Xiu hesitated for a few seconds before responding, then looked at the man with the golden mask and nodded. "Yes, I'll keep an eye out and note down who the Viscount of Stewardford has come into contact with." The man with the golden mask seemed unaware of her brief lapse in focus, and instead said, "There's another task—the Red Glove from the Night Church is investigating matters related to the Ling Sect. If you receive any relevant information, please contact me immediately." Xiu murmured, "Hmm," still unable to shake off the emotional state she had just experienced. The man with the golden mask paused for a few seconds, then said thoughtfully, "Would you be interested in joining our Intelligence Nine directly?" "You could continue to maintain your current identity and remain active in the East District." Xiu paused for two seconds, her mouth slightly open, still uncertain about her decision. The man with the golden mask didn't press for an immediate answer, but smiled and said, "No need to rush. Just let me know once you've truly become a 'questioner.'" "Having said that, he stepped back one pace at a time, gradually blending into the shadow at the far end of the alley. ........ The same night, Caine awoke once again from a dream. His spiritual marker placed within the sewer beneath Berkland Street had been activated! Who else, besides Hayourel, would not sleep through the night—fearless of spectral possession? Caine sighed wearily, pulled from beneath the pillow the iron cigarette box wrapped in the "Wall of Spirit," and walked to the closed-off balcony. The spirit, Senior, leapt swiftly onto the metal railings of the gas lamp and then passed through the manhole cover, descending into the sewer. Not long after, Caine, through the eyes of his secret companion, spotted Hayourel in a simple civilian dress. The young woman was moving with cautious alertness toward her destination, her left hand unconsciously raised to touch the necklace suspended at her chest—set with seven emerald stones—while her right hand firmly held a golden talisman. Though the incantation had not yet been activated, it radiated a warm, sunlit comfort, tinged with the fresh clarity of morning dew. Seeing this, Caine suddenly recalled an incident from his morning walks: Hai Yur had risen early and strolled leisurely through her own garden! Was she gathering materials for crafting a solar domain incantation? The dew of early morning? Caine speculated tentatively, finding it somewhat puzzling. After all, Hai Yur was not only a semi-literate in the realm of mysteries, lacking many everyday knowledges, but also a devoted follower of the Night Goddess. Such a remarkable being seeking the "Eternal Blaze" of the Sun would hardly receive a response—unless a rare, unlikely event occurred, in which case, it would likely be met with a form of punishment. "Because she hadn't visited the sewers to dig and search for a long time, the extraordinary being who guided her through dreams grew concerned. So, through dreams, the guidance flowed in reverse—teaching her how to craft a solar domain incantation." Well, the path begins with the 'Thieves,' and the high-ranking representative Amon, also known as the 'Disregarder of the Gods,'—does this imply that, at some point in the sequence, this path gains the ability to disguise itself as a devotee of other deities, bypass defenses, secure responses, and produce various types of incantations? Indeed, this aligns perfectly with their consistent behavior. Through the vision of the 'Spirit of Resentment' Senior, Caine watches Hayour step steadily deeper into the depths of the sewer. According to his spiritual intuition, while the solar sigil, though targeting "ghostly spirits," still fell short of truly threatening a Sequence 5—offering only moderate damage—since Hayour couldn't secure high-tier materials. Nevertheless, Caine did not allow his "ghostly spirits" to reattach to Hayour, fearing disruption to the extraordinary being who was currently influencing her dreams. Once the Tarot meeting concluded tomorrow, he would be able to obtain low-level items from the "Thief" path for further investigation. For now, maintaining a state of "normalcy" was the best course of action. Of course, this depended on his confidence that Hayour wouldn't uncover anything significant within the next couple of days, and that he himself had sufficient time to prepare. As a "Seer," there were numerous ways to verify this; the simplest was to go to the Gray Mists. Retrieved his spectral companions, Caine reversed four steps and entered the ancient palace supported by towering stone pillars. He summoned paper and quill, inscribing the corresponding divinatory phrases: "Over the past three days, significant events have occurred on Berkland Street." Through the yellow crystal pendant, Caine received a negative revelation—meaning that within the next three days, Berkland Street will not be struck by any major unforeseen disruptions. As for what Hae Yur truly uncovered, which would only affect her personally and thus constitute a minor matter for Berkland Street, he did not find it significant. After all, minor occurrences meant they would not interfere with his subsequent plans, and he had no firm intention to prevent them.—He had already subtly reminded her during the ball. If she failed to grasp the message or failed to take it seriously, that would be her responsibility. Caine would carry no psychological burden as a result. Back in the real world, after waiting nearly three quarters of an hour—until Hayouer appeared and there were no changes beneath the earth—Caylen finally lay back down on the bed and fell asleep quickly, relying on meditation. ………… Monday afternoon, exactly at three o'clock. A deep red glow rose up from both sides of the bronze long table, appearing in the eyes of "The Fool" Caylen, "The Sun" Deric, and "The World" Germaine Sparrow. "Justice" Odile remained cheerful, bowing to the figure veiled in gray mist: "Good afternoon, Mr. The Fool~" Caylen smiled and nodded in return, appreciating the young woman who always brought such pleasant moods. At the same time, Odile glanced around and noticed that a new card had appeared beside "The Fool"! A new "Card of Desecration"? Unknown in origin—she truly hoped it belonged to "The Audience." A thought stirred within her, and she then exchanged greetings with the other members. When everything had settled, she stepped ahead of the "Hermit" Galadriya and turned her gaze to the very top seat at the weathered long table. "Respected Sir Fool, I have gathered three pages from the Roselle diary." This was actually obtained by the "Rune Antiquities Collection and Preservation Foundation," but as its founder and primary funder, she had effortlessly secured the opportunity to transcribe it. She was deeply proud of this achievement and felt even more convinced that establishing the foundation had been a wise decision. Unfortunately, to avoid revealing her identity, she couldn't share this with the other members of the Tarot Circle. "Excellent," Kline nodded with a smile, signaling to the "Justice" lady to manifest the diary. At that moment, however, the "Hermit" Galadriya remained silent, as though she hadn't yet received the new Roselle diary. Had the "Mystery Queen" failed to respond, or was her attention focused elsewhere? Klein watched thoughtfully as the "Justice" lady reproduced the three pages of journal and caused them to leap into his palm. A quick glance revealed that he nearly had to suppress a twitch at his mouth—once again, he found himself encountering a familiar tale of Roscel's romantic pursuits. Compared to the more information-rich journals carefully curated by the "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette, the portions received by the other members often contained less significant content, focusing more on Roscel's everyday life. The three pages provided by the "Justice" lady were typical in this regard. After flipping through them casually, Klein discovered only one entry worthy of close reading; the rest either detailed Roscel's dalliances with various ladies or expressed disdain for individuals who thrived through status rather than intelligence, or even conveyed a growing admiration for the witches, sparked by certain alluring rumors. After the death of a high-tier cultivator, the exceptional properties that separate out will retain their own spiritual imprints—this is exceptionally strong and resilient. Simply through the passage of time, these imprints may persist for several hundred to thousands of years without fully fading. When such exceptional properties combine with surrounding materials to form magical artifacts, the user must possess a sufficiently similar spiritual resonance to utilize them; otherwise, the negative effects would be far beyond what is imaginable. Similarly, when these exceptional properties are preserved and become the primary ingredient in a medicinal elixir, the person consuming it must also share a compatible spiritual essence to endure the effects; otherwise, the elixir is likely to fail. In the esoteric realm, a failed ascension often equates to chaos or death—only a rare few fortunate ones are calmed and maintained in a delicate state. However, it's said that certain special seals can draw out and recombine the unmerged extraordinary traits, allowing the failed aspirants to experience merely a storm of the mind, rather than the full effects of a potion. Yet, I suspect there are still some residual genetic mutations at the cellular level, as records indicate that those who survive through such means tend to develop terminal illnesses within the following five years. "So, consuming a 'potion' resembling one's own spiritual essence effectively reduces the difficulty of advancement, yet it is still affected by the residual spiritual imprints within, gradually leading to unconscious personality fragmentation—step by step evolving into a spiritual patchwork entity, much like the original high-tier powerhouse has been reborn within him. 'Reborn...' Honestly, when you think about it, it's quite terrifying. However, the Church informed me that there are two or three methods to eliminate the high-tier spiritual imprints embedded within exceptional traits—though they haven't specified what those methods are, suggesting it's not an easy task. That's precisely why the Thorin family favors descendants who resemble their ancestors, calling such individuals 'talented.' Hm, 'talent'—indeed, I can't help but feel a bit sympathetic toward Florent." "A spirit-sewer... a high-sequence spiritual imprint... sounds rather unsettling. I never knew high-sequence potions had such issues. Well, the Church should be able to handle it—angels aren't scarce, and zero-tier sealings aren't either. They can shatter and reassemble those exceptional traits, thus purifying them. But the ancient families? Not so certain. They might not even have angelic protection anymore. Their zero-tier sealings may number only one or two, and those aren't always easy to utilize. Moreover, each zero-tier sealing likely serves a distinct purpose—perhaps not particularly adept at this kind of task. Klein thought for a moment, then let his journal vanish from his hands, and turned to Miss Justice, offering a gentle smile and asking, 'What would you like in return?' Audrey had been waiting for potion materials and didn't have pressing needs, so naturally, she prioritized satisfying her curiosity: 'Respected Sir Fool, is the card you now hold the "Card of Desecration"?'" Which one?