Atus West, Dosa.
In the early morning, at the Dosa Train Station, diffused steam spread across the platform floor. Massive steel behemoths were in position on the tracks. Under the strict vigilance of the Adus Revolutionary Army, the long steam train was being loaded and unloaded by busy workers. While supplies were being removed, soldiers from all over Adus also boarded the train, beginning their journey back.
On the platform next to the front of the train, the man named Ney stood there, looking at Shadi General, the leader of the Revolutionary Army who had personally come to see him off, and spoke with a smile.
"Thank you for seeing me off, General. Our trip to Kanak this time was thanks to your assistance and cooperation." Ney said politely to Shadi, who responded solemnly.
"We also want to thank the help from your Church. If it weren't for you, the matter in Kanak would not have been resolved so easily. I think we can deepen this kind of cooperation in the future. If your Church encounters any trouble in Adus or even North Wu, you can contact us, and we will do our best to help."
"Of course, we also attach great importance to a potential partner like Shadi General. Alright, it's about time. Goodbye."
With that, Ney bid farewell to Shadi and prepared to board the train. Just as Ney turned around, Shadi hesitated for a moment before asking again.
"Mr. Ney, there is one more question I would like to ask you about, regarding the whereabouts of King Lakhman's soul... Do you know anything?"
Listening to Shadi's words, Ney paused slightly, then turned back around, looked at Shadi, and continued to speak with a smile.
"King Lakhman is currently looking for a suitable Spirit Field to heal the soul trauma he has suffered over the past hundreds of years. After he recovers, he will travel through the land of Adus to see what Adus is like now. Oh... he also asked me to tell you something, he will always be watching you."
After speaking, Ney turned around and walked towards the train without looking back, boarding the carriage. Shadi stood rooted to the spot for a moment after hearing Ney's words. After he reacted, he put his hands behind his back and sighed softly, a hint of restless anxiety appearing in his eyes. Meanwhile, Seytut within him also let out a laugh.
Finally, the carriage doors of the steam train closed, and a large amount of thick smoke spewed from the locomotive's chimney. The long engine slowly started with a prolonged whistle, its steel wheels turning as it headed into the distance.
...
After obtaining the minyin zunzhan, Dorothy said goodbye to Shadi and left Dosa with Naifnis on the Revolutionary Army's train convoy. After arriving in Mont, they transferred and continued on to Kankdar. After several days of travel, Dorothy finally arrived once again at one of North Wu's gateways, the independent port free city.
After returning to Kankdar, Dorothy let out a long sigh of relief. She immediately found a luxurious hotel in the foreigner's residential area and checked in. She took a good bath and lay down on the soft large bed for a good night's rest, eliminating the discomfort and fatigue accumulated from the long journey. Because the places she visited on this trip were much more remote than before and the living environment was much worse, Dorothy, who was used to never depriving herself in material life, felt a little unaccustomed.
After resting at the hotel for a day, Dorothy went to the Craftsmen's Guild outpost in Kankdar and bought the only two'Shi' (Stone) secret transmission books available there to replenish her Spirituality, spending a total of around 1100 pound in cash. The price was so expensive that Dorothy cursed silently in her heart for a long time.
After buying the secret transmission, Dorothy's cash instantly dropped to just over 200 pound, which immediately made her feel a sense of crisis. However, fortunately, some of Mazhar's assets, such as stock dividends or land rent, happened to be due for income, adding 400 pound to Dorothy's wealth, bringing her cash back to 600 pound, so Dorothy didn't have to worry about her daily expenses while traveling.
However, this time also made Dorothy start to pay more attention to her cash situation. After she returned, she used the [book-sea navigation record] to ask Beverly about the comprehensive inventory and valuation of Mazhar's assets. The answer she got was that the inventory was still in progress. These assets were located in many places across various countries, and just going through all of them would take some time.
Afterwards, Dorothy, in the hotel, began to read the two newly bought secret transmission books to extract Spirituality. The name of the first secret transmission was "Stone of the Tomb", and the author was a North Wu treasure hunter. The content of the secret transmission was a detailed study of a very rare type of rock found inside North Wu tombs, Nether Cold Stone.
Dorothy saw from the secret transmission that the author of this secret transmission claimed that during the perennial tomb raiding activities in North Wu, they would occasionally encounter sturdy tomb chambers built from a strange kind of rock deep within the great curtain. The sturdiness of these tomb chambers surpassed steel; they couldn't be dug open or blown up. No matter how much effort the treasure hunters put in, they could at most make a small mark on them, and trying to open them with ordinary violent methods was as difficult as ascending to heaven. And these tomb chambers happened to be the main chambers where the tomb owner's main Corpse Coffin was placed, the place with the most treasures. These treasure hunters who had finally managed to enter the tomb, looking at the treasures so close, separated only by a wall, could do nothing but stomp their feet in frustration.
And the author of this secret transmission was one of the treasure hunters who had encountered such a tomb chamber. He was originally the leader of a treasure hunting society. During a tomb raiding operation, he encountered this tomb chamber built from dark and cold rock, causing him to miss out on a large amount of treasure behind the wall. Therefore, the author, not believing in evil, decided to thoroughly research what this rock was all about, in order to find a way to open it easily. After more than ten years of searching and investigation from many sources, the author finally learned about this rock and some of its processing techniques.
In the secret transmission, the author pointed out that this rock is called Nether Cold Stone, an Extraordinary brick-stone whose processing technique is mastered and produced by the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild. It is said that the production process of this brick-stone is very complex. It requires going to the Rock World in the Underground World to excavate deep layers of layered stone, then transporting it to the Forged Steel Dome... or rather, the Furnace World belonging to the God of Forging for a first processing, and then sending it to be soaked in the Netherworld River in the Netherworld for at least fifty years. After being retrieved, it undergoes a second processing on the spot, and after forming, it is sent back to the present world.
Because this Nether Cold Stone is not only extremely sturdy but also has the effect of nourishing the soul and aiding deep sleep, it is a good material for building the Spirit Fields and main tomb chambers for "Silence" Extraordinary practitioners. For hundreds of years, the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild has been in the business of selling Nether Cold Stone. Various "Silence" societies, including the Netherworld Coffin Society, and the Royal Family of many countries have come to the Craftsmen's Guild to purchase Nether Cold Stone for building Spirit Fields and tomb chambers. However, fortunately, the price of Nether Cold Stone is outrageously expensive and keeps getting higher. Not all kings are worthy of enjoying this kind of tomb chamber after death, which also made the North Wu treasure hunters breathe a sigh of relief, no longer having to worry about encountering this hard stuff that couldn't be gnawed off in every tomb.
After reading this secret transmission, Dorothy finally understood where the stone she encountered in the Lakheman Royal Tomb came from. It was incredibly hard and could also isolate Extraordinary effects. It turned out that the Craftsmen's Guild, those unscrupulous merchants, created it to make a fortune.
'No wonder that stone was so special. It turns out the forging process is so extraordinary... Just looking at what's written in this secret transmission, it involves three Underground Worlds and at least fifty years. The cost is terrifyingly high. Lakhman really went all out to protect the ritual site for the King Refining Ritual. It's such a pity... I couldn't bring back such a precious stone, otherwise, who knows how much it would sell for. Also, that bunch of spendthrifts like Baruk are really scum. Not only did they restrain their ancestor's soul, but they also swept away all the treasures in the main tomb chamber, leaving nothing behind.'
After finishing the secret transmission in front of her, Dorothy thought this in her heart. At this time, she also realized a noteworthy point, which was the names of the new Underground Worlds: Rock World and Furnace World. Among them, the Furnace World was also called the Forged Steel Dome and seemed to be the territory of the order construct core. This made Dorothy wonder if every different god had a different Underground World as their territory? Did the Dream World belong to that Butterfly God or Moth God? Did the Rock World belong to the Stone Prince? Then who did the Netherworld belong to? The King of the Underworld or the great soul?
After a brief period of thought, Dorothy shifted her attention back to the secret transmission. After extraction, Dorothy obtained 4 "Stone", 1 "Silence", and 1 """enlightenment""" Spirituality from this book "Stone of the Tomb".
Afterwards, Dorothy began to study another secret transmission. The name of this secret transmission was "Gemstone Essentials", and the author was an unnamed "Stone" Extraordinary. He seemed to have an extraordinary study of various present world gemstones, and this book recorded a part of the author's research results.
In the secret transmission, the author elaborated on the mystical significance of gemstones such as rubies and sapphires, and their connection with other Spirituality, and stated that compared to other materials, gemstones are better Spirituality containers and should be used more as raw materials for Spirituality storage items. However, for some reason, the current mainstream choice for raw materials for storage items is mostly metal.
This author spent a considerable amount of space arguing for the superiority of gemstones as raw materials for storage items compared to metal raw materials. Not only are storage items easier to make, but gemstones also have better capacity for Spirituality. He even found some ancient gemstone storage items to prove that in the past, the hidden world indeed primarily used gemstones as raw materials for storage items.
However, in recent centuries, storage items have gradually taken the form of metal currency for some reason. The author believes that this might be a change intentionally promoted by the high-level members of the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild, but he couldn't immediately figure out why the Craftsmen's Guild would do this.
'So... Spirituality storage items used to be mainly in the form of gemstones? They changed into the current metal currency appearance because of the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild's dominance... What was their purpose in doing this? However, compared to'Stone', the nature of the order construct core is indeed more inclined towards metal...'
Looking at the secret transmission in front of her, Dorothy thought in her heart. Then she began to extract Spirituality. From this secret transmission, she obtained a total of 3 "Stone" and 1 """enlightenment""" Spirituality. Adding up the previous ones, Dorothy's current Spirituality reserve became like this.
17 cup, 11 Stone, 9 Shadow, 14 Light, 27 Silence, 50 enlightenment.
Although the overall situation was still slightly poor, fortunately, "Stone", which was the main combat Spirituality, had recovered quite a bit, at least enough to handle a battle.
Looking at her current Spirituality situation, Dorothy, sitting at the hotel table, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. After stretching, she closed the secret transmission on the table, looked at the blue sky and sea outside the window, and then picked up the cup of coffee on the table and took a sip.
'Now the "Silence" divine artifact is also in hand. Next, it should be time to look for clues about other storage items. However, before that, I need to confirm Vanya's situation...'
While thinking, Dorothy placed the coffee cup in her hand back on the table. Then she picked up today's newspaper from the side of the table, unfolded it, and looked at the most eye-catching headline on the front page, looking at the massive title font, which was bolded by several yards.
"Adus Issue Welcomes Major Turning Point! Revolutionary Army Leader Declares Resolute Support for the Church's Status as the Sole Legal Religion within Adus, Respects Holy Mountain's Leadership Position in Global Faith, and Rejects All Otherworld Existence!"
"After more than a month, the Adus religious issue is finally resolved after the return of the Church's special envoy! What role did Sister Vanya, the leader of the special envoy delegation, play? Why was this declaration released a month and a half late? Please turn to page two for analysis by this newspaper's renowned commentator..."
Looking at the information in the newspaper in her hand, Dorothy nodded with satisfaction. After resolving the last resisting enemy in Kanak, Shadi finally completely purged the remaining forces of the Savior Sect in the country and issued a public declaration to the world, demonstrating the stance of the new Adus government. This, without surprise, caused an uproar throughout North Wu.
'Now everything is public and clear. Even the opposition within the Church probably can't ignore Vanya's achievements. Now let's see what kind of reward such a large Church will give our Sister...'
Putting down the newspaper, Dorothy looked out the window at the sky, thinking with anticipation.
...
A few days later, in the Church not far from the White Dove Hotel in the Kankdar foreigner's residential area.
Inside the bright and spacious chapel, a Sister in white was kneeling on the carpet. Vanya was praying devoutly with her hands clasped together. Sunlight shone through the stained glass window in front, depicting the Holy Mother, casting colorful light spots onto the white Sister's habit.
At this moment, standing in front of Vanya was an elderly man wearing a bishop's cassock. On both sides of the chapel were rows of priests and Sisters also praying. The bishop silently watched the devout Vanya in front of him. In his hand, he held an exquisitely decorated long wooden box.
"Sister Vanya, your efforts in Adus have been recognized. Your pious heart, willing to sacrifice and become a martyr in fighting the otherworld with other guards, has been inspired by the Lord. You will receive blessings because of this..."
Saying this, the old bishop handed the long box in his hand to Vanya. Vanya devoutly raised her hands, took the long box, and whispered.
"Thank the Lord..."
After seeing Vanya take the long box, the old bishop straightened up again and then continued to speak to Vanya.
"What you hold in your hand is Vita Meo's Holy Relic Scripture Scroll. It once contained the remains of past saints and was also used by the current saint as a missionary scripture. It is one of the important secret treasures of the saint church, a well-deserved Holy Relic."
"Now, it is entrusted to you for safekeeping. You will become the Holy Relic Keeper of the Holy Relic Scripture. You will hold the saint's Holy Relic, pilgrimage to various places, and reveal the Lord's grace. The Holy Relic will protect you from disaster and evil, and the Holy Relic will help you preach the gospel."
With an extremely solemn tone, the old bishop spoke to Vanya. After listening to the old bishop's words, Vanya also slowly bowed while holding the long box.
"Vanya... will definitely not fail the mission and will spread the Lord's grace..."
Seeing Vanya's extremely devout appearance, the old bishop nodded in satisfaction and then continued to speak.
"Yes... The guards who survived the trip to Adus with you have all received promotions and commendations. They have all been incorporated into the newly established Pilgrimage Guard Corps specifically for you, which you will command fully to protect the safety of the Holy Relic. Your pilgrimage will begin soon."