“If you are already dead, then congratulations to you, and congratulations to me.
“I’ve been pondering how to address the two of us, but ultimately decided we should treat each other as separate individuals. After all, memory is the true vessel of personality. Even though this feels like talking to myself in a mirror, I am in the past, and you are in the future.
“‘According to Rose, this is my third time coming to All Stars. Since there are no prior records, I don't know what they discovered, so I can only record my own findings this time—
“‘Angel’s First Chain: Mystery.
“‘Any mystery witnessed or perceived by mortals will lose its power. Simply put, the moment a sorcerer exposes sorcerer abilities before the mortals of All Stars, their sorcery power will dissipate, and their sorcery spirits will perish. From Silver Sorcerers to legendary sorcerers, anyone daring to display divine might before mortals can expect to be reduced to an ordinary person.’
“‘This is the chain most favorable to me. In this world, the power of mortals is infinitely amplified, while sorcerers are weakened to the absolute limit. As long as I possess power and money, I can easily destroy any foreign sorcerer.
“‘However, if all witnesses are sorcerers, this chain will not take effect. It is worth mentioning that because this chain is meant to bind the angel, the angel is not regarded as a sorcerer; it cannot manifest any mystical abilities, but it also cannot be affected by any mystical abilities.’
“‘The angel’s true body hasn’t yet been pulled in by the Divine Lord of Stars. Only the angel’s projection exists in the Country of All Stars, so we have plenty of time to set our plans in motion.’”
From here onward, the ink shifted from blue to black, clearly indicating notes left at a different time.
Yaxiu, Igola, and Harvey exchanged glances, each seeing how terribly grim the others looked. They had come dangerously close to displaying their sorcerer combat prowess in front of ordinary people!
If they had used sorcerer combat power to chase off those thugs or cast sorcerer miracles to clean themselves, their sorcery power and spirits would have been instantly vaporized by the Angel’s First Chain! Yaxiu broke into a cold sweat of lingering fear. Thank goodness he hadn’t flaunted any miracles in front of Rose; otherwise, all his progress from the past six months would have vanished in a flash!
Yet compared to the chains, the most critical revelation in this entry was the true target of Heath (the Four Pillar Gods) and the Divine Lord of Stars—the angel! But the word “angel” could refer to many things. Which angel were they actually trying to deal with?
“‘Plagiarizing entertainment and literature really does allow for rapid capital accumulation. Fortunately, the civilization level of All Stars is comparable to the Blood Moon; otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to make money at all.
“‘Rose said this is my sixth visit to All Stars. I don't know why no messages were left from the previous two times. Perhaps I didn't check the history books and never found this notebook, or perhaps there were no gains, so I simply didn't write anything down.
“‘Angel’s Second Chain: United Hearts.
“‘The first chain is formidable enough, but the second chain is the key to how the Divine Lord of Stars truly captures the angel. The angel is not human. It possesses no heart, but the Divine Lord of Stars forcibly endowed it with a mind, forging a chain to bind it out of emotion.’
“‘Under the influence of United Hearts, all projections in All Stars develop emotions and personalities distinct from their true bodies. Not necessarily opposite, but divergent. For instance, if the true body is relatively calm, the projection will be more irascible; if the true body is a neat freak, the projection becomes slovenly; if the true body harbors grand ambitions, the projection will merely drift along... It is as if there is a box filled with every emotion and personality trait: whatever the true body takes, the projection gets whatever is left behind.
“‘Even so, it should still be possible for a true body and its projection to reach the same end through different paths, but I won’t elaborate on that here.
“‘For the angel, its true body undoubtedly possesses no emotions whatsoever. Under the chain's compulsory influence, the angel’s projection will gradually be spurred into developing feelings. Once this chain of emotion is forged, pulling the angel’s true body into the prison of All Stars becomes far easier.
“‘Yet there should be another application: the United Hearts Chain connects the minds of the true body and projection. If the angel’s true body cannot be dragged inside, then simply killing the angel’s projection will cause its emotions to backflow into the true body, thoroughly granting it a mortal heart! When that time comes, the Divine Lord of Stars will have countless ways to deal with an angel that possesses a heart.’”
Reading to this point, Yaxiu and his companions could already confirm which angel the notes referred to.
A heartless, non-human angel naturally did not refer to sorcerers who had stepped into the divine realm. It pointed to the most powerful being on Ruby Mountain—the eternal entity standing at the mountain’s peak, the Ruby Angel, who had once crafted half of a Sorcerer Manual for travelers of the Path of Origin like the Spectre Prophet, the Lake Light Angel, and the King of Time!
Although the United Hearts Chain was intriguing, Yaxiu and the others didn’t pay it much mind—until they reached the third entry:
“‘I never expected the United Hearts Chain to have such an application.
“‘The Star Feeler reached out to me through the Four Pillar Gods, and I had no way to refuse. After all...
“‘Aside from the angel, the United Hearts Chain applies to all projections. If a projection dies before its true body, the projection’s emotions will backflow into the true body. In other words, as long as I kill a certain projection, I can trigger an emotional backflow, causing a drastic shift in the true body's temperament or even completely replacing their personality.’
“‘This tactic is especially effective against true bodies with weak willpower. I managed to eliminate four projections. Except for one true body that remained completely unaffected, the other three at least developed bizarre personalities and could no longer pose an obstacle to the Star Feeler.
“‘By the way, though unrelated to the chains, this is worth noting: I finally understand why the Country of All Stars is so much more peaceful than the mortal realm.
“‘The leaders of All Stars are essentially projections of the leaders of Stars. But while the leaders of Stars might not be blinded by ambition, their desire for power is exceptionally intense, infinitely approaching the upper limit permitted by the Starry Blessing. Due to the influence of the United Hearts Chain, when Stars takes more, All Stars receives less. Consequently, the desire for power among the leaders of All Stars is vastly diminished, and factional struggles are virtually nonexistent.’
“‘The general populace is the same, but the surging inner turmoil of ordinary people can never shake the social order. An ordinary person who merely drifted with the current in Stars won’t undergo any grand change in All Stars either.’”
An emotional backflow phenomenon...?
Simply by killing a projection, one could warp the true body through emotional backflow? Feeling a faint unease, Yaxiu continued reading the fourth entry.
“‘There are no other chains. The Divine Lord of Stars spent a thousand years forging these two chains and this prison. As it turns out, the effort was well worth it. Before the cage opened, only I could enter.
“‘This starry sky is the cage itself.
“‘The Divine Lord of Stars stole three sky canopies from Hell. She placed one in the Starry Kingdom and one in the Country of All Stars, which is how the Starry Kingdom is able to project into the Country of All Stars.
“‘The Four Pillar Gods said that once the angel is captured into the Country of All Stars, the two Hell sky canopies will enter a state of resonance, completely sealing off Ruby Mountain. Only sorcerers from the Starry Kingdom will be able to enter Ruby Mountain; sorcerers from other nations won't even be able to set foot inside. Then the Divine Lord of Stars can take her time tracking down the bound angel.’
“‘If sorcerers from other nations sneak into Stars, they will fall straight into the trap set by the Divine Lord of Stars—Ruby Mountain can be entered, but not exited. The sorcerers' true bodies will be forcibly abandoned in the Starry Kingdom, where the Stars government can easily locate and eliminate them.
“‘However, I have never managed to find the angel’s projection. It seems to have possessed an already existing projection, making it far too difficult to locate.
“‘Even so, my efforts have not been in vain. I am now successful in my career and maintain excellent ties across society. Whatever the Divine Lord of Stars intends to do, I can utilize mortal power to crush it. She focused solely on forging the cage to trap the angel, unaware that the Four Pillar Gods had long since sent me to seize control of it.’
“‘All I need to do is wait for the angel to be locked inside.’”
The fifth entry:
“‘I should have anticipated this.’
“‘How could the other Divine Lords pass up the opportunity to hunt the Ruby Angel? The Divine Lord of Stars wants it, the Four Pillar Gods want it, and the other Divine Lords want it just as much.
“‘The Four Pillar Gods informed me that by corroding Ruby Mountain, the Divine Lords created several "devils" within the Country of All Stars. Devils can manipulate sorcerers and channel sorcerer combat power without being affected by the Mystery Chain. Once the angel is captured into the prison of All Stars, the other Divine Lords will send legendary sorcerers into Ruby Mountain—and thus into the All Stars prison as well, since the prison is located within the mass of Ruby Mountain itself. Once they locate the devils, they will be able to unleash their legendary combat power in the Country of All Stars without restraint to hunt the angel!
“‘This puts me at a severe disadvantage. I possess no sorcerer combat strength and can only marshal mortal power. But the Four Pillar Gods told me not to worry. As long as I complete the Feeler Ritual, I will gain the power to resolve all difficulties.’”
The final entry:
“‘Observer of the End. That is my complete Feeler title.
“‘Once the ritual is complete, I will not only shed this mortal vessel, but also become the perfect vessel for the angel, housing the Ruby Angel within me and attaining a status surpassing even the Divine Lords. Unlike the other Divine Lords, the Four Pillar Gods have no interest in acquiring the Ruby Angel's power; they harbor a pure, burning hatred for the angel, wishing for nothing more than its immediate demise. This should be my final message. Next time, I will return as the Observer of the End.’
“‘Then, standing atop Ruby Mountain, I shall slay the angel. Under the gaze of the gods and the reverence of all living beings, I shall be crowned as a supreme existence surpassing six wings.’”
Yaxiu closed the notebook and fell into a prolonged silence.
Rose patted his head. "I know it must be painful for you. Having your embarrassing past journals dug up and read by others is indeed awkward."
"Rose," Yaxiu said, "could you brew me a cup of hot tea?"
"No problem."
Once Rose left the library, Yaxiu let out a long breath. "It wasn't an issue with my item—we really are inside Ruby Mountain right now."
The Country of All Stars was the Starry Kingdom's projection inside Ruby Mountain. The moment Yaxiu, Igola, and Harvey arrived at Ruby Mountain, they were pulled into the Country of All Stars.
The reason they couldn't return to reality now was that Ruby Mountain was sealed off by the starry sky canopy. Except for the opening in the Starry Kingdom, it was cut off from the outside world; even for the Starry Kingdom, entry was permitted, but exit was barred.
No wonder the Starry Kingdom was bent on exterminating all foreign sorcerers without the slightest room for compromise or negotiation. In the eyes of the Divine Lord of Stars, all foreign sorcerers were thieves sent by other Divine Lords to snatch her prize.
It wasn't hard to see that the entire Starry Kingdom was merely material used by the Divine Lord of Stars to forge the prison of All Stars. Using mortals to suppress mystery and emotions to kindle a heart, everything the Divine Lord of Stars had done was aimed at locking the Ruby Angel in a cage.
Having poured in so much effort, time, and resources just to hunt the angel, how could she ever permit anyone else to reap the fruits of her labor?
"Why does everyone want to kill the angel?" Harvey asked. "Could they want to use its corpse?"
"One Divine Lord would be one thing, but if all the Divine Lords want to kill it..." Igola pondered aloud. "That indicates slaying the angel must be a prerequisite for a Divine Lord to reach an even higher realm."
"The main issue is how we get out," Yaxiu sighed. "As long as the Divine Lord of Stars doesn't lift the sky canopy, we won't be able to leave for a single day. So either the canopy is broken, or..."
"The angel dies," Igola said calmly. "If the prisoner is dead, there's no longer any need to maintain the prison."
"Should we find the angel?" Harvey said earnestly. "I think the angel might very well be possessing that thousand-year-old skeleton—"
"Get lost."
Igola looked at Yaxiu. "The notes mentioned that once you completed the ritual, you would become the perfect 'vessel for the angel.' Can you sense where the angel is? After all, as a vessel, you ought to be itching to merge with it..."
"The Feeler Ritual must have failed. The final step was death, yet my true body is lying safe and sound right beside you two," Yaxiu said in exasperation. "Why is it that just as we're preparing to become legendary sorcerers, a world-class plot involving Divine Lords happens to break out? Isn't our trigger rate for major plotlines a bit too high...?"
"Perhaps it isn't a coincidence," Igola remarked. "Think about it: what was the greatest obstacle facing the Divine Lord of Stars in capturing the angel?"
"The angel being too strong?"
"Wrong—it was that the angel wouldn't show up!" The deceiver shook his head. "For thousands of years, no one walked the Path of Origin, so the angel never appeared before mortal eyes. But to oversee the Thousand Wishes Inheritance, the angel had no choice but to show itself, which was precisely how the Divine Lord of Stars caught it in the All Stars prison!"
Although Igola was merely theorizing, the only major event on Ruby Mountain recently was the Thousand Wishes Inheritance, immediately followed by the Divine Lord of Stars activating the sky canopy to imprison the angel. It was indeed difficult not to link the two.
"Knowing these secrets doesn't help us much, though," Yaxiu scratched his head. "Only when the angel is killed will the Divine Lord of Stars let us out. But anyone could guess she won't let us steal her kill so easily."
"Still, finding the angel is our only viable option at present," Igola said. "Whether we use it ourselves, trade it away, or even help the Divine Lord of Stars kill it sooner to push history forward, that's our only chance of extracting ourselves."
"That brings us to the real problem." Yaxiu spread his hands. "How do we find the angel?"
Just as everyone racked their brains, Rose carried in three cups of hot tea.
Igola moved to pick one, but Rose bypassed him, letting Yaxiu choose first before offering the remainder to the other two.
Yaxiu covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. Meanwhile, Igola took a thoughtful sip of hot tea and asked, "Rose, Yaxiu relies on you for everything. Did he ever ask you to look for someone in the past?"
"Yes," Rose replied affirmatively. "Every single year."
The group immediately perked up. "Who was he looking for?"
Rose took a slip of paper from her small shoulder bag. "He wasn't looking for a specific individual, but rather someone who met certain criteria. Because his search criteria remained identical every year, we've already established a strategic partnership with the Police Department."
Yaxiu took the paper and saw three lines of deductions written on it:
“‘Because it is non-human, its nascent worldview is bound to differ from ordinary people, making it impossible to integrate into society.’
“‘Because it cannot integrate into society, it is bound to be antisocial and appear cold and unfeeling.’
“‘Because it needs to survive, it will most likely commit murder and crime.’
“‘Therefore, pay close attention to the following group: antisocial serial killers with abnormal worldviews.’”
Rose explained, "Every year, under the pretext of your creative research, I obtain detailed records on serial killers across the country from the Police Department."
Igola nodded repeatedly. "Exactly. Heath’s analysis is sound and well-reasoned; we should start our investigation from this angle. Rose, is Yaxiu close with the Police Department?"
"He has a dinner scheduled with the Commissioner of Police in three days. Right now, a police officer who's a fan of his is helping him pull all resident records," Rose said. "By the way, I booked an appointment to collect this year’s killer dossiers from the Police Department over the next few days. We can head over right now."
"Rose!" Overjoyed, Yaxiu hugged his assistant. "You've really been a massive help this time!"
"I have to be a massive help to you every day." Rose pushed him away. "Also, I do not tolerate intimate physical contact. Don't think you can mess around just because you're roleplaying."
Thirteen minutes later, a sports car pulled up before the headquarters of the Jiashi Police Department.
The moment Yaxiu stepped out of the vehicle, he instantly drew the gaze of everyone nearby. Several people gasped aloud:
"Is that Mr. Heath?"
"It really looks like him!"
"Oh my god!"
"You should have worn sunglasses and a hat," Igola said from behind.
"I'm not even a wanted criminal anymore, yet I still have to cover my face whenever I step outside..." Yaxiu muttered as he walked into the station. "Am I doomed to be hounded and surrounded wherever I go?"
*Smack!*
Someone suddenly bolted out from inside the Police Department, slamming hard into Yaxiu's shoulder.
Yaxiu looked over in irritation, only to see a bizarre figure swathed entirely in a hood, a mask, and sunglasses. The stranger glanced at Yaxiu and walked off without a word.
"Hey," Yaxiu reached out to grab the figure. "You could at least apologize—"
The instant Yaxiu reached forward, the figure suddenly lashed out behind with a savage kick aimed straight at his chest. Instinctively retracting his hand, Yaxiu moved to catch the leg. At the same time, Harvey and Igola struck out at the stranger in unison.
*Whack-whack-whack!*
The figure pirouetted through the air, limbs flashing like swords and spears, their flurry of strikes repelling the trio’s combined assault in an instant.
Igola and Harvey aside, Yaxiu was a legendary body sorcerer, and his fist and claw proficiency had been shared from the Witch at the Gold level. Even without using any sorcery spirits, his bare-handed combat prowess was nearly at the pinnacle of mortal limits! How could a random person encountered on the street rival him in martial skill?
Using the momentum of their clashes, the figure leaped out of the station, touched down on a fire hydrant, vaulted onto the sports car they had parked by the curb, and skipped across the streaming traffic, crossing the street in the blink of an eye!
While the trio were still reeling in shock, thunder and fire suddenly erupted overhead!
*BOOM!*
A ferocious explosion rocked the entire building, shattering every pane of glass in an instant.
Yaxiu and the others were nearly knocked off their feet by the shockwave. Rushing outside, they saw billowing smoke pouring from the third floor, an entire wall blown away, scattering debris and rubble downward.
"Ah," said Rose, her hand held by Yaxiu. "It seems we'll have to cancel your dinner plans three days from now. How about we change it to a condolence visit instead?"
"It's Dead Frenzy!"
A wounded officer came stumbling down the ground-floor stairs, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Dead Frenzy bombed the commissioner! She hasn't gotten far—there's still time to catch her! Hurry!"
Yaxiu froze. Turning toward the other side of the street, his gaze peered through the traffic to spot the strange figure standing at the distant corner, seemingly admiring the burning Police Department.
As if noticing Yaxiu's gaze, she lingered no longer and turned to leave.
A sudden gust of wind kicked up violently, whipping off her hood and sending long, blood-red hair billowing beneath the starry sky.
In the next instant, Yaxiu dashed forward, giving chase to that streak of crimson.
Chapter 785