Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3173: Chapter 3174: Live Ceremony

”So, the Holy Corpse Crystal was created by Tunyta?” Angel touched his chin and asked with doubt.

Luigi shrugged: ”Whether the Holy Corpse Crystal was created by Tunyta is hard to say. Maybe other Crystal Eye Clan members had also made Holy Corpse Crystals before, but it’s a secret of the Crystal Eye Clan, so outsiders couldn’t possibly know.”

”The only thing that can be confirmed is that adding the Holy Corpse Crystal to the construction materials of the Crystal City was definitely done by Tunyta.”

No matter how, Tunyta is closely associated with the Holy Corpse Crystal.” Angel mumbled, ”In the Crystal Eye Clan, the Holy Corpse Crystal is a sensitive topic; and Tunyta has an unresolved connection with it. This suggests that the secret might truly be related to the Holy Corpse Crystal.”

At this point, Angel suddenly remembered something Luigi had mentioned before.

The Holy Corpse Crystal is suspected to be related to the inheritance ability.

And those who receive the inheritance are usually the young members of the Crystal Eye Clan.

Lita should be at the appropriate age for inheritance.

Could the matter with Lita also be related to the inheritance? Could this inheritance perhaps carry some fatal danger?

Angel hesitated for a moment and then shared his speculation.

After hearing this, Luigi fell into a daze... or rather, it was Glaipnir, far away on the other side, who fell silent. After a while, he responded through Luigi’s mouth: ”Your speculation is not far from the secret I know.”

”Is it indeed related to the inheritance?”

Angel furrowed his brows, about to continue asking, when suddenly, the long-static broadcast room showed a new scene.

The crowd’s thoughts were immediately drawn to the anomaly in the broadcast.

All the patrolling guards inside the Ring Fort suddenly stopped and walked toward the railing, simultaneously making a strange gesture toward a certain direction.

With the middle finger and thumb touching, the other three fingers standing up, somewhat resembling a ”peacock head.” However, it was the gesture with two hands making the ”peacock head” and the ”peacock mouths” connecting to the left and right, resembling a middle school hand sign seal.

”Is this uniform gesture some kind of rite?” Angel speculated that it might be a signal for the ceremony.

However, Luigi shook his head: ”It should be unrelated to the ceremony. This gesture is called a ’hand salute,’ similar to the human chest salute, a basic etiquette for an upper-level person.”

While speaking, Luigi pointed to a part of the scene: ”Look, someone is coming over here.”

The place Luigi indicated was a platform on the second level of the Ring Fort. A Crystal Eye Clan member, who had turned their Crystal Shell into a floating chair, slowly floated onto the platform and into the broadcast screen.

The direction in which all the guards had been making the ”hand salute” was precisely toward this person.

Unquestionably, this individual was the ”upper-level person” Luigi had mentioned. At least, in the eyes of the Crystal Eye Clan guards, this was an upper-level person.

As for his appearance... to Angel, he didn’t look much different from others, except for the pupil in his singular eye, which was somewhat murky yellow, like an elderly person.

As for his attire, it was completely different from the obvious Crystal Armor of the surrounding guards. It was a very exquisite robe, although plain in color, with complex lace.

”Who is he?” Luigi muttered in a low, confused voice.

But the next second, Luigi’s confused gaze turned wise: ”He is Kasata, an elder of the Crystal Eye Clan.”

It’s obvious that Glaipnir told him Kasata’s name.

As for how Glaipnir knew Kasata... it’s simple, Fahda was nearby Glaipnir, so if there’s someone he didn’t know, he could just ask.

”According to Fahda, Kasata was promoted to elder six hundred years ago, but has spent many years in the forbidden land, rarely appearing before the public,” Luigi paused, adding, ”Fahda was quite puzzled as to why Glaipnir would suddenly describe Kasata’s appearance.”

Fahda’s confusion is irrelevant. Fahda is not like them; they can leave whenever they want, but Fahda living long-term in the Crystal City knows too much for her own good.

Though Fahda’s description of Kasata has led Glaipnir to feel like a ”puzzle piece” has emerged.

Kasata has been long in the forbidden land, and the inheritance of the Crystal Eye Clan is also in the forbidden land.

The secret behind Lita is most likely also related to the forbidden land.

Kasata suddenly appearing in the outside world and coming to a ”ceremony” aligns highly with the contents Fahda vaguely hinted at before.

It could completely be suspected that Kasata might be the core figure within the ”secret,” or even the mastermind!

And the upcoming ceremony is very likely to unveil a part of the secret!

In the broadcast screen, Kasata arrived at the second-level platform of the Ring Fort, he didn’t look at anyone else, instead quietly gazing at the Crystal Dust constantly spewing from the mirror surface below.

The Crystal Dust spurting out had by now covered the entire bottom level of the Ring Fort.

From the broadcast screen, nothing could be seen, nor could the movements of the Crystal Dust.

Kasata looked at the sea of fog formed by the condensed Crystal Dust below, a faint smile appeared on his face as he slightly opened his mouth, seeming to mumble something.

Because of the distance, although Angel saw that he was speaking, he couldn’t hear what he said. As for lip reading... Angel didn’t manage to decipher it; Kasata seemed to be speaking the Crystal Eye Clan’s own language.

Angel could only look towards Luigi, who was also puzzled and clearly hadn’t understood Kasata’s words. However, Luigi wasn’t alone. Behind him stood Glaipnir, and beside Glaipnir was Fahda.

Glaipnir simulated Kasata’s lip movements for Fahda to recognize.

Fahda wasn’t very good at lip reading, and didn’t manage to decipher all of Kasata’s words, but through repeated simulation, guessed a few scattered words—

”... going to meet... old friend.”

From the literal meaning, Kasata’s words could be interpreted as: a reunion of old friends.

But then, where are these old friends? Are they in that Crystal Dust... Angel recalled, the initially spurting Crystal Dust had tried to form a human-shaped silhouette. Could this human-shaped silhouette be Kasata’s old friend?

But if the human-shaped silhouette was indeed Kasata’s old friend, why would they meet in this manner?

Furthermore, earlier the guards mentioned that a ”ceremony” was being held at the Ring Fort.

If it truly was a ceremony, and the result of it was—Kasata’s old friend appearing.

It means that the outcome of the ceremony is a ”grand reveal.”

The ceremonies Angel could think of that produce such a result are only three kinds: Transmission Ceremony, Summoning Ritual, and Descent Ceremony.

The Transmission Ceremony, as the name implies, is to transport Kasata’s old friend back from a distant place. This possibility is low because a Transmission Ceremony would inevitably cause spatial fluctuations, and spatial fluctuations would certainly affect the transmission quality of the broadcast, so a stable broadcast implies there are no spatial fluctuations.

The Summoning Ritual is a common practice of Summoning Wizards, used to summon living beings from the Otherworld. This ritual requires special summoning objects, such as bloodlines, sacrifices, or contracts. So far, there are no obvious traces of a summoning.

The Advent Ceremony, a rather unconventional ritual, is considered a forbidden domain in the Southern Domain, strictly prohibited by Extreme Sects. Major Witcher Organizations have not opposed this because the ceremony is often associated with ”Deity”.

Wizards only pursue truth, not faith in gods.

All deities active in the Southern Domain are either Abyssal Evil Gods, Wild Gods, or Outer Gods from the Druna Plane... In short, there are no benevolent gods. They appear in the Southern Domain not for the world but to covet the Law of Energy.

Humans or corrupted wizards tempted by them will use the Advent Ceremony to extend the deities’ tentacles into the Southern Domain. Therefore, the ceremony is often linked to ”evil” and ”corruption”.

Would Kasata use the Advent Ceremony here? Angel thinks it’s unlikely, as various races are gathered now in the Crystal City. Does the Crystal Eye Clan have the courage to offend all the major races?

Although the Crystal Eye Clan is not weak in the Daylight Mirror Domain, they still fall far short compared to top-tier races like the Mirror Dragons.

There is more than one Mirror Dragon at the gathering. The Crystal Eye Clan would never dare to do anything crazy at this time.

It seems more like a Summoning Ritual?

As Angel was silently speculating, Kasata suddenly took out a crystal scepter and raised it high under the gaze of all the guards.

The guards all closed their eyes and began chanting.

Their chants differed from one another, leaving no opportunity to lip-read. After all, there were over a hundred guards on the scene, and even if Glaipnir could remember everyone’s lip movements, there wouldn’t be time for Fada to decipher them all.

With the guards’ chanting, it was obvious that the churning sea of Crystal Dust below began to compress rapidly.

It was like a swollen water balloon being forcibly flattened.

Why would this happen? Angel couldn’t discern just from the live broadcast.

However, Laplace suddenly said, ”A force has joined this ’ceremony’.”

Angel looked surprised: ”You can sense it?”

Although Laplace had mastered the Mirror, the Mirror was ultimately in the Interlayer Space. Could she sense energy fluctuations in reality from the Interlayer Space? Did this energy contain a spatial nature?

Laplace shook her head: ”I didn’t sense it from the Mirror, but I sensed a slight energy vein shift in the Crystal City just now.”

That means Laplace didn’t sense the energy fluctuation from the Ring Fort. She directly sensed the energy veins of the entire Crystal City!

This... Angel was speechless. Truly impressive.

Can’t learn it, can’t compare.

After marveling, Angel revisited Laplace’s words: ”So the energy for the Ring Fort ceremony comes from the Crystal City itself?”

Laplace nodded.

How does the Crystal City provide the energy needed for the ceremony? Angel didn’t know the answer.

However, he did know that the Crystal City contained the Holy Corpse Crystal, which was the core clue in all the secrets... This ceremony seemed to be linked with the Holy Corpse Crystal, too.

One link leads to another, and they all connect. It’s no wonder Glaipnir would watch this live broadcast remotely.

The scene continued, and the Crystal Dust kept shrinking. By now, it had formed a humanoid outline.

This humanoid outline was almost identical to what Angel had initially seen. However, the outline now was more solid, and he could even see its features.

A single eye, sharp nose, thin lips, long Elven-like ears—one ear even bore a golden earring—and a head of dense, clear crystal hair.

This was precisely the appearance of the Crystal Eye Clan.

Could he be Kasata’s old friend?

After another half-minute, all the Crystal Dust was absorbed by this newly appeared Crystal Eye Clan member, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes showed slight confusion, glancing around as if unaware of where he was.

It wasn’t until he looked up and saw Kasata that his gaze shifted from confused to gradually regained focus.

He seemed to recognize Kasata, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

His thin lips moved slightly, speaking a sentence.

Angel still couldn’t understand the lip movements and glanced at Luigi, who gave him a reassuring gesture, indicating Glaipnir had begun working with Fada on the lip-reading ”test”.

While Fada was deciphering lip movements, the live broadcast screen underwent some changes.

Kasata didn’t chat with the newly appeared Crystal Eye Clan member. Instead, he lightly flicked his sleeve, and the figure fell into the elliptical mirror beneath him.

Once this Crystal Eye Clan figure vanished completely, Kasata shouted loudly.

With his shout, the guards who had been chanting with their eyes closed opened them simultaneously.

Kasata waved his sleeve again, possibly saying something like ”the ceremony is over,” and turned to leave the Ring Fort.

First exchanging puzzled glances, and then simultaneously looking toward the mirror surface below, the guards showed a trace of confusion upon finding no Crystal Dust nearby.

From their expressions, it was clear they hadn’t seen the newly appeared Crystal Eye Clan member before, nor did they know the outcome of the ceremony.

Although they were participants in the ceremony, they didn’t know its specifics, which aligned with what the guard had said before.

At this point, both Kasata and the Crystal Eye Clan member who was condensed from Crystal Dust had disappeared, indicating the live broadcast was nearing its end.

Angel and Laplace exchanged glances.

No need for discussion, they acted in unison. Laplace disrupted the Mirror within the Interlayer Space, while Angel erased the Illusion Node.

Completing all these tasks not only marked the end of the live broadcast but also ensured all traces were destroyed, leaving no clues of their prior spying on the Ring Fort ceremony.

The broadcast may have ended, but its ripples had yet to settle.

Two minutes later, Luigi raised his head, ”Fada has deciphered the meaning of that lip movement.”

——You... why have you aged?