Land of Divine Rituals
"... Land of Divine Rituals?"
Jian Changsheng's eyes were full of blankness. "Wait... The Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path is missing a piece?"
"Correct." Master spoke unhurriedly. "Do you know during the Great Cataclysm, which was the first Calamity in history to cross the Gray World and arrive in the human world?"
Jian Changsheng shook his head repeatedly.
Master raised his hand and pointed beneath their feet. "The first Calamity to cross the Gray World was the king of the Forbidden Sea, that is, the Calamity of Taboo."
Jian Changsheng's mouth opened wide unconsciously. "The Calamity of Taboo? Doesn't that mean... it has lived from the Great Cataclysm era until now, having lived for at least over three hundred years?"
"Three hundred years is not considered long for a World-Destroying Tier Calamity." Master's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Calamity of Taboo is the natural enemy of the Path of the Witch God and the Path of Divination.
No one knows why the first intersection of the two worlds attracted such a World-Destroying Tier Calamity, nor does anyone know why it came... In short, from the moment it descended upon this world, it headed straight in the direction of the Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path...
From the moment the Calamity of Taboo's appearance was observed, humanity utilized all the thermal weapons available in that era and besieged it continuously for two days and two nights, but failed to stop it... or even make it bleed.
Humanity at that time, having just ended a chaotic war, had never thought that such a terrifying monster existed in the world. The Calamity of Taboo overturned everyone's cognition. Some folks even began calling it an envoy of world-ending, a catastrophe sent down by heaven after seeing humanity's endless mutual slaughter.
In short, the world at that time was shaken by the Calamity of Taboo. It just crossed an ocean under everyone's gaze, exterminated four countries on the way, and ultimately arrived at the Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path.
The Calamity of Taboo's ability is extremely special. It can even actively absorb all the Curse Runes and formations of the Path of the Witch God. Wherever it passes, all divine communication rituals will malfunction. Even the Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path carrying the Path of the Witch God couldn't stop it... And after it climbed onto the Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path, it bit off a corner of the Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path in one bite, swallowing it into its belly.
Only after doing all this did its movements gradually slow down. Later, it was only after two of the Nine Monarchs came into the world and fought a bloody battle with it that it was driven back to the Gray World."
After hearing this, Jian Changsheng's face was full of shock and incomprehension. Recalling the reaction of the Calamity of Taboo when they entered the Forbidden Sea just now, he couldn't help but ask:
"The Calamity of Taboo is so cowardly and doesn't like fighting, how could it cross the Gray World from so far away to gnaw on the Ancient Vault of the Witchcraft Path?"
"The answer lies right beneath our feet."
Master's gaze swept across the surroundings and slowly spoke, "Perhaps this Land of Divine Rituals was attracting it... or, it made it feel a certain threat, so even if it had to cross the Gray World and oceans, it had to swallow it into its belly and take it for itself."
Jian Changsheng looked at the dilapidated earth and broken walls around him. He walked two circles but didn't find anything special.
"So what exactly does this Land of Divine Rituals do?"
"The so-called Divine Dao Ancient Repository is the concretization of all history corresponding to a Divine Pathway... You can understand them as special museums storing all the profound foundations of the Divine Pathways since the birth of civilization.
For example, the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path would retain the archives of all 'Performances', and also retain all the 'Faces', Stages, and so on... These histories are zoned according to categories and stored independently.
And what the Land of Divine Rituals corresponds to, is the most ancient 'Sacrifice' in the Path of the Witch God."
"'Sacrifice'..." Jian Changsheng was deep in thought.
After pondering in place for a moment, Master walked straight towards the altar in the center.
Although Jian Changsheng didn't quite understand, he still honestly followed behind. At the same time, "Chen Ling", who was swallowed into the belly earliest, also swayed and stood up from the ruins.
Even after tumbling in the Calamity of Taboo's belly for so long, the White Paper Shackles on his hands still didn't have the slightest damage. He held his forehead with one hand and carried the Red Paper Umbrella with the other. His eyes swiftly swept across the surroundings, a sharp glint flickering within.
A moment later, he took steps and slowly crossed the numerous broken wall fragments, following the footprints left by Master.
After entering this place, "Chen Ling"'s behavior was clearly much more cautious.
This was not because he felt threatened here. On the contrary, he didn't perceive anything abnormal from here at all...
But "Chen Ling" was not stupid. Since Master was dead set on bringing him here, and even promised to return his freedom after arriving, according to common sense, the other party likely had some kind of arrangement here and was confident in being able to kill him here, or control him even after the shackles were removed.
"Chen Ling" didn't believe that this Old Fella pretending to be tender would honestly let him leave... And the reason why he dared to come over despite knowing there was a problem here, on one hand, was because he truly couldn't untie the White Paper Shackles, and on the other hand, it stemmed from his strong confidence in himself.
As long as the White Paper Shackles were untied and he recovered his complete power, he would be invincible in this world.
The three figures each had their own thoughts, slowly climbing along the stairs of the altar. Over a dozen fireballs illuminated their shadows on the stairs, wavering unsteadily... Dense Curse Runes lit up on the inner walls of the Calamity of Taboo's stomach and intestines above, like a sky full of stars flashing silently.
The first to step onto the altar was Master;
Secondly, it was Jian Changsheng closely following behind...
Seeing this ancient altar before him that seemed entirely devoid of aesthetic appeal, Jian Changsheng couldn't help but frown. This place was everywhere piled with stone pillars, as well as some rotten ropes, with nothing in the middle... If one insisted on saying what was unique about this place, it was the various twisted symbols engraved on the ground, which looked like some kind of extremely ancient script, just unknown what they were drawn with.
"Your condition, I have fulfilled it."
Holding the Red Paper Umbrella, "Chen Ling" stepped onto the altar step by step following Master's footprints. He first frowned and carefully sized up the surroundings, then spoke with a sunken face, "As agreed, you should set me free."
Master turned back to look at him, his gaze gradually becoming complex. He gently swept his sleeve, and an Optical Disc instantly unfolded, sweeping silently past "Chen Ling"'s face like the wind!
Already guarding against a sneak attack, "Chen Ling"'s face instantly changed. He violently retreated and flew backwards, roaring at the same time:
"You go back on your word!! You will suffer the Divine Path Backlash!"
"Divine Path Backlash?" Master smiled faintly. "Then let it come... Anyway, it's not the first time."
"Chen Ling" was wearing the White Paper Shackles and fundamentally couldn't use his own power. He could only watch helplessly as he was swallowed by the world of that Optical Disc. At the same time, Master's voice, like an exploding thunder, blasted loudly in his ears!
"Chen Ling, what are you still waiting for?"