" Blood Corpse?!"
The old priest on night watch immediately looked terrified.
Although he had never seen it in person, he had spent most of his life in the Holy City and was very clear about the history after the outbreak of the Demonic Tide. Naturally, he knew about the Blood Corpse that ravaged this land nearly a hundred years ago.
But the problem is, weren't the Blood Corpse completely eliminated long ago? How could they suddenly reappear?
Fortunately, the Blood Corpse appeared in Weeping Willow Town, Aduolin Province, a border area of the Tree Worship Church. If it had appeared directly in the heart of the Theocracy, the problem would have been even greater.
The night watchman was about to report to his superiors that very night when he suddenly felt another pang of fear.
He carried the lantern plant back to the area where the Weeping Willow Town priests' Soul Tree were placed, and upon closer inspection, he discovered two more Soul Tree with similar dead appearances.
If he still had some doubts when the first dead Soul Tree appeared, the appearance of these two Soul Tree left him with no more doubts.
The Blood Corpse has surely revived, and has at least killed a squad of priests!
The night watchman, carrying a lantern in one hand and the dead Soul Tree in the other, hurried towards the Records Office, the closest to the Holy Soul Hall.
He needed someone at least a mid-level official in the Holy See to report to; there was no way he could wait until morning to discuss this.
After turning several corners in the long corridor, the night watchman saw A Glimmer of Light ahead.
The Records Office has always forbidden anything related to fire, so he was absolutely certain that it must be a priest who possessed a similar ability to Directed Alienation as his own.
He walked over quickly, his undisguised hurried steps causing the other person to turn their head.
A kind young man's face looked at the Night's Watchman. He was thin and wore glasses framed with withered vines. Two withered branches extended from his shoulders, from which hung two glowing lantern flowers.
At this moment, there was a pile of documents spread out on the long communal table in front of him, indicating that he was working overtime late into the night.
"Who are you..."
The young man glanced in the direction the old man had come from:
" The Holy Soul Hall's night watchman tonight? Does he need something?"
The old man glanced at the young man and asked:
"May I ask who you are?"
"I am Samuer, the attendant of Cardinal Luxiusi."
"So it's your personal attendant, Lord..."
The night watchman bowed deeply. Although the young man before him looked young, he was already a mid-to-high-ranking member of the church.
No matter how looked down upon the position of Attendant, it was still a position similar to an assistant or secretary, a position that could be heard by even the Cardinal.
He quickly handed over a dead Soul Tree he was carrying:
"My lord, three Soul Tree have died tonight. After consulting the documents, we have confirmed that the cause of death was an attack by Blood Corpse."
" Blood Corpse?"
Samuer adjusted his glasses, seemingly still getting used to this convenient tool for working late into the night, and asked with a puzzled look:
"Are you talking about the Blood Corpse that ravaged the Northern Continent a hundred years ago?"
"That's the one."
The old Night's Watchman nodded firmly, and Samuer now showed a look of shock:
"All the Blood Corpse in this world have already been trapped in the Demon Realm by our two neighbors in the Northern Continent. How could they suddenly appear within the territory of the Theocracy?"
The night watchman shook his head:
"I don't know either, but according to the encyclopedia, the two deaths that have already occurred were both caused by attacks from Blood Corpse. Please report this to Cardinal Luxiusi immediately."
Samuer nodded:
"I understand. Give me the Soul Tree. I'll go to Luxiusi immediately. If there are any other dead in the Holy Soul Hall, please compile a list and report back to me."
"Yes, sir."
Seeing that the Cardinal's personal attendants did not show any disrespect, the old Night's Watchman realized that he had undoubtedly made the right decision.
He followed the other party's instructions and quickly returned to the Holy Soul Hall to continue examining the Soul Tree in Weeping Willow Town. Meanwhile, Samuer took the Soul Tree to the confessional where Bishop Luxiusi was practicing asceticism.
As one of the three cardinals, Luxiusi no longer needs to sleep. In his younger days, he would use the time he saved to refine his Directed Alienation and other abilities within the system. In recent years, however, he has replaced it with closed-eye meditation and silent recitation of Holy Scripture.
As Samuer approached, he already knew who the newcomer was.
" Samuer, what is it?"
The cardinal asked the question the moment his entourage pushed open the door.
Samuer knew, of course, that the cardinal's network of informants was far superior to that of ordinary people, so in this emergency, he skipped the step of knocking:
"Your Honor, there have been cases of priests dying in the Aduolin Province."
Luxiusi immediately opened his eyes:
" White Wax Town?"
" Weeping Willow Town "
" Weeping Willow Town?"
Luxiusi opened his eyes in surprise. He had thought that after receiving his tacit approval, Duolin would accumulate strength for a period of time and then take over White Wax Town. He had even secretly observed the movements of the Holy Soul Hall for a while. However, apart from having some fine and dense patterns on their surfaces, none of the Soul Tree in White Wax Town had died.
Upon learning of the priest's death in Aduolin Province, his first thought was naturally that the shrewd young guard, Duolin, had taken the blame.
But the deceased was a priest from Weeping Willow Town. How could this be?
He reached out towards the Soul Tree, and the exquisitely beautiful bonsai plant, which didn't need any pruning, flew into his hand.
Luxiusi examined the wounds on the Soul Tree, his brow furrowing more and more as he looked:
"This is... Blood Corpse?"
Having lived for over a hundred years, Luxiusi certainly knew about matters related to Blood Corpse, and that's where the advantage of the Soul Tree lies. For every way a person can die in the world, the Soul Tree can have just as many similar ways of dying. As long as one has seen enough, one can easily determine a person's cause of death and even their health condition before death based on the state of the Soul Tree.
"Your Excellency is wise; the Night Watch of the Holy Soul Hall just reported this to me."
Luxiusi closed his eyes, holding the dead Soul Tree in one hand and stroking his beard repeatedly with the other. After a while, he sighed and said:
"This matter cannot be concealed. Go immediately and inform Sailesi and Cardinal Geliwusi to come here. We need to have a private meeting."
"Yes."
There are two more things I need you to do.
"Please speak."
"First, retrieve the most recent reports from the bishops of the capital and all towns of Aduolin Province. Second, prepare to go out."
A flicker of surprise crossed Samuer's face, but he quickly nodded:
"Understood, I'll do it right away."
Samuer disappeared through the door of the confessional, while Luxiusi lost all interest in meditating with his eyes closed.
He gazed at the clear night sky and murmured to himself:
" Nuowa, how did your seal break so quickly?"