'The family cemetery located below the Church...'
Sitting in the carriage seat, Dorothy touched her chin and fell into thought after reading the information Misha had written back on the ""wen hai hang zhi"" before her.
'I didn't expect that Ample would be buried directly in the Devonshire family cemetery, not in some remote and strange place. The key is that this family cemetery is quite close, near Tivian, so I don't have to travel far again...'
Dorothy thought this. After going to North Wu, her concept of cemeteries had always been remote and dangerous places. Whether the Devonshire family cemetery was dangerous or not remained to be seen, but at least it wasn't remote.
"Can you tell me more about the specifics of your family cemetery?"
Dorothy then wrote on the communication page of the book-sea navigation record, and Misha quickly replied.
"Why are you suddenly asking about this? Could our family's cemetery be related to the Eight-Pointed Nest?"
"Whether it's related to the Eight-Pointed Nest is currently unknown, but it can now be confirmed that it's related to what Duke Barret was researching. I've found his research partner, and an important clue to their research is now on your ancestor..." Dorothy wrote this on the page, then briefly recounted the information John provided to Misha, avoiding Spirit Sight. Shortly after, Misha replied.
"I see... Duke Barret's research content must indeed be clarified. If what you say is true, and there is an ancestor of Devonshire related to this, then it is necessary to find out... However, I must also remind you not to have any other ulterior motives regarding the Devonshire cemetery besides obtaining information..."
Misha responded to Dorothy like this. After that, she began to introduce the situation of the cemetery in more detail, with subsequent sentences appearing line by line on the page before Dorothy's eyes.
"Our family cemetery is in Loyal Guardian Cemetery, specifically divided into two parts: the Glory Hall beneath the Loyal Guardian Church and the ordinary cemetery outside the Church. Ordinary family members are buried here after death, while outstanding individuals are buried in the Glory Hall.
"The Glory Hall is partially constructed with precious Cold Nether Stone, which can isolate illusory existences like undead and certain Extraordinary effects. The entire Glory Hall is completely sealed off at ordinary times, and no one can enter. The outer wall of the Glory Hall is a very sturdy monolithic giant rock; even trying to dig a tunnel to get in is very difficult. Although this stone wall isn't impossible to destroy, destroying it would cause a huge sound, alarming the cemetery's gravekeepers. If the gravekeepers detect a large noise, they will investigate and immediately contact the An Yin Bureau and the family.
"Inside the Glory Hall, there is an ancient ritual guarding it. This ritual is based on the remains of a large number of strong family members buried in one place as a medium, a bloodline-based protection developed from it, which can cause severe discomfort and weakness to non-family members who enter the cemetery, even making them unable to move. Anyone who is not of the Devonshire family who enters the Glory Hall will trigger this protection.
"This is a'Silence' Spirituality ritual, rumored to have been set up by a powerful North Wu'Silence' Extraordinary hired by a Devonshire ancestor with heavy gold. Many ancient families in Prit and even on the Main Continent have similar rituals to protect their family cemeteries. The power base of this ritual is the remains of a large number of family members buried together."
Misha's important words appeared before Dorothy's eyes. After reading them, Dorothy thoughtfully rubbed her chin, then picked up her pen and continued writing.
"So, to enter the underground cemetery of Devonshire, you must be a member of the Devonshire family?"
"Generally speaking, yes. It will be very uncomfortable for non-Devonshire people to go in. Of course, if people from other families with blood ties to Devonshire come, they can also enter. The stronger the blood tie, the less affected they are, and vice versa.
"Since Devonshire is an ancient noble family of Prit, there are many large families with marital ties to Devonshire, such as the Evenson or Kront families, who have long-term marital relationships with us. Even the Royal Family has quite a few in-laws with us; important members of the Royal Family often marry women from Devonshire. People from these families can also enter the Glory Hall, but they will be affected to some extent."
Misha's responses appeared consecutively before Dorothy's eyes. After reading them once, Dorothy immediately wrote back.
"Then, Misha, as a member of the Devonshire family, you should be able to enter there, right?"
"I should be able to go in, but the problem is, how to get in? The Glory Hall is only opened with great effort when a funeral is held for an outstanding member of the family. At other times, it is very difficult to get in without causing a stir."
Misha's response appeared before Dorothy's eyes. After reading it, Dorothy paused slightly, then wrote.
"Misha, as a Royal Knight, a Chalk Extraordinary yourself, aren't you considered an outstanding member of the Devonshire family?" Dorothy wrote this to Misha, then sat in her seat and waited slowly. After a while, Misha's response finally appeared on the pages of the ""wen hai hang zhi"".
"I think... I should be considered one..."
...
During the day, in the suburbs of Tivian, on a wide green area among the woods, there was a noble cemetery. Long black iron railings extended out, enclosing a large area of lush green grass. On the verdant grass, rows of stone tablets were neatly arranged, recording the passing of former noble members. In the center of this large cemetery, a small Church stood, surrounded by countless tombstones, becoming the core of the family's past.
This is the family cemetery of the old noble family of Preet Kingdom, the Devonshire family, Loyal Guardian Cemetery. Since the beginning of the Hyacinth Dynasty, the Devonshire family has accompanied the Despenser Royal Family. Over the centuries, members of the family have established many merits for the Royal Family. The Royal Family's rewards have given Devonshire a large amount of wealth and land, as well as considerable glory. The high specifications of the Loyal Guardian Cemetery and its excellent location are symbols of this glory.
At this moment, a solemn funeral is being held in the cemetery. In front of the Church in the center of the cemetery, many figures are gathered.
Tall and upright guards are standing guard at the various important entrances and along the roads of the cemetery. In the square in front of the cemetery Church, many men and women wearing plain black formal attire are standing in an orderly manner around the square. Representatives from many prominent noble families of Tivian are mixed among them, watching the scene in the square with solemn and serious expressions.
In the center of the square, a plain black coffin is placed there. An elderly priest of the Church is holding a Holy Scripture and reciting the eulogy in a deep and steady voice, praising the qualities and contributions of the person being buried and expressing regret for him. On the other side of the coffin, an old woman is crying, covering her face. A young man is standing beside her, supporting her. Beside them is also standing a slightly overweight bald old man with a sad expression.
This is the funeral of a significant member of the Devonshire family, Duke Barret's eldest daughter, Misha. She was the pride of the new generation of the Devonshire family but unfortunately sacrificed herself in an accident that occurred during her secret work. Her untimely death caused sadness and regret among the entire family. Her funeral, after careful arrangements, was finally held. As an outstanding member of the younger generation of Devonshire, a Chalk Royal Knight, she is qualified to rest eternally with the outstanding ancestors.
Finally, the old priest finished reading the eulogy and completed the final ceremony. After the entire assembly observed a moment of silence with hats removed, the priest announced that Misha would be sent to the eternal resting place of the Devonshire ancestors. Then, several guards who had been prepared for a long time stepped forward, lifted the placed coffin onto their shoulders, and walked into the Church.
Since Misha did not leave any corpse during the secret accident, the coffin contained only some of Misha's clothes and favorite items that she wore during her life, making it very light.
Although the coffin was light, to show respect for the deceased, the guards responsible for carrying the coffin still walked very slowly and steadily.
The empty coffin was slowly carried into the Church. After bypassing the altar, it was carried down the stairs from the rear part of the Church into the basement. Here, the heavy stone door that was originally sealed shut had now been opened. The funeral procession entered it. After passing through a long downward passage, they entered the underground crypt.
Here was a large underground burial chamber. Four thick stone pillars supported the spacious underground space. On both sides of the space, several tall knight statues stood. On the floor of the space were rows of heavy stone coffins. On the ceiling of the burial chamber space, a large luminous gem was embedded, bringing faint light to the entire dark underground space.
After the funeral procession entered the underground burial chamber, they went directly to a corner. Here, a stone coffin had already been opened. The black coffin was empty. After the funeral procession arrived at the side of the stone coffin, they placed the small wooden coffin they were carrying into the larger stone coffin.
After placing the wooden coffin, the old priest performed the final brief ceremony. Then, several guards who had been carrying the coffin lifted the heavy stone coffin lid and placed it on top of the stone coffin. With a dull thud, the wooden coffin was sealed in eternal darkness.
After completing the last part of the funeral, the funeral procession left the underground cemetery together, returned to the Church above through the original passage, and amidst the roar of mechanisms, the huge stone door slammed shut. The entire underground crypt fell silent once again.
And in the stone coffin that had just been buried, within the wooden coffin that should have contained only clothes, a pair of eyes slowly opened at this moment.
In the darkness inside the wooden coffin, a strange translucent illusory light flowed. Suddenly, this translucent void gradually became real. The original strange light gradually disappeared, replaced by a tangible entity. After a while, a real physical body appeared almost out of thin air in the coffin, and then a sound of breathing echoed in the darkness.
"Hoo..."
Immediately after, the lid of the wooden coffin was pushed open directly, and a black shadow sat up from the coffin that should have been empty. The black shadow was wearing a tight black suit with a hood, and what appeared under the hood was Misha's face.
"I didn't expect that I would have such an experience in this life..."
Sitting in her coffin, Misha looked at the clothes she used to like in the coffin with her night vision ability and couldn't help but sigh softly. Just then, a steady male voice sounded in her mind.
"How does it feel to experience your own funeral while alive, Misha?"
Listening to the voice in her mind, Misha paused slightly, then responded in her thoughts.
"It feels very strange... I kept hearing my mother crying in here and almost couldn't resist lifting the lid to give her a hug. I originally thought that experiencing a pseudo-death once was strange enough, but I didn't expect to experience my own funeral, which is even stranger..."
After responding, Misha raised her hand and brought it before her eyes, examining it carefully. After fully feeling the tangibility of her body, she continued to sigh in her heart.
"But then again, you always manage to surprise me, Rose Cross. A mere prayer can achieve efficient secret communication through a True Name, and the means to control a person's virtual-to-real transformation from such a distance... How many more secrets do you have that can astonish me? As expected of a society that can play tricks on the Eight-Pointed Nest..."
"Thank you for your praise, Captain. We are just using this opportunity to test some methods..."
In a hidden room far away, Dorothy was using the system's "voice changer" to talk with Misha through the consultation channel. In her hand at this moment, she held a small layered ball with exquisite Hollow carvings. This was exactly the ""Shadow"" Divine Artifact, the phantom scale incense cage, that Dorothy had borrowed from Little Fox not long ago.
This Divine Artifact has the powerful function of transforming the user's body from a physical reality into a dream body. Just now, Dorothy used Spirit Silk to transmit the effect of this incense cage to Misha in the distance, transforming her entire being into a dream body, and then had the dream-bodied Misha hide in her pre-prepared empty coffin beforehand.
Since this Glory Hall crypt contains a certain amount of Cold Nether Stone, it cannot be physically traversed through as an illusory body. One can only hide in an empty coffin first and then be carried into the Glory Hall by the funeral procession. From the beginning of the funeral, Misha's dream body was inside the coffin and then carried in by people. Misha's own corpse should not have been in the coffin, so the coffin could not have any extra weight, otherwise, it would arouse suspicion from others.
"Anyway, I'm finally in here now. Now, I just need to open this stone lid..."
Sitting in the coffin, Misha raised her head and muttered to herself, looking at the layer of stone coffin lid above her. Just as Dorothy was about to say something in response, her small Corpse Puppet, which had mixed into the underground burial chamber with the funeral procession, suddenly detected a trace of abnormality.
"Wait... Hold on, don't come out yet."
"Huh?"
As Dorothy spoke and Misha was confused, an abnormal change appeared in the dark burial chamber, within the pitch-black shadows.
A shadow, a pure black shadow, wriggled out from the accumulated darkness in the corner of the burial chamber, slithering forward like a snake on the ground, rapidly crawling on the flat surface.
'This is... a shadow? A shadow acting alone without a corresponding entity?'
Only the moving shadow, with no corresponding entity for the shadow. The eerie shadow, as if it were a living creature itself, strangely "swam" to the center of the burial chamber, then coiled there. After coiling into a circular shape, something slowly rose vertically upwards from the black shadow, a three-dimensional form. It was a person!
As if emerging from a shadow hole, or as if the shadow was directly molded into a physical entity, a figure wearing a hooded cloak, completely concealed and slightly shorter, appeared in the burial chamber. After surveying the large area of stone coffins around, he slowly walked towards the nearest one, came to its side, and looked at the inscription carved on the lid.