Chapter 1157: Scripture
“What kind of person can actually create such a secret method? Is the friend of your lord another deity?” Despite knowing that Edmund probably wouldn’t lie to him about that, Lin Li’s tone was still apprehensive.
Edmund originally planned to just brush him off, but he didn’t expect Lin Li to be that interested in the secret method. He even asked about the person who taught Aquilo that secret method. He hesitated for a moment, and seemed to be calculating in his heart before he added, “That person is the one who caused the great war, and ultimately suppressed the will of our god.”
“You mean… Well, since he was a friend of your lord, how could he have suppressed the god you believed?” Lin Li almost blurted the name of the Immortal King because it was a bit too unbelievable. The Immortal King was actually friends with the Illuminati’s founding saint, and even taught him the secret resurrection method. He even ended up getting into a conflict with the Illuminati’s founding saint, and suppressed the god.
Judging from Lin Li’s expression, Edmund could tell that something was wrong; hence, he immediately exclaimed, “I can’t tell you everything about what happened during the process all in one go now, but Lord Aquilo seemed to have been able to predict what would happen. Hence, he left behind the resurrection method. The resurrection of Lord Aquilo is also the Illuminati’s goal for the past few thousands of years, and for the sake of achieving it, we are willing to pay any price!”
Just now, Lin Li doubted the Illuminati’s faith, but now that he had heard Edmund’s words, he felt that his imagination was still too lacking. It seemed that the god whom they believed in was of a low status in their hearts. At least, he was inferior to the founding saint Aquilo. The Illuminati would do whatever it took to resurrect Aquilo, but they were clearly not that sincere in awakening their god. Perhaps the Illuminati worshiped Aquilo rather than the god.
“So, what else do you know about that friend of your Lord Aquilo?” Lin Li asked in hopes to find out more about the Immortal King from the Illuminati. After all, that was the reason he was there. Besides, in his opinion, there would not be a need for him to join the adventure later if he could find out the answer he had been looking for from Edmund.
Edmund did not expect that Lin Li would be so interested in that person, but it was a good thing in his opinion. Hence, he said, “We have some information about this person, and it’s said that he came from Anril. He is definitely the only human who can have that kind of strength and power. Lord Anril not only became friends with him, but even learned a lot of profound theories and information about magic from him.”
“What? He’s not a High Elf?” Edmund’s words took Lin Li by surprise, and he couldn’t help but lose his composure a little and ask that question.
Lin Li had always thought that the one who had suppressed the god of the Illuminati was the Immortal King, and he had indeed found this place by following the trail of the Immortal King. However, Edmund claimed that it was a human mage. Could it be that the Immortal King is a human!?
All along, the Immortal King had been in a form of a High Elf in the relics of the High Elves as well as the ancient records. Hence, be it Lin Li or the Dark Age historians, and everyone else in Anril, they all thought that the Immortal King was a High Elf. After all, the High Elves Dynasty was almost created single-handedly by the Immortal King. How could the Immortal King not be a High Elf then?
Besides, after the High Elves ruled Anril, they did not give the humans any privileges at all. In fact, they were even harsher and more cruel to humans as compared to the other races. That was also the reason that the era of the High Elven Dynasty was called the Dark Age by the later generations.
However, Edmund now actually said that the person who was treated as the Immortal King by Lin Li was actually a human mage. In that case, either Lin Li was mistaken, or the entire population of Anril was. However, in that era, there was almost no one who could be on par with the Immortal King’s strength.
Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages, was recognized as having strength that was on par with the Immortal King’s. He was even considered to have surpassed the Immortal King in terms of his achievements from the perspective of humans. However, the two of them did not belong to the same era. It was said that when Geresco was born, the Immortal King had already left Anril, and no one knew exactly where he had gone.
This time, although Lin Li did not react much on the surface, he was full of shock. How could the Immortal King be human? How was that possible? However, apart from the Immortal King, who else could have such great strength! Maybe the Immortal King had used some kind of disguise technique to turn himself into the appearance of a human? However, with the power of the Immortal King who doesn’t even take the gods seriously, how could he disguise himself as a human!?
Besides, Lin Li had a doubt. What exactly did the Immortal King come here for? Did he want to suppress the god that the Illuminati believed in? Or did he want to befriend the founding saint of the Illuminati? Why did the Immortal King teach the Illuminati’s founding saint the secret resurrection method? Could it be that the Immortal King and the founding saint of the Illuminati were on the same side, and were colluding to suppress the ancient god?
However, Lin Li could not ask that question. After all, regardless of the perspective, he would either be doubting the Illuminati’s religion or undermining the founding saint. Lin Li decided to put aside the idea of continuing with the exploration. At least, Lin Li did not want to fall out with Edmund for now.
“So, what else do you know about that human mage? What exactly did he look like? What kind of magic spells did he use? How long has he stayed here for? Why did he get into a conflict with the god you believe in?” Lin Li asked agitatedly.
Edmund was confused by Lin Li’s series of follow-up questions, and when he figured it out, he was confused. “President Felic, I can only tell you that the powerful human mage came here for the purpose of one thing that our god has. It’s not recorded in the Illuminati’s scriptures what exactly that item was. Perhaps it has been known, but no one paid attention to it. After all, our goal is to resurrect Lord Aquilo.”
Putting aside the sleeping god, Lin Li could not be bothered about those details. He looked at Edmund’s expression, and felt that Edmund wasn’t lying. Hence, he decided to believe him. It seemed that he really had to explore this time. The item that the Immortal King was interested in was definitely impressive. The world that Geresco had created allowed him to track the Immortal King all the way here might exist to let him find that item too.
However, Lin Li would not immediately agree to Edmund’s request. He instead considered for a moment before saying, “I can accompany you, but I have a condition.”
It was obvious that he was interested in exploring again, but he had to take the opportunity to negotiate and raise some conditions from the Gilded Kingdom. If High Priest Poer, who already hated Lin Li, heard this, he would probably vomit blood in anger. However, Edmund was obviously much more tolerant than ordinary people. After hearing Lin Li’s words, he did not show the slightest displeasure, and even braced himself for some unruly requests made by Lin Li. Appearing sincere, he said, “Please go ahead, President Felic.”
Lin Li nodded without feeling embarrassed at all, and said, “Actually, my conditions are simple. After this matter is over, I hope to be able to read the scriptures of the Illuminati, regardless of whether we complete the task or not. The scripture I’m referring to is not the nonsense that you show to ordinary believers.”
There was more than one scripture of each religion. There was a scripture that recorded the true history of the religion, and also one for the believers to enhance their faith. What Lin Li wanted to read was obviously not the kind that was meant for fooling their believers. There was a problem that they inevitably had to face. The things recorded in the scripture of the history were not all wonderful, as some were dark and sinister. Even among the Illuminati, only a few senior members would be qualified to read those items. Once they were spread, it might result in a huge impact on the reputation of the Illuminati.
More importantly, Lin Li also had the identity of the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Although the Supreme Council and the Illuminati were not in a hostile relationship, as one developed on the mainland, while the other developed on the sea, no one could deny that there was still a competitive relationship between those two forces to a certain extent.
Hence, although Lin Li did not make an excessive request or ask for a massive amount of treasures and wealth, his request was still tough for Edmund to accept. Edmund had mentioned before that the Illuminati would do anything to revive Aquilo, and clearly it was time to put it into action.
However, after a long hesitation with a conflicted expression, Edmund finally nodded, and said, “Alright, President Felic, as long as you are willing to continue exploring with us, you will be qualified to read my Illuminati’s scripture regardless of the final outcome.”