Chapter 3224

The old man wearing the deer-horn hat coughed and said quite formally:

"In short, Mr. John Watson, in view of your contribution to purifying the snow mountain for Fatumunster Island, and your saving of Harald and defeating the magic sword, I, in the name of the 'Snow Mountain Gathering Place', recognize your 'Honorary Fatu Person' qualification."

"I know that for a talented and capable young man like you from the Old Continent, this qualification actually doesn't mean much, but in short, from now on, you are not only our collaborator but also our most honored guest."

"This is also my honor."

Xia De replied softly. The old men were satisfied with the young man's humility, while the witch was satisfied with the result tonight. She even complained:

"If you had treated me with such kindness before I left this island back then, I wouldn't have left after a big quarrel with my grandfather."

"Cough, cough."

Elder Harald coughed, telling his granddaughter not to continue:

"Mr. Watson, actually, after becoming a priest, everyone can obtain some revelations about their own fate through this 'Ice Jade'. When little Claire was born, we knew about her future—following the sun and finally falling into the moon... Come on, this is what you deserve. Let fate reveal your future; that will be the most critical fate node in your future. Young man, are you confused about the future?"

"Confused, I have actually been thinking about my high-ring sublimation words recently."

Xia De said, curiously looking at the beautiful ice crystal again. The pebble shape actually looked like some kind of egg:

"So this holy object is actually a divination tool?"

"Try it yourself and you will know."

The witch pushed Xia De to the front of the "Ice Jade". Elder Weierda rummaged through the pocket of his thick cotton coat and found something pitch-black and handed it to Xia De:

"Eat this."

"Hmm... what is this?"

But the old man obviously didn't want to answer. This was probably some kind of secret recipe. However, that pitch-black thing had no traces of elements, and except for its ugly appearance, there was nothing abnormal. Xia De put it in his mouth, swallowed it directly, and made a judgment:

"Some kind of meat."

Elder Harald took out his wine flask and let Xia De take a sip; Elder Wuersha took off the feathers on her hat and waved them around Xia De's head a few times; Elder Suolin took out a local unique musical instrument like a flute and played it. The clear, sharp, and ethereal flute sound was very pleasant.

Finally, Elder Wule gave Xia De a pinch of coral powder and told him that for ordinary people, this coral powder is a powerful hallucinogen, and seeing little people dancing around oneself after contact is the mildest situation.

In short, after being prepared, Xia De's hand touched the "Ice Jade" again.

In an instant, it was as if a powerful suction force sucked him into the ice crystal. He stood blankly on the snow mountain under the inverted sea of stars, looking around, and then saw a little person constantly approaching the highest peak not far away. Squinting his eyes to look carefully, Xia De realized that it was himself.

"Himself" came step by step to the mountain peak area that seemed to be ruins, and at the highest point, he spread his arms and jumped down—

Boom!

In an instant, he who was watching this scene seemed to have turned into the person falling from the mountain peak. At this moment, sparks exploded in the depths of his soul. The outsider, with wide eyes, only felt that some answer about to be revealed appeared in his mind, but this answer was covered up by "her" voice at the last moment:

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

【You have gained insight into "snake", "fate", and "cycle".】

【Outsider, you have glimpsed the second step of your own demigod path—falling from somewhere. Next, you need to realize it.】

The stunned Xia De let go of his hand touching the ice jade. The five great elders all looked at his expression curiously, and the witch wanted to know what he saw even more.

The "demigod path" started from contacting the 【Fate Pedestal】 at the "Black Mist Camp" and learning about "knowing one's own origin" (Chapter 1804); then at the end of the Battle of Green Lake, he learned that the reason he came from the outsider was that Luweiya's multiple restarts of time and space tore the world, which triggered an absolutely impossible "miracle", and this was the first step of the demigod path (Chapter 1979).

The "Rebirth Ceremony" (Chapter 2927) that obtained a brand-new core spirit rune after the mission of the "Different Tree Academy" was completed not long ago had already made him guess that his origin was related to the ancient moon tower of Mount Karas. And now that he saw himself falling from the peak of the snow mountain and knew how the second step of the demigod path should be taken, he had more and more guesses about what happened before he "opened his eyes" in the midsummer of 1853.

"Is it helpful to you?"

Seeing Xia De stunned and not speaking, the witch on the side asked curiously. Xia De came back to his senses and nodded very forcefully, with a full smile on his face:

"Helpful, very helpful. Next, dangerous and urgent missions can be handed to me. This gift is really too good... Also, is there any place on the snow mountain suitable for jumping off a cliff?"

He shook his head violently again:

"Forget it, pretend I didn't say that. I will go up the mountain to investigate myself."

Then he asked Elder Weierda who gave him that black thing just now:

"That was snake meat, right?"

The old man wearing the ram-horn hat was very surprised:

"How did you guess?"

Because the hint given by "her" included "snake", Xia De even began to suspect whether something related to the ancient God of Fate was buried under this snow mountain. "Snake", "Fate", "Reciprocating Cycle", the pointing of these three spirit runes was too clear, almost equivalent to writing the name of "Ouroboros/Mr. Ring".

"So what exactly is under the snow mountain?"

Xia De raised this question again. Others didn't speak, only Elder Weierda, who was standing with his back to the massive fireplace, touched his goatee:

"Before answering your question, I will first solve another doubt for you. Claire said that when you jumped into the spring eye this morning, you vaguely sensed a huge space inside the cliff?"

Xia De nodded:

"But it disappeared afterwards. I even suspected that my perception had a problem."

"No, your perception is fine. In fact, the Fatu people discovered long ago that strange caves often appear in the snow mountain, but those caves disappear quickly. Sometimes people enter the cave from the mountainside and find themselves walking out from the foot of the mountain, and sometimes people who enter the cave never return."

Elder Weierda emphasized:

"This phenomenon appears most frequently before the All Souls Festival every year. Claire, although you haven't heard the elders talk about this, you should remember what the adults used to scare you."

Miss Lei Qianya remembered it now:

"The adults often said that there are caves on the snow mountain that eat children, so let us be obedient and not run around, otherwise they would throw us into the cave."

Elder Weierda nodded:

"Judging from the legends of the ancient times, there is a series of caves between 'existence' and 'non-existence' inside the Fatumunster Snow Mountain. These caves are not simple spatial phenomena; they are part of the snow mountain and are proof that a certain great existence once appeared here."

Xia De squinted at Miss Lei Qianya, and the witch obviously thought of the same one as Xia De.

Seeing the outsider young man with a thoughtful expression, Elder Weierda added:

"As for what exactly is in the holy mountain, sorry, we can't explain it clearly either. Fatu scholars once studied this, and folklorists from the Old Continent also spent half their lives here exploring this secret, but the conclusions finally obtained were just unfounded speculations—sealed ancient Xiewu, traces left by ancient gods, some kind of powerful artifact, sleeping angels, and so on.

If you want to know these secrets, our library is open to you, and you can also go to the holy mountain to find the answer yourself."

"Then what about that snake skin? That is the snake skin I found from the bottom of the spring eye today."

The snake skin was carried by the witch. She wanted to take it out but was stopped by the elders:

"Since there is information about you on it, don't let others see it casually. Regarding the snake skin, we can only say that a long, long time ago, the Fatu tribes actually had a very distinct tradition of 'Giant Snake Worship', but this tradition was lost in some unknown era.

But judging from ancient myths and stories passed down from generation to generation, snake skins found in the snow mountain are usually regarded as 'luck' bestowed by the snow mountain to someone. People will carry these snake skins as tokens to obtain a lifetime of happiness and peace. After they die, the snake skins will be buried in the sea along with the corpse, so although there are such rumors locally, no physical objects have been passed down. We also don't know if the snake skins found by people in the past are the same items as the one you got."

"Then what about the words on the snake skin? Have people who found similar snake skins in the past noticed words appearing on them?"

Elder Harald looked at Elder Weierda, who nodded slightly:

"There is only one record related to this, and that was five hundred years ago. When repairing the auditorium in the mountain, an elder accidentally discovered a snake skin sealed in ice. After taking it out, he found that complete words appeared on it—

【The story has not yet begun, the stage does not need actors.】"

Miss Lei Qianya pursed her lips and thought for a moment:

"Then that snake skin has also entered the Star Fall Bay with the sea burial?"

"We need to confirm this point again; after all, it was five hundred years ago. If that snake skin still exists, we will find it for you and Mr. Watson. In addition, Mr. Watson, although the Fatu tribes don't have many good things, during your time on the island, you can purchase materials, potions, and charms from us at a low price. The snow mountain water that was provided to you to directly restore Qi can only be sold to you three times a month."

?? PS: Ask for votes at the end of the month!!! Today is the last day of March!!!

? (End of chapter)