Chapter 155: Two‑in‑One

The next morning, Lei Kedun rubbed his head and muttered softly:

"Is this one considered Sasilier? The thread of fate that Mr. Huang glimpsed points to Him?"

He got up from the bed, intending to examine the clump of flesh and blood sealed in transparent amber that bore a small portion of the True Creator's will and divinity.

Above the coffee by the window, the transparent amber was empty, and Lei Kedun was startled.

He then looked at the shut window, took a gold coin from his pocket, tossed it into the air, and performed a simple divination.

After receiving the answer that the clump of flesh remained in the room, a faint violet light shrouded Lei Kedun's eyes as he scanned the bedroom twice.

"Not here?" he frowned, his gaze uncertainly turning toward himself.

A deep crimson‑almost‑black spiritual light flickered at his left forearm.

The violet aura in his eyes faded, and Lei Kedun brushed his left sleeve up his arm.

Exposed on his forearm was a dark red inverted‑hanged figure, seemingly merged with the surrounding flesh; without the Sight of Peeking Secrets, Lei Kedun himself would not have noticed the anomaly.

Lei Kedun's brows jumped, and he muttered low:

"It really landed on me; this is a bit inconvenient, whether I go to the library or Above the Gray Mist."

He prepared to test it, wondering if his spirit form leaving would provoke any reaction.

Lowering his sleeve, Lei Kedun closed his eyes and meditated, sketching the pattern in his mind.

The spirituality within him rippled like water, and a broken circular ring made of gears and chains materialized behind him.

His consciousness instantly traveled via his innate link to the library situated in the spirit realm.

Mr. Huang still sat in a high‑back chair at the front of the library, a steaming cup of black tea on the desk beside him, holding a book without a cover.

Lei Kedun hurried forward:

"Good morning, Mr. Huang~"

He intended to extend his left hand to show the pattern to Mr. Huang, but after unbuttoning his sleeve, he found the dark red inverted‑hanged figure had vanished.

"It cannot pass, nor will it come."

Mr. Huang said in a flat, uninflected tone, his eyes showing unmasked surprise.

"You made a deal with Him? I can see something extra on you; this is the contract between you and Him."

Lei Kedun nodded slightly, recounted the transaction between himself and the vague figure that called itself Sasilier, and then asked:

"Is He really Sasilier?"

Mr. Huang paused briefly, seeming to contemplate or recall, and after a moment spoke slowly:

"Some of the authority and traits on True stem from Sasilier; if He strips a portion and molds it into a new incarnation, it can indeed be called Sasilier."

"As for whether He remains the former Dark Angel, I cannot be certain."

Lei Kedun glanced at the slightly wistful expression on Mr. Huang's face and suppressed his own speculation about the other's identity.

"You came here before completing your deal with Him; I will grant you a Prophet's trait and make certain adjustments so you can directly wield part of its ability."

"Hm?" Lei Kedun was puzzled; he couldn't understand why Mr. Huang would offer assistance.

Mr. Huang smiled and said:

"If True's condition improves a bit, storms and the sun can possibly cooperate under pressure; also, I'm curious what choice the ever‑hostile Adam will make."

"Regarding the Ancient Sun God, even the All‑Knowing does not see him clearly."

"Alright." Lei Kedun replied swiftly, left the library without lingering, and his spirit form returned to his body in the bedroom.

Lei Kedun looked at the pattern on his left forearm; it was unchanged, and the vague figure that called itself Sasilier seemed to be in a deep slumber.

He went down to the dining hall, ate the breakfast prepared by Tu Ba Ge, and reflected on Mr. Huang's words and the vague figure's statements.

"Mr. Huang is probably a front for the Knowledge God, having split the former Dream Dragon from the god's past into a fragment."

Lei Kedun murmured softly, feeling that Mr. Huang had begun to doubt A Meng's brother's identity. Indeed, the All‑Knowing, huh?

He then tried to infuse more spiritual energy into his left forearm, probing his spirit, but gained nothing, as if the vague figure from last night's dream had never existed.

After breakfast, Lei Kedun prepared to leave for the materials to aid the Medium's demon elixir, when he suddenly remembered he had forgotten to ask Mr. Huang whether he could tell Ai Xing Ge·Si Tan Dun about the Scholar's elixir formula.

So he returned to his room, summoned his book messenger, and sent it to inquire about the matter.

He then went out again, intending to purchase the Medium's auxiliary materials.

"Fortunately my material stock is sufficient, only lacking a few common items; otherwise I'd have to have Ke Lai En purchase them for me."

It didn't take long; Lei Kedun gathered all the required components for the Medium's demon elixir.

Back home, Lei Kedun began brewing the elixir for Wu Ya Anu.

He placed each ingredient into a glass bottle, poured in 100 ml of pure water, and the contents swiftly melted into a dark green mass.

After a slight shake, Lei Kedun added the Medium's trait; the elixir began bubbling repeatedly, each bubble bursting to leave a skull‑shaped mysterious sigil.

He casually tossed a gold coin, performed a simple divination, received an affirmative answer, and handed the elixir to the raven Anu, who was gazing at the scene.

Raven Anu eagerly plunged its beak into the bottle's mouth, and Lei Kedun tilted the bottle, pouring the elixir into Anu's beak.

Quickly, Anu drank the entire elixir, then the whole raven, like a drunkard, collapsed upright onto the table.

Lei Kedun frowned slightly; each time the raven drank the elixir, its reaction varied.

The faint violet flash in his eyes vanished, and the changes within Anu's body were fully visible to Lei Kedun.

"The elixir is reshaping its spirit form." Lei Kedun's gaze stretched onward, as if he saw the raven forming some occult link with the Underworld.

"A prerequisite for the Gatekeeper's ability?"

He whispered lightly, stepped back a few paces, and sat on a nearby chair, awaiting Anu's ascension to finish.

Inspired, Lei Kedun, puzzled, raised his hand and caught a pale‑yellow sheet that fell from the spirit realm:

"I've found the Medium's elixir formula you wanted; this time it's free, as payment for the original moon‑light information you told me."

"Remember to write me about the changes of your raven after ascension and what it saw during its rise."

It was a letter with neither a beginning nor an end; Lei Kedun was momentarily speechless, having forgotten he had written to Xiya seeking the Medium's formula.

Fortunately Xi Ya didn't ask me for money, otherwise I'd have to spend money to buy a potion formula I already have.

Sighing, Lei Kedun turned the paper in his hand over; the back also bore a passage of text:

"Mr. Huang said you can tell that detective the Scholar's potion formula."

Raising his hand, he sent the letter back to the Spirit Realm, and Lei Kedun sighed, "They even wrote it directly on the back of the letter; the book itself has learned to be lazy!"

The crow Anu had already risen onto the tabletop, though still a bit wobbly; its feathers were stained with specks of red like oil spots, but they were slowly fading.

The crow Anu shook its head up and down and said:

"Boss, I saw that huge bird again; its tail feathers are so long, so red, how beautiful. I think I could grow like that too!"

"Is that your intuition? What else did you see?"

Lei Kedun immediately walked over and asked aloud. At the same time, a faint violet light flickered again in his eyes as he surveyed Anu from head to toe, checking its changes.

Anu adopted a thoughtful expression and said:

"I think I saw the Underworld; I don't know if it's real, but when I saw that place, my mind automatically took it as the Underworld."

"I also learned a door‑opening ability that lets me walk straight through walls. This isn't a side effect of the potion; I learned it myself after seeing that red giant bird."

Hearing this, Lei Kedun's brows furrowed slightly; the immortal phoenix progenitor Ge Lei Jia Li held authority over certain gate pathways.

He suspected it might be the ancestral bloodline effect in the crow, but he hadn't observed any disharmony in the crow, and it hadn't taken the apprentice‑path potion.

After some consideration, he asked:

"Did you directly master the door‑opening ability, or did you acquire the corresponding knowledge?"

The crow shook its head and said, "It's not just knowledge; there's also a lot of experience using this ability."

From Anu's words, Lei Kedun understood that it had gained extraordinary knowledge and experience in using the door‑opening ability, not the actual traits themselves.

After confirming Anu showed no abnormalities, Lei Kedun went to the study on the second floor, took paper and pen, and wrote a letter to Pu La Ke·Ai Ge Si, detailing the crow Anu's experience during its ascension, including how it obtained the extraordinary knowledge of the gate pathway.

He took out the materials, set up the ritual, then stepped back and began chanting Pu La Ke's messenger summoning incantation:

"Spirit that roams the Upper Realm, absolutely friendly being, Pu La Ke·Ai Ge Si's contracted partner."

As the chant finished, the room's temperature dropped sharply, the candle flame emitted a flickering green light, wavering continuously in the windless room.

Lei Kedun stood silently in place, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall.

Pieces of burning bone surged from the wall, haphazardly assembling on the floor before Lei Kedun into a tall humanoid riddled with gaps and holes, from each fissure a pale green flame leapt out.

Lei Kedun handed the written letter to the figure; seeing that the flames on its body did not burn the paper, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The tall green‑flamed humanoid body shattered again into fragments of bone, flowing into the Spirit Realm like a stream.

Watching the direction in which Pu La Ke's messenger departed, Lei Kedun murmured softly:

"This messenger doesn't resemble a normal undead, and its strength is not weak; it possesses power between Sequence Four and Sequence Five."

After cleaning up the ritual materials, Lei Kedun returned to his desk, tore a page from his notebook, and wrote down the Scholar's potion formula.

Holding the written formula, he stepped forward into the Spirit Realm.

In Hillston District, in front of a slightly dilapidated building, Lei Kedun's silhouette quickly took shape.

Lei Kedun gave the poorly lit, somewhat dim house a glance, took a few steps forward, and knocked on the front door.

"Dong! Dong!"

Amid the creaking of the door, a young‑looking assistant wearing a long coat and glasses opened the door, gave Lei Kedun a subtle glance, then said:

"Hello, this is Ai Xin Ge·Si Tan Dun detective's residence. May I ask what business you have?"

Lei Kedun handed the folded paper to the assistant and said:

"This is for Detective Si Tan Dun; it contains the information he needs. Please pass it to him."

After speaking, he shoved the paper into the assistant's hand and turned away.

The paper bearing the Scholar's potion formula bore subtle psychic cues; the assistant would not voluntarily open it to read its contents.

After delivering the Scholar's potion formula to Detective Si Tan Dun, Lei Kedun turned toward the Harvest Church in Great Bridge South District, intending to check how Tu Ba Ge was faring there.

Lei Kedun had barely left Ai Xin Ge·Si Tan Dun's residence when the great detective returned by carriage.

The assistant handed the paper Lei Kedun had brought to Ai Xin Ge·Si Tan Dun:

"Sir, a strange young man just brought a piece of paper, saying it was for you."

Ai Xin Ge's stern face showed a hint of anticipation; he immediately unfolded the paper, and it was clear the sheet had been torn casually from a notebook.

Ai Xin Ge's stern face showed a hint of expectation; he immediately unfolded the paper, and unsurprisingly, it contained the Scholar's potion formula.

In the Harvest Church on Moon Rose Street, Great Bridge South District, Lei Kedun's figure quickly took shape.

Before he could greet Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji, who sat before the Sacred Emblem of Life, his attention was drawn to Tu Ba Ge and Ai Mu Lin quarrelling on the side.

Lei Kedun glanced at the pot of blood‑red tomatoes between them, his brows slightly furrowing; he sensed a sanguine aura in those tomatoes.

"Is there blood inside these tomatoes?" Lei Kedun approached, his gaze oddly scrutinizing the rabbit and the vampire.

Ai Mu Lin nodded without looking up:

"You handle that rabbit. It wants to cultivate tomatoes that can produce their own blood; it says that way our blood clan won't need to feed on others' fresh blood."

"Does it not know that our blood clan never bites people directly? Such a crude way of feeding is only chosen by humans like you who have taken the ascension potion!"

Lei Kedun was momentarily speechless, lifted Tu Ba Ge from the ground, and said expressionlessly:

"Didn't I tell you that you must submit an application and get my approval before modifying plants?"

Tu Ba Ge wriggled twice, leapt off Lei Kedun's hand, took two steps back, creating some distance, then said:

"This isn't home! Moreover, the priest said that only by letting others feel the joy of harvest can I become a qualified Harvest Priest."

"The joy of harvest?" Lei Kedun glanced at Ai Mu Lin, whose face showed no joy at all.

Perhaps this rabbit can only remain at Sequence Seven.

Lei Kedun decided that the rabbit should never interact with Fu Lan Ke again, lest it truly become Fu Lan Ke·Rabbit, which would be troublesome.

Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji, praying before the Sacred Emblem of Life, opened his eyes, looked at the pot of vivid red tomatoes, and reminded Lei Kedun with a remark:

Its ideas are interesting, but sometimes they are overly dangerous, and it also possesses strong execution.

I understand, I'll keep an eye on it. Lei Ke Dun nodded in response to the priest.

He then turned his head to look at Tu Ba Ge beside him; without asking, he knew this pot of outrageous tomatoes was secretly cultivated by it.

The traits of haphazard hybrid animals and plants are taboo in the Earth Church; Frank was initially expelled from the Earth Church for doing exactly that.

Lei Ke Dun pulled Tu Ba Ge, which was inching closer to Frank, aside and gave it a good thrashing until it hung its head in apology.

To keep this rabbit from dreaming up another outrageous experiment that would anger Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji, this divine favored one, Lei Ke Dun decided to take it back.

As for acting as the Harvest Priest, we'll discuss that later; anyway, it's still winter now, not suitable for plant growth, let alone planting grain.

Bringing Tu Ba Ge to Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji's presence, Lei Ke Dun found a chair and sat down:

"Father, I intend to take this rabbit back."

"No problem." Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji nodded slightly, without asking for a reason, and did not try to stop him.

Lei Ke Dun extended his right hand; his palm swiftly formed a slowly rotating clump of Star Sand, and he gently tossed the Star Sand in his hand.

In midair, a cascade of radiance fell, enveloping the pot of bright red tomatoes cultivated by Tu Ba Ge, then dissolved by starlight, collapsing and dissipating.

Mu Lin, not far from that pot of bright red tomatoes, immediately stepped back several meters; Mu Lin vigilantly watched the spot where the tomatoes collapsed and dissipated, then glanced at Lei Ke Dun as he withdrew his hand.

"You" Mu Lin opened his mouth, but the words were swallowed back; he had never before seen such an extraordinary ability that could directly cause things to collapse and dissipate—those radiant streaks gave him a feeling of extreme danger.

Ignoring Mu Lin's gaze, Lei Ke Dun asked Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji for information about the universal key confiscated from Mu Lin.

"Father, can I buy this miraculous item from you?"

"No, this is mine!"

Mu Lin spoke first.

Lei Ke Dun glanced at him, then smiled and said:

"You yourself are the priest's spoils of war; that universal key has already been confiscated."

Mu Lin's face paled then flushed, somewhat flustered, he exclaimed: "You're just robbing!"

"I know a blood clan member who is your age, but he has already risen to baron in the Earth Church; would you consider taking that path?"

"I will absolutely not be like that guy, abandoning the faith of our forefather!"

Mu Lin snorted, spoke a sentence, then turned and left the Harvest Church.

Watching Mu Lin's back, Lei Ke Dun curiously looked toward Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji beside him and asked:

"Father, how long did you implant that psychological suggestion in it?"

"Two months."

Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji replied in a gentle tone, and at the same time handed Lei Ke Dun a key that appeared ordinary but with its spirituality fully restrained.

Lei Ke Dun took the universal key with slight doubt, and Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji began to explain:

"I spend most of my time in this church and don't need this miraculous item; you can just take it away."

Lei Ke Dun did not decline; he simply left a few ten-pound banknotes in the donation box when departing the Harvest Church.

(End of chapter)