The Thirty-Two Transcendent Paths
Loruze withdrew his gaze and continued speaking:
"The sea of memories originating from all living beings, the chaotic rules from the upper worlds, and the complete information from the lower worlds together support this layer of reality."
"Therefore, many of the laws of reality we are familiar with do not apply here."
"At the same time, powers from the upper world will merge with certain concepts in reality or fragments of memory from living beings, giving birth to peculiar monsters."
"The Six Major Churches have collectively named these monsters 'Realm Fiends'."
As he said this, Loruze pointed to a massive shadow curled up in the corner of the room, which finally made Isabella notice the large, eerie shadow that had somehow appeared without her realizing it.
"Realm Fiends usually wander the Manifest Realm. But when night falls and the moon rises, and spirituality becomes active, they enter reality."
"At that time, these mindless monsters will reveal their most terrifying side."
Hearing Loruze's words, Isabella asked curiously:
"Why do they enter reality when the moon rises and spirituality becomes active?"
Before Loruze could answer, Lakdevo's voice rang out:
"Ka!"
"When the moon rises, the surge in spiritual activity blurs the boundaries between the Spiritual Realm, the Manifest Realm, and the Material Realm."
"And the Material Realm, whose full name is 'the World of Matter', is the fourth layer of reality—our present world."
After speaking, the fat crow glanced subtly at Sylvia, catching the trace of doubt she intentionally showed. He then continued explaining:
"The God of Spirituality, who holds the Authority of Spirituality, is known in this era by the revered title of 'Mother of the Moon' because Her symbolic manifestation in the Spiritual Realm is a vast full moon."
"When the moon rises in reality, Her power is projected onto it, causing that problematic moon to appear different from its true form to ordinary people."
"However, the power of a god is too immense. Her divinity is enough to induce certain changes in the world, and the blurring of the boundaries between realms is one of them."
Just then, Sylvia's voice suddenly broke in:
"A problematic moon?"
At the same time, the puppet girl narrowed her eyes slightly, and in her mind, that image of a broken moon surfaced once more.
"Ka!"
"After the fall of the Ancient Moon God, the concept representing the moon became incomplete."
"Therefore, looking directly at the true moon leads to misfortune."
"Misfortune?"
Sylvia asked back, puzzled.
"Perhaps, one would suffer a curse from a god."
"Huh?"
The puppet girl grew even more bewildered and asked:
"So, does the moon you see appear in a broken state?"
At that moment, everyone present fell silent.
"No, Your Grace."
Loruze responded:
"Although I don't know the exact reason, the higher-ups of the Church have clearly warned us never to try and see the moon clearly."
"Those who gaze upon the true moon shall bear the curse of a god."
"That is something left behind after the fall of the Ancient Moon God," Lakdevo said in a deep voice.
"…I see."
Sylvia spoke no more, but her thoughts churned rapidly:
So what I saw was the true moon, wasn’t it?
Could something happen?
But I didn’t feel anything at all.
There shouldn't be a curse capable of escaping my perception, after all, my essence is divine.
Then was Lakdevo mistaken? That seems unlikely. The God of Death and the Ancient Moon God must have some kind of connection. Their understanding of the Ancient Moon God surely runs deeper than anyone else's.
Then what was going on?
Just as Sylvia sank into thought, the room simultaneously fell into silence.
A few seconds later, Isabella’s somewhat confused voice rang out:
"What’s wrong?"
"Wasn’t this... the basic mysticism class for me?"
Seeing this, Loruze gave a light cough and continued speaking:
"Apologies, I was momentarily distracted."
"We’ve finished discussing the concept of the four layers of the world, now let’s talk about the thirty-two transcendent paths."
Thirty-two?
Sylvia drew in a sharp breath inwardly.
"Of course, apart from these thirty-two paths, there are other transcendent paths as well."
"However, those were creations of the evil gods. Either they come with enormous drawbacks, or they simply lead nowhere."
"The essence of becoming transcendent is simple—it’s about causing one’s spiritual star to attract transcendent power from the Spiritual Realm, thereby undergoing a qualitative transformation."
"Therefore, there are two ways to step into transcendence. The first is through divine blessing, becoming a transcendent of the corresponding domain directly. But this method is extremely difficult and rarely attainable."
As Loruze spoke, a certain fat crow instinctively glanced at Sylvia, who was listening attentively, but didn’t dare to speak up.
"And the second method is the one most people choose: holding a ritual using spiritual materials to make our spiritual star in the Spiritual Realm converge with the corresponding transcendent power and step into transcendence."
"Spiritual materials?"
Isabella repeated the term.
"Materials rich in spirituality—these are the materials harvested from Realm Fiends."
Loruze stated calmly.
"So in a way, the invasion of reality by Realm Fiends isn’t entirely a bad thing. At the very least, besides hunting deep within the Manifest Realm, they provide a relatively safer means for us to acquire materials."
At that moment, there was a faint fluctuation in his tone—something like mockery, or perhaps sorrow.
Isabella nodded thoughtfully, and Loruze’s voice continued:
"Once you step into transcendence, your spiritual star will begin to expand on its own. When it reaches a certain threshold, you can perform the appropriate ritual again to draw in more transcendent power and further evolve."
"In this way, a transcendent will grow stronger."
"For instance, I am a transcendent who has completed the second evolution."
At that moment, Lakdevo’s voice rang out:
"The limit for such evolution is three times."
"If you want to complete the fourth evolution, you’ll need to obtain divinity. Once you do, you will become an apostle walking upon the earth."
Sylvia and Isabella nodded simultaneously.
The next moment, the blonde girl tilted her head and looked at Loruze, asking:
"Uncle Loruze, what are the thirty-two transcendent paths? And which one would suit me?"
Before Loruze could respond, the topic was intercepted by Lakdevo:
"Ka!"
"Unfortunately, little girl, none of the thirty-two orthodox transcendent paths are suitable for you."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because your soul has already been infused with the divinity of a certain great being, so you don’t have a choice."
As his words fell, Loruze’s eyes flew wide open, staring at Isabella in disbelief.
At that moment, envy, greed, and other emotions tangled in his gaze—but in the next second, he suppressed them.
Seeing this, Sylvia nodded in satisfaction and spoke:
"Devoutly serve my Lord, and you too shall receive the same blessing."
Of course, this was just bait.
She mumbled quietly in her heart:
Given my current divinity, it’s already nearly impossible to divide it any further.
Looks like the plan to spread faith needs to be moved up the schedule.
Then, she subconsciously glanced at the fat crow:
This guy knows my identity… acting like this is so embarrassing!
"Yes, Your Grace."
Under Isabella’s slightly smug gaze, Loruze’s body trembled a little as he bowed respectfully to Sylvia.