Imperial Crown.

Chapter 627 Holy Source Dewdrops, Divinity, Transformation Potion
Soon, four full days had passed.

For the past four days, the Holy See seemed truly intent on burning him alive. Saint Uban sat like a stone statue in the makeshift shed, ignoring him completely. Meanwhile, the sixth-rank priests pulled out towering logs from their storage rings, ordering the second and third-rank priests to begin sawing, chopping, and skinning them…

These logs, made of some unknown magical material, were incredibly hard, leaving the priests exhausted and constantly farting. They were hunched over, complaining of backaches and pains every evening. It was extremely difficult for nearly a hundred people to even gather four piles of firewood in a day.

So this is how complicated it is for the Church of Light to burn someone alive.

If Raven were to go back and tell the people of Earth, they would probably think he was just making things up.

However, it doesn't look like they're going to burn Raven to death; it looks more like they're going to roast him like a whole lamb!
Once they left the capital, the weather became incredibly unpredictable. It was either windy or rainy. For the past few days, it had been constantly drizzling, and Raven, tied to the cross and stuck in the ground, was soaked to the bone, exposed to the wind and rain day and night. His arms ached from being suspended in the air. The wounds from the two lashes had begun to turn white, inflamed, and smelly.

San Uban didn't make things difficult for Eric and his group, letting them go. But how could Eric and the others possibly leave? Yet they weren't allowed to approach Raven either. To force them to watch Raven suffer like this was truly "killing them out of their spirit"!
Buzzing—that's a green bottle fly drawn to stench.

Caw caw caw—that's a clever black crow.

Chirp chirp chirp—this is an unidentified bird that eats carrion.

Bang bang bang—that's the sound of the firewood piled up at Raven's feet.

……

Raven felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't imagine anyone else coming to his rescue. Saint Uban was at least a seventh-tier transcendent. That was practically a war god on earth, a terrestrial deity. Raven even began to doubt whether Seraphim, clad in the Blood-Soaked Armor, truly possessed the power to slay the Pope.

He now longs for the Hand of Death. If the Lord of Death could save him, he would become the Lord of Death's most loyal lackey, his most devout follower!
Absolutely no ulterior motives!!!

After four days, the sticks had already reached his knees. If he waited any longer, he feared he would be burned alive.

"Buzz" "Buzz" "Buzz"

Just as Raven was filled with fear and utter despair, three sharp whooshing sounds suddenly echoed through the void. Immediately, a figure appeared above Raven's head, traversing space. He wore a coarse gray hemp robe and had a withered face. He stood in mid-air, glancing indifferently at Raven below.

Raven's spirits lifted, but a chill also crept into his heart. Three enormous whooshing sounds had only revealed one person. This person's speed was so incredible that even sound couldn't keep up. He had initially thought there were three people. This single detail was enough to demonstrate the terrifying strength of the person above him.

"Here it comes!" "Here it comes!!!" "I knew it! I'm the chosen one!" "Me!" "Raven!" "The chosen one!!!!!!!!!!" "I can't possibly die such a pathetic death!!!!!!!!!"

Raven was overjoyed. He immediately yelled at the top of his lungs, "Teacher!" "Master!" "Dad!!!!!!!!!!" "Save me!" "Save me!!!" "I'm Raven!" "I'm a magical genius!" "I'm a young war god!" "I'm Lux's boyfriend!!!"

The visitor was none other than Lux's teacher—a seventh-tier divine mage—that is, a magician—Crouch!

Raven was overjoyed; the chains binding him rattled loudly, and tears streamed down his face! No wonder Lux had disappeared! She'd gone to fetch reinforcements! "Good wife!" "I'll reward you handsomely when we get back!" "At least seven days without getting out of bed!" Raven thought with delight. He'd discovered it all—every time he was on the verge of death, Lux would always pull him back from the brink! Was this his true protagonist's cheat code?
A gigolo?!

"shut up!"

Crouch sneered, a flash of utter disgust in his eyes. He simply couldn't understand how Raven could be so spineless, so lacking in integrity and dignity. What kind of person would publicly acknowledge someone else as their father just to save their own life? It was utterly shameless and devoid of any moral compass… to be so cowardly! He wondered what Lux saw in him at all!
Crouch's cold shout was like a bucket of ice water poured over Raven's head. It chilled Raven not only physically but also emotionally. He slumped his head, looking like a wilted eggplant. But he didn't give up hope. He licked his chapped lips, his mind racing, desperately trying to think of a way to escape.

Perhaps... just what if... Crouch was just putting on a show in front of San Uban?

Crouch quickly entered the shed.

"Senior brother."

Crouch placed his hands in front of him, clasped them together, and made a strange hand gesture.

"How did you come?"

Saint Uban opened his eyes and asked calmly, a hint of impatience in his voice.

The two weren't being deliberately soundproofed, so Raven outside the shed could hear them clearly.

Crouch straightened up, his attitude equally cold. "Let me see why you haven't burned this heretic alive yet!"

Saint Uban looked at Crouch, his face flushed with anger. "He is a nobleman of the Keynes Empire, certified by our Holy See." "Why burn him?" "Just to scare him a little."

"But he colluded with the Hand of Death!" "It's also a fact that he harmed priests and bishops of the Holy See!"

Crouch roared, "Are you just going to let all this slide? What about those orcs outside? Why didn't you kill them all?" "A mere Raven has stirred up the entire Cairns Empire!" "How many ancient families have been destroyed because of him?! He's a disgrace to humanity, weakening the overall strength of the human race!" "Letting Raven and those orcs go is like releasing a tiger from its cage, letting it return to the mountains." "Brother," Crouch said, "I think you should reconsider!"

"??? ...

"Humph"

Crouch's words made Saint Uban's face grow even uglier. He sneered, his tone mocking, "Junior brother, don't think I don't know you want to kill him because of your beloved disciple named Lux." "After all, his ancestors were heroes of the human race!" "Besides, Raven himself led expeditions against the Orc Empire." "He's far superior to ordinary nobles!" "Just those two things alone" "It's not my Holy See's place to judge him!" "What right do you have to condemn him?" "Master valued you so much back then, but when he was seriously ill, didn't you just pack your bags and leave?" "Do you know that?" "Even on his deathbed, Master couldn't forgive you!" "That's why his eyes still can't close in peace!"

"Yes!" "Junior brother, your talent for cultivation far surpasses mine." "This papal throne should rightfully belong to you." "But you've made every effort to avoid it in order to cultivate." "Now that I've been crowned Pope, I wanted to push for reform within the Papacy, but you're meddling in its internal affairs." "I've given you all the cultivation resources you wanted, and you're now at the seventh rank, nine stars." "What?" "Are you here to force me to abdicate?" Saint Uban's tone grew increasingly sarcastic as he spoke.

Crouch, hands behind his back, said in a somewhat unfriendly tone, "Senior brother, you know I have no interest in the papacy, so why are you being so sarcastic?" "Your so-called reform" "is to secularize the Papacy." "This contradicts the Papacy's original intention." "When our Papacy was first established, the Lord of Light issued a divine decree stating that the Papacy was only there to protect humanity and would not interfere in worldly affairs." "Yet you have repeatedly intervened in internal human conflicts, attempting to reform the Papacy into the system of imperial nobles." "I will not allow it!"

"Crouch!!"

Saint Uban roared, "You've studied the scriptures for seventy years in vain! Yet your thinking is rigid, black-and-white, utterly stubborn! If it weren't for me supporting the Holy See, where do you think your cultivation resources came from?! You've only known how to take, never how to give! Open your eyes and look at this era! It's no longer the era of warring races a thousand years ago! It's fortunate that your teacher didn't pass the papacy to you! Otherwise, the Holy See would have been destroyed by you long ago!"

"Since you don't intend to force me to abdicate, then get out!" "Stop getting in my way." Saint Uban coldly shouted, then closed his eyes again.

"Holy crap!" Raven was utterly shocked by this conversation. It turned out that Lux's teacher, Crouch, was the conservative, while Pope Saint Uban was the reformer. This...this...this was completely different from Raven's understanding! He'd watched no fewer than a hundred TV series and read countless novels, and in all of them, the Pope was always the biggest villain! How come in the Middlesbrough, it was all reversed? The Pope was the good guy?? Crouch was the bad guy?!
Is there truly a distinction between good and bad in this world?
According to Raven's analysis, Saint Uban is clearly right. In the current situation, even setting aside the Papacy's external expansion, to maintain its own position, it must become secularized—that is, deeply involved in the power struggles between human empires. Only in this way can it avoid being destroyed by a united group of nobles or emperors! Crouch's thinking is clearly too naive. He fantasizes about upholding justice and protecting humanity. Little does he know that without the methods of a "fierce Vajra," where does the compassion of a "gentle Bodhisattva" come from?
Leaving aside the Holy See, let's just talk about the Keynes Empire. Even Habs, as king, is finding it difficult to manage his former vassals. The nobility's greed, shamelessness, stinginess, and extravagance… Raven, having been in this cesspool himself, feels it all too well. They've long since lost any sense of aristocratic honor or duty. Only endless hedonism remains. The Holy See faces the same predicament. Back then, these princes and nobles needed the Holy See's protection, naturally behaving like obedient grandsons. Now… they've all grown into towering trees, and the first thing they do upon turning back is to kick away the Holy See, this bloated and uncontrollable force.

It's just human nature.

"Senior brother," Crouch said, "Don't think I don't know who you're waiting for here." "Are you really planning to do that?" "That's the divine spark of the Lord of Light!" "You actually intend to trade it to the Elf Empress!" "Isn't that deliberately aiding the enemy?!" The conversation inside the shed continued, and after being humiliated, Crouch also became angry. His voice rose several octaves.

Upon hearing this, Saint Uban's eyes flickered, then reopened. "My Lord's divine essence shattered into five pieces back then." "The Church only has one piece." "What use is it?!" "Besides," "Has the Elven Empire invaded the human race in recent years?" "I'm not trading this to the Orc Lord Lupiifa, why are you so agitated?" "I am the Pope, I have the right to dispose of the Church's treasures." "What's it to you?" "Leave immediately."

godhead? ? ?

Raven's heart skipped a beat. So, breaking through from the eighth to the ninth rank requires a divine spark?

No wonder the Elf Empress has lived for thousands of years but has been unable to break through to the ninth rank.

"Our Lord's divine title is the only one remaining in the world!"

"One piece from the Church of Light," "One piece from the Elf Empress," "One piece from the Hand of Death," "One piece from the Mage Guild," and "One piece lost."

Crouch panicked. "If Senior Brother trades this divine spark to Daiyunyi, wouldn't she get two?!" "What if it ends up in Lupiifa's hands again? That would be a disaster for the entire human race!" "Senior Brother!" "Stop!"

Saint Uban burst into laughter, a somewhat eerie laugh. "This current situation has lasted for a thousand years! And no one has ever been able to obtain five divine sparks." "Now, Junior Brother is getting worried about it." "I'll say it again, this matter has nothing to do with you."

"The Insa Empire found the notes left behind by the Vampire Emperor after his fall and has recreated the Filthy Potion." "They've been driving the Keynes Empire into retreat in the Northeast, yet I haven't seen my junior brother show any concern." "If I don't trade a large amount of 'Holy Source Dewdrops' from the Elf Empress, how will I save Keynes?!" Saint Uban finished speaking and closed his eyes again. He seemed unwilling to look at Crouch for even a second longer.

"Ugh"

Crouch sighed deeply. "Senior brother," he said, "since your junior brother has tried several times to persuade you, but to no avail, then I will defend my principles with my actions!"

Saint Uban scoffed and ignored Crouch. If a divine spark weren't useless, Crouch would have already demanded it back from their master. He had devoted his life to the Church of Light, and now he was only at the seventh rank, eight stars. As the senior brother, he had fallen behind Crouch. Remember, when Crouch began cultivating, he was already a third-rank transcendent! But who had ever understood his painstaking efforts? To be honest, if Raven hadn't been a nobleman, unable to convert to the Church of Light, this kid would be stronger than his junior brother. At least he knew how to pursue his own interests, and even gave up immortality for them.

Capturing Raven now is merely a way to use him, to force the Elf Empress to leave the forbidden zone and come for the trade.

Once the Elf Empress leaves the forbidden area, her strength will be greatly reduced, to around the eighth rank.

The so-called Sacred Dew is the sap of the Astral Bone Tree, essentially the essence of the World Tree. It's somewhat similar to tapping rubber trees. If this stuff is used in large quantities, the Sacred Tree of the Elves will at least degrade in rank, and in severe cases, it may even wither and die.

With the Holy Source Dew, not only can the demonic power within those who have ingested the Demonic Elixir be removed, but it can also be used to refine the [Vajra Elixir]. The so-called Vajra Elixir is essentially an upgraded version of the [Bear Elixir] and the [Berserk Elixir]. It grants immense strength, invulnerability, and the ability to withstand fatigue and pain. Of course, there are some side effects, but they aren't unacceptable. However, this kind of elixir is both wasteful of money and not a cultivation breakthrough elixir, so it wasn't refined much afterward and remained shelved. Now that the Demonic Elixir has reappeared, it's time to refine the Vajra Elixir again.

Besides this, Holy Dewdrops are also essential for another higher-level potion: the 'Transformation Potion'. High-ranking orcs and magical beasts can consume this potion to transform into human form. Furthermore, they can revert to their true form during battle, fighting at their peak!

However, one must afterwards ingest a transformation potion to transform into human form or another shape. Cow dung will do... even stones...

And so, Saint-Uban and Crouch sat cross-legged inside the shed.

Raven was bound to the cross. However, he had already vaguely deduced the deal between Serafinu and the Holy See. It seemed that dealing with Insa was also part of their agreement. This made Raven curious: what had Serafinu given in return? Saint Uban had provided poison and helped concoct the Vajra Elixir. It couldn't be as simple as just stationing troops, could it?

Four days later.

The more firewood Raven was beneath him, the higher it rose, and the void finally rippled once more.

Covered in branches and leaves, standing over 2 meters tall, comparable to an eight-foot lady, the elven saintess Daiyunyi, Raven's true savior, has appeared.

Oh, right. Dai Yunyi's figure and appearance are extremely beautiful, much prettier than Madam Bachi. And much more pleasing to the eye in the long run.

……

(End of this chapter)