After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

"Traveler from afar, what wish do you have to tell me?"

Serafia placed her hands gracefully on her knees, her posture dignified and natural, waiting for Mu Qiu to speak.

Judging from her voice, she seems to be a very gentle woman, so she should be easy to talk to, right?

Mu Qiu's heart stirred slightly, and he slowly spoke through the carved partition:

“Your Excellency, I have long heard of the Earth Temple. Back when we were at the border, a priest came to visit me at my manor.”

Mu Qiu wore a warm smile.

"I had a cordial and friendly conversation with that priest, and ever since then, I've been captivated by the Temple of the Earth, especially by the legendary Saintess..."

"Sir, you flatter me."

The sound from inside the baffle seemed a bit softer than before.

"If I may ask, sir, have you... been to the Abyss?"

abyss?

Mu Qiu was slightly taken aback, wondering why the Holy Maiden would have such a question.

“Your Excellency, I have never been to the Abyss, and I have only been to the underground city once.”

Moreover, that was right after he transmigrated here, when he escaped from the underground city...

To be precise, he only came out of the dungeon once, never went back in, because he was summoned there.

Serafia let out a soft "hmm," her tone tinged with apology.

"I'm sorry, sir traveler, perhaps I misunderstood. But just now, there seemed to be a... unsettling aura around you that made me a little concerned. Have you or anyone around you... experienced anything strange recently?"

around?

Mu Qiu subconsciously glanced to the right at the white-haired, red-eyed girl.

At this moment, a phantom white wing was forming behind Lilith.

Is that Lily?

Probably not?

She's an angel, so shouldn't this saintly lady feel at ease? Why would she feel uneasy?

He had long since concealed his demonic aura, and besides, it wasn't something that anyone outside the Abyss faction could sense...

Just as Mu Qiu was feeling confused, he saw Lilith mouth something to him.

[Dungeon Equipment]

Dungeon gear?

Mu Qiu realized what it was—could it be Vera's dungeon equipment?

“Your Excellency, regarding this matter… I once acquired two mithril-grade dungeon equipment and one orogen-grade dungeon equipment from a rioting medium-sized dungeon.”

"Could the aura you sensed just now... have come from my companion?"

As he spoke, he waved to Vera outside the door behind him.

Vera walked in, took out the staff and grimoire from her storage ring, as well as a necklace that looked like a dog collar, and handed them to Mu Qiu.

Lilith casually moved closer to the equipment.

"Dungeon equipment..."

Serafia was somewhat puzzled.

Just now, the aura didn't come from the doorway, but from not far to the right of the traveler.

But now, after disappearing for a moment, this aura has reappeared on those dungeon equipment pieces.

“Your Excellency, actually, one of the reasons I came to visit the temple today is that I hope you can help us appraise these dungeon equipment pieces.”

Mu Qiu spoke up.

Although he knew that these three pieces of dungeon equipment were blessed equipment with only blessing attributes and no curse attributes, they could only be recognized as blessed equipment after the Saintess's appraisal.

After all, only the holy maidens of the major temples can identify blessed and cursed equipment of any grade with 100% accuracy.

With the saintess's endorsement, the value of these three dungeon equipment pieces can increase many times over.

After he finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the prayer room.

Serafia remained silent for a moment behind the barrier, seemingly carefully sensing the aura emanating from the pieces of equipment.

Finally, a slight rustling sound of clothing came from behind the barrier.

The exquisitely carved panel was gently pushed to one side, and a pure white figure slowly walked out from behind.

Saintess Serafia appeared before Mu Qiu, and being closer, he could better feel her transcendent holiness and beauty.

A head of dazzling golden hair cascaded down her back like flowing sunlight, and the black ribbon covering her eyes added a touch of mystery and vulnerability, while the pure white priestess's robe outlined her voluptuous and graceful curves.

As she walked, her sleeves and skirt swayed slightly.

If it weren't for the large priest's robe that completely covered her skin, and instead two long pieces of cloth were used to cover it, one could probably see the astonishing curves jiggling up and down, and the snow-white skin on both sides would be exposed to the air.

Vera felt her gaze was somewhat impolite, so she looked away.

Serafia paused for a moment. She had thought that lewd gaze belonged to the traveler, but it turned out to be this moon elf lady. This was truly... unexpected.

She was always troubled by her overly mature body. She longed to have a youthful figure like the angel lady from earlier, but as she grew older, her body became more and more mature, like a peach, and even the curse became increasingly difficult to suppress.

To avoid offending her followers, Seraphia always covered herself up completely, no matter the season, not even revealing a small part of her arm. She would also subtly release one or two holy light spells from time to time, and she would always have a barrier between her and her most devout followers when they met each month...

Because his attention was focused on the traveler, he had no idea that the lewd gaze was coming from the elf girl, and he didn't release holy light magic on her in time.

The traveler's gaze was drawn to her black cloth, suggesting he was a very curious person.

After taking two more steps forward, Serafia paused slightly again.

The spot where the cushion should have been placed was now empty.

Serafia's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, as if she instantly understood why Mu Qiu had been standing there, and a sense of apology rose in her heart towards the traveler.

She actually assumed it was the other person's rudeness from the start; what an arrogant thought!

The other person was clearly a believer visiting the temple for the first time, and without seeing a cushion, they would naturally think that it was only natural to communicate while standing.

No, ultimately it's because she hasn't cultivated herself enough that she misunderstood the traveler she just met twice. Even though he's the purest person here, she actually thought he was the one who gave her that lewd look.

I need to reflect on this carefully when I get back.

Serafia was internally reflecting on her actions.

Then, she turned her gaze to the pieces of equipment in Mu Qiu's hands.

"Excuse me, please allow me to take a closer look."

Her voice remained gentle, but her tone had become more serious.

If it really is the aura she sensed, then these pieces of equipment are extraordinary.

Mu Qiu glanced at Lilith, who had disappeared to the side, blinked, and looked puzzled.

Why is Lily so elusive today? She appears and disappears all at once.

At this moment, Serafia stretched out her hands. Mu Qiu had just glanced in Lilith's direction, so his attention was somewhat distracted. As he handed over the staff, the spellbook, and the collar-shaped necklace, his hands naturally brushed against her fingertips.

The moment her fingertips brushed against her skin, Serafia felt a slight tremor run through her body, as if an electric current had surged through her entire being.

She took a deep breath.

This was the first time for her... no, the traveler seemed to have been lost in thought for a moment, perhaps he had something on his mind.

Serafia could sense that Mu Qiu had not harbored any impure thoughts towards her just now.

She took the equipment and gently ran her fingertips across its surface.

Unlike other saintesses, she is actually... more skilled at appraising dungeon equipment, and can appraise equipment of a lower rank than herself without relying on divine power.

This may also be related to her curse.

Serafia's movements were very gentle as she carefully touched the dungeon equipment.

She was a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Apart from serving the goddess, she felt that even the goddess's oracle that she should dedicate herself to a hero was a defilement to her.

Normally, before appraising dungeon equipment, she would cast a cleansing spell to remove all dirt and dust from the equipment before putting on gloves to begin the appraisal. After the appraisal was completed, these gloves would be destroyed...

However, what had just happened made her forget to cast the spell for a moment, and she hadn't originally planned to appraise equipment today, so she didn't wear the white silk gloves until she got her hands on them.

Anyway, it's the equipment worn by the legendary noblest and purest moon elf girl, and it's not clothing or any kind of close-fitting equipment, so there shouldn't be any problems...

Seraphia suppressed her slight discomfort and continued touching the equipment in her hands.

When she touched the magic book, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her plump body swayed imperceptibly.

"This equipment..."

A moment later, a look of surprise, even disbelief, gradually appeared on Serafia's face.

She looked up at Mu Qiu, her voice filled with astonishment: "This...this is truly astonishing, Mr. Traveler! These three pieces of equipment are blessed with multiple blessings, without any curses mixed in!"

"No way, it really is blessed equipment?"

Vera was even more surprised than she was.

The master bought three pieces of equipment from the Adventurers' Guild, and it turns out that all three pieces of equipment are blessed equipment?

Is it open?

Her pointed ears twitched, and she couldn't help but look at Mu Qiu: "Master, so you already knew this was blessed equipment?"

Mu Qiu glanced at her.

"Didn't I already say that? You just didn't believe me."

Because it was in front of the saintess, he was unusually reserved.

Otherwise, based on his understanding of Vera, if the saintess weren't there, she would definitely make extremely lewd noises!

Vera pouted and muttered, "You only bought three pieces of equipment, and each one is a blessed piece of equipment. No normal person would believe that!"

Were these three blessed items all purchased?

Serafia was even more surprised. Fortunately, she was a woman who had seen a lot. She paused for a moment, organized her thoughts, and then said, "The equipment produced in dungeons usually has at least one cursed affix. Although these cursed affixes may not have much of an effect on the surface, as long as you are tainted by a cursed affix, you may encounter unknown risks when exploring dungeons."

"But these few items... are all blessed equipment without any curse attributes!"

"Low-tier equipment has a relatively high probability of becoming blessed equipment due to its fewer affixes, but the probability of obtaining blessed equipment of gold grade or higher is much lower, especially for this kind of mithril grade blessed equipment, the probability is almost less than one in ten thousand!"

"And you just mentioned that this equipment was obtained from a rioted dungeon?"

Mu Qiu nodded, somewhat puzzled: "What impact will the underground city riot have?"

"Have!"

Serafia's tone became serious: "Dungeon riots are often caused by the appearance of high-level monsters, which means that this dungeon may not have been fully explored. There may be hidden passages leading to the abyss that have just not been discovered."

Of course, the probability of this is actually very low.

However, considering the three blessed pieces of equipment and the aura she had just sensed that was incredibly similar to the curse on her body, as if they were from the same source, it was hard for Serafia not to think in this direction.

Normally, it's almost impossible for three pieces of Orichalcum-Mithril-grade blessed equipment to spawn at once in a medium-sized dungeon!

Although the aura later disappeared, Serafia felt that perhaps it had only been temporarily concealed.

Given the curse that bound her, it was hard for Serafia to ignore these pieces of equipment.

She raised her head and looked at Mu Qiu with a serious expression: "Your Excellency, these pieces of equipment are very special. Their research value may far exceed their practical value. In order to find out the true source of this abnormal aura... may I ask you to lend me these three pieces of equipment for a period of time? I will definitely take good care of them and give you appropriate compensation."

As she spoke, she flipped her wrist, and three light purple gems appeared in her palm—these were low-grade starstones.

"These three low-grade starstones can serve as rental fees and initial compensation to you. What do you think?"

Mu Qiu glanced at the five low-grade starstones and curled his lip.

Five low-grade starstones, isn't that just 50,000 gold coins? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?

Although it's a rental fee, not a purchase fee, isn't this saintess being a bit too stingy?

He shook his head, his tone flat: "Your Excellency, this equipment is very important to my companions, and we cannot lend it out."