Chapter 160: Searching for the Relics of the Fate Lotus Cult

"You are saying you suddenly received a message left by the higher-ups of the Lotus-Life Cult before their deaths yesterday, telling you to go to the cult's former site to retrieve something?" Link felt it was quite absurd. Those people had been dead for a long time; even if a message was left, it shouldn't have taken a whole year to arrive, right? Could this message have a latency of hundreds of millions of years, just like some outdated servers in online games?

Cicely knew her claim was hard for anyone to believe, so she looked nervous and hurriedly explained, "Archbishop, everything I'm saying is true. Please believe me. Although it's hard to credit, among the secret arts of the Lotus-Life Cult, there is indeed such a spell. Only successive Saintesses who have received the baptism of the Lotus-Life Sacred Relic can receive those messages. I suppose Archbishop Huck left this message until now precisely because he was afraid I would be captured by the people of the Baal Cult."

The so-called Archbishop Huck was the head of the Lotus-Life Cult and, to Cicely, an elder akin to a father.

Link nodded silently after listening. The miraculous spells in the world of Sola Kong were countless; it was hardly surprising that a spell capable of delaying transmission for a year existed. Cicely's explanation also made sense: when he first met her a year ago, she had almost been captured by the Baal Cult. If she had truly been caught, she probably wouldn't have survived the year, and that message would naturally have remained an eternal secret. However, if she was still alive after a year, it meant she had shaken off the danger, and upon receiving the message, she could go unearth the treasure.

Most importantly, Cicely was now a fanatic devotee and could not possibly deceive Link. This showed that even though her words sounded incredible, they were true.

Thinking of this, Link pondered for a moment and asked, "Then how do you plan to go?"

Upon hearing this, Cicely was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. Link's words implied that he was allowing her to go. She immediately replied, "I plan to disguise myself and return together with Meline."

"With Meline?" Link shook his head. "Meline is currently at the front lines. The Father God Cult is about to go to war with other cults very soon; can she rush back in time? Besides, if just the two of you girls hit the road, what will you do if you encounter an attack from the Baal Cult? And what if this is a trap set by the Baal Cult?"

"I..." Cicely was instantly at a loss for words. Link was completely right; her consideration had indeed been lacking. Yet, to ask her to give it up filled her with reluctance, so she said, "Archbishop, I really want to go. That is the message Archbishop Huck left for me, and I cannot simply ignore it. Moreover, Archbishop Huck's message stated that among those items is the proselytizing sacred relic of the Lotus-Life Cult. If we can bring it back, it will be a tremendous help to our cult."

"A sacred relic?" Link's eyes lit up involuntarily. These were good things; so far, he hadn't obtained many sacred relics, but every single one was valuable. The slightly lesser ones were the proselytizing sacred relics obtained from the Temple of the Mad God and the God of War Cult. Those items could not be modified and could only be absorbed, with each providing ten points of divine power, which Link had used to repair and strengthen his Sacred Garments.

Although he didn't know what the sacred relics of the Lotus-Life Cult were like, the heritage and foundation of the Lotus-Life Cult were incomparable to those of the Temple of the Mad God and the Baal Cult. If the legacy relics were quite good, then acquiring another Gold Sacred Garment might no longer be a dream.

At this thought, Link looked deeply into Cicely's eyes. Upon confirming that she was telling the truth, he formed a plan and immediately spoke up, "I understand, Cicely. I will allow you to go. However, Meline doesn't need to go; she is at the front lines, so don't let her get distracted. I will go with you personally."

Initially, when Cicely heard Link say Meline couldn't go, she felt quite disappointed, thinking it was Link's polite refusal. Who would have thought Link would actually say he was going personally? This left her stunned for a long time, until she finally became alarmed and anxious, saying, "A-Archbishop, what are you doing? You possess a body of supreme worth; what should we do if this really is a trap? It doesn't matter if something happens to me, but if something happens to you, what will become of our cult? No, you cannot go. I won't let you come with me!"

In the end, Cicely, who was usually a gentle maiden, turned out to be exceptionally firm, showing that her regard for Link far surpassed even her own safety.

Seeing this, Link wasn't angry; he merely smiled faintly. Then, his aura shifted, releasing his pseudo-ninth-rank pressure before withdrawing it instantly. Though it lasted for only a split second, it was enough to shock Cicely to the core and make her delicate body sway precariously.

Link had never displayed this capability before; only a very few people knew he possessed the aura of a pseudo-ninth-rank. Cicely had not formally joined the Father God Cult until recently, and her faith level had remained at the advanced tier, so she was unaware of this matter. Now that she witnessed it, her delicate body naturally trembled violently with fear.

"A-Archbishop, c-could this aura be... the legendary ninth rank?" Cicely said with a mix of awe and terror.

Link smiled and nodded. "Indeed. Well? Cicely, do you still think I will be in danger? Even if it is a trap, do you think those fellows dare to make an enemy of me?"

Cicely was left speechless at those words. Make an enemy of Link? You've got to be kidding. That was the pressure of a peak ninth-rank! Who could withstand that except a ninth-rank powerhouse? Even an eighth-rank would find it extremely uncomfortable to face. Did the Baal Cult even have an eighth-rank powerhouse? Ninety-nine percent chance they didn't; at most, they had seventh-ranks. Otherwise, with the strength of an eighth-rank, would it take so much trouble to capture her? They probably would have already killed their way to the Father God Cult's headquarters long ago. After all, the Father God Cult superficially had no super-powerhouses capable of contending with an eighth-rank.

With Link's abilities, just unleashing that pressure could directly force the trap-setters to their knees.

Thinking of this, Cicely couldn't help but look at Link with a gaze filled with fanatical adoration. As expected of the Archbishop; his strength had already reached the limit of mortals. With the Archbishop here, who in the world could the Father God Cult fail to conquer?

Having developed a skin thick enough to withstand a sword strike, Link calmly accepted Cicely's adoration. Of course, he didn't truly believe that a somewhat illusory aura would make him invincible. The primary reason he dared to go was his genuine seventh-rank standard of strength and his extraordinary self-preservation ability. Moreover, he didn't plan to go with just the two of them; he intended to take two strong bodyguards and assistants along: the Gold Saint Saga and his own daughter, Suishōtō (Mercury Lamp).

After months of cultivation, Saga's strength had progressed further, placing his actual level just a step away from the mid-seventh-rank, and a full-power outburst could probably reach the early eighth-rank standard. Meanwhile, Suishōtō already possessed mid-seventh-rank strength and had been whining all day about wanting to help Link, so this trip would fulfill her wish.

Right away, Link had Cicely step down to make preparations. He then called Saga and Suishōtō over to inform them about searching for the treasure. Suishōtō, who had long been stifled with impatience, immediately cheered enthusiastically, while Saga also hoped to achieve a new breakthrough on the verge of life and death, making him quite pleased as well.

However, Link also indicated that this trip might simply turn out to be a fruitless journey, telling the two not to hold out too much hope. Upon hearing this, their excitement cooled down quite a bit, but they still maintained a good state of mind, which greatly satisfied Link. He immediately instructed the two to prepare to set off early the next morning.

After the two left, Link summoned the higher-ups like Ling Feng and informed them of his intention to go treasure hunting. Although everyone was surprised, upon learning that Link had made thorough preparations, they did not try to dissuade him further. They merely urged Link to be careful and not capsize in a drainage ditch. After all, strong as Link was, some matters required more than just raw power. Link naturally knew this, which was why he was having Saga and Suishōtō go with him.

Setting aside Link's pseudo-ninth-rank peak pressure, just having three seventh-rank powerhouses together meant that even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they could successfully escape.

Furthermore, after more than half a year of growth, Bailing's combat power had also reached the peak of the sixth rank, just a step away from the seventh rank. It wouldn't be surprising if it evolved at any moment, and if it could evolve during combat, they would effectively have four seventh-ranks on their side.

If this still wasn't safe enough, Link bought yet another insurance policy by pulling out the Goddess of Fortune Compass, which he hadn't used in a long time, to see if he needed to bring a 'Goddess of Fortune' along for the trip. To Link's surprise, the female blessed by the power of fortune was none other than Cicely, who had proposed this excursion.

"To think it would be Cicely who holds the power of fortune, and she's the one who proposed this trip as well. It seems this journey really will yield immense benefits! Heh, right on time—I've hit a bottleneck recently. The Sacred Immortal Power is different from other powers; the cultivation methods native to the Sola Kong world don't do much to enhance me, and the items I've drawn previously haven't provided much improvement either. If I can acquire a new divine skill through this, I'll definitely be able to usher in a brand-new breakthrough." Thinking this, Link wore a smile full of anticipation at the corner of his mouth.

The next day, the full roster assembled. The four of them boarded Bailing and, amidst the farewells of the others, headed toward the former site of the Lotus-Life Cult.

The former site of the Lotus-Life Cult was located in a valley north of the Moore Province. The Moore Province was adjacent to the Red Moon Province, and its lord was one of the two lords currently at war with Count Lothar. However, their route for this trip stayed far away from the battlefield and made encounters impossible, so it took them only half a day to reach the former site of the Lotus-Life Cult.

Rumor had it that the headquarters of the Lotus-Life Cult was a place of picturesque mountains and clear waters, possessing quite a peach-blossom-spring-like ambiance. But upon arriving in person, they found only desolation and bleakness. The place was littered with the ruins of various buildings, scattered corpses, and toxic gas hanging heavy in many areas. Most importantly, there was a massive space-time rift here, teeming with terrifying rift monsters, making it look entirely like a scene of apocalyptic devastation.

If it were half a year ago, these monsters would undoubtedly have been quite tricky for Link and his group to deal with, but by now they were mere trash. Link didn't even need to make a move; he could simply leave them to Saga and Suishōtō to handle. Even if just one of them acted, they could easily crush the rift monsters, let alone both of them working together.

Under Link's watchful eye, this horde of monsters was swept away like dust along the way. Before long, they reached the base of the rift. Then, with a single Galactic Explosion unleashed by Saga, the massive space-time rift rapidly collapsed and vanished without a trace, restoring peace to the valley that had previously been a chaotic dance of demons.

However, seeing their former home reduced to such a state, Cicely felt deeply distressed. With Link's permission, she knelt before the gates of the former site and prayed silently, hoping the departed souls might find redemption.

Looking out over this desolate landscape, Link couldn't help but associate it with that wasteland space. He wondered how Luying, Lin Xi, Altair, and Phantom were doing over there.

With this thought, Link felt an exceptional longing for the few individuals left behind in the wasteland space. He truly hoped they were safe, and that Alice's promise to send them back within half a year would hold true. If successful, perhaps in another month or two, he would be able to see them again.