Chapter 1213

The disappearance of that figure also caused the surroundings to return to normal, meaning Xia De once again perceived himself submerged in the black mud, and continuing to sink.

Contact with the black mud would not petrify him, but it was not entirely without effect. At first, it was just a stinging pain, but after sinking deeper for a mere few seconds, Xia De clearly felt he could no longer hold on. Yet, he was also very certain that at least one drop of divinity was waiting for him at the source of this black mud.

【You must leave. Your soul can endure it, but your body cannot withstand this level of contamination. Even if you use the miracle to transform into a stone statue, you cannot continue to sink. You need stronger Earth power to sink into deeper regions.】

"I need a second Earth power? Like Luvia's 'Earth Power: Abundant Domain'?"

【Quantitative accumulation is meaningless for this. You need to make 'Earth Power: Healing Aura' stronger. Every time you purify the earth, it enhances the effect of this spell. If I were to make an inaccurate guess, you would need to purify another 158 'Saint-Périer Cemetery'-level ancient pollutions, or 201 sources of this kind of pollution, to have a faint possibility of reaching the source of the black mud.】

"Where am I supposed to find 158 or 201..."

If 158 "Saint-Périer Cemetery"-level pollutions truly existed, it would mean the problems in Randel Valley City had completely spiraled out of control. Xia De could consider asking the other Luvia if she could restart the Sixth Era again. But the problem was, he hadn't found the time key, and even if he did, he didn't have enough 'spirit' to purify so much pollution.

"Looks like I'll have to think of another way to enhance the spell. Divinity is something that must be obtained!"

He tied the chain of the Door Pendant to his arm to prevent losing it, and at this moment, he held the time key in one hand and the pendant in the other, preparing to open the door.

Even in the black mud, the cracked wooden time key was not petrified, and even faintly emitted a verdant light. As for the small door pendant that was originally metal, it had now turned into stone. But fortunately, the time key had no requirements for the material of the door; as long as it could be opened and closed and was in the shape of a door, any strange material would work:

"May the World Tree protect me in the infinite flow of time."

Click~

The heavy yet small stone door opened, and the fog door, squirming with white mist, directly "sucked" Xia De in.

【Outsider, you have stepped into the 'Corridor of Time'.】

【Message from the Ancient God 'Father of the Infinite Tree':】

【Fifth Era, Autumn of 4791, Southern Continent, Worm Cave.】

【Event: Butterfly Festival.】

【Duration: Sixty minutes (3/3).】

【You have obtained additional information.】

【The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree continues to watch you.】

【The trial given to you by the God of Time will continue.】

【Help a mortal complete the Old God 'Thousand-Eyed Phantom Butterfly's' festival, so that one of them may obtain the favor of the familiar.】

【The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you a reward: Miracle - Fiona's Housekeeping Servant, and a piece of true information - Mermaid.】

"Hmm? Sixty minutes?"

Stepping out from the white mist, the "Worm Cave" tunnel that had left a deep impression on Xia De, even though it still had a choking stench, now felt so intimate, because there was no black mud here.

Those black muds originating from the essence of the Mad Earth naturally could not follow Xia De to this era. And although his skin and clothes were still stained with the heavy scent of the curse, fortunately, in the "Worm Cave," where even the concepts of time and space did not exist, the power of whispers and curses was even more intense.

Compared to that, the aura on Xia De was negligible.

"Oh!"

The pain in his right arm from the punch-up with the Gray Stone Giant was perceived again, and the appearance of a living person caused the insects living in the dense, tiny holes in the rock walls to stir once more. Xia De clutched his arm and sprinted forward, transforming into a swarm of scarlet butterflies again when the "insect rain" fell.

As the swarm of butterflies flew like a stream of light from the side of the rock wall, through the cave entrance decorated with vines and flowers, and finally landed at the very bottom of the cave, the people participating in the banquet understood that the peculiar man had returned.

Xia De emerged from the swarm of butterflies, and the red butterflies flapping their wings stopped on his shoulders, disappearing into broken shards of light as he landed in his seat. Because of the real butterflies that appeared due to the Butterfly God 'Thousand-Eyed Phantom Butterfly', they fluttered around Xia De as he sat down.

If not for Xia De's previous declaration that he did not want the favor of the Butterfly God's familiar, the witch Bletchley, Sister Perry, and Mr. Lehman would have truly doubted whether there was any point in continuing this banquet.

The dancing butterflies scattered seven-colored light spots around Xia De, and the injury on his arm healed rapidly. The healed injury allowed him to maintain a proper sitting posture. And after a week apart, all three companions at the banquet looked to be in good spirits.

The middle-aged witch Bletchley looked at Xia De curiously, nodding at him after he sat down; the middle-aged nun Ollie Perry bowed her head slightly as a greeting, which made Xia De think of her aged appearance again. The banquet was not yet over, but he had already seen the end of this pious soul.

As for Mr. Lehman, he was still writing and drawing on the paper in front of him, adjusting the phrasing of his poem. According to Sister Perry, this gentleman also successfully left this place, and propagated his family in Randel Valley City, with descendants even into the Sixth Era.

Xia De had already investigated; there was no ancient family with the surname "Lehman" in Randel Valley in the year 1854 of the Sixth Era, so their descendants had likely changed their surnames.

However, if it could be confirmed that it was Mr. Fred Lehman who obtained the favor of the Butterfly God's familiar after the banquet, then perhaps his descendants possessed exotic bloodlines. And the nurse statue at Helen and Grace's place would point Xia De toward the existence of special bloodlines.

"Butterfly God, it is a great honor to grace your banquet for the third time."

Xia De respectfully said to the God sitting across the giant round table. The God, who had illusory, transparent butterfly wings on his back, asked:

"You have already obtained my gift?"

"Yes, I have temporarily left it with a pair of butterfly girls. If you are interested, I can tell you that story. But before that, please allow us to present our poems to you."

After receiving the God's permission, the four people followed the same order as last time, presenting their works in turn.

Lehman was the first, and as expected, he praised the beauty of the "butterfly girls" according to his imagination. Some of the sentences were even a bit... unhealthy, but this fully reflected Mr. Lehman's sincere heart. This gentleman had considerable accomplishments in poetry creation, and the poem was written quite well.

Sister Perry was the second, and she created a poem in the style of a religious hymn. Compared to Mr. Lehman, Sister Perry's poem was a bit ordinary, and she knew that she was likely not the most outstanding in this round either, but the nun was able to maintain her composure.

The third was the middle-aged witch Bletchley. Xia De had originally thought that as the only supernatural being among the three, she would show the same advantage in the second round as she did in the first. But Witch Bletchley's poem was not even as good as Sister Perry's.

Because the witch was sitting next to Xia De, she asked after noticing Xia De's gaze:

"Why would you think I am good at creating poetry?"

"Because... you are a witch."

"Must a witch necessarily be good at creation? That is a very obvious prejudice held only by those who know nothing about witches, sir."

Xia De had entrusted Miss Bernice, Princess Luvia, and Dorothea to help him find excellent poems created in the Sixth Era this week. Miss Bernice had selected for him "Group Poem: Butterfly Dance," created by a Deraerion poet around the year 1024 of the Sixth Era. And Princess Luvia and Dorothea had actually written a poem themselves to give to Xia De, believing that since it was an offering to a God, an original work would be better.

Xia De also thought this idea was good, so what he brought in the end was the long poem "True Red Butterfly" by Dorothea and Princess Luvia. They had created this long narrative poem using Grace and Helen as prototypes. After learning the story of the Red Butterfly Twins, the impact on the Princess and the writer lady was even greater than on Xia De, who had witnessed the story himself. And after creating this poem, both of them had obtained new enlightening power.

Because it was a long poem, Xia De held the book emitting starlight and read for a full five minutes. The three companions listened very seriously, and after he sat down, Mr. Lehman closed his eyes and applauded lightly:

"Although I am unwilling to admit it, it seems I really am still far behind."

Sister Perry sighed slightly, lamenting the fate of the twin sisters who tortured each other in the story. And Witch Bletchley was very curious about the ending of the story; the ending of this narrative long poem lingered on the cycle beginning again, the twin sisters sitting on the mountain top holding hands, watching the rising sun from the east, looking forward to the meeting in the next cycle together.

The God gave a very similar evaluation to the last time:

"A very good poem. Although it cannot be called the top-tier, the story and the emotions contained by the creators are already enough to surpass most of the poems I have witnessed. But this is not your poem, and your recitation technique is also very poor. If the last time was only technique without emotion, then this time is only emotion without technique."

Xia De noticed that the middle-aged witch who had been lowering her head also revealed a smile at this time. He coughed awkwardly:

"I am willing to admit that I have no accomplishments on the path of art and literature. But since it is a tribute prepared for your banquet, I certainly could not just take any song or poem to fool you, so please forgive me for bringing someone else's work."

(End of chapter)