Chapter 271
These cultists or church members, let alone the archbishop, even a mere bishop would be nearly impossible to incite.
Their faith in the divine has reached a near pathological level, especially those "Glowing Bishops." Rather than being human, they are more like symbols representing the church.
The better the potion is digested, the less emotion they possess, not to mention the cultists of the third tier and above.
Clearly, this is not something a mere "inciter" could achieve.
The Keyholder had monitored the movements of the Faceless Girl. She even knew where the "coroner" doctor, who was used for face-swapping, was located, thus keeping track of all the faces the Faceless had assumed.
However, the identity of the Faceless was indeed somewhat elusive; the faces she had taken on were rarely traceable to any corresponding identity, as if they were conjured from thin air.
According to the coroner, before each face swap, the Faceless would first draw a complete three-view portrait, and only then would the coroner proceed with the dissection.
One could only imagine how many stitches and strands of the coroner's work lay beneath the skin of the current Faceless.
Such a body could never ascend to the third tier, which is where the Keyholder found her confidence in being able to keep the girl under her control indefinitely.
"What method did you use?"
The Keyholder steadied herself and asked.
"And how do you plan to continue?"
"Summon their god, show them some miracles, and they'll reconcile, right?"
Xia'er replied, "Continue? Just keep summoning."
The Keyholder: "?"
At first, she had some doubts, but now she was convinced that the girl before her was truly insane.
The idea that summoning a god and performing miracles was a trivial matter? If it were that simple, the Holy Wars wouldn't have lasted for an entire era.
The Keyholder was beginning to lose her patience; the composure she had been maintaining was slipping. Her slit-like eyes narrowed slightly as she coldly said:
"You'd better take this seriously, Faceless Girl. Recognize your identity and position."
"I don't even know how to explain it!"
Xia'er raised her hands, tugging at her hair, slightly irritated. "This knowledge just appeared in my head out of nowhere. I can't understand it or articulate it; I can only operate practically."
Knowledge that appeared in her mind, incomprehensible and unspoken?
The Keyholder quickly stood up and moved in front of Xia'er, gripping her shoulders and locking eyes with her in close proximity.
"Are you sure?"
The Keyholder confirmed again.
"I'm sure."
Xia'er nodded.
Xia'er was indeed not lying; she had sealed knowledge in her mind and a system she couldn't articulate.
There were also things that were indescribable, unexplainable, yet could be practically executed...
The "inciter's" favorite: **Lingxing Zhaohuan** (灵性召唤, "Spiritual Summoning").
"Show me a demonstration..."
The Keyholder began to speak but immediately stopped, saying, "Don't move yet."
She halted her original thought and instead prohibited the girl from acting.
She feared that what the girl said might be true.
If the girl really started reciting something right then and there, she would be in serious trouble.
The Keyholder's mind raced, and soon she looked back at Xia'er, asking, "Where's your 'Dream Thief' potion?"
"Outside, Meili Te is holding it for me."
Xia'er muttered softly, "But I don't want to ascend... the 'inciter' is quite useful..."
"Don't worry about ascending; I'll help you."
The Keyholder released her grip, her gaze drifting past Xia'er to the door.
Meanwhile, outside, Meili Te suddenly heard a voice in her mind.
Her body stiffened slightly as she looked at the canvas bag in her hands.
Inside were two vials of potion belonging to the new captain, the "Faceless."
With the bag in hand, she hesitantly lowered her head and walked forward. When she reached the door, she closed her eyes tightly and pushed it open.
As soon as the door opened, Meili Te felt the cold air emanating from within, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
She extended her hands, and when she felt the weight in her hands lighten, the wooden door closed again, allowing her heart to slowly settle.
After stepping back a few paces, she finally opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
Cold sweat had completely soaked her back, but thankfully, the people inside seemed to have lost interest in her.
Meanwhile, inside the room.
The Keyholder opened the canvas bag and saw the two vials of potion haphazardly jumbled together.
She truly didn't care about ascending...
The Keyholder shook her head lightly.
Expensive potions just lying around, handed over to her subordinate for safekeeping... this was the Pleasure Society.
If a subordinate got unhappy and decided to run off with the potions, it wouldn't be surprising; such betrayals were all too common in the Pleasure Society.
Unless this girl could make all her subordinates more obedient than brainwashed individuals, there would come a day when she would be stabbed in the back... If she wasn't thinking about betrayal, then she wasn't an "inciter."
However, this very disregard for ascending actually worked to her advantage.
As long as she could never ascend to the "Subverter," she could always keep her under control.
The Keyholder took out the "Dream Thief" potion from the canvas bag, gently shaking it. The dark gray liquid began to swirl, and pink hues started to fill the bottle.
The pink, starry light swirled within the bottle, as if the night sky had been captured inside, but within that dreamlike brilliance, something transparent seemed to writhe, stirring the clouds inside.
"I'll help you ascend to 'Dream Thief.'"
The Keyholder held the potion up, looking at Xia'er as she spoke, "In the dream, recreate for me the scene where you incited them."
The Keyholder dared not let Xia'er demonstrate in reality, but in the dream, it was a different story.
Moreover, she wasn't worried that Xia'er would pull any tricks in the dream.
Because the "Dream Thief," on her own, without the assistance of a "Blood Painter," could not construct a scene she had never seen before.
As long as the Faceless could create it, it would surely be something she had witnessed.
As long as the Faceless could create it, it would prove she wasn't lying.
And all the Keyholder needed to do was familiarize herself with the Faceless's methods in the dream, allowing her to leave the Faceless behind in reality and complete the task herself, stealing the Faceless's achievements...
"Tsk..."
In the Keyholder's eyes, the Faceless girl seemed to look disdainfully at the potion bottle in her hand, then asked, "What's the ritual for the 'Dream Thief'?"
"To awaken in the dream and master your own dream is the minimum requirement to digest the potion."
The Keyholder replied.
This was the fastest method, though digesting the potion this way was quite unstable... but it wasn't her who would be consuming it; she only needed what the girl in front of her would create.
To achieve a perfect replication ritual, one would need to go through several rounds of dreams, even experiencing multiple lifetimes within the dream, which couldn't be accomplished in a short time.
"Next, I'll take a step, and you follow."
The Keyholder handed the potion to the girl, saying, "First, open the potion bottle."
The Keyholder watched as the red-haired girl slowly pulled the cork from the potion bottle, and then...
In one gulp, she drank it all down.
"What are you doing?!"
The Keyholder was both shocked and furious, quickly reaching out to snatch the empty potion bottle from the girl's hands.
What the hell! Has she lost her mind? Drinking it like that?
Though she was a bit crazy, she was still a rare asset for stabilizing the potion. If this vial truly drove her into madness, finding another potential "inciter" like her wouldn't be easy.
The Keyholder could almost foresee the girl before her falling silent for a moment before the potion backfired, causing her body to collapse.
But what she didn't expect was...
The girl, with her eyes closed, merely licked her lips, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes. The pale pink pupils shimmered with starlight, and translucent pink tendrils writhed excitedly.
"Tastes bland~"
Xia'er smiled at the Keyholder, asking cheerfully, "So, how do we construct the dream next?"
Want to see a dream? Want to learn **Lingxing Zhaohuan**?
Very well, let me show you, let you learn.
Let you help me complete this extraordinary summoning ritual.
**Chapter 158: Multiple Dreams, Dancing with the Demon.**
"—(Ancient Ansu language) Listen, I will narrate the best scenes from this dream."
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