Chapter 862: The True Meaning of That Sentence

As Franca spoke the name, Lu Mian also saw the general appearance of the figure outside:

Dressed in a black robe, with light-colored hair, relatively pale skin, and deep brown eyes; he did not look like an Intisian.

Although Lu Mian had never seen Harrison in person, he had seen the portrait Franca had drawn using "Dream Divination" and corresponding rituals, so it was not difficult to confirm who the person appearing outside the gray fog was.

Seeing Franca's excitement, Lu Mian raised his right hand and pressed it down, signaling his companion to control her emotions first.

Franca, also an experienced Beyonder, quickly adjusted and nodded at Lu Mian.

She understood that Lu Mian meant not to act rashly, but to observe first to see what Harrison intended to do, thereby judging his approximate sequence, ability traits, and primary goals.

This way, whatever response they made later would be much more composed.

Franca retreated further to the edge of the slope, using the gray fog as cover to observe Harrison, who was holding a white candle.

Meanwhile, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"The Law of Beyonder Characteristic Convergence is truly useful!

"We were wrong to give up after trying only once; we didn't respect science—no, mysticism—enough. If we try a few more times, doesn't he show up?"

Relying on the fact that the area around the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" could only be entered by Beyonders like Lu Mian who bore Mr. Fool's seal, while others could only see a gray-white fog and were unable to pass through, Franca didn't feel too tense and had the energy to let her mind wander.

—She had just tried; she couldn't penetrate the gray fog barrier on her own, and was then mocked by Lu Mian: "Back then, even Lady Hela couldn't do it, so where did you get the confidence that you could?" This solidified her determination to have Lu Mian help her digest the "Pain" potion.

Lu Mian stood beside Franca, observing every move of the figure outside while recalling the "Death," "Darkness," and "Warrior" pathway Beyonders he had encountered, hoping to quickly formulate the most effective plan against Harrison based on their combat styles and ability manifestations.

Harrison, holding the white candle, paced a few steps outside the gray fog and looked left and right before suddenly continuing forward.

He walked toward the gray fog, passing through it as if it were a curtain of water, entering the area!

"He can pass through the gray fog barrier?

"On what grounds?"

Franca's lake-blue eyes widened instantly, her heart filled with shock, bewilderment, and frustration.

Lu Mian was equally surprised.

But it wasn't that he hadn't considered the possibility that Harrison might be able to open the gray fog barrier and enter the area around the "Samaritan Woman's Spring"; he just hadn't expected the other party to do it so easily.

—Based on Harrison's constant search for scenes closely related to death, darkness, and twilight, and his drifting as a corpse on the Underworld River in the world of the "Underworld Daoist," Lu Mian had reasonably suspected he had a method or item to pass through the gray fog barrier.

Lu Mian had originally expected to see Harrison perform strange rituals or produce items with an otherworldly style, but who knew he would be like himself, relying purely on his own power to enter the area covered by the gray fog!

Seeing that there was no longer a gray fog barrier between the two sides, only the interference of the fog itself on their vision, Lu Mian acted decisively and extinguished the white candle in his hand.

As he expected, when the surrounding darkness surged in silently, it only triggered the "Underworld Daoist" mark on his right palm without eroding his body.

He had kept the candle burning until now partly because he couldn't maintain this state for too long, otherwise he might slowly turn into a tomb keeper, and partly because he hoped to mislead any potential enemies and set a trap.

The moment Lu Mian extinguished the candle, Franca also responded quickly.

Too late to borrow the "Black Tears" from Lu Mian, she directly took out an "Ice Amulet" and a mirror from her "Traveler's Bag."

With a flash of crystalline cold light, Franca, illuminated by the yellowish glow of the white candle, entered the mirror in her hand.

As her figure vanished, the mirror, held by no one, fell toward the ground, only to be caught accurately by Lu Mian's hand.

Lu Mian, holding the mirror, immediately activated his contract mark, transforming into a shadow creature and blending completely into the darkness shrouded by the gray fog.

Before Harrison could approach, they had completed their concealment.

Behind that mirror, in the void-black area, Franca held the burning white candle and quickly scanned the surroundings.

She discovered that this place was also filled with the same gray-white fog as outside, with every corner the same.

The illusory, dark tunnels that looked like spiderwebs were repelled by the gray fog, appearing blurry and hard to see clearly.

"As expected..." Franca was not surprised by this situation at all.

Lu Mian had told her before that this area was isolated from the Spirit World, and "Spirit World Traversal" could not be used here.

Since even the Spirit World was isolated, the Mirror World certainly wouldn't be an exception!

Because this mirror had been brought into the area shrouded by the gray fog, Franca was able to enter its mirror-back area to hide, but she couldn't use it to travel to any mirror outside the catacombs—the "Traveler's Bag" also relied on this principle to continue being used.

Not to mention mirrors outside the catacombs, Franca couldn't even reach the mirrors on Lu Mian's person!

Of course, Franca hadn't intended to use the Mirror World for anything; she was simply relying on the mirror-back area to hide herself so the yellowish glow of the white candle wouldn't shine out and be seen by Harrison.

She and Jenna hadn't done this when they ambushed Harrison before because the area monitored through the mirror surface was too small, and all senses other than vision would be severely weakened.

Franca approached the glass mirror surface and found that Lu Mian had thoughtfully turned the mirror toward Harrison, allowing her to see the target's figure.

Seeing Harrison walking slowly toward the bottom of the slope, relying on the yellowish glow of the white candle in the gray fog, Franca became even more puzzled.

How did this person pass through the gray fog barrier?

Surely he couldn't have Mr. Fool's mark, could he?

Even the "Judgment" lady and the others among the Major Arcana cards didn't know!

He didn't use items just now, nor did he perform rituals; he relied on his own abilities? But whether it was the "Apprentice" pathway's mastery of seals or the "Marauder" pathway's exploitation of loopholes, both were within Mr. Fool's domain; it made no sense that he could bypass the gray fog's obstruction...

"Mr. Fool's mark..."

Thinking of this, Franca's heart stirred, and a title flashed through her mind:

"Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings!"

Harrison has the mark of the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings," which is why he can penetrate the gray fog barrier? Franca made this guess, feeling both surprised and bewildered.

She immediately found this to be quite reasonable:

Judging from the information gathered so far, the culprit behind their transmigration to this world is suspected to be the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings," and Mount Bovar Penglai is suspected to be the node where the two worlds intersect, or the node where the transmigration was completed. If these are all true, isn't it perfectly normal for Harrison of Resurrection Island, or Mount Bovar Penglai, to have a close relationship with the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings"?

We were previously misled by his behavior of seeking scenes related to death, darkness, and twilight, and his deep understanding of the depths of death, and overlooked this point!

Perhaps, as Jenna guessed, Harrison's deep research into death doesn't mean he is a Beyonder of those pathways!

This better explains why we failed to converge with him last time, but why did we encounter him by chance this time?

Lu Mian, transformed into a shadow creature, also thought of the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings," the great being who competed with Mr. Fool for the peak powers of the "Seer," "Apprentice," and "Marauder" pathways.

Watching Harrison moving forward step by step, he associated it with more things:

"Previously, Harrison was suspected of meeting the 'Mirror Person' Palia, and we speculated that he was also involved in the Vortex Plan...

"Now this speculation can be almost confirmed. Lady Magician said that when they dealt with the 'Overseer' Perle, they encountered obstruction from the followers of the Celestial Worthy, and Perle was one of the initiators of the Vortex Plan...

"Having such a background can well explain why Harrison, an outsider, could frequently appear in the underground of Trier without being found by the 'Purifiers'..."

Lu Mian didn't rush to act; on one hand, he wasn't sure of Harrison's level, and on the other, he wanted to see what Harrison intended to do by coming to the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" time and again, which might reveal much important information.

As he followed Harrison's movement, Lu Mian suddenly understood why the "Underworld Daoist" had told Amandina to "beware of Bovar Penglai."

He had previously thought that the reappearance of Mount Bovar Penglai and the drifting of corpses on the river had given the "Underworld Daoist" a warning, but because the Daoist's own state was very poor, closer to an evil spirit, he couldn't distinguish Amandina's true location and specific situation, so he just instinctively gave a warning.

But now it seemed that this was simply telling Amandina that people from Bovar Penglai had been to the "Samaritan Woman's Spring," so she must be careful!

Just as Lu Mian was sighing that they hadn't thought in this direction at all at the time, Harrison, holding the white candle, suddenly turned his head and looked toward where he was hiding.

Almost simultaneously, the resonant, layered voice of Termiboros rang in his ears:

"Protect your 'Traveler's Bag'."

Uh... Lu Mian didn't have time to discern what purpose Termiboros's suggestion held, and decisively reached his hand to his waist, gripping the "Traveler's Bag."

The next second, Harrison raised his right hand.

Lu Mian felt the "Traveler's Bag" being pulled by an invisible force, but he pressed it tightly.

"Marauder"? Not the power of the "Death" pathway? An extra blessing from the Celestial Worthy? In his bewilderment, Lu Mian directly used the shadow to shift his position.

Behind Harrison, darkness surged, outlining Lu Mian's figure.

(End of chapter)