The rest of the team searched the abandoned mansion. Other than the broken walls and the corpses of the cultists, the crazed followers of Lockmarton only left behind this seemingly valuable trace.
It was a black-and-red evil altar.
The altar was not big, about two meters in radius. It was built with some kind of indescribable, mysterious material. The material looked like loose volcanic rock, but it was unusually hard and emitted a bone-chilling coldness. The altar was painted with twisted runes using blood. These runes were blurry on the altar's black and red matrix. However, if one looked closely, the runes would appear as if they had broken free from the surface of the altar, making everyone who looked at them feel dizzy. Beside the altar, there were two piles of ashes. Human-shaped ashes.
The shape of the ashes made people's hair stand on end.
"This is a substance from the depths of the Chaos, a filthy thing corroded by Lockmarton's blood." Calaxus squatted in front of the altar and touched the surface of the altar with his finger in disgust. "Only the cultists, who have become half-monsters, can summon this thing from nothingness through a psychic ritual. No wonder they chose to stay here. The tearing point of the Chaos is the weakest point on the border of Order. Here, their connection with the Chaotic World will become closer, and they can even summon this evil thing directly from the Chaotic World. "
"What is this altar for?" Lily curiously poked the edge of the altar with her claws. "Is it blood?"
"The altar is just a medium, used to communicate with the dark forces in the Chaos. They used living people as sacrifices." Calaxus frowned as he glanced at the two piles of ashes beside the altar. "These lunatics are probably using the descendants of the sages with the sacred bloodline. This bloodline is enough to please Lockmarton and make the root of all evil send unimaginable power."
Hao Ren scratched his chin as he connected the dots. "They may be using this altar to borrow power from Lockmarton and then use it to bind a divine artifact that they can't control."
"A divine artifact?" Calaxus looked up. "What do you know?"
"Of course, they were the ones who took the divine artifact from me." Hao Ren spread out his hands. Facing a stranger he had just met, he did not want to tell the truth. "Among the escaped cultists were a pair of siblings named Willie and Lavinia. They were the believers of Armageddon lurking among the nobles of Taros. Later, they stole a disc from me. They thought it was the Radiant Disc."
Unexpectedly, the high-ranking monk's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. "The Radiant Disc?! Why do you have this relic? It's really him!? "
"They were the ones who 'thought' that it was the Radiant Disc. I didn't say that it was." Hao Ren shrugged and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, this Radiant Disc sounds like something very important? What is it that made the cultists go through so much trouble? "
Calaxus looked hesitant as if he was considering whether this was a secret of Sanctum. But before he could figure it out, Lily patted him on the arm. "Uncle, just tell us. Mr. Landlord must have a way!"
Calaxus thought about his health and the strength of the alpha's grip. He decided to tell them the truth.
"The Radiant Disc is an ancient divine artifact that has been lost for thousands of years. It is said that it is a key that can deflect and open the Realm of Reflections under the sacred mountain of Asurmen and enter another plane of the world. In ancient legend, the Realm of Reflections is also a secret path to the eternal prison of Lockmarton. But this secret path has been blocked by the divine power of the goddess of creation. Even if mortals can open it, they can only see it from a distance and not get close."
"The prison where Lockmarton is held?" What Hao Ren said was similar to what he had guessed, but he still did not show it on his face. "Didn't they say that Lockmarton had been torn apart by the security system left by the goddess when he first broke out of the prison, and only its echo remains in the world?"
Calaxus's face was gloomy. At this moment, he thought of what the Shadow of Nightmares said in a temporary state of sanity, which pointed to a chilling secret. After a moment of hesitation, he glanced at the alpha and Hao Ren. "What I'm going to tell you is one of the oldest secrets of the world. Even in Sanctum, only the higher-ups of the Vatican have the right to know it."
The female knight, Tridis, immediately said, "Should I take a step back?"
"No need." Calaxus sighed and waved his hand. "Secrets are only meaningful to specific people at specific times. Looking at the current situation, I don't think it's necessary to keep it a secret anymore. Lockmarton is not dead, he never died in the first place. "
Hao Ren had already guessed this before, so he was not surprised. Lily did not think there was anything scary about it. She had heard about it from Calaxus before, so she looked calm. But apart from them, most people at the scene, including some of the monks from Sanctum, were shocked and incredulous.
Apparently, their level in Sanctum was not high enough to know this secret.
"Lockmarton's power is beyond the imagination of mortals. Only the power of the goddess of creation can suppress him, but that's all she can do. The evil giant has never really died. He just lost his body in the real world and was imprisoned in an eternal prison called the Forgotten Abyss in the form of nightmares and negative energy. His spiritual body lives intact in that cage, instead of drifting in the Sea of Carnos in a fragmented form as told in the myth. This statement was initially just to appease the believers, but now it has become the 'truth' in the secular world."
Hao Ren nodded silently, expressing his understanding of Calaxus.
After all, most people in this world were ordinary people, and not everyone could accept the heavy and dark truth.
"The Forgotten Abyss is a world ruled by nightmares and distorted shadows. It is located in the depths of the Sea of Carnos, but it is not the depths in the conventional sense," Calaxus continued to explain. "It is in the cornerstone of our world, a place where mortals cannot set foot in. Except for the sentries of the ancient prison guards and the ancient holy spirits, there is only nothingness outside the prison. But this prison is not completely isolated from our world."
Hao Ren interrupted him. "Is it the Realm of Reflections that you mentioned, the bridge between the real world and the nightmare world?"
The high-ranking monk nodded silently.
"So, the cultists are going to enter Lockmarton's cell?" Hao Ren raised his eyebrows. "What are they going to do? Break the prison? "
"I can't believe it either," the high-ranking monk said in an unusually depressed tone. "There is one last barrier between the Realm of Reflections and the Forgotten Abyss, which is the divine power of the goddess of creation. It cuts off the passage between the evil giant and the mortal world. Usually, the Cult of Armageddon can only borrow a little power from the Forgotten Abyss through rituals. How can the cultists think that they can penetrate the barrier directly? They can't even get in, let alone bring Lockmarton's soul out of that world! "
Hao Ren nodded as he listened. Suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind. "What if the divine barrier left by the goddess of creation fails?"
Calaxus stared at Hao Ren.
"The Light of Asurmen," Hao Ren said slowly. "How long have you been away from Sanctum?"
The high-ranking monk hesitated for a moment and suppressed his uneasiness. "It has been more than a month. As the major teleportation arrays have been blocked by the storm of Chaos, we could only take the magic-powered warship. It took us more than half a month to cross the Sea of Carnos, and then another half a month to cross the southern border of Ansu with the alpha."
"Sure enough, you don't know what happened in Sanctum after that." Hao Ren sighed. "According to the astrologer's state-level detection spell, the Light of Asurmen over Sanctum has been extinguished less than a month ago, when you had already left Sanctum."
The Sanctum cultivators were all dumbfounded.
"How could it be so fast?" Calaxus muttered to himself.
"It seems that the situation in Sanctum was not right before you left." Hao Ren raised his eyebrows. "Then it makes sense that the Theocracy has withdrawn its troops."
Calaxus's face was pale. "Sensational, sensational. If what you said is true, the cultists must have planned everything to release the evil soul of Lockmarton. They are fully capable of entering the Forgotten Abyss and even bringing the soul of the evil giant out!"
"Maybe it's not that bad," Hao Ren said with a smile. "The 'key' in their hands is fake."
"Fake?" The high-ranking monk did not know what Hao Ren meant, but he quickly understood. "You mean the Radiant Disc in their hands —"
"I don't know what the real Radiant Disc looks like, but I'm sure the one they stole from me isn't it," Hao Ren said with a smirk. "If they use that thing to open the door, it's going to be fun."
Calaxus blinked. The surprise came so suddenly that he had to calm down. But after the surprise, there was still worry on his face. "Even so, the extinction of the Light of Asurmen is still a big deal. Without the protection of the eternal light, Sanctum is in danger."
Lily looked at Hao Ren and then at Calaxus. "Uncle, do you want to go home? Your hometown is booming. "
Big Hound's words were so simple and direct.
Calaxus took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. His eyes were firm again. "If the Light of Asurmen has been extinguished, then even if the entire Sanctum investigation team were to withdraw, it would only be a drop in the bucket. But if His Holiness the Pope and the bishops are still holding on, then our mission may be the last hope to save Sanctum."
"Mission?" Hao Ren asked curiously.
Before Calaxus could say anything, Lily jumped up and said, "They are going to a place called the wilderness to find the ruins of the Cassouin Grand Temple! They said there is a light there! "
"Cassouin Grand Temple?" Hao Ren was stunned. Why does it sound like … Holy moly? "
Seeing Hao Ren's expression, Lily immediately came up to him. "Mr. Landlord, Mr. Landlord, do you know this place?"
Hao Ren scratched his chin and finally put everything together.
Hao Ren scratched his chin. "Calaxus, right? The light you're looking for, if I'm not mistaken, was created by me."
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