Published at 13th of March 2026 6:39 am

Chapter 2636: The Mark of the Blood Blossom

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Previously, when Dox was worried that the "ticket" was Magic Crystals, Angel was somewhat dismissive, because the energy here was extremely stable, so energy wasn’t an issue at all. Besides, why would an Alchemy Golem in the ruins need Magic Crystals?

Moreover, the Wood Spirit had been here before, and it definitely didn’t have Magic Crystals on it. That’s why Angel judged that the "ticket" was not Magic Crystals.

But now, due to ignorance of the effects of Cicia’s Box, after weighing the options, Magic Crystals turned out to be the most suitable Testing Stone.

As for who should provide the Magic Crystals?

This time, Angel didn’t consult the group’s opinion and proactively took out a bag of Magic Crystals, prepared to pay them himself.

Firstly, Angel indeed did not lack Magic Crystals; secondly, whether Magic Crystals could be exchanged for a pass ticket was still a question, and Angel remained skeptical about it.

Since there was doubt, then best to try it himself; at worst, he’d only lose a few Magic Crystals.

Moreover, if Magic Crystals could indeed buy tickets, then there would be follow-up considerations. Either Angel’s one ticket could take everyone through, or each person would have to buy one individually.

So, arguing about who should provide the Magic Crystals at this point was a complete waste of time. Perhaps, in the end, everyone would have to spend Magic Crystals.

Angel taking the initiative actually saved everyone the discussion time.

However, just when Angel was prepared to bleed his own Magic Crystals, someone surprised him by being even quicker.

A figure quickly dashed out of the Moving Mirage and then stood in front of the Alchemy Golem.

The mechanical voice of the Alchemy Golem sounded again:

"Face not recorded in archive, non-researcher, non-prisoner, no criminal record."

"Status temporarily assigned: civilian."

"Operational privileges, none."

As the Alchemy Golem recited its mechanical lines, the person standing before it turned around and showed Angel a flattering smile:

"Sir, I’ll provide the Magic Crystals. I don’t go out much in Mesomyia, and I’ve saved a lot of Magic Crystals through divination without a place to spend them, so let me do it this time."

The speaker was naturally Angel’s new little fan, Vay.

Before Angel could respond, Dox began to complain: "You have a lot of Magic Crystals saved up? Then why did you say you didn’t have any when I asked to borrow some last time?"

Vay rolled his eyes at his friend: "If I lend it to you, could you repay it? I did your divinations without charging you any Magic Crystals, what more do you want?"

Dox looked aggrieved: "Aren’t we good friends?"

"So just because we’re friends, you can borrow without repaying? Then why don’t you lend me your Cross Tavern, and I’ll help you run it for a few days?" Vay retorted angrily.

To Dox, the most important possession was the Cross Tavern. Vay knew this well, so his words hit Dox where it hurt.

Dox stammered for a long time, speechless.

Vay ignored Dox and turned his head, looking a little embarrassedly at Angel: "Sir, shall I start my attempt?"

The plot took a series of twists and turns, leaving Angel in a daze for a moment before coming to his senses.

Facing Vay’s hopeful expression, Angel originally intended to refuse directly, because "Magic Crystals" were only a Testing Stone, they wouldn’t necessarily exchange for a "ticket," and if Cicia’s Box required something more significant and unavoidable, even a forced transaction could occur.

Given Vay’s current ability, he would definitely suffer a loss.

Therefore, Angel still wanted to handle the initial transaction himself.

But eventually, Angel nodded. Because he noticed Black Earl’s tablet appeared on Vay.

Since Black Earl appeared on Vay, it was likely that Vay was instructed by Black Earl to rush out. Perhaps Black Earl had some deeper intentions?

Or maybe it was simply Black Earl being "generous."

Regardless of the reason, since it was Black Earl instructing Vay, even if something went wrong, Cicia’s Box probably wouldn’t be able to harm Vay.

What Angel didn’t know was... Vay wasn’t instructed by Black Earl to rush out, but did so voluntarily. From Vay’s perspective, since the idol had been supporting him along the way, he had no means to repay. Offering some Magic Crystals was his sincere gesture.

In reality, Vay emerged to relieve his "idol’s" burden.

But Black Earl was forced to "operate."

Whatever Angel envisioned, Black Earl couldn’t possibly overlook. Although Vay was his bloodline descendant who inherited his talent for the nose, should troubles arise, it wouldn’t be pleasant. Thus, Black Earl, lounging comfortably in the Moving Mirage, was compelled to fly out, managing any potential "after-effects" for Vay.

...

After receiving Angel’s confirmation, Vay turned around and looked at the Alchemy Golem... and then he froze.

He had been preoccupied with the thought of helping Angel unburden, completely overlooking what kind of procedure this so-called "ticket purchase" required.

In other words, what should he do now? Directly toss the Magic Crystals into the pitch-black Box?

While Vay was deliberating, a cold snort rang within his mind.

"Feeling lost now? Why weren’t you lost when you charged out earlier?"

Undoubtedly, the only one who could directly communicate psychically without using a Mind Ribbon was Black Earl.

Upon hearing Black Earl’s voice, Vay immediately hung his head guiltily, muttering inwardly: "I, I just wanted to share the burden for the team earlier. After all, until now I haven’t really contributed much. Offering some Magic Crystals, I can manage..."

Black Earl coldly retorted: "Now you dare to lie in my face, eight parts truth, two parts falsehood. Is it sharing the team’s burden, or trying to earn some credit in front of Angel, you think I can’t see through it?"

Having his thoughts exposed, Vay appeared even more embarrassed, hanging his head lower.

"I really question how your brain works? Staying well within the Illusionary Realm, you come running out, exposing yourself, potentially having to pay for two tickets in the end."

Vay dared not make a sound.

Black Earl sighed deeply, suppressing the reprimand on the tip of his tongue, as everyone was waiting for Vay to start "purchasing tickets," continuing would waste everyone’s time.

Black Earl: "If you don’t know the process, just ask directly!"

Vay: "Ask... ask Chaowei, sir?"

Black Earl: "He hasn’t operated it before either, is asking him useful? I mean ask this Alchemy Golem directly!"

Gathering his courage, Vay inhaled deeply, and amidst everyone’s gaze, addressed the Alchemy Golem: "I am willing to offer my treasures as passage expenses, what should I do?"

After he spoke, Vay feared the Alchemy Golem might not respond. But evidently, he worried too much—this basic question was undoubtedly inscribed in the Alchemy Golem’s feedback mechanism.

Moments passed as the Alchemy Golem’s eyes flickered a deep red, and its cold, mechanical voice resumed: "Offer your treasure to Cicia’s Box, and once the standard is met, Cicia’s Box will naturally open a pathway for you."

Black Earl instructed Vay mentally: "Ask it how to determine if the standard is met."

Vay faithfully repeated the question.

Alchemy Golem: "Place your hand on Cicia’s Box, it will tell you."

Seeing Vay articulate the procedure, Angel nodded silently to himself; evidently, his speculation was right—it was Black Earl who was secretly directing Vay.

On the other side, upon hearing the answer, Vay began his first attempt.

According to the method of "gradually increasing" given by the Black Earl, to test how many Magic Crystals the Cicia Box requires to be satisfied.

The first test should neither be too generous nor too stingy.

After pondering for a moment, Vay took out ten crystal-clear Magic Crystals and tossed them into the dark opening of the Cicia Box.

After the Magic Crystals disappeared, Vay waited for several seconds, but the Cicia Box did not give any feedback.

"Does this mean it’s not enough?" At this moment, Vay also didn’t know the situation, but he remembered that the Alchemy Golem had said, placing your hand on the Cicia Box could give you an answer.

Thinking of this, Vay stretched out his hand and carefully touched the Cicia Box.

At the moment he touched the Cicia Box, Vay suddenly felt as if his hand had been glued to something. He was startled and tried to break free, but the more he struggled, the more he couldn’t move.

Vay wanted to seek help from others, but when he turned around, he realized that the surroundings were pitch black, and not even the stone slab of the Black Earl was visible.

What’s going on? Why has everyone else disappeared?

Just as Vay was feeling frightened, a crisp female voice sounded in his ear.

"Ten Magic Crystals with such mixed energy purity, and you want to dismiss me with these? Do you understand what a treasure is? Do you understand? Get lost!"

With a coquettish shout, Vay suddenly felt a pain in his forehead, and his whole body began to feel dizzy. After the dizziness passed, Vay raised his eyes and found that the people who had disappeared earlier were all looking at him now.

Vay was just about to ask what had happened, but he felt his vision turn red. — It wasn’t that the surroundings turned red, but that blood blurred his eyes.

Vay hesitated for a moment and reached out to touch his forehead.

Amidst the pain, there was a sticky feeling.

Undoubtedly, his forehead was bleeding.

"What happened?" Vay said blankly.

"We were about to ask you the same thing! Why did you suddenly freeze up?" Dox’s voice came through the Mind Ribbon.

Vay, still not fully recovered, instinctively looked toward the Black Earl beside him.

The Black Earl sighed and said to Vay alone, "See, this is the outcome of you insisting on going first. Sigh..."

After saying this, the Black Earl switched to the Mind Ribbon and said to Vay, "It seems that what you experienced is different from what we saw. You’ll have to tell us about your experience later; as for what we saw..."

The Black Earl paused, "We saw you touch the Cicia Box, and then you put your head over the opening of the box. Five Magic Crystals flew out of the box and hit your forehead. Those five Magic Crystals were probably five of the ten crystals you put in earlier."

After the Black Earl finished speaking, Dox added, "The position where those five Magic Crystals flew out was just perfect, as if it had been calculated, precisely forming a five-petaled leaf flower on your forehead."

Dox spoke these words while struggling to suppress his laughter.

Upon hearing this, Vay immediately used an earth trick to create a smooth Crystal Stone prism.

Through the reflection of the prism, Vay clearly saw that a "five-petaled flower" had indeed appeared at the center of his forehead. Moreover, it was a bloody flower, with blood flowing along the petals, leaving Vay’s entire face soaked in blood.

Dox: "To create such a shape with five Magic Crystals requires remarkable control. Was it done by this Cicia Box?"

Vay did not respond but sat dumbfounded on the ground, his face heating up.

Perhaps others thought it wasn’t much, but Vay was a bit of a homebody who rarely went out. Now being the center of attention and a topic of laughter, it made him... terribly embarrassed.

At this moment, a gentle breeze brushed across Vay’s face.

The warm and moist wind mingled together, yet it didn’t feel uncomfortable, instead rather comforting. Accompanied by this warm and humid breeze, the blood on Vay’s face was washed clean, and the injury of the "five-petaled flower" on his head was also healed.

By the time the warm breeze disappeared, Vay was mostly recovered, and the mark on his forehead was almost invisible.

Vay looked up and saw Angel withdrawing his magic power. Clearly, it was Angel who had just healed and cleaned him.

While Vay felt emotionally moved, he also felt a bit downcast.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked with concern.

"I-I’m fine." Vay lowered his head, somewhat dejectedly saying, "I originally wanted to share the burden for the Master, but I ended up messing up."

"Messed up? Who told you that." Angel said, "The Magic Crystals were just a Testing Stone; it was always possible for an incident to occur. You didn’t mess up. It’s just that..."

Angel pondered his words for a moment, "... collecting data?"

Angel appeared to console him, but in truth, he was speaking his genuine thoughts. If it had been him instead, he would have also used Magic Crystals to test the waters initially, and would have started with a small amount, adding more if it wasn’t enough.

Only, Angel had not expected this Cicia Box to be even more temperamental than he imagined.

Not only did it swallow half of the Magic Crystals, it also used the Magic Crystals given by Vay to crown him with a flower of blood.

Reflecting on this, Angel saw that Vay’s emotions had somewhat recovered, and then said, "Tell us about your experience. What did you feel when you came into contact with the box?"

Vay did not hold anything back and recounted the peculiar situation in detail.

After everyone listened, they fell into deep thought.

After a while, Angel spoke first, "This Cicia Box is indeed interesting. According to Vay’s account, it seems less like an Alchemy Work and more like a spirit-attached tool."

Meaning, the capability of appraisal might not come from the Cicia Box itself, but from a soul capable of appraisal, imprisoned within.

Angel paused for a moment and added, "However, I didn’t feel any aura of a soul."

The Black Earl also nodded, "I didn’t smell the scent of a soul either."

Angel: "Whether it’s spirit-attached or not, I’ll know by trying it out."

This time, when Angel said he was going to try, no one objected. They had seen Vay’s outcome, and even though it wasn’t fatal, they didn’t want to embarrass themselves.

The Black Earl: "Be careful when you attempt it. From the blood of Vay, I’ve detected some dangerous omens. The Cicia Box might be more mysterious than you and I imagine."

Angel nodded. From Vay’s earlier description, it was clear that even if the Cicia Box was a spirit-attached tool, it inherently possessed substantial power.

Vay himself felt adhered for at least two or three minutes, yet in their eyes, Vay only performed two actions: touching the Cicia Box and then leaning over to be hit.

The perception of time was evidently different for both parties.

Though in moments of panic, it was indeed sometimes felt as if time passed slowly, this was just a cognitive illusion. Yet, post-stepping onto the path of the Transcendent, the perceptual direction is typically uninfluenced as the Mind Space exists subtly amidst reality and illusion, even an apprentice can partly ward off the intrusion of perception.

Therefore, this shouldn’t be Vay’s issue, rather, there’s something odd about the box or the "person" inside who spoke.

Although the unknown, strangeness, and the danger smelled by the Black Earl cast a shadow over this "venture,"

Yet, even so, Angel still intended to give it a try.

Even a Wood Spirit could pass through, and given the Wood Spirit couldn’t possibly possess anything highly valuable, there’s no reason they couldn’t pass either.

There certainly must be some factor influencing the judgment of the Cicia Box.

Angel decided to personally try to find out what the so-called "treasure" is that the Cicia Box uses for its judgment.

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