Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 841: Rituals of Ancient Scholars
Even death cannot stop the head from betraying the body...

Looking at this bloody scene, Angel sighed and retracted his sword.

At her feet, the blood that continued to flow from the neck of the headless corpse of the evil wizard merged into the constantly flowing water of the "Fountain of Youth" and disappeared almost instantly. The spring water remained clear, just like the endless life it bestowed on mankind.

It seems that the greatest function of the "Fountain of Youth" is to allow the lives immersed in it to continue in a nearly lossless manner, but...

Right in front of Angel, the originally smooth and delicate skin of the dead "magician" quickly wrinkled, the skin on the chest, thighs and other fatter areas drooped, and obvious age spots appeared. The long bright golden hair turned gray in an instant, like a centenarian.

...Once leaving the fountain, the extra "life" will be returned to the "Fountain of Youth". No wonder she didn't leave the fountain until the battle situation endangered her own safety...and the dead "weird wizard" couldn't maintain the effect of the faceless man...Angel pondered, and quickly walked out of this strange fountain, fearing that he would become old in the next second, truly realizing the mismatch of age and mentality mentioned in the "immortal" witch's promotion ceremony.

Of course, she did not forget to use invisible threads to pull the separated body of the "Weird Wizard" out of the water and place it on the grass nearby. On the one hand, she did this out of respect for her opponent, and on the other hand, she was worried that the "Fountain of Youth" would eventually devour the body and take away the extraordinary characteristics in her body.

Next, without wasting any time, she quickly walked around the huge stone in the middle of the grass, and returned to the "Fountain of Youth" hidden by the stone below. She picked up dead branches from several withered trees and used simple divination to confirm that these could be used as auxiliary materials for the "immortality" potion.

Could it be that the "life" of these trees, flowers and plants has been absorbed by the Fountain of Youth? I always feel that this place is very strange. According to the general promotion process, the "Despair" witch has to bring other extraordinary materials into this place and take a cup of spring water from the "Fountain of Youth" as the main material of the potion. The power of this spring water comes from other life forms, just like some kind of life transfer in the mystical sense...

Angel thought about it, and tried to use the small bottle he carried with him to fill a bottle of the crystal clear "Fountain of Youth" that seemed to exude vitality.

But the moment she left the range of the spring, the spring water in the bottle disappeared in front of her, as if the water in the bottle was just some kind of illusion.

Can't leave here, can only be promoted on the spot? Just now, the conversation between "Black Knight" and me mentioned that we must leave quickly after promotion, otherwise bad things will happen, and Wensa also said that no "immortal" witch is willing to return here... For "despair", the Fountain of Youth is a necessity for promotion, but for "immortality", it is something that will bring misfortune?
Shaking his head to dispel these thoughts, Angel returned to the old corpse of the "Weird Wizard". Looking at this body that had been soaked in water for who knows how many years, a wave of emotion surged in his heart.

But she did not waste precious time. Instead, she placed the other person's head next to the corpse, took out a magic mirror, and constructed a simple spiritual ritual by praying to herself in the special mirror world.

As she expected, the spirit of the evil wizard who had just died was still in her body. After gray mist appeared on the surface of the mirror, a chestnut-haired woman about 30 years old with ordinary looks appeared.

This is what she originally looked like... Perhaps after she got the Witch Marionette, she came up with the idea of ​​using the "Faceless Man" ability to improve her appearance... Angel thought about it and asked:
"Who are you? Why do you stay in the Fountain of Youth for such a long time?"

The lifeless blue eyes of the strange wizard in the mirror looked at Angel, and after a moment he replied:
"My name is Sophia. I am a trickster from the Secret Order. I came here to complete the ritual to advance to Sequence 3, Ancient Scholar."

Sure enough, just as I guessed, she couldn't leave the "Fountain of Youth" because she had to complete some special ritual!
Angel's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he hurriedly asked:

"What are the potion formulas and rituals for the 'Ancient Scholar'?"

If he could get the formula here, Klein could start preparing... Even the "Fountain of Youth" required for the ritual has been prepared for him... Thinking of this, Angel's mouth couldn't help but curl up, revealing a smile from the heart.

But the next second, her expression froze on her face.

"I don't know the formula of the Ancient Scholar," Sophia in the magic mirror replied in a dull tone, "After completing the ritual, my teacher, Mr. Zaratu, the leader of the Secret Order, will give me the prepared potion for promotion. This is the case for all high-sequence Beyonders in the Secret Order. There is only the potion, no formula."

This... Zaratul seems to be the mysterious angel that Klein met after stealing the Antigonus family notes and entering the foggy town. The formula of the "Trickster" was learned from him. The divination of Arrodes before showed that the angel trapped in the town had left and returned to the real world... If I kill his student, I won't offend this powerful existence, right?

Moreover, the means by which the "Secret Society" controls the "Fortune Teller" potion is so extreme that all high-sequence members can only accumulate contributions under the leader in exchange for finished potions. They don't even have the opportunity to obtain the formula and collect materials on their own... Angel's frustrated expression is beyond words.

As the object of the spiritual communication, Sophia ignored her emotions and continued:

"The promotion ceremony of the 'Ancient Scholar' requires me to be completely out of reality for at least 300 years and take a magic potion in an era when I have become history. A demigod who can only live for more than 100 years cannot do this without external help, so I can only seek help from the 'Witch Cult' and sign a contract with them to maintain a long life in the 'Fountain of Youth', isolated from the world, and wait for the day to see the light of day again."

After being out of touch with reality for 300 years and taking the potion... Angel's lips slightly opened, and he fell into a state of shock and daze.

When she was guessing the reason why the "weird wizard" Sophia stayed in the "Fountain of Youth", she did consider the possibility that she used the concept of "immortality" to prolong her life, but at best she thought that she was already very old and could only rely on external objects to prolong her life, and seek the opportunity to prolong her life after promotion. However, she did not expect that the ritual alone would require more than 300 years.

Then how should Klein be promoted? Should he soak in the Fountain of Youth for 300 years like Sophia? How could there be such a ceremony? Angel muttered, and suddenly remembered the ceremony he needed to be promoted to "Immortal". The two were actually similar to a certain extent. Could it be that his promotion to "Immortal" and helping Klein through the long 300 years was a kind of destiny?
Seeing that Sophia's figure had faded, Angel calmed down and continued to ask:
"What do you mean by the bad things that witches will encounter after they become immortal?"

"I don't know either, but every witch who came to be promoted said so. Ms. Judith, who signed a contract with me, also mentioned this... It seems to be related to the witches' 'man in the mirror'."

Sophia frowned slightly, seeming to be lost in memories.

Judith, the "Gray Saint" Judith... She, no, He, as the leader of the "Witch Sect", must be a Sequence 2 "Disaster" Witch. The fact that she was able to sign a contract with Sequence 4 Sophia must have something to do with her teacher Zaratul... As for the issue of the "man in the mirror", it is probably related to what Vinsa said before, that after being promoted to "Immortal", one must reconcile with the "man in the mirror" within oneself.

"Where is your secret puppet witch? Is she also a member of a certain promoted 'witch sect'?"

Angel realized that Sophia's spirit was almost transparent and knew that he could only ask two or three more questions without thinking and continued to ask.

"No, according to the 'Witch Cult', she is a wild witch. As part of the contract between me and them, I hunted her and turned her into my secret doll. As a result, I obtained the key to enter the 'Fountain of Youth'."

It seems that it is indeed difficult for ordinary Witches of Despair to deal with the "Trickster" who possesses the "Black Knight" secret puppet... Angel sighed and asked the next question:
"How long did you stay in the Fountain of Youth? How many witches came to be promoted during that time?"

"From 1175 to now, a total of three witches have come to be promoted."

Sophia answered briefly, her figure becoming increasingly dim and transparent.

1175 years have passed since then... She is already halfway to her goal of becoming an "Ancient Scholar"... The "Witch Cult" has a total of 175 "Immortal" and "Disaster" witches, but only three of them were promoted within these 175 years? It seems a bit too rare, but considering the extremely long lifespan of the "Immortal" witches, it makes sense...

Angel thought about it, and asked before Sophia was about to disappear and the spiritual communication ended:
"Where are the magical items and seals you carry?"

Since the formula of the "ancient scholar" is hopeless, Angel is ready to maximize profits and squeeze out the last bit of value from this "weird wizard".

"In order to prevent the negative effects of magical items from affecting the promotion ceremony, I left all my belongings in Dilan Castle before entering here. It belongs to my teacher and the Secret Order..." Sophia's spirit seemed to have just thought of her situation. A trace of panic appeared on her transparent face. "If you see my teacher, tell Him that I don't have..."

Before she finished her words, Sophia's figure flashed and disappeared in the magic mirror.

Wait, I also want to ask where Dillan Castle is... Angel reached forward and grabbed, trying to retain Sophia whose spirit was dispersing.

As the communication ended, a faint glow emerged from the body of the "weird wizard". It quickly condensed and formed a crystal half the size of a fist beside the head. It was an irregular oval shape, and there seemed to be countless transparent worms entangled and crawling inside. Angel only took a glance and felt his thinking a little sluggish, as if he had entered an incomplete "puppetization" state.

She quickly used the silk thread to pick it up from the air, sealed it initially, and put it away carefully.

Even if he didn't get the potion formula of the "Ancient Scholar" this time, at least he gained a portion of the extraordinary characteristics of the "Weird Mage". Whether it was made into a magical item or used as a promotion potion for the "Master of Secret Puppets", it would be priceless.

Moreover, there are those dead secret puppets under her control outside...

Looking at the grass outside the boulder, Angel felt hot inside again.

This time, there is no negative effect of "Angelica's Blade".

No, that's not right. Where is my blade?

Angel looked at his empty hands and suddenly realized that his weapon was missing.

(End of this chapter)