Ten o'clock in the morning.
Mr. Mi Rui came to the first floor lobby.
Open the roster and delete the absentees one by one.
There was no regret or disappointment expressed towards the sixteen people who gave up on further studies.
Perhaps he is already accustomed to such things.
After closing the roster, the butler raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Bang!
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it.
Next to the butler, there was a large mirror placed against the wall.
At this moment, a magical glow is emerging.
As everyone watched curiously, the mirror gradually became transparent.
Through the mirror, a vast and empty starry sky appears.
There was a burst of surprised discussion in the hall.
Alan was no stranger to the astral void that appeared in the mirror.
But he followed the crowd and pretended to be curious.
Mr. Mire raised his cane and pointed at the mirror.
The camera's angle of view shrinks dramatically, and the sparse starlight converges into a circular, flowing Milky Way.
The vast galaxy, with its outer edge extending into the void, seems to have no end.
The center was pitch black.
It is like a huge black hole with infinite gravity, attracting countless stars around it, which revolve around the black hole eternally.
This is an overhead view of the Blood Galaxy.
It was also the first time for Allen to get a glimpse of the entire galaxy.
"The place I'm about to take you to is called the Astral Realm."
Mr. Mirei's tone was serious.
"The astral plane is the void that surrounds our material plane, and it is also a transit station to other planes."
"The bloodline galaxy that carries countless ancestral spirits is in the Star Realm."
"In the past, you could only access the Bloodline Galaxy through atavism meditation."
"Now I will teleport you to the astral plane, so that you can see with your own eyes this river of inheritance that contains the bloodline of all the warlocks in the world."
"But before you set off, you must be mentally prepared."
“It’s easy to take this step, but it’s hard to come back.”
"Once you are in the Astral Realm, you will not be able to return to the Warlock World unless you awaken the spell of inter-realm teleportation."
The butler stopped and glanced at everyone's faces one by one.
Those who insisted on returning here had already made up their minds.
There was silence in the hall.
No one opted out.
Mr. Mi Rui nodded and raised his hand to signal everyone to pass through the mirror.
Most people are still hesitating.
Pamela suddenly sneered, stepped out first, and walked straight to the mirror.
The beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes blends into the starry sky in the mirror under people's gaze.
There was a flash of light and then it disappeared without a trace.
Pamela's companions, three elemental sorcerers from the Randolph family, quickly followed her steps and teleported to the astral plane through the mirror.
Soon, all twenty-three people entered the mirror.
Finally, Mr. Mi Rui followed in.
…
The teleportation landing point is located in the center of the spacious courtyard.
Everyone got rid of the dizziness and looked around.
I was surprised to find that everything in front of me was so familiar.
Courtyards, walls, towering towers...
If it weren't for the silver-gray starry sky outside the wall, everyone would have thought they had returned to the City of Origin.
"This is the real origin city."
Mr. Mi Rui, smiling, helped answer everyone's questions.
"The castle you lived in before was just a projection of the True Origin City in the material world."
"True Origin City, also known as the 'Stargazing Tower', is the core area of ​​the Holy Demon Royal Family's ancestral home."
The so-called ancestral temple is the secret realm of time and space created by the ancestor, similar to the "Kingdom of God" created by the true God.
All living things in the ancestral temple, including the laws of nature and the laws of time and space, are completely controlled by the ancestor.
The true God created the Kingdom of God in order to consolidate his own power and provide a place for the souls of his believers after their death.
The devout souls who enter the kingdom of God are called "prayer".
The more people pray for annexation, the more prosperous the kingdom of God will be, and the power of God will also grow.
Those who are particularly favored among the petitioners can be promoted to angels, or even "demigods" or "subordinate gods", thus developing a complete pantheon.
On the contrary, if a large number of petitioners leave, the kingdom of God will decline and even be destroyed.
When a god loses his kingdom, he is no longer a true god.
Even with an immortal divinity, it is inevitable to lose power. The corpse, along with the ruined kingdom of God, was exiled to the deepest part of the astral void and turned into a cold meteorite.
The first ancestor established the ancestral temple just to build a home that suits his own preferences, and perhaps he would invite relatives and friends to live with him.
However, no matter how many or few residents there are in the ancestral temple, it will not affect the power of the ancestor himself.
Even if the ancestral temple was destroyed, it didn't matter to the ancestor.
The ancestral temple is just a mansion where the ancestor shows off his power and vanity.
When the ancestor loses interest in showing off, the ancestral temple will become deserted.
The Stargazing Tower, as the capital of the Holy Demon Ancestor Court, seemed so deserted...
Allen felt that this was understandable.
After all, the Holy Demon Royal Family cannot have children.
If the population is not large, the ancestral temple will certainly lack vitality.
The observatory is surrounded by nine shorter towers.
According to the housekeeper, there are nine teleportation towers, leading to the four elemental realms, the Fey Wilderness, the Shadow Underworld, the Heaven, the Abyss and the Hell.
The above nine planes, including the star realm, are all under the surveillance of the Holy Demon Ancestral Court.
The nine teleportation towers and their corresponding landing points are the fortresses built by the Holy Demon Ancestral Court in various planes.
They are the "City of Brass" in the Fire Elemental Realm, the "Infinite Ship" in the Water Elemental Realm, the "Great Dungeon" in the Earth Elemental Realm, and the "Floating Islands" in the Wind Elemental Realm.
The "Emerald Court" of the Feywild and the "City of Memories" of the Shadow Underworld.
The "Tower of Heaven" in heaven, the "Fortress of Chaos" in the abyss, and the "Hall of Discipline" in hell.
The trial space of Origin City was actually created by imitating the ecological environment of these nine fortresses and their surrounding areas.
Theoretically, each of the nine fortresses has at least one royal family member stationed there to rule the corresponding plane.
It’s a pity that the inheritance of the Holy Demon Ancestor is not so easy to awaken.
Currently, there are only seven officially in office royal family members in the entire Holy Demon Ancestral Court, collectively known as the "Seven Great Patriarchs."
The so-called "clan leader" means the "head of the clan."
The concept of clan is larger than family but smaller than race.
The power of the clan leader is higher than that of the legendary warlock, but he has not yet created a new bloodline source and cannot surpass the ancestor of his own lineage. He is also called the "quasi-ancestor", like a demigod to a true god.
The power of the seven suzerains is reflected through the imperial name.
For example, the "Lord of Earth" Yutianshi has the blood of devil and angel. He also masters the "Origin of Earth". He is the lord of the "Great Dungeon" and is worshipped as a god by the residents of the Earth Elemental World.
"Lord of Water" Yuan Tianhe, the Holy Demon Prince who has awakened the dual blood of demons and angels, is revered as the emperor in the water element world.
"Lord of Life" Luo Tianhua, who has the blood of both Rakshasa and Angel, has also comprehended the origin of life and is the queen of the Fey Wild.
"Lord of Fire" Yu Tianyan, the emperor of the fire elemental world.
"Lord of Order" Yutianlu, the spokesperson of Hell's will.
"Lord of Chaos" Yuan Tianhong, the spokesperson of the will of the abyss.
"Lord of Light" Yuan Tianguang, the youngest Holy Demon Prince.
The "holy light" worshipped by the heavenly priests is essentially the Abyssal Light.
Among the nine planes, the Wind Elemental Realm and the Shadow Underworld currently have no master.
After briefly introducing the general situation of the Holy Demon Ancestral Court, Mr. Mi Rui led everyone to the main building of the Observatory.
In the next section of the journey, the newcomers will have to learn to adapt to the special environment of the astral realm.
From the first step, everyone can feel the huge difference between here and the material world.
The ground seems solid, but I can't feel any gravity.
As soon as I lift my feet, my body loses balance.
In the courtyard, the newlyweds were in chaos.
They were dancing and gesticulating, looking very funny.
"This is the first lesson you will take."
Mr. Mi Rui held his cane and stood in the air in a casual manner.
"The gravity of the astral world has no fixed direction. It changes according to your own wishes."
"You want gravity to point down at your feet so you can stay on your feet."
"You want gravity to point upwards so you can take off from the ground."
Everyone followed the butler's instructions, stayed focused, and adjusted the direction of gravity in their minds.
They gradually got rid of the embarrassing situation of having their hands and feet not under their control .
Alan was already familiar with the subjective gravity of the astral plane.
But he didn't act any different.
At the beginning, I was clumsy and made a fool of myself.
Until his companions began to adapt to the environment here, he pretended to be clumsy as if he had just learned how to adjust the direction of gravity.
"The astral world is a world where spirit is greater than matter."
Mr. Mi Rui continued to instruct the newcomers.
"Here, your subjective consciousness can not only change the direction of gravity, but also suppress the feeling of fatigue and hunger. It seems that you can survive without sleeping or eating."
"But don't ignore the objective needs of your body for survival. You must maintain your previous sleeping and eating habits."
"Otherwise, when you leave the astral plane and return to the material world, the accumulated fatigue and hunger will burst out in an instant, and the consequences can be imagined."
After listening to Mr. Mi Rui's warning, Renee became worried.
He pulled Alan's sleeve and asked what food there was in the star realm.
"You ask me, who should I ask?"
Alan gave Hu Niu a displeased look.
He had followed , but had never seen any food or even a living creature.
The void of the astral world is more desolate than the most desolate desert.
Alan also didn't know how the residents here survived.
Fortunately, he was well prepared.
During the free time of refining the 3rd level anti-aging agent, I also refined a large amount of life-vitamin.
Now there are three hundred life-sustaining pills in his storage bag.
One tablet per day is sufficient to meet dietary requirements.
It turned out that Alan was worrying too much.
Following Mr. Mi Rui into the gate of the Observatory, everyone returned to the familiar restaurant.
The layout of the hall is exactly the same as that of the first floor of Origin City.
The silver cover on the dining table exudes the aroma of roast beef.
Once you remove the cover, you can enjoy unlimited delicious food created by magic.
Everyone, including Alan, breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that one does not need to worry about three meals a day in the star realm.
Next to the restaurant bar, stood a golem that was taller and more majestic than Mr. Miri.
The blue and black metal body presents the deep luster unique to pure gold.
"Hey! Mi Rui, my dear brother, long time no see, you look thinner."
The adamantium golem let out a hearty laugh and strode towards Miri with the rumbling sound of footsteps like an earthquake.
Mi Rui looked horrified.
He didn't bother to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor and tried to distance himself from the adamantine golem.
But it was too late.
The seemingly tall and bulky adamantine golem seemed to be able to teleport, suddenly pounced in front of him, stretched out its arms, and gave him a warm hug.
Crunch...
There was a noise of metal rubbing against each other in the hall, which made one's teeth ache.
Mr. Miri, forged from mithril, looked so petite, helpless and pitiful in the embrace of the adamantium golem's sturdy arms.
His whole body creaked as he was pinched by the other party.
The gorgeous mithril body showed obvious dents.
"Aardman, you're still so rude!"
After finally breaking free from the overly enthusiastic embrace of the Adamantine Golem, Mr. Miri complained while casting the "Complete Repair Technique" on himself to remove the pits and marks on his body.
"You are too fragile, my poor brother." Aardman shook his head and sighed, "I hope the little ones you brought this time are stronger than you."
Mr. Mire's face twitched.
He coughed twice, turned around and introduced to Allen and others:
"This stupid, big, dark guy is called Adamant. He is the chief steward of the Observatory Tower, an enlightened adamantine golem who doesn't care much about etiquette, and he is also a legendary mechanical wizard."
"Aardman claims to be my brother, but I want to make it clear that he and I are not even related to each other as much as a screw. We just happened to be born in the same assembly workshop!"
"In fact, there are many enlightened constructs like me and Aardman in the Observatory Tower."
"We are all produced from the automatic factory, or we are constructs created by constructs."
"As long as there are sufficient raw materials and energy, the construction factory can operate permanently and produce golems continuously."
"This is how the Golem Guards that guard the Observatory Tower were established."
At this point, Mr. Mire pointed out the window.
Alan turned his head and looked through the crystal window. Sure enough, he saw a team of fully armed steel golems patrolling the courtyard.
"Well, kids, my mission as a guide ends here."
Mr. Mire concluded.
"Next, Aardman will take over from me and lead you to the ancestral hall to participate in the ancestral worship ceremony."
"By passing this final test, you will officially become Galaxy Guardians."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared in the teleportation array.
After watching Miri leave, Mr. Aardman turned around and grinned at everyone.
"Okay, little ones, from now on you are under my control!"
"I'm not like Mi Rui, who is pretentious, hot-tempered, and straightforward. If you don't listen to me, be careful to get beaten!"
He waved his strong arms and his fists made a crackling sound.
No one dared to say anything.
Although they are both enlightened golems, their personalities vary greatly due to different craftsmanship and materials.
Compared to Mr. Miri, who considers himself a gentleman, Mr. Aardman seems more rude and may be difficult to deal with.
"Haha! Don't be afraid, little ones. Although I have a bad temper and a loud voice, I am a very reasonable person!"
Mr. Aardman thumped his chest.
"Now I will tell you the rules of the Observatory Tower. As long as you don't break the rules, you can do whatever you want. I, an old man, don't bother to meddle in other people's business!"
Alan and his party followed Mr. Aardman, carefully memorizing the taboos in the city as they walked.
Soon, everyone walked into a spacious hall.
A trapezoidal altar was built in the center of the hall.
There are seven chairs surrounding the altar.
Mr. Aardman introduced that those were the seats for the seven clan leaders.
In the hall dedicated to the Holy Demon Ancestor, only the royal family members at the level of clan leader are privileged to have seats.
Based on the placement of the seats, the distance between them, and the depth of the marks on the ground, it was not difficult for Allen to guess that the Holy Demon Ancestral Court had thirteen patriarchs in its heyday.
Most of the time, there are nine stable clan leaders.
Now there are only seven chairs left.
The rest of the chairs were removed, indicating that the corresponding patriarch had fallen and the new successor had not yet been born.
The power of the clan leader is second only to that of the ancestor, and is equivalent to that of a demigod.
Such a powerful being would also fall and be unable to reincarnate... Alan sensed a hint of danger.
I'm afraid the Holy Demon Ancestral Court is not peaceful.
Even the high and mighty sect leader has powerful and difficult enemies.
Recovering his thoughts, Alan looked around at the colorful murals on the wall.
It seems to depict a chaotic battle between the two opposing camps of the ancestors and the gods in ancient times.
On the mural, Alan also saw the figures of dragons, phoenixes, Titans, Leviathans and Behemoths.
These powerful ancient creatures are hard to find in reality.
"In the ancient times before the birth of mankind, all races in the world had their own ancestors and gods they worshipped, and there was no conflict."
Mr. Aardman stopped in front of a mural and told visitors about the history that has been forgotten by the world.
“The gods of the time were all specific racial gods, or ancestors who were deified by their descendants.”
"For example, Annan, the ancestor of the Titans."
"Tiamat, the mother goddess worshipped by the five-colored dragon clan."
"Bahamut, the father god revered by the metal dragon clan."
"The gods of these races all built their kingdoms in the Bloodline Galaxy. After their death, the souls of their believers return to the kingdoms. They are also the ancestral spirits in the Bloodline Galaxy, and can be meditated and integrated with by their descendants in later generations."
"In this case, worshiping the ancestors and believing in gods are not contradictory. God's blessing and warlock inheritance can coexist."
"Until the good times of harmonious coexistence were broken by a group of ambitious people."
"I don't know since when people are no longer satisfied with just worshipping their ancestors and the founder of their tribe."
"From concrete personal gods and racial gods, people have turned to worshipping abstract concept gods, and this has intensified under the impetus of theological and philosophical theories!"
"Fire, wind, earth, water, light, darkness, life and death, disease and famine, fate and justice..."
“Various abstract concepts were endowed with divinity by people and were widely worshipped across races.”
"The consequence of this is the birth of one evil god after another representing abstract concepts."
"These ideal gods have no racial concept, do not distinguish between relatives based on blood relationships, and advocate so-called universal beliefs."
"The sun god, who symbolizes light, treats elves and dwarves equally. Even goblins who worship light can become his priests together with the Titans."
"In this way, the original religious structure was broken."
"The traditional ethnic gods have too narrow an audience, and in the competition for missionary work, they have been defeated by the newly emerging ideological gods."
"The expansion of the new pantheon also poses a threat to the ancestors."
"The desire for power is a desire that even God cannot overcome."
"Since ancient times, the gods have established their kingdoms in the Blood Galaxy."
"The benefit is that we can live in peace with the First Ancestor, but there will also be restrictions."
"The scale of the Kingdom of God will never be able to surpass the Bloodline Galaxy."
"Those who petition for annexation in the Kingdom of God are all the ancestral spirits of the river, but the ancestral spirits of the river are not necessarily those who petition for annexation."
"Under these two restrictions, the power of the gods in the Bloodline Galaxy will never be able to surpass the limits of the Bloodline Galaxy itself!"
"It's like a fish in a bottle. It can't grow bigger than the bottle."
“The newly-risen evil god, driven by ambition, brazenly broke the ancient traditions of the warlock world and actually created another kingdom of God outside of the Bloodline Galaxy!”
"The souls of the followers of the evil god will no longer enter the bloodline galaxy after death, cutting off the bloodline inheritance and cutting off their descendants!"
"The Church of the Evil God is becoming more and more prosperous, with more and more believers, but the ancestral spirits obtained by Bloodline Galaxy are decreasing."
"If this continues, the warlock tradition will eventually decline."
"In order to escape the crisis, all the major warlock families and schools had to issue bans, prohibiting their children from believing in evil cults."
"This will lead to a conflict with those fanatics."
"The conflict between the warlock class and the cultists intensified, eventually dragging the ancestors and the gods into the fight, and an all-out war broke out."
Mr. Aardman looked solemn.
"Anyone who can distinguish right from wrong can see that we, the warlock class, are on the righteous side of passive resistance in this war."
"Justice lies in the hearts of the people, and those who uphold justice will eventually win more support."
"The racial gods oppressed by the evil gods, as well as the powerful races that worship them, such as the dragons, Titans, Behemoths, and Leviathans, joined the warlocks, and the war situation was reversed."
"The evil god is unwilling to accept defeat."
"At this moment of desperation, he actually took such a crazy action!"
"The evil gods are trying to merge their kingdoms and gather all their divine power to build a wall!"
wall……?
The people who were listening attentively looked at each other in surprise.
Gather the power of the gods just to build a wall.
Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?
Allen did not participate in the discussion.
The memories of the fusion with the Titan ancestor spirit were awakened once again, causing ripples in his heart.
"Hehe... kids, the wall that the gods built together is not the concrete wall you think it is, but the idea of ​​the word 'wall', the entity of the concept 'wall'."
"This wall is everywhere, surrounding the entire warlock world."
"This wall was named 'Wall of Heretics' by the gods, giving it power higher than that of the gods!"
"For those who do not believe in the evil gods, their souls will be stuck on the wall of heresy after death, and they will forever suffer from the torment of soul hunger!"
Mr. Aardman became more and more excited as he spoke, waving his arms angrily.
"The Wall of Heresy is the most evil thing in the world!"
"The meaning of its existence is to destroy the free will of all living beings in the world!"
"When this wall is erected, the entire warlock world will be surrounded by an invisible iron curtain."
"After death, the souls of the followers of the evil god will return to the kingdom of God and become petitioners."
"The souls of non-believers and pagans, including the vast majority of warlocks, will be bound by the Wall of Heresy after death."
"Without new souls entering the Bloodline Galaxy, the water without a source will eventually dry up."
"The evil god is trying to drain the bloodline of the galaxy in this way, intimidate the warlock class, and force them to convert."
"However, our venerable ancestors did not surrender and rose up in resistance in desperate situations!"
"An eye for an eye, blood for blood!"
"Use the same cruel method to wipe out the evil god's followers and destroy the evil god's church."
"The evil gods promoted so-called universal beliefs and refused to acknowledge that different ethnic groups have their own unique cultural heritage. In the end, they paid the price for their arrogance!"
"The evil god relies too much on the faith and willpower provided by his followers. To some extent, he has been kidnapped by his followers. When the church on earth is destroyed, the kingdom of God in heaven will also decline."
"As cults are eliminated one after another, the power of the evil gods is rapidly declining."
"In the battle between the First Ancestors and the Gods, justice will eventually triumph."
"In the final battle, the ancestors used the will of the Blood Galaxy to drag the kingdom of the gods into the Blood Galaxy."
"The Will of the Galaxy is the common will of all the souls that have lived and been buried on this land since the birth of the Warlock World. It is the original ancestor among all the ancestors."
"The kingdom of the gods was swallowed up by the Blood Galaxy, the 'Wall of Heresy' became a reef at the bottom of the river, and all the petitioners were transformed into ancestral spirits in the river."
"After this battle, the gods fell."
"However, divinity is immortal!"
"The gods are only sealed in the Bloodline Galaxy, but they cannot be completely destroyed, and they will not willingly admit defeat."
"After tens of thousands of years of dormancy, the evil gods are regaining their strength."
"The remnants of the ancient gods established a secret organization called the 'Holy Spirit Society' and sent out evil spirits to actively preach in various planes, gaining faith, transferring willpower to the ancient gods, and seeking resurrection."
"The evil spirits from outer space are elusive and full of tricks. We have to be on guard against them!"
"Every newcomer must participate in the ancestor worship ceremony to prove that they are not possessed by evil spirits, and officially join the ranks of the 'Galaxy Guards', shouldering the glorious responsibility of guarding the Bloodline Galaxy."
Having said this, Mr. Aardman stopped, shooting two sharp glances in his eyes, observing the changes in everyone's expressions one by one.