Chapter 1686: Mermaid Oil Painting

"Of course it is, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have other meanings. The fusion of flesh and soul is extremely profound knowledge in alchemy. You should know that our 【Rose Cross Society】 focuses on alchemical techniques. When I was reading the literature and materials left behind by the sect, I once saw an alchemist of the Fifth Era comment on this sentence."

Ms. Hope's speaking speed was very slow, so Xia De heard it very clearly:

"Emotion is the rope that connects two different individuals. Although emotion itself is not a physical entity, neither is the soul. Profound enough emotion can allow two souls to form a bond across space, a connection that no distance, however far, can sever."

"Souls? I don't have much research on this. However, emotion does indeed affect the effect of spellcasting; I am clear about this point."

Xia De said, and Ms. Hope nodded:

"That alchemical note even mentioned that she was researching a method to allow two souls to undergo a harmless, brief fusion, allowing two people to become one."

"What? Did she succeed?"

"Of course she didn't. According to the sect's records, that master of alchemy of the Fifth Era created a terrifying fused undead, and the disaster that resulted was finally suppressed and quelled only after a Witch Emperor of that time took action personally. This matter can still be found in the relevant records in the Vatican libraries of the Sun Church and the Peace Church, and our sect left this dangerous material behind as a warning to later generations not to interfere with souls at will. I think this is also the reason why the Zhengshen Sect Society strictly prohibits any knowledge of soul selling or soul modification in our era."

After learning a little knowledge about soul fusion from Ms. Hope, Xia De took her approval note and finally went to find Mr. Updun.

This gentleman was evaluated as having an eccentric personality by the Fu De brothers, Ms. Hope, and Mr. Richard, so Xia De was also prepared to be made difficult.

He adjusted his mood and let a formulaic smile appear on his face before raising his hand to knock on the door. After waiting for a long time, he heard footsteps coming from inside, and then the door was opened a crack, but the anti-theft chain was not removed.

A man with messy hair, looking to be in his fifties with half-gray hair, asked quite impatiently from the crack in the door:

"Who is it?"

This tone was very similar to Dorothy's reaction when she was interrupted while writing.

"A friend of the Fu De brothers, I came to..."

"Not seeing anyone."

"Wait!"

Xia De hurriedly grabbed the door that was about to be closed. The man inside pulled hard again, but found that the door did not move at all. Realizing that Xia De's strength was far greater than his, he took a deep breath and said again:

"What did Eric and Charles ask you to do?"

"Can we go in and talk? I won't disturb you for long. This is Ms. Hope's note; I want to purchase a piece of knowledge."

Mr. Updun's mouth twitched, and he looked Xia De up and down:

"Fine, but wait a moment, I'll tidy up the room."

"No problem."

Xia De let go of the door and let it close. Mr. Updun's footsteps went into the room, but he returned in less than thirty seconds. This time, he unfastened the anti-theft chain and opened the door completely.

This room was on the same floor as the room where Ms. Hope lived, so the internal structure was basically similar. Originally, Xia De thought that since Updun looked unkempt, the room would also be very messy, but in fact, it was very tidy here.

The furniture placement and the atmosphere in the room were all very normal. The only thing worth noting was a wooden easel placed in the living room. However, the canvas on the easel was covered by a white cloth, so Xia De could not see what kind of oil painting it was. But just now Mr. Updun said he wanted to go into the room to tidy up, which should refer to this painting.

Xia De did not feel any elements, so he didn't care, just thinking it was Mr. Updun's privacy.

After both sides sat down, Xia De briefly explained his purpose. For the sect miracle Xia De wanted to obtain, Mr. Updun, even if a bit impatient, listened to Xia De's narration in detail and asked quite seriously about the reason why Xia De wanted to learn the miracle, emphasizing the taboos of using this miracle:

"When your hand is held together with another person's hand, you must maintain awe for this emotion. Whether it is love or other emotions, they are the most valuable power that our mortal souls can burst forth. Do not discard it easily, any girl who is willing to hold your hand. Young man, countless Ringed Shushi who have learned this miracle, when one day they are forced or voluntarily watch that figure move away, will regret from the bottom of their hearts that they have experienced the feeling of soul touching soul through the miracle."

His expression was very serious:

"Are you sure you want to learn it?"

"No, I don't want to learn it for the time being. I want to purchase this knowledge for a pair of... twin girls."

Xia De nodded firmly, and Mr. Updun then nodded:

"Then the danger is not great. However, you need to sign an additional contract to ensure that the knowledge will not be leaked."

"Of course, this is very reasonable."

After Xia De finished speaking, he asked curiously again:

"Have you also researched knowledge of soul contact or even fusion like Ms. Hope?"

"No, no, my research direction is not this. I research..."

The somewhat unkempt man glanced casually at the covered oil painting:

"I research the connection produced by the interaction between flesh and flesh under the action of love."

Xia De blinked. The other party's statement was very strange; he suspected he had guessed wrong:

"You don't mean..."

"Yes, have you heard of the 【Pink Book】? That is the kind of knowledge I research. Love is not purely spiritual communication; young people like you should understand better than me."

Mr. Updun said, shrugging at Xia De:

"But under general social morality, researching this kind of knowledge is not suitable to tell everyone. So I pretend to have an eccentric personality to let them bother me less. Although this will make my reputation worse, at least it avoids it becoming even worse."

Xia De nodded to show he understood. He had also studied the "Pink Book" and knew that the book, which had rich knowledge, was indeed not suitable for discussion with too many people.

Since Mr. Updun agreed to him learning the miracle, he prepared to say goodbye, go to Ms. Hope to pay the money, and then go upstairs to find old Mr. Richard to get the learning ritual for the miracle.

However, when Xia De stood up, Mr. Updun signaled Xia De not to leave so quickly.

"Regarding the maxim you mentioned, I actually have some of my own ways of understanding it."

Mr. Updun said, and then asked Xia De a question:

"Do you believe that two different bodies can fuse into one person?"

Xia De thought for a moment and nodded decisively:

"Of course I believe it. For example, two girls of fifteen or sixteen, after fusing, they become eighteen."

Mr. Updun nodded in surprise:

"I thought you would say this does not conform to the theory of the Ringed Shushi system. But that's fine, it seems you still have some talent. My research direction is not the fusion of soul and soul, but using the 【Pink Book】 system to study the complex interaction between flesh and flesh at the moment of emotional outburst and physical pleasure."

He took a deep breath:

"In my view, the ultimate goal of this research is to realize two people becoming one person on the material level."

Xia De frowned slightly and said hesitantly:

"I don't know if you know that in necromancy, one can stitch many corpses together to create something like an 'undead stitched monster'."

He always felt that the spirit of the gentleman in front of him was a bit wrong; the other party seemed a bit too excited. Therefore, Xia De was worried that the other party would eventually create an incredible monster.

"No, no. You misunderstood me. I am researching living people, not corpses; this is completely different. Corpses have no emotions and cannot experience pleasure; they are meaningless."

Mr. Updun shook his head:

"And I won't start experiments with humans immediately. My current progress is just trying to gain the power of animals by contacting them. This is a secret method that ancient druids could only learn after being intimate with animal partners."

"This doesn't sound strange."

Xia De commented with a smile, and Mr. Updun finally revealed a smile:

"I knew it, there would always be someone who understands me."

He looked at the oil painting covered by the white cloth again, as if he had made up his mind:

"In fact, more than a year ago, I obtained a very strange oil painting, and it was it that made me firm in my belief that my idea was absolutely correct. The purest emotion and the ultimate charm will burst forth with powerful strength in the fusion of flesh and blood. I want to invite you to take a look at this painting, which can let you know what I really want to research."

He pointed to the white cloth, so Xia De asked:

"Who created this painting? What era is the work from?"

"Probably the early Sixth Era, a painter who traveled far out to sea, one morning in the thick fog, dizzily caught a glimpse of an extremely beautiful lady in the water. He was stimulated by that moment of beauty, so he painted this painting. But later the painter went crazy, and other ordinary people who saw this painting also went crazy. I suspect he caught a glimpse of some kind of alien creature at the time, like a mermaid or something."

Saying this, he stood up and pulled gently, letting the canvas slide down. Xia De looked over subconsciously. His first impression was that it was an oil painting with quite vivid colors.

Although it depicted an underwater scene, the orange-red long hair of the woman who occupied the main body of the painting, as well as her fair skin that seemed to glow, made the underwater scene quite bright. Her side face faced outside the painting, her eyes narrowed slightly, in a charming and lazy manner.

Surrounding the lady in the painting, various shellfish and fish formed the background, and the water flow underwater was outlined by the brush with abstract lines, making the details of the painting richer and more compact.

"Really beautiful."

This was the thought that immediately arose in Xia De's heart, and then he said it out loud.

He looked at the painting with a smile, appreciating the beauty of the lady underwater in the painting. She was perfectly natural with the underwater world, as if she should have existed in the water itself. The perfect appearance was thus stopped at that second, but beauty and charm were therefore recorded for a long time.

"Really beautiful."

Xia De sighed again, his eyes fixed on the painting, even feeling that he was unwilling to move his gaze away. He even thought that the woman in the painting was more beautiful than the witches he knew... ===== CHAPTER 1687 =====