As expected, the Death Church’s headquarters was much more magnificent and imposing than the one Mu had taken him to.

Though it was still hidden deep within a valley.

But once inside, it was a completely different world.

The cave’s interior held a vast space, as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out from within.

Giant pillars stood one after another, each carved with the myriad creatures of the world dying in agony.

The three of them ventured deeper inside.

The powerful Restriction Lu Cang had sensed was also in this direction.

"Sister Kumironi, the Life Church has been investigating this place for so long. Have you found anything?"

"We have indeed made quite a few discoveries."

"Actually, the investigation team we sent a while back was also here to try and break a sealed Restriction in the deepest part of this cave."

"Can’t Iz break it?" Lu Cang asked.

Kumironi shook her head. "This Restriction isn’t magical in nature."

"It’s constructed purely from Rituals and Sacrifice."

If it were a magical Restriction, Iz could break it easily. She could even find a way to dismantle it from a magical angle if it merely incorporated some elements of Magic.

But a purely ritualistic one was indeed more troublesome.

Although Iz was quite skilled in Rituals, she wasn’t so masterful that she could just break... a Level 7 Restriction.

Lu Cang had only ever encountered two Level 7 Restrictions.

One was in the Dark Church, and the other was here.

Aside from those, the strongest were the Level 6 Restrictions protecting the Divine Hall of Light, the Divine Hall of Life, the Divine Hall of Fortune, and other major Churches.

Oh, and the Cold Church had a Level 5 Restriction.

"Hmm..."

"Sister Kumironi, I can give it a try in a bit."

’In fact, I’ve already broken the Restriction.’

’My Perception has already scanned the interior.’

’But... what is this enormous, pulsating black egg?’

’I have a very bad feeling about this thing.’

Lu Cang’s first instinct was to get far away from it.

But then he had another thought. The thing was still just an egg; it hadn’t hatched yet. This was the perfect time to eliminate the threat.

If it were allowed to actually hatch...

If it posed no threat, then there would be no need to run. But if it was a threat, it would be on a continental scale, and he wouldn’t be able to escape anyway.

He would only end up regretting not having eliminated the threat sooner.

Having thought it through, Lu Cang made his decision.

’Whether it hatches later or not, I’ll finish it off now, while it’s still not fully developed.’

"Little Lu Cang, you have a solution?"

Lu Cang nodded slightly. "I’ve had a few small breakthroughs with deciphering things recently. I might be able to break this Restriction."

Kumironi said with concern, "But this is a very difficult Restriction, you know."

"There’s no harm in trying, right?" Lu Cang said with a grin.

"Mm, alright then."

But before that, the first priority was definitely to advance his Profession.

The three of them arrived before the Promotion Array.

The Array for the promotion Ritual was perfectly preserved. Lu Cang stepped into the very center of the Promotion Array.

Kumironi raised her emerald-green staff.

’Sophia... I truly haven’t betrayed the tenets of Life.’

’I saved many lives on the brink of death today, and I’ve treated many injured and sick people recently.’

To help Lu Cang with his promotion today...

Kumironi had spent the past few days at the Life Church, personally treating a great number of injured and sick people.

Normally, such tasks didn’t require her personal attention.

Kumironi’s resolve hardened once more.

’Helping Lu Cang with his promotion is for the sake of better upholding the tenets of Life in the future.’

VMMMM!

The light of the promotion Ritual flared to life!

From the heavens, an incredibly potent aura of Death descended! A gaze fixed upon Lu Cang’s position!

’What a dense gaze. What a dense aura of Death.’

Moreover, Lu Cang faintly felt an extremely complex sensation.

This gaze from Death had nothing to do with Bai.

A divine being and the Source one must face during a promotion were two different matters.

At this moment, from the Source of Death he was facing, Lu Cang could actually feel a faint sense of anticipation.

Demanding souls.

Demanding Death.

Lu Cang raised his hand, and a tide of Black Ant corpses and chunks of Demon flesh poured out in massive piles.

Sacrificed to the sky along with them were countless rising souls!

He Sacrificed Death. He Sacrificed soul.

These are the tenets of a Death Priest.

Death cares not for suffering, nor for the reason one dies...

’It’s actually quite... pure.’

It was just a shame that Death itself was something to be feared.

’I won’t Sacrifice too much this time...’

’Sacrificing ten billion should be enough. I’m starting to worry that if I Sacrifice less in future promotions, I might suffer a backlash.’ 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’It probably won’t come to that.’

After the Sacrifice, the first thing he felt was an explosive surge of Spirituality in return.

The promotion to Death Priest definitely brought the greatest increase in Spirituality.

’Perhaps it’s because I Sacrificed so much.’

[Death Priest Professional Mastery Gained: Soul Killer (Exclusive) — The Effect of all attacks targeting the soul is greatly enhanced.]

[Death Priest Professional Mastery Gained: Soul Shock (Exclusive) — All attacks now inflict soul damage with varying Effects.]

’This fits with my experiences as a Level 2 Death Priest.’

’During my time as a Level 2 Death Priest, I really did specialize in killing souls, thanks to my Talent.’

In addition, he also gained a feat called Death Perception.

`Death Perception` allowed him to more easily sense the presence of corpses, determine whether they were truly dead or feigning death, how long they had been dead, and the approximate cause of death...