[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-810":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298779,4496,"Chapter 810: Return","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-810",810,"\u003Cp>Not far from the abandoned district, after parting with Guxin, Althos Medich walked along the shadows beside the road toward the cemetery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he paused, as if sensing hidden currents stirring in the nearby darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Althos chuckled, and thick fog instantly surged around him, engulfing his figure and covering nearly half the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After more than ten seconds, the fog gradually dispersed—but Althos was no longer where he had stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the shadow previously shrouded in fog, Julie emerged, her long slit skirt and tied-up hair catching the dim light as she stared at Althos’s former position for several seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On her left middle finger glinted a gold ring set with a blue gemstone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Julie withdrew her gaze, her expression darkening, and walked toward the districts where the exiles gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After an indeterminate time, under the deep night, a man’s sharp, agonized scream echoed from within a room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi returned to his room through the full-length mirror and stepped out, lying down on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After noticing Julie had quietly left the “Carnivore” bar, he knew the “Witch” had been secretly following him and Guxin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was one of the goals he intended to achieve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, he would not have discussed with Guxin how to find Althos Medich and accepted the corresponding trials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did it so Julie, temporarily acting as bartender, would hear!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Though both he and Guxin lowered their voices, at such close range, the Witch’s hearing could not possibly miss the key details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, at that moment Lu Mi had not considered Julie as a contingency plan, because Guxin had previously observed this “Witch” castrate Weijiepan in combat, then clearly noticed her beauty and magnetic charm as the bartender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, any man with even basic awareness would have deduced Julie was the Witch, would not have failed to stay alert, and would have known she likely overheard their conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi had merely hoped to judge the Witch Cult’s progress on “0—01” by observing Julie’s reaction:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Witch Cult, through prolonged investigations by witches like Shalister, had completed preparations and only awaited the chance to launch their final move, Julie would not add unnecessary complications—she would patiently maintain the status quo; in that case, Lu Mi would have to closely monitor Julie and Shalister, preventing them from acting first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Witch Cult still lacked sufficient certainty and key information was missing, Julie would likely seize this opportunity to extract more intelligence from Guxin—the second most dangerous man in Morola—and the rioters connected through him, refining her operational plan; Lu Mi would then have no urgency, could avoid constantly chasing the “Witches,” and could divert time and energy to investigate other avenues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this regard, he had perfectly achieved his goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Lu Mi was more eager to see how Julie would react—and what she would attempt—after tracking Guxin and himself, and discovering Althos Medich.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will she strike immediately, or wait patiently until Althos and Guxin separate for a one-on-one? Or will she first seek out Shalister to consult? Too bad—I don’t know where they’ll meet; I can’t watch the battle firsthand to confirm their hidden cards. If I were lucky enough, I might even kill them both while they’re weakened…” Lu Mi sighed regretfully on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After an indeterminate time, he sensed slight movement in Julie’s room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Witch” had returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi sniffed, catching a faint scent of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He silently chuckled inwardly, mocking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Althos, did you lose your precious thing? Wonder if you can grow it back now that you’re a ‘Blood Iron Knight’…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The whole of Morola was quiet just now—nothing like a fierce battle… So, did Julie fail to lock onto Althos and just pick some random man to vent her frustration?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi waited patiently until Morola, the “City of Exiles,” sank fully into deep night, then instantly transformed into a shadow creature and merged into the room’s darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swiftly glided back to the abandoned district with the volcano, arriving before the fissure in the basement, staring again at the hollow shrouded in thick fog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt this area deserved careful investigation—it would help him better understand certain entries in the “0—01” sealing records and further grasp the condition of the underground mausoleum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither Guxin nor Althos would expect him to have returned here, especially if they’d already encountered Julie’s attack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The fog isn’t as dense as before—visibility extends about thirteen to fourteen meters… Did Althos and Guxin enhance the War Fog using their special abilities or items?” Lu Mi studied the fog for several seconds, forming his initial judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately formed a sphere of blazing white fire for illumination and slowly stepped into the War Fog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The War Fog felt the same as before, unchanged; every few steps, Lu Mi pulled out a bottle of perfume and dripped a few drops onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was preparation for his return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi was now heading to the statue zone Guxin had marked on the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the deathly silent fog, where only the faint echo of footsteps lingered, Lu Mi navigated the terrain, passing by countless iron-black puppets hidden within the mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, using his “Hunter” ability and the memorized map, he reached his destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Against the rock wall stood four gray-white stone statues, each over two meters tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They faced each other in pairs, their faces blurred, their clothing bizarre, each crowned with a square cloth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At their center stood a half-height stone pedestal, upon which rested an unlit oil lamp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who placed these statues? They weren’t originally here—according to the ‘0—01’ sealing records, this area isn’t part of the underground mausoleum, but normal subterranean terrain… After the volcanic eruption, a bit of the mausoleum’s power leaked out, and someone used it to build these four statues and place the lamp? What was the purpose?” Lu Mi stared at the blazing white flame, murmuring silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the statues’ style and overall arrangement, he judged they were not placed by the Church of Knowledge to reinforce the seal—likely the work of the “Blood Iron Cross,” which explained why Guxin knew this place so well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Lu Mi felt the summoning from beneath the earth grow stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to come from just behind the rock wall, waiting for him to approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi took a breath and suppressed his inner urge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He circled the four statues and the half-height pedestal with the lamp several times, finding nothing unusual about them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some thought, Lu Mi formed two ideas:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One: light the oil lamp and see what happens; two: destroy it now to trigger any possible anomaly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it—lighting the lamp is too dangerous, and it’s not yet necessary…” Lu Mi weighed his options and chose the second idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Destruction is always easier than construction!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, if something unexpected happened, leaving behind a mess to flee from was far more meaningful than leaving the place intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi grabbed a sphere of blazing white fire and placed it at the base of one statue, setting it to detonate with a delay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After setting five “time bombs” in sequence, Lu Mi retreated over ten meters, hiding within the thick fog, then snapped his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four statues and the half-height pedestal exploded simultaneously, cracking open from below and rapidly crumbling into piles of rubble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The explosions dispersed some of the dense fog, allowing Lu Mi to see the state of the statues and pedestal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No anomalies occurred, no danger emerged… Good. Now I’ll see if Guxin and the others notice the disturbance and come to investigate; I’ll lie in wait here to deliver a fatal strike… Lu Mi grew even more puzzled about the statues’ and pedestal’s purpose, and planned to set Guxin a simple trap—one easily overlooked due to a blind spot in his thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—If the statues and pedestal were truly vital, Guxin’s first reaction upon discovering damage would be to rush here to confirm the situation, and he’d instinctively assume the saboteur had fled, to avoid being surrounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi was about to retreat deeper into the fog when he suddenly noticed the five piles of rubble beginning to writhe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They collided repeatedly, then instantly rose again, restored to their original forms as statues and pedestal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exactly as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…” Lu Mi’s gaze froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stone statues and half-height pedestal could regenerate on their own?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why the “Blood Iron Cross” didn’t station guards here…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t afraid of these things being destroyed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi snapped back to awareness and began a new attempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, after blowing up the statues and pedestal, he used his “Traveler’s Satchel” to collect some rubble, then waited ten meters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stone statues and pedestal restored themselves, drawing material from the earth, while the rubble inside Lu Mi’s “Traveler’s Satchel” became ordinary stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi abandoned destruction for now, emptied the rubble, walked back between the four statues, and reached out to pick up the oil lamp with its glass cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the lamp lay half-solid, half-liquid pale yellow grease, with a wick woven from a strand of black hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he stared, the more familiar it felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began recalling the source of that familiarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After fifteen seconds, he suddenly plunged his hand into his “Traveler’s Satchel” and pulled out an object.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a transparent glass bottle containing pale yellow, slightly red, semi-solid substance, topped with a thicker black wick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corpse-oil candle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A corpse-oil candle made from the fat of a “Blood Iron Knight” and an “Ultimate Witch,” mixed with other substances!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lamp on the half-height pedestal resembled it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi murmured silently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ‘Magician’ Lady said the two best locations for corpse-oil candles in the Fourth Era were somewhere in Trill and Bansi Port…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what about the underground mausoleum of Morola, so similar to Fourth Era Trill?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1650,"2026-06-20T06:22:37.987Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","50e5eb1f0d7570f906b5d84c61fc3589f5f81b9018ec916c74eb21c4f5a821e6","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-811","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-809",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]