Chapter 2604

Xia De grasped the hand of the red-haired girl beside him:

"Are you really unable to completely clear the time curse?"

But the answer received this time was the opposite of the one in the tavern just now:

"There is one way. You already know the four methods to suppress the curse: elven secret medicine, relics, the Time Stability Anchor we make, and repentance in my Lord's temple. Only one of the latter two can be effective.

And if she is willing to believe in my Lord and perform twenty years of penance in the temple, the curse can be completely eliminated."

This was the second method to completely eliminate the curse, aside from the "a spark of First Fire plus the help of the Chosen of Time" proposed by Sister Dieflyn, but by comparison, Xia De felt the nun's method was still more reliable.

"I am not staying here to be a penitent monk."

Miss Danister shook her head as expected and leaned closer to Xia De to show her stance. Mr. Davis had long guessed she would say this, but Xia De also guessed from the method he proposed that there must have been someone in the Hermit order who had been cursed by time:

"Mr. Davis, regardless, thank you for providing this information. So, do you know about Paradox Worms?"

Mr. Davis nodded and waved his hand to let the other hermits by the fire, except for Old Mr. Meloni, leave first:

"I know. Paradox Worms don't appear just because of using a tree hole; it is only after using a tree hole and forming a time paradox event that this kind of worm is born.

We don't know much about this ancient evil creature from legend that is said to be from the same era as the 'World Tree', only that the more powerful the soul from which the Paradox Worm is born, the more powerful it is. This is also the reason why we are more inclined to help ordinary people."

He hesitated for a moment before saying:

"The Paradox Worm that appeared in the city last week was clearly born because of a high-tier sorcerer."

"Miss Owl" was of course high-tier, while the worm born from the Kaming family was much weaker.

"But that doesn't make sense, right?"

Miss Danister, who was to the side, finally spoke up:

"According to our investigation, there have definitely been quite a few time travelers in this forest since the Sixth Era.

Could it be that everyone here strictly followed the requirements and didn't trigger a paradox? Since the Sixth Era, the Vesta Forest has definitely birthed more than one Paradox Worm. You try your best to avoid contact with those worms, so did those worms really just leave on their own?"

This was also Xia De's doubt.

Mr. Davis sighed softly:

"They cannot leave. The Vesta Forest itself possesses power; you should all be able to feel that. This forest restricts those evil things, making them unable to leave this area.

Those weak Paradox Worms born from the souls of ordinary people will eventually be captured and suppressed by the forest's power, and we will also provide necessary help; as for powerful Paradox Worms like the one last week, if no one defeats them, they will be... sealed in the forest by some mysterious existences."

"Time Guardians?"

Xia De asked suddenly, and Mr. Davis looked at him in surprise:

"Yes, you know about them too? I thought the legend of the Time Guardians had completely disappeared from the material world."

"I know, I even know one of them."

This referred to Envy Edwards.

The sorceress beside him poked him quietly, clearly very curious about what Xia De was talking about, while Mr. Davis nodded and continued:

"Weak Paradox Worms are sealed by the forest itself, while powerful Paradox Worms are sealed underground in the forest by those mysterious existences. This has led to the fact that the Vesta Forest actually contains a terrifying number of worms, making time in this area increasingly unstable, and thus more and more tree holes are produced.

We also know that this is not something that can continue. Sooner or later, the forest will no longer be able to control the power of those worms, and by then, this entire area will likely disappear into the torrent of twisted time."

"Are you powerless against this?"

"Not just us, everyone is powerless against this. I have heard about the matter of Midhillburg; the Boundary of Life and Death has existed for so many years, and even the local ordinary people have heard the legends, but does the Church of the Five Gods have a way to completely solve that unknowable-level relic?"

He didn't give Xia De a chance to answer, but shook his head to himself:

"The situation in the Vesta Forest now is similar, only no one knows how powerful the 'bomb' buried here really is. What we have been doing all along is just trying to minimize the appearance of Paradox Worms to delay the time when the final bomb explodes. Not informing the Church also has the reason of preventing the birth of powerful Paradox Worms."

"Fortunately, there is still a chance now. If the story of the Chosen of Time is to appear here, perhaps this problem also has a chance to be solved."

Xia De had nothing to say to this:

"Regarding the rules of time travel, I have already figured out a lot. So, do you have a way to deal with those tree holes? As long as those tree holes exist, they could send people away or bring them here at any time."

Mr. Davis immediately corrected him:

"Actually, those tree holes don't need to be dealt with. The time stability of the material world is relatively strong. Tree holes are very chaotic at first, but gradually the number of connected time points will decrease until they stabilize to connect to a single time, and finally, their characteristic of connecting time will disappear completely.

This process may last for a hundred years, but at least compared to the immortal Paradox Worms, these tree holes will disappear on their own."

"Then is there a way to safely contain those tree holes before they naturally dissipate?"

"Yes, but if you want to do this, remember to confirm in advance that the 'mission' of those tree holes has been completed. Containing tree holes is actually simpler than you think. In the temples of any Old God related to 'time' or 'trees', those tree holes will not be effective.

And what this forest lacks the least, besides worms, are the temples left behind from ancient times."

"Old Gods related to time and trees?"

Xia De looked at the temple beside him, and Mr. Davis immediately shook his head:

"No, no, don't think about putting them here; we never take the initiative to contact tree holes. Also, remember not to take those tree holes away from the Vesta Forest. Although this area itself has unstable time, it is also because of the forest's existence that tree holes are restricted in this area.

If you take them away from the Vesta Forest, their activity will become very strong."

"Then will this kind of tree hole also be born in the material world outside the forest?"

The red-haired girl asked again, and this time it was Mr. Meloni, the "Keeper of Secrets," who gave the answer:

"Yes, but much less than here. I have records here from the year 204 of the Sixth Era. In the 1,600 years from then until now, outside the Vesta Forest, we have only discovered five tree holes, appearing on average once every three hundred years. Those tree holes were all brought back by us to be dealt with; tree holes are very active in the outside world.

The Hermit order suffered huge losses in those three incidents, but at least it was worth it. The 【Light-Guiding Hermit Order】 also helped a lot in them, but they didn't know exactly what we were doing."

"Besides you, are there other sorcerers in the material world maintaining time stability?"

Xia De continued to ask, and this time the answer was affirmative:

"Yes, although the Old Gods have left, there are still devout believers walking in the material world. It's just that they are all loners or small groups. Compared to them, the Hermit order is already a large-scale organization. But we are definitely not the largest organization protecting time in this era."

"Oh, who else?"

Xia De asked curiously, and the middle-aged man said very cautiously:

"Elves. The elves who believe in the Tree Father have never forgotten their mission. Whenever things reach the point of no return, the elves always appear. The Moonstream Clan, the Windchaser Clan, the Flower-Speaker Clan, the Golden-Stamen Clan... Old God believers are the first line of defense, then those ancient elves, and finally those mysterious Time Guardians."

Xia De looked at the red-haired girl beside him, and she shook her head slightly to indicate that she knew nothing about it. Although the Moonstream Clan was now part of St. Byrons, it was clear that the Academy would not forbid elves from entering and leaving the Academy at will, so if they really went out to do some big things every few hundred years, it was not hard to understand why the Academy was unaware.

"Some things are better left unknown; once you know them, you realize that everyone has secrets."

Xia De sighed softly, but to be considerate of the other party's feelings, he didn't ask questions like "Can tree holes be recharged after being used?" Moreover, judging from the current situation, it seemed that besides himself, others could not normally open those tree holes with the Time Key.

Afterward, the four of them chatted a lot more, and Xia De also learned from the hermits about the time travel guide they give to those ordinary "time travelers," the general meaning of which is "don't travel, and even if you do, try not to contact anyone."

Xia De also talked with them about Father Francois, whom he had reported, and the major actions of the Church in the city last night. When they talked about how Father Francois obtained an "acorn" from the relics of a deceased sorcerer of the Church of Nature and used it in conjunction with "Oak Luck Potion" to detect the time traveler, the two hermits looked at each other.

Mr. Davis said quite embarrassedly:

"Actually... alright, not only is the 'Oak Luck Potion' made by us, but the acorn you mentioned should also have flowed out from our hands."

Neither Xia De nor Miss Danister was surprised; they had discussed this possibility, as the "acorn" was truly in line with the style of the 【Hermits of the Forest】.

"It wouldn't be these, would it?"

Xia De pointed to the acorns being roasted in the bonfire beside them, and Mr. Davis immediately shook his head:

"No, no, of course not, these are for eating. That kind of acorn is also a specialty of our order—the Beacon Acorn. Actually, its function is not to detect external time travelers, but to judge whether there is an individual within a certain range whose 'timestamp' is different from one's own."