The old man sighed softly, using the Carsonrick language with a Randall Valley accent, but he stood there without sitting down. Shade did feel the elements of enlightenment and miracles, and the face was extremely familiar, but he could not judge the relationship between this old face and the middle-aged Miss Perry with certainty, the age gap was too big.
The witch was still standing there. Shade pulled her sleeve and they sat down together. The old woman in the nun's robe smiled and looked at Shade:
"Young men, I don't know why you came here, but you are definitely not lost or in danger. The earth loves you, and the time has come. If you desire the power of the earth, I can give you a test."
"May I ask what the test is?"
Miss Benanis asked softly, and the old nun finally sat down by the campfire. She sat on the other side of the unicorn, smiled and stroked the little animal, and the latter docilely let her stroke it:
"The earth will choose its own agents, and the soil and stones will tell us everything."
"The Agent of the Earth..."
Shade was worried that she would use the light that could turn people into giants, but fortunately the old woman just picked up a small stone from the dry ground next to the campfire. She put her hands behind her back, then clenched her fists and stretched them out, pointing them in the direction of Shade and Miss Benanis:
"Tell me, where is that stone?"
The old man looked at them with a smile, as if he was joking with the young people he met on the street. And according to normal thinking, the answer to this question is certainly not limited to "left hand" and "right hand".
Miss Benanis was shocked. She didn't expect the so-called "test" to be like this. She couldn't think of an answer for the time being, so she subconsciously looked at Xia De, but Xia De didn't think about it, but asked softly:
“Are you Sister St. Perry?”
"That's what they call me."
The old nun said, looking at Shade kindly, and before he asked, she smiled and nodded slightly:
"I have long since died, and my soul has reached its end. This is only a fragment of divine art that remains, a record and memory engraved on the earth."
Xia De opened his mouth slightly, wanting to ask the other party if he still remembered him.
Miss Benanis had no idea of Shade's complicated thoughts at this moment:
"Hamilton, do you know where the stone is?"
"I don't know, but I can try."
Ordinary stones are not perceptible, and since this is a test for a nun who was canonized by the church in the Fifth Era, cheating is obviously wrong. Shade touched his pocket and took out the silver cube left by Mr. Thomas Granger.
This time, as the silver cube heated up slightly, the second story of the Randall Valley was finally revealed to Shade:
St. Perry's Cemetery -
In order to save the mad earth, the nun of the fifth era suffered terrible pollution in her body and soul. On her deathbed, she voluntarily let the church seal her body outside the Randall River Valley, and retained her own power to suppress the terrible black mud. It is rumored that if you walk alone in the stream outside the Randall River Valley at night, get lost or encounter danger, the power of the dead nun will help those innocent people with good intentions. A few people are qualified to face the test of the nun and obtain and inherit the power of the earth.
Densely packed letters appeared on one face of the cube. Shade read them out. Miss Benanis frowned slightly:
"Is this the truth about St. Perry's Cemetery? This is actually a seal?"
“It’s definitely different from what we thought.”
Shade nodded, but the witch still didn't understand:
"But is this information of any use to the current situation?"
"Of course it works."
Shade already knew what he should do. The firelight illuminated his face:
"Since Saint Perry's cemetery is actually the seal of the Church of the Sun and Earth in the Fifth Era, it means that the situation inside the cemetery is worse than we can imagine. Saint Perry can't open the seal at will, so rather than saying that she is choosing people who resonate with the earth, it is better to say that she is choosing people who can solve or suppress the pollution."
The witch blinked:
“That makes sense.”
Little did she know that Xia De had faced countless similar things in the past and present:
"So, the truth behind finding the stone is that we need to show our strength and prove that we can fight against that kind of pollution. The stone is not important, but the method we use to find it is important. Last night, the two people from the Blood Spirit School obviously encountered a similar thing, but I don't know where they went wrong..."
"Your spell, Power of the Earth, Healing Aura, seems to be usable only on polluted land. Does a stone count?"
The witch said with some concern, and Shade shook his head slightly:
"Just show enough purifying power, yes, enough..."
He thought for a moment and said to the unicorn:
"Close your eyes." (Ancient Elvish)
So the curious little animal closed its eyes obediently.
"Ms. Benanis, close your eyes. Yes, you must close them tightly. It is best to cover your eyes with your hands."
Although the witch didn't know what Shade was going to do, she still closed her eyes. Then, she heard the man's slightly serious voice:
"Silver Moon!"
The instantaneous brilliance almost made her think that someone had used the thirteen-ring magic of the Eternal Blazing Sun nearby. However, her body did not feel any heat, but instead felt the gentle breeze brushing against her cheeks.
"Okay."
When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that the surrounding ground, the tent, the treetops not shrouded by the white mist, and even the flames were all covered with a faint silver glow.
The pure white fur of the white little beast was dotted with silver light, making it look at itself curiously. Shade's clothes and Miss Benanis's robe were also stained with holy silver light. She could sense how holy the light was. It was as if someone had built a small sanctuary here, as if she was in a church of some god.
"What kind of magic is this?"
"Light."
Xia De introduced it briefly, looking at the surroundings that were dotted with stars. The old woman was also stained with the light of the silver moon, which of course included her two fists. The only thing nearby that was not stained with silver light was the small piece of land in front of Xia De.
He dug up the frozen hard soil and twisted the stone out of it.
When he touched the stone, he felt a power very similar to that of the "Crazy Earth", but it was much milder. Shade crushed it and threw it into the bonfire nearby, watching the flames with the power of the First Fire extinguish it:
"I guess this should be considered as passing the test?"
Shad asked.
The old nun smiled and nodded:
"Okay. But are you sure you really want to gain the power of the earth? Next, you will face horrors that mortals cannot imagine."
"certainly."
Shad stood up and pulled Miss Benanis up with him.
"Please follow me."
The old woman stood up and led the way, entering the fog again. Shade picked up the Night Watchman and followed her into the fog with Miss Benanis, but the little beast was left behind, and Shade asked it to help take care of the witch's sleeping followers.
The composition of the fog was quite complex, and neither Shade nor Miss Benanis could see what was outside the fog. But they could always see the old woman in the fog. After the three of them left the camp, they walked in the fog in the snowy mountains and forests, one after the other, for less than ten minutes before stopping.
The trees in front of us became sparse, and a small church appeared in the fog, standing in the sparse stream forest. The churches of the five gods have different architectural and decoration styles. The old gray stone church in front of us is undoubtedly the Church of the Sun and the Earth.
“There is absolutely no such building in this area.”
Miss Benannis said softly, that is to say, if it weren't for the old woman's guidance, no one would be able to find this place.
The door of the church was tightly closed, and it made a harsh "creaking" sound when it was pushed open by an old woman in nun's clothes. This church, built in the Fifth Era, was of standard country church specifications, that is, it only had one main hall, and the area of the main hall occupied more than two-thirds of the church.
After entering the door, you will see rows of neatly arranged stone chairs. Looking past the stone pillars supporting the ceiling, you will see the holy emblem of the old man with the lantern hanging on the wall deep in the main hall opposite the door.
However, the pulpit under the holy emblem was now a horizontal gray stone coffin suspended in mid-air and locked by eight chains. In addition, the interior of the church was somewhat eerie, and the candles that were lit when the door opened were all cold blue. It was obvious that the so-called "saint's grave" was the church itself.
After entering the door, Shade immediately noticed the problem with the land where the church was located. Although he didn't know where it was, it was obviously "polluted" here, and the degree of pollution was far stronger than the two "crazy lands" he had encountered in the Randall River Valley.
The old woman who led the two people in disappeared without a trace. Miss Benanis looked up at the church from outside, and then followed Shade in with some worry:
"The pollution of this land does not take the form of petrification, nor does it seem to gather evil spirits."
“That’s where the pollution is coming from.”
Xia De looked at the coffin. Although the eight chains were still there, each one was rusted. The seal had not been broken, but it was in a very dangerous situation:
"I think the manifestation of pollution here should be related to the contents of the coffin."
"The contaminated remains of a church saint?"
Miss Benanis asked, and after a slight nod, she said:
"If this is your opponent, leave it to me. You purify the earth, and I'll unfold the maze to deal with the things inside."
Under normal circumstances, the eleventh-level witch is much stronger than Shade, so Shade did not refuse:
"Be careful. After all, it is the contaminated remains of a saint passed down from the last era."