Chapter 368: Taking Him By Surprise

The stone pillars of the ancient and majestic palace supported the high

dome.

Klein sat at the end of the long bronze table, holding a translucent

brown bottle. He checked it over and over again, but he didn't sense any

danger from it.

Let's begin... He conjured a pen and paper and wrote the

divination statement: "Its origin."

Putting the fountain pen away and bracing himself for a blow, Klein

glanced at the paper and the Biological Poison Bottle, leaned back in

his chair, and entered Cogitation while reciting the statement.

Soon, he entered a hazy gray dream world and saw a dark but spacious

room.

There were king cobras, black widows, and other strange plants and

animals in the room. It was a messy and harrowing scene.

A middle-aged man in a white coat was standing in front of a long table

in the middle of the room. He threw the snake gall and spider venom into

the huge black pot that hung from the ceiling.

In the end, he even put in a few items that possessed a strong spiritual

luster. For example, they would sometimes disperse into a black gas, and

other times condense into dark green lung-shaped objects. Otherwise,

they would be in the form of a tube containing a clear azure liquid or

fiery red eyes...

The air around the black iron pot gradually became viscous. It was

gathering towards the center, but it was constantly being pushed aside,

making it difficult to achieve its goal.

When the white-robed middle-aged man saw this scene, his brow slowly

creased, his expression looked slightly anxious.

He flipped through the black notebook by his side, gritted his teeth,

and used a ritual silver dagger to slice open his wrist.

Drops of fresh blood dripped into the black iron pot, seemingly

breathing life into its contents instantly. A terrifying suction force

suddenly erupted, sucking in all the viscous air around it. The scarlet

blood which had yet to leave his wrist was fully sucked into it.

And that wasn't everything. Regardless of how the white-robed

middle-aged man struggled to resist, or how he revealed a terrified

expression, he couldn't prevent his body from approaching the iron pot.

His body was stretched, his head was compressed, and amidst his screams,

he was eaten, little by little, by the pot.

The hanging specimens, plants, and anything that could move or be moved,

all flew into the pot.

Brown fog suddenly filled the room, quietly ebbing and flowing.

By the time it was all over, the room was empty except for the brown,

translucent bottle lying quietly in the middle of the clearing.

The scene quickly faded away, and the dream world shattered. Klein

opened his eyes and muttered to himself, *So the Biological Poison

Bottle is a product of a death-seeking experiment.*

*I thought it was a Beyonder characteristic left behind by some

Beyonder... If that were the case, I'd have been able to divine a

formula...*

To Klein, a Rampager's spirituality and Beyonder characteristic, as well

as a spirituality and Beyonder characteristic which was contaminated by

an evil god, could all be used to divine a formula. Just like the

All-Black Eye which Marionettist Rosago left behind. It was thanks to

the isolation effects of the gray fog, and how the mysterious space was

able to eliminate negative influences, giving him the ability to court

death. Of course, a Beyonder characteristic involved many other

additional factors. In theory, the chances of failure were extremely

high, but Klein only had the confidence to do so after advancing to

Magician.

Similarly, a Sealed Artifact formed by Beyonder characteristics could

also be used to divine the formula for a potion.

However, if they were mainly ingredients, then through the production

processes and dangerous experiments done by an artisan or other

Beyonders, turning them into mystical items, then Klein's divination

would be useless at his current state. Even with the enhancement effect

provided by the mysterious space above the gray fog, it was useless.

*Not bad. At least I don't have to worry about the Biological Poison

Bottle having any other latent risks anymore...* Klein glanced

at the Werewolf fang and wisely abandoned his curiosity.

In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Earl Hall.

Audrey continued her study of psychology.

By her feet, the huge golden retriever, Susie, was sitting there, her

eyes shining. From time to time, she wagged her tail, as if enjoying the

scene.

Psychiatrist Escalante finished the introduction material and

deliberately made a casual remark.

"Actually, there is such a theory.

"It's believed that humans would inherit a certain amount of their

ancestor's consciousness over the generations; thus, forming the

underlying logic of one's behavior patterns. For example, although many

people have never seen a poisonous snake, they would instinctively feel

afraid and wish to avoid it once they encounter one.

"Why is that? This is theorized to be an instinct that we inherited from

our ancestors, something that is hidden in the deepest recesses of our

consciousness. In ancient times, people constantly fought with poisonous

snakes and all kinds of ferocious animals, and they gradually carved

this memory into their consciousness and passed it down."

"How does it get passed down?" Audrey asked with interest.

Escalante, with her long hair which reached her waist, laughed.

"That's a very good question.

"Some people provide explanations that involve a theory that everyone's

consciousness is actually connected at the lowest level. It is one

entity, and the traces and characteristics left behind on this entity

will affect the consciousness that belongs solely to them.

"For example, the lowest level of consciousness is like an endless

ocean. Our unique consciousness would be the islands situated in the

ocean and can be split into two parts. One is hidden under the water,

which is the subconscious which is higher in both quantity and size; the

other is exposed on the surface of the ocean, the superficial

consciousness that can usually be detected.

"This is the axiom of this school of thought in psychology."

Audrey glanced at Susie, stroked the golden fur on its neck and said,

"So, we can use this connected ocean to influence the consciousness of

others and achieve the goal of curing certain mental illnesses?"

*This is the mysticism foundation and Beyonder powers of a Psychiatrist?

But it doesn't seem enough and is lacking something. For example, the

sky above one's head, the sky which shrouds everything?* Audrey

curiously thought as she wore a look of confused enlightenment.

"You're really talented in this area!" Escalante praised in delight.

"However, we can only affect a portion of the surrounding ocean, and

through it, we can affect those who are close to us. If we venture

deeper into the ocean, it will be easy for us to lose ourselves."

She looked up at the ornate and complicated clock on the wall, smiled,

and said, "Time's up, this is the end of today's class. Miss Audrey, if

you're interested in this psychological school of thought, then we can

continue talking about it next time."

"Alright." Audrey stood up and bowed.

Watching Escalante leave, she nodded in thought.

*Ma'am Escalante doesn't seem like a real Psychiatrist. At most, she's

like me, a Telepathist...*

*Was what she just talked about the axioms of the Psychology

Alchemists?*

*They really are patient. Why aren't they trying to recruit me

yet...*

As Audrey was in thought, Susie commented happily from the side,

"Audrey, I feel like she's the same type of person as us. No, I mean the

same type of dog. No, that's not right... Woof!"

Susie, who only had a rudimentary grasp of the human language, fell into

a state of confusion, unable to find the right words to describe her

feelings.

South of the Bridge, Rose Street, outside the Harvest Church.

Klein, in his normal disguise, looked up at the Sacred Emblem of Life on

the facade, held his cane, climbed the steps, and stepped through the

main door.

The first thing he had to do was to confirm the situation.

Only by doing this could he perform better so as to ingeniously rescue

the vampire, Emlyn White, without garnering suspicion. Then, as a

detective who had provided clues, he could receive the gratitude from

the White family and gain the applause of an audience.

It was bound to be an interesting performance.

The Harvest Church wasn't big, as it only had a prayer hall. Klein found

a spot by the aisle and looked ahead as he took off his hat.

Bishop Utravsky was preaching. His height of more than 2.2 meters, and

his burly physique, which couldn't be concealed by his loose priest

robes, gave off an extreme sense of oppression.

However, his expression was one of extreme gentleness, filled with

appreciation and gratitude towards life.

In front of such a "priest," no one dared to cause a ruckus. The few

believers quietly listened, occasionally making prayer gestures unique

to the Church of Earth Mother.

Klein watched carefully, waiting patiently, neither conceited nor rash.

As the sermon ended, he gripped his cane and prepared to get up to

proceed with his subsequent plans.

At this moment, a man wearing the priest robes of the Church of Earth

Mother entered from the door that led to the room at the back of the

cathedral.

He looked twenty-eight or twenty-nine-years-old, had black hair and red

eyes, possessing a high nose and thin lips. He was handsome but didn't

give off masculine vibes. He was none other than Emlyn White.

Klein's mouth gaped a little and nearly failed to close it.

Isn't this guy supposed to be locked up in the basement?

*Wasn't he shouting about how determined he was, that he would

absolutely not submit to Bishop Utravsky's will?*

Emlyn White distributed the communion to one believer after another, and

he finally stopped in front of Klein.

Klein's mind whirred, and he immediately in a low voice, "Are you Emlyn

White? Your parents entrusted my friend to look for you.

"Why are you here? Did you encounter something? Are you in need of

assistance?"

Emlyn White didn't seem to have his unique pride and said with a smile

that only looked slightly better than crying, "There's no need; I will

be returning home soon."

He pursed his lips, shook his head, and forced a smile, saying, "I am

already a believer of Earth Mother, no---a priest."

This answer was completely out of Klein's expectations. For a moment, he

didn't know how to respond, and he could only shout repeatedly in his

mind: *Hey, you were very adamant about your worship of the moon the

last time we interacted at the Harvest Church. You said that you would

absolutely not convert to believing in Earth Mother. How long has it

been, and you have already given in?*

Isn't that way too fast?

What about your persistence? Where's your moral integrity?

*My carefully prepared performance has been forced to end before it has

even begun.*

Th-this is just taking me by surprise!

Klein opened his mouth and suddenly realized something amiss.

Why is Emlyn White informing me of his conversion?

*I'm just a detective who accidentally chanced upon him while passing

by...*

Does he wish for me to pass this message to his parents?

Is there another meaning behind this?

While Klein was guessing, Emlyn White put away his worried and smiled

smugly.

"You don't have to act, Mister Detective.

"Or should I call you the new owner of the Master Key?

"Hehe, to a noble Sanguine, everyone has a different smell and has

different blood characteristics. Even when I was locked up in the

basement, I could smell it. I remember your smell."