Chapter 440 Hidden Intentions (Two in One)
The Eastern Continent, deep in the frozen snowfield.
A lonely cloaked figure was walking alone in the snow.
Although he was able to use blood magic to withstand the violent snowstorm in the snowfield, Xia Zuo still wanted to use this method to get to the Pillar of Creation.
After seeing clearly the nature of this miserable world, the only things that could gain his full respect were the Pillars of Creation and the Creation Crystal.
About three kilometers away from the Pillars of Creation, Xia Zuo stopped flying and chose to walk towards the Pillars of Creation with his legs, expressing his awe for the wonders that protect the world with practical actions like a pilgrimage.
The act of breaking up with the Temple and driving the Temple garrison out of the Western Continent was not caused by bullshit ideas such as profit or pursuing the position of king. Xia Zuo just wanted to keep himself and the people he cared about alive.
How he hoped that the world he traveled through would be a beautiful world without a hopeless future - there could be setbacks and failures, life and death, and cunning and powerful enemies. Never have Vasa exist like this world. A high-level starry sky demon like Kesart that is absolutely unbeatable.
When he thought of Vasaksat, Xia Zuo's figure walking in the snowfield quickened his pace.
Damn Vasaksat, the high-level starry sky demon that cannot be observed with the [Space-time Phase Simulator], the great lord of the starry sky demons, like an indescribable fearful thing, has been urging Xia Zuo to protect himself by any means.
Unconsciously, there was less snow under my feet, and the wind and snow around me was no longer violent.
Xia Zuo suddenly felt the tranquility of Blizzard's departure. He raised his head and looked forward. The pillars of creation with billowing black smoke were already in front of him.
Nothing has changed here.
There are freely flying temple elements lingering in the sky, circling and wandering in groups.
The patrolling Eternal Mage flew from high altitude and scanned the land near the Pillar of Creation according to the established patrol track.
Xia Zuo turned into a blood shadow and hid under the snow, slowly and covertly advancing towards the big volcano.
He came to the Pillars of Creation only for three things:
Take away several Chaos Vessels in the magma, sow seeds that absorb the smoke of creation, and take one last look at the Pillar of Creation that protects you and all things before breaking with the temple.
…
The outer hall teaching area.
Another clone of Xia Zuo arrived here through the teleportation room.
After reaching a long-term cooperation agreement with the Temple, Xia Zuo provides life essence to the Temple every year, and the Temple pays hundreds of millions of citizen points at a time.
Today is the day for the annual renewal of the agreement.
In line with the attitude of not wasting free prostitution and waste is a sin, Xia Zuo decided to make a good profit before leaving the temple.
This time it was not Kristo who negotiated the contract with Xia Zuo. The Holy Pattern Department bypassed Kristo and negotiated directly with Xia Zuo. The person who contacted Xia Zuo was none other than Celine, who had met him once. .
As soon as Xia Zuo's clone came out of the teleportation room, he met the temple guard guarding the door and escorted him to the Holy Pattern Department.
A reception room in the Holy Pattern Department.
Xia Zuo and Celine sat facing each other across the large desk.
After a friendly conversation, it was finally time to renew the agreement.
Celine asked casually while writing the agreement with her silver sand palm:
"Xia Zuo, I noticed that you applied to purchase some alchemical materials that are classified as controlled products by the temple. Although there are agreements and temple laws, I still have to remind you of the potential dangers of controlled products. After all, for someone of your level, For an alchemist, controlled products are more dangerous and more difficult to prevent.”
The implication behind the words was to warn Xia Zuo not to find ways to use controlled products in places other than those agreed in the agreement.
Xia Zuo knew very well what the other person was thinking and the warning hidden in his words.
He smiled frankly and said calmly:
"You are right. I must pay more attention to the dangers of controlled products. Any temple territory is equally precious... If Starry Night Academy is paralyzed due to my alchemy mistake... then the temple's preparations for war may be affected. Implicated.”
The ceremonial politeness and negotiation officially ended. Xia Zuo signed the agreement drawn up by Celine and stamped it with his temple pattern.
The agreement for the new year comes into effect.
Xia Zuo directly prepared the life essence from the alchemy pocket.
After Xilin tested the quality of the life essence, she issued a bill of lading for various alchemical materials on the spot and handed it to Xia Zuo, instructing him to receive the goods at the designated warehouse within the specified time.
Xia Zuo packed up the bill of lading, thanked Celine, and was escorted by the temple guards to leave the Holy Pattern Department.
As the war approaches, there is a strong atmosphere of war preparation in the temple, and temple guards will follow closely when entering and leaving important places.
People come and go in the fountain sculpture square of the outer hall, and temple mages are everywhere in a hurry.
They wanted to use magic to hurry up, but the temple guards in the sky were staring at them like eagles, so they could only follow the orders and move their legs towards their destination.
It may sound ironic:
Of all the mages who shuttled through the Hall of Creation, more than half were not running for the war against the Strange Demon Church.
The alchemists of the Wildhammer Kingdom secretly built several large alchemy spaceships in the northern part of the kingdom near the frozen snowfield.
These alchemy spaceships are the vehicles for the August family to collectively escape from the planet.
Among the alchemists of the Wildhammer Kingdom, only the royal family members knew what they were building. Everyone else thought they were building aerial battleships for a decisive battle with the alien demons in the stars.
The same situation also happened in other places in the temple territory - the August family used the plan to make secret weapons to trick the alchemists of the temple into building various living and alchemical facilities on the alchemy spaceship for their family, and Various resources such as food, drinks, medicines, etc.
Don’t doubt the August family’s control over the temple.
Any alchemy plan issued in the form of a secret order from the Holy Pattern Ministry will be fully implemented by the recruited alchemists, and all alchemy products will be stored in the warehouse actually controlled by the August family.
Just when Xia Zuo was standing on the steps, looking at the crowded square in a daze, a voice came from behind him:
"Eh? Xia Zuo?"
Xia Zuo identified the owner of the voice, who was the long-awaited bald Rexor.
Just in time, bald man, I'm waiting for you...Xia Zuo laughed, turned his head and looked over, grinning and said:
"Long time no see, Master. How is the situation on the front line recently?"
Rexor wore a full set of protective gear condensed with blood magic, and wrapped his whole body with dark red hard metal armor. The blood magic gel perfectly filled the armor joints at the joints, allowing him to move quietly without worrying about the armor. Noise from chip collisions.
After wandering on the front line for more than two months, Rexall's every move exuded an aura of chilling.
After seeing Xia Zuo, the coldness on his body instantly dissipated, and a smile appeared on his egg-like head:
"I don't know what happened within the Strange Demon Church. At least half of the strange demon troops on the front line were taken away and relocated to the church headquarters. So the pressure on the front line was suddenly relieved a lot, and I was able to find time to perform some regular tasks. Just relax.”
Xia Zuo thought about a scene in a certain future timeline:
Rexall was assigned by the Mystic Mage Guild to go to the Western Continent to investigate the whereabouts of the strange demons. In the end, because the August family forcibly closed the trans-oceanic portal, he was in danger when the strange demon army invaded the Western Continent.
"Master, are you going to the Western Continent?" Xia Zuo asked after being stunned for half a second.
"Ha, yes." Rexor patted his belly:
"Investigate the infiltration of strange demons there, fill your stomach in the tavern of Starry Night City, and play some cards. After the investigation is completed, days like this may not happen again for a long time. I have to hurry up before the official war begins. Enjoy it before you regret it when you’re dying on the battlefield.”
"Then please wait for me for a moment. I have something to do in the outer hall. We can go to the Starry Night Kingdom together later." Xia Zuo pointed to the teaching tower of the tower scholar:
"I'm going to have a quick chat with Kristo. Do you want to meet her? Or you can wait for me outside the door."
The return of Huli and Reyna to their respective mistresses was handled by Melindora.
As the chief of the Golden Wattle Alchemist Association, it is normal for Melindora to have a large group of plants that serve as eyeliners.
When she sent Xiu Li and Reina there, she did not reveal anything about Xia Zuo. She only mentioned that her plant eyeliner accidentally discovered the sleeping Xiu Li Er in a certain forest in the Golden Wattle Utopia. people, and then sent them over.
Cristo and others knew very well that Melindora's words were just perfunctory. The other party knew the truth, but it was just inconvenient to reveal it.
Kristo and others did not deliberately ask questions, but chose to keep the secret very rationally and tacitly.
Everyone in the temple knows that Xulli and Reina were kidnapped by faceless people. This is a shame to the temple.
The sudden appearance of Xueli and Reina, it is best to continue living in a low-key manner and not let outsiders notice. Accidentally leaking the news that Xueli and Rena have returned to the temple will only make things more complicated.
At this point, the turmoil caused by the faceless man in the pure-blood mage camp ended with Kristo mysteriously inviting Xia Zuo for an interview.
Xia Zuo went to Kristo's office during this trip. It was Kristo who wanted to convey to him the news that Xuli and Reina were safe.
And Xia Zuo pretended not to know the inside story and invited Rexor to go with him, also with the intention of eliminating the barrier between the pure-blood mage camp and the demon hunting school.
After all, in Xia Zuo's plan, whether it is Kristo, Symphiya, Letunia, or their descendants, or Rexor and other demon hunting masters who know Xia Zuo, they will all be killed. Xia Zuo was forced to stay in the Western Continent.
The sooner the misunderstanding between the two parties is eliminated, the better, so as not to accumulate and become a shackles.
"I'd better wait for you here." Rexor said thoughtfully.
"Okay, Master. I'll be back soon." Xia Zuo had already expected this result and walked towards the tower of the tower scholar alone.
It is not an easy thing to persuade Kristo to move his family to the Western Continent.
Xia Zuo's purpose is to take away all pure-blood mages.
This will inevitably arouse the suspicion of the August family and cause unnecessary trouble.
But leaving a few pure-blood mages behind in the Eastern Continent and becoming outcasts who cover the transfer of pure-blood mages' camps is not the result Xia Zuo wants.
A method that is concealed enough, will not arouse suspicion, and can transfer all pure-blood mages in a short period of time has become the key.
Xia Zuo has a complete layout, and the breakthrough point lies with the strange demons in the Western Continent.
In the name of investigating strange demons, it is reasonable for Rexall to recruit a group of pure-blood mages to go to the Western Continent to investigate traces of blood magic. Moreover, as the difficulty of the investigation increases, the number of pure-blood mages required to invest will also increase. Eventually, It is reasonable to invest the entire pure-blood mage camp.
Hey, it feels good to have insight into the future and control the direction of events...
Xia Zuo walked out of Kristo's office with a smile.
In the conversation just now, after Crystal revealed in a subtle way that Reina was safe and sound, Xia Zuo invited him to go to the Western Continent to help investigate traces of blood magic.
As expected, Kristo did not refuse, and Xia Zuo's pure-blood mage camp transfer plan took the first successful step.
Climbing down the stairs from the high tower, returning to the Fountain Sculpture Square, calling the bald man waiting here, Xia and Zuo walked into the transfer room to the Western Continent together.
…
Under the glass dome of the Yunhai rooftop.
This is the highest elevation of the temple buildings.
The enchanted glass dome with excellent light transmittance unreservedly presents the vast sea of clouds in front of you, while blocking the excess sunlight from the scorching summer sun and controlling the indoor temperature to the most comfortable level for the human body.
The highest glass dome is located in the center of the glass dome complex, closest to the sky.
This is a place suitable for many people to engage in deep meditation at the same time:
On a circle of metal plates with staggered heights, meditators of different ages sit cross-legged. They wore uniform uniforms of the Holy Pattern Ministry, with the miter placed on their crossed legs, and their hands resting on either side of the miter.
The metal plate that floats up and down slowly, like coaxing a baby to sleep, helps meditators better immerse themselves in their own spiritual ocean.
Celine's figure appeared in a rapidly flashing teleportation light.
A white-haired old man who was meditating on the metal plate opened his eyes and looked at Celine who was approaching. The metal plate beneath him moved with a low hum, lowered smoothly to the ground, and stayed at the same height as Celine.
The white-haired old man had his hair slicked back, and his frost-like hair was neatly combed back, reflecting the silvery brilliance in the sunlight. The bridge of the nose is high, the eye sockets are deep-set, and there are two golden fires burning in the gray eyes that are close to white.
"Lord Bovaru." Xilin stopped in front of the old man, took off the alchemy bag from her waist and handed it over:
"The task you gave me has been completed. The images and written records I made when observing Xia Zuo are all in the alchemy pocket."
Bovaru summoned the palm of golden light, took the alchemy bag, took out the image orb and manual inside, and swept a ray of light towards these information carriers.
The pictures on the image orb and the words on the manual turned into phantoms and flew away from their respective carriers, following the golden light back to Bovaru's hands.
The flames in Bovaru's eyes jumped a few times quickly, and then returned to a quiet burning state.
"Go down, Celine."
After Celine left, another metal plate landed. The graceful female mage, who looked over fifty years old but still had charm, asked in a calm tone.
"Has Xia Zuo noticed our plan?"
Bovaru nodded, and the light emitted from his fingertips weaved into the image.
Xia Zuozheng on the screen said with an easy-going smile:
"You are right. I must pay more attention to the dangers of controlled products. Any temple territory is equally precious... If Starry Night Academy is paralyzed due to my alchemy mistake... then the temple's preparations for war may be affected. Implicated.”
The scene is frozen here.
Bovaru's brows were furrowed, and his brows were pressed into a "river"-shaped fold. The white hair combed back seemed to be standing upright, and the top layer of his hair was contracting and swelling upwards like an inflating balloon. .
"He is warning us not to pay attention to the Western Continent."
The female mage chewed on Xia Zuo's words. As a person who mastered the laws of time and space and could predict the future, but could not observe what Xia Zuo would do in the future, she read a hint of threat in Xia Zuo's self-deprecation.
Xia Zuo’s hidden meaning is nothing more than:
If you dare to cause bloody incidents in the Western Continent, I will interfere with your plan to escape from the planet.
Further interpretation:
I don't want to interfere with your plan to escape from the planet. The prerequisite is that the Western Continent is not used as a sacrifice.
"What are you going to do, Bovaru?" The lines on the female mage's face were a little unnatural, and she looked a little angry and a little worried.
If they had not known that Xia Zuo's power of time and space was so huge and unpredictable, the August family would not have taken his words to heart.
But now, a simple sentence can bring about several times the pressure of the strange demon army, all because Xia Zuo predicted the August family's plan, saw August's trump card, and could overturn the table at any time. Putting the August family into a situation of betrayal and separation.
"What do you think of his strength?" Bovaru asked the female mage.
"It's hard to estimate, but it should be no less than the family's 7-ring combat power."
The female mage responded thoughtfully:
“The death of Inster Heguman was bizarre, and we were unable to investigate the specific battle at the scene.
"I guess this is what Xia Zuo did.
"What's strange is that when the battle broke out on the southern border of the Kingdom of Wildhammer, Xia Zuo still stayed in Starry Night Academy. Judging from the situation of the pseudo-blood mage army, the spell of blood servant is not enough to create a weapon that can defeat Ince. The blood magic puppet of Te Heguman, not to mention the extreme storm between the two continents can block almost all magic induction."
Bovaru listened to the female mage's words in deep thought, the flames in his eyes jumped a few times, and he said:
"You mean, he either has mastered powerful blood magic that we don't know about, and can command special blood magic puppets across the ocean. Or... he is not alone, and there is a group of powerful companions hidden behind him?"
"Yes." The female mage nodded slightly:
"For those who master the laws of time and space, you cannot simply measure them by their combat effectiveness. You and I both know this. If you want to use force against him, you have to kill him with one blow when he is unable to fight back. Even if he predicts the danger in advance , and the situation where you can’t take action to counterattack is the perfect opportunity to take action.”
"Well" Bovaru sat cross-legged on the metal plate, looking up at the dark blue sky and the black smoke at the end of the sky. His white hair slowly stood up, looking like a waking lion:
"Inform the Mystic Mage Guild and dispatch three Mystic Mage combat teams to station at Starry Night Academy, bringing with them the newly developed forbidden magic field generator to protect the precious Starry Night Academy and the Western Continent."
It’s not easy to divide this chapter into two chapters, so I combined them into one.