Chapter 224: Cooperation with Beiernadai

Less than ten minutes after the messenger took the letter, in the living room, green vines hung down from the ceiling, cascading like a downpour and covering the entire room.

They intertwined and quickly formed a forest, layer upon layer rising upward, the top completely invisible.

"I thought your letter meant the plan had changed; the Aurora Guild had just had a base cleared by the official forces. It seems that doesn't matter."

"What about that Fourth Era ancient noble tomb mentioned in your letter?"

A swing woven from pea vines swung into view, and the tall figure of Beiernadai entered the two people's sight.

Lei Ke Dun turned his head to look around; the sofa he and Ke Lai En had been sitting on was gone.

He raised his right hand, made a waving gesture, and specks of starlight appeared, sprinkling layer upon layer of starshine around, magically forming a transparent, glittering sofa.

Leaning on the starlight‑crafted sofa, Lei Ke Dun finally began answering the mysterious queen's question:

"Summoning the True Creator's descent is the Aurora Guild's most important matter; as for that base, the Lu En royal family will provide compensation."

"The royal family. No wonder the Aurora Guild's preaching in the East District and Dock Area has been so bold lately."

Beiernadai murmured thoughtfully, then steered the conversation back to that Fourth Era noble's ancient tomb.

"Ahem~" Ke Lai En cleared his throat and relayed the tomb information, left by A Meng, that he had obtained from Miss Sha Lun.

"In Bai Ya Zhen, at the bend of the Si Te Fu De River, there is a hidden tomb entrance."

"At a gathering of the extraordinary, a member proficient in ancient history examined an artifact from the initial exploration and concluded that the tomb's owner belonged to the Fourth Era Tu Duo Dynasty, family name A Meng!"

"They assembled a sufficiently strong team, hoping to fully excavate the tomb. They succeeded, but never appeared again."

"That tomb entrance was later discovered by my friend, who performed divination using an artifact left by a participating explorer and traced it back."

"The Fourth Era Tu Duo Dynasty A Meng's heretical family? Why do you want to involve me?"

After a brief pause, Beiernadai's gaze fell on Lei Ke Dun.

"I'm just Sequence Five," Lei Ke Dun waved repeatedly.

Beiernadai gave no reply, her eyes sharpening slightly.

"That place contains A Meng's leftover arrangement; I'm not sure whether He has a duplicate guarding it. I think it's likely, though the sequence isn't high, but I don't want to face it."

He shrugged, and Lei Ke Dun honestly voiced his concerns.

Although the Steam Church encountered no mishap when excavating the tomb, it was the Steam Church, backed by the Steam God, and their exploration method was blunt and forceful, using direct firepower to sweep the ground, killing any danger in the cradle.

My own past isn't certain, so inviting the mysterious queen is safer.

"You're very worried about A Meng?" Bei Er Na Dai saw through the true intent behind the invitation.

Lei Ke Dun nodded lightly and said:

"During Fei Nei Bo Te, there was an unfriendly encounter."

Bei Er Na Dai offered no comment, her eyes fixed ahead, a flash of light making them profoundly deep, clearly losing focus, a blank stare.

The prophet master's divination can peer into the River of Fate and glimpse its secrets.

After a brief moment, Bei Er Na Dai's eyes steadied again, and she said evenly:

"When do we depart?"

"Anytime." Slightly surprised at how quickly the other decided, Lei Ke Dun immediately nodded and said.

"Then now."

As they spoke, a pumpkin carriage slowly emerged from the void.

Lei Ke Dun and Ke Lai En exchanged a glance, then said:

"You stay behind."

"Alright." Ke Lai En nodded lightly; if the tomb truly held a duplicate of A Meng, his secret would be exposed.

Other Tarot Society members were parasitized by A Meng; they could cleanse themselves, but being parasitized themselves would be fatal.

After agreeing, Lei Ke Dun followed behind Bei Er Na Dai, stepping into the pumpkin carriage straight out of a fairy tale.

The pumpkin carriage sped away for a stretch, then vanished back into the void.

The surrounding forest, built from countless thick green pea vines, also vanished swiftly, and Ke Lai En turned his head, the scene reverting to the living room.

Bai Ya Zhen, Si Te Fu De He Wan.

A pumpkin carriage, as if stepped out of a fairy tale, burst from the spirit realm, traveled forward for a while, then halted at the riverbank outside the bay.

Lei Ke Dun and Bei Er Na Dai stepped out of the pumpkin carriage in turn, after which the carriage transformed into specks of light and vanished on the spot.

Retracting his gaze, Lei Ke Dun prepared to use the Eye of Secret Insight to locate the tomb entrance.

"This way."

As Bei Er Na Dai spoke, she already stepped toward the tomb entrance.

Beyond a thicket, a somewhat deep, pitch‑black opening appeared before them.

A faint violet glow flickered in Lei Ke Dun's eyes as he stared intently inside, his right hand already resting on the Bone Staff hanging at his waist.

Bei Er Na Dai's eyes shifted from deep to calm, then she whispered:

"No problem."

"Hmm." Lei Ke Dun nodded lightly; the violet glow in his eyes was replaced by a pale blue as he extended his left hand forward.

"Light!" he muttered a word in draconic.

A pure, bright, warm light blossomed in his left palm, which he gently pushed into the dark, deep opening; it spread like rippling water, dispelling the interior darkness.

Inside, a massive double‑leaf marble door was revealed, its gap wide enough for two average‑sized people to walk side by side, behind which rose tiered black marble steps.

Lei Ke Dun stepped forward first; after passing through the stone door, the space suddenly opened up, and Lei Ke Dun and Bei Er Na Dai walked side by side.

The black marble steps beneath their feet, polished over one or two thousand years, still retained sufficient hardness, showing no sign of corrosion.

Lei Ke Dun grasped the Bone Staff with his right hand, holding a bright yet gentle light in both hands as he walked alongside Bei Er Na Dai.

They descended underground, seeing here the distinctly Fourth Era asymmetrical pillars and slash‑like patterns.

These pillars stood on either side of a broad road, and ahead loomed a massive, heavy, double‑leaf dark‑gray stone door.

The stone gate was also pushed open to create a gap wide enough for two people to pass side by side, and inside it was a deep, unfathomable void.

"Looks like it's in here."

Lei Kedun halted, stared ahead, and whispered a sentence.

Then he scanned the surroundings, found nothing of value, and only then refocused his gaze on the stone gate's opened gap.

Beiernadai quietly examined the tomb for a while, then withdrew her thoughts and spoke in a flat voice:

"How do you plan to start?"

"We'll act directly, first unleash an extraordinary ability to strike the interior in a wide sweep."

As he spoke, Lei Kedun stepped two paces forward, his eyes cloaked in a dense blue‑white radiance, and golden illusory flames ignited around him out of nowhere.

The flames exuded a vast, sun‑like aura, swarming in, pouring through the split of the gray‑white stone gate; countless golden flames stretched on, dense enough to form a sea, pure and sacred.

Inside the gray‑white stone gate, a harsh clamor erupted—sharp howls, wails, and roars—seeming as if something inside tried to break through the dense, continuous blaze.

"Sun!" Lei Kedun calmly uttered a word of draconic tongue.

The surroundings turned golden, layer upon layer spreading outward like ripples of golden afterglow; under Lei Kedun's precise control, these golden radiances surged into the interior of the gray‑white stone gate like a tide.

"Exile!" Lei Kedun raised his right hand, gripping the Bone Staff, pointed at the opened gap of the gray‑white stone gate, and uttered a phrase in ancient Hekmis language.

An invisible, mighty force detonated at the gap out of thin air, blowing everything trying to burst out back, and even the seemingly heavy gray‑white stone gate creaked and was pushed open a bit.

This is the decree of the fifth‑level sequence!

With Sasilier's aid, the iron‑black gauntlet bearing the Punisher Knight trait, altered by pollution from True Creation and flesh, became a wondrous item with extremely high vitality, and was successfully shepherded by the Bone Staff.

"The inverted‑hanged man's pathway half‑god‑tier item. It still bears the True Creator's contamination; even though that being harbors no ill will toward you, influence from higher tiers cannot be avoided, so it's best to use this wondrous item sparingly."

Beiernadai's gaze lingered briefly on Lei Kedun's grasp of the Bone Staff, then she warned:

She stepped forward, and as she passed Lei Kedun, whispered:

"Close your eyes!"

Lei Kedun instantly closed his eyes, simultaneously guessing what extraordinary ability the other intended to use.

Beiernadai advanced step by step toward the opened gap of the double stone gate; behind her, patches of pristine, illusory feathers appeared, forming an unparalleled pair of pure white wings.

Beiernadai's figure twisted briefly, black fissures cracking across her body, each sprouting an eye without eyelashes.

Those eyes brimmed with madness and chaos, causing everything around to momentarily freeze, as if something was about to crawl out from every surrounding thing.

(End of chapter)