Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

But when Tia took a closer look, it seemed familiar. The tree above was engraved with the words "Father of All Creation," the faith of the Holy Church. Below the All Creation were seven angels holding swords. And around the tree below, a giant snake entwined itself, spitting its tongue upward.

Is this a metaphor for the nine paths?

The wavy lines formed by the two giant trees seem to have been intentionally carved into an ocean, with a fishing boat on it.

Marshall narrowed his eyes and smiled. "The ship is sailing on the sea. An angel and a snake demon are fighting ahead, causing strong winds and waves. What should we do if we want to continue sailing and reach the World Tree?"

Tia said without hesitation: "Add lead weights."

"Yes, that's right. This is the ritual. The ship is the supernatural being, and the lead is the supernatural power. The power allows us to withstand natural and supernatural risks."

Tia asked, "But if you add too much at once..."

Marshall smiled and said, "Little Sulph, I told you not to be so modest. You are just as smart, wise, and quick to learn as your sister.

"Add too much, and the boat will sink. So, strength comes at a price. If you want to add more lead and withstand stronger waves, you can only make the boat bigger, heavier, and stronger. This is sequence and promotion.

"But you can throw away the lead. But if you make a big ship, you can't go back. If you drill a hole in the ship, it will sink to the bottom of the sea.

"This is an irreversible change, and it is the price to pay for advancement and extraordinary abilities."

Tia followed Bishop Marshall to the other wall.

Unlike the previous magnificent battle between the angel and the snake demon, this side shows a spherical object.

It took her a while to realize: Oh my god, this is a cross-section of a planet...

There is a tradition in mysticism of comparing humans to celestial bodies, and this cross-section diagram should also have some metaphors.

Bishop Marshall pointed to the planet's surface. "This is the world we live in. Going down, it's a nightmare. It's the deep sea, the earth's crust, the collective subconscious, the ultimate destination, the world of ideas, and the collection of all information from the birth of history to the present. History is horizontal, historians always say. But in mysticism, history is vertical. You have already performed the ascension ceremony, right?"

"Yes, when you enter a nightmare, you can feel a kind of...water pressure?"

Tia thought back to the horrible pressure she had felt when she entered the temple, and she felt like she was about to collapse into a puddle.

"That's the price," Marshall said. "The bigger and stronger we make ourselves, the deeper we can dive."

"The deeper the depth, the greater the water pressure. But this is not a big deal. As long as we don't sink to the maximum depth, even if we sink, we will float up.

"In church schools, as well as schools in the King's District and the Clock Tower District, many children of prominent families would secretly dive into the underworld because nightmares were so magnificent and colorful.

"But their boats are small and light, so they can only dive to 300 meters underwater. As long as you don't engage in those extraordinary rituals too much, even if you press the button, you'll eventually surface. Sometimes, even in a dream at night, you'll unconsciously dive to a depth of 100 or 200 meters. But we are different."

Well, three hundred meters underwater...

so short.

Tia remembered that she had dived 30000 meters deep before entering the temple...

"If the water pressure—that is, the pollution—reaches an unacceptable level, we will be completely trapped in the nightmare, becoming part of it, or contaminated and transformed into another kind of creature—a spirit."

Are spiritual creatures transformed from extraordinary people who have dived too deep and been contaminated?

Tia remembered the huge creature roaming in the deep sea that she saw when she first entered the Hanging Temple.

And the meat ball that dropped san that I summoned.

The old bishop suddenly asked, "How many meters was your ordination ceremony held?"

Tia said honestly: "It should be around 2600m."

The old bishop was also stunned and asked in surprise: "How much?"

"Um... maybe 2500m?"

"Are you sure you're right?"

"Isn't that right?"

"You reached 2500m in your first promotion ceremony!?"

"Is it very deep?"

Old Bishop Marshall felt a tightness in his chest and was somewhat dizzy.

My Lord! This isn't a question of whether it's deep or not!

It’s the first promotion ceremony, and I haven’t even entered the sequence yet. Theoretically, 1000m is the maximum I can run!

2500m. Even Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 transcendents wouldn't dare dive to this depth!

Deep diving is also dangerous. The most dangerous are the spiritual creatures wandering in the deep sea. They are inhumane and carry out various activities unconsciously. Once you encounter them, you can only blame yourself for your bad luck.

The ascension ceremony is relatively safe because it is protected by the Seven Gods. Therefore, nightmares of appropriate depth will be selected according to the abilities of the participants in the ceremony to avoid excessive difficulty.

The old bishop clearly remembered that fifty years ago, he and his classmates had conducted their first Sequence 9 promotion ceremony. Thanks to this classmate, he was able to dive to a depth of 2400 meters during his first promotion ceremony, and only two people completed the promotion during the entire ceremony.

And that gifted classmate is now at Sequence 3, sitting on the throne of the Cathedral in the Great Silver Castle, becoming a well-deserved Pope!

If this old classmate hadn't been unlucky, he might have had a chance to break through Sequence 2 and extend his lifespan for a few more years—perhaps even be able to reach a reconciliation with the churches of various countries and accomplish the magnificent feat of integrating them.

The person in front of me reached 2500m on his first deep dive.

——What kind of monster will appear in the future?!

Volume 1: Chapter 36 It’s time for dinner again, my family.

"Little Sulph, Tia, are you interested in believing in the kind and merciful Father of All Things?"

"I'm sorry, Bishop. But I'm not interested at the moment."

Tia declined Bishop Marshall's kind invitation, and the old bishop's eyes were full of regret.

For a person who can reach a depth of 2500m on his first dive, it means that the tenacity of his soul has surpassed that of most ordinary people and even extraordinary people!

Such a talent was actually recruited by the National Police Agency in advance.

Marshall rambled on, "You're still in middle school, right? Are you interested in transferring to a church school? I can unilaterally promise you a scholarship and the qualification to be admitted to Saint Laurent..."

Church scholarship!

When Tia heard this word, she was immediately attracted.

Unlike her neighborhood middle school, the scholarships at the church school were quite generous, with the highest level scholarship being 50 gold pounds a year.

Although it may not be nice to say this about my alma mater, I have to say it - Beigang District Street Middle School is so poor that it can't even afford to award scholarships to students, and it has been two whole semesters since the scholarships were awarded.

Because North Port District Street School is a public, atheist, low-entry secondary school that teaches basic skills, the tuition fee is only 15 pounds 15 shillings.

This means that investors are unwilling to invest money, the nobles look down on such peasant schools, and even the municipal government is perfunctory and just wants to keep them open.

The girl was still willing to accept the money. Her voice trembled slightly as she forced a smile and said, "I'll think about it..."

"Oh, you kid. What about college? I heard you're a good student."

Marshall sighed slightly, and then heard Tia say, "Bishop, I'm about to get a letter of recommendation from Professor Horner of the Saint Laurent Steam and Power Department."

The old bishop said with satisfaction: "A wise move."

"No, Bishop. This is actually quite risky. I have a professor who will vouch for me. If a student is a believer of the church—like Anne from Count Mercury's family—it will certainly not be difficult for her to enroll."

Tia said, "But I'm an atheist, so it might be difficult to pass the interview. In comparison, the admission requirements of Ansu Capital National University are more relaxed, and my sister is also an assistant teacher at Ansu National University. I've been considering it recently, uh..."

"Atheists? What's wrong with atheists?"

"Uh... I mean, I haven't even read a serious book on the scriptures..."

Tia found it a little difficult to talk about this.

She actually received a lot of religious pamphlets, but she used them all - as graffiti books, as fuel, as toilet paper, as a way to wipe her butt...

She doesn't want to get this booklet either!

But the free bread and milk from the church are so delicious that every Sunday when Tia takes half an hour to become a devout believer, she really has to take some...

Bishop Marshall patted his chair and said, "What's the big deal? After all, you've read some unorthodox scriptures, haven't you?"

"Child, listen to me first. We often pray to the Lord, but the Father of all things is not only in icons; He is in everything you see. The Lord never existed; He is everywhere, because He is the Father of all things. Your thoughts, your sights, and your hearing all bear traces of the Lord.

“Even if you don’t believe in Him, there are traces of Him.

“We say, ‘Allah is merciful,’ but if He abandons someone because he does not believe in Him, His mercy would be false.

"We are believers in the Lord. If we reject someone because he or she does not believe in Him, our faith in the Lord would be false.

“We believe in Him because we need to believe in Him, not because He needs our belief. You don’t have to believe in Him because you don’t need to believe in Him, and He doesn’t need your belief either.

"So, whether you believe in Him or not, whether you are an atheist or a theist, everyone is equal in the Church. This is the Lord's teaching and the way to hold the Holy Grail."

The old bishop suddenly spoke fluently, and his original extremely dull human sense was instantly swept away.

Marshall finished his words in one breath, but he was still not satisfied and added:

"I'm still the honorary vice president of the seminary, so I can guarantee you. Tomorrow I'll have Isa send two copies of the recommendation letter to your home and Silver Castle respectively."

"Don't go to Anzu National University. They don't have as much scholarship as we do, and the dormitories aren't as good as ours."

Tia asked cautiously, "Does Saint Laurent still have a scholarship?"

"150 pounds. With your intelligence, you'll definitely get the scholarship."

"Is that all?"

Marshall smiled and said, "The lowest level."

The girl took a deep breath, then stood still and said, "Bishop! The Church is the only sun in my heart!"

"It doesn't matter if you have three suns, four suns, or even more suns in your heart. The church is always open to everyone. But the church's power cannot match the Lord's mercy, so it can only distribute some bread and milk every Sunday.

"We are working hard. This is why the Holy Church of Ansu believes in both the Way of the Hammer and the Way of the Holy Grail. The hammer is a furnace, a flame, industry, and manufacturing. Knowledge leads to technology, technology leads to steam, steam leads to industry, and industry leads to prosperity. Sooner or later, even the children of nomads in the poorest mountainous areas will be able to have enough food and clothing, receive a better education, and acquire the ability to determine their own future. This requires our efforts, as well as yours."

Bishop Marshall looked at Tia, and Tia felt inexplicably heavy. But the old bishop smiled and said, "Don't be too nervous.

"Let's get back to the point. Aren't you going to look for that Fast Peter?"

"Yes, I plan to get some holy wood from the church. I have several rituals to use. I will probably need to buy more in the future."

"Holy wood?"

Bishop Marshall was slightly taken aback and asked, "How much do you want to buy?"

Tia didn't expect the old bishop to use the word "buy" first. Before she could think about it, the old bishop said, "75 gold pounds per kilogram. If you buy a large quantity, I can charge you 70 gold pounds."

The generosity and compassion just now disappeared in an instant, and Tia could even see a hint of pettiness on the old bishop's face.

Marshall also noticed the unnatural look on Tia's face and said affirmatively, "The church also needs to make money, otherwise how can it buy bread and milk? Child, don't think the price is too high. The raw materials, auxiliary herbs, soaking potions and various other miscellaneous items needed to prepare the holy wood are almost all imported from abroad.

"In fact, if you buy it at Silver Castle or somewhere else, a kilogram of Holy Wood can go for 100 or 120 gold pounds. That's why Holy Wood is also called Golden Wood. Didn't Roman tell you that?"

Tia found it a little difficult to listen.

She had originally thought of using holy wood instead of gold and gold pounds to replenish the "holy light in the blood", but she didn't expect that the holy wood was also extremely expensive, not much different from gold!

Oh my god! Canaan Ogre's wife-changing journey across the continent (Part 8) Sisi's 800-pound fortune can't even buy a few kilograms of holy wood!

She wanted to buy ten kilograms first! But she didn't expect that even her entire fortune wouldn't be enough to buy ten kilograms...

She refused to give up and asked, "Can I get a discount?"

Marshall said with a smile, "It's for sale now. No bargaining."

"Two pounds, please... No, forget it, one pound!"

Volume 1: Chapter 37: Eating and Taking Sulph

Tia first placed an order for one kilogram of holy wood, and Bishop Marshall looked at the girl with even greater satisfaction.

Holy wood is regularly distributed by Silver Castle. It has not changed since the church's distribution system was established during the Great Plague sixteen years ago. For example, ten kilograms are delivered to the Cathedral of Our Lady every month.

Because the rations were small, and half of the money came from the church's account, various reform bills always came before this thing, so much so that the Holy Wood Rationing Act has not been changed for 16 years...

This item was used in large quantities during the plague, but in peacetime, it was rarely used up and difficult to sell, as it was generally only used by transcendents on the Holy Grail Path or for high-level Holy Grail Path rituals.

However, the transcendents on the Holy Grail Path are basically all members of the Church. And except for encountering large-scale natural disasters, there is no scene where the Holy Wood is used frequently.

In the end, the Holy Wood's internal contents could not be fully digested, so it could only be piled up in the warehouse to gather dust. Only occasionally would other Sequence Transcendents use it to perform Transcendent rituals, and then the Church would take advantage of it and exploit it.

So when Marshall heard Tia say, "I will buy a lot more in the future," his eyes softened when he looked at the child.

Flow One (Seven) Wing Two’s father QUN is worried that the holy wood is too expensive to sell.

This is where long-term cooperative customers come in.

But what the old bishop said was right. The price he gave to Tia was still the internal price. If it was sold in a city like Silver Castle, the price would have to be increased by half...