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He struggled to raise his arms and clasp his hands in salute, only to realize he could not even lift them. The muscles scorched by the flames had already necrotized, leaving them completely unable to move normally.

"I thought I had solved the mystery of advancement, and that the sky would be wide enough for birds to fly and the sea broad enough for fish to leap." Xie An's voice was hoarse, yet his tone remained calm.

"But I never expected that my arrogance and overconfidence would nearly cost me my life. I have made a joke of myself before Your Excellency, Little Sage."

He paused, his gaze turning solemn.

"Your Excellency, Little Sage, I am deeply grateful that you saved me."

Xie An said with difficulty, "From this day onward, whatever Your Excellency, Little Sage, requires, so long as you speak the word, I will surely give my all to repay this life-saving grace."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage sat atop a rock, rubbing his chin with a tiny paw in a remarkably humanlike manner.

His round eyes swept over Xie An as he calculated rapidly to himself.

"I did indeed come to find you because I have a few matters that require your help," the Yellow Wind Little Sage said.

"Please, Your Excellency, Little Sage, name your request! So long as it is within my power, I will not utter a second word of refusal."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage did not answer immediately. Instead, he carefully examined Xie An's injuries.

"You were badly hurt this time and need treatment as soon as possible. But you cannot go to a hospital right now. Once you leave traces behind, the Investigation Bureau may very well intervene. Do you have any means of healing yourself?"

Xie An glanced at his battered body and sighed.

"I did learn some secret healing arts in the past, but they require Mythic Factors to operate. Now that I am severely injured, the Mythic Factors within me have been exhausted as well. I can only ask Your Excellency, Little Sage, for assistance."

"That's simple."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage opened his Greedy Mouth and took out two Soul Shards he had exchanged for not long ago.

"These should be enough, right?"

"Enough! More than enough!"

Joy filled Xie An's face. He laboriously stretched out his hand and tremblingly clasped the two Soul Shards in his palm.

As the Soul Shards were consumed, the accumulated Mythic Factors circulated through his body along with the secret art, transforming into vitality.

Fresh granulation began to grow around the edges of the flame-seared wounds. The charred, carbonized skin peeled away, revealing tender new flesh beneath.

Just half an hour later, most of Xie An's wounds had healed. New flesh had grown over his burned body, though severe burns still remained on his face.

Those scars ran too deep. Even treatment with Mythic Factors could not completely restore them.

Twisted scars covered his forehead, cheeks, and chin, turning his once refined face into something savage and terrifying.

Xie An raised a hand to touch the scars on his face, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Yet he did not care about the change in his appearance. For a Mythic Walker, being alive mattered more than anything.

Xie An slowly rose from the ground. Although most of his clothes had been burned away, he still tidied himself up as best he could and solemnly bowed to the Yellow Wind Little Sage.

"Thank you for saving my life, Your Excellency, Little Sage. If you have any need at all, please speak freely."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage waved a tiny paw.

"No need for such courtesy. I came to find you this time because I intended to trade some Mythic Materials and ask around for a bit of information. Saving you was merely something I did along the way."

Upon hearing that, Xie An revealed a bitter smile. "I fear I have disappointed Your Excellency, Little Sage. The possessions I accumulated over the years were all stored in the Fortune Shop, and they have likely been seized by the Night Banquet Gang. Now that I am wanted, I fear I cannot trade Mythic Materials for Your Excellency, Little Sage."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage naturally understood that. Mentioning the trade in Mythic Materials had only been an excuse.

Just as he was about to change the subject, Xie An's expression brightened. "If we can contact the outside world, I would be willing to introduce Your Excellency, Little Sage, to an Earth God of the God of Wealth Society. So long as Mythic Materials circulate within the Federation, there is nothing the God of Wealth Society cannot acquire. Whether buying or selling Mythic Materials, the God of Wealth Society is the best choice."

At that point, Xie An could not help sighing. "It is a pity that the Yinshan Investigation Branch has sealed off Yin Mountain City for some reason. We cannot contact the outside world now. Otherwise, I would never have been driven into such straits by a few petty rats."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage naturally knew the secrets behind the Yinshan Investigation Branch. However, he had only met Xie An twice. Rashly bringing up secrets such as the expansion of the Yin Mountain Realm and Mythic Invasion might not be a good thing.

With that thought, the Yellow Wind Little Sage's mind stirred, and he asked the question that had long puzzled him.

"The Yinshan Investigation Branch is certainly powerful, but how can it seal off Yin Mountain City so thoroughly that even information cannot be exchanged or transmitted?"

Xie An smiled at those words. Yet paired with his face covered in burn scars, that smile appeared exceptionally bizarre and vicious, like an evil ghost crawling out of Hell.

"Your Excellency, Little Sage, you have never left Yin Mountain City, have you? In truth, you would understand the reason after visiting any other city. The so-called names of cities are merely designations. Do not let those names deceive your understanding. The return of Lost Mythology fundamentally changed the old world. The Celestial Circuit Realm was like a great river, dividing the mortal world of old. Every city under the Federation is now, in essence, a small heaven and earth with its own separate system. Only City Trains can cross between these different small heavens and earths, traveling back and forth among cities!"

The Yellow Wind Little Sage shuddered, and a grand world seemed to unfold before his eyes.

In this era of Lost Mythology's return, many people spent their entire lives confined to the city listed on their registration. Getting into university was almost their only hope of leaving the city.

It was not merely an opportunity to become a Mythic Walker. It was also the only path out of that sealed little heaven and earth and into a broader world.

Behind it all lay such a secret.

Xie An's smile remained as he continued explaining.

"Those first-tier and even giant cities may have other routes, but for a remote fourth-tier small city like Yin Mountain City, there is only one way in and out. So long as the City Train is shut down and the Heavenly Net node connected to the Celestial Circuit Demon Web is severed, an entire city can be locked down completely. Unless one possesses a divine ability capable of crossing both realms, there is simply no escaping Yin Mountain City. The Yinshan Investigation Branch is so lawless precisely because it relies on the poor flow of information in remote cities. If this were a major city, the Arctic Exorcism Institute and the Heretic Tribunal would have issued punitive orders the moment the City Train was shut down."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage gradually awoke from the picture Xie An had painted, though he could not help sighing inwardly.

As expected of a top student from one of the Five Great Academies. Whether in breadth of vision or foundation, he is far beyond a country bumpkin who learned by wild paths like me. Even setting aside the need for the written decree, saving Xie An was a worthwhile deal.

After sorting through his thoughts, the Yellow Wind Little Sage finally stated the primary purpose of this visit.

"Let us set aside the matter of trading Mythic Materials for now. I have another matter to discuss with you."

"Please speak freely, Your Excellency, Little Sage!" Xie An's face turned serious.

"I would like you to help me write a written decree." The Yellow Wind Little Sage furrowed his brow, uncertain how to explain it.

Xie An immediately raised a hand. "Your Excellency, Little Sage, there is no need to explain anything to me. You saved my life. Just tell me how to write it."

A satisfied smile appeared on the Yellow Wind Little Sage's face.

"The contents are simple. Find a sheet of paper and write the character 'approve' on it, along with your name. Then imprint upon it a trace of the true essence of your first Mythic Trait."

Looking around, the Yellow Wind Little Sage noticed there was no paper here. Xie An's clothes had all been burned away as well, so he could not tear off a piece of fabric as a substitute.

"There is no need to make it so troublesome."

At once, Xie An circulated his Mythic Factors, and the Mourning Staff appeared in his hand once more.

After undergoing that brush with life and death, Xie An seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of his first Trait, Traversing Yin and Yang. A shadowy space unfolded around him, vaguely transforming into a white tall hat bearing the words Profit at First Sight above his head.

The instant the Yellow Wind Little Sage saw the Mourning Staff, his entire little body froze.

His round eyes widened to their limits as he stared at the white wooden staff wrapped in withered willow branches and dotted with scraps of spirit money. His small body unconsciously backed away a step.

"Y-you... where did you get that thing?"

The Yellow Wind Little Sage asked haltingly.

Xie An looked puzzled, but he still answered earnestly. "This is a Mythic Material I collected in Yin Mountain City over the years. It happened to be a Mythic Material belonging to the Underworld. After Your Excellency, Little Sage, resolved my confusion, I used this material to advance successfully. After containing the Mythic Trait, I could summon this item freely."

As he spoke, Xie An casually waved it. The Mourning Staff swept its branches through the air, and a string of "woo, woo, woo" sounds immediately rang out, like the wails of resentful souls.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage's fur stood on end. He felt as though his whole rat self had gone terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, far away in the classroom, Zhou Yao inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine, and the corners of his mouth twitched wildly.

"So you are saying that you contained White Impermanence's Wealth-at-First-Sight Hat and remained trapped at Scavenger First Rank for years. Then, on the very day after I resolved your confusion, you 'happened' to find a Mourning Staff you had purchased before, and then 'coincidentally' discovered that the Mourning Staff suited you perfectly, so you naturally contained it as your second Mythic Trait?"

Whether it was the Wealth-at-First-Sight Hat or the Mourning Staff, Zhou Yao could have considered either one a coincidence on its own.

But when White Impermanence's two iconic treasures appeared together, Zhou Yao was one hundred percent certain that this was absolutely no coincidence!

If the Mourning Staff had not already been contained by Xie An as a Mythic Trait, preventing him from viewing its panel, Zhou Yao would have concluded that the staff was at least of False God Ember quality.

"Possessing a corpse to return to life? Or could it be a god's revival, a Nest-Stealer taking over a magpie's nest?"

Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Yao's mind, only to be swiftly suppressed.

Because Zhou Yao knew very well that even if he uncovered the secret surrounding Xie An, he could not help him right now. Worse, even slightly involving himself might bring great trouble.

The White Impermanence on Xie An was most likely real, while the Yellow Wind Great Sage behind the Yellow Wind Little Sage was fake.

Inside the abandoned building, Xie An carelessly reached out and tore a strip of white paper from the Mourning Staff.

The Mourning Staff trembled, and its ghostly whimpering made the Yellow Wind Little Sage's teeth ache. Xie An himself, however, acted as though nothing had happened.

"Let us write on this strip of paper. There is no ink, but blood should work."

He casually cut his finger, wrote on the paper strip, and explained, "This is writing left over from the Mythic Era. I learned some of it while at Jade Capital Academy, so it can be put to use now."

The Yellow Wind Little Sage glanced at it and found that the character for "approve" was written in elegant small regular script, while Xie An's name was written in the lower-right corner.

Xie An then activated the Mythic Trait of Traversing Yin and Yang. A foglike shadow manifested over the paper, and deep within that shadow, a tall hat bearing the four words Profit at First Sight flashed past.

"Will this do?"

The Yellow Wind Little Sage was about to nod and accept the paper, but then his movement abruptly stopped.

He glanced at the faintly visible Wealth-at-First-Sight Hat above Xie An's head, then at the Mourning Staff in his hand, whose branches stirred without wind. He gritted his teeth inwardly.

Since I am already involved, let the bold be stuffed to bursting and the timid starve to death!

The Yellow Wind Little Sage extended a tiny paw and pointed to the name in the lower-right corner of the paper.

"Please change this part."

Xie An looked at his own name. Though puzzled, he did not ask further.

"Change it to what?"

"Add the character 'Bi' in the middle of your name."

Xie Bi'an!