Although Lin Li had learned a lot from Geresco, and he was indeed more capable than a Sanctuary powerhouse of the same level, he was not that arrogant as to think that he had the strength to fight against a true god. Lin Li was not afraid of battling those who were of higher levels than him, but he would be seeking death if he tried to fight someone of a higher realm.
Lin Li told Edmund and the others that he was there to search for a magical weapon, but in fact, he was just there to find clues regarding the Immortal King. Risking one’s life by engaging in a deadly confrontation with a powerful existence that might possess a god’s position for the sake of a clue that was not yet certain to be useful was a huge loss in Lin Li’s opinion.
“Saint Edmund, you are well aware that the relationship between us is strained and hostile. I’m afraid I’m the first person who will have to be dealt with. If you were in my place, would you continue to go on?” Lin Li didn’t hide it at all, and made his concerns clear. He felt that there was nothing to be ashamed of, and he wasn’t willing to suffer for the sake of pride.
“President Felic.” Edmund hesitated for a moment before continuing, “You might have misunderstood, our action this time is just an arrangement for the future. Awakening the god is what we, the Illuminati, will do in the future. For now, we just have to go in and retrieve the sacred relics that have fallen inside.”
“I’m sorry, but to be honest, this explanation of yours doesn’t seem that credible.” Lin Li naturally wouldn’t really believe all of Edmund’s claims. Who knew if they would awaken the ancient god by then? If something like that really happened, he couldn’t possibly go and accuse them of not keeping their word. A loser had no right to accuse the victor.
Lin Li’s words made Edmund look a little conflicted and seemingly worried about how he could convince him. After just a few moments of hesitation, Edmund saw that Lin Li seemed to be getting impatient, and thus had no choice but to helplessly say, “President Felic, as you have seen earlier on, the Envoys of Light who are the servants of our god were not very welcoming of our arrival. So, before confirming God’s stand, we won’t risk awakening him, either.”
Hearing this, Lin Li felt bewildered. Previously, Edmund and the others had already told the Envoys of Light that they came here just to wake up their god. Edmund’s words seemed really ridiculous to him. As a believer of god, he actually had to worry about his god being merciless to them after being awakened.
To be frank, Lin Li felt that there had to be a problem with the Illuminati’s faith. The devout believers of Light at the Brilliance Shrine would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for faith, but the Illuminati actually kept hesitating to awaken their god that was still in slumber. They did not behave like believers at all.
Of course, the believers didn’t behave like believers, and there seemed to be something wrong with their god too. Just as Edmund had said, the four Envoys of Light did not seem to recognize their identity as believers. Otherwise, even if they were not allowed to enter the shrine as believers, there was no need to attack, either.
Lin Li was really confused about the relationship between the Illuminati and their god.
The Illuminati’s faith was not something that Lin Li, an outsider, could figure out immediately. Besides, what really made him feel doubtful was actually Edmund’s attitude. Regardless of whether Edmund wanted to awaken the ancient god or to retrieve the sacred relic, it seemed that the departure of the Tower of Dusk was beneficial and harmless to them. After all, the relationship between the two forces was quite hostile, and Edmund would be able to better complete the task without the Tower of Dusk.
However, when Lin Li announced his intention to withdraw, Edmund tried to make him stay, as if they could not complete the mission without the participation of the Tower of Dusk. In Lin Li’s opinion, there was either some kind of trap waiting for him in the Gilded Kingdom, or there was a massive danger that Edmund was not confident enough to handle alone.
In such circumstances, it was naturally the best option for Lin Li to withdraw. Anyway, there was more than one clue regarding the Immortal King, and they would at most wait for the Gilded Kingdom’s team to finish handling the matter before sneakily coming back to explore the place themselves.
At this point, Edmund knew that if he didn’t come up with something credible, Lin Li would definitely turn around and leave. It was actually not strange at all. If he was facing the same issue, he would definitely be filled with doubt too. He could only put the blame on High Priest Poer for getting too complacent, and revealing the matter about the ancient god being in slumber here. He even said that he wanted to awaken the ancient god.
Edmund sighed and glanced around, as if there were some words he did not want others to hear. Of course, no one dared to eavesdrop on his conversation. As he was one of the four saints of the Illuminati, his status was definitely similar to that of the god that they believed in.
At the same time, when Edmund scanned the surroundings, Elder Zumar, who saw Edmund’s behavior, also immediately took a few steps to the side, as if he was watching out for Edmund. High Priest Poer originally intended to stay there to listen to what Saint Edmund had to say. However, immediately afterwards, he saw the stern gaze that was being shot at him, and so had no choice but to walk alongside Elder Zumar.
Watching the actions of Edmund and the others, Lin Li couldn’t help but feel a little bewildered. What was it that they had to do behind his back? In fact, Lin Li really couldn’t think of anything that Edmund could come up with to clear his doubts now other than a Soul Contract.
However, it was impossible to sign such a Soul Contract! To Sanctuary powerhouses, a single seed of their soul would be enough for the other party to see everything clearly. Hence, there were very few Sanctuary powerhouses who would be willing to sign a Soul Contract with others, even if it was beneficial to them.
When Lin Li found it strange, Edmund once again shifted his attention onto him, and said in a low voice, “President Felic, I know what you are worried about. Actually, it’s normal for you to have such a concern. However, we are very sincere about this. I’m telling you, very few people in the Illuminati know the truth, so I hope you can put your worries to rest.”
Edmund had no choice but to invest his energy into this. Others did not know what was going on in the palace, but as a saint of the Illuminati, he understood the situation very well. Besides, even when being clueless, he could guess that the inside of the palace would never be simple.
“Oh? Saint Edmund, aren’t you scared that I might spread the word about this?” Lin Li said, looking at Saint Edmund half-jokingly. Although he said that, he was obviously really interested in Edmund’s so-called truth.
After hearing Lin Li’s words, Edmund smiled calmly, and nonchalantly said, “I believe that President Felic would not do that kind of thing. Besides, President Felic, you should be clear that there are some things that others won’t necessarily believe just because you said so.”
Religion had always been a double-edged sword, and although it could make one have firm beliefs, it could also blind them. Even if someone could produce the truth and prove that their beliefs were false, the vast majority of believers would probably just ignore the facts, and regard the other party as a heretic, or even lynch them.
“Okay then, I will hear it and decide if there’s a valid reason for me to take the risk,” Lin Li said, looking like he was all ready to listen. However, he was still thinking that he should take his people away after listening. Regardless of the perspective, he did not think that there was anything worth taking the risk for.
Edmund seemed to have read Lin Li’s mind, but he slowly said in displeasure, “Regarding the battle that happened thousands of years ago, I believe you still remember it. In that great battle, not only did the gods fall into a deep slumber, the founding saint of the Illuminati, Aquilo, had also unfortunately fallen. However, he did not really fall.”
Although Lin Li had long been distracted, and was even ready to leave after listening to Edmund’s words, he was truly shocked when he heard Edmund revealing that unknown secret. According to Edmund, didn’t he mean that Aquilo, the founding saint of the Illuminati, was also in the depths of this palace, just like the god who fell into a deep sleep?
Although Sanctuary powerhouses had generally already reached the point where their souls were indestructible, it was only relative. Both parties in the battle were godlike powerhouses, and in fact, the power of the four Envoys of Light was enough to prove that the ancient god was very likely to have already reached the realm of the gods. Besides, the one that could make it fall into deep slumber was naturally the Immortal King whose strength was undoubtedly so powerful that even the Dragon of Destruction wouldn’t be able to kill him.
In front of such a god-level existence, even the Sanctuary powerhouses who were at the peak and almost close to the level of the gods were just like fragile ants that could be killed easily. As for the so-called indestructible soul, it was just like a joke. The aftereffects alone were enough to make the soul of any peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouse die.
“You mean, he’s sleeping in that palace just like your gods? In that case, I don’t seem to have a good reason to stay, huh?” Lin Li was initially worried that the sleeping god that they awakened might cause trouble for him, but now that there was a founding saint, he wished he could flee immediately!
Regardless of whether he was in slumber or not, the fact that he could survive such a tough battle was enough to show that his strength was extraordinary. Hence, be it the god or the founding saint that the Gilded Kingdom was going to awaken, it was not a good thing for Lin Li at all.
“President Felic, please hear me out, will you? Lord Aquilo once learned a secret method which can allow the dead to be revived from his friend, and the key to the resurrection is in that sacred relic that we are going to take back. So, what we have to do is to retrieve that relic and take it back to Lord Aquilo. We need to seek his permission to awaken the god,” Edmund said, revealing more inside information in order to make Lin Li stay in hopes of making him drop his suspicions.
The god that the Illuminati believed in was actually ranked after Aquilo, and it seemed that they were unsure if they should awaken the god they believed in even after the resurrection of Aquilo. The more Lin Li listened to it, the more he felt that the Illuminati was strange. He wondered which god they believed in.
In particular, Edmund also said that they had to first awaken Aquilo, and seek his permission to awaken that god. In other words, if Aquilo disapproved, they wouldn’t awaken that god. What was that about!? Since when could their lord decide such things? Wasn’t their god the supreme being to them?
However, Lin Li was largely interested in the so-called friend who taught Aquilo the secret method of resurrection. As an outsider, Lin Li could not make any comments about whoever the Illuminati believed in. However, the secret method of resurrection was definitely not to be missed.
Although Anril was a world of magic, death was irreversible there too, and that did not refer to physical death, but a true annihilation of one’s body and soul. If one died physically, they could still turn into an Undead creature and live on in another form. However, if both their physical body and soul died, that would be complete death. Even the gods probably would not be able to bring a completely dead person back to life.
In that case, how did the founding saint Aquilo die? In the god-level battle, even Sanctuary powerhouses were considered insignificant, and would be destroyed easily. Hence, the secret method would be a miracle even if it merely let Aquilo retain a trace of the Soul Brand.
Lin Li knew he could not find out much about that secret method, but he didn’t think it would be of much use to him, either. After all, if only a wisp of Soul Brand was left, and he had to wait for others to resurrect him after being trapped for thousands of years, it would be better to just die. However, he was still very interested in the so-called friend of Aquilo who could create that secret method.
