Chapter 2328: Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things

Chapter 2328: Chapter 2328: Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things

In an ancient time of unknown age, humans struggling to survive in the darkness found a final settlement in a desert. But soon after, creatures that chased living souls arrived.

It did not directly slaughter the people here but instead herded them, maintaining a sustainable population growth while demanding regular sacrifices of flesh and souls from the settlement’s inhabitants.

This situation lasted for a long time until a knight from afar gathered the last resistance forces within the settlement to charge against that "demon".

The battle lasted for a long time, and when the elders and children of the settlement dared to approach the battlefield, all they saw were corpses everywhere, a gravely injured demon, and a dying knight.

Shard placed one hand on the coffin lid and recited the story’s final conclusion:

"The knight said he was a believer of the ancient Earth Deity. Even after the Earth Mother Goddess left, he continued to adhere to the traditions of old, traversing the earth on foot.

He was barely clinging to life and decided to use the core divine art of the lost Earth Cult, also known as the ’Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things’ from the Mother Goddess Church, sacrificing his own soul and flesh to transform into a stone statue, thereby permanently altering the land’s shape and nature to seal the demon."

Miss Nate listened intently:

"He was a true knight."

Shard nodded:

"So the knight, with the help of the people, stood up. In the gesture of waving goodbye, he turned into a stone statue. The people, according to his last wish, built a church to house the sealed demon and the knight’s belongings. And the knight’s statue stood forever at the church’s entrance."

Lady Knight looked at the door in surprise:

"Mr. Hamilton, are you saying the statue outside is..."

"Yes, it is the flesh and soul of that nameless knight."

"He did not die."

Miss Mister, standing below the platform where the coffin was placed, suddenly said:

"The definition of death is the soul reaching its end point, but his soul has not departed; it’s still here, guarding everything."

"A truly admirable knight."

Miss Nate remarked once more, bowing towards the entrance.

Shard hesitantly glanced at the coffin, frowning:

"But if what’s written here is true, then the demon sealed by divine art back then, as well as the thing we’re looking for, are both inside the coffin now.

I discovered that the ’Heart of the Oasis’ is the physical blessing of the Ancient God—the Earth Mother Goddess. It is very logical for the knight to possess compass fragments leading to such blessings."

The brown-skinned lady in cool attire naturally understood what Shard was hesitating about. With her left arm crossed over her chest, she pointed forward with red-polished fingertips:

"You’re worried that opening the coffin would release the sealed entity."

"Yes."

Shard nodded slightly:

"Although the statue remains and the sealing power holds, I cannot be certain of the current condition inside the coffin. I’m not even sure what the described ’demon’ really is. In this language, the term ’demon’ is used to denote evil beings rather than specific species."

Thankfully, less than half of the forty-minute timeline had passed, and this "chapel crypt" was quite cool, giving him time to think further.

"It’s up to you to decide. Miss Nate and I are merely guiding you."

Miss Mister sat down on the front row’s seat, resting on her own. Meanwhile, Shard instructed Miss Nate to join him in rechecking this crypt.

Although the knight’s "corpse" was outside, it did not hinder the fact that this church was indeed adorned with tomb-like specifications, which naturally meant there were "burial goods." Perhaps due to the desert’s influence, most of the mortal items that should have turned to dust had merely decayed or become shabby; meanwhile, most of the items with supernatural power, though Shard couldn’t determine their use, were still functional.

In this light, it seemed the proliferation of supernatural power in the now-lost era when the story occurred was far greater than in the Sixth Era. These burial goods would be treasures in future generations. This aligns with Shard’s assumption about the First to the Sixth Eras, where the world began to crumble after the million, ten-million-year-long First Era ended.

Of course, their most crucial discovery was not the burial goods, but new writings that Shard found on the side of the stone platform beneath the coffin.

The writings were not hidden, just positioned low and in dim light; Shard noticed them only as he maneuvered the light orb around:

"What is this..."

"Is it a new story? About the ancient knight’s tale after his death?"

The gray-haired Miss Knight asked, and Shard shook his head:

"No. It starts by saying that before the knight turned into a stone statue, he verbally recounted the usage of the Ancient God’s Divine Art ’Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things’. So, the ancestors carved these teachings together here. They knew that no power could achieve eternity, thus hoping that future generations would reseal this place."

He carefully read the recorded content again:

"I am also familiar with the series of Divine Arts about the Power of the Earth, but the ones here are entirely different from what I know. It doesn’t even require deliberate learning; it seems more like a sacrificial or sacrificing ritual—

Firstly, and most importantly, one must inherit this power from other wielders of the ’Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things’, or at least have stone statues left by predecessors; either works;

After that, step onto the earth, chant the spell words, and hold high-level alchemical materials like the Philosopher’s Stone/Blood of Mercury/Blood Essence of All Things, which can be used to create life.

Finally, under the premise of believing in any of the Thirteen Ancient Gods, any naturally grown intelligent life can, at the cost of transforming their flesh and soul into a statue, utilize the power of the earth to realize a ’miracle’ that does not harm the earth itself. Generally speaking, the stronger one’s soul, the greater the miracle one can achieve."

He pursed his lips and reread the content:

"According to the knight’s last words, this was a power mastered by everyone in the Earth Cult before the Earth Mother Goddess left. When believers in the cult were about to die, they would use this method to give back to the earth. Of course, at that time, their petrified souls would be led away by angels, not remaining."

Miss Nate then seriously asked:

"So is this okay? Mr. Hamilton, please tell me the spell words. Once the coffin is opened, if that terrifying thing really gets out, I will recreate the ritual to seal the monster again.

I know I’m surely not as strong as that ancient hero, but I believe that if my sacrifice can stop it even for two seconds, you can take the compass. Just please find the ’Heart of the Oasis’ and then go to my homeland to assist Her Majesty the Queen... Like my father, I believe in the God of Justice, the ancient Dragon God who symbolizes Brightness, so I fit the conditions you mentioned."

Sitting below, Miss Mister smiled, watching the two under strange white light like they were acting, while Shard looked at the Lady Knight in surprise:

"Even though you say that, while we indeed have stone statues, we don’t have those precious alchemical materials mentioned here."

In reality, he did have the Philosopher’s Stone, but it couldn’t be brought as relics. The Blood of Mercury was a precious relic the Outlander encountered first when dealing with illegal ring mage groups; they couldn’t find it even across two eras, and Shard had never heard of the Blood Essence of All Things.

"Maybe the knight’s relics contain them."

The lady knight looked toward the coffin:

"No matter what, we cannot avoid opening the coffin. Please tell me the spell words, Mr. Hamilton. This is one of the few things I can do."

Shard straightened his back:

"You seem to have a tendency to self-destruction?"

"No."

Holding her helmet, the lady knight shook her head seriously:

"I know that compared to you, I am just an ordinary and useless person. If relying only on myself, there is no chance of finding the Heart of the Oasis. But if my sacrifice allows you to continue, I believe that once you find that precious object, you will go to help Her Majesty the Queen... you are all good people."

"There’s one thing you said wrong."

Shard pointed out:

"While ordinary people are indeed weak, they are not completely useless. Don’t belittle yourself. As for that spell..."

He looked at Miss Mister, who sat there with her legs crossed, her bare feet off the ground, in a childlike manner. The latter just smiled and nodded.

"I can tell you, but I won’t help you bring in the outside statue, so don’t think about self-sacrifice. It’s meaningless."

The short spell was read aloud by Shard, and Miss Nate silently memorized it. Actually, Shard doubted if she could really remember those strange pronunciations.

Then, Shard handed the cat on his shoulder to Miss Nate, instructing her to step back, while he planned to open the coffin. The lady with light brown skin still sat there, motionless, and Shard did not call upon the help of this deity.

The coffin was not locked, nor were there any protective measures, probably because the ancestors believed that relying solely on locks and mechanisms could not stop those who reached here. The Ancient Knight’s ’Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things’ merely sealed the demon within; he did not use power to prevent people from opening it, and the reasons are beyond what the Outlander could know now.

Perhaps the long passage of time and this sand sea had weakened the power of the Ancient God Divine Art.

In any case, after Shard prepared himself, he struggled to push open the coffin lid, then the black smoke that surged out spread throughout the inside of the enclosed building.

The coffin vanished before Shard, and in the darkness, he turned and looked back; Miss Mister, Miss Nate, and the cat with a flaming tail all disappeared into the black smoke.

With a slight frown, he extended his hand to the side, and the magnificent silver Moonlight Greatsword was thus grasped by Shard. Shard was poised for the appearance of danger, but after waiting a few seconds, he only heard the familiar "meow~" sound.