Chapter Thirteen: Title: Seal Key

It is said that the joy of harvest is proportional to the amount given. At least in the world of killing, this holds true to some extent, provided one still has passion in their heart.
Even in the harshest cold and deepest wounds, nothing can stop the sweetness and pleasure that come from harvest. For Neo, saving and protecting were also forms of harvest. This time, the harvest would be double—not only another achievement and satisfaction from fulfilling his desire to “think and do,” but also the spirits of this realm would not treat him harshly. In fact, Neo felt he had already received a great gift: the power drawn from Ferren. He felt he had merged with Ferren, but not in the form of a soul as Ferren intended, rather in terms of power!
Vast power!
After being absorbed and refined, it erupted like an earthquake and tsunami!
“Ahhhh…” Before he could revert from his werewolf state, every pore on Neo’s body expanded, and then a new green light burst forth. This light spread in all directions before converging upward, as if a strong wind was blowing from beneath Neo’s feet, shaping the light into a blazing column.
At that moment, Neo found he had almost lost control of his body. He could only feel the thrumming energy and then start worrying, like any ordinary person, that he might burst at any moment…
The directed beam grew even more magnificent, eventually forming a light column over 3 meters in diameter and 10 meters in height. Neo, along with his armor weighing over 320 pounds, was lifted into the air and suspended within this column.
Now, Neo wasn’t worried about bursting; instead, he regretted wasting such energy. He had risked his life to gather it, only to release it in a spectacular display that circulated through his body, causing harm—what was the point?
Many years later, when recalling this scene, Neo would sigh, “Faced with events out of ignorance, foolishness and awkwardness ensued.” At that time, he had almost confused power and energy, treating energy like water or food. Losing energy meant shrinking, being depleted, losing power… So he felt like a bamboo basket that got wet but failed to retain the water.
Almost simultaneously with these changes on Neo’s side, in the nearby giant pit, the mutated willow vines unfolded like a flower with spiraling petals, their green-lit roots moving to unlock the condensed knot.
The chalice-shaped stone platform was fully revealed, its engraved symbols glowing as light flowed upward toward the bright green mass at its apex.
It was as if a pure spring was cleansing everything, or as if a translucent veil had been lifted. The green light, rippling like water, shed layer after layer of intensity, becoming fresher and purer. Then, seemingly in response to the light on Neo, this new green mass surged with intense brilliance after Neo’s light column stabilized, transforming into countless strands of light that flew toward him one after another.

The scenery of that period was a splendor that no magic in the world could fully imitate. Yet the only one who was observing it was Neo, who, anxious and passively accepting an inevitable future, had no mood to notice such beauty. And even if he had, he would have dismissed it as mere magic—perhaps just a more mysterious kind.

A strange howl, like the sound of flame suddenly subsiding as it passed through a hole, echoed. The new green light finally faded, and a crystal bead inscribed with unknown symbols fell.

Crack! The chalice-shaped stone platform shattered into fragments and dust.

At the same time, the pillar of light that held Neo aloft also stopped abruptly and vanished completely.

Bang!

“Oh!” Neo was unprepared for this fall and was thrown hard to the ground.

“Hm?” Despite the pain, Neo found that his severe injuries had improved significantly. Though still unable to move freely, it seemed he wouldn’t have to lie on the ground for hours or wait for rescue in such misery.

“Oh! Damn it!” When trying to stand up, Neo realized his armor could no longer bear the weight—it was black and porous like charcoal, and even the slightest movement caused it to crumble into fragments. If the armor suffered such fate, his leather clothes and undergarments were even worse, turning into ashes like butterflies that scattered instantly without him even shaking.

“No need to repair it—complete destruction!” Neo helplessly accepted returning to reality. Fortunately, he still had his striking mane, which would keep him from being too severely ravaged by the cold weather for a while.

A pale green light slowly rose from the branches of the bramble vines at the center of the giant pit, resembling the glow of fireflies or the luminous spores of the dark world—unfazed by the wind, they gathered together and gradually formed a being.

Believers could see its details; a spirit was such a being.

“Heir of the Seal Key, please help me purify this place of filth! End the earth’s suffering.”

The spirit of the bramble vines, once suppressed, finally awakened and spoke to him voluntarily. Neo was somewhat surprised and honored. In his memories, or rather, in the tribe’s legends, a shaman who wanted to form a pact with a spirit had to go through many difficulties, especially with plant spirits, which were particularly challenging. By this standard, he was lucky to have made such progress—unknown how many detours he had avoided.

The spirit of the bramble vines took the form of a somewhat strange infant. Aside from fitting the typical traits of a chubby, cute baby, its appearance was peculiar. In general, it embodied the most distinctive features of three plants: bitter thorn, wild red willow, and lichen vine. It also had no gender characteristics, and its face resembled that of Ferren when first seen—likely Ferren imitating it, though that one was mature while this one appeared much younger.

By now, Neo was certain that this crater had once been a seal, and the bramble vines were clearly closely connected to it. Such spirits usually emerged under very special circumstances, and their wisdom and abilities far surpassed those of ordinary natural spirits.

“How can I help you?” Neo truly had no idea.

The little kid hopped over to the shattered altar and pointed at the crystal bead that had once been the source of green light. “A sacred artifact from the Holy Eastern Lands. Using it, along with your newly acquired power, can help me.”
“Holy Eastern Lands!? It seems there are quite a few secrets I need to know,” Neo murmured to himself.
In his mind, if something could bear the title of “sacred,” it was either trying to be mysterious or had an incredibly extraordinary background. After all, even those sages who first helped establish the new order in Aemera only had the word “sacred” added before their names.
The term “artifact” was ancient, but Neo knew well that it referred to magical items.
With some caution, Neo approached and squatted down to examine the bead closely. It was goose-egg sized, round and transparent. Aside from the character inside that glowed with golden and silver light—somehow trapped there, adding to its mystery—the whole thing resembled a high-quality crystal bead.
“It seems it can’t tell me how to use it!” Neo muttered, reaching out to touch the bead.
As soon as his hand made contact, before he could do anything further, something strange happened. A new green light flashed in his hand, the bead turned into a dazzling white glow, and then disappeared.
Immediately afterward, Neo felt a surge of energy raging within him, similar to the sensation he had experienced when green light columns erupted from his body before.
“No way? It’s happening again?”
Boom!
This time it wasn’t light but vapor—like a skin bursting open, with steam bursting out through his pores and dispersing into a large cloud of white mist in the cold wind.
Boom!
Another blast!
Boom!
The third time! Neo felt embarrassed as the spirit of Jingliu Man watched him in confusion from the side, her little hand raised. His current predicament was completely contrary to the image he had strived to cultivate.
On the other hand, Neo hoped this situation would continue. Each burst brought a usual sense of comfort. To use an unflattering analogy, it was even more satisfying than farting. This made him realize that his injuries might ease further as a result.
Just three bursts later, all the abnormalities gradually stopped. Neo carefully moved his limbs. Sure enough, his body no longer felt as heavy or painful as before; instead, it was sore and weak, much like what happened after overexertion.
From near-death to being fine—within just a few minutes, a top-tier divine spell at the level of a prayer ritual had achieved such a healing effect. Neo was so happy he wanted to shout loudly. As for the unbearable hunger and thirst, he could fully understand and endure them.
“Help Jingliu Man complete her purification. Hmm, what should I do now?” Neo was confused again and looked at the little kid sheepishly. “It seems there’s a problem…”
The little kid hadn’t expected things to turn out this way either. He tilted his head and thought for a while before forcing out, “Ask yourself!”
“That’s right! Why does my intelligence drop so severely when I’m not in combat? Most of these oddities are probably related to the relics and treasures!” Neo thought of the mysterious perfect woman.
Entering a deep state of meditation, Neo arrived in the world of consciousness.

At the peak of the Elements, a green light that soared into the sky, connecting heaven and earth like a giant pillar, immediately caught Neo’s attention.
“What is this? It’s absolutely astonishing!” Neo rushed over to the green light at once to examine it closely.
Whether it was due to his choice of location or some external force, the green pillar stood right in the center of the peak of the Elements, radiating brilliant light and exuding grandeur. Neo also noticed that at the bottom center of the pillar floated a fruit wrapped in threads that shimmered with golden and silver light, looking like the seed of some plant.
“Golden and silver lights… Could this seed be…” As Neo pondered, a perfect woman appeared out of thin air, her dress fluttering as she stepped gracefully through the air. In her hands was a liquid that glowed with a fresh green light, resembling clear river water bathed in the sunlight on a summer afternoon, with ripples dancing on its surface…
Then, Neo swallowed hard—he was thirsty!
“Congratulations on obtaining the Seed of Divine Power, Jianmu,” said the perfect woman calmly, offering the glowing substance to Neo.
“Cough! What? Divine power?” Neo was shocked and somewhat at a loss. What did divine power mean? Powerful! Yes, extremely powerful—so powerful that it would be a deadly poison to ordinary beings!
The perfect woman guessed what worried Neo and explained, “Its energy structure is unique and extremely rare. It originates from the homeland of the gods and cannot be created in this world. According to the information I have and the classification standards, it’s rated at level 33, often used for light keys and restrictions related to miracles and sacred signs. What you’ve obtained, after energy reduction, is at level 0, in its budding stage.” Her voice was melodious as music, yet it lacked the warmth typical of living beings, seeming somewhat incomplete.
“What price must be paid to inherit this power?” Neo didn’t accept it right away, mainly worried it might conflict with his path of faith.
“With your current physique, achieving level 0 Jianmu is already the limit. You can’t take on any other Seed of Divine Power, especially Alloy. If you absorb it, the conflict between divine powers will destroy your body. Moreover, besides repulsion, there’s also attraction between Seed of Divine Powers. So once you accept Jianmu, you must actively repel the intrusion of Alloy.”
“How many types of Seeds of Divine Power are there? What exactly is their nature?” Neo asked further.
“Five types: Alloy, Jianmu, Weak Water, Blue Fire, and Thick Earth. They’re essentially equivalent to the six elements of this world, refined forms of the fundamental energies that constitute the world. Jianmu is associated with growth, ascent, and smoothness. For your current classes of warrior/shaman, it provides benefits of 3 and 7 respectively, along with an additional talent: affinity with plants.”
“Oh, I see. Perfect! This is it!” Neo grew more and more excited as he listened. It matched his ideals perfectly! Under normal circumstances, even if he tried hard, he might not have come up with a power with such suitable attributes. It aligned so well with his faith and his path as a shaman—it was as if it were made for him. With this power, not to mention the long term, even in the immediate future, it would greatly enhance his life-based spells. Besides, the jungle was already his strongest domain, and with this talent, it would be like adding wings to a tiger!

The water-like green light came into his hands, and the vigorous power of the Jianmu tree spread throughout the world of consciousness, starting from him. Though not a single blade of grass grew in this world as a result, the previously lifeless atmosphere vanished, transforming it into a brand new world—like the wilderness after the first spring rain. Although no life was yet visible, the moist air filled with the scent of soil made it clear that soon, the world would be covered in new greenery.

The Perfect Woman rarely smiled, but she gave Neo a charming smile, leaving him stunned as he observed the new changes in this world.

“The blessing of the Jianmu tree will change the course of your life,” she said, stepping forward slowly and pointing at the seed in the central light column. “It is the essence of the Jianmu tree, a measure of power. Every change in it will bring you great benefits.”

At this point, it was clear she intended to leave.

“What exactly do I need to do?” Neo asked urgently as she rose into the air.

“First, ignite the fire of the four elements to create the True World of Consciousness!” Her voice echoed faintly in the void as she moved farther away.

“The True World of Consciousness, the fire of the four elements!” Neo glanced at the three other light clusters representing wind, fire, and water, then at the monument of earth, which had only just begun to show signs of life. “Igniting the elemental fires probably comes after the complete monument is built. This path is truly long and arduous!”

In fact, the long journey wasn’t limited to the path of a shaman. The cultivation of the warrior class and his quest for kingship were also long and difficult endeavors. Now that he had such a good start and a solid foundation, it came down to the old saying: “Fame depends on courage, wealth on spirit.”

Returning from the depths of consciousness to the real world, Neo saw Jingliu Manling waiting quietly. From a human perspective, Jingliu Manling seemed cold-hearted, stubborn beyond measure, and somewhat dull.

Neo didn’t waste words in pleasantries and said straightaway, “I’m ready. What exactly do I need to do?”

The little girl pointed at the strange tree that had been reassembled. “Inject power.”

“Okay!” Neo’s expression grew solemn. He thought it would take a tremendous amount of energy to purify the entire mutated Jingji forest. He was determined to do his utmost if possible.

But the reality was far from what he had imagined. The seal here wasn’t some simple energy-container system; its complexity and mystery were beyond Neo’s comprehension. In fact, the little girl had already pointed out the key—sealing keys. How could brute force open a heavy iron door?

The energy key was like a form of authentication or authorization. As soon as the power of wood was infused into Jingliu Manling, a glow of new green light ignited like a flint, growing at an accelerating rate while spreading downward to the ground and then outward along the roots and vines.

The light waves resembled burning flames; under their scorching heat, the dark red substance on the roots turned to ashes and black smoke that vanished instantly. The roots regained their green color, appearing deeper and richer, but no longer possessing that slimy, eerie quality. The newly green light flames swept across the Giant Thorny Forest, reaching their peak intensity at the very edge of the land covered by the roots. With a thunderous roar, like winter thunder, the previously ten times more intense ring of flames erupted, creating a spectacular view of shockwaves spreading from above, bringing winds as fierce as those of a summer typhoon to the outermost parts of the forest. Within these light waves, all the thorny plants withered and, in the subsequent violent winds and snow, turned into ice strands that shone brightly in the rising sunlight, forming a jungle of crystals. “Phew! It’s done!” Although the little one didn’t smile, Neo could sense joy in its words. Moreover, the light around it had become significantly denser. “Who is the Sacred Eastern Land?” Neo finally couldn’t help but ask. He had too many questions that needed answers. “The Sacred Eastern Land.” “…” Neo didn’t think the little one was lying to him. Spirits, especially plant spirits, were generally honest and straightforward; if they didn’t want to speak, they would usually refuse outright. Still holding onto a glimmer of hope, Neo asked another question: “What’s the matter with the seal?” The little one knew, though its knowledge was limited, that with this information, Neo could easily deduce the sequence of events. According to legend, in the southern part of the Titan Capital in the central world of the Aemera continent, there was a land known as Shadowland. Before the Divine Lord arrived in the Aemera world, it was occupied by ancient demons, becoming a super-large pit vortex that almost reached the Earth’s core. Within this vortex, terrifying evil creatures called Wrathful Spirits were created and armed to join the ancient demons’ armies to conquer other dimensional worlds. During the Divine Lord’s third descent to create the world, he used his supreme power to summon giant stones (meteorites) from the depths of the sky to fill this vortex. However, the land here was severely corroded and would take many years to fully heal. Moreover, giant stones weren’t as effective at sealing the land as the original soil, resulting in many unfathomable chasms said to extend down to the void beneath the Earth’s surface. The largest of these was later exploited by the King of Demons, giving rise to the Hell Gate. According to the little one, the Sacred Eastern Land came from the Divine Kingdom. After the incident with the fallen angels, it was the only divine envoy sent from the Divine Kingdom. It possessed abilities surpassing all known angels and used powers similar to those of the Divine Lord, though at a lower rank. It established a great pentagram to seal the Hell Gate, claiming that this seal would not be broken for ten thousand years. At that time, the little one was merely a thorny seed blown to the corner of the sealing tree. Influenced by the growth and expansion forces of the tree, it became a witness to this seal. It heard the name of the Sacred Eastern Land when the divine envoy cast the sealing spell.

As for Feren Et and the spellcaster who occupied Feren Et’s body and achieved great success, that is another story related to treasure hunting. The little one couldn’t explain it clearly either; it was merely the influence of the power of Kenmu that made him feel it was necessary to do something to preserve the integrity of the seal, leading to the emergence of Thorny Willow Vines and all that followed.
Nio estimated that it was the treasure hunters who disrupted the seal’s integrity. However, the sacred seal had a perfect mechanism—its prophecy of lasting ten thousand years was upheld by binding souls as a means of suppression.
As for where the Western Pentagram Seal was destroyed, Nio immediately thought of the demons’ actions in Souls City. He had always believed the demons lacked a compelling reason to attack Souls City, but now they had one: breaking the seal of the Western Pentagram Array to open the gates of hell. All the disasters and persecutions were merely distractions.
“The demons chose violent destruction this time, and they clearly succeeded!” That was Nio’s analysis of how the Western Pentagram Seal was broken. It was like smashing the door instead of unlocking it to achieve the goal. Once the seal was destroyed, the lock guarding it lost its meaning. On the other hand, since the lock remained intact, he got the chance to inherit its power.
If this speculation was true, then the little one’s description of him as the “heir of the Seal Key” was inaccurate; he should rather be called the “heir of Kenmu, the Power of the Seal.” The other four were likely the Alloy, Weak Water, Blue Fire, and Thick Earth mentioned by the Perfect Woman—all divine seeds like Kenmu. But after the seal was destroyed, it was unknown what state those divine seeds were in or who would inherit them.
Furthermore, judging from the ability to destroy the core of the Western Pentagram Seal by smashing the “door,” Nio initially concluded that its source of power must be the power of blasphemy.
God said: “Since you do not believe in Me, even My power has its limits. From now on, darkness and evil shall appear in the world, growing more rampant until destruction.”
Without faith, there is no protection; abandoning faith destroys even the unbreakable protective forces that were once established. After self-corruption, external forces destroy everything. All origins lie in faith—grace begins here, and destruction begins here…