Chapter 394

The digestion progress of the "Pyromaniac" potion was much more than Lu Mian had expected, probably because triggering the aura of the "Blood Emperor" Alista Tudor without protection was equivalent to setting a massive fire in Trier, and it was burning the Saint-Vierf Church or the cathedral of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.

Hela watched the flesh and worms being swallowed by the crimson flames for a few seconds, then turned to Franca and said:

"Can you talk about the clues related to the crossing now?"

Franca said "Mm," organized her thoughts, and said:

"Charles previously attempted a special summoning ritual, but due to an accident, he summoned a shadow suspected to be from the hometown of myself and 'Muggle,' and even signed a contract.

"After I learned about this, I had Charles summon it again to try and converse with that shadow.

"The language that shadow used was indeed very close to my hometown. We asked where he came from, and he said, 'The Blood Emperor disturbs the Underworld, the Nether Daoist sacrifices himself into the river.'"

Franca used Intis to express that last sentence.

Hela listened quietly and then cast her gaze toward Lu Mian:

"A remnant shadow of the 'Blood Emperor' Alista Tudor?

"Was it the Nether Daoist who dragged Him back?"

"That's our guess." Lu Mian replied simply, indicating that Franca also knew about the "Samaritan Woman's Spring," so there was no need to be too cryptic.

"Nether Daoist..." Hela whispered the term repeatedly.

Franca continued to recount her and Lu Mian's speculation, suspecting that the illusory river behind the spring connected to the world where members of their "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society" originally came from.

Hela remained silent, her eyes dyed with a dark luster, with fine light flickering within them, as if hiding a galaxy.

"That's about it. Once the traitors within the Research Society are cleared out, I will share this information with everyone." Franca pondered for a few seconds and reminded Hela, "Besides those in 'April Fool's,' Loki's accomplices might also be lurking in other groups, participating in activities normally and not playing pranks, only to play a role at critical moments."

Hela nodded gently:

"I will discuss how to handle this matter with 'Gandalf' and the others."

This lady then looked at Lu Mian:

"If there's nothing else, I'll take you back to the surface."

Lu Mian withdrew his gaze from the flames, exhaled, and said:

"I'll handle this place."

He squatted down and pressed his hands in front of Loki's corpse.

Boom—with a dull explosion and a slight tremor of the earth, the ground carrying the flesh and worms suddenly sank, falling into a pile of mud and rocks.

Franca saw this scene and nodded in sudden realization.

This way, the residual contamination on Loki's corpse would not be touched by cave explorers who might pass by later.

She helped move the corpses of the two bizarros over, hesitating whether to pull out the "Wraith's" teeth and fingernails.

These were quite good spirituality materials that could be used to craft supernatural weapons.

If that "Wraith" had already lost control and become a monster, Franca wouldn't have any psychological burden about handling his corpse, but now, he still maintained a human form.

Considering she didn't lack offensive weapons or poisons for coating weapons, Franca only took the dust dropped by the translucent "Wraith" and harvested the residual spirituality.

After stripping the clothes off the evil god's blessed one and checking for any clues that could be tracked, Franca threw both corpses into the burning fire pit.

After finishing these tasks, she looked at Hela and asked curiously:

"Miss Hela, have you advanced to Sequence 4 and become a demigod?"

Otherwise, how could she have controlled Loki so easily?

"Yes." Hela nodded.

Franca deliberated and probed:

"You seemed to be of the 'Corpse Collector' pathway before, but this time you displayed the power of the 'Night' pathway. Are you using a magical artifact?"

Just like borrowing a certain sealed artifact to allow everyone to "secretly" enter the "Land of Night" to participate in the gathering?

—The "Corpse Collector" pathway is also known as the "Death" pathway.

Hela replied in a cold voice:

"I switched to Sequence 4 'Nightwatcher' of the 'Night' pathway."

"Why?" Franca didn't quite understand Hela's choice.

Although she had once planned to switch to the adjacent "Hunter" pathway when advancing to Sequence 4, that was mainly to restore a male body. Under normal circumstances, following one pathway all the way down was definitely a better choice. After all, the acting of the previous sequences was a deepening of this pathway, and taking on Sequence 4 of the same pathway would be easier and safer.

Of course, if one really couldn't find the potion formula and main ingredients for Sequence 4 of the current pathway, switching to an adjacent pathway was also an option. It wouldn't necessarily lead to half-madness, and one could also gain mixed, strange abilities.

Franca had never seen Hela express any desire to switch pathways before. When discussing and communicating in the Research Society, she focused on issues in the "Corpse Collector" field, and the materials and items she collected and sold were mostly concentrated in this pathway.

Could it be that the Sequence 4 potion formula, main/supplementary ingredients, or the corresponding ritual for the "Corpse Collector" pathway couldn't be obtained? Franca made a guess based on her fairly rich occult knowledge.

The expression on Hela's slightly pale face suddenly softened a little.

She looked at the darkness outside the abandoned mine, her voice having a bit more fluctuation:

"If I had kept moving forward on the 'Death' pathway, the deity I worship would be unable to resist turning me into a key container used at a specific moment."

Speaking of this, Hela smiled rarely, her gaze somewhat vacant as she said:

"It is already very difficult for Him to maintain His humanity, so I shouldn't influence Him anymore."

Franca was confused, but she roughly understood that there was a reason for Miss Hela to switch pathways.

Hela turned her head to look at her and said:

"If I can advance to Sequence 3, I should switch back to the 'Death' pathway, or switch to the 'Warrior' pathway.

"High-level resources for the 'Night' pathway are too scarce."

"Wow." Franca imagined Hela possessing the abilities of different sequences from the "Night," "Corpse Collector," and "Warrior" pathways, feeling that this seemed very cool and very strong.

Thinking that she might also possess some abilities of both "Witch" and "Hunter" in the future, she was full of anticipation.

At this time, Lu Mian had burned Loki's mutated corpse and filled in the pit.

Hela immediately made this area dark.

…………

When Lu Mian and Franca regained consciousness, they found that they had left the abandoned mine and were standing near the entrance to the underground Trier in the Market District.

In the distance, there was faint movement coming from White Coat Street.

"Phew, this is the most dangerous time since I became a Beyonder." Franca exhaled and sighed sincerely, "If Loki hadn't wanted to use me as bait to lure you over, I would likely have become a bizarro already."

Lu Mian said "Mm" and didn't speak.

He stepped forward and walked slowly into the street.

Franca followed and asked curiously:

"When Loki was interfering with your mind with trash talk, did he say anything?

"Although much of it was lies, it also contained quite valuable information."

For example, the fact that every member of the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society" was suspected to have the residual aura of the Celestial Worthy.

Lu Mian was silent for a few seconds and said:

"He talked about how they plotted against Aurora, how they leaked her psychological state and mental treatment process time and time again, how they mocked her unscrupulously..."

He recounted it very simply, but no matter how simple, it still made his anger surge again.

"Ah?" Franca was stunned for a moment, then realized the key point, "That psychologist 'I have a friend'?"

Lu Mian nodded slowly.

Franca pondered carefully, and the more she pondered, the angrier she became.

"Damn it! How can they be so evil? I support you in tearing them limb from limb, dismembering them, and skinning them!" After a few dozen seconds, she finally cursed out loud.

Lu Mian didn't speak, as if weighing the feasibility.

Franca glanced at him and said hesitantly:

"When you were face-to-face with the other members of 'April Fool's' just now, you actually held back and didn't kill them directly..."

Lu Mian chuckled:

"Why kill that bunch of idiots? Making these guys who think they're smart feel painful, embarrassed, and regretful whenever they think of being used by Loki and the others is more satisfying to me than killing them.

"From now on, whenever someone mentions 'Loki,' it will be equivalent to insulting their intelligence to their faces, and they won't be able to stop it."

Franca breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

She said to Lu Mian:

"White Coat Street looks quite lively. I plan to stay at Jenna's place tonight, hehe.

"Mm, afterwards, I will roughly tell my Great Tarot Card about this, saying that if Loki isn't completely killed within two months, I hope to be transferred away from the Market District. You should do the same; you can apply to be in charge of the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order' branch in another place."

"I will also write to my Great Tarot Card." Lu Mian indicated that he wouldn't be negligent or underestimate Loki's potential danger.

He had always kept private matters and public affairs relatively clear. Whether it was dealing with the parish priest or investigating Loki, he had never thought of seeking help from Miss Magician. But this time, he had used the "Blood Emperor's" aura and created quite a stir, so it was necessary to report it afterwards.

Seeing that Lu Mian still maintained basic rationality, Franca felt relieved, waved her hand, and sneaked toward the Botanical Garden area.

Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and walked along the street that still retained the heat of the day, entering the Golden Rooster Hotel.

He didn't want to go to White Coat Street at this time to face the official Beyonders who were carefully searching for clues.

Just as he pushed open the door to Room 207, Lu Mian saw a figure.

It was Miss Magician, wearing an orange-yellow cinched-waist dress and holding a wide-brimmed hat with floral trim.

"You... were waiting for me?" Lu Mian asked subconsciously.

The Magician smiled:

"Otherwise?"

"How did you know I would return here?" Lu Mian closed the door.

The Magician smiled slightly:

"This is the revelation of fate.

"Tell me, why did you use the 'Blood Emperor's' aura?"

PS: Seeking monthly votes at the end of the month, it's doubled, it's a waste if you don't vote~

(End of Chapter)