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"Aren’t you quite clear on this matter?" Honglian showed a trace of surprise. "The theory of fate is clearly a trap laid by the enemy. Why do you still blame yourself knowingly?"

Chen Xuan replied bitterly, "I only realized it later. It’s one thing for one person to be controlled, but when everyone is under control and notices nothing unusual afterward, it’s too strange. It’s hard to predict the future before things happen, but easy to describe it exactly after it happens... and both can be called fate."

"But regardless of whether I’m responsible, Liu Shuyue is still dead." At this point, his tone lowered again. "I was just thinking, why didn’t she trust me a bit more."

Believe that he would surely return before the great formation collapsed.

Or not burn so completely, leaving a bit of vitality for herself. As long as there was a sliver of life left, Ji Lian should have been able to find a Great Demon to extend her life using Black Magic by sacrificing a heart... just like she did when she killed the Cyan Dragon.

But she didn’t choose that.

Perhaps the matter at the Lotus Cloud Sect affected Liu Shuyue more than he anticipated.

However, now everything is too late.

"If you want to change the world, you will encounter such situations," Honglian said wistfully. "This is already the best result... We fought in the Grotto Heaven of the Lotus Cloud Sect, and its protective formation happened to have the function of accommodating souls. Ji Lian and Wei were also on our side. Otherwise, Lin Qing and Elorie might not have been so lucky."

This is a fact.

When a person dies, the soul does not fly away on its own; it decays along with the Spiritual Qi within the body, returning to nature. The decay process is irreversible and usually occurs within seconds. If there weren’t a "capture container" like the Grotto Heaven, and a core area to nurture the soul, today’s loss would not be limited to just Liu Shuyue.

As the manager of the Ability Store, he is theoretically not responsible for the safety of the guests.

Although the store manager’s manual emphasizes that each guest is the most valuable resource, that was at the beginning stage. Now, with many Ability Users from Hot Pepper Village and the Witch Gathering Hall, who can provide him with "trade goods," losing a couple of guests doesn’t matter much.

However, Chen Xuan found he couldn’t just consider her as a guest.

After working and fighting together for a long time, they had become closer than friends.

"You said the Star God is after you... so what’s the point of him playing these tricks?" Honglian saw him silent and changed the topic. "Even if he succeeds in deceiving you, so what?"

"...It would make me doubt myself and gradually come over to his side," Chen Xuan thought for a moment before replying. "I guess he wants not a puppet but a follower who completely believes in his set."

"Is this method really effective?"

"Hard to say, since when a person is lost, any choice made is not surprising."

High-level deception pays attention to a chain of linked steps. Currently, these setups are surely just preludes. If one truly believes that the Star God can control fate, and then he throws out something that can change the fate of Liu Shuyue’s death, would an ordinary person not take the bait?

Unfortunately, the Star God underestimated the usefulness of the Ability Store.

When Chen Xuan examined himself, he found a new gray ability called the "Star God’s Mark."

It’s precisely this ability that made him question the other party’s means.

The seemingly mysterious "guidance" at the end was ultimately an attempt to confuse him. Although he had refused the so-called "opportunity to choose," the other party still secretly implanted this mark, proving the Star God couldn’t truly control his fate.

If he couldn’t control his fate, naturally he couldn’t control Liu Shuyue’s fate either.

"Since you can answer like this, it seems you are no longer confused," Honglian said with relief. "Regardless of whether this debt is on the mechanism’s or the Star God’s head, we will recover it for you. What you need to do now is to go and have a good rest."

Chen Xuan gazed at Liu Shuyue for a moment and then nodded slightly.

At this moment, Wei suddenly appeared before them.

"Someone is looking for you," she stated, staring at Chen Xuan.

He was stunned, "Who?"

"I don’t know."

"Don’t know?" This statement made Honglian alert, "There’s someone in the Grotto Heaven you don’t know?"

"He’s not a descendant of the Lotus Cloud Sect, he’s an outsider." Wei’s expression was somewhat perplexed. "Normally, outsiders can’t enter the sect’s interior without permission, but he’s indeed in, and he even said Chen Xuan’s name."

Chen Xuan and Honglian exchanged a glance and a thought occurred to both of them simultaneously.

Could it be a new enemy!?

"Where is this person?"

"At the first peak of the Nine Sons Peak," Wei replied. "Do you want to go? I can take you there."

"Hold on, Ji Lian and Liuli, where are they?" Honglian asked.

"Ji Lian went to Hot Pepper Village, and the others are in the flying metal box outside," Wei answered, eyes closed, searching for everyone’s location. "Do you want me to notify them?"

"Please call them," Honglian decisively said. "It’s better to be cautious at times like these."

"Okay." Wei clapped her hands, and a passage suddenly appeared in the wall. "You can go straight to the first peak from here."

"It’s so convenient? Does the core area connect to every part within the Grotto Heaven?"

Wei nodded, "The entire small world of the sect is the manifestation of the Grotto Heaven, thousands of miles away are just a stone’s throw away. Ah... Ji Lian is coming back."

"Let’s go," Chen Xuan said gravely.

This passage was just an ordinary underground tunnel, winding upwards, surrounded by rough rock layers. After walking for about half a minute, a light appeared ahead.

He quickened his pace, emerging from the cave, and upon turning his head, found that he had come out of a thatched cottage.

Not far away was the familiar "sky-well."

However, the purplish-red corrosion and white branch-like cracks were gone, replaced by a cloud of shimmering light above the wellhead.

Chen Xuan noticed the stranger Wei mentioned at once.

He was dressed in a well-fitted suit, wore a bowler hat, tied a necktie, and seemed completely out of place with the surroundings. Seeing Chen Xuan approach, he even took off the hat, nodding in greeting.

Moreover, this person wasn’t even a normal human.

Not that his appearance was deformed or his physique was odd... but the man’s entire figure was semi-transparent, much like a three-dimensional projection. However, the marks in the soil at his feet and the fluttering corners of his clothes in the wind indicated he was a tangible entity.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen." The man put his hat back on and extended his right hand.

The man’s gaze remained solely on Chen Xuan, seemingly oblivious to Ji Lian, Honglian, and the others around them.

Chen Xuan scanned him with the Heart Method and found there were indeed human Spiritual Qi light spots.

He did not extend his hand but maintained a distance of over five meters with the stranger. "Who are you?"

"My name is Will Naki, a symbiont of the Celestial Patrol," the other withdrew his hand, smiling as he replied.

Will Naki?

Chen Xuan found himself recalling this name from somewhere.

He thought for a moment and revealed a surprised expression, "You’re a researcher of the Evangelical Association?"

Will was also somewhat surprised, "I didn’t expect Mr. Chen to know my background... What an honor. But that was in the past; I now belong to no organization, loyal only to my master, the Celestial Patrol."

"Celestial Patrol... do you mean the Celestial Patrol?" Honglian couldn’t help but cut in.

"That’s correct, although my master doesn’t truly have that name, it’s more convenient for you to understand it this way." He explained.

"What do you want with me?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Firstly, to express my gratitude, and secondly, to deliver an invitation," Will replied, placing one hand on his chest and bowing slightly. "You thwarted the Dimensional Limit Mechanism’s conspiracy, reconnected the two worlds, saving my master from disaster, and for that, you are worthy of being remembered by all of us."

"As for the invitation... it is issued personally by my master," he paused. "It invites you to witness the ascension."