"The item is right here with me. If you desire it, I can present it at any time, but..."

Hualousong suddenly displayed a helpless attitude, as if there was something difficult to express:

"Were it anyone else, I would simply give it to you, but the Rong Royal Mansion has had longstanding ties with your sect, so I must remind you—this Rock Ghost Phalanx seems to be more than just the remains of a Holy Beast; its power may involve the laws of heaven and earth, seizing the fortune of the sun and moon, unfathomably deep. In the hands of harmonious individuals, it poses no threat. However, if it fell into the hands of scoundrels..."

Leoz was bewildered by this torrent of Eastern rhetoric and paused to contemplate the meaning, maintaining his aloof persona and responded coolly:

"No need to trouble Madam, Shanar Great Mentor has bestowed upon me a superior Teleportation Arcanum, leaving no concerns for transportation security. (Necro-speech) Why speak so circuitously; who can even comprehend."

"Haha, Soul Ritualist, you seem to have misunderstood me."

Hualousong said ambiguously:

"The Rock Ghost Phalanx is the treasure of Great Liang, acquired with great effort and after traversing seas to deliver it to you. But were I not to provide a reason, the theft of such a national treasure would surely alert that mongrel Emperor. Though Prince Rong shares close relations with the Great Mentor, unawares of this matter, if knowledge of the treasure's disappearance reached him, the nation would be in uproar, potentially affecting plans. As it's said, military matters are the great affairs of the state..."

This fellow's archaic speech nearly confounded Leoz, who, despite his academic status as nothing more than a single-year hydrology master up in the Starry Abyss, had never encountered such sophisticated discourse. Seizing the moment before being further befuddled, Leoz quickly spoke:

"This body's control is time-limited, so I hope Madam can focus on the key points."

Behind the scenes, Hualousong laughed, yet despite the lack of malice, Leoz discerned a hint of mockery, continuing:

"It's not that I don't trust you, but this matter is grave. That dog Emperor might send fiends to harass and ambush. Merely handing over the Phalanx to you—what if thieves seize it..."

"Key point." Leoz said expressionlessly.

"You are truly impatient." Hualousong's laughter ceased: "To be frank, the item can be given to you, but you must have someone ensuring your safety, just to observe you safely meeting Shanar Great Mentor."

"Absurd, truly unreasonable." Leoz sneered: "The nature of the mission is secretive, adding personnel risks exposure if any flaw is detected."

"No need to worry, perhaps Leader Guo Zhaofeng can accompany you?"

Hualousong advised kindly:

"This individual is nurtured from youth by Rong Royal Mansion, a loyal figure skilled in transformation and concealment, and a Navy Commander of Great Liang holding a second-tier title with capabilities equivalent to a Fourteenth Order pathway (Cauchy Rank). It's thanks to Leader Guo watching over us, traversing mountains, crossing seas, that we managed to conceal ourselves here in this mountain town."

[Saying so much still boils down to surveillance on me. Talking to such Eastern Empire folk, one truly must remain vigilant, lest be ensnared in their words.]

Evidently, Hualousong was not fully convinced of his identity, which was understandable, as Leoz outwardly showed no expression, with a child's body emitting only a Kappa Rank (10) aura. He claimed to be a puppet body controlled by a Soul Ritualist, yet the issue was, in the Mysterious pathway, not only Soul Ritualists could manipulate living bodies.

Mysterious has three Ultimate Pathways: Apostle of Void, Netherworld Chosen, Final Calamity.

Not just three ultimate professions, but these also respectively correspond to Void Emperor, Master of Souls, Primeval Heavenly Sovereign, indeed their occupational domain.

Unlike other pathways, Mysterious type, due to the Chief God being split into three, directly locks the potential on these three paths, with the Monarch focused on crafting the Seventh Pathway Void beneath, with believers and followers mostly gathered in the lower Zhou Yuan.

On the grand stage of the Layer Abyss, everyone is engrossed in authentic combat, while the Border Abyss is plagued with a scarcity of productivity, making nihilism soil indeed nonexistent.

Thus, Primeval Heavenly Sovereign and Master of Souls primarily divided the Layer Abyss and Border Abyss believers' resources.

Among them, Primeval Heavenly Sovereign poses a danger, as they inherit godhood from the Chief God and must relentlessly seek allies to evade being devoured by the other two forces combined, with abilities particularly focused on amusement, illusion, fate, and prophecy, with limited combat prowess, so much so that legends of their own God Embracers overthrowing them exist.

While Master of Souls, bluntly speaking, reigns as the most favored entity in the upper Starry Abyss among the fragmented three Chief Gods, boasting the most strength, their believers stretch from Layer Abyss to Nether Abyss, an immensely vast presence both revered by the living and esteemed by the deceased.

Especially within the Border Abyss, Master of Souls Gloster stands as an unparalleled divine force, radiating across Four Great Narratives!

"Soul Hometown" honors Master of Souls as the State Religion, for it is thanks to Gloster's power that necromancers can exist.

"Collapsed Homeland" considers "Gloster the sole right and benevolent Chief God, whose existence ensures the continuous retrieval of knowledge from the historical torrent."

"Endless Garden" has received Gloster's grace, and within their country, numerous Mysterious Pathway Ascenders to Divinity abound; moreover, they endeavor to export culture to other dimensional worlds, aiming to captivate more transmigrators. One vital project is 'Urban Legends,' accounting for thirteen percent of revenue, rendering abandonment of Gloster inconceivable from any perspective.

Even within "Crimson Blood Alliance," a highly secularized warband nation, Gloster believers organize warbands consistently ranked second or third among superior species.

Shanar School's Soul Ritualists truly serve as precursor professions to Netherworld Chosen, with the so-called Great Mentor Shanar actually being a Demigod within Netherworld Chosen, immensely powerful, although not at the level of Feng Qing, in past game lore, was considered a top twenty boss of Border Abyss, with considerable influence.

However, this is merely superficial.

Though Shanar Great Mentor possesses formidable strength, the issue is, within Border Abyss, individual strength aside, lacking identity and status, such a vast realm, how does one cultivate their influence?

One must understand, confronted not merely by some small nations, amidst the massive Narrative Civilization, particularly in the face of the Four Great Narrative Consortium, any individual powerhouse finds themselves fragile as an ant.

Either surrender and succumb to the Narrative, or obediently comply as a commoner, secretly amassing wealth, then venture Zhou Yuan to unlock potential, liberate abilities, and participate in the Mass Abyss battle royale, a rogue regulation established by the Narrative Consortium.

Even Aunt Merston of the already Feng Qing Lord Ao Sha lineage can't address this, remaining dependent on secular aristocratic identity to manage vast assets.

Weren't it for this reason, Prince Rong at such a status would not specifically seek out Shanar, taking out a nation's treasure like the Rock Ghost Phalanx to forge alliances.

Reflecting thusly, Leoz grasped why the other party looked down upon him.

"Lady Hualousong, if you speak in such a manner, can't simply speak like that. It signifies distrust in my character and abilities."

Leoz waved his hand contemptuously, then solemnly declared:

"I can swear a vow contract to the Soul of Plunder, Redd Gold, to guarantee safe transport of the item to its destination. If I fail, may my path collapse, my soul wander the earth alone, never reincarnating into the Nether Abyss!"

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