Chapter 658: 3024th Year of the Fifth Era

Although the Doctor's luck was not particularly good, Xia De trusted the Doctor's ability to get things done. With the Doctor mediating in the middle, Xia De believed the probability of this business succeeding was quite high.

Therefore, when Lei Qianya subsequently borrowed Duo Luo Xi's body to give him a lesson, he told her about this matter as well.

The Princess was quite surprised; she held her teacup behind the desk and smiled:

"You can perform spatial movement for over three minutes every hour? That is quite interesting."

She sized Xia De up:

"Although the time is very short, if you have this door, we can meet often."

Only then did Xia De realize that this relic was not as useless as he had imagined.

This week, the study of the fairy tale "The Sleeping Princess" continued. The study cycle had already lasted nearly a month. This time, Lei Qianya did not give those dry theoretical explanations; instead, she burned her own handwritten copy of the story and summoned the princess holding the spindle.

Xia De unexpectedly discovered that compared to using the sorcery while in Lengshuigang, this summoning was significantly faster, and the princess's body was more solid, even approaching a true physical form.

"Last week, didn't you help Duo Luo Xi advance from the Fourth Tier to the Fifth Tier?"

Lei Qianya, sitting in the study chair, set down her teacup and beckoned behind her. The Fifth Tier Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi's life ring appeared. Xia De looked up, but couldn't see any difference:

"What do you mean?"

"Although she only advanced to the same level as me, I clearly felt that I had become stronger too. It's not just that the power fed back from her is stronger..."

As she spoke, she produced another piece of parchment and tossed it out. The sight of the parchment burning in mid-air frightened the cat lying on Xia De's lap; it probably assumed that anything in this room could be set on fire.

After the second piece of parchment burned, the figure of the Match Girl carrying a basket appeared. Together with the Sleeping Princess, she bowed slightly to Xia De, which meant that Lei Qianya could now summon two fairy tale characters simultaneously.

"Our levels are equal, which allows us to better utilize each other's power."

"That is truly remarkable."

Xia De did not stint on his praise:

"Then what about the Red Butterfly matter? Is Old John's alchemical product finished yet?"

"It is finished, but the situation is not very ideal."

Lei Qianya felt very troubled when speaking of this. She picked up her teacup, and the Sleeping Princess at her side helped her refill it:

"After improving the materials, it only allowed our eye-contact time to become longer; it didn't bring about any essential change. Old John also admitted that he couldn't do any better than this, and we should think of other ways."

"Then, you went to investigate the Old God 【Twin Gods】, right?"

"Yes. You know that although I don't live at the Academy, I am not considered a correspondence student. I applied to my mentor to investigate the materials, and the Zhalas Literature Academy also has records regarding this god."

Although this had nothing to do with tonight's lesson, Xia De still asked curiously from behind the desk:

"Is there any new news?"

"None. This Great One who has already departed was not a particularly famous god to begin with, because the transcendents of the previous era—the witches—did not reproduce. Lacking the prayers of transcendents hoping to give birth to twins, the faith was severely weakened."

Lei Qianya covered her head:

"Currently, the only clear thing known is what you mentioned: this Twin God once descended in the previous era near the current Xikaer Mountain, bestowing power upon a pair of female twins and helping them defeat an Xiewu sealed in the subspace."

Professor Deng En's materials did not specify the gender of those twins. And judging by the whereabouts of the Blood Duke ring, the old man at the banquet also died in the Xikaer Mountain region.

"Did the materials record the names of the twins blessed by the god? Could it be... Helen and Grace?"

Xia De asked hesitantly.

"Are those the names of the twin girls you met in the past?"

Lei Qianya smiled:

"You really have a way with women. But unfortunately, there are no names of those twin girls in the Academy's records. However, the pronouns used to describe people in the Fifth Era also indicate age stages; the twin girls who received divine grace during the descent were about 20 years old."

"I see."

"Oh, the materials did record that the defeated subspace Xiewu was sealed by the girls' family and was passed down through generations... What is that expression on your face?"

Lei Qianya asked curiously. A smile appeared on Xia De's face. He stood up, walked to the window, and held Mia while looking at the night view of Saint Theresa Square outside.

Carriages passed through the square, and the neighborhood under the gas streetlights was quiet and peaceful:

"They really did it. They really relied on the Blood Duke's relic to find the Twin Gods' sect to seek help, and they really severed the fate that plagued countless pairs of twins... That's great. They broke their own fate; that is truly wonderful."

Lei Qianya tilted her head to look at him:

"In the past, why do you always encounter such strange things? I mean, the past and the present are always being connected by you in this era, such as the matter of Miss Feilian, and that Sage-level relic in your basement."

"Don't think of me as that kind of strange person."

Although he knew Lei Qianya was joking, Xia De still refuted it.

"It's getting late. Rest is over. Next, let's proceed to the final step of tonight's lesson."

As Lei Qianya spoke, that princess who looked very much like Lei Qianya and held a spindle walked toward Xia De:

"The best way to let you experience 【Slumber】 is to let you have a sleep. I remember you need to wake up before dawn tomorrow to use the next key? No problem, I can precisely control the sleep time."

"Oh, Lei Qianya, isn't it too early now? It's only nine-thirty in the evening; I usually sleep at twelve."

"That's why your lifestyle is too irregular. Go and rest quickly; don't you have to get up early tomorrow morning? I'll go upstairs to chat with Luweiya for a while and then leave."

As she spoke, she actually took the spindle from the Sleeping Princess, while the princess in the fluffy long dress looked at Xia De with a smile.

"This thing can actually be touched by others?"

Xia De was very surprised.

"The nature of this spindle is very similar to your Moonlight Greatsword. Likewise, the Match Girl's basket can also be touched... I can prick you myself in a moment."

Luweiya chuckled and gestured:

"Do you want me to do it to your cat too?"

"Meow~"

The cat, which was sometimes very smart but sometimes very silly, had already become interested in that golden spindle.

(Little Mia is sleeping zZ...)

If one carefully explores the power of a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi, there are actually many inconspicuous additional effects. For example, Xia De's terrifying curse 【Blood Brew Production】 can be used to brew wine very well.

And Lei Qianya's "Sleeping Princess" could actually let Xia De have a good night's sleep without dreams, and even after waking up, he felt refreshed and had a sense of pleasantness he had never felt before.

"That is truly not bad."

The time was before the first ray of sunlight rose on a Sunday morning. Because it was not yet six-thirty, Mia felt Xia De get up and did not follow him out of bed.

The key to be used next was from the year 3024 of the Fifth Era. Twenty-two years had passed since the God-Descending event in the Forest of Thousand Trees; exactly ten years had passed since the Divine Banquet at the Night Manor.

This key was provided by Granny Cassandra, and Xia De had already told Miss Miss Jia Lin Na about the key. The witch looked forward to Xia De encountering Miss Feilian again, but Xia De still pessimistically believed the probability was high.

This was the first time using this key, so Xia De did not need to make any special preparations.

After getting up and washing up a little, he greeted Mia and inserted the key into the bedroom door:

"May the World Tree protect me in time."

White fog spilled out from the door crack, like silk threads.

【Outlander, you have stepped into the "Corridor of Time."】

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

【Winter, 3024 of the Fifth Era, Central Continent, Valley of Dead Silence.】

【Event: The Destruction of the Gadis Library.】

【Duration: Thirty minutes (1/3).】

"Ha, after the East, West, South, and North, I've finally reached the Central Continent. So, how many large landmasses are there in the material world of the Fifth Era?"

【You have obtained additional information.】

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

【The Ancient God of Time gives you a trial.】

【Assist the Old God "Gray-Robed Sage" in completing the documentation of the library's archives.】

【The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you a reward: Knowledge - Original Sin Sorcery, a piece of true information - Vampire Species.】

"Hmm? This time, there isn't even a sorcery?"

Xia De still remembered that the first time he used a key, there was a spirit rune and a sorcery, but now, it was actually just knowledge and information.

"It's free anyway, let's go see what the situation is this time."

Xia De couldn't help but shake his head, and amidst "her" soft laughter, he stepped out of the white fog.

"Oh!"

As he stepped out, the surrounding white fog seemed to be pushed away by a great force, scattering to both sides with the center of his vision as the midline. But after the white fog receded, the main tone of his vision remained white.

The howling gale mixed with the snow filling the sky, along with the snow layer on the ground that was almost up to his knees, constructed a winter scene before Xia De's eyes. The bone-chilling cold made Xia De, who had just left his warm and comfortable bedroom, couldn't help but shiver.

The gale passed by him, making a hair-raising sound; other than that, there was no other sound here. Looking up, amidst the sky-filling snow, was a valley with an open yet deep and oppressive view. This was truly the most standard "valley," with steep cliff walls on both sides that were almost perpendicular to the ground, converging continuously toward the front and gathering together in an approximately circular arc ahead.

As for behind him, the cliff walls extended into the distance, and he couldn't see the end at all.

These cliff walls were about several hundred meters high, but because the valley area was quite large, sunlight could shine directly down, causing the snow layer to reflect blinding light. The cliff walls on both sides and in front had been hollowed out by hand and carved into the appearance of cliff architecture.

After the erosion of time, most of the cliff architecture had been damaged, turning into ancient ruins, and these buildings were likely the "Gadis Library" mentioned in the mission description.

"It really is winter... I hope the coming winter in Tobesk won't be as cold as this."

The dense, swirling snowflakes blurred his vision, and the snowflakes even caused pain when they hit his face. Xia De shivered in the snow; fortunately, he had considered that he might encounter various dangerous situations during his adventure, so he had prepared a heavy coat long ago.