"Spirits?"

"Yes. I remember that the ingredients of the golden branch seem to you to be Taiyi, Beidou, Sun and Moon, Hebo or something. I don't understand it very well, but it is said to have a great effect. You should be able to refine him into an elixir, I heard that you have a rich qi practitioner, the one surnamed Zheng, who spent a lot of money to buy a golden branch once, and then refined the Zhuji Dan and became a celestial. I'm still wondering, aren't the Aurora Immortal Methods all casual? At that time, even 'good fortune was fate'. I don't understand it either, anyway, the gold branches I bought can also build a foundation. ”

"Is this thing so powerful? Isn't that precious? ”

"It's so precious, you can only pick it once in a generation. Except for the last time when the rich man bought it, we took all the other gold branches ourselves. However, it seems that it is more practical for you, our people can't rely on the golden branch to reach the realm of 'celestial people', but can only become a generation of forest kings. That's what the golden branch was meant to be for. As a result, we have now been retributed, and our 'good fortune' seems to have been exhausted by that sale. Because there were no old branches to guide the way, no one in this generation could reach the Nemi Lake sacrificial ground. Oh, Mithra is on top. ”

He folded his hands: "Fortunately, you suddenly arrived there yesterday, and I wondered if Jinyiwei specially sent you to save the scene." It's enough to have you, and then join you as a participant to complete the Hero Tour. As long as you can participate, the Golden Bough is yours. ”

"Wait, can I ask, what is the Hero's Parade? Also, will you give me the golden bough? ”

"These two are a problem - as long as you know what the Hero's Parade is, you know where the Golden Bough belongs. The Hero's Parade is similar to your monasticism, a way to gain power. You can understand him as a kind of ritualized war. This ritual was first initiated by Alexander the Great, whose crusade was a 'heroic pilgrimage' to Hercules. He dressed up in the image of Hercules and hunted lions like Hercules. Like Hercules, he dragged his opponent around the city behind the chariot. Evolved to this day, we have reduced it to the 'armor ceremony'. There is no longer a need to fight a war on a huge scale, just to take risks. ”

He pointed at himself, and then at Shang Luo:

"It only takes one squad to take an adventure. Enter the myth by night, don the armor of gods, or demigods, and experience the experiences of otherworldly beings. If you experience 'similar causes' with them, you will get 'similar effects.'" Fruit is the result of war. The golden branch is the result of the battle, and the blood of the hydra is also the result of the battle. By winning the Heroic Parade, we will be able to continue to expand the boundaries of human civilization. The results of the war are also trophies, and of course they must be divided among those who have made meritorious contributions. It was this kind of 'transcendent feudalism' that underpinned Rome. Those who are eligible to participate in the Hero Parade can be 'sealed' to extraordinary powers. If you participate, then the golden branch of this generation will be divided among you - of course, from the etiquette system, it will not be divided for you, because you are not a patriarch. This counts as sharing the spoils of war with our allies. ”

"Can I participate because of the old branches? Then why don't they give the old branches to others? ”

"Ugh." Titus let out a long sigh, "You see those, it's the second team of the Hurdra forces. The Golden Bough Ceremony requires not only challengers, but also some. Well, there are cast members in doll costumes in the amusement park, right? ”

"They're NPCs?!"

"I don't quite understand what NPC means, is this a new word? In short, it's the cast and crew who need to cooperate with you to complete the game. The ritual of plucking the golden bough is complex and requires the cooperation of many people. But the Golden Bough Ritual has to be done, because since we started one ritual, we have to complete every ritual later, or something terrible will happen. ”

"What will happen?"

“.” He thought for a moment, "Are you sure you want to listen?" I should tell you everything. But this is important, and I dare to explain it in the darkness of the night. Before I speak, you swear by the Great Styx of Styx. This is important. But there are no spells, you just have to say, 'I swear.'" ”

"Apollonia," Shang Luo suppressed his voice, "Should I ask?" ”

Apollonia was silent for a few moments. It seems that a choice has been made:

[Okay. You're always going to talk about it. You swear, you need to know that, too. 】

After a brief ritual, Titus said what he also needed to swear to secrecy in the night:

"If the ritual fails, then we will lose the sacrificial forest of Lake Nemi forever. At the same time, a real myth will come to the world. In the sacrificial forest on the shore of Lake Nemi, there will really be a kingdom of the priest king, and people will be captured for blood sacrifice. Those challengers, participants, who fail to escape, become part of the myth. That's when the fun starts. We've even put out something even more powerful. ”

"For example. God? ”

"No, no, no, no, there is absolutely no god. Absolutely nothing. I'm talking about Jack the Ripper. ”

Combined with Apollonia's words, Shang Luo already knew the answer. They definitely released the gods because of their failures, but how the gods who returned to the sun from the age of mythology became gods is another question. I guess I can't ask.

But the Ripper's message intrigued him:

"So the Ripper, he ran out of the ceremony?"

"Not exactly. He's one of a kind. We haven't even been able to remember the 'new myth' of the analysis. Because there has never been a god in history, 'Jack the Ripper'. That poor Akjieus, he was not a combatant at all, he was just a Roman nobleman in the Golden Book. All we know is that he likes to take pictures, but suddenly one day he becomes 'Jack the Ripper'. Now, we must perform the ritual on him. Maraca (Roman dialect)! We don't even know what the elements of the ritual are. It's not like the Golden Bough ceremony, where you can even find someone to play the staff, and you have to re-explore it. ”

Could it be that he photographed himself because he liked to take pictures, which in turn aroused the suspicion of other individuals, and then fell into the night? And there may be more than one individual. ”

"Hmm??? How do you know the latest developments in the case? We also just discovered that there are three of them. ”

"I've heard it, I've heard it. It's an urban legend. ”

"Yes, yes, yes! It's an urban legend! Titus suddenly raised his voice, "For some reason, the astrologers of Delphi have noticed a lot of nonsense running in the Akashic Records. It's a storm! Shattered our old conversation sequence. I heard that the astrologers of Delphi were so desperate that they began to turn to the power beyond the night, and even took the initiative to embrace the sun. In short, we are in a difficult situation. The golden branch is the reward, please be sure to help us complete the branch breaking ceremony. If the priest-king escapes, it will be a great pleasure! ”

(End of chapter)