Chapter 1730: Everyone's Preparations

After bidding farewell to the doctor, Xia De met Priest Augustus downstairs, who had not yet left, and then departed with the priest in a carriage.

Priest Augustus had waited specifically for Xia De, and of course, there was something he needed to say:

"Wednesday, did you use that Thorn Ring I gave you?"

"Yes, I used it to wield the power others lent me. Now the Thorn Ring has developed many cracks; I estimate it will be destroyed if used again next time."

Xia De sighed at the effect of that halo:

"It indeed helped me; otherwise, I truly cannot think of how to resolve the situation at that time... Regarding the skull, I have no leads for now. Priest, can you not create an alchemical tool for tracking bones from a distance?"

"Young man, do not treat alchemy as all-powerful."

The priest smiled and shook his head:

"You also need not be too urgent about this matter; whether it is found or not actually has little impact on us. In any case, if I need to go there, I can depart at any time. If it were not for not wanting the Church to know where I went, I could even have the church reimburse my train ticket and accommodation expenses... The young people managing finances in the church now are all those I trained back in the day."

At least while Doctor Shi Nai De was at Green Lake, Xia De did not want Priest Augustus to go there. But looking at the current situation, Xia De truly needed to borrow the strength of the entire group this time.

The carriage first dropped the priest off at Limingjiaotang, then brought Xia De to his home.

Upon going upstairs, he found the house quite lively. Dorothy, Luvia, and even Yi Lu Na were all there; the purple-eyed Miss was preparing tea in the kitchen, and Yi Lu Na was excitedly discussing the details of the serialized story published in the *Steam Bird Daily* that week with Dorothy:

"Is this going to be a long serial running for five or six issues? The setup for this story is too interesting; that missing pet dog and that strange cat must have a very important story. If it ends with just three parts—beginning, middle, and end—it would be truly a pity."

Dorothy's recent serial, *The Cat, The Dog, and The Detective*, drew material from Xia De's experiences in the Randall River Valley. Stone, the demon summoned by Stone Osenfort to deal with the Stone Heart Demon, transformed into a butler and a maid, and after being liberated by Xia De, gave him important clues regarding the final puzzle. After hearing this story, Dorothy cleverly transformed their identities into a cat and a dog; this story has been printed in the newspaper for two installments so far and has received widespread acclaim.

Seeing Xia De return, the young ladies all stood up to greet him. The Young Lady, the writer, realized Xia De and Yi Lu Na had something important to discuss, so she temporarily bid farewell to handle matters at the publishing house, agreeing to return in a little over an hour.

After all, today was Saturday; she would not miss the appointment time.

"What is this painting?"

When Xia De returned downstairs after seeing Dorothy off, Yi Lu Na on the sofa curiously pointed to the picture frame covered by black cloth on the wall and asked Xia De. Xia De casually pointed, and the canvas was pushed open to both sides, revealing that colorful underwater mermaid oil painting.

Yi Lu Na was immediately stunned:

"This... I have never seen such a beautiful painting. I am not saying I lack artistic appreciation, but this painting... no one would deny its artistic level; I have never seen such an artwork. Even the broken-arm statue Xia De once gave to Princess Ajelina Cavendish also... Is this also Xia De's work?"

She looked at Xia De in shock, and Xia De immediately denied it:

"I do not have such a level, and besides, I am not that unlucky."

"Xia De said this painting cannot be looked at too much."

Luvia, who was approaching with a tea tray, reminded him. She had not seen "Desire," and Xia De could not describe that thing to her in detail, so she only knew the general idea:

"However, Xia De said you have seen the existence depicted in the painting."

"By the edge of Pantanal Lake." Xia De also reminded.

Yi Lu Na thought for a moment, first shocked, then revealed an expression of dissatisfaction; she obviously still remembered the woman's head in the water making a very inappropriate evaluation of her. Although "simple" is a neutral-to-positive term, she did not wish to be evaluated as simple even though she was already seventeen and approaching eighteen... especially since Xia De was there at the time:

"Actually, this painting is not very beautiful either." She said softly again.

Luvia laughed, and Xia De also looked up at the painting. This painting had hung here for half a week, and indeed there were no abnormalities, but he would not relax his vigilance; he could never quite figure out "Desire's" strange thoughts.

Leaving Mia in the living room, Xia De went to the bedroom to change clothes first, then sat down to discuss matters.

"The Church has already given me orders. I leave on Monday, but I will not reach Green Lake by next week."

Yi Lu Na shook her head:

"The Church has arranged for me to return to the Holy See first to attend a half-week training."

"Training for what?"

Xia De asked curiously, and Luvia actually had a guess:

"Methods to counter space power?" Yi Lu Na nodded:

"Yes, that island is very dangerous, but as a Chosen One, it is impossible not to set foot on the island. To prevent accidents, I need to undergo some safety training, at least to ensure I have a chance to fight back when facing chaotic space."

This was not difficult for her; the power of "Balance" could maintain spatial stability. Although its release effect was not as good as Xia De's "Spatial Stabilization Halo" specifically designed to deal with unstable space, a little training would allow Yi Lu Na to master methods of self-protection.

"Although it is not my first business trip, it is now early June, and I am afraid I will not be back until at least the end of the month."

Yi Lu Na said this, quietly glancing at the two of them. Luvia gave Xia De a look to indicate something, and Xia De naturally understood her meaning:

"If I am not back by your birthday, I will go to celebrate for you on Luvia's behalf."

"I am not talking about the birthday..."

"I have already prepared the gift."

The purple-eyed Miss said, and Xia De also nodded:

"This time I want to prepare a gift that is unexpected; an eighteenth birthday is very important."

He had already selected the gift, but was not yet certain if he could obtain it, after all, that gift was currently still in the Fifth Epoch.

Yi Lu Na somewhat shyly expressed her thanks, and Luvia then took out the small bag that Priest Augustus had given her at the group study meeting just now:

"Coincidentally, Yi Lu Na is here too. I obtained enough coins; before Yi Lu Na departs, we need to clarify some things. For instance, whether that traitor from the Prophet Association who claimed to be the 'Space Chosen One' is truly the identity he claimed."

The drawstring bag was opened, and inside were four coins. Three of them were completely identical, brand new coins that Xia De had never seen before.

Those coins were quite large, about half the size of a palm, made of brass, and the thickness was quite thin. The side Xia De considered the front had a house pattern, while the reverse side was entirely text:

【A house is not a home, but without a house, there is no home.】

"Poet-level Relic 【Home Coin】, a very simple and straightforward name. Its function is: on the night of the full Yellow Moon among the three moons, throw the coin into a lake or river at midnight, and within one month, you can legally and reasonably obtain a house that belongs entirely to you."

Luvia introduced, and both Xia De and Yi Lu Na were quite interested; the female diviner then said:

"It might be a simple straw hut, or it could be expensive real estate like No. 6 St. Delan Square, which most people cannot afford in a lifetime. Poet-level relics are not highly dangerous; it is just that houses obtained with such coins tend to attract unclean things easily." She gave an example:

"For instance, if a humanoid relic visits the neighborhood, it will most likely head straight for the house obtained with such a coin. Although the house is important, there should be no one who would take such a risk."

"No, I think there would be people... Oh, I recognize the last coin."

The Outsider withdrew his nostalgia for his homeland and picked up the remaining coin in the bag:

"Scribe-level Relic 【Soul Coin of the Fanatic Believer】 (Chapter 796). This coin can be used to trade with demons or some humanoid relics, but doing so will stain oneself with sins that cannot be washed away. I never expected Priest Augustus would find such a coin for us."

"The priest is a very magical person."

Luvia said, and then asked Xia De to take out the remaining 【Yin Ghost Iron Coin】:

"In this way, aside from the 【Diviner's Silver Coins】 we are unwilling to consume, we have five coins available to spend. I intend to attempt an oversized divination. Xia De, Yi Lu Na, I need your assistance."

"What do you wish to divine?" Xia De asked.

"I still cannot directly divine the identity of the Chosen One, but as my level rises, I can now touch upon vague information regarding the Chosen One. Since this space's Chosen One possesses the trait of 'many becoming one,' I shall divine exactly how many individuals constitute those 'many,' and precisely who they are."

They went together to Room Two on the third floor; this room, which has yet to find its purpose, is very spacious and highly suitable for conducting a ritual.

Theoretically, Luvia's special divination method cannot be enhanced by any means. Even artifacts that can assist in divination, such as the 【Diviner's Silver Coins】 and the 【Obsidian Pendulum】 in her hand, are completely ineffective against it.

Xia De and Yi Lu Na both vaguely knew that Luvia's special divination was related to the immense power she held in past times. Therefore, to enhance this power, only a force transcending the mundane could be used.

Such as the power of the Chosen One.

Following Luvia's instructions, Xia De painted the Sun, Moon, and Stars pattern on the floor—a pattern he and Miss Dan Dac Nisi had been investigating. Luvia vaguely felt this ritual base array had a significant background, so she decided to give it a try.

As for Yi Lu Na, she summoned the Fate Ring behind her back and transformed the Huang Tong Fate Ring into an obsidian-golden scale. She then carefully held her scale and handed it to Luvia.

Qian Qian Xiao Ruo