Chapter 409 Purifying the Soul <TOC> Chapter 411 Dance of the Midnight Butterfly
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel still had a doubtful expression on his face, but he didn’t continue to ask questions, as their fragmented conversation aroused curiosity in Shadow standing beside them.
He didn’t want anyone else to know about the anomaly in his soul.
“Don’t tell anyone about the rune in my soul.” Angel told the High Priest through mental communication.
The High Priest subtly nodded.
After the selection ended, the High Priest signaled the priest to take Yelena away first. When they left, he turned to them and said: “The grand ceremony has come to an end, but there’s one more issue.” The High Priest glanced at Fiona: “The grand ceremony was advanced by nearly two months. It was said that we have distinguished guests coming, and we need to select the Sky Choir early to perform at Black Castle. Do we need to organize the Sky Choir for rehearsal before the performance now?”
Distinguished guests? Going to Black Castle to perform? Angel paused for a moment, then understood that the reason for the early grand ceremony was probably Felicia and Gloria.
However, it wasn’t easy to decide whether to bring the Sky Choir to Black Castle for the performance… They had used up the chances of the treasure, and now bringing the Sky Choir to Black Castle seemed ill-timed.
As Angel struggled to make a decision, Shadow suddenly sent a message: “Wait, I’ll ask Fiona.”
Angel nodded at Shadow, who took Fiona to the second floor.
“Wait a moment; they are discussing.”
The High Priest naturally understood what “discussing” meant, smiled, nodded, and sat down again.
Taking advantage of Shadow’s absence, Angel prepared to inquire about some things related to Hippocrates.
“High Priest, have you ever seen this pattern?” Angel created a miniature illusion, a black serpent covered in scales coiling around a silver-white long cone.
The High Priest looked at Angel, his eyes filled with contemplation: “Sir, have you been to Hippocrates?”
Angel had practically admitted that he had been to Hippocrates during his conversation with Shadow earlier, so he no longer concealed it and nodded in response to the High Priest: “I have been there.”
High Priest: “I remember when I was young, our family lived in the attic of a single mother’s house in Siporak. The mother was called Taisa, and she had a lovely daughter named Bula. Before the war came, we lived happily. Taisa loved telling stories to Bula, and the story she mentioned most often was about Hippocrates.”
The High Priest’s mouth curved into a faint smile, reminiscing about the beautiful past.
“Taisa said that Hippocrates was a sacred place, where there was no war, no disease, illuminated by light, protected by Akeso, and guided by the royal family. It was the ultimate utopia that humanity pursued.” The High Priest: “Sir, I have always been curious about what Hippocrates is like. Is it really such a sacred place?”
“Do you think there really is such a beautiful utopia?” Angel asked in response.
The High Priest lowered his head, shook it, and smiled: “If Ciporak didn’t have the magic formation, perhaps this place could be considered a utopia?”
“If it weren’t for that magic formation, you wouldn’t have been able to inherit it safely for a thousand years.” Angel said.
The High Priest didn’t answer; he clearly understood this point.
“Speaking of Hippocrates, I don’t know if it was like what you said before, but now it definitely isn’t. The only description I can give is,” Angel said, pausing with each word: “whoever goes there, dies.”
The High Priest’s expression faltered, and then he shook his head and said self-mockingly: “Taisa died at the beginning of the war.”
“Bula always believed that Hippocrates was a place where she could redeem herself. After the war ended, she returned to Siporak.” the High Priest said, his tone suddenly becoming melancholic: “She deceived us with a sweet smile. My mother, my sister, my brother, and my child… were all deceived by her and sold to slave traders from afar. I escaped and was saved by Lady Isabelle.”
“Bula said she loved us and hoped we would love her too. As long as we could sell for a good price, she could spend money to hire people to search for Hippocrates. She just needed to reach Hippocrates, and the beautiful holy light would shine on everything in the world. That was the price we needed to pay for loving her.” The High Priest said, sadness in his eyes: “I don’t blame her. When I was young, she and Taisa gave me the most beautiful memories, so even after I left Siporak, I still silently blessed her in my heart, hoping she could find Hippocrates and fulfill her long-cherished wish.”
The High Priest looked up at Angel and said: “But today, after hearing what you said, it seems she was wrong too, and was deceived her whole life.”
Angel: “Not necessarily. Perhaps a thousand years ago, it really was a utopia?” At least, from the current traces of Hippocrates, it can be seen that their destruction occurred a thousand years ago.
The High Priest: “I hope so. Anyway, the reason I guessed you had been to Hippocrates when I saw this emblem was that I had overheard some things when our family was sold to slave traders by Bula. The slave traders also wanted to go to Hippocrates. They consulted a large number of royal books and learned that the sacred emblem of Hippocrates was a black serpent coiling around a ring-shaped cone.”
“The widely circulated ‘snake coiling around a scepter’ was actually adapted from the emblem of Hippocrates. But the real emblem is not a scepter, but a ring-shaped cone.”
“Its name, Immortal Serpent Emblem.”
Immortal Serpent Emblem? Angel unconsciously recited this name, and somehow, he recalled the enormous creature he saw in the underground water area – Akeso.
If Akeso was the black serpent on the Serpent Emblem, what was the “ring-shaped cone”? Why hadn’t he seen it in Hippocrates? “Do you know what the cone on this emblem represents?” Angel asked.
“Immortality,” the High Priest paused: “This cone refers to the Cone of Immortality.”
Immortality… A flash of lightning seemed to streak across Angel’s mind, and when it came to immortality, the first thing he thought of was Tororo, who had not aged for a thousand years. Was that considered immortality? But he hadn’t found any Cone of Immortality on Tororo either.
When Tororo was pulled out of the coffin, he was completely naked, holding a broken bowl in his hand, with no other conical objects.
Could it be that the broken bowl was the Cone of Immortality?
Angel carefully recalled that the bowl was very ordinary, and he had inspected it several times without finding anything unusual. However, Tororo was strangely attached to it, gripping it tightly and never letting go. Angel simply let him be and didn’t take the bowl away.
Later on, he stopped paying attention to the bowl, and he didn’t know where Tororo had put it.
However, there was still quite a difference between a bowl and a cone. Moreover, since the Akeso was hovering above the cone, it was obviously aware of the cone, and even if it was generous, it wouldn’t just give away the Cone of Immortality, would it?
Various doubts arose in Angel’s mind, but now was not the time to pursue them. He could only wait until he returned to the outer world and ask Tororo for the bowl to have another look.
As Angel was about to ask more about the Cone of Immortality, Shadow came down from the second floor.
Shadow whispered to Angel: “Don’t worry, I just asked Fiona. She said that she had proposed to have the Sky Choir perform at Black Castle before the Grand Ceremony. Lady Butterfly doesn’t know about it, so we can just pretend nothing happened.”
“Your way of questioning is very unique.” Angel said to Fiona, whose face was swollen and bruised and who was once again controlled by puppet strings.
“Non-violent non-cooperation saves time.” Shadow answered briskly.
Angel didn’t bother to argue with him and told the High Priest: “We don’t need to worry about the performance. If anything happens, just expose us.”
The High Priest nodded and left the Centennial Hall.
After the High Priest left, Angel and Shadow prepared to return to the Inner World. Shadow hadn’t given up searching for Naga, while Angel needed to attend Phineas’ appointment.
When they returned to the Inner World, it was almost nightfall.
Shadow went off on his own, while Angel went to the first floor of Black Castle.
When he arrived, Phineas was sitting at the bar, and Gloria was sitting on the floor, cooking ingredients with one hand and stuffing her mouth with the other.
“Gloria, I wonder how Toby is now…” Angel began to ask but stopped midway.
Gloria looked at him with a gaze filled with unfamiliarity, curiosity, innocence, and shyness. Such a look was something Angel had seen in many young girls’ eyes, but it was something he never expected to see from Gloria.
“Little brother, are you thirsty? Here you go.”
Gloria’s reaction was also strange, blinking her beautiful, clear eyes and handing Angel a glass.
There was no liquid in the glass, but there was a swirling gas resembling a nebula.
Angel held the glass, unsure how to react, while Gloria still looked at him with innocent eyes, urging him to drink it.
Angel knew that the food ingredients used by gourmet wizards were diverse and peculiar, and he had no idea what the effects would be once he drank it. Moreover, Gloria’s behavior was odd, leaving him completely unsure how to respond, so he hesitated to make a move with the glass in his hand.
At this moment, Felicia said: “Drink it. This is the Vortex of Vitality. After drinking it, the efficiency of your magic source will be slightly increased for a week. It’s only beneficial for you; there’s no harm.”
Hearing Felicia say so, Angel could only muster the courage and drink it down.
After drinking it, Angel’s eyes brightened slightly.
Upon entering his mouth, the Vortex of Vitality didn’t taste dry and flavorless as he had imagined, but instead had a wonderful milky taste, rich and creamy, comparable to the best milk Angel had ever tasted.
“What a rich milky taste.” Angel remarked, expressionless and restrained.
Felicia glanced at him and raised an eyebrow: “The Vortex of Vitality has no taste. The reason you can taste it is that the gourmet wizard added edible Scholomon to stimulate your personal taste buds. Depending on individual taste preferences, the taste of the Vortex of Vitality varies.”
“When I drink the Vortex of Vitality, it’s tasteless, but when my sister drinks it, it tastes like alcohol.” Gloria grinned: “So, little brother likes drinking milk.”
Angel’s face darkened; the gourmet wizard’s creation was indeed tricky. He forced a smile, as denying his taste preference now would only make things worse, so he chose to face it with a smile.
“Do you want to eat this?” Gloria held up a plate of what looked like metallic round lumps, happily wanting to continue sharing.
Chapter 409 Purifying the Soul <TOC> Chapter 411 Dance of the Midnight Butterfly