The Opportunity to Take the Stage

Stan City.

Two squads totaling twenty people hurriedly arrived outside the city. Many in the squad, including Anli, were visiting this city for the first time.

Anli and her squad members descended on two Wing Demons, landing outside an inn beyond the city walls.

Demons were not allowed to enter the towns of Yinsai, a vow the demon race had made to God.

"This gate is enormous! It must be newly built, right?" A Demon-Hunting Group member exclaimed, marveling at the grand and majestic city gate.

"It's full of religious ceremony." Just looking at the gate evoked a sense of sanctity.

"I've heard so much about Stan City. Perhaps this is what a holy land feels like!" Anli said as she led her team through the city gate.

The team members were also eager to see the relics left behind by the sacred figures of the past and to experience the weight of history.

However, no one noticed that as they entered the city, the sun in the sky suddenly dimmed.

By the time they emerged from the gateway, dark clouds had drifted across the sky, blocking out the bright midday sunlight.

Anli looked up. "Is it going to rain?"

"The weather has been so unpredictable lately," a team member remarked.

Anli glanced around. The streets were bustling with people, carts were parked in front of shops, and people were loading and unloading goods.

Everything seemed normal, with no apparent changes.

However, if those cultists were planning something sinister, they wouldn't likely do it openly, based on their usual habits.

If the problem was visible on the surface, what would be the point of the Demon-Hunting Group?

Anli gave her orders, "First, contact the High Priest of the Pottery Temple and ask for their cooperation."

"Then, have the mayor of Stan City and the local sheriff meet me immediately. If the Ghost Cult is really planning something, it's impossible for them not to leave any traces or clues."

The squad immediately split into several groups and began their separate tasks.

Anli headed directly to the Pottery Temple to meet with its High Priest.

On the first day, Anli's squad members checked all the Ability users inside and outside the city, investigating any supernatural activity.

On the second day, Anli met with the mayor of Stan City and began investigating the movements of all nobles and merchants, particularly checking if any of these merchants had betrayed their faith and turned to worshipping evil spirits.

On the third day, Anli received the results of several screenings from the sheriff. Although there were numerous criminal incidents in the city, they were mostly unrelated to the Ghost Cult.

Pottery Temple.

Team members were yawning one after another, each person utterly exhausted.

Even the typically energetic Anli felt a wave of fatigue washing over her.

The investigation had hit a dead end. Stan City seemed too normal; they couldn't find any clues or events related to the Ghost Cult.

This made Anli wonder, "Could my sister have been wrong? Is Stan City not the Ghost Cult's target after all?"

Thinking of her sister Vivien, Anli suddenly felt something was amiss.

"No, this isn't right."

Anli abruptly stood up from the table, her movement so forceful that it shifted the table, producing a harsh scraping sound.

All the Demon-Hunting Group members immediately looked over, unsure why the Vice Captain had suddenly made such a commotion.

Anli's entire expression had changed, and she kept muttering.

"This isn't right!"

"Something's wrong!"

Anli rushed outside the temple, looking out at the bustling city.

The sky was still gloomy, oppressively dark and suffocating, but even so, it refused to rain.

This ominous darkness had persisted for three days. They hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now it suddenly seemed far too unusual.

Even more abnormal was the fact that after three days, not a single inquiry had come from God-Descended City.

"It's been three days. Why hasn't headquarters contacted us at all?"

Anli immediately asked the other Demon-Hunting Group members behind her, "What about the messages we sent back using the consciousness projection technique? Has there been any response?"

Someone stepped forward to reply, "I sent our update back yesterday, but there's been no response yet."

Anli and her squad members finally realized something was wrong.

They immediately gathered and headed towards the city gates, intending to leave the city.

The group once again arrived at the city gate, seeing that grand and ornate gate.

They passed through the gateway, but the moment they exited, they found themselves back where they started.

The other side of the gate wasn't outside the city; it was still the scenery inside Stan City.

In the lazy afternoon, many workers and cart drivers had fallen asleep right on the street, leaning against the curb. Shop owners dozed at their counters, eyes half-closed with sleepiness.

No one else in the city seemed to notice anything amiss, but Anli and the Demon-Hunting Group members stood with their mouths agape.

Even if they were dense, they now knew something was seriously wrong.

Anli looked up at the sky. She suddenly flew upwards, soaring towards the heavens, but immediately fell back down.

This time, she stated with absolute certainty.

"This isn't Stan City."

"Everything here is fake."

The team members whispered among themselves.

"How is this possible?"

"If this city is fake, were all the people we've met these past few days also fake?"

"We've met so many people, including our own Demon-Hunting Group members stationed here. How could they all be fake?"

Anli immediately asked, "Haven't you noticed that everyone is exhausted?"

All the Demon-Hunting Group members were confused about what their fatigue had to do with anything.

Anli quickly analyzed the situation, "We must have been pulled into an illusion, or rather, a domain created by mythical power."

"Everything here is false. Only the consciousness of mortals, spirits like ghosts, and mythical beings can traverse it."

"Our consciousness is trapped here, but our bodies are still in the real world. It's been almost three days now, and our physical bodies must be utterly exhausted."

Anli spoke faster, growing more certain with each word.

"Although the illusion has severed our perception of our bodies, preventing us from feeling hunger or weakness,"

"Our bodies are gradually weakening, and naturally, our consciousness feels drained as a result. That's why everyone wants to sleep."

Anli looked out at the city and all its inhabitants.

"This city might be fake, but all the people in it are real."

"That's why we haven't noticed any flaws these past few days."

As she spoke, Anli began to feel terrified and scared herself.

"Someone has used an unimaginably powerful force to trap the entire population of Stan City, including us, in this illusion."

When Anli finished speaking, all the Demon-Hunting Group members fell silent.

"The entire... city's population has been pulled into an illusion?" After a long while, someone finally asked, trembling.

"How powerful must this force be?" Some still couldn't believe it. They rushed through the gate again and again, only to return to the same spot each time.

"Mythical... that mythical monster... the demon..." At this point, everyone believed Anli's assessment.

Anli's guess was correct. When they passed through this gate that afternoon three days ago, they had already left the real world and entered a realm of illusory mist.

But now, it was too late for them to escape.

They had become bait for the Ghost Cult, or rather, bargaining chips.

In the real Stan City.

Unlike the world behind the gate, where dark clouds loomed but the city bustled with activity,

Here, the sun shone brightly, but the city was deathly silent.

The Pottery Temple was filled with sleeping Trilobite Men, as was the entire city.

This place had become a horrifying trap where one could enter but never leave.

The gate of Stan City had become the manifestation of the Door of Truth.

On the other side of the door lay the domain of the Little Person in the Bottle, Anhofus.

The Door of Truth was the manifestation of the Little Person in the Bottle's ability to control knowledge and information. It could extract all the knowledge and skills of spirits and store them in its treasury.

This included everyone's consciousness.

This power was incredibly strong. Even Anli, caught off guard, had fallen into it, only realizing the anomaly days later.

The Ghost Cult's Truth High Priest sat beneath the statue of the great poet Tito, admiring the city that had fallen into his hands.

He hadn't deliberately killed the people in the city, as each one was a bargaining chip for him.

He stood in the real world, but his gaze was fixed on the world behind the door.

It was as if he was watching insects trapped in a bottle.

For the first time, he truly understood how powerful mythical strength could be, and for the first time, he felt what it was like.

To be a god - high above, looking down upon all living things.

Everyone was like an insect in his bottle, a puppet on his strings. Everything and every life in this world was so fragile; with just a thought, he could destroy them all.

No one could resist him. He was an existence above all else.

Possessing such power, he felt as if he were floating above the clouds.

When he discovered that Anli had noticed the anomaly and deduced their situation, the Truth High Priest merely said, "Heh. So they've figured it out."

This High Priest showed no panic, his face expressing only ease.

"But... it's too late."

"You're in my net, and the bigger fish is about to take the bait."

What did it matter if they had been discovered? Behind the Door of Truth he controlled, they had no hope of escape.

What could insects trapped in a bottle do, even if they understood their situation?

Could they break the bottle? Or could they defy the god outside?

God-Descended City.

"Something has indeed gone wrong," Vivien said.

Seeing the reports that for three consecutive days people had only entered Stan City with none coming out, Vivien immediately clutched her forehead.

She was extremely worried about the situation inside Stan City and concerned that her sister Anli might have encountered some accident.

But she was even more worried: "Could this be a ploy to lure us there, and then turn to attack God-Descended City?"

After all, she was different now.

She wasn't just a sister anymore; she was also the captain of the Temple's Demon-Hunting Group.

Vivien paced anxiously in her room, her usual composure lost as she grappled with indecision.

"No."

"I can't go."

"If their target was Stan City, disaster would have already struck in this situation. Why wait three days?"

Having been the Demon-Hunting Group captain for so long, Vivien still had the experience to make judgments.

"What does this posture of theirs mean? It's clearly meant to lure me there."

"That's right."

"Their goal is definitely not Stan City, but God-Descended City."

Reason told Vivien that the trap set by the enemy was certainly aimed at her, but her emotions told her that if she didn't go, her sister Anli might never return.

Finally, Vivien sat down, tightly clutching her head.

At this moment, shadows gathered in the room.

Blood Plague Stuen emerged from the shadows, leaning against the corner of the wall.

"There's no need to hesitate," Stuen said.

"Vivien!"

"I can go and kill those evil cultists! Even if that demon descends, I can send it back to the bottle where it belongs."

Stuen's face was cold and stern: "I absolutely won't let the scene from Cross City be repeated in Stan City."

After years of confrontation with the Little Person in the Bottle, Anhofus, the Temple of Truth and the Demon-Hunting Group had gradually analyzed some of the weaknesses of the Little Person in the Bottle.

According to the spirit, the Little Person in the Bottle possessed an unstable mythical form.

Did this mean that once it left the bottle, it might instantly disintegrate?

What confined it wasn't the bottle, but its own fragile nature.

Perhaps this was why it didn't dare to easily leave the Sacred Mountain.

Vivien asked, "What if the Ghost Cult and that demon's target is God-Descended City?"

Stuen looked out the window: "Stan City isn't far from God-Descended City. Even if something happens, with your Eye of True Knowledge and the Magic Wheel House, along with the palace's barrier, you should be able to hold out for a while."

"I can also rush back in the shortest time possible."

Hearing Stuen say this, Vivien raised her head, her eyes gleaming with light.

Although Stuen always said he wasn't Lester, Vivien could always see shadows of Lester in him.

She looked at Stuen earnestly: "Then I'll entrust this to you, Stuen."

Stuen laughed heartily: "I'm more than willing to kill these evil cultists."

As he said this, Stuen's body collapsed into a mass of blood shadows, disappearing from the room.

Blood Plague left God-Descended City and arrived at Stan City in just an hour.

The Truth High Priest in the Pottery Temple suddenly looked up from his boredom, his spirits lifting.

"He's here."

"He's here!"

"Finally, he's arrived."

The Truth High Priest's eyes held a hint of fear, but also a glimmer of anticipation.

Finally, he said with utmost seriousness.

"Blood Plague Stuen."

"This time, I'm not afraid of you."

As Blood Plague usually did, he violently transformed into a river of blood and surged into Stan City.

However, as the blood river flowed through the streets, what he saw was not a prosperous city.

Instead, it was a Stan City that had fallen into slumber.

All the commoners, merchants, soldiers, nobles, and Ability users had fallen into a dream state, their consciousness forcibly dragged into another plane.

"?"

But this confusion didn't last long. Stuen immediately sensed the culprit behind it all.

In the distant temple, there was a figure still moving and alive.

An Ability user emanating the aura of that demon, exuding a foul stench.

In front of the Pottery Temple, light and shadow constantly twisted.

Suddenly, a massive bronze door rose up.

This Door of Truth had completely shed all disguises, revealing its true form.

In front of the Door of Truth and the Pottery Temple stood a figure wearing an elaborate black robe. He watched the rolling blood river gathering at the foot of the steps.

"Blood Plague."

"Are you looking for where the light of their consciousness and thoughts has gone?"

"They're all inside this door."

The Truth High Priest raised both hands high, his back to the giant door.

"Look! This great power belongs to God."

Stuen's figure emerged from the blood river, climbing the steps one by one.

"Original Sin, Truth."

"Which one are you?"

The Truth High Priest, his eyes filled with fanaticism, said, "I am the apostle of God."

"I am the High Priest who governs truth, the embodiment of knowledge."

"Stuen," he continued, "I've heard that your birth was a gift from God. Why do you stand in opposition to Him?"

Stuen opened his mouth wide, suddenly bursting into laughter, but within the laughter was incomparable fury.

"Gift?"

"Hahahahaha!"

"Such a gift, I'll bestow upon you today as well."

The blood river raised giant waves tens of meters high, crashing towards the giant door and the Pottery Temple.

The Truth High Priest calmly responded: "Door of Truth."

"Open!"

The great door behind the Truth High Priest opened, pouring out colorful light.

The power of the Door of Truth clashed with Stuen's power, instantly exploding into a violent shockwave in the lower atmosphere.

Then the giant door exhibited an incredibly strong suction force, attempting to draw the blood river directly inside.

The blood river continuously expanded and surged, transforming into a sea of blood swirling within the city, forming a vortex that violently poured into the Door of Truth.

The Truth High Priest wanted to trap Blood Plague inside the Door of Truth as well. This method was irresistible for weaker beings.

But when facing a powerful entity, it might be asking for trouble.

Not only might the Door of Truth fail to imprison them, but the entity might even break through the domain.

Stuen was indeed such an entity.

Stuen didn't resist at all, controlling the blood river to surge into the Door of Truth. He intended to destroy the domain manifested by the Door of Truth and release all the consciousnesses imprisoned within.

"Foolish evil cultist."

"How can a bottle contain rivers and seas?"

But the Truth High Priest never intended to defeat Stuen. The divine oracle he received was merely to hold Stuen back.

Using the power of this giant door.

Using the countless civilians inside this door.

The Truth High Priest himself now retreated into the Door of Truth, watching the constantly humming giant door without any fear.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Come!"

"Come on!"

The Truth High Priest said in a low voice: "Soon you'll know who the truly foolish one is."

The contest between Stuen and the Truth High Priest continued. The Truth High Priest was clearly gradually falling into a disadvantage, but he had also entangled Stuen.

At this moment, a distress signal from the sea arrived at God-Descended City.

The location: The Island of Mist.

When Vivien received the news, her face changed instantly, even showing panic.

"How is this possible?"

"The Little Person in the Bottle, Anhofus, has appeared on the sea and descended on the Island of Mist."

"Since ten years ago, the location of the Island of Mist has been moving, precisely to prevent people from finding the location of the Temple of Truth."

"How did this demon know? How did it find out..."

"Except for the days of accepting students, even I don't know the exact location unless I contact my teacher."

Vivien slammed her hand hard on the table: "Someone has betrayed us. Someone must have sold us out."

It was only then that she understood.

The holy land of the Trilobite Men that the Ghost Cult spoke of.

It wasn't God-Descended City, nor was it the so-called Stan City.

It was another holy land she hadn't thought of, one that had gradually become the holy land in the hearts of all priests in recent years.

The Temple of Truth on the Island of Mist.

"Dwelling on this now won't help," the intelligence officer beside Vivien said. "Captain, we must immediately devise a response plan."

On the sea.

The Island of Mist was originally called the Island of the Dead, an island in the Sal Domain of the Abyss Kingdom. At that time, the Abyss Kingdom and Yinsai were mortal enemies, and this place was where invading Trilobite Men were executed.

In the early days of the Star Luo Kingdom, the great poet Tito landed on this island, giving it a different meaning.

When the Henir Dynasty arrived, the Sage of Truth, Sandean, chose this island as the base for the Temple of Truth, gradually making it a holy land in the hearts of priests.

"Splash, splash."

The edges of the Island of Mist were always shrouded in thick fog, with waves rhythmically washing against the shore.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that this island was moving.

This was an idea left behind by the first-generation Sage, Sandean, using the power of Pottery Divine Technique Imprints and Seal Spirits to control the island's movement, turning it into a fortress and great ship drifting at sea.

Ten years ago, the second-generation Sage of Truth, Lan, realized this idea.

However, he used the power of stone demons, with six third-level stone demons becoming the power source for modifying and propelling the island's movement.

In the ritual workshop.

Lan was conducting an experiment on another mythical path of the Wisdom Ability.

The mythical organ, originally in brain form, had now become a small stone sphere the size of a palm.

It looked more like an egg or ovum.

This egg was placed in a glass container inscribed with ritual arrays. One could see that even Lan was treating it with extreme caution.

Lan looked at the egg inside the glass, saying with anticipation, "The mythical organ of the Wisdom Ability is the brain. We've transformed the mythical organ into an embryo or seed."

"Do you think it will become a new life, undergoing another round of metamorphosis?"

Beside him, a frail elderly student in a wheelchair observed the experiment.

After all, only a few exceptionally talented individuals could become God's Grace Priests.

In comparison, the majority were those who remained stuck at their peak for a lifetime, unable to advance further.

However, even at this age, the student still maintained a strong curiosity for knowledge.

Although his talent no longer supported further advancement.

"Teacher," the student asked, "if the mythical organ transforms from a brain to another form, won't our memories and consciousness be affected?"

"If we lose our memories and former personalities, will what emerges still be us?"

Lan looked at the egg he had created: "That depends on whether the Stone Demon King, when it grows again, will be as we expect."

"The mythical organ has some ability to retain and store memories, but that's just the best-case scenario. The reality depends on the experimental results."

"If this egg form doesn't work, we might try other forms and methods next time."

"For example, a seed form, or a spirit form."

"I believe there must be a way that works."

The student asked again: "Is this rebirth and entering the next life infinite? Wouldn't that mean it's immortality?"

Lan explained to his student, "The mythical organ isn't eternal either. Simply put, it's actually a special organ evolved from the God's Grace Stone combined with your body."

"After a certain time, the mythical organ will degenerate back into a God's Grace Stone."

"It might even transform directly into divine blood and a Seal Spirit."

"On the path of Ability power, if you don't move forward, you'll regress."

Lan discussed with his student over and over, while also sorting out any flaws in his own thoughts.

At this moment, the entire Island of Mist suddenly experienced a massive tremor.

"Boom!"

Above the ritual workshop, a large amount of dust fell.

Lan's form flickered, and he appeared outside the workshop. His student slowly wheeled out behind him.

They saw a huge black shadow continuously condensing outside the island, enveloping the entire Island of Mist.

Lan immediately recognized who had come: "The Little Person in the Bottle, Anhofus."

On the island, all the tutors, assistants, and students also saw the scene of the mythical shadow appearing.

"Is this... a shadow?" Ordinary people fainted immediately upon directly viewing the shadow.

"What kind of shadow is this? It's too strange." The students had never seen such a thing before. They looked at it in confusion for a few moments before feeling dizzy and collapsing to the ground, vomiting.

"Don't look at it, don't look at it!" Some tutors, seeing the shadow as tall as mountains, immediately shouted with changed expressions.

"Lower your heads quickly," the tutors warned the students.

"That's a myth, don't look at it directly!" The voice spread across the island like a great bell.

The Original Sin High Priest, who had committed a grave sin, was honored to become the vessel for the "God of Knowledge's" descent. Clearly, this vessel was stronger and more suitable than the previous one in God-Descended City.

The moment the mythical shadow appeared, a bottle-shaped barrier appeared over the Island of Mist.

It was as if a giant had taken this entire island as a toy and placed it inside its bottle.

Inside the castle, several tutors responsible for external communication were extremely anxious.

"This is bad, it's about to descend."

"Quickly notify God-Descended City."

"Tell Lady Vivien to come and rescue us immediately."

The castle immediately had someone send out the news of the demon's arrival while the domain seal was not yet fully formed, hoping for rescue from Vivien's side.

Lan looked at the suddenly appearing mythical shadow, first stunned for a moment.

Like Vivien, who was about to receive the news, he also couldn't understand how this demon could so accurately find the moving island in the vast sea.

The original reason for moving the island to hide was to avoid and prevent this demon.

Someone had betrayed the location of the Island of Mist. Lan, like Vivien, thought of this point.

However, unlike Vivien who was far away on the other side of the sea and unaware of the situation, he understood more.

Behind him, the sound of a wheelchair rolling came, slowly approaching Lan's back.

Lan turned around, calmly looking at this student of his.

"Was it you?"

"Xiao!"

The student sitting in the wheelchair revealed a smile that matched the meaning of his name. Even when exposed, he showed no fear.

At his age, having experienced so much, there were few things that could make them panic.

He calmly said.

"Teacher," Xiao said, "I don't want to die like this."

Lan said: "There are other ways."

The student named Xiao wheeled himself beside Lan: "I'm not resigned to dying like this, not just because I fear death."

"What I'm not resigned to is this: Even though I possess wisdom no less than anyone else's, because of the difference in innate talent, I can never reach the peak."

Lan looked at Xiao: "So you sold your heart to the demon, wanting to use its power."

Xiao looked directly at Lan: "Teacher! This is a transaction."

Lan: "Do you know what the consequences of dealing with a demon are?"

Xiao didn't speak for a long time, just looking at his immobile legs and decaying body.

Then he said: "I only have a decaying body, a pathetic talent."

"The only thing worth relying on is this brain."

"I need a stepping stone, a step to get on the stage. As for the consequences afterwards."

A smile spread across Xiao's face: "Let's each rely on our own abilities!"

Indeed!

If you can't even get on the stage, you don't even have the chance to fall. What meaning do the so-called consequences have?

You can only become a shadow that disappears without a trace beneath the stage, with no one noticing such an existence.

A glimmer of disappointment appeared in Lan's eyes. He closed his eyes.

"You know too many secrets of the Temple of Truth. I can't let you live."

After saying this, Lan opened his eyes.

A huge shadow appeared behind him, striking towards Xiao.

Before the Divine Grace Puppet's fist could touch Xiao, a strong field force began to corrode Xiao's body.

Half of Xiao's body disintegrated under the power, turning to dust.

But at the same time, that twisted mythical shadow finally took shape.

A black shadow spread from the coast, enveloping Xiao in the blink of an eye, dragging his half-remaining body into the darkness.

The power of the Divine Grace Puppet struck the mythical shadow, blasting open hole after hole, but never penetrating its protection.

The last thing Lan could see was Xiao's calm smile.

Outside the island, that terrifying figure standing in the sea lowered its head, looking at Lan in front of the ritual workshop.

It spoke in its evil and unrestrained tone: "Lan."

"There are no more secrets. Everything you have... everything the Temple of Truth possesses."

"Now, it all belongs to me."

The myth descended, bringing destruction and disaster.