CHAPTER 319: CHAPTER 285: HOUSE OF TRUTH_2

"You felt a deep sense of abnormality."

"At this moment, the voice of the ’Secret Cultivator’ came through... ’Dark Crow of Profane Fortune,’ come this way, head to the third floor. According to the revelation from the ’God of Justice,’ the Taboo Treasure is most likely up there."

"She was already standing at the innermost part of the hall, beside a grand door."

"Wait..."

"You suddenly thought of something, raising your hand slightly to signal not to rush."

"Then your gaze landed on the prayer platform. Striding over quickly, you soon stood before it. There was a book lying there, resembling a Holy Scripture, though due to prolonged neglect, it was covered in dust. Only four faintly discernible characters on the cover could be made out... ’Revelation.’

"The name reminded you of the world’s best-selling religious book before you had crossed over."

"Soon, you raised your hand, intending to flip through ’Revelation,’ attempting to uncover the reason behind those deity-worship paintings adorning the ’House of Truth.’"

"However, the moment your hand touched it, the entire ’Revelation’ began weathering at a speed visible to the naked eye. Not only that, the Boundless Wind seemed to appear out of thin air, dispersing the book’s ashes in the blink of an eye. Amid the scattered remnants, a single faint line of text was glimpsed."

"’The stars shine brightly, He shall return.’

"The stars shine brightly again? Who is this ’He’ supposed to be..."

"You couldn’t help but recall the relic from the Dota Clan. On that tablet, it had been inscribed, ’At the end of the cosmos, the stars shall shine brightly.’

"You pondered, a multitude of mixed speculations surfacing in your mind, yet none led to a clear answer."

"’Secret Cultivator’ approached you, with eyes full of urgency, oddity, and understanding. She said... According to the revelation from the ’God of Justice,’ there is nothing of value in this hall. We should head up to the third floor quickly to find the Taboo Treasure. That is the most important task at hand."

"You looked deeply at the woman before you but ultimately did not refuse. You nodded."

"Soon, you left the ’hall’ and found stairs leading to the second floor within the dim depths of the corridor. For some reason, compared to the brightness of the hall, this area seemed significantly darker and quieter."

"You looked around cautiously, a hint of wariness rising in your heart."

"You continued ascending."

"The slightly shadowy staircase wasn’t tall, and you soon reached the second floor of the ’House of Truth.’ The first thing to meet your gaze was another corridor... connected by door after door, with the far end of the hall extending to an unknown destination."

"It was at that moment you heard a faint and distorted voice whisper by your ear... ’Save me, save me, save me?’

"’The second floor of the House of Truth has cries for help?’

"You instinctively asked the ’Secret Cultivator’ beside you... ’Did you hear something? Uh, for example, a cry for help.’

"She first showed a surprised expression, then listened intently. After a long while, she shook her head... ’I’m sorry, ’Dark Crow of Profane Fortune,’ I didn’t hear any sound.’

"’No sound at all?’

"Was it an illusion? Or could it be that only ’Desecrated Wizards’ could hear those whispers?"

"Thinking of how this was the ’House of Truth’ belonging to the True Wizard King, and how you yourself were a ’Desecrated Wizard,’ you vaguely formed a suspicion."

"At that moment, the cries for help seemed like stones thrown into water, rippling again and again. You contemplated for a moment before, guided by an inexplicable feeling, pressing your ear against the nearest door."

"At that very moment, the previously vague and illusionary whispers suddenly became real..."

"’Save me, save me, teacher, I’m scared?’"

"Teacher?"

"The ’Truth Hut’ served as the True Wizard King’s pasture, laboratory, and also the space for teaching students... Could the ’teacher’ mentioned in the whispers be the ’True One’... And the cries for help, then, belonged to His students?"

"In those distant Middle Late Third Epoch days, what on earth had the True Wizard King done that led students to voice their fears to Him?"

"Unconsciously, you recalled the deity-praising murals on the first floor, sensing an unclear connection between them, though no matter how you pondered, clarity still eluded you."

"While you were ruminating, an urgent voice broke through again... ’Dark Crow of Profane Fortune,’ pay no attention to those illusionary whispers. Based on the revelation of the ’God of Justice,’ they might be residues of power left behind by past Taboo Entities who had once entered here during the Middle Late Third Epoch. These traces haven’t entirely dissipated with time. Our priority should be reaching the third floor, where the Taboo Treasure is.’

"The speaker was none other than the ’Secret Cultivator.’ Her tone held urgency, and a glimmer of ready anticipation flickered in her eyes."

"Urging once more?"

"Was this woman being overly hasty?"

"But it made sense too. She had spent a long time searching for the Taboo Treasure. Now, with the ’Opportunity to Ascend to Godhood’ right before her, impatience was only natural."

"As you thought about this, you gestured and said... ’Wait, don’t rush yet. There are still things that need clarification.’"

"’Alright.’

"The Secret Cultivator nodded, saying no more."

"You didn’t delay either. Pressing your ear to the doors one by one, you listened intently. Soon, those fragmented whispers surfaced in your mind."

"’No, teacher, stop, let me go...’"

"’My shepherding deity is out of control. What’s going on, teacher, what exactly have you done.’"

"’Kill me, no, save me...’"

"’Your actions will destroy... will destroy... will destroy...’"

"By the time you had listened to the third door, the fourth, and then the fifth, you found yourself having passed each door along the entire silent corridor. The whispers were intermittent, illogical, and disconnected. You speculated... Were the owners of these cries for help already driven to madness, or had they expired long ago, leaving only lingering fragments of their obsessions behind?."

"Nevertheless, the content of the whispers still greatly intrigued you."

"Was the uncontrolled shepherding deity connected to the events of the ’Day of Fallen,’ where Desecrated Wizards’ shepherded deities suddenly developed self-awareness? The True Wizard King’s actions... could they have led to destruction?"

"Should you open one to see what lies inside these rooms?"

"You seriously considered this idea but soon abandoned it... No one knew what kinds of monsters might lie behind these doors, or whether opening them would trigger terrible Taboo Powers. The unknown is the greatest danger."

"You prepared to head to the third floor, where the ’Taboo Treasure’ was said to be located."

"But before you could move, the ’Secret Cultivator’s’ urgent voice came once more... ’Dark Crow of Profane Fortune, you’ve listened to all the doors. Can we move on now?’

"Urging again?"

"You..."

"..."

"..."

"Yang Qizhou was fully immersed in the game text when suddenly a voice called out, ’Lamp holder, something feels off about my game character’s current state.’"

"The speaker was the Secret Cultivator herself..."

"This made Yang Qizhou glance over instinctively, noticing the frown etched between her brows and the faint unease in her eyes, which she struggled to mask with forced composure."

"’Something feels off?’"

"Yang Qizhou asked with some confusion, ’Why do you say that?’"

"PS: Another explosive update today."