It felt so good to be close to the witch!

After all, it's just an evolution of talent, not a breakthrough to the realm of a great witch, so the risk factor isn't that high.

Although Roy felt that with Shanika's current compatibility and level of corruption with the original sin characteristics, the probability of success should not be low even if she directly attempted to break through to become a great witch.

While waiting, having nothing to do, Roy left the secluded place and informed the witches who remained that Shanika's talent had evolved. After instructing them to take good care of the house, he returned to the secluded place to practice his breathing technique.

……

The sky was overcast with dark clouds, extremely gloomy, with purplish-black lightning bolts occasionally darting through it, twisting and turning wildly as if they were rolling and howling in sorrow.

Deep purple raindrops fell from the sky, dripping onto her skin. The biting cold gradually brought Shanika back to her senses.

Opening her eyes and looking at the familiar scene before her, Shanika sighed softly, "So, I'm back again..."

The familiar dark sky, the long-lost melancholy purple rain, and the towering black shadows of trees that are difficult to see in the distance.

This is the very place where she first underwent her talent evolution!

After pausing for a few seconds to calm her chaotic thoughts, Shanika activated her magic shield and began her journey towards the mountaintop—she was going to face the towering, dark tree once again.

Although she didn't know what would happen this time—whether it would be like before, with the underground core of the dark, towering tree directly giving her "leaves" to successfully evolve her talent, or whether she would have to undergo a test—she had no other choice.

The only way forward is forward.

Purple raindrops fell softly. The closer she got to the mountaintop and the closer she was to the towering, dark tree, the stronger the sorrow that welled up in Shanika's heart became. It even affected her emotions, causing crystal tears to unknowingly stream down her face.

Am I crying?

Shanica raised her hand, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and murmured softly.

The sorrow permeating this space was far more intense than when she last came here. Even with her current level as a peak Grand Witch, she was unable to resist the onslaught of this emotion.

In the silence, Shanika finally reached the summit and faced the towering, dark tree that floated above the endless abyss, surrounded by mountains.

Shanika immediately turned her gaze to the massive heart of the tree.

To her disappointment, after waiting for several minutes, the tree heart remained silent and did not send "Life Leaves" to help her complete the perfect evolution of her talent, unlike the first time she evolved her talent.

"I should do something..."

With this realization dawning on her, Shanika looked at the towering, pitch-black tree, raised her hands, and pale blue life magic surged from her body, flying towards the heart of the tree.

She wanted to try to "heal" the giant tree.

He shouldn't be like this...

Even though Shanika was tens of thousands of meters away from the tree heart, the life magic she emitted mysteriously appeared at the edge of the tree heart after flying a certain distance, and flowed into the tree heart.

One second, two seconds... ten seconds, twenty seconds...

Half an hour had passed, and just as Shanika's magic was nearly exhausted, the dark tree heart finally reacted.

The massive main root began to unfold, bursting forth with brilliant pure blue light.

This light pierced through the darkness and the sky. At this moment, this apocalyptic world seemed to return to its beauty before it was destroyed.

The black, sticky substance on the surface of the towering tree began to peel off, and tender buds sprouted from the withered branches.

Time seemed to speed up thousands of times at that moment. In just a few seconds, what appeared before Shanika's eyes was a giant, lush, and vibrant tree.

The vibrant life made Shanika instinctively feel comfortable.

However, even as the world returns to life, the endless abyss of darkness beneath the giant tree remains, like a black stain on a flawless white cloth, a truly shocking sight.

Just then, at the bottom of the verdant Tree of Life, in the unfolded heart of the tree, a figure curled up with its knees wrapped around its body appeared before Shanika's eyes.

It (or she?) emanated a hazy, pure blue aura, making it impossible to see its exact face. However, judging from the subtle curves of its body, it was more feminine.

Under Shanika's gaze, the pure blue figure moved slightly, as if trying to wake up, but after trying for a long time, it still couldn't open its eyes.

Shanica's heart was in her throat, and she kept cheering for Chunqing's figure in her heart.

Unfortunately, until the very end, Chunqing's figure was unable to open his eyes, let alone awaken.

Just as Shanika was feeling sad, a gentle, spring-like voice emerged in her heart.

"Are you my successor...?"

"I'm sorry, I can't truly wake up and talk to you. These words are just a projection left behind before my consciousness fell into an endless slumber..."

"Child, you may have many questions in your heart, but I no longer have time to answer them for you. What I am about to say, you must remember firmly..."

"The corruption of the Abyss and Original Sin has spread to the core of the world. In order to prevent the last hope from being extinguished, I split the heart of the World Tree into three parts. Two of them became physical objects and were scattered throughout the world, while the last one, which is formless and intangible, was integrated into the magic power of heaven and earth. One day, it will awaken..."

"That is you, my successor..."

"I have little power left, enough to help you awaken your primal life force. To save this world, you need to find the other two lost fragments of the World Tree Heart. Only when the three are combined can you truly possess the authority of the World Tree..."

"I know this task is too heavy for you... I'm sorry..."

"When I slumber, I will suppress the invasion of the Abyss and Original Sin. As for how to expel them, you will know once you have control of the World Tree..."

"...I can't hold on any longer..."

"My successor, please accept my final gift..."

The gentle voice was like the caress of Mother Earth, yet Shanika's tears flowed uncontrollably.

She stared blankly at the pure blue figure at the heart of the tree, where countless fine cracks appeared on the surface before shattering into countless points of light that flew to her and coalesced into a grass ring woven from hundreds of pure blue leaves.

Shanika tried to reach out and stop her, but in the pure blue light, her body seemed to be frozen in amber within an insect, unable to move an inch. She could only stare blankly as the grass woven from the leaves of life flew up and landed on her head.

The world's light began to fade, and the world that had just regained its vitality was once again shrouded in ruins and darkness. The once vibrant giant tree was covered with sticky black mud again.

Shanika understood that the beautiful world she had just witnessed was merely a fleeting moment of beauty under the light of life, while the broken darkness was the true reality of this place.

Everything has already happened and is beyond redemption.

"No!"

Shanika let out a mournful cry, like a cuckoo weeping blood.

Endless darkness began to engulf Shanika's vision. In the last moments before she lost consciousness, she faintly heard that extremely gentle voice:

"My successor, everything is entrusted to you..."

……

The royal capital, Saint-Fouille.

After several days of travel, the procession escorting the witch from the Temple of the Emerald Feather Province finally arrived at their destination.

As the morning sun shone on him and he gazed upon the magnificent and imposing Cathedral of the Privy Council, Archbishop Mars finally felt relieved.

Heaven has mercy on him; he hasn't dared to sleep these past few days, fearing that the terrifying Grand Witch who controls the Shockwave talent will attack again.

Using forbidden items comes at a price. Even a B-rank forbidden item, if used too often, will eventually overwhelm even a legendary knight.

Fortunately, all of this is now over.

Once they arrive in the capital, even if that fearless Queen of the Crown has the audacity, she wouldn't dare follow them in.

He ordered the Divine Punishment Knights to quicken their pace and enter the gates of the royal city. After some time, the procession approached the Privy Cathedral.

Upon seeing Mars and his companions, the knights guarding the entrance to the Cathedral of the Privy Council immediately stepped forward. After a series of complex identity verification procedures to confirm their identities, the knights made way, and the tightly closed cathedral doors slowly opened.

Meanwhile, in the suburban woods outside the royal capital of Saint Fuye, Irina and Lilia beside Lati also tensed up, using their talents to the fullest extent to ensure that the people of Emerald Feather Province could see the specific situation inside the Cathedral as soon as they entered!

Daily book recommendation: "Romantic Slices of Life Starting in Tokyo"

【Recommendation】：

Wandering through the city, the young man's life was filled with hardship.

After both parents passed away, he became the head of the household and took on the responsibility of caring for his younger sister.

The system adds to the fantasy, and the tasks it releases are bizarre.

His fate changed when he met a girl, and his Tokyo story was full of adventures.

Chapter 195 The Shocking Secret Deep Within the Privy Cathedral (Please Subscribe)

）

"Buzz..."

The heavy metal doors slowly opened, and the Divine Punishment Knights from the Cathedral of Emerald Feather Province, along with Archbishop Mars, led by a knight, walked step by step into the depths of the Cathedral.

Meanwhile, Elena and Lilia, far away on the outskirts of the royal capital Saint Fuye, also held their breath at this moment.

Among the Divine Punishment Squad, three Divine Punishment Knights had a momentary daze in their eyes, but quickly returned to normal. Among the 10 witches being escorted, the shadowy creatures, invisible to the naked eye, quietly opened their eyes deep within the hair of five of them.

Behind the doors of the Privy Council's Grand Chamber lies a magnificent prayer hall, its ornate and vibrant murals and wallpaper works of art. Sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows bathes the hall in a golden-red hue, creating a serene atmosphere.

The group from Cuiyu Province walked on a red carpeted avenue. With a slight look up, they could see the magnificent statue, tens of meters high and almost reaching the dome, standing deep in the hall.

The statue's face was blurry and indistinct, lacking specific features. Even its hands and feet were missing. If it weren't for the faint golden light emanating from its body, no one would believe that this was the deity worshipped in the temple for hundreds of years.

Looking at the statue, Archbishop Mars's eyes became slightly dazed.

He still remembers that decades ago, when he first joined the temple, he learned a lot of religious knowledge related to miracles. But later, for some reason, the temple's propaganda about miracles became less and less. Now, many of the newcomers who have joined the temple in the last ten years or so do not even know the name of the god worshipped by the temple.

Mars didn't understand what was happening, but he knew that something had changed quietly over the decades.

Shaking his head, Mars composed himself and stopped thinking about it. He walked silently, and the group entered through a side door next to the giant statue.

Upon entering through the side door, the light in the room suddenly dimmed, and the further one went, the fainter the light became. In the end, only the candlelight on the walls on both sides of the passage provided a little illumination.

This was only the second time Mars had visited the Privy Cathedral.

The first time was on the day he was conferred the title of archbishop. A solemn ceremony was held in the spacious prayer hall, and after the ceremony, he was asked to leave the Confucian Cathedral.

The second time was more than a decade later. Mars could sense that the passage they were walking through had a downward angle, which meant that they were about to go deep underground.

Is there another space beneath the Cathedral of the Privy Council?

The idea popped into Mars's mind, but he dared not think about it too much, and just walked on in silence.

They didn't know how much time had passed, maybe half an hour, maybe an hour. During that time, led by the knight, they made many twists and turns, and finally, a brightly lit exit appeared ahead.

"finally reached……"

The group from the Cuiyu Province's main temple all breathed a sigh of relief.

Walking through this oppressive underground passage, they felt immense pressure. All they wanted now was to hand over the witch as soon as possible and return to the Emerald Feather Province.

Stepping out of the dimly lit passage, the sudden brightness caused everyone to squint instinctively. Only after their pupils adjusted to the change in light could they see the scene inside.