However, they hadn’t been chatting for long.

A crimson figure descended beside them.

"Iz, you’re finally back."

’Oh! Chi Cheng spawned.’

"Yes, I heard about it from Obades. You uncovered traces of the Death Church, right..."

"It was Kumironi who uncovered it," Chi Cheng said.

"To be precise, it was Lu Cang who discovered the first clue."

Iz glanced at Lu Cang, her expression a mix of surprise and approval.

"Let’s head over now," Chi Cheng said. "There are a few rather intricate Magic Restrictions there that are difficult to break."

The two paused for a moment, then looked at Lu Cang again.

Chi Cheng chuckled. "Hey, Lu Cang, want to come with us?"

"Me?" Lu Cang asked.

"Yeah, we cleared out a hidden outpost of the Death Church. It doesn’t seem to be their main base, and the core members have probably long since evacuated."

"I’m planning to have Iz go take a look and see if there are any clues."

"If I can’t find any clues, I’ll go find Betti and have her perform a Divination," Izparut said.

’So they only want to use Divination as a last resort?’

Lu Cang understood what Izparut meant.

’Perhaps I should do the same.’

"Alright," Lu Cang said after a moment’s thought. He didn’t have anything else to do anyway.

It wouldn’t be too dangerous to follow Iz and the others.

If even they could run into danger, then the City in the Circle probably wasn’t safe either.

As they spoke, the three of them had already stepped onto the Celestial Passage Bridge.

Flying was also prohibited within the city.

Before long, they were already outside the city.

Lu Cang hung onto Chi Cheng’s back. Chi Cheng wasn’t flying, but running.

But with every step he took, he could shatter a patch of earth and leap a distance of several dozen kilometers.

His speed was ridiculous.

Now that his own power had increased, Lu Cang could finally, with great difficulty, make out how Chi Cheng was covering so much ground.

The distance was so great.

Even at such a speed, it still took them nearly half an hour to arrive.

"We’re no longer in the territory of the Lorren Kingdom. This is unclaimed wilderness."

"Be careful using fire."

Chi Cheng stopped in front of a cave, surrounded by a dense forest.

The cave before them appeared to be the Death Church’s outpost.

Traces of a battle could still be seen.

Following Chi Cheng into the cave, he could see bloodstains all over the stone walls on both sides. Fortunately, he had experienced enough Dungeons to have built up a resistance to such scenes.

The cave’s structure was not complex.

But he also noticed that the original entrance had been sealed with a Restriction.

However, the Restriction had now been broken.

He extended his Perception inside and found the interior was surprisingly well-equipped. There was a ritual altar for Sacrifices, an archive for documents, a prison, and a room filled with various books that was clearly used for proselytizing.

There were also dried bones and viscera scattered everywhere.

’This really is a Cult outpost.’

But now, this place had been occupied by some clergy in cyan-green robes.

"Kumironi."

"I brought Iz over, and Little Lu Cang too."

Chi Cheng called out from a few corridors away.

"You’re finally back."

"And Little Lu Cang? Why did you bring Little Lu Cang to a place like this..."

"Lu Cang isn’t a child anymore. Besides, he has the Decryption Scholar Profession. Maybe he can help us discover something."

’No... physically, at least, I’m still a child.’

Kumironi sighed, "Alright then."

After all, the Decryption Scholar was a Secret Scroll Profession, not commonly seen in the world.

Sometimes, things that other Professions couldn’t do even at Level 5 or 6, a Level 1 Secret Scroll Profession could handle with ease.

It was like how no matter how strong a Level 6 Warrior was, they couldn’t farm as well as a Level 1 Planter.

Everyone has their own specialty.

In fact, on the way in, Lu Cang’s Perception had already detected many Secrets.

This cave was hiding an extraordinary number of things.

Especially those books that were like Evil Scriptures...

Lu Cang walked to the statue in the very center.

The statue’s face was indistinct.

But he could vaguely make out the figure of a young girl.

Although it was just a humanoid figure with no other decorations, it exuded an aura of Death and Destruction.

He didn’t need to guess; he knew at once that the statue represented the White of Death and Destruction.

The forbidden Divine Spirit.

However, there was a Secret hidden within this statue.

[Secret: Statue of Death]

[Hidden Item: A hidden Space 20 kilometers away]

[Activation Method 1: Infuse 1 soul as a Sacrifice.]

[Activation Method 2: Find the hidden spatial node and break it open.]

"Kumironi."

"I sense something... unusual and crucial about this statue..."

"This statue seems to be connected to a door that hasn’t been opened yet."

Kumironi’s Perception immediately swept over the statue more carefully.

"A door?"

’It is a little different.’

Upon closer inspection, the statue did seem to generate some kind of spatial connection.

’It’s quite well-hidden.’

"Oh, found it," Iz said suddenly.

As she spoke, Iz’s figure flickered.

And vanished from everyone’s side.

’Looks like they can handle this without my intervention.’

Lu Cang shifted his gaze to other objects. The Secrets he saw in this cave were more numerous than all the ones he had seen since awakening as a Decryption Scholar.

[Secret: Trapped in Death]

[Hidden Knowledge: A method to strip the soul from a living being without killing it.]

[Secret: Prayer of Death]

[Hidden Knowledge: A Secret Technique for praying to the White of Death and Destruction.]

[Secret: The Birth of the Saint Sealer]

[Hidden Purpose: Records a Ritual to temporarily increase Spiritual Strength by sacrificing souls.]

...

So many Secrets.

All were Secrets about Death, various Secret Techniques, and Rituals.

Most of the Rituals were strongly linked to Death and Sacrifice. ’What else could I expect from the Death Church?’

"Little Lu Cang."

"We found these letters."

Lu Cang took the tattered letters, their paper frayed and the handwriting both sloppy and sharp, from Kumironi’s slender, fair hands.

[Secret: Letter to Miles]

[Hidden Item: A conversation regarding the matter of the final Sacrifice.]

[Activation Method 1: Master the Ancient An Su Secret Language and become proficient in the knowledge: Ono Transcoding.]

The language in the letter was not the common tongue.

Instead, it was a series of strangely shaped symbols.

’Looks like it needs to be deciphered.’

’If even the erudite Kumironi couldn’t decipher it, it must be quite difficult.’

"How is it? Any leads?" Kumironi asked, a hint of expectation in her voice.

"I have a bit of a lead."

"But, I probably won’t be able to fully decipher it right away..."

Lu Cang shifted his gaze to a bookshelf on the side.

On the bookshelf sat a copy of Ancient An Su Secret Language Theory, and on another part of the shelf was a book titled Interpretation of Several Ancient Languages.

And the knowledge hidden within this second book was precisely "Ono Transcoding."

’It’s true what they say: the antidote is always found near the viper’s nest.’

The knowledge needed to decipher the contents of this secret letter was right here in this small room.

Lu Cang spoke up, "Kumironi, can I take a look at these books?"

"I think... the key to deciphering the letter might be in one of these books."

Kumironi hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

"The knowledge recorded in these books might challenge your worldview."

"But I think that you, Lu Cang, as a Mage who pursues the Root Source, should be able to distinguish right from wrong in what is written."

’What a relief.’

Lu Cang had actually been worried that Kumironi would consider them all dark scriptures, unsuitable for him, and forbid him from reading them.

To see so many Secrets and not be able to crack them to get the hidden information felt like such a waste.

After all, many of his best acquisitions had come from cracking Secrets.

It was impossible not to be tempted.

Especially since many of the hidden items seemed quite valuable.

Besides, there was another important point: the strongest Healing Mage on the Ruelun Continent was right beside him. If he happened to read something he shouldn’t, pry into some forbidden knowledge, and suffer a mishap, Kumironi would be there to save him.