Chapter 4202: The Key to Oblivion and the Abode of God

The temple in the mist blended perfectly with the surrounding swamp. Vines clinging to the outer walls and moss and lichen growing in the corners made the temple almost indistinguishable from the swamp background.

It looked very large, to Xia De, almost a quarter the size of the Ice Castle. However, it had been a long, long time since anyone had cared for it. From the outside, the entire right side of the temple had partially collapsed, most of the windows were boarded up with wood, and even the pillars in front of the entrance were nothing more than stumps.

The temple doors were tightly shut, but Xia De could see firelight from within through the cracks. He crossed the two pillars and arrived at the entrance. After a moment of hesitation, he knocked hard on the door panels. Seeing no response, he pushed open the door on the right.

A creak broke the silence of the swamp. The mist and Xia De's shadow entered the room together. In the somewhat empty hall, among the figures sitting around the fire, only one looked vigilantly at the new intruder.

Confirming that Xia De was a humanoid creature and that he lacked any chaotic elemental characteristics, the witch warned in a cold voice:

"If you want to enter, step inside and close the door. None of us want too much of the mist from outside coming in."

Beside the fire were three witches and one young man. Though he was called young, he looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, much older than the Outlander's appearance. The man was certainly a commoner, while the three witches consisted of two mid-tier and one high-tier.

The one who warned Xia De was the high-tier witch. She looked similar in age to Miss Jia Lin Na and Xiwei, with beautiful black hair, but a black blindfold covered her eyes. Xia De's first reaction was that he had encountered a blind nun from the Ringed Shushi, but he immediately realized she likely just had an eye ailment.

The remaining two mid-tier witches were two old women who looked exactly alike. They were likely twins, both at the fifth tier, with their life energy quite weak.

After a quick scan, Xia De officially entered the temple and closed the door behind him. The mist was shut out, and the interior of the temple felt inexplicably warmer and drier than the outside. Although the hall looked empty, some dilapidated long wooden chairs were still stacked against the walls, and a series of faded religious oil paintings hung on the walls.

At the end of the hall was a screen wall. Corridors extended from both sides of the screen toward the left and right of the temple. Based on the architectural structure, there should be stairs behind the screen leading to the upper level.

The four people who arrived before Xia De were currently positioned slightly toward the interior of the hall. The room was very quiet; even with Xia De deliberately controlling his movements, his footsteps as he walked toward the fire still suppressed the breathing of the four and the crackling of the flames.

The only man by the fire only then glanced at Xia De before continuing to stare blankly at the flames, looking rather foolish and dull. Although the twin old witches were curious about Xia De, their current weak state was even more severe than when Xia De first met Wei Ge.

As for the high-tier witch with the eye ailment, she remained silent as Xia De walked toward the fire. Xia De assumed she was a very calm person, waiting for him to sit down before speaking. But when Xia De reached a distance of ten steps from the fire, the witch exclaimed:

"Wait, you are a male?"

"Even if your eyes cannot see for the moment, with your level, you shouldn't have only just realized... I understand, this place suppresses your perception. You assumed that since there was no feeling of a witch's curse being triggered, the person who arrived must also be a witch."

Xia De said, continuing to walk forward. The high-tier witch naturally did not want this creature—whose nature she did not yet know—to get closer, but Xia De kindly reminded her:

"With your twelfth-tier level, if your perception were not affected, perhaps I would not be able to defeat you. But now, you have to be within ten steps to 'see' my appearance clearly. In this situation, isn't it more dangerous for you if I stop outside your perception range?"

"But you clearly mean that you have the confidence to suppress me and prevent me from stopping you from approaching!"

The witch said, and Xia De nodded:

"Yes. Since you understand my meaning, I don't need to say such arrogant words myself. Miss, I have no ill intent."

He arrived at the fire, glanced at the other three, and extended his hand toward the witch with the eye ailment:

"Xia De Hamilton."

The witch did not stand up, but completely as Xia De expected, she did not shake his hand, instead raising her hand to grab Xia De's wrist. A moment later, she said in disbelief:

"How is this possible?"

"I have also been seeking the answer... May I sit down?"

Seeing that only this witch was communicating with him, Xia De asked. The latter nodded slowly, and only after Xia De sat down did she ask again:

"Are you from the mist?"

"Of course."

The witch with the eye ailment frowned:

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't doubt others casually, but there is a strange power in that mist..."

"I know, it makes people lose their memories, and even think of strange things."

Xia De extended his hands to warm them by the fire, though his body wasn't actually very cold. This strange place did not have extreme cold, but Xia De's soul could feel a very strange sense of emptiness, and the fire in front of him was reducing this feeling. This bonfire was the same as the flames on the two torches outside.

However, the moonlight remained, and the impact of the soul's emptiness on Xia De was not strong.

"When I flew over from the mist just now, I forgot what I was doing several times, and even thought this was some kind of prophetic dream. Fortunately, there was firelight here, so I walked and stopped, and finally made it over."

Xia De explained. The witch pursed her lips, and although her eyes were covered by gauze, Xia De could still feel her "looking" at him.

"Your soul must be incomparably powerful."

She pointed to the only commoner present:

"He is considered an individual with a strong spirit among commoners, and he arrived here relying solely on his own willpower and some amulets, but the price was this—he has almost forgotten everything. Even though he is no longer affected by the outside world in the temple, he only has his most instinctive reactions left."

She pointed again to the two old women huddled together:

"They are probably around the fifth tier, relying on each other's encouragement and some unique talents to break through the thick fog in the swamp. But when they first arrived here, they were also dazed for a long time before regaining the ability to communicate.

Even for me, when I stumbled here, my memory had gaps, and even now I have forgotten many things. But you look very normal, at most having forgotten small things like where you put your house keys or whether you fed the cat today."

"I would never forget to feed the cat."

Xia De emphasized. He had basically understood the special nature of the outside world. In this way, the safe zone this time was the interior of this temple:

"I have had some special opportunities and have been blessed by gods. Coupled with my naturally strong soul, I have forgotten fewer things. Compared to my gender issue, my soul issue shouldn't be a particularly big deal, right?"

"This... is also true."

"Then Miss, you are the first person to arrive here, right?"

The witch then began to introduce herself. That she trusted Xia De so easily had to do with the fact that there was really no one else here to communicate with her. In the case of having an eye ailment, this loneliness was fatal:

"Isolde Thorne, twelfth-tier witch, loyal to the great witch of the contemporary 'Earth' seat. I arrived here earlier than the others, and it was I who ignited the two torches outside and the fire here, so that everyone could have this resting place."

The witch said with a hint of pride. Although she looked a bit disheveled, she indeed had the demeanor of a twelfth-tier witch. Even though demigods still existed in the mid-Fifth Era, thirteenth-tier witches were not common, but the twelfth tier was still the top power of this era.

Xia De nodded to show he understood. Although the other party had an eye ailment, she could certainly feel his movements.

That Ms. Thorne asked again:

"You are also like us, here to seek the help of a god, wanting to cure some kind of illness, right? Do you want to cure your gender?"

"No, no, my gender is very normal."

Xia De blinked, thought of Wei Ge's situation, and suddenly realized that this was also an opportunity:

"I didn't come here for myself, but for a witch friend of mine... a lover. Because of her mother's issues, she has a congenital illness. Ordinary means cannot treat her, and I think perhaps only a god can save her from her pain."

Ms. Thorne was not surprised at all, but she sighed:

"Then that witch is really lucky to have met a lover like you. Do you know why we are staying here?"

Xia De thought for a moment, guessing based on his time mission experience:

"You haven't found a way to call upon that Great One yet?"

But the witch shook her head:

"No, we have all forgotten what illness we wanted to cure when we came here. The gods are very merciful and willing to provide help to us humble mortals, but we must state the help we want to receive ourselves. Although gods are omniscient, mortals can only make one request. This is not a limitation of the gods, but that mortals should not be greedy."

"What you want to cure should be..."

Xia De looked at her blindfold, but Ms. Thorne shook her head very firmly:

"No, although I have forgotten what illness I wanted to cure, it is definitely not my eye ailment, definitely not. Every mortal who can persist in walking here can only ask the gods for one chance of healing. I must recall my true purpose before I can tell it to that Great One."

Xia De had basically understood the key point of this mission. He asked somewhat uncertainly:

"So, do you know where that Great One is?"

Ms. Thorne nodded as a matter of course:

"Of course, isn't this the temple of the Old God, the 'God of Compassion'? When I arrived here, He was already waiting for us. It was also God who gave me the fire, and only then did I ignite the firelight here."

"So, that god is now..."

"On the second floor of the temple. There are elevators on both sides of the wall behind the screen. Take the elevator to the second floor, and after pushing open the door to the residence, you will be able to see Him."

Ms. Thorne asked:

"Now, are you prepared to meet the god?" ===== CHAPTER 4203 =====