Only God-Chapter 573 - 490 Xilan’s Story

According to Belvan’s speculation, those who knew more of the Ancient Language within the same rank, having undergone the Ascension Ceremony, would wield greater power than those who knew less.

Thus, Belvan had prepared for so long before starting the Ascension Ceremony not just for safety considerations, but also to grasp more of the Ancient Language and display as much of the power of the God-Created Path as possible.

Originally, Belvan had planned to conduct the first Ascension Ceremony five years later. He wanted to explore more of the God-Created Paths and then compare each to find the one most compatible with himself, while also improving the success rate of the Ascension Ceremony.

However, the bizarre death of his student, Kagu, had given Belvan a great shock.

He became impatient, feeling the urgency of time and possessed a strong thirst for power.

Belvan’s soul had, in a short time, traversed a long and distant journey; when he opened his eyes, he found himself above a blue expanse of the Cloud Sea.

"Where is this?"

Muttering to himself, Belvan surveyed his surroundings.

Mystifying lights flickered all around, and Belvan felt as if these lights, curious and alive, were examining him. The well-traveled Belvan soon realized these lights were the legendary fairies.

"So many fairies... Could this be the Sea of Souls?"

Belvan guessed internally.

As thoughts surged in his mind, the clouds and mist around him also shifted with his emotions.

These changes were not only apparent to Belvan but also observed by Schiller and Sofia.

"It seems he is the second visitor to embark on the God-Created Path."

Sofia said with a smile,

"I didn’t expect both to be dwarves and neither True Believers."

Schiller responded indifferently,

"The God-Created Path is not exclusive to True Believers."

Sofia nodded thoughtfully, her eyes still fixed on Belvan.

Aimlessly, Belvan progressed through the Sea of Souls; everything he saw was hazy. Being a scholar, he named this type of blurred vision—Spirit Realm Vision.

Just as Kagu had once done, Belvan slowly explored the Sea of Souls, yet contrary to Kagu, who was driven by a desire for revenge, Belvan the scholar was not in a rush to complete the Ascension Ceremony quickly.

And this was exactly what the Ancient Language of the Scholar’s Path termed "patience."

............

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After the old believer had passed away, the Sect members buried him, his body placed into a thin coffin and interred beneath the soil of the Holy Land.

At the funeral of the old believer, not only did the Sect members attend, but many people came, most of whom were strangers unfamiliar with each other, their only commonality being their identity as True Believers.

Thus, amidst the unanimous chanting of hymns, the old believer was buried, receiving blessings from everyone present; people prayed for him, mourned for him, and witnessed his coffin being lowered into the soil.

After the funeral, the Sect members stayed in the Holy Land for nearly a month before they were ready to depart.

Veldor had also taken over the old believer’s duties, officially managing the accounts for the Sect; he performed his duties diligently, and no one could find any fault in his work.

The Sect members saw nothing amiss; in their eyes, Veldor was always serious and earnest, the perfect successor to the old believer, though only Veldor and his departed godfather knew how great a change had truly occurred within him.

The journey back from the Holy Land turned out to be much easier than the Sect members had anticipated.

Previously, they had embarked on a pilgrimage from the distant Dwarf Kingdom of Kaelonde, reaching the Holy Land after nearly half a year, with over eighty days spent on the journey from Ajia Land to the Holy Land.

This time, however, the Sect crossed the desert incredibly smoothly, spending only sixteen days and neither losing their way nor encountering extreme weather conditions like sandstorms.

People often say that the calm before a storm is the most nerve-wracking. These True Believers had already weathered a storm; perhaps it was time for them to enjoy the rainbow that followed.

The Sect retraced their steps to Kaelonde, passing through Ajia Land again after crossing the desert. Unlike their previous passage through the Royal Capital, when they had little money, this time they finally had enough funds to visit Prophet Noen’s established Pattern Garden and Xilan’s miraculous prison.

Where did the Sect’s newfound wealth come from? It was because they were aided by many True Believers in the Holy Land, including the Stone Slaves residing in the Ancient Kingdom and Elves, as well as wealthy merchants, nobles, members of the Royal Family, and common folk who had also come on pilgrimage.

As the one in charge of managing the Sect’s finances, Veldor naturally did not skimp, allowing the Sect members to pay their dues and visit attractions in the Royal City, following in the footsteps of their predecessors.

Of all the attractions, Veldor was most interested in the prison that held Xilan.

Due to the number of tourists who visited in homage, the prison, which had once held Xilan, ceased to detain other prisoners many years ago and existed purely as a tourist spot; consequently, the prison was cleaned daily and showed almost no signs of ever having held a prisoner.

Outside the prison, dozens of vendors sold various "Holy Artifacts," some claimed to be shackles worn by Xilan or the stocks worn by his disciples; others sold sackcloth supposedly touched by Xilan; some offered stones from inside Xilan’s cell; others claimed to have a strand of Xilan’s hair passed down through generations and, fallen on hard times, were compelled to sell it... Even items completely unrelated to Xilan were tied to him, like necklaces forged from the iron chains he supposedly wore, or clothes stitched with fabric from the garments he wore in prison...

With these colorful products and various selling strategies, most people were not fooled, but there were always a few who bought with the mindset of "better to believe it exists than not," reasoning that even if the items were not genuine, they could still keep them as a memento.

"Xilan would probably be quite amazed if he were to return to the earth," Veldor joked with the True Believers by his side.

As soon as he finished speaking, among the vendors, a figure clad in a black robe, completely concealed in the shade of the trees, quietly lifted his head and glanced at the Sect members.

In his hands, he held a book he had just bought from a vendor.

The book was written in Logos’s language,

On the cover,

Several large characters read—"Xilan’s Story".