He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

"Peeling Feast"

A murder, an ancient crime.

The evil consequences that flowed from that grand pilgrimage remain a scar on this world to this day, and the scar has rotted away, becoming a malignant sore that entangles the source of all life.

Even with prior preparations, this level of mysticism still caused Ai Yi to become agitated—the influence of the moth lingered in the cavity, slowly fading away as the putrid smell dissipated. If it weren't for the ritual that had recently stained the vessel and strengthened it, she might have experienced another loss of control.

Ai looked at the crow that had landed steadily in her palm and gave a wry smile: "Coo-coo, thank you."

"Wow!"

Gugu rubbed its beak, making a cackling sound, and flew back to Ai's shoulder, keeping its accomplishment secret, and began to preen its feathers.

It had just helped conceal the ripples from the red liquid and shielded the outward spread of the ripples in the Grand Gift Pool. Even though the tiny moths smelled the scent of the Corrupting Heart, they were unable to transmit the information back to the "moth".

Fortunately, I wasn't caught by that fluttering moth.

Ai sighed deeply. Although exhausted, he also felt a sense of security. One of the reasons he was so eager to climb was to avoid the moth's pursuit. Now, with the protection of Mo Ya, he could finally catch his breath from the moth's threat.

He originally wanted to ask "why did the moth murder Mimu?", but then he thought that maybe it just had no taste in its mouth, just like when it crawled out of the bottom of the pond and licked itself—that crazy and disorderly god who acted entirely on instinct had given all mankind a "curse" in one gulp.

Curse.

"Binding..."

Ai muttered the word to herself, wagging her tail as if casually asking, "Door, is the only way to cure the deterioration to reawaken the Heart's Criteria?"

The door's reaction was calm, as if it knew he would ask this question: "Perhaps there are other methods, but the curse is the world's wound. To heal it—you should perhaps dive to the bottom of the pool first. Only by having enough size to speak with the great ones can you possibly cure the world, this behemoth, of its incurable disease."

-I understand.

Ai nodded silently. He realized he was being a little too impatient, which seemed normal, since occult scholars were constantly encountering secrets "beyond imagination."

The magnificent beings dwelling at the bottom of the pool will not be disturbed by the prying eyes of mortals, but mortals, when trying to understand the power beyond cognition, will fall into the prison of desire...

Climbing often comes at a price.

When desire gets out of control, its vessel cracks, its red liquid leaks out, and the price is loss of control.

Ai didn't want to experience that uncontrollable despair again. He tried to calm himself down, controlling the turbulent red fluid in his chest, and pondered as he stood there, lost in thought:

"No wonder the desire to save Dodo couldn't serve as a fulcrum."

The goal of starting with the grand is too far away for Ai Yi right now, so far away that it is almost incomprehensible... If you have to put it bluntly, it does seem a bit like being overly ambitious.

But how much time do I have?

The consequences of degradation come without warning or foreshadowing; it is an unfortunate event that can strike at any moment. Apart from praying for good fortune to be on one's side, there is no better way for a degraded species to escape that "vague and hopeless end"... even if it is only a temporary escape.

This feeling is terrible.

Ai tried to regulate his rapid breathing. He knew that there was no use in rushing things. Nie, who was beside him, noticed his unease and rubbed his head against the fox's belly, trying to soothe him in a cat-like way.

At that moment, a slightly embarrassed message appeared on the screen: "Uh... actually, there is a tiny bit of a way..."

- Damn, you cried too soon.

Ai raised her head without any expression, her forced seriousness making her look somewhat weak, as if she wanted to run into the Grand Pool and kick the door a few times.

The door seemed utterly unrepentant, continuing its self-indulgent explanation: "This world has experienced more than one grand pilgrimage, and even Sichen cannot remain at the top forever. In the long historical rift, an entire era silently and invisibly dissolved, turning the whole old world into a pool of red liquid."

"The above passage is the introduction to the general principles of mysticism, and it is also the most widely circulated and credible account of the origin of the 'Great Ritual Pool.'"

Does a pool of red liquid dissolve the entire old world?

Ai remained silent and continued to listen.

"Therefore, if this origin is accepted, theoretically speaking: everything that has been recorded in history, everything that has been witnessed, everything that has been embraced by thought, and everything that has ever existed, whether real or imagined, is now just red liquid in a pool."

"What does that mean?" Ai felt like she was reading a book written in a foreign language.

Doorway, however, immediately changed the subject: "Do you know how many standards exist in this era?"

Ai replied crisply, "I don't know."

Doorway: "Excluding those that have already fallen, and including those that existed before, those that successfully reincarnated after winning the resurrection tournament, and those that have newly risen... there are currently eleven criteria: Sky, Moth, Fire, Honey, Dagger, Ash, Thorn, Scale, Flower, and Awakening—"

- Hmm, and then what?

"Didn't you notice anything wrong?"

Ai stared at the light screen for a long time before belatedly realizing, "There seem to be only ten here..."

"Yes, there are only ten normal rules, and only these ten rules can contain power—but besides them, there is a special rule, a rule that does not possess power..."

The text below the doorknob is displayed in large letters:

Its name is: The Secret History.

"Secret History".

Ai tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought.

What is this now...?

"Brother." Nie suddenly called out to him softly, then shook his arm and grabbed one of his hands, holding it up in front of him.

The fox stared blankly at everything before him. He saw the color drain from his fingertips, turning pale, as if his blood circulation had stopped. Starting from the third joint of his middle finger, the soreness gradually grew heavy until it became almost unbearable.

What is that?

Red liquid welled up in Ai's eyes.

The next moment, his insightful perspective opened, and lush greenery filled his entire field of vision—long, oval leaves swayed without wind, accompanied by wildly growing roots that spread unchecked, growing in an invisible ring.

Its roots burrowed into Ai's knuckles, drawing in strands of red sap, thus infusing the entire plant with a vibrant crimson hue amidst its emerald green, creating an eerie and beautiful effect. Those slender branches, like transparent veins, coiled and pulsated around Ai's body, beating and undulating like a heartbeat.

"Mistletoe..."

Ai Yi stared blankly, and the next instant, the label from the door was imprinted directly in the center of the light screen:

"You relayed the secrets of the sacred tree to the mistletoe of the ritual vessel, Huan Sheng. Huan's wish has been fulfilled, and the old story has been completed—"

"Old Stories About the Sacred Tree (The Criteria for Unripe Stems) → Legends About the Sacred Tree (The Criteria and Secret History)"

"You have spread the secrets of the heart. The entry 'Golden Bough (False)' has been transformed into 'The Secret of the Golden Bough to be Solved.' Upon fulfilling the subsequent conditions, it will advance to the unique entry 'Golden Bough.'"

Feeling a bit like complaining about the game-like light screen in front of her, Ai silently glanced at the ritual artifact that had already changed between her fingers—

"Ritual Vessel: Mistletoe in Circulation"

"Anchor/Fulcrum/A signpost leading to the 'Crowne'※/Winter Reversal/A legend about the sacred tree (Principles, can be further completed)"

"Mindset Anchor: Unchanged"

"The unsolved mystery of the Golden Bough: Dive into the pool and journey to the kingdom atop the treetops to uncover the secret of the Golden Bough—that is my rebirth..."

"The wish of the ring that has been fulfilled: Mistletoe draws near to your red nectar, coexists in your vessel, transforms into the veins that circulate within your spirit, and shares your pain."

.

"The Secret History of the Pond..."

Ai tried hard to understand the changes that had just occurred, and finally realized something: "Within the Grand Gift Pool, there exists a complete, invisible region, which is the old world that has dissolved into red liquid..."

"And the secret history is the legend about those lost regions, a guide to the lost lands. With the secret history, I can dive into the pool and reach that invisible realm..."

"That's right—"

"How do I get to the kingdom in the pond?"

Ai Yi suddenly looked up, and the information he craved was displayed on the light screen:

"Take out your pass from the pool. Besides insight, Ash has also left you another secret manual."

Another secret manual.

Ai closed her eyes, and behind the dusty gray matter, in the darkness filled with ignorance, a book with a dark blue cover faintly emerged. The leather covering it was like wrinkled skin that had been soaked in water for a long time, swollen and shrunken, bloated yet withered. Just by looking at it, one felt an irresistible sense of drowning.

It began to burn in the "season of rising darkness," as if it were in the deep sea, the flames weak and feeble, tiny bubbles rising to the surface, the precipitated secrets slowly flowing into the red liquid.

Book title:

"Secret Technique: Deep Dive into the Crimson Pool"

As the pages of the book burned away in Ai's eyes, the sinking gravity replaced almost all his senses—he tried to open his eyes, and before him was the familiar Great Sacred Pool, but it was the Great Sacred Pool at night.

This time, Mo Ya did not look at him to protect him. Instead, the darkness enveloped him completely, as if he were in the deep sea, where the terrifying water pressure almost crushed him into blood and foam.

Deep dive...

In his hazy consciousness, something invisible flowed from the green plants on his knuckles into the red pool.

The next moment, the oppressive pressure dissipated like a dream, and in the deep sea-like pool, a beam of light, like the enlightenment of the universe, with the force of a thunderbolt, cleaved open the belly of darkness and rose above the boundless red liquid, illuminating a brilliant beacon in the mist beyond endless ignorance.

Ai stared blankly at the incomparably brilliant light—

That place is... the era when the principles of the heart fell, the point where the sacred tree died, the old kingdom that has dissolved into the pool.

I saw it, a corner of that invisible world.

The light curtain from the doorway flickered in his eyes:

"The road beacon is lit."

"The legend of the sacred tree opened a route for you in the pool, a road to the kingdom in the trees."

"The Art of Deep Diving grants you the skill to plunge into the depths of the pool; you are about to journey to the lost kingdom of the Sacred Tree: 'The Canopy'."

"Current Secret History Level: Legendary. You will encounter a mysterious force in the zeroth to second stage. Current tasks are listed below—"

"Essential Tasks (Moth Faction):"

As the moth's messenger, investigate the "child"...

"Wait... I haven't said I wanted to go yet!"

Ai Yi jolted awake, instantly snapping out of the overwhelming amount of information, and cried out urgently, "I just came to test my deep-sea diving skills, let me go back!"

-The mysterious power of the second stage has emerged. This is definitely not a dungeon that I can explore!

Hey, why is this light screen like a game? What are you doing, Ash Wood Gate?

The door stopped broadcasting and began to tease: "Isn't the game panel intuitive? Deep diving is a process of searching for lost items in a dissolved kingdom, so isn't that just like a game? I even kindly added a main quest for you so you wouldn't get lost in there."

Thank you...

"So, can I go back now?"

Ai was sweating profusely, still collecting Prison Coins, when she almost got sent to explore a new dungeon due to a moment of carelessness—a dungeon far beyond her level, which was incredibly frustrating.

"You know you need to get back quickly... If you stay any longer, the water pressure in the Grand Ceremony Pool at night will crush you. Now you know what deep-sea diving means, so get out of here right now!"

Ai Yi was momentarily disoriented when a beam of light from the door slapped her on the buttocks, kicking her out of the deep-sea perspective and back into the real world.

Rubbing her sore bottom, Ai shook her tail and got up from the ground, feeling a little sentimental...

The depths of this world were beyond his imagination—the secrets of insight had only unveiled an invisible world for the fox, while deep dives directly presented him with an entire mysterious kingdom.

"From that dungeon... realm, can I obtain items to suppress the degradation?"

Ai still hadn't adjusted his mindset and couldn't treat deep-sea diving as a game. He asked the door with lingering fear, trying to get more useful information.

"The Criterion of the Heart dissolved in the Crimson Pool. In the mortal world, it is no longer possible to find a mysterious item that carries the Criterion of the Heart. Only by diving deep can you obtain a fragment of the heart... and only a fragment of the heart can suppress the curse that spreads from the corrupted heart."

"I see……"

Ai nodded, then sighed and rubbed her forehead: "Seconds like the secret history we just discussed, I'll have to wait until the first stage to explore them, right?"

"If you're blinded by love, you can go and die right now."

The gatekeeper, as always, was sharp-tongued, but still spared no effort in explaining to him: "Secret histories are usually divided into five levels: Old News, Epics, Pastorals, Divine Comedy, and Forbidden Tales—Old News-level secret histories are often fragmented pieces. Even if they are managed to form a beacon, it is difficult to mark a complete 'Lost Kingdom' in the pool. They are usually used by mystical apprentices for training and are considered the lowest level of dungeons."

"The secret histories that begin with legends are the ones that truly have value for exploration. Depending on their origins, the upper limit of the scale of the secret histories will also be different. For example, the secret histories about the sacred tree that you have, which are connected to the celestial bodies, are the type with the highest upper limit. You can slowly fill in the gaps with secret stories until you can completely recreate that lost canopy kingdom in the pool."

"That sounds like a long process..."

Ai Yi twitched his ears, feeling a bit of a headache. Nie, who had been standing next to him, thoughtfully rubbed his temples, making him feel the joy of having a sweet little girl by his side.

"We need to speed up the upgrade process."

As he pondered this, Ai began to pace and explore the church, feeling that Ash couldn't have left him with only the art of alchemy.

As Men also said, the dyeing ritual was far inferior in scale to the "grand ceremony" planned by Gray.

"Grey, what other good stuff are you hiding...?"

Let me see!