Chapter 131: Snow and Blood

At the peak of the towering Wall of Heaven, the platinum-colored giant dragon slowly descended amidst the swirling gusts of wind and fluttering snowflakes.

*Boom~*

The dragon touched down, and the white fox girl leaped gracefully from its neck, landing lightly on the eternally unmelted snow atop the peak, producing a soft *crunch* sound.

“Alright, this is about it~”

The girl said as she removed the white fox mask from her face, transforming into a holy figure with a white robe and black hair under the light, while the giant dragon quickly shrank, turning into a tall blonde girl who stepped forward.

At over seven thousand meters above sea level, they had no need to worry about being seen by anyone amidst the snowy peaks of the Saint Bergan Mountains. Moreover, before descending, the Priestess had specifically scanned the area below with SP, confirming there were no signs of any intelligent beings.

As they approached, the little dragon girl couldn’t help but show a look of confusion.

“Master, why did you want me to appear in my true form before those… Temple Knights? Is there a deeper meaning?”

The Priestess chuckled lightly.

“It’s not so much a deep meaning; it’s just that this way, we can associate Xī with the *Mysterious Holy White Dragon.* In the Holy Kingdom that reveres light, this will undeniably enhance our reputation and help me achieve certain goals.”

“And… don’t you think it’s cool? It’s been a while since we’ve galloped together in the sky, right~?”

Upon hearing this, the blonde girl instinctively nodded.

“Of course I’m happy too, but since we’ve left that military camp and boldly appeared like this, if we get discovered… wouldn’t that be…”

“Oh?”

The Priestess, observing her surroundings, turned her head in surprise to glance at her pet.

“Are you worried that someone might discover you are that white dragon? The fact that you can consider this possibility is quite impressive…”

“But there’s no need to worry. Do you think I let everyone stay in the carriage as much as possible for no reason? In reality, very few people in the Expeditionary Army have seen all of your appearances. Most are strangers, and no one would immediately notice if one or two were missing, especially not in such chaotic circumstances.”

“After all, most people can hardly even imagine that a humanoid giant dragon is hiding right beside them~?”

Standing on her toes, pretending to be mature, Vilyric patted the dragon girl’s shoulder and smiled nonchalantly.

“Let’s not talk about that anymore. Previously, we couldn’t communicate clearly through our contract. How is everything at the central military camp now? Are Tilysha and the others safe?”

Xiaoguang nodded.

“Fortunately, although the sky has turned blood red, there hasn’t been any of the situation you mentioned when you sent word. Leila immediately informed the leader outside to organize defenses in advance, and I left Tilysha and that little succubus in the carriage, while Renée is protecting them. As long as nothing too drastic changes, safety should be fine.”

“Mm… that’s good.”

With Leila and Renée, both transcendent mythological angel beings guarding, there really was no need to worry about safety.

With that, Vilyric could focus her energy on addressing the main issues at hand.

“Let’s go check out the ritual area in this mountain.”

“Yes.”

Thus, the two girls left the landing zone, spread their wings, and leapt straight down the mountain.

There was no need to search for their location, as that towering blood-red pillar of light was already the most conspicuous landmark.

The place they chose to descend was quite close to the blood pillar, and after a brief search around the steep mountain’s edge, they quickly found an entrance at the mid-mountain level.

That blood-red pillar appeared to be a type of energy, seeming not to possess a true physical form, as it shot straight up through the thick rocky wall.

As they folded their wings and approached the entrance, the two girls discovered that the blood pillar was emanating from a cave inside.

The cave entrance was unguarded and devoid of any light emanating from within, appearing dark and foreboding, like a mouth of an abyss ready to swallow people whole, creating an instinctive sense of fear.

However, for a certain Priestess and her pet dragon, it posed no real threat; it merely piqued the former’s interest even more.

*Snap.*

In her true form, Vilyric used her holy light magic without difficulty, casually snapping her fingers to summon a small golden orb with a diameter of about ten centimeters that emitted a warm yet gentle glow.

Seventh-tier magic *Light Element Spirit Summoning*.

This skill was also one of Vilyric’s usual helpers. Although it was called *Spirit Summoning,* she wasn’t precisely sure what exactly was summoned, but in general, it was likely an AI light elemental that could run, fight, and heal.

At least it definitely wasn’t the same kind of “spirits” as those on the Holy Spirit Path.

Besides providing illumination, this thing could also act as a self-operating battle turret, offer some localized healing, or block attacks at critical moments. The Priestess had used this same skill many times, both in the game and after arriving in this world.

Once summoned, the small golden orb spun happily around the black-haired girl, and without her needing to speak, the light elemental understood her commands through their summoning bond and began to float ahead to scout the path.

The two girls followed closely behind, delving into the cave.

“By the way, Xiaoguang, what do you think about this… forbidden spell?”

While walking forward, the black-haired girl suddenly asked the question in a quiet and untroubled tone.

“?”

Seemingly a bit confused by the question, the dragon girl walking slightly ahead tilted her head.

“What do you mean by ‘how’ regarding what Master said?”

“Well… Xiaoguang, aren’t you sensitive to breath and smells? For instance, do you sense anything familiar about this forbidden spell?”

“Smell…?”

The little dragon girl pondered seriously for a moment, nodding, then quickly shaking her head.

“What Master likely means is the blood-drawn magic circle beneath that forest with the strange iron balls flying around, right? It indeed has some similarities, but… I can definitively assure you that the magical aura of that magic circle is different from that in these mountains.”

Seeming to find that explanation a bit vague, Xiaoguang immediately added.

“The effects are different; while the magic circle and this place draw upon the same type of power, the manner of use differs greatly, that’s the feeling.”

“Um…”

Since it was a judgment made directly by the little dragon, Vilyric showed no signs of disbelief. After all, in certain aspects, she indeed couldn’t match the keen nose of her pet dragon.

The cave located halfway up the mountain was not very spacious inside, nor were there any chaotic side paths. It appeared to be naturally formed rather than artificially excavated.

Following the main path illuminated by the Light Element Spirit, the two girls quickly reached the end.

What greeted their eyes was the blood-red pillar of light shooting straight up, piercing the stone wall of the ceiling, and the vast, bizarre magic circle drawn in blood on the ground at the deepest part of the cave.

Ah, let’s emphasize once more.

That isn’t just “blood-like in color”; the magic circle itself was brutally infused with the very blood of living beings.

After all, the rusty odor that rushed toward them was so thick and nauseating that it almost made one faint…

   

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