Chapter 399: Ao Deli's Spirit Realm Journey

In Eastchester County, inside a luxurious manor.

Ao Deli tiptoed out of her bedroom and headed to her "alchemy laboratory," which, though called a laboratory, is merely her study converted, the place where she usually researches occult matters.

The manor's servants had all been pre‑conditioned by her with a mental suggestion that no one would disturb her tonight, and the golden retriever Su Xi was stationed outside to guard.

After greeting Su Xi, she pushed the door open, skillfully rummaged through the room for various ritual components, and began setting up a ceremony to summon spirit‑realm beings.

She dropped two drops of golden phoenix flower essential oil onto the lit candle, and a light, elegant fragrance instantly filled the room.

Golden phoenix flower is a flower of wisdom; Mr. Bai Ta's ritual should originate from the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, but he made some alterations—the omniscient eye of the Knowledge God was replaced by a strange, somewhat cold and indifferent eye. Which being does that represent?

Ao Deli lowered her gaze and, relying on her current occult knowledge, began analyzing the ritual before her.

After a moment of contemplation, she produced powder of bergamot and golden thread chrysanthemum and sprinkled it into the quietly burning flame.

Sizzle~ The flame surged upward, taking on a brass hue, and a calming aroma slowly spread. Ao Deli, still pondering, stepped back and whispered in ancient Hermes language:

"A spirit that wanders in illusion, a communicable friendly being, a rabbit‑shaped spirit favored by knowledge."

As the incantation was spoken, a whimpering vortex instantly rose in the room, sweeping the ritual materials on the floor into the ever‑rising flame.

Boom! The flame erupted violently, startling Ao Deli to step back two paces, her eyes fixed unblinking on the front.

The spirits generated by the ritual swarmed together, forming an illusory layered "gate" that connected to an unknown region of the spirit realm.

A dazed, semi‑transparent white rabbit emerged from the illusory layered "gate".

"So cute!"

Ao Deli's eyes brightened; she took two steps forward, lifted her pale‑yellow long dress, half‑crouched, approached the Knowledge Rabbit, and said softly:

"Hello~ I'm Ao Deli. Are you the Knowledge Rabbit that will take me to Beike Land?"

The Knowledge Rabbit tilted its head, its vacant eyes staring at Ao Deli.

After a while, when Ao Deli thought the other hadn't understood her words and was about to repeat them, it swayed, nodded, looking as if drunk, and in a somewhat childish voice said, "To Tulip Manor~"

"Yes, how will you take me there?"

Ao Deli gave a gentle nod, then streamlined her words: "Hmm, what should I do?"

The Knowledge Rabbit did not answer Ao Deli's question; after a slight nod, its body suddenly swelled, turning into a small‑giant‑like rabbit doll.

It extended its now somewhat plump paws, gently tugged Ao Deli, and its light body leapt toward the passage created by the ritual.

"Wait…" Ao Deli hadn't finished her sentence when she was already being pulled by the Knowledge Rabbit into the spirit realm.

The surrounding scenery suddenly shifted, colors layered richly as if a world built from countless color blocks, and odd‑looking spirit‑realm creatures passed by from time to time.

"So this is the spirit realm? How abstract, an indescribable feeling."

The sudden change in the surroundings made Ao Deli pause briefly; she quickly recovered, and, full of curiosity, surveyed everything around her.

The Knowledge Rabbit did not stop because of Ao Deli's curiosity; after its body swelled, it became rather massive, so it simply placed Ao Deli on its shoulder and sped toward the depths of the spirit realm.

It was like a picture‑book fairy tale: a beautiful girl perched on a gigantic rabbit—perhaps a rabbit gentleman, maybe a rabbit lady—and they roamed the wondrous spirit realm together. Ao Deli leaned on the Knowledge Rabbit's head, her thoughts continuously drifting.

She curiously surveyed the surroundings, spotting a sun that looked like a child's doodle, hanging quietly high in the spirit realm, never disappearing as the real‑world sun does when one moves. As she scanned, she saw a beautiful woman rowing a moon‑shaped boat, heading toward the Knowledge Rabbit's advance; Ao Deli saw the woman's profile, which had no depth, like a thin portrait.

Ao Deli, surprised, covered her mouth; the next moment she saw that portrait‑like beautiful woman looking at her. Its eyes showed no emotion, simply gazing silently, yet exerted great pressure on Ao Deli, who couldn't help clutching the Knowledge Rabbit's body.

Ao Deli wanted to turn her head to ask the Knowledge Rabbit whether that seemingly powerful, terrifying spirit‑realm being might affect them, but she feared that if she turned, the creature would appear directly before her.

The next instant, her vision briefly blurred, feeling like flowing water, appearing then vanishing, as if she had passed through a thin water membrane.

Ao Deli hurriedly turned her head, looking behind; there a gigantic jellyfish‑like spirit‑realm creature drifted away, its body constantly shimmering with oil‑paint colors.

What a massive jellyfish—wow, it must be a very strange spirit‑realm creature. Did the Knowledge Rabbit just carry me straight through its body? Can that really happen? They don't even collide? How wondrous! As the thought drifted, Ao Deli was surprised to discover that the portrait‑like female spirit perched on the moon boat had already disappeared.

Phew—finally gone. The pressure just now was immense; that was definitely a powerful spirit‑realm being. Though the spirit realm is wondrous, it also harbors great danger, and it is wholly unsuitable for extraordinary beings below the high ranks to explore.

When I get back, I'll definitely write a "Ao Deli's Spirit Realm Travelogue"; even if I don't publish it, I can still show it off to Su Xi, Ge Lailin Te, and the others!

Ao Deli applied a "calm" to herself, steadying her emotions, and continued to curiously survey the surroundings, though she restrained herself, no longer letting random thoughts arise freely.

The Tulip Manor outside Beike Land.

Leiketon sat on the sofa beside the restaurant fireplace, leisurely brewing several cups of coffee.

His inspiration was suddenly sparked; he turned his head toward the dining table, where two silhouettes, one large and one small, quickly sketched themselves there.

A woman about 1.65 m tall, wearing a cream‑colored, ruffled‑collar, long dress, Fo Si, her brown hair loosely curled, cradling a dazed, semi‑transparent rabbit in both arms.

She looked around, realized she was the first to arrive, and, a bit embarrassed, gave Leiketon a slight nod and said:

"Good evening, Mr. Tai En Si."

"Good evening, 'Magician' Miss, you seem to get along well with it."

Leiketon gave a gentle nod in response; his gaze fell on the Knowledge Rabbit in Fo Si's arms, whose vacant eyes seemed to flicker with starlight.

"Did you give it knowledge about astrology?"

Leiketon pointed his finger at the Knowledge Rabbit in Fo Si's embrace and said.

Fo Si was momentarily stunned, a bit slow to react, and nodded clumsily, saying:

"Ah? Yes, yes, how did you tell?"

"Its eyes showed some change; astrology relies on objective data, calculation, inference, and interpretation to yield results, which made it look even dumber."

Leiketon chuckled lightly in reply.

He gently rubbed his fingers, and spiritual energy spread; in the shadows around the restaurant, from every crack emerged a cold, indifferent eye, each pupil faintly sparkling with stars.

Peace and tranquility instantly spread throughout the restaurant; even the flickering flames in the fireplace grew quiet.

Fo Si was tense for a moment; after noticing no further changes, she finally relaxed, walked to the sofa opposite Leiketon, and sat down.

She was about to speak, puzzled, when Leiketon's voice rang out first: "It's coming."

"It's coming? Who's coming?" Fo Si was just puzzled when her inspiration was sparked; she turned her head toward the spot where she had emerged from the spirit realm, and several silhouettes successively materialized.

Two enlarged, semi‑transparent claws pulled a silhouette out of the spirit realm: a lady dressed in a pale‑yellow court gown, her jewelry not ostentatious but clearly valuable.

(End of Chapter)