Outside Luo City.
Within the forest.
Under the moonlight.
Fang Yu and Leng Qing stood beneath a tree, watching the structure in the distance.
That was where the mountain temple stood.
An entrance could vaguely be seen leading inside. So far, there had been no unusual movement.
"We may have to wait until midnight," Fang Yu said.
Leng Qing left behind a patch of disturbed airflow where she stood. With a light leap, she landed on a tree trunk.
Too conspicuous. Fang Yu wanted to remind her, but immediately swallowed his words.
In an instant.
Leng Qing activated a magic tool. Dark energy swirled around her body, and Fang Yu felt his vision blur. It was as if she had slipped into a void of darkness.
A magic tool. Shadow Element magic Basic-Tier Level 2 Fading!
Perception Concealment!
If Leng Qing did not wish to be discovered, then no one would detect her.
In the night.
Moonlight poured down from above, and the once pitch-black forest was suddenly draped in a veil of silver.
Fang Yu looked up at the moonlight, then lowered his gaze toward the mountain temple.
He discovered that under the moonlight, the temple emitted a faint glow from within.
Like the surface of water reflecting light, shimmering gently.
At that moment, he sensed someone approaching the temple.
"They're here."
Under the moonlight.
Leng Qing stood on the tree trunk, gazing into the distance.
Fang Yu stood below the tree, feeling that Leng Qing belonged to the darkness like a wandering spirit.
It was somewhat unsettling.
When movement appeared, Fang Yu no longer paid attention to Leng Qing in the tree and instead focused on the direction of the temple.
His position was fairly exposed, but Leng Qing's magic tool activated once more. The dark aura flowing around her extended outward and enveloped Fang Yu.
With Shadow Element concealment in effect, it meant they would not be noticed.
"Behave yourselves and you'll suffer less."
In front of the mountain temple, four adult men escorted a group of young people wearing black hoods. Fang Yu observed carefully.
Nine youths. Five adults.
Among the five adults, four were escorting them, while the fifth walked at the rear.
Based on Leng Qing's earlier assessment.
Of the five, the four in front consisted of two at the first level of the Basic-Tier, one at the second level, and one at the third level.
As for the man at the back, with sharp brows and an imposing presence even without anger, his name was Zuo Lan. He was a wanted criminal.
He was a mage at the Mid-Tier.
"He's actually that strong?"
Fang Yu was somewhat surprised.
Compared to him, these five were indeed formidable.
But he was not alone here.
"What are they planning to do?"
Fang Yu muttered under his breath. Subconsciously, he glanced at the woman in the tree and asked, "Should we act?"
"Don't look at me. Decide for yourself. If you want to act, then act. I won't interfere with you, nor will I help you," Leng Qing said, lowering her head slightly as she looked at Fang Yu.
That answer left Fang Yu at a loss.
Act alone.
There was an Mid-Tier Mage here, along with four Basic-Tier mages. On top of that, there might be hidden methods they had yet to reveal.
If he rushed out now, he would not last three seconds before meeting his end.
'It seems these people aren't the mysterious woman's target. Then what's the purpose of coming here? Or is someone else still hiding?'
'Is she waiting for the true mastermind to appear before making her move?'
'But if she waits until then, will it still be in time? Those youths were clearly abducted by force. Who knows whether their lives are in danger?'
He frowned slightly and unconsciously touched his brow.
This was troublesome.
At that moment, the nine youths were brought to the stone pillars of the mountain temple.
With black hoods covering their heads, it was impossible to tell their ages, and their identities were unknown.
"Stand still. You won't die. Struggle, and you're more likely to."
One of the men kicked a youth as he spoke.
From a distance, Fang Yu seemed to hear the young person stifling sobs.
Yet he did not make a move. He continued to wait in silence.
After tying up all the youths, the men took out daggers and began slicing open their wrists.
As the blades were about to cut into their skin, Fang Yu saw a streak of radiant light flash across the distance.
"You scum of the Black Vatican!"
The one who acted was a woman in blue.
Fang Yu was startled inwardly. Wasn't she the blue-clad woman he had encountered in Bo City the first time he hunted the Giant-Eyed Rat ?
He remembered her name was Lan Jin.
Why had she come to Luo City?
As for her cursing the Black Vatican, that was only natural. The Black Vatican's actions were utterly devoid of conscience and universally despised.
Everyone wished to see them eliminated.
If exposed, they would most likely be attacked by all.
However, the Black Vatican was adept at hiding, infiltrating major organizations under false identities. That was why they had not been eradicated and instead had gained a notorious reputation.
Fang Yu finally understood why the mysterious woman had appeared here.
So the root of this incident was the Black Vatican!
The moment Lan Jin made her move, two other figures near the temple launched surprise attacks from different positions.
"So she has companions."
Fang Yu had thought Lan Jin was acting recklessly by coming alone, but it turned out two others had come as well.
They were Fang Jin and the woman in white from before.
Fang Jin moved at top speed and injured a mage at the third level of the Basic-Tier. Though it was not a severe wound, it gave him the upper hand in the ensuing fight.
The woman in white fared even better. The mage at the second level of the Basic-Tier was clearly no match for her.
However, Zuo Lan's group consisted of more than just these men.
In an instant.
From the side of the mountain temple, two black shadows that had been slowly writhing suddenly shot out with astonishing agility. Their elongated, razor-sharp forelimbs were like sickles as they slashed toward Fang Jin and the woman in white!
Monkey-like faces, twisted human bodies, entirely pitch-black as if clad in tight leather—hideous beyond description.
They were the Black Vatican's signature creatures: Black Beast Demons!
With the sudden addition of the two Black Beast Demons to the battlefield, Fang Jin and the woman in white lost their advantage and fell into a stalemate.
Meanwhile, Zuo Lan continued draining the youths of their blood one by one.
Leng Qing watched but did not move.
The true mastermind had yet to appear. Now was not the time to act rashly.
Acting too soon would mean they could not wipe them out in one sweep, and the consequences would be significant.
Boom!
The aftershock of magic blasted open a corner of the structure, exposing the interior of the mountain temple to the moonlight.
This was a pool!
The entire pool was built from volcanic rock. Heat radiated from the porous cavities within the stone, warming the entire temple.
But the water in the pool was not clear or warm.
It was filled with black, bubbling cursed liquid, as if countless corpses had been melted within it. Just one glance was enough to make one feel nauseated.
And within the black pool floated a person.
From the sloughed-off skin, the fallen hair, and the body severely corroded by curses, it was impossible to tell whether it had once been a man or a woman.
If one could even call it a person, it looked more like a skinless ghost.
More importantly, it had long since lost all signs of life.
Watching from the side, Fang Yu's face filled with disbelief.
A Cursed Pool.
A place the Black Vatican used to refine Black Beast Demons and Cursed Beast Demons!
It could take a human raised in civilized society and strip away their humanity, turning them into vicious, cold-blooded fiends.
Such cruelty was beyond words.
The corpse before them was likely the result of a failed transformation.
Fang Yu's expression darkened.
He finally understood.
The Black Vatican's purpose in abducting the nine youths was to turn them into Black Beast Demons.
At the same time, Zuo Lan entered the mountain temple and began throwing the blood-drained, weakened youths into the Cursed Pool one by one.
-----
If you like story please donate some power stones and leave a review
For additional chapters
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu