They took a carriage from Luffy Lane and arrived at their destination at sunset. After Shade jumped off the carriage, he thanked the driver and looked toward the western sky.
From his perspective, one third of the terrifyingly large yellow sunset had already hidden behind Mount Xikar. Because of the direction, it was as if the sunset was returning to the foot of Mount Xikar. Combined with the various local rumors and stories, this scene was indeed somewhat terrifying.
Because the ceremony was to be held in this famous haunted house, the spiritual group cleared the area in advance. Not only did they set up a ceremony in the nearby mountains and forests to prevent ordinary people from accidentally breaking in, but they also sent people to guard important intersections to ensure that tonight's ceremony would not be subject to accidents due to external forces.
The ceremony, which cost 3,000 pounds in materials alone, was definitely a large ceremony. When Shade got off the carriage, he saw many nuns and monks wearing silver crown-shaped eye masks in the deserted courtyard of the manor, carefully examining the surrounding environment and using chalk or sterling silver scepters to draw patterns on the ground.
Their clothes were very similar to those of Sister Defulin, the leader of the cult. They all wore dark nun's clothes and a silk shawl of the same color as the nun's clothes. However, their hair color was normal, unlike Sister Defulin's gray hair that looked like it had lost its vitality.
Miss Carina said that the members of the spiritual order who are qualified to wear the silver crown eye patch are the backbone of the order. At this time, there are more than ten people that Shade saw alone. Fortunately, Sister Defulin only charged Shade for the ritual materials. Otherwise, Shade and the doctor would probably have to sell their belongings to pay for so many labor costs.
The middle-aged monk with gauze covering his eyes had been waiting for Shade at the gate of the manor. Shade followed him through the courtyard where the ceremony was being prepared and entered the mansion with walls covered with ivy and morning glory.
The mansion was unexpectedly not as gloomy as Shade had imagined. The floor had probably been swept, and there was not much dust. Many nuns and monks were painting complex runes on the walls, outlining connected lines, or holding silver bells and shaking them as they walked.
The sound of the bell was particularly clear, and every time it rang, Xia De felt relaxed.
It's not about relaxing your mind, it's about cleansing your soul.
"Soul cleansing?"
Xia De looked curiously at the middle-aged nun who passed by him:
"It seems that the ring magician groups that can survive for a long time all have their own unique techniques."
The spiritual sect was transforming the entire manor for the ritual, which was more troublesome than Shade had imagined, and it also made him realize how much he owed someone a favor. In the future, he would definitely be willing to help this organization that had helped him, but for now, he had to rescue Priest Augustus first.
As he walked deeper into the mansion, Shade noticed that there was a barely perceptible fog in the corridor. But the density of the fog was very uniform, and when he reached the deepest corridor on the first floor, the density was still subtle and barely perceptible.
The temporarily fixed "entrance" was on the wall at the end of the deepest corridor on the first floor of the manor. Complex ritual arrays had been drawn on the walls on both sides, and Sister Develyn was standing there quietly, waiting for Shade. The other three high-ranking nuns wearing silver eye masks knelt in front of the wall. One held a long-handled silver bell, one held a parchment roll, and one held both fists in front of his chest, whispering unknown spells together to keep the "entrance" stable.
"Mr. Watson."
Sister Defulin nodded to Shade, and when she saw Shade looking at the wall, she asked softly:
"Can you see the entrance, too?"
"Yes, I have the Space Spirit Rune."
Shade said, and the nun paused a little unexpectedly before using ancient grammar and asking in that elegant but almost toneless voice:
"We rely on our eyes to capture spirituality so that we can see the location of the entrance. So in the real vision with spatial power, what does the entrance in front of you look like?"
Xia De stared at the wall again:
"I saw a black vortex of terror, with white mist floating out of it. I couldn't stare at the inside of the vortex for long. I could feel the terror, coldness, and malice towards the living on the other side."
After saying that, he looked away. The black vortex on the wall gave him a completely different feeling from Darkness's black vortex. It was hard to say which one was more dangerous, but it was obvious that neither was something that should be touched lightly.
"Can you sense this fog?"
Sister Defulin was even more surprised. Of course, her expression and tone did not show this:
"The appearance of this fog means that the boundary between the world of the dead and the world of the living is infiltrating towards this side. The fog here is too thin. Theoretically, apart from the nuns of the order, only the owners of the Death Spirit Rune can see this fog."
"I have a magic that has to do with the eyes."
Xia De briefly explained and then asked:
"Allow me to thank you again for your help. So, what time does the ceremony begin after sunset? I don't have anything else to prepare."
Although he didn't have dinner, he wasn't the lazy Mia cat, so it didn't matter if he skipped a meal.
"This door to the narrow space can only be opened safely at night at ten o'clock tonight. Although tonight is not a night of shining silver moon, the moon tonight will be particularly bright, which can well guide you to the other side of the world."
Sister Develyn said, and then took out a short stick from the pocket of her robe, put it in her palm and handed it to Shad. Her hands were particularly white and slender, the kind that were very suitable for playing the piano.
"The world on the other side is filled with forces that can corrupt the flesh. Please take this with you. This is a branch of the Elvenwood. It can temporarily protect you before it decays."
Shade had used this thing when learning the elves' detoxification technique last week, and the short branch he used at that time was about the same length.
"No need, I have this."
Xia De took out his pocket watch and took out the Eternal Youth Leaf from the cover. Sister Defulin, with gray hair, nodded even though her eyes were covered and she was blind.
"So it's the relic, the Eternal Youth Leaf. This is indeed the best choice. You've prepared very well."
She tucked the stub back into the side pocket of her robe:
"Please give me Priest Augustus's belongings for now. I need to process it so that it can guide you."
Then Shade handed the nun the silver pendant that Father Augustus had left in the tomb passage in the crypt:
"This is Mr. Dawn's holy emblem. Will the holy emblem affect the ceremony?"
The holy emblem of the righteous god is itself a symbol with mysterious symbolism. Rashly using the holy emblem in the ceremony will cause great uncertainty.
"It's okay. The holy emblem of the dawn can better guide you. The righteous gods of light and shadow will protect you between life and death."
While handing over the holy emblem, Shad took out the doctor's three thousand pounds in cash from his pocket. He put the cash in a briefcase, so what he "took out" from his pocket was the briefcase.
But Sister Devlin did not touch the money, but asked Shad to hand the box to another nun later.
All Shad had to do was wait. When the sun had completely set, the sect lit a bonfire in the courtyard and cooked dinner, so Shad could eat hot barbecue.
It was not known whether the leader's personality affected the entire organization's actions, but most of the nuns and monks who covered their eyes did not like to talk much. But if Shade talked to them, they would respond.
They didn't mind if Shad spied on the secret of the ritual, and as long as Shad didn't get in the way, they didn't forbid him to wander around in this haunted mansion. Unlike No. 6 St. Teresa's Square, which was also rumored to be haunted, this haunted manor was truly haunted.
However, before Shad arrived in his carriage, Sister Defulyn had already eliminated the three evil spirits that were causing trouble, namely Viscount Russell and his two servants.
But this does not mean that Shad could not understand the stories here. After everyone finished dinner together, Sister Defulin did not return to the mansion, but stood alone by the campfire, with her hands folded together facing the huge campfire in front of her.
The orange-yellow fire flickered on her gray-black nun's robe, which seemed to be made of silk, and also illuminated the silver crown-like ornament. Covering the eyes, it is impossible to judge the other person's mood and thoughts from the expression and eyes. But Xia De did not need to judge the other person's thoughts. He just had nothing to do and wanted to know the story that happened here.
After quietly standing beside Sister Defulin and asking the question, the nun replied softly:
"That's not a very interesting story. The evil spirits in the deep forest attacked the manor and frightened the baron to death. The baron's unwilling soul turned into an evil spirit and killed the two servants who took care of him. Afterwards, the souls of the three people wandered around the manor, but because they could not leave here and were not strong, they were not discovered by the Orthodox Church."
Xia De nodded in understanding, and then asked curiously:
"But how do you know this? Oh, sorry, I don't mean to pry into your secrets, but can the spiritual order analyze the past of a soul?"
The nun still kept her hands folded together. She shook her head slightly, her silver-gray hair shining in the firelight:
"This is my unique talent, which has existed since I became a ring warlock. Although my eyes cannot see normal things, when I face a dying soul, I take off the blindfold and 'look' at them with my eyes, and I can see fragments of their past."
"Oh~ this is really amazing."
Xia De praised sincerely.
"According to the cult, this is the special ability of my 'other self' - seeing death. For ordinary people, this would bring misfortune, and for a ring sorcerer, it would inevitably bring me closer and closer to death. It was the cult that saved me. The cult's special method of prayer and spiritual practice allowed me to understand this ability. Cold death... is not scary."
Xia De nodded and did not ask any more questions. The other party was an eleventh-ring warlock, and the fact that he could tell him these things already showed that he trusted him very much.
But this brief conversation also caused Shade to have new doubts. This special ability of "seeing death" seemed to be associated with the chosen one.
If the third chosen one who is about to appear really corresponds to "death", then in addition to Priest Augustus, Sister Defuline seems to be the chosen one of death.