In mid-July, thanks to Igola's diligent inquiries, Yaxiu and the others finally received a piece of good news: there truly were other ways to purge the blood seed curse in the Senluo wasteland.
Whether in the Fire Cat, Blue Bird, or Grey Fox God Eras, products resembling panaceas had been manufactured. It might not necessarily be medicine—it could take the form of an injector, an embedded chip, or even a tattoo—yet all aimed to immediately dispel every negative status and fully restore the body's condition in an emergency.
For instance, a Reverse Day sorcery spirit could accomplish this. Had Yaxiu and the others possessed one at the time, they could have purged the blood seed from their bodies immediately. And since there was Reverse Day, there naturally were Reverse Month and Reverse Year as well, which could still take effect on Yaxiu and his companions even after so many days had passed.
This was the simplest method, but also the most impossible route. Aside from Reverse Day, which might be used for medical treatments, Reverse Month and Reverse Year had no side effects and thus became the most high-end longevity luxuries. Not only were they exceptionally difficult to obtain, they would never circulate on the open market.
If Yaxiu returned to the Gospel, he could have wheedled Lisi, and perhaps she would dutifully present him with a few Reverse Time sorcery spirits. Then again, if he could return to the Gospel, Lisi, as Empress, could simply summon a Legendary sorcerer to treat him—almost every Sanctuary and Legendary sorcerer would heed the command of the Yisu.
Yet think about it: the one who had teleported Yaxiu accurately into the kingdom of Senluo had performed a miracle personally enacted by an angel or a Divine Lord. That alone demonstrated just how difficult inter-realm teleportation was... By comparison, searching for a God Era legacy was far more realistic.
In truth, Yaxiu and the others had questioned the Mercury Trojan about this long ago, but the Trojan had hedged and changed the subject, claiming ignorance about the Grey Fox legacies, leaving them helpless.
As for Tamashi... how rich an intelligence network could one expect from an armsman? It wasn't that he possessed no intelligence at all, but rather that his rumors were on the level of the "Ten Unsolved Mysteries of the Wasteland."
During their days pursuing the Silver Lantern, they passed through towns governed by various cults. Utilizing their status as "Transcendence Cult-certified traveling merchants," Igola had not only gained smooth entry into the settlements, but had also gathered a wealth of intelligence on Senluo.
Among the most critical intel was news that the Twin Cult's stronghold, "Nightfall," had reportedly produced a "Restructuring Secret Medicine." It could completely deconstruct and reassemble a person's body, eliminating all curses and impurities to restore a perfected vessel, and could even nourish the soul in return.
Power and perfection were distinct concepts. Power was acquired through accumulation, whereas perfection was an innate gift. It was said that while gestating within the womb, the bodies of all races were perfect—which was the only way a healthy soul could be nurtured—yet once they left the maternal womb, flaws inevitably developed.
Many sorcerers believed that death was simply the point where the body developed too many flaws and could no longer contain a perfect soul.
Legend had it that a Legendary sorcerer, whose soul was on the brink of collapse after dying in the Void Realm, temporarily obtained a perfected vessel by ingesting the Restructuring Secret Medicine, miraculously nursing his dying soul back to life.
With such a potent miracle elixir, curing a mere blood seed curse would naturally be no trouble at all.
Yet there was another piece of news, neither wholly good nor bad: according to the Mercury Trojan's guidance, the Silver Lantern seemed to have gone to Nightfall as well.
Many days had passed since Black Robe Town. Along the way, they had clashed briefly with the Silver Lantern once. It wasn't an ambush by them, nor an ambush by her; simply put, enemies had unexpectedly crossed paths on the street. With their eyes bloodshot with fury, they decided there was no time like the present and clashed on the spot.
However, the outcome was a far cry from the overwhelming victory at the Transcendence Building. This time, the Silver Lantern chose to god-host Myriad Calamities Fire. Even though it wasn't a perfect god-hosting, Yaxiu was no longer able to suppress her.
Yaxiu and the others realized that unless the Silver Lantern exhausted her grand laws first, or they secured the backing of another faction, capturing this madwoman of Senluo with just the few of them would be nearly impossible.
Although the Transcendence Cult had spread word of the Silver Lantern, prompting all cults in the Harp Sun Alliance to tighten security around their grand laws, ensuring she would have no chance of acquiring more, she already held six grand laws. That was the equivalent of six health bars and six distinct phases—in gaming terms, an ultimate raid-tier boss.
Even if the Silver Lantern was bound to cross other cults, eventually presenting an opportunity to strike, having the initiative completely out of their hands was thoroughly suffocating.
Yaxiu and his companions had to wait for the Silver Lantern to bring about her own destruction before they could kick her while she was down; beyond that, all they could do was squat in a corner drawing circles to curse her.
Furthermore, due to their experiences in the Gospel realm, Igola and Harvey deeply loathed being controlled and manipulated by others. As much as they hated the Silver Lantern to the bone, that was still no reason to take orders from the Mercury Trojan—and yet, only the Mercury Trojan could divine the Silver Lantern's location.
Though branded a partnership, in truth, they were merely dancing to the tune of one wicked woman to hunt down another.
Even Yaxiu was displeased. At best, he had merely ceased feeling repulsed by Annan; not just anyone was qualified to act as the young miss ordering him about, let alone the Mercury Trojan, who swapped out a new puppet shell every single time.
If they could find the Restructuring Elixir, then aside from Yaxiu's half-missing sense of touch still remaining unresolved, the others would basically be free from mortal danger and wouldn't need to meddle in Senluo's conflicts at all.
Silver Lantern, Four Pillar Cult, Harp Sun Alliance—fight all you want, we're taking our leave.
Even Yaxiu had grown somewhat weary of this chase. Right now, he just wanted to hurry into the Void Realm and happily explore the Distant Sky Realm with the Sword Princess, the Witch, and Weise. Over the past few days, the team's atmosphere had grown increasingly comfortable, to the point where Yaxiu would occasionally let slip a goofy smile during the day, itching to reach a safe haven and push forward their progress in the Void Realm.
After all, this wasteland had no unified regime, while perilous ancient legacies were scattered everywhere. A Sanctuary sorcerer felt less safe here than in the Blood Moon—a whole room in Senluo wasn't worth a bed in Shattered Lake!
And then, bad news arrived.
*
The setting sun was blood-red, the desert a boundless sea. Dust whipped across ten thousand li, and sorcery rained down like a tempest.
Yaxiu and the three others rode their motorcycles up to the edge of a cliff, gazing into the distance where an army of tens of thousands was besieging a city.
One-Wing sorcerers provided cover for ground infantry storming the city walls, Two-Wing sorcerers engaged in aerial dogfights, and Sanctuary sorcerers from both sides crisscrossed along the fringes of the front line, every miracle unleashing a tempest of blood and gore.
Mortal soldiers clutching crude muskets and bayonets wore light chainmail beneath yellow surcoats. Under the incitement of mind sorcerers, their eyes had turned cold and pitiless. Using stairs and tunnels erected by earth sorcerers, they scaled and bypassed the walls, clashing with the city's defenders in brutal, bloody combat from sky to subterranean depths.
Outside the city, thousands of sorcerers across the four walls linked their power, unleashing vast waves of wind and sand like a deluge to drown the fortifications;
Inside the city, miracles detonated one after another, causing seeds embedded within the walls to rapidly take root and sprout into thick vines, strangling enemy soldiers and holding back the sandstorm.
Every second, sorcerers plummeted from the sky; every second, fresh corpses stared blankly at the heavens.
Corpses piled high and were swallowed by sand and dust. Lives became the mere weight of the desert, flesh and blood the most glaring hue, while agonizing screams and war cries seemed nothing more than the sound of wind whispering past time itself.
BOOM!
From within the yellow-clad army, a brownish-yellow pillar of light suddenly erupted. A figure soared into the air, seized a retreating Sanctuary sorcerer, and slammed him violently against the ramparts, punching right through the stone like a battering ram!
At the same time, a violet-blue pillar of light flared from within the city.
The two lights clashed and intertwined, utterly shattering the wall's defensive line!
This was the bad news they witnessed with their own eyes.
The birthplace of the Restructuring Elixir, the Twin Cult's stronghold of "Nightfall," was embroiled in all-out war.
"The god-hosters have stepped in," Tamashi said.
"Whether god-hosters or Sanctuary sorcerers, their combat power far outstrips everyone else's. Their duel will decide the victory," Yaxiu frowned and asked. "Why send low-ranking sorcerers and ordinary mortals to fight?"
This wasn't because Yaxiu was too softhearted to bear the sight of death. In truth, ever since realizing this was a world overflowing with miracles, Yaxiu had long prepared himself for the harsh reality that ordinary lives were treated as expendable. As the embodiment of both supreme violence and productivity, no matter how brutally sorcerers ruled the populace, Yaxiu wouldn't have found it surprising.
Yet judging by what he had seen so far, there wasn't a kingdom where sorcerers treated mortals entirely as subhumans. Setting aside the Gospel, which still held the highest marks; while Senluo was somewhat bizarre, judging by the previous God Eras, the people's living standards likely eclipsed other kingdoms, even if it lacked stability; even the Blood Moon, which set the lower bound, at least met the basic material and spiritual needs of the lower classes.
So Yaxiu was genuinely bewildered by the scene before them—even if an army could slaughter another army down to the last person, so what? A Sanctuary sorcerer or god-hoster was an army unto themselves; top-tier combatants crushed any advantage numbers could offer. Wouldn't having the high-end powerhouses fight it out be enough? Why stage such a massive pitched battle?
"Do wars in your homeland have no place for ordinary mortals?" the Black Crow asked in return.
"Most sorcerer kingdoms don't," Igola said. "I can roughly guess the reason... In other kingdoms, war is the continuation of politics. But in Senluo, war is a conflict of faith."
"They kill purely for the sake of killing."
"Pretty much," Tamashi said. "Just as you said, Yaxiu, god-hosters represent the supreme combat power, and deciding the victor between them would essentially decide the war's outcome. However, even if god-hosters vary in strength, their endurance is extraordinary; a victor cannot be determined easily."
"Even if a god-hoster dies, as long as the grand law remains, someone else might successfully host the god. There are far too many examples of people resonating with a grand law in moments of desperation, turning the tide and holding back the brink of doom."
"And the number of believers is directly tied to the power of a grand law." The Black Crow's distorted voice was filled with Senluo's characteristic detachment. "Slaughtering heretics—that is the true objective of war."
Yaxiu said, "Then why didn't the god-hosters join the battle from the start?"
"There are four wall sections," the Deceiver pointed into the distance. "If I were the attacker, I would send my god-hoster to assault the wall where we hold the second or third greatest advantage, forcing the defender's god-hoster into combat so our primary force can breach the main gate. If the defenders strike first, I'd similarly dispatch the god-hoster to reinforce our advantageous flank and shatter the city... Either way, they have to wait until the battle reveals where the advantages and disadvantages lie."
The Black Crow added, "Though I'm not a god-hoster, I've heard that hosting a god is an exhausting ordeal, best reserved for crucial moments. Forcing a god-hosting drains one's life force... Yaxiu, didn't you feel exhausted when you hosted a god?"
Yaxiu looked somewhat puzzled. "Not at all. In fact, I felt invigorated, and my body grew light as a feather. Could it be because I only used it for a short time and hadn't crossed the danger threshold?"
Harvey asked, "That sounds an awful lot like you sneaked some of my candy."
"It's probably because yours was a perfect god-hosting," Tamashi said. "Still, cult warfare is like this. They might not necessarily determine a winner this time. After wearing down each other's believers, they'll withdraw, regroup, and mount the next wave of offense and defense. Grinding away with accumulated losses, one side is bound to collapse eventually."
"Aren't they both part of the Harp Sun Alliance, though?" Yaxiu asked. "I thought..."
"The Four Pillar Cult has already halted its expansion," Tamashi said. "Besides, this place is far too distant from the Four Pillar Cult."
"There's something that has puzzled me for a while," Igola mused. "Whether it's the Calamitous Fire Temple, the Transcendence Cult, or both factions before us, they can all field considerable numbers of sorcerer soldiers. That means the populations backing them must number in the hundreds of thousands, and they aren't even the largest cults... For an apocalyptic wasteland with such an exorbitant mortality rate, your birth rate seems excessively high, yet along our entire journey, I haven't seen many pregnant women."
"Especially the Transcendence Cult—do their believers even have any desire to reproduce?"
Chapter 564