Chapter 201: Summoning Spirit‑Realm Creatures

"All right, now comes the loot‑splitting stage!"

As he spoke, Lei Kedun held the Bone Staff in his right hand, walked to the dimly lit kitchen area, and swiped his hand through the air.

The pitch‑black shadow was sliced open like a curtain, a writhing, twisted mass forming a dark silhouette, which merged into the shadows as smoothly as a water droplet joining a river.

After a brief wait, the dark silhouette returned carrying a pile of previously stored items.

Under Lei Kedun's control, the dark silhouette placed all the items on the dining‑room table, then dissolved back into a shadow, merging with the surrounding darkness.

Most were ritual materials that Lei Kedun and Ke Lai En had each prepared earlier, and a few were spoils taken from Ka Ping's villa.

Lei Kedun paid little mind to the remaining ritual supplies; the true spoils were the extraordinary attributes obtained from Bei Lis, who guarded the underground entrance, and some magical items.

He casually picked up the light‑blue, semi‑transparent hexagonal prism streaked with faint electric arcs and tossed it to Ke Lai En, saying:

"This is the extraordinary attribute of the Sequence Seven Interrogator, from the extraordinary one who guards the underground entrance."

"The remaining magical items were crafted by artisans, correspond to no attributes, and have limited uses."

Ke Lai En took the attribute, examined it carefully in his hand, and the faint electric threads crossing the semi‑transparent prism seemed like lightning from the depths of his consciousness.

"Interrogator?" Ke Lai En mused, recalling Katie, who had fought him, and He La Si; they were likely also extraordinary beings of this path.

Lei Kedun pointed at the iron‑black glove beside Tu Ba Ge's foot and said:

"That magical item corresponds to the Sequence Five Punisher Knight."

"The one who previously used it was a Sequence Six Judge; the other two you fought should also be of this path."

Ke Lai En gave a slight nod and said:

"Most likely, but unfortunately we didn't obtain their extraordinary attributes."

"It's fine; they're just low‑sequence attributes, and we've already taken the big ones."

"The judge's soul has been herded; once I replace that herded soul, I can give you the extracted attribute."

Lei Kedun lifted his Bone Staff and said.

"No need, I already have enough spoils."

Ke Lai En raised his right hand holding the Interrogator's attribute and said.

"I want to herd the attribute of the Sequence Five Punisher Knight; that's the most valuable thing, worth more than all the others combined!"

Lei Kedun chuckled and explained once more.

Only then did Ke Lai En nod in agreement, fetched a small iron box to store the Interrogator's attribute, and sealed it off from the outside with a Spiritual Wall.

Feeling the feedback from the magician's elixir within his body, he knew the night's performance was beginning to ferment.

"I looted part of Ka Ping's assets, but to leave quickly I tossed the items into the Spirit Realm; it'll take time to retrieve them."

"Even if found, we'll need a middleman to cash them, so the net gain will be heavily discounted."

Lei Kedun spoke while mentally estimating the approximate value of the loot he'd taken.

Ke Lai En stared at Lei Kedun, his tone incredulous, and said:

"You even pilfered some money on the side?"

"Why are you so adept at doing this?"

"After splitting, each of us should get about one or two thousand pounds; time was tight, so there wasn't much to take."

As Lei Kedun spoke, Ke Lai En's voice gradually faded.

Ke Lai En silently swallowed the unfinished words; one or two thousand pounds was a fortune to him.

Even before reaching Sequence Five, he never worried about elixir ingredients, but saving a bit more to buy suitable magical items was still necessary.

"I should say see you tomorrow; I need to find a suitable Spirit‑Realm creature to retrieve the safe I tossed into the Spirit Realm."

After bidding Ke Lai En farewell, Lei Kedun, with Tu Ba Ge, once again roamed the Spirit Realm and returned to his rented house.

Watching Lei Kedun's figure vanish in the living room, Ke Lai En shifted from sitting on the sofa to reclining on it.

He closed his eyes, carefully recalling the night's battle details.

A human trafficker, the royal family dispatched four extraordinary beings to protect him; this is clearly unbalanced. Moreover, He La Si is a Sequence Six, and wearing that glove is almost equivalent to a Sequence Five—this matter is definitely not as simple as it appears.

Back in his rented house, Lei Kedun set the Bone Staff and the iron‑black glove aside.

He hurried to the study and, by memory, retrieved the book that records knowledge of Spirit‑Realm creatures.

"I'm sure this is the book; it contains an entry on a Spirit‑Realm creature that excels at finding items and is greedy for wealth."

Recalling the passage he'd once glimpsed, he instructed Tu Ba Ge:

"Go fetch me some gold coins, preferably a few of each type."

"Got it." Tu Ba Ge immediately hopped over to the storage room to rummage.

Whoosh! The pages fluttered continuously, and soon Lei Kedun found the information on the Spirit‑Realm creature he sought:

Mudlur: a gentle‑tempered Spirit‑Realm creature, its body covered in black fur, with a shallow‑yellow, relatively long snout, and a special fondness for all treasures.

They excel at locating items; the more valuable, the easier they find them.

Treasures are their favorite food; the pricier, the tastier to them.

Having noted Mudlur's information, Lei Kedun immediately went to the junk room to fetch the materials needed for the Spirit‑Realm creature summoning ritual.

He quickly set up the ritual, sprinkling herbal powder and hallucinogenic essential oil into the lit candles.

As the scent of herbs and hallucinogen spread through the room, Lei Kedun began to softly chant his prepared incantation in Ancient Hekmis:

"In my name, I summon:"

"The spirit that roams the Upper Realm, a black silhouette fond of riches, the friendly creature called Mudlur."

With a low wail, a cold wind swept the room; Lei Kedun's own spirit began to wane, and under the ritual's constraint, his waning spirit tore a passage to the Spirit Realm in the void.

His incantation traveled through the link to the Spirit Realm, awaiting a suitable Spirit‑Realm creature's response.

"Wooo~" a crisp howl came from the other side of the passage.

Immediately, a black silhouette sprang out, leapt onto the floor under Lei Kedun's gaze, revealing only a tiny head and its pale‑yellow snout.

Lei Kedun looked at the little fellow he had summoned with a spell, examined it carefully, confirmed it was the kind of Mud Subduing Thunder he was looking for, and immediately moved closer.

As soon as Lei Kedun took a step forward, the little fellow instantly retreated warily.

Whatever distance Lei Kedun closed, it retreated the same distance.

Feeling a bit helpless, he stopped, clapped his hands, and had Tu Ba Ge bring in a small sack of gold coins.

The Mud Subduing Thunder instantly perked up, its whole body turning into a black shadow that rushed toward Tu Ba Ge.

Tu Ba Ge instinctively swiped a paw at the incoming black shadow.

The Mud Subduing Thunder's tiny body was flung backward, slammed into the wall, and, like falling into water, passed straight through the wall.

Tu Ba Ge stared blankly at his little paw, unsure whether he had become stronger or the black silhouette that had just attacked him was simply too weak.

While Tu Ba Ge was still dazed, the small sack held by his other paw suddenly grew heavy and slipped from his grasp.

The Mud Subduing Thunder, having passed through the wall, leapt up from beneath the floor and immediately grabbed the small sack of gold coins in Tu Ba Ge's hand.

After snatching the sack, the Mud Subduing Thunder adjusted its posture and fell toward the floor.

It collided with a Starlight Barrier, leaving it dizzy.

The next moment, Tu Ba Ge snatched the sack back from the Mud Subduing Thunder.

The Mud Subduing Thunder tried to reclaim the gold, but another Starlight Barrier blocked it; it changed direction and again slammed into the barrier.

The tiny Mud Subduing Thunder kept changing direction, repeatedly crashing into the Starlight Barrier.

"Woo! Woo!" After trying every direction, the Mud Subduing Thunder finally realized it was captured, slumped onto the ground in despair, and began wailing.

So stupid—can this really help me find the safety deposit box instead of being eaten by other spirit realm creatures?

Seeing the cute but stupid Mud Subduing Thunder trapped by the Starlight Barrier, Lei Kedun took a few steps forward and, amid its fear and shock, took the sack from Tu Ba Ge's hand.

He immediately poured all the assorted gold coins in front of the Mud Subduing Thunder, scattering them on the ground; the creature stared with its eyes wide open, completely forgetting that it had been captured.

Lei Kedun picked up a gold coin and handed it to the Mud Subduing Thunder.

The Mud Subduing Thunder lunged, hit the Starlight Barrier, shook its head and swayed, then pressed against the barrier again, its pale yellow snout leaking a line of drool.

"Do you want gold coins?" Lei Kedun asked the Mud Subduing Thunder in Dragon Language.

The Mud Subduing Thunder, blocked by the Starlight Barrier, nodded wildly, spitting out its saliva.

Seeing this, Lei Kedun scooped up more gold coins from the ground and handed them to it, saying:

"Go to the spirit realm and find something for me; if you succeed, all these gold coins are yours."

"Wuu, wuu~"

The Mud Subduing Thunder displayed a markedly different intelligence from before and began bargaining with Lei Kedun.

In the end, the Mud Subduing Thunder managed to triple its reward, but Lei Kedun would only pay the remaining sum once it found the safety deposit box.

After both parties signed the contract, the Mud Subduing Thunder excitedly carried a sack of gold coins and returned to the spirit realm through the ritual-generated passage.

After the ceremony ended, Lei Kedun and Tu Ba Ge stared at each other for a moment, then, with a hint of helplessness, said:

"Do you think that spirit realm creature we just saw was clever or foolish?"

Tu Ba Ge mimicked Lei Kedun's gesture, rubbed his chin with a paw, and said:

"He's quite clever when it comes to making money!"

(End of Chapter)