Chapter 441: Three Questions

Because "Hanged Man" was there, there was no need to worry about being attacked by the "Armor Shadow," so Lu Mian didn't summon in the name of Mr. "Fool," but followed the simplest process, setting up a "Spirituality Wall" and summoning the "Armor Shadow" using the method of summoning a messenger.

In front of the expanding, ghostly green candle flame, that blurry shadow wearing a pitch-black fish-scale-style armor stained with quite a bit of gold stood quietly in mid-air.

The micro-faces on those scales were twisting and contorting, screaming silently, and unreservedly spreading their pain to all living beings around, turning them into hatred and malice.

"Hanged Man" Alger, dressed as a sailor, took a step forward, and fine silver-white electric sparks crackled and emerged within the "Spirituality Wall."

They flashed and disappeared, and were born out of thin air again, making Lu Mian and Franca's body hair stand on end, feeling numb.

In the extreme oppression before the thunderstorm, the countless transparent faces on the "Armor Shadow" returned to silence, but the hateful gaze still existed.

Lu Mian glanced at the six gold bars placed on the altar, calmed his state, and said in Hermes:

"I offer a sacrifice, please answer my three questions."

The countless blurry faces on the "Armor Shadow's" body turned toward the gold that emitted an alluring light, conveying the intention of "can" to Lu Mian.

Lu Mian then nodded to "Hanged Man."

"Hanged Man" deliberated slightly and gave the first question:

"Who are you?"

Lu Mian repeated this question in Hermes—as his contract creature, in this situation, the "Armor Shadow" would only communicate with him.

After a brief silence, the "Armor Shadow" said the language that only Franca could barely understand:

"Conferred by the Celestial Master, the god who suppresses ghosts, my name is Chen Tu."

*Heavenly Master... * Franca thought for several seconds, quickly deliberating on the language:

"His surname is Chen, name Tu, is a god conferred by the leader of Taoism, responsible for guarding evil spirits."

"What is Taoism?" "Hanged Man" asked, thinking.

"What is a 'conferral'?" Lu Mian tilted his head to look at Franca, switching to Intis to ask.

In his view, since it was called a sect, no matter what the prefix was, it was essentially no different from the "Fool" Church, "Eternal Blazing Sun" Church, etc.

Franca revealed a difficult expression:

"These two questions are a long story. Let's discuss them later. I'm afraid the 'Armor Shadow' can't wait that long."

*That's true... * Lu Mian cast his gaze toward Mr. "Hanged Man."

"Hanged Man" pondered briefly and gave the second question.

Lu Mian translated it into Hermes:

"Is there any strange place on the ocean to the east?"

"Armor Shadow" answered in a low, majestic voice:

"There is a fairy mountain in the East Sea, lost since ancient times, its name is Bovar Penglai."

*Bovar Penglai... It really is my hometown... * Franca was happy in her heart, and the speed of translation became faster:

"On the ocean to the east, there is a mountain peak inhabited by various powerful wizards and special gods. It disappeared in very ancient times, and its name is 'Bovar Penglai'."

This passage was quite easy to understand. Whether it was Lu Mian or "Hanged Man," neither raised any questions.

After a few seconds, "Hanged Man" Alger asked slowly:

"In recent years, has there been any strange change in the ocean to the east?"

*Recent years? The 'Armor Shadow' was suspected to have been killed by that 'Ming Dao Ren,' detained by his side, and brought into the 'Yellow Springs,' while 'Blood Emperor' Alista Tudor's sacrifice into the river should have been one or two thousand years ago, just after the 'Blood Emperor' fell or shortly after. How could he still know what happened outside in recent years? * Franca muttered, but didn't dare to correct Mr. "Hanged Man."

Lu Mian repeated it once, and the "Armor Shadow" answered gloomily and coldly:

"Corpses originating from Bovar Penglai have drifted down the river..."

Franca was stunned and blurted out:

"That mountain called Bovar Penglai has appeared again, and a powerful wizard or special god living on it has died, and the corpse has drifted to what might be the 'Underworld River'! That is, the 'Blood Emperor' Alista Tudor was suppressed by 'Ming Dao Ren' in that river, the source of the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring'!"

*Meaning, the ocean to the east of the world where the 'Armor Shadow' is located has had strange changes in recent years, the long-lost sacred mountain Bovar Penglai has reappeared, and a powerful Beyonder living on it has died? Has that mountain called Bovar Penglai always stood in the East Sea, or did it only appear occasionally? * Lu Mian really wanted to ask one more question, but according to the rules of similar summoning, he couldn't ask more questions.

The six gold bars placed on the altar disintegrated, turning into points of pure light, merging into the surface of the fish-scale-style armor with a pitch-black base.

This time, nearly one-fifth of the armor plates were stained with gold, becoming sacred.

"Hanged Man" watched the "Armor Shadow" disappear into the ghostly green candle flame and didn't speak for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking.

Lu Mian ended the ritual, quickly tidied up the altar, and turned to Franca:

"You can explain the terms in the first answer now."

*This is making things difficult for me! * Franca complained silently, then said while thinking:

"A conferral is equivalent to a gift, yes, a gift!"

"This 'Armor Shadow' named Chen Tu was granted a position within the church or the kingdom of gods, thereby obtaining corresponding gift power, able to guard evil spirits.

"This wasn't directly bestowed by the god, but by the leader of that sect holding a ritual, representing the god, bestowing it through the way of giving titles."

Lu Mian listened carefully and gained a relatively clear understanding of the matter of conferrals:

A more institutionalized gift system, not only deeply binding the gift power with specific positions, but also letting the god's agent play a more important role.

"Basically, that's it. Wanting to talk about it in depth will involve a lot, and it's impossible to finish talking in a short time. For example, Heavenly Court, Underworld, ritual, receiving register, etc., etc. Many of them I don't understand very well myself, just knowing a term." Franca exhaled.

Seeing Mr. "Hanged Man" and Lu Mian still looking at herself, her heart trembled:

"You, you won't really make me talk, right?"

"Hanged Man" nodded slightly:

"I know it's very difficult for you to talk on the spot, and there will be many mistakes. You can consider forming a written document after you go back, slowly recalling and organizing it, and handing it to me through your Major Arcana card."

"Good." Franca first felt lucky that Mr. "Hanged Man" was very reasonable, good at thinking from others' perspectives, and then muttered silently:

*How did I agree so easily... *

"Hanged Man's" temperament was quite majestic, but there was no obvious arrogance. He smiled and said:

"After you have the written document, you can consider what kind of reward you want."

Franca wanted many things, such as magical artifacts similar to the "Heng-Ha Technique," sealed artifacts that could let her "teleport," the potion formula for Sequence 5 "Pleasure Witch," etc.

She was suddenly caught in a struggle, considering the reward in advance, almost forgetting to explain the term "Taoism," until Lu Mian reminded her.

After deliberating for ten or twenty seconds, Franca said in a very concise way:

"That is a sect that worships the laws of the world's operation and corresponding philosophy, shaping them into individual special gods to worship. Their leader is called 'Heavenly Master,' meaning the teacher who understands the Heavenly Dao and spreads the Heavenly Dao. Uh, I understand it this way. 'Heavenly Dao' is the laws of the world's operation and corresponding philosophy I just mentioned." 【441

"'Celestial Master' is equivalent to Pope, Patriarch, or Matriarch, just different titles for the leader of different sects?" Lu Mian tried to extract the key points.

Franca paused for a second and said:

"You could understand it that way."

As long as one didn't consider joining Taoism, understanding it that way wasn't much of a problem.

Lu Mian nodded immediately:

"It sounds like the 'Celestial Master' and the 'Nether Daoist' are on the same level."

"I think so too." Franca expressed deep agreement.

During their exchange, "The Hanged Man" Alger rarely interjected, listening quietly most of the time and only occasionally expressing personal thoughts or raising a few questions, which kept the conversation flowing smoothly; Lu Mian and Franca said a great deal in one breath.

Finally, this holder of a Major Arcana card looked at Lu Mian and said:

"The three answers from the 'Armor Shadow' have been of great help to me. What reward do you want?"

Of great help? Aside from giving us a further understanding of that world and knowing that the missing Bovar Penglai Shenshan has reappeared, it doesn't have much practical significance... Lu Mian followed the reminder from Ms. "Magician" and spoke without hesitation:

"I want the opportunity to explore this ghost ship."

Franca hadn't expected Lu Mian to ask for such a reward; she was stunned for a moment before becoming excited:

I want that too, I want the opportunity to pilot and study the ghost ship too!

"The Hanged Man" glanced at Lu Mian and said:

"You have indeed sensed the uniqueness of the 'Blue Avenger.' It is one of the legacies of the Tudor Empire. Do you want to explore it now?"

Before Lu Mian could answer, the grand and layered voice of Termiboros suddenly rang out in his mind:

"Dangerous."

Dangerous... Is that true? Is Termiboros purely worried about being implicated by me and thus giving a warning, or is he afraid that I might have special gains during the exploration of the "Blue Avenger" that could destroy the disaster lurking in Trier and cause his schemes to fail? Lu Mian didn't know whether to believe Termiboros's words for a moment.

Termiboros continued in a deep, thick voice:

"If you want Alista Tudor to be resurrected within your body, then you can go explore it now."

Lu Mian didn't care about how Termiboros phrased it; he remembered Ms. "Magician's" previous hint:

Decide for yourself when to begin the exploration...

Does this imply that I can consider delaying it? Otherwise, there would be no need to add such a sentence; she could have just said "you can ask for the exploration opportunity as a reward"... Aurora's favorite philosophy was "balance." The various negative influences in my body are currently in a state of balance, so there is no need to rush to strengthen the aura of the "Red Emperor"... Lu Mian, who had become a "Conspirator," soon made a decision:

"Mr. 'Hanged Man,' I would like to explore the 'Blue Avenger' at a more suitable time."

(End of chapter)