Chapter 71: The Church’s Apostle and Sacred Relic—Marked as a Target

“But those are people from Big Dipper Biotech,” someone said. “Here in Huaxia, they’re considered a major power.”

Asura continued, attempting to mediate the situation by revealing the identities of Ice Fairy and her companions, hoping the other side would back down. At a time like this, he truly wished to avoid further conflict—especially since he himself was Huaxian.

“So what if it’s Big Dipper Biotech?” another Westerner replied. He wore missionary robes, but his tone was hostile. “Since we’ve seen the spirit fruit, naturally it also belongs to us.”

“Enough talk with them,” Jennifer finally spoke, her words imperious and cold. “The beast is on its last breath. Act now—take the spirit fruit by force!”

She shot a threatening look at Asura and the others, tightening her grip on her staff. Her eyes were icy, a silent warning.

“Yes, ma’am,” Hans replied with a smile, dashing forward at astonishing speed. He reached the tree and plucked the spirit fruits without hesitation.

“Westerners?” Ice Fairy and her group realized at once, their expressions changing. After all their effort, someone else was reaping the reward?

“Put it down, now!” Without hesitation, Ice Fairy stepped forward, a wave of chilling air radiating from her. Instantly, every leaf and pebble in the vicinity was encased in frost.

She had already reached the Awakened Realm, her strength vastly increased from before. The members of Big Dipper Biotech flanked her, releasing their own power. They had no idea why Westerners would appear in Shennongjia, but now wasn’t the time to ponder such things; their spoils had been stolen, and they were compelled to reclaim them.

“Hmph!” Not far away, Jennifer snorted coldly. She raised her angelic staff and struck the ground with force.

A blinding white radiance shot forth from the staff, illuminating the entire area. In the space of a heartbeat, the icy aura emanating from Ice Fairy was utterly repelled wherever the light touched. Ice Fairy herself trembled, a profound sense of danger washing over her. She retreated with her subordinates to a safe distance, steadying herself before glancing back, her expression grim and her brow furrowed.

“The Apostle Jennifer, one of the Twelve beneath the Throne of the Holy Angel of the Vatican?”

Recognizing the blonde woman, Ice Fairy immediately discerned her origin. There were many powerful Awakened in Huaxia, but the West was no different—especially with the Holy Knights and the Sacred Angels at the fore. The Sacred Angels belonged to the Vatican, their strength unfathomable, and beneath them served the Twelve Apostles. According to Big Dipper Biotech’s intelligence, all twelve had reached the Awakened Realm. Not only were they formidable on their own, but it was rumored they each wielded holy relics left by Western deities.

It was precisely because of this that, under the leadership of the Sacred Angels, the Western world had managed to temporarily hold back the beast tides and maintain stability.

She hadn’t expected one of them to suddenly appear here—until her eyes fell on Asura.

“To think someone would recognize me,” Jennifer said, seemingly pleased. “It seems the glory of God will one day shine upon the world entire. God’s devout followers have set their sights on this spirit fruit. Leave now, and do not harbor resentment; God will forgive you.”

She spoke of God with every breath, as if none of her actions stemmed from greed, but were all the will of the Almighty.

At these words, the Big Dipper Biotech members were livid. They had been robbed, and now were told God would forgive them?

Ice Fairy’s eyes grew colder, but she didn’t reply. Instead, she turned to Asura and said icily, “I expect an explanation.”

She knew it was pointless to reason with these Westerners, and the power Jennifer had displayed with the cross staff was formidable. If she acted rashly, casualties would be inevitable. In the end, she could only turn to Asura. He was from Celestial Technologies, a Huaxian faction.

“Asura, remember your duty,” Jennifer suddenly interjected, her gaze sharp.

At this, Asura faltered, his face darkening. He took a deep breath, approached Ice Fairy, and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect things to turn out this way. You all should leave.”

As he spoke, his gaze flickered to the cross staff in Jennifer’s hand, his voice dropping low. “That thing is extremely dangerous. If conflict breaks out, your chances of victory aren’t high.”

His words were sincere, tinged with earnest pleading. He hoped to avoid a confrontation.

Ice Fairy regarded him deeply. Though she was burning with anger and yearned to strike, she finally spoke, “I understand.”

In her own land, she was powerful—but she knew Asura spoke the truth. For the Vatican’s followers to venture so deep into Shennongjia, they must have confidence in their backing.

“Thank you,” Asura murmured in relief, though his fists clenched in frustration, his body trembling beneath his cloak. The humiliation of his actions stung, but in the end, he turned away.

“Miss Jennifer, as agreed—we’re leaving now, yes?” he asked.

Jennifer’s sharp gaze softened slightly. She turned to Ice Fairy. “God will bestow His blessings upon you.”

With that, she left without looking back, taking Hans and the other Westerners with her.

Asura and the Celestial Technologies team nodded slightly to Ice Fairy, then followed after.

“That was five spirit fruits! Are we just going to let them walk away with them?”

“Yes, they might not be rare, but we expended so much effort!”

“I heard Celestial Technologies has dealings with Western powers—I didn’t expect it to be true.”

The Big Dipper Biotech members were flushed with anger. Their company had sent them to Shennongjia, knowing its uniqueness and the potential for fortune. They came to scout, seeking spirit fruit and strange herbs to advance their evolution.

But now, after all their work, a group of Western zealots had swooped in and taken everything.

What made them most furious was Celestial Technologies, a domestic power, colluding with the Western Church and bringing them to Shennongjia.

“Enough,” Ice Fairy said, her gaze frosty. “It seems the Western powers have set their sights on us. It won’t be long before things get ugly—perhaps even all-out war.”

Big Dipper Biotech, with its official ties, knew more than most. Foreign powers had long since extended their reach into Huaxia. In the early days of the mutation, some even sought open conflict. Only the outbreak of the beast tide had forced them to abandon those plans.

Now, as the world’s situation had finally stabilized, the Western zealots had appeared. Would the Knights of Olympus or the warriors from India be far behind?

“Even so, how can we just swallow this?” one person couldn’t help but say. “And that Asura—one of the Five Great Awakened, and he’s helping outsiders! What a lackey!”

“Asura has his own burdens,” someone else countered. “He may be one of the Five, but in truth, he’s just a puppet.”

“His life is controlled. He can’t defy Celestial Technologies.”

Ice Fairy shook her head. She knew much. In the past, Asura was indispensable to Celestial Technologies. But as more Awakened emerged, the so-called Five Great Awakened no longer held absolute advantage. Take Zhu Qingyu of Sundan Academy, for instance—her progress in a short time was astonishing, nearly rivaling the Northern Emperor. And that’s just those they knew of.

The others exchanged glances, understanding. Celestial Technologies had been conducting all sorts of experiments even before the mutation, aiming to create beings beyond humanity. Asura was the result of one such experiment. They had once dismissed it as rumor, but now it was evidently true.

Given that, there was little more to say.

“Well, there are still plenty of spirit fruits and strange herbs in Shennongjia,” Ice Fairy said, not explaining further. “Let’s keep searching.”

She led them away. As she had said, Shennongjia was indeed extraordinary. Spirit fruits were rare, but unusual herbs abounded.

But to their surprise, every time they were about to harvest something, the Westerners appeared—intercepting their prize and sending Asura to confront them. This happened repeatedly until, in the end, they barely managed to gather anything.

Each time, the Westerners, led by Apostle Jennifer, would leave them with the same words: “It is God’s gift.”

Ice Fairy was infuriated. One of her teammates finally lost patience and attacked, but was injured for his trouble. Jennifer was indeed formidable—even without using the holy cross staff, she outclassed Ice Fairy.

So, again and again, they had to swallow their indignation, watching helplessly as the spirit fruits and herbs of Shennongjia were taken by foreigners.

Ice Fairy concluded that the holy cross staff might have the ability to sense spirit fruits and herbs—or perhaps they had been tracking her all along.

The Big Dipper Biotech team could only despair. There was no signal inside Shennongjia, so seeking outside aid was impossible. Otherwise, they would have fought the Vatican zealots to the bitter end.

It was infuriating. Foreigners coming to Huaxia to plunder what was theirs—how was this any different from a century ago?

But Ice Fairy and her companions were powerless. In the end, they decided to stop searching proactively and instead shadow the Westerners, suspecting that their presence in Shennongjia had a deeper purpose.

So the two groups, one in front and the other behind, continued deeper into Shennongjia.

“Lady Jennifer, those Easterners are following us. Will it affect our plan?” Hans noticed and gestured with a thumb across his throat.

“Let them follow if they wish. It doesn’t matter,” Jennifer replied. “They pose no threat to us.”

As one of the Vatican’s Twelve Apostles, Jennifer was well aware—but she was unconcerned. As long as she wielded the holy relic, and without other Huaxian powerhouses present, she had nothing to fear from Ice Fairy and her group.

“Miss Jennifer, aren’t we going too far?” Asura, leading the way, finally spoke. Once or twice was understandable, but over and over—it was too much, even for him. There were ways to find spirit fruits and herbs, yet they insisted on seizing them by force.

He knew that Ice Fairy hadn’t started a fight not out of fear, but because of his pleas. This made Asura deeply ashamed. He hoped Jennifer would restrain herself.

“I know what you mean. But so what?” Jennifer replied, her eyes cold as ice. “I enjoy this. If you object, you’re free to leave.”

Celestial Technologies had cooperated with the West for a long time. This mission was a joint operation. Asura had some strength, but so what?

At her words, Asura’s face darkened. If he left, the higher-ups would be furious, and wouldn’t spare anyone connected to him, even his family. In the end, he was just another experiment—and with ongoing cooperation, the company would soon produce many more like him.

The other Celestial Technologies members hung their heads, silent and subdued.

Hans and the other Westerners sneered from the sidelines.

“Hm?” Suddenly, Jennifer’s eyes narrowed, her cross staff glowing once more. “There are more spirit fruits or herbs ahead. Come, let’s see.”

Asura and the others exchanged glances, but followed nonetheless.

Meanwhile, elsewhere—

“Master, this cauldron is incredible!”

“That makes thirty-three herbs collected already!”

The Golden-winged Roc, using its magical powers to assume the size of a human hand, marveled with wide eyes.

Not far away, three stalks of seven-leafed strange herbs grew. Beside them, Lu Yuan smiled as he put away the Meridian-Repairing Furnace.

Though he had entered Shennongjia, the Roc’s inherited memories were still hazy, and the Dragonblood Python was a living creature, unlikely to stay in one place. If he wanted to find it, he needed more time.

Rather than wandering aimlessly, he might as well gather spirit fruits and herbs along the way, collecting them as he went. Though such things did little for him—his foundation was already too deep—if he amassed enough and refined their essence into pills, the resulting elixirs would still be beneficial. It was, after all, a matter of quantity transforming into quality.

So far, he had gathered a considerable amount. As the saying goes, even a fly’s leg is still meat.

As for the Meridian-Repairing Furnace, it didn’t matter if the Roc knew. They were now master and servant, and after so long together, Lu Yuan knew the Roc’s formidable appearance belied a temperament akin to a five- or six-year-old child.

“Alright,” Lu Yuan said, shaking his head. “Pick the herbs.”

“Yes, Master!” The Roc was elated, spreading its wings—then suddenly, its golden eyes fixed on a spot in the distance. “Master, someone’s coming.”

I mentioned feeling unwell yesterday—turns out I was sick and had to be on a drip all afternoon. Still, I finished writing and didn’t miss the update. I’ll try to write more tomorrow.

Brothers, I’ve seen all your suggestions. I’ll take them to heart! I will adjust! Doing my best to bring you an even better story!

(End of chapter)