novelonline Chapter 3671 What if
Chapter 3671 What if
Chapter 3671 What if
"Shangquan" is a spring. Since it's not visible at first glance, it's most likely buried under the snow, and Shad certainly couldn't see it with the naked eye. He actually had the ability to summon flames to melt the snow covering the entire ruins, but considering that the seal might be located here, he didn't do so.
Therefore, the only places he could quickly find were the temple and the functional areas at the highest peak of the mountain, so Shad headed up with a clear goal.
The ancient god's temple was located in the heart of this ruin, exactly the same as the one he had seen in the snowy mountains. However, Shad didn't approach it, but instead circled around it from a distance. He then climbed a snow slope and arrived at a high platform behind the ruins.
The snow slope ends at the south of the high platform, while the gray stone tower stands at the edge of the plaza, guarding the western side of the peak. After passing through three archways whose designs are remarkably similar to the archway at the end of the "Pilgrimage Route," Shad also arrives at the edge of the plaza.
Snow covered the square, and some stone pillars stood around the edge of the square, forming a circle. A few pillars that were close together were connected to each other by gray boulders at their tops.
It's clear that there should have been hundreds of stone pillars standing here, but now only these remain.
"Oracle Square? The place where ancient extraordinary beings called upon the god of destiny to descend."
Although a sense of solemnity permeated the air, there were still no obvious traces of ancient artifacts. Shad moved closer to examine the stone pillars; some ancient language remained on them, and he translated a few sentences:
The ouroboros is a circle, and the circle represents fate.
Fate is unpredictable; may fate protect you and me.
[A timeless philosophical thought, connected from beginning to end, leads to the attainment of a wise and complete individual through self-examination.]
They all looked like prayers or sentences from religious texts that Shad had never read, and they didn't seem to have any power.
He sighed, and as he stood on the edge of the crooked stone pillar, looking around, he vaguely felt that the scene before him was somewhat familiar. Then, stepping through the thick snow, he walked to the center of "Oracle Square," looked up at the sky, and asked himself:
"This should be the place where I can release my sublime thoughts, right?"
【certainly. 】
This means that low-level Ascendancy words for summoning Fifth Age witches can be used here as long as one has enough spirit.
As for intermediate-level advanced words, conditions such as "under the moon", "an enemy that Luvia has defeated head-on" and "luck is reduced for a period of time after casting the spell" must be met.
However, Shad was certain that Rapunzel must have defeated "Mr. Snake," and she couldn't possibly avoid facing the strongest enemy at the end of the story, especially since this was a story of destiny.
"At least this is good news."
Shad thought to himself that he would deal with the God of Misfortune himself, and if the opportunity arose, he could summon the long-haired girl to help deal with Mr. Snake. As for the temporary decrease in his luck, Shad considered it a completely worthwhile price to pay.
"In that sense, long before the ancient times, before the beginning of the old days, the god of fate also stood here just like me."
He didn't develop any arrogant thoughts that "the god of fate is just like me." He simply thought about the unpredictability of fate, looked down at his feet and sighed, then bent down and brushed away the thick layer of snow, wondering if he could find any traces of ancient gods here.
This was obviously wishful thinking, but there was indeed something beneath the snow. On the rough, weathered stone pavement, a dusty gray ring was embedded, its position precisely in the center of the entire "Oracle Square."
At first, Shad thought it was decoration, or a pattern designed by fortune tellers to help locate the center. But when his hand touched the cold ground, with a soft hum, the dusty ring seemed to light up as if by his hand, immediately emitting a golden light.
"what?"
Startled, Shad instinctively took two steps back, then immediately realized what it was:
"The Ring of Fate?"
A large, star-blue book appeared beside him, and "she" softly read it aloud to Xia De:
[The Ring of Fortune - Luck: This is a destiny where everything goes smoothly.]
[Interpretation of Fate: Luck and misfortune are two sides of fate; here we are talking about luck.]
[Effect: Those who possess this destiny will receive good fortune.]
Even without a professional diviner to explain it to Xia De, he himself knew the special nature of this Ring of Fate. It was left in the very spot where the god of fate had appeared in ancient times, in the very center of the plaza prepared for the god's descent—that was enough to explain everything.
"Could this be the benefit of entering the ruins ahead of time?"
Shad immediately tried to dig out the ring embedded in the ground, but after attempting it, he found that he couldn't do it.
The ring seemed to have completely blended into the entire plaza. When he tried to risk damaging the paving stones to retrieve the ring and then use time reversal to repair them, he was surprised to find that the moment he made a move, all the runes on the remaining stone pillars around him lit up.
"What do you mean?"
Shad then realized that he couldn't retrieve the ring himself. It wasn't just integrated with the plaza; it was practically integrated with the entire ruins. This Ring of Fate held the power of the entire ruins together. Although it didn't seem to be used to seal "Mr. Snake," it was best for Shad not to act unless he wanted to completely destroy the place.
"So, isn't now the time to receive 'luck'?"
It's frustrating to have a treasure right in front of you but not be able to get your hands on it, but the outsider wasn't the greedy type. Although he felt regret, he had no doubt that the Ring of Destiny could eventually be retrieved, but that was a matter for later. The story of fate wasn't over yet, and "luck" shouldn't be on his side.
The south side of the plaza marks the end of the snow slope, the west side is a tall tower, and the east side is the ruins located at a lower point on the mountain. Therefore, the north side should be the end of the ruins—the Cliff of the Saints.
Shad stood in the center of the square and looked over there for a moment, but finally decided to go to the tower first and leave the cliff for last.
According to information revealed by Leigh Priscilla, the tower is called the "Tower of All Things." Shad initially thought it was for astrology, but when he arrived at the foot of the tower, he inexplicably felt that it seemed to have other uses.
He didn't sense the entrance to the spatial labyrinth or the leaping of the Primordial Flame; rather, he felt that the tower was both real and unreal.
"A strange feeling."
As the only intact building besides the temple itself, this tower has no doors, but there is a light purple barrier at the entrance below to prevent wind and snow from entering.
"Could it be another rune lock?"
He reached out to touch it, initially feeling resistance, but as a faint purple light flashed across the back of his hand, his hand passed through smoothly. Luvia described "noble destiny" as a qualification, and clearly, this qualification could be effective here.
Shad smiled and was about to go in to check on the situation when he unexpectedly heard the rustling sound of shoes crushing the snow behind him.
A calm male voice spoke behind him:
"Please do not enter this tower."
"Who?"
Shad immediately turned around and saw a blond man in a white robe standing not far behind him.
He held a rolled-up parchment scroll in his hand and looked at him with a mysterious expression that suggested he would only say half of what he meant.
At first glance, the other person appeared to be an ordinary person, but there were no patterns or information about race above their head, while a powerful whispering aura grew stronger with prolonged observation. This person's aura was very unique; like the tower behind Shad, they seemed to exist, yet also felt nonexistent.
"Humanoid relic. Angel-level. No, unknowable-level?"
He really didn't expect to encounter such a being here, and for a moment he couldn't even be sure if his conclusion was correct.
The blond man then took the initiative to introduce himself:
"Unknowable Relic - [If], a tribute to you."
As he spoke, he bowed slightly, and Xia De immediately remembered that he had heard of this relic.
Last spring, after the Academy conducted a second background check on the group of five, they were warned that Tobesk was suspected of containing an unknown-level relic - if (Chapter 1554).
At that time, the Green Lake incident broke out, the Mirror Society and the Edwards family appeared, and Laplace Howard showed his true colors. While Shad was busy with things at Green Lake, he was also on guard against actually encountering "what if" in Topesque. But in the end, the relic did not appear - in fact, Iluna encountered "what if".
Earlier this month, when I met Adele in the apocalypse of the past, Adele also mentioned this relic. It possesses the ability to write and is a superior replacement for the angelic relic, the [Kaleidoscope of Crossroads].
Aside from that, Xia De didn't know much about it. Although he had anticipated some unexpected events during this exploration of the mountaintop ruins, the current situation was still rather terrifying.
The few unknown relics of Shad whose characteristics are known include [Desire], [Between Life and Death], [Time of Rewind], [Solid Foundation of Destiny], and [Book of Time], each possessing immense power and unique properties. Among them, the "humanoid" version of Desire is so powerful that outsiders still cannot describe it.
Xia De didn't know whether the "what if" before him was stronger or weaker than "desire," but at his current level, he was definitely no match for the other party.
The outsider had mentally prepared to retreat, but he at least outwardly maintained a calm demeanor:
"Hello. You won't let me into this tower? Do you know anything about it?"
Shad asked, and the man holding the parchment nodded slightly:
"The land we are standing on right now has a function that transcends the imagination of mortals in every area. The Oracle Plaza was once the place where that ancient god of fate descended, and the tower next to that plaza is not just a simple astrological tower."
The tower, named Wanxiang, represents the myriad possibilities of fate, and its history predates most races in this world. Before the end of the mythological era, only those diviners who had the potential to ascend to demigod status and understood the myriad aspects of fate were allowed to set foot within it.
The power of the Tower of Myriad Manifestations is similar to the power I possess, containing countless possibilities. Entering it reveals not the tower's interior, but worlds born from other possibilities. Only by finding one's true destiny within these infinite possibilities can one be called a demigod.
Shad blinked:
"Are you trying to tell me that this Tower of All Things behind me connects to other parallel worlds?"