Shrouded Seascape

Witnessing Anna's collapse, Li Long's stoic demeanor vanished, and his expression was full of terror as he instinctively turned to Wang Sheng. "Bro, w-what do we do?"

However, Wang Sheng had no idea what to do as well. Wang Sheng's expression shifted between gloominess and uncertainty at the sight of Anna covered in a cloud of smoke on the floor.

Wang Sheng's thoughts were inscrutable to everyone else except for himself.

"She must have gotten into an accident with that ritual. Perhaps she only has a superficial grasp on some forbidden knowledge. Since she turned out this way, can she really deliver her promises to me?" Wang Sheng muttered to himself.

As the pungent cloud of white smoke grew thicker, the followers retreated in fear.

Bizarre-looking flames had just manifested on the high priestess' figure. From what was announced earlier, those disloyal to God would be devoured by His divine flames. Could it be that she was…

Everyone present gathered around, each harboring their own thoughts.

They weren't particularly anxious about Anna's safety; they were only worried about who would help them contact the Great One if the high priestess had truly gotten herself into an accident.

The most anxious among them was Roy.

Just as everyone created their own assumptions, a shaky voice echoed from within the cloud of white smoke. "Bring me some clothes."

Everyone present trembled.

Li Lu moved first, removing her black robe and throwing it into the cloud of white smoke. The sizzling noises disappeared, and the pungent cloud of white smoke dissipated slowly.

Anna clad in a black robe and gasping for breath emerged from within the smoke.

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She looked extremely pale, but she was unscathed. Her exposed, fair legs attracted the gazes of all the men present. Anna surveyed the surroundings, taking in everyone's expressions. She chuckled coldly and raised her right hand.

Five green licks of flame appeared one by one at the tip of her fingers. "God has bestowed upon me a special ability, and He has declared me as His Chosen One as a reward for my devotion to Him."

With that, Anna waved her hand, and the five licks of flame fell onto the gasoline on the ground. The green putrid tinge spread out, and the flickering green light reflected in Anna's eyes.

In the eyes of everyone present, she was like a phoenix that had just been reborn from the ashes. They could hardly believe that the woman before them could actually manifest and manipulate flames; they weren't ordinary flames as well.

It was a scene that one could only see in movies, but it had manifested in reality.

Their doubts vanished in an instant upon witnessing the awe-inspiring sight. At this moment, there was only one thought in their mind—if the god of this church could bestow such an ability upon the high priestess, He could surely bestow it upon them as well!

There was truly a god out there! The sense of unity among the followers of Anna's religion reached unprecedented heights.

Just then, Anna waved her hand, and the green flames returned to her fingertips before disappearing as if they had never manifested in the first place. After sweeping an arrogant gaze across the others, she turned around and walked away.

Li Lu, acting as her secretary, was about to follow Anna, but the latter stopped her.

Anna then ordered Li Lu to take advantage of the followers' high morale to kickstart the next phase of the plan. Li Lu then proceeded to gather everyone and teach them seamanship.

Resonant footsteps reverberated as Anna walked down the basement on her bare feet. A few beeps echoed, and the heavy iron door opened slowly. As soon as Anna walked into the room, she staggered and collapsed to the ground, breathing in ragged pants.

The uncomfortable sensation was still there. The tingling and stabbing pain pierced even her bones, making her feel like dying. Clearly, the sacrificial ritual was pointing to a god that was unlike Fhtagn—a god that demanded more than just offerings in exchange for His blessing.

Anna trembled as she pulled back her sleeve, revealing the inner side of her right arm. It was the same arm that she had used to control those flames. The flesh on her arm had taken on the same putrid hue as those flames, but her arm was also covered in blisters and was actually rotting as well.

The scorched and fist-sized dark green wounds were intertwined with bizarre green licks of flame.

Inside the pitch-black basement, Anna's arm was like a green candle, dimly illuminating everything around her.

Anna's delicate face beneath the green light reflected grit as she gnashed her teeth to withstand both the pain and the incomprehensible, maddening roars that had been plaguing her from the very beginning of her endeavor.

Anna was in no rush to turn on the lights and simply waited quietly for the roars to disappear. Charles had experienced something like this, and from his experience, Anna knew that the torment wouldn't last that long.

Two hours later, the voices in her ears became faint enough for her to ignore them. She finally stood up and turned on the lights.

Soon, a naked Anna lay in a white bathtub, washing away the fatigue and cold sweat. She raised her right arm and observed it, including everything extra in her arm. The tingling and stabbing pain had weakened drastically since then.

With a will on Anna's end, green flames appeared at her fingertips. She flicked them lightly at the nearby mirror, and the standing mirror was reduced to ashes in just a mere second.

Glass was made by melting a mixture of natural materials at high temperatures, but the bizarre green flames actually managed to reduce it to mere ashes upon contact.

One could only imagine the consequences if these flames made contact with human flesh. Recalling the terrifying ordeal, Anna muttered to herself, "It's effective, but I can't keep doing that ritual. I am no longer a Dioite; I'm a mere human being now. My mind and fleshly body are far too fragile to withstand such sacrifices in the long term.

"If I were to accept too many blessings from the Primordial Fire, my body would definitely collapse."

However, Anna had no regrets about the condition of her arm. She no longer felt as uneasy as before, and it was all thanks to that special ability. Power reigned supreme everywhere in the world. Without power, she was like a piece of meat on a chopping board, and she'd be at the mercy of others.

Anna closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of the water gliding over her skin as she began to plan her next steps.

Anna had never been to a place like the surface world, and the difference between her personality and Charles' personality led to her making vastly different choices compared to the latter if he were in her shoes.

Anna's top priority was to establish a stable foothold here. If she couldn't even stand firm on her own feet here, searching for the Subterranean Sea would be meaningless.

Sacrificial rituals were not feasible for the long term; she had to find other ways to become even stronger.

The Subterranean Sea had quite a few forbidden knowledge, and they all flashed through Anna's mind. Unfortunately, they weren't that easy to make use of. After all, the materials and relics commonly seen in the Subterranean Sea were virtually impossible to find on the surface world.

Anna needed something that was available in both the Subterranean Sea and the surface world, and it had to be capable of affecting the human body. Something like that was incredibly rare, so Anna had to carefully ponder over her next steps.