Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 254 [Seal Hidden in the Forest]

After Elvan finished saying this, the thin and tall puppet beside him came towards Luo Xiu with a grunt, and stretched out four hands holding the puppet's crystal pendants in front of Luo Xiu.

'Ghost Falcon', 'Mountain Giant', 'Oak Healer' and 'Vibrator'... Luo Xiu pondered, and then asked Erfan: "Can I touch them?"

"Of course, Lord Luo Xiu, please feel free to do as you please." Alvan responded with a smile.

After getting Elvan's consent, Luo Xiu picked up the puppet pendants in front of him one by one and examined them carefully, while secretly using the panel detection on them.

The third-level puppet "Ghost Falcon" was the puppet that Eureka used to "detect" Luo Xiu's whereabouts when he first came to Fangbeiyuan. It was a functional puppet that could significantly improve the alert effect.

Although its function has some overlap with that of the "Shadow Raven" Wu Ye, Luo Xiu cannot directly reveal the existence of Wu Ye Wuying to the clergy of his church.

Therefore, the "Ghost Falcon" is very suitable for the clergy of the church to use.

This is indeed one of the puppets that Luo Xiu wanted to obtain from Fangbeiyuan, but Luo Xiu was not in a hurry to make a decision.

He then performed panel detection on the other three puppet pendants, and the panel quickly fed back the corresponding information.

The third-level puppet "Mountain Giant" is a giant puppet that is over ten meters long and made entirely of solid stone. Its HP limit is as high as 40,000, and its defense reduction is surprisingly high. At the same time, its "strength" attribute value is over 1,200 points, making it "as hard as diamond" and "strong enough to fly mountains".

But apart from being able to resist and fight, the "Mountain Giant" does not have any other additional functionality.

As for the third puppet pendant, the third-level puppet "Oak Healer" sealed in it is not good at fighting, but specializes in shielding and treatment.

The "Oak Healer" can unfold a "Creation" field, applying a continuous health recovery effect to all designated targets in the field, and converting the overflow value of the health recovery applied by the "Creation" field into a shield. It is a puppet that can greatly improve safety.

The last third-level puppet, the "Vibroconcertist", is also an auxiliary puppet, but its focus is different from that of the "Oak Healer".

The "Vibrator" can unfold a "string" field and connect all targets in the field with "spiritual strings". After that, the puppeteer can choose to let the "Vibrator" apply "buff" or "debuff" effects to the connected strings, and choose two of up to five "buff" or "debuff" effects to release.

After roughly browsing the performance and panels of the sealed puppets in the four puppet pendants, Luo Xiu had already made a choice in his heart.

——Only children make choices, as an adult I...

"Sir Irfan," Luo Xiu then said to Irfan, "I'm having a hard time deciding."

"They are all outstanding works of Fangbei Academy. I can feel the powerful aura contained in these magic crystals. I believe that they can indeed bring me great help."

"Moreover, Your Excellency Elvan." Luo Xiu paused and continued, "I think this is also an opportunity for our church and Fangbei Academy to establish in-depth cooperation."

"Hmm? Lord Luo Xiu, what do you mean?" Alvan asked suddenly with some realization.

"I will accept one of your pendants as a 'greeting gift'. For the rest, I will buy them at their proper value with gold coins, or exchange them with materials or special items of our church."

Luo Xiu smiled and said, "For example, some precious materials, finished products, and spoils we seized from the infidels. Lord Irfan, what do you think?"

Hearing this, Alvan pondered for a while, nodded and said:

"Of course, Fangbeiyuan will gladly accept your proposal, Mr. Luo Xiu."

"For us, the 'puppet' is indeed one of the most suitable 'products'. As long as there are enough materials, we can definitely reproduce it."

"Well... then, since you want to get them all - 10,000 Nolan gold coins, plus 20 rare weapons or equipment with 'Glorious Inscription', and 30 scrolls or potions with 'Intermediate Purification' effects, they are yours."

Cheaper than expected... Luo Xiu thought. Twenty pieces of "Glorious Inscription" weapons or equipment, and thirty purification scrolls or potions, all of which are available in the Church's Holy Storage Hall, but the Church now has no extra deposits.

Luo Xiu needed to pay 10,000 Nolan gold coins out of his own pocket, which was equivalent to half of the cash he held, which made him feel a little painful.

But I still have a lot of savings in the Golden Country Bank. If the cash is insufficient, I can ask Intis to withdraw it... Luo Xiu thought so, then he gritted his teeth, nodded and said:

"Well, I also accept your proposal, Mr. Irfan."

"I will pay you in cash first. As for the remaining weapons, equipment, scrolls, or potions, I will have the clergy of the missionary station deliver them to you after I return to the church."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu took out an exquisite square box from his bracelet and handed it to Alvan.

Alvan reached out to take it, opened the lock of the square box, and bright white light overflowed from the gap in the box.

There were exactly one hundred platinum coins packed inside, ten in a row and ten in a row, neatly arranged so that Alvan didn't need to count them carefully.

Irfan just glanced at it, then closed the lid and said with a smile on his face:

"Okay, Master Luo Xiu. Then these four 'Crazy Evil' puppet pendants are yours."

"You don't need to trouble the clergy of the church to make another trip. I will send our scholars over. Please just count the things that need to be delivered."

"That would be the best." Luo Xiu also responded with a smile, "Thank you for your understanding, Lord Irfan."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu took the four pendants from the four hands of the tall and thin puppet and put them into his storage bracelet.

After completing the main purpose of this trip, Luo Xiu prepared to say goodbye to Alvan.

Before leaving, Alvan suddenly stopped him and gave him three specially made empty medicine bottles and three blood-drawing needles made of special materials, saying:

"I heard from Baines that you will be heading to the forest outside the city to investigate the possible ancient seals that may exist there."

"Well, I'll leave these things to you, Lord Luo Xiu. If you encounter any special, strange creatures like the blood hyenas we saw before, please help me collect some blood samples from them and I will pay you accordingly."

Just as Alvan was saying this, Luo Xiu's panel suddenly jumped.

[Trigger hidden tasks]

[Hidden Mission: Seal Hidden in the Forest (Nightmare Difficulty)]

[Recommended level: lv.30, triple destiny and above]

[Task type: series of tasks]

[Task Description: You are about to go to the woods outside Red Maple City to investigate the secrets of the possible "ancient seal" and explore the truth behind the monsters from the 'abyss'.

Red Maple City - The "Acting Dean" of Fangbei Academy, Irfan, has issued you a commission after learning that you are about to conduct an investigation. 】

[Mission Objective: Complete the investigation of the seal in the coniferous forest outside Red Maple City, collect blood samples that meet the requirements for Alvan, bring them back to Fangbei Courtyard, and hand them over to Alvan for research.]

[Completion Reward: Basic Experience +28000, "Rare" Quality Specialty 'Wrong Path Explorer' *1]

【…】

It’s a “series of tasks”… Looking at the content that appeared on the panel, Luo Xiu fell into deep thought for a short while.

Up to now, he has only triggered the "series of tasks" once, which was the task of the Four Knights of the Nation related to "Isol".

This type of mission often hides a great secret behind it, and the rewards are also quite generous. This made Luo Xiu even more interested in the investigation - originally, his investigation was just to plan and make plans for his own destiny in the [Abyss], but now, he has a more sufficient reason to investigate the seal.

He then took the empty medicine bottle and blood sampling needle from Irfan, said with a smile: "I understand. If you find any special creatures, I will help you complete the sampling."

……

After returning to the church from Fangbeiyuan, it was already afternoon.

Pamier returned to the Inquisition first to assist Anthony in making final preparations for the investigation of the seal.

Luo Xiu went directly to the missionary center, found Mayev, and gave him the pendant that sealed the "Ghost Falcon" and "Mountain Giant" puppets.

Luo Xiu handed the two magic puppet pendants over to the missionary office, and kept the other two, "Oak Healer" and "Vibrator", in his hands for the time being to assist him in investigating the seal.

Afterwards, Luo Xiu will open up some of the permissions of the "Medium of the Barrier" and allow the puppets to connect with the spirits within. In this way, even if Maiyev and other "deacons" only have triple destinies, they will be able to control them well.

After explaining to Mayyev the precautions regarding the "Ghost Falcon" and the "Mountain Giant", Luo Xiu asked Mayyev to prepare the weapons, equipment, scrolls and potions to be delivered to Fangbeiyuan.

"Have you reached a new cooperation with Fangbeiyuan?" Mayev was a little surprised.

He also clearly remembered that the church had just spent money to purchase a large amount of materials not long ago and now did not have the cash to provide new "cooperation".

But Lord Luo Xiu, the 'high priest', did not mention the money to him. The materials he instructed to be delivered to Fangbeiyuan were indeed all in the Holy Storage Hall of the Church, so Maiyev did not ask any more questions.

"I understand. I'll arrange it as soon as possible." Mayyev said to Luo Xiu, "I'll have people prepare these before the scholars from Fangbei Academy arrive."

……

at dusk.

Anthony and Pamier gathered the inquisitors and came to the main entrance of the church.

The "High Priest" Luo Xiu had been waiting here for a long time. When he saw Anthony, Pamier and the Inquisitors who were ready to go arrive, he instructed them on some necessary matters and then led the Inquisitors out of the city.

Just before the last ray of sunset disappeared, Luo Xiu and the Holy Judges arrived at the coniferous forest outside the city.

There is complete martial law here - after the previous decisive battle, Lord Nelson ordered the army to block the surrounding area and not allow any unauthorized persons to approach.

Responsible for guarding this blockade are two "Royal Guard Knights" and six "War Knights" from the border court.

They had already received instructions from Baines. When Luo Xiu led the Holy Judges to arrive, they were quickly allowed to pass by the guards.

A royal knight led Luo Xiu and the Holy Inquisitors to the entrance of the ancient seal.

As Luo Xiu gradually went deeper into the woods, the air was filled with a thick, smoky smell.

The remaining fire was still burning at the edge of the field of vision, and the ashes and charred wood together formed a dark, dilapidated and lifeless picture.

On the way, the Royal Guard Knight said to Luo Xiu:

"Master Luo Xiu, before you arrived, we have already conducted a rough reconnaissance of the surrounding area. There is indeed an 'ancient seal' here."

"The gap created by the black military explosives is still filled with an ominous aura. Also, bloody hyenas emerge from it from time to time. Fortunately, there are not many of them, so we can still deal with it."

"We suspect that there are still a lot of monsters in there, and some of them are even more powerful than the ones that emerged from the surface. Only by completely eradicating them can we truly guarantee safety."

"Yeah." Luo Xiu nodded and did not talk any more in depth with the Royal Guard Knight. They soon arrived at the sealed entrance.

What appeared in front of Luo Xiu was a whole collapsed deep pit, at the bottom of which was a sea of ​​fire burning endlessly.

...This scene is just like the "Gate of Hell" in Turkmenistan in my previous life. Luo Xiu thought to himself, and his eyes fell on the bottom of the sea of ​​fire.

There were several deep cracks there, as if they were made by axes, like scars from the earth being torn apart.

"You stay here and follow the instructions of Lord Baines. Don't let any irrelevant people get close."

Luo Xiu said to the Royal Guard Knight.

He then led the Inquisitors, slowly descending along the edge of the giant pit to the bottom, looking for a suitable location to enter the interior.

The priests accompanying the team cast sacred spells of immunity to burning and protection, allowing the Holy Inquisitors to move safely in the raging sea of ​​fire.

Luo Xiu opened his senses and continuously captured the rich "dark erosion" aura emanating from the cracks in order to determine the location of the true source.

They stepped into the sea of ​​fire, passed by a pile of broken monster bones, and followed the footsteps of the "High Priest" Luo Xiu, carefully examining each crack one by one.

Until Luo Xiu stopped in front of a wide and deep crack, he bent down and picked up a pale hyena skull from the ground. After carefully examining it for a while, he said to the Holy Judges behind him:

"This is it."

"If we go down from here, we should be able to reach the deepest seal."

"Anthony, and Pamier, you lead the Inquisitors to guard here. I will go down and explore the way first."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu summoned the "Golden Pegasus" and rode it slowly down to the depths of the rift.

The golden glow emitted by the Pegasus illuminated the area within ten meters as bright as day, allowing Luo Xiu to clearly see every detail around him.

The fire on the ground did not spread here, but on the two cliff-like walls, there were deep scratches as if they were carved by knives and axes.

Many mutilated corpses of bloody hyenas were hung on the wall, their sharp claws deeply embedded in the stone wall, and their flesh and blood formed a long ladder for more bloody hyenas to rush to the ground.

As Luo Xiu went deeper, the bloody hyena corpses he saw became more and more dense.

Occasionally, a few living blood hyenas would roar and pounce on him, but with the help of Luo Xiu's "Tamer's Eye" expertise, they quickly changed direction and fled in panic.

After falling for about a minute, Luo Xiu could already see the ground.

And further ahead is a deep and winding cave.

At the not-too-distant end, a thick, bloody, and ominous smell was emanating.

That is the source of the bloody hyenas.

And where the broken "seal" is.

……

(End of this chapter)