Chapter 995: Chapter 994: The Sixth Witch Servant_1
A unique howl that only Shi Xiaole could hear emanated from deep within his body. When he inspected himself with his spiritual perception, he found that eighty percent of his blood had turned pitch black.
Wizard Scroll, the eighth layer!
Even with the power of the Demon Martial Way, it shouldn’t have been possible for Shi Xiaole to break through so quickly.
Firstly, the effect of the ten-layer stone steps far exceeded expectations, ten times more effective than the Wuzi Temple, perhaps even the geniuses from the royal family and the Ancestral Temple had not touched upon its mysteries.
Secondly, ever since the Crystal Demon Bone began to stir, it had started to influence the Wizard Scroll, significantly accelerating the emergence of negative forces.
In other words, the Crystal Demon Bone was like a supercharger, and the Demon Martial Way was a super absorber. Together with the propulsion from the ten-layer stone steps, they created this earth-shattering miracle.
For a moment, everyone was as if struck by lightning.
Min Tianliang’s fists were nearly bursting, but then suddenly, he let go, a feeling of powerlessness flooding his entire body, making his already barely moving form sway.
"Is, is this real?"
The Divine Light Emperor’s beard trembled.
Since the Witch Queen’s departure, no one had mastered the eighth layer of the Wizard Scroll, and now someone had just touched it?
Xia Youying’s phoenix eyes glimmered with an array of lusters, flickering uncertainly as she subconsciously licked her lips, completely unaware of her own actions.
Xia Xiaonine whispered a word for his master, as his emotions were the most complicated. If raised properly, based on past affection, he believed that Shi Xiaole would have accepted him.
But now... Did he regret it? Maybe, but at that time, there was only one path laid out before him. Xia Xiaonine felt an immense sense of loss, wistful, eventually turning into a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth.
Not to mention others, even the nine Witch Heavenly Guards would have almost lost their composure and jumped up, if not for the rules of the Witch Queen’s temple ingrained deep in their bones.
They exchanged glances and it was a long time before they looked away, still shaken, speculating about Shi Xiaole’s identity and origins.
"A thousand years of waiting, finally someone to follow, this is a great fortune for our Witch Queen’s temple."
A voice filled with relief and pride suddenly exploded in mid-air, and everyone looked up to see a ripple in the void, from which a black-robed elder stepped out.
His face was broad, his eyebrows very short, and his eyes like two deep black crystals inlaid, emanating a mysterious power. His gaze seemed to envelop wherever it fell, making escape impossible.
"Great Witch Servant!"
"We greet the Great Witch Servant!"
The nine Witch Heavenly Guards stood up first, their faces full of devotion, as they bowed respectfully to the black-robed elder in the air.
The royalty and the Ancestral Temple were only a beat slower, also immediately crying out in unison, their tones reverent.
The black-robed elder nodded, telling them there was no need for such courtesy, then his gaze fell directly on Shi Xiaole, and after sizing him up for a while, he smiled kindly, "Young friend, you have traveled from afar on a Flying Horse, may I invite you into the temple, for a chat with this old man?"
Everyone was shocked.
This was because the black-robed elder was the Great Witch Servant of the Witch Queen’s temple, the true first among equals. In terms of rank, even the Divine Light Emperor and Min Tianliang would have to bow when meeting him, and in terms of strength, he was unfathomably deep.
But thinking of what Shi Xiaole had done, everyone felt relieved again.
It was at this moment that many realized that Shi Xiaole, having mastered the eighth layer of the Wizard Scroll, now had the ability to condense the blood of the Witch Ancestor. Could it be that he was eligible to enter the deepest part of the Witch Queen’s temple and discover the millennia-old secret left by the Witch Queen?!
"Damn it!"
Min Yunshu’s face was ashen.
The thing he feared the most had happened, the Great Witch Servant’s lineage was unswervingly loyal to the Witch Queen, and they must have had speculations about Shi Xiaole. In fact, even Min Yunshu was seventy percent sure that Shi Xiaole was related to the Witch Queen.
Now, not only would the Witch Queen’s temple not harm Shi Xiaole, but they might even help him. Thinking of Shi Xiaole’s relationship with the royal family made Min Yunshu’s heart sink.
In contrast, the experts from the royal side were all smiles, inexplicably excited.
Shi Xiaole immediately recognized that the Great Witch Servant before him was the elder who had taken an extra glance at his spirit body when he entered the Witch Queen’s temple.
He was alert, not letting his guard down in the slightest, and said, "It would be my honor to accept the Great Witch Servant’s heartfelt invitation."
The Great Witch Servant smiled and nodded, sweeping his long sleeves, the scenery changed dramatically, and Shi Xiaole found himself within a huge stone hall a hundred zhang high.
It was the Witch Queen’s temple.
But unlike before, the Witch Queen’s temple now bore no trace of eeriness and mystery. It was bright and transparent, even the sculpture of the Witch Queen at the very front seemed holy and awe-inspiring, evoking respect.
Shi Xiaole swallowed hard. What’s going on?
"Please, young friend."
The Great Witch Servant gestured invitingly.
Shi Xiaole followed without revealing anything, accompanying the other as they walked along.
One by one, stone pillars, three zhang tall and wide, were arrayed in pairs, forming a long path in the middle. On the outside of the two rows of pillars, at regular intervals, statues stood tall.
According to the Great Witch Servant, these were the images of the Witch Heavenly Guards from generations of the Witch Queen’s temple, their forms carved here after death, symbolizing their eternal companionship with the temple.
After moving forward a distance, the statues disappeared, only to be replaced by the Witch Heavenly Guards, who laid books in front of them and arranged their hands in strange gestures, quietly chanting hymns, oblivious to the presence of the Great Witch Servant and Shi Xiaole.
"This is the Hymn of the Witch Queen. The Witch Queen once left a maxim, that her descendants must chant daily, and one day, she would return here following the sound of their voices."
The words of the Great Witch Servant sent a jolt through Shi Xiaole’s heart.
"Back then, the Witch Queen used to sit there, discussing scriptures and laws with us. Until one day, an unprecedented catastrophe struck the common people, and the Witch Queen had to leave to defend this land she loved so dearly and never returned!"
With endless reverence and reminiscence on his face, the Great Witch Servant pointed at a sculpture in the distance.
However, the doubt in Shi Xiaole’s heart deepened.
The history of the Daxia Dynasty was undoubtedly the longest among the three major dynasties, but it only spanned a few thousand years; yet, according to the Great Witch Servant, the era in which the Witch Queen’s temple existed seemed to far exceed this time frame!
As the Great Witch Servant walked, he explained to Shi Xiaole the history and origins of various parts of the Witch Queen’s temple. Every time he mentioned how the Witch Queen had done this or that, a few hundred meters down the path, the old man’s eyes became moist, his face filled with sorrow.
"The Witch Queen, she was a unique talent of ages, capable of stepping into realms unprecedented by any, transcending the mortal world. She could have avoided that disaster, but she could not bear to see this land succumb to evil. She sacrificed herself in battle, using her blood as a spear, her soul as a shield, giving her all..."
Listening to the old man’s tale, with the solemn and tragic chanting in his ears and the scent of incense filling his nostrils, Shi Xiaole seemed to be submerged in a certain emotion as well.
In the meantime, four more black-clothed elders approached; it turned out they were the other four of the five Great Witch Servants, holding significant status within the Witch Queen’s temple.
Moments later, a transparent water marsh appeared ahead, curiously allowing one to see streams of water shuttling back and forth.
There was no such place when his spirit body entered last time.
"This is the Purifying Dust Illusionless Pool, which can cleanse the mind of miscellaneous thoughts, aiding in the expulsion of inner demons. Would you like to give it a try?" the Great Witch Servant asked.
"Sure," Shi Xiaole replied with a smile, walking into the waters alongside the five Great Witch Servants. Streams of water passed through Shi Xiaole’s body as if taking something away, making him feel light all over, his mind indeed clearer.
When they had crossed the Purifying Dust Illusionless Pool, the Great Witch Servant spread his palm, and strands of qi converged to form a jet-black sphere, which burst with a thud.
The other four Witch Servants’ faces changed.
The Great Witch Servant sighed, "So it turns out our friend is not a descendant of the Witch Queen."
In an instant, Shi Xiaole’s hair stood on end, but fortunately, ever since he entered the Witch Queen’s temple, he had locked onto a flaw in the Array System. If the others showed even a hint of murderous intent, he was confident he could immediately escape.
"I do not know the Witch Queen."
Shi Xiaole replied.
The Great Witch Servant gave a wry smile and took the initiative to explain, "The tenth-order array carries a trace of the Witch Queen’s essence. Once it comes into contact with her bloodline, it will react with the Purifying Dust Illusionless Pool. This covert method can protect the bloodline of the Witch Queen to the utmost degree."
Shi Xiaole suddenly realized.
He had been pondering before; the tenth-order array consumed a tremendous amount of energy, and if it were used just for testing and enhancing the ’Wizard Scroll,’ it would be quite an overkill. It turned out there was also this underlying reason.
"Have you received the Witch Queen’s inheritance?"
Again, Shi Xiaole denied it.
The five Great Witch Servants stared at him for a long time, and finally, the Great Witch Servant praised him, "My friend, you truly are a genius of heaven. Although you are not of the Witch Queen’s bloodline, you have met the standard she left behind. The custom must not be abandoned, and from today on, you are the sixth Witch Servant of the Witch Queen’s temple."
The status of a Witch Servant, second only to the Witch Queen, was the top echelon of the Witch Queen’s temple, with only a few in each generation. Being deemed the sixth Witch Servant was tantamount to being equal to the other four Witch Servants, second only to the Great Witch Servant.
For the Witch Heavenly Guards, this was an unsurpassable honor, a goal all Witch Heavenly Guards dared not even dream of.
As the chanting ended at that moment, the Witch Heavenly Guards outside the stone pillars, hearing the words of the Great Witch Servant, were all visibly moved, rising to pass through the gaps in the pillars and lining up neatly in rows.
Shi Xiaole’s heart pounded.
After all, there were only a few singers that night, but now there seemed to be nearly a hundred people, each a high-level practitioner of the Void Origin Realm. To reveal such foundation would be earth-shattering! At the same time, he was touched by the words of the Great Witch Servant, wondering if the other truly held such loyalty or if there was another motive.
The many Witch Heavenly Guards looked at Shi Xiaole with scrutiny in their eyes, even jealousy and resentment, but no one dared to say anything.
Shi Xiaole repeatedly declined, but the Great Witch Servant said, "If my friend is not worthy to be the sixth Witch Servant, then what right do I have to be the Great Witch Servant? Or maybe you think the position is too low, in which case I am willing..."
"It’s not that."
"This is the Witch Queen’s will. Unless you look down on our Witch Queen’s temple."
Shi Xiaole hastened to say he wouldn’t dare, joking to himself; once the Witch Queen’s temple emerged, it could easily topple any of the top forces. Who would dare to underestimate it?
Seeing that the Great Witch Servant did not seem to be feigning, Shi Xiaole silently thought: To investigate the secret behind the stone door, I must stay here. Pretending to hesitate for a long time, he finally said, "If that is so, then I will accept the position for the time being."
Only then did the Great Witch Servant nod with satisfaction. The second Witch Servant shouted, "What are you all waiting for? Don’t you hurry up and pay your respects?"
Shushushu.
Nearly a hundred Witch Heavenly Guards, each stronger than Shi Xiaole, glanced at each other and noticing the stern gaze of the five Great Witch Servants, they quickly bowed their heads and shouted in unison, "Greetings to the sixth Witch Servant."
