Chapter 411: The Great Mother

After exchanging words for a while with Luka·Bruste of the Church of Knowledge, Lei Kedun took his leave.

He strolled aimlessly down the street, curiously observing his surroundings; it was his first time on the Southern Continent, and he was curious about everything here.

The Southern Continent natives generally have a deep bronze complexion, making Lei Kedun stand out starkly; curious, hostile, or envious gazes constantly fell upon him.

From time to time, locals passed by carrying transport devices that resembled coffins, and occasionally they would stop to invite Lei Kedun to ride.

In the shops lining both sides of the street, occasional glances landed on Lei Kedun, as if hoping he would go in and shop.

Why has my spiritual intuition become so keen to the emotions hidden in the surrounding gazes?

Gah—lost in thought, he heard the loud caw of Anu the Raven overhead.

Lei Kedun looked up at the circling raven, his gaze following its line of sight toward a middle‑aged man at the street corner who looked somewhat like a vagrant.

His eyes darkened slightly; he discerned some discordant traces on the man.

A robust middle‑aged man whose intellect seemed normal, wholly unlike a typical vagrant, yet his spirit exuded an extreme age, incongruous with his body.

While pondering, he raised his hand toward the sky, then quickened his steps to follow the vagrant's retreating figure.

Anu the Raven swooped straight from mid‑air and settled on his shoulder.

"Boss, that person's soul seems on the brink of death, yet his body is healthy, as if his life were infinitely prolonged at the moment of dying."

"His body and soul are harmonious, and there are no signs of demonic possession—somewhat interesting." Lei Kedun mused, quickening his pace.

When he passed a corner, he casually summoned a tranquil night veil to drape over himself, wonderfully concealing all his traces and aura.

He followed the strange vagrant at a measured pace, leaving the city together, watching him walk toward the great river at the heart of the Pas River Valley as if on a pilgrimage.

"Boss, he seems intent on suicide."

Anu the Raven, perched on Lei Kedun's shoulder, said in a strange tone.

Lei Kedun gave a slight nod; his figure suddenly blurred, faded away, and instantly reappeared ahead of the vagrant.

Before the man could react, he flicked his wrist like a magician, conjuring a burning match.

The moment the vagrant saw the flame, he fell into an illusion.

Lei Kedun gently rubbed his fingers, creating specks of starlight that seeped into the man's mind, influencing his thoughts.

Within the illusion, he found himself on the wide banks of the Pas River in the middle of the Pas River Valley.

He ignored all absurdities and prayed aloud as if on a pilgrimage:

"Great Mother, the unique Red Moon, source of all things, symbol of life and beauty."

As he chanted, Lei Kedun felt the fabricated environment being subtly altered, evolving toward an uncontrollable direction.

The vagrant continued his prayer while stepping into the long river before him.

With his movement, the once‑calm river began to change in unknown ways, seemingly coming to life and forging a link with some great entity.

Figures began to materialize around them, also walking toward the Pas River in a pilgrim‑like manner; they were male or female, but all possessed relatively youthful, strong bodies and aged souls.

The water took on a strange pale‑green hue, with twisted human faces constantly drifting, and the surface rose uncontrollably, as if the river were reproducing itself.

Zz~ Lei Kedun reached out and snuffed the match, abruptly halting the runaway illusion.

When the illusion ended, the vagrant suddenly snapped to clarity, stared blankly for a moment, then fixed a resentful gaze on Lei Kedun, like a fanatic confronting a blasphemer.

"Who are you?" his voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in ages.

"Follower of Knowledge, who are you?"

Lei Kedun's tone was gentle, tinged with a beguiling quality; his words carried a subtle spirituality that stirred the man's thoughts and swayed his judgment.

The middle‑aged vagrant before him was merely an ordinary, albeit odd, person; he could not resist the beguilement in Lei Kedun's words, struggled briefly, then said, "I am… Luo Zi."

"…Follower of the Great Mother."

"What are you doing?" Lei Kedun continued to ask.

Luo Zi's expression suddenly turned extremely devout, fanatically fervent, even resisting Lei Kedun's mental influence.

He looked toward the Pas River and, with a fervent voice, said:

"I am returning to Mother's embrace!"

"Returning to Mother's embrace for what?"

Lei Kedun's voice remained flat as he asked further, though the spirituality in his words grew richer.

"To welcome new life!"

"The Pas River is our mother river; it nurtured the life of this land. We return here at life's end and emerge from its waters at birth."

"It is the incarnation of the Great Mother who births all on this continent, the unique Red Moon, symbol of life and beauty."

Lei Kedun's spirit suddenly warned him; his body turned transparent, becoming a translucent statue of radiant starlight, which instantly shattered into specks of starlight, carrying Anu the Raven on his shoulder away from the spot.

A scalpel flashing with silver‑white cold light abruptly appeared where Lei Kedun had just been.

"Huh? Fast reaction!"

"You can turn yourself into a starlight state? Are you one of the madmen of the Morse Ascetic Society?"

"I'd love to study how the extraordinary and ordinary differ along your path."

The vagrant before him suddenly seemed a different person, his light‑green eyes flashing with pathological madness, veins bulging on his body as if something were about to burst out.

Starlight converged in midair, coalescing Lei Kedun's silhouette, a faint violet glow appearing in his eyes.

Through the Eye of Secret Gazing, he saw invisible filaments spreading over the man's flesh, entwining his spirit and wrapping it into a silvery cocoon.

A slightly twisted, snarling human face flickered on the cocoon, like a possessed wraith easily manipulating the body.

Those filaments twisted into a thick vine that shot upward, faintly linked to a scarlet entity; Lei Kedun immediately withdrew his gaze, the Prophecy Master's intuition preventing him from seeing further.

Lei Kedun, expressionless, examined the manipulated puppet before him and, feigning a sigh, said, "Being called a madman by a madman is truly hard to accept."

As he spoke, he lightly snapped his fingers; a shadow fell like a curtain over everything, the bright sunlight dimming instantly, and even the surrounding temperature dropped noticeably.

A single cold, indifferent eye emerged from the shadow, its icy gazes fixing on the central puppet, as if no secret could hide from them.

Corruption and madness instantly spread, permeating everything around like a tangible infection.

The controlled puppet opposite casually scanned the surroundings, its gaze full of curiosity; if the current setting weren't inappropriate, Reckton had no doubt he would dissect and examine every eye that sprouted from the surrounding shadows.

So this is that mother's relative? No wonder he's called a madman—indeed very crazy. The way he turned this person into his own puppet seems to have implanted his own god‑bearing flesh and blood into this body; I wonder into how many pieces he has divided himself.

Even a demigod's divinity is limited; once it exceeds the limit, it instantly loses control and goes mad. Are you treating yourself as a bug conglomerate of the Gou San family to torment?

(End of chapter)