Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 6] Chapter 136

[Vol. 6] Chapter 136: Her Trail

Hen’s suggestion was something the priestess naturally wouldn’t oppose.

Violet, who likes to keep things simple, she’ll probably just randomly pick a path and stick to it in a situation like this, unless there’s a really obvious clue pointing her in another direction.

Unexpectedly, they had barely walked a few dozen steps along the central path when the road split into three branches again, each leading in a distinctly different direction.

“……”

After a moment’s hesitation, the silver-haired girl, seemingly relying on some kind of ability to find the way, raised her hand and pointed straight ahead.

“This way.”

They continued forward.

The surroundings remained dark and eerily silent, with no signs of the [Black Scaled Army] leaving torch marks along the path. Perhaps they never came this way at all, or maybe they passed quickly and had already moved deeper in. Either way, there was no chance of finding clues here.

Not even a hundred steps later, the road split into three paths again.

“…This way.”

This time, Hen hesitated noticeably longer than before, but eventually, she made her choice and pointed straight ahead.

Once more, they moved forward, only to encounter yet another three-way split.

It was like an endless cycle, repeating five times in a row, yet the road still showed no signs of reaching an end.

Each time, the silver-haired girl leading the way made a clear choice, but the time she took to decide grew longer and longer. It seemed that the chaotic and endless options were subtly interfering with her ability to sense and judge the right direction.

Finally, amidst the strange and repetitive scene, she stopped in her tracks, her face showing a faint but noticeable hint of frustration.

“…”

“What’s going on? Is this never going to end? It feels like someone’s playing a prank on us!”

The cat-eared girl’s expression was odd as she muttered her complaint.

Murong Yun couldn’t help but chime in.

“Senior Xiao Kong, could this be some kind of maze spell or ghost trick?”

“Impossible. There’s no sign of spatial distortion at all. Whoever built this place is clearly doing it on purpose!”

The Spirit Maiden silently shook her head, not joining in their discussion.

“Violet.”

The black-haired girl, who had just taken a few steps forward, turned around and met the silver-haired girl’s beautiful eyes, filled with a mix of confusion and frustration. She smiled slightly.

“What’s up?”

“Do you know the correct path?”

Shaking her head, the black-haired girl answered honestly.

“Of course not. But as long as you didn’t pick wrong earlier, it’s most likely we should keep going down the middle. After all, hasn’t that been the pattern so far?”

Hearing this, Miss Hen couldn’t help but sneer.

“…You’re guessing?”

“Uh-huh~”

At the sound of the priestess’s playful tone, the silver-haired girl’s elegant eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.

“Taking blind chances without any basis is reckless. You’re someone bound by fate. You need to be more cautious and value yourself more.”

“Is that so? Well, do you have a better idea? If I’m not mistaken, this setup is probably designed specifically to counter people like you, who are obsessed with calculating every detail. Space is sealed, probing is blocked, and now even predictions are restricted. Whoever made this place is really petty, huh~?”

“……”

Seeing that the silver-haired girl, despite her silence, still made no move to proceed, Violet sighed and shook her head.

“Miss Hen, are you saying that when you can’t see the future, you lose the courage and drive to move forward? Are you so paralyzed that you can’t take a single step? And you call yourself a wise one? How is that any different from someone playing a game who just follows a guide step by step?”

“To put it bluntly, that’s just being a puppet of fate.”

The silver-haired girl, visibly affected by these words, for once responded quickly and with a rare trace of defiance.

“…I just want to be careful.”

The priestess pointed to the straight path ahead and smiled again.

“But right now, we don’t have a safe method, do we? So, we can only rely on our instincts and take a gamble, right? It’s better than just standing here doing nothing, isn’t it?”

It might sound a bit strange, but in truth, this kind of debate wasn’t new. It had happened many times in their adventures. Hen was an extreme rationalist. Before tackling any challenge, she would spend a lot of time investigating, gathering information, and striving for a flawless strategy. Her meticulous planning had indeed been a great help to Violet, and the priestess deeply respected and trusted Hen, often taking her advice.

But… this was also Hen’s greatest weakness.

Seeing the silver-haired girl remain silent, even Xiao Kong refrained from making sarcastic remarks at Hen’s expense. Instead, she stood quietly, wearing a complex expression as she watched the two women argue. Violet, however, sighed and gave Hen a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Come on, whether it’s right or wrong, moving forward is never a mistake. We can afford to make a few missteps, so stop worrying so much.”

With that, the priestess took the first step forward. The cat-eared girl followed without hesitation, and Murong Yun was next. Finally, Hen silently trailed behind the group.

As they progressed, the path continued to split into even more paths, at times four, five, or more. Each seemingly identical and indistinguishable, enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed just looking at them.

Yet Miss Violet, now leading the way, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. She simply pressed on, keeping her eyes closed and walking straight ahead. No matter how the paths branched, she didn’t waver, hesitate, or even glance at the side routes.

This way, they passed through more than a dozen intersections, traversing deep into the ancient tomb whose true size remained unknown.

Finally, they reached a point where the seemingly endless paths ceased to appear. Instead, they found themselves standing before a clean and orderly stone chamber.

Bright light drove away the gloom, and a refreshing breeze gently blew in from unseen ventilation shafts, bringing new life to the previously oppressive air of the sealed space. It was as if the scene suddenly transformed, revealing a path to clarity and renewal.

The priestess stopped and smiled at the silver-haired girl beside her.

“See? My luck isn’t too bad, right?”

“……”

Hen said nothing, though something seemed to shift in her gaze.

Ignoring the private exchange between the two girls, Murong Yun surveyed the surroundings thoughtfully.

“This place… looks like a ceremonial hall that separates the main tomb from the outer areas. It’s a very typical layout for large-scale ancient tombs.”

“Typically, if this was a public site, later generations would use this space for worship and various rituals. Beyond this point, however, lies the core. The ‘residential zone’ where the actual tomb chambers are located, built with strict design principles.”

“Oh…”

Not knowing what to say, Violet could only respond briefly to avoid an awkward silence. She then turned her attention to the so-called ceremonial stone chamber located at the deepest point of countless branching paths.

The room wasn’t decorated with anything overly elaborate. At its center stood a simple, unadorned altar, taking up nearly a third of the entire space.

The altar was wide at the base and circular at the top, connected to the ground by short steps. In its center was a massive stone tablet, firmly secured to the altar. Upon closer inspection, the tablet was covered in densely packed writing. Around it lay the remnants of various sacrificial tools, all heavily decayed with time, though these items were of little significance.

Apart from the striking altar, the stone chamber itself wasn’t particularly large, with an estimated area of only a few hundred square meters. The walls were lined with evenly spaced white stones that served as light sources.

Though there weren’t many of these stones, each about the size of an adult’s fist, their faint white glow illuminated the entire chamber, making it as bright as daylight. It was far superior to anything like common luminous stones.

“Hm? Wait, this is… [Dawn Stone]? What’s [Dawn Stone] doing here?”

Hearing the cat-eared girl’s surprised murmur, Violet tilted her head.

“Xiao Kong, you recognize this stone?”

A hint of nostalgia flashed across her silver eyes, like jewels gleaming in the light. The girl nodded, though her expression carried a wry smile.

“How could I not recognize [Dawn Stone]? I was the one who discovered it and gave it its name with her… No wonder the builders of this tomb were able to maintain its sealed operations even after thousands of years.”

“Speaking of which, it’s been nearly a thousand years since I last went back there.”

“Violet, [Dawn Stone] is a lighting material used exclusively by the Spirit Veil Tribe on Spirit Veil Immortal Island. This tomb… was most likely built by someone from the Spirit Veil Tribe.”