Chapter 707: Transformation

The people from Moon City who were following Nim also underwent a noticeable change: their bodies became visibly healthier, and they now carried all sorts of mushrooms with them.

Lei Kedun withdrew his gaze with a complex expression and thought to himself: This time, Fu Lan Ke has performed a feat that surpasses the Great Earth Mother Church; his mushrooms have become the most important food source in the god‑forsaken lands of the South Continent. If the war continues, the lower‑class civilians of the North Continent's nations will also have to rely on these mushrooms as staple food—a future hard to imagine.

While Lei Kedun was sighing, Ke Lai En stepped closer and said calmly, "Earlier, during the Moon City rites for this gray mist, I heard some sounds—like layered, chaotic prayers. I intend to make an attempt and need you to watch over it to prevent any accidents."

"Sure." Lei Kedun gave a slight nod; he was very interested in the experiment Ke Lai En was about to conduct.

With Lei Kedun's response, Ke Lai En reached out and pulled his own historical projection from a fissure in history, then let his body vanish as his consciousness awakened within the projection.

Immediately, Ke Lai En's historical projection, under Lei Kedun's gaze, walked to the front of the solidified gray‑white mist, extended its right hand, and pressed against it.

After staring for two seconds, he opened his mouth, lowered his voice, and recited in Chinese:

"Blessed Xuanhuang Immortal Lord; Blessed Xuanhuang Heavenly Sovereign;

Blessed Xuanhuang God;

Blessed Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable."

As the final word fell, the barrier made of endless gray mist visibly quivered, a motion unlike the one Lei Kedun had previously generated with attacks—more like a lake struck by a massive stone.

The ripples raced outward, wavering and overlapping, faintly sketching the outline of a door.

Behind Ke Lai En, Lei Kedun narrowed his eyes, a surge of uncontainable excitement rising within him; he seemed to already hear a call from his own body on the other side of the gray mist.

At that moment, a silvery‑white bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the surroundings.

Under Lei Kedun's gaze, the door never fully formed, apparently lacking some essential condition and unable to assemble a complete key.

After a moment of thought, Lei Kedun suggested, "Take some Time Worms, Star Worms, and Spirit Worms as auxiliaries, blend their essences, and try again?"

"I can only sustain three historical projections at once right now," Ke Lai En said slowly, shaking his head.

After a brief silence, Ke Lai En dismissed his historical projection; his body reappeared where it had vanished moments before, and he looked at Lei Kedun, saying:

"I'll summon your historical projection again in a moment."

As the words fell, he immediately ceased maintaining that historical projection.

Returning to the barrier of solidified gray mist, Ke Lai En reached into the void and produced a small worm with twelve transparent segments; after a pause, he reached again and took out a Spirit Worm and a Star Worm.

Clutching the three semi‑transparent worms from history in his palm, he inhaled deeply, pressed his hand against the gray‑mist barrier, and, while stirring his spirit, whispered, "Blessed Xuanhuang Immortal Lord."

This time the gray mist quivered even more violently; amid the cascading ripples, a grand, ancient‑looking door, exuding mystery and seemingly large enough for a giant to pass through, slowly materialized.

It only formed for an instant and vanished before it could open, as if the breath that supported its appearance had already been exhausted.

Ke Lai En withdrew his right hand from the gray‑mist barrier, opened his palm, and saw that the three worms taken from the historical fissure had vanished—not because their duration had expired, but because they had been expended.

Staring at the spot where the door had just appeared for a few seconds, Ke Lai En exhaled slowly and muttered, "Indeed, it requires some quality generated by the convergence of these three adjacent pathways to open the barrier."

"I have a feeling that relying solely on historical projections cannot truly deceive this barrier; the real key may have to wait for a true deity who has mastered these three pathways to appear."

"The closest to Sequence 0 right now are A Meng and Mr. Men—one always trying to catch me, the other still lost in endless darkness and storms."

While muttering, he had already summoned Lei Kedun's historical projection again, recounting the recent changes in detail; finally, he added, "Do you have any thoughts? Or anything you'd like to say?"

Lei Kedun looked at Ke Lai En with a hint of surprise, smiled, and said, "Me? Subjectively, of course I hope you can lift the seal quickly so I can be whole again."

"But from my personal perspective—as Lei Kedun Sos—I would like this process to be delayed a bit."

"Just as the True Creator and Adam both wish to re‑merge under their own will to become whole again, I share that desire."

"It is the selfishness born of life's desire to continue."

Ke Lai En was silent for two seconds, then burst into laughter, "You make yourselves so divided and antagonistic—doesn't that inevitably cause mental issues?"

Lei Kedun shrugged; he didn't grasp Ke Lai En's joke and said evenly, "At the Angel rank, regardless of condition, everyone has some degree of mental issues—the higher you go, the worse they become." Ke Lai En gave no reply, remained silent, and pulled a gold‑cased pocket watch from his coat.

He glanced at the time, then said, "It's time to preach to the Moon City populace. Do you want to leave first?"

Lei Kedun smiled and replied, "For something this interesting, of course I'll stay to watch."

The two walked side by side and soon reached the gathering spot of the Moon City residents, where they sat around a massive boulder encircled by a cluster of bonfires.

Around the bonfires lay the corpses of monster after monster, each covered with all manner of mushrooms—some large, some small, some pure white, some dark as coal, others deep red. The air was thick with the scent of roasted fat and boiled milk. Lei Kedun, feeling at home, sat on the ground beside Nim, the high priest of Moon City, reached for a mushroom streaked with blood‑red veins that sizzled as it was heated, and he loved to tear the mushroom into strips and shove them into his mouth.

Ke Lai En was surprised by his deft motion and, curious, asked, "Do you really like these mushrooms?"

Lei Kedun paused his mushroom‑tearing, pulled a smile devoid of mirth, and said, "You'll understand if you go to the South Continent—war keeps escalating, and with all safe routes blocked, the South Continent now fills its food shortage entirely with these mushrooms."

"By the way, thanks to Fu Lan Ke's efforts, external mushrooms have evolved; opening their caps can yield champagne, shredded meat, even butter."

Ke Lai En was momentarily at a loss for words, and an unconscious image of dark‑brown‑skinned South Continent folk popping champagne from mushrooms to celebrate flashed through his mind.

He quickly shook his head, dispelling the picture, and thought to himself, "Fu Lan Ke, the world has ultimately become the way you imagined."

After a moment of silence, Ke Lai En opened his mouth, "Are there mushrooms that can survive in darkness?"

Lei Kedun raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh, and said, "I can have Fu Lan Ke make some; after all, he's idle right now."

Ke Lai En gave a slight nod, dropped the subject, turned to the boulder surrounded by Moon City residents, sat cross‑legged, and began today's sermon.

South Continent, the capital of the Northern Province

Xi Telong, within an estate planted with all manner of herbs and exotic flora.

Ai Mulin walked through a long corridor flanked by clusters of red blossoms and arrived at a private garden behind the estate.

The vivid red flowers unfurled in circular arcs at various angles, resembling the Crimson Moon at different times, while the deep‑green foliage resembled a night veil.

At the garden's center stood a round table carved from marble, surrounded by a few stone chairs; Misteral lounged on a stone seat, admiring the blossoms, his bright red eyes seeming to have blood flowing within.

Sensing Ai Mulin's approach, he slightly turned his gaze and asked calmly, "What brings you to see me?"

Ai Mulin halted his approach, bowed slightly, and said:

"Count Misteral, I would like to know whether our blood clan still possesses any surplus extraordinary Count traits, and if so, how many merits I would need to exchange for them?"

"A foolish question." Misteral shook his head disdainfully, met Ai Mulin's gaze, and sneered, "As a blood clan with a long lifespan, every trait is used to nurture fresh blood as much as possible, not stored away as a curiosity."

"Our war with the followers of the Primordial Moon has been relatively restrained; casualties are mainly among the mid‑low ranks, and no Count has yet been slain in battle. Even if one were, it's not yet your turn to inherit the legacy."

Ai Mulin's complexion darkened at the remark; after a two‑second silence, he seemed to recall something and lifted his chin, saying:

"It's fine, I'm still young and have a long time to wait; even if it's hard, this is still easier than waiting for a Marquis's traits."

Misteral let out a cold snort and said nothing.

"If I can find a trait that matches the Earl myself, will the clan help me prepare the ceremony?"

"Of course, we are delighted to see the growth of every young blood clan," Mistral nodded without hesitation.

Having obtained the answer they wanted, Emlyn no longer lingered, turned and left the garden, returning to the manor interior.

Returning to their own room, Emlyn leaned against the window, gazing at the red moon hanging in the sky, pondering where they could obtain the trait corresponding to the blood clan's earl.

I recall Chariot saying that the Protestant "Dark Saint" Kexma tended a "Witch King," and if we could hunt him as we did the last time with the "Secret Saint," that would be almost impossible. After the previous incident, their defenses in this regard would surely be strengthened, and moreover, I cannot command an angel like Mr. Death.

(End of Chapter)