My health recovery is incredibly fast.

“Go ahead.” Hillenburg waved his hand. “Daniel will monitor the safety of the underwater workers through the orb. If you run into trouble, contact her through the communication device built into your diving suit.”

"Okay, team leader." Xia Zuo lifted the curtain and walked towards the diving suit, ready to embark on a new journey of physical training.

Chapter 62 Beginning

The Dharma Hall, the teaching area of ​​the outer hall.

Four teaching towers stand around the fountain and sculpture plaza.

The next training session for the alchemy school has not yet begun. The tower is empty and quiet, with a gentle breeze drifting freely through the deep corridors.

This should have been a time for the alchemist to enjoy some solitude, free from his students' distractions, but Adanavardos was instead troubled by a contentious meeting that had been dragging on for days.

He leaned back in his chair, frowning as he stared at the pearl on the desk.

Inside the jewel, numerous glass spheres were placed on a huge circular chair. Around a round table in the center of the arena, representatives from four schools of thought and council members of the Shamanic Society were engaged in a tense discussion.

Inside the Temple of the Mage, time is everything, and there are two types of meetings that do not require most of the attendees to be present in person.

The first is a meeting for witnesses who are not doing their job.

If an attendee is only present as a witness to a significant event and does not need to give a speech or interact with other people in the room, then the organizer can send a security guard to the meeting.

Another type of meeting is a voting meeting, such as the vote held by all personnel inside and outside the temple after a trial in the court to decide on the punishment.

When the overall context of a violation of the law is clear, the details are undisputed, the person involved confesses to their actions, and is willing to accept the Temple's punishment, representatives from each school of thought will draft a punishment plan, and the participants will vote to decide which plan to adopt.

The faked death of Nyoksat not only implicated his mistress and son, but also several directors of the shamanic society.

Punishment for those other than Ner'xath is relatively simpler, since their bodies and consciousness have never left the territory of the Mage Temple, and after repeated testing by the Witcher School, they have been confirmed to have no trace of corruption.

Therefore, everything should be punished in accordance with the usual methods: imprisonment for those who should be imprisoned, military service for those who should be served, and fines for those who should be fined.

Only Nyxat caused headaches for everyone involved in the voting meeting.

According to the identification by the Tower Scholars and the Demon Hunter School.

Inside the deep-sea turtle hatchling brought back by Rexor and Ceretus, there was indeed a consciousness that called itself Ner'xath. It possessed most of the memories of the shaman of the same name, as well as the same personality traits, logical inertia, and action habits.

Do these things prove that it is Nexat?

To the average person, if two things share the same characteristics, they can be identified as the same thing.

However, in the minds of many knowledgeable and highly skilled mages, memories and habits are things that can be sculpted. If the Church of the Otherworldly Demons were determined to create a high-fidelity replica of Ner'xath's consciousness and infiltrate the temple, it would be entirely possible.

So, what should we do with this consciousness that calls itself Nyxath?

After a long and drawn-out negotiation, representatives from all parties finally came up with a plan.

Adanavados peered through his jewel at the enormous scroll floating above the site, reading the details of the plan word by word.

First, the consciousness that calls itself Nyxat will be imprisoned for life and will never be able to set foot in any area other than the prison.

Secondly, since the consciousness wants to prove that it is Nyxath, it must hand over the forbidden shrine of Devantana, which is bound to Nyxath's soul and is his important token.

Strictly speaking, the temple only recognizes forbidden objects, not people.

Provided that the forbidden item is handed over, the temple will do its best to help the consciousness restore its original appearance.

The right to imprison in Nyxat is key.

A clone of Nexus appeared in the Mediterranean region between the Silvermoon Federation and the Crystal Remnant territory, and the Type 3 calamity it caused caused severe losses to the Alchemy School and the Crystal Remnant.

The Crystal Remnants have deep ties with the Alchemy School and have already relinquished their power of imprisonment to them.

Therefore, once this punishment plan is passed, Nyxath ​​will be imprisoned in the alchemy school's internal prison.

All expenses incurred during imprisonment were to be borne by the tribe of Nyoksat.

The losses caused by Category 3 disasters will also be compensated by the Naoxath tribe.

Besides these, the last point in the plan is particularly noteworthy:

[If, during imprisonment, the conscious entity provides crucial intelligence to the Temple and makes significant contributions, it may be eligible for a reduced sentence or even a pardon.]

After reading it, Adanavardos clearly realized that there was a lot more to it than met the eye.

If Nyxath ​​cannot suppress his yearning for freedom, the temple will hollow out the shamanic school.

Think about it: on one side is a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment, and on the other side is a shamanic master who has made great contributions to the temple and dedicated his shamanic knowledge, enjoying the respect of the mages and the treatment of an outer temple master. Anyone would know which to choose. The probability that Nyxath ​​would voluntarily dedicate his life's knowledge to the temple is at least 5%.

This plan maximized the temple's interests while ensuring its safety, resulting in a one-sided vote. Apart from the Shamanic Society, where half of the seats were against and half abstained, most voters in the other schools cast their votes in favor, with the remainder voting against.

Opponents of the school of thought argued that the consciousness within the deep-sea turtle was of unknown identity and showed no willingness to hand over Divantana's shrine, thus warranting high vigilance and recommending immediate execution.

Despite the large number of opponents, the vote was a foregone conclusion, and the proposal passed.

The victory of the majority, the misfortune of the minority.

The series of misfortunes caused by Nyxat's use of forbidden objects marked the beginning of the complete integration of the shamanic society into the temple.

Adanavados dismissed his guards, put away the jewel, and strolled slowly inside the sun-drenched glass dome, quietly waiting for visitors.

Within the Mage Sanctuary, only the High Tower Mages and the Alchemy School possess the ability to restore Ner'xath's body.

The tower monk's approach was simple and brutal.

They would use blessing spells to extract the brains of the baby turtles as safely and harmlessly as possible, place them in an enchanted brain container for preservation, and then cover the brain container with a permanent enchanted illusion magic circle.

By choosing this approach, Nerxat can use illusion magic circles to switch his appearance at will, which is equivalent to restoring his physical body.

Well… the premise is that he doesn’t appear in front of the Witcher Master or other mages who can see through illusions, otherwise he’s practically naked. In the eyes of these people, Ner’xath will appear as an ugly brain container.

Unfortunately, given Nerxat's social circle, everyone he came into contact with possessed the ability to see through illusions…

Therefore, Nyxath ​​had no choice but to cooperate with the alchemy school.

The alchemical school possesses numerous raw materials for alchemical bionic systems, which can grant him a body as hard as steel, restoring his youthful stamina and explosive power, and also give him skin that can resist aging and maintain eternal youth…

If Nexusat has any other needs... hey... that's all negotiable.

The alchemical school is notoriously tight-lipped and would never reveal the slightest bit of privacy.

Adanavardos had just walked around the culture tanks when there was a knock on his office door.

As expected, the person who came was none other than Nyoksat's confidant, Saldo.

Saldo was the deputy head of the Shamanic Society and its permanent representative stationed at the temple.

On the night that Master Lemon identified Nyxath's tentacles, it was Saldor who came to be questioned by the Temple.

At that time, he demonstrated the shamanistic society's tendency to delay and cover up its activities to the fullest extent.

If Master Lemon hadn't presented the definitive evidence—the results of telepathic tracking—forcing Saldor to reveal the truth, it might have delayed Rexor's pursuit of Ner'Xart.

Adanavardos naturally didn't have a pleasant expression towards this guy who nearly caused a major disaster, resulting in the Temple completely losing track of Nexus.

However, considering that the other party needed his help and that he had the upper hand, he could try to squeeze some money out of them, which immediately improved Adanavardos's mood.

He smiled politely and invited the other person to sit down across from him at the desk.

"Saldo, Neoxat's tragic fate is pitiful. Betrayed by everyone, and unable to receive any effective assistance after his downfall, he can only wander aimlessly in the Mediterranean Sea of ​​the Federation, hoping that his descendants will receive his distress signals..."

Adanavardos spoke as he manipulated his wind hand to bring over two cups of hot tea. "Fortunately, the Temple acted swiftly enough, Saldor. I heard Rexor mention that Ner'Xarthart was almost taken away by the high-ranking demon watchdog. Tell me, wasn't that a close call? Heh..."

Saldo, caught between the shamanic society and the temple, knew just how precarious his situation was.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, which was tied in a thin braid, and his camouflage makeup was also damp with a thin layer of moisture.

As a shamanic society representative who was over fifty years old, Saldo naturally understood the other party's veiled sarcasm.

But what can we do...?

He almost caused a major disaster, and the Shamanic Society was thrown into chaos because of the plan against Nyxath.

“I come with sincerity, Master Adanavados.” Saldo wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, placed his left thumb on his broad chin, and bowed to the other man in the primitive ritual of shamanism.

Adanavados remained unmoved, leaning back calmly in his chair, gazing at the shaman representative opposite him, quietly waiting for the other party to show sincerity.

"Your school's achievements in simulation are truly impressive, and His Excellency Neoxat greatly admires your school's pioneering spirit..."

Saldo noticed a hint of impatience in the other person's eyes.

When dealing with a pure alchemist, it's best to be straightforward.

Saldo paused, abandoning the frank and straightforward talk, and directly took a parchment scroll from his leather pouch, spread it out on the desk, and said to Adanavados:

“Master, these are Lord Nerxat’s requests. He wants a young and vibrant body that can freely cast spells…”

Adanavardos slightly raised his right hand, which was resting on the armrest, interrupting Saldo's words, and said:

"Excuse my bluntness, Saldor, but Nyxath ​​cannot cast spells while imprisoned. You should understand what I mean. To give his body the ability to channel magical energy is superfluous and goes against the will of the Inquisition."

"Although the punishment plan provides a way to avoid punishment, I think it will be some time before Nyxat can move freely. We can add spellcasting capabilities later."

In the field of bioalchemy, the alchemical school has conducted many experiments on spellcasting mediums.

As long as one possesses a spiritual ocean and contains obedient elements, one can guide energy and unleash spells.

Theoretically, one small elemental can provide 1 spell power.

The original human body can fully draw out elemental energy, with almost no energy loss in the process, and the energy transfer rate reaches 100%.

The energy transfer rate of the bionic body without additional spellcasting functions can be controlled between 0% and 100%. Considering that Nyxat is currently imprisoned, the energy transfer rate of the bionic body installed on him must be 0%, without any room for negotiation. This is the principle and the bottom line.

Furthermore, adding spellcasting capabilities later would mean that Ner'Xath would have to have a completely new body made, allowing the alchemy school to profit twice.

Therefore, Adanavardos refused very decisively.

Saldo was not surprised by the other party's reaction at all, and said as if nothing had happened:

"Lord Nexusath intends to clean up the lingering effects of the tribal scandal, and he plans to change his successor. For this, he needs an alchemical bionic system capable of procreation."

Adanavardos stroked his beard and asked:

"Propagating offspring of the tree-shaped monster?"

“No, no.” Saldo shook his head.

He knew that in the eyes of almost all the members of the Temple, the Ner'xath, which existed in a non-human form, was no longer considered human and should be classified as a tree-like creature with human consciousness.

This leads to the first image that comes to mind when people mention Ner'xath is not an image of a white-haired old man, but a tree-like monster with a distorted face, covered in moss, and moving slowly.

“Lord Neoxsat requests a return to humanity, a return to humanity from the inside out. He desires to be imprisoned as a human and to reproduce in a human manner,” Saldo said.