Chapter 574: Robbing a Burning House

"Die!" Luo Sai'er's deep, hoarse voice rang out, and at the same time he extended his right hand forward, forming a grasp.

The little figure on the ground, struggling and crying, was suddenly tightly enveloped by forces surging from all directions, compressed into a lump, its body cracking inch by inch from the inside out, disintegrating into shards of deep red moonlight like red phosphorus.

Crack! Lei Kedun's silhouette, at an unknown moment, left the tomb's ceiling, stood beside Luo Sai'er, and snapped his fingers.

Pure, clear starlight poured down from the heights, easily piercing the tomb's stone walls and enveloping the deep red moonlight in the hall.

At that moment the deep red glow seemed to gain tangible weight, plummeting down, piercing the stone walls, and falling into the endless wilderness below.

Luo Sai'er watched the vanished deep red moonlight and couldn't help exclaiming, "The Hidden Sage… He's actually this strong?"

While speaking, he lifted his hand forward, easily tearing the black giant cocoon covering Beiernadai, reverting it to ordinary shadow that sank into the ground.

Beiernadai looked at the silhouette before her, now showing the outline of its former appearance, her eyes suddenly moist, whispering, "Father."

"Ahem, ahem!" Lei Kedun cleared his throat twice, interrupting their tender gaze, and with Luo Sai'er's displeased look, calmly said:

"This won't hold for long; this state is a heavy burden for me as well. Once this tomb returns to reality, you'll be polluted by the Primal Moon's aura and power."

"If you wish to share feelings with each other, my suggestion is to find something via the Black Emperor, then detach part of your own consciousness and parasitize onto it."

"So you mean I have to endure that pain again?" Even with only a black silhouette remaining, Luo Sai'er's grimacing expression was evident.

"Perhaps more than once; you're like a dried salted fish now—no matter how many times you wash it, the taste remains."

"Unless the True Creator intervenes personally, stripping the madness and corruption from you, making it your dark side, then killing it, and burying the Primal Moon's residual contamination deep underground."

Luo Sai'er sneered, "Ha, so he's a lunatic, letting a mental patient treat me—are you sure I won't become a patient too?"

"The True Creator's condition is improving; He has also separated from Himself an entity called Sasilier."

Beiernadai spoke up to remind her long‑absent father, then gave a rough briefing of the current situation.

With only a black silhouette left, Luo Sai'er rubbed his chin in thought, remained silent for a long while, then said:

"Who do you intend to seek miracles from? Existing Miracle Masters are few, and those guys are each more elusive than the last, and terribly cowardly."

Lei Kedun twitched the corner of his mouth and calmly said:

"The deranged Cha Latu—night will eventually release him. I can legitimately go find him and request a few miracles as payment; the current him won't refuse, nor can he."

"Ha, opportunistic plunder," Luo Sai'er scoffed.

The faint starlight flowing silently in the tomb's great hall suddenly quivered, as if about to shatter at any moment.

Lei Kedun slightly raised his hand, temporarily stabilizing the surrounding starlight, and said, "It's at the limit; detach part of your consciousness to seal, and let the remaining part return to slumber."

Luo Sai'er sighed lightly, "Take the gem from your glove and give it to me."

"No, it's mine." Lei Kedun hadn't answered yet, but the mechanical glove on his hand spoke up to refuse.

Luo Sai'er placed a hand on his forehead, saying helplessly, "Lend it to me for now; after we leave, I'll find a new Fallen Count trait for you."

The mechanical glove immediately began bargaining, "Three copies! And they must be from the Prophet, Lightless One, Disaster High Priest, or Fallen Count sequences."

"You're opportunistically plundering!" Luo Sai'er glared at Lei Kedun, took a deep breath, then softened his tone, "Fine."

On Lei Kedun's right hand, the mechanical glove's juvenile synthetic voice rang again, "Hmm, you need to swear allegiance to me!"

Luo Sai'er inhaled deeply, gritting his teeth, "I am a True God of Sequence 0; even now I'm destitute, I won't deceive you over a tiny glove."

"Fine." The mechanical glove reluctantly shifted its internal gears, clacking, and soon the dark‑red gem set on the back of the hand fell out on its own.

Ding~ Ding~ The dark‑red gem hit the ground, producing a crisp sound.

Luo Sai'er's silhouette reached forward, the gem's position warped, and it appeared directly in his hand.

The black silhouette flowed like water ripples, gradually merging into the dark‑red gem, reflecting a discordant pattern of twisted clocks, a crown, and wings.

Having done all this, the black silhouette thinned and became far more transparent; he handed the dark‑red gem to Beiernadai, a barely discernible smile on his lips, saying, "All right, you may leave now."

As his words faded, the entire tomb felt an illusory drop, swiftly detaching from the starlight and returning to the real primordial island.

Crack! Crack! Crisp tearing sounds echoed in the ears; Lei Kedun looked up following the noise and saw fissures appearing on Luo Sai'er's thinned black silhouette, with deep red moonlight seeping through bit by bit.

Luo Sai'er looked at Beiernadai before him and whispered, "Seal me."

Beiernadai nodded lightly, said nothing, and the Invisible Servant that materialized behind her took the pale mask with a shimmering metallic sheen.

The mask had a hollow only at the eye region; the rest was seamless.

Luo Sai'er cooperated, standing still as Beiernadai placed the "Pale Death" onto his face.

The shimmering metallic pale mask materialized into an extremely complex, highly mysterious three‑dimensional sigil; the moment it appeared, surrounding objects began to weather instantly, as if thousands of years had passed in a second or two.

The thinned black silhouette's aura rapidly fell, the deep red light leaking through the cracks dimmed, and he staggered back onto the golden throne behind him, while tiny pale tufts of fuzz sprouted from the fissures.

In the blink of an eye those tufts swelled into white feathers, their surfaces seeming soaked with a faint yellow oil.

This hastened Luo Sai'er's waning aura, as if he were sprinting toward the terminus of death.

Its color visibly faded, its movements grew slower, gradually becoming a translucent, drifting shadow tinged with crimson.

Just before the silhouette vanished completely, Luo Sai'er hoarsely said to Beiernadai, "Don't mourn for me; I'll soon appear beside you in another form."

Soon, his silhouette vanished entirely, and the extremely complex, highly mysterious three‑dimensional sigil floating mid‑air reverted to the shimmering metallic pale mask, dropping to the ground.

Beiernadai reclaimed the "Pale Death," handed it to the Invisible Servant for storage, then turned toward Lei Kedun, remaining silent.

The latter chuckled lightly, his voice calm as he said:

"You leave this island first; I'll create high‑level contamination here to counter the residual contamination of the Primal Moon. If we rely solely on the seal formed by that mask, it won't hold long before it's polluted again."

"Actually, the moment we returned to this island just now, he was already re‑contaminated."

"The Dawn is near the reef waters surrounding the island."

Beiernadai nodded gently; as her words ended, her silhouette instantly vaporized, breaking into countless streams of pure knowledge that surged outward like a torrent beyond the tomb.

Lei Kedun withdrew his gaze, took a few steps to the edge of the high golden throne, where a faint, transparent human outline hovered over the seat; ethereal, imposing murmurs echoed beside his ear.

"You're a bit noisy."

Lei Kedun gave a mild remark, and as he spoke, his right hand—wearing the mechanical glove—pierced the transparent outline, carving on the golden seat a pair of cold, indifferent, eyelash‑less eyes brimming with countless brilliant stars.

"The Hidden Sage's aura instantly descended upon the hall; within the surrounding shadows and the gaps between the piled stones, it seemed a single cold, mad, alien eye appeared."

In this grand tomb of piled stones, the air instantly filled with madness, destruction, ominousness, and disaster.

Leikdun's other hand held the Hermit Card, lightly tapping his forehead twice, and specks of stardust fell from his body.

In a dazed moment, illusory wind sounds rose around, accompanied by vague, shadowy figures, and faint moans and prayers.

In the next instant, all the strange visions around vanished, and the translucent, blurry human-shaped outline on the golden throne also disappeared, as if what had appeared before was merely an illusion.

Leikdun stood still in place for two seconds, after confirming no other mishap would occur, he turned and walked toward the exit of the mausoleum.

With each step, his form gradually disintegrated, turning into streams of pure, chaotic information that surged outward.

On the sea outside the primitive island, the ship 'Dawn', bearing an ancient and mysterious hue, lay still anchored on the water.

A faint glow imperceptible to the naked eye welled up from the island, and in an instant appeared on the 'Dawn'; the information surge flowed into the captain's cabin above deck, and the chaotic, pure knowledge swiftly reassembled into Leikdun's figure.

Bernadette was already seated at the desk in the captain's cabin; on the table before her lay two cups of steaming coffee, as well as a dark red gem the size of a fingernail.

(End of chapter)