Soul Trigger

Chapter 667 The Mystery of the Tree Roots
"The Clay Puppet Master, a notorious Dead Apostle who was active in Saint Root County decades ago, has killed multiple Red Hunters."

While not particularly strong, he was an anomaly among the Dead Apostles, enjoying studying the psychology of the human spirit and thus acquiring considerable skill in spirit circuitry.

Speaking of which, we do have some similarities...

Ji Li frowned slightly as he looked at the residue in the bottle:
"Decades ago? How long exactly?"

"It's been about a century. Back then, the Royal Asylum, the Dark Side Control Group, and even the Shattered White Ring couldn't do anything about it because it was skilled at hiding and scheming, and was an extremely cunning Dead Apostle."

The Tower of Babel had tried to recruit it, but it ignored them. Unexpectedly, it has reappeared.

The description on the tombstone accurately reflects Ji Li's current situation and predicament.

The "Scarecrow" society behind the tomb keeper does indeed exhibit specialization in spiritual circuits, such as hiding a dead disciple within a human spirit—an operation Ji Li had never encountered before.

From a temporal perspective, it's close to a century, which is exactly close to the time when the "crop circles" created by the pioneers appeared.
Therefore, it's reasonable that this "clay puppeteer" might have some connection with my past self and might covet spiritual places.

The clues we've gathered since arriving in Red Maple Town are enough to show that "Odin's Holy Land" is definitely more than just a spiritual place.

The hidden location, the complex procedures involving three World Tree imprints and three sacred relics... at least the Grimm family and those behind the scenes believe that the "Odin Sanctuary" holds something extraordinary.

The history of Red Maple Town may offer some clues, and it seems that we should start with the old information about Red Maple Town.

"How is the strength?"

"Back then he was already a Double-Scarred Dead Apostle, and now he's probably a fully-formed being like me."

In other words, Mingzhao. Ji Li frowned slightly:
"Give me its information."

Clay puppeteer, a double-marked dead disciple (98 years ago), possesses master-level skills in inscribing spiritual circuits and creating spirit communication tools, and is proficient in spiritual circuits of the magic rune school and the path school.

Cautious in style, fond of creating clones and manipulating human spirits, skilled at concealment, the true form is unknown.

He has a passion for spiritual research and exploring the essence of the soul. He owns several secret laboratories in Saint Root County. Although they have all been eliminated by the Red Hunters, some undiscovered secret laboratories still exist.

Its ability is "Evil Mud," possessing multiple characteristics such as assimilation, corruption, control, and pollution. Avoid contact with its spiritual essence.

It often uses the spirits and clones of bewitched people to convey messages. The clones representing itself are either handsome, tall European men with brown curly hair, or European women with similar features but long hair.

Could it be the one hiding behind the tomb keeper, coveting this sacred land?
So what role did the Dead Water Knight, who was previously suspected by Ji Li, play in all of this?
Like Angelica, Ji Li did not dispel her suspicions about the Dead Water Knight.

"Master, someone is here."

At Clementine's prompting, Ji Li removed the skull ring and threw it into the dragon ring, ending the communication.

Just then, a knock came at the door:
Pulitzer, are you feeling better?

It's Angelica.

After receiving Ji Li's response, she pushed open the door and entered, still wearing that beautiful women's suit.

She closed the door behind her as soon as she entered, took two steps, then turned around and locked it again.

Ji Li: "?"

Angelica flicked her silver hair:
"Just to make sure no one disturbs us."

Ji Li blinked:

"Captain, the sound will carry."

“…That’s not what I meant. What’s going on in your head all day?” Angelica said irritably.

She sighed:
"What happened on the beach before... was a last resort, but fortunately it turned out well."

I want to apologize to you, since it was my own idea, but please don't take it to heart.

"Are you referring to the blood-sucking thing, or...?"

"All of them!"

Angelica facepalmed.

"I know you have a girlfriend. I hope this won't affect your relationship. You'd better forget what happened when you were sucking blood. It was an accident, and there absolutely can't be a next time."

Tsk, so she's a scumbag.

Captain Angelica tricked a naive young man like me. How could she turn her back on me after pulling up her pants?
But putting that aside, judging by his ability to go toe-to-toe with the Dead Water Knight, the little vampire is indeed a responsible and good captain:
"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. I know it was something I had no other choice."

"That's good." Angelica coughed lightly twice.
"What I'm about to say concerns your situation, Pulitzer, so don't spread it around, not even to Equiel."

After receiving Ji Li's assurance, she then told him about how she was almost promoted after drinking Ji Li's blood.

Ji Li used his soul trigger to sense Angelica and then noticed that her aura was indeed somewhat different.

This made Angelica smile slightly:
"Your current soul trigger can't sense my changes. In short, thanks to your spiritual blood, I've reached a new level and solved the problem of my blood-sucking urge."

Given my lingering doubts about the Dead Water Knight, this matter must be kept strictly confidential.

"I understand."

My blood really does have such effects... Is it because of Angelica's special characteristics, or my own special characteristics, or both?
Such a situation could indeed occur if the life level of an immortal changes.

However, the spiritual blood that Angelica absorbed from Ji Li had almost no effect on him. So, wouldn't this girl be able to use him as a giant power bank to absorb him and directly become a peak ruler, soaring to immortality?

No, it still has some impact.

Ji Li carefully sensed it and found that the capacity of the Soul Well of the Death Star had temporarily decreased, to about one-twentieth of its original size.

"Given your unique circumstances, I will call my teacher after everything is finished and ask her to decide how to assess your condition."

"I will keep this strictly a secret. But what do we do next? Wait for outside help?"

The tombstone had already warned Ji Li about the Red Hunter "Shepherd Dog," and now it seems that it has actually lured that guy over.

As for the information about the clay puppeteer, Ji Li was still considering whether to inform Angelica through Sir Death.

But this guy has quite a reputation in Saint-Germain County, and letting the White Island authorities know about it might make things even worse.

"One is to wait, and the other is to search for the whereabouts of the dead and try to find clues from the nursery rhymes based on the gravedigger's last words."

The "password" is a "nursery rhyme," a fact the knight squad has already learned through clues about the gravedigger's hiding place.

However, interpreting its content proved difficult:
Red leaves covered the pebble base

The truth is buried deep within the tree roots,

Oak-sealed lip with vines locking the eyes,

The mysterious remains of Red Maple Town will forever remain in eternal slumber.
-
The last sentence almost explicitly states that something is hidden in Red Maple Town.

The first three sentences seem to hint at a location, but no result is obtained.

After returning from the world of reflections, Angelica began investigating areas that seemed to match the description.

For example, even wandering around areas with dense ancient trees, one could not find any clues about any plot of land that matched the description of red maple trees and pebbles.

“The gravedigger grew up in the town, so he must have verified the locations mentioned in the nursery rhyme. It would be very difficult to find them based on the literal meaning of the words alone.”

Angelica nodded:

"That's true, but we still have to go and take a look."

Where did you go?

"I've basically covered the entire town."

Ji Li thought for a moment and then said:

"Is it possible that the so-called holy site is actually located within our school?"

“Yuk High School?” Angelica frowned.
"Why do you think that?" Ji Li asked patiently.
"Think about it, Yuk High School was founded by Mr. Green, a follower of the Odin faith. There are red maples in the school, and there are indeed pebbles by the sailboat dock."

Is it possible that the "tree roots" don't actually refer to tree roots, but rather to the logo of Yuk High School?

Upon hearing this, Angelica was startled, then her eyes flashed with a sudden realization:
"I was negligent..."

The symbol of Yuk High School is the layered "tree roots," and the symbol of Odin's faith is also a tree root. But more importantly, the World Tree mark, which is said to be able to open the sacred land, is also a tree root.

"But in this case, it may not actually be in a school, but in a region that is highly associated with the Odin faith."

Because the tree roots actually represent the Odin faith..."

"You don't know the history of this town, do you?"

Angelica shook her head, and Ji Li then told her about the crop circles that had appeared in the town a hundred years ago, and that the location was now the school, adding:
"It is said that the Odin cult only emerged after that, so I think it is very likely that the holy site is hidden in the school."

In fact, Ji Li made up a lot of things in this part, but his spiritual place was the wheat field that was once his school.

After Father Kelton disappeared due to the incident at the manor in the woods, the gravedigger attributed the anomaly to something happening at Odin’s Sanctuary and wandered around the school reciting nursery rhymes.

Therefore, Ji Li believes that the entrance to the spiritual place is most likely inside the school.

Now that the Dead Apostles have appeared, the situation is beginning to change. If the Knights are allowed to investigate without addressing the core issues, things will become even more complicated once the Shepherd Dogs arrive.

The Knights now possess two World Tree Marks, with the last one in the hands of the mastermind.

Since the "sheepdog" has not yet arrived, the mastermind is hard to find, and the last piece of the puzzle cannot be completed, it is better to throw out this clue so that the knight team can find the location of the holy land as soon as possible.

This will inevitably cause the mastermind behind the search for the sacred site by using the tomb keepers to make a move.

Whether you're a clay figure maker or a Dead Water Knight with ulterior motives, how can you two sit still?

Why doesn't Lord Odin capture them all before the "sheepdogs" arrive? What's the point of dawdling?

After their analysis, Angelica smiled and even gave Ji Li a high five.

"That makes sense. Is your sharp mind due to the Olympiad trophies at home?"

“You’re not from Red Maple Town, so you must be missing some information. When shall we set off?” Ji Li found a good reason to guide them.

“I’ll have Andrew start by investigating from the perspective of Odin’s faith, while Jason can start directly from his own family, since he is an Odin believer himself.”

How are you feeling now? Are you ready to take action?

"No problem, full of energy."

"I'll have Sika check you again when she gets back. If everything is normal, then you and Aquile will be in charge of investigating the situation at the school."

"No need, I can start now..."

"and many more."

Angelica grabbed Ji Li's wrist:

"Remember, if you and Aquil discover anything, whether it's an enemy, a Dead Apostle, a Resting Object, or the entrance to Odin's Sanctuary, notify me or the other two immediately. Don't act rashly."

Ji Li smiled and said, "Understood, Captain."

At this moment, Angelica noticed the marks she had left on Ji Li's neck, and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

She wanted to say something more, but the spiritual circuit behind her ear lit up:
"Captain, there's a situation."

"Did you find a clue?"

“It’s not a clue, but we’ve discovered the corruption caused by the Dead Apostles, and some malevolent byproducts have appeared in the woods.”

Angelica frowned: "I'll be right there."

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, you should get some rest."

After giving Ji Li some instructions, Angelica quickly left.

All the previous battles took place in the Reflection World. Only the Dead Apostle who emerged from the Gravekeeper's body was taken away by the Raven... Did that guy not deal with it properly?
The malign derivatives induced by the Dead Apostles are no small matter. After all, these are not ordinary malign derivatives and could potentially cause widespread dimensional pollution.

Watching Angelica leave, Ji Li naturally overheard the information he had just heard:

"...It seems the commotion was a bit too big before. It should have been dealt with in the reflection world."

This somewhat slowed down the Knights' efficiency.

……

In the woods.

"Damn it, isn't this a bit too much..."

Looking at the strange creatures closing in from all sides, Sika felt somewhat ashamed.

They look like wild beasts from the jungle, but they are not real wild beasts at all. Instead, they are monster derivatives of the "emotions" left behind by those wild beasts in the forest, which have been corrupted.

The creatures before Sika were all now violet-eyed and in a frenzied state, launching indiscriminate attacks on everything around them.

At that moment, the air was ripped open by crimson light, and Angelica's figure brushed past Sika's side:
"What are you doing standing still?"

Sika was suddenly stunned:
"team leader!?"

Coming here so soon?
Then, realizing what was happening, he quickly said:

"The center of corruption is in the clearing ahead in the woods! Captain, it's all yours now!"

With a flap of her blood wings, Angelica took to the air and scanned the area, quickly confirming the extent of the corruption:

"This place isn't far from town, and there's a sawmill to the south. We need to resolve this as soon as possible; we can't let it spread..."

The instant the thought shifted, crimson light erupted from his eyes—

A spray of blood gushed from beneath her feet, surging and engulfing the jungle below.

A minute later, Sika, covered in blood, spat out a mouthful of red liquid, which was Angelica's spell from just now:
"Captain...aren't you in a bit too good shape?"

Angelica landed, dispelled the spell, and smiled slightly:
"After all, you've fully recovered and are back to your peak condition... You and Andrew go clean up the battlefield to make sure there's no residual spiritual energy."

As she watched the two disappear into the depths of the jungle, Angelica couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.

The malevolent derivatives we just killed were rather strange. Judging from their purple eyes, they didn't seem to be caused by the spirit of the previous dead apostle; they seemed more like…

Raven?

Besides, reaching the peak of the sixth rank feels pretty good. I should really start thinking about cultivating the first oath...

goo—

Her thoughts paused, and a strange feeling suddenly erupted from the depths of her soul. Angelica's pupils contracted sharply, and she clutched her chest abruptly—

Thump, thump, thump.

Her heart was pounding, her blood was rushing, and the trigger of her soul was trembling.

"what happened?"

A crimson hue appeared in her eyes. As a vampire, she knew perfectly well that this was the prelude to her bloodlust:
"Is it because of the large-scale use of spiritual energy just now?! But that shouldn't be the case..."

She suddenly gagged, quickly pulled out the blood packet, popped it open, and poured the contents into her mouth:

"Damn it... is it still because of Pulitzer's blood?!"

(End of this chapter)