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A thin, dark-gold mist appeared before his eyes, and Aaron's somewhat chaotic consciousness instantly awoke. He vigilantly opened his eyes and looked around.
Flowers exuding endless vitality swayed around him, their petals falling. Aaron subconsciously reached out to catch them, but the flowers passed right through his hand.
Aaron was stunned for a few seconds, finally realizing that his current self was not a physical entity. Perhaps he was merely a manifestation of his mind through some means.
Thinking this, Aaron turned his head and saw a giant tree that occupied the entire sky of this strange space. The middle of the giant tree was hollowed out, and a plump, graceful lady sat on a emerald-green throne.
Wheat ears grew at her feet, and spring water encircled her. Her skirt flowed outward, adorned with various herbs and flowers, and depicted images of different animals.
With one hand, she held a translucent, adorable infant wrapped in swaddling, and in the other, she held a dark-brown wooden staff, exuding an indescribable sanctity and dignity.
With just one glance, Aaron's vision blurred, and illusory whispers echoed in his ears. His originally solid body suddenly became somewhat ethereal.
With the blessing of the Sefirah, even an Angel displaying their mythical creature form wouldn't affect Aaron like this. The last time he felt this way was when he directly faced the Night Emperor's lingering mental imprint.
Accustomed to the ravings and still maintaining a clear mind, Aaron endured the pain in his eyes, lowered his head, and respectfully said:
"Praise be to You, the Source of Life, the Mother of All Things, the great Earth Mother!"
On the throne engraved with the Holy Emblem of Life, the plump, graceful lady looked at the fleeting dark-gold mist around Aaron and gently curved her lips. The dark-brown wooden staff in her hand slightly lifted.
Aaron, whose eyes were still stinging, was instantly enveloped by a cool sensation. Not only did the whispers in his ears disappear, but the surging life aura did not dissipate; instead, it remained within his body.
The sea of flowers around him had vanished. Aaron, opening his eyes again, had already arrived inside the giant Tree of Life.
Feeling the tremor from the depths of his soul, Aaron's lowered face twitched slightly. This was the second time he had directly faced a complete True God since awakening from the Sefirah.
Unaware of her true intentions, Aaron cautiously remained silent. The difference in strength was too vast; the more he spoke, the more he would expose.
A grand and pleasant voice resounded. Everyone who heard this voice would praise the beauty of life deep within their hearts:
"The Evernight Goddess was right, you truly are special. With the Apocalypse approaching, a turning point has finally arrived."
"The tide of the era is about to strike. Before you have sufficient strength, accumulating power is the only option."
Listening to these veiled hints, Aaron nodded noncommittally, expressing his gratitude to the Earth Mother, and waited for her to express her true intentions.
He didn't believe that a dignified True God would pull him into her divine kingdom just to say these things.
"Do you know Lilith?"
Upon hearing this question, Aaron's expression stiffened slightly. He wasn't sure what expression to show. Controlling the emotions in his heart, he respectfully replied:
"An ancient god of the second epoch, who controlled the 'Moon' Pathway and was also the Sanguine Ancestor. She perished together with the Mutant King Kvastir and the 'Demonic Wolf of Destruction' Flegrea."
A soft chuckle sounded. The translucent, adorable infant in the swaddling clothes even turned over, its dark, bright eyes fixated on Aaron, who stood with his head bowed:
"You do know quite a few secrets, but her demise had another reason. Most of the ancient gods of the second epoch were insane due to the mixture of Beyonder characteristics."
"They harbored an irresistible craving for higher-level entities. There are some very special places in this world that retain the aura of those entities."
"For example, Bansy, which is currently sealed, and Calderon City, hidden deep within the Spirit World. As the Apocalypse approaches, more such places will appear."
"That ancient god was eroded by something in the deepest part of the Evernight Plains, which is now the northernmost part of Feysac. This was also a significant reason for her eventual demise."
That frozen polar region? The Evernight Plains of Feysac?
To be called a higher-level existence by a True God, that should refer to the 'Sefirah' corresponding to the 'Moon' and 'Mother' Pathways—the Filthy Brood Hive.
As one of the three Pillars, the Sefirah corresponding to the Mother Goddess of Depravity, even though it was torn apart during the first awakening and came to Earth, and has now been completed into a whole Sefirah through its own Sefirah completion ability.
But as the top existence among the Outer Deities, she can still exert some influence on the part of the Brood Hive on Earth through this connection. Lilith in the second epoch likely had no choice but to feign Death and escape because of this.
The Nation of Disorder that Aaron currently controls is essentially similar to the situation of the Brood Hive. However, the Outer God "Son of Chaos," who is the source, was tightly controlled by the other two Pillars in the First Epoch, and even a part of his consciousness was sealed on Earth.
Aaron's expression showed surprise. He suppressed the swirling thoughts in his mind, and on second thought, it wasn't strange at all.
The most obvious example is the ancient Death, the demise of the Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, which caused her divine kingdom, Calderon City, to merge with a branch of the River of Eternal Darkness that had penetrated the seal.
Bansy Harbor is also a living example; the City of Calamity, sealed in the Western Continent, instinctively or consciously uses the Uniqueness and high-Sequence characteristics within its symbolic range to indirectly erode them, while also affecting the outside world.
As time passes, the seal on the Western Continent will gradually weaken, and other Sefirah will also gradually permeate the outside world. However, these peculiar places might only be sensed by True Gods or Kings of Angels of the corresponding Pathways.
The sudden activation of the 'Hermit' Uniqueness in the Fourth Epoch might have been influenced by the 'Knowledge Moor' Sefirah.
After giving Aaron enough time to digest this information, the soft and pleasant voice sounded again:
"You are not yet qualified to touch those things. When you achieve Angelhood and truly master that power, then go to the Evernight Plains and bring something back for me."
"In return for this transaction, you can receive the hidden support of the Church of the Earth Mother."
Since he had already promised the Evernight Goddess to go to Calderon City later to help her obtain the water from the River of Eternal Darkness branch, and with nothing to lose, Aaron readily agreed.
Finally, thinking of something, Aaron chuckled dryly and tentatively asked:
"Does this hidden support include You?"
The surrounding vitality slowly receded, and Aaron's figure gradually disappeared into this divine kingdom of life. The soft voice echoed in his mind again:
"When necessary, pray in advance, and you will receive the help you desire."
Suddenly opening his eyes, Aaron subconsciously touched his body. Hmm, it was solid!
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Aaron raised his wrist and watched strands of green light emerge from his body and merge into his Mark of Life. That seemed to be the power he had brought back from the Earth Mother's divine kingdom.
Before he could check what changes had occurred in his Mark of Life, a woman appeared before Aaron, wearing a triple crown and exuding a distinctly desolate and withered aura. A clear, cold voice sounded:
"I have already sensed the will of the Lord. The Church will provide you with assistance without revealing our cooperation. This is my Life Creation. You can directly obtain my help through it."
While Aaron was still recovering, a uniquely shaped infant Puppet appeared on his shoulder.
Seemingly realizing that the appearance of her creation was somewhat eye-catching, Roland, the Matriarch and Pontiff of the Church of the Earth Mother, manipulated this demigod-level Puppet to merge into Aaron's Mark of Life on his wrist.
Along with it, a flood of complex knowledge emerged in Aaron's mind. She concisely added:
"You can control it through the Holy Emblem of Life, but once it leaves my control, creations born from the Art of Life Refinement will intensely crave flesh and blood."
"Devouring too much flesh and blood could very likely lead to unknown corruption. The rituals for using the Stone of Life and the rituals concerning the soul level that you desire are also contained within it."
"Praise Life, praise the Mother!"
-----------------
Outskirts of Tingen, a house with a verdant green lawn.
It had a garden that began to wither in late autumn, and the house had dark red chimneys on its roof.
Behind the bedroom window of this house was a desk, on which lay an ordinary notebook.
A middle-aged man with dark-gold hair, one blind eye, deep blue-black pupils, a high nose bridge, tightly pursed lips, and features as profound as a statue with no wrinkles, sat at the desk.
With a slightly pale hand, he solemnly picked up an antique quill pen. Without dipping it in ink, it clearly wrote out words:
"Nighthawks Senior Deacon Crestet Cesimir, while pursuing Ince Zangwill, encountered Botis, the 'Saint of Secrets' from the Aurora Order, who happened to be wandering nearby."
"Crestet Cesimir, whose combat strength at Sequence 5 rivaled a newly promoted Sequence 4 due to gaining the recognition of the Sacred Bone Sword, was undoubtedly no match for Botis."
"Having escaped with the help of the Sacred Artifact, he had lost track of Ince Zangwill and could only temporarily return to Backlund. This was a logical decision."
"Having shaken off pursuit, Ince Zangwill hid in Tingen City. With the help of the great Quill of Alzuhod, the greedy and cunning him decided to steal the ashes of Saint Selena from behind the Chanis Gate in Tingen City, thereby advancing from Sequence 5 'Gatekeeper' to Sequence 4 'Nighthawk' of the Sleepless Pathway, becoming a Demigod."
"The story of Tingen is about to begin. All of Ince Zangwill's schemes will proceed smoothly. He will definitely make the Church of the Evernight Goddess, who abandoned him, pay the price."
Carefully placing the antique quill pen on the table, a sinister expression flashed across his classically sculpted features. It was clear that the front of the notebook also contained a large amount of handwriting.
Most of these were from the past two years, where he used the Quill of Alzuhod to evade the Church of the Evernight Goddess's pursuit. Only a few places involving Anthony Stevenson, the Sequence 3 'Horror Bishop', showed obvious signs of being scribbled out.
The rustling of turning pages and the scratching sound of writing startled Ince Zangwill from his contemplation. The antique quill pen seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, and it had already written several paragraphs in the notebook:
"Perhaps due to the call of the Antigonus Family bloodline, or for other reasons, the Antigonus Family Notebook mysteriously appeared in Tingen City. The notebook will subtly influence its successive owners."
"Lanevus, corrupted by the True Creator's divinity, also arrived in Tingen City. Desperate to escape his madness, he decided to attempt the evil ritual provided by Sirius Arapis to summon a child of the 'True Creator'."
"For this, the cunning 'Marauder' decided to visit Hood Eugen in the asylum and made a deal with Hood Eugen, offering 'methods to control potion power and avoid losing control' and 'gaining immortal divinity' as compensation."
"This is a win-win choice, so they will soon begin their actions."
"Ince Zangwill, who felt everything was under control, never imagined that a descendant of the Zoroast Family with an ancient aura also arrived in Tingen."
"Being only one step away from becoming a Demigod, he successfully attracted the attention of 'Blasphemer' Amon, who was very interested in the Zoroast and Jacob Families. This is very reasonable!"
"That descendant of the Zoroast Family, protected by an unknown power, escaped the Blasphemer's pursuit."
"But the unlucky Ince Zangwill was discovered by that Blasphemer. All his plans were about to end before they even officially began. The poor Ince Zangwill finally became Amon's…"
The diligently writing quill pen was suddenly grasped tightly by a pale hand. Ince Zangwill's face instantly turned ugly. The Quill of Alzuhod, as the terrifying Sealed Artifact numbered 0-08, had its primary negative effect of constantly trying to "write" its holder to Death.
However, fortunately, the higher the Beyonder's Sequence, the greater the Spirit Body consumed, and it cannot affect powers higher than its own Sequence. When involving high Sequences, the written content can be affected or even scribbled out.
Looking at the now blurry and gradually scribbled-out "Amon," Ince Zangwill gripped the quill pen tightly and completely crossed out the last paragraph. His face, abnormally pale from consuming a large amount of Spirit Body, finally relaxed slightly. Without bothering to recover, he continued to write:
"Botis, the 'Saint of Secrets' who severely wounded Crestet Cesimir, was about to leave when he coincidentally sensed the aura of an adjacent Pathway, and thus decided to turn that descendant of the Zoroast Family into his own Sealed Artifact."
He abruptly closed the notebook, locked the quill pen in a box, and layered it with spiritual walls. Ince Zangwill, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, cast a gloomy gaze towards Tingen City, where Saint Selena Cathedral was located, and muttered softly:
"No one can stop me…"
-----------------
After changing his mode of transportation midway and arriving by steam train, Mobet walked out of the Tingen City steam train station. As he walked out, he pondered how to complete the task assigned by Mr. Blessed.
"I heard that the old man is currently parasitizing a member of the Nighthawks team from the Church of the Evernight Goddess. My identity makes it inconvenient to approach him. Should I leave some aura behind and let the old man come to me?"
This thought had just surfaced when Mobet himself dismissed it. The old man, who had been hiding and fleeing from Blasphemer Amon for nearly a thousand years, would not willingly make contact even if he discovered certain marks and auras.
Calling a carriage by the roadside, Mobet decided to rent a house first and settle down in Tingen City to gradually make contact. As he thought this, a sudden sense of crisis emerged in his heart.
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