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As his consciousness returned to his body from the Nation of Disorder, memories of the deepest burial hall within the mausoleum surfaced in Aaron's mind.
This burial hall was specially constructed by the Night Emperor within the Specter Empire before the final battle of the War of the Four Emperors, both to preserve the last legacy of the Trunsoest Empire and to retain some future sparks.
As a Sequence 0 Justiciar of the Arbiter Pathway, the Night Emperor personally inscribed incantations within this hall, replacing the underlying rules of the mausoleum, making the flow of time in the deepest burial hall of the mausoleum inconsistent with the outside world, much slower.
This replacement of the most fundamental rules gradually radiated throughout the entire Specter Empire, only the further out one went, the more normal the time flow became, which was the source of the distorted feeling Aaron experienced when he first entered the Specter Empire.
The remaining 12 coffins, originally prepared, were for the 12 Saint level Demigods of the Trunsoest Empire at that time, because only at the Demigod level, possessing divinity, could they withstand the backlash of external rules after leaving the Specter Empire.
However, those Saint-Demigods were also the primary targets to be eliminated in the War of the Four Emperors; even with various contingency plans, only three truly returned to the Specter Empire in the end.
This included Alvin Gallows, the leader of the Night Emperor's personal guards, an Angel from the Fourth Epoch, but even now, his condition still seemed to have not recovered.
The only two remaining were Faus Ellen and Cavendish Lancer Pinto; the former was a Sequence 3 - Frenzied Mage, while the latter was a Sequence 4 - Bizzaro Sorcerer.
After entering the Specter Empire and their coffin lids were sealed, they never reappeared, escaping the torment of time and avoiding losing control and going mad through the slumber of night.
And after the Night Emperor truly fell, the Specter Empire arrived at the deepest part of the Sea of Dreams, a battlefield ruin of the gods.
The entire battlefield ruin of the gods was destroyed by the gods during the second epoch, filled with various residual divine powers, shattered order, mutated rules, and concealed by the Evernight Goddess's secret authority.
Even after the War of the Four Emperors ended, those two from the Augustus Family and the Castiya Family once tried to rely on the Convergence of Beyonder characteristics to find the Specter Empire, but ultimately returned disappointed.
Similarly, due to the incompleteness of order and rules, even after the Night Emperor fell, relying solely on the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact "Chaos Crown" left in the Specter Empire and the Sequence 1 - Hand of Order Beyonder characteristic contained within it, it successfully replaced some of the underlying rules.
But as the "Chaos Crown" left the Specter Empire and entered the Nation of Disorder, the source of power for replacing the underlying rules disappeared, and the time flow within the Specter Empire would gradually synchronize with the outside world, which is consistent with the rules followed when leaving Groselle's Travels.
Aaron didn't need to worry about that Angel, after all, there are no Angels who have died of old age, but the remaining two were a bit troublesome.
Especially that Sequence 3 - Frenzied Mage; although Aaron, possessing the black emperor card, already knew the potion formula and advancement ritual for Sequence 2 - Duke of Entropy, he couldn't find them in a short amount of time.
The path of advancing to extend lifespan was blocked; only using the "Ghost Picture Frame" to supplement his lifespan remained, but lifespans above Demigod could only be supplemented by the lifespans of other Demigods.
There was no need to guess; Aaron knew that relying solely on the heavily injured and dormant Undying he left in Groselle's Travels would certainly not be enough to supplement it.
The only one with a clue was that Sequence 4 - Bizzaro Sorcerer; he had already met the ritual requirements for advancing to Scholar of Yore, and if Aaron helped him successfully advance, it should be able to supplement enough lifespan.
Another method was to return the "Chaos Crown" from the Nation of Disorder to the Specter Empire, continuing to maintain the replacement of the underlying rules.
But this method was also no longer viable; it was unclear whether it was during his slumber that the Chaos Eye or the Sefirah itself developed some inexplicable connection with this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
Even by displaying an incomplete mythical creature form, he could barely mobilize some of the Chaos Crown's power, and blocking that connection to send this Sealed Artifact out of the Nation of Disorder was not something Aaron could do currently.
The only good news was that the originally replaced underlying rules within the Specter Empire would not disappear immediately, but would gradually be assimilated by the fragmented rules of the battlefield ruin of the gods outside over the next year.
Recalling what he had seen and heard in the Specter Empire, Aaron couldn't help but think with some regret:
"Most Demigods have backgrounds; true lone wolves are a minority. I wonder how many Demigods I'll need to hunt to be enough."
"It's a pity that the rest of the Trunsoest Empire's legacy was stored with Alvin Gallows, the leader of the Night Emperor's personal guards. I wonder what good things are there…"
The central coffin only contained one "Chaos Crown"; even if he coveted the other legacies, facing an Angel whose state and attitude were unknown was not what he wanted to see right now.
The current state of the Specter Empire prevented other outsiders from entering, and Aaron, not wanting any accidents, controlled his greed very well, and not wanting to waste time, he directly left the Specter Empire.
Currently, he had two most urgent tasks: first, to hunt Demigods as quickly as possible to supplement the Ghost Picture Frame, and second, to help that Bizzaro Sorcerer advance to Scholar of Yore as soon as possible.
After all, a Scholar of Yore who had survived from the Fourth Epoch until now, having witnessed the most glorious period of the Trunsoest Empire, could play a role comparable to an Angel and might even bring Aaron many surprises.
As Aaron pondered, his spirituality subtly stirred, and he immediately looked towards Calderon City not far away.
In the depths of that dilapidated city, a violent tremor suddenly occurred, as if a behemoth had been stimulated and awakened, causing countless dangerous creatures to pour out.
That indescribable feeling even formed a vast, illusory grayish-white, like a flood, rising layer by layer from the lower areas.
Aaron frowned, and a faint dark-gold mist appeared around him, directly relying on the Authority of the Nation of Disorder to resist Calderon City's rule of transforming all living beings into the undead.
Although Calderon City involved another Sefirah, any divination and prophecy would be interfered with, but Aaron had a strong intuition that this sudden change was related to the Death statue that had been taken into a hidden world by the Evernight Goddess's divine descent vessel.
Aaron, on the outskirts of Calderon City, was considering whether to leave first when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder; just as he was about to counterattack, he felt a familiar aura and allowed the hand to drag him into a vortex.
-----------------
East Balam, Loen Colonial Region, Gulain City Port.
Louise stood at the bow of the Moonlight and waved goodbye to her grandfather, Count Mistral, on the opposite ship.
She had been in the Southern Continent for almost three months, and the hunting competition officially ended last week. Backed by the Chaos Council, possessing a large number of high-level talismans, and with intelligence support from Sid Watson, who was also in the Southern Continent, she successfully secured second place in the hunting competition.
The first place was taken by Baron Cosmi; as the spokesperson for Sanguine Marquis Nibbs Odora, Cosmi, having been a Baron for decades, benefited Louise greatly in both practical combat and intelligence control.
Even without taking first place, Louise was not discouraged; as the youngest Sanguine Baron, she truly earned the respect of the other Sanguine with her strength, as youth was her greatest asset.
Of course, the most crucial and main reason was that the Sanguine high-ranking officials temporarily increased the rewards for this hunting competition. Perhaps the gains from the war in Bayam were abundant enough, as the top three in this hunt would all receive the opportunity to advance to Sanguine Viscount.
Having completed her advancement in the Southern Continent and now a Sanguine Viscount, Louise did not intend to return to Backlund with Count Mistral, but instead planned to venture out into the Sea.
Being able to gain experience and digest the potion, Louise even came up with her title, "Admiral of the Moon," and many Sanguine, inspired, joined Louise's team to gain experience together.
Perhaps thinking of the mysterious organization behind Louise, or perhaps simply wanting these Sanguine to gain more experience, Count Mistral readily agreed.
He not only gave the Moonlight to Louise but also gave her a powerful Sealed Artifact as a reward for providing intelligence and establishing communication in Bayam earlier.
Withdrawing her arm, Louise watched the ship carrying Count Mistral gradually sail away, then turned back cheerfully to look at the crew members bustling about on the Moonlight.
Some of them were Loenese who had received favors and pledged loyalty to the Sanguine, while the others were several Sanguine who had voluntarily followed Louise.
Although their numbers were small and couldn't compare to the large fleets of hundreds or thousands of other Pirate admirals, their strength was by no means low.
After all, as long as a Sanguine reached adulthood, they were at least a Mid-Sequence Beyonder, and furthermore, most Sanguine who ventured out to Sea for experience were at Sequence 6. In terms of high-end combat power alone, the Moonlight could rank among the existing Pirate Admiral fleets.
Just as she was about to encourage her crew and explain her next plans, Louise suddenly paused, turning to look at the Berserk Sea in the distance.
There, it was shrouded in boundless white mist, with Death concentrated. There was no fierce wind, no giant waves, no dark clouds, no lightning, no heavy rain, and no sunlight.
Louise's mind involuntarily recalled what Count Mistral had said earlier:
"In the 'Pale Era' at the end of the last epoch, Death fell in the Berserk Sea, cutting off navigation between the Northern and Southern continents until Safe Passage was discovered and navigation resumed…"
-----------------
The color blocks, which had become vividly distinct but overlapped, suddenly expanded, and countless illusory transparent entities of indescribable forms surrounding them seemed to sense a certain aura and swiftly fled the area.
Astolfo, who had been holding Aaron's shoulder, walked out of the expanding color blocks, glanced at the seven clear, brightly colored lights slowly moving in the high sky; they seemed to possess life and contained endless knowledge.
"We have left the range of Calderon City. Although this is still considered the depths of the Spirit World, it is now safe."
Astolfo did not ask Aaron what he had been doing in the battlefield ruin of the gods for the past two months, but instead restrained his curiosity.
Looking at Astolfo, whose divine patterns were subtly hidden and whose aura was even stronger than before he was injured, Aaron was still somewhat surprised.
In the Spirit World, information feedback is always faster than in reality, and Astolfo easily noticed Aaron's surprise, calmly explaining:
"The Puppet Demigod of the Rose School of Thought I devoured earlier also contained some of that one's corruption. Even though I suppressed it, it affected my strength."
"Last time, that one not only cleared the corruption of the feathered serpent behind the Door but also removed the previous corruption, and I have recovered quite a bit as a result."
Although Astolfo repeatedly used "that one" as a pronoun, Aaron already understood its meaning.
After all, this was the Spirit World, where various abstract symbols and a large stream of information from the past, present, and future materialized. Both the Mother Tree of Desire and the Evernight Goddess could only be referred to as "that one."
Aaron nodded in understanding, not dwelling on the issue, and after some thought, asked:
"Astolfo, do you know about the Hound of Fulgrim?"
Astolfo seemed not to have expected Aaron to ask this suddenly, or perhaps was just lost in thought. After a moment, he slowly spoke:
"Hounds of Fulgrim are unique Spirit World creatures that live in the fissures of history. Even the Seven Lights can only know of them but cannot truly touch them."
At this point, Astolfo pointed to the seven clear, brightly colored lights slowly moving high in the Spirit World, then added:
"Unless they leave the fissures of history themselves to attempt hunting, but even then, what you see might only be their projections from the past."
"Even I, in the past, only saw Hounds of Fulgrim a few times in the depths of the Spirit World. Without corresponding Authority, I cannot be certain if those were their true forms."
At this point, Astolfo paused, glanced at Aaron, whose brows were furrowed, and his tone finally showed some fluctuation:
"That ancient god of the second epoch, Flegrea, the King of Demonic Wolves, called the Hounds of Fulgrim 'Sefirah Castle Keepers,' but no creature has ever entered Sefirah Castle until now."
Noticing the change in his messenger's tone, Aaron chuckled, but did not explain; maintaining mystery when one is weak is the optimal solution.
"The high-level aura on me doesn't come from Sefirah Castle, and in another year, I can find you someone who has entered Sefirah Castle…"
Aaron mocked himself inwardly. Slightly disappointed that he hadn't obtained any other information about the "Hound of Fulgrim" from Astolfo.
Given this, the most feasible method currently was to "fish" for Hounds of Fulgrim in the depths of the Spirit World, using the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence and the instinct of Beyonder creatures to complete themselves.
And the only thing Aaron knew that could attract the attention of the "Hound of Fulgrim" and make it appear voluntarily was the Frost Crystal of the Demonic Wolf of Fog.
But the problem was that the Demonic Wolf of Fog itself was a high-level Demonic Wolf, and after events like the fall of ancient gods and the Great Cataclysm, especially after the Church of the Evernight Goddess annihilated the "Nation of the Evernight," the existing Demonic Wolf are extremely rare, almost extinct in the Northern and Southern continents, just like pure-blooded elves.
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