Chapter 655: The New Week's Tarot Meeting

Watching the "Speedster" leave, Lei Kedun gently exhaled; although he could contact Beiernadai directly through the "Hidden Sage," asking someone for something via the "Hidden Sage" always felt odd, as if demanding a tribute.

Beiernadai's reply arrived quickly, in less than ten minutes—a folded letter and a square box forged of gold, its surface engraved with numerous magical symbols and a sun‑flower pattern, appeared on the desk before him.

"The 'Speedster' indeed has an advantage in delivering messages."

He sighed, unfolded the letter on the desk, and read carefully: I have found some clues to a tomb near Bei Ke Lan De, and am investigating information about the former "Blood Emperor" Ya Lisi Ta Tu Duo. I cannot leave Bei Ke Lan De for the time being; I have already sent the Pale Death together with this letter via a messenger. After you have used it, have the messenger bring it back to me in the same way.

My request is that the Ferryman who seeks promotion to "Death Executive," regardless of whether he succeeds, must provide certain assistance in both sabotaging the Black Emperor's ascension ceremony and in my father's return.

"Predictable conditions."

Mid‑sentence, Lei Kedun's right thumb brushed the paper lightly twice.

Crimson flames flared instantly, igniting the letter and turning it to ash.

Then he turned his gaze to the golden square box, dispelled the spiritual wall that sealed it, opened the box, and found a pale mask with a shimmering metallic sheen resting on yellow silk.

The mask had a hollow only for the eyes; the rest was seamless, plain, with no patterns or markings on the surface.

Lei Kedun lifted the mask; it felt icy. The moment he grasped it, a deathly cold seeped through his skin, causing flesh to wither gradually.

"Even if unused, the negative effect persists; non‑divine beings that touch it will die rapidly within a short time."

He muttered softly, applied slight pressure with his right hand, and a swiftly forming cluster of slowly rotating Star Sand gathered in his palm, spawning countless sparkling stars, dense and dazzling.

These stars shed successive streams of clear, bright light, engulfing the pale mask and cleaving the surrounding space.

Amid the starlight, eyes sprouted from the void, each flashing pure light, evoking an exceptionally holy and wise impression, yet they appeared cold and emotionless.

Under the star's erosion, the metallic‑sheened pale mask gradually disintegrated, reverting to its most basic extraordinary attributes.

The information embedded in those extraordinary attributes was fully exposed under the gaze of the surrounding eyes, and Lei Kedun swiftly parsed and memorized it.

Sequence One: Pale Emperor — supremely noble, like an illusory deity perched above countless undead; it can command all undead and cause living beings to die gradually, turning them into its slaves.

Sequence Two: Death Executive — the underworld within the body expands enormously, fully evolving into a realm belonging to the dead, granting absolute dominion over its own undead; even ordering them to commit suicide meets no resistance.

Sequence Three: Ferryman — as he parsed the surrounding attributes, Lei Kedun gradually felt a connection forming with a higher existence, glimpsing a realm of absolute stillness and death.

A faintly veiled, hazy yet exquisitely beautiful female face, as if draped in layers of thin veil, nodded at him.

The hazy image flickered only briefly, as if it were a fleeting hallucination after staring at something for a long time.

It seems Black Night's grasp on the uniqueness of the God of Death has deepened further. Lei Kedun shook his head, steadied his thoughts, and continued analyzing the occult knowledge of the death domain.

Afternoon arrived quickly; Lei Kedun glanced at the wall clock, noting that it was less than two minutes before 3 PM Bei Ke Lan De time.

He tilted his head back; the eyes that had sprouted from the void retracted, and the surrounding starlight shattered instantly, turning into specks of stardust that faded away.

The "Death Executive" attribute he isolated from the Pale Death was sealed in a transparent amber, while the remaining attributes he fused into a feather from a Feathered Serpent, not yet having time to reshape them back into Pale Death.

He stored the separated and remaining attributes separately, rubbed his temples, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rested briefly.

Soon it was three o'clock; dense gray mist and deep red light quickly filled his view.

Dazed for a moment, when Lei Kedun opened his eyes he found himself inside an ancient, grand palace above the gray mist. Justice Ao Daili was the first to rise, lifted the hem of her skirt toward the head of the weathered long table where Fool Ke Lai En sat, and bowed, saying:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

After everyone stood, bowed, and exchanged nods, the Tarot Meeting officially began.

Lei Kedun's gaze swept the people on both sides of the weathered long table; he saw several members whose spiritual energy was hard to contain, indicating they had only recently completed their ascension and had not yet learned to temper their suddenly surging spirit.

Advancement in the magic elixir system lacks a gradual process; a single dose propels one directly to the next sequence, which is one reason extraordinary beings often lose control.

Ke Lai En, seated at the head of the weathered long table, also noticed this; his gaze lingered briefly on The Star, The Sun, and The Magician.

Lun Na De must have been working hard these days, having fully metabolized his magic elixirs. As for Little Sun, his inquiries about the ceremony last week hinted he would soon ascend. The Magician's promotion was somewhat surprising; she had not previously sought materials at the Tarot Meeting, and backing from an ancient family proved quite convenient.

As thoughts drifted, he saw Justice Ao Daili raise her hand, then lower it again, bowing her head unnaturally, like a student who had made a mistake.

What is this? Miss Justice seemed to want to say something to me, but then realized there was no need to speak. Nothing special has happened lately, so she wouldn't have just received the Great Emperor's diary last week and subconsciously wanted to make a request? While pondering, Ke Lai En suddenly realized that without needing Luo Sai Er's diary, it was hard for anyone to offer something they considered sufficiently equivalent to obtain the Fool's assistance, or something that would satisfy me. In the development stage of the Tarot Meeting, a simple, effective way to obtain the Fool's help is still needed.

Having made up his mind, Ke Lai En tapped the table twice with his fingers; after everyone looked his way, he calmly spoke:

"Ha, I just thought of a question: some content in Luo Sai Er's diary is still valuable; it can still serve as your contribution in exchange for something or assistance from me."

"Of course, it must be valuable content."

Luo Sai Er the Great Emperor's hunting chronicles and his after‑thoughts are irrelevant. Ke Lai En added silently to himself what he had not said.

The members of the Tarot Meeting were stunned, some not understanding why the Fool was again collecting Luo Sai Er's diary.

"The Fool" discovered some detail he hadn't noticed before that still needs verification? No, impossible—such a mistake wouldn't be made by a great being; so this is simply a benefit for us, allowing us to seek his aid without such a heavy burden when needed? As thoughts drifted, "The Hanged Man" A'erjie tilted his head slightly toward the head of the weathered long table where the Fool sat, his mind racing and his breathing growing heavier.

Others who thought the same, including Justice Ao Daili, Hermit Jia De Li Ya, and Chariot Anderson, found that without Luo Sai Er's diary, locating something equivalent to the Fool's response and offered assistance was virtually impossible, because it was essentially priceless.

"Chariot" Anderson leaned back in his chair, his emotions complex. The Luo Sai Er diary—no, that is essentially the Fool's charter, allowing us to present him with reasonable, effective requests.

"Magician" Fo Er Si, "Star" Lun Na De and others also responded thereafter; at that moment everyone looked in unison toward the head of the weathered long table and said firmly and seriously:

"Your will is my intention."

Shrouded in gray mist, Ke Lai En gave a slight nod, indicating the topic was closed, and inwardly he sighed with a mix of laughter and tears, noting that what began as an unintentional act had suddenly become a purchase of hearts.

Justice Ao Daili, in a rather pleasant mood, turned toward the head where Fool Ke Lai En sat and cheerfully said:

"Respected Mr. Fool, I happened to receive two pages of Luo Sai Er's diary last week."

After making the request to the Fool, she manifested the two pages of the diary from her memory.

Ke Lai En lifted a finger, and the two pages of the diary spontaneously appeared before him:

May 27th, my impression of Floran Soren has changed; although I remain as arrogant and detestable as ever, he has a beautiful and capable sister—what a catch! I even suspect she may have switched to the witch path, otherwise why would a seasoned man like me be so enamored.

Indeed, this is the Great Emperor's typical style. Ke Lai En sighed inwardly, moved that page aside, and turned to the second page of today's diary.

(End of Chapter)