Chapter 1139: The Truth of Time

The windows on the top floor of the bell tower were closed, and a very strong smell of mechanical lubricating oil permeated the air. On the floor illuminated by the kerosene lamps, spare parts and maintenance components for the bell tower machinery were stored.

On the wall on the west side, a complete maintenance operation manual was also hung, those black lines outlined simple drawings, describing the details of the maintenance operation as detailed as possible.

"For ring mages, knowledge and power are actually the same."

The Doctor was still talking, but at this time he had already bent down to place the suitcase on the floor, and after carefully opening it, it revealed the expensive ritual materials Xia De had prepared for this.

"You are really willing to spend money. Even if you can buy cheap smuggled goods, these materials will not be less than four digits of gold pounds."

The Doctor sighed, and then set it up with Xia De.

"Yes, for ring mages, knowledge and power can almost be equated."

Xia De agreed while placing the suitcase he was carrying very carefully against the wall, because dangerous items were stored inside.

They squatted on the floor together, using blue chalk to outline the lines of the ritual base array. Doctor Shi Nai De's level of drawing circles with bare hands was much more brilliant than Xia De's. And the base array of this ritual was roughly the shape of a complex nested clock dial.

"Those who are addicted to power will be lost, and those who are addicted to knowledge will also be lost. I have heard a saying that for the wise, wisdom is their greatest enemy."

The Doctor said, and Xia De also added with a smile:

"I have also heard a saying that knowledge is the bait on the ocean of ignorance."

He put down the chalk, mixed the powder ground from the heart stone of the clock into the extract of the heart of a two-headed red-eyed magic wolf. After confirming that the color turned into the blue mentioned in the ritual records, he dipped it with a small brush made of gray night rabbit tail hair, and then brushed it along the chalk marks drawn by the Doctor.

The blue liquid mixed with the blue chalk marks actually formed gray traces.

"But the desire for knowledge is also the most fundamental driving force for human progress."

The Doctor was still imparting life experience to Xia De. In his view, Xia De, who had just become a ring mage for half a year and was also the youngest in the group, was far from mature:

"My age is older than yours, and I can be considered to have seen with my own eyes how the world has changed in the wave of the steam revolution in the past thirty years, so I can better understand the importance of knowledge and wisdom. It is a pity that knowledge and wisdom are dead, while people are alive."

He hummed with a smile:

"For you, Victor Fanni might be the first crazy person seeking knowledge you have encountered. But for me, things like Victor Fanni have been seen many times. The loss of control of ring mages, if it is not related to the influence of relics, is mostly because they cannot control the desires in their hearts."

Xia De nodded and stood up to correct the position of the ritual base array:

"Then Doctor, what do you think knowledge is, and what is wisdom?"

"I am only helping you conduct the ritual tonight, why are you asking such a philosophical topic?"

The Doctor stood up, the ritual base array was simply arranged, and after placing the symbols into the vacant rings, it was almost time to conduct this "Time Perception" enhancement ritual that Xia De had been looking forward to for a long time.

Xia De was not sure if he was the first person to conduct this ritual, so he did not know if people in history had given a brand-new name to the sublimated miracle "Time Perception".

The two took out the five antique pocket watches Xia De rented from the box, and adjusted the time to 1:03, 5:17, 11:00, 15:21, and 23:40 respectively—the pocket watches were still in a 12-hour format, but there were up and down arrows on the side of the dial to indicate whether it was morning or afternoon. After pausing the pocket watch time, they took out eight silver hourglasses of the same size. These were pure silver antiques that Xia De borrowed from Miss Jia Lin Na's manor.

The candles were lit, the magic potion to assist in enhancing perception was drunk by Xia De, the 【Youthful Ye Zi】 as a ritual auxiliary item was held in Xia De's mouth, and the most important item, the suitcase by the wall, was also opened by Xia De with extreme care.

"However, if you really want to say what knowledge and wisdom are."

The Doctor had already exited the ritual venue, leaning against the fence and watching Xia De open the suitcase. Moonlight shone into the top floor of the bell tower from the window, illuminating the ritual venue and Xia De's side face, while the Doctor stood completely in the dark. Behind him, huge gears of different sizes drove the chains to rotate, which in turn drove the clock dial hands on the outside of the wall to rotate.

"Knowledge is a tool to obtain power; wisdom is the way to use power. Knowledge and wisdom are the methods for me to pass the exam."

"This kind of answer is really pragmatic."

Xia De smiled, because he had a leaf in his mouth, so his voice was a bit slurred.

He looked at the square stone block in the suitcase. On the surface of the stone block, Priest Priest Ao Gu Si personally carved the holy emblem and prayer of the True God 【Mr. Dawn】, and this stone was a floor tile dug out from the main hall of the church.

A brass-colored lock was nailed to the surface of the stone block. After opening the lock, the upper part of the stone block was removed, and one could see the antique hourglass of art embedded in it.

Three glass thin pillars surrounded the main body of the glass hourglass, and the fine sand inside the glass presented a shining silver color, as if the stars were imprisoned in it. The glass thin pillars were hollow, filled with tiny golden fine sand, and the upper and lower domes of the hourglass were made of unknown silver-green stone material with an unusually smooth touch.

The stone domes were polished unusually smooth, and there were patterns of clock dials and giant trees respectively.

The entire hourglass was about the size of two palms. After Xia De grabbed the thin pillars on the side and lifted it up, fine flowing light danced around the three glass thin pillars, and then entangled onto Xia De's hand. At this moment, he had an inexplicable feeling, as if what he was lifting was not an hourglass, but a long river.

The dancing flowing light was like a little elf dancing, forming ancient elf inscriptions in Xia De's eyes, the meaning of which was roughly:

【Time will treat all living beings fairly.】

"This is what you said..."

The Doctor asked in surprise, and Xia De nodded:

"Yes, that angel-level relic borrowed."

It is actually of the Unknown-level, but Xia De was afraid of scaring the Doctor.

The Unknown-level relic 【Time of Retrospection】, because no information could be found on it, Luvia and Priest August only knew it could retrospect time, but did not know how to start it, nor how to end it normally. But this relic was exceptionally sensitive to the power of 【Mr. Dawn】, and was almost completely suppressed by the power of this True God. Therefore, because it had been suppressed under the statue for a long time, the whisper elements were very weak at this moment, and there was no need to worry about the relic itself suddenly losing control.

It was just that Xia De had to return it as soon as possible, otherwise other accidents would certainly occur. When Luvia and Priest August originally contained it, they had only seen the relic's main body and instantly lost all ability to perceive time. If Luvia had not contained the hourglass in time, the Priest's consciousness would have almost been lost in the turbulence of time.

Of course, neither he nor Priest August or Luvia had ever thought about figuring out the characteristics of this relic and then utilizing it in daily life. Unknown-level relics do not have the possibility of being used by mortals.

If relics of other levels are to be used with caution, then only Level 0 relics must absolutely not be used for any purpose other than containment... A Thirteenth-Order Ringed Ringed Shushi is the only exception when dealing with enemies that humans cannot handle.

"Doctor, we can begin."

Xia De said, carrying the very light hourglass in one hand to the center of the ritual array, and after carefully lying down, he placed the hourglass over his heart.

The Doctor nodded silently, then closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a scarlet light flickered in his right eye, and the ancient demonic power instantly influenced this area; power that should not exist in this era immediately stimulated the ritual.

A faint white mist rose from the ground, and in half a minute, it covered Xia De, who was lying on the floor.

Xia De watched with open eyes as the thick fog obscured his vision, and then he heard the ticking sound of the pocket watches they had stopped. Eight antique hourglasses emitted a faint light in the fog, the sand originally at the bottom flying upward as if time were reversing, while the 【Time of Retrospection】 held by Xia De seemed to melt into his body, sinking bit by bit into his chest until it completely disappeared.

A slight stinging sensation in his heart came, and the corners of Xia De's mouth twitched, feeling as if he were lying in a flowing river.

He endured the strange feeling and silently recited in his heart:

"Praise the Father of the Infinite Tree, may the World Tree protect me in time."

Swish~ Swish~ Swish~

He heard the sound of the tree canopy swaying in the wind and felt the breeze blow across his entire body. So, following his intuition, he clutched his stinging heart and sat up in the fog, seeing the giant tree before him that seemed to connect the sky and the earth.

The ancient tree recorded the stories of the years, and every leaf held a ballad of time.

Xia De was quite familiar with this tree, and even quite familiar with this fog, because what was before him was the shadow left behind after the Ancient God 【Father of the Infinite Tree】 departed.

The shadow of the giant tree was reflected in Xia De's eyes, and his stinging heart beat along with the trembling of the treetops as the wind blew through them. The stories of time were all recorded in the rings of the World Tree; looking at this tree, one already knew those stories of the past.

【Outsider, you have touched a "Miracle."】

【The breeze of time blows open the curtain of years, bringing the stories of the past to your side. When your soul touches the truth of time in the long river of years, waiting for you at the end is the shadow of the Father of the Infinite Tree.】

【Outsider, the miracle "Time Perception" has been sublimated.】

【You have obtained the miracle "Contact with the Father of the Infinite Tree," you can perceive the truth of time in more detail.】

Xia De opened his mouth slightly, looking at the giant tree before him:

"Perceiving time has become perceiving the shadow of the Tree Father, this... is truly reasonable. Then, the point in time I am currently in is..."

The truth that had been explored finally appeared in his mind at this moment, and the long river of time finally connected in Xia De's eyes.

At this moment there was no surprise, only a calm after realization, as if everything had lost its meaning to attract him.

The white mist gradually dissipated, and the sublimation ritual of the miracle ended just like that in the brief anomaly. Xia De, who had come back to his senses, found that he was still lying on the floor, and the 【Time of Retrospection】 on his chest was still placed there.

He took the relic with one hand and propped himself up on the floor with the other. Using the brand-new miracle after sublimation, after the pleasant sound of the swishing tree canopy blown by the wind appeared in his ears, Xia De got the answer:

"The current time is 【Present World · Sixth Era, Common Calendar 1854, Second Day of the Month of Birth, Thursday, 8:05 PM】."

"Present World" was the Outsider's own translation, corresponding to the already past 【Past World · Sixth Era】.

"After the Fifth Era Witch Era ended, it was 【Past World · Sixth Era】, then it was still 【Past World · Sixth Era】, and then it was 【Past World · Sixth Era】 again... So, this is not the first time."