Chapter 160 Shaya: Finely Chopped into Mincemeat (Plus Chapter for Ally Kui Mian)
Prime Material Plane, Western Continent, Freista Empire, Outer City of the Imperial Capital.
In a derelict house in the commoner district.
A tall, emaciated figure completely shrouded in a black robe moved through the abandoned rooms of the house, setting up ritualistic items.
Bottles and jars of liquids, the remains of unknown creatures, shimmering magic gems…
And a bizarre magic array pattern.
“Oh, high and mysterious Black Mist.”
“You are the clouds that overlook the world, the eternal kingdom outside of time, and the fog beyond the laws.”
“Please, as a witness to fair trade, transmit to me the high and distant things from beyond the Astral Realm, the promised things within fair trade.”
The figure in the black robe gazed at the silver mirror before him, uttering a hoarse and withered prayer.
Five seconds passed.
Ten seconds passed—
Nothing happened.
Just as the old figure in the black robe was losing patience, the silver mirror suddenly began to shake.
Dark, illusory mist quietly diffused out from the silver mirror.
Then, it engulfed the entire room he was in.
“It’s finally here.”
A sharp light flashed in the eyes of the old man in the black robe.
He continued to wait patiently.
After a long while, the mist dispersed.
The silver mirror had shattered silently at some point.
In its place was a bone-white skull, wreathed in black flame.
The moment he saw the skull, the old man in the black robe’s gaze grew solemn.
He could feel a distant and profound majesty emanating from the skull, as if from beyond the stars.
This was indeed a sacred artifact of a True God.
Even the few wisps of aura that escaped were enough to instill fear in him, a paragon among Legendary Experts.
But, at the same time.
A burning passion from deep within his heart also began to rage in the old man’s mind.
As long as the transaction with the Grand Pope of the Ash Cult was completed.
Then, he too would obtain a wisp of unclaimed divinity and a fragment of the Star Cup.
And then, with it, he would ignite his divine fire and embark on the long staircase to godhood—the Path to Godhood.
In time, he would surely become like the owner of this skull, this sacred artifact of ashes, a great being transcending the mundane and the mortal, transcending the very stars.
Of course, the price for such a transaction would be considerable.
The madmen of the Ash Cult, though deranged, were not fools.
Unclaimed divinity and Star Cup fragments held immense appeal for any Mythical Creature. What reason would they have to give them to him for free, especially since he had no prior connection to the Ash Cult or the Lord of Ashes?
This gift already carried a hidden price.
Once the grand conspiracy of the cults in the Lost Domain, which aimed to overthrow the empire, truly came to fruition—
It would mean the downfall of the entire empire.
And everything he had accumulated over many years within the empire would cease to exist.
Not to mention, “the nail that sticks out gets hammered.”
The downfall of the empire and the descent of an evil god would trigger widespread unrest across the entire Western Continent.
Both the Dawn Holy See and the Alliance of Lieges, the Three Towers of Wizards… would have to step forward to provide an explanation to the entire forces of order.
But the cults, being the desperate and the reckless, had already committed countless sins and harbored irreconcilable grudges. They could simply retreat back to the Lost Domain, unconcerned about incurring further wrath.
However, as the instigator and betrayer of the empire’s collapse.
He would undoubtedly be made an example of by the entire forces of order, becoming a most-wanted fugitive. The Dawn Holy See, in particular, would be eager to kill him, the summoner of an evil god.
At that point, he might be forced to flee into the Lost Domain, where the cults could then exploit the situation.
The old man in the black robe was not a fool. He had already contemplated all these developments during the secret gathering of the Golden Dawn.
Yet, he still chose to propose the transaction.
This was because his lifespan as a Legendary Expert was nearing its end, while the boundary of the throne was so distant.
So distant, in fact, that he hadn’t even seen a glimmer of hope of reaching it.
And he did not want to die.
For any Legendary Expert nearing the limit of their lifespan, the desire to survive would be the most intense and fervent.
By igniting his divine fire with the unclaimed divinity and Star Cup fragment obtained through the transaction, he could revitalize his decaying human body and become a true Mythical Creature.
Of course, doing so meant giving up many things.
But in the face of the desperate desire to live, all the loyalty, justice, or sense of responsibility he had been instilled with since childhood seemed insignificant.
In his youth, he had fought battles, expanding the empire’s territory in wars against the Lost Domain, utterly fearless.
But as his body aged and his spirit decayed, he had eventually reached this point.
A flicker of sentimentality crossed his withered, aged eyes before disappearing.
“Come in. According to the procedure I told you before, pray to the sacred artifact and ask for the steps for preparing the Divine Descent ritual.”
The old man in the black robe signaled outside.
Soon, a black-robed death warrior entered the room, bowed to the old man, and without any further words or questions, knelt before the black flame skull and began a silent prayer.
Having established a presence in the Imperial Capital for so many years, the old man had naturally cultivated a group of confidants loyal only to him, unknown to anyone else.
These were, of course, individuals who had swallowed secret medicine that would kill them if they didn’t take the antidote, much like the secret medicine Norton had given Shaya in the Historical Echo.
Shaya, who was observing from above the Black Mist through the mental imprint on the Giant King’s skull, couldn’t help but sigh, “One Norton falls, but thousands upon thousands of Nortons rise.”
After all, this was a living evil god-pollutant. Even with the strength of the old man, a Legendary Expert, he dared not interact with it too closely, lest his spirit be contaminated and he be corrupted into a believer of ashes.
With confidants under his control, he naturally wouldn’t risk direct contact with the pollutant.
The prayer to the Giant King’s skull concluded quickly.
Soon, the confidant who had gone to pray returned.
However, the confidant’s face displayed a look of bewildered confusion.
“Master…”
“Hmm?” The old man in the black robe was displeased with his confidant’s hesitant attitude and urged, “Speak, quickly! What kind of demeanor is this indecisiveness?”
The death warrior hesitated for a moment, then quickly approached the old man and whispered a few words.
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the old man’s stern gaze.
“Absurd! You’ve been with me for so long, and you can’t even handle such a small matter?”
The confidant hesitantly defended himself, “But, the sacred artifact’s oracle indeed instructed as such.”
“Ridiculous!” The old man in the black robe snorted. “I ask you, whose sacred artifact is this?”
“It is the Lord of Ashes…”
Since he had to recite the prayer, this confidant naturally knew the true name of the deity he was praying to.
“Yes, you know it’s the Lord of Ashes, the one who loves sacrificial bonfires, whose believers are always brandishing shabby scythes and pretending to be Death Gods, shouting ‘burn, burn, burn’ at any couple he sees.”
The old man in the black robe was so exasperated he almost laughed. He had lost all trust in his confidant.
Even at the risk of contacting the pollutant, he decided he had to handle it himself.
The old man in the black robe bowed towards the bone-white skull and recited the prayer from his confidant again.
Then, he spoke in a respectful tone.
“Supreme and great Lord of Ashes—”
“As an ally of your believers, I implore you to grant us the grace of Divine Descent and inform us of the necessary preparations for the Divine Descent ritual.”
As he prayed, black flames suddenly ignited within the empty eye sockets of the bone-white skull, resembling will-o’-the-wisps.
Immediately after, lines of light golden text appeared in the air above the abandoned room.
The old man in the black robe looked up—
“1. Finely chop one thousand catties of lean beef into mincemeat, cook to three-tenths doneness, ensuring no fat is visible.”
“2. Finely chop one thousand catties of fatty beef into mincemeat, cook to five-tenths doneness, ensuring no lean meat is visible.”
“3. Finely chop one thousand catties of beef soft bone into mincemeat, cook to seven-tenths doneness, ensuring no meat is visible.”
“4. One thousand catties of beef steak…”
