After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 43.1

In the blink of an eye, the bookstore was filled with various medicinal bottles of different sizes. Some could be held in one’s hand, while others were large enough to fit several people.

They were colorful, with transparent liquids inside that sparkled under the light like crystal, so beautiful they dazzled the eyes. One look was enough to know they had extraordinary effects.

The little ragdoll cat stood proudly with its chest puffed out, its smile like a blooming flower. Its little pharmacy was too big to fit here, but it insisted on filling this place to the brim to show its father!

“…”

Xiu Si was stunned at this sight.

The gray cat and black cat, having come to their senses, quickly pounced over to stop the reckless ragdoll cat.

Black cat: “You, you idiot! Some things can’t be said directly!”

The gray cat was so nervous its fur stood on end.

But the ragdoll cat was completely oblivious. It predicted their movements and dodged them all, scolding, “You little brothers, how dare you interfere with your big sister? I’ll boil you all!”

Xiu Si came back to his senses and saw the three cats tangled up. The little ragdoll cat had grabbed the gray cat and black cat with its paws, looking lively and every bit the big sister.

This scene shocked Xiu Si again.

Xiu Si was utterly confused. He casually picked up a bottle nearby and asked, “Buer, what is this?”

The ragdoll cat turned its head, of course it had to tell the truth to its father.

“It’s resurrection potion! Isn’t it awesome?”

Xiu Si was shocked. “Resurrection…you mean bringing the dead back to life?”

The ragdoll cat naturally nodded.

“That’s right, it’s a potion that can bring people back from the dead!”

The gray cat and black cat looked desperate. What on earth was a resurrection potion? It was the most difficult and rarest legendary potion known! Humans didn’t even have the recipe yet, let alone the brewing method or the final product. Even gods couldn’t possibly have it!

You, a little kitten, suddenly appear with a bunch of legendary potions. Do you think this makes any sense? Huh?

Inpos thought it was all over, father was surely going to discover the problem now.

Aelioge was still trying to struggle, but the poison Buer had used on him was too terrible and targeted. It must have been specially brewed using his blood from earlier. Damn, she must have many more potions targeting her kin, how despicable!

The young man stared at the potion in his hand, observing and thinking. Suddenly, his expression became solemn, as if he had thought of something crucial.

The gray cat and black cat knew this was bad.

The little ragdoll cat tilted its head and let out a soft “meow”, its voice so sweet and soft it could melt one’s heart.

Xiu Si snapped out of it, patted the little ragdoll cat’s head, and smiled. “Is that so? This room is filled with such amazing potions. I remember you used to talk about making them when you were little, and today you’ve finally succeeded.”

“Meow!”

Buer was overjoyed and nuzzled its father’s palm.

Xiu Si’s smile deepened as he continued to praise. “Did you brew all these potions?”

“Meow!”

“That’s amazing.”

“Meow meow~”

The gray cat and black cat were terrified, looking at each other, fearing that the truth was about to be exposed. However, after listening for a while, they found something strange. Why wasn’t Father angry at all? He didn’t seem to have discovered their lie either.

Inpos was stunned, feeling that the interaction between father and Buer was subtly off.

Aelioge sat up, hitting his right paw with his left paw in realization. “Inpos, it’s fine now, because Father didn’t take it seriously!”

Inpos paused. Didn’t take it seriously?

Looking closer, the young man’s expression was full of indulgence as he smiled gently. “Is that so? You’ve become so amazing over these years. Father is very happy. You weren’t bullied in the abyss, were you?”

The ragdoll cat confidently shook its head, looking radiant.

“I see, so you chased them all away. That’s incredible, as expected of our Buer.”

The young man kept praising, his tone full of affection.

Now Inpos understood. It seemed that the resurrection potion was too exaggerated, and coming from a little kitten, Father subconsciously thought it was just like before – Buer’s exaggerated claims.

Aelioge looked at Inpos, thinking, “Come to think of it, that’s true. Buer used to often boast in front of Father. Although she has actually achieved it now, she was just a cub back then. Father’s impression of Buer is still stuck in the past!”

Inpos thought this made perfect sense. If your own child suddenly jumps out and says “I’m the best in the world,” you probably wouldn’t take it seriously either.

The young man still wore an indulgent expression, nodding as he listened to Buer’s story. “You’re max level now? Mm-hmm, very impressive. Father is proud of you. Hm? Better than them? Buer, good little darling, we shouldn’t compare between siblings.”

The two cats looked at each other and sighed in relief. Indeed, with their setup, if a child suddenly claimed to be max level, Father would only think it was a joke.

Buer’s thoughts were pure. Since young, she loved to chat about everything and speak in exaggerations. It was hard not to think that way.

It was… because her words were too real that they temporarily escaped disaster.

We need to coordinate our story with Buer later! Aelioge’s eyes were serious.

Inpos turned to look at the various legendary potions filling the bookstore. Although he didn’t need them himself and rarely dealt with potions in his magic research, these were legendary potions!

How could he not stare at them!

Moreover, Inpos thought of someone who really needed potions. That guy Luo Jie said he was going to investigate the Church of Dawn. It had been almost two days now, why hadn’t he reported any results?

Thinking of this, Inpos glanced at his father, his cat eyes flashing with complexity.

Aelioge caught his change in expression and asked mentally what was wrong.

Inpos remembered that Aelioge wasn’t there and had missed a lot, so he briefly explained.

About the otherworld god’s attack, the Aust Empire’s struggle for survival, and Father’s reunion with Luo Jie.

Aelioge listened silently, somewhat surprised but not much. When he heard “Priest Xilin”, his pupils contracted and his fur stood on end.

He had always suspected that the one who twice nearly killed Father would contact him again.

However, he didn’t expect the other party to come so quickly, and it turned out to be the one who lured father out of the abyss.

Although there was no evidence, Aelioge believed that the one who wanted to kill Father was either “Priest Xilin” or someone closely connected to him.

But a problem arose: the other party had tried to kill Father twice, so why didn’t they make a move this time? Father had just left the abyss, with no power around him. The hero of the past wasn’t there, and they weren’t there either. Wasn’t it the best opportunity?

Why didn’t Priest Xilin make a move? Instead, he led Father to the Aust Empire, provided accommodation, gave him a job, and let father meet them?

This series of events was too strange, but Aelioge had observed various games and struggles for many years, and could see through the tricks.

When this kind of situation occurred, it was usually because the other party lacked sufficient strength and could not smoothly achieve their intentions. This was the result of repeated obstruction. The ultimate goal remained unchanged, which was to kill their father.

Thinking of this, darkness grew in Aelioge’s heart, his eyes cold as ice. He thought, “A god repeatedly trying to kill our father? Hehe, that thing must not be allowed to die well!”

Inpos told Aelioge, “Luo Jie is already investigating. All the suspicious points are centered on the Church of Dawn.”

Aelioge frowned, suddenly his expression changed drastically. He dropped his cat body and said, “Inpos, you idiot! You know Luo Jie’s physical condition. Letting him investigate is sending him to his death!”

Inpos paused, realizing it really was so.

Aelioge broke through space, about to leave. Inpos quickly grabbed a bottle of resurrection potion and threw it to Aelioge.

“Go check on the situation!”

Aelioge turned and left, completely without signs of poisoning.

Inpos patted his own head, thinking how he could not have thought of this? Perhaps it was because Luo Jie had seemed so confident at the time, he didn’t doubt much.

He hoped nothing had happened.

“…”

After a while, Xiu Si comforted Buer and was about to take the cats back to the bedroom to sleep. He found the gray cat looking a bit gloomy.

“What’s wrong?”

As he spoke, Buer, lying on his shoulder, blinked.

The gray cat shook its head, not saying anything.

Xiu Si looked at him, not knowing what he was thinking, just patted the gray cat’s head and said, “If you have any troubles, tell Father, okay?”

The gray cat’s whole body shook. He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.

After Xiu Si went to sleep, Buer walked out of the bedroom, staring directly at Inpos.

“Tell me, what happened after Father returned.”

Inpos was still thinking. He turned his head to meet Buer’s eyes and honestly told everything.

Inpos said, “So don’t tell Father the truth yet.”

Buer raised a cat paw and said directly, “I think we should tell the truth.”

Inpos immediately said, “Wait a moment. Besides, Vassago is looking for Agares now.”

Buer tilted her head. “Agares is not easy to find in the dream realm.”

Inpos insisted. “Vassago will always be able to find him.”

Buer approached wordlessly, raising her bright paw. She stopped in front of Inpos, as if about to hit him.

Inpos instinctively tilted his head slightly, but what he received was Buer flicking his forehead.

It was a light flick, not using much strength.

Inpos blinked quickly, seeming not to understand, and looked at Buer strangely.

Buer looked down at his 22nd-ranked little brother, her eyes slightly curved, and said, “Let me make one thing clear, I didn’t lie to Father.”

Inpos was slightly stunned.

Buer continued, “You also stole my medicine. I’ll forgive you this time, but don’t let it happen again. That’s all medicine for Father. You can’t steal Father’s things.”

Inpos was dumbfounded. “You…”

Buer smiled brightly, then her expression darkened. “You’re looking for the god who tried to kill Father, right? I completely agree and support this.”

That thing should be caught and drowned, burned, buried, suffocated – killed ten thousand times!

Inpos almost couldn’t keep up with Buer’s rhythm, but thinking about it, he knew their sister Buer’s violent temper. How could she tolerate any god coveting their father?

They had reached a unified front.

On the other side. 

Half an hour ago.

Luo Jie walked into a certain Church of Dawn in the night.

He had searched tirelessly for a long time, and finally found a suspicious place.

It could be a trap. But he still had to go.

The church was dilapidated, dust everywhere. No one was around, it was deathly quiet except for the sound of his footsteps.

He was very familiar with the secret places in churches. Most churches liked to bury secrets underground, so it wasn’t difficult to find.

Luo Jie walked up to a door. Without needing to move, he just released his magic power, and the door opened.

Dust rolled out, along with a chill.

Ordinary people would probably retreat at this point, because no matter how you looked at it, what lay ahead was extremely dangerous.

There was something inside, at least level 90, not necessarily human, possibly a subspace monster.

Luo Jie didn’t hesitate, he went straight in. On the way, he indeed encountered two level 90 monsters, both highly concealed small creatures. He successfully killed them, smoothly reaching the deepest underground level.

Luo Jie didn’t believe the Church of Dawn worshipped all gods. Such chaotic faith wasn’t faith, but animism. Animism didn’t need churches, it was meaningless and couldn’t form organizations.

It should be known that the most powerful religions in this world were monotheistic. They had extremely strong cohesion, exclusivity, and combat power.

Imagine, if it wasn’t monotheism, if there was just one more god, would they still have such strong fighting power? Probably not.

So the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the so-called “worship of all gods” was actually a scam. Even if their actual operation was to recommend whatever god to whoever came with whatever needs, like agents.

Most things in this world that seemed convenient usually had tricks.

Luo Jie’s eyes darkened as his magic power shattered the stone door.

With a boom, the stone door crumbled, dust scattering.

He walked in, his pupils contracting slightly, his gaze fixed on a statue in the center.

It was too eye-catching, about eight meters long, humanoid. Its head was already destroyed, there were countless cracks on its body, both hands were broken off partway, the specific hand gestures couldn’t be seen, and the clothing didn’t indicate any specific era.

It didn’t correspond to any god Luo Jie knew, but conversely, it could also be any god Luo Jie did or didn’t know.

Luo Jie stared at it for a few seconds, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. Looking around again, he actually saw various gods that matched his impression on the damaged walls.

The God of Light, the God of Darkness, the God of War, the Rain God who hadn’t been devoured yet, the Wind God who hadn’t devoured the Rain God, the Goddess of Fortune who was still the God of Luck, the ever-unchanging Goddess of Virtue, the rarely frowning Goddess of Harmony…

Even though the murals were damaged and the pigments oxidized in the air, they were still lifelike.

Not painted by ordinary people.

One god stood alone in the center, with the other gods painted to the side. The design of this space indicated one thing.

The designer wanted the god in the center to become the god of gods, the god among gods.

Luo Jie felt a chill in his heart. To put it bluntly, why were there continuous god wars in the past, destroying the continent? The answer was because many gods wanted to become the god of gods. They all wanted to declare to all gods that they were the strongest god, that not only all things, but even gods should worship them, not just respect them as the king of gods.

There were many king of gods, but only one god of gods. The Gods Era had ended, and Luo Jie had thought such absurd struggles were over, but now it seemed they weren’t.

They were still continuing.

A god hidden behind the scenes was still secretly plotting to realize their ambition.

Who… exactly were they?

Luo Jie’s expression was solemn. Witnessing such a scene, he showed no fear and continued to approach the statue.

Several god names flashed through his mind, each more likely than the last.

But he couldn’t understand, how exactly did the other party intend to realize their secret plot?

Establishing Churches of Dawn everywhere, apart from causing trouble for humans, what benefits could they gain?

Luo Jie’s right hand gripped a god-level dagger, his brows tightly furrowed, his vigilance raised to the highest level.

He was of the warrior profession, specifically a light warrior, with high agility but less frontal attack power. He had trained extremely high values in perception.

But suddenly, an attack that bypassed all his senses occurred. His body swayed, and he suddenly staggered. He widened his eyes to look, only to see blood gushing from his chest, pierced by a sharp weapon.

He immediately tried to turn and counterattack, but that sharp weapon frantically devoured his life force. In just a moment, he almost lost the ability to move!

“Cough…who exactly… are you?”

Luo Jie clutched the dagger in his chest, his body swaying, almost falling down.

Meanwhile. 

At the border between the Great Oedipus Empire and the Roman Kingdom.

Dreams devoured reality, black fog enveloped the human world.