Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 378: Ancient Dragon's Secret Treasure (8k!)
Anthony had arrived at the Holy Office and the Bishop's Office in advance, ready to start his new day of overtime work.

When Luo Xiu walked in, Anthony also raised his head and glanced at his "bishop"——

The first thing Luo Xiu noticed was the dark spots on Anthony's eye sockets and his calm eyes, like a still well.

It was a look as if he had seen through everything and understood the essence of life, just as Anthony knew the end of his mission.

Overtime! .jpg
"You're early, Anthony."

Luo Xiu smiled and greeted the former captain:

"I remember that the time we agreed on was eight o'clock in the morning."

“…Greetings to you, Bishop.”

Anthony also greeted Luo Xiu and then said:

"That may be a little late - I was thinking that today's work might be more arduous than the previous day, and it turned out to be the case."

"Then I came and took care of them ahead of time, and I thought that was my duty."

"..."

As Anthony was saying this, Luo Xiu suddenly felt a burning sensation in his heart.

It was as if he was an unscrupulous boss who recruited five-good employees who were possessed by the spirit of a migrant worker.

Voluntarily arriving early, voluntarily working overtime, these are all part of enlightenment!
The consciousness of workers! .jpg
Luo Xiu muttered these things in his heart, and then he looked at the table and the thick stack of files, and said in a teasing tone:
"It looks like—it's another holy tough fight, Anthony."

As he spoke, he walked to the main seat, the seat belonging to the "bishop" of the church, pulled out a chair and sat down.

At the same time, he pulled the files in front of him and divided them into two piles, just like he had done the day before.

Push the thinner files to Anthony, and that will be the "workload" assigned to him.

Anthony took the stack of files that Luo Xiu pushed to him, took down the one on top without any emotion on his face, picked up the pen dipped in ink from the ink bottle beside him, and began to review them carefully.

Luo Xiu also officially started his work for the day and began to review various applications submitted to the church.

……

Until noon.

The two piles of files placed in the middle in front of Luo Xiu and Anthony have disappeared, replaced by reviewed files placed on the low tables on both sides.

Anthony was already familiar with the specific trial process, which greatly improved the overall work efficiency. It only took about five hours to process all the files.

Afterwards, Anthony stood up, stretched his stiff limbs, and said to his "bishop", to Luo Xiu:

"finished."

"Yeah." Luo Xiu nodded with a smile.

"Okay, Anthony," he continued to say to Anthony, "Then go and have a rest. Come back to the 'Holy Tribunal' in the afternoon and assist me in presiding over the soul-sending ceremony."

"Then, come here at eight o'clock tomorrow morning as well."

"Okay." Anthony nodded in agreement.

He then pushed his chair back under the table, turned and walked towards the door of the bishops' room, left the room and the sacristy.

Anthony went back to his residence to rest as Luo Xiu said. He calmly accepted the two tasks assigned to him by the "bishop" without any ripples on his face.

Looking at Anthony now, Luo Xiu felt as if he saw himself in his past life.

He sighed, packed up and left the bishop's room and the Holy Office.

……

Afterwards, Luo Xiu left the church and went to the [Authentic Dwarf Blacksmith Shop].

He had asked the "Guiding Priest" Colen to inform the "Priest" Howard of the Holy Inquisition to preside over the soul-sending ceremony in the afternoon. Before that, he would go to the Forge Manor to purify the Seal of Ignorance for a "Gravel" dwarf.

He soon arrived at the manor, and under the guidance of the old blacksmith, he met the "master chef" Mir here, and went to a manor next door with Mir.

As more and more blacksmiths joined the forging manor, many "adventurers" also chose to join here and become blacksmith apprentices. The gravel dwarves who had not yet removed the [Seal of Ignorance] were temporarily placed in the manor next door.

For the sake of safety and keeping a low profile, Mir took Luo Xiu into the courtyard of the manor. There were two Gravel Dwarves who had removed the [Seal of Ignorance] guarding there. When they saw Mir and the "Bishop" of the church coming, they immediately opened the door for them.

Stepping into the corridor of the villa, Luo Xiu asked Mir:

"So, my friend, which one of your tribesmen do you want to have the [Seal of Ignorance] removed from his body today?"

"..."

"Kertichi Grit." Mir's deep voice answered:

"That's a jeweler. Now... the manor is indeed in need of a real jeweler."

"I understand." Luo Xiu nodded.

Since he brought back the "Gravel" people from Mil, until now, Luo Xiu has removed the [Seal of Ignorance] for nineteen dwarves of the "Gravel" clan.

The only thing left to fulfill the objective of the hidden quest [Liberation from Ignorance (Hell Difficulty)] is to purify the seal for a dwarf.

Moreover, the task is almost halfway to meeting the final requirement of this hidden task - purifying the [Seal of Ignorance] for thirty-nine "Gravel" dwarves.

While Luo Xiu was thinking about this, he and Mir had arrived in front of a dark brown door.

"Here we are."

Mir said in a low voice, and then stretched out his hand and pushed the two doors inwards.

Creak—the heavy wooden door made a sharp friction sound, and a somewhat sour smell rushed out from the moment the door opened and entered Luo Xiu's nose.

And passing through the newly opened door, Luo Xiu saw the twenty figures of dwarves sitting hunched over on wooden chairs.

Their eyes were still cloudy, saliva was dripping from the corners of their mouths, and their expressions were dull. When Mil and Luo Xiu walked in together, they did not react to the affairs of the outside world.

Next to Luo Xiu, he saw that Mil seemed to frown slightly, but the expression on his face remained calm, as if he was used to such scenes.

He walked straight to a dwarf who looked a little skinny, turned around and said to Luo Xiu:

"This is it."

"He is Ketizi Sand... Don't look at him like this now. When he was still in the Broken Continent, the hometown of our Sand Tribe, he was the best gemsmith in the village."

As he spoke, Mil walked forward, stretched out his hand to help the dwarf named "Kertichi Gravel" get off the wooden chair, and helped him to come to Luo Xiu as he staggered.

And Luo Xiu had already started praying in Sanskrit.

A golden light pattern appeared on the back of his hand, and when the light reached its brightest, Luo Xiu stepped forward, came in front of "Kertichi Gravel", and raised his right hand.

His right hand then lightly pressed on the top of Ketizi's head, and then he used his Level II authority on the "Gravel" dwarf in front of him -

——【God’s Holy Seal】!
A layer of faint golden light soon covered the outline of Luo Xiu's body, and the pattern of the [Seal of God's Announcement] flashed rapidly on the back of his hand, and the figure of an "angel" had already condensed behind him!

He held a white bell in his hand, and looked at the "gravel" dwarf in front of him with pity in his burning golden eyes. Then he slowly flew over the dwarf's head and flew into the air where he was.

He rang the holy bell at the same time and uttered an ancient divine message that did not belong to humans:

"—You will be baptized!"

Then, his figure slowly disappeared, and black mist began to slowly, gradually emanate from the outline of "Kertichi Gravel"'s body.

In Luo Xiu's detection of his panel, in the status column of "Cortichi Gravel", the edge of the status entry [Seal of Ignorance (Cannot be purified, cannot be removed)] was burning and disappearing bit by bit like fire.

On the face of Curtiz Sandstone, the pupils that had long been cloudy and chaotic gradually regained their color, and he began to murmur like a raving:
"Sand... gravel..."

And at the moment when the entry of [Seal of Ignorance (cannot be purified, cannot be removed)] completely disappeared, the turbidity in his eyes was truly dispelled, and an expression as if he had just woken up from a dream appeared on his face.

"I……"

Cortici murmured in confusion.

Luo Xiu stepped back at the right time, turned around and left the room, waiting in the courtyard of the manor.

Because he knew that Mir and several other dwarves who stayed here to guard must have a lot to say to "Kotichi Gravel", and he could wait until Mir finished what he wanted to say.

After purifying the [Seal of Ignorance] for "Kertichi Gravel", this became the twentieth dwarf of the "Gravel" clan rescued by Luo Xiu.

His task panel just jumped up, showing that the hidden task [Liberation from Ignorance (Hell Difficulty)] was already complete, but Luo Xiu did not choose to settle it. Instead, he prepared to wait until the end, until all the [Seals of Ignorance] in the bodies of the thirty-nine "Gravel" dwarves were purified.

After a short wait, he saw Mil walking out of the villa.

He was the only one there. The other "Sand" dwarves did not follow him. Mir then came to Luo Xiu and said to him hesitantly:
"Thank you... thank you."

"This is the twentieth member of my tribe that you have saved. Although half of them are still suffering, I have seen hope."

"It is nothing, my friend."

Luo Xiu smiled and responded to Mir, "How is your tribesman, 'Kertichi Sand' now?"

"I and other members of the tribe who have recovered persuaded him to stay."

Mir said, "Kertichi didn't agree to my request right away. He still needs to think carefully about where his future direction will be now that several clan leaders have died."

"This takes time... You know, Luo Xiu. It always takes some time to adapt and adjust after just escaping from a nightmare-like situation like that."

"Yeah, I can understand." Luo Xiu nodded slightly in response.

He and Mir then left the manor where the "Sand" people were settled and returned in the direction of the Forge Manor.

On the way back, Mirhudi said to Luo Xiu:

"If you are free - Luo Xiu. I would like to invite you to the manor in the evening. I have something to give you."

"You got something for me?"

Luo Xiu asked subconsciously, his eyes falling on Mil's face at the same time.

Right next to him - his old friend, Mil's expression looked very resolute, with a firm light flashing in his eyes, as if he had made some kind of decision.

Luo Xiu had thought of something.

But Mir didn't say anything more. He and Luo Xiu parted ways when they arrived at the gate of the forging manor, and Luo Xiu went straight back towards the church.

……

In the afternoon.

The Red Maple City Church, the place of Holy Judgment.

The day before, after the "priest" Howard of the Holy Inquisition relayed the instructions of "Bishop" Rosseau to all the clergy of the church that he would preside over the soul-sending ceremony, the courtyard of the Holy Inquisition was already filled with clergy at around three o'clock in the afternoon.

Almost all the clergy of the church have arrived, and there are also many players who have also received notification from the church and come to the Holy Inquisition to participate in the ceremony.

The clergy of the church all had sorrowful expressions on their faces, and the whispering sounds in the courtyard actually came from the players.

However, sensing the dangerous and vigilant gazes from the side, no player dared to make loud noises or do anything else in such an occasion. They just waited anxiously for the moment when the "Soul Sending Ceremony" would actually begin.

There were about a thousand people standing in the courtyard of the Holy Tribunal.

The huge altar in the middle and its surroundings were empty, and the bodies of the martyred clergy were quietly placed on the white stone beds nearby.

Sixty-three holy torches with golden flames have been lit in the courtyard, corresponding to the number of sixty-three martyrs.

At this time, the "bishop" of the church, Ross Carlos, was standing in the middle of the altar, preparing for the upcoming blessing.

In his mind, he had already issued a commission task to the players who came - its name was [Soul Sending Ceremony], and it was a commission task of normal difficulty.

The task requires you to wait quietly until the end of the ceremony - upon completion you will receive a preset 2000 experience points as a task reward.

Luo Xiu used this to restrain the players - to prevent them from doing anything too big on such an important occasion.

At the same time, players who were promoted to extraordinary levels and served as the "Guardians" of the church were also "invited" by Luo Xiu in the form of a mission. He also issued them a commissioned mission with the same name, but the mission required them to maintain order at the scene.

This should be able to reduce the influence of chaotic neutral players to a certain extent, while allowing players to feel involved in important church affairs.

Luo Xiu was thinking about this.

And when the sound of the holy bell on the church's bell tower echoed across the church sky for the first time.

Luo Xiu raised his arm, holding high the [Holy Grip] which was the scepter of the "Bishop", and uttered a sacred, Sanskrit prayer:

"—I will worship the fire, I will burn, I will dedicate myself to the light."

"——The pure, pure, white essence." "——Ignite the flame of the Holy Torch!"

"——..."

Om-!
The moment Luo Xiu's blessing fell, rings of bright golden light burst out and spread from the tip of the golden scepter held tightly in his right hand.

A golden veil of light has been draped over the outline of Luo Xiu's body, and he has opened up his sacred domain - filling the entire space with the spiritual aura of [Glory].

The golden rays of light that continued to diffuse and dissipate in the air also began to flow regularly and rhythmically as Luo Xiu continued his prayers.

They circled in the sky and gradually split into sixty-three golden rays of light, rushing towards the sixty-three holy torches.

——Wow!

The burning sacred fire suddenly burst out with brilliant and bright light.

The clergy standing around, their hands forming an equilateral triangle on their chests, also began their sacred blessings at the same time.

They chanted the praises of [Glory], and the spirituality of [Glory] emanated from their bodies, making their "bishop" and the sacred realm opened up by Luo Xiu, which was already filled with the spirituality of [Glory], even more abundant.

And when all the golden light poured into the holy torch.

Luo Xiu raised the scepter in his hand again, and his clear voice made the next sacred blessing:

"—I will remember, I will pass on, I will witness the rise."

"——The endless, indestructible, eternal will."

“—Let the Holy Spirit return home!”

"——..."

Om-! ! !
It was at the moment when Luo Xiu finished his last sentence.

The blazing flames in all the holy torches began to tremble and sway violently at the same time.

And then a moment later—they went out, all at once.

The golden flame that was burning before was like amber glass. It shattered in an instant, splashing and breaking into pieces all around like gems.

But they did not fall like real jewels; they simply rose and fell, rising and falling constantly.

And a moment later - a moment after the golden flame went out.

Sixty-three beams of light shot up into the sky from the holy torch!

The light of the fireworks, which shattered and splashed like precious orbs, also rushed up to the sky with the light surge, and then floated down softly like a curtain of light, and finally completely covered the bodies of the sixty-three martyred clergy.

The golden holy flame then reignited, burning the remains of the clergy bit by bit from the mortal world, allowing their souls to break free from the shackles of their bodies and ascend to the eternal heaven.

This is the "Soul Sending Ceremony" - an ancient and sacred ceremony that has been passed down in the "Holy Court" to this day.

When the "ceremony" was truly completed, Luo Xiu's gaze was directed towards the stone bed where the bodies of the priests had rested.

There was nothing left on it, only the pure white stone surface, reflecting the bright golden light that was still circling in the air.

The martyrs have truly "returned home."

Nothing remains of their former bodies, but their divinely blessed souls will be truly guided.

They will rise, rise forever, until they reach the "Eternal Kingdom" where that moment is.

——Perhaps some people will become "angels" and continue on the path of devotion to "Glory" in another form.

……

After completing the soul-sending ceremony.

Luo Xiu then walked down the Xuyou altar.

Accompanied by the "high priest" Anthony and three priests of the sanctuary, Rossio left the place of the Holy Judgment and returned to his "Holy See".

At least today, he didn't have anything else urgent to do until night, so he went back to the bedroom and lay on the bed, preparing to take advantage of the three or four hours of free time to make up for the insufficient sleep.

Opening the [Player Forum] and [Chat Channel], he saw that most of the players who had participated in the Soul Sending Ceremony before had already completed the commissioned task [Soul Sending Ceremony] and obtained the 2000 experience points that Luo Xiu had preset for them.

These social panels were suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere.

And this is also the result that Luo Xiu wants to see.

After looking at it for a while, he closed the panel, covered himself with the quilt, and fell into a light sleep.

……

Until evening.

At about nine o'clock in the evening, Luo Xiu woke up from a short sleep.

He then climbed up from the bed, and smoothed his tangled hair in front of the exquisitely carved full-length mirror in the room. Then he walked to the clothes rack and took off a casual suit for going out.

It was a thick velvet white robe with the cuffs and front decorated with gold. When Luo Xiu put it on and made the final adjustments in front of the mirror, he felt like a young businessman from the Golden Kingdom.

He suddenly thought of Alardin - if that great philanthropist could be thinner and have jet-black hair like himself, then he could indeed imitate most of the temperament of the first heir of the Manston family.

Luo Xiu was thinking about these things in a divergent way. He had already arrived at the door of the room and had his hand on the door handle.

Turning the handle and pushing the door open, Luo Xiu left the Holy See and the church and headed towards his first destination of the evening.

——[Authentic Dwarf Blacksmith Shop]!
He still clearly remembered what Mil had said to him at noon - asking Luo Xiu to meet him at the Forge Manor when he was free in the evening.

Mir said at the time that he would give Luo Xiu something.

And judging from Mil's reaction at the time, it must be something very important to him.

While Luo Xiu was thinking about this, he quickened his pace and soon arrived at the door of the forging manor.

Through the big iron gate he saw the forging masters that had filled the courtyard. They were still beside their forges, clanging their hammers.

Strings of fine sparks shining with fragmented golden light would splash out every time they swung their hammers, and the escaping sparks would burn themselves out before actually falling to the ground.

Luo Xiu looked at the scene in front of him.

Normally, it should be time for the "Forge Manor" to close. But the forgers are still working overtime, which can only be because the manor's orders have accumulated to a considerable level.

As far as Luo Xiu knew, there were at least a hundred orders sent from the church to the Forging Manor.

And in Hongfeng City, there is also the heavyweight "Bianting" which is a major order-placer, and the "Fangbeiyuan" will come to the manor from time to time to customize a batch of precision components or instruments... According to the most conservative estimate, the forging masters in the forging manor will not have the luxury of "vacation" for at least a month.

As Luo Xiu was thinking, he had already stepped into the courtyard of the manor.

In the courtyard together with the blacksmiths who were working overtime to complete the orders, there were also many players who had chosen the [Intelligence] destiny and had just joined the manor as "blacksmith apprentices."

The moment the church's "bishop" Luo Xiu stepped into the courtyard, the players all raised their heads and cast curious and excited glances at Luo Xiu at the same time.

As the only "saint" in the three major destiny settlements of Red Maple City, the "bishop" of the Red Maple City Church, Luo Xiu Carlos, is definitely a first-class celebrity in the eyes of the players.

And his influence among the players is much higher than that of another [Supreme] 'Thunder General' Albert.

Just after Luo Xiu felt those curious and excited gazes, he saw that many "Forger Apprentice" players had stood up from their small benches and were ready to move towards Luo Xiu.

——It was like the burning gaze of an avid fan who suddenly encounters a popular star in a public place.

He had no doubt about what some players would do later - they would gather in groups, take photos with the "Bishop" Luo Xiu Carlos whom they met by chance, and then post the photos to the [Player Forum] or [Chat Channel] to chat - Luo Xiu had actually experienced such "enthusiasm".

This made him speed up his pace, and before the players really turned their eagerness into action, he had entered the largest villa and stepped onto the stairs to the third floor.

He went straight to the third floor, stopped in front of the forging room belonging to "Master" Mir, and knocked on the door lightly.

Then the door opened - Mir poked his head out from the crack of the door, he was covered in dust and dirt.

"You're here, Luo Xiu."

After looking at Luo Xiu, Mil put his head back, and the door then opened completely.

Luo Xiu walked in, looked at the various "epic" and "legendary" materials placed on the table in the room, and greeted with a smile on his face:

"Did the Border Court ask you to forge something again?"

"..."

"Albert came in person."

Mir shook his head and said helplessly, "Do you remember one of the three executioners who invaded Red Maple City before - 'Silver Blood Dragonborn' Quilton? After he was killed, Albert recovered some materials from him."

As he spoke, Mil pointed to the table, where three bright silver dragon scales were fixed with a special vise.

Even without light, the three dragon scales still emitted a faint silver glow, like mercury flowing deep within the scales, constantly making tiny "pop, pop" sounds.

"That Quilton is a half-dragonborn. The 'reverse scale' that dropped from it is indeed somewhat special."

Mir knocked on the surface of the scales, and a crisp sound like knocking on gold was heard.

He continued, "And that is also a 'legendary' quality material - Albert asked me to forge a lightweight weapon, and has paid me a deposit of 40,000 gold coins for it."

"Forty thousand gold coins?"

Luo Xiu was a little surprised, "That 'Thunder General'... he is really generous."

Before, when Luo Xiu commissioned Mil to forge the legendary sickle [Saint Beheading], the deposit he gave him was only one hundred platinum coins.

Mil's worth has risen along with his fame - Luo Xiu is pleased to see his current achievements, because the church can also benefit greatly from it.

"So, my friend," Luo Xiu then asked Mir:

"What was it that you said to me at noon that you wanted to give me?"

"..."

When Mir heard Luo Xiu ask this question, he stopped carving.

He looked over with amber eyes, staring at Luo Xiu quietly. After a while, he said:
"I've been thinking, Luo Xiu...you've been saving my people all the time, and how can I repay you?"

"Legendary weapons and equipment? You won't be short of them if you want them."

"Is it the knowledge that is unique to being a dwarf and a runesmith of [Knowledge]? But you are not a practitioner of [Knowledge], so you don't need this."

Mir stared at Luo Xiu for a long time, his pupils trembling with emotional fluctuations.

"I am actually quite distressed about this. I don't know how or what I can do to repay you."

"And you never told me this, never said you wanted to gain anything from me, as if it was just a good deed that you, the Glory Clergy, did casually."

"Maybe that's the case for you... Luo Xiu."

"But for us... that's not the case, absolutely not!"

Mir's emotions became excited, which made his voice tremble slightly, and then he said loudly:

"You are the benefactor who saved my tribe - Luo Xiu!"

"It was at noon today, when you used the power of the Holy Seal to rescue Cortichi Sand, that I finally made up my mind."

After saying that, Mil dropped the carving knife in his hand and ran to the room inside.

Luo Xiu still stood there, looking towards the door on the side.

Soon, Mir came out again, holding two huge objects wrapped in white cloth in his hands.

He placed the two white objects on the table, his eyes flashing with heat, and tore one of the white cloths open with a "swish"!

The bright red surface of the wrapped object was revealed, still glowing with light!
"This is what I have finally decided to give you as a 'repayment'."

Mir stared into Luo Xiu's eyes, and as if with some great momentum, he spoke clearly word by word:

"——The ancient dragon's secret treasure, the [Dragon Flame Demon Sword] and the [Dragon Breath Scepter]!"

"The great patriarch gave them to me at that time, and now... I am willing to give them to you."

"As long as you can save, save all my people."

……

(Too awesome, brothers, too awesome, 600 monthly tickets a day filled my account! (bushi
I'll still give you 8k! I'll check the status tomorrow, if it's good, I'll continue.
qvq
(End of this chapter)