The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　It charged straight in, heading towards the flesh-and-blood monster, even attempting to use its sword to cut open the mountain of flesh and blood, enter the monster's body, and hollow it out from the inside.

　"Roar--"

　Seeing that its flesh and blood attacks, which could devour life, were ineffective, the flesh and blood monster roared again and again. It barely managed to produce an eye from its rotting flesh and blood, glaring fiercely at the [Demon God Abyss Walker].

　Suddenly, a terrifying power of "time" found its way to the [Demon God Abyss Walker].

　And then—nothing happened!

　In the "Evil State," the [Demon God Abyss Walker] is unaffected by any divine power. Neither the power of life devouring nor the power of time stopping can affect it.

　To defeat it in this state, the only way is through raw power! But this flesh-and-blood monster's raw power...

　Honestly, it's really not good enough!

　Dark breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the [Demon God Abyss Walker] had withstood the erosion of the life-devouring power and the time-stopping power.

　His biggest worry was that after summoning the [Demon God Abyss Walker], he would find that its "unaffected by divine power" characteristic could not be triggered.

　After all, the other party's time and life divine power both originated from the "Snow Mountain Goddess".

　The divinity of the "Snow Mountain Goddess" far surpasses that of the "Demon God Abyss Walker."

　Fortunately, the monster that "descended from the heavens" was indeed not the soul or fragment of the "Snow Mountain Goddess's" divine consciousness. Although it possessed the power of the laws of time and life, it was not yet capable of ignoring the [Demon God Abyss Walker's] restraint. And once the restraint took effect, the [Demon God Abyss Walker] would be a complete and utter god-slayer!

　"Three minutes! Even if we can't kill it, we must reduce its divinity to the minimum!"

　Dark clenched his fist and stared intently at the battle between the Demon God Abyss Walker and the fleshy monster.

　Under the relentless onslaught of the [Demon God Abyss Walker], the fleshy monster's body finally stopped swelling. However, the blood flowing from its body flooded the floor and spread throughout the palace.

　Dark quickly led the maids to float, avoiding getting them covered in blood. From what they could see, the flesh-and-blood monster was no match for the [Demon God Abyss Walker].

　Despite its seemingly miserable situation, the flesh-and-blood monster's vitality did not seem to decline much.

　The attacks from the [Demon God Abyss Walker] only inhibited its life growth, thus offsetting it, but could not inflict truly fatal damage.

　Its life-regenerating power was constantly at work, and the flesh that had been shredded into blood plasma kept regenerating, actually managing to withstand the attack of the [Demon God Abyss Walker]!

　However, it certainly can't maintain this condition for long.

　Now it remains to be seen whether its regenerative ability will be weakened to the point where it can't keep up with the damage output of the [Demon God Abyss Walker], or whether the fusion time of the [Demon God Abyss Walker] will end first.

　the other side.

　When Alvit discovered that the magical spirit summoned by Dark had successfully suppressed the flesh monster, she was pleasantly surprised but immediately calmed down and continued to observe the mural.

　Suddenly, she noticed blood flowing down her feet, and instinctively lifted her feet, causing them to float upwards.

　Then she suddenly realized something, and immediately released her "Magic Hand," picking up a bit of blood from the ground and starting to scribble on the mural.

　When the blood was smeared on one of the dancers, she seemed to come alive and suddenly began to writhe.

　A flash of inspiration struck Arvitel's eyes.

　Then she opened her hand and suddenly grabbed a large handful of blood, splashing it onto the mural.

　One after another, images of dancers in different poses were smeared with blood. One after another, dancers came to life in the murals. One after another, dancers began to dance in the murals.

　After all the dancers were stained with blood, the mural depicted them singing and dancing.

　The curtains that obscured the dancers transformed into musical staves, and songs truly began to drift from them.

　As the song gradually spread throughout the palace, the enormous, fleshy monster began to tremble wildly.

　"Crash!"

　At a certain moment, the flesh and blood of the monster suddenly melted into blood, which poured down like a waterfall, causing the blood on the palace floor to rise and the entire palace to emit a foul stench.

　The barrier formed by the power of the rules that sealed the palace windows and doors began to flicker and was about to disappear.

　Suddenly, violent waves surged above the light gate, and a strong suction force emanated from it.

　Claire remained vigilant, and upon seeing this, she immediately swept her hand, directing the maid beside her toward the palace gate.

　The portal suddenly transformed into a gaping maw, sucking in large gulps of the flowing blood plasma from the ground.

　The palace floor dried up at an extremely rapid pace, leaving only some bloodstains that gradually darkened.

　Suddenly, a white light shone from where the flesh-and-blood monster had been. The white light burst forth from the blood plasma and flew into the air.

　The suction force emanating from the light gate suddenly increased, clearly trying to draw the white light into it as well.

　Claire frowned, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the white light that had been drawn towards her.

　Then she quickly retreated, creating distance between herself and the portal, eventually reaching the palace gate.

　Once the power of the rules that sealed the gate had completely disappeared, she took a step back and left the palace.

　The suction force emanating from the portal vanished instantly, and the whistling sound ceased.

　Only a slight ripple appeared on the light gate, as if nothing had ever happened.

　Everyone retreated outside the palace, their gazes fixed solemnly on the gate of light, their hearts churning with turmoil.

　That gate of light might not be a dead end, but it certainly harbors hidden dangers. If they fail to find a way to eliminate the flesh-and-blood monster, they'll likely have no choice but to retreat inside and become prey for some unknown monster.

　"Shall we go in?"

　After a brief silence, Claire's voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. "You lead the way."

　Arvit gave her a cold glance.

　Claire laughed and shook the object in her hand: "Then I won't give it to you."

　Arvit said directly, "I don't want to."

　"Hey." Claire chuckled and tossed what she was holding to Dark. Dark caught it instinctively and saw that it was a pearl radiating warmth.

　This pearl, the size of a pigeon's egg, contains an extremely rich life force. Upon closer inspection, one can even sense a divine essence concentrated at its very center. It is undoubtedly a divine artifact, a precious pearl imbued with the power of the laws of life!

　In practical terms.

　He contributed the second most this time, and since Aylvit didn't want it, the final spoils naturally fell to him.

　But it doesn't really matter who it's given to; it's just temporarily being kept by him.

　In short, give it to whoever needs it first.

　Dark did not immediately put it into the "Orb of Truth," but instead held it in his hand and examined it carefully.

Chapter 1697 Darkdemon's Temple Exploration Log (1)

　/3k)

　Although it looks just like a pearl, it is not actually a pearl. You will find that its material is very soft when you press it with your fingers; even a light press with your fingertip will cause it to sink in.

　Rather than a "pearl," it's more like a "flesh bead," more like a biological stone born from the body of that fleshy monster.

　However, the divinity and life force contained within it are not fake.

　After a moment's thought, Dark temporarily named it the "Orb of Life." The power of the rules contained within this "Orb of Life" should be of the "healing" type, and it is very likely the "life regeneration" ability possessed by flesh and blood monsters.

　Comparatively, Dark would prefer to obtain a jewel that could stop time.

　However, even if he obtained the orb that could stop time, he might not be able to use it.

　This "Life Orb" has no usage requirements whatsoever, giving the impression that anyone can use it, although the regenerative abilities it ultimately unleashes may vary slightly.

　In addition, because it is a biological material, it is more suitable for magical transmutation.

　But wouldn't it be too extravagant to use a divine orb to forge a magic card?

　Dark held the "Orb of Life" in his hand and played with it for a moment. Suddenly, he had an idea and handed it to the "Magic Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye".

　However, "Magic Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye" did not react after obtaining the orb, which disappointed him.

　He had a gut feeling that "Fantasy Beasts: Goddess of the Mind" and "Goddess of the Snow Mountain" were related.

　But the specifics of the relationship are still completely unclear. His previous guesses were both reasonable and unreasonable, and he himself couldn't quite figure it out.

　Looking back now, the relationship between "Magic Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye" and "Goddess of the Snow Mountain" might be even closer than he expected... who knows.

　"In short, guessing is useless. If we continue to explore at the current pace, we may naturally find clues."

　Darke composed himself and saw that Claire and Mercidis had already re-entered the palace.

　Perhaps because they did not possess the "Orb of Life," the suction force did not reappear within the portal.

　The two carefully made their way to the wall where the portal was located and locked the mechanism they had just managed to open.

　"Click." The wall closed again. The portal disappeared. The two breathed a slight sigh of relief.

　Dark waited until the portal completely disappeared before taking the "Orb of Life" and heading towards the palace.

　He first stepped his left foot over the threshold, and only after confirming that the door of light would not reappear did he step his right foot in as well.

　The palace had been almost completely washed away by the blood and gore of the monster, leaving mottled bloodstains everywhere, making it look like a crime scene.

　The mural on the wall returned to its original state after the flesh-and-blood monster disappeared.

　Even the bloodstains on the murals had vanished without a trace, as if they had all been absorbed by the dancers.

　Dark carefully circled the palace and found that there was nothing of value left inside. Even the two ice statues that had originally been behind the idols had been destroyed by the flesh-and-blood monster.

　He finally returned to the wall where the portal was located and saw Claire and Alvette discussing whether to enter the portal to explore.

　He couldn't help but interject, "My suggestion is to wait until we've explored all the temples before entering the portal again. By then, we might find some clues related to it. Then, we won't be completely clueless when we enter again." He didn't like venturing into completely unknown and dangerous places.

　In his view, that wasn't "adventure," but "suicide."

　Claire enjoys exploring the unknown, while Yarvit is relatively conservative. The final score was 2-1, a crushing defeat for Claire.

　...

　After her victory, Arvit picked up Dark and gave him a big kiss, then said, "The most valuable item in this temple is that mural. Although we can't move it right now, we can make a copy and use it as a basis to create the 'Descent of the Gods' ritual card."

　The "divine descent ritual" is, as the name suggests, a ritual to summon the gods.

　In Alvit's vision, it would be a ritual card specifically used to summon the "God Card".

　However, depending on the final result, it may very well become an exclusive ritual card that can only be used to summon the "Snow Mountain Goddess".

　However, the purpose of a mage's research is to find the possible from the impossible. Even if the final result is the latter, it can be changed through adjustments.

　In short, as long as there is a basic framework, further follow-up research can be conducted based on it.

　Although Alvit is known as a "Valkyrie," she is actually a research-oriented mage with exceptional patience.

　The three then each took out their recording magical sprites and copied the mural perfectly.

　That being said, only Alvitt actually has a record of the dancer's full appearance with her breasts covered.

　In addition, she also meticulously recorded the musical score that the question mark had transformed into.

　As for the portal that could be opened with a mechanism, Arvit determined it to be a seal.

　Beyond that seal lies a dungeon where evil spirits are imprisoned. Why are they called "evil spirits"?

　Because she felt that what lay beneath that seal was definitely not a good thing. While the "Snow Mountain Goddess" might not necessarily be a "benevolent deity," whatever it sealed and suppressed was also unlikely to be anything good.

　Conversely, even the "Snow Mountain Goddess" can only seal away, not kill, this monster. It's best not to approach it without adequate preparation.

　Although Arvit was conservative, she was not cowardly. Her choice not to explore the portal was naturally for a reason.

　Otherwise, since it's all about exploring the unknown, isn't the part beyond the temple also unknown?

　It's simply that the level of risk doesn't match the expected return, making it not worth the risk.

　Of course, as Darke said.

　After exploring the entire "Snow Mountain Goddess Temple", if there are any relevant clues, it is not impossible to return and re-enter the light gate to explore.

　By then, she also believes she will become stronger and be able to provide more protection for her teammates.

　The feeling of being suppressed by the power of rules controlled by gods is definitely not pleasant!

　Finally, the survey team marked the area on the map, rested for a while, and continued their exploration.

　Having gained experience fighting flesh-and-blood monsters, Dark and his companions had a clearer understanding of the upper limit of the opponents their team could fight.

　Without the constraints of powerful rules, Alvit is virtually invincible.

　Even if they encounter extremely difficult, almost godlike, bizarre creatures, as long as Claire is there to assist them, they still have a chance to defeat them.

　However, if they encounter an opponent who wields powerful rules, as long as the opponent is not so powerful as to be despairing, the [Demon God Abyss Walker] formed by the fusion of Dark's three "Demon Kings" can be considered a god killer, thus making up for the team's weakness in fighting gods.