The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. When Yoniv thought about this, he couldn't help but wonder about the true intentions of the "owner" behind this ruin.

But everything was so chaotic and disorganized.

The grass beneath my feet seemed to be changing again, becoming half-real and half-illusory.

It was indeed the damp feel of stepping on grass, occasionally carrying a hint of earthy smell, and a slightly burnt smell... a mixture of burnt odors from the plants scorched by the sacred fire and the mud.

Eunha bent down and picked up a broken piece of porcelain—the incomplete gilded pattern was unique on the entire continent, proving that it was a holy water bottle used by the church.

"Yonev, look over here..." Iselia pointed to a stone pillar not far away, the place where the holy prayer man Seth had stood.

A symbol was boldly painted on the front of the stone pillar, an upside-down cross with a short horizontal cross at the top.

Yoniv frowned. He had heard one interpretation of the "inverted cross"—in some orthodox sects, it was primarily seen as humility and devotion to God, a self-deprecating humility.

However, in some opposing sects, it is also interpreted as "anti-God and rejecting salvation."

The short horizontal line represents a so-called sin, or perhaps a kind of man-made "shackle," implying that orthodox doctrine is nothing more than a blasphemy and distortion of divine will...

True liberation lies in completely overturning that oppressive sacred dogma.

What was the white-robed figure who left behind this emblem thinking?

Eunervu couldn't help but think of Leednas, the conservative female Templar who had defected on the outskirts of Stamock.

Since that's the case, let's go and see.

If there really is a mole of considerable rank in one of those excavation teams...

In addition, there are "environmental factors" that are extremely unfavorable to the church. Even if every believer is strong, they will inevitably face the problem of their supplies being completely depleted in the complex ancient ruins.

In addition, the traitor's deliberate guidance—leading those believers into a "pit" full of curses—meant that the believers would even overdraw their magic power to guide the Holy Light Magic Source, and their situation would deteriorate further.

"Are we... just going to wait for them to work for free?" Iseria tilted her head and said, mimicking Yunevo's tone.

"That's not wrong, but they're not exactly honest, so we have to whip them from time to time," Yunevo pinched his cheek, took out two doses of "concealment potion" from his storage bag, and continued, "and we're the ones who wield the whip."

"I'm not sure what the situation is right now, but it seems... this spacetime is still overlapping."

Meanwhile, Eunice and Iseria were like "bookworms" wandering through the pages of history, following the traces deliberately left by the conservative church member and continuing to move forward.

The ancient city center, so close yet now stretched out into a distant landscape—the journey itself "extended" into a series of real-world scenes, which then became distorted shadows after Yonivore and Iseria had passed by.

Whenever a significant tremor came from beneath their feet, it was because the Holy Prayer Seth and his squad were breaking through a barrier composed of some kind of emotion—roughly a struggle between "it" and the white-robed figure.

"Let's go 'help' them..." Yunevo quickened his pace.

"'Help'...does that mean causing trouble? Wait for me!" Iseria exclaimed softly, jogging to catch up with the black-robed alchemist.

The two of them rushed to a distance of about 100 meters from the church's excavation team.

"What... should we do?" Iseria asked Yunevo, looking at the remnants of the excavator squad who were struggling to rest and maintain the barrier of holy light.

"A direct attack might not affect them..." Yunevo pinched his cheek, looking at the swirling sand, and continued thoughtfully, "Use the environment, use these environments that share commonalities."

"Suppose our anchor point is the 'present,' while they are in the 'past'... then we must find an even more 'past' node and set up traps there to be triggered, which means we may have to help them clear obstacles."

Iseria blinked, seemingly dazed, as if she hadn't understood at all.

"Ah! 'It' wants me to tell you... there's no need for that," the pale-haired girl snapped out of her daze, tugged at Yunefu's sleeve, and whispered, "'It' says that where we are is actually 'the past,' and it's relatively safe..."

Yonivore raised an eyebrow, but instead of rushing to cause trouble for the church, he first pondered the timeline of the land beneath his feet—glory came before ruin.

That barrier seemed to span the entire timeline, existing at all times.

In just a few breaths, he figured out the cause and effect, and so the black-robed alchemist put on his usual calm smile and looked at Iseria with a relaxed expression: "Perfect, saves me from racking my brains so much..."

They hadn't actually used any magic power, and they were using the scent of concealment potions to cover themselves up... With the help of the "master" of this ruin, they gave those church members in white robes quite a hard time.

Saint Seth the Prayer walked into the traps set by Junevo time and time again, while the number of excavators behind him dwindled rapidly...

Watching the agonizing believers struggle, he only occasionally spared his attention to protect a few relatively important people.

The Holy Word Compass in his hand was trembling violently, just in time for the fact that the entire team had been worn down to almost nothing.

The Holy Prayer Seth pushed towards the void, and an ancient bronze door, engraved with ancient carvings, slowly emerged, opening its doors to the crowd…

But what followed was an overwhelming "repulsive force"!

Even though they were prepared, the believers were still thrown several meters away!

In contrast, the holy man who had put away his compass and put his hands behind his back did not retreat a single step. He simply stepped straight into the bronze gate and reappeared a moment later with a gray-white skeleton relief.

"We've obtained the clues. Now... send some people back to find the 'Holy Remains.' Those who aspire to be Templar Knights or possess exceptional excavation skills, step forward and come with me... Once we return, I will request the grace bestowed upon you from Bishop Uriel."

Seth glanced at the dozens of cultists behind him, solemnly placed the relief on the ground, and walked into the giant gate again without looking back.

"They... broke up?" Iseria asked curiously.

"It's a division of labor, further splitting the already small elite team. I suspect one part will join forces with the remnants of the ancient church in Zelharan to excavate the so-called 'holy remains,' while the other part..."

"They might all die here," Yunevo said, his eyes narrowed meaningfully.