Chapter 776: Respective Blessings and Xia De's Advancement

"Xia De, even you cannot set foot in the water in your living form. Please allow me to bestow a blessing upon you."

The priest also steadied himself against the ground and stood up. He did not avoid the others beside the bonfire, and the half-white, half-black scorched wings behind him slowly unfurled.

"Oh!"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na exclaimed, but seeing Sister Daifulin "watching" this scene very calmly, she hurriedly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

"Death protects you, Xia De Suren Hamilton. When you stand in the land of death, death shall be your companion."

As he spoke, those two wings grew larger, then folded forward, completely enveloping Xia De. By the time the wings turned transparent and vanished, Priest Ao Gu Si had already sat back down, and Xia De looked at his own palms.

On the palm of his left hand was the mark of a pitch-black horn, and on the palm of his right hand was the mark of a pitch-black scythe. This seemed to represent the power of that First Angel, but Xia De was not entirely certain.

His body temperature was becoming lower, yet this power of death did not conflict in the slightest with the blessing of the Father of the Infinite Tree:

"Now, you can safely walk upon that stretch of water."

The priest was not at all exhausted after this blessing. This old priest was far more powerful here than in the world of the living:

"Additionally, if you can hold out for three minutes, I can launch an attack on Joey Barton from the shore. It will take time, but it will definitely help you."

"But your power is still insufficient."

Sister Daifulin also stood up, her silver crown-like eye mask gazing at Xia De. Yin Yi Yi Lu Na drew the Night Watcher and handed it to Xia De. Xia De held the longsword aloft and came before the nun. The nun raised her hands slightly, cupping that cluster of slender flames:

"Xia De Suren Hamilton, not everyone can use the Primordial Fire. Are you willing to try letting this flame attach to your sword?"

Xia De nodded, holding the longsword with both hands as he approached the slender flame. Even though the 【Night Watcher】 was a metal longsword, the flame ignited it in an instant. The burning longsword radiated immense heat, and the flame also touched Xia De's hands, yet it did not harm him in the slightest.

The longsword and the flame were illuminated even more brightly by the golden cracks on Xia De's fingertips. When the two made contact, the flame suddenly surged upward, as if the divine afterglow was fueling the power of the Primordial Fire.

The corners of Sister Daifulin's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile. But Xia De did not notice this; he saw the flames on the sword body gradually subside until they vanished completely. Yet, the 【Night Watcher】 felt heavier, warmer, and more powerful than ever before.

"The Primordial Fire will not only weaken the damage from death but also allow you to inflict greater damage upon Joey Barton."

Retracting the flame from her palm, the nun also sat back down; she had already confirmed her hypothesis.

"If you can hold out for about five minutes, I will find a way to assist you in launching an attack from the shore. Even death cannot extinguish the fire in my hands... Do not forget, after the events in Mid-Hill Fort conclude, you are to accompany me to the sect's headquarters."

Sister Daifulin did not forget to remind him.

Xia De nodded and finally looked at Yin Yi Yi Lu Na. The seventeen-year-old girl was feeling very conflicted; the current situation was that Xia De was going to face the enemy of the final chapter of the Mid-Hill Fort story, and as the only Chosen One, she could only sit here by the fire.

Everyone who appeared here had their own unique skills, and Xia De's other friends had provided him with various forms of help. Seeing the first two sit down, Yin Yi Yi Lu Na hurriedly stood up:

"Look, it's my turn."

She came to Xia De's side with a glimmer in her eyes, her hands behind her back:

"Joey Barton has gone too far; I cannot use the talent of balance to influence him, but I can give you this."

The Fate Ring appeared silently, then transformed into golden scales. Yin Yi Yi Lu Na held the scales above Xia De's head:

"Life and death should be balanced. In the name of the Judge, the Old God 【The Hanged Judge】 bestows a blessing upon you. Xia De Suren Hamilton, when the encroachment of death you suffer reaches the limit of imbalance, that power will be converted into life."

Golden radiance sprinkled onto the top of Xia De's head, and Xia De gained another temporary status.

"Additionally, if you hold out for ten minutes, I can probably use the talent of darkness—the 【Dark Vortex】 I learned after defeating Dac Nisi—to throw a few sunlight spears at Joey Barton. Here, my power can actually be enhanced; this is the great power bestowed by the Old God."

As she spoke, she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and kissed Xia De on the side of his face:

"Xia De, be careful."

She suddenly twitched her nose suspiciously but did not ask:

"In a while, you can chew up a piece of 【Youth-Preserving Leaf】 before entering the water. I have read many documents; swallowing this kind of relic can not only effectively treat injuries but also significantly increase resistance to the power of death in a short time... Stay safe."

She sat back down by the bonfire again, the firelight reddening her cheeks. Kissing Xia De in front of strangers just now had cost her quite a bit of courage.

"Thank you, don't worry about me. Actually, what we should be considering more is how we are going to leave this place in a while."

Xia De said with a smile, hoping everyone could relax a little.

He put the Youth-Preserving Leaf into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it (Note). Then, he gripped the Red Butterfly pendant tightly, and amidst the scarlet light, the red butterfly flew into Xia De's heart.

He turned and carried his longsword toward the edge of the shallows. Behind him, the bonfire was bright, and four eyes were watching him.

He finally stopped beside Joey Barton's "corpse," gazing into the distance at the swarms of white shadows and the man who was still shouting loudly. He was calling out a name, "Marilyn Handel."

【Sixth Era, General Calendar 1853, late autumn, Night of the Star Whale. When you set foot in true death once again, have you understood the mystery of death? The First Angel bestows a blessing upon you, the nun who guards the Primordial Fire shares the power of the flame, and even the ignorant protagonist of the stage is willing to give you help. The one who pursues death, yearning for a beloved they cannot obtain, stands at the end at this very moment. Souls circle, the Underworld Moon shines, Outsider, are you ready?】

"Generally speaking, you only say things like this after a major event has ended."

Xia De said in his heart:

"As for whether I am ready, with these blessings, it is still very difficult for me to defeat him, but I don't want to fight a second time..."

He took a step forward. At the same time, a steam whistle sounded behind him, and the loud tolling of a bell actually broke the eternal silence of this place.

A massive brass-colored Fate Ring appeared amidst the billowing white steam. Four-colored spiritual light radiated toward this windless dark zone like the sun, moon, and stars.

The ancient silence was completely broken at this moment. Amidst the tolling bells, the Underworld Moon, half-sunk at the horizon, was moving toward the top of the darkness, and the patrolling white shadows also stopped in their tracks, looking up at the silent moonlight above.

The divine afterglow transformed into golden streams of light that entwined him. Xia De took a step, but he did not touch the water surface; instead, he slowly rose into the sky.

"Prepare for advancement."

【Understood.】

"She" chuckled in Xia De's ear, that gentle laughter so similar to the Underworld Moon at this moment.

Bells tolled, and the piercing whistle sounded like the cheers of thousands. The Fate Ring rotated, and the four-colored spiritual runes resonated; even death itself was being affected.

"Look, it's starting again."

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na by the bonfire propped up her chin, and together with Priest Ao Gu Si and Sister Daifulin, she looked at the scene before her, muttering in a low voice:

"Sometimes, I really wonder who the real Chosen One is."

Miracle - Yellow Moon —

The golden-hued spiritual rune detached from the ring body and appeared on Xia De's left side. A witch wearing a cloak and holding the clear yellow moon walked over from afar and gradually overlapped with Xia De's body:

【May the eternal moonlight bless you.】

Profanity - Sloth —

The silver-hued spiritual rune detached from the ring body and appeared on Xia De's right side. Faintly, the phantom of the Desire Mermaid and the Old God 【Father of Slumber】 appeared and gradually overlapped with Xia De's body;

【Sloth, is it truly your sin?】

Enlightenment - Sleeping Princess —

The brass-hued spiritual rune detached from the ring body and appeared in front of Xia De. Faintly, Miss Fiona Delage holding a spindle appeared before Xia De, embraced him, and gradually overlapped with Xia De's body:

【Sacrifice oneself to save others. When the beautiful princess falls into slumber, the Outsider bestows a kiss of redemption.】

Whisper - True Death —

The black iron-hued spiritual rune detached from the ring body and appeared behind Xia De. The phantom of the faceless, multi-winged angel appeared and gradually overlapped with Xia De's body, as if a pair of wings had also appeared behind him:

【You who have died and returned, you have long since touched the truest death.】

The fire stream of the Primordial Fire flowed out from the 【Night Watcher】 in Xia De's hand, entwining the rapidly rotating brass Fate Ring. At this moment, even Joey Barton turned around, looking at Xia De in the sky with a solemn expression.

Golden Miracle, Bai Yin Profanity, Huang Tong Enlightenment, Black Iron Whisper—the four-colored spiritual runes surrounded Xia De in a quadrilateral and gradually contracted inward. The four-colored strange illusions truly overlapped with his body. The four people observing Xia De from different angles actually all saw Xia De floating with his head tilted back beneath that Underworld Moon. The outline of the Underworld Moon actually faintly overlapped with the outline of the Fate Ring.

Steam fog drifted out from an unknown place, enveloping Xia De. Bells and whistles sounded, and a massive hammer head fell from the high, dark sky, striking the rapidly rotating Fate Ring with immense force.

【Outsider, guide a drop of divinity to permeate the spiritual rune you prepared for the "Language of Sublimation."】

【Outsider, after using this drop of divinity, you will exhaust all divinity. The divine afterglow will still shine upon you, but the effect can only last for at most two months, and the effect of the divine afterglow will weaken significantly over time. If you cannot let new divinity permeate your soul, the divine afterglow state will vanish completely.】

"She" reminded him softly.

His soul guided that brilliant golden droplet into the massive metal ring rotating behind him. Divine light escaped, and golden ripples spread in all directions. On the lightless dark water surface below, dots of silvery-white light actually appeared, just as if a galaxy had appeared beneath the water.

Light as dazzling as the sun all converged upon the Enlightenment spiritual rune 【Sleeping Princess】 in front. At this moment, it was as if time had ended; death was actually trembling. Not only the three people by the bonfire, but even Joey Barton deep in the water domain felt the tremor of the water surface.

Those countless white shadows stood on the silent water surface where dots of starlight shone, looking up at the young man beneath the Underworld Moon. Spiritual light could not illuminate their faces. At this moment, the steam fog dissipated, and everything returned to calm. This upward gaze was like looking at a god walking the earth. ===== CHAPTER 777 =====