Chapter 2203: Advice from the Divine Envoy

As for whether the Illuminati of the Kingdom of Radiance is truly the same Illuminati of the Main Plane, Xia Duo would naturally not listen to Kelifu's side of the story alone; the other party might not be lying, but it was inevitable that some key information had been overlooked.

And since it was impossible for Xia Duo to tell the other party everything he knew about the Illuminati, he could only investigate through other channels, such as Divine Envoy Taide, or by traveling to the Kingdom of Radiance himself to investigate.

Now that it was confirmed that an Illuminati existed in the Kingdom of Radiance, regardless of whether they were the invaders from a parallel timeline, Xia Duo had reason to go there in person to confirm it.

After all, the matter of parallel timeline invasions had far-reaching implications, and he still hadn't grasped the Principles behind it; how could a possibility that did not actually exist in the timeline he was currently in result in a shift of time and space?

Solidifying certain historical Nodes could make time and space shifts "less strenuous"—this was understandable, as the greater the difference between two timelines, the harder it might be to change them; this was a simple realization, but what about the Principles?

【An app for following books recommended to me by a friend of ten years, Wild Fruit Reading! It's really damn good; I rely on its read-aloud function to kill time while driving or before bed. You can download it here: Wild Fruit Reading】

If it was obtained solely through the interrogation of Demon Descendants, on what grounds could one assume it was definitely correct?

Perhaps it was just something the Illuminati released to fool the Demon Descendants of this timeline, while in reality, all the prerequisites for a time and space shift had already been met?

This sense of crisis, that everything might cease to exist at any moment, although it seemed somewhat illusory, made Xia Duo feel more uneasy than the real, visible crisis of the Dragon Madness Mythallar collapsing.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Duo asked Kelifu again: "What about the Ailan Kingdom? Have you found any clues linking them to the Demon Descendants?"

"Regrettably, no. I have only confirmed that Demon Descendants do indeed exist within the Ailan Kingdom." Kelifu's expression was somewhat awkward when he said this.

How much difference was there between saying this and saying nothing at all?

The high-level figures of the Northland now all knew that Demon Descendants were extremely adept at hiding; even the Upper Families of Yierlan had been infiltrated. The Ailan region originally belonged to Siluwende and was already a high-incidence area for Demon Descendant infiltration events.

Now that the Ailan region was independent, it didn't necessarily mean all the Demon Descendants there would withdraw!

"Sigh—"

Xia Duo couldn't help but sigh. Although he had prepared himself mentally before coming and hadn't held high expectations for Kelifu's investigation results, when it actually came to this, it was clearly impossible to say he wasn't disappointed at all.

Fortunately, the other party provided a piece of news he hadn't known before, which was that the Kingdom of Radiance also had an Illuminati. If there had been nothing at all, then the trip would have been in vain!

……

Next, Xia Duo chatted with Kelifu for a while longer about the issue of the Demon Descendants. He had originally intended to leave, but thinking that the spread of the Mythallar was already inevitable, he might as well start with Kelifu.

Thus, he naturally shifted the topic to the Floating City, and after chatting for a few sentences, he suddenly asked: "Lord Kelifu, would you like to build the most magnificent Temple, one that is also closest to the Lord of Radiance?"

"Build a new Temple? The most magnificent? The closest?"

Kelifu didn't react at first, wondering how the conversation had suddenly turned to a Temple, but then a bold idea occurred to him:

"Is Lord Xia Duo planning to build a Temple to my Lord on the Floating City? If possible, I am willing to cover all the expenses!"

"No, for the time being, I have no plans to build any Temple on the Floating City."

Xia Duo's firm denial made Kelifu feel somewhat disappointed, but then an even bolder idea emerged: "Could it be that you, Lord Xia Duo, are planning to gift me a Floating City?"

"Ha!"

You really dare to think! Xia Duo's first Floating City, the one recently named "Changan," cost tens of millions to build, and it wasn't even completely finished yet.

If he gave that away for free, wouldn't he lose enough to reach the Outer Planes!

"Lord Kelifu, do you think I am that wealthy? Can a Floating City be given away so casually? However, although I cannot give you a ready-made Floating City, I can provide some of the essential technology for building one. If you are willing, you can build it yourself, and you can build as many as you want. Isn't that much better than taking a big toy directly from me!"

"Essential technology for building a Floating City? Are you saying you are willing to open up the technology related to the Independent Arcane Fire Device to me?"

Although Kelifu was a Priest by origin, he was also a Great Arcanist. As early as when Xia Duo's Floating City first appeared, he had considered what key technologies were needed to build such a Floating City.

After discussing with his Apprentices, Kelifu believed that only an Independent Arcane Fire Device could provide enough sense of security; otherwise, what would be worth looking forward to in a giant rock that could fall from the sky and shatter into pieces at any moment!

Now that he heard Xia Duo mention the essential technology for a Floating City, he immediately thought of the Independent Arcane Fire Device. If he could obtain the relevant technology, it would definitely be the greatest gain for an Arcanist!

"Yes, it is the technology related to the Independent Arcane Fire Device!"

Xia Duo confirmed Kelifu's guess, then pointed out, "But there is a prerequisite for opening up the technology!"

"What prerequisite?"

"You need to purchase an Independent Arcane Fire Device from me, and then I will include the relevant technology as a gift."

This was actually the Mythallar licensing fee that Xia Duo had previously discussed with Yinaole. There was nothing in this world that was absolutely secret, and at the very least, the Mythallar could not be considered one.

The more Mythallar devices sold, the higher the risk of being cracked by others. Rather than having it cracked by others and causing patent disputes, it was better to open up the technology in the form of a patent from the beginning.

But the Mythallar was, after all, not an ordinary Spell, but high-end technology with extremely high strategic value. It certainly could not be forcibly pushed to the Mage Tower members of the Arcane Union like ordinary Spells.

Only by purchasing a Mythallar device would the technology be included as a gift; this was partly to keep it as secret as possible, and partly to look after the interests of all purchasers.

As soon as Xia Duo mentioned the condition for the gifted technology, Kelifu thought of the patents of the Arcane Union, and then drew inferences, "Master Yinaole should also be an owner of this technology, right? And the Seven Towers, I suppose, otherwise I don't think you would disclose the technology related to the Independent Arcane Fire Device at this time node."

"Yes, you guessed right, the Seven Towers have already obtained the technology from my teacher. So, Lord Kelifu, would you like to obtain the technology from the Seven Towers, or from me or my teacher?"

"It probably won't be easy to obtain it from the Seven Towers. The ideal way, of course, is to obtain it from Master Yinaole or you, Lord Xia Duo."

Kelifu made his choice almost without hesitation, but he was somewhat hesitant about choosing between Yinaole and Xia Duo. He thought very clearly that even if Xia Duo hadn't mentioned the Independent Arcane Fire technology this time, Master Yinaole would likely have passed this news on in the near future.

Therefore, he would not necessarily choose to purchase from Xia Duo just because Xia Duo had informed him of this news in advance.

Noticing Kelifu's hesitation, Xia Duo also stated his own conditions:

"Choosing me or choosing my teacher will make no difference in price. The only difference is that choosing me means I can deliver in a very short time, whereas if you choose my teacher, the timing will be very uncertain. You should be able to guess the reason."

"Yes, I can guess. The Independent Arcane Fire Device is likely not that easy to manufacture, not to mention that there are others competing for it. I don't have absolute certainty that I will be able to get the first one."

If it were just an ordinary Magic Item, or even a high-quality Magic Item, whether it came a bit earlier or later wouldn't actually have much of an impact. But the Independent Arcane Fire Device was not only related to the Floating City, but more importantly, it might be related to War Spells.

Earlier or later—that was not the same concept at all. Kelifu naturally hoped to obtain it as soon as possible.