The sin of Gluttony was fully displayed at this moment, with the Phoenix's fire as its source, blood and fire spreading throughout the hall. Blood seeped from under Xia De's hands, and the black tablecloth gradually turned blood red.
Xia De, dressed in blood-red clothes, sat at one end of the empty long table. As he rose from a prone position, gold and silver tableware fell one by one from above. In the firelight, the enticingly fragrant food transformed from illusory to real. Shiny plates reflected the golden candlelight ignited by the Phoenix's fire. There was no snow falling from above; instead, the power of sin connected with more of the defiled power Xia De had once devoured.
Like a divine wine party, strings of fangs hung down in the bloody light. The strong smell of blood even stained the statues, hidden in the shadows with expressions of horror, with a crimson hue.
Bloodlight and firelight intertwined, making the dim banquet hall even more ethereal at this moment. Xia De, aboard the Fishbone Pirate Ship, displayed the power of the Lord of the Blood Banquet based on the little match girl. And at this moment, by virtue of his increasingly skilled application of the Gluttony power, he recreated that eerie blood-red banquet solely with the Phoenix's fire.
"The Phoenix has awakened?"
Mr. Armand Bernhardt, the Vampire, was not surprised by the power Xia De displayed, but attributed it to the Ancient One on the mountain. Sister Devlin, whose silver eye patch reflected the bloodlight, turned her head slightly to look at Xia De, as if encountering a difficult problem to understand.
"Blood Feast."
The owner of the mansion, that decrepit old man, showed a look of surprise for the first time. He leaned on the table, trying to stand up, but failed. He could only stare wide-eyed at the young man in blood-red clothes on the other side of the long table:
"What do you want to do?"
Although somewhat flustered, he still maintained his composure.
"You just need to answer one question for me."
Even with the support of the Phoenix's flames, the Ling in Xia De's body was still flowing rapidly. It was by leveraging the power of "Gluttony" precipitated in his divinity that he could recreate this scene again and again, but the consumption of such a scene was even greater than that of a Mystic Lock:
"When we were playing cards just now, did you cheat?"
Xia De, in his blood-red clothes, asked in a deep voice.
The old man's pale, corpse-like lips twitched:
"You all leave. This gamble, I lost."
"Do you admit your sin?"
"Yes, I cheated. This is the sin of lies and deception, and I will not deny it."
"Hand over the pearl earrings I want, the Sin Fire the Sister wants, and the Blood Cup this gentleman wants."
"I can give them to you, but you also have to answer a question of mine."
He pressed his hands on the table and lunged forward. At the same time, all the human figurines around him turned towards Xia De, glaring at him. The diffused blood mist seemed to be impacted by an invisible wind, and the fangs hanging from the ceiling swayed and collided with each other.
Pure black patterns, representing the power of sin, were invading the Blood Feast. The red and black powers clashed in an unseen twisted void, and the violent confrontation of blood and sin, fire and malice, shattered all the surrounding glass.
Mr. Bernhardt quickly covered his head and dodged. The Sister placed her hands folded on her lap, and the firelight and blood color reflected on her flawless eye patch. She was still "gazing" at Xia De.
Clearly, although Xia De had the upper hand, the mansion's owner was not without any power to retaliate:
"You are borrowing someone else's power to temporarily suppress Sin Mansion, but this power does not belong to you."
He spoke in a suppressed voice, describing Xia De's current state. His hands pressed on the table, and black patterns representing the power of great sin resisted the spread of the blood color:
"Gluttony, greed, sloth. You now possess the power of three original sins, but I can see that this is not your deepest sin. Tell me—
Outsider, what exactly is your great sin? I admit I committed the sin of deception and lies. What about you, Outsider, do you admit your sin?"
"My sin?"
Xia De frowned:
"God loves the world, I..."
Mr. Bernhardt, shocked by this scene, looked at Xia De, while Sister Devlin lowered her head, arranging the cards in front of her among the shimmering gold and silver tableware. She seemed to have completely understood what was happening.
"...I..."
"God loves the world, do you love them?"
"She" suddenly whispered in Xia De's ear, almost causing Xia De's serious expression to break.
"God loves the world, I am not God, but I long for that state."
Perhaps to Sister Devlin and Mr. Bernhardt, Xia De meant that he intended to show kindness to everyone like God, but this actually meant that Xia De intended to become God.
"No, this is not your great sin."
The owner of the mansion said in a low voice:
"Do you not even have the courage to face your own heart, Outsider? Carrying such heavy power forward, do you truly not know your own sin?"
Resisting the power of the Blood Feast from the divine, his entire body was deforming. The image of the dying old man was merely an appearance; the true mansion owner, who was devoured after excavating the power of sin in an ancient epoch, had long since become a monster.
Xia De recalled many past events since he came to this world nearly four months ago:
"God loves the world, I love myself."
Accompanied by a soft laugh in his ear, the old man across the long table also began to laugh wildly. Xia De even thought he would laugh himself to death:
"So that's it, this world actually has a lunatic like you. Go, all of you, go. A lunatic like you existing in the world is definitely more interesting than staying here. Great Sin! desire! Very good, very good, you will be my companion, you are even crazier than me."
The human figurines in the firelight and shadows delivered a pair of pearl earrings and an ancient blood-red metal wine cup into Xia De's and Bernhardt's hands, respectively. Xia De looked at the pair of earrings, clearly relics, and knew very well that they were the culprits behind the current situation. Bernhardt's face showed an expression of ecstasy; this foreign nobleman could no longer control his emotions at this moment.
Then, a defiled flame, as if collected from the abyss, was thrown by the old man to Sister Devlin. She was immediately engulfed by the black fire, and even Bernhardt across the table could feel the terror of that flame. But that flame was then covered by another kind of flame, and it vanished without a trace in an instant.
"Craving the Sin Fire will only bring self-immolation. Sister, I don't know which deity you believe in, but your end, God must have already guessed. Because I, it was because I unearthed the Sin Fire underground that I became like this... Leave, all of you, leave."
Xia De stood up, and with a wave of his hand, his rhode cards left Sister Devlin and Mr. Bernhardt's hands respectively. As he stood up, the Blood Feast absorbed the power representing sin from the surroundings into Xia De's body, but it had no immediate effect on him.
Sister Devlin and Mr. Bernhardt also stood up, while the old man was still laughing madly. The blood color gradually faded, and the vessels holding the abundant food disappeared one by one.
Xia De walked in front, followed closely by the Sister and Mr. Bernhardt. They followed the old man, who had appeared at the door at some unknown time, carrying a kerosene lamp, and left the banquet hall. But the mocking, wild laughter still lingered in their ears.
"Am I really stupid?"
Xia De asked in his mind, and immediately received an answer. She softly gave a reply, the ancient language spoke in a murmuring sound, as if a breeze brushed his ear, that voice was in his ear, in his heart, she was always like this:
"There is no need to belittle yourself."
"Why?"
"Because..."
The group passed through the corridor, which had been damaged by Sister Devlin's flames but had somehow returned to its original state. The Vampire walking behind was still mesmerized, looking at the Blood Cup in his hand, while the Sister's eye patch was fixed on Xia De's back.
...I am you."
He recalled again the memory of his neck being encircled by a smooth, silver-glowing arm in front of the Death Door.
"Will you be with me forever?"
"Yes."
She chuckled:
"My dear, Outsider."
Away from the third floor, hunger still gnawed at Xia De. But because the mansion's owner had personally promised to let everyone leave, the group safely descended from the third floor to the first floor. Upon reaching the large entrance hall, Xia De hesitated and stopped:
"You all go first, I promised someone I would return this."
Xia De shook the pair of pearl earrings in his hand. The accessories demanded by desire were, of course, not ordinary items; they were relics with very significant whisper elements. The path to leave was now ahead, and Xia De didn't actually need to return to the wine cellar, as he no longer needed to exit through it. But after careful consideration, Xia De still didn't want to deceive a Level 0 relic.
Xia De could even imagine that if he left now, perhaps when he returned home, he would see that woman's head emerge from the bathtub in the bathroom of Saint Delan Square Six, with all the gaslights extinguished.
"I'll go with you."
Sister Devlin said softly.
Armand Bernhardt hesitated, then looked down at the wine glass in his hand again, gritted his teeth, and said:
"Then I'll go with you too."
He did this to thank Xia De for his help.
"No need, it's just a quick trip, and the danger in the basement is actually greater than in Sin Mansion itself."
He didn't know if Sister Devlin and the Vampire understood his meaning. He turned and walked along the corridor to the left:
"Wait for me outside, I'll be out very soon."
Behind him, Armand Bernhardt looked at Sister Devlin hesitantly:
"Excuse me, are you the leader of the Spiritual Cultivation Order? Actually, I have some matters I'd like your help with, for a fee, of course."
"We can go outside and talk."
Sister Devlin said, and beside them, the old man holding the oil lamp had already strenuously pushed open the mansion's main door:
"Do you sell the oil lamp in your hand?"
Sister Devlin asked softly.
(Mia is running.)
No one in the mansion would stop Xia De anymore, so after a temporary farewell to his companions, he successfully returned to the underground wine cellar.
After arriving at the bottom of the wine cellar from the elevator, the light from the gurgling pool reflected shimmering ripples on Xia De's face.
"That was fast, and you have the smell of fire on you. Is it the Phoenix from underground?"
desire let out a joyful laugh.
It seemed that after arriving at Sin Mansion, everyone knew there was a Phoenix on Sicar Mountain.
"Yes."
He spread his hand, revealing the pair of golden pearl earrings. Under the effect of the Miracle Moving Objects, they slowly floated towards the pool.
"I thought you would just walk over."
The woman's head, emerging from the edge of the pool, said with a smile. Xia De felt that after the pearl earrings floated for a distance, he lost control of them. The earrings separated, flying one to the left and one to the right towards the ears of the pretty woman's head, and fixed themselves there:
"Do I look pretty?"
The "woman," with wet hair, shyly asked Xia De by the pool. But this scene, far from making Xia De feel romantic, made him somewhat terrified. A mere smile from her had the power to charm minds; she truly was desire itself.
"Of course, pretty. To be honest, I haven't seen a prettier face than yours so far."
"Although you're a bit timid, you're still honest."
A shy blush appeared on that pretty face:
"sloth, so this is the new sin. See, I told you, sin walks with you."
"But I think this seems to be a sin you induced me to acquire."
Xia De corrected, but the woman just chuckled, and her laughter was truly beautiful.
"Of course, not as beautiful as you."
He added in his mind.
Thank you.
"This is the gift I promised you; I think you'll like it."
With a soft gurgling sound, a fair right hand emerged from the water, clutching a rolled-up parchment. Judging by its thickness, the parchment, once unrolled, would probably be no less than 5 feet (about 1.5 m) long. And although it was taken from the water, there was no water on the parchment at all.
desire knew Xia De wouldn't approach, so the roll of ancient parchment automatically flew towards Xia De. Xia De reached out and caught it, feeling no whisper element at all, which meant this thing was not a relic.
"This is Knowledge, or more precisely, it's a book."
"What book?"
Xia De held the heavy parchment scroll, examining it up and down. The edges of the parchment had some burnt marks.
"The pink book."
"Hmm?"
He looked up at her, then quickly averted his gaze. Now, both fair hands were extended, clasped together on the pool ledge in front of her head. But strangely, her shoulders and neck were still not visible.
"I know the pink book, this is..."
"It's not the copies you know; this is a transcribed copy of the original pink book, and I transcribed it."
The woman's slightly hoarse voice was exceptionally pleasant to listen to.
"The original pink book originated in ancient times, yes, very ancient. When I transcribed it, I changed the content to Knowledge suitable for the sixth epoch's extraordinary system. Read it a few times, and acquiring Ling Runes won't be difficult. I think you'll be interested in it."
Xia De had seen a pink book on the bookshelves of Saint Byron's Library during his first visit. He later learned from Dorothy, who had read many books, that this book was... a book for aiding reproduction. Although its content sounded very improper, the Knowledge about Miracles, Miracles, and rituals within it was actually very useful, though mostly used for improper purposes in this book.
For example, the famous Greasy Miracle and Local Petrification Miracle, these ancient Miracles still thrived in the sixth epoch. And because of the diversification of Xia De's Miracles, the advantage of Miracles over Miracles, and his rapid leveling up, he hadn't had time to spend money to choose useful Miracles from the academy's vast list of Miracles, but this didn't mean he wasn't interested in this Knowledge.
For a normal Ring術士, the number of Miracles being three to four times the number of Miracles is normal, but Xia De was almost the opposite.
"So... thank you?"
He said hesitantly, accepting the parchment roll, and decided that to prevent accidents, he would open it only after returning home, in front of the statue behind the hidden wall.
"No need to thank me, Xia De Hamilton."
She spoke Xia De's name very accurately, then let out that pleasant laugh again:
"This chance encounter is probably fate's arrangement. I think this won't be our last meeting."
Xia De, however, very much wanted this encounter to be the last one.
"Then, we... um, until next time?"
He just wanted to leave now.
"Sin is also your power. I hope that next time we meet, you can bring me more surprises, at least more surprising than this crazy Phoenix."
"Sin is not my power."
Xia De corrected, then heard a gurgling sound, as if something huge was stirring the water at the bottom of the pool:
"Oh, how young, how naive."
Both arms retracted into the water, and the woman's head, moving away from the edge of the pool, smiled and looked at Xia De:
"Answer me one question."
As she spoke, the head had already returned to the center of the pool.
"Please."
Xia De noticed the head slowly sinking into the water, but the pretty eyes, as if capable of absorbing human souls, still looked at Xia De:
"When the final moment comes, and everything enters Death, is the power of sin not power?"
She didn't give Xia De a chance to answer. The pretty face completely submerged in the water, but there was no trace of hair floating on the surface.
The gurgling water sounds gradually disappeared, and the light from the bottom of the pool slowly extinguished. Looking at the square pool again, it was clearly filled with red wine.
The underground wine cellar returned to its calm state, and the whisper element returned to its original state within Sin Mansion. Xia De knew that desire had left.
"It didn't stay in Middlesburg, which is a good thing, otherwise the future of this City would truly be too pessimistic."
He looked down at the parchment in his hand. After turning it into a toy and putting it away, Xia De turned to leave.
But he didn't know that in the dim wine pool behind him, that pretty head quietly "rose" again. Eyelashes were stained with wine, and red droplets slid down her cheeks. Her purple eyes narrowed, her slender tongue licked her lips, and the color of the silver moon was reflected in her pupils.
She ultimately did nothing. Something massive seemed to be stirring the liquid in the wine pool, but it was silent.
The woman's head sank into the wine pool:
"Then, see you next time, interesting soul."
