Chapter 166: Unveiling the Mist

The shape of Spirit Butterfly Peak, along with its connection to the Spirit Butterfly Clan and Tiyelu, all demonstrated that this place was intricately tied to the holy land managed by the Holy Ancestor.

Before setting off, Chief Vanessa of the Moonshadow Clan had reminded the Priestess that there were four outer entrances to the holy land within the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, and this Spirit Butterfly Peak was one of them.

The more important point was that this was the only place not overseen by the Gatekeeper and their disciples, but rather personally guarded by the holy land’s manager — Holy Ancestor Tiyelu and her offspring, allowing direct access to the special passage to the holy land, bypassing the Gatekeeper’s protected portals.

In simple terms, the other three doors first led to the Gatekeeper’s secluded area, needing trials to enter the inner door before applying to enter the holy land. Spirit Butterfly Peak, on the other hand, could skip all those steps and directly enter the true location of the holy land.

This was an almost top-tier hidden secret in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, known to very few, and only the three major clan leaders and a handful of special members of the Demon Alliance could access it. Even Vanessa had only revealed this to Miss Vilyric after thorough preparations and testing.

Originally, with Tiyelu’s ability to incarnate countless times, she could easily use her avatars to guard Spirit Butterfly Peak and ensure everything was secure. However, recent changes within the Hall of Illusions seemed to have left the Holy Ancestor overwhelmed, resulting in her temporary disappearance and the recall of her scattered avatars in the outside world to consolidate her strength.

Without a doubt, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some cunning individuals. The secret might be difficult to uncover, but since the Priestess knew, it implied others could as well.

So, upon learning this, Vilyric began to suspect the reason for the closed-off portals at Spirit Butterfly Peak, which Lulu had mentioned earlier, preventing anyone from entering.

She thought that Tiyelu must have discovered something and anticipated that Spirit Butterfly Peak would face changes soon, so, in order to cope with the impending disaster, as well as a hint of wanting to see some fun, Vilyric decided to rush there as fast as possible to wait for a chance.

However, it seemed that before they could reach Spirit Butterfly Peak, Sylvester had already arrived at breakneck speed and achieved his goal.

It wasn’t that the Priestess wasn’t quick to react; rather, the enemy had been plotting for a long time, and she couldn’t possibly know their movements out of thin air.

After hearing Vilyric’s speculation, Lulu appeared somewhat incredulous and confused, which was understandable since the amount of information she had previously gathered was no match for the Priestess’s.

“Is that so? Then what should we do? Lady Vilyric, is there any way to stop that Summoner?”

Yet, in response to Lulu’s instinctive plea for help, the black-haired girl just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

“How would I know? That so-called Hall of Illusions is full of secrets. Even someone like the Gatekeeper doesn’t know much, let alone someone like me as an outsider. I’m just powerless here~”

“You’re right… So, should we keep heading up the mountain to seek information from the Spirit Butterfly Clan? Since the Summoner’s target isn’t them, it should be safe over there. The urgent matter is to confirm the situation and quickly decide our next course of action. This is crucial, and the Spirit Butterfly Clan should collaborate with us.”

“Yeah, your thought process is quite clear. But if I’m correct, those butterflies are probably engaged with the Summoner’s minions right now, causing quite the ruckus to delay them. Your idea isn’t bad; the Spirit Butterfly Clan, especially those three Guardians, must know some relevant information, but…”

At this point, the Priestess suddenly turned her head and looked at Lulu, who seemed to be attentively listening to their conversation, with a knowing smile.

“Since there’s someone here who knows the situation better, why bother making things complicated for ourselves?”

“Isn’t that right, Lulu… Or should I call you — esteemed Holy Ancestor Tiyelu instead?”

“Hah?”

As expected, Lulu was caught off guard by Vilyric’s explosive remark, and she froze in shock, struggling to comprehend and stammering when she finally regained her senses.

“Lady Vilyric? Wh-what are you talking about?! I-I can’t possibly be the Holy Ancestor! Even joking, that’s going too far!”

The Priestess didn’t seem to be swayed by the two girls’ astonishment and confusion; instead, her lips curled into a pleasant smirk.

“Joking? Isn’t it you who’s joking with us? Tiyelu, now that I’ve laid it all out on the table, it means I’m fully confident. At this point, do you still want to pretend you’re just this body?”

Sighing dramatically, Vilyric sounded particularly exasperated.

“It seems you really aren’t in any hurry; I thought you brought me here because you were in a tight spot and needed some help~”

“W-wait! Lady Vilyric, what do you mean… how could Lulu possibly be Holy Ancestor Tiyelu? They’re clearly two different beings! Besides, Lulu was just born not long ago…”

Halfway through her rebuttal, Lulu suddenly froze, closing her mouth abruptly, her eyes going wide with shock, because being clever, she quickly picked up on some details she had overlooked before with just Vilyric’s hint.

“Yeah, she’s a newly born Spirit Butterfly. Our Miss Lulu really has awful luck; what a coincidence for her to be born at such a turbulent time, don’t you think?”

“This… Thinking about it now, there are indeed some strange points, but even then, it doesn’t explain that she is Holy Ancestor Tiyelu… Rationally speaking, I think you might be right, but emotionally… I still can’t believe Lulu has always been deceiving me…”

Lulu looked intently at the butterfly girl, whose gaze seemed somewhat unfocused, her expression serious.

“Lulu, is it true, as Lady Vilyric said, that you’re merely a guise for someone else? Is the Lulu I know actually non-existent? Look into my eyes and tell me this is all a misunderstanding. As long as you say so, I’m willing to believe.”

“Lulu, I…”

The Priestess smiled slightly.

“Don’t rush. Since the Holy Ancestor has the leisure to play this riddle game with us, let’s have a proper chat, as there are some things I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a long time.”

Standing amid her golden veil, the black-haired girl gazed contemplatively at the clouds thickening the sky.

“Let me think… Firstly, let’s recall our first meeting. Ah, of course, I don’t mean that mix-up in the Black Knight Mercenary Corps, but rather the scene when you, as Lulu, first met me.”

“I can’t firmly say whether that was an intentional setup or just a coincidence… But do you remember? You immediately lowered your guard when I mentioned the name Tiyelu, which was quite abnormal, and you even unilaterally considered me one of her companions without any suspicion…”

“If that could still be explained by innocence or your innate talent ‘Spirit Sensing,’ then afterwards, you clearly thought I was Tiyelu’s companion, yet still seriously explained the ‘Spirit Sensing’ ability, which is basically a signature trait of the Spirit Butterfly Clan. The absurdity of that logic is almost laughable; honestly, it’s hard to imagine a Spirit Butterfly, known for its wisdom, having an individual that foolish.”

“After all, innocence does not equate to stupidity, right?”

Upon hearing this, Miss Slime couldn’t help but frown slightly.

“Now that you mention it, I did feel that Lulu’s behavior was a bit off at that time. It didn’t seem like something she would normally do to step forward in that situation. But I was a bit flustered and distracted by the pure aura around Lady Vilyric, so I didn’t pay much attention. So… Lulu was aware of your identity back then?”

“Yes, that’s the first thing that struck me as odd. But I only thought this Spirit Butterfly was a bit silly, talking nonsense without purpose, so I didn’t think further. But afterwards…”

Vilyric gently patted Lulu’s shoulder to calm her, then looked back at the increasingly strange expression on Lulu’s face.

“The second oddity was after talking with Tiyelu; to facilitate saving you all, I chose to use Lulu’s body to arrive in the outside world ahead of time. And yet, you acted shocked, when in reality, you accepted this unbelievable scenario very naturally and easily, as if you had seen something like this before, even kindly explaining to me about that weapon called a ’Dragonbone Cannon’.”

“Later, when I asked the Acting City Lord Lan, guess what she told me?”

The Priestess held up her hands to indicate a number.

“Ten years. The Dragonbone Cannon is the latest magical weapon from Demon Town, having been developed for less than ten years. Isn’t it? Isn’t it convenient to inherit memories? Even details about weapons recently created by other races are described in detail?”

“Are you assuming others are stupid, simply making up an excuse, or do you think that I can easily crush my opponents and thus wouldn’t care about such details?”

Saying this, Vilyric chuckled playfully.

“Unfortunately, I, myself, love to dig deep into the roots, to focus on those seemingly trivial details~”

   

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