Chapter 226: The Gate Connecting to the Abyss

Beiernadai lightly nodded, handing the Gray-white Amber that sealed the Ghost Painting Frame in his hand to Lei Kedun.

He immediately summoned an Invisible Servant, took the upright‑eye‑shaped ornament handed over by the Invisible Servant.

Sage's Forehead Ornament? Lei Kedun's eyes examined the ornament in Beiernadai's hand with curiosity:

Its core is an upright eye set with diamond, flashing pure light, giving an unusually holy, wise impression, yet appearing rather cold and without warmth.

Beiernadai held the Sage's Forehead Ornament in his hand, paused briefly, then lightly pressed it against his forehead.

"The time‑stealing effect originates from the inverted painting frame at the base of the platform!"

Lei Kedun, seeing this, quickly reminded him.

Beiernadai's body instantly became ethereal; the next moment, she fragmented into numerous tangled strands of knowledge, turning into a pure information‑flow entity.

The torrent surged like a flood, rushing into the Main Burial Chamber, covering the inverted painting frame at the base of the platform.

The tangled information quickly coalesced, reforming Beiernadai's flesh and blood, and the painting frame that had been inverted on the ground was now in her hand.

An invisible curtain draped over the painting frame, isolating its influence from the surroundings.

As the frame's influence was cut off, a sudden gust blew through the sealed tomb, dispersing the invisible shackles and silence.

On the metal lamp stands on the wall, candles ignited rapidly, their flames becoming unusually bright, but soon they reached the end of their life, melting away completely.

The aged corpses on the ground rotted swiftly, and a foul stench spread rapidly.

In just a few seconds, the Main Burial Chamber grew dim.

Lei Kedun, seeing this, stepped into the Main Burial Chamber, and while rubbing his fingers, created several bright golden flames around him.

"The one residing within you, can it seal this painting?"

"My method cannot isolate the time‑stealing effect for long."

Beiernadai handed the painting frame to Lei Kedun, and its contents reflected into Lei Kedun's eyes:

It was a portrait of A Meng.

Black eyes, black curls, a broad forehead, a thin face, wearing a black pointed soft hat, and the most iconic crystal monocle!

"He is also rather narcissistic."

Lei Kedun muttered softly to himself, then, as if speaking to himself, said:

"Do you have a way to seal this painting?"

"Place the Bone Staff in your hand together with the painting." Sasilier's voice immediately echoed in his mind.

"It can."

Having received Sasilier's answer, Lei Kedun handed the Gray-white Amber that sealed the Ghost Painting Frame to Beiernadai, and with his other hand took the portrait of A Meng.

Grabbing A Meng's portrait, Lei Kedun immediately drew the Bone Staff from his waist and pressed it onto the painting.

A layer of black, viscous shadow quickly spread from the Bone Staff, forming a black curtain that tightly enveloped A Meng's portrait.

Beiernadai also swiftly removed the Sage's Forehead Ornament; her complexion turned somewhat pallid, indicating that using this miraculous item placed great pressure on her.

The most dangerous thing here has already been sealed, Lei Kedun said more relaxed:

"There is a passage connecting to the Abyss here; let's destroy it as well."

Beiernadai lightly nodded and walked toward the opposite wall.

Lei Kedun stepped forward to follow, simultaneously dispersing several bright golden flames to illuminate the surroundings.

The murals on the wall, due to the accelerated flow of time earlier, became heavily mottled in large patches; most of the murals were thus damaged, and even with the deductive ability of a secret‑technique master, Lei Kedun could not restore many details.

Beiernadai lingered before the only relatively intact mural, and Lei Kedun guided a golden flame to drift upward along the mural.

Until the dome, that portion of the mural still retained its colors.

The mural depicts a towering, continuous mountain range, and on its highest peak stands a cross taller than the mountain itself.

The cross is shrouded in layers of radiance, appearing exceedingly holy.

In front of it, a majestic, towering figure is faintly visible, the mountains seeming like pets crawling beneath his feet.

Lei Kedun instantly recalled the Divine War, when whether goddess or A Meng, they transformed their forms to the size of small mountains.

He then slightly tilted his head and whispered:

"The figure on this mural isn't meant to be realistic, is it?"

Sasilier apparently hadn't expected Lei Kedun to ask such a question; after two seconds of silence, his voice resonated in Lei Kedun's mind:

"One could say that in battle, they reveal this form."

"Whether giants, dragons, or phoenixes, they are all massive mythic beings; this colossal stance makes combat easier for me."

Beiernadai's gaze had already withdrawn from the mural; she contemplated Lei Kedun's earlier words.

The expression in her eyes was a murky contemplation; after a while she spoke:

"The Ancient Sun God and the True Creator are the same being? Or, more precisely, the same deity?"

"To some extent they are equivalent; the True Creator is the embodiment of the Ancient Sun God's negative persona and extreme emotions, and thus inherited humanity and went mad."

Lei Kedun lightly nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

"The Ancient Sun God's evil spirit?" Beiernadai's eyes flashed as she tentatively offered a guess.

Lei Kedun did not answer, returning his gaze to the mural.

Beiernadai also did not follow up; she merely, having made the association, asked casually.

Their current conversation could certainly be heard by the True Creator wills residing within each other, making the discussion disrespectful.

Her gaze fell on the area beneath the mountains, where two angels born with twelve pairs of wings each cradled a baby, humbly walking toward the summit.

The baby on the left had slightly curled black hair, while the one on the right bore pale‑gold hair.

One had jet‑black pupils, the other golden eyes.

Beiernadai looked at the left baby and softly whispered a name:

"A Meng."

Immediately, her gaze turned to the baby on the right.

"A Meng's older brother," Lei Kedun said, speaking first.

Bei Erna Dai fell silent for a moment, then murmured softly:

"Audience?"

After just a second or two of silence, she examined the mural again, looking at the giant with shackles, whose bound feet kept the dragon from ever touching the ground.

Having surveyed the whole mural, Bei Erna Dai seemed about to reach out, but halted mid‑air, her voice gentle and tinged with reminiscence as she said:

"The path belonging to the Steam God, Sequence Eight is called Archaeologist, but what's laughable is that the Steam Church itself is covering up history."

"That was something my father once complained about in front of me."

"All churches are doing this," Lei Kedun added in an even tone.

Bei Erna Dai did not continue the topic, as if her previous remark had been a fleeting sentiment.

She withdrew her gaze from the mural and, with a slightly contemplative voice, said:

"That brother of A Meng, does his authority come from the dragon, while the giant's authority was left by the Ancient Sun God itself?"

"His authority surpasses that of the current Eternal Blazing Sun, appears even stronger, and lacks the ancient god's frenzy."

"Are you asking me?" Lei Kedun looked at Bei Erna Dai with puzzlement, unsure whether she was addressing him or speaking to herself.

"If you know the answer,"

Mid‑sentence, Bei Erna Dai turned and walked toward the opposite wall.

"This concerns Above the Sequence."

She whispered the line, and Lei Kedun also turned to follow Bei Erna Dai's steps.

In a corner, he saw a stone door outlined only in silhouette, hidden and towering.

Bei Erna Dai stood silently before the stone door, her eyes becoming profoundly deep, losing focus, a blank stare.

After a moment, she recovered, and in a hushed, hoarse voice said:

"This is the gate that connects to the Abyss."

"Step back a little."

Bei Erna Dai warned, then stepped back a few paces herself, raised her hand into the void, grasped, and drew out an ancient‑styled long spear, its tip to hilt aflame with clusters of dark crimson.

The dark‑crimson spear, bearing a destructive aura, plunged into the stone door; instantly, countless fissures opened, and a faint, viscous black mist seeped outward.

Bei Erna Dai raised her right hand again, and her palm swiftly generated a slowly rotating sphere of Star Sand.

One star after another materialized, dense and dazzling.

These stars poured forth successive Light Giant Pillars, converging into a grand Light Giant Pillar that completely enveloped the outlined stone door.

Under the starlight it began to dissolve, collapsing and vanishing as if it had never existed.

"All right."

Bei Erna Dai's voice remained as calm and indifferent as always.

Lei Kedun nodded lightly, and with a rather pleasant tone said:

"Let's gather the spoils; although they lack demi‑god‑level traits, the monsters' materials, along with these extraordinary residual traits and wondrous items, still count as a great harvest."

Bei Erna Dai summoned several Invisible Servants, which followed the path the two had come by, beginning to collect items and traits one by one.

"How convenient!" Lei Kedun murmured.

"Interested? I can teach you a method to quickly create Invisible Servants."

Having completed a bountiful exploration, Bei Erna Dai's voice took on a hint of pleasure.

Seeing Lei Kedun look over, she steered the conversation back to the earlier Q&A:

"The Above the Sequence you mentioned earlier, is it related to the adjacent paths?"

(End of Chapter)