Joyous Sanctuary were also mixed in. The mere thought of such a scene was a headache—a true pandemonium of demons.

’Why do these lunatics love summoning Evil Gods for no reason? Once the Ancient Calamity’s Divine Descent succeeds, both North and South America will suffer. I wonder if the Star Association has any countermeasures. With the Prophet around, they should have made arrangements long ago...’ Zhou Chen wasn’t certain. The matter involved too many High-Tier beings. What if the Prophet’s predictions had been interfered with...?

"Steward, sir! The Ascenders are advancing too quickly! The closest squad is only three kilometers away!" At that moment, a Cultist from the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting ran over to report, his face fraught with panic. To an Ascender, three kilometers was no distance at all!

"How much longer to finish charging?" the Wind Witch asked, looking at a Cultist sitting cross-legged within a Curse Array.

The Cultist’s body was covered in dark, sinister runes that looked like twisted insects writhing and crawling beneath his skin. His frail body contained a darkness as vast as an ocean, a truly terrifying sight.

"Almost there... It’s ready!"

Black mist rose from the Curse Array around the Cultist. He raised his hands, touching the thumb and index finger of each hand together to form a frame. He used this gesture to aim at the distant Light-Burning Barrier and began to count down.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

As he counted down, a terrifying aura surged and climbed. The Abyssal Essence, formed from the convergence of calamity and despair, condensed within the gap he was aiming through, appearing as a small black point of light.

Zhou Chen looked at his Prayer System Panel.

[Prayer Points: 48,223]

’Over forty-eight thousand Prayer Points. It might not be enough to brainwash the "Painter," but it should be more than enough to brainwash these Abyssal Cultists. Maybe... I should brainwash all the Abyssal Cultists and Corrupters here and have them kill the "Painter"?’ The thought flickered in Zhou Chen’s mind. This was indeed a perfect opportunity to wipe them all out in one go!

He immediately made a wish in his mind: ’I wish...’

Suddenly, Zhou Chen’s thoughts froze. A malevolent chill shot up his spine, and an indescribable Fear surged from his Soul. His intuition and premonition blared like an alarm, halting his action.

He would die!

If the brainwashing succeeded, he would die!

The incomprehensible death warning made Zhou Chen feel as if he’d been plunged into an ice cave. His mind buzzed, and he almost lost his composure. After a brief moment of confusion, he quickly came to his senses and forced himself to calm down.

If this body of his still had pores, he would surely be soaked in sweat.

’What’s going on... Why am I getting such a strong premonition of death...?

Is there a Tier Five being hiding and watching? Or... is there some kind of terrifying restriction in the minds of these Abyssal Cultists? If I brainwash them, the restriction will trigger and trace its way back to burn me out in the end?’

Zhou Chen gradually regained his composure. Everyone was focused on the Cultist from the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting, so no one had noticed his momentary lapse.

However, while he was dazed, the countdown had already ended.

"Three, two, one!"

The moment the countdown hit zero, the tiny black point of light within the aiming gap suddenly swelled. A pitch-black torrent formed from Abyssal Essence erupted forth. The dark light of destruction tore through heaven and earth, effortlessly pulverizing everything in its path.

The moment the calamitous cannon fire struck the Light-Burning Barrier, a colossal roar erupted. Light and Darkness clashed violently, and the blinding glare illuminated the entire Abyss.

A crisp cracking sound echoed as a fissure appeared on the Light-Burning Barrier. Immediately after, that section of the Barrier disintegrated with a shattering noise. The raging torrent of calamity plunged into it, and a few seconds later, burst out from the other side.

As the torrent of Darkness gradually faded, Zhou Chen saw that a deep, massive chasm had been carved into the earth—the result of mere aftershocks. And the beacon in the Abyss, the Light-Burning Barrier, now had a huge hole in it like a broken eggshell. Dense Abyssal Demonic Qi surged madly inside.

On the rooftop, the Abyssal Cultist who had fired the Hell Cannon lowered his head, his body gradually turning into a handful of flying ash.

If Zhou Chen wasn’t mistaken, that Cultist was Tier Three, and one with the potential to reach Tier Four at that. Yet he was sacrificed just like that. This gave Zhou Chen a very bad feeling. For the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting to allow such a loss meant their ranks were filled with High-Tier experts; the death of one Quasi-Tier Four wouldn’t make much of a difference.

"Everyone, the time has come!"

The Wind Witch spread his arms and threw his head back with a laugh. "Let us begin this ’Divine Festival’!"

His voice spread out in rolling waves of sound. Outside the Light-Burning Barrier, hundreds of thousands of ravenous Corrupters roared. Their gazes were greedy, hungry, and vicious as they swarmed like zombies toward the breach in the Barrier, forming a tsunami of corruption that swept over everything.

What awaited the survivors inside the Barrier was boundless Fear, despair, Darkness, and death.

"We should get moving too. However, some troublesome fellows have caught up."

The Wind Witch glanced down from the building. A combat squad was speeding toward them from the end of the street.

"Vanessa, Owen, I’ll trouble you to intercept them."

The two Abyssal Cultists accepted the order and leaped down from the tall building.

"These people are carrying tracking devices for an ’Any Door.’ We can’t let them get near the Barrier, and we certainly can’t let them enter it. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll have to trouble you next."

The Wind Witch looked at Zhou Chen and the other Corrupters. "You need to guard the breach in the Barrier and stop any Ascenders who try to enter. Once we’ve successfully captured the Royal Tower, we will take you with us when we leave."

To gain the Corrupters’ trust, the Wind Witch snapped his fingers. A three-dimensional Abyss Curse materialized before each of them. "This is a Teleport Beacon. Take it."

"How do we know this thing will work?" a Corrupter asked in a muffled voice.

The Wind Witch smiled. "You don’t have a choice, do you?"

The Corrupters silently grabbed the Abyss Curses, which transformed into brands seared onto their bodies. The Wind Witch was right; they had no choice. Their only path to survival was to follow Fallen Paradise and the Ten Thousand Evils Court Meeting.

"Alright, everyone. I wish you a pleasant journey."

The Wind Witch snapped his fingers, and the Corrupters vanished without a trace.

...

Zhou Chen looked around. The sky was dim and the earth dark. About a kilometer behind him was the breach in the Light-Burning Barrier. The Corruption Legion was a vast black ocean, covering the area around the Barrier and madly squeezing through the hole. They were everywhere the eye could see, a shocking sight of countless limbs and bodies writhing and squirming.

Seeing so many creatures from Hell up close, even Zhou Chen couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle. It was a true scene from Purgatory.

"The enemy is here," a seductive female voice said beside him. It was the naked female Corrupter; the four-eyed Corrupter was next to her.

Zhou Chen snapped back to his senses and counted. Including him, there were a total of eighteen Corrupters here, all of them at Tier Three. The other Corrupters must have been sent to guard another breach.

He looked into the distance, then froze.

Fuck!

Li Xiye!