Chapter 828

Lu Mian directly triggered the black mark on his right shoulder and "teleported" into that boundless cemetery, "teleporting" to the entrance of the underground mausoleum.

This place seemed to have been built into the mouth of some kind of giant beast, with grayish-white stone steps extending from the mouth all the way into the depths of a pitch-black esophagus.

Lu Mian suspected that Zhu Li had already entered the underground mausoleum.

Regardless of what the Witch Sect's plan was, it would inevitably involve the "0—01" sealed deep within the underground mausoleum!

Lu Mian began to distinguish the scents in the entrance area, but only smelled the odors of grass, trees, and the earth after the rain; he found no trace of the perfume Zhu Li usually wore.

At the same time, he scrutinized the grayish-white stone steps at the bottom, which were submerged in darkness, to look for fresh footprints—it had just rained heavily with thunder and lightning a while ago.

"No traces of Zhu Li having been here..." Lu Mian turned his body to the side, transformed into a searing white flame spear, and with a *whoosh*, crossed over a hundred meters to land on the side of the Church of Knowledge.

He didn't take the long way around; he opened the nearest stained-glass window, jumped into the church, and ran *thump, thump, thump* to the front of Herabeg, who was wearing a plain white robe with brass-threaded trim.

"Your Excellency Archbishop, do you know which room Celeste is staying in?" Lu Mian's breathing remained steady, but his speech was quite fast.

Archbishop Herabeg of Morora replied with a smile:

"The third floor, the room closest to the cemetery, from which you can see the entrance to the mausoleum."

Lu Mian was stunned for a moment upon hearing this:

Uh, you know everything...

He didn't waste time asking more questions; searing white flames ignited on his body again, trailing a brilliant tail of light, and he flew into the staircase like a thrown spear.

After a few turns, Lu Mian arrived in front of the room belonging to Celeste, the "Witch."

He reached out to grasp the brass-cast handle, gave it a light twist, and pushed open the wooden door.

The room was kept very clean with no superfluous items—just a single bed, a desk, a chair, and a shelf for books and sundries, displaying a monastic sense of austerity.

"As expected, Celeste is gone too..." Lu Mian verified his judgment.

He didn't walk into the room immediately; he felt it was filled with invisible, pathogen-carrying spiderwebs, just like the nest of a highly venomous spider.

While preparing to set fire to those things invisible to the naked eye, Lu Mian began to observe further.

He discovered that Celeste, perhaps to play the role of an experimental researcher who had suffered some kind of contamination, had not placed anything in the room beyond the necessities. At this moment, with her disappearance, even her black change-of-clothes robe was gone. Everything was empty, and the most eye-catching item was a mirror placed on the desk near the window.

That mirror was a very common vanity mirror; it was reasonable for it to appear in a "Witch's" room.

But Lu Mian had a thought because of this:

"Did Celeste leave through the Mirror World?

"The enforcement teams come and go in squads; it's unlikely she would gamble on the Church of Knowledge slacking off and walk out of the church alone in such a grand manner...

"Are she and Zhu Li going to meet somewhere in the Mirror World?

"Did Zhu Li and Celeste rely on the Mirror World to get to the underground mausoleum, which is why there wasn't a single trace in the entrance area?"

Thinking of this, a web of thought composed of various information and different ideas appeared in Lu Mian's mind once again.

He quickly made a guess:

"Did Celeste patrol the underground mausoleum and replace the soldier puppets several times before as an experimental researcher just to place mirrors at different key nodes, or to obtain coordinates for mirror-like items?

"When I used the 'Mirror Brooch' before, I couldn't determine which mirrors were in the underground mausoleum, nor could I distinguish if they had hidden dangers...

"Is this the Witch Sect's preparatory work, and now that Celeste has mastered the world composed of those mirrors in the underground mausoleum, can they officially take action?

"Why didn't they start immediately after she finished her last shift?

"Do they need a few days to make other preparations?"

Thoughts surged, and Lu Mian said in a suppressed voice:

"Termiboros, do you think I should enter the underground mausoleum now, or continue studying, hoping that Zhu Li and Celeste cannot achieve their goal?"

Without waiting for Termiboros to respond, Lu Mian laughed to himself:

"I will not pin my hopes on others failing on their own."

He had already made his decision.

That was to go to the underground mausoleum to sabotage and stop the Witch Sect's actions, striving to delay them for a few more days!

The only problem was that he had to be blindfolded once he reached the underground mausoleum; he wouldn't be able to read books and continue studying in his spare time.

I wonder if there's a way to convert text into sound... Aurora's wizard notes have records of relevant ideas and preliminary experimental results, but unfortunately, I'm not a "Wizard"... Lu Mian had just sighed in his heart when he heard Termiboros, who hadn't spoken for a long time, emit a magnificent, layered voice:

"That is very dangerous."

It actually answered me... Is this guy's answer this time well-intentioned, or does it hide a conspiracy? It only pointed out the danger and didn't give strong persuasion... Never mind, whether Termiboros opposes me going or intends to lure me there, I will go... Lu Mian quickly calmed his mind and laughed:

"Perhaps both of us will become puppets of '0—01'."

"Not including me." Termiboros responded with a resonant voice.

Is that so? Lu Mian transformed into a flame spear again and quickly returned to the church hall.

He came before Herabeg, took out three books, and smiled:

"Your Excellency Archbishop, I still haven't finished two and a half of these books. Do you have a way to convert the remaining knowledge into sound information so that I can study while exploring the underground mausoleum?"

The wrinkles on Herabeg's face gradually smoothed out, and his eyes became increasingly gentle:

"Good, good, good. This is the kind of learning attitude one needs."

He took out a thin brass sheet and took the books from Lu Mian's hands.

Countless symbols and characters immediately formed a vortex in his amber eyes and began to rotate.

Lu Mian saw tiny specks of light rise from the three books; they were dense and gathered into a river, surging majestically into the thin brass sheet.

What kind of secret art is this... Lu Mian was a bit dumbfounded watching.

Before coming to Trier, he had specifically collected detailed intelligence on the Church of Knowledge through various channels, which included partial information on the "Reader" pathway.

As far as he knew, the Sequence 5 of the "Reader" pathway was called "Mysticologist," who could invent and create some unique spells on their own.

Soon, those specks of light disappeared, the thin brass sheet became much more lustrous, and the symbols and patterns on the surface had a more three-dimensional feel.

With two *snap* sounds, Herabeg broke off two corners from the thin brass sheet and kneaded them into cylindrical shapes.

Lu Mian's mouth opened bit by bit as he watched:

Without the aid of flames, it would be quite difficult for me to break off two pieces of brass with just my hands, let alone knead them like plasticine with my fingers...

Your Excellency Archbishop, is your "Reader" pathway always this violent, or are you special because you're a puppet? Those two fingers of yours could grind my bones into powder...

Or, is this an effect that comes with the secret art?

"Stuff them into your ears. The activation incantation is the word 'Listen' in Ancient Hermes—I know you only know this language and haven't mastered Giant or Elvish well yet. The closing incantation is 'Stop'." Herabeg handed the thin brass sheet and the two cylindrical brass earplugs to Lu Mian.

Lu Mian argued subconsciously:

"I also understand Hermes."

He understood that Archbishop Herabeg was referring to those languages that could leverage supernatural power.

"Hermes?" Herabeg laughed.

Lu Mian felt contempt in his laughter and expression—contempt for Hermes.

Time was tight, so Lu Mian didn't ask any more questions. After putting on one brass earplug and stowing the rest of the items, he immediately transformed into a roaring searing white flame spear and flew from the open stained-glass window to the entrance area of the underground mausoleum.

Lu Mian calmed his breathing and took out a carbide lamp and white bandages from his "Traveler's Bag."

After lighting the carbide lamp, he wrapped the bandages around his head, layer by layer, covering his eyes.

Lu Mian's vision gradually turned pitch black; he couldn't see anything.

For a "Hunter" who relied heavily on his eyes, this was definitely not a good experience.

Lu Mian groped to pick up the carbide lamp and carefully walked down the grayish-white stone steps of the entrance area, step by step.

He tried hard to maintain his balance, worried that he would miss a step and roll into the underground mausoleum like a wheel.

He wasn't afraid of getting hurt, but rather of dropping and extinguishing the carbide lamp in his hand.

"Being blind really feels terrible..." Lu Mian muttered while constructing a three-dimensional map in his mind.

The content of the map came mostly from the sealing documents of "0—01" and the book "Examples of Underground Mausoleum Construction," with a small portion derived from the scenes in his nightmares over the past two days.

Relying on the mental map and his superior hearing, sense of smell, and body control, Lu Mian gradually adapted to the pitch-black vision and descended more and more steadily.

Finally, he finished the staircase and officially entered the underground mausoleum.

He felt the surrounding darkness surge over like a tide, eroding his skin and bringing a cold chill and the slow passing of vitality.

Almost at the same time, the palm of his right hand turned ice-cold.

The anomaly of his vitality being uncontrollably drained disappeared along with it.

"The mark of the 'Netherworld Daoist' has been triggered?" Lu Mian muttered silently to himself, lost in thought. "In this situation, even if I didn't bring a lit carbide lamp, I shouldn't have any trouble in the darkness of the mausoleum. Hehe, if I encounter Zhu Li and the others later, I can try to use the 'Hunter's' ability to influence flames to directly extinguish their lanterns. But Zhu Li has something special, and Celeste likely does too; they might not be easily swallowed by the darkness..."

Lu Mian, blindfolded, turned his body left and right, using the semi-triggered black mark on his right shoulder to sense where the head of the "Abscessed Hand" was.

He intended to find this thing first before going to stop Zhu Li and Celeste.

When the time came, he could throw the separately stored body parts of the "Abscessed Hand" together to see what kind of anomaly would occur, giving his enemies a "surprise."

Perhaps because they were both in the underground mausoleum, Lu Mian quickly sensed the summoning and that special connection from the body of the hand-brother.

It was just nearby!

(End of chapter)