Chapter 200: Twilight Hermit Order

Late one night, Chumen toyed with a badge in his hand; the badge was engraved with a dragon-shaped emblem, appearing both illusory and real, and one could faintly sense a surging, dark ocean surrounding it.

This was the Collective Subconscious Ocean.

And the badge itself was something Chumen had "picked up" within the Collective Subconscious Ocean.

*Ahem*... actually, he had felt a sensation, reached out and grabbed it, and incidentally modified the information on it to point toward him.

Its utility was simple: it served as a guide within the Collective Subconscious Sea, and its destination was likely a dream.

And within that dream was a gathering with a long history, one that might have already existed in the early Fourth Epoch.

"Let's go take a look!" Chumen followed that connection and found a dream gathering in the Collective Subconscious Sea.

And now was the time for the gathering.

"Seems not bad!" Chumen's consciousness dove directly into that dream.

What met his eyes was a large Creator Church, but the one worshipped was not the one from the Third Epoch, but the "Original Creator."

The church was divided into inner and outer layers; the outer layer was extremely vast, enough to accommodate thousands of people praying, while the inner layer was where the meeting was held.

Chumen walked inside and saw an ultra-large long table, with dozens of high-backed chairs around it.

"Another newcomer?" Most of those high-backed chairs were already occupied, and these people looked at Chumen with either friendly nods or indifference.

These people did not conceal their appearances at all, revealing them directly; what stood out was their immense confidence.

"There is an empty seat here." A voice rang out, and a meeting participant closest to Chumen beckoned for him to take a seat.

It was not that the person was particularly hospitable, but because he was also attending the meeting for the first time, subconsciously wanting to find an ally.

Chumen turned his head and saw a familiar face.

Roselle Gustav.

And this place was the "Twilight Hermit Order," a hidden organization established by Adam.

Those able to sit here were all core members of the Twilight Hermit Order, not the kind of peripheral errand runners.

Roselle Gustav being able to receive an invitation and enter the core circle of the "Twilight Hermit Order" with the rank of Sequence 6 was likely due to his current special status in the "Craftsman Church."

"The two newcomers have arrived; I shall represent the leader to introduce our basic rules." An old man closest to the leader's seat stood up and looked at Roselle and Chumen.

This was a Sequence 3 "Dream Weaver" of the "Spectator" Pathway, representing that mysterious convener.

The people here also had their own guesses about that convener.

"We believe in the original Creator; everything we do is for the awakening of that one..."

"Twilight will inevitably arrive, Doomsday cannot be avoided; at that time, He will awaken from His slumber, let everything return to Himself, and create a new world..."

"We are all part of that one..."

"People are always losing themselves bit by bit until they 'fall asleep,' therefore we must observe ourselves and remember ourselves..."

Roselle listened very carefully; it was his first time attending a gathering of such an absurdly high caliber, so he was very cautious.

As for Chumen, the corner of his mouth twitched; he felt that last sentence was Adam implying something about him.

No, that phrase "losing themselves bit by bit" was already an obvious jab to his face.

"To show our welcome to the new members, we will gift the knowledge of one pathway from the second 'Blasphemy Slate,' along with the names of all Sequences."

Roselle gasped; the knowledge of one pathway and the names of all Sequences was a massive fortune in itself!

Wait... the second Blasphemy Slate?!

Roselle heard a term that only existed in myths.

"Joining this organization was the right choice!"

Roselle excitedly looked at the ancient stone slate that had appeared abruptly in the old man's hand, recording everything he could see.

Except for the knowledge of the "Scholar of Yore" pathway, the other pathways only had Sequence names; to obtain more specific knowledge, one would have to pay a corresponding price.

"Very good! Welcome to our ranks, newcomers!" Many of the friendlier participants applauded.

"However..." the old man's tone suddenly shifted, "a reminder: without permission, once you mention matters related to the gathering and the organization in the outside world, you will be detected and then purged."

"The last one to be purged was 'Shengsheng Zhi Shou' Aonuofule Aike, a Sequence 2 Angel."

Roselle's expression turned solemn, and he nodded slightly.

Chumen had no reaction, and the old man simply took it as his tacit agreement.

"Next is the trading session." The old man nodded in satisfaction.

The many members were silent for a while, until finally someone spoke, "I need a 'Nightwatcher' Characteristic."

"Nightwatcher" was a Sequence 4 of the Evernight Church's "Sleepless" Pathway; it was already a Demigod, and if one were in the Evernight Church, they would be among those with the highest status.

"I suggest you go directly to the Ningjing Jiaotang and kill one; that is the fastest way." Someone spoke up with a sneer.

"Of course, in that case, you might have to face that Pope of the Evernight Church."

"Resources for the 'Sleepless' Pathway are too tight; they are strictly controlled by the Evernight Church, and there are almost no Demigod Characteristics flowing outside." Another person spoke.

"I suggest you could choose 'Demon Hunter' or 'Undying'."

The people here were all high-ranking and powerful, wielding unimaginable influence, and they knew far too many secrets.

Roselle felt his worldview had been severely impacted.

A few short sentences had already revealed the knowledge of pathway swapping, which benefited him greatly.

The person who made the request nodded slightly, "If there are other two types of Characteristics, that would also work."

This time, someone nodded, indicating they could obtain the resources.

The resources here were not just Characteristics, but also "people."

Hunting Demigods to take their Characteristics was something that could only be discussed openly here.

"Very well, what do you need?"

Eventually, some people also proposed the rewards they needed; gold coins were not the only thing, as there were more trades involving Characteristics.

"So high-end!" Roselle blinked; he was like a husky mixed into a pack of wolves, completely afraid to speak.

However, transactions above the level of Demigod are also rare at such gatherings, and only one has appeared for the time being.

What followed was mostly the exchange of interests between various factions.

The people here are all high-ranking and powerful; among those Roselle could recognize alone were ministers of the Solomon Empire Emperor and generals of the military.

These people were blatantly trading away the interests of the empire.

As for the trading partners, they were kingdoms outside of Solomon and high-ranking members of the Church.

"It really is... too evil, and also too powerful!"

Roselle sighed, then he turned his gaze toward the newcomer beside him who, like himself, was attending the meeting for the first time.

Newcomers banding together is also an old rule.