Blackstone Manor.
Alan held a quill pen, writing in his notebook:
[This raid on the Black Sun Cult resulted in a significant victory with the slaying of the High Priest... Among the spoils taken from him, I found secret transmissions of darkness, including the 'Eclipse Ceremony' and the 'Secret Pact Ceremony'... The 'Secret Pact Ceremony' in particular seems like it could be very useful.]
[After the High Priest's death, he condensed into a piece of unmelting ice, named 'Pure White Ice'. It feels very peculiar... When the once fierce flames extinguish, they become ice that freezes everything? These two contradictory elements seem to hold significant meaning in mysticism...]
[With the addition of some new knowledge in mysticism, it's now possible to conduct a physical sacrificial ceremony for Lin and the others...]
After finishing the last sentence, Alan's expression grew grave. He retrieved items such as candles, essential oils, and incense.
He was about to set up a 'Secret Pact Ceremony'! This ceremony primarily involved a pact between a person and spiritual entities and could also be used for sealing!
The tattoos on the High Priest's face were the external manifestation of this ritual. They allowed for the accumulation of spiritual power, to be used at crucial moments!
When Alan saw this, he was immediately struck by how useful it could be for himself.
At this moment, he too had some spirituality from the 'darkness' that was offered during the sacrifices.
After lighting the candle, Alan's eyes became deep and dark. He chanted softly:
'We beseech the Creator above the creators, the Absolute Observer beyond the many veils, the Spirit of Illusion wandering in the unknown, the absolute neutral being, the Silent Watcher!'
'I seek your blessing to seal my spirituality!'
Alan heard indistinct prayers in his ears but received no response.
He had already understood from previous attempts that completing such communication required an enormous effort—enough to make him faint again.
At this point, he picked up the quill pen and dipped it in specially prepared ink.
He chose his left arm as the site for the ritual, deciding against fully adopting the High Priest's aesthetics by tattooing his face and head with similar patterns.
'With the form of the Sun Wheel, I bind the secret pact of the spirit. This oath is steadfast as gold, firm as stone...'
As Alan recited the incantation, he drew a circle on his left arm.
Once the arc was completed and became whole, he suddenly felt an overflowing spirituality within himself, as if a stopper had been put in place, slowing the leakage to a trickle.
'It's done...'
Alan finished the ceremony, exhaling deeply as he looked at the circular tattoo on his left arm.
Around the tattoo, there were also corona-like patterns, resembling the radiance spilling out from the sun.
'Originally, my spirituality in this world was like a leaky bucket; now it's finally plugged...'
Alan sensed the reduced drain, showing a slight smile, but his expression quickly became solemn again: 'But, the leakage has only slowed; the water still escapes through the cracks... Practically speaking, it has changed from one day to approximately ten days?'
'Moreover, whenever spiritual abilities are exercised, the depletion still rises sharply, much like pouring water...'
Sighing, he rolled down his sleeve to cover the tattoo on his arm.
'The path to achieving permanent extraordinary abilities is still long and arduous.'
...
'Baron!'
At this moment, there was a knock at the door.
'What's the matter? Didn't I say not to disturb me?'
Alan furrowed his brows as he opened the door to see Daili.
'Scholar Albert requests an audience. He has brought a letter from the castle.' Daili's chest heaved as she almost panted, 'It's something very urgent and important.'
"Let him wait for me in the living room."
Alan frowned, sensing something ominous.
He went to the living room and saw the chubby scholar Albert.
"Your Lordship." Albert bowed and presented the letter in his hand, "The Count is seriously ill, and Colin is temporarily handling the territorial matters. He is summoning you to the castle!"
"The last time we met, Theodore seemed to be in good health, didn't he?"
Alan took the letter, glanced through it quickly, and it indeed matched what the scholar had said. At the end, there was also an impression of a seal.
It came from a ring on Theodore's hand, with a pattern of a twisted banyan tree, symbolizing the authority of this lord.
"Right after the Wild Wolf incident, something like this happens. I don't need divination to know there's a problem."
Alan crumpled the letter and tossed it aside, sneering inwardly, "This is an open conspiracy. If I go, they'll seize the chance to eliminate opposition. If I don't go, they'll consolidate their strength and come to attack anyway..."
He looked at Albert and instructed, "Summon all the stewards and above in the territory for me."
"Yes!"
Albert quickly retreated.
Alan pulled out a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it into the air, "This trip to the castle will be life-threatening!"
Pa! The coin landed steadily on the back of his hand, heads up, indicating affirmation!
"Phew..."
Alan let out a long breath, "Colin, I really underestimated you before."
Combining previous intelligence and guesses, he could almost be certain that Theodore's critical illness was Colin's doing and that the other side had at least taken control of the castle guards!
"This divination is based on me having some spirituality, equivalent to a half-extraordinary person… It means that even for my current state, the castle is very dangerous."
He was not surprised by this.
After all, Alan knew his own situation.
Although he temporarily possessed spirituality through various clever means, at best, he was equivalent to an ordinary person who had just awakened spirituality but had not undergone any promotion!
Without being promoted to a high enough rank and having special abilities, physical attacks in reality could still harm him.
Not to mention, those low-rank extraordinary people, as long as they didn't have special abilities like Lin, who could control their blood transformation, could still die from being shot in vital points by ordinary people!
"But… promotion?"
"This body cannot generate spirituality on its own; it's all acquired from the outside and can't meet the conditions for promotion… and there's no time."
"Then… there's only one way, to obtain more spirituality, far exceeding the total amount of low-rank individuals, even if it's wasteful and constantly dissipates…"
…
While Alan was contemplating, Sanchez, Eight Fingers, and others, including the head maid Daili, arrived.
Alan explained the situation and finally said, "I will go to the castle. You all take care of your responsibilities..."
"Milord, the castle is now under Colin's control. You should take more guards with you." Eight Fingers said excitedly.
They did not stop the baron from going to the castle because visiting is what a son should do when his father is critically ill.
"No need to say more, I will only take two attendants."
Alan waved his hand, his eyes deep.
He had always been reluctant to compete with Colin because he had higher pursuits and didn't care for minor things.
But since the other side had made the first move, it was also time to end everything!