"Your Grace" "Shi En!"
Amidst of a series of gasps from all around, Cardinals rushed forward alongside the elven counterpart of Shi En too.
Even Cardinal Yan Chao too stood nearby Shi En to protect him from further ambushes. Now that the decision is over and Shi En received the mandate from their goddess, all cardinals and bishops and everyone else who belonged to the church must stay loyal to the new Supreme Pontiff.
The former Supreme Pontiff kneeled to a collapsed Shi En and checked his system as purple patches slowly started appearing on his skin. Letting out a gasp of surprise, he spoke, "The needle released the spell of powerful witchcraft inside him. If we don't act fast, he will die."
"No, that's impossible," Shi En (elf) argued with the old man, "my human counterpart, my brother received the mandate of Goddess Nuwa. He should have already become an immortal by now."
The former Supreme Pontiff shook his head, "Without completely absorbing the blessings of the goddess into one's soul, the staff's immortality doesn't work." Shi En's expression grave upon hearing those words. "Wha... what should we do now?" He stammered a little bit.
The Supreme Pontiff let out a deep sigh and placed his hand on Shi En's chest, "There's only one way to save him, The Curse Transferral."
"What do you mea..."
The Supreme Pontiff didn't bother to give any explanation and pressed his hand on fallen Shi En's chest further, releasing an enormous amount of his divine energy into Shi En's body.
"After I was gone, all of you must wor..."
*Swoosh*
The Supreme Pontiff too didn't get to finish his words and was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a pitch-black barrier in the church, almost imprisoning everyone.
Mark's words then echoed in everyone's ears, "My domain's rule: I reject all kinds of witchcraft spells."
It's the first technique of his domain, the Absolute Law.
As soon as the Absolute Law comes into effect, purple-colored energy is released from Shi En's body, freeing him of the patches on the skin too, alongside the purple energy seal from Alina's floating body. The strange purple energy flew to the top of the ceiling and got out of the barrier on its own before floating over there.
"Amazing. Shi En is saved," The Supreme Pontiff screamed in surprise, earning Mark gazes from all sides filled with admiration.
Shi En can then shift the headquarters of the church to that region, which will be protected by Mark and his army. As an additional bonus, Mark was willing to give his support to the church of Nuwa, making it the prime religion in the Vermilion Bird Continent.
Shi En did neither say YES nor NO. He merely told him that he would think about the proposal.
Mark knew the reason behind their hesitation. And since he knew about the descent of the heavenly Kunlun mountain in the Kunlun/Kunyu mountain range, Mark didn't pressure them further and calmly left the room.
As he walked out of the room, he saw the real Shi Chong, Leon Empire's crown prince, standing there in a bit of worry.
Their eyes met and the prince bowed slightly, "Hello."
Mark gave a subtle nod after inspecting his details, "See you around, Prince Shi Chong."
As he walked away, Shi Chong rushed in to see his nephews, "Shi En, you alright?" He couldn't help but ask.
Both of them nodded at the same time. As the elf left the room citing an excuse of having an important thing to do, the new Supreme Pontiff of the church conversed with his uncle for a while, revealing every bit of conversation he had with Mark, taking Shi Chong by surprise.
While Mark and Feng Wu boarded the spider-ship with an unconscious Alina, Shi En (elf) who covered himself in black robes left the church and made his way into the town.
Meanwhile, the old witch was sitting in a rundown basement with little sunlight. Mystical drawings and strange items from dolls to even skulls were seen all over the place. And her expression at the moment doesn't look good.
"Damn it. My perfect plan went down to waste. It's all because of that old geezer. Why should he invite someone like Lu Zhen to the ceremony? Not only my connection with the puppet was gone but also failed to do his task. Now, Shi En has become invincible. I lost the opportunity of a lifetime."
As she was busy muttering the words, blaming her fate, a hooded man walked in and let down his hood, revealing his face to the witch. The witch was instantly scared by his appearance. "Shi... Shi En!"
Shi En coldly looks at the witch, "You failed to assassinate him. Not only you disappointed your lord but you also disappointed me too. You were supposed to kill him and that will enable me to freely roam the world to search for my father.
To help you out, I even pulled strings behind everyone's back to let your puppet inside. In the end, you couldn't still do your job.
And now, I'm not only stuck to the church once again but also have to face one of my uncles' assassins. Luckily for me, Lu Zhen pledged to take care of the Shi Dynasty. But unfortunately for you, my brother lives and I lost my chance to get my freedom. Tell me. What should I do with you now?"
The witch trembled a bit, averting her gaze away, "It's the fault of Lu Zhen. Had I known that he is actually a demigod who mastered the domain, I would have planned it differently."
"I'm not here to listen to your excuses," Shi En (elf) folded his hands to the chest, giving her a stern gaze.