Chapter 173: A Plea from Miss Sha Lun

In the study, Lei Kedun held in his hand a mass of demonic attribute where blazing red and pale blue intertwined.

The blue‑white light swirled in his eyes, obscuring the eyeballs, and beside him a trembling Tu Ba Ge shivered.

He let out a soft sigh, leaned against the chair back, waved his hand and said:

"Alright, let's stop here for today."

Hearing that, Tu Ba Ge fled the study as if escaping.

He glanced at the ajar door, placed the attribute back into the iron cigarette case, and sealed it with a wall of spirit.

"It seems we still need to use the Desire Apostle's attribute or the main ingredient of a demonic elixir; the demon's manifestation of desire is mostly the effect on itself."

"Moreover, Tu Ba Ge is too cowardly; I can't tell whether its fear and anxiety stem from the demonic attribute's influence or its own simple fright."

He muttered to himself, then tossed the cigarette case containing the attribute onto the storage cabinet pressed against the wall.

Lowering his gaze toward the main door, he saw someone about to knock.

Lei Kedun walked to the study's entrance and reached out to close the door.

The blue‑white light swirled again in his eyes; Lei Kedun slowly released his own spirit, and traced a phantom symbol of "door" on the door.

Layer upon layer of rippling water spread, linking the study's door and the downstairs living‑room door together in a strange connection.

He stepped back two paces, and the door was pushed open from the opposite side.

Ke Lai En and the ethereal, translucent Miss Sha Lun entered from the other side of the door.

"Is this the power of the Universal Key?" Ke Lai En turned back curiously to glance at the now‑normal door behind him.

Lei Kedun nodded slightly: "Close enough; I made adjustments based on the Universal Key's ability."

Having answered Ke Lai En's question, he then fixed his gaze on Miss Sha Lun:

"What business brings you to me?"

The pale‑skinned yet delicate Miss Sha Lun stared quietly at Lei Kedun, opened her mouth slowly, and said in a calm, unruffled voice:

"I would like you to provide some assistance!"

"Assistance? The Rose Sect's indulgent faction's hunters have arrived?"

When Miss Sha Lun appeared, Lei Kedun basically guessed what the matter was.

Wearing a small black soft hat, Sha Lun nodded lightly, acknowledging Lei Kedun's words, then said calmly:

"Among those hunting me, one is a Sequence Five; he possesses a seal that greatly restrains me, but it has no effect on you."

Faint pale‑blue glows flickered in Lei Kedun's eyes as he stared straight at Sha Lun and Ke Lai En.

After two breaths, the subtle blue glow vanished completely, and Lei Kedun curled his lip into a smile, saying:

"No problem, but if possible, I would like to obtain that wronged soul's extraordinary attribute or seal left after death."

The pale‑skinned Sha nodded almost without hesitation, replying:

"It can be done!"

Lei Kedun was slightly surprised that Sha agreed so quickly to his request; the wronged soul's attribute is also needed by the undead Marichi.

Nodding slightly at the ethereal Sha, he said:

"Just let me know once you've settled the time and place."

"Alright."

Sha's voice became somewhat ethereal, and her entire figure faded away.

Lei Kedun glanced at the glass window; Miss Sha had entered the mirror world, moving away from this side.

He then looked at Ke Lai En, who showed no intention to leave, and stood up to pour a cup of coffee for each of them.

Lei Kedun handed a cup of coffee to Ke Lai En and asked:

"What doubts do you need answered?"

Ke Lai En took the coffee, sipped lightly, set it on the nearby desk, and then asked:

"Do you know the Prisoner Path? And the Witch King."

"The Prisoner Path? Miss Sha didn't tell you? With your cautious nature, you should have already asked about it."

"As for the Witch King, that's Sequence Four of the Alchemist Path; among the blood clan, the corresponding title is Blood Count!"

Lei Kedun glanced at Ke Lai En, seeing that he, out of caution, wanted to reconfirm the Prisoner Path information to see if it matched what Miss Sha gave.

"Blood Count?"

Ke Lai En was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the Witch King to belong to the Alchemist Path.

He recalled the previously encountered seemingly plump alchemist man, whose traits related to beast‑taming were evident; Ke Lai En felt that each path's sequence advancement seemed unrelated.

Seeing Ke Lai En deep in thought, Lei Kedun assumed he was pondering why the Rose Sect linked to the Witch King, and explained:

"Within the Rose Sect, some followers worship the Prime Moon; they are essentially extraordinary practitioners of the Alchemist Path."

"The Life Sect previously split, and the members who worshiped the Prime Moon joined the Rose Sect."

"Why would Prime Moon worshippers join the Rose Sect?"

Ke Lai En was curious; it was his first time hearing of a sect that worshipped multiple deities.

"Probably because they're an object despised by both righteous and evil gods, so the followers band together for warmth!"

Lei Kedun didn't elaborate further; discussing this with Ke Lai En now was too dangerous.

He said only a brief line before changing the subject:

"Have you already agreed to Miss Sha's request?"

Ke Lai En shook his head and replied:

"Not yet; I want to perform some divination and understand before deciding."

"Very fitting for a diviner's style!"

Lei Kedun raised an eyebrow without taking a stance and said a line.

"The diviner's style? I always get the feeling you have some strange perception of diviners."

Ke Lai En spoke his thoughts aloud.

Lei Kedun gave a slight smile, without answering the question.

Ke Lai En continued chatting idly in the study for a while, then rose to take his leave.

The next morning, in Viscount Ge Lailin Te's study, Ge Lailin Te convened a small tea gathering, mainly because his alchemist potion ingredients had been assembled, ready for him to become a non‑ordinary being.

To test the effect of a spirit‑realm sorcerer on ordinary people, Lei Kedun also attended today's tea gathering.

"Mr. Tai Ensi, did you know? Even though I haven't taken the demon potion yet, I can already perform some simple divinations and tricks."

Ge Lailin Te, excited, told Lei Kedun about his progress, and generously demonstrated the tricks he had learned to everyone.

Ge Lailin Te took out a sheet of white paper, sprinkled some herbal powder on it, then closed his eyes to meditate briefly, adjusting his own state.

He slid his hand lightly over the powder‑covered paper, and a faint spiritual vibration arose.

Then the paper spontaneously ignited, quickly turning to ash.

"Because my own spirit is limited, I must rely on some casting materials to complete this trick."

"But once I drink the demon potion and become a non‑ordinary being, this restriction will vanish; I've already consulted, and an alchemist is one of the paths with relatively strong personal spirit."

Ge Lailin Te said proudly.

"That's already quite good!" Lei Kedun praised.

Lei Kedun's gaze remained fixed on the other, a faint violet glow flashing in his pupils, seeing Ge Lailin Te's condition clearly.

For ordinary people who haven't taken the demon potion, trying to manifest that circular ring behind them through meditation and their own spirit is still somewhat difficult; there's a limitation of innate talent!

He sighed inwardly, then his gaze fell on the golden‑haired big dog standing beside Ao Daili.

The spiritual light on the dog indicated it was calmly observing and thinking.

He withdrew his gaze, and Lei Kedun sighed in his mind: "What a qualified audience!"

Then, under everyone's watch, Ge Lailin Te concocted a bottle of alchemist demon potion.

Following Fo Ersi's suggestion, he first meditated to adjust his state, then drank the potion in one gulp.

Perhaps because he had already touched the spirit realm and become a spirit‑realm sorcerer, Ge Lailin Te quickly adapted to the potion's changes, becoming a Rank‑Nine alchemist.

Familiar with his own transformation, Ge Lailin Te wore a bright smile:

"My mind now holds abundant information about plants and how to use them to craft potions with different effects, and I feel my resistance to toxins has been somewhat strengthened."

Lei Kedun glanced at him once, then withdrew his gaze, and smiled to congratulate him:

"Congratulations, you've become a true alchemist!"

Everyone present offered one or two congratulatory remarks, then the conversation shifted elsewhere.

Fo Ersi's gaze turned to Ao Daili, saying:

"The gathering that may reveal audience formulas and clues to the psychological alchemy association is about to convene this afternoon."

"Why the hurry?" Ao Daili asked, a bit puzzled.

Xiu, sitting nearby, answered the question:

"Because that serial murder case has delayed everyone too much, and that place is in the northern outskirts; the night‑watchers are most lax in the afternoon."

"Since the night‑watchers, after pulling an all‑night shift, finally can't endure and need to catch up on sleep; the sleepless should really be called night‑owls!"

Sitting on the chair beside him, Lei Kedun thought of those who love to invert day and night, and muttered a complaint about them in his mind.

Ao Daili gave a slight nod, scanned the room, and finally fixed her gaze on Lei Kedun:

"Mr. Tai Ensi, will you go with us?"

Ao Daili hoped the other would also attend; having a powerful non‑ordinary being with them would be much safer, avoiding worries about malicious individuals that might appear at a non‑ordinary gathering.

"Me?" Lei Kedun looked up, meeting Ao Daili's eyes.

A slight burning sensation arose at his left forearm; the words he was about to say to decline paused, and in a very natural tone he changed what he was about to utter:

"I'll go; I happen to have business there as well."

(End of chapter)