Once the Steam Sect discovers that Lu Yan even needs them to handle something as trivial as the Council of the Dead, this wariness would vanish completely.

At that moment, the first to strike against the Union would definitely be the Steam Sect.

Lu Yan's lips curved into a meaningful cold smile, his gaze seemed to pierce through the office walls, looking towards the distant Steam Cathedral that symbolized the majesty of the God of Steam and Mechanics, and his voice became even deeper:

"Moreover... whether or not the Steam Sect is secretly guiding and testing things behind the scenes, it's still hard to say!"

...

Oranck, Cemetery District.

At the edge of this city, a land filled with cold tombstones and slumbering dead, its underground has long been hollowed out, constructed into a vast underground city, which is the hidden base of the Council of the Dead.

At this moment, in the core area of the underground city, a wide space known as the Hall of Graves, a ghastly green phosphorescence flickers in the wall grooves, illuminating countless neatly arranged skeletons and stone coffins.

In the center of the hall, a tall middle-aged man completely shrouded in a wide black robe, is quietly listening to the report of the spy who has just infiltrated back from the surface police station.

However, upon hearing the spy's news that the so-called sacred spirit is only sequence eight, the black-robed man's eyes did not reveal joy or greed as expected, but rather showed deep contemplation and suspicion.

"Are you really sure," his voice was hoarse, like the cold wind in a tomb, "that the so-called sacred spirit is merely a small role in sequence eight?"

"Honorable councillor, absolutely!" The spy hurriedly bowed, his tone eager to assure, "This is information extracted using the Whispering Eye, directly from the residual thoughts in the stripped soul of a corpse, definitely without any falsification!"

Despite the spy's repeated assurances, the middle-aged man known as the dead councillor still appeared hesitant.

As one of the high-ranking members of the Council of the Dead, he had dealt with the Steam Sect for countless years, and was all too familiar with the workings and control of that massive church.

If the Evil God Sect wanted to develop and propagate faith in the Victoria Kingdom, they could either choose the remote towns at the kingdom's fringes where church power was weak and operate covertly, or could only conduct extremely secretive one-line transmission among nobles and big merchants seeking forbidden power.

Like the industrial district where Orn Steel Factory is located, it is the heartland of the kingdom, the key monitoring and care target of the Steam Sect, with a huge number of workers and enormous faith potential, but also heavily guarded.

Someone daring to spread heretical faith so openly and grandiosely in such a place, creating miracles of sacred spirits, should have been directly purified by those keen-sensed mad dogs of the Heretic Court from the Steam Sect at the very first sign.

But the so-called sacred spirit Anna remained unscathed all along, even causing such a stir that workers began openly discussing.

This reveals far too much abnormality!

Indeed, a sequence eight Soul Detainer is an excellent sacrificial offering containing pure soul and Power of Faith for the Council of the Dead, with immense temptation.

But the councillor's inherent caution and his experience in dealing with the True God Church over the years still forced him to suppress his impulse.

After thinking for a moment, he finally made a decision and spoke heavily:

"This matter... shall be set aside for now.

Events involving the abnormal attitude of the Steam Sect must be handled cautiously. Wait until the chairman awakens from slumber, then make a decision."

This cautious response did not escape notice by a group located deep within the Steam Cathedral, tens of kilometers away, who all furrowed their brows.

Steam Cathedral, the magnificent building symbolizing the glory of steam and mechanics, where the headquarters of the fearsome Heretic Court rests in its deep underground.

At the moment, in a hall filled with intricate instruments and sacred runes, over a dozen formidable Transcendents donned in heavy Judgement Knight armor stood solemnly, in front of them were two elderly figures draped in scarlet bishop robes.

Everyone's focus was on the giant magical mirror suspended in the hall's center.

The mirror's surface clearly reflected the very scene just witnessed in the Oranck Cemetery District's underground Hall of Graves within the Council of the Dead.

The Steam Sect has controlled the Victoria Kingdom for tens of thousands of years, with roots and power unimaginably deep and vast.

And the Council of the Dead is merely an Evil God Sect quietly born several thousand years ago.

With the Steam Sect's tight control over the entire kingdom, how could they truly tolerate such a scale of an Evil God Sect existing peacefully under their watch for thousands of years?

The reason is simple, precisely as Lu Yan speculated, the Council of the Dead is largely a product deliberately nurtured or even secretly fed by the Heretic Court.

Their purpose is twofold: to use these heretical sects as whetstones to refine and enhance the faith and combat strength of their own church members through conflict.

On the other hand, to legitimately cleanse and rectify certain forces or regions within the kingdom when needed, under the guise of judging the Evil God Sect.

Ever since Saint Xi'en returned with the conversation details with Lu Yan, especially regarding the existence of the mysterious Emperor Fengdu, the Steam Sect high ranks instinctively felt fear and decided to temporarily retreat, awaiting further developments.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.