The Demon Hunter's sword, hidden in Sicar Mountain, belonged to the previous owner of the Demon Hunter seal that Xia De now possessed, who was the ancestor of the eye doctor from a long time ago.
As for why that High-Ring Sorcerer didn't keep these two relics together, the parchment Xia De obtained from Mr. Alfred, the eye doctor, didn't clearly state it. The parchment only recorded the sword's location and the hidden defenses put in place to prevent others from taking it.
Although that was eight hundred years ago, it was still a High-Ring Sorcerer's arrangement, so Xia De believed the likelihood of the sword being taken was very low. However, with the passage of time, even Sicar Mountain itself had changed a lot over eight hundred years.
Therefore, even with the location confirmed by Twilight Sunlight and a detailed map of Sicar Mountain, Xia De still couldn't guarantee he would find it.
He set off from Red Water Camp around five in the afternoon, followed Windy Path down the mountain, and then plunged into the forest. It took him a few minutes to deal with a rogue evil spirit that appeared out of nowhere, and then, unfortunately, he encountered a one-eyed black bear foraging in the mountains.
Xia De hadn't intended to kill it, but it ferociously attacked the Outsider, and then its head was severed by Moonlight.
However, Xia De didn't waste the bear's carcass, which was fattening up for autumn. Instead, he turned its body into a toy to carry with him, thinking it could be sold to local merchants or taken to a restaurant in Tobesk.
A hazy mist appeared from nowhere at dusk, and although it wasn't as overwhelming as the avalanche-like white mist Xia De encountered last time in the mountains, it still brought evil spirits drifting out of the Gap.
This made Xia De's sword-hunting plan more difficult, but fortunately, before sunset, he successfully found the stream described by the Ring術士 eight hundred years ago, and with the help of a compass, continued eastward.
Although he didn't find the "giant fir tree" mentioned on the parchment next—that place had become a hunter's cabin—he did find the "Blackwood Forest" mentioned on the parchment under the starlight. The so-called "Blackwood" wasn't a specific type of tree, but rather trees that had mutated into black due to geological conditions and soil environment.
Xia De guessed that this was a special tree growth environment caused by the influence of volcanoes and the Gap, and as long as the Gap's problem wasn't resolved, this "Blackwood Forest" would continue to exist.
As Xia De wandered around the mountains, the sun unknowingly completely disappeared from the sky. But the arrival of night didn't make Xia De panic or fear; on the contrary, walking through the mountains and forests, bathed in the Moonlight from the sky, made him feel better and better. In fact, he felt even better than lying in bed with an interesting storybook and a cat after a hot bath.
【A strange analogy.】
The path through the forest was not easy, but when Xia De pushed aside the grass again, his view suddenly opened up. It was a cliff standing on the mountainside, barren of vegetation, but completely illuminated by the starry sky and Moonlight.
He had found the right location; it was this cliff.
"Oh, Moon."
Arriving at the cliff on the mountainside, Xia De looked up at the brilliant galaxy above him and the three moons. Looking at the Moon from a cliff in the mountains, the sea of stars felt so close overhead. This picture-like scene could not be seen in the city.
Having found his destination, Xia De felt a little relieved. He looked up at the Moon and remembered what Luvia had once said: ancient stargazers, due to excessive worship and fascination with the Moon, eventually fell into madness, even their bodies mutating into piles of flesh, monsters that only madly worshipped the Moon.
"But this Moon is so sacred, how could it drive people mad?"
Squinting at the Moon in the starry sky, with each breath, Xia De even felt the Moon getting closer and closer to him. In a trance, he seemed to stand once again on the field ridge of that vast wilderness in his dream, looking at the giant moon disk above his head.
His mind gradually dissipated. The yellow moon and red moon remained unchanged, but that silver moon seemed to truly be getting closer and closer to him on the cliff edge.
In a daze, Xia De stretched out his right hand, wanting to touch the silver Moon that was almost within reach.
But a woman's hand, from behind him, grabbed Xia De's arm, preventing him from truly "touching" the sky.
"You—"
Xia De suddenly woke up from that strange state.
【It's not me.】
That arm was not transparent; beneath the woman's fair right hand was the sleeve of a black silk nun's robe.
"Oh, I just—"
Xia De turned around, gasping for breath, and saw Sister Devlin.
Seeing that Xia De had returned to normal, the Sister withdrew her hand, clasping both hands naturally in front of her. Under the starry sky, her silver eye mask with intricate patterns appeared even more mystical than usual.
And behind Sister Devlin, two teams of "Blind Sisters" in similar attire and wearing eye masks stood on either side. Although their heights and hair colors varied, they all maintained the same standing posture.
Even though everyone wore eye masks, Xia De still felt as if he was being watched by more than twenty pairs of eyes. He was a little embarrassed but also very curious:
"Good evening, Sister Devlin, where are you going..."
"To the lake at the summit of Sicar Mountain, to perform a ritual and observe the current state of the Gap."
The Sister said softly, her head moving slightly from bottom to top, "observing" Xia De:
"Mr. Hamilton, do you know what just happened?"
"I was staring at the starry sky, lost in thought for a few—"
He was about to say "few minutes" but suddenly realized it was already past eight in the evening. He had actually stood on the cliff for over an hour without realizing it at all.
This was almost impossible for Xia De, who possessed the Ling Rune of 【Time-Space】 and the Miracle of Time Perception.
"Why didn't you warn me?"
【Why should I warn you? There's no great danger for you.】
The wind carried "her" voice to his ears.
"Although you are illuminated by the Silver Moon, you must be cautious when facing it; do not be deceived by the Moon's appearance."
The Sister reminded him.
"This is truly the first time something like this has happened. Yes, it certainly felt off just now."
Xia De patted his head:
"If I had really touched the Moon, it's hard to imagine what would have happened. Oh, Sister Devlin, how did you find me?"
The location of this mountainside cliff was deep in the mountains, and any path up the mountain was very far from here.
"My eyes 'saw' the strange Moonlight here, and so I found you."
She said softly.
"I understand."
Xia De still felt a bit dizzy, completely unsure what had just happened, but being interrupted by Sister Devlin from touching the Moon was certainly a good thing.
"If you wish to get closer to the Moon, we can guard you. Would you like to ascend the mountain with us? The lake at the summit is the best place in this area to observe the Moon."
Xia De thought for a moment, then shook his head:
"Thank you for your kindness, but I have other things to do."
Using the Miracle 【Silent Moonlight】 and 【Cindy's Silver Moon Gift】, as the Moon above him seemed to cast a pillar of light that enveloped him, his glowing finger pressed against his temple:
"I have other matters in the mountains, so I won't be going up with you this time. Thank you for your kindness, Sister Devlin."
"You're welcome."
The Sister nodded slightly, her voice harmonizing with the silent mountain forest at night:
"Also, you need to be careful when moving through Sicar Mountain at night. Not only are the evil spirits stronger, but Vampires from the city have also been frequently appearing in the mountains recently."
"Vampires?"
Xia De thought of Bernhardt and his nephew:
"Haven't the local Vampire groups always been peaceful? Do they want to get involved with the Chosen One's affairs, or do they also want to contribute to the problem of the Gap?"
"Neither. In fact, we don't know what those people are doing. But there is evidence that the Vampires who originally lived here have acquired three Sage-level relics, and there is reason to believe they obtained them from other clans."
"Oh? Three Sage-level?"
Xia De was a bit surprised. When he first arrived in this world, the acquisition of just one Sage-level god's gift box had already caused chaos throughout Tobesk.
"Sage-level - Crown of Blood, Sage-level - vampire ring, Sage-level - Scepter of Blood Thorns.
The first represents the power of the Vampire clan; any Vampire who obtains it unconditionally gains 3 levels, but cannot break through to Middle-Ring or High-Ring, and the holder will fear sunlight as a result.
The second is a racial transformation ring; non-Vampires holding it are considered Vampires, and Vampires holding it greatly enhance all racial unique Miracles, such as transforming into a bat swarm. However, the holder will fear silver objects.
The third is a powerful weapon; the holder's spell and Miracle abilities are comprehensively enhanced, with enhancements related to blood being more pronounced. However, the holder will lose their immortality and rapid recovery abilities, and when using it, will feel themselves pierced by thorns.
People's traditional superstitions that Vampires fear sunlight and silver objects are actually due to the first two relics."
The Sister explained.
"What are these local Vampires trying to do... Wait, vampire ring."
Xia De raised an eyebrow:
"Sister, the activation incantation for that ring you mentioned, it wouldn't happen to be 'The replacement of blood and flesh is the sublimation of the blood and flesh soul,' would it?"
