Mage Manual
Chapter 672 - 531 Ya Sha Jin

Chapter 672: Chapter 531 Ya Sha Jin

"I’d rather call it ’abandonment.’"

The Black Crow said, "Not all believers of the Four Pillars God Sect are bad people; they were originally followers of other factions. The initial Four Pillars God Sect seemed to have originated from a faction that lost the Great Skill."

"In the past, everyone chose to follow the Great Skill to resist the night, and the Gods of Four Pillars gave them another choice: to indulge in the present. After all, not everyone can persist in their ideals and continue through the night once the Great Skill is lost. Now that there is an easier choice available, naturally, the Four Pillars God Sect spread like wildfire."

"And," the Black Crow sighed, "it’s been a long time since the Gray Fox Era, and in two hundred years, not a single person has ascended as a deity of the Great Skill. The ideal is out of reach, which is why the Four Pillars God Sect had the ground to rise."

"So," he paused, then firmly said, "the Four Pillars God Sect must be uprooted completely. Otherwise, Senluo will never see the dawn of the next Divine Era."

"What’s the relationship between the Gray Fox Era and the Fire Cat Era?" Ash leaned against the wall, asking with half-closed eyes.

"The Fire Cat is the second Divine Era, and the Gray Fox is the fourth," the Black Crow pointed at the planks underneath Ash, "These scraps must have been excavated from the ruins of the Gray Fox."

Igula asked, "Is a Divine Era when everyone follows the Great Skill and dedicates their lives to realizing the ideal of the Great Skill?"

"Yes, that’s a beautiful era that exists only in legends," the Black Crow lamented, then continued, "I actually find it quite hard to imagine what a kingdom without the Great Skill would look like. Are you all capable of steadfastly fighting for your ideals without the guidance of the Great Skill?"

Harvey: "Yes."

Igula: "Of course."

After a brief silence, the three looked at Ash. Ash tugged at the corner of his mouth, realizing that in this room, he was the one closest to the Four Pillars God Sect—was it not okay to have no ideals? Was it not okay to be immersed in an ordinary life? Was sleeping until naturally waking up, gorging on delicious food, and playing games before entering the Upper Void Realm not a good life?

So, I really am a believer of the Four Pillars God Sect!

"Wait a minute," Igula noticed a problem, "According to what you’re saying, can anyone who is an idealist traverse the night?"

"Yes," the Black Crow said. "But they have to be very pure and unwavering. Even if they journey through the night, they won’t be corrupted by the Vortex. Because they often turn into a new Great Skill after they die, such people are also called Whitedove, meaning a future Great Skill that is about to ignite."

"I think I might be one, but I dare not bet," the Black Crow glanced at them, "Do you dare to bet?"

They both shook their heads, then looked at the contemplative Harvey, who, under their intense gaze, shook his head as well.

"Has the Vortex always existed?" Igula rubbed his temples to refresh himself and asked, "It sounds like the aftermath of some disaster."

"It’s been around at least since before the Whitedove Era, more than a thousand years ago," the Black Crow said. "Times change, environments change, races change, but the Great Skill and the Vortex never change."

Ash suddenly thought of the Sword Maiden, asking, "With such a harsh environment here, wouldn’t that mean you are unable to withstand the disasters of the Abyss?"

The Black Crow asked, "What Abyss?"

At that moment, Harvey suddenly blurted out, "Something’s wrong."

Ash, whose eyelids were fighting to stay open, and Igula both immediately snapped to attention—they were completely drained, their spirits so fatigued and weary that they hadn’t noticed their Magic Power rapidly dissipating!

They immediately looked at the Black Crow, the only one able to move normally, with suspicion in their eyes. The Black Crow didn’t hesitate to leap up, throwing punches, kicking backwards, and uppercutting, his movements completely shattering the warehouse to pieces!

Outside the warehouse, there were no believers trying to take them back; instead, everything was eerily quiet, except for the crackling sounds of a distant fire. The Black Crow turned to look outside the camp, his cold voice tinged with urgency, "The night is approaching."

The warehouse was about fifty meters from the edge of the black night, and now only twenty meters remained, as if the darkness had forcibly devoured the light from the street lamps. If they were any later, they would have silently become a part of the night!

Black Crow went straight over to pick up Igula and Ash, turning his head to see Alice picking up Harvey. Among the three Holy Sanctuary Mages, Harvey was the only one who still had combat power after the unknown attack.

Harvey smiled at Ash and Igula, "See the benefits of the Necromancy Faction now, don’t you?"

Ash and Igula’s mouths twitched—damn, they’d been had by his act!

Because the darkness was encroaching, they could only retreat toward the center of the camp. As they walked, they saw many desiccated corpses inside the buildings and on the ground, as if this was a graveyard from many years ago.

But as they got closer to the center, Ash and the others could even see little bits of silver sand emerging from their bodies, spiraling toward the central bonfire like being sucked into a vortex. And with every bit of silver sand lost, they clearly felt their spirit and body weaken further!

"Stay... away..." Igula said weakly, "If we get any closer... we’ll turn into what you just stepped on..."

"The black night is right behind us." Black Crow said, "Are you sure you’re a duke of the candles?"

Igula: "It’s better than... watching oneself... being drained dry."

"If this corruption is related to what I did in the Void Realm," Ash breathed out softly, "then it’s quite likely I’ll turn into a Fish-Slicing Dragon."

Alice suddenly spoke in Harvey’s voice, "Continuing to approach is useless, the protection of the Four Pillars God Sect seems to have failed, and the black night will eventually swallow the entire camp."

"Correct." Black Crow nodded, "I estimate that there are not many survivors left in the camp now. The power of the Great Skill is closely linked to the number of followers, and although the Four Pillars God Sect is not the Great Skill, the principle is probably similar... Just like it’s not the Great Skill that realizes dreams, it’s the believers. It seems that the ones protecting this camp are the Pillar Gods, but in reality, it’s also the believers themselves."

Having said this, Black Crow put down Ash and Igula and said to Alice, "Keep an eye on them, don’t let them be devoured by the night, I’m going to pass judgment."

Alice nodded, slung Harvey onto her back, then picked up the two Holy Sanctuary Mages by the back of their necks as if carrying cats.

"Judgment?" Ash pressed down his drowsiness and lifted his head.

"This camp is a den of evil for the Four Pillars God Sect, and if the opponent is eradicating this place out of justice, that’s indeed understandable, but I’m sure that as long as I point out that there are also a few Innocent who have been inadvertently affected here, the opponent will also stop this indiscriminate killing, as they would be Whitedove."

"But if the opponent has no intention of stopping and disregards your lives, then they will be judged as Evil Crow." Black Crow said indifferently, "Evil Crow, the only way is eradication."

"By the way," he said seriously to the three mages, "if I fail and you die, I hope you will record me in your Mage’s Handbooks. If future generations see my deeds from your Mage’s Handbooks, perhaps they will follow my path."

"I am the Judgement Warrior of the Ya Sha Jin faction, Tamasi Ya Sha Jin. Our faction’s ideal is to eradicate all Evil Crows, trample sinners, derive pleasure from striking down evil, and create a society of Whitedoves where everyone delights in trampling evil, eliminating fraud, assassination, anti-social behavior, and all other criminal acts."

The Swindler Igula, Kaimon’s number one assassin Harvey, Cult Leader Ash: "..."

"You must also think our ideal is great, right?" A slightly distorted laugh came from within Black Crow’s mask:

"Since they all deserve to die, why not use them as stepping stones for good people?"

PS: Asking for monthly tickets! Tickets!

PS5: The last sentence is inspired by my favorite "Exorcist Consultant"!

PS5PRO: Happy New Year, I wish you great luck in the Year of the Tiger and hope everyone gets 8 hours of exquisite sleep every day!