---o---
Fu Zhu accepted the Coreflame from Cerces with a hint of skepticism. A system prompt immediately popped up.
[Amphoreus Mod construction in progress...]
[Current progress: 24.99999%]
After confirming the Coreflame was real, Fu Zhu looked up at Cerces, his eyes full of confusion.
"You gave it so freely? So what's the price, Cerces?"
Cerces smiled, her eyes narrowing. She raised a hand and projected the scene of Fu Zhu opening the spatial rift and leaving with Lygus.
Fu Zhu, Cipher, and Tixi all leaned in to get a better look. Aside from the latter being impressed by Fu Zhu's ability to open a space portal, they couldn't see any special meaning in the scene that would compel Cerces to hand over her Coreflame.
Seeing their confusion, Cerces explained with a grin.
"At that time, I was observing from the shadows. The mere wisp of aura that leaked from that spatial rift was enough to make me tremble with fear. I wondered, just what kind of being resided on the other side of that portal?"
"The Aeon of Erudition, Nous," Fu Zhu answered casually.
It was this very answer that made Cerces nod repeatedly.
"A being from beyond the sky, a being of such power... it makes me terribly curious about what the world outside Amphoreus is really like. So, I am giving you the Coreflame as part of a deal. I want to borrow a look at this outside world through you."
Fu Zhu didn't think it was a big deal; it was just to satisfy Cerces's curiosity.
"Sure. How do you want to see it? I can take you to see Nous in person. Although I shut him down, reactivating him isn't a problem."
Hearing Fu Zhu's offer, Cerces immediately cowered, her voice becoming weaker.
"Could I borrow your memories to understand the outside world? To be honest, I don't think I can withstand facing that being directly."
Just a tiny trace of aura leaking from the portal was almost enough to break her. If she were to face an Aeon directly, she estimated she would collapse before she even had time to react.
Fu Zhu thought about it. Just looking at memories wasn't much different from what a Memokeeper does, so he nodded in agreement.
"Alright."
"Then I won't be polite."
Overjoyed, Cerces immediately floated over and merged her body into Fu Zhu's.
Fu Zhu found the sensation rather peculiar. Although Cerces could now view his memories, he could, in turn, freely browse hers.
The feeling was like having a book you could never forget appear in your mind, ready to be read at any time.
"Cerces, what about this Coreflame of yours?"
Fu Zhu glanced at the Coreflame in his hand and called out to Cerces, but he received no reply. Apparently, she was completely absorbed in his memories and didn't hear him. He had no choice but to carefully place the Coreflame in his coat pocket. He didn't even dare put it in his inventory, fearing that the connection between the Coreflame and Cerces would be severed, causing her to go GG in the next second.
Fu Zhu turned to Tixi beside him and asked curiously, "Tixi, does this make me a demigod of [Reason]?"
Tixi shook her head. Fu Zhu had only received the Coreflame; he hadn't undergone the trial of [Reason], so he couldn't be considered a demigod.
"A pity. I thought becoming a demigod would come with new abilities," Fu Zhu said with a sigh of regret. He then turned to the other two and asked, "My business in the Grove of Epiphany is finished. What about you two? Are you planning to go to the Holy City or somewhere else?"
His purpose in coming to the Grove of Epiphany was to get some information from Cerces. Now that he had all of Cerces's memories in his mind to browse at his leisure, there was naturally no reason to stay.
Tixi shook her head with a smile. "The others have all been sent to the Holy City. I'm the only one left here to look after Cipher. So, wherever Cipher goes, I'll go."
Her goal was to watch over all the demigods joining the Journey of Chasing Fire, so naturally, her actions would be based on Cipher's.
Fu Zhu nodded and turned his gaze to Cipher, who answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Wherever you go, I'll go!"
The last person who was this good to her was her adoptive mother, but she had died in an accident. This time, she didn't want to be separated from Fu Zhu again.
Fu Zhu couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and ruffled Cipher's hair, gently suggesting, "Staying here to study might be a better choice for you, you know?"
Cipher didn't pull away from Fu Zhu's hand. Instead, she leaned into it, enjoying the feeling, while stubbornly refusing his suggestion.
"But I can't focus on my studies. I just want to be by your side and help you."
"Alright then…" Seeing her so insistent, Fu Zhu didn't want to refuse her any longer.
Cipher's face lit up with joy, thinking she had finally escaped the dull and dreary routine of studying, but in the next second, Fu Zhu added.
"Then I'll have Tixi tutor you. She used to be a Saintess, you know. She's very smart!"
"Huh? I have to study on the way to the Holy City?"
Cipher's little face immediately fell. Beside her, Tixi giggled nonstop, patting Cipher's arm on her tiptoes and lecturing her in a mature tone that didn't match her appearance at all.
"Cipher, studying is a very important thing! You can't stop!"
"Fine…"
Now that he had confirmed that both of them were planning to leave with him, Fu Zhu didn't need to give them any more instructions. After helping them pack their simple luggage into the system inventory, he planned to find Professor Empedocles or another person in charge to borrow a few land mounts for the journey.
After all, among the three of them, only he could fly, and that was only in Observer Mode, which made carrying people impossible. Although he had the Yamato, he didn't know the coordinates of the Holy City. It would be bad if he opened a portal to the wrong place.
Besides, it was a good opportunity to see what kind of transportation this world had to offer.
The three of them found the unoccupied Professor Empedocles. When he heard they were leaving, he didn't ask many questions, simply leading them to an open space behind the Grove of Epiphany.
As Fu Zhu walked over, he saw dozens of massive, dinosaur-like creatures eating red soil.
[Earth Beast]
Fu Zhu glanced at his minimap and recognized the name of these dinosaur-like creatures. He turned to Professor Empedocles beside him and asked, "Are these the creatures you use for travel?"
Professor Empedocles nodded and, pointing at the Earth Beasts, sang their praises.
"Although the Earth Beasts are massive and seem inconvenient, this is actually their advantage. They can carry many people and a lot of luggage at once, and their gait is incredibly steady!"
"I can see that… but I feel like their travel speed must be very slow?"
"Well, there's no helping that. There are always pros and cons!"
Fu Zhu looked at the Earth Beasts with some regret. He was actually quite interested in riding such a creature, but he was worried it would travel too slowly.
Hey, wait a minute! I have an idea!