Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 98 Mercury

Green rushed in from outside, a few minutes earlier than the time Siren had given him, covered in snowflakes.

Then he saw that scene.

The tangled, twisted ice tree was like a work of art, each branch blooming under extreme repression. Blood was its magnificent robe, and its head hung high on the tip, its eye sockets and skull pierced, bearing an expression of unbelievable terror.

"This is..." He took two steps back, but calmed down and went forward to help the civilian who was vomiting on the spot.

Xilun remained silent, his expression grave. He then rolled up his sleeves and slowly reached out to touch the "ice tree."

“Your Excellency the Bishop!” a deacon on duty called out to remind him, but Siron ignored him.

Incredibly, the ice was slightly warm, and the blood was still slowly flowing on it, only it was solidified into a gel-like state.

Divine thoughts, controlled by will, emanated from his body, and four holy signs appeared one by one behind him, eliciting gasps of amazement from those who had recently joined the church.

That brilliant golden band of light, dotted with starlight, was simply unheard of!

Divine thoughts are formless and intangible, generally born from the thoughts and will of faith. They cannot be seen or touched, nor can they be considered a kind of "energy". Everyone can generate divine thoughts, but only by releasing "divine magic" through incantations and producing an impact and feedback in the real world can people observe them.

It is more like a "command" or a "medium".

The most basic form of healing is commanding the target's body to begin rapid self-healing, restoring it to its previous complete state in the most precise and efficient manner.

The passive effect of the sacred site is to strengthen the interference of divine will on reality, gradually transforming the intangible "command" into a tangible "signal," allowing one to see its existence, perceive its color, and hear its sound.

With the blessing of the four complete sacred relics, the divine thought was actually given a complete form.

According to the theory of the Department of Theology at the University of Florence, "divine thought" is the authority of God, but it can also be born from holy thoughts. This is because humans are God's creations. When humans cast off evil thoughts and trust in God, their thoughts become infinitely close to God, and thus "divine thought" arises.

—The above is a passage from the textbook that Xilun has memorized fluently. In his opinion, he already has a sense of justification by faith. Although the church in this world has strong control and power, there is no major schism between the East and West churches, nor are there various new and old churches, but many ideas have been integrated into the system.

According to history textbooks, more than a hundred years ago this thing was not called "divine thought" but "power of faith". However, after the famous Pharos Conference - after the cardinals passionately argued for eleven months - they finally declared in the documents that this power was called divine thought, a power shared by God and man. But God's divine thought is infinite, while man's divine thought can only be obtained in small amounts when he trusts God.

Divine thoughts flowed across the ice tree, and the ice blocks melted away like snow under the sunlight.

Xilun quickly stopped, leaving half as a sample.

Green leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Your Excellency, what happened?"

“There was a slight mishap.” Xilun glanced regretfully at the man’s corpse, but suddenly realized that after the ice melted in his mind, it did not turn into water, but into something similar to water, but more viscous.

It appears translucent and flows slowly on the ground.

Suddenly, Xilun squatted down and picked up a little bit with his fingers, which were gloved with deerskin.

"Mercury?" he said in surprise.

"What?" Green squatted down and poked the pile of things.

He suddenly pulled a box of matches from his pocket, then looked at Xilen with a questioning gaze, who nodded. He lit a white phosphorus match and then approached the ball of matter.

The liquids remained completely unchanged, without the slightest ripple.

When it dipped the match into the liquid, it went out instantly, without even a wisp of smoke appearing, and without causing any ripples on the surface of the liquid.

“It should be mercury,” Green said, and then the two looked at each other.

White mercury, as the liquid produced after red mercury completely loses its divine will, is an absolutely inert substance. It will not evaporate, burn, freeze, or react chemically with any substance, seemingly having lost all desire for change.

Once the red mercury vapor releases its last trace of divine power, it transforms into countless white mercury droplets that fall into the condenser box below the reactor. These droplets are collected periodically and can be used as an isolation medium, lubricant, or coolant.

However, its application scope is still relatively small. Compared to red mercury, which shaped a great era, white mercury is like some kind of lowly waste, lying dormant among machines all day long, and its market price is very low.

Some nobles even used it to fill coffins and soak the remains, which could preserve the body for a longer time at room temperature. If sealed in an ice coffin, it could prevent decay for an even longer period of time.

"This is... made of mercury?" Green pointed to the ice tree.

But no one can turn mercury into anything. It's like a soft liquid that has exhausted all its energy, lying there quietly. You can poke it and it will move. It can heat up or cool down, but it won't react or undergo a phase change.

Xilun shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

The doubts seem to be piling up. That ice tree is probably a kind of magic to prevent information from being leaked. It will be automatically triggered once an individual tries to reveal a secret. But why is it ice? Why can it be melted by divine thought? Why does it turn into mercury?
“You stay here and maintain order. Don’t let anyone near,” Siren said.

"Yes!" Green immediately accepted the order, organized the church's staff, and put up a temporary fence, while Xilun went to the communications room and picked up the megaphone connecting to the mage tower for the first time.
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“Yes, this is the Frostless Tower. You are… Ah, Your Excellency, good day. I am your apprentice, Percy Fisher. Are you looking for your tutor? Yes, I will pass on your message. Yes, I understand…”

The sound echoed through the empty tower. Suddenly, the sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets came from upstairs, and a disheveled, silver-haired old woman emerged from a pile of quilts.

“Percy! Whose message is this! Didn’t I tell Ryan not to contact me this morning?!” she shouted.

"It's His Excellency the Bishop! Something terrible has happened!" Percy shouted. "He wants you to go to the church immediately!"

"Oh! This is terrible!" Samantha muttered, rolling back into her pile of blankets and managing to pull out a few wrinkled clothes and pants.

Then, with a sudden leap, he darted to the other end of the bed, picked up the teacup from the messy bedside table, poured the water directly out the window, and glanced at the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup.

"Hmm... new moon, toad, camel, river... I should wear brown and white today, Leo sign..." She mumbled a bunch of things in a daze, then suddenly opened the bulging wardrobe, only to be buried underneath by the avalanche of clothes that collapsed in the midst of the huge noise.

"Mentor! He's calling you again! It's urgent!" Percy shouted.

"Don't rush me! Don't rush me!" Samantha's voice boomed like thunder from beneath the pile of clothes. "Ask him how long he usually waits for his lover to get ready. For a 160-year-old like me, it takes at least eight times as long!"

“Professor! He said he’s brought the samples!” Percy shouted.

The silence beneath the pile of clothes was incredibly loud.

"Percy! Activate your magic shield!"

(End of this chapter)