Black Tide Plane

According to Bai Xiaowen's understanding, this special psionic item should actually function as a "locator".

The psionic items on Bai Xiaowen's body that could act as "locators" are not only the Prophecy Tablet, but also items such as the Shadow Labyrinth Key and the Eye of Amotava, all of which could potentially be used for location tracking. Therefore, Bai Xiaowen is quite confident that he will enter the mother plane of the Dead Spirit Lake Treasure Ground Space this time.

When researching, Bai Xiaowen made targeted selections, searching for keywords such as Snakefolk, Lobsterfolk, and Amotava to gain a deeper understanding.

"Matching dimensional worlds... Match successful!"

"Personal data scanned, currently in queue, please wait..."

"Entering a different dimension..."

"A drifting portrait, dim light..."

"A breathtaking invitation..."

"Explore the mysteries of living beings, and join in the legendary feast!"

"The round table spun, the Earthshaking Tremor..."

"Fear, cowardice, suspicion, revenge..."

Who can find the fragments of the Key of Truth through lies?

"He who gazes into the Abyss, do you feel...?"

"The will of the Abyss lives on in your heart..."

Just like the prelude to entering the Kane Plane last time, after the scene froze, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi did not enter immediately, but remained in the void.

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"Due to the special nature of the Spirit Realm Ticket you used, you have received the following reward."

"Reward 1: Speculation (details omitted)."

Reward Two: Challenge (details omitted).

"Elite Tier Challenge Mission Generating... Completed!"

"Elite Tier Side Quest: The Secret of the Voodoo Cult, now open."

"Mission Objective: Locate and destroy the hidden Voodoo Cult stronghold in Hodge Town."

"Task Difficulty: A."

"Mission Reward: Unknown."

"Mission deadline: 72 hours."

Because of the permanent team creation, Li Shuyi also received this mission notification.

"Let's accept it. It's just a side quest anyway. If it's not suitable, there won't be any consequences if we give up." After saying that, Bai Xiaowen chose to accept the quest.

After Bai Xiaowen accepted the task, notifications from the Spirit Realm Rules continued to arrive:

"You will explore the Black Tide Plane as a free citizen."

Please confirm your name.

Unfazed by any change of name, Bai Xiaowen continued to use the name "Dio Skellboom." Subsequently, guided by the Spirit Realm Rules, Li Shuyi once again entered the realm as Bai Xiaowen's sister, still using the name Charlotte Skellboom.

After everything was settled, the void in front of Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi dissipated, and they appeared in an ordinary wooden house.

Memories of the Freeman siblings were transmitted into their minds. Having already experienced this before, they both closed their eyes and carefully processed the memories of this identity.

Bai Xiaowen opened her eyes first.

"There's nothing particularly special about the siblings' identities. Let me first clarify the background of this world, and then you can add to it."

"This world is called the ' Black Tide ' dimension. Our 'birth point' is a coastal territory Hodge Town. The brother and sister we're talking about are orphans who work in the Hodge Town Bread Mill to make a living."

Li Shuyi nodded and said, "There's another thing in my memories: there have been a series of missing persons in Hodge Town recently. Sheriff Ahan has posted a reward notice; any resident who provides clues will receive a reward of 10 gold coins."

Bai Xiaowen also recalled such an incident from his memories. He nodded and said, "I think the missing persons incident is very likely related to the Voodoo Cult, the target of our Elite Tier challenge mission... Judging from the name, the Voodoo Cult is no good."

Li Shuyi agreed.

The two verified each other's memory fragments again, and not long after, the notification from the Spirit Realm Rules sounded once more:

"[Main Quest: The Truth in the Mist] Unlocked."

"[Mission Objective: Assist the Hodge Town Sheriff in solving the missing persons case.]"

"[Task deadline: 10 days]"

[Task Difficulty: A]

"[Task Reward: Unknown]"

The two quickly exchanged a glance.

"When I was sorting through the fragments of memory just now, there was something I didn't mention: Sheriff Ahan lives in the same neighborhood as us and has some impression of us," Bai Xiaowen said slowly. "And for the main quest, Sheriff Ahan should be a key figure... This makes it much easier for us to find Ahan and gain his trust. This should be a manifestation of the ' Speculation ' nature of the ticket reward—it reduces the difficulty of the main quest without affecting the reward."

Li Shuyi pouted. "Is that all the use? The Speculation' prefix is really useless. I don't think the impression of a sheriff is as significant as reducing the difficulty of this main quest by 50%."

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "No, the Spirit Realm Rules shouldn't lie. If it says 50%, then it's 50%... I think Ahan is no simple character."

"Shall we go find this key sheriff now?" Li Shuyi asked.

"My personal inclination is to hold off for now," Bai Xiaowen said after thinking for a moment. "We have no leads right now, and going there rashly will only damage Ahan's Affection Level and won't help at all. Unnecessarily bothering a distraught sheriff might backfire."

After a pause, Bai Xiaowen continued, "Furthermore, Ahan's position in the town is likely quite important, and his every move might be under the watchful eyes of those with ulterior motives. We're currently operating in the shadows, able to investigate discreetly. But once we make contact with Ahan, we'll inevitably move from the shadows into the open, falling into the sights of those with ulterior motives."

Li Shuyi nodded in agreement.

After discussing it, the two decided to investigate secretly first.

As they stepped out of the door, guided by the Spirit Realm Rules, the two each spent 100 Psionic Points to convert their language into Old Latin.

Although Bai Xiaowen can speak Old Latin, he is not fluent and his accent is a bit awkward. Therefore, he cannot afford to waste those 100 Psionic Points.

As I opened the wooden door, a slightly fishy sea breeze wafted in.

The sky was clear and the sea was azure. Looking eastward along the town 'Zilu, Bai Xiaowen could even see the sky and sea merging into one, and breathing in the sea breeze made him feel refreshed and relaxed.

Bai Xiaowen first went to the sheriff's residence and saw the wanted poster in front of the gate.

The wanted poster not only stated that a reward of 10 gold coins would be given for providing clues, but also included a list of missing persons and their portraits—the portraits were quite detailed, meticulously drawn, and much more reliable than the wanted posters in the China dramas that Bai Xiaowen had watched.

"So many people have already gone missing?"

Bai Xiaowen's heart skipped a beat. The list of missing persons posted by Sheriff Ahan already included thirteen people.

"A lot?" Li Shuyi, who had taken quite a few lives under her command, found it strange that Bai Xiaowen was so surprised.

Bai Xiaowen pondered and said, "The verifiable number is thirteen, so the real number is probably far more. In a town, the most likely to 'disappear' are homeless people, beggars, and other lonely and helpless individuals. But look at these thirteen people posted; almost all of them have complete families. It was their families who came to report them. In other words, many homeless people in Hodge Town have 'disappeared,' and since no one has caught the mastermind behind it, they've started targeting residents with complete families."

Li Shuyi nodded. "That's right, it's easy to understand. If I were the mastermind, I would definitely start by arresting those who are alone and helpless."

At this point, Li Shuyi's expression suddenly changed slightly. "Then... tell me, our identities are those of two people who are alone and helpless, right? Why weren't we attacked? Two orphans, homeless and jobless, even if we disappeared without a trace, no one would investigate, would they?"

Bai Xiaowen said, "No, we live on the same street as the sheriff, and the bakery where we work is also on this street. Our lives are very similar. It's understandable that the mastermind hasn't targeted us."

"And you overlooked something," Bai Xiaowen added, "Since thirteen families have also gone missing, it means the mastermind has run out of options and has to continue operating despite the risk of alerting the sheriff. So... the possibility of us being attacked will increase."

"Hmm, the Spirit Realm Rules won't give us tasks we can't complete, so as time goes on, the mastermind's actions will become more and more aggressive, eventually reaching out to us," Li Shuyi thought to herself. "Shouldn't we take the initiative? For example, go to a deserted area at night and create an opportunity for the mastermind?"

Bai Xiaowen laughed and said, "That makes sense. Passively waiting is such a waste of time. Your suggestion will undoubtedly increase the chances of the mastermind coming after us. However, I have an even better idea. Come with me."

It was still daytime, so the mastermind behind the attack wouldn't be so blatant. Bai Xiaowen led Li Shuyi around Hodge Town. He wasn't walking aimlessly, but rather conducting a preliminary investigation based on the last known locations of the missing persons.

Hodge Town is a large town with a complex network of crisscrossing roads. However, in Bai Xiaowen's Super Brain, a flat road map has already been formed. The last known locations of the thirteen missing persons are all fixed in his mind, and he has sketched out possible routes for them.

Finally, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi stopped in the southern part of Hodge Town, near a dilapidated street in the "commercial district".

Calling this a commercial district is a gross exaggeration. Compared to the bustling and orderly commercial districts of cities around the world, this place is vastly different. It consists of just a few small shops with wooden signs hanging around the edges, dilapidated doors, no decent drainage ditch, muddy roads, and a foul stench.

"It stinks." Li Shuyi fanned her nose.

"Only a stinking ditch can hide rats," Bai Xiaowen chuckled, leading Li Shuyi into the first shop on the street.

The shop is called "Akea's Cauldron," and the owner, just like the shop's name, Akea.

This shop sells alchemical potions. The shelves are filled with combat potions such as life restoration potions, bull strength potions, and mongoose potions. Their properties are unremarkable, not even as good as the potions made by an ordinary Alchemist on Earth, and certainly not comparable to Bai Xiaowen's skills.

In fact, alchemy in the Spirit Realm is very similar to the potion-making profession on Earth. The Alchemist profession on Earth originated from the alchemy profession in the Spirit Realm.

Furthermore, Earthly Alchemist possess relatively accurate pharmaceutical instruments—such as stopwatches, beakers, and alcohol lamps—so their finished products are generally superior to those of lower-level alchemists in the Spirit Realm. Moreover, Earthly potions can be purchased with Earthly currency, while alchemical items in the Spirit Realm can only be bought with the Spirit Realm gold and silver, further reducing their competitiveness.

However, there are some masters in the alchemy profession in the Spirit Realm who can not only make potions, but also create many special alchemical items, which earthly Alchemist cannot match and can only learn slowly.

"Welcome, young people," said Akea, the shop owner sitting behind the counter. She raised her eyelids slightly, accurately judging that the two had little purchasing power, then quickly lowered her eyelids and said weakly, "My potions are the best. Just tell me what you want."

"I'm here to inquire about some things," Bai Xiaowen stated her purpose.

"Please, I don't do intelligence business." Akea said impatiently, glancing quickly at Bai Xiaowen.

"Hey, I know, but nobody turns down money, right?"

Bai Xiaowen flicked her finger, and several gold coins jingled in her hand, producing a pleasant sound.

Akea's eyes widened slightly. He realized that he might have underestimated the young man in front of him. So what if he was young? So what if he was dressed in shabby clothes? Money talks.

"Let me see if your gold coins are real or fake first." Akea was still wary.

These gold coins are Psionic Currency that Bai Xiaowen obtained in the Kane Plane. They can be taken out of the Spirit Realm and used as currency in specific Spirit Realm Plane.

Since both are Western Qihuan worlds, Bai Xiaowen deduced that the gold coins in the Kane Plane should be similar to those here. Bai Xiaowen handed over a gold coin first.

Akea took the gold coin and examined it carefully for a while, then frowned and said, "Strange, I've never seen the king's portrait or the inscription on the back before... The Gorseflower Empire..."

Bai Xiaowen said calmly, "These are ancient imperial gold coins that I obtained by chance. Regardless of when they were minted, they are shiny gold, aren't they?"

Akea put the gold coin in his mouth and bit down hard, his eyes quickly curving into two crescent moons with laughter. "That's right, that's right. Generous young man, you can ask questions now. For the sake of the gold, I'll answer everything I know."

This reaction was exactly what Bai Xiaowen had expected. Since the Spirit Realm currency could circulate in specific plane worlds, it would certainly not be rejected because of the casting of statues of empires and emperors. After all, these gold coins were cast from the Spirit Realm gold and silver, and belonged to the category of spiritual energy items.