Chapter 173: Twilight Hymn
Without voicing her thoughts, Moria shook her head and decisively changed the subject, “Are you sure you want to choose this path to advance?”
Li Wen found this question baffling, “Of course, is there a problem?”
A Witch’s advancement was heavily restricted by the Original Text; she couldn’t even advance to Stage Two without obtaining the next Original Text. In such a situation, the Path of Light Chasing, as a second class with no advancement restrictions, was extremely important. After all, improving her strength would help her obtain more clues to the Original Text. Only by advancing the Path of Light Chasing to a higher stage would she have the confidence to acquire more Original Texts and complete the Witch’s advancement.
Therefore, advancing the Path of Light Chasing was definitely necessary for her.
“Because it’s very likely a waste of effort,” the young priest explained calmly. “The Holy See will not allow the Path of Light Chasing to be in the hands of outsiders. They won’t even allow anyone to walk this path.”
Even he, as the Eldest Son of the Holy See, was not allowed. When he initially chose his path, the elders of the Holy See could place all the paths of the Glorious Spectrum Series before him, but the Path of Light Chasing would never be among them.
“I promised to bring you back to the Holy See. At that time, the elders of the Holy See will reclaim your power and erase your memories of this path. Even so, do you still want to walk this path now?”
Li Wen was certainly aware of these circumstances. She didn’t intend to travel to Canaan with Moria too quickly, at least not until Moria was capable of completing the pilgrimage. By then, her level in the Path of Twilight would likely be quite high. Even if she lost the ability of the Path of Light Chasing in exchange for a Glorious Original Text, she would still be the one profiting.
Li Wen didn’t elaborate. Instead, she turned and continued on her way, using actions to replace words.
The two walked until they reached a monastery, which had already closed its doors due to recent unrest.
Moria looked at the plaque that read “Monastery and Seminary of the Church of the Absolute Divine Grace’s Mercy” and asked, “Are you going to perform the advancement ritual here?”
Generally, advancements in lower stages do not have strict requirements for the ritual location, unless the ritual itself stipulates a specific place.
Li Wen nodded slightly. Moria then knocked on the monastery’s door. Upon revealing his identity as the Eldest Son of the Holy See, the priest who opened the door warmly welcomed the two inside for a visit.
Li Wen was not there to visit. She made an excuse to go alone and made her way to the lawn behind the monastery.
There was a stone tablet and a piece of advice left by Saint Floranne here. That saint, who was not celebrated by all religions, was also a Transcendent of the Path of Light Chasing. Li Wen even suspected that she had completed an advancement in the Path of Light Chasing here. Therefore, choosing this location for the ritual seemed most appropriate.
The girl took out a bottle containing Dim Candle Blood from her pocket.
As the bottle was opened, a strong aroma, similar to aged wine, wafted from it, bringing a sense of slight intoxication and heat.
Dim Candle Blood was refined and fermented from the blood and oil of a fire lizard. In terms of appearance and smell, it was not much different from ordinary wine. However, if someone were to mistakenly ingest it, that unfortunate soul would most likely die from spontaneous combustion.
The ritual magic circle Li Wen was preparing to draw was called “Twilight Hymn.” It consisted of three to four independent small magic circles, and overall, it wasn’t difficult, especially for someone like Li Wen who was proficient in ritual studies.
The only difficulty lay in the materials. Dim Candle Blood had a small chance of spontaneously igniting when exposed to light. Therefore, the problem was how to draw the ritual magic circle before the Dim Candle Blood ignited.
But this did not stump Li Wen. She used laurel leaves, sage, and honeysuckle to create a stabilizer. Adding this to the Dim Candle Blood in the correct proportion would prevent it from igniting due to light.
Then, Li Wen began to draw the magic circle. Due to the limited materials, she did not draw the magic circle too large or with too much detail, omitting as many parts as possible.
Before long, a magic circle composed of three interlocked circular patterns, filled with numerous esoteric symbols and abstract characters, materialized.
The center of the magic circle was a sun-like symbol, divided into three parts by the three circles. Each circle was filled with different symbols and characters. “Twilight Hymn” revealed the truth of the ancient sun’s triple birth. Li Wen was now using it as a ritual magic circle for her advancement, as it symbolized both the sun’s division and represented the original essence of Glor.
After drawing the magic circle, the time had arrived at dusk, just before twilight.
Li Wen stood in place, silently reciting the seventh chapter of “The Grace of Glorious” three times.
When footsteps approached from behind, Li Wen turned her head and met Moria’s surprised gaze.
The Eldest Son of the Holy See recognized the magic circle the girl had drawn at a glance. He paused for a moment before saying, “Even the Holy See no longer uses magic circles of this form. Miss Mephistopheles, are you sure this is the advancement ritual for the Path of Light Chasing?”
Li Wen obviously wouldn’t say that her Path of Light Chasing lacked a detailed Stage Two advancement ritual, so she had to rely on her understanding and experience to guess and attempt it. She curled her lip, “You’ve arrived at a good time. Step inside.”
Although it was a ritual she had devised herself, Li Wen had absolute confidence that it would not fail.
Moria obediently walked into the magic circle, ready to see what trick she would pull.
To his surprise, Li Wen took out flint from her pocket and, with a snap, ignited the already flammable Dim Candle Blood. The magic circle, drawn with blood, instantly transformed into a blazing magic circle made of flames, with Moria at its center.
Surrounded by Scarlet flames, Moria remained unfazed. Light and fire could never kill him. However, the current scene reminded him of certain Sacrifice Rituals. Those heretics always enjoyed burning offerings with fire, as this act aligned with the original rite of sacrifice.
“Have you heard of Etriell Abera?” Li Wen suddenly asked.
Moria had heard this name for no reason, as it represented a prophet, a pope, and a saint burned by the sun of the ancient Sun God religion.
In an incredibly long-past era, this saint personally witnessed the greatness of the immensely supreme and ancient sun, and thus decided to serve that pillar god. But how could the sun need mortal service? It cast down its flames, stating that if Etriell could emerge from the fire, it would accept his service. Thus, Etriell Abera stepped into the fire, was incinerated under the sun’s gaze, and reborn from the ashes, becoming the first saint of the ancient sun.
In this way, even Moria guessed what Li Wen intended to do.
“Are you going to emulate that saint?”
Li Wen did not reply. She took out the ice block containing the “Light of the Spirit Realm” and swallowed the extremely hot ice block in one gulp.
