Chapter 180: As You Wish
Stepping into the uniquely shaped white marble building, the Elders of the Miracle Cult held the Sacred Relic stored in the soul vessel, which began to shake violently and burst forth with brilliance as if summoned by some force.
As the four Elders embraced the soul vessel and moved to the corners, resplendent golden light illuminated the entire space.
Although the interior of the building was not particularly large, it was completely empty except for the walls that were as smooth and flat as mirrors. Even with five people inside, it gave a sense of emptiness.
Fang Ji, holding the soul vessel containing the heart’s Sacred Relic, arrived at the center of the building, looked around, and then his gaze fixed on the ground beneath him, frowning slightly.
Only upon entering the building did he discover that one side of this cubic structure was pitch black.
Beneath his feet lay a dark, deep pit, resembling a murky pool with an unfathomable bottom.
Although he couldn’t see the “bottom of the pool,” Fang Ji could sense that the First Generation Miracle Saint was sleeping within this “pool.”
Beneath the ground was a vast space that even spiritual senses found difficult to probe.
Perhaps, in a certain sense, that was the true resting place of the First Generation Miracle Saint.
Is it finally starting? Fang Ji wondered.
At that moment, the low chanting of the Miracle Cult members, which sounded like a song, drifted into his ears.
“From the soul born in the illusion, its existence is proof of miracles.
It brought forth gold, covering the land.
It brought forth swords, ending wars.
Cattle and sheep abound, food flows abundantly, sweet wine flows like rivers…”
Time has come.
Fang Ji knelt on one knee, slowly opened the soul vessel, and reverently used both hands to take out the Sacred Relic and place it on the ground.
The moment it touched the pitch-dark ground, the dried and weathered heart rapidly became vibrant as if it absorbed the nutrients from the “pool,” and then… began to beat.
“Bang, bang bang, bang bang——!”
The heartbeat, like a drum, grew stronger, and the seemingly mirror-like dark surface appeared to turn liquid, rippling with metallic sheen, resembling mercury.
Following that, the four Elders of the Miracle Cult mirrored Fang Ji’s actions, opening their soul vessels and placing their Sacred Relics on the ground.
In the next moment, the five Sacred Relics slowly sank into the ground together.
The deeper they sank, the more they illuminated the enormous space beneath the ground that seemed to be non-existent.
Faintly, a tiny golden humanoid silhouette appeared at the very bottom of the “pool,” rising to the surface amid the churning bubbles.
Gazing at that figure, Fang Ji’s expression deepened as he fell into thought.
At the brink of d*ath, he received the gift of the dying Miracle Saint, merging powers and becoming her “sacrificial pawn,” while also gaining something called the Seed of Miracle.
The Seed of Miracle entered his body and quickly blossomed into his own Miracle Flower, simultaneously releasing the vast knowledge accumulated over the generations of Miracle Saints in his mind.
This was a ritual that occurred when higher-level spiritual ability users died, often having their lingering souls inhabit objects they carried throughout their lives.
The difference was that the lingering souls of ordinary spiritual ability users would reside in objects, while the lingering souls of previous Miracle Saints found a peculiar way to inhabit the Seed of Miracle.
This is somewhat similar to the legends of a few witches who, when on the brink of collapse, would condense their entire spirit energy into the core of the urban legend, giving birth to a special core—Witch’s Egg.
When they reincarnate into the world from the legends, they can find the Witch’s Egg they left behind and quickly regain their peak strength.
Moreover, for some reason, the lingering souls contained within the miracles have lost their self-awareness, remaining merely as empty shells that store knowledge.
It resembles an ultra-large spiritual energy cloud database.
Among this knowledge are unique spells, martial arts, alchemy, and a wealth of intricate academic information exclusive to the Miracle Cult.
Passing knowledge to the next generation of Miracle Saints seems to be the secret to the Miracle Cult’s enduring success, even when suppressed, allowing the next generation of Miracle Saints to be born and rise from the ashes after a short period.
It’s akin to almost all players in a game starting anew, while each generation of Miracle Saints begins with a fully leveled character equipped with top-tier gear, making it easy to dominate once they familiarize themselves with the rules.
However, most previous Miracle Saints, upon acquiring the knowledge from the Seed of Miracle, became obsessed with enchanting spells or intricate martial arts, and very few bothered to explore academic knowledge.
That knowledge was too fragmented and vast, with some content that seemed potentially useful, such as specific information on a powerful urban legend or internal secrets of a spiritual energy organization…
But such information was time-sensitive; as time passed, legends would evolve, organizations would perish, and originally useful knowledge could turn into misleading traps.
Trying to find something useful within that knowledge was akin to searching for valuables in a vast junkyard.
Thus, despite knowing that treasures lay buried in this “junkyard,” previous Miracle Saints were reluctant to spend a lot of time on such pursuits that offered no substantial increase in strength in a short term, even if some did attempt it halfway.
As for alchemy… perhaps only a tiny minority of Miracle Saints with eccentric characteristics would delve into it; anyone with a shred of rationality would keep their distance.
After all, the alchemy passed down by the Miracle Cult, similar to the vast majority of high-level alchemy today, comes with highly likely side effects such as toxicity, curses, or violent explosions when it fails to concoct properly, along with a special material that most high-level alchemy does not require—miracles.
Fang Ji had once dabbled in the alchemy passed down by the Miracle Cult, and then…
There was nothing further.
In Fang Ji’s view, the Miracle Cult’s alchemy couldn’t even be labeled as alchemy; it was simply throwing various high-level alchemical materials haphazardly into the alchemical cauldron to stew randomly, whether or not one can produce an alchemical potion and whether the resulting potion matches one’s desires was all left to miracles.
It was just like pulling cards in a pay-to-win mobile game: massive resources invested, guaranteed an explosive failure to start, with randomly attached effects such as toxicity, curses, or corruption.
Aside from those particularly unreliable alchemical practices, Fang Ji initially had a deep interest in the miracle sect’s spells and martial arts.
Until the influence of the remaining will of that Miracle Saint, who fused with him in an unusual way, began to gradually appear…
This Miracle Saint was an absolute oddity among Miracle Saints; she had little interest in spells, martial arts, or alchemy, instead obsessively studying the vast and intricate knowledge to the point of madness, to the extent that when she entered the Pestilence Taijie’s restricted area to seek the Sacred Relic, she lacked the strength to escape and was ultimately eroded by the Pestilence Taijie’s power.
Yet right before her fall into corruption from the Pestilence Taijie’s power, she discovered secrets regarding the First Generation Saint within those fragmented pieces of knowledge.
In fact, among the generations of Miracle Saints, some had sensed that awakening the First Generation Miracle Saint was a huge conspiracy. When the First Generation Miracle Saint awakened, they would almost inevitably become containers for harboring her consciousness.
However, even when they realized this, they didn’t know how to resist. All they could do was barely hold on, preventing themselves from going mad from the constant summons in their minds, while controlling the Sacred Relic, ensuring it did not enter the Yumen Pass.
The Miracle Saint who fused with Fang Ji found a genuine way to break through—she made a wish to the First Generation Miracle Saint, asking her to vanish on her own.
In the memories of certain Miracle Saints, there exists a tale that has been passed down within the Miracle Cult.
The legend states that before the First Generation Miracle Saint fell into slumber, she made a vow in the name of the Miracle Flower and her powers that when she awoke, she would shower the land with miracle light, converting the wishes of all under her shining light into reality.
From those rare few Miracle Saints who successfully broke through the obstacles created by the Yumen Sands Sea Branch and entered the Yumen Pass, it was clear that this was not merely a legend or a trap wrapped in lies.
Indeed, one Miracle Saint even made a rather audacious wish for the First Generation Saint to become his vassal, granting him absolute freedom, which was realized.
So, what about a slightly more ambitious wish?
Could that also be achieved?
If it failed, he would merely become a vessel for the First Generation Miracle Saint and allow the Miracle Cult to flourish once more; after all, such occurrences have appeared more than once in history.
But if successful, it would not only help him escape the fate of becoming the First Generation Saint’s container but also bring a complete end to it all.
There are many things in this world where risk and reward coexist, Fang Ji felt it was worth a try.
If he truly failed, it would be alright…
Wasn’t there also the calamity and Shen Baiwei, those two strange beings? Fang Ji thought.
Strange beings like the calamity and Shen Baiwei, who could snatch the Miracle Flower, had never appeared in the memories and knowledge of previous Miracle Saints.
Though it might just be a coincidence, they could also be the Miracle Cult’s natural nemesis.
Perhaps the Miracle Cult’s repeated rises to prominence, followed by rapid and comet-like descents into oblivion, were the deeds of such strange beings.
“Boom——!”
Just as Fang Ji pondered, a loud explosion occurred, and amid the resplendent golden light, the silhouette broke through the ground and soared into the sky.
Spiritual energy surged, creating a terrifying storm, with columns of tornadoes racing.
In the center of the storm, Fang Ji looked up at the figure gradually ascending towards the heavens, seemingly destined to become the sole star within the Yumen Pass, quietly waiting until a voice echoed in his mind.
It said, “Speak your wish…”
Thus, Fang Ji replied, “I seek neither gold nor fine wine, nor power or full stomach, only wish for your demise!”
Then, he heard the response from the First Generation Miracle Saint.
It said, “As you wish!”
