Chapter 706: Moon City

The ground was left with only about ten corpses of star insects, a crystal sphere that seemed to be formed by countless worm‑like beasts embracing each other, a black pouch, and a three‑layered jewelry box whose surface was silver‑black and studded with various gems.

An Desen's gaze naturally fell on the relatively ornate three‑layered jewelry box; he let out a "huh?" and said casually:

"If a demigod can carry it, it must be a remarkable magical item, or perhaps this is the important seal of the Abraham family that Miss 'Magician' mentioned?"

A Zi Ke lowered his head to examine the box for a while, frowned slightly, and said:

"It's dangerous, harboring a threat that could be lethal even to me."

"So terrifying?" An Desen looked at A Zi Ke with surprise; had he not been mindful of his image at the Tarot gathering, he would have stepped back several meters.

For a true angel to give such an assessment, the item is certainly no ordinary thing; even among the Level‑0 seals held by the great churches, it belongs to the most perilous batch.

Regaining his composure, An Desen turned to A Zi and asked, "Shall we now sacrifice these things to the Fool?"

"Sure." A Zi Ke nodded lightly; transparent spirits of various shapes emerged from his shadow, each holding different materials, and swiftly set up an altar.

Above the gray mist, within a grand ancient palace that seemed like a giant's dwelling, the gray‑white fog, as if stimulated, roiled uncontrollably, surging and engulfing the entire hall.

After a while, under Ke Lai En's guidance, the gray‑white fog solidified into layered seals, imprisoning the gem‑studded three‑layered jewelry box; only then did the restless mist gradually subside.

"This 'Old Days Box' is more dangerous than I imagined; Mr. A Zi Ke should have seen it—why did he still bring the box up onto the gray mist? Does he think the mist can suppress its danger?"

Ke Lai En muttered two sentences to himself, then began divining the now‑sealed "Old Days Box". Of course, this did not involve the most dangerous third layer, which could very likely cause the "Yuan Fortress" to change owners on the spot, or lose its master.

After completing the divination and obtaining most of the information about this Level‑0 seal, Lei Ke Dun manifested a dummy "world", spread spiritual energy, touched the crimson stars representing Lei Ke Dun, A Zi Ke and An Desen, and pulled them onto the gray mist.

As the deep red light rose, three vague silhouettes swiftly materialized on the right side of the mottled long table.

Ke Lai En manipulated the "world", scanned the few of them with his gaze, then settled his eyes on the loot piled on the tabletop, and said calmly:

"These are all the items belonging to Butis; you may choose freely."

Lei Ke Dun and A Zi Ke remained silent; their gazes fell on An Desen, who, understanding, nodded, straightened his posture slightly, pointed at the crystal sphere formed by the worm‑like beasts, and spoke:

"I'll take this— a trait of the 'Mystic', forged into a magical item; it will nicely compensate for my lack of mobility and my shortcomings in spellcasting."

"Alright." Ke Lai En nodded lightly, then selected several gems of different colors and spiritual materials.

Lei Ke Dun and A Zi Ke likewise chose gems and spiritual materials; they showed little interest in the spatial pouch crafted by the 'Mystic'.

Ke Lai En could not use it because, being in the Divine Abandoned Land, his connection to the spirit realm was severed; Lei Ke Dun and A Zi Ke each had their own means to achieve the same, albeit more complex, which made no difference to them.

"The rest will be sold at the next Tarot gathering, and we'll split the gold coins evenly."

Ke Lai En briefly mentioned that, ending the division of loot; after sending An Desen back to reality, he waved his hand, causing everything on the table to vanish, leaving only the gem‑studded three‑layered jewelry box.

He then looked at Lei Ke Dun, reviewed the effects, drawbacks, and sealing method of this Level‑0 seal, and asked:

"Do you think I can use this item to lift Silver City out of the Divine Abandoned Land?"

Lei Ke Dun shook his head lightly and said:

"The Divine Abandoned Land is sealed; you can answer prayers and accept the 'Sun's' sacrifice because the 'Yuan Fortress' gave you a loophole, but deploying an angelic‑tier item will be very difficult—at least with your current stature you cannot."

"Fine." Ke Lai En nodded, unsurprised, abandoning his earlier plan to experiment, and said, "With the help of your historical projection, I've already reached the far east of the Divine Abandoned Land; when I summon your projection later you can transmit your consciousness through; I need some assistance, and a companion to chat with."

After a brief thought, Lei Ke Dun nodded lightly and said, "Sure."

Under the gaze of "Steam" and "Eternal Blazing Sun", Lei Ke Dun finds it hard to go in person to Beckland, to retrieve the trait detained by the Lamp God through William Augustus I; he must wait for Roselle to gather it herself.

Fortunately, the resurrection of the Black Emperor cannot overturn the inexorable order; even the higher‑ranked Lamp God can only temporarily delay the process.

Reining in his scattered thoughts, Lei Ke Dun suddenly recalled something and turned to Ke Lai En:

"At the edge of that gray mist lies a city, inhabited by survivors from before the Great Cataclysm." Ke Lai En's expression grew slightly complex; after a moment of silence he let the "world" Ger Man Si Pa Luo speak:

"I have already made contact with them and am now spreading my master's brilliance to them."

At the far east of the Divine Abandoned Land, on the edge of the massive barrier composed of countless gray‑white mists, Ke Lai En held a dim lantern, standing calmly in place.

Looking at the ground that connected earth and sky, and the endless gray‑white mist stretching on both sides, without needing divination his intuition clearly confirmed this was the mist that everyone tramples underfoot each time a Tarot gathering is summoned.

After a long silence, he raised his hand and summoned Lei Ke Dun's historical projection from a temporal fissure; after brief bewilderment, the projection became vivid and lively.

Seeing the familiar gray mist before him, Lei Ke Dun shook his head calmly:

"Beyond this mist lies the legendary Western Continent, the elves' homeland, and the place where the Celestial Sovereign sealed many 'source matters'."

"I have been here before and even attempted to assault this seal, but failed."

"If you follow this gray mist for no more than two days, you'll find the traces I left."

Ke Lai En nodded lightly, his tone even, "I have already seen it."

After a two‑second pause he continued, "Previously I tried using my own extraordinary abilities, the historical projections of Mr. A Zi Ke and others, even the 'Old Days Box's' projection, none could truly open this gray mist."

"However, I discovered that the high‑rank abilities of 'Diviner', 'Apprentice', and 'Thief' can provoke the strongest reaction from this gray mist, though only to that extent."

Lei Ke Dun nodded lightly, stepped forward, and within his eyes formed one complex, illusory symbol after another, generating a vast, ethereal information torrent that coalesced into strands of non‑brilliant, unclear, colorless "light".

This light had no substance, hard to perceive with the naked eye; ordinary mortals could only rely on their spiritual intuition to discern its existence.

Under Lei Ke Dun's control, layer after layer of "light" turned into a tide, continuously striking the gray mist ahead, merging into it without a ripple.

Lei Ke Dun was unsurprised and undeterred; his expression unchanged as he extended his right hand, where a slowly rotating sphere of Star Sand formed in his palm.

One star after another appeared around it, dense and dazzling, shedding beam after beam of brilliance.

The surrounding light grew ever brighter, creating a blinding white day within the deep darkness.

Feeling the dazzling light and restless spirit around him, Ke Lai En couldn't help to warn, "Control the commotion; I don't want to turn around and run into A Meng."

"Then just toss his avatar in there and see what happens."

Though he said that, Lei Ke Dun still reined in the anomalous phenomena caused by his power release, gathering the clear, brilliant starlight into an ever‑growing, ever‑faster vortex that could cover a metropolis like Beckland.

The vortex of sparkling clear starlight seemed slow but actually rushed toward the gray mist ahead.

Under the pure, clear starlight, the gray mist was swiftly broken down, purified, and forcibly forged into a deep, dark passage.

The gray mist ahead seemed endless; the distance between the starlight vortex and the person standing outside the mist visibly increased, eventually shrinking to a tiny speck like a star in the night sky before being swallowed and vanishing completely.

As the gray mist surged, that deep, dark passage extending forward was refilled.

After a moment, Ke Lai En exhaled a long sigh and said:

"How thick are these gray mists? It's as if the end can't be seen at all."

Perhaps it stretches thousands of miles front to back, or perhaps it's not even as thick as a single wall; the Heavenly Venerable is most skilled at deception and trickery—a mere water pot can trap a lamp deity, and a wall blocking many 'source substances' is not too surprising.

Lei Kedun let out a sigh with a complex expression, then turned and walked toward the rear, drawing near to the people of Moon City who had been watching from afar.

At the forefront stood the Grand Priest of Moon City, an old man dressed in dark brown animal hides.

Compared to the last time Lei Kedun saw him, he was noticeably more spirited and healthier; his disheveled gray-white hair now had strands of blue-black mixed in, and although his face was still lined with genuine wrinkles, he had gained a more vibrant aura.

(End of chapter)