The Crocodile, The Abomination, The Truth

As the curtain fell, a colossal beast statue, forged from gold and iron, materialized before Du Chen's eyes.

This was Rogliff's sacred artifact? The aberrant beast looked undeniably like an enormous crocodile, though its colossal size was astonishing. The 'crocodile' stretched over twenty meters long, its back covered in segments of wrinkled hide, each piece roughly the size of a child's head. Its gaping, blood-red maw was terrifyingly lifelike, a deep, cavernous throat so dark that the eye struggled to discern anything within.

Helen had departed with the four guards, employing the Soul-Ensnaring Art. Du Chen summoned Deboning to his side, whispering, 'What kind of sacred artifact is this?'

Deboning shook his head. 'I've never encountered a sacred artifact of this type either, Young Master. Please be careful. If Rogliff dares to use this artifact to slay all the attending masters, he must have a formidable backing!'

Du Chen circled the sacred artifact, but found no intricate metallic openings on its surface. This meant the artifact could not be deciphered or breached from its exterior.

'Interesting,' Du Chen mused, approaching the front of the crocodile-shaped sacred artifact. Gazing at its gaping maw, which resembled a dark tunnel, a thought sparked in his mind: Could the mechanism be hidden within the 'crocodile's' mouth?

Could a single sacred artifact truly eradicate all the High-level Battle Gods attending the assembly? Was that even possible?

Du Chen's heart stirred with doubt. He called out, 'Helen, have Sulan come over!'

Once the golden python, Sulan, slithered closer, Du Chen pointed at the 'crocodile's' open maw. 'Find a few friends and go inside to investigate!'

Sulan hissed twice in response. Following her call, several small mice scurried out from an unseen corner, squeaking as they darted into the maw. Before long, they emerged and chittered a few words to Sulan.

'Esteemed Your Eminence, my friends found nothing! It's completely empty inside!'

Strange! Du Chen frowned slightly. Accompanied by Deboning, he stepped onto a lotus manifestation from his Precious Lotus Scripture and walked into the 'crocodile's' massive mouth.

Inside, it was pitch-black; nothing could be seen in any direction. Once Deboning produced a Luminous Pearl to illuminate the space, Du Chen saw that he was in a small, circular chamber. Its walls were covered in intricate metallic patterns, punctuated by numerous tiny holes!

The secret to deciphering this sacred artifact lay right here!

Du Chen donned the mask given to him by Flaying, his hands now wielding various tools as he began his probing. He simultaneously instructed, 'Deboning, be fully on guard. If anything unexpected happens, or if anyone emerges from within and attacks, you must block one strike, buying me enough time to conceal myself within the Precious Lotus Scripture artifact! Understood?'

'Young Master, rest assured. There's no one in this world who can defeat me in a single move!'

Du Chen concentrated on picking the lock. However, this sacred artifact was truly massive, and the structure of its lock was incredibly complex. The difficulty of opening this artifact was no less than prying open a bank vault in Du Chen's previous life!

Now, Flaying was disguised as him, observing Rogliff. Du Chen didn't know how much time Flaying could buy, but he had to speed up!

More than ten minutes passed. Just as Du Chen was on the verge of success, Helen's urgent voice suddenly rang out from outside: 'Your Eminence, something's wrong, please come out and see!' It seemed genuinely critical this time; Helen had even dropped her usual respectful address.

Putting away his lock-picking tools, Du Chen turned and exited the 'crocodile's' maw. A glance at the scene outside brought him a shocking surprise.

The small mouse that had earlier gone in to investigate had undergone an aberrant mutation. Its entire body was covered in ruptured skin and flesh, its gray fur turning silver-white. Those once shifty, thieving eyes were now bloodshot, giving it a terrifying and ferocious appearance. Most bizarrely, its right claw had grown abnormally large, as thick as an adult human's thumb.

Philip!?

Du Chen suddenly recalled Philip's aberrant mutation on Mount Tianshan. This little mouse's condition was strikingly similar to Philip's that day!

'Squeak! Squeak!' The mutated mouse gnashed its sharp fangs, but it was restrained by Helen's battle qi, trapped in a corner of the wall, screeching incessantly.

Beside this mutated mouse were several other small mice, but they had all been savagely bitten to death by their transformed kin.

'Your Eminence, this mouse suddenly transformed like this just now, and its strength seems to have greatly increased, easily biting several of its kin to death. Seeing that something was amiss, I restrained it here... What is happening!?' Helen trailed off, utterly astonished. The mice that had just been bitten to death by their mutated kin suddenly rose again, their bodies rapidly changing. In the blink of an eye, they took on the exact same appearance as the first mutated mouse.

Silver-white fur, skin and flesh ruptured, and that abnormally massive right claw!

Subsequently, these newly mutated mice began to tear at each other, and in a short while, all became corpses. The last one still alive squeaked twice, then suddenly, with a 'pop,' it exploded!

'Rogliff is truly vicious enough!' Du Chen gritted his teeth. The scene before him made Left Elder's plan chillingly clear.

That 'crocodile' sacred artifact was, at its core, an utterly insidious trap. Anyone who walked into its maw would silently fall victim, transforming into a Battle God of The Undead, much like Philip. Then, if these Undead Battle Gods so much as harmed one person, that injured individual would also turn into The Undead...

A grim picture formed in Du Chen's mind: At the Assembly of Battle Gods, Rogliff would present this sacred artifact, then with a sorrowful expression, declare, 'My family is imprisoned within this artifact. Whoever can decipher it shall receive half of my fortune!'

Then, the High-level Battle Gods, whether for fame or fortune, would eagerly line up to enter the 'crocodile's' mouth. After they emerged, a moment later, the aberrant mutations would begin...

Suddenly, a High-level Battle God would transform into one of The Undead. The others, surely caught off guard, would undoubtedly be wounded by The Undead. Then, The Undead would multiply, until every single High-level Battle God in the hall had become an Undead Battle God!

This was a damn biohazard! Du Chen swore internally.

At this realization, a chill ran down Du Chen's spine. Damn it, he and Deboning had also entered! Would they, too, undergo this aberrant transformation!?

Everyone present considered this possibility simultaneously, their gazes turning to Du Chen.

The nineteenth-floor laboratory fell into an unnerving silence.

Deboning shot Du Chen a strange look, then suddenly scoffed, 'I'm not afraid to die, but to die like this, it's just too damn humiliating! How about we go out right now and take a few others down with us!'

Du Chen's heart sank as if into an ice cellar. Just as he was about to despairingly close his eyes, he suddenly thought, 'Wait a minute, that's not right. Considering the timing, I entered the trap almost immediately after that mouse. If we were going to mutate, Deboning and I should have already transformed. Yet, we are perfectly fine. Is it our physique, or...'

'Haha! That's it!' The realization hit him. 'This mutation is an Undead mutation, and Deboning and I entered while treading on the lotus manifestation!'

The Precious Lotus Scripture specifically counters The Undead!

At this, Du Chen let out a disdainful snort. 'Die? With me around, even if you wanted to die, you couldn't! This petty mutation is utterly worthless in my eyes!' This was a genuine declaration, devoid of any boasting!

It had been a long time since Du Chen had uttered such a plain truth since arriving in this world!

Helen's tightly strung heart finally relaxed. Indeed, the man before her possessed unfathomable strength; naturally, he wouldn't fear such a minor Undead mutation! She said, 'Incomparably mighty Your Eminence, Rogliff's conspiracy is now clear. What shall we do next? Helen respectfully awaits your instructions; that depraved lunatic Rogliff must be punished!'

Du Chen secretly shook his head. It wasn't the time to kill him yet; too many hidden matters lay beneath the surface!

It now seemed that only Philip could orchestrate this kind of Undead aberrant mutation. Could Rogliff have some connection to Philip!?

During the battle on Mount Tianshan, Philip was presumed dead and missing. Could it be... he wasn't dead, and had even established some kind of link with Rogliff!?

The more Du Chen pondered, the more alarmed he became. Everything gradually clicked into place in his mind. If Rogliff and Philip belonged to the same faction—a faction distinct from the Yessar Church—then everything made perfect sense!

Philip's experiments weren't just for enhancing his own strength; they were secretly developing bio-Battle Gods and biological weapons for the organization behind him! During the Mount Tianshan conflict, it was highly probable they didn't vanish due to the Battle Qi Convergence but were rescued! In that case, his Maternal Grandfather's disappearance all those years ago was also the work of this same faction!

Subsequently, Rogliff, armed with the biological weapons supplied by Philip, would eliminate a large number of High-level Battle Gods at the Assembly of Battle Gods, converting them into Undead Battle Gods to serve as weapons for that faction... Rogliff's true objective wasn't to kill, but to collect 'materials' for creating High-level Undead Battle Gods!

Du Chen closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He dared not think any further.

'Helen, you and Sulan wait here and guard against any unforeseen incidents!'

Du Chen pulled Deboning, both treading on the lotus manifestation as they re-entered the 'crocodile's' maw. He whispered, 'It's alright. As long as you don't leave my lotus, you won't be in danger. My sacred artifact is the bane of all Undead!'

Hearing this, Deboning's eyes brightened. He couldn't help but exclaim, 'Ramepatisu, may the glory of Yessar God shine upon us!'

'What Yessar God's glory? It should be the 'Grape' Ancestor's blessings!' Du Chen internally scoffed, too lazy to explain to Deboning. As he continued picking the lock, he quietly shared his analysis and then inquired, 'It's highly probable that two of the Church's Saint Hall Elders have aligned themselves with another faction. Do you have any clues?'

Deboning shook his head in confusion, then angrily declared, 'How can this be!? Damnable Rogliff and Philip, how could they abandon the glory of Yessar God and pledge allegiance to other factions!?'

'Lower your voice, don't let Helen outside hear us!'

It seemed Deboning and Flaying genuinely didn't know. Du Chen continued, 'Now, my greatest worry is this: logically, my mother Phil's disappearance must be related to Philip. That means my mother, my Maternal Grandfather, and even my precious daughter Beibei... all of this is connected to that faction! We've become entangled with an incredibly powerful adversary!'

'Young Master, Brook is willing to fight for you!' Deboning bowed slightly, his words carrying a touch of solemn valor.

Du Chen smiled faintly. 'Don't worry about our opponents being too powerful! Deboning, do you know what the highest realm for a thief is?' Seeing Deboning's puzzled expression, a faint smile played on Du Chen's lips. 'The Great Thief wields no spear!'

Click!

The 'Crocodile Sacred Artifact' was opened...