The Cornflower Witch Chapter 277

Sylphidya ascended steadily into the night sky.

Though she possessed no ability to fly, she moved through the silvery mist as if by instinct, a chill spreading from her brow and gradually encompassing her entire body.

Gradually, all sounds around her faded, and she moved further and further from the ground below.

Time passed…

Ahead, above her, the expanding ‘alien world’ aura grew increasingly clear and distinct.

At a certain moment, a peculiar sensation arose in Sylphidya’s mind, like watching an old television set in her childhood, with the screen filled with static and buzzing electrical sounds.

This sensation intensified as she approached the otherworldly rift.

This was…

As if the chaotic radio waves were finally parsed, a strange howl echoed in Sylphidya’s mind.

This howl carried many unclear messages, conveying urgency, irritation, and greed. Sylphidya slowly began to understand the emotions within.

However, this fellow sounded like someone not to be trifled with.

When Sylphidya’s ascent reached a certain limit, her form transformed into flowing light and shadow within the passage formed by the ‘alien world’ power. Her speed became faster and faster, surpassing physical limits, approaching the speed of light.

After more than ten seconds, a tiny figure re-materialized before the world’s ‘Wall of Sighs’.

Her silver hair and dress floated silently in the air. Sylphidya looked up at the massive, nearly ten-kilometer-wide rift. Invisible, fierce stellar winds blew in from outside. At the edges of the rift, golden, transparent dragon scales shimmered, trying to seal the torn opening. However, a white curtain appearing at the edge, like a city wall, hindered the pressure from the dragon scales.

So, this was why the Hundred-Eyed Cult had to involve Prince Jabez. Only he, as the heir to the Regas royal family, had the資格 to make the entire nation respond, serving as a sacrifice.

Within the otherworldly rift, eerie blue-purple light shimmered. As Sylphidya gazed into it, a vast torrent of information surged into her mind, almost making her dizzy. She had to cover her eyes with her hands to regain her composure.

In just a few seconds of observation, she understood the origins of many of the Hundred-Eyed Cult’s secret arts, as well as various strange and bizarre truths. After being analyzed in Sylphidya’s mind, this complex knowledge automatically coalesced into a special grimoire.

‘Once you understand the existence patterns of life, you naturally learn their abilities.’

[Grimoire: Rituals of Hundred Eyes] (Tier 3 · Alien World): ‘A grimoire recording the existence pattern of the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’.’

Includes Classes: [Demon Contractor]

Includes Abilities: [Evil Eye Shot], [Dim Vision], [Madness Gaze], [Mesmerizing Eyes], [Astral Drifting], [Astral Tough Hide]

Includes Knowledge: Evil Eye Sacrifice Ritual, World in the Pupil, Communicating with the Astral Realm, Secret Art of Evil Eye Modification

After several minutes of rest, Sylphidya felt the turbulent information in her mind gradually subside. She then slowly opened her fingers again and glanced once more at the otherworldly rift.

Another torrent of information poured in, and Sylphidya closed her fingers again, dizzily, allowing herself to slowly digest it.

Ten minutes later, she gradually organized the knowledge that had flooded her mind. The ‘Rituals of Hundred Eyes’ grimoire had once again gained new content.

[Grimoire: Rituals of Hundred Eyes] (Tier 4 · Alien World): ‘A grimoire recording the existence pattern of the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’.’

Includes Classes: [Demon Contractor], [Apostle of Hundred Eyes]

Includes Abilities: [Evil Eye Shot], [Dim Vision], [Madness Gaze], [Mesmerizing Eyes], [Astral Drifting], [Astral Tough Hide], [Hundred Eyes Descend], [Astral Presence], [Astral Shuttle], [Penetrating Ray], [Lock in Pupil], [Eye of Fog Breaking], [Eye of Deterrence]

Includes Knowledge: Evil Eye Sacrifice Ritual, World in the Pupil, Communicating with the Astral Realm, Secret Art of Evil Eye Modification, Secret Art of Heterochromia Modification, Astral Guidance, Boundary Breaking Ritual

Compared to before, the tier ability recorded in the grimoire had increased from ‘Tier 3’ to ‘Tier 4’, adding the method for advancing to the [Apostle of Hundred Eyes] class, seven additional methods for cultivating abilities, and various knowledge and secret arts from another world.

She couldn’t look anymore; higher-level knowledge was beyond her current comprehension and tolerance. Blindly trying to understand it would only lead to mental chaos. However, from the knowledge she had just parsed, she also gradually understood what kind of ritual the pontiff was performing tonight, as well as its various details.

As such, this was the ‘Boundary Breaking Ritual – Fall of the Otherworldly Eye’. The pontiff’s goal was likely to bring down part of the true body of the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’, allowing it to possess him, thus granting him immense power to break through to the ‘Tier 5’ or even ‘Tier 6’ realm.

It must be said that this idea had some feasibility, but after understanding the entire ritual, Sylphidya felt a certain crudeness, like a person who had completed university-level mathematics looking at a high school student who had copied a formula from a page and was using it to solve middle school problems.

This indeed solves the problem, but because the specific principles are unclear, only blind application is possible. Sometimes it works well, but if a condition changes midway, leading to deviations, the person completely loses the ability to adapt.

It seemed they had to find a specific rift at a specific time and follow a specific ritual process. Given such stringent conditions, it was no wonder the pontiff didn’t want to give up when the opportunity arose.

Such a rift cannot allow the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’ to descend. To bring that true body into this world, it would probably require a massive rift spanning nearly a hundred thousand kilometers to slowly sink into this world. Once it entered, it would permanently alter the world’s operating laws, embedding its own ‘truth’ within it, becoming part of the world.

The current rift, about ten kilometers wide, could probably only allow 0.01% of the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’ to seep through. It’s no wonder tonight’s ritual didn’t attract the attention of the Aspects; perhaps in the eyes of those great beings, the pontiff’s actions were merely a mosquito probing a screen.

However, even the aura seeping through such a tiny rift was more than Sylphidya could withstand right now. It was almost impossible for her to repel the opponent, close the rift, and end the ritual on her own.

What to do then?

She floated at the edge of this astral realm, and the continuously seeping aura caused her clothes and hair to flutter. The power of the ‘alien world’ constantly filled her fate disc, putting her on the verge of advancement. It was just unfortunate that she did not want to advance as an [Apostle of Hundred Eyes] like the pontiff, growing pairs of strange eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, Sylphidya simply used the inexhaustible ‘alien world’ power to practice the knowledge she had just gained.

(Mesmerizing Eyes completion +100)

[Mesmerizing Eyes Lv.1] (Alien World): Cast illusionary spells with your eyes, causing the opponent to experience hallucinations. Prolonged use will strain the eyes (recommended daily use not exceeding 1 minute).

(Mesmerizing Eyes completion +124)

(Mesmerizing Eyes completion +146)

[Mesmerizing Eyes Lv.1] → [Mesmerizing Eyes Lv2]

…

[Mesmerizing Eyes Lv5] achieved!

[Mesmerizing Eyes Lv.5] (Alien World): Cast illusionary spells with your eyes, causing the opponent to experience hallucinations and confusing their mind. Normal use is harmless. When used with concentration, you can cause the opponent to develop an inexplicable fondness or dislike for you. Concentrated use will strain the eyes (recommended daily use not exceeding 12 minutes).

[Astral Shuttle Lv5] [Penetrating Ray Lv5] [Lock in Pupil Lv5] [Eye of Fog Breaking Lv5] [Eye of Deterrence Lv5] [Evil Eye Shot Lv5] [Dim Vision Lv5]…

In the time that followed, she continuously absorbed the ‘alien world’ power seeping into the world, causing the ritual to operate exceptionally slowly. All this absorbed ‘alien world’ power was used by Sylphidya to practice the various newly acquired abilities. One by one, the ‘alien world’ aspect cards appeared by her side, rotating around her, constantly evolving and upgrading until they reached their current limit and could no longer be upgraded. During this process, Sylphidya also slowly became aware of some faint, other ‘alien world’ auras.

It was like a window, with the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’ blocking it with its massive body, but fresh air from outside still seeped through the tiny gaps at the edges.

These faint additional auras were also from the ‘alien world’, but they were not the same as the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’, like infinitesimally small floating lives, and the information mixed within them was also very faint and scarce.

Even if she advanced to Tier 4 now, she wouldn’t be able to contend with the ‘Lord Who Sees All Truth’ from outside the alien world and disrupt the ritual. But what if it were another ‘alien world’ higher-level being?

At a certain moment, an inspiration flashed through Sylphidya’s mind.

The astral realm teemed with countless living beings. During the Seventh Epoch, when the ‘alien world’ descended, various strange and grotesque creatures brought immense destruction to this world. They were not united after their arrival; in fact, their animosity towards each other outweighed their hostility towards the life forms of this world. Had it not been for their infighting at the time, the Six Dragons of Law would have been unable to seal the breach and end that chaotic era.

Boundary Breaking Ritual, specific location, specific procedure, specific otherworldly rift, specific time… specific time, specific time. Sylphidya repeated this phrase, and a subtle inspiration emerged.

She seemed to grasp something.

Why a specific time?

Because Leo Palace was about to obscure the astral rift.

What was Leo Palace?

Leo Palace…

Leo Palace is a record left by the lost Star-Gazing School a thousand years ago. After the descent of the alien stars in the Seventh Epoch, most ‘alien star’ existences were destroyed, but some ‘alien stars’ were permanently inscribed on the Wall of the World. Although they were still faintly rejected by the world, their forms of existence gradually stabilized, becoming stars that illuminated the night sky.

The Star-Gazing School was particularly adept at guiding and utilizing these stellar powers. During a certain period, the ‘Star-Gazing School’ was exceptionally powerful, but for unknown reasons, they vanished from the world within a mere century, as if their history had been erased. Records of their existence in later generations were extremely scarce, appearing only as vague mentions in the texts of other schools.

Later, the knowledge concerning the functions of these celestial palaces and their guiding secret arts gradually disappeared, unknown to anyone, leaving only the names and general locations of a few star palaces.

Sylphidya knew all this because the Demon Contractor from the Hundred-Eyed Cult had mentioned it to her, telling her that if the ritual wasn’t completed before Leo Palace obscured the rift, they would have to wait another fifty years.

Leo Palace obscures the rift…

Could she make Leo Palace obscure the rift earlier? Could she use the powerful force of another ‘alien world’ to solve the current problem?

A special silver metal plaque slowly floated out from her embrace. It was something she had discovered deep in the mines of Burnt Stone City.

[Star Track Inscription (Griffon)] (Tier 3 · Rare): A metal plaque inscribed with the star track of the celestial palace (Griffon), usable for drawing upon the power of the celestial palace.

It seemed there were no other options. Sylphidya took a deep breath, slowly clasped the silver plaque with its intricate patterns in her hands, and closed her eyes to sense it.

Brilliant stardust gathered towards the silver metal plaque, its patterns and lines gradually brightening. Sylphidya, with her consciousness immersed within, sensed a magnificent power she had never encountered before.

It was as if something had always been there, right before her eyes, but obscured by a misty pane of glass, preventing her from seeing it. As Sylphidya’s consciousness followed the Star Track Inscription, that magnificent presence appeared in her mind, like wiping away the mist from the glass with her hand, revealing a truth that had always been overlooked.

Leo Palace was right above her head!

Sylphidya looked up. In the vast night sky, a few faint stars shimmered dimly, collectively outlining the shape of a lion—not an ordinary lion, but a griffon with wings.

So, this was Leo Palace.

Sylphidya knew what to do.

Carrying thousands of stardust particles, she descended from the sky once more.

Countless stars followed her, leaving a long trail in her wake.

The girl once again transformed into a brilliant streamer of light, traversing the vast heavens and earth, like a meteor returning to the land below.

A dazzling light streaked past the bewildered pontiff. He sensed something passing by, but it was several seconds after he turned around that he saw the young girl slowly descending to the bottom of the magic circle.

Her silver hair carried scattered stardust, her black skirt gently flowing down in the airflow, and her slender toes touched the ground lightly. Sylphidya once again stood before Princess Masha.

The princess looked at the girl in a daze, feeling both familiar and somewhat strange.

Was this the young knight who had saved her not long ago? She was such a beautiful girl, seemingly of similar age to herself.

Picking up Princess Masha, Sylphidya lightly tapped her toes again, her figure transforming into a dazzling light that shot straight into the firmament.

“Now, I have something to ask of you.”

Sylphidya looked at Princess Masha in her arms. The princess had already fallen captive to the flickering starlight in Sylphidya’s eyes and could only respond unconsciously.

“Mm.”

“I hope you will pray again, in the name of the Regas royal family, to change the direction and process of the ritual.”

“Okay.”

“Then, let us begin.”

Thus, a clear voice resonated in the night sky, two voices intertwining like a song, showering down with starlight.

“I hereby swear by the glory and virtue of my ancestors to protect this land, undefiled by twilight, unburdened by baseness…”

“May this prayer reach all corners, and be heard by those who share this wish…”

“I pledge the trust of all, and swear by my own bloodline, to beseech the stars above to descend.”

“Manifest, roar across the heavens and earth, sovereign of the mighty gales—”

“The griffon with starlight-dyed wings!”

After the voice faded, a howling wind swept across the night sky of the entire Regas Kingdom. Countless leaves and branches rustled in the sudden gust, and unseen clouds surged and flowed, obscuring and revealing the stars and moon in the churning sea of clouds.

In an instant, an earth-shattering roar approached from the supreme firmament. It broke through layers of clouds, tore apart the vast gales, and the chilling cold it carried swept across a thousand li of land.

What a beautiful and powerful form; mountains and rivers barely reached its knees.

The griffon with starlight-dyed wings descended upon the world.