Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 6] Chapter 40

[Vol. 6] Chapter 40: The Shadow Sea

The black light arrived swiftly and violently. Those on the other side of the battlefield, including Murong Yun and the others, were completely unable to respond in time, and probably lacked the strength to assist. Yuan Hong, too, gripped his long staff with a solemn expression, seemingly prepared to sacrifice himself to block the terrifying beam of magic that he could not possibly stop.

However, the Qilin, still lying on the ground with its eyes slightly closed, finally demonstrated its strength as a divine beast, far surpassing everyone present.

One of its hooved forelegs lifted, and with it, an identical, enlarged phantom appeared, sweeping through the air. It looked slow, yet it reached Yuan Hong and Yuan Zhi before the black beam, blocking them.

*Boom!!!*

*Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!!!*

The hoof-shaped shadow remained solid, directly clashing with the black magic beam. The two immense forces collided violently in midair, sending shockwaves that caused everyone and every monster present to stumble backward uncontrollably. The entire underground sea space also shook violently.

Oh…

So that was the source of the earlier explosive sound. No wonder the Qilin had allowed the invaders to act so freely in front of it, doing nothing. It seemed there was another, stronger enemy lurking nearby, forcing the Qilin to stay focused at all times.

It was a pity it had to juggle so many tasks while already in such a weakened state.

But if this continued, the Qilin would likely fall.

Though the clash seemed evenly matched, the situation was unclear on one side, while the Qilin’s strength was already nearly depleted. If this level of attack continued, the Qilin would inevitably be overwhelmed sooner or later.

The priestess glanced down at the sea surface, where the whirlpool was slowly dissipating.

Simply watching the situation worsen didn’t seem like the best option, so she decided to investigate what lay beneath the water.

With a flutter of her white wings, she changed direction and dove toward the spot where the whirlpool had appeared. Before those on the island could see what was happening, she plunged into the sea with a splash.

“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…”

The sound of water being displaced by her body echoed in her ears. The [Divine Feather] did not become wet when they met water, and the strong thrust from it helped the priestess descend rapidly.

Although the person in question couldn’t swim, in fact, she was quite poor at it, it wasn’t a major problem.

As an artifact, [Feather Robe Graria] naturally isolated the water from her body with ease, and as a deity, Violet didn’t particularly need to breathe, so she couldn’t be considered like an ordinary person in this aspect.

Aside from the ever-present feeling of floating, which she was somewhat unaccustomed to, it was essentially no different from flying in the sky.

Violet had occasionally immersed herself in lakes and seas during her travels in another continent, but the water in this underground sea… how should she put it? It felt entirely different.

Chilly. Utterly chilling.

The moment she entered the water, she felt it.

The water here was colder than ordinary river or sea water, but it wasn’t just a simple temperature difference. It was something that made one feel involuntarily creeped out, as if it were the coldness that arises deep within when descending into an abyss.

If she were to use a descriptive word, Violet would call it “chilled water.” And this water was likely the true culprit behind the emergence of evil and monsters in the [Tidal Deep Valley].

Of course, to put it more plainly, the water had an excessively high concentration of yin energy.

It was excessive, far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand. Not only would drinking it be dangerous, but even long-term exposure to it, or living near such a lake or sea, would have a significant impact on the body.

As for the exact effects…

Though this was just a guess, Violet suspected that the reason evil and monsters had emerged in the villagers’ bodies back in Zhenjia Village was that some figure, like the Seven Heavenly Demon Lords or whatever the name is, had tampered with their food and water, turning it into something like this.

It seemed that evil entities, like the monsters and demons, would appear anywhere as long as the so-called “yin energy” was strong enough, as if it were a special rule of the world… a rule that was extremely unfriendly to living beings.

And this underground sea is no different.

There are indeed creatures in the sea, though to be precise, they probably don’t fall under the category of “living beings.” However, they do exist, and they are far from friendly.

“Swish!”

A nearly hundred-meter-long sword of light, extending from the top of her Holy Staff, swept through the water, cutting a creature made entirely of pale white bones, wrapped in seaweed and rotting mud, but clearly not resembling any biological form that Violet was familiar with, into two halves. The priestess, who had never been able to tolerate things that were excessively ugly, couldn’t help but break into a sweat and press her forehead.

“Ugh… I can’t stand it! Could this thing be a [Yokai] too?!”

While complaining, Violet floated deeper into the increasingly dark sea and looked around.

More and more strange creatures were being drawn to this location by the ongoing battle.

Among them were creatures like the bone-assembled fish, which she had cut into pieces with a single blow earlier, as well as zombie-like humanoid figures with decayed bodies and holding broken fish spears. Some had fish fins but with bodies resembling land beasts.

It seemed that these were the remains of living beings who had perished in the [Tidal Deep Valley], either drowned or killed by the evil spirits within the sea, and had evolved into these forms under the intense yin energy in the surrounding environment.

It appeared that the bright light emitted by the hundred-meter sword, which Violet had mimicked from a certain holy knight’s flashy move out of admiration, was something of a natural enemy to these evil creatures, who had spent years lurking in the dark sea. It was both close to a nemesis for them and something they despised, drawing them to attack relentlessly like moths to a flame.

Although they were not formidable opponents, continuing to be hounded by them would never end.

Making up her mind, the girl once again spread two pairs of white wings behind her.

“Bang!!!!!”

The reaction force generated by the powerful thrust created waves over a hundred meters high, even causing the sea surface thousands of meters away to explode. In the next instant, Violet’s body shot downward like an arrow released from a bow, countering the resistance of buoyancy as she rapidly plunged toward the ocean floor!

But more eerie and demonic creatures emerged crazily from the deep sea, rushing toward her to bite and claw at her!

“[Purifying Rain].” [1]

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Countless dazzling swords of light suddenly appeared around the rapidly descending girl, transforming into golden hummingbirds that darted through the deep sea at an even faster speed, pouncing downward. Like a rain of light, they cut the demon and monster creatures attempting to block the priestess into fine powder.

Although demons and evil spirits probably didn’t experience fear or similar emotions, they continued to charge forward in wave after wave without regard for the cost.

However, it was meaningless in the face of such overwhelming power. Even the occasionally massive evil creatures were effortlessly sliced apart by the girl’s casually wielded hundred-meter “laser pen.”

With the path cleared by the rain of light swords and the power of the [Divine Feather] fully activated, her progress faced no further obstacles. In just half a minute, she had reached the very bottom of the inner sea, her feet firmly planted on the seabed.

“……”

The priestess looked up.

After being cut to pieces earlier, the evil spirits had stopped pursuing her as soon as she reached the deepest part of the underground sea.

It wasn’t because they didn’t want to, but because they didn’t dare.

Here, there seemed to be some terrifying entity, something resembling the demons but far beyond them in power and rank. Violet had reason to suspect that the intense yin energy in the inner sea might be the result of the aura emitted by this presence over countless years.

She was almost there.

Violet looked ahead at the solid ground beneath her feet. Surrounded by strange rocks and corals at the bottom of the deep sea, right below the lone island above…

There was a magnificent crystal palace.

Note:
[1]
If you forgot, this is the Eight-tier spell Violet used when she fought against the [Faceless One] in the Holy Empire.