Chapter 1229: Holy Spring Prophecy
"The sky cracked, and the Indigo King descended from the sandstorm, breathing fire;
"The Savior behind the curtain murmured: 'I am the warp and weft of heaven and earth, I bring forth an inexhaustible spring of fresh water.'
"I kissed its shadow, drank its blood, and tasted honey in the gravel;"
"The fetus of doomsday will eventually be strangled by tomorrow's umbilical cord."
——"Rest", Chapter 1 "Prophecy of the Holy Spring", first couplet.
This book, which has been read by almost all the free people of the Parthian Empire, is the foundation of the Holy Spring City.
At the founding of the ancient Parthian Empire, a winged prophet penned the thirteen-chapter prophetic poem "Parthia," describing thirteen prophecies that would eventually come true. The first Parthian king accordingly divided Parthia's territory into thirteen provinces, each named after a chapter of the prophetic poem.
Over the course of time, twelve of these prophecies have come true. Coincidentally, all twelve provinces no longer exist, reduced to ruins, swallowed by the desert. Only the "Prophecy of the Holy Spring" remains unfulfilled... Perhaps because of this, only the Holy Spring City remains.
This is why the format of the name of the Benefactor of Holy Spring City is different from that of the Benefactors of other oasis city-states—
The name of the benevolent lord of the Holy Spring City, "Aimaer Nur", if translated directly into Avalon, means "Spring of Light" or "Holy Spring".
This does not mean that the original benefactor has lived to this day... but that each generation of benefactors of the Holy Spring City needs to abandon their original names and change their names to "Aimaer Nur" to inherit the name of the Holy Spring.
And now——
"Good Lord..."
A black-robed priest wearing a crow mask and holding a long staff muttered softly and looked into the distance in astonishment.
On the distant skyline, there was a ferocious, violent yet majestic indigo dragon beast flying in the sky.
Behind its wings burned thin blue flames, and behind it was pulling a magnificent and luxurious carriage.
Like a meteorite as deep as the ocean, it fell from the sky.
——This scene was also witnessed by other black-robed priests.
They looked up in shock, pointing and looking over there. Some knelt on the ground, while others hurried back to the city.
At this moment, the slaves who were being dragged behind them and were about to be buried in the quicksand seemed to have a sudden inspiration and let out earth-shaking cries at the same time.
The cries and shouts overlapped at the same time, and in an instant it was like thunder shaking the sky.
Time seemed to stop at this moment.
Although the faces of the high priests were all wearing masks and could not be seen clearly, one could clearly feel that when the cries shook the heavens and the earth, they became visibly panicked, their bodies stiffened, and their limbs trembled.
As expected.
The ferocious and slender dragon beast heard the cries of those damn slaves and turned its scarlet eyes towards them!
The leading priest was at a loss and trembling all over.
"--roar!!"
The sound of breaking air was accompanied by an angry roar, and the "Indigo King" that seemed to be in the prophecy arrived.
I don't know which priest started it, but some people knelt down tremblingly. Once someone knelt first, the others had no choice but to follow suit.
"What's going on?"
From inside the carriage, a majestic and magnificent voice came from afar: "Why are you killing these slaves?"
Just listening to the sound made their scalps tingle.
They were all "Turbid Ritualists" who frequently engaged in sacrificial rituals and had close ties with the creatures of the Dream Realm. They could easily sense the divine nature of the master behind the voice—just like their own benevolent master, they had transcended the mundane world and become a demigod on earth.
"This is……"
The black-robed priests looked at the leader in panic, and the priest's expression under the mask had turned pale.
When he started racking his brains, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Another old voice came from inside the carriage: "They are making thirst stones, sir.
"This is a forbidden spell passed down by the good masters—collect the grayish-white salt crystals found in the walls of houses after burning camel dung, smear them on the skin of living sacrifices, and then bury them in quicksand. While using the cursed quicksand to drain the moisture from their bodies, a ritual is used to prolong their pitiful lives...
"Then, by mixing these completely dehydrated yet still alive individuals with the Sinthorns and into Black Iron, you can create Thirst Stone... the material you've seen before."
The Thirststone Bells used to summon the city's citizens, and the Thirststone Handbells used by Adil's priests - these are all products of this cruel and forbidden magic.
The black-robed priests wearing bird-faced masks looked into the carriage in horror, wishing they could cover the damn old man's mouth.
But he didn't stop. He continued, "Besides making people extremely thirsty, the Thirst Stone can also serve as an energy storage stone that carries the caster's power. The staffs, instruments, and amulets in the hands of the Parthian priests are all made of Thirst Stone. This is also Parthian's most important extraordinary export product and a specialty of Holy Spring City. It is a secret controlled by the benevolent master of Holy Spring City. Only those priests who serve Aymar Nur know this ritual.
"The goblins can ask for a huge price for a piece of Thirst Stone, but they have no idea... the cost of a piece of Thirst Stone is just a human life."
The old man said sarcastically, "Torturing a slave can earn you hundreds of times its selling price in gold. A threefold profit is enough to make a merchant take such a risk, but what about a three hundredfold profit?"
The priests felt cold all over.
——Who is he? How come he knows such a secret?
"I see."
The elegant and mysterious voice carried a hint of disgust: "Then stop it. Don't be a thirst stone anymore."
"But...but...Sir..."
The leading priest knelt on the ground and stammered, "This is... the order of the 'Forgiver'..."
——"The Forgiver" is the title of Aymar Nur, the benevolent lord of Qingquan City.
"Don't listen to him. I will bring you a new order."
The voice in the carriage said without hesitation: "He gave you a spring of fresh water, and I will bring you an endless stream of fresh water—"
Hearing this, the priests' hearts almost jumped out of their chests.
Doesn’t this fit in exactly with what’s in the prophecy?
They didn't dare to say anything more, they just knelt on the ground and prostrated themselves deeply.
The dark blue unknown dragon beast glanced at them and let out a heart-shaking roar like a lion.
The next moment, the dragon beast jumped high again and leaped into the city-state over their heads.
The priests knelt on the ground for a long time. No one dared to raise their heads or say anything.
(End of this chapter)
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