Chapter 667: Tarot Meeting

Looking at the wall clock, Lei Kedun continued chatting with A Luodesi: "As the person in charge of the World Tree, I must ensure every user's safety, guaranteeing they won't be suddenly struck by lightning."

"Beyond the 'Magic Mirror Q&A Game', you need to suppress your instincts; I don't want complaints about people being zapped when logging into the World Tree."

A Luodesi was like a teen addicted to instant replies; as soon as Lei Kedun sent a message, he immediately answered below:

"I'll try; although the daily 'Magic Mirror Q&A Game' already satisfies me greatly, this instinct is always hard to curb."

"By the way, could you add a usage limit? Playing the Q&A forever is fun, but I do get tired."

At the end, A Luodesi also sent an exhausted, collapsed little figure.

A Luodesi's words made Lei Kedun raise an eyebrow; he had thought magical items never get fatigued, even living magical items aren't truly organisms. So A Luodesi's fatigue was only mental, or simply a short‑term unwillingness to deal with anyone.

After chatting a while longer, the time quickly reached three p. m.; a dense gray‑white fog surged out of nowhere, swiftly drowning Lei Kedun's sight.

Crimson light rose from the mist, enveloping his spirit body, detaching from reality and arriving above the mist into an ancient palace.

As the crimson light faded, vague silhouettes appeared on both sides of the once‑empty, mottled long table.

"Justice" Ao Daili examined Lei Kedun with slight surprise. "Mr. White Tower finally joined the Tarot Meeting; he's been absent for two months straight, really makes one worry whether something bad happened to him."

Sensing the eyes—bright or dim—falling on him, Lei Kedun smiled faintly, nodded to the crowd, then, led by Miss Justice, greeted "The Fool" Yu Zhe at the head of the table, and each took a seat.

Lei Kedun scanned the surroundings and saw a new member; to his left sat a woman about 1.5 m tall, shoulder‑length yellow hair, a bit unkempt, wearing a common initiation practice robe, exchanging glances with "Magician" Mo Shu Shi, so this must be Xiu?

As thoughts drifted, "Chariot" Anderson turned sideways to look at "The Fool" Ke Lai En at the head, and bowed slightly, saying:

"Honored 'Fool' sir, I've collected some Russell diaries during this period; like the previous ones, they are still my payment for the last help."

After speaking, Anderson made a request to "Encounter", manifesting three pages of his memory diary.

Ke Lai En let the new diary appear before him, skimmed the three pages, and sighed inwardly: "Is Anderson just unlucky, or is there something off about his diary source? All they're post‑mortem comments from that Russell fellow. I have ample reason to suspect the Great Emperor is messing with us, or someone else is."

Gathering his thoughts, Ke Lai En leaned back in his chair and said leisurely, "You may begin."

The crowd glanced at each other for a moment; silence fell as today's Tarot Meeting opened unusually quietly.

As everyone's sequence advanced, demand for demon‑elixir formulas and materials dwindled, making the trade segment increasingly barren; the focus of future Tarot Meetings will shift to information exchange. While thoughts floated, Ke Lai En saw Anderson on his left raise his hand slightly and state the first request of the day: "Everyone, I need plant‑matter powder contaminated by Disaster Stone, and also a means to produce magma."

"Things tainted by Disaster Stone are hard to gather and preserve, but I know where to get them—500 pounds. As for a magma‑producing method, the most common is 'Demon'; otherwise the 'Storm' path's 'Disaster High Priest' works, though that's relatively difficult, but—"

"Hermit" Jia De Li Ya quickly replied; at the end she tilted her head slightly, looking toward the head of the mottled table.

Anderson immediately caught on. The "Fool" who holds part of the Storm domain can evidently cause volcanic eruptions, but I only need a bit of hot magma; asking the "Fool" might be overkill—better ask Ai De Wen Na, who may know the relevant secret technique.

While pondering, Anderson lightly nodded to Jia De Li Ya and said, "Deal, I hope to get the Disaster‑stone‑tainted plant powder as soon as possible."

"Within this week," Jia De Li Ya nodded lightly, giving an approximate date.

Seeing the trade between "Chariot" and "Hermit" conclude, "Moon" Ai Mu Lin cleared his throat, drew everyone's attention, then lifted his chin and said:

"Everyone, does anyone know any leads on the 'Witch King' linked to the Blood Count? Humans or magical items both count."

Lei Kedun turned his head to appraise Ai Mu Lin; his gaze deepened, seeing through the mist's veil Ai Mu Lin's current state.

The "Crimson Scholar's" demon‑elixir was indeed finished; at this stage the Blood Clan enjoys a notable advantage. They have worshipped the Moon and Lilith since birth, which is an incomplete role‑play, but this only lasts until Sequence Four; after that the Blood Clan will no longer have racial advantage on this path.

Thoughts drifting, he smiled lightly and spoke:

"You can hunt followers of the 'Prime Moon'; among them half‑gods aren't scarce. Recently a 'Witch King' has been active in the Eastern Bairang hinterland and the ancient forest." Ai Mu Lin's expression unchanged, he leaned his head back, chuckled:

"Is that so? Perfect, I will soon represent the Blood Clan heading to the Southern Continent. Among the known companions, at least one is a Count, perhaps a Marquis, even a Grand Duke."

Lei Kedun shrugged, leaned back, eyes closed in a meditative pose; others stayed silent, realizing "Moon" was merely showing off his sequence progress and his standing within the Blood Clan.

After a brief silence, "Fool" Ke Lai En announced the free‑talk phase, then manipulated the avatar "World" toward Lei Kedun and asked, "When are you free?"

Lei Kedun answered directly:

"Right now. With the Spirit Sect and Blood Clan's help, the war on the Southern Continent is at a stalemate; Tistis's army still can't land on the raging Haiden, defending them doesn't require much force, and pulling out one or two people occasionally goes unnoticed."

"Then tonight," Ke Lai En said, controlling "World" directly.

He paused, then asked, "Do you know the Mist Wolf and the Fugen's Dog?"

Lei Kedun recalled briefly and replied, "For the former, consult the Night Church; they are Wolf‑Extinct and should still keep materials. As for the latter, you can ask Qi Guang for a frequent haunt, then go there to request the needed components."

"If you feel guilty, you can give them a mist‑wolf's coagulated heart, which also lets you cultivate a 'Ancient Scholar' among the Fool's loyal guards."

The surroundings fell silent for a second, and "Justice" Ao Daili was the first to raise a question:

"'The Fool's' loyal guard?"

Lei Kedun nodded lightly and said, "The Fugen's Dog also goes by 'Source Fortress Keeper.'"

"Source Fortress Keeper! How have I never noticed this bunch of creatures? They usually hide in the gray mist? Or elsewhere." As thoughts drifted, the avatar "World" Germaine Sparro, under Ke Lai En's control, glanced around the hall.

The others at the Tarot Meeting reacted similarly, instinctively scanning the surroundings; at that moment the previously endless gray mist seemed to sprout countless eyes, watching them from all directions.

"Justice" Ao Daili shook her head slightly, reining in the thoughts in her mind. "It's an illusion; even if the Fugen's Dog hides in the mist, it wouldn't be inside here—only the ones outside the doors are the keepers."

"But Source Fortress Keeper means the Fool's divine realm is called Source Fortress? Strange name, though this place does look like the interior of a castle."

"Hmm, based on the existence of the Fugen's Dog, we can infer that the path where 'World' resides belongs to the Fool, characterized by performance and great strength."

Thoughts fluttered one by one, and Ao Daili suddenly thought of a question; she glanced between the avatar "World" Germaine Sparro and the "White Tower" Lei Kedun, then said uncertainly:

"'World's' next‑sequence demon‑elixir requires material from the Fugen's Dog; doesn't that mean we have to hunt it?"

Hunting a keeper of the Fool's divine realm felt uncomfortable to Ao Daili; if it were another extraordinary being she wouldn't feel this way, but the Fugen's Dog, as a keeper, surely follows the Fool.

Hearing Miss Justice's question, the other members of the Tarot Meeting all cast glances, curious how to handle this.

"Magician" Folsi spoke uncertainly:

"There should be a solution; we can't kill a Source Fortress Keeper every time a transcendent ascends."

Ke Lai En manipulated the avatar "World" Germaine Sparro to look at Lei Kedun.

The latter leaned back, voice calm:

"One Fugen's Dog has two eyes; you find two dogs, have each give you one eye, and that's it."

"As long as they don't die, under the aggregation effect of transcendent traits they can slowly recombine, restoring completeness."

(End of Chapter)