Page 164

On the mountaintop, at the designated location, the second helper in the entire plan was waiting there.

Master Dajiaxi, one of the few mages among millions of orcs, who had been lurking on Saint Spirit Mountain for decades, stood in the shadow of the building, calm like an old monk who had practiced Zen for a hundred years in his past life.

"Under my feet is a stone platform, one of the emergency magic passages in the fifth level of the 'Sevenfold Lock Prison' within Saint Spirit Mountain. Normally, it is tightly sealed by powerful forces and can only be activated with a special magical key held by the Pope." Seeing me arrive, Master Dajiaxi did not beat around the bush but directly explained his part in the "Inferno Key" plan: "Your divine sword 'Divine Punishment Light Thunder,' combined with what I have prepared over the years, can destructively open this passage. Due to excessive trust in the magical defense system, the seal on this passage is only inspected during the energy replenishment periods at noon and midnight. It is now two hours and fifteen minutes before midnight. Two hours from now, I will enter the fifth level, release the demons and liches imprisoned there, and create chaos to give you an opportunity."

I bowed deeply to this master and wasted no more words. Picking up the divine sword "Divine Punishment," I thrust it into the designated spot. The sword, wreathed in platinum light thunder, was invincible and easily broke through the divine and magical seals. Master Dajiaxi then took the opportunity to act, using several magical artifacts along with his incantations to open the magic passage.

"I carry four magical traps imbued with platinum light thunder. When I detonate them in the fifth level, the fourth level will be disrupted. That will be your chance to break the fourth level's seal. Remember not to be greedy. Also, after you come out, throw the divine sword back here." Master Dajiaxi gave me these instructions before we parted ways.

I lifted the divine sword and vanished into the deep night. Tonight would undoubtedly be an extraordinary night, but perhaps the true hero of this night was destined never to be known.

Chapter 69: Stealing the Sky, Replacing the Sun; Thoughts Drift Far

The Twelve Sages have always been celebrated as saints by humans. Although their world-destroying forbidden spells leave permanent scars on the world, they are still regarded as the most sacred powers, even if they incur divine punishment. However, if one delves deeply into history, it becomes clear that the Twelve Sages were merely ordinary beings with human emotions and desires. Even among themselves, complex relationships filled with love, hate, and various entanglements existed.

For example, the conflict between the Light and Dark Sages, the isolation and hostility towards the Underworld Sage by everyone except the Water Sage, and countless other intricacies can be inferred from historical clues. Therefore, there are very few traces left of the Twelve Sages working together. My Fountainbleau's "Twelve Star Palaces Gate" is likely the only remaining artifact of their collaboration. The seven-layered underground palace beneath the Temple, created by the Light, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Ice, and Thunder Sages, although far surpassing today's technology, lacks the contributions of the alchemy-mastering Underworld Sage, the layout-specializing Illusion Sage, and the profound Time and Space Sages. Even the Curse Master, the Dark Sage, did not participate. Thus, while the "Sevenfold Lock Prison" is formidable, it falls short of perfection. This is why the Temple has added divine spells and guards; otherwise, if the Twelve Sages had worked together, there would have been no need for later additions.

This also provided me with the opportunity to infiltrate the underground palace. Most of the alchemy used by the Twelve Sages originated from the Underworld Sage's research. While each had their own techniques, the basic characteristics remained the same. Since part of the design was by the Water Sage, Li Jia, the artificial Crystal Dragon Knight crafted by the Water and Underworld Sages, could breach about twenty percent of the seemingly impenetrable defense system. Combined with the invincible power of the divine sword in my hand, even a few strikes in unnoticed places could turn the impossible into possible, creating a path.

Thus, relying on the preparations Li Jia made during her previous infiltration and the power of the divine sword, I managed to pass through the first three levels of the underground palace within two hours. The divine defenses inside the palace did not react to me, a knight officially recognized by the Temple, and my agile movements easily evaded patrols and stationary guards, ensuring a smooth journey.

The magical civilization of this world has some commendable aspects, particularly in terms of precise timing, which far exceeds that of the Middle Kingdom in my past life. Not only is time divided meticulously, but the timing tools are also precise magical clocks, allowing me to accurately gauge the approaching critical moment.

The "Sevenfold Lock Prison" itself consists of two parts. The upper four levels house the Temple's valuable documents, divine weapons, and treasures, including the most precious relics, the "Doomsday Horn" and the "Eternal Holy Grail," stored in the safest fourth level. The lower three levels form a separate system, with no connection to the fourth level, containing powerful entities captured by the Temple over generations but unable to be killed. Should any escape, various mechanisms would activate, ultimately causing the upper four levels to sink, using the entire Saint Spirit Mountain's holy power and weight to permanently suppress the evil entities.

The fourth level differs from the previous three, powered by a high-level light elemental super-beast core, forming an independent defense system. Even my status as a Holy Grail Knight and Li Jia's magical permissions cannot bypass it without alerting others. After repeated discussions, we discovered a loophole in the system created by the Light Sage himself. We decided to have someone infiltrate the fifth level's dungeon and detonate magical artifacts imbued with "platinum light thunder" at a specific location. The fourth level's magical defense system, besides protecting itself, also monitors the lower levels. Once the lower levels are attacked, it immediately triggers an alarm. Since both the fourth and fifth levels use the same alarm, attacking the fifth level means that even if I destroy the fourth level, no one will hear it.

Of course, this method works because the fourth level's magic array is too perfect, preventing constant guard presence. Additionally, the liches and demons in the fifth level are not powerful enough to trigger the Temple's ultimate move of sinking the underground palace, reserved for the unknown entities in the sixth and seventh levels.