Mystic Lock - 【Kiss of the Tree】, the second Mystic Lock Xia De mastered, its most important function is sealing and suppression.
In the Darkness Domain, by using Divine Radiance to scour the Ling Runes and the power from his Ring advancement, Xia De used this Mystic Lock to seal most of Human Pus - Darkness's power.
And on this beach of death, Xia De used all the Ling in his body to fully seal that Death Door.
His seal, of course, couldn't compare to Priest Augustus's personal guardianship, who was suspected of possessing the power of the original angel, but at least it could ensure that this Door would absolutely not have any problems for a short period.
Of course, the seal of the Kiss of the Tree was ineffective on him; he didn't lock himself in here.
Even other Thirteen Ring Sorcerers should not be able to accomplish what he was doing at this moment.
After all, coming here was equivalent to death, and Xia De's Mystic Lock itself contained the story and power of a god with 'Door' power.
“So, have you decided how to leave?”
“She” asked softly in his ear.
“Of course—Door Key!”
Crimson bonfires blazed on the beach, and the giant tree's roots almost merged with the death imagery on the stone door.
Xia De, whose face was pale from overusing his power, pressed one hand on the stone door and activated the 【Key of the Door】 within the Mystic Lock.
The 【Kiss of the Tree】 was originally the story of the Old God 【old god - shifting door】 who controlled spatial power, coupled with the spell also from him, and the blessing of Divine Radiance, Xia De felt that he could barely twist his arm and open that Death Door.
This also allowed him to discover another function of the Mystic Lock - 【Kiss of the Tree】: within this Mystic Lock, he could almost open any lock.
When Xia De stumbled out of the white light between the two ancient, cold, giant stone doors, he almost had no strength left to even stand up.
Extreme consumption maximized the power of the Mystic Lock, and the act of opening the door consumed what little physical strength he had left.
In the Between Life and Death, the recovery speed of Ling and physical strength was reduced, leaving him almost no ability to fight again.
“Pushing open the Death Door and entering death, unlocking the shackles Between Life and Death, and returning to the Gap of the boundary.”
“Outsider, you have once again heard the 'whisper' from death.”
“You have gained the Miracle - Death Door. Open a one-way passage leading to true death, this passage only allows you and willing souls to enter.
During the opening of the passage, because it is one-way, the other side will not affect the normal world.”
“Ha, what would I open such a passage for? It would be great if it could actively suck in my enemies, but it's only effective on souls, and the other party must be willing to leave... Is this Miracle meant to make me die again?”
He leaned on the ground, panting heavily:
“It’s almost dawn.”
Xia De didn't know about the abnormal phenomena caused by his use of the Mystic Lock in the Sicar Mountain area.
He only knew that he currently had no strength to travel such a long distance through the Gap back to the mansion within Russell Manor, let alone the attacks from evil spirits along the way.
“Good thing I was prepared.”
A smile appeared on his pale face.
Xia De, who was lying prostrate on the ground in front of the Death Door, stretched out his hand and barely managed to retrieve a key, a Door, a tree branch-shaped toy, two bottles of blood, and the blood vial left by the Priest from the items he had placed in front of the stone door beforehand:
“May the World Tree bless me in time.”
Panting, he inserted the key into the Door and turned it.
The small Door was filled with thick white mist, and even the black wind blowing from the Gap behind him could not make the mist waver:
“Indeed, even here, the time key can be used.”
He put his finger into the Door, the metal pendant fell to the ground, and Xia De disappeared.
“Outsider, you have entered the 'Time Corridor'.”
“Message from the Ancient God 'Father of Infinite Trees':”
“Spring of the fifth epoch 3014, East Continent, Night Manor.”
“Event: God of Vampires's Wine Party.”
“Duration: Thirty minutes (2/3).”
“You have gained additional information.”
“The figure of the Father of Infinite Trees continues to observe you.”
“The Ancient God of Time's test for you will continue.”
“Participate in Vampire Duke Loyaer's wine party with mortals until the party ends.”
“The Father of Infinite Trees will grant you rewards: Miracle - Silent Moonlight, a piece of true information - Elf.”
Entering the white mist space in a prone position, he left the Gap, and his physical strength immediately recovered rapidly.
As if Xia De had the ability to heal by breathing, within a few breaths, he stood up directly:
“Things are not bad.”
Changing the clothes stained with mud from in front of the stone door into the spare clothes that had been turned into toys, Xia De stretched his body, wasted no time, and stepped forward, the corridor scenery of Night Manor slowly unfolding.
He turned his head to look at the almost static, strange courtyard night outside the window, feeling his physical strength and Ling still recovering at a normal, even faster, rate.
Then, he saw that the three bottles in his hand were still there:
“Very good.”
He was very satisfied with the current situation.
Walking forward along the corridor, after turning the corner, he entered a narrow passage.
At the end, the double doors opened automatically, and Xia De walked directly in.
The huge hall, seemingly built for giant-sized beings, was still the same, but on the tables in front of the middle-aged witch, the armored old man, and the twin girls, there were now seemingly abundant meals served on gold and silver platters, and it looked like everyone had eaten some.
Although it was quiet here, the atmosphere was better than Xia De had expected; it seemed that during his absence, the Saint and mortals had engaged in other wine party activities, at least Xia De saw a smile on the face of the white-haired old man who was gathering playing cards.
“God.”
As the door behind him closed automatically, Xia De greeted the red-cloaked Saint at the end of the long table.
The skin cracks that had disappeared when he left the vicinity of the Death Door reappeared, and the Saint nodded to him:
“Please take your seat quickly; after a short rest, the wine party will continue.”
Xia De came to the end of the long table, facing the Saint, and the chair automatically pulled out for him to sit.
He looked at the other participants of the wine party again; the middle-aged woman-like witch was expressionless, the white-haired old man smiled and nodded to Xia De, and the twin girls were still astonished by the golden light marks that appeared on Xia De's body.
“The aura of death on you is truly strong; I hope this doesn't affect your taste in wine.”
The red-cloaked Saint said softly, but it was just a slight sigh before he directly got to the point:
“So, unexpected guest, this time, have you brought blood that satisfies me, in exchange for the qualification to continue participating in this wine party?”
“I think so.”
Xia De placed the three small bottles from his pocket onto the table and pointed to the first bottle of blood:
“Abyssal-Eyed Dragon Squid blood, this is very difficult to obtain; I acquired it through a trade with a Mermaid.”
“Not bad, at least much better than impure dragon blood.”
The Saint made a simple evaluation; it seemed this bottle of blood was only barely acceptable.
“Rhein Demon blood; for this, quite a few people died.”
Xia De then pointed to the second bottle of blood.
“Oh? Rhein Demon? That's quite rare; such a fiend that uses blood relations as a curse is an absolute danger to my believers.”
The Saint said.
Xia De thought for a moment before understanding that the other party meant that 'Rhein Demon' was extremely destructive to Vampire clans.
“Although only two types of blood are needed this time, I also brought a third.”
Xia De pointed to the last small bottle.
The Priest had left in a hurry, so the blood he left was very little compared to the other blood Xia De had purchased at a 'heavy price'.
“Looks like something very interesting.”
He waved his hand, and the three bottles next to Xia De automatically floated to the other end of the long table.
The stopper of the third bottle was automatically opened, and the God of Vampires sniffed slightly, then narrowed his eyes.
Xia De endured the immense mental pressure to observe the other party's expression, and as the God of Vampires frowned, he tentatively said:
“This blood might be related to the original angel - Jakiel.”
Xia De had asked the Priest to leave blood, originally just thinking that Priest Augustus's story was interesting enough, so his blood might also be valuable.
Coupled with the fact that the God of Vampires would not curse the other party for drinking mortal blood, he then decided to target the Priest.
But when he obtained Ling Runes in the land of death and heard about the 'Original Angel', Xia De had new ideas.
The 'Original Angel' seemed to be traceable back to the earliest gods, and the earliest gods were the Ancient Gods.
Perhaps he could investigate more information about the Ancient Gods through the matter of the 'Original Angel'.
The Saint nodded slightly:
“Indeed, it is that original angel.”
Xia De's eyes widened slightly, showing his excitement:
“So the original angel is...”
“The original angel, Death Angel, Death Angel, mortals like to use these titles.”
The God said simply, then directly changed the topic, giving Xia De no chance to ask questions:
“Very good, although the aura of death in this blood is too strong, it is itself a good blood brew.
Unexpected guest, you can choose to keep this as your gift for your next visit, or you can choose to use it to offset the upcoming tasting requirements.”
After a crisp snap of fingers, ten identical green wine bottles appeared in front of the God, and the plates in front of everyone were cleared, replaced by some delicious-looking pastries.
At the same time, brand new glass stemware appeared with a thud in front of them:
“Then we enter the next stage of the wine party.
Since I have already tasted the fine blood brew you brought, I cannot be stingy with my collection.
Here are ten of my collections; next, I will taste them in turn, and what you need to do is to taste the wine with me.”
“God, do we also need to taste all the blood brew here?”
Xia De asked.
The Saint shook his head slightly:
“Each of you only needs to drink with me three times.
But if, after I have tasted all the blood brew here, someone still hasn't had three times, then they will unfortunately suffer the same fate as the mortal king who brought impure dragon blood.”
The rules of the wine party were simple and easy to understand, and the five people's comprehension abilities were quite good, so there were no questions.
“Also, you.”
He suddenly looked at the twin girls in black and white gauze dresses to Xia De's right.
The girls held hands and lowered their heads, and under the immense pressure of the Saint's gaze, they even stopped breathing.
“You two brought the same blood, so I will consider you as one person.
You must taste the same blood brew.”
“Yes, God.”
The little girls whispered.
“You.”
He then looked at the armored old man, who had already gathered his playing cards and put them into his pocket.
“The card game just now was very interesting; perhaps we can continue during the next rest period.
Therefore, you only need to drink with me twice.”
“Thank you for your mercy, God.”
The old man also said with his head bowed.
His mental endurance was the worst among the people currently alive.
At this moment, just being looked at by the Saint, his face immediately turned purple.
“Very good.
Now, the second act of the wine party—officially begins!”
The curtains tightly drawn by the window instantly turned blood-red.
The bat-shaped kerosene lamps by the wall, their metal material melted and deformed, turning into the shape of children with sharp teeth and wings holding them up.
The carpet turned blood-red, and strings of slender teeth hung down from the crystal chandelier overhead.
Even on the wall behind the Saint, where there had originally only been a tapestry, strange oil paintings appeared.
The oil painting was blood-red, and in the Gaps of the uneven paint, something seemed to be flying in swarms, but on closer inspection, one could only feel dizziness and headache, and even a taste similar to rust inexplicably appeared in one's mouth.
On the originally red carpet, blood seemed to flow, and dark liquid stained the carpet with patterns resembling human blood vessels.
On the ancient hall's stone bricks, large patches of dark bloodstains appeared, until the entire room was filled with a faint smell of blood.
The strange night view of Night Manor outside the window remained unchanged, but the originally somewhat normal dining room, with the start of the second act of the wine party, had begun to transform in a somewhat eerie direction.
Not only did Xia De frown, but even the witch felt uneasy.
PS: An extra chapter will be added this afternoon to make the plot more coherent.
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