Chapter 397: Preparation

After a brief silence, he cleared his throat and said gravely:

"I met A Meng in Bayam, and then we stole the Wave Cathedral together."

"Of course, it was mostly Him acting; I was just following along."

Leonard's expression froze instantly, the anger he wanted to show locked on his face, and a wary gaze swept everything around, not even the tiniest speck of dust escaping his notice.

Leikedun leaned back in his chair, and seeing Leonard's expression ease, he continued: "A Meng didn't follow; the Lord of the Storm's divine punishment destroyed most of His projections on the Rosted Archipelago. The remaining Time Worms followed me to the Temple of Knowledge, where the God of Knowledge and Wisdom cleared them out, and only that single-lens spectacles escaped."

"Single-lens spectacles? The storm couldn't retrieve the stolen Wave Cathedral? Things are getting interesting."

"So you fled back to the Northern Continent because you couldn't survive at sea?"

Paliesi's hoarse voice came from Leonard, tinged with a hint of schadenfreude.

Leikedun ignored Paliesi's remark and said, "I'm here to inform you that I'm heading into the world of *The Gelo-sair Travelogue*."

"Just let that kid come with you."

As soon as Paliesi's voice faded, Leonard's voice rang out: "Why should I follow your arrangements?"

"Then it's settled: tomorrow night at eight, meet at the Tulip Estate on the outskirts of Beckland."

Leikedun left a final remark, his figure becoming suddenly translucent before shattering into a spray of twinkling starlight that darted into the Spirit Realm, away from here.

Leonard paused, then tilted his head slightly and said in a low voice:

"Old man, old man."

Above the gray mist, within the magnificent ancient palace, deep red beams rose, and a few vague silhouettes appeared on either side of the weathered long table.

Leikedun sat on a high-backed chair belonging to the White Tower, with a parchment-bound volume on the weathered table before him; its dark brown cover bore a line of Gufsak script: *The Gelo-sair Travelogue*.

"Justice" Aodaili glanced curiously at the book before Leikedun, but saw nothing remarkable and sighed with a hint of disappointment:

"So this is *The Gelo-sair Travelogue*? It looks like an ordinary book."

Seated at the "World" position, Kelaien rasped, "That's normal; many wondrous items condense their spirit and traits, so when not actively triggered, both their appearance and the spiritual feedback they give are indistinguishable from ordinary things."

"Doesn't that make them hard to tell apart from ordinary items? What if we mix them up?"

"Magician" Foersi subconsciously added.

Leikedun chuckled and explained, "As long as the path or sequence isn't especially low in inspiration, we're not powerless regarding such matters."

"For example, the Generalist path has a sequence called Appraiser; they can quickly identify wondrous items without divination, and the Seeker's Insightful Eye is also adept at spotting such hidden traits."

"Uh, I understand now."

Foersi lowered her head awkwardly, "How could I have asked such a foolish question?"

"Justice" Aodaili spoke in time, ending Foersi's awkwardness:

"Are we starting the exploration now? How do we enter the world of the book?"

Leikedun shook his head lightly and said:

"Not now; I plan to explore the book's world tomorrow night. Today I want to brief you on some matters."

"What matters?"

"Magician" Foersi and "Justice" Aodaili asked simultaneously.

Leikedun reclined, leaning against the chair back, and said evenly, "This book will pull our bodies directly into its world. To avoid unnecessary trouble, we should make contact in reality first, then enter together."

"I'll teach you a ritual to summon specific spirit realm creatures; I've already greeted them, and the Knowledge Rabbits that can guide people through the spirit realm will respond to the ritual."

"Knowledge Rabbits?" Foersi asked curiously, a spirit realm creature she hadn't seen in her Spirit Realm Gazette.

"Let spirit realm creatures carry us through the spirit realm?" Aodaili asked, puzzled yet delighted; free traversal of the spirit realm had always been an ability she envied.

If we can obtain the Knowledge Rabbits' consent, perhaps I'll have a way to traverse the spirit realm in the future, Aodaili thought, and couldn't help but smile expectantly.

Kelaien, in a more direct, hoarse low voice as "World", asked, "May I reach an agreement with the Knowledge Rabbits, so that when needed I can request them to ferry me through the spirit realm?"

"That's what I wanted to ask too," Aodaili's eyes flickered as she turned toward Leikedun, awaiting his answer.

Leikedun nodded slightly, chuckling, and said:

"Yes, but you must negotiate the terms yourselves. Their thinking is rather slow; overly complex descriptions are hard for them to grasp, so keep communication simple."

"They love chasing knowledge; you can trade knowledge they haven't yet mastered, and they rarely refuse."

Foersi's eyes lit up, and she asked curiously:

"They love chasing knowledge? Is that why they're called Knowledge Rabbits? They don't also look like rabbits, do they?"

She had previously used a bead bracelet to traverse the spirit realm and had seen many spirit realm creatures, but most were bizarrely shaped—'grotesque' barely described their appearance.

Leikedun nodded lightly, then continued:

"I've also invited a Nightmare to join this exploration; we'll go to the mind world within the book's world, which is my main purpose."

"Nightmare? Is that also the name of a sequence? I always thought it was a sleep state, and after becoming an extraordinary being I assumed it was a monster's name."

Aodaili, upholding the virtue of asking questions, inquired curiously about Nightmare.

"It corresponds to the path of the Goddess of the Night; they can freely enter the dreams of any sleeper within a vast range."

"World" Kelaien introduced calmly.

"World" gentleman is also learned; he likely isn't the kind of extraordinary path centered on knowledge like the White Tower gentleman, which shows he is a mature, even seasoned extraordinary being. Aodaili listened while mentally analyzing Kelaien's subtext.

Leikedun looked around; seeing no one object to his bringing in someone outside the Tarot Society, he continued:

"After we meet, I'll apply a subtle effect that can blur everyone's judgment like this gray mist, and even when entering the book's world, it won't vanish."

"Understood."

"Hmm."

Aodaili and Foersi both nodded in response.

After the exchange above the gray mist, "Fool" gentleman, without appearing, directly sent everyone away.

Inside the Tulip Estate on the outskirts of Beckland, Leikedun was lounging on a sofa beside the dining hall fireplace.

As soon as he opened his eyes, inspiration struck; following his intuition, he turned his head left to see a pale yellow sheet with a sunflower pattern lying quietly there.

Lei Ke Dun casually picked up the paper and held it upright before himself:

Good evening, Mr. Tai Ensi: even while I am traveling around, I have heard of your deeds at sea. If I were still young, I would think it cool, perhaps even become your admirer. Unfortunately I am already old; each time I hear such rumors I only find them too reckless.

I think it necessary to remind you that the Storm Church, as one of the righteous divine churches, possesses depths beyond imagination whether it concerns extraordinary beings or sealed artifacts; provoking them too often is not a wise course.

I have recently returned to Jianghai County; during this period of travel, and with some of the Abraham family's remaining depths, I have recorded sufficient extraordinary abilities and various regional scenery and customs, fulfilling the role of a chronicler.

After so many upheavals, the Abraham family now lacks the remnants of the traveling mage's traits; the extraordinary materials along this path are relatively scarce, and I cannot gather them all in a short time.

I would like you to keep an eye out for two extraordinary materials: the auxiliary eye of the cunning evil creature, and the tentacle of the spirit‑realm stalker.

The traveler's ascension ceremony requires establishing special coordinates in four completely different, far‑apart locations deep within the spirit realm.

I will soon venture into the spirit realm to find suitable sites; before that, I wish to have you record some high‑level extraordinary abilities to face potential dangers.

Lawrence Nord Abraham! (End of chapter)