"But Sister Develyn is already at the eleventh level... and no one has stipulated that when the chosen one knows their own power, they must not be at a high level. Iluna is at a low level, Darkness is at a middle level, and it doesn't seem wrong that the third one is at a high level."
Xia De thought about the Chosen One and looked at the nun with silver-gray hair. From the side, he couldn't see the pattern on the silver ornaments, but only the silver rings that bound her long gray hair.
"Anything else?"
The blind nun turned her head slightly to "look" at Shade, and Shade asked:
"I noticed that you were looking at the flames. Is this part of the ceremony?"
He had just thought it was only for grilling meat.
"Yes, this fire is your beacon of return. As long as the fire does not go out, you can return safely even if you don't find Father Augustus."
Shade nodded, a little worried that the fire would go out. It wasn't that he looked down on Sister Develyn's fighting ability, but that this was the routine in all the stories he had read.
As if she had "seen" what Shade was thinking, the nun smiled for the first time:
"Don't worry, this fire won't go out anyway.
"Why?"
"In this mountain lives a very powerful being. I once received fire from her, and this fire will never go out."
As she spoke, Sister Defulin folded her hands in front of her and clasped them together, then raised them toward the bonfire as if she was holding something.
The fabric of the nun's sleeves changed in the light of the fire, and Shade looked at her hands in surprise. As her closed palms opened slightly, Shade saw a cluster of small red flames dancing in her palms.
The fire in the palm of her hand was nearly round, with a slender flame tail swinging upwards. The nun held the flame in her hand, and the flame was hurting her hand, but when the white hand showed charred marks and cracks, it was slowly repaired as if time was going backwards.
You feel blasphemy, stranger.
"A relic? The flame is a relic?"
Xia De was very surprised, but he was even more curious about where the nun got the flame from, as she clearly had nothing in her hand just now.
The flame was not as bright as the bonfire in front of him, but as a ring wizard, Shade could feel that this strange flame was so powerful. He even had the urge to swallow the flame in one gulp for some reason.
"Oh no! Am I finally affected by the power of the Lord of the Blood Feast?"
Xia De was a little frightened.
No.
"That's good... The color and temperature of this flame, why do they feel so familiar..."
After showing the flame in her hand to Shade, the nun put it away. Since she didn't explain what it was, Shade didn't ask, after all, it was someone else's privacy.
The two stood in front of the campfire in silence, and Shad thought about what he might encounter after going deeper into the boundary between life and death.
"Mr. John Watson, did you know that there is also a great witch in our local area?"
Sister Defulin suddenly asked. Xia De was startled, but he remained calm on the surface:
"I don't know. The lady didn't mention it. But I heard that the witches in the Witch Council are not interested in men. Some even hate men. So, the lady didn't introduce the local witch to me, but introduced you. I think it was for this reason."
"The local witch is quite powerful."
The nun said, but this is different from the information Shad knew. Miss Carina said that Mother-in-law Cassandra is a tenth-ring nun, which is one ring lower than the eleventh-ring nun.
"Is the opponent's level high?"
He asked with feigned curiosity.
"A little lower than me, but she had a good teacher."
Miss Carina also said this.
"In other words, the witch in the past was very powerful."
Shade asked, not wanting to hit Sister Develyn who shook her head again:
"No, her teacher is not a witch."
This aroused Shade's greater curiosity. The Witch Council adopted a method of inheritance that was similar to an apprenticeship system, and the teacher was not a witch. He could not imagine it at all.
But Sister Devlin didn't say another word. Even when Shad looked at her with "I'm curious" written all over his face, Sister Devlin didn't continue speaking.
"Go back and ask Miss Carina."
Xia De thought to himself and looked up at the three moons in the starry sky:
"If I can get back safely..."
At 9:30 in the evening, the ceremony had been arranged and the final inspection had been carried out. The ring magicians of the Spiritual Church gathered in the courtyard from the mansion in an orderly manner, and Sister Defulin gave the final instructions to Shade by the bonfire:
"There are a large number of souls wandering in the land of life and death, and there are also some evil spirits with special powers."
Shade is still in a state where he is very vulnerable to attacks from evil spirits.
"So, the ritual will protect the aura of the living in you from leaking out, so the chances of you getting lost there by evil spirits are low."
The nun said and Shad breathed a sigh of relief, this meant that he would only be attacked by evil spirits when he was seen at close range.
"In the narrow space between life and death, you must not make too much noise. The cult has always believed that many extremely dangerous beings live in that ancient place. Please find the priest as soon as possible and bring him out. Don't do anything extra."
"I understand that."
"Also, in the area where life and death are ambiguous, soul power is more important than physical strength. Physical strength is of little use in that area. The strength of the soul and spirit is the real strength. Therefore, you must control your emotions. Whether it is positive or negative emotions, they may cause you to get lost."
"The power of the soul... I understand."
Shade nodded again.
"Finally, the speed of time in that strange world is different from that in the material world, and there is no regularity. It is possible that you have experienced a whole day, but it is just a dream outside. But it is also possible that you have only taken a few steps, but dozens of minutes have passed outside. Due to the limitations of the ritual itself, you must come back before dawn, so..."
"It doesn't matter. I have the power to sense time."
Xia De pointed to his head:
"I can feel the real time and the time I feel myself, but what time does it dawn in the Midhill Castle area?"
He asked, and Sister Defulin immediately gave the answer:
"The next dawn will appear at 6:23."
Shad noted the number.
At exactly ten o'clock, the moon above our heads reached the right position, and the sea of stars in the cloudless night sky seemed to be frozen above our heads.
A bonfire crackled in the courtyard, and only 34 nuns wearing silver crowns and eye masks remained in the courtyard.
Nine of them evenly gathered around the huge bonfire, wearing the same nun uniform, holding their hands together in front of their chests, and lowering their heads to chant the spell to communicate with the other side of the world. The fire danced on their bodies, and the crackling sound of the burning almost covered the nuns' whispers.
The bonfire was located in the center of the courtyard, and on both sides of the walkway connecting the bonfire to the gate of the mansion, 22 nuns were standing quietly waiting, either holding pure silver bells, or white porcelain water bottles, or holding white banners embroidered with ancient runes.
In front of the mansion, two nuns who seemed to be twins were holding the door handles of the double doors. Both of them were high-level sorcerers, but Shad didn't know their names.
The last nun, Sister Defulin, stood by the campfire with Shad. Behind them were nine nuns whispering in low voices. In front of them was the trail and the big door at the end.
Amid the crackling of the bonfire, no one spoke until Sister Defulin took out two long white threads of the same length.
She threw the long thread to the bonfire behind her, but the next second two threads floated out again, and turned red. The nun handed one of them to Shade and pointed to his wrist where it was wrapped. Shade could feel the temperature of the cotton thread.
"One is tied to your wrist, and the other is held by me. When you need to return, this line will guide you to the signpost."
The nun said and Shad nodded.
Then, she handed the silver holy emblem pendant of Priest Augustus to Shade:
"This will guide you to your friends."
Shade nodded and hung the holy emblem on his chest.
"Also, please make sure you won't be corrupted by death in advance."
Xia De took out the leaf of eternal youth from his pocket watch and put it in his mouth. The leaf itself had a raw taste, but Xia De had never licked other leaves, so he didn't know if other leaves had the same taste.
"Finally, Mr. John Watson, I wish you a safe journey."
She bowed slightly to Xia De, but Xia De didn't dare to accept this kind of courtesy, so he quickly dodged:
"Sister, I cannot express my gratitude simply with words. After rescuing Father Augustus, I will..."
"three."
The nun began the countdown, and Shad immediately stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
"two."
The nun with gray hair held two palms in front of her and held them in front of her chest. Xia De saw the faint flame between her two palms again. This flame, which can be defined as a "relic", will be Xia De's greatest guarantee of safety.
"one."
The last voice was a little trembling, because as the nun clasped her hands together, flames overflowed from her palms. She was not engulfed by the instantly expanding flames, but cracks with flames flowing inside her hands appeared, which was somewhat like Shad's "divine overflow" state, which was the manifestation of inner power manifesting on the outside.
Xia De took a deep breath:
"Then I'm off."
The nun held the flame in her hands and bowed her head slightly:
"Good luck to you."