Chapter 552: Leap and Spiritual Creation

Cliff stared as the black Shi Laimu dissolved into a stream and slipped back into Luo De's hand, his face filled with fear.

At the same time, he grew anxious:

"Is this the 【Fire Leap】? No—there's no magical fluctuation! Mr. Luo De, let's chase them quickly! We can't let these traitors escape!"

Luo De still ignored him, turning to Tally.

The succubus crossed her arms and gave a victory sign, putting on a cute, smug expression.

"Fifteen people—all tagged with 【Shadow Trace】. Isn't Tally amazing?"

"You too, Chris. Take them alive if you can; if not, kill them."

"Got it~~~" "Okay."

Tally dragged the clearly unwilling Banshee Chris into the shadows.

After a faint spiritual ripple, they vanished instantly.

The witch Dimiya watched the lingering embers on the ground and murmured in admiration:

"Similar to the spell 【Fire Leap】, but no casting gestures, no magical fluctuation, no incantation—just vanishing suddenly. It's nearly undetectable."

Luo De nodded.

Fortunately, Tally was sharp—when something felt off, she'd already set up shadow-tracking spells.

"Mr. Luo De, Miss Dimiya, I must reiterate—we had no knowledge of this."

Cliff voiced his protest again, for who knew how many times.

Luo De let out a quiet laugh:

"Understood. But please, Mr. Cliff and Baron Lam, explain the situation to us. And kindly stay a few more days—we'd like to properly host you, let you experience our local customs."

"Naturally! I won't leave until this is fully investigated!"

Cliff declared solemnly.

Inside, he felt bitter—hosting was just a euphemism for house arrest.

Resistance was impossible.

The forest warden's record—slaying two great dragons and repelling a Hell Duke—was too terrifying.

Cliff figured that if death was certain, he'd rather die with dignity, not with his head gnawed off like Bishop Arturo.

Sigh.

Later, he'd have to report this to Baron Lam.

The interim mayor was a timid woman; he'd need to spend considerable effort soothing her afterward.

Exhausting.

Not long after.

In a guest bedroom of the Argyle Manor.

Baron Lam, a middle-aged woman with a frail demeanor, held her head in distress.

Opposite her sat Cliff, feigning ease.

"You're saying the Holy Flame Sect suddenly attacked Mr. Luo De—and just as they were fleeing, he used some spell to summon a monstrous jackal's mouth that bit off Bishop Arturo's head?"

"Yes. I didn't expect the Holy Flame Sect to be like this."

"Impossible!"

"Don't worry—I've already negotiated. Just stay a few days until the investigation is complete—"

"Impossible! How could such a refined, handsome man as Mr. Luo De summon a hideous jackal's mouth?! You must've misseen it!"

"..."

Baron Lam gazed out the window.

As if recalling or watching someone.

Suddenly, her cheeks flushed pink, her eyes glazed over.

"Stay a few days? I've been hoping to see more of Mr. Luo De's handsome face. Yes, yes, yes—only you, Cliff, understand my heart. You deliberately arranged the Holy Flame Sect—"

"No no no! I didn't do anything!!! My lady, please don't say such things!!!"

Cliff waved his hands frantically, denying it at once.

Damn it! This idiotic woman is spouting nonsense again!

He glanced nervously around the room, fearing hidden listening spells.

"I must remind you, Lady Lam—Mr. Luo De has many women, all non-human beauties. He likely has little interest in human females."

He'd originally wanted to say: "You're over forty—don't even try."

But survival was hard, and Baron Lam was a good source of income—he didn't want to make trouble for himself.

Yet the baroness didn't hear a word.

"Bring me my most expensive clothes—every single one!"

She said,

her slender hand cradling her cheek, gazing upward at a forty-five-degree angle, sorrowful yet hopeful.

Her eyes brimmed with the youthful fantasies of a girl thirty years too late.

"In these few days, I will appear before him like a divine revelation—then vanish forever, becoming the goddess he can never reach."

"..."

White Elm District, Windwall Forest.

Inside the medical treehouse.

The elf Kalist, the witch Dimiya, and the dog-person Sharon gathered around, observing the Holy Flame Sect's energy that Luo De had captured using 【Preservation Field】.

After a round of study,

Kalist cast an energy visualization spell.

To the naked eye, it appeared as a golden glow.

"Fascinating."

The elf lady's beautiful eyes sparkled with keen interest.

"It has a unique ability to erode negative energies—like those of plague domains and necromancy—and is itself positive, brimming with vitality."

Sharon wagged her tail, speculating:

Whether intentional or not, her tail swept back and forth, constantly brushing against Luo De's thigh.

Today she wore a masculine-style leather short-pants, beneath which were fine black tights, and on her feet, folded-up, rugged boots.

In Luo De's past life, this outfit would've been called "death fashion."

But her proportions were perfect—long legs.

And the slightly loose shorts couldn't contain the full, rounded curve of her peach-like buttocks.

Luo De couldn't resist, letting his hand trail along the fur of her tail.

The result? Sharon turned and glared at him.

Swatted his hand away.

"I initially thought it was some kind of Qiyue magic, like the sorcerers of Coral Bay—but sorcerers require magic and spirit as a base, and this is clearly different."

Dimiya seemed to have noticed this scene.

Her baby-faced, cute cheeks flushed faintly pink; she awkwardly looked away.

"Its frequency doesn't match magic, spirit, or aetheric energy—it's truly a new form of energy."

Kalist hadn't noticed a thing.

She was utterly focused on the golden energy mass.

Her hunger for new knowledge was unmistakable.

"Most interestingly, it contains embedded connections to different spiritual frequencies—meaning this energy wasn't generated by one person, and it has the property: 'the more people use it, the stronger it becomes.'"

"So powerful? Wait—"

Luo De froze.

A flash of insight struck his mind.

Religious sects use

The more people use it, the stronger it becomes...

This damn thing is exactly the faith power of priests who worship gods!

But this world doesn't even have priests!

And as for Mistral, who's about to become a god, she's still absorbing her divine spark—he didn't believe anyone could ascend before her.

He voiced his thoughts aloud.

Upon hearing this,

Kalist fell silent for a moment:

"Gods have never appeared, and currently, you don't necessarily need what you call 'divine power' to replicate such effects.

One hundred and twenty years ago, scholars discovered a 'collective spiritual amplification effect' by dissecting the remains of the Igoh race—through shared study of a single spell, multiple minds achieve resonance, enhancing the spell's effect."

Sharon rubbed her chin:

"I know this. But this magical effect has severe limitations—like requiring all casters to be within five meters, chanting in perfect unison, and the amplified power barely justifying the effort."

"Yes."

Kalist nodded, "But how could a group with no one above third-rank spirit, and not a single mage, achieve this?"

Gurgling—

Suddenly.

Luo De's stomach let out an odd sound.

The women turned to look.

"It wasn't me."

He raised his right hand.

There, Shi Laimu Xiao Hei slowly and unnaturally climbed up, turning his palm into a black glove of liquid metal.

It had swallowed Bishop Arturo's head, and Luo De had ordered it to carefully activate the effect of 【Devour Memory】, striving for complete absorption.

Within 【Mind Link】.

Xiao Hei sent feelings of pain and discomfort.

It indicated that Bishop Arturo's head still contained something else, and begged Luo De to allow it to expel it.

"Spit it out quickly."

"Gah—"

Xiao Hei immediately made a vomiting sound.

A clump of black slime was secreted out, plopping onto the ground.

But it was merely a slime clump.

Inside it, there was nothing at all.

Dimiya's expression changed: "This is a mental construct—identical to the mental construct on Miss Daphne."

(End of Chapter)