Chapter 316: Divine Transformation, Acquiring Advanced Dark Energy Knowledge
During the raid on Cathedral Number Four, Bai Fu, as always, concealed her true identity.
But Cathedral Number Four was, after all, Cathedral Number Four—the strictness of its defenses was far beyond that of the already scattered Rayas Civilization.
No sooner had she crossed the first line of Cathedral Number Four’s defense than a massive dark energy whirlpool interstellar wall, a true wonder among wonders, barred her path.
Under the erosion of dark energy, all of her disguise techniques became useless.
“Holy shit, the intruder is actually Bai Fu?!”
Once they figured out Bai Fu’s real identity, the stationed followers at Cathedral Number Four immediately sent a call for help to the Fourth Candidate Apostle and the Supreme Apostle.
At that moment, the Fourth Candidate Apostle was still entangled with Winter of the Apocalypse and the others in the Tub Galaxy.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Apostle had only just arrived at Rayas two days ago aboard an Icon-class Mothership, discussing with others how to eliminate the organization that had joined other Apostles in attacking the Holy City of Apostles, and then dig out the Apostle behind it.
To achieve this, he had even summoned Corona of the Shadow Storm, the Transcendent Mechanic of the Ten Saints.
“What, Bai Fu has attacked Cathedral Number Four?”
The Supreme Apostle was dumbfounded upon receiving the report.
How did Bai Fu have the guts for this? How did she know where Cathedral Number Four was? Could there be others following her, just waiting to strike?
It had to be said—this was all far too bizarre.
But now, the Holy City of Apostles had no time to dwell on the reasons.
Cathedral Number Four was practically empty. If reinforcements didn’t arrive quickly, Bai Fu might very well smash the entire Cathedral to pieces. Such a disgrace would bring immeasurable humiliation upon the Holy City of Apostles.
And afterwards, to appease the Cathedral’s faction, a heavy price would inevitably have to be paid.
“The meeting is temporarily adjourned. The people of Cathedral Number Two will stay in Rayas to continue tracking that group of attackers. The rest will follow me to Cathedral Number Four at once. This time, I will personally send Bai Fu on her way!”
The Supreme Apostle’s rage boiled over, his killing intent surging.
Bai Fu’s actions alone were reason enough for him to kill her seven or eight times over. And since she was most likely an Apostle herself, she had only further cemented her own path to death in his eyes!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——
With his command, the entire Holy City of Apostles mobilized against Bai Fu.
A dozen Transcendents rushed toward Cathedral Number Four, terrified they might arrive too late and Bai Fu would already have escaped.
The troops stationed near Cathedral Number Four also mobilized, sealing off the surrounding starry skies in all directions. Though such a blockade was meaningless against Transcendents, they could hardly afford to do nothing.
……
At the same time.
Cathedral Number Four.
Facing the overwhelming tide of psionic beams and True Spirit summons flying toward her, Bai Fu applauded her own caution in secret.
“Good thing I waited until I completed my first transformation before acting. Otherwise, with a delay like this, I might have missed out on Cathedral Number Four’s hidden advanced dark energy knowledge.”
On the day the Supreme Apostle had been distracted by Shadow Fu, she could have made her move.
But she had not rushed.
Instead, she had waited two more days—until she raised her base Spirit attribute to 5000.
That wait had brought her a boost beyond imagination.
Bai Fu opened her Attribute Panel.
Next to her name, the progress of a special buff called “Divine Fire Sprout” had risen to 20.01%.
With the progress increase, the four enhancements brought by Divine Fire Sprout had each been strengthened.
一、Transcendence +1.
【Transcendence +1】increased the level cap of her Prayer Cards by 1. That one level meant that all of her Prayer Cards’ base effects rose by 20%.
二、Divine Transformation +1.
【Divine Transformation】was a fixed attribute-boost buff. +1 Divine Transformation gave Bai Fu +20% base Inspiration, +15% to Strength and other stats—equivalent to an extra tier of attribute bonus.
三、Nurture Divine Envoy +1.
After evolving, 【Nurture Divine Envoy】now allowed Bai Fu to designate two psionic beings with Favorability above 90 as her 【Divine Envoys】. Those chosen received a 【God of Psionics】 boost about 30% stronger than before.
In addition, the 【Seed of Divinity】 Talent that paired with 【Nurture Divine Envoy】 had also been greatly strengthened. Combined, Bai Fu herself gained no direct boost, but Shadow Fu’s power had more than doubled.
四、Ethereal Torrent +1.
【Ethereal Torrent】was a group damage ultimate. After the upgrade, it transformed directly into a divine skill: higher Inspiration scaling, wider area of effect, more shockwaves per unit time.
But the real reason Bai Fu now called it a divine skill was that the psionic energy it released was no longer 【pure】 psionic power—it now carried attributes. For instance, an 【Eternal Night】-attributed Ethereal Torrent, or an 【Apocalypse】-attributed one, or even a mixed 【Eternal Night & Apocalypse】 version.
Yes—mixed attributes!
Before her transformation, Bai Fu had mastered two psionic attributes, but she could not fuse them. At most, she could wield Eternal Night in her left hand, Apocalypse in her right.
Which was inconvenient.
Not inconvenient to cast—she could manage, even if she mastered more. If her hands were occupied, she still had two feet free.
The problem was efficiency: without fusion, releasing two different attributes at once wasted psionic conversion. Fusion eliminated that issue entirely.
After this round of upgrades, although her level had only increased by 1, Bai Fu’s strength skyrocketed——
【HP】: 3769380/3769380
【Psionic Value】: 3994302/3994302
【Qi】: 140775/140775
【Stats】: Strength 4327, Agility 4356, Constitution 7732, Intelligence 2975, Spirit 5627, Inspiration 12864
The stat increases were already massive, but her combat power had grown by multiples.
“Divine Transformation truly lives up to its name.”
Bai Fu estimated that for her next transformation, she would need to supplement Strength, Agility, and Intelligence, and perhaps master another psionic attribute.
But now was not the time to think of such things.
She surveyed her surroundings.
She was deeply encircled.
Ahead lay the massive dark energy whirlpool wall, countless weapons bearing down, a million warships surrounding her. The situation seemed dire.
But—only seemed.
“Now, let me show you the power of this upgraded 【Ethereal Torrent】!”
Floating in the starry sky, stained with colors of countless beams, she faced the crushing dark energy whirlpool wall. Slowly, she stretched out her right hand.
Open!
At the instant she activated the skill, a massive gate resembling a vertical eye, several kilometers tall, opened behind her.
The next second, countless pure-black psionic streams erupted from the gate like mad, flooding in every direction—forward, left, right, back… wherever space existed.
A terrifying tide of psionic energy instantly swept across the starry skies around Bai Fu.
Space fortresses, warships, psionic shields, coastal cannons, interstellar soldiers—everything touched by Ethereal Torrent dissolved into nothingness.
Unstoppable.
Completely unstoppable.
Not only could it not be stopped, there was no escape.
In fact, the very moment the colossal gate to the Ethereal Realm opened, the psionic detection devices deployed behind the dark energy whirlpool wall shrieked, warning everyone inside Cathedral Number Four.
Danger. Extreme danger. Must avoid!
But—it was too late.
Psionics was already a power with strong “idealist” traits.
And the Ethereal Torrent drawn by Bai Fu was even more “idealist.”
Once locked on, unless one’s psionic resistance was high enough, there was no evading it—no matter what evasive stance one took.
Even if the damage from energy shockwaves could be avoided, the debuffs had already piled on.
Weakened. Stat reduction. Increased damage taken. Stamina drain. HP drain…
“Fall back! Everyone fall back! Don’t go out there to die! That kind of monster isn’t something we can fight. Even sending fortress-class warships is meaningless—it’ll just cause needless casualties!”
The temporary commander of Cathedral Number Four roared across the command channel.
“We’ll rely on the Dark Energy Whirlpool Interstellar Wall to hold her off. As long as we can stall for half an hour until the Supreme Apostle arrives, she’ll… uh.”
Mid-sentence, his voice suddenly failed him.
He stared blankly at the massive virtual screen before him. It displayed the Dark Energy Whirlpool Wall—but now there was a gaping molten hole that refused to heal.
The hole had a diameter of over a thousand kilometers.
He had seen it clearly—it was blasted open by Bai Fu just as he had given his rallying speech.
Bai Fu had turned into a black streak of light, colliding into the Dark Energy Whirlpool Wall he had pinned his hopes on like a cannonball.
And then, the wall had been smashed through, her speed not even slowing as she tore across.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Cathedral Number Four did have psionic weapons stronger than the Whirlpool Wall—some even capable of injuring Candidate Apostle Lite.
But Bai Fu had already broken inside Cathedral Number Four. If they used those weapons now, Bai Fu might not die—but they themselves, along with the Cathedral, would blow up first.
“The Dark Energy Whirlpool Wall has been breached. From here on, avoid direct combat with Bai Fu as much as possible. Since she’s forcing her way inside rather than destroying from outside, she must have another purpose. We’ll use the Cathedral’s internal labyrinth system to stall her.”
After the initial shock, the temporary commander quickly regained composure, proposing the safest strategy.
His words calmed the panicked members of the Holy City of Apostles.
Yes.
Although the Wall had been breached, it wasn’t yet their most desperate moment.
Activate!
System operators moved at lightning speed. Regional managers inside the Cathedral coordinated in real time, determined to use the labyrinth system to confuse Bai Fu.
The labyrinth was the culmination of the Holy City of Apostles’ psionic technology. Though it couldn’t repel fleets like the Whirlpool Wall, it was extremely effective at trapping intruders.
The temporary commander had great faith in it.
Even if Bai Fu were an Apostle incarnate, the labyrinth should stall her for ten or twenty minutes.
After that, if he could just drag things out a bit longer, reinforcements from the Supreme Apostle would arrive.
“I still have a good chance of surviving this.”
His heartbeat steadied. Switching the monitor to Bai Fu’s position, he wanted to see how she fumbled inside.
And at a glance—he noticed something was wrong.
Wait.
Why was Bai Fu charging straight ahead, barreling forward without hesitation—even at branching points that required careful choice?
Could it be…
A bad premonition rose in his heart.
Two minutes later, he was sure. Bai Fu wasn’t confused by the labyrinth at all. In fact, she moved as if mysteriously familiar with the Cathedral’s interior.
Impossible. Bai Fu had never been to Cathedral Number Four. How could she know the layout?
【Insider】
The word burst into his mind.
Cold sweat began dripping uncontrollably down his forehead.
If that were true, then the situation was dire.
For only those of extremely high status within the Holy City of Apostles had access to Cathedral Number Four’s detailed maps.
If someone like that had secretly sided with Bai Fu… terrifying to even imagine.
What kind of power did Bai Fu have to sway people?
Were there more traitors than one?
Did the Holy City of Apostles truly have a future?
More and more doubts flooded his mind—until a thunderous crash jolted him awake.
“No, I must report this to the Supreme Apostle and Candidate Lite immediately!”
He rushed to act.
Moments later.
“What?”
The Supreme Apostle’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
How could he not have considered the same issue the temporary commander had?
“Who? Who betrayed the Holy City of Apostles?!”
He suspected every member of the Holy City’s inner circle equally.
Damn it. With Apostles appearing one after another, the situation only grew worse.
He had to accelerate his plans, no matter the cost. Even if the Holy City of Apostles suffered devastating losses, so be it.
As long as his plan succeeded, even if the Holy City was destroyed, he could build another.
Of course, alongside this, Bai Fu—and the traitors who sided with her—had to be killed.
Any scum in his way had to be reduced to dust!
“Increase the dark energy engine’s output again!”
“Supreme Apostle, if we do that, the engine will explode.”
“As long as we complete the jump, let it explode!”
The Supreme Apostle barked orders at the ship’s engineers. Powerless to refuse, they complied.
……
“Finally found it.”
After several minutes traversing Cathedral Number Four, Bai Fu—guided by Sui Xi’s map—entered the Cathedral’s secret archive, where she successfully located two sets of advanced dark energy knowledge she had long desired.
Excited, she uploaded them into her communicator.
Soon, a new system prompt appeared.
【You have completed the quest [Pathseeker’s Journey]. Reward: 15 billion XP, Rare Skill [Devouring of Dark Energy]】
Perfect!
Bai Fu immediately contacted Hei Fu, asking her to summon her away.
But unexpectedly—
【Interference from the Dark Energy Abyss has caused the summoning to fail. You cannot teleport to Hei Fu’s side.】
“?”
Bai Fu froze.
Well now, the Holy City of Apostles had this kind of trick?
She had underestimated them.
But she didn’t panic.
Did they think blocking teleportation could trap her?
Naïve!
She had long prepared alternatives.
“As long as I master the two sets of knowledge I just acquired, I can activate 【Spiral】 and 【Ethereal】. At that point, even Apostles might not be harder to kill than me!”
Bai Fu narrowed her eyes.
Since she couldn’t leave yet, she wouldn’t rush.
It wasn’t easy to infiltrate the Holy City of Apostles. Was taking just two sets of advanced knowledge enough?
This was the perfect chance to also observe the Supreme Apostle up close.
“Watch me loot every valuable resource you’ve got here!”
Bai Fu became a tireless porter, packing every treasure she fancied into the Eternal Night Pure Land.
Though the Cathedral’s people knew what she was doing, none dared stop her. They could only stew in fury while frantically calling for reinforcements.
Minutes later, seeing the timing was right, Bai Fu turned and blasted her way out of Cathedral Number Four, heading straight into the starry void.
“Bad news, Supreme Apostle! Bai Fu is escaping!”
The Supreme Apostle sneered coldly: “She won’t get away—I am here!”
Lightning flashed.
An Icon-class Mothership, already on the brink of explosion, suddenly appeared near Cathedral Number Four.
Then, the Supreme Apostle and his followers flew out of it.
In that instant, the chaos at Cathedral Number Four mysteriously cooled.
Everyone’s hearts steadied.
Bai Fu?
She would soon vanish from this world!
That was the confidence the Supreme Apostle’s power inspired in them.