Chapter 2392: Sealing of the Ancient Witch

Chapter 2392: Chapter 2392: Sealing of the Ancient Witch

Shard actually felt that his set of "Light Lion Armor" should also help Miss Nate resist the influence of abnormal powers. Unfortunately, the armor’s size seems tailor-made for him, and Miss Nate, being an average female, differs too much in height and weight from Shard, and wearing it would severely affect her mobility, so he didn’t say much.

The "Five-Person Ritual" left by the ancient witch was specifically invented to delve into the worm’s body. The ritual is quite simple, and although the precious materials obtained from the desert are not fully matching the requirements, the Philosopher’s Stone found previously in the coffin sealing the demon can play a major role.

The [Philosopher’s Stone] is a universal substitute material for rituals, and even though part of the Philosopher’s Stone was consumed for the ritual, the remaining amount is still substantial.

"I never thought I would use the ’Philosopher’s Stone’ so wastefully. No, I never imagined I would use the ’Philosopher’s Stone’ one day."

Miss Sander murmured while making final preparations.

With everything ready and after drinking their respective magic potions, Shard raised the torch, Miss Sander held up a bright blue water ball, Old Lady Sianod attached vines to her relic cane, and Miss Mister melted a handful of sand with flames, letting the remaining crystals float around her.

As for Miss Nate, originally Shard and Old Lady Sianod wanted to enchant her knight sword, but after checking, Miss Mister thought that the fragile sword couldn’t withstand the power.

Although forging a new sword would also work, it’s extremely time-consuming, and then Shard realized that the petrified longsword used by the ancient hero’s spirit to pass down the Power of the Earth: Blessing All Things also met the ritual requirements.

So Miss Nate held the petrified longsword, put her helmet back on, and, along with everyone, headed deep into the giant gaping mouth.

Inside the worm’s body, it’s indeed possible to isolate the abnormal light from outside, and because Shard actually just opened the seal rather than destroyed the ancient witch’s seal, under the seal’s effect, the power of spatial movement couldn’t be used inside the worm’s body.

The torch in his hand provided light for everyone, allowing them to see clearly that the worm’s body no longer had any flesh structure, completely resembling a stone cave. Only some sticky black residue was present on the ground, which no one recognized, so everyone refrained from touching it.

The deeper they walked towards the worm’s corpse, the smoother the sides became, almost resembling an artificially dug passageway. The red flames, blue water ball, yellow sand crystal, green vines, and metallic color displayed by the enchanted longsword formed a pentagram ritual, which resisted the sensation of their bodies feeling like turning into sand.

But even with the ritual’s help, the worm’s body’s power still asserted its presence. Shard, Old Lady Sianod, and Miss Mister showed no signs of issues, but with each step, Miss Sander and Miss Nate would have sand grains rustling off their bodies.

The invisible mental pressure even made Shard feel dizzy, but since even Miss Nate could continue walking forward, he certainly wouldn’t say he needed a rest.

Fortunately, the ancient witch’s seal was indeed very firm, and even though the entrance had been opened, the power inside the worm didn’t immediately become agitated. When the speechless group saw light ahead, everyone except Miss Mister became excited:

"Found it!"

Within the worm, gravity was also affected by abnormal power—increasing in intensity the deeper they went. Because they needed to take care of Miss Nate, even though they could already see the endpoint, their pace did not change after the initial excitement.

Shard’s physical strength was more than capable of bearing the immense gravity, but the other four’s speed slowed noticeably. Clearly, Miss Mister was pretending, Old Lady Sianod wasn’t in her prime due to aging, while the Mermaid Girl performed similarly to Old Lady Sianod, perhaps even better, possibly connected to the enormous water pressure in her deep-sea environment.

Nonetheless, step by step, they finally reached the glowing area. According to Shard’s estimation, this area wasn’t the worm’s tail but rather slightly inward towards the middle.

And when they saw the spectacle at the light source, everyone immediately noticed the final compass fragment.

The glowing source formed an immense spherical shape, although the light actually emanated from three intersecting wheels rotating at an angle of 60 degrees. Each wheel was embedded with thirteen different items, and the last compass fragment needed to find the "Heart of the Oasis" was conspicuously embedded in one of the wheels.

In the center of the intersecting hollow wheels, precisely in the golden glow’s center, was a serpent-like creature curling its body. That entity was evidently alive, its body as dark as the enormous worm, and the serpent-sized worm’s head surprisingly resembled a human.

It appeared quite weak, and even though it noticed their arrival, it merely twitched slightly.

Even Miss Nate, who had the least knowledge of mysticism, recognized this as the seal’s core. It was evident that what was imprisoned by the three interlocking golden wheels must be the remaining power of the enormous worm’s corpse.

"If we take the compass fragment, won’t we break the seal?"

Miss Sander asked worriedly, and Old Lady Sianod hesitated:

"Judging from the current situation, the worm’s power is much weaker than when it was sealed by the ancient witch. Possibly removing the compass fragment won’t significantly impact it... Of course, that’s just speculation."

Shard glanced at the lady with light brown skin and asked:

"Miss Mister, what do you think?"

Originally, Shard expected the lady to say something like, "I don’t know either," but unexpectedly, she stepped forward and seriously examined the seal before concluding:

"Judging by the aether flow of this seal, simply removing the compass fragment won’t directly destroy the entire seal. The Ancient Witch’s methods aren’t that fragile.

However, the ancient Witch of the Earth should have left behind a contingency for the seal being tampered with: If we try to destroy the seal from the inside, perhaps the seal will be fully reactivated. At that time, if we can’t leave immediately, we will be forever trapped inside this worm’s corpse. Of course, if there’s a way to weaken the lingering power of this corpse, the speed at which the Ancient Witch’s seal reactivates would be slower."

Although Miss Mister’s tone suggested speculation, Shard already took it as fact:

"So, we can take the compass, but after taking the compass, we must leave quickly."

The other three didn’t question the "speculation," and although Shard knew this Deity had the ability to resolve the issue directly, the Deity clearly wouldn’t intervene.

"I’m the slowest; if necessary, you don’t have to worry about my safety."

Miss Nate immediately said, while Miss Sander opened her mouth but chose not to concern the others with her own safety.

Old Lady Sianod shook her head:

"Without the protection of the five-person ritual, none of us can get out. Now is not the time to discuss sacrifices."

She didn’t mention that the "five-person" ritual could be maintained with four people, and judging from the earlier situation, at least when close to the "exit," Shard, Miss Mister, and Old Lady Sianod could safely pass by relying on themselves.

"Let’s not rush to flee yet; I’ll see if we can weaken the power of this thing."

Shard frowned and said as he approached the light and tried to reach inside.

When his hands touched the light created by the three golden rings, he initially thought he’d be pushed back immediately, but he just paused momentarily before his right hand successfully entered.

[Outlander, you possess the required amount of "Witch Echoes," and the Ancient Witch of the Earth’s sealing ritual recognizes you as a witch with a seat in the Council.]

The voice gently explained the information from the power, and Shard kept reaching further inside.

The tiny worm, which initially trembled, suddenly surged up to bite Shard’s finger when his hand neared the core of the seal.

But under the seal’s oppression, the worm’s movement was too slow. Shard deftly dodged the worm and even touched it briefly before retracting his hand.

Old Lady Sianod, who also arrived at the seal, saw that Shard’s entire right index finger was covered in a layer of sand. Before more transformation could occur, the "pollution" receded on its own, returning Shard’s finger to normal:

"My petrification resistance is high."

Shard explained, then informed his companions of the findings from his investigation:

"It’s troublesome; the worm inside isn’t a physical entity but a manifestation representing ’worm corpse power’ under the Ancient Witch’s sealing skill. This thing’s pollution is extremely strong; we have no way to eradicate it."

Of course, the others knew it was impossible; other than Miss Mister, none of the four combined could match the Ancient Witch of the Earth. Problems that even the ancient witch couldn’t fully solve were beyond them.

"We can’t hesitate for too long here. So, I’ll try to weaken it. Regardless of success, we’ll take that compass fragment and then flee immediately. Whether we succeed, it’ll be up to Fate. Naturally, if you have other plans, feel free to suggest them now."