Chapter 2349: Sacrifice and Fossilization

Her hands touched the falling giant stone again; the scalding sensation was still there, and that layer of water film did not provide much help. But Miss Sander still endured the pain without withdrawing her hands, instead using all her strength to push upward. Even if she couldn't stop the stone door from descending, she thought that slowing down the speed of the stone door's descent would be good.

But even this she could not do; the ancient earth witch's sealing methods were not something a mermaid could contend with.

And this attempt wasted some time, allowing the stone door to descend to half its height. When she finally gave up the attempt and knelt on the ground to look inward again, although the four people behind the door were getting closer, Miss Sander could also see that they would definitely not make it in time.

"Give up."

The worry and tension on her beautiful face became more and more intense, and a voice in her heart said to her, but the various experiences of getting along with Granny Xinnuode, Miss Knight, and the mysterious Miss Mester immediately flooded into her mind.

She thought of being saved by Granny Xinnuode, thought of Miss Knight silently doing all kinds of trivial things, and thought of everyone, including the mysterious Mr. Hamilton, trying to exchange their own sacrifices for that "Heart of the Oasis" to finally be found.

And at this time, the complete compass was all in the satchel she had thrown behind her. Even if she didn't care about the things behind the door, it wouldn't affect her getting that treasure.

"Leaving here now, nothing will happen."

New thoughts popped up, but she looked back at the lonely desert outside the "mouth" illuminated by the moon. Even though she knew that leaving now would not cause her any loss, the heat surging in her chest still made her not do so.

"I am truly a fool."

She turned around quickly, grabbed the package, took out the blood-red 【Philosopher's Stone】 from it, then picked up the petrified longsword Miss Knight had just thrown to her, and then quickly knelt on one knee under the door.

Her right hand pinched the 【Philosopher's Stone】 and carried the stone door together with her shoulder, and her left hand grabbed the longsword and held it in front of her.

Crack~

The irresistible downward pressure of the stone door directly broke her hand bones and shoulder, and the Philosopher's Stone was thus mixed into the blurred flesh and blood on her shoulder.

Pfft!

The blue-haired girl spitting blood took one last look at the surprised people inside the door. Although she herself didn't know why she had made such a choice, and even though the fear and terror in her heart were already surging, she still managed to recite the incantation from her mouth that Miss Knight had said when describing the story to them:

"Power of the Earth · Blessing All Things!"

Inherited divine art power or possessing a corresponding stone statue — met;

High-level alchemical material for shaping life — met;

Faith in ancient gods — met;

Feet on the earth — not met. But because of the special nature of this worm's body — met.

Crack~ Crack~

This sound was no longer the sound of Miss Sander's bones being crushed, but the petrification traces spreading to her whole body from where the stone door touched her body, blocking the falling door, which in turn caused the stone door to make an unbearable sound.

Centered on her feet, the golden miracle elements that soared into the sky at this moment almost ignited the entire giant worm.

The earth responded to the mermaid's sacrifice; the miracle that could not have been realized was awakened because of her offering.

Xia De even felt an extremely strong sense of weightlessness at this moment; the golden aura made him unable to open his eyes, and he felt as if his whole person was walking in the void at this moment.

【Outsider, you have perceived a "miracle".】

【Outsider, you have gained insights into "sacrifice", "earth", and "hero".】

And when that blinding aura like the sun disappeared, and Little Mia also poked her head out, attracted by the light, when they looked forward again, the falling stone door was stuck at two-thirds of the way and no longer moved, and under that stone door, the mermaid girl, who was holding the stone sword in her left hand, with her eyes wide open looking forward, was kneeling on one knee, her expression completely frozen in relief and release.

"The miracle she realized was to maintain the effect of the seal while this door was open. It seems that the power of this divine art is not enough to completely eliminate the corpse of this worm. Of course, it is also possible that her soul is not strong enough."

While Xia De, Granny Xinnuode, and Miss Knight were so surprised they couldn't speak, Miss Mester said softly. But compared to expressing her own views, Xia De felt that this saint was more like explaining the situation to the three of them.

The stone door no longer descended, which meant that the group no longer needed to rush forward. Everything seemed to be over; when the four people supported each other and came to the stone door, they only needed to bend down to pass under the stone door.

But no one did so; Miss Sander's face was facing the inside of the "worm" body. Leaving here, they would never see her again.

Everyone did not speak; everything seemed to be over, but no one was happy in the oppressive atmosphere.

"It was I who told Miss Sander the information about that divine art."

Miss Knight, who was holding her helmet, said, and Xia De knelt on one knee in front of the stone statue, his right hand touching her left arm.

The petrified longsword of the ancient knight that she was holding in her hand was carefully taken out by Xia De. After inheriting "Power of the Earth · Blessing All Things" and becoming the casting ritual material this time, this sword was almost on the verge of shattering and could no longer undertake any tasks.

"I can feel that her soul is still inside the shell, just like the ancient knight we encountered last time."

Xia De said softly, standing up with a very serious expression. This time they were truly saved by Miss Sander, and until now, Xia De didn't even know where she came from.

Granny Xinnuode seemed to know what Xia De was thinking, her face, which was more aged than before, carrying a sorrowful expression:

"Actually, I know about her. She was saved by me from the sand sea; before you all arrived at that temple, she told me her story. Lia Sander is indeed her real name, but she didn't come here to find a birthday gift for her father; she came here to find a birthday gift for her mother."

She choked up:

"Things are not that simple; she was born in a huge mermaid community. The king of the old tribe was already old, and for this birthday, the person who brought the most precious treasure would become the next generation of king.

Apart from her identity as a witch, she had no advantage among her many sisters, but if she failed to become the king, those sisters of hers who were also witches would directly execute her... After all, she was one of the few witches in the royal family."

Granny Xinnuode did not continue, but Xia De and Miss Knight both knew what she meant.

Miss Sander seemed to always be very optimistic and treated everyone with great enthusiasm. But behind this appearance, she also had her own story and her own troubles.

"Let's go out first; with the miracle she summoned, we can come in at any time."

Miss Mester said, and Xia De nodded, so the group bent down one by one and drilled out from under the stone door.

The moonlight illuminated the boundless sand sea; the sand that emitted a golden shimmer during the "day" phase now had a layer of silver light.

This giant worm had indeed moved its position just now; the evidence was not only in the huge gully extending into the distance behind it, but also in the fact that less than twenty steps in front of that giant human head was the Sun Temple that everyone was very familiar with.

After going around in a circle, they actually returned to the original spot; Xia De was even stunned for a moment. He took out some gold ornaments and antiques and threw them to the ground, creating a new camp between the worm's giant head and the temple.

No one said to return to the temple for the time being, so the group of four sat down by the campfire again.

Everyone was silent for a while before Granny Xinnuode picked up the bag containing the compass fragments. After she simply assembled the complete compass, she stood up and walked into the Sun Temple behind the group with the compass.

Soon, a vast aura of life surged out from the temple. Green light emerged from the windows and doors, and after the light converged, Granny Xinnuode walked out holding a green heart-shaped crystal that Xia De had never seen before but knew what it was at a glance. After placing it by the fire, she sat down again.

The fact that the 【Heart of the Oasis】 was actually in the "Sun Temple" where the group was located did not cause any surprise to anyone, as if everyone felt this was a matter of course.

And Xia De, Miss Knight, and Granny Xinnuode were not happy because they had found the "Heart of the Oasis," nor did anyone want to check what this "Heart of the Oasis," which had sacrificed countless people and almost buried them in the desert, actually was.

Everyone silently watched the flames in front of them, and Xia De suddenly asked Miss Mester amidst the crackling sound:

"Do you still have a way to bring Miss Sander back?"

He could only send away the petrified soul and had no way to reverse this special state. Moreover, this was an offering to the "Earth," and only a deity could solve this trouble.

Although there was still divinity in his body, according to the rules of the Time Key, Xia De could not ignite divinity in the past time. The time ripples caused by mortals could still be smoothed out by the years, but once the power of a deity appeared at a time point where it should not appear, the trouble caused would not be something Xia De could solve by not using the Time Key for a few months.

The current method could only let this God of Mist help; if Miss Sander truly died, he would give up. But her soul was still there, and things were not over yet.

The face of that God of Mist appeared even more beautiful in the dancing firelight:

"Of course there is a way."

The other three all looked at her:

"What way?"

"Haven't you noticed? Besides abnormal light, abnormal spatial and temporal characteristics, this desert also brings some illusions that are neither true nor false to outsiders."

The light brown skin appeared more lustrous under the light of the night fire:

"Whether these illusions are true or false, like the lights in the mist, no one can distinguish them without walking close."

Xia De's pupils contracted:

"You mean, using the power of illusions to make the false become true?" ===== CHAPTER 2350 =====