Therefore, Hayden immediately asked, "What did you figure out?"
"Things should be told in order."
The professor did not answer directly.
"For the past two years, I have been searching for traces of the high-purity secret fire of Lady Angela on Earth through textual research and Kabbalah divination. All I found were ancient legends, scattered among vast volumes. But finding the truth in various stories is also the specialty of wizards, so I tried my best. I carefully read ancient documents, meticulously examined old parchment scrolls, sought the truth in hundreds of absurd myths and legends, performed divination and fortune-telling again and again, and traveled to many places to conduct on-site investigations and search for traces. That's why this matter has taken me two years."
Hayden's mouth dropped open when he heard this; he was completely stunned.
Two years ago, when he ran to the professor's office and handed him the bottle of Angela's scent, he never expected the professor to go to such lengths.
"Finally, I found a trace in time and space, which occurred in the Palestinian region 5300 years ago. This morning, I entered the final result of my calculations and went back in time to see what actually happened. Then I saw something extremely amazing that you must see for yourself."
Professor Albion continued rambling on as he drew his wand.
"You'll see something I've already seen before, and I swear it's real footage. Hayden, are you ready?"
The professor's tone was serious, more serious than Hayden had expected. What had he seen today?
But this was a question Hayden couldn't refuse, if he still cared even a little bit about the truth about Angela, whom he cared so much about.
So he nodded, and the old professor waved his wand at the basin of water and the globe.
The ancient cuneiform letters on the stone basin immediately began to vibrate, projecting beams of light and shadow into the room. Initially, they appeared as random lines and dots of light, then a three-dimensional image of the Earth began to appear beneath the ceiling, rapidly expanding until the entire blue Earth seemed to be suspended above the stone basin. This was a true three-dimensional projection of time travel; visually, apart from the translucency caused by the light intensity, it was indistinguishable from the real thing—an image that had actually occurred in reality.
In that image of ancient Earth, the professor waved his wand, quickly pinpointing the coordinates of the time and place he had calculated. The image of Earth rotated, growing larger and larger until the oceans and lands of another era, fields, forests, hills, and roads became clearly visible. Scattered villages dotted the land, exuding exotic charm, and flocks of snow-white sheep could be seen roaming freely.
Seconds later, Hayden found himself looking down at a city, a city that had existed 5300 years ago in the ancient Palestinian region.
It was an ancient and elegant city. Various ancient buildings, long lost to the depths of time, appeared before Hayden: there were towering city walls and towers, beautiful courtyards, and also low, dilapidated slums. These buildings were all constructed of limestone and mud bricks.
The professor had located a time and space that was currently nighttime, and even late at night. However, some small lights could still be seen in the city, and many people were jostling and making noise on the streets, crowding around a large mansion, doing who knows what.
Hayden was initially puzzled as to what the professor was trying to show him. But he quickly realized something was amiss: "Huh? What's that..."
Darkness descended. The world in the three-dimensional spacetime projection, the entire city, and the noisy people on the streets were suddenly shrouded in ever-deepening darkness. Because the place projected by the professor was already at night, the people in the projection were slow to notice, but as this supernatural darkness became more pronounced, the people in the city began to panic. Hayden couldn't see what was happening in the city either.
This scene lasted for about half an hour, then suddenly, the darkness vanished. A dazzling white light shone down from the sky, making the entire city as bright as day. The ancient people in the image cried out in surprise and looked up at the sky.
Whether they were ancient people or Hayden, they all saw a snow-white orb of light appear in the sky. The orb was so dazzling, like the sun descending from the heavens.
The orb of light was terrifyingly large, resembling both a brilliant beam of light and a towering pillar of fire; it was pure white, yet projected indescribable colors that Hayden could not comprehend. Its entire body was covered in eyes—countless thousands upon thousands of eyes—and around each eye were four wheels, one inside the other. From these four wheels extended countless glowing, wing-like structures, equally numerous, at least tens of millions.
Before Him, everything in this world seemed to be nothing more than insignificant dust. He transcended human understanding; Hayden, even just seeing Him across time and space, felt a terrifying chill and a burning heat simultaneously assaulting his body and soul.
The indescribable ball of light gently flapped its wings towards the city below.
The next instant, Hayden saw something new appear in the sky. Something streaked across the sky, through the atmosphere, and began to fall in their direction.
What is that... what is that? A sword? Or a knife?
“这座城市位于距今5300年前6月29日清晨4点30分的巴勒斯坦地区。它当时的名字叫作所多玛城。”
The professor spoke up at this moment.
"The location where it is situated is now known as the Dead Sea."
Before the words were even finished, the thing had already landed on the ground of Sodom—
...Then he destroyed that city and the surrounding cities, the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the city, and everything that grew on this land.
All that remained were countless drops of clean salt.
And the huge pit that was deeply hollowed out of the earth and is now known as the "Dead Sea".
191: Fallen City
"Currently, the academic consensus is that the Dead Sea was created by a meteorite five thousand years ago."
Professor Albion gazed at the three-dimensional spacetime projection and murmured,
"As you know now, this is what we've seen."
As everyone knows, the Dead Sea is now a large saltwater lake, ten times saltier than seawater, and it is also the lowest-lying lake in the world.
Now, Hayden and the professor are gazing at the Dead Sea from 5300 years ago, at the border between Jordan and Palestine. Back then, the Dead Sea was merely a hemispherical crater less than 100 kilometers in diameter. In that area, nothing could be seen but a deep, terrifying darkness.
And salt, snow-white salt columns, filled half of the deep pit.
The temperature inside the pit, which can be measured using image spectroscopy, is approximately 2000 degrees Celsius; naturally, no living thing could survive. The surrounding land, spanning hundreds of square kilometers, has become completely saline-alkali, turning into barren land, where nothing will grow for centuries, and no one will inhabit it.
In fact, the object that fell on Sodom affected the entire world. Vast amounts of dust entered the Earth's atmosphere for months. During this time, the world experienced dramatic climate change; many places were frozen over, and the once fertile Middle Eastern plains turned into desert.
As time passed, under the combined influence of nature and human activity, over thousands of years, the hemispherical crater quickly shrank. What remains today is the Dead Sea, an inland saltwater lake with extremely high salinity.
salt
Just thinking about that word made Hayden feel nauseous. Of course, he remembered when Angela first came to his side, when she first fought a high-level demon in front of him, she reached out and touched the demon's totem pole, turning it into salt.
So what exactly was that thing that suddenly appeared and descended with divine power over Sodom back then?
Is it some ancient god?
Professor Albion waved his wand again. The light and shadow projected onto the stone basin changed. It projected an extremely complex equation onto the opposite wall of the laboratory, with dense numbers and symbols covering almost the entire wall.
Hayden naturally asked, "What is this?"
"This is the formula I used in this divination calculation. Didn't you see it?" the professor said calmly. "Hayden, you should audit more classes in spiritual mathematics when you have time, or even just learn a little more using your personality chip. Your interest in this area is far less than Alastor's, which is why your informational arcane skills have remained mediocre."
Professor, do you really have to say this at this time?
Hayden was speechless. Fortunately, the professor quickly continued, "The medium I use for divination is the high-purity secret fire exhaled by Ms. Angela. What I want to know is where on Earth this secret fire left its mark."
"It's strange, but there have been quite a few high-purity secret fire reactions on Earth. But the one with the strongest sympathetic connection, the earliest occurrence, and that still exists today is this one."
Professor Albion said this.
"The energy that destroyed Sodom, blasted out the Dead Sea crater, and reset so many people, even the Old Gods, into pillars of salt. It is most similar to Lady Angela's Secret Flame. These salts all have remnants of Secret Flame, and I believe that the purity of the Secret Flame remaining is higher the salt at the bottom of the lake—of course, even if the purity was high back then, there should not be much residual Secret Flame now."
But these words still left Hayden speechless, clutching his head in his hands.
salt
Although salt is cheap and readily available in modern society, it held immense significance and value in the past. Since prehistoric times, salt has been widely regarded in magic as a protective agent or amulet, possessing the power to ward off evil. From ancient Greece in the west to Japan in the east, ancient people considered salt sacred and capable of exorcising demons and purifying.
Of course, the specific methods vary. In some places, salt is added to water to make holy water, while in others, it's added to food and medicine used for exorcism. As for Japan, everyone knows they directly sprinkle salt to ward off evil—these are all manifestations of purification and exorcism power.
Even in modern times, salt is still used in many forms of magic. In modern four-elemental magic, salt is used to represent the earth element. In some traditional witchcraft, wizards use salt to mark magical circles, which can maximally resist evil influences. Sprinkling salt into fire is also a simple and common method of exorcising evil.
Besides its uses for exorcism and purification, precious salt also played a crucial role in people's lives, determining life and death. In ancient societies lacking proper storage methods, salt was frequently used to preserve food and prevent spoilage. Because of its preservative properties, salt was considered to possess the meaning of "eternity and immortality" in many cultures around the world. The ancient Phoenicians called salt "white gold." Furthermore, when Haydn was practicing alchemy, he added five types of salt as important ingredients to his furnace.
In alchemy, salt represents the elements of matter and the body. It begins crudely and impurely, but through the alchemical process—through examination, dissolution, and decomposition—impurities are removed, and it can be purified and ultimately transformed into something divine. At least, that's what alchemical theory says.
...In short, this is salt.
Sacred, exorcising, purifying, immortal... it is clearly a suitable vessel for Angela's power.
"So, Professor, you believe that the ball of light we just saw was Angela?"
Hayden's mouth was getting dry as he spoke.
"Think? I think nothing,"
Professor Albion shook his head.
“I don’t know anything yet, and I’m not sure about anything. I want to go to the Dead Sea myself, collect the sediment at the bottom of the lake, and try to test and analyze the remaining secret fire inside. We are going to do research, and research means constantly trying, not guessing.”
"Of course, I know you have a prophetic talent and can sometimes predict the answer directly. But even so, you should still do actual investigation and research, instead of just copying the answer—what if you're wrong or misunderstand?"
The professor looked at Hayden with a serious expression and an inquiring gaze, so Hayden nodded in response.
Almost every culture has a literary tradition of prophetic self-fulfillment and misinterpretation. Everyone knows that misinterpreting prophecy is dangerous, while ignoring the ability to foresee the future and becoming completely obsessed with prophecy can both be fatal.
Therefore, Hayden understood Professor Albion's meaning: "You want me to go to the Dead Sea to conduct an on-site investigation."
“I hope you will come with me to the Dead Sea for an on-site investigation,” the professor corrected him. “If that is indeed what we are looking for, it will also benefit your own research on elixirs.”
indeed.
Hayden now needs a large amount of secret fire and magical salt for alchemy. He couldn't help but imagine himself setting up a factory on the shores of the Dead Sea and continuously pumping water to refine golden pills on a production line. Of course, this was highly unlikely. If the residual secret fire in the Dead Sea salt really had that much commercial value, those large corporations would have already made their move.
However, Hayden could still go with the professor. Anyway, he didn't have anything he absolutely needed to do in New Jersey recently. As the saying goes, "When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven," and Hayden's cheerful friends had all become successful; why would they need Hayden's help? In fact, they could be supporting Hayden in helping them.
Therefore, Hayden has no reason to stay in his hometown of New Seattle. He could easily go to the new map with Professor Albion to conduct fieldwork.
There's only one small problem here.
He rubbed his temples and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, Professor, do you know what the situation is like on the other side of the Dead Sea right now?"
Professor Albion nodded slowly, a glint of light flashing behind his glasses: "I've heard a little about it."
The Dead Sea is located on the border between Jordan and Palestine, in the Middle East and West Asia, near Africa. It is one of the most chaotic regions on Earth, and also where the New God Corporation's influence is weakest—but this may not necessarily be a good thing.
Even the most evil capitalist society is still a form of order. In regions like the Middle East and Africa, where the power of new capitalist corporations is relatively weak, even the order of modern society will disappear, plunging them into chaos.
Why aren't the new capitalists heavily involved in this area? There are likely many reasons that Hayden and his ilk don't understand. However, this area isn't without its own rulers. They are the so-called devils.
What is a devil? A fallen god naturally becomes a devil. Therefore, this place contains both the old god devil who was overthrown by the new god revolution four hundred years ago, and the former capitalist god who went bankrupt and fell from the throne of the new gods in the last four hundred years.
Hayden and Professor Albion must travel to the Dead Sea for on-site investigation. Unfortunately, the Dead Sea is now the domain of a bankrupt former capitalist, now a great devil. It is a most chaotic city, a symbol of decadence itself.
That is the infamous "Fallen City of Babylon".
It stood straight, long, and hard, embedded in the Dead Sea. If Hayden and the professor wanted to conduct field research in the Dead Sea, it would be impossible to completely avoid dealing with the demons of that fallen city.
"It's probably unrealistic to think that we can get things done in Fallen City with just the two of us and Angela."
By this point, Hayden already had an idea in mind.
"I'm bringing Momiji, this time, along. Even if we have to hide her identity, her fox demon ninja skills should be useful. Then, I'll go ask Abigail later if she can lend us a hand."
Hayden, who had been an urban mercenary for nearly ten years, was practically an acquaintance of the underworld. But when it came to the truly chaotic regions of West Asia and the Middle East, it was clearly more reliable to seek help from the Black Witch Abigail. While Red Leaf was also a good choice, her previous social identity was dead. Abigail was better suited to dealing with the Old Gods and demons.
“The infamous witch Barba Abigail. If she's willing to help, it would be a tremendous boost.” The old professor nodded, more surprised than agreeing. “But you trust her so much that you've even involved her in this secret plan?”
"Oh, Abigail is actually a pretty kind person."
Hayden answered calmly.
"Besides, there are too many interests and favors between us. I provided her with magic potions before, and now I'm providing her with elixirs. She wouldn't cheat us."
At this point, Hayden suddenly had a thought. The light from the 3D projection illuminated Professor Albion's face. Only then did Hayden realize how old the professor was. Of course, he knew the old professor was getting on in years, but for some reason, Hayden had never thought of him as an old man.
"By the way, Professor, here's the medicine for you."
So he quickly felt in his robe pocket, took out a box of five Nine-Turn Golden Pills, and handed it over.
"We're heading to a dangerous place this time. This Golden Elixir is a drug that has almost a universal effect on the body. It's effective against fatigue, weakness, injury, poisoning, and the like. Each of us should carry some with us for emergencies."
The Nine-Turn Golden Pills refined by Hayden can strengthen and freely adjust one's physical body with each consumption. In other words, besides refining the body, restoring youth, and granting longevity, they can also be used as a panacea and antidote. Even if one is reduced to a human stump, deeply poisoned, or afflicted with some strange infectious disease, as long as one is not completely dead, consuming one pill can instantly restore one's physical body. As long as the damage is not to the mind or soul, it can be cured, even more effectively than Senzu Beans.
Professor Albion understood this as well. Although he knew that Hayden hadn't given him the elixir just for that reason, he still nodded and accepted it without refusing.
The two discussed the details of their plan to travel to the Fallen City of New Babylon, after which Hayden left, making a copy of the 5300-year-old Sodom video before departing.
Looking at the video, and at the indescribable ball of light that appeared over Sodom 5300 years ago, Hayden couldn't help but fall into deep thought once again.
This ball of light was powerful, with a thousand eyes and ten thousand wings, as dazzling as the sun, and projecting indescribable colors. Just seeing it, gazing directly at its true form in the video, Hayden could feel a terrifying majesty. Simply by seeing it, Hayden could feel its divine power to suppress all evil. It seemed as if it had descended to earth to punish unforgivable sins.
This radiant light of justice was something Hayden had never seen in any other deity. His aura and secret fire were indeed in sync with Angela's.
Gods and demons are both sources of magic.
Learning the true form of an unknown deity is itself part of magic. Hayden has already gained a great deal this time.
But is this really Angela? Is this her true form?
Hayden felt something was off.
The attributes may be the same, but the atmosphere... is quite different.
That's why Hayden felt it even more necessary to make this trip. He had to investigate thoroughly himself.
————————————————————————
After that,
Karen was naturally a little worried when she learned that Hayden was going to the Fallen City of New Babylon to conduct research. However, she only told him not to forget to call her for help if anything happened, and to be careful in everything he did, and didn't say anything more.
Alastor, however, felt no worry whatsoever. He probably had more confidence in Hayden than Hayden himself did.
On the contrary, Pania was very upset when she found out about this.
"Damn it, I want to go too! I've heard it's the world's biggest decadent, extravagant, and sinful city!"
This reaction piqued Hayden's curiosity: "I've heard that before. But what would you do in a lawless, desolate place?"