79: Holy Communion Quest

Oak Tree City.

The afternoon sun, carrying a hint of laziness, pierced through the ancient, lush branches on both sides of Oak Tree Avenue.

Light and shadow cast mottled patterns on the flagstone streets.

Clip-clop...

A plain black carriage slowly drove down the long street.

The wheels rolled over the flagstones, eventually stopping quietly by the roadside, merging into the mottled light and shadow.

Li Ke stepped down from the carriage.

From the carriage compartment behind him, there was a rustling sound, followed by a beautiful maid in a green dress stepping out.

After getting out of the carriage, Li Ke calmly surveyed his surroundings.

The Mist Auction was scheduled to begin at dusk, so there was still plenty of time.

He casually chose a street-side restaurant called "Golden Acorn" and slowly walked in.

The restaurant's interior was elegantly decorated, with every detail exuding understated luxury.

Li Ke was dressed in a well-tailored dark everyday suit.

His skin was fair, his short dark red hair was meticulously styled, and his whole demeanor was as calm as water.

The maid, transformed from a Faceless Paper Figure, had delicate features and a cold, alluring aura, standing quietly with her hands by her side behind Li Ke.

This combination of master and servant immediately drew the discreet glances of many passengers in the restaurant.

If a Clairvoyance with keen perception were to observe closely, they might notice that the shadow beneath Li Ke's feet was deeper and more viscous than the surrounding shadows.

A Silver Armor Corpse was silently lurking within it, merging with Li Ke's shadow.

A moment later,

The waiter respectfully served mushroom cream soup and several local specialty dishes.

Li Ke leisurely savored them.

He was noncommittal about the taste of these mundane foods.

In fact, after Foundation Establishment, he no longer needed to consume these foods to absorb energy.

The reason he maintained the habit of eating was simply to retain a sense of "human" authenticity.

Cultivating Demonic Technique too much often led to mental issues.

Sometimes, people needed something as an "anchor point."

Unfortunately,

These Western meals, no matter how they were prepared, always seemed to use the same few cooking methods.

Compared to the profound Chinese cuisine of his previous life, they were truly bland and tasteless.

Li Ke casually took a few bites and glanced out the window.

This was not his first time in Oak Tree City,

but each time he had only briefly passed through, never observing it in detail.

Outside the window, there were bustling crowds, uniquely styled spired buildings, and towering oak trees growing everywhere, collectively forming the unique scenery of Oak Tree City.

This city was far more prosperous than Xilin Town, and it possessed a deeper sense of history.

However, after learning about the bizarre Bloodline disease of the Bloodline nobles, the Holy See's strange silence, and the rampant cults...

He had a faint feeling that this prosperity might not last much longer.

After finishing his meal,

Li Ke called the waiter over, pushing two copper coins to the edge of the table with his slender fingers.

"I'm new to Oak Tree City and wish to establish some business here."

His voice was gentle, without any emotional fluctuations.

"I wonder if the lord of this city, the Oak Tree County Earl Family, is easy to meet? Are there any taboos I should be aware of?"

The waiter glanced at the maid behind Li Ke, whose appearance and temperament were both excellent, and at Li Ke's composed demeanor.

He thought to himself that this must be someone of importance.

He took the copper coins, a smile spreading across his face:

"Sir, you jest. The adults of the Oak Tree County Earl Family have rarely concerned themselves with the city's specific affairs in recent years."

The waiter lowered his voice a few notches.

"In the past, Young Master Elvin would occasionally appear at some celebrations, but recently, he hasn't been seen for a long time."

"If you wish to do business in the city, dealing with the Political Affairs Office might be the proper way."

Li Ke's eyes flickered slightly.

Indeed,

according to what he saw in Valen Mountain last time,

Alvin Oak's condition was probably very bad.

Perhaps, the entire Oak Tree County Earl Family was in great trouble.

...

At the same time.

Outside Oak Tree City, Valen Mountain Vineyard.

What was once fertile land was now a scarred wasteland, arid and desertified,

with lingering traces of a giant's rampage.

Two figures stood silently amidst the ruins.

One of them had a face densely covered with long, thin steel needles, looking terrifyingly gruesome.

The other was a woman with a graceful figure and almost perfect features,

but upon closer inspection, one could notice that her face was covered with countless extremely subtle, almost imperceptible suture lines.

Her eyes, nose, and mouth—every feature was exquisitely beautiful.

However, when these perfect parts were combined, they exuded a subtle sense of disharmony.

It was as if the most outstanding features of different stunning beauties had been forcibly pieced together onto one face, creating an indescribable strangeness.

"Needle-Face," Marcus.

"Golden Seamstress," Sheila.

Both were notorious figures on the Radiant Light Holy Court's wanted list.

"The Substitute Death Skeleton was indeed taken by someone here," Sheila's voice echoed, carrying a strange overlapping quality, as if many people were speaking at once.

"Elvin is truly useless; he couldn't even keep something delivered to his doorstep. I don't know why Lord Witch King values him."

The steel needles on Marcus's face trembled slightly.

He ignored Sheila's dissatisfied complaints,

instead reaching out and slowly pulling a long, thin steel needle from his face,

then inserting it into the sandy ground beneath his feet.

Marcus closed his eyes and began to chant, performing some kind of evil art.

A moment later,

Marcus suddenly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and blew a puff of air towards the ground.

The dust on the ground was stirred up by his breath.

Instead of scattering, the tiny dust particles strangely condensed in mid-air,

eventually forming a blurry, dynamic image.

A white human figure flew through the air Li Ke a pile of shredded paper,

and two blurry figures, one tall and one short, slowly merged into the continuously extending shadow.

The image was very blurry, only allowing for the rough outlines to be distinguished.

Moreover, it quickly fluctuated in the air, seeming about to dissipate.

Just as the image was about to collapse, Marcus suddenly reached out and grabbed!

He forcibly extracted a wisp of extremely faint grayish-white aura from the nearly dissipated blurry image.

The wisp of aura coiled around his withered fingertips, continuously swirling.

"Hmph hmph... Although a bit blurry, it's enough."

Marcus's face revealed a sinister smile.

He turned his head to look at Sheila beside him,

several steel needles on his face trembling slightly due to his twisted smile.

"Anyway, we were already coming to the Mist Auction."

"Now it seems it's just conveniently on the way."

The wisp of grayish-white aura swirled around his fingertips for a moment,

eventually subtly pointing towards Oak Tree City.