The defeated saint is also on the way to tame the evil god today

　Merlin emerged from the misty forest. He put on the top hat and patted his clothes gently.

　"Prove your identity." Xingmo raised his wand.

　"Then ask your questions." Merlin spread out his hands.

　"First question, your favorite food is strawberry pudding, and you have to eat a certain amount every time," Xingmo said quickly. "What is that amount?"

　"Um...isn't coffee pudding my favorite?" Merlin scratched his head.

　"The second question is, there is a cluster of grass in your pupil. Where does this grass come from?" Xing Mo asked again.

　"Well...it's not grass, it's a flower," Merlin cleared his throat. "As for the source, it comes from my mother."

　Xingmo nodded and turned to Aurora:

　"This must really be him."

　"Indeed," Aurora said lazily, "I can never forget the scent of that flower."

　Xingmo learned this method of asking questions from mentor Lucius. It focuses on being unexpected and highly guiding.

　Since Merlin answered, it means that he is the real person, and not a mimic created by some strange creature in the fog.

　The first question is still understandable to outsiders, but the second question...about flowers...

　The little ghost in the fog could not possibly bear or spy on this level of knowledge.

　"Where have you been?" Xingmo asked. "My first reaction was that the God of Mist had captured you."

　"Do I look that weak?" Merlin even pouted. "You should have noticed the subconscious clustering when you passed through the dream, that beehive dream."

　"Of course." Xing Mo nodded.

　"I followed the dream and noticed something," Merlin said, his voice becoming more serious. "These hive dreams, or hive memories, are newly created. Most of the consciousness belongs to humans, but some of it belongs to Stoneseed."

　"Stone Seed?" Xing Mo frowned.

　"The keepers of the Slate of Truth," Merlin answered bluntly. "They are cursed by the truth, forever guarding it with their very being."

　"They are immortal, the material manifestation of truth, guardians of truth, and demons."

　"They don't have so-called consciousness. They represent a concept, so naturally..."

　Merlin straightened his hat:

　"They can no more dream than stones can dream."

　"Why is that?" Xingmo frowned.

　"They've been given life," Merlin concluded directly. "This is a subtle shift on a conceptual level. When the stones possess objective life, the cursed fog shrouding the forest naturally manifests their dreams."

　"And the one who can give life to stone is naturally the God of the realm of life."

　Merlin looked at Aurora beside him and smiled:

　"Unfortunately, our time is clearly running out, as the invisible mist has begun to extend its tentacles into this forest and, using dreams as a medium, has begun to shape everything in the forest."

　"And if a god wants to use his power to influence reality, the most direct way is through a powerful follower."

　"Salina..." Xingmo nodded.

　It seems that Serena has gradually begun to completely collapse, otherwise her power would not be enough to allow the gods to have this level of influence on reality.

　"We have to speed up." Xingmo said.

　She took two steps out, then suddenly thought of something and stopped to ask Merlin:

　"By the way, if those Stoneseeds who symbolize the truth dream...what would they dream about?"

　"That's the truth," Merlin smiled, "but what that truth is depends entirely on luck."

　Ah...as expected...Xingmo remained silent.

　Just now, when she was walking through the fog, she dreamed of the spreading golden branches and saw the star-like patterns on the golden branches.

　Such a dream obviously did not belong to her, nor to any cultist in the forest.

　Then it can only belong to those stone seeds.

　That dream...or rather the scene that the dream foreshadowed...its meaning...

　...The essence of the golden bough is starlight?

　""

　Xing Mo grabbed the fragment of the golden branch hanging on his chest, lifted it up, and poured some spiritual power into it.

　Soon, the golden note resonated with something in the darkness, and a faint light lingered, turning into a firefly flowing into the darkness.

　"We've found the direction," Xingmo said, "Let's go."

　"Unfortunately, I can't go with you," Merlin smiled and shook his head. "I need to go say hello to my old friends to prevent them from causing trouble... No need to ask, it's those Stone Seeds."

　"Are you planning to sneak off to do something strange?" Aurora said suddenly.

　"How could that be? Once this situation is resolved, I will immediately reunite with you," Merlin smiled. "In case you don't know, I must inform you in advance that the Stone Seeds have a consciousness cluster representing an individual named the Stone Priest. Their level is roughly between a demigod and an angel... Of course, this depends on how much power they desire to display."

　From demigod to angel? Xingmo's mouth opened slightly.

　The guardian of the Slate of Truth...is there a person of this level?

　How did Mentor Lucius see the stone tablet in the first place?

　I vaguely remember... he even mentioned that he was "driven out by primitive people with spears", which made Xingmo think that the stone slab was just an unreliable sacred object in the primitive tribe.

　As if sensing Xingmo's doubts, Merlin took the initiative to answer:

　"The price of viewing the Slate of Truth is to exchange it for a truth of the same level."

　"Don't worry. If you have the chance, you can see the stone slab—assuming there's still a physical surface in this forest after the Mist God descends."

　So that's how it is... Seeing Merlin about to leave, Xingmo said:

　"Wait, don't leave so quickly."

　"You still have questions..." Merlin turned around with a smile, but sweat was already on his forehead. "Xingmo, you can't just pick on an old man. You've asked so many questions today."

　"The previous one is to confirm my identity, so it doesn't count," Xing Mo spread out her hands, "I want to learn."

　"Study? Now? Here?"

　"Yes," Xingmo nodded, "I want to learn Lachesis Nocturne."

　Hearing this, Merlin's mouth opened slightly, and then he shook his head:

　"Difficult to handle."

　"But this is very important," Xing Mo said seriously, "I suddenly realized that if you can control it stably,

　The string of fate, then I should be able to guess it right, after all, I have succeeded before, and the golden full moon in my body seems to be related to fate."

　"Yes, you can, but only through instinct," Merlin said. "In other words, through madness, not reason."

　"What I want to know is how to use reason to manipulate the strings of fate," Xingmo looked directly at Merlin, "Please, Professor."

　"Um..."

　Merlin rubbed his chin gently, then sighed softly:

　"Actually, it's not that I don't want to teach you. You should have noticed that when I use Lachesis Nocturne, you can't sense the relevant strings."

　"That's right." Xing Mo nodded.

　"Because the power of these strings is beyond your comprehension, it's an extraordinary concept," Merlin explained quickly. "I used rationality to weave these strings, and this rationality is based on cognition."

　“Only when you understand the components of destiny at a conceptual level can you weave such a string.”

　"Then, how do we establish this kind of cognition?" Xing Mo asked.

　"Anyway, I can't tell you," Merlin spread his hands. "This kind of cognition isn't a kind of knowledge, but rather a fusion and understanding close to the conceptual level."

　"The easiest way to establish this kind of understanding is to look at the Slate of Truth," Merlin concluded directly. "That's why I said it's difficult for you to learn now because you don't have the conditions."

　Should I go directly to the Slate of Truth? Xing Mo pondered, and suddenly something clicked in his mind:

　"Wait, aren't the Stone Seeds' dreams the truth? If I peek into their dreams, will I be able to..."

　"Theoretically, it might be possible, but the problem is, the black fog shrouds every living thing in the forest," Merlin spread out his hands again. "Tens of thousands of dreams, even insects and plants. Can you successfully find that dream?"

　"We can."

　A clear voice came from the side. Merlin turned his head and saw Aurora's eyes were gleaming with green light.

　After she understood Xingmo's idea, she immediately started looking for it.

　Seeing this, Merlin smiled slightly and said:

　"Then I wish you good luck, God of Dreams. However, I must remind you that it won't be long before the Golden Branch blooms. It will take at most three hours."

　"You must arrive at the ceremony site within three hours, before the Golden Bough Duel begins. Otherwise, Serena will sacrifice the warriors of the Jungle Tribe and successfully seize the Golden Bough."

　Merlin snapped his fingers, and a light golden silk scarf appeared on his hand, which he handed to Xingmo:

　"This is a fabric that can negate supernatural things. It's woven from a ray of starlight. I call it the Starlight Handkerchief."

　"Take it, it might be useful."

　Merlin finished speaking, then snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of golden lightning.

　Xing Mo looked at the handkerchief. This was not the first time she had seen it. Professor Merlin had used it on many occasions before.

　She sighed and gently squeezed Aurora's shoulders.

　"How about it?"

　"I feel it..." Aurora whispered, "Come, follow me."

　In the forest filled with black fog, a faint sense of unease turned into an atmosphere, lingering around the treetops and bushes.

　From time to time, terrifying whispers could be heard from the depths of the darkness. The sound was like people talking in their dreams, unclear and meaningless.

　But those voices did not dare to approach Xingmo and Aurora.

　""

　Walking in the forest, Xingmo gradually saw the essence of the fog - just as Aurora said, it was a cluster of dreams with strange characteristics.

　In Xingmo's inspiration, dreams are wandering, observing the world with their invisible eyes.

　Those dreams were given "life".

　"We can feel that the Lost Kingdom is very close..." Aurora whispered.

　The Kingdom of Confusion, the authority of the realm of life on par with the Song of the Tree of Life, is controlled by the invisible mist.

　From the fall of the great sun god, this authority symbolizing the memory of life was separated, outlining the outline of God.

　As long as Aurora can annex the Lost Kingdom, her power in the realm of life will surpass that of Golden King Ugaon and the Hanging Gardens he represents.

　Very close...

　""

　After walking through the dense forest for more than ten minutes, Xing Mo sensed the fluctuation of spiritual power coming from the front.

　Her eyes focused, and a ball of black and green light and shadow appeared in front of her vision.

　They were three cultists, their bodies decorated with animal skins and bones. They were obviously primitive people from the jungle tribe.

　At this moment, they were dancing a bizarre dance around a strange totem.

　A constantly changing black mist swirled above the totem, with countless thin thorns protruding from the surface of the mist.

　Those thorns intersect with reality, producing faint ripples, from which one can vaguely sense a faint spirituality.

　"Those stones should be part of the stone seeds that old man mentioned," Aurora whispered. "Look."

　Xing Mo observed carefully and found that the stone totem was indeed made of pale stones, with spiritual power fluctuating repeatedly inside it.

　"Is the fog above the interface of dreams?" Xing Mo asked in a low voice.

　"As long as we

　If I can touch it, I can unlock the truth about the Strings of Fate," Aurora nodded. "That's assuming that the so-called slate of truth actually contains those things."

　"Then let's give it a try." Xingmo said in a low voice.

　She observed the three warriors from the Jungle Tribe and made a quick judgment.