The existence of the Sacred Treasury is like an ancient mystery entangled with sacred thorns, firmly locked in the deepest part of Van Rahil.
Just as Linde had predicted, even core cardinals like Helios and Augustus only knew their names, not their paths.
The final key to that place was tightly held in the hands of Pope Innocent III, who had fallen into a mysterious slumber.
“My Lord Oracle, it is not that we intend to conceal or shirk responsibility,” Cardinal Helios said with a troubled expression and a heavy tone, “The entrance to the Sacred Treasury is no ordinary door. It has been sealed by successive popes using their own light source and secret incantations. Apart from His Majesty himself, no one knows how to open it. Forcibly breaking through... may cause unpredictable consequences, and may even destroy the treasury itself.”
Cardinal Auguste added:
“We tried to combine the power of several cardinals to simulate His Holiness the Pope’s aura, but the seal did not react at all and almost triggered the backlash mechanism.”
Linde listened quietly, his face showing no surprise or disappointment.
He had already gleaned clues from those expired holy symbols.
Those holy emblems given to nobles outside the church, inlaid with "god-slaying metal" and encapsulated with the blood of the light veins, bear distinct personal imprints in their craftsmanship and energy signatures, which are completely different from the standardized holy objects mass-produced by the church.
That must have been the Pope's doing, a "favor" he created using his special authority and power, or perhaps a covert extension or experiment of his power.
Now, the divine blood of the holy emblem he dismantled has been absorbed and fused by the [Bright Halo], leaving only a few fragments of god-slaying metal.
Other similar holy emblems circulating within the church had lost their vitality due to the passage of time, becoming mere mortal objects, and he only managed to recover a small portion of the special metal material.
The Pope's slumber seems to have blocked the only way out.
But Lind never needed anyone to open the door for him.
"I see."
Lin De spoke calmly, revealing no emotion, “His Holiness the Pope has done much for the Holy Church, and his peaceful rest should not be disturbed. As for the matter of the Holy Treasury, I have my own methods.”
The two cardinals exchanged a surprised and uncertain glance.
Do you have a solution?
What can this oracle do if even the combined power of the entire Cardinal Council cannot shake the Pope's seal?
But they dared not ask too many questions. The methods Linde had previously demonstrated and the truth about the "fall of the gods" he had revealed had established an unfathomable authority in their minds.
After dismissing his attendants, Linde went alone to the deepest part of the Great Cathedral of Radiance, to a large, inconspicuous bronze door embedded in the thick stone wall.
The door was simple and unadorned, with only some blurry and indistinct ancient patterns and a shallow groove that seemed to be used to place some kind of token.
What appears to be merely an ancient prayer niche reveals, through the feedback from the [Deconstruction Halo], a clear indication that it conceals extremely complex spatial folding laws and energy barriers, subtly connected to the entire holy city's ley lines and even the source of its light veins.
At the core of that barrier is a highly personalized light pulse frequency lock, like the most sophisticated DNA lock, recognizing only the unique life and soul imprint of Pope Innocent III.
Linde stretched out his finger and gently brushed it across the cold bronze door panel. The faint blue light of his fingertip shimmered in sync with the data stream in his purple eyes.
[Target: Papal Seal (Light Pulse Frequency Lock)]
[Core Certifications: Vibration of the Origin of Life, Soul Resonance Frequency, and Light Pulse Synchronization Rate (≥99.7%)]
[Standard hacking success rate: 0.0001% (requires homogeneous energy with an intensity not lower than the threshold)]
[Residual material detected: fragments of god-slaying metal (once carried the target's divine blood and imprinted with a strong target mark)]
The analysis results are presented instantly.
Just as I expected.
Pope Innocent III almost turned his own life's imprint into a single key.
But "almost" does not mean "absolutely".
Lind opened his palm, and several dull, dark metal fragments containing strange properties appeared in his hand—these were fragments of the god-slaying metal dismantled from the holy emblem.
They once contained the divine blood of light veins personally infused by the Pope. The long-term immersion in energy has deeply imprinted these metal fragments with the "afterglow" of the Pope's unique light vein frequency and soul imprint.
It's like getting the perfect mold for a key.
"The key itself is dormant, but the mold remains."
Lind muttered to himself.
With a thought, he amplified the power of the [Deconstruction Halo] to its limit. It was no longer a wide-area scan, but rather condensed into an incredibly fine and precise probe, penetrating into the most microscopic structure of those fragments of god-slaying metal, and doing his utmost to capture, analyze, and record the faint yet crucial "Papal Mark" contained within.
In an instant, countless minute energy fluctuation patterns, frequency parameters, and unique "patterns" of soul resonance surged into Linde's sea of consciousness like a vast star map, and were frantically analyzed and reconstructed by the supercomputing power of the steel sky.
This is an extremely complex process that requires an unbelievable understanding of the nature of energy.
It would have been impossible for Linde to achieve this without his super-rule-level analytical ability, such as [Deconstructing the Halo].
A moment later, a bright purple light shone in Linde's eyes.
"Simulation begins. Energy frequency synchronization... Soul waveform fitting... Light pulse synchronization rate increase... 99.5%... 99.8%... 100.1%, overload calibration, stabilized at 99.93%..."
The few fragments of god-slaying metal in his palm trembled slightly, emitting a low hum, and a layer of light energy that was extremely similar to that of Pope Innocent III began to flow on its surface, almost indistinguishable from it!
But that's not enough. No matter how realistic the simulated mark is, it's just a tree without roots, lacking the most essential "power" that drives the seal.
A cold smile curled at the corner of Linde's lips.
"Then, I will provide the 'power'."
He raised his other hand, and the power of the [Bright Halo] quietly surged.
This time, however, he did not unleash that blazing, holy light. Instead, he restrained himself and infused the simulated "Papal Mark" with the purest power of the light veins—power that originated from the Holy God and was perfectly absorbed and fused by him—into an extremely subtle way.
Using stolen divine blood as a guide, god-slaying metal as a mold, and his own source of light as a driving force!
Buzz—!
A deep, resonant hum that shook the very air resounded from inside the bronze gate!
The previously blurry patterns on the door panel suddenly lit up, flowing with dazzling golden light. They moved and intertwined rapidly, like awakened snakes, and finally converged at the central groove.
The groove shone brightly, forming a rotating vortex of light.
The heavy bronze door in front of Linde, sealed for countless years, slid open silently, revealing not the room he had expected, but a rotating teleportation screen made of pure light runes.
The sacred treasure opened its doors to him.
Without the slightest hesitation, Linde stepped into the light curtain.
Behind him, the bronze gate quietly closed, and the light on the gate quickly dimmed, returning to the inconspicuous ancient wall, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only a faint trace of energy fluctuations remaining in the air, a mixture of the Pope's and Lind's auras, testified to what had just happened.
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