Original God's Dark Priest

Chapter 938 The Ritual of the Brave 2

Ying Dian Dian went forward and placed the certificate on it.

As the evidence was placed in, the altar emitted a dull thud, followed by a shaking of the ground. The stones on the ground sank down, and an opening slowly emerged.

However, the entrance to the cave was clearly covered by a golden seal, and next to the entrance, there were four light and shadow effects, one gold and one green.

Upon seeing this, Paimon was astonished, but then she noticed something amiss: "So this is the ruins of that Fire-Stealing Sage... but the entrance seems to be blocked by something strange..."

"As expected, the trial of the Fire-Stealing Sage has begun here." Manco stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Saffir looked at the four orbs of light and shadow: "I think I know what this means."

The others looked at her, and she pointed to the light and shadow and said, "See? Four clusters of light and shadow, perfectly symmetrical in pairs. If this trial tests not only individual strength from the beginning, but also the level of understanding between humans and their dragon partners, then the appearance of those light and shadows makes perfect sense."

“Yes! The Fire-Stealing Sage seems to firmly believe that humans can guide and lead dragons to a future even more glorious than that of the ancient dragons.” Manco suddenly realized, “Perhaps it’s because he stole the method of using phlogiston from the dragons, and he seems to always feel guilty about it…”

He also hoped that humans and dragons could coexist on an equal footing. Perhaps based on this sentiment… the keepsake he left behind, according to the ancient scroll, states: “Humans and dragons each occupy their proper place…”

Krist looked completely bewildered, not understanding at all.

Paimon didn't understand either, and even complained, "I can't understand what you're saying at all!"

Manco scratched the back of his head: "Just like Lady Aurora said, humans and dragons must stand in their proper places to obtain the token."

“Excessive explanations will only complicate matters. In any case, we just need to be in the right position.” Saffir had completely understood.

Manco hesitated for a moment: "However, it is very difficult to make people and dragons think the same way, which is why the tribal trials require cultivating a tacit understanding between dragons and humans."

"Hmph, although I still don't quite understand, when it comes to teamwork, we're second to none." Paimon was incredibly confident, patting Krest beside him. "You agree, Krest!"

Krist was very excited and patted his belly in approval: "Wow!"

Ying seemed to have caught the bug and imitated Krest's voice: "Yay!"

Saffir glanced at Carmos, who rolled her eyes; she wasn't about to do something so embarrassing.

Saffir licked his lips, somewhat wanting to repeat himself, but…

Well, I'm an executive officer of the Fatui, a Liyue hermit, and a member of the Witch's Guild. I guess I'll pass.

"Hmm! Impressive! Well then, please try to open the barrier at the entrance." Manco felt as if he were about to witness history.

Opening the barrier is simple: the golden light and shadow represent people, and the green light and shadow represent dragons.

Ying and Saffir stood in the golden light and shadow, while Krest and Carmos stood in the green light and shadow, and the barrier automatically dissipated.

Both dragons were very intelligent, so there were no major incidents, and the barrier was quickly removed, allowing the group to continue their journey.

But here, Manco spoke up: "Gentlemen, I hope you can obtain the token in the ruins. I will wait here for good news."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Paimon asked, somewhat puzzled.

Manco shook his head: "I don't have any dragon companions who need to undergo trials, so I won't go."

“The ruins are probably related to the trial. If Manco goes in, it might have an impact. Besides…” Saffir glanced at Manco, “the trial isn’t safe. If he comes along, we’ll have to worry about protecting him. It’s better for him to stay outside.”

And so, Ying, Paimon, and Saphir led Krest and Karmos into the ruins.

The ruins were covered in moss, and the ground was slippery. Paimon felt uncomfortable floating in mid-air: "It seems like no one has been here for a long time."

Saffir nodded: "After all, the Flame Lord's Blessing is not a very common curse, and not many people would choose such a little dragon as their partner. Even fewer people have the courage to help their dragon partner break the curse."

The last person to attempt this was probably Menelik five hundred years ago.

"It really is desolate," Ying sighed.

The group continued forward, passing through a corridor, and finally arrived at a broken floorboard.

Looking down, it was a bottomless abyss. Krest was visibly nervous, not knowing what awaited him below.

Noticing Krest's mood, Paimon comforted him, "What's wrong? Is it too high? It's okay, just hold onto Brightman tight, or you can hold my hand!"

Krest nodded, hugged Ying's leg, and Ying chuckled and patted Krest's head. She then exchanged a glance with Saffir, and the two nodded together before leaping down.

The hole was very deep, and the group continued to fall. Sapphire, who was stronger, quickly spoke up, saying, "We're almost at the bottom. There's a pool of water below, so it's fine."

“Okay!” Ying reached out and hugged Krest, then plunged down, falling straight into the pool.

Saffir followed closely behind, falling slightly slower as she used her wings to cushion her descent.

Karmos is a pterosaur that doesn't like water. Even though Beidou is a captain who deals with seawater every day, he hates water after becoming a pterosaur.

Therefore, instead of plunging headfirst into the pool like Ying, Safiel chose to cushion her fall with her wings and gently landed on the edge of the pool.

"Ugh, how could she be so elegant? Sapphire is so cunning!" Ying looked at Sapphire, whose clothes were perfectly clean, and then at herself, who was soaking wet, and felt a little annoyed.

They were used to adventuring with Paimon and didn't feel embarrassed at all, but compared to Saffir, they suddenly felt as rude as barbarians.

Saffir didn't laugh at her, but simply looked away and said, "Alright, we're almost there."

Ahead lies a door, behind which is a vast space; this must be our destination.

Ying nimbly climbed ashore and followed Saffir through the gate.

As soon as they entered, a voice appeared in both her and Saffir's minds: "Chosen one of the dragons... open this door and enter the hall... step into the corridor of audience."

The hall is filled with many mechanisms, and behind these mechanisms lies a point similar to the entrance, where both humans and dragons must take their positions.

Paimon saw through the trick: "Wow...it seems that's the real entrance to the ruins. Just like the entrance to the tunnel at the beginning, it also has a strange barrier."

"Yay! Yay!" Krist nodded, eager to try.

Carmos tilted his head without making a sound, but the disdain in his eyes was obvious.

Saffir knew what she meant; it was clearly treating people like fools. But dragons' intelligence was different from that of adults. Young dragons were like children. Although the mechanisms here were not difficult, they were still a bit tricky for some adults, let alone children.

Karmos was certainly not the kind of adult who needed to ask Yueyue's mother for help with even the simplest tasks; this kind of trial was no challenge for her at all.

Paimon said very seriously to Krest, "Then just like at the entrance to the ruins, Glow and Sapphire will go under the yellow device on the left, while Krest and Carmos will go under the green device on the right."

Seeing the little guy's serious expression as he gave instructions, Saffir wanted to laugh, but he obediently cooperated.

This time, however, they were going to a much farther place than before, and there were many obstacles along the way. They even needed the dragon to activate mechanisms to pave the way for them.

Of course, there are also places where people need to activate mechanisms to pave the way for the dragon.

This is where the real test of teamwork between humans and dragons begins.

Carmos and Krest began their test, while Ying watched nervously.

Saffir patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, they're very smart."

Ying nodded slightly: "But I'm still worried. Aren't you worried about Carmos at all, Saphir?"

“I’m not worried,” Saffir shrugged. “She can fly, and so can I. If all else fails, we can just fly over there.”

"This..." Ying and Paimon choked at the same time, it seemed that this was indeed the case.

Moreover, both Ying and Paimon could see that although Carmos wasn't as lively as Crester, he was clearly smarter, more human-like, and even...

It feels a bit more reliable than Paimon.

For example, right now, Carmos is patiently teaching Crester how to activate the mechanism and how to plan the route.

The two little guys hummed and laughed for a while, and Krest nodded in understanding. Then he activated the mechanism in front of him, and a floating platform slowly landed in front of Ying and Saffir.

Saffir gave Ying a look: "Let's go."

Stepping onto the platform and moving slowly forward, Paimon exclaimed, "Carmos has really been a great help. With it around, we've saved ourselves a lot of trouble."

“This is also a trial for Karmos.” As they spoke, the platform was in place, and Saffir activated the mechanism to pave the way for the dragon.

Thus, humans and dragons worked together to successfully reach their destination, open the barrier, and enter the next door.

Looking at the two little dragons that came to him together, Paimon was overjoyed: "Hehe, Krest, Carmos, you did it, amazing."

Krest was quite pleased with Paimon's praise, while Carmos didn't react much, only nodding slightly.

"Carmos seems very mature," Paimon remarked, though he didn't mind.

Ying said with a teasing look, "Maybe he's even more mature than Paimon."

"How could that be! Ying, that's going too far!" Paimon retorted, feeling that he couldn't possibly lose to a young dragon. "Anyway, I don't know why, but I feel like Krest and the others have become more reliable, and I feel really happy about that."

“He seems even more reliable than Paimon,” Ying added.

Krist wholeheartedly agreed: "Ah!"

"Hey!" Paimon stomped his foot angrily in the air.

Saffir chuckled and stopped them: "Alright, it's time to move on."

The group continued forward, with Krist making sounds as he walked: "...boom, woo? woo?"

Its voice sounded like crying. Saffir frowned slightly, took a closer look, and realized that it wasn't crying, but rather imitating the sound of crying. Seeing that it was looking at Paimon with concern, Saffir understood.

Paimon understood what Kristen meant, and she shook her head, saying, "No, I'm not angry, and I don't want to cry."

“…Hmm, ya? ya?” Krist spoke again.

This time, Saffir understood; it was meant to make Paimon happy.

Paimon, somewhat helpless, gave in and said, "Alright, alright, I'll do it!"

"Wow!" Krist was delighted.

Carmos surprisingly exclaimed "Ah!" as well.

Saffir looked at her with some surprise; this guy had changed quite a bit.

Ying looked at the two little dragons and Paimon: "You're starting to understand each other a little better?"

“It seems so. I’m starting to understand what Krest means.” Saffir nodded. She and Karmos had always been on the same wavelength, not only because they were familiar with Beidou, but also because their souls were connected, which was much closer than that between a human and a dragon.

Their teamwork is off the charts.

Paimon thought this was normal: "That's how it is when you spend a lot of time together. Sometimes I can tell what kind of dish you want to cook just by seeing you reach into your backpack for ingredients."

As she spoke, she began to give an example: "Hmm, hmm, it's probably... Teyvat omelet! And sure enough, I guessed right."

"Paimon, how scary!" Ying exclaimed in surprise.

Saffir was also surprised, but what surprised her was that these two actually had the leisure to cook for themselves; she didn't know how long it had been since she had stepped into the kitchen.

Suppressing his surprise, Saffir realized that he would indeed need to cook again soon, otherwise his skills would become rusty, which wouldn't be good.

Paimon and Luminous continued their conversation: "Hmph, I have many truly terrifying aspects that you've never experienced! Ugh... I'm getting a little hungry just talking about it."

"Then hurry up and go back once you find the token. I'll cook today, and you can eat whatever you want." Saffir had decided to cook, so he settled the matter today.

Ying and Paimon cheered together, "Yay!"

Carmos cheered, "Wow!"

Krist tilted his head, then cheered, "Yay!"

Seeing the excited little ones, Saffir chuckled: "Alright, let's get going, or it'll be dark soon."

The group quickly headed deeper into the ruins, their pace quickened considerably thanks to the delicious food.

Everyone present, except for Krest, had tasted Saphir's cooking. His otherworldly dishes were simply a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, leaving one wanting more after each bite.

Unfortunately, Saffir is too busy and doesn't have time to work in the hearth. To be honest, both Luminous and Paimon, as well as Carmos, have been craving this dish for a long time.

The three of them secretly resolved that they would definitely have a hearty meal later.