“Are you Sister Devlin? Xia De mentioned you to me. I am Iluna Bayas.”
Out of respect for an eleven-Ring Sorcerer and being captivated by the nun's aura, Iluna introduced herself cautiously.
Sister Devlin maintained a calm expression and nodded slightly:
“Hello, Chosen of Balance.”
After speaking, she actually handed Iluna a business card. It only had the name Devlin, no surname, and her position was the director of Snake Heart Hospital.
“This is mine.”
Iluna also hurriedly pulled out her own business card. Although she felt it was a bit shabby, she still handed it over, then introduced:
“This is Priest Latt Augustus, a friend of Xia De’s, affiliated with the Dawn Church.”
“Hello, Sister, I am from the Tobesk Diocese.”
The Old Priest said, and exchanged business cards with Sister Devlin. The nun, using the firelight, “looked” at Priest Augustus and hesitated for a moment:
“Hello.”
“Sister Devlin, how did you get in?”
Iluna put away the business card and asked curiously.
“I assisted two Witches in fighting Joey Barton. Barton summoned some terrifying things, terrifying things from the fifth epoch, which held back the Witches. I pursued him into the passage in the mountain's belly, and then we both fell into the well.”
The three people by the bonfire were busy exchanging business cards, while Xia De by the mudflat turned his head again, looking at Mr. Barton, who had a despondent expression:
“What are you going to do next?”
Mr. Barton sighed:
“Of course, I’m going to bring her over. Mr. Watson, you once asked me what price I was willing to pay to bring her back.”
The three people by the bonfire also looked over at this moment. Joey Barton turned to look at Xia De, the light in his eyes very powerful:
“I am willing to pay everything I have.”
He braced his hands on the stone, tried hard to jump down from it, and then, much to Xia De’s surprise, stepped into the tranquil dark water.
Mr. Barton did not sink into the water but stood on the surface, like those white shadows, moving forward into the distance, facing the Nether Moon.
Xia De did not speak, but looked at his feet. Joey Barton's body lay supine on the bank of the mudflat with his eyes closed, his face pale, and his deformed, childlike body gradually losing temperature. Looking up again, his soul had already departed.
He truly gave everything he had.
“He’s really that infatuated.”
All other souls were similar white shadows, only vaguely distinguishable, but Mr. Barton's soul was so unique and real. He did not disappear, but stopped in the depths of the water, as if calling, or crying, but Xia De did not observe any white shadows stopping their advance, nor did he see any souls returning from the end of the Nether Moon.
“Xia De, you must stop him as soon as possible.”
Priest Augustus's voice came from behind. Xia De turned around and found that the three people by the bonfire were all looking at him.
“If he really brings back a soul that has been gone for many years, even if it's not taken out of this door, something very terrible will definitely happen—the boundary between life and death will be clearly broken. This poses no danger to Mi Fort, but it is an extremely bad omen.”
Priest Augustus must know many things, and Xia De trusted him:
“What should I do?”
“Catch up to him and defeat him in the place where souls wander off. That water surface is different from the mudflat; you can defeat him, but you must never kill him. Five living people entered, and five living people must leave. He possesses such pure death. If he steps into true death here, the Holy Tree Mark's seal will not be able to prevent the Gap from losing control.”
The nun said softly, still using that archaic grammar.
“Wait, putting aside whether I can defeat him, Sister, are you saying I also have to step onto this water?”
Xia De asked incredulously. Priest Augustus and Sister Devlin both nodded:
“Here, only you can do that.”
“Why? Priest, you—”
“I am just an Old Priest, without much power. You wouldn’t want me to do such a thing, would you?”
Priest Augustus looked up at Xia De, the firelight reddening his face:
“Moreover, my power is not complete.”
His voice was very low, but everyone could hear it:
“The power you possess is great. If there is one person here who can step onto the water, it must be you.”
“Then, Sister Devlin, you—”
“I am just a nun who guards the First Fire. I am still an ordinary living person, and there are some things I cannot do.”
The firelight danced on her eye patch, and as the nun looked up, the intricate patterns gradually became clear. Xia De had never been able to accurately describe the pattern on the nun's eye patch, but looking at it now, it somewhat resembled the sun.
“Iluna—”
He looked at the weary girl again, but immediately shook his head. Iluna's current state meant she couldn't even get up to fight, let alone leave the range of the Kiss of the Tree bonfire.
“In addition, I must remind you.”
Priest Augustus said again, looking at Joey Barton standing deep in the water from afar:
“He is coming into deeper contact with death, deeper than any living person in history. What exactly is that strange talent? On this tranquil water surface, he will become even stronger.”
“Stronger than outside? Oh, Priest... Well then, how strong?”
Xia De asked.
“It's hard to describe.”
Sister Devlin continued immediately:
“But you can consider yourself fighting a High-Ring Sorcerer wielding multiple level 0 relics.”
“Yes.”
Priest Augustus echoed, somewhat surprised that this nun also knew so much:
“This nun is right. Xia De, you must act quickly, because none of us know what he is truly capable of.”
Xia De looked troubled, while Iluna leaned against her longsword, pursing her lips and looking at the other two by the bonfire, feeling that they both knew so much, and she seemed to be the only one here who knew nothing. She tried to search for information in her Knowledge as a Chosen One that might be helpful for the current situation, while also using “the other me” to sense this area that seemed so quiet that time had stopped:
“Xia De, if you are to walk on that water, I can use the power of the Old God 【Inverted Judge】 to give you some help, to help you Balance the power of life and death. This will weaken the influence you receive and allow you to harm him here.”
She said in a low voice.
“Xia De, there's no need to worry about how to walk on that water. I will also give you a temporary blessing, which will make you immune to some damage and allow you to cause more significant harm to Joey Barton.”
Priest Augustus said.
“Xia De Hamilton, if you are willing, I can let a portion of the First Fire attach to your sword. Even death cannot extinguish the fire from the beginning of the world. May the Original Fire be with you.”
Sister Devlin also said.
Xia De nodded, then shook his head:
“I was just here to be a spectator, how did it turn out like this… Well, it seems I have to go. The situation is urgent now, and I should leave immediately. However, I’ll delay for three seconds. I need to go somewhere else first to recover and seek help from others.”
He pulled out the time key from his pocket, walked back from the mudflat to the bonfire, and sat down:
“This time I must defeat Joey Barton head-on, but even with your help, I think I will need some extra means.”
He took out the relics on his body and placed them beside the bonfire in front of him. Without the protection of the Divine Radiance on his body, the relics needed to be close to the First Fire to avoid suddenly losing control:
“Three seconds, I’ll be right back.”
Iluna already knew Xia De's secret of time travel, so she knew what he was going to do. Although Priest Augustus didn't quite understand, he still didn't ask anything. As for Sister Devlin, she remained as she was, as if nothing Xia De did would surprise her.
Confirming that all five items related to sun power were on him, Xia De sat in front of the bonfire and aimed the key in his hand at the door pendant hanging on his chest:
“May the World Tree bless me in time.”
Click~ The door on the pendant popped open, and wisps of white mist overflowed from it. Xia De wasted no time and put his finger inside. To the other three by the bonfire, the overflowing white mist quickly entangled him.
As the white mist disappeared, the pendant fell to the ground, clanging down next to the gun of kindness, its string dangling on the gun body.
【Outsider, you have stepped into the Time Corridor.】
【Message from the Old God “Father of Infinite Trees”:】
【Winter of the fifth epoch, 3024, Central Continent, Dead Silence Valley.】
【Event: The destruction of Gaddis Library.】
【Duration: Thirty minutes (3/3).】
【You have gained additional information.】
【The figure of the Father of Infinite Trees continues to watch you.】
【The test given to you by the Old God of Time will continue.】
【Assist the Old God “Grey-Robed Sage” in completing the recording of the Library's documents.】
【The Father of Infinite Trees will give you a reward: Knowledge - Original Sin Miracle, a piece of true information - Vampire.】
After hearing this familiar information, he wanted to step out and leave the white mist space to enter the Dead Silence Valley. But this time, there was another piece of information:
【Outsider, you have violated the rules by using the time key in death.】
“Hmm? Violation? Where was the violation?”
【The Father of Infinite Trees dislikes the power of death. The time key should not be used in death.】
“Her” prompt came from his ear, and Xia De looked at the white mist in front of him with slight surprise:
“So the time key has such a taboo, but the professors at Saint Byron's History Academy didn't tell me... Oh, perhaps no one would use the key in such a place. If I could report this information to the academy, I wonder what kind of reward I would get. I still lack a lot of practical studies... Wait, what happens if I violate the rules?”
【Message from the Old God “Father of Infinite Trees”:】
【The opening time for the next time key has been postponed from one week later to three weeks later.】
Such a result was acceptable; it was only a waste of half a month, and Xia De also wanted to take a break after the Mi Fort incident ended.
【The Father of Infinite Trees gives you “Verdant Blessing”. The aura of death has been washed away, and it cannot entangle you again for a short time. Your vitality has been enhanced, your recovery ability has been enhanced, and Miracles related to nature, trees, have been greatly enhanced.】
【Outsider, you have experienced a Miracle.】
【Outsider, you have gained insights into “Nature”, “Life”, “Trees”, “Water”, “Plants”, “Blessings”, “Animals”, “Coordination”.】
