Jiang Chen glanced at the Saint Heir of the Holy Court, pressed his lips into a faint smile, gently shook his head, and withdrew his hand hovering above the Pope's head.

"How is it?" the Dragon Saint asked softly.

Fa Rang also looked at Jiang Chen with concern, while the Saint Heir shifted his gaze onto Jiang Chen with his eyes rolling slightly.

Jiang Chen pondered for a moment, his brows slightly furrowed, and spoke quietly, "His Holiness the Pope's condition is rather complicated. His Divine Soul has already been locked down; the Divine Lock Chain has fully bound itself to his soul. However, thanks to this staff here, he has not been fully controlled."

Raising his hand and pointing at the staff floating above the Pope's head, Jiang Chen continued, "Inside his Divine Soul, a Soul Devouring Seed has already been planted. Fortunately, His Holiness possesses powerful Soul Power, coupled with the infusion of…"

Jiang Chen turned to look at the Dragon Saint, speaking firmly, "Dragon Soul Force!"

The Dragon Saint blinked slightly, then smiled faintly and said, "That can be discussed later."

Jiang Chen nodded. "Thanks to these two factors, the Soul Devouring Seed has been repelled to a position within His Holiness's Divine Soul—specifically the hand. Honestly, either the Divine Lock Chain or the Soul Devouring Seed can be dealt with individually. The real difficulty lies in the Soul Devouring Seed merging itself with the Divine Lock Chain after failing to take over His Holiness's Divine Soul. So…"

"So what?" Fa Rang asked nervously.

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and countered by asking, "Mr. Fa Rang, do you remember the process when I helped you remove the Divine Lock Chain within you?"

"What? You were affected by the Divine Lock Chain too?!" The Dragon Saint looked at Fa Rang in astonishment.

The controlled Saint Heir of the Holy Court showed clear shock in his eyes, shifting his gaze from Jiang Chen to Fa Rang.

"Yes, I was caught in Lu Densi's trap. If Mr. Jiang hadn't arrived promptly to help me remove the Divine Lock Chain, I would've likely been under his control already!"

Fa Rang nodded slightly in response to the Dragon Saint before turning to Jiang Chen. "I remember the process. Mr. Jiang used your own Divine Lock Chain to connect with the one within me. Then, with your special Inner Qi, you extinguished the Soul Devouring Power embedded in the chain and successfully extracted the Divine Lock Chain!"

"What?! You… When did you…" The Dragon Saint looked at Jiang Chen in shock and instinctively moved to press his finger against Jiang Chen's brow.

"I'm fine!" Jiang Chen raised his hand to block the Dragon Saint's gesture. "I crafted my own Divine Lock Chain from one I removed from someone else!"

The Dragon Saint's eyes widened, exclaiming, "You… You've mastered the art of forging Divine Lock Chains now?"

Fa Rang and the Saint Heir both widened their eyes in astonishment, staring at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen nodded lightly and then looked at Fa Rang. "The Divine Lock Chain within His Holiness was supposed to be handled in the same way, but now the Soul Devouring Seed has entrenched itself within his Divine Soul. Since the Seed and the Chain have tangled, using that method could potentially pull out His Holiness's entire Divine Soul."

"What!?" Fa Rang stared at Jiang Chen, his brows tightly knitted in alarm.

Jiang Chen said gravely, "This could still work as a method, but after extracting the Divine Lock Chain and eliminating the Soul Devouring Seed, I would have to use Inner Qi to finalize the process. My concern is that employing Inner Qi might shatter His Holiness's Divine Soul entirely!"

"That's absolutely unacceptable!" Fa Rang refused firmly, then added urgently, "Is there another method?"

"Another method… There is, but I'm not confident about it. Mainly because I've never done this before, and also…" Jiang Chen furrowed his brows tighter, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

"Mr. Jiang, feel free to speak; don't hold back," Dragon Saint said. "A'erfa's injuries leave no alternatives. His Divine Soul is entirely sealed. If this continues, within a day, he will be fully controlled!"

The Dragon Saint made the statement loud enough for Fa Rang and the Saint Heir to hear, aiming to emphasize the urgency of the Pope's condition.

Indeed, upon hearing this, the Saint Heir widened his eyes and looked at Jiang Chen with a pleading expression, while Fa Rang directly bowed deeply toward Jiang Chen. "Mr. Jiang, please save His Holiness!"

"Let me finish!"

Jiang Chen's face turned solemn as he explained, "The second method involves me controlling and channeling Soul Power along with my Inner Qi into His Holiness's Soul Origin. There, I would use my Inner Qi to form a blade and sever the hand within His Divine Soul occupied by the Soul Devouring Seed. Afterward, I can utilize Inner Qi to peel away the Divine Lock Chain from His Soul. However…"

At this point, Jiang Chen's expression grew bitter. "If I mishandle it even slightly, there's still a risk of shattering His Holiness's Divine Soul! The Chain is sticking too closely… How could the Divine Lock Chain adhere so tightly to his Divine Soul?"

"This…"

Fa Rang frowned slightly, glanced at the Saint Heir, hesitated a moment, and then spoke quietly, "Lu Densi originally intended to take over the Saint Heir. When His Holiness discovered the plot, he detached his Divine Soul from his body and entered the Saint Heir's Soul Origin. There, he tracked the chain to himself, and with the last of his strength, he returned his Divine Soul to its vessel."

"What?!"

Jiang Chen looked at the Saint Heir in shock, then turned to glance at the Pope, his eyes filled with admiration. "For him to act like this… That's incredibly reckless!"

The Dragon Saint turned his gaze to the Pope and then deeply stared at the Saint Heir, a golden light flickering briefly in his eyes.

Fa Rang frowned slightly, glanced at the Dragon Saint, opened his mouth but said nothing.

"So that's what happened."

The golden light in the Dragon Saint's eyes disappeared. He looked at Jiang Chen and spoke softly, "This young man shares your spirit — both critical to the Holy Court's future!"

"Hmm?" Jiang Chen blinked and looked at the Dragon Saint in mild confusion.

The Dragon Saint chuckled faintly. "Keep striving. Once you reach the Saint Realm, all of your questions will find answers!"

Hmph!

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes helplessly, then turned toward Fa Rang. "Mr. Fa Rang, which method should we use?"

Uncertainty flickered in Fa Rang's eyes for a moment before his expression turned grave. "Mr. Jiang, which method is less risky?"

"The second method."

After careful consideration, Jiang Chen responded softly, "Even though the second method involves severing a portion of His Holiness's Divine Soul, it would happen within his Soul Origin. With the swift restorative power of his Soul Power, any resulting injury would be far safer compared to hacking the Soul Devouring Seed externally."

"But wouldn't that drain your energy much more?" The Dragon Saint turned to Jiang Chen.

Fa Rang's eyes widened slightly in realization.

The first method, external extraction, would require just a single cut. However, the second method, internal peeling, would demand painstakingly removing the Divine Lock Chain piece by piece — an effort thousands of times more draining!

"We're counting on you, Mr. Jiang. Please use the second method!" Fa Rang once again bowed deeply toward Jiang Chen.

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