Chapter 2696: Overt Conspiracy, Departure

"Palisi mentioned the previous disappearance incident because he suspects the root of that incident is a ritual of the Darkness Society! If Consultant Feilifa cannot recall it, I can remind you—the Mist!"

"The Mist?!"

Feilifa was truly unsettled now; previously, an unknown Mist Region had indeed been discovered within the borders of Yierlan, and at the time, both the Crown King and the Council believed it might be some ancient ruin.

Therefore, in order to monopolize the ruins, after the Northland Alliance's reconnaissance team approached that area, the higher-ups decisively chose to silence them. For the sake of those ruins, Yierlan had already paid a huge price.

It was precisely because they had paid a huge price without gaining any harvest, coupled with the fact that the Northland Alliance kept fixating on the previous disappearance incident, that the higher-ups decided to confess the truth to the Northland Alliance.

They hoped to use the benefits of jointly developing the ruins to dilute the impact of the previous disappearance incident. After all, the ruins were within Yierlan's borders; as long as there were discoveries, the lion's share would certainly go to Yierlan.

But now, he heard a different truth from Xia Duo: that the unknown Mist Region actually originated from a ritual of the Darkness Society. If Palisi succeeded here in Meitelier, would this area also turn into a Mist Region?

Then what did the price Yierlan paid to explore the ruins count for?

This question, Feilifa could not answer, nor dared he answer, but he was certain that if the Crown King knew the truth, he would likely deeply regret supporting the Council's decision back then.

"Lord Xia Duo, regarding the Mist, could you speak in more detail?"

"Is that... that ritual?" Feilifa asked again.

"You have not seen the Mist with your own eyes, but Yierlan mentioned that the Mist might be a manifestation before the ritual succeeds. If an unknown Mist appears within Palisi's borders, it indicates that this place might be another ritual site for the Darkness Society."

Private research is certainly possible, but it is inevitably prone to sabotage by the Darkness Society. It is better to bring it into the open, strictly screen the researchers joining the project, and minimize the influence of the Demon Descendants.

"Let's go together; it just so happens I still have some matters to finish in Evereska."

For Xia Shao personally, as long as he could find a suitable Habitable Plane, then even if they fought to the death on the Main Plane, Xia Shao would always have a way out.

He did not want to fall too far behind the Darkness Society in the Domain of Prophecy. It was truly difficult to keep up with their hard power in the short term, but making some formal innovations might just be an opportunity to overtake them on a curve!

As long as the gap in understanding of this ritual between the two sides is minimized as much as possible, the Darkness Society will only become increasingly distressed.

After chatting with Feilifa for a while, Dumu came over to interrupt their conversation, "Lord Xia Shao, we are preparing to leave. Do you need to go together?"

Stimulated to this point, Xia Shao did not continue. After all, that Misailaitiao was not a member of the Tower of Time. Once the Mist Event was made public, the Tower of Time would naturally realize the problems within, and how to negotiate with Palisi at that time would be the Tower of Time's business, having nothing to do with him.

Some investigators had already received their thank-you gifts for this incident, but for investigators like Xia Shao and Tuleidi, whose status and strength were not ordinary, it could not be so hasty.

Otherwise, if others violated the rules in his Territory, what reason would he have to reward them?

The greatest risk of the Darkness Society lies in its concealment. Enemies hidden within will greatly increase the cost of mutual trust between nations. But as long as nations communicate fully regardless of cost and continuously increase mutual trust, the Darkness Society will ultimately not have much room to maneuver.

Upon hearing this, Feilifa was silent for a moment, then told Xia Shao, "To be honest with Lord Xia Shao, a Mist Region of unknown origin has indeed appeared within Palisi, but there are not many living beings in that area, are there?"

"Yierlan's ritual is not a true Sacrificial Ritual, so it does not require the sacrifice of living beings. Instead, the Mythallar can be used as a medium to expand the influence of the ritual to an unimaginable degree!"

Although the research results might be known to the Darkness Society simultaneously, the source of this ritual came from the Darkness Society anyway, so it does not matter if they know; as long as the Northland Alliance knows, that is enough.

"Is the main purpose of the ritual not the purpose of the Darkness Society? In order to subvert the current Time Line of the Main Plane, I have already passed most of the details regarding this ritual to you before. I cannot provide further analysis in the short term; it can be submitted to the Northland Alliance so that various countries can send researchers to conduct specialized studies."

……

However, Xia Shao agreed to attend the banquet mainly to take Aoruipusi to Palisi to open up the market. The Darkness Society was hidden too deep; he had to accelerate the deployment progress of the Cloud Pattern Announcement.

But if he did not do so, it would be equivalent to slow death. Although it is not immediate death, as the Northland nations learn more about the essence of this ritual, their tracking and Protection means will also increase.

A full-scale war or something, it should not go that far yet.

Now it is the Darkness Society that wants to complete the ritual, while the Northland Alliance only needs to find ways to sabotage the Darkness Society's ritual; the difficulty is simply not on the same level.

Palisi will later send a special Envoy to deliver gifts in person.

The possibility of the Darkness Society successfully completing the ritual will become lower and lower, until there is no possibility of success at all.

Compared to the grand arrival, the investigation team appeared much more low-key when leaving. This was not only because the various investigators had just experienced a life-and-death crisis, but also had to do with the generous gifts provided by Palisi.

But even so, the departure of the investigation team should not have been this low-key; at the very least, it deserved a grand banquet at the Taiweimansa palace. But whether it was Xia Shao or other investigators, they were all eager to return home at this moment.

Physiologically speaking, in the recent crisis, all investigators contributed a fairly high proportion of their Subconscious for Collaborative Computing, and then participated in the action themselves; both body and mind were exhausted. At this time, what they needed most was rest, not some banquet.

Psychologically speaking, having just experienced a life-and-death crisis, they really had no heart to attend any banquet.

If they really did that, then the possibility of them exposing themselves would be higher with every passing moment.

Because he saw the possibility of a full-scale war in a prophecy, Xia Shao could now link any random event to the incentive for a full-scale war.

Therefore, after Xia Shao and the others declined Feilifa's invitation for everyone to attend the banquet in Taiweimansa, Feilifa did not force it, but proposed another time. This time, no one objected, including Xia Shao.

This is a conspiracy in the open; the Darkness Society has only one choice for this: to accelerate the frequency of the ritual or increase the scale of a single ritual.

The principle of reciprocity is the most important principle when dealing with international affairs. Regardless of whether others are willing to abide by it, Xia Shao himself is willing to do so, because his goal is never just his own small plot of land, but to lead the crowd and create brilliance together.

After speaking, Xia Shao formally bid farewell to Feilifa. Although the Permission Level for the Meitelier Mythallar was in his own hands at this moment, one still had to pay attention to etiquette in someone else's home.

……

By that time, perhaps the Darkness Society will still exist, but their ultimate goal will never be completed. Perhaps by then, it will be time for the Darkness Society to ignite a full-scale war!

As the saying goes, construction is far more difficult than destruction.