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Chapter 265: Beyond the World

Beyond the world, in a deep hall shrouded by the Void.

The silver-haired girl leaning against the divine seat slowly opened her eyes, as countless lights and shadows flickered like butterflies from the depths of her beautiful gaze, as if she had just awakened from a long dream.

She silently surveyed her surroundings, then gradually walked out of the empty secret chamber. Those strange figures, cloaked in robes and appearing to be made of smoke, noticed her and quickly bowed down with utmost respect, calling out indistinct words in a voice that seemed not human, like devout worshippers.

However, the silver-haired girl ignored them, even failing to cast a fleeting glance in their direction, simply continuing her path down the corridor within the temple, which seemed to drift amidst the sea of stars.

The shimmering silver light trailed behind her, creating gorgeous ripples, akin to the tail flames of a meteor streaking across the sky, or the pure veil draped over the shoulders of a goddess—sacred and ethereal.

No, she truly is a 【God】.

She walked slowly, yet somehow it felt incredibly fast, as if each step covered a distance a hundred times beyond what could be seen, and in less than a few seconds, she had traversed the seemingly endless corridor, arriving at another hall.

Without knocking, without greeting, and without acknowledging those swirling misty figures standing guard outside the hall, who were similarly bowing respectfully, but with a seemingly slight difference in attitude, she merely pushed the door open with indifference.

The “flames” in the hall brightened simultaneously the moment she stepped in, clearly illuminating the girl’s exquisite beauty, as she looked up high, her eyes glimmering with a faint pulse of light.

An ancient voice, like the oscillation of an old clock, slowly echoed.

“You have returned.”

The silver-haired girl nodded slightly, remaining silent, the voice seemed accustomed to her indifference, continuing on its own.

“Then, have you found the necessary information?”

The light within her silver eyes faded silently, and she finally responded.

“The one who killed Musk is the Spiritual Fox Priestess.”

“The Spiritual Fox Priestess… Spiritual Fox Priestess… Ancient Spirit Realm?”

“Yes.”

The ancient voice carried a hint of surprise, but that feeling seemed hard to articulate, almost as if it was merely responding to an anticipated change which should exist.

Not surprised by the girl’s words, but rather by the surprise that was expected at this moment.

“Indeed… to a certain extent, the Spiritual Fox Priestess indeed exists beyond the revealed, always very mysterious. She does not refer to herself as a goddess and rarely interacts with the gods. Since the closure of the Ancient Spirit Realm, she has become unreachable…”

After a moment of contemplation, the voice spoke again.

“What is her purpose in interfering with the Original Land, and is there a connection with that Miss Vilyric?”

The silver-haired girl, unfazed, simply replied nonchalantly.

“The reason for the Spiritual Fox Priestess’s interference with the Original Land remains unclear, but she has now returned to the world she protects, while the Ancient Spirit Realm has been sealed by the God Fox’s divine power, making it temporarily inaccessible.”

“As for whether there is a connection between the two, my judgment is — it is unlikely that the 【Spiritual Fox Priestess】 and 【Vilyric】 are working together.”

The ancient voice fell silent without responding, while every word spoken by the silver-haired girl transformed into golden characters that floated upward, merging into the dome of the hall. Yet, she seemed unfazed, quietly waiting after making her judgment.

A barely perceptible ticking echoed within the temple for a long time, much like the sound of clock hands gliding across their scales, until finally, the ancient voice resumed, but it completely shifted to a completely different topic.

“The 【Wheel of Fate】 has turned.”

The girl’s brow lifted slightly, revealing genuine surprise for the first time.

“Impossible, it shouldn’t be that time yet.”

“It is a slight deviation, a change completely outside of expectations, something powerful has impacted the 【Fate】—how intriguing.”

“From where?”

“The origin of all things, the east of the world.”

The ancient voice didn’t continue further, but a golden light slowly descended from the dome, swirling together to form the revelations of the ancient gods.

It was a sentence, a fate, a future; within its shimmering golden light seemed to reflect the silver eyes of the God Girl, her surprise and contemplation as she glimpsed something, drifting into the distance amidst the sea of stars and the Void.

…

Three days after the conclusion of the second Evil Demon War in the Ancient Spirit Realm, atop Lingyin Fairy Island.

“Oh? Hen left something behind? What is it?”

“This! Before she left, she secretly asked me to hand this over to you, along with a few words.”

The half-human, half-fox girl with long nine tails gently floated her hand through the Void and produced a small key, handing it to Miss Vilyric.

“This is her exact words—Fate has already taken notice of you. Do not lift the seal of the Ancient Spirit Realm, swiftly return to the Original Land, and be cautious of the【Dusk Council】.”

“Oh, the Dusk Council…”

Nodding in contemplation, the black-haired girl directed her gaze towards the peculiar silver key in Xiao Kong’s hand, which was said to be left by Hen, frowning slightly.

This object… why does it feel familiar from somewhere?

Not from the long-preserved memories of the Spiritual Fox Priestess; it was more like a sense of familiarity that stemmed from Vilyric’s own past.

As she scoured through her mental impressions, Vilyric accepted the slender key and studied it for a while in the air.

“So, what exactly is this?”

“How would I know? That girl is all mysterious… but she insisted it must be handed over to you, to keep it safe as it’s something important, and absolutely mustn’t be lost.”

Scratching her fox ears in deep thought, the God Girl pondered for a moment.

“Oh right… she did mention the name of this thing at some point. I think it was called the 【Key of March】.”

“The Key of March? Wait, that name…”

A realization struck her like lightning, as some distant memories surged forth like a tide, reminding Vilyric of the source of her sense of familiarity.

She rummaged through her bag with her other hand for quite a while, finally pulling out a key that looked quite similar but had some minor differences, seeming to reflect a symmetrical shape.

“Eh? You have one too? Where did you get it?”

“Well, this is…”

Vilyric didn’t respond immediately to Xiao Kong’s curiosity, merely comparing the two keys in her hands, her silver-blue pupils narrowing slightly.

The key named 【Key of March】 was an unexpected acquisition that Vilyric obtained from Count Ban Meikailande during her initial cross into this world, when she aided Liliya in the power struggle. It had gotten mixed up with his private collection at that time.

This object was exceedingly mysterious, not only was it incredibly durable and nearly indestructible, but also the 【Information Detection】 gave no determinations regarding its grade and effects, with the related descriptions being obscured to the utmost degree.

For a time after obtaining this artifact, the puzzle-loving Miss Vilyric was indeed quite interested in it, spending leisure time researching and investigating it thoroughly, but ultimately, she garnered no results.

Because this item was essentially an incomplete puzzle, impossible to decipher, over time, she gradually cast it aside, relegating it to the corners of her bag.

She had never anticipated that she would receive this second 【Key of March】 from Xiao Kong, or rather, from Hen at this moment.

It seemed like a simple handoff, yet Vilyric faintly gleaned a wealth of deeper information from it.

Firstly, aside from possessing that key, Count Ban Meikailande also discovered a token representing the 【Dusk Council】 member from the ring of the Priestess.

Regardless of whether that token came from member representative Rebecca, it hinted that Ban had some entanglement with this organization. Coincidentally, when Hen transferred this item to Vilyric, she specifically mentioned the name of the 【Dusk Council】, even instructing her to be cautious.

The overlap of these two major elements, the Dusk Council and the Key of March, was it hinting at something deeper?

And to push back a bit further, where did this key in Ban’s possession originate?

Did it merely fall into the Priestess’s hands by pure coincidence?