Chapter 236: The Rambling Magical Item

"What does the mythic creature form of the Seeker of Secrets' path look like?"

After shaking off the image of a swarm of insects, Kelei En immediately changed the question; he didn't want to think about the possibility of becoming a swarm of insects himself.

LeiKeDun leaned against the sofa, his lips slightly upturned, and said:

"The mythic creature forms of the Seeker of Secrets and the Generalist paths are equally bizarre; they are information beings, which is probably the essence of knowledge!"

"The essence of knowledge," Kelei En murmured, picturing it in his mind, but he could not at all imagine an information being, a creature that exists only as a concept.

Still, becoming an information being is far better than turning into a swarm of insects, right.

In a flash of thought, he began to wonder why the Reader's Path does not represent the path of knowledge, and said hesitantly:

"So, the one called the God of Knowledge and Wisdom does not actually wield authority over knowledge? Instead, it's the God of Steam and Machinery, who is closer to knowledge itself than the God of Knowledge."

LeiKeDun lightly nodded and said:

"The Perfect One leans toward knowledge of the material world, representing civilization itself; compared to the Omniscient One, it truly is closer to knowledge itself."

"Alright, I won't keep you from leaving; we'll analyze the remaining extraordinary abilities another time."

LeiKeDun rose from the sofa, took two steps forward, raised his hand and made an empty grasp in midair, a pulling gesture, and a 'door' opened from the void.

"Alright."

Kelei En gave a slight nod; he indeed had business that required him to go out—Prince Ai De Sa Ke had previously tasked him with investigating the cause of Ta Li Mu's death.

Although he knew the matter involved the royal family and a Level-0 Sealed Object, that prince was not someone a small detective like him could afford to offend, so he still had to act as required.

After watching LeiKeDun's figure vanish from the living room, Kelei En finally readjusted his clothes, reached up to pat his face, used the Faceless One's ability to restore his pallid complexion to normal, then opened the door and left.

Divine Abandoned Land, beyond Silver City.

The frequency of lightning gradually subsided, and darkness once again ruled this land.

Dai Li Ke's Silver City exploration team, after a trek that was neither short nor long and occasional battles, finally reached the half-destroyed temple belonging to the True Creator.

By the dim yellow glow of a beast-skin lantern, Dai Li Ke saw the nearly completely collapsed city wall ahead and a ruined street that bore not a single weed.

On both sides of the street, houses had large sections collapsed; only a few barely held on, their surfaces fully mottled, and perhaps one day soon they would crash down with a roar.

The architecture here is dominated by white and blue, with spire structures unlike those of Silver City; all have turned gray, making it hard to reconstruct their original appearance.

Dai Li Ke stared silently for a moment; the people here had once, in a dark age, developed their own civilization. Yet they ultimately were swallowed by darkness, losing everything, leaving only this ruin.

Silver City chief, Ke Lin·Yi Li Ya Te, cast a solemn gaze around; this city might be the future of Silver City.

After calming his emotions a bit, he pointed ahead and said:

"The other areas have been cleared; the temple lies at the very center of the city."

"It is also the place we need to explore this time."

The exploration team spread out slightly, maintaining appropriate spacing and distance, keeping watch around them as they proceeded slowly.

Passing through ruin after ruin, walking along street after street so quiet it made one uneasy, they finally arrived before a platform.

On the platform stood a half-collapsed building, its style completely different from the other structures here.

The people here, as Dai Li Ke thought, had indeed only later converted to the True Creator.

In the next moment, all the lanterns in the team went out.

Suddenly, darkness enveloped everyone; without the frequent lightning in the sky, the surrounding still darkness seemed to swallow even their breathing.

"Save me, save me."

A youthful, helpless, terrified child's voice rang out, reaching the ears of every exploration team member.

Panic spread among the team for a heartbeat, but they quickly suppressed it.

In the next instant, specks of faintly glowing dust appeared around them; the dust burst one after another, igniting a silvery-white glow that illuminated the surrounding area.

Chief Ke Lin stared at Dai Li Ke, his voice deepening as he said:

"What are you thinking?"

Dai Li Ke snapped to clarity, feeling a shameful urge to speak, but he closed his mouth, immediately clasped his hands together before his mouth and nose, assuming a prayer posture.

Rays of light, centered on him, rapidly rippled outward, dispelling the surrounding darkness.

The other team members also seized the moment, relighting their candles.

Chief Ke Lin withdrew his gaze from Dai Li Ke, his tone solemn as if admonishing, and said:

"From now on, there must be no negligence; raise vigilance to the highest!"

Bei Ke Lan De, Mingsike Jie.

At LeiKeDun's rented place, a strange mechanical arm was slung over his shoulder; at the palm of the arm grew a flesh-and-blood eye, staring intently at the strange crystal before him, upon which many faces flickered.

"This damned thing is just too dazzling; it's making my eyes blur."

The mechanical hand's slightly sharp, somewhat complaining voice rang in LeiKeDun's mind.

LeiKeDun raised an eyebrow slightly, asking with mild curiosity:

"You're just a magical item; can you also suffer normal visual interference?"

"I'm not an ordinary magical item; although most of my body is mechanical, my eye is flesh and blood."

"Moreover, this human‑skin phantom trait isn't just simple visual interference; its internal micro‑structure is equally dazzling! I'm just an arm, not a head—why must I endure this!"

The mechanical hand chattered incessantly in LeiKeDun's mind.

It's a bit noisy; this fellow's living trait is unusually strong—aside from not being human, it's hardly different from a person.

"Why should I be no different from humans? I am the Master's executor! The Master's most faithful follower! I am not comparable to weak humans."

The mechanical hand loudly retorted in LeiKeDun's mind.

LeiKeDun fell silent briefly, then let out a long sigh and said:

"How can one or two hear each other's thoughts? Communicating with you is exhausting."

"Moreover, you're merely a Sequence Six trait; humans who ingest demonic elixirs can reach higher levels."

The mechanical hand suddenly grew agitated, flailing beyond LeiKeDun's control, while its endless stream of words kept echoing in his mind:

"I am not some characteristic of Sequence Six; I am a noble existence blessed by my Lord!"

"As long as there is a higher-sequence characteristic, or the main ingredient of a magic potion, I can likewise improve myself by consuming them."

"Furthermore, humans who consume magic potions are fine at first, but later they completely depart from the realm of humanity."

"In the era before the Seven Gods, those ancient extraordinary races reproduced their offspring through characteristics."

"Lei Kedun reached up and rubbed his forehead; this miraculous item was a bit too noisy, and moreover, when using it, he couldn't block out its sound."

"Taking a deep breath, he casually found a question to interrupt this guy's incessant chatter:"

"You don't even have a mouth—how are you supposed to consume a magic potion? Or the corresponding materials."

"I am a miraculous item, after all—naturally I can upgrade myself by the very method of crafting miraculous items!"

"The Mechanical Hand naturally responded with a sentence."

"Upgrade. Your description is quite fitting, but how do you know this term? Moreover, you seem to know a lot of information!"

"My Lord is the embodiment of knowledge, the light of civilization, the final answer to all mysteries!"

"As long as one has faith in Him, one can naturally grasp much knowledge; every bit of knowledge we come into contact with and master originates from His grace—He is that great!"

"The Mechanical Hand directly began to sing praises of the great existence it believes in."

"Enough talk; first finish crafting the item for me—have you forgotten that you still have negative effects?"

"Lei Kedun interrupted the Mechanical Hand's sermon-like speech toward him; he even felt that this was precisely the negative effect of this miraculous item."

"Fortunately, while working, this mechanical arm is still fairly reliable, without again trying to chatter on to Lei Kedon about its great Lord."

"The characteristic of that Human Skin Shade was fused into a clown mask; the Mechanical Hand's mechanical fingers nimbly danced across the mask, as if plucking strings."

"Through the Mechanical Hand's vision, Lei Kedon saw one after another grayish or distorted face, following as if tangled threads were being randomly plucked."

"Some threads were red, some were white, and many tough black threads were mixed in; the Mechanical Hand was striving to separate those black threads."

"Those constantly shifting faces—even though Lei Kedon is already Sequence Five—made him involuntarily frown."

"After nearly an hour, the Human Skin Shade's characteristic was fully fused with the mask, crafting it into a miraculous item."

"Huh~ He exhaled, Lei Kedon leaned back against the chair; the Analytic Hand on his shoulder naturally slipped off and lay quietly to one side."

"Because the Mechanical Hand had been used for a long time, this time the bodily and mental lethargy was much more severe than during the previous crafting of a miraculous item."

"Lei Kedon, somewhat sluggish, reached up and pinched the space between his eyebrows, infusing spiritual energy into his right palm."

"As the spiritual energy was infused, numerous symbols emerged, seeming to come alive and forming a unicorn shape."

"The surrounding light seemed to shift somewhat; in Lei Kedon's vision appeared a pure-white, holy unicorn, it spread its crystal-clear, translucent wings behind, summoning a beam of light filled with holiness, life, and purifying aura."

"Lei Kedon leaned against the chair back, slightly squinting; he clearly felt the uncomfortable lethargy on his body gradually fading."

"(End of Chapter)"