Chapter 672: At Sea

Perhaps.

Ke Lai En perfunctorily nodded, looked at the sled car spacious enough for the three of them to sit, and said:

"We can now take the sled car to leave this town and explore elsewhere."

"Let's stay in the town for now; my thin clothing could freeze me to death on the road in the snow."

Lun Na De rejected Ke Lai En's suggestion; if not for a lady beside him needing to maintain appearances, he would already be crouching on the ground in a ball.

No discussion was needed; the three quickly agreed. Ao Dai Li turned the sled car back into a model, and the three returned to the restaurant, enjoying the fireplace warmth while asking the patrons and staff about the little girl who had been selling matches earlier.

After a few minutes, Ao Dai Li and Lun Na De each felt a wave of dizziness, their spiritual energy depleted, and their bodies gave feedback.

Ke Lai En closed his eyes, sensed the condition of his body left in the outside world, and then said:

"Let's leave first; as long as we stay here, our bodies will continuously consume spiritual energy, which should count as the fee we pay to the World Tree."

Ao Dai Li and Lun Na De nodded, then, using the method obtained during the earlier ceremony, severed their connection to the world.

Their silhouettes suddenly became transparent, then dissolved into a beam of pure knowledge, sinking into the depths of this information world.

After confirming Lun Na De and Ao Dai Li had safely left, Ke Lai En also severed his link to the World Tree, and his spirit returned to his physical body.

Bakerland Burkelund Street, Ke Lai En suddenly opened his eyes from the recliner.

He turned his head to glance at the wall clock, then sensed the remaining spiritual energy in his body; the corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he said, "Scoundrel, with my demigod-level spirit, I can stay there at most half an hour. Aside from the consumption needed to keep the World Tree running, most of the spirit we used should have been collected."

He sighed, and Ke Lai En began to close his eyes and meditate; he needed to adjust his state in preparation for later searching for the "Ghost Empire".

In the middle of the Mist Sea, near the Furious Sea on Shugus Island, one after another, massive streams of information formed illusory "lights" that materialized, rapidly converged, and reconstituted Lei Ke Dun and Luo Sai Er's bodies.

After a brief wait, Ke Lai En, transformed into Ge Er Man Si Pa Luo, brought "Moon" Ai Mu Lin to the island via a spirit‑realm wander.

Ai Mu Lin gave Lei Ke Dun and Luo Sai Er a brief look, then set his suitcase on the ground, opened it, and took out a golden brooch and an intricately patterned antique vase.

He displayed the two antiques belonging to the Terunsost Empire and explained, "These come from a baron of our blood clan's collection, said to have belonged to a prince of the former Terunsost Empire."

Ke Lai En nodded and said, "The blood clan made some markings on it, but they've already been removed."

"Markings?"

Ai Mu Lin was momentarily stunned; he had no idea about this. Did Mr. Fool, during my sacrifice, happen to perform a check and clean up the hidden risk? Lei Ke Dun's gaze lingered on the golden insignia, a Terunsost Empire badge representing the "Night Emperor"; the badge should have been a magical item, but its spirit had long since drained away.

Luo Sai Er crossed his arms over his chest, quietly examined the two antiques Ai Mu Lin presented, and after a moment said, "The badge alone should suffice; the vase is just extra, or perhaps the baron wants to make a profit from you."

Ai Mu Lin only then noticed a fourth person present; his scarlet eyes flashed surprise and caution, and his right leg instinctively stepped back.

Who is this guy? He's been here all along? I never noticed him. As that abnormal thought floated, Ai Mu Lin realized he couldn't recall the other's exact appearance in his mind, as if a vague, sticky blur clung to him.

Somewhat like a priest's nightmare candle, he is an extraordinary being of the "Observer" Path, or perhaps possesses a corresponding magical item?

While pondering, he saw the person whose face he could never remember walk toward him and hand him a card.

Instinctively, he reached out, took it, glanced down; the card's most prominent image was a figure in all‑black armor, crowned, cloaked in a black mantle, and in the upper left corner, ancient Gufsak script read: Sequence 0: Black Emperor.

The Blasphemous Card! Black Emperor (Item), is this the path where the "Night Emperor" of the Terunsost Empire resides? As the thought rose, he heard the voice of "World" Ge Er Man Si Pa Luo:

"He is of the blood clan, and not an ancient blood clan that survived from the Fourth Era; could he replace your descendants?"

"Tricking a shrewd angel may be hard, but deceiving a ship is no problem," Luo Sai Er replied confidently, then turned his head toward Lei Ke Dun and said:

"Take us to farther open sea; if we make too much noise, we might be discovered too early."

"The Mist Sea now may hide countless Indis fleets and bounty‑drawn pirates; it's impossible to remain completely undetected."

Even so, Lei Ke Dun stepped forward two paces, placed a hand on Luo Sai Er and Ke Lai En's shoulders, and Ke Lai En also rested a hand on Ai Mu Lin's shoulder.

With Lei Ke Dun's help, their bodies instantly became illusory, dissolving into massive streams of knowledge that surged toward the sea as an information torrent.

Only after they were completely away from the nearby colonial islands did the rushing information torrent cease, reconstituting their bodies.

A dark red hue flashed in Luo Sai Er's eyes; an invisible wave spread, lowering their descent to a minimum, almost hovering in mid‑air.

Lei Ke Dun released his hands from Luo Sai Er and Ke Lai En's shoulders, lowered his gaze to the sea below, and his eyes displayed one complex, illusory symbol after another.

Under his influence, successive information streams materialized, came alive, and spread outward with the wind and surging water.

Afterward, he snapped his fingers lightly, altering the surrounding physical rules to some degree, so they were no longer affected by gravity and floated directly in mid‑air.

Seeing this, Luo Sai Er withdrew the force that twisted their descent, looked at Ai Mu Lin and said, "Little guy, take the badge and the Black Emperor (Item), then carefully sense the surrounding summons."

While speaking, Luo Sai Er already had a hand on Ai Mu Lin's shoulder; relying on the Black Emperor (Title)'s persona and his link to the Blasphemous Card, he lent his own persona to Ai Mu Lin.

Ai Mu Lin only felt his vision suddenly darken, a massive, indescribable pressure erupting from within, his essence soaring infinitely as if to touch the ethereal star realm above.

Everything around him became illusory, reduced to primitive, fundamental symbols that together formed an endless, phantom star sea.

In this state, his inspiration surged, as if he could directly sense every blood clan and artificial vampire existing in reality from the phantom star sea; hazily, he seemed to see several illusory red moons—some tranquil, some flamboyant, some vibrant—each urging him inwardly to approach.

Do these represent those who wield portions of the "Moon" authority—Mother God, the Ancestor, the Night Goddess, and the Primordial Moon—and which one signifies the Ancestor?

As thoughts drifted, he suddenly sensed discordant stars appearing in the phantom star sea, bearing an indescribable majesty that felt aggressively dominant, as if strict order and its shadow.

"Great." "Emperor."—a chorus of delirious voices rose at his ears, noisy yet layered, constantly shifting between chaos and order.

In Ke Lai En and Lei Ke Dun's eyes, Ai Mu Lin's expression was first calm, then suddenly excited, a bit fanatical and obsessed, then turned painful.

His body sprouted dense black fuzz, his back arched high as if growing massive membranous wings, his ears sharpened and rose, and his teeth kept elongating.

Lei Ke Dun extended his right hand forward, countless information strands coalesced into an illusory light sphere that enveloped Ai Mu Lin, completely severing his information exchange with the surroundings while soothing his condition.

After a while, the figure inside the illusory light sphere gradually returned to normal, and Lei Ke Dun finally lifted the isolation.

"Hoo— hoo~~"

Ai Mu Lin breathed heavily, having just thought he might lose control, and at this point he looked at Luo Sai Er with some anger.

His gaze suddenly turned vague, then guilty, and finally, a bit embarrassed, he averted his eyes and muttered:

"Sorry."

Ke Lai En's mouth twitched; he had barely kept his expression in check for the pitiful "Moon" gentleman, and in those brief two seconds his mind must have undergone a whirlwind of thoughts and an inner drama.

Nevertheless, this also shows from another angle that the Black Emperor (Title) Path's auxiliary ability is truly powerful, enabling a blood clan viscount of Sequence 5 to persuade himself, forget anger, and apologize within two seconds—something even a demigod-level observer could hardly achieve—yet Luo Sai Er could easily do it with a magical item and his own ability.

(End of Chapter)