Chapter 167
Lu Chuan looked at the calamities that had vanished without a trace and felt a twinge of disappointment.
To be honest, they had been rather intimidating — bizarre shapes, the sort of thing that would make an ordinary person’s sanity crumble with a few glances.
But Lu Chuan was different. His sanity had never been very high, and after seeing Number 18’s true form several times, these calamities looked like peerless beauties by comparison. His tolerance was excellent.
Although the calamities lacked much intellect, they could sense this human was unlike those who screamed at the sight of them.
Unfortunately, before they could figure him out, most had already been devoured by the Fierce Beast.
Ordinarily, it would have been hard for the beast to fight so many at once.
But Lu Chuan had the Eye of Wealth — he could spot not only each calamity’s most valuable part but also its weak points.
Apart from their eyes, their cores held value and were also their vulnerabilities.
Following Lu Chuan’s instructions, the beast struck precisely where told, quickly bringing the monsters down.
After defeating them, the beast didn’t waste a bite — it feasted eagerly.
Though its eating was brutal, Lu Chuan couldn’t help but feel a strange envy.
At least the beast dined on calamity meat, while he was stuck with that revolting yellow mush.
The beast especially craved the eyes, but under Lu Chuan’s sharp gaze, it felt chills all over and reluctantly spat them out.
“So filthy… whatever, I’ll wash them later.” Lu Chuan wrapped the eyes in paper and carefully stowed them in his pack.
With so many black orbs, by this world’s standards he was now a bona fide rich man.
Ah, though he still preferred gold, here these eyes were the real hard currency.
“All right, that’s enough. Let’s move on.” Lu Chuan mounted the beast once more, striding proudly toward Star City — utterly unaware of the stir he was causing.
“This large calamity is eliminating the others too quickly. Something’s off,” the investigators said, staring at the compass readouts. To them, it looked like a powerful calamity was using the chaos of the evil god’s attack to grow stronger. Even if they survived the god’s assault, this creature could wreak immense havoc.
To the investigators, it was hard to say which was deadlier: evil gods or calamities.
Evil gods, though terrifying, found it difficult to fully descend into this world; most could remain only briefly. If they endured or destroyed the vessel carrying a god, the damage was limited.
But calamities were different — endlessly varied, many slowly evolving intelligence, always feeding on humans or their own kind. They fled, they hid, and if not killed instantly, they could cause endless disasters.
“It’s probably the evil god controlling that beast,” an older investigator said. “Don’t go out yet — let’s wait. Maybe the calamity and the god will clash and injure each other.”
“What if it joins forces with the god?” a younger one asked.
“If that happens, we’ll just have to face it,” the veteran replied coldly. “We don’t have spare strength to waste. To destroy that calamity now would cost us dearly — then how would we resist the Omniscience God? We wait! And look — besides those black dots, there’s also a cluster of white light approaching. They’re likely the god’s followers, meant to serve as vessels.”
One evil god alone was manageable; a vessel could only endure so long — half a day at most, often just an hour.
But disposable vessels were another story: they lasted ten minutes, sometimes only two or three.
With enough of them, though, they posed a real threat.
How would they kill all the god’s vessels?
The investigators’ hearts turned cold.
At this point, only the sudden arrival of a legendary investigator could save them.
Many quietly began writing farewell letters.
Little Chun, Ren Jie, and the others exchanged glances, steeling themselves for death.
They hoped their captain could rebuild the Night Squad with young Lu — so their sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.
Riding the beast, Lu Chuan finally saw the vague outline of Star City.
But before he could rejoice, he noticed many evil-god followers also heading toward the city.
These zealots wore tidy clothes, but without exception their faces were alight with fanatical excitement, like the dying flaring up before death — exuding an aura of doom and madness.
And among these heretic worshippers, there were almost no elderly, weak, women, or children—every one of them was young and strong.
As they marched toward “Star City” in pilgrimage, they silently prayed along the way.
Word had spread that the God of Omniscience was heading to Star City, so the priests of the Church of Omniscience immediately led their followers there as well.
For a god to descend, a vessel was always required. And when it came to vessels, the more the better.
These cultists had long been corrupted by the God of Omniscience’s power, making them perfect disposable vessels. Even if they could not serve as vessels for the god Himself, they could easily host His divine servants. With so many believers pushing forward, even if slowly, they would eventually force open the gates of Star City.
Lu Chuan watched these worshippers and rubbed his chin.
The Church of Omniscience—now, that was an old acquaintance of his.
He had memorized their doctrines inside and out, countless times over. Even their descent rituals, he knew as clearly as the lines on his palm.
Who would have thought he’d run into them again? And here they were, also heading to Star City—delivered right to his doorstep. Since fate had brought them together, how could he possibly let this chance slip away?
With a grin, Lu Chuan slid down from the beast’s back and gouged out one of its black eyes.
“Stay put here. If you dare run, I’ll crush your eyeball,” he threatened.
The beast lay flat on the ground in submission.
This human was simply too terrifying!
Lu Chuan thought for a moment, then smeared mud on his face until it looked dusty and dull. He stripped off his coat, leaving himself in thinner clothing—at the very least, he couldn’t appear like an investigator.
Murmuring the doctrines of the God of Omniscience, he began walking toward the cultists.
At first, the group eyed this sudden stranger warily, ready to draw weapons and cut him down. But as Lu Chuan’s recitation of their scripture grew clearer, puzzlement began to spread across their faces.
Huh? Could this one be a brother of theirs?
Lu Chuan slowly revealed his face, and on spotting the followers of the God of Omniscience, he put on a moving performance of “tearful reunion.”
“You too are believers of our great Omniscience Father? Wonderful—I’ve finally found you!”
The cultists glanced at one another in confusion, then all turned toward their priest.
The high priest was curious, though still guarded. “Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before.”
“Revered Priest, of course you wouldn’t know me, but I know you well,” Lu Chuan began with a heap of flattery. “When you preached in years past, I was just a boy. It was witnessing your brilliance that inspired me to join our faith. Some time ago, the bishop I served told me Father God wished to learn of Star City, so we came here in secret. Unfortunately, the investigators discovered us—we were hunted, scattered. If not for sensing the faith of my brethren, I’d have thought myself doomed.”
Back when Lu Chuan was thriving in the Church of Omniscience, he had studied it from top to bottom.
The world might change, but gods did not—and thus their churches changed very little either.
By sharing a few tidbits about the god and demonstrating a deep grasp of doctrine, Lu Chuan quickly won the high priest’s trust.
Who but a true believer could speak the scriptures with such precision? Even many bishops in the church might not understand them so thoroughly.
“You say you came ahead of us to Star City to lie in wait—did you uncover anything?” The high priest pulled Lu Chuan aside to question him further.
His own purpose in leading followers here was to please the god. If the god truly took Star City for His own, He would not personally govern it. Management would naturally fall to him, the high priest. And if fortune smiled, Father God might even grant him greater divine power—perhaps even immortality.
What priest these days didn’t harbor a bit of ambition?
Yes, they were devout, but devotion didn’t erase private schemes.
The Church of Omniscience differed somewhat from others.
Claiming to “know everything,” its priests and worshippers studied not only doctrine but also a vast array of occult knowledge. Only then could they truly be said to be “learning.” But how many normal humans enjoyed studying? And worse, in the occult, the more one learned, the faster one courted death. Countless priests before him had gone mad and died from their sanity unraveling under the weight of too much forbidden knowledge.
Thus, priests of this church tended to live short lives, with far stricter demands placed on them than those in other faiths.
Lu Chuan had once clawed his way to the top of this church—no small feat.
Now tricking another high priest was child’s play.
“Yes,” Lu Chuan said cautiously, glancing around, “I learned that within Star City, there may be a legendary investigator. Many of our brethren who had infiltrated the city suddenly vanished. Not only ours—members of other churches disappeared too. Yet no word leaked. Strange, isn’t it? If investigators acted, there should have been some trace. But these disappearances were utterly silent. That’s why I fled the city.”
“Legendary investigators? Just fairy tales fools tell themselves. No such being exists. No power comes without cost,” the priest scoffed. His own power came from the occult gifts of the God of Omniscience, which allowed him to command calamities and craft potent artifacts—but at the price of backlash that only scripture recitation could ease. He would never believe in an ability without side effects.
“No, they’re real, Priest,” Lu Chuan insisted. “If they weren’t, why would Father God Himself march upon Star City with so many other gods?”
“That’s because Star City’s defenses are weak—”
“They’ve been weak for years. Why choose this moment? Very odd, don’t you think? And I clearly recall the bishop telling us personally that he had received a divine oracle—that’s why we came to scout Star City.” Lu Chuan’s words were vivid, impossible to dismiss. “If you don’t believe me, look at this.”
He produced a pouch filled with pairs of black eyeballs.
Each pulsed with immense power.
The high priest’s eyes widened in shock, hand stretching out instinctively.
Black Eye ingots were extremely rare, found only on powerful calamities.
Ordinary believers could never hope to acquire so many. Even first-rate investigators rarely carried more than two or three.
But here was an entire bag!
Lu Chuan quickly tied the pouch shut.
“Forgive me, Priest, but I cannot hand these over. They were entrusted to me by the bishop himself as his reward. Should any go missing, he would curse me to death instantly.”
A flash of resentment crossed Lu Chuan’s face. “Our bishop is ambitious. Having received a divine oracle, he longs to climb higher. No doubt he means to seize first glory in Star City and impress Father God.”
The high priest believed half of it already.
Of course an ambitious bishop might covet his seat—he himself had once risen that way. And this many Black Eye ingots could not have come from a mere underling like Lu Chuan.
If the god had decreed an attack on Star City, why couldn’t another bishop have received the message first?
Coldly, the priest asked, “Where is your bishop?”
“He should still be in the city, waiting for Father God’s arrival—ready to work with the faithful inside to open the gates.” Lu Chuan bowed his head. “As for me, I was only a lookout. I didn’t want to die out there alone, so I risked coming to you.”
The priest weighed this, mulling what Star City might truly be like inside.
“What’s your bishop’s name?” he pressed.
“Well…” Lu Chuan hesitated. “How could someone like me be worthy of knowing? I only know his hair is streaked with white… his looks not nearly as fine as yours, Priest… and he speaks rather roughly most of the time…”
As he spoke, he carefully fabricated a vague figure.
“So it is him!” the priest muttered coldly, clearly connecting dots in his mind. “Hand over those Eye ingots. If you want to curry favor before Father God, you’d better know your place.”
Heh. So you do want my things after all.
Lu Chuan immediately presented the pouch with feigned reverence. “Please, Priest, just spare my life.”
“Rest easy. He can’t curse you—he only lied. You’ll be fine,” the priest said, brightening as he gazed at the hoard of black eyeballs. With these refined into potions, his body would recover greatly.
“Here’s the deal, you’ll just follow us for now. We’re almost at Star City anyway.” The High Priest waved his hand grandly and allowed Lu Chuan to stay.
“Much obliged, High Priest.” Lu Chuan smiled on the surface, but in his mind he had already thought of a hundred ways to kill this man.
Before this High Priest squandered away the entire pouch of eye ingots, Lu Chuan planned to slaughter the whole group.
With the High Priest’s approval, Lu Chuan immediately blended into the band of cultists of the evil god.
When these cultists stopped to rest, almost all they ate was jerky.
At the sight of the yellow fat on the jerky that hadn’t fully discolored, Lu Chuan thought that the mushy yellow paste back then wasn’t completely inedible after all.
Unfortunately, since they all carried their own rations, poisoning their food wasn’t an option—he’d have to taint the water instead.
Lu Chuan boiled a pot of hot water, secretly crushed a black eyeball into it, and let it cook together.
That way, the water would contain power—and it would be all the more tempting for the cultists to drink.
But this black eyeball was one Lu Chuan had secretly stashed away—it belonged to a calamity beast.
Once it sensed its power had been cooked in a pot, regardless of whether the cultists drank it or not, they would surely suffer its wrath.
This was the most valuable part of a calamity beast, certified by the “Eye of Wealth” itself!
He couldn’t wait—time to send these cultists straight to hell!
“What are you cooking?”
“Smells so good.”
“Such strong power! Did you put eye ingots in there? White or red ones?”
“Surely not… black, right?”
The cultists were nearly all drawn in by Lu Chuan’s pot of water.
Lu Chuan scratched his head sheepishly. “This is a treat from the High Priest for everyone. I can’t really say for sure—better ask the High Priest.”
The High Priest had just taken a whole pouch of black eye ingots from Lu Chuan, and was surprised that Lu Chuan still had one left hidden. But since Lu Chuan had offered it up to curry favor with the others, the High Priest pretended not to notice, signaling to everyone that it was indeed under his orders. This earned him a heap of gratitude.
Soon, the cultists lined up to ladle water, eager to be the first to drink the steaming, power-filled brew.
Lu Chuan served them with a smiling face, all politeness.
The true owner of the eyeball, hiding nearby, was utterly dumbfounded.
It had already lost one eye and only had one left. Its plan was to snatch the stolen eye back when the human wasn’t paying attention and then flee.
But before long, it realized its eye had been crushed—and even consumed?!
The beast immediately rose from the grass and charged frantically toward the place where its eye had been boiled.
Thud, thud, thud.
The beast’s steps shook the ground as if an earthquake had struck.
The cultists didn’t react at first.
“An earthquake?”
“No, not an earthquake.”
“Something dangerous is coming?”
“Not good—this pot of water may have attracted nearby calamities.”
“With the High Priest here, what’s a calamity to us?”
The reactions varied, but when it came to ordinary calamities, these cultists weren’t afraid. Their priest might even turn it into extra rations.
But when the beast’s true form came into full view, their words stuck in their throats.
It was enormous!
Its remaining eye gleamed with ferocity, while the socket of its gouged-out left eye blazed with eerie fire. Its gaze instantly locked on the boiling pot.
“I… I didn’t drink any.” Lu Chuan feigned fear, shrinking back into the crowd.
“Where did this calamity come from? We are followers of the [God of Omniscience]! And it dares insult our god?” The High Priest, though afraid, could not show weakness in front of his believers. He chanted scripture under his breath, attempting to summon the [God of Omniscience] to descend and smite the arrogant calamity.
Which believer’s body the god would descend into didn’t concern him in the least.
The [God of Omniscience] was not far off, and hearing His priest’s call, He was willing to lend His power.
Yet at the very moment He prepared to descend, He sensed another powerful divine force flare and fade at the site of the plea.
That divine aura was… the [God of Exchange]!
The [God of Omniscience] immediately hesitated. Why would the [God of Exchange]’s power appear here? If another powerful deity was present, it would be unwise to act rashly without knowing Their intent.
Besides, He could tell that His priest was not facing an investigator, but a calamity beast.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the beast began its frenzied slaughter.
Lu Chuan quietly edged backward.
He had once been master of a church and knew that priests of gods always carried hidden safeguards—anyone who killed them would be marked.
So he’d need someone else to do the killing for him.
Author’s Note:
Aside from the [Seed of Fertility], Lu Chuan also still carries the unused [Seed of Exchange].
