"This is a fragment of the 'True Cross' that the Messiah was crucified on."
Hearing this, Su Zhou, who had been poking the Snake Spirit, froze. It wasn't until Yara urged, 'Hurry it up,' that he stiffly resumed pressing down.
His academic performance might have been average, but his extracurricular knowledge of all things mysterious was exceptionally rich. 'The Messiah's Cross? The very True Cross that witnessed the death and Rebirth of the Messiah, the son of God from the old Cross Sect? The one that bore witness to a 'miracle'?'
To think this wood shaving has such an incredible origin. No wonder it can perform Exorcism!
"No, no! That's fundamentally wrong!"
Su Zhou shook his head. 'If this were the complete True Cross, then given the High Spirit Rank of the old Cross Sect that suppressed the entire European Continent, anything related to their Messiah—even a scrap of his clothing—could probably suppress a Great Evil Spirit, let alone the cross of his sacrifice... A complete version of this thing wouldn't just be for warding off demons and Exorcism; it could probably kill a Little God with ease!'
This wood shaving was a true Divine Artifact Fragment!
Or rather, the fact that the Snake Spirit had drained it until only a tiny bit of its Exorcism function remained was proof of how severely damaged it was.
"Then... what about this wood powder?"
Hearing that the unimpressive wood shaving had such a history, Su Zhou couldn't help but have higher expectations for the wood powder Yara was now lying on. While rubbing the little red snake's back and hearing it praise, 'That feels good!' he asked, "What kind of Divine Object is it?"
"This? It's a branch from the Primordial Wisdom Tree, the Tree of Discriminating Good and Evil." The Snake Spirit wriggled on the powder and said lazily, "It's a pity it was ground to dust. Fortunately, its Spiritual Energy still remains, so it didn't turn into ordinary wood powder."
Damn.
Su Zhou let out a common exclamation from Zhengguo's internet.
Although the ancient Sects no longer existed, their Classics remained. Of course, he knew what the Wisdom Tree was. In the Holy Covenant of the ancient Cross Sect, it was the mother tree that bore the fruit which gave humanity wisdom. It was a Divine Tree in the truest sense!
"This thing actually exists, and it was turned into powder?"
Su Zhou recalled the spectacle of the Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association holding their Void ceremony, drawing on the Spiritual Energy of all things to create a single drop of Undying Blood. A chill went down his spine. 'Just that tiny bit of Undying Blood required consuming so many Spiritual Objects. It seems like creating more Undying Blood to convert my family and friends is something I shouldn't even think about for the time being.'
At this moment, Su Zhou was beginning to understand a fraction of the power Yara's original body once held... and from this simple conversation, he also sensed a hint of crisis.
'There are definitely many hidden Mysterious Organizations in this world. The Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association might have been the one that came closest to success in the past, but it definitely wasn't the biggest.'
Could it be that only Sects that worshipped the Holy Snake Spirit could perform the Void ceremony? That was obviously impossible.
"Don't be too surprised, Su Zhou. With the Spiritual Energy Revival and the return of the Extraordinary, similar Divine Objects will appear one by one. If nothing else, I can sense a very strong presence of Thunderbolt and a righteous aura in the mountains and rivers of your homeland, but it has long been concealed by the relevant personnel."
Seeing Su Zhou lost in thought, Yara raised its head, shook it, and said, "The secrets hidden in this world run far deeper than you can imagine. I can't tell you too much right now, not because I'm hiding things, but because you don't yet have the power to protect those secrets. Of course, you're already very strong. In this era before the full Spiritual Energy Revival, you should be among the strongest Transcendents.
"But Su Zhou, our goals and our vision cannot be limited to this land, or even this world. There are many dangers that do not originate from this world."
"Mm, I understand. Just be straight with me. I won't mind."
Su Zhou nodded slightly. As long as Yara told him beforehand, he wouldn't get hung up on it. But soon, he looked at the wood shavings and powder in his hand and asked hesitantly, "But Yara, since these are all fragments of Divine Objects... was the way I planned to use them too wasteful? How should I use them to achieve their greatest effect?"
"That's exactly what I was about to tell you."
At this point, Yara understood that it could no longer nestle peacefully in the wood powder and reminisce about the old days. So, it sighed, slithered up Su Zhou's arm to the back of the young man's ear, and began to instruct him. "Your family probably doesn't have a White Crystal Bottle, right? Glass will do."
"Mm, an ordinary family probably wouldn't have Mercury or Liquid Pure Gold on hand either... That's fine too. Just get some tap water, and we'll use an Orbit to sanctify it into Holy Water. It should be barely usable."
"First, arrange the True Cross Fragments into the shape of a cross and use the Holy Water to bond them together…"
"Wait, how do you use Holy Water to bond things?" As the Snake Spirit spoke, Su Zhou followed its instructions. He was the ultimate man of action with excellent practical skills, but that didn't stop him from grumbling as he worked. "Don't tell me Holy Water can double as glue?"
"You'll see in a moment." Yara didn't explain. Under its guidance, Su Zhou quickly found a glass bottle his mom used to use for alcohol, then performed a very simple, small-scale Orbit to sanctify the water into Holy Water.
It was really simple—he just had to boil the water, then follow the Snake Spirit in reciting a Secret Spell, channel his Spiritual Energy, and sprinkle some spices (pepper and curry powder were both fine) in the name of all the saints and sages. And just like that, it was done.
'It actually smells pretty good. Maybe I can use cumin next time.'
This was what Su Zhou thought while performing the Blessing for the Holy Water.
Of course, the sanctified water didn't smell of spices. Instead, it was miraculously pure and could emit a faint white glow when infused with Spiritual Energy.
Su Zhou used the Holy Water to glue the wood-shaving cross together. For the final step, he just had to place this small cross inside the bottle filled with Holy Water, seal it, and then place it somewhere hidden in his home. The power of the Holy Light would then protect a large area around it—at the very least, the black Dark Shadow that appeared yesterday would be unable to manifest or get close.
"It can actually be used as glue!" After finishing everything, a shocked Su Zhou tried to break the wood-shaving cross. With his strength, even an iron cross made of pure steel would be bent, but this seemingly fragile cross didn't budge an inch!
"This simplified ritual is actually based on the same principle as the Great Array in the Throne Divine Hall. It won't purify harmless Ghosts; it will only drive away those with evil thoughts. It's useful and very discreet."
Yara was quite satisfied with Su Zhou's practical skills. It could tell that Su Zhou had clearly performed some small rituals from occult books on his own in the past, so he was familiar with some of the common steps.
In any case, watching Su Zhou continue with the rest of the Secret Ceremony, the Snake Spirit flicked its tail and praised, "Well done, Su Zhou. Now, gather up the leftover wood shavings. After your Awakening, I'll teach you a Secret Technique to make them into jewelry to give your family personal divine protection."
"Oh, and you can also take a piece for your friend. Its residual power isn't enough to dispel a Curse that has seeped deep into the bones, but it can at least suppress it temporarily and stop it from worsening."
"Okay, I understand."
Only now could Su Zhou viscerally feel just how much help Yara's presence could provide. Setting aside everything else, the endless stream of mystical knowledge and the high-level guidance were simply too valuable for a beginner like him in the Extraordinary World!
"By the way, what about the wood powder from the Wisdom Tree branches?" After hiding the Sanctified Shelter Glass Bottle in a corner of his room, Su Zhou asked enthusiastically, "How should I use that? Just eat it directly?"
"Of course not. How can you eat wood powder directly? It's not a spice."
Yara looked at Su Zhou with an expression as if looking at a typical Zhengguo person. It explained patiently, "Most of the power in this wood powder was absorbed by my previous self to create Undying Blood, so compared to the True Cross Fragment, very little of its power remains.
"However, its Spiritual Energy and Spirit Rank as a Divine Tree still remain. You can buy a potted apple tree, then mix the wood powder, Holy Water, and soil, and bury it in the pot.
"That way, the potted apple tree will possess a bit of the Wisdom Tree's Spiritual Energy. As long as you water it with Spirit Water or Spiritual Blood, which are rich in Spiritual Energy, you can quickly grow a weakened version of the Wisdom Fruit.
"And eating a Wisdom Fruit will increase your Intelligence and comprehension."
This should have been incredibly welcome news for Su Zhou. He had been worrying that his Intelligence wasn't high enough and that getting into a good Academy would be difficult. As for why he still needed to get into an Academy when he had Extraordinary Power, the answer was simple. In Zhengguo, with its Saint Supervision System, Academies were the best legitimate way to enter the system and become a member of the upper echelons. As long as one became the top student of one of the seventy-two A Class Academies, becoming one of the 'All Saints' who could rule on all matters in Zhengguo was practically a certainty.
This method was legitimate and fast. It also allowed him to make a lot of friends and gain the support of the civilized system. That being the case, why would he want to be a lone wolf, grunting and struggling all on his own?
However, to become one of the All Saints, or even the First Saint, the most important things were knowledge and Intelligence. The old Su Zhou felt that let alone being the top student, even getting into an A Class Academy would be difficult. But now, he suddenly had the Wisdom Fruit to make up for his shortcomings. It was truly a case of getting whatever he wished for.
'I originally thought I could only ride Qiming's coattails, but now it looks like I can become a big shot myself!'
But, even though it was a pleasant vision of the future, for some reason, a strong Hallucination appeared in Su Zhou's mind. He subconsciously retorted, "Hey—why is it a snake tempting someone to eat an apple again? After all these years, haven't you changed your act at all, Yara?"
"It's the Wisdom Tree and the Wisdom Fruit!"
Snake Spirit Yara emphasized loudly, "Not an apple!"
"Also, Su Zhou, I can see that your comprehension in Martial Arts and Extraordinary matters is very high, but you're quite average in other areas. Everyone has their strengths. Let me put it this way: if an ordinary person has 100 base points to distribute among various aspects, then you were born with 150, or even more."
"It's just that your extra 50 points, and even a portion of your original 100 base points, were all allocated to Extraordinary Power."
As it spoke, Yara extended its tail and smugly patted the remaining fruit tree powder. It chuckled, "But that's okay. As long as you raise a Wisdom Tree and eat a Wisdom Fruit, it will be enough to turn you into a true, all-around genius!"
"That's great, that's just great!"
Hearing this unprecedented good news, Su Zhou was overjoyed. In his excitement, he even slipped into his Celestial Capital dialect, rubbing his hands together and cheering like an old man.
But then, on second thought, he realized there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. His expression suddenly turned serious. "But, Yara, what's the catch?"
"Water the potted plant more every day." Hearing this rather grim question, the Snake Spirit also thought about it seriously, then said uncertainly, "Otherwise it might wither and die?"