To the west of the Main Continent, across the vast ocean, lay the New Continent—the land known to the people of the current Fourth Epoch.
A little earlier, in the heartland of the Starfall Continent, the Ancestral Valley, the supreme sacred site of Shamanism normally hidden behind powerful restrictions, had been opened once again to the people of this land for the performance of an ancient, sacred ritual.
Shamans from various tribes across the Starfall Continent, having received the summons, led their Spirits and followers on long journeys from all directions, converging here to create the largest Shaman gathering of this epoch.
At dusk, the light of the setting sun in the western sky shone upon the magnificent Ancestral Valley. Countless tribal-style tents of the Starfall Continent were erected across the wide valley, and wisps of cooking smoke rose among them, drifting up into the heavens.
Camping within the valley, hundreds of Shamans from all parts of the continent were mostly in their own camps, focusing intently on meditating toward the massive totem pole in the center of the valley, preparing for the ancient ritual that was about to commence.
On the edge of the valley, atop a towering cliff, within a patch of woods slightly removed from the main gathering, a smaller ritual was currently being held, preceding the Great Desolation Sacrifice, and the participants were mostly Shamans.
In a clearing within the forest, a large "Silence" Rune Array, emitting a faint glow, was drawn on the ground. Six figures were seated in a circle around the edge of the "Silence" Array. Upon closer inspection, they were six Shamans of varying appearances and attire. They sat cross-legged with their eyes closed, continuously murmuring incantations.
Surrounding the Shamans, several powerful, animal-shaped Spirit bodies of different forms were suspended in the air. These were Wilderness Spirits summoned by the Shamans. Facing the array, they emitted strange lights, seeming to participate in the ritual as well.
At the center of the large array sat a beautiful, dark-skinned woman. This was Neffernis. Currently, she was meditating as the focus of the ritual within the powerful spiritual field. Amidst the Shamans' chants and the vortex of the potent spiritual field, Neff kept her eyes tightly shut, her expression grave, and fine beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. She seemed to be enduring something intense.
Floating in front of Neffernis was a translucent, spirit-like object. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an ancient chalice with slight signs of cracking. Inside the chalice, a swirl of eerie green light rapidly rotated. If one looked closely, many human faces could be faintly seen within the light, and sharp wails seemed to emanate from within.
The spirit-like chalice floated before Neffernis, then slowly moved closer to her, eventually passing through her chest and merging into her body. Immediately afterward, the light from the array beneath her intensified greatly, and the chanting of the surrounding Shamans grew louder.
The ritual seemed to have entered a critical phase. During this time, Neff, who was at the center of the ceremony, looked increasingly distressed. Her breathing became more rapid, she sweated more profusely, and the sensation of unbearable pressure was clearly intensifying. However, Neff continued to persist with all her might.
After lasting for three or four minutes, this situation finally ceased, and the entire ritual began to draw to a close. As the array's light gradually dimmed, Neff's breathing slowly calmed down, and her previously furrowed brow relaxed. When the Shamans stopped their chanting, the entire array faded and completely vanished, and Neff let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew... finally..."
After taking several deep breaths, Neff calmed herself down, then slowly stood up and walked forward. In front of her, the Shamans who had performed the ritual were also getting up one by one. The leading figure among them walked toward her—a female Shaman with dramatic body paint, a bone crown, long black hair, and a flowing robe. Guarded by a leopard-shaped Wilderness Spirit, she looked at the approaching Neff.
"The ritual is complete. As per Uta's request, we have placed the souls into the vessel and implanted it into your spiritual body. The rest is up to you, outsider."
"Be vigilant at all times. Stabilize the technique within your spiritual body and suppress those souls, or the consequences will be severe."
"Ah... Thank you, Shaman Lali, and thank you all..." Neff said gratefully in the Spiritual Seal language as she approached the female Shaman. When she saw the other Shamans gathering nearby, Neff thanked them individually as well.
"If you want to thank someone, thank Shaman Uta. If it weren't for his request, we wouldn't have considered helping an outsider from across the sea," a male Shaman said upon hearing Neff's gratitude. Another Shaman, who looked rougher, then spoke up.
"Outsiders from across the sea usually only bring us disaster and suffering. Since Shaman Uta is willing to help you, it proves that you are different from those other outsiders."
"That's right. Shaman Uta said that you have contributed to the harmony of this land, so we are naturally willing to help you. After the ritual you need to perform is finished, remember to release those souls."
Several Shamans gathered around Neff and conversed with her, and Neff responded politely to each of the Shamans who had just helped her.
Neffernis's main purpose in coming to the New Continent was to complete her promotion ritual. The high-spec spiritual field, soul resonance, Thousand Soul Suppression, and many other ritual requirements could all be conveniently fulfilled in the New Continent. Therefore, Neff had already embarked on her journey to the New Continent even before Dorothy discovered the anomaly in Frisland.
Neff was extremely lucky to catch the once-in-a-lifetime Great Desolation Sacrifice, which allowed her to perform her ritual much more easily, so Dorothy did not call her back.
Catching the Great Desolation Sacrifice was extremely fortunate for Neff's promotion. As the supreme holy land of Shamanism, the Ancestral Valley only lifted its restrictions so widely and opened almost completely to the outside world during the Great Desolation Sacrifice. This place could be considered the highest-spec spiritual field in the entire world, far exceeding the requirements of Neff's promotion ritual. In fact, her ceremony did not even require the best location in the center of the Ancestral Valley but could be performed merely in the peripheral areas.
Originally, Neff had only hoped to find a Desolation Sacrifice site on the New Continent to use as the ritual location, never expecting to be able to enter a holy land like the Ancestral Valley to perform the ceremony.
After arriving at the Ancestral Valley, Uta immediately began arranging the ritual for Neff. The first step of the ceremony, resonance with a Crimson Attainment-level soul, was personally presided over by Uta. He channeled the wraith of Rachman, and Neff used Rachman as the target for the resonance. Under Uta's guidance and with the blessing of the Ancestral Valley's extremely favorable spiritual environment, the resonance ritual succeeded smoothly.
After the successful resonance, Uta took the exhausted Rachman away to recover elsewhere in the Ancestral Valley, while Neff remained on site and immediately began the next step of her promotion: the Thousand Soul Suppression.
To help Neff complete this step, Uta directly invited six other Shamans who were close to him from the valley encampment to assist her with this ritual process.
It was extremely difficult for Neff to suppress a thousand souls simultaneously within a short period, and Neff alone could not accomplish it.
Even with the blessing of a super-spec spiritual field and the assistance of six Shamans plus their Wilderness Spirits, it would still require a vast amount of time and effort to prepare the ritual. However, the Ancestral Valley's opening time was limited, and the Shamans still had to attend the Great Desolation Sacrifice, leaving no time for such extensive preparations. They needed to find an alternative method.
After discussing it with the Shamans, Neff devised a method: using the Lamp of the Underworld's Guidance, which had not yet been fully repaired, to participate in the ritual. The Shamans first channeled a thousand souls sequentially from the shallow layers of the Netherworld, guided and sealed these souls into the Lamp of the Underworld's Guidance (a Divine Artifact), and then, using the Lamp combined with the Shamans' power, they created a seal to contain the souls. Finally, the Lamp of the Underworld's Guidance was spiritualized and merged into Neff's soul.
Although the Lamp of the Underworld's Guidance was still somewhat damaged, it was capable of sealing a thousand ordinary souls with the Shamans' assistance.
This entire operation was equivalent to putting a seal around the thousand souls before inserting them into Neff's soul, drastically reducing the pressure Neff faced during the soul suppression process.
The entire ritual proceeded very smoothly. The sealed collection of souls had now been successfully suppressed within Neff's spiritual body, and she only needed to maintain this state for a few hours.
After the ritual concluded, Neff thanked and bid farewell to the assisting Shamans one by one. As she said goodbye to the last person, Shaman Lali, who was accompanied by the leopard Wilderness Spirit, Neff suddenly paused slightly. She heard a familiar voice inside her mind, and following its instructions, she skillfully asked Lali a question.
"By the way, Shaman Lali, all of you decided to help me because of Shaman Uta. You helped a complete stranger from across the sea based on his word alone. Your relationship with him must be quite close, right?"
Neff asked this as Lali was about to leave. Hearing Neff's words, Lali paused slightly, then spoke frankly.
"Close... not exactly. We hold Shaman Uta in respect more than we have a particularly close relationship with him."
"Respect?"
"Yes. Shaman Uta is highly respected among the tribal Shamans and often mentors younger generations. You should have noticed that the Shamans who helped you with the ritual this time are generally younger—they are the youth among the tribal Shamans. When we were traveling and cultivating before becoming Shamans, we all visited Shaman Uta's tribe and received varying degrees of guidance from him."
"As a highly knowledgeable elder Shaman, his guidance was extremely helpful to us at the time. His instruction played a crucial role in allowing us to complete our cultivation and eventually become Shamans."
Lali recounted this while reminiscing to Neff. Neff's expression hardened upon hearing Lali's words, and she spoke again.
"Guidance... You and the other five... were all taught by Shaman Uta?"
"Yes, and not just us. Shaman Uta's experience and knowledge are renowned throughout the Eastern Lands. Many apprentices undergoing cultivation travel great distances to visit him and seek advice. We six are just the ones he mentored for a relatively long time—in a sense, we are his half-disciples. Since Shaman Uta had a request today, we naturally wouldn't refuse."
Lali responded to Neff in this way, and Neff listened while curiously asking another question.
"Shaman Uta... does he really have such great influence? Is this common among ordinary tribal Shamans?"
"It is not common," Lali answered directly, then pondered for a moment before continuing.
"Shaman Uta is perhaps the most influential Shaman in the entire Eastern Lands. Even when he was young, his vast knowledge, channeling experience, and skill in interacting with spirits were already beyond the reach of many elder Shamans of other tribes."
"In the Eastern Lands, the only one whose abilities can be compared to Shaman Uta's is the Guardian of the Eastern Wilderness Spirit Land, Great Shaman Onayda."
Lali spoke thus, and Neff's eyes lit up upon hearing his words. She then asked again.
"In that case, Shaman Uta possesses the qualities of a Great Shaman, aside from his power? Do you know where these qualities come from? Is there a possibility of Shaman Uta becoming a Great Shaman?"
"You're asking where Shaman Uta's extraordinary wisdom comes from? I don't know that. I only know that he was already famous for that wisdom when he was young."
"As for whether Shaman Uta might become a Great Shaman... I can say yes, but the possibility is low at the current stage."
Lali quickly responded to Neff's query, and Neff immediately followed up with a question.
"Low possibility... Why?"
"Because at the current stage, there are no vacancies among the Four Great Shamans," Lali replied to Neffernis. Seeing the slight confusion in her eyes, he continued.
"As an outsider, you may not know this, but here, the method of achieving the Four Great Shamans is controlled by the most respected True Spirit Shaman. The Four Great Shamans guard the four Wilderness Spirit Lands, and only when a Great Shaman's position becomes vacant does the True Spirit Shaman begin selecting a successor."
"When a vacancy among the Four Great Shamans appears, the True Spirit Shaman notifies the tribal Shamans in that region, instructing interested candidates to come to the Ancestral Valley. Those who pass the preliminary trial here leave a token for documentation. The True Spirit Shaman then informs these qualified candidates of the cultivation method required to become a Great Shaman, sending them out on a journey of experience across the land. Guided by their own talents, the qualifiers traverse various unknown secret realms, undergo trials, temper themselves, gain experience, and uncover secrets, thereby achieving rapid and gradual growth."
"These trials are extremely dangerous and require staking one's life. It is said that passing even one is a near-death experience. Only those with superhuman talent and perseverance can complete all the trials, finish their growth, and be the first among all others to return to the Ancestral Valley to complete the final step of cultivation with the help of the True Spirit Shaman, thereby becoming a Great Shaman."
"Therefore, the opportunity to achieve Great Shaman status only arises when there is a vacancy among the Four Great Shamans. Currently, all four Great Shamans are alive and well, and the time elapsed since the last trial concluded is not very long. Although Shaman Uta has the capability, he does not meet the conditions to become a Great Shaman."
Lali patiently explained this to Neff. Hearing Lali's explanation, Neff nodded understandingly, then continued to ask.
"I saw your Four Great Shamans earlier—the four standing closest to the Great Totem Pole, right? One of them looked quite young. Did he become a Great Shaman recently?"
Hearing Neff's question, Lali raised an eyebrow slightly before answering.
"Oh... you mean Pasadico, the Great Shaman of the Western Lands, right? To my knowledge, he is indeed the youngest of the current Four Great Shamans, having only held the title for just over forty years. Rumor has it that he was the successor newly selected through trials after the previous Western Great Shaman, Chaba Kunka, was exiled for falling into the wicked path of Spirit Witches. He was quite young when he first became a Great Shaman, and his aging slowed afterward. The passage of forty years hasn't visibly altered him much, which is why he appears younger than the others."
Larry replied to Neff accordingly. After listening, Neff couldn't help but pause, deep in thought, before continuing to address Larry.
"I see... Thank you very much, Shaman Larry. The culture of this continent is truly fascinating..." Neff said. After exchanging a few more brief words with him, she formally bid him farewell. Larry, utilizing his power, mounted the spirit leopard—a Wilderness Spirit—and sped off toward the Valley Camp ahead of them.
After all the shamans had departed, Neff, left alone, first tidied up the ritual site slightly before heading toward the Valley Camp herself. Midway, she encountered Kapak, who had come to meet her.
"Well? Miss Thief, how did the ritual proceed?" Kapak asked directly upon seeing Neff on the forest path, and Neff immediately replied.
"It went well... The sealing ritual was a success. We just need to wait a while before releasing these spirits. Now we can start considering how to execute the final phase of the ritual." Neff told Kapak. Hearing her words, Kapak relaxed slightly before speaking in a somewhat solemn tone.
"Regarding the final phase of Miss Thief's ritual, Teacher Uta just finished discussing it with his friends and has reached a preliminary conclusion."
"A preliminary conclusion... What does that entail?" Neff asked with interest, and Kapak continued his explanation.
"According to Teacher Uta, returning to the Material World from the depths of the Spirit World—a location extremely close to the Great Soul—requires nothing more than two conditions: a powerful spiritual will and powerful channeling ability."
"The closer the spirit gets to the Great Soul, the more it is affected by a powerful Force of Return. Initially, the spirit is involuntarily pulled by the Great Soul, and then its will is slowly worn down, causing it to actively seek return to the Great Soul. During this process, only the inherent strength of the spirit can barely resist. If the spirit itself is strong enough, it can break free from the Force of Return and re-enter the Material World. However, this level of spiritual strength is not something common shamans—or what you call Chalk-rank Beyonders on your continent—possess. Without employing other special techniques, relying solely on one's own power makes the return impossible."
"Therefore... Miss Thief, your ritual will likely require powerful channeling ability as an aid. Sufficiently powerful channeling ability can not only guide your soul within the Spirit World but also pull your soul up from the Material World. This is the method for assisting you in completing the ritual from the Material World's perspective." Kapak explained to Neff, who immediately began pondering the implications.
Regarding the final step of her advancement ritual—the Return Ritual—she had previously learned about various execution methods. According to the confession given to the Church by Garib, the captured leader of the Bone Sand Society, the Treasure Plundering Society had its own approaches: they would either summon Inner World creatures from the Spirit World, offer them rewards, and contract them to assist the return, or they would use dark magic to devour a large number of souls to temporarily boost their spiritual strength. For Neff, however, most of these methods were impractical. Fortunately, she had the connections of the New World Shamans. Provided the ritual was properly set up, the shamans could use powerful channeling to literally 'fish' Neff's soul out of the Material World.
These shamans... they truly are too useful... Neff sighed internally, then smiled and spoke to Kapak.
"Ha, causing trouble for those shamans again... I feel a little awkward about it. So, when will Shaman Uta arrange this final ritual for me?"
"In that case... we will likely have to wait until after the Great Wilderness Festival is complete. To ensure the powerful channeling ability required for Miss Thief's smooth return, we need more shamans involved in the ritual—more than those who attended today. This requires Teacher Uta to spend more time contacting and negotiating, so the assembly should happen after the Great Wilderness Festival..." Kapak explained as they walked forward. Neff nodded in understanding.
"It's fine, time is not an issue... I'll just have to trouble Shaman Uta again then. I honestly hadn't realized Shaman Uta held such a prominent position here in the New Continent. If it weren't for him, my advancement ritual would probably have been far more difficult..."
Neff spoke with emotion, and Kapak chimed in in agreement.
"Yes, it is incredibly fortunate for our tribe to have Teacher Uta as our shaman. Over the past forty years, we have truly been blessed by the teacher's generosity."
"Yes, to be able to have..."
Neff continued speaking, agreeing with Kapak, but just as she started her sentence, the familiar voice suddenly echoed in her mind again, interrupting her and causing her to freeze in surprise. This made Kapak, standing beside her, frown slightly.
"What's wrong, Miss Thief?"
"No, nothing... It's that person contacting me. She wants me to ask you... How long has Shaman Uta been with your tribe?"
Neff asked directly, her gaze slightly serious. Kapak was initially confused, but upon hearing the reference to "that person," he immediately responded solemnly.
"Teacher Uta was already serving as a shaman in the tribe before I was even born... As far as I know, he has been with our tribe for roughly forty years..."
"Forty years... Do you know how Shaman Uta came to your tribe? Is he originally a member of your tribe?" Neff pressed Kapak, who answered while deep in thought.
"Well... I once heard the teacher say that he is not a member of our Tupa Tribe, but a Wandering Shaman who came from the west. Forty years ago, when he was young, he suddenly felt lost and weary during his long journey of practice, so he found a tribe nearby and settled down, and he has remained here ever since... In short, our tribe was fortunate to encounter Teacher Uta..."
Kapak continued speaking to Neff, but Neff, having heard his words and then the voice in her mind again, immediately saw her expression change slightly.
"Hurry... Kapak, we must return to the camp immediately. There are some things I need to confirm with Shaman Uta." After this brief statement, Neff quickened her pace toward the camp. Kapak looked puzzled, but after a moment, he stopped thinking about it and hurried to follow her closely.
The two moved quickly along the forest path, but before they had gone far, two figures suddenly appeared ahead. Upon closer inspection, they realized these were several indigenous warriors holding spears, staring sternly at Neff and Kapak.
"Stop... Stranger, young man, there was an unusual soul fluctuation in this area just now. The Western Great Shaman has ordered us to investigate. Please cooperate and come with us."
The leading warrior spoke directly to Kapak and Neff. After clearly hearing his words, Kapak turned his head and whispered to Neff.
"These seem to be the Great Shaman's people. The fluctuation during the ritual must have been sensed by a Great Shaman, who sent people to investigate. We should go with them and explain the situation clearly. The ritual posed no threat to the Ancestral Valley or the Great Wilderness Festival, so once we explain, we'll be fine." Kapak told Neff. Hearing his reassurance, Neff felt slightly relieved and began to speak.
"I see, in that case, we will..."
Just as Neff was about to continue speaking, the familiar voice inside her suddenly spoke again, urgently warning her. Upon hearing the voice, Neff froze completely, her eyes widening slightly.
"The Great Shaman... No, absolutely not, we cannot go with them. Run... Run immediately!"
As she spoke, Neff immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction. Kapak was completely stunned by her reaction. Although he didn't fully grasp the situation after recovering slightly, he didn't question Neff's action, immediately turning and running after her.
However, before they had run far, a figure descended from the sky and landed directly in front of them, blocking their escape.
A long black robe adorned with feathers draped over his body. His lengthy staff was covered in strips of cloth inscribed with runes. A hand-shaped facial tattoo was painted on his brown, youthful face, and his long black hair, gathered in several bundles by a hair clip, flowed down his back.
The shaman who now stood before Neff and Kapak appeared to be a young man. Both Neff and Kapak had previously seen this shaman standing near the giant totem pole in the valley. It was Pasadico, one of the Four Great Shamans, the Western Great Shaman following Chaba Kunka, and the youngest Great Shaman!
"G-Great Shaman..."
"Quick, run!"
Kapak was startled by Pasadico's sudden appearance, while Neff, seeing the situation, spoke a quick command before turning and sprinting rapidly in a different direction. Pasadico cast a cold glance at the pair, then silently extended his hand.
"Soul Restraint..."
As Pasadico silently chanted, several spirit-like long ropes suddenly erupted from the ground beneath Neff and Kapak, quickly circling and binding their bodies. Once restrained by these ropes, Neff and Kapak instantly felt their souls suppressed by a powerful force. This spiritual suppression, transmitted to their physical bodies, left them completely unable to move.
'This is bad...'
'Such powerful suppression... Is this truly a Great Shaman? He feels even stronger than the one I encountered previously in Rahman's tomb...'
Instantly controlled, Neff and Kapak struggled fiercely while thinking internally. In the midst of his struggle, Kapak urgently looked at Pasadico and spoke.
"You... You must be Lord Pasadico, right? Please release us. There must be some misunderstanding here that we can explain clearly!"
Kapak spoke urgently to Pasadico, but Pasadico did not reply immediately. Instead, he stared coldly at the two of them before speaking indifferently.
"Whether there was a misunderstanding or not, you both know clearly... Die, along with the things you shouldn't know..."
Following his cold statement, Pasadico activated his ability. Unwilling to waste further breath, he prepared to kill Neff and Kapak directly at the soul level, transforming their living souls into dead ones.
Realizing the opponent had absolutely no intention of negotiating, Neff widened her fearful eyes. Then, in this critical moment, she began activating a power within her soul, causing a slight fluctuation. Pasadico frowned upon sensing this disturbance and immediately halted his lethal action.
"Hoo... hoo... Please don't rush to act, Lord Great Shaman. Otherwise, everyone in the valley will know what happened here. You wouldn't want to expose yourself prematurely before your plan is complete, would you?"
Breathing heavily, Neff stared at Pasadico and spoke. Pasadico stared solemnly at Neff for a moment, then silently lowered his hand. He then inspected the condition of Neff and Kapak, speaking coldly as he did so.
"Within the spirit body... something like this exists? Interesting..."
What stopped Pasadico's killing attempt at that moment was the Lamp of Underworld Guidance (The Lamp of the Underworld) within Neff's spirit body, which sealed thousands of souls. Just as Pasadico was about to strike Neff, she stimulated the Lamp's spirituality, causing it to overload. In this state, any major impact on Neff's soul—such as death, separation from the body, or severe damage—would cause her to lose control of the overloaded Lamp of Underworld Guidance. The uncontrolled Lamp would collapse, detonating the thousand souls contained within it.
The explosion of a Divine Artifact, triggered by a thousand souls, was sufficient to cause a large-scale Spiritual Calamity. Although Pasadico's power was formidable, seemingly exceeding the scope of an ordinary Great Shaman, a Spiritual Calamity of this scale would still struggle to truly harm him. Crucially, however, it was more than enough to attract the attention of the numerous shamans in the Ancestral Valley.
The other three Great Shamans, plus the True Spirit Shaman who had not yet appeared, would rush over when drawn by the Spiritual Calamity, and Pasadico would be unable to escape. He might successfully deceive the True Spirit Shaman and temporarily avoid hostility, but he would certainly be suspected and placed under close surveillance.
Thanks to the information from "that person," Neff knew that Pasadico was certainly up to no good. He was definitely not aligned with the Shamanic faith. He must have some secret plan for the upcoming Great Wilderness Festival. If the True Spirit Shaman and the other Great Shamans suspected him and became wary, that plan would likely be impossible to execute smoothly.
Therefore, guided by the voice in her heart and understanding the critical nature of the situation, Neff used the threat of self-detonating the soul-filled Lamp of Underworld Guidance within her body, successfully stopping Pasadico from acting immediately.
Neff's threat was effective; Pasadico could not immediately deliver a killing blow. However, this did not mean that Pasadico was left without options against Neff.
"Don't get ahead of yourself... woman..."
Facing Nephniss, Passadico spoke while once again extending his hand. After changing his gesture, he casually waved, and then, beneath Nephniss's feet, a "Silence" array lit up. Within that array, Neph's entire body gradually turned transparent; under the influence of Passadico's power, her physical body began rapidly turning into a spirit body!
"This is—!"
Nephniss was astonished by the strange changes in her body. At that moment, Passadico waved his hand again, and the array beneath Nephniss began to darken, eventually transforming into a pitch-black void, like a deep well leading straight underground.
"Exile..."
Amidst the soft murmur, a powerful suction force emerged from the black hole. The spiritualized Nephniss was dragged and pulled directly inside by this attraction, falling into the darkness with a scream.
'Miss Thief!'
Kapak, who was nearby, saw this scene and desperately wanted to grab the falling Neph, but since he himself couldn't move, he failed. He could only watch helplessly as Nephniss fell into the black hole, which then reverted to an array and quickly vanished into nothingness.
Banishment to the Nether Realm—this was Passadico's method for dealing with Neph, this soul suicide bomb. Since she couldn't be killed, her soul couldn't be dispersed or extracted, and she couldn't be rendered unconscious, and transporting her away from the Ancestral Valley for disposal was risky (as she might detonate the bomb herself if she felt the threat had failed), then only exile remained as an option.
Utilizing his powerful reverse-communion ability, he directly exiled Nephniss, this unstable danger factor, to the deep recesses of the Nether Realm, a place from which she absolutely could not return. Even if she detonated her bomb there, it would not cause the slightest ripple in the current world. This was Passadico's method of disposal.
After finishing the disposal of Nephniss, Passadico turned his head to look at Kapak, who was still restrained and glaring at him furiously.
"You... are you also a traitor? Are you aligned with those who betrayed the Great Soul?! One of those so-called... Coffin of the Underworld Cult members?"
Kapak spoke angrily, staring at Passadico, but Passadico ignored Kapak's words. He was currently analyzing Kapak's soul intently, finding many unusual points within it.
"So many soul implantation techniques... the defensive measures against accidents are almost perfect, aren't they... You truly have a good teacher, kid."
To avoid stepping into a trap, Passadico couldn't help but whisper after finishing his analysis of Kapak's soul. He could clearly see that Kapak's soul had some kind of external link, connecting it to the soul of another person. The two souls seemed to be bound together through a complex ritual. If he were to kill Kapak or destroy Kapak's soul here, the linked entity would immediately become aware of Kapak's situation and might even discern his specific mental state.
This type of soul connection seemed to be enacted by a ritualistic secret technique, a modified application of the Shaman's Chain of Souls ability. The Shaman's Chain of Souls could link different souls together, ensuring mutual prosperity or ruin. The link on Kapak, however, was much weaker, yet it could exist long-term, allowing both linked parties to instantly know of any major changes happening to the other. Passadico was seeing this for the first time and felt quite surprised.
'A genius invention... approaching the rank of Crimson Purity... It seems it's him... After disappearing without a trace back then, he actually took on disciples elsewhere...'
Gazing at Kapak, Passadico mused internally. He then recalled a face from the past and, after reviewing the individual's past abilities, Passadico decided not to dispose of Kapak immediately.
Passadico needed to spend some time finding a way to sever this soul connection before he could safely kill Kapak. Otherwise, the linked individual would gain information from Kapak's dying emotions, which would also be detrimental to his plans.
Thanks to his teacher's protective measures for his disciple, Kapak temporarily managed to save his life. Passadico planned to leave him until after the Great Desolation Ceremony before taking action. Naturally, before that, he needed to completely strip Kapak of all ability to act.
Facing Kapak, Passadico first pulled a bone shard from his clothes and then gently made an upward sweeping gesture. Immediately, Kapak's entire body stiffened, and his translucent soul directly left his body, spiraling and twisting toward Passadico, gathering and adhering to the bone shard, sealing itself within. Kapak, now soulless, collapsed onto the ground like a broken puppet.
Because of the soul link, something was constantly tethering Kapak's soul to the current world. Passadico worried that Banishment to the Nether Realm might not send him deep enough and that he could easily be summoned back. Therefore, he chose sealing. By sealing Kapak's soul in the form of a living soul around his body, he could greatly reduce the impact on the soul, making it impossible for the other end of the link to perceive the change.
"Take this, transport him away along with his body, and find a place to reinforce the spiritual seal. After the Great Desolation Ceremony is over, I will deal with him."
Passadico spoke plainly, looking at the several warrior-like subordinates walking over from nearby. He then handed the bone shard in his hand to them. After receiving the shard, the warriors respectfully bowed to Passadico, hoisted Kapak's body, and carried him away.
Next, Passadico turned his head, looked toward the valley, gazed at the towering giant totem pole, and resumed his steps... Northern Main Continent, Friesland.
At night, in a luxury suite at a hotel in Yarnstel, Dorothy slowly stood up with a heavy expression from her seat on the balcony. She walked up to the railing and looked solemnly toward the distant west.
'Among the Four Great Shamans... there is actually a member of the Coffin of the Underworld mixed in. This is truly bad...'
Rubbing the corner of her eye, Dorothy thought seriously to herself. By the time she realized there might be a problem among the Four Great Shamans, it was already too late.
Previously, Dorothy had always been interested in Uta's situation. As an elder with extremely rich knowledge and experience, he was only an ordinary tribal shaman. Even when someone like Harald, who was ancient and royal, sensed something abnormal, Uta himself felt nothing was wrong, which alerted Dorothy to the anomaly.
Therefore, taking advantage of the end of the Soul Sealing Ceremony, Dorothy had Neph consult the other shamans about Uta's situation. From this, she learned about the selection mechanism for the Shamanism's Great Shaman. Combining this information with Kapak's later words, she immediately perceived the root of the problem.
The selection for the Great Shaman takes place after a vacancy occurs. It is open to all qualified individuals who pass the initial trial before the True Spirit Shaman. These qualifiers follow the guidance provided beforehand by the True Spirit Shaman, traveling throughout the entire New Continent, undergoing various trials in different secret realms, increasing their experience, enriching their knowledge, learning secrets, and growing rapidly. Whoever completes all the trials first and returns to the Ancestral Valley can be promoted to the new Great Shaman.
The most recent selection for a tribal shaman was forty years ago, filling the vacancy for the Western Great Shaman. According to Kapak, Uta also arrived at the Tupa Tribe from the West forty years ago, filled with confusion upon arrival. This matched perfectly: forty years ago, the West, a confused wandering shaman possessing knowledge and experience far surpassing an ordinary shaman. Combining all these factors, Dorothy could deduce that Uta was very likely one of the participants in that year's Great Shaman selection, and one who was close to succeeding!
The Great Shaman's journey and trials were likely not just a test, but also a form of learning itself, and the preliminary stage of the promotion ceremony. Under the guidance of the True Spirit Shaman, these participants could enter more unknown secret realms. While undergoing trials in extreme danger, they could also rapidly accumulate the knowledge and experience necessary for a Great Shaman, learning various secrets.
If someone could survive all these trials without losing their life, they could be considered a fully qualified quasi-Great Shaman, possessing all the necessary qualities. Returning to the Ancestral Valley was likely the final step of the ceremony to fully complete the promotion. Uta might have been the person who completed numerous trials that year, standing just one step away from achieving promotion.
As for why Uta ultimately did not return to the Ancestral Valley, but instead wandered in confusion to the Tupa Tribe, becoming their tribal shaman haphazardly, and still feeling nothing was amiss even when Harald noticed the anomaly—the reason was difficult for the former Dorothy to ascertain. However, having witnessed the divine methods of the Coffin of the Underworld, she immediately suspected this was a conspiracy orchestrated by the Coffin of the Underworld.
If the Coffin of the Underworld wanted to guarantee their chosen person succeeded in this selection, what method would they use? The most direct method would be to fully support their candidate while quietly eliminating the other competitors during the traveling trials. However, this posed several problems: first, the other competitors were spread across the continent and difficult to track down; second, the True Spirit Shaman, as the ceremony's host, had the capability to commune with and question participants who died during the trials. Direct murder carried a high risk of exposure.
Therefore, under these circumstances, a better solution than murder was to use the power of the Underworld King's divinity to induce forgetfulness.
As long as they could collect a small amount of information or personal items from the other candidates in the Ancestral Valley or at other trial locations, the Coffin of the Underworld could leverage divinity to make the most outstanding candidates forget their purpose at the very end, plunging them into confusion. In this way, the Coffin of the Underworld's protégé would become the new Great Shaman with zero competition.
And then, they would certainly participate in today's Great Desolation Ceremony forty years later, occupying a key position in this grand ritual... This was the reason Dorothy first thought of to explain the phenomena surrounding Uta. If Uta's identity as a participant in the Great Shaman selection forty years ago was true, then, given that he had forgotten the selection event, the suspicion would fall heavily upon the victor of that selection. After all, how could a person simply forget something they risked their life to achieve? As long as Uta could be confirmed as a candidate from that year, then the Western Shaman of today was highly problematic.
'The Coffin of the Underworld... wants to do something during the Great Desolation Ceremony! Their target is likely the Divine Eagle Suun!'
At this moment, Dorothy understood the Coffin of the Underworld's intentions more clearly. For today, they had been laying their plans for decades... perhaps even centuries!
'I must immediately notify Uta... about the Coffin of the Underworld's intentions and Passadico's true identity. But now... neither Neph nor Kapak can move freely... What should I do?'
Frowning, Dorothy thought urgently to herself. After realizing Passadico might be compromised, she immediately sent Neph and Kapak to find Uta for confirmation. Under the blessing of Dorothy's "Revelation" divinity, as long as Neph continuously asked Uta targeted questions, Uta would surely recall something. However, she hadn't expected that before Dorothy's confirmation process could even begin, the opponent this time had actively sought them out and intercepted the pair. Since Dorothy was in distant Friesland, most of her abilities could not effectively support them, and they were completely unable to contend with Passadico.
Locally, Dorothy only had Neph and Kapak as contacts for information channels. Dorothy had never established a direct channel with Uta himself; his faith in the Great Soul was extremely firm, and he had not listened when Kapak previously suggested he pray to Aka... Now, Neph had been exiled to the depths of the Nether Realm, and Kapak was sealed. Dorothy had almost completely lost her means of sensing the Ancestral Valley... not to mention providing support, she couldn't even send a message.
"This is truly... troublesome..."
Covering her forehead, Dorothy murmured in distress. She then glanced around at the night view of Yarnstel, thought about Klamar, who was deploying the Purification, and the various conspiracies surrounding him. She then considered the current state of the Lost City of Stinam, and the anxiety in her heart intensified.
'The trouble... is not just in one place... The Coffin of the Underworld is launching their scheme in several locations simultaneously this time...'
The New Continent... the Main Continent... Ancestral Valley, Yarnstel, Stinam... Passadico, Klamar, Amanda, Sinclair... Dorothy could see that this time, the Coffin of the Underworld's plot spanned centuries and involved multiple key locations and figures. These points, seemingly unrelated on the surface, were secretly connected, subtly outlining a grand scheme belonging to the Coffin of the Underworld.
Since the Coffin of the Underworld was attacking from multiple points simultaneously, if Dorothy wanted to break this plan, she would also have to start from multiple points at once.
Next, Dorothy slowly walked back to her seat. After calming her emotions once more, she began to meditate, contemplating a strategy to break the current deadlock.
Suddenly, a piece of intelligence she had almost overlooked came to mind. While pondering, Dorothy took a photograph out of her magic box and placed it on the table.
The photograph showed a blurry lens—an anomalous lens that Atchelli had previously mentioned finding aboard the *Twilight Devout Shadow* after the Tivian incident. Scribbled haphazardly on the lens were the words: "Go to Stinam immediately."
Looking at the photograph, Dorothy's thoughts wandered, connecting it to the distant situation in the Ancestral Valley.