In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar!

Chapter 99 The Last Flower Goddess Priest

The entrance to the secret passage is a gentle slope that extends downwards. Initially, the stone walls were still sparsely carved with floral reliefs, but soon, only neatly cut rock surfaces remained on both sides, indicating that this was a passage later carved out by human hands.

The air initially carried the dry, dusty smell characteristic of desert ruins, but as Kave had predicted, a subtle sense of moisture gradually spread as they ventured deeper.

"The moisture is very strong." Kavi stopped and gently wiped his hand on the stone wall, his fingertips covered with a layer of cool moisture. "I wasn't wrong, the secret passage does indeed lead to the water source."

Wang Yan followed behind, praising, "As expected of an expert in the Wonderful Theory School, Kavi, you're amazing."

Kavi chuckled, showing no modesty, and simply continued to lead the way forward.

The passage gradually leveled out, and after walking for about 15 minutes, a wide-open space appeared in the distance.

When Kavi stepped out of the passage, it was as if he had triggered some ancient sensory mechanism. Inside the cave, crystals embedded in the stone lit up one by one, emitting a soft and stable pale golden light, from the ceiling, side walls and even the edge of the ground.

A cave, roughly the size of an indoor basketball court, was fully revealed before the four of them.

The cave's dome features natural stalactite-like undulations, with luminous crystals cleverly interspersed among them. The light, after multiple refractions, falls evenly, neither dazzling nor too dim, yet enough to illuminate every corner.

The most striking feature is an underground river that runs through the center of the cave. The river is about two meters wide, with clear, calm, and limpid water that is almost silent.

The underground river shimmered beautifully under the light.

However, what truly took the four of them's breath away was the scenery on both sides of the underground river.

Countless beautiful flowers grew in clusters, filling almost every crevice in the cave where they could take root.

Deep red roses, pure white lilies of the valley, pale purple irises, and golden oleaster blossoms—

These species, which shouldn't exist underground or even in the desert, are now blooming vibrantly.

The petals are full, the leaves are bright green, and you can even see the water droplets rolling between the pistils, giving off a sweet fragrance that blends various floral scents.

The fragrance of flowers that wafted out when the passage was first opened must have come from here.

The decaying flowers in the passageway must have originated from here.

Besides the flowers and water, there is a path paved with flat stone slabs that starts from the entrance where Wang Yan and the others stand, extends straight forward, crosses a low and exquisite stone arch bridge, crosses the underground river, and reaches the center of the other end of the cave.

At the end of the path, surrounded by flowers, lies a huge stone coffin.

The coffin is rectangular and carved entirely from a warm, white stone. Its surface is polished to an extremely smooth finish, reflecting a soft light. The edges are carved with continuous floral and vine patterns, consistent with the style of the temple and passageways.

"This is—a mausoleum?" Kavi whispered. "Is that the coffin of the goddess of flowers?"

"Impossible. If this were the coffin of the Flower Goddess, something should have happened to us when we got close," Elhesen denied outright.

Wang Yan nodded in agreement.

Regardless of what kind of coffin could withstand the dissipation of a demon god's power after death, as far as Wang Yan knew, the Flower Goddess shouldn't have left any corpse behind.

Even if the goddess of flowers had a body, it should have been kept in the Eternal Oasis, not in some unknown temple.

"So it must be an empty coffin."

"Shall we go over and open it to take a look?"

"Opening it—isn't that a bad idea?"

The group exchanged glances, and finally, Farusan spoke up, "Let's go take a look first."

The four of them walked along the path toward the coffin in the center.

As they approached, the main body of the coffin became clearer, and everyone finally discovered that there was a stone tablet embedded in the ground in front of the coffin. Because it was relatively flush with the ground, they had not noticed it before.

"What is this?" Kavi hesitated for a moment, then looked at Wang Yan and Elhesen.

Although he was a well-rounded individual and familiar with the Red King's script in the desert, able to decipher some of it, he truly did not recognize the engravings on the stone tablet.

El-Heinz frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "It seems to be some kind of very ancient script."

Farusian also stared at the stone tablet, pondering silently.

Only Wang Yan's pupils contracted slightly; his [Language Proficiency] had been activated, allowing him to read all the contents of the stone tablet.

At the same time, it was as if distant images appeared in his mind.

It was a young woman wearing a desert robe, slowly carving ancient characters on a stone tablet.

The lady of the house said she had something very important to do—and told me to wait here patiently.

Her smile was still beautiful, always so beautiful, but I knew that this might be the last time I saw it.

Since the Tree King left, the secret talks between the Crimson King and the Mistress have become increasingly dangerous, and my heart has grown increasingly uneasy.

Now, this unease seems to have become a reality.

I know what the mistress is going to do—she is going to pave the way for the Red King's arrogant dream—

I wanted to stop it, but I couldn't.

Oh, the great and beautiful mistress of flowers—

If your command is for me to remain here, then I will await your return.

Forty days and nights have passed.

The mistress never returned. A messenger from Vali Veger brought back news that the Crimson King was also gradually disappearing from sight.

The mistress has perished—

No! With the mistress's wisdom, how could He perish so easily? He will surely be resurrected!

I will build a temple for her, preserve her faith, and happily await her return; she will surely come back.

Another forty days and nights have passed.

With the help of the Spirit Sisters, I found a water vein on the edge of the desert and built a new temple on it.

-

I want to plant all the lady of the house's favorite flowers here, and wait for her return!

Forty more days and nights have passed.

The Red King has found us—He promised the sisters that if we serve Him, He will perform a great miracle and resurrect the mistress.

I don't trust Him!

I know that the mistress died because of Him!

But the Zhenling sisters agreed, and I don't blame them, because we miss our mistress so much.

Amun was not angry at my refusal; He gave me this desert and moved the tribe that still believed in the mistress here.

For demons, human faith is an important anchor point.

I am not grateful.

Slightly dazed, Wang Yan noticed a change in the young woman before him. She had aged, her hair was white, and her back was bent. The only thing that remained unchanged was her bright eyes.

I don't know how many days and nights have passed.

I'm getting old—

I am ultimately just a human being, and even with the blessing of the mistress, I do not have the long lifespan of the spirit-suppressing sisters.

I heard that Feligis became the governor of the oasis in the desert, and the canals under her control have sustained countless people—

That's wonderful, the lady of the house loves him so much—he'll be so happy.

I heard again about Lilupar's madness—my heart aches, but my eyes cannot shed tears.

Mistress, please forgive your mad child, may her hatred be quelled—

Chaos was growing in the desert.

Amon seemed completely indifferent to the wailing of his people, and the Sumerian people were weeping.

I dispersed the surrounding tribes who worshipped the female master, sending them fleeing towards the Tree King's territory, hoping they could survive.

My lady, please forgive my incompetence. I am too old and no longer have the strength to protect them. Please bless them and keep them from the harm of the wind and sand.

The children begged me to leave with them—they wanted to hear the story of the lady of the house.

I refused; I would wait here for the mistress to return, no matter what.

After they leave, I will sink everything here underground; the mistress's temple must not be defiled or desecrated.

I have lost the concept of time.

I'm going to die—

In my dream last night, I saw the mistress sleeping in the Patishalan thicket of the Kingdom of Floating Bhagavan.

The purple flower clusters, as beautiful as a moonlit night, were so lovely, just like the image I had longed for countless times in my memories.

The hostess beckoned to me, and her hand brushed through my hair.

:

He said: You should rest.

I'm dying!

I couldn't wait for the mistress to return—but I was happy.

The feeling of carving a tombstone for yourself is truly amazing; even a lifeless body seems to come alive again.

Those who came later.

This place is the final resting place of the Flower Mistress, the first and last priestess, Philias.

If you can understand the language of angels, then be my mistress—the goddess of flowers, the queen of the oasis, the mistress of the kingdom of Floating Paradise, the mistress of the garden, the queen of flowers, the lord of joy and happiness, the mistress of flowers and moonlit nights, the mistress of dreams.

Offering the highest tribute to the primordial spirits.

May beauty last forever, may flowers always bloom, and may moonlit nights and joyous celebrations never cease!

I also wish that, after I rest in peace, I may forever be by the side of my mistress.

"Wang Yan, Wang Yan?"

'

Farusan's anxious calls came to my ears.

Wang Yan suddenly came to his senses. The scene before him vanished, and a trace of sorrow quietly lingered in his heart: "I am here, mentor."

Farusan looked at him, a hint of concern in her eyes: "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly freeze?"

Wang Yan then realized that not only Farusan, but also Kavi and Elhesen were looking at him with concern.

"It's nothing, I'm just interpreting the contents of the stone tablet," Wang Yan quickly explained.

"Huh? You can understand it?" Kavi was surprised. "Senior Farusan and Elhesen just spoke in this script, which may date back to the era before the Demon God War."

"I can understand a little bit," Wang Yan said modestly.

Farusian didn't care how her students could understand these things; she was more curious about what was written on them.

Faced with his mentor's self-confidence, Wang Yan gave a brief explanation: "This is not the mausoleum of the Flower Goddess, but the tomb of a Flower Goddess priest."

Then, a brief account of the life of this flower goddess priestess named [Felias] was given.

Everyone fell into thought.

Wang Yan hesitated for a moment, then looked at Farusan: "Mentor—I think—could we please not disturb this priest's peaceful slumber?"

""

Farusian raised an eyebrow: "You mean, give up on the research project on this Flora ruin? You've invested a lot of energy in it; giving up now would be a huge loss."

Wang Yan nodded without hesitation: "A research topic can be found at any time, but this priest deserves the respect of future generations."

Wang Yan didn't care much about the priest's belief in the goddess of flowers.

But in the final moments of her life, when she was powerless to protect her people, she still chose a safe path for them.

This made Wang Yan very satisfied.

He had a deep respect for those who protected the borders and people.

Wang Yan really didn't want to disturb the person's sleep just to write a paper.

A hint of relief flashed in Farussan's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. She waved her hand dismissively, feigning displeasure: "Anyway, it's your project, so you can decide for yourself."

Nearby, Kavi and Elhesen exchanged a glance, and Kavi said, "Since you don't want to disturb us—then let's leave first."

Al-Hysen nodded, and the two of them turned and left without looking back.

Although they were very curious about this site, it was Wang Yan's research topic. Since he said he didn't want to disturb him, they, as friends, were willing to support him.

Farusan reached out and patted Wang Yan on the shoulder, then turned and walked back the way she came.

The three left.