Chapter 1202: Privileged Research, Beyond Faith

To be resurrected, one must first purchase the 【Resurrection Covenant】; of course, one could buy it later, but the cost of doing so is higher, and even if purchased beforehand, that cost is not something an ordinary person can bear.

At the very least, Xia Duo has never heard of anyone being able to buy a 【Resurrection Covenant】 with just Gold Coins, because resurrection requires the consumption of a vast amount of Divine Grace from a Death Priest.

Without immense benefits, who would sacrifice themselves to fulfill another?

There is no clause for "charity and helping others" in the Doctrine of the Lord of Death!

But what if a new type of Resurrection Spell appeared?

Judging from the fact that Telemen could experiment independently, this seems to be pure Arcane Magic, without the need for Holy Power to participate.

This reminded Xia Duo of the resurrection spells used by the Resurrection Department in the 【Projection Plane: Arcane Empire】, only in the Projection Plane, the great power of the gods is not manifest, and Mages can resurrect however they wish.

But in the Main Plane, one must consider the Lord of Death and the reaction of the Death Priests.

Not to mention the conflict of Doctrine and philosophy, simply having one's exclusive business snatched away would be hard to resolve peacefully; Xia Duo does not believe Great Arcanist Kelifu had not considered these things, yet he made such a choice regardless.

Why on earth is this?

Thinking of this, Xia Duo could not care that Kelifu's explanation was not yet finished and could not help but ask: "Lord Kelifu, would researching the resurrection of the dead not infringe upon the Domain of the Lord of Death?"

Seeing his narration interrupted, Kelifu frowned subconsciously, but because it was Xia Duo, he endured it, remained silent for a moment, and then replied:

"It would, but I have a reason why I must do this!"

"Why? If doing this offends the Lord of Death, what would be the consequences?"

As he spoke, Xia Duo pointed to himself, "For example—me?"

He had to clarify this question; not to mention that he himself had thoughts of researching resurrection, right now, Kelifu wanted him to go find some Death Authority—wouldn't that be a direct confrontation with the Lord of Death?

Between Kelifu and the God of Death, Xia Duo was undoubtedly more afraid of the God of Death; if this question were not clarified, even if he agreed to Kelifu now due to the situation, he would find an opportunity not to execute it.

An expedient measure not born of one's own heart is naturally something one can shirk however one likes!

To this, Kelifu's answer was—

"There are many reasons for doing this. For you, Lord Xia Duo, are you not at all interested in the resurrection of the dead? As for the consequences, I can tell you with certainty, there will be no consequences! At least for you, that is the case!"

That is the case for me? Xia Duo pondered slightly, a vague guess forming in his heart, so he tentatively asked: "Does it have to do with your identity, my lord?"

"You could say that."

Kelifu looked at Xia Duo with some surprise and continued to explain: "The Lord of Death does not care about mortals resisting or researching death, because this itself enriches the connotation of death and strengthens the Divine Power of the Lord of Death. To this day, not a single Netherese Mage has suffered Divine Punishment because of a Life Extension Spell; that is proof."

"The resurrection of the dead can barely be considered a mortal's resistance to death, but Priests of the Gods are no longer counted within the scope of mortals."

"Then you, my lord—"

"The rumors are true. My Lord has a good relationship with the Lord of Death, and I am spared from Divine Punishment by the Lord of Death due to the existence of my Lord, but this also consumed a full twenty years of my Divine Grace. However, all of this is worth it!"

By the end, a luster called "enlightenment" inexplicably covered Kelifu's face.

Hearing Kelifu's explanation, Xia Duo could not help but be moved. Kelifu, knowing full well that he was a Priest of the Lord of Radiance, still insisted on prying into the Death Authority; in a sense, this already counted as betrayal.

What else could transcend Faith and transcend general codes of conduct?

Xia Duo felt that perhaps it was some instinct of human nature, such as love, hate, or fear, which, when sublimated to the extreme, made even Kelifu, this existence so incredibly close to the gods, unable to truly "transcend the mundane."

However, this instead made Xia Duo feel a layer of goodwill toward Kelifu; compared to the gods who do not eat the food of mortals, mortals made him feel more intimate.

Thinking this way, the Kelifu described by Telemen and his son—who strictly observed etiquette and order and was rigid and dogmatic—seemed to have become cute.

At the very least, in this meeting, he did not feel that the other party was very rigid or dogmatic; on the contrary, he was very easygoing and had been patiently explaining things to him.

Although this might be because he needed to make use of him, the ability to adapt to circumstances itself could explain a certain point.

Of course, Kelifu's emphasis and insistence on the resurrection of the dead also made Xia Duo feel some pressure; this meant that even if the "Crimson Hero" in the prophecy was not him, Kelifu was very likely to force him to go to that "Dream Ruins."

From this perspective, Kelifu was not so cute anymore!

"Lord Kelifu, please continue—"

"I have been researching the resurrection of the dead for a very long time and have observed the resurrection rituals of Death Priests many times, but my research has always been a little short of true resurrection; the resurrected can only live for a very short time."

Speaking of this, the expression on Kelifu's face twisted for the first time, and he let out a deep sigh, as if lamenting the difficulty of resurrection.

After the lament, he continued to explain: "I had no choice but to continue consuming Divine Grace to predict where the key to resurrection lay, and thus came that prophecy just now."

"Afterward, I kept searching for information related to the 'Crimson Hero' and the 'Dream Ruins.' I have already found the Dream Ruins, but there has never been a result for the 'Crimson Hero,' until Stern contacted me today."

After hearing the whole story of the prophecy, the doubts in Xia Duo's heart were relieved quite a bit; undoubtedly, Kelifu was making the connection because "Daxia" could be linked to the hero, and his most iconic Mage Robe was crimson.

But this was still somewhat far-fetched, and there were still many doubts in his heart, especially when he heard Kelifu mention that the "Dream Ruins" had already been found, he immediately raised a question:

"Since the Dream Ruins have already been found, why doesn't Lord Kelifu go in and find it yourself? With your strength, if even you cannot find it, then even if the so-called 'Crimson Hero' goes in, how could they find it?"

To such a question from Xia Duo, Kelifu only shook his head, his eyes somewhat dim: "I have already been to that Dream Ruins and did not find any clues. In fact, if you knew the true situation of the Dream Ruins, you would not so simply think that as long as a Great Arcanist goes, they will definitely succeed."

"What exactly is the situation with the Dream Ruins?" Xia Duo asked hurriedly.

Come to think of it, he was truly quite curious about that so-called "Dream Ruins"; if it could contain "Death Authority," could it be in the Underworld?

But if it really came down to going to the Underworld to look, then what was there to look for? Why not just ask the Lord of Death directly!