Elias knelt on the carpet, sketching the final twisted and hidden rune.
The promotion ritual array was complete.
“Hey, kid.”
Old Ed’s voice called out from the depths of his mind.
The old man’s tone was laced with worry.
“Have you really thought this through?”
“Performing the ritual without any offerings? You might just waste a perfectly good potion!”
Hearing this.
Elias gave a bitter smile.
He tried to use his divergent thinking to dispel the gloom weighing on his heart.
“Old Ed.”
“Think about it for a second.”
“If that horse in the dream really wanted to kill me...”
He paused, his voice becoming incredibly certain.
“Then I wouldn't have even had the chance to wake up on this ragged carpet.”
“You wouldn't have the luxury of worrying about a potion right now.”
“You’d be desperately trying to figure out how to pray that I don't die.”
“I suppose that's true...”
The old man muttered to himself.
Then, like a fanatic caught in a theological paradox, Old Ed’s tone became conflicted.
“But...”
“Why would the great Moon Lord have a messenger like that?”
He seemed to be asking Elias this question.
Or perhaps he was just questioning the air.
“Heh.”
Elias suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Whether it’s even a messenger of the Moon Lord...”
“That’s still up in the air.”
“What?!”
At that moment.
It was the first time the old man had heard such a bombshell.
Just imagine.
Using the Ascetic Society’s purest Dream Prayer Ritual.
Only to summon a completely unknown divine messenger?
This wasn't just a simple case of getting the wrong product!
For Old Ed.
This was practically a crisis of trust from Elias!
If he couldn't explain this clearly, Elias would definitely think the old ghost was secretly digging a pit for him!
“Listen to me!”
Old Ed panicked completely, his voice filled with confusion.
“When I was alive, I used this exact ritual array!”
“Has the ritual method changed after fifty years?”
“That’s impossible!”
Old Ed flatly rejected his own guess.
“From its fundamental logic, the Dream Prayer Ritual can only ever point to the Moon Lord!”
“Because in this damned world, besides the Moon Lord, no other god possesses complete authority over spirituality and dreams!”
Listening to the old man’s incessant, desperate explanations in his head.
Elias simply sat calmly in the center of the array.
In truth, he had no intention of doubting Old Ed at all.
The logic was simple.
If this old ghost really wanted to harm him, why bother waiting so long?
Elias knew very well.
The reason the old man was overreacting like a startled bird.
Was mostly because of the words left by that mysterious lady from the Ascetic Society.
Those words were like a thorn embedded in Old Ed’s nerves.
“Alright, stop howling.”
Elias interrupted the old man’s frantic outburst.
“We can only hope that the other party came with good intentions.”
Though he said that, the hollow sensation of falling in the depths of his heart hadn't vanished.
He couldn't be sure.
He really couldn't gauge the temperament of this 'fellow countryman.'
Elias closed his eyes and began to calmly review everything.
Logically speaking.
Compared to other local ascetics, what was the only thing that made him special?
There was only one answer.
Inside this shell named Elias was the soul of a modern person, Jiang Huan.
And during that Dream Prayer Ritual just now.
That unknown existence seemed to be using a subtle way to constantly remind him of who he was.
It was even forcefully emphasizing his true identity!
For example.
In the reflection of that strange puddle, he saw Jiang Huan’s face.
Or another example.
The way the horse casually mentioned the “Year of the Horse.”
From these dense details, it was perfectly clear.
Not only did the other party come without malice, but they even possessed a bizarre sense of humor, like one 'fellow countryman' greeting another.
In any case, with Elias’s current Scale One level.
Crushing him would be as simple as squashing an ant.
But Elias still couldn't figure out one critical problem.
That was, if during the upcoming promotion ritual.
He actually followed that horse’s nonsense and forcibly started the ritual without any offerings.
Would this massive amount of spirituality really point accurately toward the Moon Lord’s path as Old Ed said?
What if it went off course and connected to some unspeakable evil god?
Right now.
Elias was faced with a brutal choice.
Either.
Honestly follow the horse’s words and proceed with the promotion without any offerings.
Or.
Randomly choose something he 'cared' about from his person to use as an offering.
Elias almost wanted to laugh at that.
He had nothing here.
Of course.
There was one last option.
To follow that lady’s suggestion and place the bone flute on the offering spot.
Elias shook his head decisively.
That was practically a death wish!
First of all.
The bone flute was a supernatural item with a strong 'summoning intent.'
It was highly likely an extremely dangerous containment object.
Placing it openly in the ritual array as an offering?
Who knew what terrifying creature from the depths of the spirit world it would summon—something he wouldn't be able to handle?
Secondly.
Although that lady didn't seem to harbor any obvious malice toward him for now.
But thinking carefully about her purpose for leaving the bone flute...
Did she want him to use the bone flute to have an Audience with a specific god?
This possibility wasn't just there; it was highly probable!
He quickly weighed the pros and cons of these three choices in his mind.
After a moment of hesitation.
Elias finally gritted his teeth and decided to see this through to the end.
He would follow the horse’s advice!
No offerings!
After all, this seemingly most unreliable method was actually the most conservative and safe approach right now.
Whether he used the junk he had on him or that lethal bone flute.
Both would introduce extremely uncontrollable variables into this fragile ritual, leading to unknowable, horrific changes.
And if he didn't use an offering?
The worst-case scenario would just be a failed promotion.
At most, he’d waste a potion—which was better than having his brain sucked dry by a spirit world creature.
“Are you sure?”
In his mind, Old Ed seemed to sense the sink-or-swim determination in Elias’s emotions and asked him seriously once more.
“Yeah.”
Elias gave a low grunt of affirmation.
He abruptly pulled the cork from the glass bottle, tilted his head back, and drained the Scale Two potion in one go!
Then, he quickly closed his eyes and began to mutter the words of the prayer in the center of the array.
Gulp.
The potion slid down his esophagus and into his stomach.
Unexpectedly.
This so-called new formula potion actually tasted much better than the Scale One potion he had taken the first time!
But that made sense; the last bottle had been mixed from Old Ed’s fifty-year-old supernatural materials.
It was only natural that it had tasted awful.
The moment the potion was finished.
Elias felt a surge of spirituality like a bursting dam, crashing into every corner of his body!
It was then slowly absorbed by his sea of rationality.
This power instantly filled the massive spiritual gap torn open earlier from staying in the dream too long and nearly falling into the spirit world.
It felt incredible!
He felt an instantaneous burst of energy, as if he’d been given a massive shot of adrenaline!
All his mental exhaustion was swept away!
Buzz!
Under the pull of the massive spirituality, Elias’s consciousness once again familiarized itself with sinking toward the bottomless abyss.
Entering the dream.
During the descent.
Elias’s heart hammered against his chest.
He clenched his fists, his mind racing with possibilities.
A Scale Two promotion ritual!
What kind of grand spectacle would he witness this time?
Or would everything fall apart at the final step?
The sensation of weightlessness stopped abruptly.
Elias snapped his eyes open.
However, what met his eyes was...
Only the familiar woodland.
Elias muttered in confusion:
“Back for a second round?”
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