At this moment, Odis felt that the "Scepter of the Dead" in her hand was colder than ice, and her soul seemed to tremble. She tried hard to restrain herself so as not to show any sign of submission to Bradrick on the altar.
Odis, pale-faced, suddenly smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I've changed my mind!"
The "ageless witch" Katarina said expressionlessly, "You still don't understand? You have no chance to back out. Bradrick will make your soul submit and use the ability of 'reappearance'."
Odis realized: "You never intended for me to leave alive, did you?"
"Yes, this is a necessary sacrifice," Katarina said earnestly.
At that moment, the illusory underworld suddenly began to shake noticeably, and a bronze gate, symbolizing the entrance to the underworld, appeared.
Both Bradrick and Katarina on the altar were stunned, wondering which being had suddenly descended upon them.
Squeak~
The "Gate of the Underworld" with its intricate patterns opened, and a woman dressed in knight's attire and wearing a metallic mask stepped out.
That's the "mysterious queen" Bernadette!
Katarina wondered how she found her.
This was the plan for Odis and Bernadette to reunite before Ariana gave them the crystal.
Odis knew that the "Witch Cult's" scheme would definitely involve the Underworld, so the two of them discussed having Bernadette come from the Underworld to join them.
The words Odis uttered after his movements and extraordinary abilities were restricted, words that even Katarina couldn't understand, were the lost "Phoenix Language".
Like the language of giants and dragons, the language of the phoenix is also divided into two types. One is the language used in daily life, which later evolved into the language of Dutan, which is completely different from the language family of Old Fussac.
Currently, most people in the Southern Continent still use the Dutan language.
Another type is language used in the field of mysticism to manipulate the forces of nature.
The underworld was created by the "Phoenix Ancestor," and in ancient times, the language of the Phoenix was mainly used to leverage the power of the underworld.
Odis's words just now essentially provided Bernadette with a coordinate, allowing her to quickly don the "Pale Death" and find him in the shortest possible time.
Upon seeing Bernadette's mask on the altar, Bradrick immediately prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to move an inch.
Taking this opportunity, Odis looked down at the "Gus Staff" tucked into her waistband.
Suddenly, the tip of the staff provided Odis with a touch of spirituality, and the stiffness in Odis's body immediately lessened!
In addition to physical activity, spirituality also gained a certain degree of liberation.
He first infused the crystal provided by Ariana with spiritual energy, then jumped off the massive spine, discarding his coat and the "Scepter of the Dead."
Odis tried many times, but her hands remained stiff and she couldn't let go.
At that moment, Katarina's hair surged like a tide, trying to entangle Odis.
Odis quickly used his other hand to pull out the "Staff of Gus," a story known as the Chinese idiom "waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump."
Katarina's tidal wave of hair came to a sudden halt; she was waiting for Odis to pounce on it and tie herself up.
At this moment, Bernadette emerged from the underworld and looked coldly at Katarina, whose soul was immediately severely damaged.
Whoosh~
At Katarina's location, a shattered mirror appeared.
A mirror double!
She herself had already appeared in the distance, and the spirit had only suffered minor damage.
Bernadette raised her hand, and an illusory river flowed from the underworld, chasing after Katarina.
That was the "River of the Dead," and even from a great distance, Katarina felt her life rapidly fading away, rushing headlong towards death.
The entire underground space immediately became extremely cold, as if everyone were immersed in icy water.
Katarina tried to dodge, but the "River of the Dead" had already surrounded her.
Just as the river was about to engulf her, a large amount of lava suddenly gushed out from beneath her feet!
Sizzle~
The extreme cold of the "River of the Dead" instantly solidified the lava, but also slowed the flow of the illusory river.
Above the lava, an ancient mirror suddenly appeared, reflecting a beautiful woman with a mature air. She had long, flowing black hair and blue eyes that were more crystalline than diamonds.
This is Judith, the "grandmother" of the witches and the "child of God".
Judith in the mirror smiled slightly at Bernadette, and even Bernadette, who had a cold gaze, had a glimmer of light in her eyes, as if even the "Pale Emperor" could be bewitched by this witch.
Just then, an unprecedented sense of tranquility appeared not far from the altar. Ariana, dressed in a simple robe, appeared as if she had been printed out of a printer after receiving Odis's signal.
She glanced around and saw that everyone—Bradrick, prostrate on the altar, Judith in the mirror, Katarina, and the "ageless witch" Alena, who was invisible—was beset by misfortune.
At this moment, Odis had taken advantage of the opportunity to completely regain control of her body and restore her spirituality.
At this moment, he was finally able to let go of the "Scepter of the Dead" in his hand, so Odis quickly used his spirituality to materialize the secondary array of the spatial magic circle.
After he can "set up an array with a single thought", he no longer needs to carry a pre-drawn secondary array. He can simply use his spirituality to "create the array on the spot" when needed.
Odis believed that this "Scepter of the Dead" was an important item in the ongoing ritual, and that putting it into the "Wilderness of Knowledge" as soon as possible would end the ritual early.
Just as Odis was about to pick up the "Scepter of the Dead" from the ground, the scepter suddenly slid away on its own and flew towards the altar.
At this moment, on the altar, Bradrick, who was prostrate on the ground, suddenly had his stained feathers grow thicker. Then, a surging force tore open his back, and a pale white ball of light emerged from it.
The ball of light quickly solidified, transforming into a feathered serpent with a human head.
The face clearly had facial features of the Southern Continent, and looked like a middle-aged or elderly man.
It dared to look directly at Bernadette, who was wearing "Pale Death"!
Beneath many of the snake's scales grew a white feather. With the feather slightly open, it flew toward the "Scepter of the Dead".
Only one corpse remained on the altar, as if all its nutrients had been drained.
Odis had a bad feeling, and he immediately used "Flash" to block in front of the "scepter". He reached out and was about to grab the scepter, but the scepter's flight trajectory suddenly veered off course and continued flying towards the feathered serpent from one side.
Odis immediately sprouted a pair of beautiful wings on his back and chased after the "Scepter of the Dead" in flight.
But it was too late; the scepter was about to be entangled by the feathered serpent's tail.
The tip of the "Staff of Gus" in Odis's hand glowed, and a giant figure suddenly appeared beside him.
The figure ran at an extremely fast speed, seemingly leaving afterimages as it overtook Odis, knocking the "Scepter of the Dead" and the feathered serpent away.
Boom!
The charging giant even completely destroyed the altar.
Mythological Magic: Kuafu Chasing the Sun - A Wild Run!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Odis quickly approached the "Scepter of the Dead." Just as he was about to touch the scepter, the feathered serpent's eyes rolled, and a pale white flame seemed to flicker in its pupils.
Odis suddenly stopped, feeling as if his life was rapidly fading away. In that brief moment of pause, the feathered serpent's tail had already stretched out, about to coil around the scepter.
The light from the head of the "Gus Staff" reappeared, and the same giant figure appeared in the distance. He threw the staff in his hand, which landed precisely between the feathered serpent and the "Undead Scepter".
Suddenly, a huge peach garden appeared, and the distance between the feathered serpent and the "Scepter of the Dead" quickly increased, with the peach garden separating them.
Mythological Magic: Kuafu Chasing the Sun - Staff!
Unaffected by the Peach Garden, Odis stepped forward and seized the "Scepter of the Dead".
It still felt very cold to the touch, like holding a piece of solid ice.
Odis raised the "Staff of Gus" and once again "set up an array with a thought." Just as the "Staff of the Dead" was about to be placed into the "Wilderness of Knowledge," a cold electric current suddenly emanated from the "Staff of the Dead," making Odis's joints seem to stiffen completely, rendering him unable to make any movement.
Unable to turn his head, Odis tilted his eye and saw the feathered serpent staring intently at the "Scepter of the Dead" from afar, as if remotely unleashing some power from within the scepter.
The next instant, Odis's vision was suddenly filled with a pale image, the protagonist of which was a middle-aged man wearing a dark robe with a face resembling that of the southern continent.
It's the face of the middle-aged man on the head of the feathered serpent that stole the "Scepter of the Dead".
In front of the middle-aged man was a large bird lying on the ground. It had a long, thin neck and head, and pale white feathers.
It was a phoenix, and judging by its size, it should be a demigod-level phoenix.
After the phoenix died, its extraordinary properties concentrated in its left leg bone, forming this "Scepter of the Dead".
Odis never expected that this "Scepter of the Dead" would contain something similar to memory.
The feathered serpent triggered the memories of the scepter, hoping to flood Odis's brain with a massive amount of memories, causing him to temporarily experience a "crash"-like reaction.
But what the feathered serpent didn't know was that Odis often used the method of accelerating time to conduct research in the "Wilderness of Knowledge," and the strength of his brain and spirit had long been trained, so this little memory was not enough to harm him.
At the same time, after Odis received these memories, his brain processed them at top speed.
For a moment, Odis had the illusion that time had stopped around him.
In reality, it was an illusion that his brain was processing too much information in an instant. Therefore, Odis digested the memories of the formation process of the "Scepter of the Dead" and the memories afterward in an instant. While digesting them, he also had time to express his own opinions.
The "memories" provided behind the scepter are all images of that middle-aged man participating in battles while wearing it.
One scene in particular caught Odis's attention: the middle-aged man's enemy was a ball of light, and his allies included a starry sky, a sunset-colored twilight, and so on.
During this battle, the "Undead Scepter" was affected by the enemy and gained some activity.
That influence also caused a qualitative change in it. In the postwar period, middle-aged men used this change to strengthen the connection between the scepter and the underworld, giving the scepter a certain degree of authority through the "Grim Reaper" pathway.
Odis probably guessed who the middle-aged man was.
He continued reading and, sure enough, saw the middle-aged man ascend to the divine throne, becoming the new "Grim Reaper".
That's right, that middle-aged man is none other than "Emperor of the Underworld" Salinger!
The "Emperor of the Underworld" always carried this scepter with him. It witnessed Salinger's search for the "River of Eternal Darkness" and the uniqueness of Salinger's forced acceptance of the "Red Priest" path.
Finally, one day in the Fourth Age, Salinger split off a small part of his spirit and merged it with the scepter.
From then on, this staff appeared in the Church of Death on the east coast of the Byron Empire, where it was worshipped by believers.
Odis realized that this "Scepter of the Dead" was also a contingency plan for resurrection left by the Grim Reaper!
Odis roughly understood what happened next: Salinger perished on his way back to the southern continent, and the function of the scepter was activated.
It first affected Bradrick, the city's chief priest, causing him to sacrifice the city, opening a portal to the underworld in the real world, and transforming the part of the city covered in black stone into an environment similar to the underworld.
This was to provide a living environment for Salinger's incomplete spirit.
After the Grim Reaper's physical body perished, the fragmented spirit could not survive for long in the real world.
Salinger's fragmented spirit gradually eroded Bradrick's soul, and eventually they formed a psychic stitched monster.
Because his spirit contained a part of Death, Bradrick's spirit underwent a qualitative change. His original body could not contain such a powerful soul, so his spirit and body experienced an extremely strong rejection phenomenon.
"The Underworld Emperor" Salinger had already considered this point. During the Fourth Age, he secretly ordered Bradrick to collect the corresponding high-grade materials, which were the most special feathers from the "Progenitor of the Phoenix".
They eventually found what they needed in the Northern Continent, but unfortunately, when they entrusted the Abraham family to deliver it to the Southern Continent, Abraham suddenly perished. The family was then attacked by other extraordinary forces, and in a very short time, they withdrew their power back to the territory of the Tudor Empire.
The feather had been stored in the warehouse of the Abraham family that Odis and Fors had previously explored. Bradrick couldn't leave the sacrificed city for long, and after searching for many years with several short trips, he finally found a corresponding teleportation array and used it to find the warehouse.
However, the Abraham family was highly skilled in spatial arrays, and even though Bradrick had some of Salinger's memories, he couldn't find the warehouse.
So the warehouse ended up looking exactly as Odis and Fors had when they explored it, with scratches all over the stone walls, not a single spot intact, and even many large pits dug out.
But it's no use; if you can't find it, you can't find it.
Therefore, Salinger's resurrection plan using the "Scepter of the Dead" has been delayed until now.
It wasn't until the "Witch Cult" found the place based on the information that Bradrick obtained the special feather of the "Phoenix Ancestor," reconstructing his body and giving it the opportunity to accommodate a powerful spirit.
Bradrick was then free to move around and found the ruins of the Byron Empire on Blue Mountain Island. He then collaborated with the "Witch Cult" to carry out a resurrection plan.
The condition for the "Witch Cult" to cooperate was that, after the "Emperor of the Underworld" was initially resurrected, they would work with their gods to put the "Primordial Witch" in the "Mirror World" into a deep sleep.
Their plan at this time was to connect the underworld with the real world and, through the "mysterious reappearance" of the "Emperor of the Underworld," further awaken the spirit belonging to the "Grim Reaper" within Bradrick's body.
Of course, the ability to "reproduce" alone is not enough; it also requires one demigod from each of the three pathways: "corpse collector," "sleepless," and "warrior," to provide the "Grim Reaper's" spirit with an anchor point for its existence in this world.
That's why the "Witch Cult" kept seeking Odis's cooperation, because they knew very well that Odis would most likely report to the Church of the Goddess of Night that they would have a chance to capture a demigod of the "Sleepless" pathway.
Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to capture a demigod through this route in the church of the Goddess of Night.
As for the demigod who was the "corpse collector," it was of course Bradrick who sacrificed himself to pave the way for the resurrection of the "Grim Reaper."
In fact, his sacrifice was completed not long after the fall of the "Emperor of the Underworld". From that time on, he was already a walking corpse, only today he will completely lose his life.
Next, they will sacrifice all the lives on Blue Mountain Island, because it is home to Bayam, the largest city in the Raging Sea, which has a population of hundreds of thousands!
With the lives of these hundreds of thousands of people, Bradrick could further control the underworld and turn the entire Raging Sea into the kingdom of "Death."
At this point, Salinger can be initially resurrected in the underworld. At this time, he can reclaim the uniqueness of the "Death" pathway and then try to reclaim the Sequence 1 characteristic.
The implementation of this plan is currently very risky, but Salinger's remnant soul has no choice but to do so. He has noticed that a characteristic of the "Death" pathway sequence 1 seems to have been acquired by the "Goddess of Night".
Moreover, the other party seems to have their eyes on the uniqueness of the "Grim Reaper" pathway. If we don't hurry, we may not have another chance to be resurrected.
Odis saw all the memories in the blink of an eye.
His vision returned to normal. At this time, the peach orchard had not completely disappeared, and the feathered serpent with Salinger's face was still trying its best to get there.
Odis also realized that it wanted to take control of the "Scepter of the Dead" and use the authority that the "Emperor of the Underworld" had once given it to forcibly take back the "Pale Death" that Bernadette wore on her face!
At that time, it will be able to possess the power of Sequence 1 in a short period of time, and achieve the effect of the ritual more quickly.
However, the feathered serpent can only move on its own for a short time. If it fails to obtain "Pale Death" within a minute or two, it will have to return to Bradrick's body.
In that case, under the oppressive weight of "pale death," Bradrick didn't dare to move at all.
Once Odis understood the other party's intentions, he was even more determined not to let him take back the scepter.
The problem is that Odis is currently very stiff due to the piercing of the spirit by the "Scepter of the Dead," and is unable to complete the action of putting the scepter into the "Wilderness of Knowledge."
Meanwhile, Ariana is dealing with Judith, the angel of the "Cult of Witches," and Bernadette is attacking the two "ageless witches." No one can help Odis.
He gritted his teeth and used the power of "divine tides" for the first time.
From now on, the subsequent "Mysterious Reappearance" will have the level of Sequence 3!
Although Odis's body was still stiff at this moment, it no longer prevented him from infusing spirituality and divinity into the "Staff of Gus".
Immediately afterwards, the vast underground space suddenly became quiet, and a phantom dragon appeared above everyone's heads. It was not the kind of "Western dragon" with huge wings and a large body, but an "Eastern dragon" with a long body, four legs, long whiskers, and large antlers.
This dragon is different from ordinary dragons; it has a pair of wings on its back, making it look exceptionally powerful.
Mythological Magic: Yinglong!
This is the first dragon in the world. All dragons will prostrate themselves before it, and all snakes are its descendants whose bloodline is not pure enough.
Even the feathered serpent with the face of the "Emperor of the Underworld" could look directly at Bernadette, who wore the "Pale Death," but it suddenly became somewhat timid in front of Yinglong.
The Yinglong that Odis "recreated" seemed to let out a thunderous roar, which immediately startled everyone present, including the two angels, Ariana and Judith.
Immediately afterwards, Yinglong disappeared, leaving behind a ball of light where it vanished.
With a "sizzle," the ball of light dispersed, and streaks of eerie white lightning struck the feathered serpent. Everyone in this vast space felt their hair stand on end.
The feathered serpent quickly burrowed into the "River of the Dead" summoned by Bernadette. Lightning followed closely, piercing into the illusory river water and striking the feathered serpent, shattering its scales and tearing its flesh apart.
The feathered serpent's face contorted in pain, and in an instant, scales and flesh flew everywhere!
When the last bolt of lightning disappeared, the feathered serpent's scales became ethereal, and in a very short time, it formed a layer of molted skin.
As the outer layer of skin peeled off, its injury healed rapidly.
Immediately afterwards, the illusory river flowing from the underworld surged even more violently. One stream remained under Bernadette's control, but another was encircling Odis.
Odis was struggling to break free from his stiff state; the corrosive influence of the illusory river water made him even more rigid.
He took a deep breath, and the light on the head of the "Gus Staff" reappeared.
The giant figure that had appeared twice earlier reappeared. He ran at a speed so fast it was almost a blur to the front of the illusory, surging river, and with a "glug-glug," began to drink the illusory river water in large gulps.
Mythological Magic: Kuafu Chasing the Sun—Drinking Water!
In the blink of an eye, the illusory river flowing from the underworld was completely drunk up.
This ability stunned both Quetzalcoatl and Bernadette, as they had never encountered an enemy like this before, one that dealt with the corruption of the "River of the Dead".
Before Odis could launch another attack, the "Gus Staff" lit up, and suddenly layers of fragrant bread, thick cakes, and piles of candy appeared around the feathered serpent.
They all emitted a faint glow, proving that they were different from ordinary bread, cakes, and candies.
These foods quickly piled up, held together by syrup, forming a candy house.
The feathered serpent tried to break free, but it was always blocked by countless loaves of bread, cakes, and candies.
Fairy Tale Magic: The Candy House!
Taking advantage of the feathered serpent being temporarily trapped, Odis used all his strength to loosen his grip, causing the "Scepter of the Dead" to fall, which immediately freed him from his stiff state.
Because there was no one else vying for it, Odis dared to use a hurricane to blow the "Scepter of the Dead" into the "Wilderness of Knowledge".
If the feathered serpent were to manipulate it as it did before, the hurricane certainly wouldn't be able to move the scepter.
The moment the scepter fell into the "wilderness of knowledge," Odis finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the candy house gradually disappeared, and the feathered serpent finally emerged from the pile of food. It glanced in the direction of Odis, then turned and flew towards the "ageless witch" Yalena.
At this moment, Bernadette, using "Pale Death," was able to completely suppress the two "ageless witches." Quetzalcoatl suddenly attacked Yalena, catching not only the "Blue Witch" off guard but also everyone else.
Suddenly, the feathered serpent transformed into a phantom ball of light and entered Yalena's body. Yalena immediately collapsed to the ground, letting out a shrill scream.
Then, white, stained feathers quickly grew on her back.
Judith, the "Disaster Witch," turned cold and, abandoning Ariana, suddenly appeared above Alena's head.
She then transformed into an ancient standing mirror, in which was reflected a feathered serpent with its mouth wide open, devouring Yarenna.
Or perhaps it was the feathered serpent devouring Yalena's spirit. Judith appeared in the mirror, beckoned to Yalena, and the feathered serpent instantly appeared in the mirror world.
Yalena breathed a sigh of relief, and the dirt and feathers on her back quickly disappeared, finally preserving her spiritual body.
Odis couldn't quite understand Quetzalcoatl's actions, nor did he understand why they had suddenly started fighting amongst themselves.
But now was the perfect time to take down Katarina. Odis and Bernadette exchanged a glance, and immediately shared a common goal.
Whoosh~
But before they could do anything, the mirror formed by Judith shattered.
Soon another mirror formed not far away.
Whoosh~
The mirror shattered again.
However, Odis saw clearly this time that the feathered serpent that Judith had dragged into the "mirror world" had bitten Judith's shoulder.
The "Disaster Witch" hoped to use her "Mirror Substitute" ability to get rid of Quetzalcoatl, but she failed twice.
Judith's gaze gradually became numb, and she even stopped using the "Mirror Double," letting the feathered serpent bite her and coil around her body.
Odis paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that the purpose of the feathered serpent's attack on the "ageless witch" was actually to get close to Judith.
This surprised him somewhat; he hadn't expected that the feathered serpent would even dare to attack angels!
Then Odis was a little confused as to how the feathered serpent had made Judith give up resistance.
At that moment, Judith and the mirror suddenly disappeared, only to reappear on Bernadette's head in the next instant.
Odis realized that the feathered serpent's ultimate goal was still "pale death," and it was probably making a final desperate attempt, using the power of the underworld to briefly subjugate Judith's spirit through the remaining authority of the "King of the Underworld."
Then, with Judith's help, they took away "Pale Death".
The reason why the feathered serpent did not return to Bradrick's body was mainly because "Pale Death" was very unfavorable to this "ferryman," and if it returned to his body, it would be difficult to accomplish anything.
Thinking of this, Odis quickly reminded him, "It wants to take the mask!"
Bernadette did not reach out to steady the mask; instead, she immediately drew the "Gus Staff."
The next second, the "pale death" on Bernadette's face appeared on the face of the feathered serpent in the mirror, but then the metallic mask became illusory and somewhat unreal.
Bernadette's mask remained perfectly intact, seemingly unaffected. This indicated that Judith's attempt to seize the mask had failed.
At the same time, the "Gus Staff" in her hand emitted a soft light, strengthening the connection between Bernadette and "Pale Death." At this moment, it was as if Bernadette was a "Pale Emperor."
As Odis stepped forward, she "recreated" an antique full-length mirror, which faced Judith's mirror.
The mirror that was "reproduced" spoke: "You are the most beautiful woman here!"
Fairy Tale Magic: The Magic Mirror!
According to Odis's design for this magic, Judith would laugh and feel proud after being praised by the magic mirror.
But the truth is that Oedipus was two levels below Judith. Judith neither laughed nor gloated; she simply temporarily severed Bernadette's connection with the "mirror world."
Bernadette quickly removed the "Pale Death" and completed the seal. In that instant, the magic mirror that Odis had "reappeared" vanished. When Quetzalcoatl saw that the "Pale Death" was gone, he couldn't help but show a look of disappointment in his eyes.
The next second, its body began to become ethereal, and the numbness in Judith's eyes was rapidly disappearing.
Whoosh~
The feathered serpent shattered the mirror with its tail and quickly flew towards Bradrick on the altar.
The moment it returned to Bradrick's body, the light emitted by the feathered serpent looked very weak, clearly indicating that it had just exhausted all its potential.
Bradrick straightened up, ready to leap into the underworld to escape.
Bernadette's "Gus Staff" suddenly glowed, and the running Bradrick instantly turned into a string of bubbles.
Fairy Tale Magic: The Little Mermaid!
Odis, who had already reached the vicinity, immediately blew up a hurricane, causing the foam to return.
Then the magical bubbles disappeared, and Bradrick's figure reappeared.
Just as Bernadette and Odis were about to continue their attack, and Bradrick was about to continue his escape, black flames suddenly burst forth from Bradrick's body.
Everyone was taken aback. Odis looked up and saw Judith staring coldly at Bradrick, clearly not intending to let him leave today.