Chapter 594: 72. The Location of the Base
As they passed through the Lust Gate, the pink hue that had lingered in the ambiguous atmosphere slowly faded away, like the warmth that had spread from the lower abdomen gradually retracting, replaced by a sensation of an inappropriate coolness on their faces and bodies within the Demon Dynasty.
It was the feeling of a gentle breeze brushing against their bodies.
“Ah, we’re almost at the Performance Gate; we’ll finally walk through Fisher’s paradise,” said Emhart, standing on Fisher’s shoulder, as they watched the steep rock wall ahead gradually shift from pink to a deep blue. He couldn’t help but breathe in the cool wind coming from the distant cave, softening his previously heavy appearance.
Jasmine covered her mouth and chuckled softly, but quickly asked with curiosity, “So, Sir Book, the two doors we just passed, whether it was the desire for ‘competition’ or ‘lust’, are easily understandable. But what does ‘performance’ mean? It doesn’t sound like a desire at all.”
Emhart pondered for a moment, seemingly considering how to explain this topic. At the same time, the Death Lord nearby was about to join the conversation when Fisher suddenly spoke up, “The so-called ‘performance’ desire actually refers to a person’s yearning for external recognition. In the Genesis, people fell from the sky to the ground and were afflicted with ten kinds of maladies. ‘Performance’ is one of them. The Mother said, ‘As punishment, you shall lose yourself, and you shall run tirelessly in the eyes of others until you are drenched in sweat and grow weaker and smaller.’ It refers to this desire.”
The Death Lord looked at Fisher in astonishment, clapping his hands in disbelief as he praised, “Such a proficient knowledge of the scriptures, Mr. Fisher! This exact phrase is only recorded in the original text of the Genesis at the Cardinal’s Church of Cardu. Even I only glimpsed this scripture belonging to us believers after joining the Creation Society, but you…”
Holland scrutinized Fisher from top to bottom, growing more convinced that this man from Nali was definitely not a believer of the Mother.
In Holland’s eyes, mother believers always had a strange aura, one that was not constrained by external factors. Even someone like him, who was as aimless as a walking corpse, bore this aura. Yet only Fisher lacked it.
What was odd, however, was that he seemed to know the Genesis like the back of his hand, effortlessly reciting extensive scriptures that most believers couldn’t.
Fisher raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
“Original text?”
“Yes, the ancient treasure that resides at the highest divine throne guarded by the Cardinals in the Church of Cardu. It’s said to be the teachings originally bestowed upon humanity by the Mother. However, because of its obscure nature and the mysterious power it contains, it’s not something just anyone can learn. Only those of the rank of Cardinal and above within the Church are qualified to hear its teachings from the Cardinals or even the Pope,” replied the Death Lord, shrugging. As he did this, he instinctively reached for the wine flask on him but found nothing. He froze, unsure if he had accidentally lost it when surrounded by that group of crimson skeletons.
This was significantly more distressing than simply dying.
“But this is just what the nun who raised me taught me since childhood.”
“Wait, are you serious? That nun who taught you couldn’t possibly be a saint from the Church of Cardu who incognito found you, saw your peculiar disposition and wisdom, and decided to share the deepest and most mysterious teachings of the Mother with you?”
“She was just an ordinary nun from Nali.”
“Did she not get ambushed by the Inquisition knights sent by the Cardinal of Cardu while you were asleep?”
“.She never bore grudges, only had friends and led a quiet life with not many acquaintances.”
“That’s odd; how did she come to possess such precious knowledge?”
“Are you sure I just mentioned the original text of the Genesis?”
“Absolutely. I pleaded with that old fiend for a long time just to see that thing. It was hard-earned, hence why it remains deeply etched in my memory.”
“.I see.”
Observing the shocked expression on the Death Lord’s face, Fisher became aware of the fact that what he referred to as “original text” was indeed very precious. But how could Teresa, an inconspicuous ordinary nun from the countryside, have obtained such things?
Teresa was very important to Fisher; she had once been his only family in this world. So, when he discovered that she might not have died “naturally,” it made his emotions spiral into agitation.
Now, suddenly learning from the Death Lord about another piece of information seemed to shroud that ordinary believer in a layer of mystery.
This was just another interlude, but Fisher’s mood remained unsettled.
As mentioned before, this was not just a suspicion regarding Sister Teresa’s cause of death; it was also about Hela’s deceit.
Sometimes, deceit was like cockroaches; when you unravel one, you have to consider whether all the things she had previously said and done contained lies that had gone undetected until now.
Renee had also enjoyed deceiving Fisher in the past, but her motives were different. Renee wanted to protect and tease him; she wouldn’t genuinely hurt others.
If Renee’s lies were like brightly colored bubbles that could burst at a poke, then Hela’s lies were akin to a colossal bomb hanging over you, capable of blowing everyone around you to smithereens with the slightest motion.
Moreover, he had the example of Elizabeth to draw from, leading him to feel some disappointment in the misplaced trust he had given her.
At least back then, when he had jumped headfirst into the Sea of Chaos to save Hela without care for the consequences, he had done so with unmeasured trust, only to be met with betrayal.
As a result, his mood was somewhat down, but only a little. Besides the inner turmoil he felt, he didn’t show it outwardly, merely radiating a subtle aura indicating “I’m not in a good mood.”
Inside the stormy “Performance Gate,” Fisher caught sight of a stout, crooked tree growing on a deep blue coral. He wondered what kind of species it was that could thrive in such an area.
Amid the swaying branches of that tree, a somewhat small wooden house was situated overhead.
“Ha, that must be Barbatos’s residence!” exclaimed Emhart. The others turned to him, silently inquiring how he knew.
Such curious looks evidently fed the current ‘performance’ desire of the great Sir Book, who proudly coughed twice and said, “Hehe, you wouldn’t know this. This thing was a gift from Ag, mimicking the trees of the elves to cultivate this aberrant species. At that time, Barbatos’s residence was quite old, so he used the rapidly growing wood from the tree to build a new house.”
Jasmine stroked her chin and asked, “So, Ag and Barbatos are pretty good friends, right?”
“Not at all. Their relationship can only be described as average, merely acquaintances. But Ag enjoys giving gifts to foster relationships, even preparing gifts for those demons she doesn’t interact with much, like Baemon. I’d assume he received one too, but I’m not sure what it was.”
After saying this, they quickly arrived in front of the giant tree. Fisher reached out to touch the bark. Since three demon attendants had previously been sent by Ag, he had a profound memory of Ag’s flesh and blood powers that were similar to the Life Completion Manual’s strength. Moreover, Erwind had also obtained clues regarding “treasures” from her.
However, as he touched the tree, a surge of vitality and the Power of Destiny flowed through him, filled with the warmth of order. It felt a bit unnatural for Fisher, who had been in contact with chaotic power for too long.
Was this truly elven power? Was it in Ag’s domain?
“Is this also Ag’s power?” Fisher pondered as he analyzed the “power” of this future foe, seemingly unable to understand how something that starkly contrasted with the power of life and chaos could simultaneously come from her, a demon god.
The Death Lord behind him seemed to have understood his confusion and softly uttered a word: “Curiosity.”
His words instantly inspired Fisher, who had extensively read the Genesis, leading him to recall the classic description of this desire: “You must tirelessly obsess over the new things, even if they are so perilous; you must eagerly spy on their secrets, even if it leads to your obliteration.”
“Ag is a powerful demon behind the Curiosity Gate, which means she has a fervent obsession for the unknown powers she has never encountered. This might explain why she possesses so many powers that should originally contradict each other.”
Fisher offered a guess while one hand touched the tree, and the other hand opened the scroll of Solomon pertaining to the dynasty, where, in the list of demons behind the Curiosity Gate, Ag’s name topped the list alongside several lines stating:
“Ag
Earl, Top Pillar of the Curiosity Gate
Temperate, curious, accommodating, and strong.”
In other words, Ag certainly possessed more than just these two powers Fisher currently observed?
While Fisher nursed these thoughts about the powers of his foes, the Death Lord beside him was also busy. He glanced at the wooden house entangled high up in the tree, then shifted his gaze to the surrounding trees, having no intention of climbing up. Instead, he spread his hands, allowing the corpses of those hidden in his clothing to take flight one by one, heading towards the interior of the house.
“Chirp chirp!”
As the Death Lord’s eyes gradually turned white, sounds erupted from the wooden house that had been silent for countless years. Moments later, he beckoned, letting the birds exit the house, before turning to Fisher and the others and saying, “There are no special auras inside, just some weapons and clothing; it’s quite a simple place. The teleportation portal should not be inside.”
“A teleportation portal, huh…”
While he murmured, his hand resting on the tree seemed to touch a slight depression, different from the other tree’s folds. Squinting, he saw that somewhere above the tree was shining with brilliant runes, the symbols of the demon gods.
In an instant, Fisher’s soul seemed to detach from his body, elevating his vision bit by bit, as if he were looking down upon this vast and tiered dynasty from a divine perspective.
The areas beyond the doors, each distinguished by color, and the faint connections emerging from the ground.
“Teacher Fisher!”
Seeing Fisher frozen in place after touching the runes, Jasmine quickly reached out to grab him, trying to pull him back. However, at the same moment she touched him, she also felt the same perspective as Fisher.
“What is this?”
She murmured, her gaze vacant, captivated by the scene in front of her and the distant connections coming from the ground, startled by this strange viewpoint.
“It seems Fisher and Jasmine have entered the perspective of the teleportation portal… this tree; this tree is the teleportation portal of Barbatos! He only has this one portal, the very tree before us, and the connection we feel is through the portal that corresponds to the ground beneath him.”
Fisher quickly deduced the answer, as he felt the thick, textured bark of the tree that likely held a mythical rank while pondering the knowledge conveyed by Pisces.
Perhaps he could experiment with mythical magic here using this mythical ranked teleportation portal?
He was only a little bit away from discerning which rings were under the same authority, and he had read nearly all of the Soul Supplement Handbook by now. Besides a slight discomfort he could accept, everything else felt fine.
Otherwise, he could finish reading the Soul Supplement Handbook here and then research the new mythical magic it could enable him to create?
Just as he contemplated this, Jasmine, still holding onto his clothing and gazing down upon the dynasty from that “divine perspective,” heard Fisher’s words and shook her head. She murmured to him,
“That’s not it. Teacher Fisher, I’m not talking about this teleportation portal, but something else.”
“Something else?”
Fisher was slightly taken aback, withdrawing from the teleportation perspective of the Barbatos’s portal to look back at Jasmine, who was still swimming in it, awaiting her next words.
As he had hoped, it seemed she had seen something that Fisher could not perceive. Her azure eyes had even taken on a hint of crimson, reflecting the nature of what she had seen.
She hurriedly told Fisher, “Teacher Fisher, that base… I’ve felt the exact location of that base! Baemon hasn’t hidden it elsewhere; it is right beneath his palace.”
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(End of Chapter)
