Chapter 438: The Tarot Society in Session

The Recluse Jia Deliya habitually lifted her hand to adjust the glasses on her nose, but missed; she awkwardly lowered her hand and, with a clear voice, answered:

"The extraordinary practitioners of this path excel at spirit‑realm traversal and teleportation and other extraordinary abilities; even in the initial apprentice stage they can ignore doors, windows and walls, freely entering any place, and even locks endowed with extraordinary powers cannot stop them."

"Moreover, this path has a rank called 'Recorder'; upon reaching it they can record any extraordinary ability they have witnessed and then reproduce it."

"Excelling at spirit‑realm traversal and teleportation! If they are extraordinary practitioners of this path, can they not bypass the obstacles of the God‑Abandoned Land and freely enter and exit Silver City?"

"Taiyang" Dairike suddenly became excited, his gaze looking expectantly toward the Recluse Jia Deliya.

Jia Deliya was stunned, unable to process: the God‑Abandoned Land? The place where Silver City lies is the God‑Abandoned Land? "Taiyang" actually comes from the God‑Abandoned Land, a place even the Seven Great Churches cannot locate—could the Fool actually reach there?

After muttering to herself for a moment, Jia Deliya shook her head slightly and replied:

"I am not clear on matters of that level."

While speaking, she directed her gaze toward the "Fool" at the head of the mottled long table; seeing her move, "Taiyang" Dairike was momentarily stunned, then, as if dawning, turned his head to look at the Fool.

"Why are they looking at me again? The Fool himself doesn't know the answer either. Apprentices also belong to the Yuanbao path; Yuanbao's ability to break through the God‑Abandoned Land's seal and pull the little Sun here may have relied on this special aspect. To some extent, apprentices are indeed suitable for making magical items; I now want to herd a traveler with writhing hunger."

As thoughts drifted, Kelei'en leaned back against the chair and said in a leisurely tone:

"Heh, apprentices can do it, but those are no ordinary apprentices."

"As for whether they are angels or saints, I don't know; the Abraham family who master the apprentice path might have some insight, but their most powerful member now is merely a traveler."

"At minimum, one must become a Wanderer, or even a Travel Mage, to achieve that."

"Only by establishing a connection with the starry sky and the star realm, shedding the spirit‑realm's shackles, can one possibly break through the God‑Abandoned Land's barrier."

Leiketon gave a detailed explanation to the little Sun Dairike sitting at his right.

"Wanderer? Travel Mage? Which rank of the apprentice path is that? It should be between Rank Four and Rank One; only that level can match the God‑Abandoned Land's special 'Justice'. Aodaili wondered about it internally."

"Wanderer and Travel Mage are not among the names I know; they must be rank titles after the demigod stage. The names suggest constant roaming; perhaps then I could instantly traverse to the opposite side of a planet—Foersi's hand clasped, thoughts in my mind couldn't help spilling out."

Dairike, after hearing Leiketon's answer, nodded vaguely; he knows little of the star realm, the God‑Abandoned Land shrouded in darkness, and has only seen descriptions of the starry sky in general textbooks.

"Moreover, Silver City lacks the magical elixir formula for the apprentice path, so it cannot proceed from that angle. Hmm. He could ask the chief; perhaps they have a different view."

One thought after another surfaced; for any method that might help Silver City escape the God‑Abandoned Land, Dairike was especially earnest and meticulous.

With the apprentice topic temporarily concluded, Kelei'en manipulated his trumpet "World" and offered his suggestion.

"If you need magical items with unusual effects, the Thief path is a good choice; whether fraud or theft, as long as used properly, it can yield decent results."

"If it's a Rank Six item, it can even temporarily steal another's extraordinary ability for one's own use."

Foersi couldn't help pondering the compatibility of Thief‑path items with Xiu, when Leiketon's reminder quickly reached his ears:

"Although useful, it easily encounters A Meng under the influence of the aggregation effect."

"A Meng! Wh‑why?" Foersi asked, a bit stunned.

The rest of the Tarot Society, upon hearing the name A Meng, all turned to look; feeling their gazes, Leiketon chuckled lightly:

"It aggregates most of this path's traits; for the Thief path, the best description is: Ranks Nine through Five are novices, Ranks Four through One are A Meng!"

"Uh, I understand, thanks for the reminder."

Foersi was stunned for a moment, then quickly recalled the other's previous description, and immediately stopped the idea of finding a Thief‑path magical item for Xiu.

"Probably, thieves below demigod are a bunch of hidden novices, and after reaching demigod they are discovered and parasitized by A Meng? The old man inside Leonard wouldn't be a unique specimen above demigod on this path, would he!"

Kelei'en instantly thought of the old man parasitizing Leonard; besides Lanluus, he was the second thief Kelei'en had encountered, and also a Rank One angel. Its choice to parasitize Leonard was probably also because it was being hunted by A Meng—could this implicate Leonard?

Foersi's intention to purchase a magical item was dispelled after several exchanges. Anyway, I have Leman's travel journal; when Xiu needs it, I can lend it to her, so there's no rush to buy a magical item.

The group chatted a bit more, and the trading phase quickly drew to a close; after scanning everyone, Leiketon raised his right hand slightly and said:

"I need the Crimson Crown of the Dawn Rooster King, or Pure White Radiant Stone, or the Heart of the Serpent‑Haired Sea Monster and the Crown Feather of the Thunder‑Light Owl."

"Anyone who has these materials—or information—may trade with me."

The former are the primary ingredients for the Light Priest's elixir, the latter for the Ocean Singer's elixir; he plans to later enlist the two cats Buli and Lizi to try to forge a stable energy source with their traits, which concerns his subsequent arrangements on the Southern Continent.

"I will keep an eye out, but cannot guarantee timing; Rank Five materials are not common."

The Recluse Jia Deliya responded first, though only promising to watch out.

Kelei'en, controlling his trumpet "World", spoke in a low, hoarse voice: "I will keep an eye out."

"Moon" Aimilin and "Magician" Foersi also, in turn, pledged to watch for clues about the relevant materials at the next gathering of extraordinary beings.

The Heart of the Serpent‑Haired Sea Monster and the Golden Crown Feather of the Thunder‑Light Owl—could these be the Ocean Singer's elixir ingredients? If so, why does the White Tower, knowing the Ocean Singer's elixir formula, not sell it to me? Is the formula he holds incomplete? Or perhaps it's a formula from another path; some elixir ingredients of adjacent paths may indeed overlap to some degree.

The Hanged Man A'erjie kept a calm expression on his face, while his mind was already caught in a mental storm.

Beside him, the little Sun Dairike finally gave a relatively definite piece of information:

"Silver City seems to have some of those materials; I think I've seen Pure White Radiant Stone and the Thunder‑Light Owl's crown feather before. After the meeting ends, I'll go ask around."

Leiketon nodded lightly, unsurprised; Dairike's rise to the Undarkened in Silver City shows that the wondrous land possesses Sun‑path elixir materials, and at least Ranks Nine through Four are certainly abundant.

The trading phase ended quickly; during the free discussion phase, everyone habitually turned their gaze toward the Hanged Man A'erjie.

A'erjie's mouth twitched slightly; in a calm tone he said:

"There hasn't been any major incident at sea recently, at least not that I know of."

Aodaili withdrew her gaze, a bit disappointed; she had hoped to hear of some major event.

No major incident occurred, which means the disappearance of the Dusk Commander and the ship "Newins" from the sea went unnoticed. Didn't the Prophet's avatar say a stealth vessel had fled? And the other fleets under the Dusk Commander—have they all remained silent?

After pondering for a while, Leiketon stopped focusing on the Dusk Commander issue; he turned his head toward the "Moon" Aimilin, who sat with an empty seat beside him, and after catching his gaze, he spoke:

"Do the different regions within your blood clan have means of mutual contact?"

"Different regions? What do you intend to do?"

Aimilin looked puzzled for a moment, then, having just spoken, immediately became wary.

Leiketon stared into Aimilin's red eyes and said:

"Then there is a way to connect. I'd like you to ask the blood clan's higher-ups to help me contact the blood clan on the Southern Continent; I have some actions targeting the Primitive Moonlight Cultists that I'd like to invite them to join."

"Actions against the Primitive Moonlight Cultists? What are you planning? Hunt those artificial vampires?"

Aimilin hesitantly asked further; if it's against that group of artificial vampires who worship the primal moon, the blood clan's higher-ups would indeed likely agree, as it would let them reclaim many traits originally belonging to the blood clan.

Leikdun leaned slightly back in his chair, recounting everything that had recently happened in the Xibailang Pas River Valley, and then added:

Not solely aimed at those Primordial Moon followers, but to cleanse the whole Pas River Valley; recently, that band of Primordial Moon worshippers has been highly active, probably preparing the rite for the Primordial Moon's attendant to rise as a coffin-bearer, while also aiding the Primordial Moon's descent with partial power.

The Primordial Moon's attendant? A coffin-bearer? That doesn't seem to be a sequence of the Moon Path.

Aimulin voiced his doubtful follow‑up question.

Leikdun gave a slight nod and said:

This is Sequence Three of the Cultivator Path.

However, among those who worship the Primordial Moon, your Moon Path transcendents should be the majority; if the Blood Clan is willing to act, we can surely recover many traits, and if the Blood Clan is willing to cooperate, I can help you keep an eye out for the Crimson Scholar's trait.

The Crimson Scholar corresponds to a viscount of the Blood Clan; even in a Blood Clan with a long history, a viscount can be considered a major figure. As these thoughts floated, Aimulin took a deep breath, turned his head toward Leikdun, and said solemnly:

I will explain this matter to the Blood Clan's high leadership, but I cannot guarantee they will agree; this carries great risk.

We Blood Clan want to reclaim our traits, but those Primordial Moon followers likewise seek to slaughter the Blood Clan and seize our blood essence!

Leikdun gave a light chuckle, his voice low and hoarse, and offered a suggestion:

Ha, no problem—you can pray to Lilisi; for a matter involving the entire Blood Clan, She will surely respond.

The Earth Church lacks sufficient manpower in the Southern Continent, and this is also a matter targeting Primordial Moon followers; the Blood Clan has ample reason to step forward, so Lilisi should not refuse my proposal—unless She deems our plan this time bound to fail, in which case we can simply abort the plan and shift our target to the Starry Highlands or the Abundant Plains.

As these thoughts drifted, Leikdun withdrew his gaze from Aimulin, leaned back leisurely in his chair, and listened to the exchange among the Tarot Society members.

(End of chapter)