Lord of the Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

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Although the entire Northern Continent was in a state of war, with the New Year approaching, besides the few cities where the two armies were engaged in a stalemate, there was still a bit of a festive atmosphere.

The war on the front lines seemed to have eased slightly, and there were even rumors that the countries would temporarily cease fire during the New Year.

In Backlund's Empress Borough, there was hardly any sign of the war's impact, or rather, the lives of the nobles had never changed because of the war.

Hobert looked at the Duke's mansion, decorated with lanterns and colored hangings, but felt no sense of the New Year.

He glanced at the clock, it was already 2:50 PM, and Hobert told the servants outside not to disturb Him.

After locking the door, He lay on the bed, preparing to attend the Tarot Gathering.

Looking at the ceiling, Hobert quickly recalled the events of the past week. First, Fors had advanced to Sequence 5, "The Traveler," and because she had been recording unique customs everywhere, she had already digested part of the "Traveler" potion.

Secondly, Hobert had completely mastered the Specter Empire ship. Even if Trunsoest himself appeared, he wouldn't be able to get close to this ship.

In addition, Southern Balam had completed its land revolution. The farmers who had obtained land could still plant another season of crops. At this time, many of them were highly motivated to cultivate.

However, there were still many people who were as passive as before. They did not quite trust the Duchy government, so they were still waiting and watching.

Also, Hobert had received definite intelligence that Trunsoest had appeared in the northern city of Gurain in the Southern Continent, attacking an extraordinary stronghold of the Loen Kingdom. His intentions were currently unknown.

Hobert guessed that Trunsoest should be preparing to seize some benefits during the war, but his specific purpose was unknown.

Finally, the thousands of soldiers recruited by Longtail Island had completed all their training, and 5,000 of them had been transferred to Southern Balam.

At the same time, recruitment in Southern Balam had also begun. The Duchy government recruited 50,000 soldiers in one go, but they would not be able to complete their training and join the combat sequence until March next year.

The country's financial budget never seemed to be tight. This was because all the funds for developing this country came from Longtail Island, Southern Colson, and the "Earl's Light." Otherwise, how could such a poor and backward Duchy have so much money for infrastructure and national defense construction?

Just as He was thinking about this, His vision was covered by gray fog, and He appeared on one side of the giant's palace, at the bronze long table.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." Audrey, "Justice," greeted, and this Tarot Gathering officially began.

After the greeting, everyone remained silent, because the recent Tarot Gatherings had added a "Question Time."

"The Fool" Klein looked at "The Hermit" Cattleya: "You have the last two questions."

Cattleya asked very respectfully: "Respected Mr. Fool, may I ask, why can't the Outer God who corrupted Emperor Roselle project too much power into the real world?"

"The Hanged Man" Alger slightly changed his sitting posture. This was exactly the question he had always had!

Why did the Outer Gods seem to have a higher level than the Seven Gods, but their influence on the real world was very weak? It even seemed that their power was not as good as "The Primordial Demoness" and "The True Creator"?

Also, the level of the Seven Gods was clearly lower than theirs, so why could they block their invasion of the real world in the Astral World?

The other members had also thought about these questions to varying degrees before, but most of them had not thought about them in depth. At this time, "The Hermit's" question made them realize this strange thing.

Klein breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. This question was not difficult for him to answer, and then he said in a flat tone: "The barrier formed by 'the Oldest One' blocked the Outer Gods."

He had heard Amon mention this before. After thinking about it for a while and verifying it through some special channels, he could be sure that "the Oldest One" had formed a barrier after falling. This barrier had been protecting the earth.

But why did "the Oldest One" fall? Why were the Outer Gods so eager for the real world? Klein only had some uncertain guesses about these questions, so in order to avoid showing his ignorance, he simply answered that one sentence.

Cattleya was stunned when she heard this answer, and then asked: "Does 'the Oldest One' refer to 'The Original Creator'?"

Klein did not answer, but instead showed some smile and asked: "Is this your second question?"

"No, no, no!" Cattleya realized how stupid her question was. If "the Oldest One" did not refer to "the Original Creator," who else could it refer to?

Because the answer given by Mr. Fool was too shocking, Cattleya made such a low-level mistake.

The other members had a similar reaction to Cattleya: First, shock! Then they began to ponder the information contained in this answer.

In the North and South Continents, the first half of all creation myths is almost the same. There is a Creator who created this world.

The difference lies in the latter part. Different religions will arrange different roles and positions for their gods. For example, the "Revelation of the Night" says that the Evernight Goddess is one of the Original Creator's eyes, representing the night.

And with some knowledge of mysticism, you will know that the God who created everything is called "the Original Creator."

This is the beginning of everything, so the myths about "the Original Creator" are very popular.

It is precisely because this story is very popular that everyone is so shocked.

In everyone's opinion, this is a god like the "background wall" of the Beyonder world. Although everyone knows of His existence, they have never heard of Him showing power or responding to anyone's prayers.

With the Seven Gods often responding to believers or Beyonders, everyone subconsciously felt that this god might have been fabricated to explain where everything originated.

Suddenly, today Mr. Fool mentioned Him and His influence on the real world, and everyone suddenly realized that this god was real.

So everyone basically had a consensus in their hearts: they couldn't feel His influence before, just because their level was too low and they didn't know of His existence.

After everyone was shocked, except for Hobert, the other members began to have some other thoughts.

Alger breathed a sigh of relief: This makes sense. The Outer Gods are limited in their influence on the real world because they are blocked by the barrier formed by "the Oldest One." The Seven Gods are able to block the Outer Gods with the help of the barrier.

"The Magician" Fors sighed in her heart: I didn't expect that this "Creator" with little sense of existence has been protecting everyone. Speaking of which, I seem to have heard Xio say that there seem to be wild Beyonders in Backlund who believe in "the Oldest One."

Audrey thought of some new questions: Where did "the Oldest One" go now? Is He the True God of that pathway... no, is He the Old One corresponding to which pathways?

The other members also had some similar thoughts and questions, but the question and answer session has always been "The Hermit" asking and Mr. Fool answering, so they can only wait for their question and answer session to end before asking "The Emperor" or Mr. Fool.

At this time, Cattleya, who had calmed down, asked again: "Great Mr. Fool, may I ask, in what way will the apocalypse in the prophecy come?"

The other members sat up straight, silently praising "The Hermit" in their hearts. This was another question they also wanted to know very much.

Klein smiled in his heart: Fortunately, Mr. Fool also happened to know the answer to this question.

He replied: "The barrier of 'the Oldest One' is broken, and the Outer Gods invade."

He had asked the Seven Lights of the Spirit World about this question and was very confident in this answer.

The palace fell into silence. Just now they praised "the Oldest One" so much in their hearts, and now they were so surprised.

And there was a feeling of "why didn't anyone notify me."

First they didn't know that the barrier of "the Oldest One" had been protecting everyone, and now they knew this information, but they were told that the barrier was about to be broken!

Immediately afterwards, Alger thought of some information he had traded before: Before, everyone was wondering why the Seven Gods suddenly went to the Astral World at the end of the Fourth Epoch? Now it is clear that the barrier may have been somewhat weak at that time, and the Seven Gods went to the Astral World in order to better resist the Outer Gods.

"The Sun" Derrick was very curious: I wonder if the destruction of the barrier will have any impact on the "Forsaken Land of the Gods"?

But because he knew that he had nothing to exchange for this answer, he did not propose the idea of asking this question.

Similarly, after being surprised, everyone began to think about the meaning contained in this answer.

"The Moon" Emlyn was a little worried: For the Beyonders in the real world, the corruption of the Outer Gods seems difficult to resist. I don't want to become a guy like the believers of "The Primordial Moon."

Fors was worried: Will the gods be able to protect the people of the real world by then? The Duchy of Southern Balam has just been established. The natives of Longtail Island and the people of the Southern Continent, as well as the poor people who immigrated to the Duchy of Southern Balam, have been poor for so long and have just begun to live a life of food and clothing.

Audrey also had similar thoughts: There are so many people living in hardship waiting for us to rescue them, and the Outer Gods are about to invade?

Only "The Star" Leonard lacked detailed information about the Outer Gods, but through observing everyone, he also discovered: It seems that the gods can hardly resist the invasion of the Outer Gods?

Klein gave everyone a few seconds to be surprised and think before saying: "You can begin."

Cattleya then breathed a sigh of relief. The ten questions accumulated in that diary had been asked, and she didn't expect the answers to the last two questions to be so amazing!

But the answers given by Mr. Fool were too general, so she asked "The Emperor": "Do you know any information about 'the Oldest One'?"

Hobert was slightly stunned. He considered it for a moment and realized that some of the initial information could be made public.

So he smiled and said, "I have indeed come into contact with some higher-level information, and some of it can be used for trading."

"The reward is a demigod-level assistance. Members who have not become demigods can wait until they become demigods to repay, or 3 assists at Sequence 5 level."

"Of course, I must remind you that this information is very general and not continuous."

When he mentioned the reward, Alger and Leonard couldn't help but shrink back. The way they had previously 'paid' Mr. Emperor's reward was to support the civil war in the Southern Balam Province and participate almost entirely in the most tragic Rockville Defense War. They never wanted to have a similar experience again in their lives.

But although they were somewhat resistant, such a reward seemed acceptable, after all, they were both clear about the value of the information to be traded.

Klein and Cattleya, as demigods, felt that such a reward was very worthwhile, because information at this level, even just knowing some general content, was priceless.

Especially Klein, who already knew some related information, might have more guesses through Hobert's description, or prove some previous guesses.

A civil war in the Southern Balam Province allowed most members to repay the rewards they owed, except for Emlyn and Derrick.

The former was because he was still behind the Chanis Gate of the Church of the Evernight Goddess at the time, and the latter was because he was in the "Forsaken Land of the Gods" and could not repay.

Emlyn didn't take it seriously. He felt that his advancement to demigod was imminent. After becoming a demigod, just two assists would be easy to repay.

"Little Sun" Derrick was a little embarrassed and said, "Mr. Emperor, is there any reward that I can complete in the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'?"

Hobert smiled and said, "Don't worry, perhaps under Mr. Fool's guidance, you will soon be able to find a way to leave the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'. It won't be too late to repay then."

Derrick was a little excited and said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay!"

But then, he sighed long, "Thank you, Mr. Emperor."

Derrick was no longer the innocent boy. Of course, he knew that although they had Mr. Fool's help, they still needed a certain amount of opportunity and effort to find a way to leave the "Forsaken Land of the Gods."

After discussing the issue of rewards, Hobert first waved his hand at Derrick, indicating that he didn't need to thank him, and then began to say, "It is said that the awakening of the 'Original Creator' is the beginning of the First Epoch and everything!"

This description immediately gave the other members a basic understanding of the "Original Creator": Just as the myths described, that was truly the beginning of everything.

Only Klein heard another meaning: Did the "Original Creator" represent the sudden appearance of extraordinary powers? Did He cause the original civilization to disappear, and cause the creatures living in the original civilized world to mutate, turning into crazy and distorted monsters?

Hobert continued, "During the period when the 'Original Creator' existed, He was everything in this world. His existence represented the existence of this world."

Alger realized, "Is the "Original's" level higher than the Outer Deities?"

Hobert replied, "According to my understanding, no level can describe the "Original's" level."

Everyone was stunned. Cattleya understood Hobert's meaning: The "Original's" level was so high that it could not be described!

Audrey also asked the question she had just thought of, "Mr. Emperor, which pathways do the "Original Creator" correspond to in the Outer Deities?"

Hobert took a deep breath and replied, "I said, He represents everything!"

Audrey was somewhat shocked: "Does His body contain all Beyonder characteristics?"

Hobert added, "At least all the Beyonder characteristics of the real world."

For a moment, everyone's thoughts were briefly blank. They really couldn't imagine what it would be like to have all Beyonder characteristics stacked together.

After a few seconds, Klein, who was the first to react, manipulated "The World" and asked, "What is the "Original Creator's" form? Is He still a living being? Or is He purely a consciousness produced by Beyonder characteristics?"

"I'm not very clear about the specific state either." Hobert leaned back in his chair and said, "In my understanding and speculation, the "Original Creator" is somewhat similar to the "Cosmic Consciousness" I mentioned before."

"But there are also differences, because He is not the collection of all extraordinary powers and authorities in the universe."

"Perhaps the relationship between the two is like this: Divinity encompasses the "Original Creator", but the "Original Creator" does not represent all divinity."

"I personally believe that divinity represents the will of the universe, and the "Original" represents a part of the will of the universe and a part of the will of life."

"The two overlap, but there are also differences."

Finally, Hobert emphasized, "This is my personal understanding."

At this level, a lot of information looks very vague, and even the concept of "no fixed concept" may be the concept of this information.

The other members were already a bit unable to keep up with the discussion between the "Emperor" and "The World". After they completed the discussion of this question, they caught up with their train of thought.

After a few more seconds, Cattleya asked, "Then why did the Original Creator disappear? Or why did He fall?"

Hobert replied, "A more reasonable explanation is that Beyonder characteristics have a tendency to split."

Cattleya immediately understood, "The 'Original Creator' split Himself?"

"Theoretically speaking, that's how it is." Hobert asked half-jokingly, "Which existence could make Him fall?"

At this time, Emlyn asked for confirmation, "That is to say, all Beyonder characteristics come from the 'Original Creator'?"

Hobert said again, "Theoretically, that's how it is."

Emlyn asked again, "Do all lives also come from the 'Original Creator'?"

"Theoretically, that's how it is."

"What about the Sanguine?" Emlyn asked further, "Did the Sanguine, such a special race, also originate from the 'Original Creator'?"

Hobert was slightly stunned. He recalled the creation myth and said, "According to legend, the 'Original Creator's' mouth and teeth evolved into the Sanguine."

Everyone's expression was a little strange, because they suddenly noticed that the creation myth mentioned that the Original Creator's lungs evolved into elves, and His heart evolved into giants.

But there was no mention of Sanguine.

The "legend" that the "Emperor" just said had been changed. The original words of the creation myth were: "The 'Original's' mouth and teeth evolved into alien species."

Before humans used potions to become Sanguine, Sanguine and werewolves were classified as "alien species."

The reason why everyone's expression was strange was because they finally understood the reason for Mr. Moon's questioning: In the currently recognized creation myth, the Sanguine were not "independently evolved" from a certain organ of the "Original". For the very proud Mr. Moon, this was unacceptable.

Mr. Emperor understood Mr. Moon's "request", so he changed the creation myth.

Because Mr. Moon's question completely interrupted everyone's thoughts about discussing the Original Creator, this transaction came to an end.

Hobert waited for a few seconds. Seeing that no one continued to ask him questions, he said to "The Fool" at the head of the bronze long table, "Mr. Fool, I request to communicate with Mr. World alone."

"The Fool" nodded, creating a space for the two to communicate alone.

Hobert then said to "The World", "I got the 'Worm of Star'. I will sacrifice it to Mr. Fool after the gathering."

Klein manipulated "The World" and asked, "What price should I pay?"

"Let's talk about it later." Hobert had been thinking about it for a long time, but he couldn't think of anything that could be exchanged equally, and that he needed.

"Okay." Klein was also very clear that the value of the "Worm of Star" was not high or low. It was a little higher than a demigod-level auxiliary Ingredient, but it was far from a demigod-level main ingredient. It was not easy to find something that could be traded equally.

Hobert added, "Come to Longtail Island to celebrate the New Year together."

Klein was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Forget it, the New Year means nothing to me, and it will disturb you."

He paused and then said, "Maybe you can do me a favor and summon my historical projection once."

Klein planned to go to Backlund to see Benson and Melissa.

Hobert probably guessed Klein's thoughts: "Okay."

The two ended their private conversation. Hobert then said to Alger, "After the New Year, around the 2nd or 3rd, how about we explore the elven ruins together?"

Today, the nobles of Backlund are going to hold some dances and receptions. Hobert is bothered by it and has no intention of participating.

Alger, who also had no expectations for the New Year, immediately sat up straight: "Okay!"

Mr. Emperor finally has time. Alger had been looking forward to it for a long time. After this exploration, he would be able to determine whether he would stay in the Storm Church or prepare to become a Pirate Admiral.

After the two agreed on the exploration, the hall fell silent again.

As the members' sequences became higher and higher, there were fewer and fewer transactions about improving their own levels.

Audrey and Fors could both obtain Beyonder characteristics from Hobert to advance to demigod, and they didn't have to worry too much about the advancement ceremony.

The "Manipulator" advancement ceremony was relatively simple: In a specific occasion with at least ten thousand people, take the potion in the great resonance of their emotions.

Fors's advancement ceremony was helped by her teacher Dorian. It was said that with the help of the Abraham family, the difficulty was not great.

Alger pinned his hopes on obtaining a "Cataclysmic Interrer" characteristic in the final elven ruins. It was also unlikely that his needs could be traded at the Tarot Club.

Klein was preparing to advance to an angel, but the requirements for this level of advancement were no longer something that could be acquired through trades.

Cattleya had just advanced, and although she had mostly digested the potion, she planned to consolidate her state properly and had no intention of continuing to advance for the time being.

Leonard still intended to rely on the Church for advancement and had no need for trades.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Derrick raised his hand slightly: "I need the 'Unshadowed' potion formula and main ingredients."

Everyone was silent. Like Alger, they faced the problem that things at this level were difficult to trade for.

After a second or two of silence in the hall, Hobert finally said, "I have the potion formula."

This made the other members look sideways. Alger even wanted to ask if He had the 'Cataclysmic Interrer' characteristic there.

The reason Hobert didn't answer immediately was that he recalled that 'Little Sun' seemed to have obtained the potion formula and Beyonder characteristics to become a demigod from Klein.

But he quickly remembered that the 'Unshadowed Crucifix' was still in his hands!

So he added, "I also have a Sealed Artifact corresponding to the 'Unshadowed' level."

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