Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery

After returning from the island with the eerie walls, Audis prepared to hire "The Magician" to participate in the upcoming Tarot Gathering that afternoon, for the exploration.

The main reason for this idea was that using sealed artifacts would clearly be difficult to enter that "secret realm." It might require Beyonders to use their abilities to enter.

Moreover, it would be best if they were members of the Abraham family, or Beyonders related to the family.

Audis remembered that Fors's body contained characteristics from the Abraham family and that she was also suffering from the "Blood Moon Curse," making her, in a sense, an "Abraham."

Of course, another major reason was that Audis trusted Fors more.

Especially for companions on such expeditions, they had to be trustworthy people!

If Fors couldn't enter either, Audis planned to go through her to find members of the Abraham family to cooperate with.

Back on the ship, Audis organized the projects he needed to research in his studio.

First, he would use those "Wraith Dusts" worth over a thousand pounds to research several scrolls for dealing with undead enemies.

Second, he would use the sealed artifact in the shape of a pocket watch he had seized before to research a more powerful Beyonder weapon for the "Beyonder Puppet" to use.

These were the two most important research projects. Last week was too busy, and there was no time to conduct research. Now that he had free time this week, he could schedule these research tasks.

Some other research projects were not very urgent and could be postponed.

Afterward, Audis had lunch, rested for a while, and then returned to his room to prepare for the Tarot Gathering.

At exactly three o'clock, Audis's vision was covered by gray fog, and he arrived at the venue of the Tarot Gathering, the ancient and majestic giant hall.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." As Miss Justice's clear and lively greeting sounded, the Tarot Gathering officially began.

The "Priestess," Cattleya, who was attending the gathering for the second time, briefly scanned the other members, and her deep purple eyes suddenly contracted.

She noticed that "The Hanged Man," "The Moon," and "The Sun" opposite her all had slight spiritual overflow, which was completely different from the last gathering!

This indicated that they had all just been promoted!

Cattleya took a deep breath: Just a week, three members of the Tarot Gathering have been promoted. Is this a coincidence?

But then she retracted her gaze, because "The Hanged Man" and "The Moon" among them had only been promoted to Sequence 6. This level did not require a ritual, and they had already traded the corresponding characteristics and materials last week, so their promotions were not too surprising.

Thinking of this, Cattleya completely returned to the state of an observer.

No member provided Roselle's diary this week, so there was no reading session by "Mr. Fool."

Derrick, the newly promoted "Sun," seeing that no one initiated a trade, turned to look at the lower end of the bronze table: "Mr. World, I have obtained the method you wanted to separate the mental contamination of the out-of-control person within the Beyonder characteristic."

Klein, "The Fool" at the head of the bronze table, almost twitched his lips: Don't say it so directly! This is, after all, a private request to you.

Cattleya glanced at "The World." For her, who had sufficient mystical knowledge, it was easy to guess that "The World" might be holding a Beyonder characteristic with the spiritual residue of an out-of-control person.

Klein secretly took a breath before manipulating "The World" to say in a hoarse voice, "Write it on paper and pass it to me."

After Derrick "expressed" it, Alger, "The Hanged Man," said, "I am also very interested in this knowledge. What can I exchange for it?"

Unexpectedly, "Little Sun" said in a sincere tone: "Mr. Hanged Man, no need. You always gave me advice before and helped me face difficulties. Consider this my gratitude."

For a moment, Alger didn't know what to say. "The Sun's" answer completely exceeded his expectations.

He had drifted on the sea for so many years and experienced many things, but at this moment, he was inexplicably a little ashamed.

A second or two later, Alger returned to his normal state: "Your character is truly admirable."

Omelin, "The Moon," was slandering "The Sun" in his heart: Stupid donkey! No, stupider than a donkey, a stupid sheep!

But then he curled his lips, because he had successfully been promoted to Baron.

Emlyn couldn't help but think: I have to do something later to let them know that I am already a noble Baron!

After "The World" and Alger read the information "Little Sun" "conjured" up, the two of them fell into contemplation one after another.

At this time, "The Priestess," Cattleya, said: "I wonder if there is a method I understand among these methods.

"I can give hints for free. The 'No Darkness' of the 'Sun' pathway can directly purify the mental contamination within the Beyonder characteristic."

Klein was slightly stunned: The "Priestess" is much more proactive than at the last Tarot Gathering. Has she adjusted her mentality and wants to achieve some purpose? Or has she discovered that everyone else is weak and feels there is no need to be so cautious?

At this time, "The Hermit," Audis, also said: "Coincidentally, I also have a corresponding method and have corresponding channels to find people who can provide corresponding help.

"If you don't have corresponding channels, I can help you ask about it. What kind of reward is needed?"

Originally, Audis had no intention of participating in this matter. He remembered that Klein had contacted Leonard and obtained a miraculous item from the "Theft" pathway, thus solving the problem relatively smoothly.

For Klein, the only problem seemed to be that Leonard's asking price for that miraculous item was very high, and it made him feel heartache when paying.

However, Audis suddenly thought when he was listening just now: Can the whispers of the "True Creator" be made into corresponding scrolls?

If it were an ordinary "Scroll Professor," this idea would simply be courting death. The best outcome would be to hear the whispers of the "True Creator" and then have his condition become extremely poor, with signs of being out of control.

But it is estimated that very few Beyonders have such good luck, and most likely they would directly lose control.

But Audis has the protection of the "Knowledge Moor," and after being promoted, he has just gained the ability to remove mental contamination and shatter Beyonder characteristics, and has the conditions to conduct corresponding research.

The other members all looked at "The Hermit," especially Klein and Alger, who had just obtained the corresponding information. They had not expected that "The Hermit" would possess such channels!

Because the two pathways they obtained, one was to use a sealed artifact that steals other people's abilities to "steal" the mental residue of the out-of-control person, and then modulate the Beyonder characteristic into a potion before the "stealing" expires.

The other method was to arrange a ritual and pray to a god-level sealed artifact in the Silver City, using its feedback to shatter the Beyonder characteristic, allowing the mental contamination to evaporate, while the Beyonder characteristic would condense on its own.

Regardless of which method, it was quite difficult for them.

After all, the level of the miraculous item used for "stealing" cannot be too low, otherwise, it may simply be unable to "steal."

Such a miraculous item must be very expensive, and it would take a long time to find it before it could be encountered.

The second method was even more difficult. There was no way to ask "Little Sun" to borrow the Silver City's god-level sealed artifact to help. The person who performed the ritual was definitely not him, or he did not complete the ritual himself.

For this kind of thing, Silver City would at least have a strict application process, and not everyone could use that god-level sealed artifact.

This was very troublesome. What if, during the review process, the chief of Silver City realized that this characteristic came from the outside world, so he withheld it and didn't give it? Could they go to the "Land Abandoned by God" to ask them for it?

So they were surprised by "The Hermit's" channels, realizing that he might know "High Sequence" Beyonders or possess Beyonders comparable to Grade 0 sealed artifacts.

And Klein had already thought of Audis's demigod friend that he was looking for in Bansy Harbor that day.

Klein pondered for a moment before saying to "The Hermit," "I'll consider it."

The reason he said this was because he was not sure whether the two methods provided by "Little Sun" could solve his problem.

Because the mental residue in that Beyonder characteristic was not so simple, but had the whispers of the "True Creator."

With such a high level, he didn't know if it could be "stolen."

Even if the Beyonder characteristic could be shattered, the whispers of the "True Creator" would most likely not evaporate. What if it contaminates the re-condensed characteristic at that time?

So Klein planned to first divine these two methods after the gathering ended, and then have further communication with "The Hermit."

So he manipulated "The World" and said to "The Priestess," "Thank you for your generosity, Miss Priestess."

Then, Klein asked "The World" to ask "The Sun," "Do you know a book called 'Grosel's Travels'?"

Audis, who was listening, thought, this guy has already visited "Iceberg Admiral" Edwina's collection.

Derrick thought seriously for a while, then shook his head and said, "No."

Klein was slightly stunned. Originally, he thought that as the mortal enemy of the Dragon race, the Giant race should have relevant information about this book.

And as the "Silver City" ruled by the "Giant King," there should be corresponding intelligence.

But Klein was not discouraged, but let "The World" further hint: "That is a magical book from the Dragon race. Its successive owners have basically disappeared."

Audrey, "Justice," keenly noticed the key point: "From the Dragon race?"

"Yes!" "The World" said in a hoarse voice: "There is a Beyonder who is planning to sell it for 8,000 pounds."

If "Justice" could buy it, Klein would have a chance to take the opportunity to study it.

Audrey was slightly taken aback, not expecting the other party to ask for such a high price. So she asked, "What's so magical about it?"

Klein smiled helplessly in his heart. Both his spirituality and that of 'Iceberg Zhongjiang' could sense that this was a very unusual book, but they didn't know where the unusualness lay.

He had no choice but to manipulate 'The World' and say, "Needs further study."

Audrey then said, "I'll think about it."

In fact, this was equivalent to a polite refusal. Perhaps there really were amazing secrets in that book, but even 'The World' couldn't figure it out, so she probably wouldn't be able to figure anything out in a short period of time.

In that case, it would be better to keep the money and exchange more ancient history with 'The Hermit'.

After this topic ended, Odis reiterated his request from the last gathering: "Help me look out for clues about the Sparkling Star Tree or the Illusionary Pegasus."

Audrey and 'The Magician' Fors had both inquired through their own channels, 'Psychological Alchemy Society' and Teacher Dorian, but had not received any corresponding clues.

Just when Odis thought that there wouldn't be any clues again, 'The High Priestess' Cattleya suddenly said, "I have clues about the Illusionary Pegasus, but that clue is from last year. I don't know if that Illusionary Pegasus is still there?"

At this gathering, she decided to conduct this transaction in order to test 'The Hermit'.

Odis immediately said, "I can go and verify. What reward do you need?"

In fact, he was seeking corresponding clues at the Tarot Gathering to see if Cattleya, with her background in the 'Moses Ascetic Order', had any corresponding clues.

It seemed that 'Mysterious Queen' only had extraordinary characteristics there, but no extraordinary materials.

For Odis, it would be best if the problem of potion materials could be solved with money. Otherwise, simply exchanging merit points for formulas, rituals, and characteristics would be too slow and might affect his advancement.

Cattleya smiled and said, "I think you probably can't complete the verification alone, because it's very dangerous there. You must find a demigod-level helper to carry out the corresponding exploration."

Odis frowned, took a deep look at Cattleya, and then regained his smile: "Then tell me, what reward are you planning to give me? And a reward that can impress a demigod."

Cattleya was stunned: "I..."

The other members were also stunned. Wasn't 'The Hermit' hoping to get clues from 'The High Priestess'? Why was 'The Hermit' still asking for a reward?

However, Klein and Alger quickly understood what was going on.

Klein thought to himself: A contest between two old foxes.

"I think there should be something you need there too, right?" Odis asked Cattleya with a smile, "Are you planning to say next that you don't want a reward, but you also want to participate in this exploration, and you can choose a spoil of war first?"

Audrey and the other members also roughly understood 'The High Priestess' plan. If it were a normal transaction, it would be really difficult to refuse if 'Priestess' said her purpose like this.

After all, this looks like a fair deal. 'The High Priestess' provides the people and the clues, and Mr. 'Hermit' provides a demigod helper. The two people jointly conduct the exploration.

However, Mr. 'Hermit' saw through 'The High Priestess' purpose, broke the normal transaction process, and bluntly stated that 'Priestess' also had something she needed there.

In this case, the transaction is unfair. Although 'The High Priestess' has clues, she also has needs. In this case, 'The High Priestess' should pay half of the reward for hiring the demigod, and 'The Hermit' should pay the other half for it to be fair.

Seeing that 'The Hermit' had seen through her test, Cattleya smiled and said, "If you can really invite a demigod to help, then we can discuss the reward."

"I can get one." Odis said immediately.

Everyone paused slightly, but then immediately felt that this didn't seem surprising. After all, 'The Hermit' knew so much secret historical information, so he must be backed by some organization.

In that case, it is not surprising to invite a demigod helper.

The "ball" was kicked back to Cattleya's side again. She pondered for a moment and asked, "How about a Sealed Artifact at Sequence 5 level?"

Cattleya has never opened her heart and fully accepted the indoctrination of the 'Hidden Sage'.

According to the unwritten rules within the 'Moses Ascetic Order', they will not provide demigod-level extraordinary characteristics or potion materials before opening their minds and hearts to the 'Hidden Sage'.

Then, if Cattleya wants to advance, she can only find corresponding opportunities herself.

Through these years of searching, she finally found the corresponding characteristics of the 'Scholar of Mysteries' in a secret sea area, but she didn't know if it was a runaway demigod hiding there? Or a monster that devoured the corresponding characteristics.

In short, for Cattleya, it was very dangerous there.

But if she reported that location to the 'Moses Ascetic Order', it would only become her merit points, and she would still not be able to get the corresponding characteristics.

So Cattleya needs to find a demigod to help her and obtain the corresponding characteristics herself.

But all along, she didn't trust any other demigods besides 'Mysterious Queen'. She would not use this relationship if she could, because it might arouse greater suspicion from the 'Moses Ascetic Order'.

Of course, the main reason is still psychological. 'Mysterious Queen' drove her away back then.

Although Cattleya knew that 'Queen' wanted her to become more independent, after many years of separation, she suddenly didn't know how to ask for such help. Otherwise, she would have asked 'Queen' for help long ago.

With the channel of the Tarot Gathering, she was willing to try to initiate such a transaction.

Because the transactions here are witnessed by Mr. 'Fool', so there is no need to worry about being silenced by 'The Hermit' and the demigod he invites.

It's just that she probably never dreamed that the helper that 'The Hermit' was looking for was 'Mysterious Queen'.

It's not her fault for not being cautious enough, it's really because Odis's performance at last week's Tarot Gathering didn't look like a member of the 'Moses Ascetic Order' or 'Dawn of Elements' at all.

Odis also heard that Cattleya was really going to spend a lot of money, so he said, "I'll ask, and I'll give you an answer in a few days."

"You can tell me the approximate abilities and negative effects of that Sealed Artifact first."

He didn't have any psychological burden. When the time came, he would pretend not to know that 'Admiral of Stars' and 'Mysterious Queen' knew each other.

Cattleya knew that this kind of transaction couldn't be completed in a day or two, so she nodded: "That Sealed Artifact is at the level of 'Apostle of Desire'. The most important ability is 'Demonization', and the negative effect is that it is easily affected by various desires."

Although this Sealed Artifact is at Sequence 5, she rarely uses it, because for her, the process of 'Demonization' is very uncomfortable, and after 'Demonization' is over, all the clothes will be torn apart.

So she won't wear it when there is no danger to her life.

The other members were all sighing, unknowingly, the level of transactions at the Tarot Gathering had become so high.

After the intention of this transaction ended, 'Justice' Audrey said, "Mr. Hermit, I want to continue to trade with you about the secret history of the Fourth Epoch, um...next, we should trade information about the Tudor Empire."

"Okay." Odis showed the most cordial smile to this "fixed customer": "The relevant information about the Tudor Empire can be traded all at once, but it requires 3,000 pounds."

"No problem." Audrey continued, "I'll pay 1,500 pounds."

Cattleya then said, "I'll pay 1,000 pounds."

She also hoped to contribute one-third of the funds so that she could ask more questions.

The other members looked at each other, not expecting that each person would only have a "share" of 100 pounds left.

Odis paused for a moment before saying, "I suggest 'Justice' and 'High Priestess', you two each contribute 1,000 pounds, and the other 1,000 pounds will be borne by the other members."

"Otherwise, it would be unfair to you if you contribute less than 200 pounds."

He paused and then said, "I suggest that in future transactions, members who contribute less than one-tenth can only listen and cannot ask questions."

Klein thought to himself: I think it's pretty fair.

Fors also thought to herself: It's not impossible to only have the right to listen.

The other members all felt that what 'The Hermit' said made sense. After all, this was a 3,000-pound transaction. If they only contributed 100 pounds, it would be very unfair to only listen.

Moreover, 200 pounds is not much, so there is no need to worry about this little money.

After everyone unanimously agreed, 'Justice' and 'High Priestess' each contributed 1,000 pounds, and the other 1,000 pounds was paid by the other five members.

The 200 pounds of "Little Sun" was, as usual, paid by Odis, and then paid by Derrick with extraordinary materials at the Sequence 9 level.

Odis organized his words before starting to say: "Before talking about the Tudor Empire, we need to talk about an era of 'Joint Rule'.

"When trading information about the Solomon First Empire, it was said that Tudor and Trensoost were turned against by the Six Gods and betrayed Solomon. They should have dealt a heavy blow to Solomon at a critical moment, creating an opportunity for the Six Gods.

"With the demise of the Solomon First Empire, the Six Gods supported Tudor and Trensoost to rule the Northern Continent. This is the so-called 'Tudor-Trensoost Joint Empire Era'…"

Even Cattleya was stunned. She had heard of the name "Joint Empire Era" for the first time!

The other members were relatively calm. After all, they had never heard of most of the information in the transaction. It was not surprising to hear historical terms that they had never heard of.

Only Klein recalled the ruins under Beckland, where the two thrones were side by side.

Audis continued, "...If, in the ruins of the Fourth Epoch, you see side-by-side thrones and two rows of inverted candlesticks with an asymmetrical number, that's basically a relic from the era of the 'United Empire'."

"At that time, the capital of the United Empire was in Backlund. This rule lasted for about a century, but the collapse of this 'United Empire' was not due to internal or external enemies, but because Solomon was about to be resurrected."

Klein was certain that the ruins he and Miss Bodyguard had explored were products of the "United Empire" period. Because two Sequence 1s ruled the Northern Continent, there were two thrones, not the seats of a king and queen.

Audrey exclaimed, "I didn't expect Backlund to be such a metropolis in that era."

Cattleya realized that her historical knowledge of the "United Empire" had serious gaps.

"Hanged Man" Alger noticed: "Why did Solomon's resurrection lead to the collapse of this empire?"

Audis adjusted his sitting posture, thinking: "Here comes the key point."

He continued: "Here, we need to talk more about the special nature of the 'Black Emperor'. When He begins the process of resurrection, no matter where the Uniqueness and Sequence 1 characteristics are, they will return to the 'Black Emperor' one after another."

"So, for Tudor and Trunsoest, after the 'Black Emperor' begins to resurrect, the Sequence 1 characteristics within them will return to Solomon."

This stunned everyone; they hadn't expected such an operation!

Klein suddenly felt enlightened: Last week at the Tarot Gathering, I was wondering if the 'Black Emperor' would only possess one Sequence 1 characteristic and the Uniqueness after resurrection. It turns out that after resurrection, the Uniqueness and Sequence 1 characteristics would be 'recycled', thus 'physically' becoming a True God again.

Alger clenched his hands: "More information about the level of the Gods!"

Then he thought: "Doesn't this mean that no matter who killed the 'Black Emperor', or where the extraordinary characteristics are, as long as the resurrection process begins, the characteristics will all return!"

After a brief surprise, Cattleya thought of some clues that the "Mystic Queen" had found in her early years and fell into contemplation again.

"Moon" Emlyn sighed: "This is the power of a God; no one can stop His resurrection."

After Audrey reacted, she asked, "'Hermit', after the extraordinary characteristics return to Solomon, what will happen to Tudor and Trunsoest, who are already Sequence 1? Will they lose control because of this?"

"Theoretically, no," Audis said. "They only lose the Sequence 1 characteristics and will revert to Sequence 2 Angels."

He paused and continued, "But there's something you need to understand. Tudor and Trunsoest both advanced to Sequence 1 by betraying Solomon."

"When Solomon resurrects and they become Sequence 2 again, the True God Solomon will definitely seek revenge on them. If they hide in the dark corners of this world, they might have a chance to survive."

"But that's a last resort. Before Solomon's resurrection, Tudor and Trunsoest desperately tried to save themselves."

"This time, let's talk about Tudor first. According to some high-level intelligence obtained after the fall of the Tudor Empire, during the 'United Empire' era, Tudor secretly directed the people to build nine mausoleums for himself around Backlund..."

Cattleya immediately understood: "He, He wanted to become the Black Emperor in advance?"

This time, her number of questions for the trade was unlimited, so she could ask freely.

"That's right," Audis said. "It was also said in the last trade that a quick and thorough way to make the 'Black Emperor' fall is to have a new 'Black Emperor' appear."

"According to many people's guesses, Tudor had been secretly preparing to become the 'Black Emperor'."

"This actually exposed the internal contradictions of the 'United Empire'. Tudor and Trunsoest were, after all, two Sequence 1s of the same pathway, and the contradictions between them were difficult to reconcile."

"And once it involves the struggle to become a God, it must be a life-and-death situation. Even the Six Gods cannot completely mediate it."

The other members recalled the information obtained in the trade a long time ago. To become a God, one must collect all three Sequence 1 characteristics of the same pathway.

In this way, the structure of the "United Empire" is quite intriguing. Tudor and Trunsoest actually cooperated so honestly, which makes people wonder if there was "persuasion" and "matchmaking" from the Six Gods in it?

Audrey was more concerned: "'Hermit', where are the nine mausoleums? Why haven't I ever heard anyone mention them?"

"That's normal," Audis spread his hands and said. "Even if the Tudor Empire fell, few people would know."

"But I guess Adam and Amon know. These two 'Kings of Angels' seem to have been secretly supporting Tudor very early... probably not long after the 'United Empire' was established."

"Well, this is also a guess based on the information I learned later."

"They were very likely involved in the secret construction of the nine mausoleums, and these two 'Kings of Angels' are unlikely to leak secrets at will."

Klein immediately noticed that "Hermit's" statement was somewhat abrupt: Why did he first say that few people knew, and then only indicate that Adam and Amon knew?

He carefully considered it, but because there were too few clues, he didn't understand why "Hermit" would say that.

In fact, Audis said this only because he knew that it was very likely that Adam provided George III with the corresponding coordinate locations and the method to enter them.

Audrey nodded, indicating that she understood.

After answering two questions, Audis continued: "Since we're talking about Adam and Amon, here we must briefly mention the five great nobles who supported Tudor."

"Among them, Abraham previously secretly supported the Solomon Empire. At this time, his strength is close to a True God, and he should be more hopeful of establishing his own power, rather than a power restricted by the Six Gods."

"And Amon has always been hostile to the Six Gods, so he is not recognized by the Six Gods either."

"The other two great nobles, Antigonus and Tamara, also did not lean towards the Six Gods for their own reasons."

"We said before that the Jacob family was likely replaced early on."

"I even guess that during the 'United Empire' reign, Tudor may have secretly summoned several of these people, as well as Adam, to conduct some secret plots."

"Later, after Tudor established the empire, he quickly had his own team."

"Relatively speaking, although the Trunsoest Empire had four nobles at that time, that is, the four Angels like Augustus, they were relatively weak at that time, or rather, only Sequence 2 at that time."

"The Tudor Empire's five great nobles, however, only had Tamara as a Sequence 2. The other great nobles were either Archangels or Kings of Angels."

The other members listened very carefully. Although there was no amazing information in this passage, "Hermit's" description made the history of the Fourth Epoch very rich.

Audis paused slightly and continued: "The next scene, we have already traded about it before."

"In order to cope with Solomon's resurrection and to avoid reverting to Sequence 2, Tudor, with the support of Adam, Amon, and others, killed Medici and became a True God of a non-adjacent pathway."

The other members forgot to breathe for a moment: "Tudor...became a True God of a non-adjacent pathway!"