CHAPTER 444: CHAPTER 348: CAPTURING THE HEART

"You didn’t seem surprised by the sudden appearance of the woman before you and even smiled, saying... ’Why would I? It’s rare to encounter someone of the same kind—how could I bear to leave?’"

"Indeed,"

"This woman, seated upon the throne of the ’God of Black Mist,’ propping her chin on her hand, legs crossed, exuding a strange and indescribable aura, is none other than the dark hand that once orchestrated the attack by numerous ’Evil Gods’ on the ’God of Justice’ in the ’Land of Prayer Light,’"

"The Corrupted Sorcerer... Philis."

"She lacks the memories of the previous destiny line and thus remains unaware that you’ve already been here, extracted many hidden secrets from her mouth, and even secretly clashed with her once."

"Thus,"

"In Philis’ eyes, this is the first meeting since you left the ’Land of Prayer Light.’

"What you cherish isn’t me, but rather the knowledge I hold—secrets of the era in the middle late ’Third Epoch’ when the Corrupted Sorcerer ruled the land... Philis’ expression turned playful, her voice filled with confidence, certain you came for this."

"You couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly."

"Indeed, in Philis’ eyes, you are merely a ’wild’ Corrupted Sorcerer, one unrefined through a ’complete teaching system,’ and it is only natural for such a person to be drawn to hidden knowledge, especially information related to the ’Day of Fallen’ and the ’Lord of Blasphemy’—irresistible temptations."

"Thus, by conventional logic, seeking ’hidden truths’ appears entirely reasonable."

"However, Philis does not realize that destiny lines have been reset, and in the years unrecorded by this ’Ancient Book,’ she has already divulged many secrets to you, including the stance of the ’Correct Sorcerer King’ and speculation concerning the fall of the ’Lord of Blasphemy.’

"Nonetheless,"

"This is precisely an opportunity."

"If I were to claim so, as fellow Corrupted Sorcerers despised and rejected by both ’Old Gods’ and ’Ancient Dominators,’ you, madam, would surely help me—wouldn’t you?"’

"You outwardly expressed sincerity while secretly communicating with Itas using the ’Hidden Wizard King’s Notebook,’ asking... ’Can you conceal fluctuations on the ’spirit layer,’ rendering them undetectable to this Corrupted Sorcerer before me?’"

"’Yes, hmm...’"

"Time pressed; Itas agreed immediately but suddenly seemed to notice something, her tone tinged with bewilderment."

"You detected the subtle shift in the voice of the fallen ’Hidden Wizard King,’ intoning gravely into the spirit layer... ’What is it? Is something wrong?’"

"Soon, Itas responded... ’No issue, merely unexpected. On this old earth still lingers a bloodline of the ’Correct Sorcerer King.’ As far as I knew, they should have perished entirely on the ’Day of Fallen’ during the ’Third Epoch End.’"

"Philis is a direct descendant of the ’Correct Sorcerer King’?"

"You were stunned, an involuntary flash of Philis’ prior destiny line descriptions surfacing in your mind."

"’The madness of the ’Lord of Blasphemy’ was no coincidence,’"

"’There is a terrifying hand behind the scenes...’"

"’Among the Six Sorcerer Kings—Sins, Earth and Soil, Kingship, Hidden, Beauty—all fell before their ’Lord,’ only the ’Correct Sorcerer King’ remained untouched, unscathed.’"

"Therefore,"

"Philis speculated that the fall of the ’Lord of Blasphemy,’ the Day of Fallen, was likely orchestrated by the ’Correct Sorcerer King.’"

"Never did you anticipate,"

"Such a direct connection between Philis and the ’Correct Sorcerer King.’

"Bearing the fate of a Corrupted Sorcerer, tread carefully—for malevolence doesn’t reside solely within you. I can sense a power ’interfering with world lines,’ an erosion surrounding us. Its rank is high—not yet at the ’Old King’ level, but carrying ’Old King’ traits. Beware of stumbling into disaster when least expected...’ Just as your thoughts branched out, Itas appended another remark before falling silent.

"Interfering with ’world lines?’"

"Not at ’Old King’ levels but carrying ’Old King’ traits?"

"You pondered deeply for a moment, quickly arriving at a suspicion, musing... ’It must be the fallen ’King of Truth.’ Unbelievable—her erosion by this Ancient Old King has progressed to this extent.’

"Taking a deep breath, you steadied your once-shaken core and composed your expression."

"The ’Master of Millions’ is tracing through the marks of time and space, and the blessing cast by the ’Hidden Wizard King’ Itas won’t endure long. You have to gain access through Philis into the ’Land of Prayer Light’ before exposure at ’Black Stone Town.’

"Time is of the essence."

"Certainly, you wouldn’t waste a moment longer, offering swift gratitude before setting your planned actions into motion."

"Summoning the symbol of the ’Spiritual Dragon,’ you manipulated the spirit ocean beneath the surface, subtly influencing Philis while maintaining a facade of sincere optimism, as if entirely oblivious to her clandestine tricks."

"Though many things transpired, only a few brief seconds had passed."

"Listening to your words, Philis couldn’t help but laugh softly, her face twisted with malicious delight. With a mocking tone, she sneered... ’You disrupted my plans in the ’Land of Prayer Light’ yet hope to extract the secrets of the ’Lord of Blasphemy’ from me? How naïve.’"

"’While I did hinder your designs,’ you countered casually, ’I also achieved your goal of forbidding the ’God of Justice’ from entering the ’Land of Truth.’ In that sense, you owe me a favor, wouldn’t you agree? Surely you wouldn’t neglect to repay it.’ As you rebutted, most of your attention was focused on wielding the ’Spiritual Dragon’s’ power."