Chapter 2340: Chapter 2341: The Fourfold Living Skull Positioning God Descent Ceremony
Angel conveyed the information the Knightsâ Order had discovered.
From the emblem on the boots, they were eventually led to the Manhuan family of the Night Lily Kingdom on the Nirvana Continent.
After listening to Angelâs account, Nisâs eyes lit up: "This is indeed a lead with potential. Just right. When I arrange the assignments, I can split them into two groups: one to the Mist Isle of Sidro, the other to the Nirvana Continent to investigate this Manhuan family."
Regarding the intelligence on the Underground Altar, they now had a way forward, and all that was left was to wait for subsequent developments.
Nis: "What do you plan to do next?"
Angel: "For now, Iâll stay around the Earth Cavern to study the abilities of the Mirror Grudge. Speaking of which, I found something about the Mirror Grudge that might interest you."
Nis: "Oh? What is it?"
Angel didnât immediately reveal it but called Tullas up from the first floor; after all, he would soon have to discuss the Mirror Grudge with Tullas, so it was better to let him hear it first.
Nevertheless, Tullas didnât come up alone; Mandhela came along too.
Angel glanced at Mandhela but ultimately said nothing, figuring it wasnât a secret anyway, and it wouldnât hurt for Mandhela to listen.
Once everyone was present, Nis asked curiously, "What is it that even requires Tullas to come up?"
"I plan to have Tullas devour the Mirror Grudge to acquire its Soul Tricks, so itâs good for him to first understand the situation and be mentally prepared."
"Itâs just devouring a Mirror Grudge, what kind of mental preparation is needed for that?"
Angel merely smiled without answering and turned to Tullas: "Iâve already told you some things about the Mirror Grudge before. Do you remember?"
"I remember," Tullas replied with his head down.
He kept his head down because there were elders present, and out of courtesy, he had removed the Bullhorn Helm he always wore, revealing his handsome, delicate face. Tullas always thought his youthful appearance undermined his masculinity, so after removing his helm, he was a bit embarrassed to look up.
"Good that you remember; what Iâll talk about next still concerns the Mirror Grudge, but it might be slightly different from what I mentioned before."
Angel had discussed some details with Tullas previously, but back then, the Mirror Grudge only had the mirror space ability. Now that it had evolved a second ability, Angel wasnât sure if Tullas could inherit it.
Thatâs why he brought it up in front of Nis; as an authority in the Soul Sect, Nis might be able to help Tullas make a judgment.
"The Mirror Grudge possesses a mirror space ability, a Soul Trick known as Soul Interference. Because it combines Illusion Series and some Spatial Ability, Iâve been inspired to research this death-energy constructed mirror space."
Nis: "And did your research yield anything?"
"Thatâs not important; whatâs important is something that happened today during my research into the mirror space."
Under the curious and perplexed gazes of others, Angel made a sweeping gesture, causing numerous illusion nodes to emerge, constructing a series of realistic illusions around them.
In the illusion, everyone seemed to become Angel, emerging from the pitch-black Earth Cavern into an extremely dark forest.
They followed a long, dark, mist-covered path, arriving at a lakeside.
Then they saw the small island in the center of the lake, and the altar on it.
When they saw the altar, the expressions on the faces of Nis and Ironclad Granny changed suddenly.
They had been speculating about what Angel meant by "something interesting," and seeing the altar now, they understood.
"This is... the Four-Skull Locating Divine Descent Ceremony," Ironclad Granny murmured.
Because Ironclad Granny spoke, Angel paused the illusion. The entire first-person illusionary realm seemed to freeze, and their figures gradually emerged from it.
Angel: "Granny knows about this ceremony?"
"I do," Ironclad Granny nodded. "This ceremony originates from The Unparalleled Great Demon God â the Master of the Abyss, and was originally called âBlessings of the Divine Summons.â"
Angel was taken aback: another origin from an Abyssal Demon God?
The Crown Joker could endow items with extraordinary abilities through his true name. The Cruel Scholar created the original Abyssal Inscription Studies, later adapted into Inscription Studies by human wizards, becoming a major sect. The Master of the Abyss was the ancestor of all sorts of sacrificial ceremonies...
Hearing this, it seemed as though Abyssal Demon Gods were the founders of various sects, and the wise beings of every world were picking from their bounty.
Silently grumbling in his heart, Angel listened as Ironclad Granny continued, "This ceremony is a long-distance divine thought communication ritual, allowing believers to summon the Demon Godâs Divine Thought across time and planes."
In other words, by setting up this ceremony, believers could briefly communicate over vast distances and time with their deity.
"Setting up this ceremony is simple, requiring the devout to sprinkle their blood around the altar and sacrifice the heads of four beasts for it to work."
The four beast heads typically needed were two dog heads and two goat heads, supposedly disliked by a certain ancient figure loathed by the Master of the Abyss. Thus, sacrificial rituals of the Master of the Abyss involving animal heads typically used goats and dogs.
Ironclad Granny: "What I mentioned is the original ceremony. Later on, after it spread among the followers of the Master of the Abyss, some races used it for more sinister purposes."
"For instance, some evil gods modified this ceremony to use the heads of four high-intelligence beings for sacrifices, setting waymarks for their divine thought descents. This transformed ritual was known as the Four-Skull Locating Divine Descent Ceremony."
"The effect of the Four-Skull Locating Divine Descent Ceremony far surpassed the âBlessings of the Divine Summons,â enabling not just communication with the evil god, but also the transportation of part of their powers via divine thought descent. Such descents usually inflicted destruction and harm on the current world."
As Ironclad Granny spoke, she pointed at the held-in-time illusion of the altar and its surrounding tall poles. "Determining whether itâs a Four-Skull Locating Divine Descent Ceremony or Blessings of the Divine Summons is straightforward; just look at whether the offering is human or animal heads."
If theyâre human heads, itâs undoubtedly the evil godâs modified descent ceremony.
"Discovering such a divine descent ceremony means anyone living in the Wizardsâ Realm has a responsibility to destroy it," Ironclad Granny said, her eyes filled with disdain as she looked at the distant altar.
This ritual that might harm the essence of the world must be eliminated even if itâs not part of the Extreme Sect.
Angel: "Then what if itâs not a human head, but the head of a four-beast?"
Ironclad Granny looked at Angel: "If itâs the head of a four-beast, then it must be the followers of the Deep Master. Whether to annihilate or leave, both are options. If you encounter it, I suggest you leave and inform the Extreme Sect to let them handle it."
"It seems that the followers of the Deep Master are actually more conservative than some heretical Evil Gods."
Ironclad Granny shook her head: "Itâs not that the Deep Master is conservative; itâs that the Otherworld Evil Gods never intended to cultivate their followers long-term. What these Otherworld Evil Gods aim to do is to cause destruction in the short term. As long as they find the Wizardsâ Realm, invade it, and destroy it, their purpose is achieved."
As for the Deep Master, it develops followers over a long period. Since it wants to do this long-term, live sacrifices are unnecessary; beast-head sacrifices are sufficient. However, although it doesnât directly destroy the world, it does gradually erode it, and from a long-term perspective, its harm might be greater than that of the Otherworld Evil Gods.
However, due to the Extreme Sectâs and the major Witcher Organizationsâ continual purges in the Southern Domain Wizard World, the harm of the followers of the Deep Master is no longer a threat, whereas the invasions of the Otherworld Evil Gods produce more direct and significant devastation.
"However, this four-head ritual to call down the deities is missing a skull, so itâs incomplete and likely hasnât succeeded." said Ironclad Granny.
Angel: "The missing skull is, most likely, little Samâs if no accidents have occurred."
"You mean this is the altar where the ghost of the farmer wanted to sacrifice little Sam?" The speaker was Nis, as little Sam was Nisâs prospective student, hence he was highly concerned about him.
Angel nodded: "Yes."
"Given that the ritual is incomplete, missing one head, did the Mirror Grudge bring you here intending to use you as a substitute?" After asking, Nis muttered to himself: "Does the Mirror Grudge even have that sort of intelligence?"
Angel: "Weâll find out if we keep watching."
Angel snapped his fingers, causing the figures of everyone to fade into the unknown. The paused Illusionary Realm resumed, and everyone re-entered the first-person perspective of the illusion, continuing to experience the story with an established outcome.
When the Mirror Grudge restarted the unfinished sacrifice and summoned a giant eye, everyone was taken aback.
Even if this ritual failed somewhat, the summoned giant eyeâs strength was indeed lacking. But to launch the ritual from the mirrored space using just the altarâs reflection?
Itâs said to be a mirrored world, yet some rules are almost real!
However, the most shocking thing wasnât the summoning of the giant eye but the Mirror Grudge itself.
The Mirror Grudge used its chaotic and ill-intentioned Soul Force to swallow the summoned deityâs divine thought, evolving new abilities. This series of operations stunned everyone, especially Nis and Mandhela; one was an authority in the Soul Sect, while the other was a Special Undead herself. Neither expected the Mirror Grudge to have such tactics.
For a Mirror Grudge that doesnât have logical thinking abilities to reach this level, itâs indeed rare.
"This Mirror Grudge hasnât been dead for long, yet it already possesses two Soul Tricks, evolving to a level comparable to an Official Wizard. The speed is terrifying." Nis couldnât help but sigh. Such a powerful Mirror Grudge could potentially cause regular Wizards to meet their match.
Pity the Mirror Grudge encountered Angel.
Seeing Angel pull out the Samsara Overture and easily force the Mirror Grudge out of the mirror space, everyone fell silent.
Nis stared at the Samsara Overture, his eyes filled with envy.
Mandhela also stared at the Samsara Overture, though her expression was complex, filled with fierce hatred and unspeakable relief.
The illusion ended here, but Angel didnât close it. Instead, he snapped his fingers again, pausing the illusion at the scene where the giant eye appeared.
Having done all this, the figures of the group began to emerge again, as if soaked in water, accompanied by ripples.
Once Nis revealed his form, he immediately exclaimed, "Such an unparalleled Special Undead, and yet it encountered you. If you had given it to me, I might have..."
Nis muttered some incomprehensible words, growing increasingly excited, until Angel interrupted him directly: "Unfortunately, the Mirror Grudge met me."
"Hmph, whatever, little Sam is my disciple. There will be plenty of opportunities to encounter Special Undead in the future." Nis snorted.
Angel ignored him, instead pointing at the huge eye in the illusion and asking Ironclad Granny, "Granny, do you know what this eye is?"
Ironclad Granny glanced at the giant eye, her expression slightly disdainful: "I thought the deity summoning ritual would have called forth an Evil God from the Chen Chi World, or an Outer God from the Druna Plane. Turns out itâs a Wild God from the Wild Realm."
"So itâs indeed a Wild God?" After battling the giant eye previously, Angel assessed its strength as unworthy of the title deity, hence used the disparaging term Wild God. Unexpectedly, it truly was a Wild God from the Wild Realm.
Ironclad Granny nodded: "Yes, a Wild God. Judging by its form, itâs probably Babbit Hundred-Eyes. In the primitive tribes of the Feran Continent, those with a worship for eyes are mainly followers of this Wild God."
If asked about the Otherworld great powers most antagonistic towards the Southern Domain Wizard World, itâs hard to specify; but in terms of frequency of invasions, itâs undoubtedly the Extraordinary Lives from the Wild Realm.
The Wild Realm is a major world close to the Southern Domain, where the ruling race is Barbarians. The orthodox Barbarians resemble a humanoid race externally. However, Wizards who studied the Barbarians found their origins unrelated to humans, rather akin to some Magical Creatures in the Void.
The Wild Realm also has its own transcendental forces, among which Wild Gods are the peak transcendent combat strength.
Wild Gods covet the Wizardsâ Realm, for reasons debated, yet various papers deduce that they are likely attracted by some kind of resource from the Wizardsâ Realm.
However, the strength of Wild Gods varies greatly. Called a deity, yet most Wild Gods havenât even stepped into the Legendary Level.
And itâs mainly these types of Wild Gods that invade the Wizardsâ Realm.
Among all the Evil Gods invading the Southern Domain Wizard World, their strength is the lowest. Therefore, many Wizards use the derogatory term for them as Wild Gods.
Of course, the Wild Realm has powerful deities, only restrained by the fear of the Origin World, making them reluctant to act rashly.
"The faith of Wild Gods spreads most widely on the Feran Continent. Hence, this sacrificial event in Dawn Town might have originated from there," said Angel.
Ironclad Granny nodded: "Itâs likely as you said. The Feran Continent has some covert Wizards guarding it, yet it still managed to transcend boundaries, suggesting Babbit Hundred-Eyes has some skill."
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