Chapter 1696: The Labyrinth and the Witch's Spirit Runes

Although Xia De lacked the courage or interest to try this potion, which was said to drive people mad, he had just caught the unique scent of its main ingredient, "blood mint."

The scent was very similar to catnip.

He was not at all surprised that Audrey and Megan had also read *The Book of Pink*; it was not a forbidden book, and it was normal for a Great Witch of Wisdom and Knowledge to have read it. He just hadn't expected them to be so creative as to develop such a use for a recreational potion.

Since Megan carried this potion with her, it meant she had anticipated that the two of them might need to share their vision. In this light, even with her strength impaired, this eleventh-tier witch still possessed insight and power far beyond that of a normal Ringed Ringed Shushi.

"However, if on the Day of the Red Butterfly, Dorothea and Lei Lei Qianya were to drink this potion... on the Day of the Red Butterfly, when they would naturally blur into each other... oh, what am I thinking?"

He attributed this thought to the aftereffects of seeing "Desire" earlier that morning.

After drinking the potion together, the golden thread originally wrapped around their fingers took on a pink hue.

"The effect is quite good; the fog has dissipated a bit, and my perception has recovered quite a lot... Is this potion really this effective? I originally thought it would only barely allow me to see what was in front of me. Is the potion highly effective, or are we two particularly suited to it?"

Megan muttered suspiciously, but she didn't pay much attention to it. To prevent getting separated in the fog, they once again held each other's hands.

As they moved along the street toward the north of the island, they saw the things that had just attacked them.

Those swaying figures were actually stiff corpses; after being bombarded by Megan's light beams, only broken remains lay on the street. The degree of decay of the corpses varied, and the clothes they wore were also different.

Because they didn't want to delay here, they didn't examine the identities of the corpses in detail, only roughly judging that they were manipulated by undead power.

"First demons, then undead. What exactly are they trying to do?"

The two soon left the town and entered the forest path connecting the pier to the town, where, as expected, they encountered enemies again. This time, the enemies were a large group of pale green undead, rushing toward them from the fog in the forest on both sides of the path with screams and wails.

If their vision were suppressed in a state of spatial chaos, encountering such an attack suddenly might indeed be troublesome. But for Xia De and Megan at this moment, these enemies were just like the resurrected corpses from before, posing no threat at all.

In Xia De's view, these evil spirits were much weaker than those in Schluch Lake; he didn't understand why they would send these weak things if they wanted to attack them.

However, in the end, it wasn't Xia De who acted, but Megan, who wanted to show that she was actually stronger than Xia De, taking the lead to cast a spell to purify those vengeful spirits.

Time passed 3:30 PM, and they finally returned to the pier. After boarding the ship and setting sail immediately, Xia De turned to see the pier gradually disappearing into the fog, somewhat puzzled as to why it was so easy to escape, and that the demon hadn't reacted at all.

Megan had the same worry, holding Xia De's hand while waiting for the small boat to break through the thick fog.

Both were calculating the time, but a full twenty minutes later, the ship was still sailing in the fog. This situation was clearly abnormal; at the speed of this ship, normally, not to mention leaving the fog zone, they should have long since docked on the shore.

"It really isn't that simple... High-Efficiency Spatial Perception."

This time it wasn't a normal spell, but paying extra spirit to expand his spatial perception range with all his might.

The flat lake surface and the rugged lake bottom terrain appeared in Xia De's mind bit by bit with the two as the center of the sphere, and even Megan vaguely sensed the content of Xia De's "viewing."

The perceived range grew larger and larger, but there was no trace of any land around, as if they were not in a large lake, but in some sea area.

【The exit is on the water surface.】

To maintain the upcoming battle, Xia De stopped using the Qi Shu in time. Catching his breath to recover his spirit and physical strength, he shook his head at Megan:

"No, I'm afraid we are trapped in some special area. But since the water surface doesn't work, it seems there is one more way."

"That's the only way, then. Alright."

The two held hands tightly and then jumped from the ship toward the water surface at the same time. As their bodies touched the lake water, Xia De vaguely heard the sound of a mirror shattering. But immediately after, it wasn't the feeling of sinking into the water; his feet touched the ground, and the surroundings were not damp at all.

Looking around, Megan was still holding his hand, and their current position was precisely the street they had jumped out of from the bedroom when they entered the dream.

【It's not time reversal. The lake water formed a passage, bringing you back here.】

"Back to the starting point? Could this island have turned into a labyrinth?"

Megan said softly, frowning slightly as she considered a new method. Hearing the word "labyrinth," Xia De suddenly realized something. But before he could voice his guess, several figures appeared in the fog again.

But this time, they were neither swaying corpses nor screaming souls. Seven people dressed differently ran over in a hurry from the north of the street, and were startled to see Xia De and Megan:

"We've encountered others again!"

Five of the seven were Ringed Ringed Shushi, and the highest-ranked man and woman were both six-ringed. They wanted to approach Xia De and Megan, but seeing the light flickering in Xia De's hand, they immediately took a step back.

"We are not enemies!"

The seven people explained in a jumble:

"This island is becoming stranger and stranger, and we are all trapped here. Now this place is a huge labyrinth; no matter where you walk, you will eventually return to the starting point. Join us; whether it's surviving together or finding a way out together, we can help each other."

Megan shook her head, looked at Xia De with a grim expression, and then took the initiative to ask:

"How long have you been trapped here?"

"I don't remember, but it's been a long, long time. Believe us, this place is definitely not something you can just walk out of."

Their tone was quite sincere, and even Xia De didn't think they were lying, but he still shook his head:

"We want to take a look around this island first. If we need to cooperate, we will come to find you."

"But after splitting up, we might not be able to find..."

Before the six-ringed woman could finish speaking, Xia De pulled Megan's hand and turned to walk toward the other end of the street, disappearing into the fog.

Neither of them spoke, walking for five minutes before stopping to make sure those people hadn't followed.

"Those things are not human. The corpses and evil spirits from before must all be them."

Megan said with a grim expression:

"There are many legends about this island of the family. It is rumored that some people went missing on the island. I think the truth is that the missing people turned into this appearance. Judging from the current situation, they have very likely died in the fog more than once, and their memories have been twisted and changed countless times, but they still haven't realized what exactly happened."

Xia De took a deep breath:

"Turning the island into a labyrinth, imprisoning the souls and bodies of the lost, until they fall into the deepest despair... it really is the behavior of a demon."

Megan frowned slightly:

"In other words, from the moment we woke up, we had already entered the influence range of the demon's power."

"Yes."

Xia De nodded. After realizing what the situation was, the Qi Shu 【Demon Vision】 finally managed to distinguish the elusive black flowing light from the white thick fog.

【If we can't escape, we will gradually lose consciousness, just like those people from before, completely becoming playthings of the demon, wandering in this huge labyrinth forever.】

Xia De said softly, and Megan took off the small book hanging around her neck, shook it gently, and turned it into a large gold and silver book. This was Megan's Angel-level relic, 【Codex of Craving】. Now that she was able to use high-ring power, the power of this relic book was even stronger:

"I was prepared when I heard you mention demons last time, and it really came in handy this time."

She quickly opened the book and found the corresponding page number. The dense scarlet text and complex ritual array formed a powerful Qi Shu called "Margaret's Exorcism."

Of course, the "Margaret" here was not the Southern Princess Xia De knew, but a female demon hunter who lived in the ancient era. The exorcism ritual she created had been passed down through several eras to the present day and had been integrated into the Ringed Ringed Shushi system.

On the page Megan opened, the learning method, casting method, and taboos of this high-ring Qi Shu were described in detail. After reading it carefully, she said to Xia De:

"Watch me this time. I specifically asked my twelve-ring friend to record her Qi Shu in my book."

It was likely also a Great Witch, just one Xia De didn't know.

"I will save you this time."

A brilliant smile appeared on Megan's face, and then she reached out to Xia De again:

"Lend me that ring to use; it can enhance the effect of the Qi Shu."

Xia De handed over the 【Demon Hunter Seal】. After Megan put it on her finger, she held the book up and down with both hands. Invisible wind spread outward from the witch's body. For the first time, Megan's eleven-ring life ring appeared completely behind her.

The core spirit runes were a rare six: Enlightenment—【Ageless】, Enlightenment—【Twin】, Enlightenment—【Wisdom】, Enlightenment—【Metal】, Enlightenment—【Potion】, Enlightenment—【Book】. Judging solely from the core spirit runes, including thirteen-ring Ringed Shushi, Xia De had never seen anyone whose talent and potential could compare to Megan's.

【Ageless】 and 【Twin】 were consistent with the Folen brothers, and any one of 【Wisdom】, 【Metal】, 【Potion】, and 【Book】 was an extremely rare and very practical spirit rune. Although the talent of a Ringed Ringed Shushi could not be judged simply by spirit runes, Xia De still completely understood why Audrey, who possessed spatial talent, was the "Great Witch of Wisdom and Knowledge."

Seeing her life ring, he knew that no one was more suitable than her. ===== CHAPTER 1697 =====

【Aging】 and 【Twin】 are consistent with the Folen brothers, and any one of 【Wisdom】, 【Metal】, 【Potion】, or 【Book】 is an extremely rare and very practical spiritual rune. Although a Ringed Ringed Shushi's talent cannot be judged simply by their spiritual runes, Xia De still completely understood because of this why Audrey, who possesses the talent for space, is the "Great Witch of Wisdom and Knowledge."

Seeing her life ring, he knew that no one was more suitable than her.