My Moonlit Declaration

Chapter 14: High Priest

“And there’s even better news I have to tell you,” the teacher leaned in, speaking mysteriously.

“What good news?”

“Do you remember the colors of light that appeared on the stone wall earlier, besides the red and silver glow?”

“Red, white, and purple light,” Elara answered confidently. “Red is Wood Power, white is Space Power. So what kind of Witch Power Source is the purple one?”

Herman looked at her. A light flickered in his silver-white eyes.

“Child, purple represents Fire Power. I told you before that the red glow means you have the talent of an apothecary, but that is limited to refining liquid medicines. You can only extract the essence of the herbs to treat illnesses, but you cannot bring out the full medicinal effect of spiritual herbs.”

He paused for a moment. “I myself possess Wood Power and am an apothecary. In the Snow Moon Clan, only apothecaries are qualified to become the next Great Elder or Holy Elder.”

“What about possessing both Wood Power and Fire Power at the same time?”

His eyes brightened even more. “Possessing both of these Witch Power Sources means you will be able to refine far superior medicines. When medicines are refined using a pill furnace, their potency can increase several times, or even dozens of times.”

Herman looked at her, his gaze filled with a mix of envy and anticipation. “I’m actually a little envious of you — being able to possess both Wood Power and Fire Power.”

“You’re already the Holy Elder of the Snow Moon Clan, second only to one and above ten thousand others. And you’re still envious of a half-werewolf like me?” Elara laughed.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. Listen to me,” his expression suddenly turned serious. “Having both Wood Power and Fire Power at the same time means you are destined to become a Pill Refiner. In the entire history of the Snow Moon Clan, there have only been three Pill Refiners, and all of them became the most revered High Priests of the clan.”

In The Origin of the Werewolf Clan, in those ancient texts she could barely understand, the High Priest was the most noble figure in the Snow Moon Clan — the mouthpiece of the Moon God, a legendary being capable of refining pills that could bring the dead back to life.

“Tsk — High Priest.” She curled her lips in disdain. “Just a charlatan. What’s there to envy? Hmph.”

“Thump—” Her forehead received another flick. The pain made her grimace and bare her teeth.

“Don’t pretend to understand when you don’t!” The teacher glared at her. “The High Priest of the Snow Moon Clan is not only the spiritual guide and beacon of faith for our people, but also a leader who can save and benefit the entire clan with his own power.”

Elara rubbed her forehead and looked at him defiantly. “Are Pill Refiners really that useful?”

“Of course,” Herman replied. “When a clansman advances from the Mortal Rank to the Warrior Rank, if they have a First-Grade Advancement Pill to assist them, the process will be extremely smooth. Otherwise—” He shook his head and stopped speaking.

“Otherwise what?” she pressed. “Why did you stop? Don’t leave me hanging!”

“Ever since the last High Priest passed away more than a thousand years ago,” his voice grew low, “the First-Grade and Second-Grade Advancement Pills he left behind were all used up during the great war to help clansmen advance quickly.”

A heavy look appeared in his eyes. “But new clansmen continue to need to advance, yet there are no pills available. These people believe that Chief Agula has distributed them unfairly, which caused them to suffer ruptured meridians and twisted bones during advancement because their bodies couldn’t withstand the overwhelming power of their bloodline.”

“Ah, no way!” Elara’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “Advancing in the werewolf clan is too painful — it’s practically walking on the edge of hell!”

“What about the Bloodline Curse?” Elara voiced the doubt in her heart.

Herman’s expression grew even more solemn. “Carrying that despairing ‘Bloodline Curse’ and their hatred toward the Chief and the Holy Elder, they rebelled and left the Snow Moon Clan.”

Elara stood there with her mouth open, speechless.

“So, for the peace of the Snow Moon Clan and for the lives of our people, you must become a Pill Refiner.”

Herman stood up, took a step back, and performed a formal Moon Salute toward her. His movements were precise and solemn.

Elara was so startled that she quickly scrambled to her feet, flustered. “No, no—please don’t!” She reached out to help him up. “I will work hard to become a Pill Refiner.”

She hurriedly changed the subject. “Herman, you still haven’t told me what Space Power is. You said no one in the Snow Moon Clan has had it for a thousand years. What do you mean?”

“You little girl… your luck is really too good,” the teacher said, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “For a thousand years, no one in the Snow Moon Clan has possessed the Space Power.”

“This Witch Power Source allows you to have your own personal space. Not only does it have storage functions, but it can also pull an enemy into your space for battle. Inside your space, your combat power will always be higher than your opponent’s.”

“So powerful?” Elara stared at her own hands in disbelief. I — I possess Space Power? I can become a Pill Refiner? I can save the Snow Moon Clan?

“Herman, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? How could a half-werewolf possibly possess such powerful triple Witch Power Sources?”

“I… can’t explain it either,” he said. “The best way is to enter your divine consciousness and take a look.”

“Divine consciousness? How do we get in? How do we see it?”

“Hold my hand. I’ll take you in with me.”

Elara reached out and gently grasped Herman’s hand. He began chanting a spell.

Then, her world changed.

She was standing once again in that place full of cliffs.

The steep cliffs were so tall that their tops couldn’t be seen. The gray stone walls were as straight as if they had been sliced by a blade, piercing straight into the clouds. At the bottom of the cliffs was a three-colored pool — red, purple, and white — each color refusing to mix with the others.

Two objects floated in mid-air: a gray egg and a wolf-skin waterskin.

The wolf fang was gone.

“Huh?” She tilted her head upward. “Where’s the wolf fang? It was here last time—”

“What wolf fang?” Herman’s voice came from beside her.

“It was—” She gestured with her hands. “A huge wolf fang, white and shining, floating in the air. It was there the last time I came in. When I reached out to touch it, it flew over, pierced my wrist, and then burrowed into my body—”

At that moment, her left wrist began to emit a bright white glow, as if responding to Elara’s call.

Herman stepped forward, took her hand, and turned it over to examine it.

On the inner side of Elara’s left wrist, a wolf-fang-shaped totem was glowing with a dazzling silver-white light.

“That’s it,” she said. The wolf fang that had been floating in the air before was this one.

Herman stared at her wrist in astonishment for a long time before he finally came back to his senses. “Goddess Shell!” His voice was very soft, almost like he was talking to himself. “This is the Goddess Shell.”

“What is the Goddess Shell?”

Herman didn’t answer. He simply took a long, deep breath, released her wrist, and his silver-white pupils returned to their usual calm.

Then he looked up at the egg and waterskin floating in mid-air, gazing at them for a long time.

“Elara, has your divine consciousness always looked like this? With such tall cliffs?”

“Huh? This place is my divine consciousness? I’ve only been here once before, and it looked exactly like this last time.”

Herman remained silent for a long while. Finally, he turned to her and said, “Elara, your luck is so good that it makes me jealous.”

“Your divine consciousness has been sealed by a divine artifact,” his voice carried a trace of exhaustion. “With my current ability, I cannot unseal it.”

“Sealed?” She was stunned. “Who sealed it?”

“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “But whoever was able to set up this kind of seal possesses power far beyond mine.”

“That wolf fang is the Goddess Shell — it was the divine artifact of Eloise Taylor, the only female chieftain in the history of the Snow Moon Clan. It has been missing for a very, very long time. Legend says it will seek out its owner on its own.”

“With the Goddess Shell, you no longer need the Root Chain. All you have to do is recite the incantation, and you can return to the Snow Moon Tribe.” Herman touched the root chain at his waist.

Elara looked at the totem on her wrist in pleasant surprise. It was now faintly visible, slowly sinking back into her skin.

“The Goddess Shell inside your body can freely conceal the aura of the Snow Moon Werewolf Clan and hide your cultivation level.”