Su Fu, of course, didn’t believe it.
Pies falling from the sky—and so perfectly round at that?
How could that be possible?
She even suspected that this was an illusion crafted specifically for her.
Wait, could this be a classic bait-and-switch?
Luring her step by step into the trap, only to pull the rug out from under her in the end, so that she’d lose even her undergarments?
Su Fu eyed the situation suspiciously, “With conditions this good, why not go find someone else? Is this some kind of illusion?”
Honestly, it really could be.
This Thorn Forest was clearly the first barrier of Eden, both an obstacle and a protection.
The illusion itself felt just like those “heart trials” in cultivation stories.
‘Hiss—so in that case——’
She suddenly looked around.
Could there be some big shot secretly watching her?
If she agreed, wouldn’t she be failing the test immediately?
If this was really some kind of test, best case scenario: she’d just flunk the exam.
Worst case scenario…
This was an S-class Saint Land.
If she had any wicked intentions, she might just be kicked out on the spot.
Mysterious Voice: “…..”
‘Was it that it didn’t want to find someone else? Damn, why is this person so clever? Just too cautious.’
But there was no choice; it had to keep up its mysterious tone, pretending to be some lofty existence: “This is not an illusion. On the contrary, I am the one keeping you from being trapped in an illusion. This is a trivial matter for me. The reason I chose you is because you are special.”
The voice continued its bewitching tone, “Don’t you want that Angel Feather Pen? Once you have it, whatever you wish for will surely come true.”
Who could resist such temptation?
A pen that could make wishes come true?
It was sure that as long as this person harbored any desires, she would be swayed.
Su Fu was resolute and righteously refused, “Don’t talk about things that aren’t in hand. If you keep this up, I’ll start shouting!”
Mysterious Voice: “…!”
Fainted from anger on the spot.
Su Fu figured she was right about not being trapped in an illusion.
After all, she had the Nine-tailed Fox’s bestowed Divine Skill [Illusion Technique], making her extremely sensitive to such things, so she decided to bluff.
Besides, everyone here was facing the Seven Deadly Sins illusion.
There was no reason for her to get special treatment.
So the main question now became: why had this voice come to her?
Clearly, the others were still lost in their illusions, unable to break free.
Why was she being “singled out”?
At that moment, the Mysterious Voice, hearing Su Fu’s answer, was practically furious, ‘A greedy one—greedier than even itself!’
She ought to have sunk into the illusion of greed, experiencing that empty feeling at the end.
She’d done nothing at all and already started demanding compensation—it was practically freeloading.
‘Calm down, calm down, don’t get angry.’
It realized now: Su Fu was not someone who could be treated according to common sense.
‘Not tempted, eh?’
It let out a cold laugh, then cleared its throat, keeping up its inscrutable facade.
“Human, Eden holds dangers beyond your imagination. A priest has defected, possessing formidable abilities and still lurking in the shadows. The Paradise Pantheon is preparing to hunt them down in secret. Otherwise, why do you think your ‘powerful figure’ is here?”
“If you help me, I can guarantee your safety.”
Su Fu was stunned by these words.
The “powerful figure”—was it referring to the Central Inspector?
She’d been suspicious.
Why did the Sacred Practice Course for their class suddenly become S-class Eden?
Was it just luck?
And that Inspector just happened to “coincidentally” select their class for inspection?
No matter how she looked at it, something seemed fishy.
Maybe, she thought, this whole exam was just a smokescreen.
What was the real purpose, then?
She hadn’t been able to figure it out before due to lack of information, but now the Mysterious Voice had given her a clue—if the Paradise Pantheon was asking for help, then it made sense.
Who’d have thought it would actually reveal something useful.
Just then, the voice suddenly weakened, “This time, my power is already exhausted… I hope next time, you can give me an answer.”
Immediately after, the thorns before Su Fu twisted, curling and weaving together.
The sharp points softened, turning into fine patterns, and the dark branches finally coalesced into the shape of a ring.
“I bestow upon you the Thorn Ring—it can block a fatal blow.”
The voice grew weaker and weaker, “I hope that when I return, you haven’t been killed by that defector priest…”
At last, the voice vanished completely.
Su Fu waited for a while, but heard nothing more.
“Really gone?”
She stared at the ring in front of her, hesitating—should she take it or not?
Though the voice didn’t sound like anything good, it wasn’t wrong in one regard: it hoped she’d survive until its next appearance—or rather, survive to save it.
As for the ring…
Su Fu didn’t bother guessing, and directly activated the True Sight of Heaven.
Why not just check?
As expected, once the Divine Skill was activated, detailed information about the Thorn Ring immediately appeared in her vision: [Thorn Ring]
[Created from thorns that grew out of the soil where the Forbidden Fruit decayed]
[Effect: Wearer can resist one fatal attack]
[Side Effect: Hears the Whisper of the Ancient Serpent]
Su Fu: “Hmm?”
She almost burst out laughing at the last line: “Side Effect: Hears the Whisper of the Ancient Serpent.”
Ancient Serpent?
Seriously, the disguise dropped right there, huh?
So she’d guessed right—it really was that Tempting Serpent from Eden.
If that snake knew its identity was exposed just by gifting her a Thorn Ring, it would probably die of rage.
“As expected of the True Sight of Heaven bestowed by Erlang Shen—sees through everything in a glance, truly unmatched.”
Since that’s the case, she might as well keep it.
Who would complain about having too many life-saving items?
As for the side effect of “Whisper of the Ancient Serpent,” let it babble all it wants.
After all, being trapped for so long without anyone to talk to, and now sending her a Divine Artifact—she could cut it some slack.
But with the Ancient Serpent showing up, it proved her knowledge of the Paradise Pantheon could actually be put to use here in Eden.
Legend had it that God created Adam and Eve, letting them live in Eden, allowing them everything but forbidding them to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
Then came a Tempting Serpent, luring Eve into defying God’s will and eating the Forbidden Fruit, who then shared it with Adam.
Thus, both gained knowledge, learned good and evil, felt shame, but were expelled from Eden for disobeying God, and humanity ever since bore original sin.
So, the Ancient Serpent must be that snake, right?
‘Tsk tsk, still alive after all this time?’
Su Fu thought it was rather impressive.
Since the True Sight found nothing wrong, she picked up the ring.
As soon as it touched her skin, it seemed to come alive, contracting slightly to fit her finger perfectly.
‘Not bad, not bad’—Su Fu took this as a good omen.
An auspicious start.
As for that Angel Feather Pen the snake had promised her—Su Fu actually knew a bit about it, having spent half a semester on the subject.
It was, in fact, a Forbidden Item.
From the source of Divine Artifacts, the first were bestowed by gods out of mercy, after which humans, with their own wisdom, developed technology to imitate and create them, resulting in god-given and man-made Divine Artifacts.
But, the longer humans used god-given Divine Artifacts, the more they realized that not all such artifacts were always beneficial—some even carried curses, or so-called side effects.
For some Divine Artifacts, the side effects outweighed the benefits and were thus called “Forbidden Items.”
For example, the Heroic Spirit Horn—it could summon heroic spirits to fight for the user, but at the cost of the user’s soul.
Or the Nether Mask—it lets you see all hidden things, but each use makes you gradually lose your grip on reality.
Or the Mirror of Fate—able to foresee the future, but would drive the user insane.
But Forbidden Items weren’t forbidden because they couldn’t be used, but because they must be used in the right way, at the right time, and otherwise kept sealed.
Take the Heroic Spirit Horn—its side effect is consuming the user’s soul, right?
But you could easily use contract magic to shift the soul consumption onto a “non-living vessel,” like a captured high-level demon.
For the Nether Mask, the side effect is losing touch with reality?
Just compensate with a godly item that enhances perception.
For the Mirror of Fate, it drives you insane?
Simpler still—just erase your memory and start over with a clean slate.
No more madness.
So, some said the real danger of Forbidden Items wasn’t their side effects, but humanity’s obsession with using them for free.
Su Fu found this quite reasonable.
As for the Angel Feather Pen—it was actually the Paradise Pantheon’s forbidden item, ranked 009.
Legend says it was made from the feather of the angel Gabriel, and its power came from Genesis: “God said, Let there be light: and there was light”—the myth that language has the power to shape reality.
This Divine Artifact really could make anything you wrote come true, but at the cost of the user’s lifespan.
She remembered her textbook noting the last public use was in the year 3392 (The Descent Tide).
Back then, the Atlantis city cluster was hit by an apocalyptic tsunami caused by an anomaly.
Metatron, then Elder of the Paradise Pantheon, used the feather pen to write: “The waters recede, the land is at peace,” saving millions.
The price was Metatron aged overnight from a man in his prime to an old man, and died a month later.
So, some say the curse of Forbidden Items is simply humanity’s punishment for coveting the creations of gods.
This comes from the belief that gods, with their infinite lifespans, can use the feather pen endlessly, while humans cannot possibly compare.
Su Fu thought, ‘Goodness, isn’t this a loophole?’
An immortal using a lifespan-draining Divine Artifact—if their lifespan is infinite, there’s no cost.
But for mortals, the price is unbearable.
In short, this Forbidden Item was truly powerful—but the price was equally great.
And if the Angel Feather Pen were kept in the Greek Pantheon instead, that bunch would be using it left and right for chaos and slaughter, wouldn’t they?
Disgusting.
And if it were ever used against her, she’d never sleep easy again.
Best to get rid of it quickly.
Just then, Hou Zhu beside her suddenly moved.
He snapped open his eyes, as if waking from a nightmare.
Regret faded from his gaze, replaced by clarity as he recognized Su Fu across from him.
He paused, then asked, “When did you wake up?”
Su Fu shrugged, “Just now.”
Hou Zhu looked at her for a moment, then dropped his gaze and said nothing more.
It was as if he was the signal—soon, more and more candidates began waking from their illusions.
Some looked ashamed, others confused, while still others sighed in relief.
“I saw…”
“That illusion was so real…”
“I was consumed by anger, completely unable to control myself…”
“I just wanted to lie down, didn’t want to do anything at all…”
This stage wasn’t particularly difficult—given enough time, everyone would eventually notice something was off in the illusion.
Dai Li shakily got to her feet, her eyes still dazed, a sense of laziness lingering.
Jiang Nanchen also rubbed his temples, looking pale—the urge to gorge himself had faded, but its aftereffects still made him uncomfortable.
“How long have you all been awake?” Dai Li tried to distract herself.
Su Fu answered as always, “Just now.”
Jiang Nanchen breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good, that’s good.”
The time gap wasn’t big—he was secretly relieved, hoping no one saw his greedy, gluttonous state earlier.
That would have been too embarrassing.
Dai Li, however, was unconvinced, glancing suspiciously at Su Fu’s calm demeanor—she didn’t look like someone who’d just broken free from an illusion.
She thought, ‘Maybe Su Fu woke up long ago.’
At that moment, Su Fu said, “Let’s go.”
The group followed, walking several more minutes until they finally passed through the Thorn Forest and arrived at the real Eden.
lord of the mysteries?