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Enzo raised his eyebrows, a flicker of surprise on his face, and after a moment of silence, he spoke:
"That's right, Lord Klarman's intention is to hope that after you become a Gatekeeper, you will provide a temporary dwelling place for that evil spirit."
"And presumably, you also know that evil spirits can strengthen their power by devouring souls, and obtaining Beyonder characteristics of sufficient Sequence from their original Pathway can make them special Spirit World creatures."
"By then, he will no longer need to reside within your body. You only need to be a vessel for a period of time to successfully advance to Sequence 5 and gain Lord Klarman's friendship."
Looking at the translucent face on the opposite wall, which had no eyes or nose, only a mouth, Enzo added in an unnatural tone:
"As for 'Admiral Hell' Ludwell, he is indeed an option, but not the best one. If there's an opportunity, we'd prefer to cooperate with you."
"I can also tell you clearly that I only represent Lord Klarman. This can be considered a private cooperation, do you understand?"
"Only representing Klarman? This..."
The translucent face immediately fell silent. Amidst the flickering dark green candlelight, the basement was enveloped in a strange atmosphere.
Still receiving no response, Enzo maintained a calm exterior, but inwardly he was somewhat agitated.
As a new member of the Rose School of Thought who had defected from the Life School of Thought, he was neither a Beyonder of the "Apothecary" Pathway who could become a "Sanguine," nor did he worship the "Primordial Moon." He merely strongly agreed with the Rose School of Thought's indulgent philosophy.
Such a heretic and defector as he was quickly marginalized after joining the Rose School of Thought.
If it weren't for his Sequence 5 strength and the crucial intelligence he provided during the encirclement of the Life School of Thought, he would probably have been sent to some forgotten corner long ago.
Originally, this was nothing; not being taken seriously didn't matter, as he simply didn't want to abide by the various rules of the Life School of Thought anymore and just wished to live a life as he pleased.
However, ever since he learned that the last encirclement of the Life School of Thought had failed for some reason, and Ricciardo, the councilor of the "Fate Council," had successfully escaped and was currently nowhere to be found, things changed.
That was a Sequence 4 "Misfortune Mage." If he encountered other Sequence 4 demigods, Enzo might have a chance to escape, but if he encountered a "Misfortune Mage" of the same Sequence, he would undoubtedly die.
Quickly realizing this, Enzo, who had originally planned to just let things be, swiftly began to try to curry favor within the Rose School of Thought, but made no progress.
In desperation, Enzo had no choice but to seek refuge with "Shaman King" Klarman, who was also marginalized, hoping to gain his protection.
With a Sequence 5 powerhouse coming to seek refuge, Klarman was naturally happy to accept, especially since his own days hadn't been easy lately.
A crucial Sealed Artifact of the Rose School of Thought was lost, another important Sealed Artifact was damaged, Sequence 3 Mahmosi was severely injured, and the mission to capture important members of the Life School of Thought failed.
Among these incidents, only the last one concerned him; the other matters, in fact, all problems, could be attributed to Mahmosi.
However, as a student of the "Abomination" Suah, a descendant of the Pharaoh, and one of the leaders of the Highland Resistance, no one in the Rose School of Thought dared to truly do anything to Mahmosi.
But Klarman did not have these resounding identities to protect him. When he was held accountable, some people wanted their subordinates to advance further, coveted his Beyonder characteristic, and even proposed executing Klarman as a warning to others.
Although this punishment was not adopted, Klarman had already keenly sensed the crisis.
After all, he had joined the Rose School of Thought because he had received a gift from the "Primordial Moon" and yearned for a longer lifespan.
Feeling deeply isolated, Klarman decided to find a helper for himself. As a demigod who had lived for a long time, he had an excellent candidate in mind: Alsarthas-Eggers, a Sequence 3 "Ferryman" of the Death pathway who had fallen at the end of the Fourth Epoch during the Pale Calamity.
That was a true divine descendant; in terms of identity alone, he was far more distinguished than Suah-Palenke-Eggs, who called herself the "Pale Empress" and currently led the Royalist faction of the Numinous Episcopate.
However, considering that cooperating with the Royalist faction, which did not lack angels and demigods, was almost like playing with fire, and also considering the attitude and potential reactions of the "Pale Empress."
Klarman ultimately chose to cooperate with the declining Sleeping Faction, even if something went wrong, the other party only had one demigod.
Thump thump thump...
Enzo lightly tapped the table. After the translucent face slowly turned back, he spoke in a low voice:
"You can consider it carefully, and you can also ask for the opinion of the saint behind you, but you must give me a reply within one month at most. This is also the deadline given by Lord Klarman. I hope you cherish this opportunity."
-----------------
Even though there is no distinction between far and near, high and low, up and down, left and right in the Spirit World, and positions and distances are very chaotic, it still takes a considerable amount of time to travel from Backlund to Osel.
To prevent unnecessary trouble caused by the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence, Aaron sacrificed the Red Priest card and the Ring of Mysteries to the dark golden mist before entering the Spirit World.
Evelyn, on Aaron's shoulder, widened her eyes, looking at the surrounding space filled with indescribably shaped ethereal transparent entities.
All colors became vivid and distinct yet overlapped, while a hazy mist permeated and enveloped everything, fading into nothingness.
And in the depths, high in the sky, seven clear, luminous glows of different colors slowly glided. They seemed to possess life, containing endless knowledge.
This was the Spirit World, completely overlapping with reality, omnipresent.
Although it wasn't the first time she had undergone Spirit World transmission with Aaron, previous Spirit World transmissions had always been within Backlund, basically completing the transmission in an instant.
So, this could be considered Evelyn's first serious observation of the Spirit World. Her curiosity exploded, instantly throwing the Sequence 7 potion matter to the back of her mind, and she chattered away, asking about everything.
Aaron patiently explained to her, but his hands didn't stop. His spirituality poured into the Darkness Mark on his wrist, and a layer of gloomy mist quickly covered both him and the cat, entering a semi-"concealed" state, erasing their traces.
The existence of the Spirit World is quite marvelous; it completely overlaps with the real world, entirely so, allowing everyone to receive revelations from the Spirit World at any time.
However, the Spirit World has no up, down, left, or right, and past, future, and present can all converge here, like a bizarre ocean formed by the Convergence and compression of countless knowledge, countless information, and countless ethereal spirits, completely different from the "world" in normal concepts and logic.
Therefore, appearing in the Spirit World, a place filled with various information and revelations, will inevitably leave many clues, with the possibility of being divined at any time.
So, whenever he uses Spirit World transmission, Aaron habitually erases his traces and conceals his whereabouts.
However, in the Spirit World, if there is no positioning, it is easy to get completely lost and never be able to get out.
Moreover, Aaron is not a Beyonder of the Death pathway who can shuttle through the Spirit World. He relies on Beyonder items, and his means of discerning direction in the Spirit World are very limited.
Except for places he has already visited and knows the corresponding Spirit World coordinates for direct transmission, many unfamiliar places require the aid of the divination pendant for divination to assist in identifying the location.
But Aaron now has a simpler method, which is to let the messenger lead the way.
Aaron had previously sent letters to his father, Duke of East Tucker Gusman Weil, in Osel using a messenger, so Astorolfo knew the corresponding Spirit World coordinates.
The surrounding colors instantly thickened and overlapped. A perfectly round, black and white eye appeared, which was Aaron's current messenger, Astorolfo.
The huge, distinct black and white eye was translucent, silently floating amidst the rich, vivid, overlapping color blocks, looking around but not finding Aaron's figure.
It let out a questioning low hum, but still followed the command Aaron had given it before entering the Spirit World, flying towards the area in the Spirit World corresponding to Osel.
Astorolfo floated forward, neither fast nor slow, while Aaron and Evelyn, in a semi-"concealed" state, followed it, flying through the Spirit World, which was both real and illusory, strange and mysterious.
Aaron chased Astorolfo, which occasionally flew up and down, shuttling through distinct and overlapping colors, passing by numerous indescribable, half-hidden Spirit World creatures, making it difficult to know how far their destination still was.
During this time, Aaron educated Evelyn about the contents recorded by the ancestor of the Abraham family in "Spirit World Sightings":
"Try not to make eye contact with any Spirit World creature for more than three seconds. This is considered a provocative act, unless they have expressed a desire to communicate."
"Also, do not appear fearful or nervous; this will increase the predatory urges of certain predators."
Looking at Evelyn, who had suddenly become eager to learn, Aaron suddenly remembered that the emerald necklace he had given Audrey also had the ability to transmit through the Spirit World.
"Next time I write a letter, I should also tell her about the precautions for the Spirit World, just in case."
Aaron continued to follow Astorolfo, who was flying ahead, neither fast nor slow.
After all, in essence, the Spirit World is a very dangerous place, and one might encounter terrifying demigod-level existences if they are not careful.
Aaron continued to shuttle. The seven clear rays of light, which could indicate location, remained high up, covering the "sky," but they could often be seen below, to the sides, and in front or behind him.
As he floated along, Aaron saw Astorolfo in front suddenly contract and become transparent, completely losing its aura, as if it were avoiding some terrifying thing. If not for the special connection between him and his messenger, Aaron would have thought it had vanished into thin air.
Just as he was surprised that his messenger had such an ability, Aaron's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he abruptly dodged to the side.
A flash of yellowish-green swept past his eyes, and a foot so large it could flatten him landed, stepping into the red and blue interwoven color blocks.
Above that foot was a festering long leg oozing yellowish-green liquid, exceeding three meters in overall length. Further up was a massive body wrapped in corpse-oil bandages.
Amidst the almost solidifying aura, those two legs, dripping with yellowish-green pus, alternately lifted, carrying an indistinct body, quickly moving away and disappearing into the depths of the Spirit World.
Aaron hid in the distance, feeling the soul-shaking pressure, not daring to make a sound. Having already seen several angels, he silently exclaimed in his heart:
"An angel, this is actually an angel..."
After a long while, Aaron finally confirmed it was safe. While comforting the bristling Evelyn on his shoulder, he thought with a grimace:
"I always feel like it's searching for something."
"The state of this angel is also a bit strange, but it should still be considered within the scope of Spirit World creatures. It's just that its consciousness seems to be unclear. Fortunately, it didn't discover me, otherwise, it would have been a big deal today."
"Oozing pus all over, wrapped in bandages, could it be the reassembled body of a fallen angel from an exotic Pathway in some epoch in the Spirit World? But why would it be in this state?"
Aaron shook his head, no longer pondering, merely making a mental note of the question.
Looking around, Aaron had frantically dodged earlier to avoid that existence, and now he couldn't quite discern where in the Spirit World he had wandered.
However, relying on the divination pendant and the connection with his messenger, Aaron only took a short while to find Astorolfo.
It was just that the messenger's state was a bit strange. For some reason, its originally translucent large eye had shrunk and solidified considerably, and some discontinuous patterns had appeared on its body, seemingly trying to connect and form something.
Aaron watched for a while. Because the patterns were discontinuous, he couldn't guess what they represented, but he had a premonition that once Astorolfo successfully digested the Sequence 5 characteristic, the patterns would completely connect.
Aaron, having gained an unexpected pleasant surprise, felt much better. He dared not linger, fearing he might encounter something else.
Perhaps his previous bad luck had run out, as there were no further incidents during the rest of the journey.
Following Astorolfo to a certain area of the Spirit World, Aaron secretly noted the location information, then revealed his figure.
There was no other way; Duke of East Tucker Gusman Weil must have written to Aaron in his study, so this critical coordinate also corresponded to the study.
To prevent unnecessary misunderstandings, like being hit hard by his old father as soon as he got home, after all, the fluctuations of a Beyonder using Spirit World travel are different from those of a messenger delivering a letter, and his father, being a demigod, would certainly be able to distinguish them.
Aaron took out the token of identity given to him by Varna Weil, infused it with spirituality to activate it, and displayed his aura.
Backlund, Osel West Borough, East Tucker Duke's Manor.
On the desk in the study on the first floor were several newspapers with slightly wrinkled edges, clearly the result of frequent reading:
"Lord Aaron Assists Police in Solving Murder Case"
"East Tucker Bicycle Company Established, Lord Aaron Attends Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony"
"Lord Aaron Foils Kapil's Conspiracy, Saves Numerous Innocent Civilians..."
"Lord Aaron Awarded by the King..."
"Lord Aaron's Proposal to Establish the 'Kingdom Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Committee' Passes in the House of Commons..."
Duke of East Tucker Gusman Weil, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, flipped through the newspapers on the desk. The usual seriousness on his face was gone, replaced by a sense of satisfaction.
Suddenly, he looked up and towards the corner of the study, his brows slightly furrowed, and a pale white flame spear appeared out of thin air.
Then, as if sensing some aura, a hint of surprise and unexpectedness flashed in Gusman Weil's eyes. He then thought of something and dispersed the flame spear in his hand.
Without any visible movement from him, the newspapers on the desk folded themselves, jumped into an open cabinet, and as the cabinet closed, Gusman Weil leaned back in his chair, his face returning to a serious expression.
In the corner of the study, that area suddenly became intensely colored. Aaron, with a white cat perched on his shoulder, holding a dark gold token, stepped out of the Spirit World with a chuckle.
Looking at the familiar surroundings, Aaron took a deep breath and said to Gusman Weil behind the desk, his tone quite complex:
"Father, I'm back."
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