Chapter Ninety-One: Victory Turned to Defeat at the Last Moment

The Day I Became Wukong’s Junior Brother

Leading the charge, of course, were the fully armed assault squad captains, each attacking one of the mosque’s front entrances, the rear gate, or the side door. The Muslims in the Great Mosque were simply too devout; Hadi had schemed in vain and failed to buy even a single one over, so he had been waiting for this very moment, determined to give those foolish believers a lesson they would never forget. The assault plan had long since been worked out.

Three directions were covered by cooperating elders of the cult. The Sun Temple Cult had six elders in all, which meant six gifted adepts. Hadi was the Elder of Wisdom, though his so-called wisdom amounted mainly to flattery and cunning, and because his ability was the weakest of all, he was also the deputy leader. At this dangerous moment, he naturally used the excuse of guarding Owari to stay at the rear.

The one attacking the side door was the White Elder, one of the Black-and-White Spirits, whom Liu Yunfei knew. He specialized in energy spheres, and after the Black Elder, who was always at his side, was kicked to death in Riyadh by Liu Yunfei, he had dreamed of revenge for a long time.

The one attacking the rear gate was the Thunder Elder. Anyone hearing his name would think he could summon thunder like the God of Thunder, but that was not the case. He was simply a man of prodigious strength with astonishing throwing accuracy. Back when Hadi had paid a high salary to bring him back from the bowling club, he had trained him to throw grenades. At his distance, with his precision, if he could see the target, he could hurl his thunder exactly there. The grenades he used were specially made, with fuses one and a half times longer than ordinary ones.

As for the front gate, that was naturally the most formidable of all: the Wind-Sand combination. Elder Wind was a young, alluring golden-haired woman at first glance; within a certain range she could change the direction of the wind. Poison was her specialty, though she rarely used poison. She preferred sand. Elder Sand, of course, was Sand Elder; his body could dissolve into hundreds of millions of fine grains. He looked down on ordinary bullets and shells, and even if his body were shattered, he could recover at once. Yet he did not like to rush forward alone. He loved Elder Wind deeply, and he also liked being blown along by her. In the midst of wind and sand, as the enemy closed their eyes and tried to evade, he would scatter his body into countless rope-like loops and bind the throats of hundreds at once.

Gifted adepts were rare in this world, especially those born with such powers. Yet the Sun Temple Cult possessed six elders, which showed how formidable its strength was. It was also the reason the cult spent money so recklessly.

The Great Mosque had a guard force of one hundred and fifty, but without the mosque’s holy guardians they were utterly no match for the mighty Wind-Sand combination. In no time at all, every one of them had been strangled to death behind their cover.

The believers surged into the magnificent building, whose history stretched back a thousand years. They were not entering to worship or pray, nor to admire the exquisite murals. Their target was the altar in the rear courtyard. Hadi now walked in front, for he had come earlier to gather intelligence. He would never forget the injuries on his face, left by those twelve guardians. Despicable guardians—twelve against one. Today I’m going to wreck your rotten temple. Pushing Owari ahead of him, Hadi headed straight for the courtyard.

In this vast mosque, the rear courtyard was not large, merely the size of a few basketball courts, but everyone knew it was the most important and sacred place. In fact, it was simply a broad open space. At the center stood a small, black, windowless cube-shaped house. In that black house lay Muhammad, revered by one and a half billion Muslims, in eternal rest. Keeping company with this great prophet was Iblis, the inner demon most skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of human nature.

Upon entering the courtyard, Hadi immediately ordered his followers to fetch tables and chairs. Soon they had stacked them into a stairway against the outer wall of the black house. Hadi politely gestured for Shadi to go first. Shadi swept the wide sleeves of his robe aside and ascended the steps slowly, with composure and dignity. Though he held a heavy lead box in his right hand, he did not seem to feel its weight at all.

Hadi pushed Owari along close behind. But Owari knew that his body was about to be occupied by a devil here, and at the foot of the stairs he refused to move, no matter what. With a wave of Hadi’s hand, two burly assault squad members immediately stepped forward, lifted Owari up, and carried him onto the roof.

The roof was also square, paved with black marble. In the center was a transparent crystal, about the size of a small tabletop, inlaid into the floor. Beneath the crystal was the same darkness. On one side of the crystal, the marble floor was covered with carved Arabic script. This was the altar.

Shadi opened the lead box, and seven-colored brilliance instantly illuminated everyone below, bringing hope to all the believers beneath. They knelt in unison and cried out together, their voices ringing over the skies of Mecca: “Please, Leader, revive the true god!”

Shadi knew that reviving the true god was not that simple. He carried the ancient spirit stone to the center of the roof and placed it upon the transparent crystal. Owari, struggling and thrashing about, had already been tied up like a mummy. Two strong men dragged him to the side of the spirit stone and laid him flat on the ground.

Shadi turned and stood before the marble carved with Arabic script. Excitement, too strong to contain, twisted his face. He was about to recite the incantation that would break the seal. This was a spell passed down orally from generation to generation by the leaders of the Holy Cult for thousands of years, never written down, a privilege reserved for the leader alone. Its length had taken Shadi a full month to memorize. For decades, he had silently recited it in his mind whenever he had free time, waiting for this very day.

Shadi spread his arms wide. The white Arab robe he wore was like an angel’s wings, snapping in the wind. “My great true god, in former days you suffered humiliation and were deceived by ignorant people, sealed within this lightless black house. Today I, Shadi, the forty-third leader of the Sun Temple Cult, together with the believers forever loyal to you, ask you to return to this vast earth. The world shall tremble for you. The deepest darkness in selfish humanity shall spread across all living things on this planet, and everything will become your servant. Long live the true god!”

The believers kneeling in the courtyard burst into tears and shouted at the top of their lungs, “Long live the true god!” Most of them were the poorest farmers from the mountain regions of Afghanistan, Iran, and other countries. Though impoverished, they still had to sell their houses, their land, even their sons and daughters to pay the membership fees. Yet they did not regret it. They believed with absolute certainty that the leader would lead them to wealth and high office, conquer the world, and finally enter paradise.

After finishing his fervent praise, Shadi began to recite the sealing-breaking incantation. He had barely spoken the first line when a narrow white beam shot upward from the center of the transparent black crystal in the floor, piercing the spirit stone and racing straight into the sky. It felt as though some sort of laser emitter lay beneath the crystal, stretching beyond sight. Shadi’s confidence grew even stronger, and he continued reciting. Soon he noticed that with each section of the spell he recited, one of the Arabic characters carved into the marble would vanish, while the white pillar of light grew slightly larger.

By the time Liu Yunfei arrived at Tushan Manor, Shadi had already recited more than half the spell, and the white pillar of light had become immense. The residents of Mecca had all been drawn by this strange spectacle and were getting up from their beds, stepping out of their homes, and standing in the streets to watch.

Liu Yunfei’s first instinct was to take out his phone and notify the old king, but he discovered that there was no signal. That did not stump him. He quickly moved above the nearby city of Medina and connected to the old king by phone. He said only one sentence: “Hurry. They’ve already made their move.”

After that, he immediately flew to the sky above the pillar of light in Mecca. Inside the Great Mosque, everything had already been bathed in that radiance and was as bright as day; with a single glance, the scene below could be seen clearly. Liu Yunfei descended swiftly onto the roof of the black house and immediately used his will to try to place Owari into the Light Jade Slip, but Owari was still thrashing wildly, so how could he be placed inside? Liu Yunfei’s eyes fell on the ancient spirit stone at the center of the crystal on the floor. Grabbing Owari with one hand, he used his will to put the spirit stone into the Light Jade Slip as well. The whole motion took place in barely one second. The moment the ancient spirit stone was taken away by Liu Yunfei, the huge white pillar of light was instantly shattered, dissolving into countless wisps of white, threadlike mist suspended in midair.

By then, Shadi had already been reciting with his eyes closed. One could say he was savoring the moment. But suddenly he felt his vision go dark. Opening his eyes, he saw that hateful young Chinese man, carrying Owari, already rising rapidly into the sky again. It was him again. Shadi was furious. Only by killing him could his plan succeed. Even if it did not succeed, he would still have to kill that detestable pest.