Volume 5: Gathering Storm 012. Divine Authority

  At the end of reason, there is a vast expanse of empty land that appears to be enormous. The ground is covered with all sorts of colorful flowers, but what's eerie is that although these flowers are bright and beautiful, people in the area can vaguely sense a strange "death energy" emanating from them.

  These flowers look so lifelike, are they all dead?

  Moreover, among the clusters of flowers, one could vaguely see from the ground a pale skeleton, Du Fan's eyes flickered for a moment, and he was shocked to discover that this empty land was entirely paved with skeletons.

  He was getting stranger by the minute, and without hesitation he rushed to the edge of the empty space. With a wave of his hand, a stream of air shot out from his fingertips, blowing up a small flower. However, after floating in mid-air for half a moment, the little flower suddenly turned into a puff of powder.

  Du Fan's face changed, and for a moment he didn't know what to do. His strong spiritual sense told him that there seemed to be some kind of strange power hidden in this empty space, but he couldn't sense what it was.

  The footprints of Orudas have disappeared for some reason, leaving only this eerie empty space, making people look at each other in dismay.

  Nicholas slightly closed his eyes, and after a moment, slowly opened them again, shaking his head: "It seems we've indeed come to the right place, I can no longer feel any other aura... Around us, it's as if there's an endless divine power."

  Du Fan furrowed his brow and said: "Then this place..."

  Nicholas said: "We must be passing through here, as for what's behind this, haven't we already known the answer long ago?"

  As he spoke, Nicholas stretched out his hand and pointed forward. Following the direction of his gesture, one could see at the far end of the open space a broad flight of steps. The staircase was not long, but for some reason it completely concealed what lay behind it, giving an impression as vague as that produced by a glimpse of something through the mist.

  Du Fan and others couldn't see clearly what it was, but they could all vaguely feel the infinite divine power emanating from it. Nicolas, who had been cultivating in the holy land for a long time, was extremely sensitive to divine power, and within an instant, his face turned pale and he almost fainted.

  He didn't dare to do anything else, but quickly assumed a praying posture and began to chant softly.

  Du Fan and Tasia both felt the divine power, although not as profound as Nicholas', but also not to be underestimated. Both of them had their own reactions in a hurry.

  Tasia didn't know what she had done, but her face suddenly calmed down.

  But Du Fan withdrew his spiritual sense and didn't dare to sense anything casually again, only then did he slowly calm down after a moment.

  That indescribable aura of majesty almost made people collapse instantly, fortunately several people's faith was sincere, although they were frightened, but also did not suffer any substantial harm.

  It was Alfred's dozens of Templar Knights, although their strength was not bad, but their spiritual power was limited. In the absence of active detection, they did not sense anything.

  After a long time, Nicholas finally let out a long sigh and suddenly said: "I probably know what's going on with everything in front of me now."

  Du Fan looked at him and said: "Please instruct me, Mr. Nicholas."

  Nicholas slowly bowed his head and said, "God says that everything I have created will be eternal, and everything that blasphemes me will perish. However, eternity and extinction will coexist at the same time."

  Du Fan furrowed his brow and didn't speak.

  Nicholas continued to explain, "These flowers in front of us represent the eternity created by God, while these withered bones represent the extinct blasphemers, probably... that's what it means..."

  Several of them were from the Sacred Court, and they had been familiar with the scriptures since childhood, so when Nicholas explained it a little, they all roughly understood what was going on.

  Everything in front of us is not a trap, but rather a proof that the place after this empty land is the temple they are going to. Otherwise, how could such things exist casually? It's not easy to gather these countless dry bones.

  As soon as they realized this, a few people's eyes had a hint of fervor.

  At last, Nicholas nodded slightly and made a gentle gesture with his hand.

  Two Knights Templar flashed across the empty space like lightning, until they safely reached the edge of the stairs, and only then did the hearts of several people on this side let go.

  After a moment, everyone was already on the stairs.

  Standing in this place, everything before one's eyes has already become completely different from before.

  In the sky, it is unknown when it started, a fierce sacred flame has been burning, any dark creature that even gazes at this sacred flame will be incinerated into ashes.

  Du Fan and others naturally understood that they absolutely could not easily enter the Temple of Gods, and the road ahead would be the most difficult to walk.

  Wave after wave of infinite pressure came from somewhere, making people tremble all over, several Temple Knights who could not bear the pressure were already crawling on the stairs, their faces solemn and sacred, in the face of endless divine power, they probably forgot the purpose of this trip.

  Du Fan once again felt that suffocating pressure, this time the feeling was several times stronger than before. He struggled to mobilize his Qi and body's Dou Qi to resist, but found that for some reason, the bright Dou Qi had no effect at all in front of this divine might.

  It's just that his Wan Fa seems to still have some effect, so he won't end up like those few Temple Knights who crawled away back then.

  At this moment, no one can take care of others, everyone can only close their eyes and walk slowly up the short stairs, which is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

  Du Fan felt his whole body numb as he walked, the endless divine power was not something that a small human could resist. His strong spiritual power formed a thin layer of protection on Du Fan's body, which alleviated his trembling to some extent.

  Finally, after a century-long time, Du Fan suddenly felt relaxed all over, he quickly opened his eyes to find that he had already left the stairs just now and was standing in front of the Temple of Gods.

  Before one's eyes, there is an indescribable vastness. Under the boundless holy light, a majestic and solemn temple stands there. In front of the temple, everything around it has faded away, leaving only a white marble road leading directly to the temple.

  Du Fan was at a loss for what to do next, standing there in a daze, his mind in disarray.

  After a moment, several more people appeared behind him one after another. Dozens of Temple Knights followed, but fewer than five were able to keep up. Fortunately, Nicholas and the others all made it safely into the area.

  Everyone present was shocked by the scene before their eyes, and although the heavy divine majesty had dissipated at this moment, each person still couldn't speak out of astonishment.

  Finally, Nicholas slowly took a deep breath, as if he had felt the sanctity in the air, and then said in a low voice: "So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."

  Du Fan looked at him and didn't say anything.

  "However, Alfred said in a low voice: "Your Excellency Nicholas, what is going on here?"

  Nicholas smiled faintly and said, "This is what's called a miracle. The place we're in right now is no longer the Roland continent, nor is it anywhere else, not even belonging to any place, but a separate..."

  At this point, Nicholas Saint seemed unable to think of a suitable adjective and slightly furrowed his brow.

  Du Fan suddenly sighed beside him and said, "It should be a separate space, right?"

  Nicholas looked at Du Fan in surprise, unable to help but say: "Du Fan is indeed extraordinary, actually able to understand this point... it seems that Du Fan is a rare talent that appears only once in a hundred years, I really underestimated you before."

  Nicholas looked at Dufan with a profound gaze, then continued: "We can understand it this way, the Divine Palace is not located on the Roland continent, but exists in an independent space created by God. This existence is beyond our comprehension... However, that's not important to us... What matters is that the Divine Palace exists at this moment..."

  Several people exchanged a glance, although they were all puzzled in their hearts, but they also knew that no one present could explain everything clearly. Perhaps the Pope, who was sitting in the holy city, as the person closest to God on this road, might have a little understanding of this situation.

  Nicholas thought for a moment, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he waved his hand and walked towards the Temple of God.

  Alfred hesitated for a moment and said: "Nicholas-sama, there are still our people outside..."

  Nicholas turned to look at Alfred, sighed and said: "I've said it before, after entering this valley, everything is already destined. The glory of the Supreme God is above that of the Bright God, he gazes down on the continent, how could he let go of any corner? Those who cannot enter this place... their faith is ultimately not pious enough. As for those present, since you have all entered, there's no need for me to say more about what comes next."

  At this time, Nicholas had become the de facto leader of the group, and no one else dared to say anything more, they just nodded slightly and quickly followed in Nicholas' footsteps.