If Anbaixiu were still human, seeing his head plucked off in that vision would mean it was time to write a will. But for the undead, losing one's head was not necessarily fatal. Furthermore, he was a lich; as long as his phylactery remained intact, losing his head was nothing.
The question was, who was that paper-pale beauty in the vision?
Was she the murderer who severed his head, or a... friend he might meet in the future?
If possible, Anbaixiu would have gladly had Harvey divine the future once more—spending a few more gold coins wouldn't matter. Yet the Goddess of Fate was like an elite flirt who teased but never committed. Lifting her skirt hem once in a while to offer a little peek was fine, but if you took the initiative and tried to see more, she would instantly turn pure and unapproachable, then slap you fiercely across the face.
No diviner could withstand a slap from fate.
Therefore, anyone blessed with the power of divination obeyed the same rule: for the same matter and the same timeframe, one must never divine twice. Do not even think about exploiting loopholes, changing perspectives, or divining a different detail—all of those were provocations against fate, and fate's slap would arrive right on schedule.
Such were the rules of divining the future: once shown to you, you had to believe it.
Save for that Supreme Deity, no one could violate this rule.
Thus, whether Anbaixiu liked it or not, he could only move on to examine the remaining six fragments.
After the two extremes of sudden immense wealth and decapitation, the third fragment was finally something Anbaixiu could understand.
It was the Slag Ember tavern on Southern Cross Street in the City of Alchemy. In this future, however, it had been reduced to ruins, looking as though it had been crushed by some colossal behemoth—not only utterly demolished, but leaving behind a deep crater.
"Tsk, tsk, is this the price of marrying into a bone dragon's family and having an affair? But what does this have to do with the sewer's secret?"
Anbaixiu was baffled. Headless Bro's domestic disputes shouldn't involve the secret of the sewers, unless... this tavern wasn't smashed by that young bone dragon mistress after all.
Another perplexing fragment; Anbaixiu had no choice but to skip it.
The fourth prophecy fragment was equally simple and direct: Anbaixiu appeared in the sewers of the City of Alchemy, seemingly conducting some magical ritual, though the scene was fragmented and indistinct, making it impossible to see what he was doing. Even if the setting was clear, at most it merely showed Anbaixiu returning to the sewers—why would anyone need a prophecy for that? Anyone could have guessed as much.
"A loss. This fragment cost me tens of thousands of gold coins for nothing."
Stifling his heartache, Anbaixiu checked the next prophecy fragment.
Compared to the previous ones, the fifth fragment was quite indistinct, but Anbaixiu recognized the person in it.
It was the druid chick who had previously hired him to rescue her companions. What was her name again...? Anbaixiu racked his memory and finally recalled the druid chick's name—Naomi Watts.
Mainly because this surname was somewhat special, seeming to have some connection to an ancient mage lineage, but she was a druid, so it was quite likely just a coincidence in names.
Naomi's future didn't look bright. She lay drenched in blood in an unknown location, the murderer standing beside her with a long blade. What seemed unsettling was the murderer's attire—from behind, they appeared to be a druid.
An internal feud among druids? Or had this girl broken some rule and fallen victim to an honor killing by her clan?
Moreover, the murder scene was strange and looked very familiar.
"Something's not right. This girl died in the Hall of Wisdom of the City of Alchemy?"
The City of Alchemy was governed by the Alchemists' Council, and the high-and-mighty councilors held their meetings in the Hall of Wisdom. How did this druid chick end up in such a place? Even if it were druid infighting, they wouldn't commit murder there.
"Druids lured into the sewers, a murder in the Hall of Wisdom... Why is this getting more and more complicated? What on earth are those madmen plotting?"
The final two prophecy fragments appeared to be continuous, and the content they revealed shocked Anbaixiu.
For the City of Alchemy had taken to the skies.
It was a city on the verge of shattering, hoisted into midair by an unknown force.
More than half of the city had been reduced to rubble, continuously raining debris, shattered architecture, and living people toward the ground.
If there was any difference between these two fragments, it was that someone from the Ryan Empire appeared in the last one—likely a paladin standing at the highest point of the City of Alchemy, flanked by members of the Alchemists' Council, though their faces were blurred and unrecognizable.
These two fragments undoubtedly held the most information.
A city flying into the sky was by no means impossible. Long ago, when the Goddess of Magic still permitted mortals to cast many high-tier spells, mages of that era loved constructing their own floating cities. However, an accident later occurred, causing those floating cities to plunge one after another, triggering a catastrophe more terrifying than a meteor shower.
As for the specific cause, Anbaixiu was not entirely clear; it had happened before he transmigrated. All he knew was that following this historic event, mortals' spellcasting abilities were drastically curtailed. The Goddess of Magic was no longer generous in sharing her power with mortals, and floating cities vanished without a trace.
Were those lunatics trying to turn the City of Alchemy into a floating city?
"It doesn't make sense, nor is it reasonable. The city is wrecked like this—what point is there in taking flight?"
Anbaixiu felt this speculation was illogical. Those mad alchemists shouldn't have much interest in a flying city; it was a path already trodden by predecessors, not an innovation. Without creativity, it could not demonstrate the greatness of their alchemy, so they wouldn't bother wasting effort on such things.
Furthermore, this was a city oriented around academic study and alchemical production. Aside from inflating transport costs, what would taking flight achieve?
For a city this small, maintaining a stable supply of diverse alchemical ingredients on its own was impossible. It still relied on taxes paid by surrounding petty lords to sustain these alchemists. These invisible tethers held the City of Alchemy firmly in place; taking flight was sheer absurdity.
"Unless... the City of Alchemy taking flight was out of sheer necessity... Wait, could it be because of the sewer's secret? Is it so dangerous that the entire city has to take flight just to escape it?"
Anbaixiu felt his idea was very likely the truth.
No matter what those madmen were conjuring in the sewers, they ultimately botched it and were forced to lift the entire city into the sky to avoid utter annihilation.
"In other words, they're going to mess it up in the end."
Anbaixiu felt he had grasped the crux of the matter.
Anbaixiu had Harvey clean up the laboratory while he retreated to the library, pulling out several dust-covered ancient tomes to peruse carefully.
Eventually, word arrived from the City of Alchemy: a councilor of the Alchemists' Council would personally visit Anbaixiu's castle to discuss what to do with the paladin Alan Watson.
Only upon hearing this news did Anbaixiu remember that Headless Bro, in a foul mood, had gone to "spar" with Alan. With so many hours having passed, was Alan still alive? Had he been crippled?
Chapter 49