The ruins of Tian Wei Giant Beast contain many forbidden spells, such as Aden Bard's sacrifice ritual, Marcel's soul forbidden spell, and Venus's curse.
"Ophelia, your adoptive father, Judge Marcel, used a forbidden spell to resist Lotus and is currently missing..."
Isha Dula hugged the seemingly strong but on-the-verge-of-collapse red-haired girl with pity. Her two closest people had both gone mad and lost their minds.
In a short period, the entire GBL Church was almost shattered. Former friends raised weapons against each other, nearly replaying a scene from the Dark Holy War.
They were just a group of scholars pursuing the "blue truth," living quietly on the back of Tian Wei Giant Beast. They had no ambition to dominate the world, nor were they a strange cult. Why should they suffer such unwarranted pain?
Ophelia buried her face in Isha Dula's arms, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably as she sobbed softly.
Ye Lin slowly turned around, gesturing to give the two believers some private space, and walked aside, sighing, "Now you understand Held's terror, don't you?"
"Yes, any Adventurer with a sense of justice in their heart can't help but feel anger towards Lotus. Held's use of others to achieve her goals is simply perfect."
Siate was dejected, her mind a chaotic mess. From the current situation, Lotus's death was necessary to appease public anger.
"Lotus is a marine creature, a giant octopus. Held suddenly sent it from the Demon World ocean to the waterless Second Vertebra. In its panic, it used incredibly powerful mental energy, just like a person who can't swim suddenly falling into the deep sea and struggling..."
"Boss, so the initial GBL believers were actually just ants accidentally stepped on?"
"Although it's impolite, that's essentially it. I have a new plan for Lotus..."
As the monarch of a planet, Lotus is different from human species, especially when it is in a situation where it cannot get water and is exposed to sunlight, on the verge of death. It has no leisure to amuse itself by torturing humans.
"Let's continue forward. If possible, we'll reach the First Vertebra or Jizhou (Polar Day) today. We haven't seen a single Adventurer along the way, I'm afraid they've been controlled to fetch water for Lotus."
Ye Lin walked over to Ophelia, patted her shoulder, and comforted her, "Let's go. Only by solving the problem of Lotus can the GBL Church be rebuilt."
"I'll go too."
Isha Dula glanced at the unconscious Van Zhelis and decided to go with The team that had the interference emitter. She would not rest easy until Lotus was dead.
"Uh, really? It's getting dark, don't regret it..." Ye Lin scratched his head awkwardly, looking like an honest, shy big boy, which made Isha Dula both amused and puzzled.
There were no Night Bringers in The team, so their night combat capability was very poor. It was already afternoon when they came up on the mogaduo, so this night on Tian Wei Giant Beast was set.
Isha Dula was still wondering what getting dark had to do with anything, while Siate rolled her eyes and twisted his arm with two fingers, whispering, "If the tent isn't big enough, you'll have to sleep outside."
"I think we can squeeze in. It'll be warm..."
"I'll believe your hammer!"
Ophelia observed the Goddess Palace for a while before pointing to a statue of a goddess and saying, "The secret passage is behind this. If you go through it, you can reach the fork in the road to the First Vertebra and Jizhou (Polar Day)."
"That's the Venus goddess statue..."
"The GBL Church is almost finished, does it still care about the goddess's grace?"
Isha Dula was about to speak but was directly interrupted by Ophelia. Her youthful face and short stature, combined with her resolute and determined aura, made everyone look at her with admiration.
After a brief silence, Ye Lin was the first to reach out and shatter the Venus goddess statue, revealing a hidden passage. It was dark and deep inside, without any light, and a decaying smell assailed them.
"May the Holy Light guide you."
Yuena placed her hands on her chest, closed her eyes in devout prayer, and a bright orb of light slowly condensed, tracing an arc in the air directly towards the passage.
"Go!"
Twenty minutes later, everyone emerged from the passage one after another. Siate picked up her greatsword and charged directly at Ye Lin behind her, her face flushed with anger.
"Get back here, you! Are you uncomfortable if I don't beat you up for a day?!"
"What's wrong? She was fine just now."
Isha Dula watched the two, one chasing and one running, in surprise. The latter's blocking skill was used so naturally, it was truly proficient.
"He probably got his hands dirty again. Don't worry about it," Yuena replied grumpily.
"Here it comes, here it comes, my final sacrifice."
Behind a certain stone pillar, a blue-robed believer quietly peeked out a corner, his eyes filled with extreme fanaticism.
The GBL Church wanted to know the great blue truth, believing it to be a kind of knowledge or knowledge system, but Aden Bard did not think so. He believed that the ultimate blue truth should be a kind of power!
He found a spell deep within the ruins that could allow him to comprehend the ultimate mystery of power through self-mutilation and martyrdom.
He had long hidden countless bodies of believers around him. This mysterious martyrdom forbidden spell could instantly detonate all the bodies, transforming the vast bloody energy into his own use.
Mad Martyr—Aden Bard!
"The great blue truth should be in my hands. I will replace Lotus and control Tian Wei Giant Beast to conquer the Arad continent!"
As the spell activated, Aden Bard suddenly plunged a dagger into his chest, and the secretly deceased bodies of the believers began to swell...
"Brother, does it hurt? You're bleeding all over from that stab!"
Ye Lin circled Aden Bard a few times, marveling. There really were people willing to stab themselves to verify a forbidden spell for a vague truth?
"How did you find me... Never mind, it's too late! The great blue truth is about to appear before me!"
Aden Bard shouted almost madly, his whole body trembling with excitement. A thin Nianqi Shield pushed Ye Lin away and enveloped himself. Only he could survive the explosion of the believers' bodies.
"Pop!"
Ye Lin snapped his fingers and chuckled, "Mo Mei!"
"Yes, Boss!"
A Nianqi Shield, ten meters in diameter and one meter thick, enveloped everyone. The next instant, the believers' bodies exploded, turning into a sky full of blood mist.
He stared blankly at the bloody energy swirling outside the Nianqi Shield, which began to dissipate because it couldn't enter the shield. Suddenly, he felt his heart ache so much...
"I'm sorry, it seems you stabbed yourself for nothing. Do you think you can still be rescued?"
"Cough, cough, Ophelia..."
Aden Bard gazed at the red-haired girl at the end of The team, the fanaticism in his eyes rapidly fading and becoming clear. A forbidden spell was called a forbidden spell because there was no turning back after using it.
The mask on his face was removed, revealing a pale, haggard, aged face before everyone's eyes.
"Master..."
Ophelia pursed her lips, her eyes complex and unreadable.
"The great blue truth, I guess I won't have the chance to see it. I'm tired."
Aden Bard slumped to the ground, leaning against a temple pillar, his blue robe and red blood staining it into a strange purple.
"Ophelia, come here, let me look at you again."
He dropped the dagger in his hand and gently stroked Ophelia's small face, then spoke in a solemn and serious tone, "Although my martyrdom failed, I feel that the path of our GBL Church might have been wrong. Knowledge is endless; even if Tian Wei Giant Beast is covered in books, new Wisdom will be born every moment."
"Isha Dula, you are the Library director, you should feel it too. The ancient ruins we constantly excavate are, in another sense, merely the Wisdom of our predecessors."
He looked at Isha Dula, who stood beside him. The latter hesitated for a moment but then nodded slightly. She agreed with this statement.
"The ultimate Wisdom we pursue, when faced with the arrival of Lotus, still crumbled at a touch. We have a head full of thoughts and knowledge, yet we foolishly remain stagnant on Tian Wei Giant Beast."
Aden Bard coughed up blood, looking at the increasingly dim sky. He seemed to have a sudden realization, and his eyes filled with an incredibly dazzling light, like a brief burst of radiance before death.
His hands and lips trembled. He tightly Held Ophelia's small hand and said in a trembling voice, "So that's it, the blue truth, the blue world, this is what Leslie truly pursued... the ultimate Wisdom!"
"Can Remy's Aid save him?" Siate put away her greatsword and asked softly.
"No, he pierced his own heart. Only a resurrection coin can save him."
"I remember Celia seemed to say you had a resurrection coin."
Ye Lin instantly looked sheepish and said awkwardly, "Uh, it was used up. The opponent was too strong, so I had no choice but to use it."
Aden Bard whispered something into Ophelia's ear, a look of relieved satisfaction on his face. He then tilted his head, leaving behind his equipment.
However, his personal belongings were all left to Ophelia.
