Chapter 862: The True Meaning of That Phrase

When Franca spoke that name, Lumian also saw the general shape of the figure outside:

Dressed in a black robe, with very light hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes—he didn't look like an Intisian.

Although Lumian had never seen Harrison in person, he had seen the portrait Franca drew using "Dream Divination" and the corresponding ritual; it was easy to confirm who the figure beyond the gray mist was.

Seeing Franca's excited expression, Lumian raised his right hand and pressed it downward, signaling his companion to calm down first.

Franca, a seasoned extraordinary practitioner, quickly regained her composure and nodded at Lumian.

She understood his meaning: don't act yet, observe first—see what Harrison intended to do, what he would do, and thereby judge his probable Sequence, ability traits, and main intentions.

That way, whatever response they made afterward would be far more composed.

Franca pulled herself further toward the edge of the slope, using the gray mist as cover to study Harrison, who held a white candle.

At the same time, she couldn't help but reflect:

"The Law of Extraordinary Property Aggregation really works!"

"We were wrong to give up after just one try—too disrespectful to science, no, to mysticism. If we'd tried a few more times, wouldn't it have worked?"

Franca, relying on the fact that only someone like Lumian, bearing the "Fool"'s seal, could enter the area around the "Samaritan Woman's Spring," while others saw only a gray-white mist and couldn't pass through, felt less tense and had mental bandwidth to think freely.

—She had just tested it herself: she couldn't penetrate the gray mist on her own, and then Lumian mocked her, "Even 'Hela' couldn't do it—what made you think you could?" That solidified her resolve to make Lumian help her digest the "Pain" Elixir.

Lumian stood beside Franca, observing the figure outside's every move while recalling his encounters with extraordinary practitioners of the "Death," "Darkness," and "Warrior" Paths, hoping to quickly devise the most effective strategy against Harrison based on their combat styles and ability manifestations.

Harrison, holding the white candle, paced a few steps outside the gray mist's range, glanced left and right, then suddenly moved forward.

He walked toward the gray mist—and passed through it as if penetrating a curtain of water!

"He can pass through the gray mist's barrier?"

"How?"

Franca's blue eyes widened instantly—she was stunned, bewildered, and resentful.

Lumian was equally surprised.

But he hadn't ruled out the possibility that Harrison might open a path through the gray mist to enter the area around the "Samaritan Woman's Spring"—he just hadn't expected him to do it so effortlessly.

—Given Harrison's persistent search for scenes closely tied to death, darkness, and twilight, and his prior drift as a corpse upon the River of the Dead in "the Mingdaoren "'s world, Lumian reasonably suspected he possessed a method—or an item—that could bypass the gray mist.

Lumian had expected to see Harrison perform a strange ritual or produce an object from another world; instead, he, like Lumian himself, entered the gray-mist-covered area around the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" purely through his own ability!

Seeing that the gray mist barrier no longer concealed them, leaving only the mist's interference with vision, Lumian decisively extinguished the white candle in his hand.

As he anticipated, the surrounding darkness surged silently, triggering only the " Mingdaoren " mark on his right palm without corrupting his body.

He had maintained the burning candle for two reasons: first, this state couldn't be sustained long without risking gradual transformation into a cemetery keeper; second, he hoped to mislead any potential enemies and set a trap.

As Lumian extinguished the candle, Franca swiftly responded.

With no time to borrow "Black Tear" from Lumian, she directly pulled the "Ice Talisman" and a mirror from her "Traveler's Satchel."

A flash of crystalline cold light—Franca, illuminated by the pale-yellow flame of the white candle, stepped into the mirror in her hand.

As her figure vanished, the mirror, now unheld, fell toward the ground, where Lumian caught it precisely with one outstretched hand.

Holding the mirror, Lumian immediately activated the contract mark, transforming into a shadow creature and fully merging into the darkness enveloped by the gray mist.

Before Harrison could approach, they had concealed themselves.

Behind the mirror, in the void's dark region, Franca held the burning white candle and swiftly scanned her surroundings.

She found this space also filled with the same gray-white mist—every corner was like this.

The spiderweb-like illusory dark tunnels were repelled by the mist, blurred and indistinct.

"Of course…" Franca wasn't surprised by this situation.

Lumian had already told her this area was severed from the Spirit World—"Spirit World Transit" couldn't be used here.

If even the Spirit World was blocked, the mirror world certainly wouldn't be an exception!

Since this mirror had been brought into the gray-mist-covered area, Franca could enter its rear space to hide—but she couldn't use it to transit to another mirror outside the underground crypt—"The Traveler's Satchel" operated on the same principle.

Not only could she not reach mirrors outside the crypt, she couldn't even reach the several mirrors on Lumian's person!

Of course, Franca had no intention of using the mirror world for anything—she simply relied on its rear space to conceal herself, preventing the pale-yellow light of the candle from reaching Harrison.

Previously, when she and Jianna ambushed Harrison, they hadn't done this, because the area monitorable through the mirror was too small, and all senses beyond vision were severely weakened.

Franca moved closer to the glass surface and noticed Lumian had thoughtfully turned the mirror toward Harrison, allowing her to see the target's figure.

Watching Harrison slowly descend the slope, guided only by the pale-yellow glow of the white candle, Franca grew even more puzzled.

How had he passed through the gray mist barrier?

Could it be he, too, bore the "Fool"'s mark?

Even the "Judgment" Lady and the other Major Arcana didn't know!

He used no item, performed no ritual—was it his innate ability? But whether it was the "Apprentice" Path's mastery of seals or the "Thief" Path's exploitation of loopholes, both fell within the "Fool"'s domain—there was no reason he could bypass the gray mist…

The "Fool"'s mark…

At this thought, Franca's mind stirred, and a title flashed through her mind:

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun!"

Harrison bore the mark of "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun," so he could pierce the gray mist barrier? Franca made this startling, bewildering guess.

She immediately realized it seemed plausible:

From what they knew, the culprit behind their transference to this world was likely "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun"; Resurrection Island was the mythical Penglai Divine Mountain; Penglai Divine Mountain was likely a nexus between the two worlds—or the point of transference. If these were true, then Harrison of Resurrection Island or Penglai Divine Mountain having a close connection to "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun" wasn't unusual at all.

We had been misled by his pursuit of death, darkness, and twilight-related scenes, and his knowledge of the depths of death—we'd completely overlooked this!

Perhaps, as Jianna suspected, Harrison's deep study of death doesn't mean he's an extraordinary practitioner of that Path!

This better explains why we failed to aggregate his essence last time—then why did we encounter him now?

Lumian, transformed into a shadow creature, also thought of "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun"—the great being who vied with the "Fool" for supremacy over the "Fool," "Apprentice," and "Thief" Paths.

Watching Harrison slowly advance step by step, he connected more dots:

"Previously, Harrison allegedly met 'The Man in the Mirror,' Gassmin, and we speculated he was entangled in the Vortex Plan…"

"Now it's nearly certain: the 'Magician' Lady said that when they confronted 'The Supervisor' Perle, they encountered resistance from followers of the Tianzun—and Perle was one of the initiators of the Vortex Plan…"

"This background explains perfectly why this outsider could frequently appear in Trill's underground without being found by the 'Purifiers'…"

Lumian didn't act immediately—partly because he still wasn't certain of Harrison's level, and partly because he wanted to see what Harrison repeatedly came to the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" to do; this might reveal many crucial details.

As his gaze followed Harrison's movement, Lumian suddenly understood why the " Mingdaoren " had warned Amadina: "Beware Penglai."

He had previously thought it was because Penglai Divine Mountain had reappeared and corpses drifted upon the river, giving the " Mingdaoren " a warning—but due to his own severely degraded state, bordering on a malevolent spirit, he couldn't discern Amadina's true location or condition, and could only instinctively utter a warning.

Now, it was clear: he was telling Amadina that someone from Penglai had come to the "Samaritan Woman's Spring"—she must be cautious!

Lumian had just silently cursed that none of them had considered this direction when Harrison suddenly turned his head and looked directly toward where he was hidden.

Almost simultaneously, a grand, layered voice echoed in his ear:

"Protect your 'Traveler's Satchel.'"

Uh… Lumian had no time to discern the intent behind Thelmiopolos's suggestion—he decisively reached for his waist and gripped the "Traveler's Satchel."

The next instant, Harrison raised his right hand.

Lumian immediately felt an invisible force tug at the "Traveler's Satchel," but he held it tightly.

"Thief"? Not "Death" Path power? An extra blessing from the Tianzun? Confused, Lumian instantly shifted position through shadow.

Behind Harrison, darkness surged upward, outlining Lumian's figure.

(End of Chapter)