Chapter 1102

The angel smiled and bid Xia De farewell, once again gripping her staff:

"I will always be at the Lake of Cherub in Huntington City, waiting for mortals to come and visit, until the end of the world when my Lord awakens. If you have need, I look forward to your next visit. May the light of knowledge and wisdom bless you, farewell."

The white light traces closed between Xia De and the angel, and the "Lady of the Lake" disappeared just like that, indifferent to the Chosen One, and even more indifferent to the evil thing about to be unsealed.

Xia De felt very confused now; he had just heard an incredible sentence, and he even thought he hadn't heard it clearly.

【Do you need me to repeat it?】

"She" whispered gently in the bottom of Xia De's heart.

"What does this count as? The Recorder containing knowledge... The cooperation of ancient god powers? Also, where do I have the power of the 'Recorder'? Don't I only have the power of the Moon..."

The three stone slabs he was using as defense in his arms were faintly heating up. Regardless, the qualification of the fourth Chosen One, even after the ritual was held, could be transferred—this was quite favorable news for Xia De.

Looking at the faintly glowing golden Brilliance Stone in his palm, Xia De resisted the urge to devour its power and, following the angel's hint, pressed the stone to his forehead with a trembling hand. Then, he heard a sigh:

【Outsider, you have obtained "Witch Echo: Theresa".】

He felt his forehead being kissed, and then, golden light surged from the Brilliance Stone, blooming at the top of the lighthouse. But the people fighting in the blizzard had no idea what had happened at the lonely top of the tower.

Golden light fell toward the ground, outlining the dress of the young witch wearing glasses. The transparent figure that appeared from the golden light appeared before Xia De, holding her skirt:

"Good day, Xia De."

Miss Schultz Theresa looked more mature than when Xia De had first met her:

"I successfully graduated."

A smile appeared on her transparent, beautiful face, and her tone carried a hint of joy. Those eyes gazed at Xia De, while the Keeper, who was waiting for an answer, was also gazing at Xia De.

She couldn't wait to tell Xia De the good news that had spanned a thousand years, as if she had been waiting her whole life to say these words to him.

"Thank you for your gift."

Even though he knew this figure was just a message, Xia De still spoke the words aloud.

Miss Theresa nodded slightly:

"This Brilliance Stone originally belonged to you. The problem from the ancient god 【The Indeterminate Wise One】 was completed by you in excess, but you left before making a wish."

Once the owner of a Brilliance Stone dies, even if the stone is gifted to someone else, it will turn into a useless rock. Since the witch just said "the Brilliance Stone originally belonged to you," it meant this Brilliance Stone from the Fifth Era could still be used, which did not mean the witches were still alive.

The golden figure opened her arms and hugged Xia De, but Xia De felt nothing:

"My aunt and I found the angel you mentioned and left this gift for you. Besides that, my aunt wrote down the knowledge of 'Eternal Beauty' she obtained from the god. It is the knowledge of gods and cannot be written down casually, so we wrote down the wisdom we obtained from it and hid it in a book."

She blinked at Xia De at close range:

"That book is—'Secret Art of Immortality'."

Xia De's guess was correct. It seemed Miss Pavo's search for the "Secret Art of Immortality" was not for the poetic fragments on it at all, but for the knowledge of the Witch Empress. This knowledge was worth all the effort she had spent chasing after Margaret.

"Please call our names and kiss that book. I hope our knowledge can help you."

She finally bowed to Xia De:

"May we meet again."

Amidst the flickering light, Miss Theresa, who was bowing while holding her dance dress, also disappeared from Xia De's sight, but the witch's echo still lingered in his heart. Golden light points merged into Xia De's body, restoring the spiritual energy he had consumed along the way.

Hum!

Suddenly, a beam of pure white light fell from the sky toward the giant stone circle in the distance. Time was up; Lains Prisha's Chosen One ritual had officially begun.

"So, how does one maintain eternal beauty?"

The Keeper, who had just bowed to the angel, asked Xia De after the witch's figure disappeared.

Xia De, feeling a sense of sorrow, took out the "Secret Art of Immortality" again and, as the bell rang from the giant stone circle, kissed the page:

"Miss Violet, Miss Theresa."

The "Secret Art of Immortality" turned to ash in the firelight, but a scroll of parchment appeared in the ashes. This was the true "Secret Art of Immortality," which, like 【Desire】's "Pink Book," was a comprehensive book recording a large category of strange arts and spells.

Although the parchment scroll didn't look long, special techniques allowed it to contain far more knowledge than it appeared. Checking it by the bright firelight of the lighthouse, the first two-thirds of the parchment scroll were densely packed with letters belonging to Miss Violet; the last third was in Miss Theresa's elegant handwriting, finally recording all the information on the 13th-level strange art "Immortal Witch".

"This is the secret of eternal beauty. The ancient god 【The Indeterminate Wise One】 told it to the witches of the Fifth Era, and the witches told it to me."

Xia De displayed the parchment scroll, and the Keeper finally revealed a satisfied smile:

"Then, what knowledge do you need?"

"I seek nothing."

The Keeper handed out the blue Wisdom Brilliance Stone.

Finding the invisible person, defeating the demon, finding the yellow moon, giving the secret of eternal beauty, stating the number of angels.

The Keeper's five tests represented five Wisdom Brilliance Stones. Now, all five stones—four blue and one gold—lay in Xia De's pocket.

"Before I leave, there is one more gift I wish to bestow upon you."

The Keeper continued:

"To thank you for letting me see the Wisdom Angel Cherub again."

He reached out to Xia De, and Xia De hesitated before handing over 【Night Watcher】.

The former stroked the blade and said softly:

"The Great One gave this sword the power to make your physical strength inexhaustible; the angel gave this sword the power to pierce the soil and cause an endless spring to gush forth; I am merely an ordinary Keeper of Secrets, acting on behalf of the ancient gods to guard secrets and spread knowledge. These are the only meager powers I can bestow upon you."

He pierced 【Night Watcher】 into the brick seam of the lighthouse and then looked at Xia De:

"When you hold this long sword, Wise One, you can see your own power clearly, and that is all."

"Why do you call me Wise One?"

Xia De asked, looking at the long sword pierced into the brick seam, while the beam of pure white light illuminated his side profile.

"Have you ever completed the tests of the God of Wisdom?"

"Yes, the god gave me three tests."

"Have you ever completed the tests of the Wisdom Angel?"

"Yes, the angel gave me four tests."

"Have you ever completed the tests of the Keeper of Secrets?"

"Yes, the Keeper gave me five tests."

The Keeper before him bowed slightly:

"You have become stronger through test after test, and you have proven yourself through test after test. Knowledge is your power, and wisdom is your wealth. In any era, a mortal who has accomplished such a great feat is enough to become a legend and is enough to be called a Wise One."

He retreated into the shadows at the top of the lighthouse:

"May your path ahead be bright, for the light of wisdom shines upon you."

Xia De still aimed his right hand at the light source at the top of the lighthouse, and some vague feelings welled up in his heart:

"Three plus four plus five, that's a total of twelve tests... twelve divinity sublimations... this indeed has representative significance..."

At this moment, the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs came from below. Before long, the silent Sister Delyn appeared from the stairwell where the Keeper had disappeared.

There was still snow on her shoulders, but she seemed to understand the whole situation at this moment. Like Xia De, she reached out toward the light source.

The white hand was aimed at the center of the glowing kerosene lamp, and the stable light was visibly enhanced. In the kerosene lamp, the flame of the Primal Fire, sensing the presence of the fire-holding sister, appeared completely. The seal was further strengthened, and Xia De could finally leave this place.

He released his hand and came to the edge of the railing, looking out at the giant stone circle in the distance. He and Sister Delyn had no conversation, but the sister "saw" the spiritual ring behind Xia De, which had emerged in the thick steam mist.

The leaping brass-colored spiritual light constantly strengthened as the ring rotated in the semi-enclosed space at the top of the lighthouse.

Xia De took out the copy of "Water of Wisdom" that Dorothy had helped him transcribe from his pocket, which recorded the story of three people seeking the help of a wise man, but ultimately helping each other. There was no such thing as Water of Wisdom that directly enhanced intelligence; there was only the wisdom of mortals themselves.

The brass spiritual light shone on the transcript, and every letter flickered in the spiritual light, as if it were about to leap off the paper.

"The church's team is on the outskirts of Pantanal Lake, engaged in battle with something I cannot describe. At least three 13th-level sorcerers are jointly suppressing an unknown entity; that should be an ancient evil thing sealed together with the Pantanal evil thing."

Sister Delyn said softly, and seeing that Xia De didn't speak, she continued:

"There are also very strange things in the lake. Although I don't know why, the monsters in the lake have been hiding at the bottom of the lake and haven't appeared, but the church has left my friend, the 13th-level sorcerer of the Nature Church, 'Nightmare Witch' Maria, by the lakeside."

The things in the lake were probably all suppressed by 【Desire】. As a 0-level relic, there was temporarily nothing in this area stronger than her, even though Xia De had never seen her display any combat power.

"The 'Sun Great Sword' of the Sun Church did not go deep into the Great Swamp and encountered the 13th-level sorcerer 'Mirror Hider' of the evil organization 【Mirror Association】 in the outer area."

This was a rare 13th-level sorcerer in an evil organization in the material world. Xia De suspected that the "Mirror Man" who could disguise himself as a familiar friend that he and Yiluna had encountered was created by this organization.