In the dim secret chamber, the core members of the Red Communion Society, Buck and Clifford, stood attentively before the table. Under the candlelight, Buck was seriously performing a divination.
In the magic array depicting the standards of "Lamp" and "enlightenment", a map of the city of Igwinte was neatly placed. Above this map, a white crystal suspended by a chain was swinging back and forth.
"I want to know the current location of the person who killed Bo Dun. Wei Er today."
Holding the top of the swinging crystal pendant in his hand, Buck declared his divination words like a proclamation. Then, gazing at the swinging crystal in his hand, both his and Clifford's eyes were fixed on the trajectory the crystal traced over the map.
"Is this pendulum divination... the most practical divination method for locating targets? This swinging pendulum will eventually be pulled by invisible mysterious power, pointing to the location of the divination target..."
Looking at the scene before him, Clifford murmured. As an Extraordinary with some knowledge of mysticism, he naturally knew what pendulum divination was, but this was the first time he had seen it in practice.
Due to the scarcity of the Spirituality of "enlightenment", divination rituals are actually very rare. Many Extraordinary of lower ranks have only heard of them, never seen them, let alone performed one themselves.
At this moment, both Buck and Clifford were performing such a mysterious and rare ritual for the first time. Their eyes were fixed on the swinging crystal, anticipating the moment it would stop and point to the divination target's location.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... Time slowly passed, yet the crystal serving as the pendulum showed no sign of stopping. As the pendulum's swing became smaller and smaller, the atmosphere in the air gradually grew anxious.
Finally, the crystal pendulum completely stopped swinging. Under the effect of gravity, it hung perfectly perpendicular to the map.
"This... it stopped? The place it's pointing to... is that where those people are hiding?" Looking at the scene before him, Clifford said somewhat dumbfounded. He felt that the pendulum's behavior was no different from an ordinary plumb bob.
The pendulum crystal did not seem to be pulled by any mysterious power, pointing to other points on the map against physics. It was simply hanging perpendicular to the map, a very normal phenomenon. This was different from what both Buck and Clifford had expected. Was this the result of the divination?
"Hmm... theoretically speaking... the location the pendulum is pointing to now is where those people are..." Buck looked at the spot the vertical pendulum was pointing to, furrowing his brow and saying in a deep voice. Clifford also spoke with uncertainty.
"So... those people's hiding place is on the Iron Mud River?"
"Hmm... perhaps. Their base might be on a certain ship. If the base is on a ship, they can easily move at any time. Hmph... a good idea."
Buck continued to speak solemnly and silently. Clifford blinked twice, reconfirmed the location the pendulum was pointing to vertically on the map, and then spoke again.
"That's not right, Buck. This location on the Iron Mud River seems to be a mudflat, with no water. A ship couldn't stop here..."
"This... perhaps they built something on the mudflat? Or is there something under the mudflat? In any case... since the pendulum pointed here, we have to go and take a look..."
Buck continued to speak with a strange expression. He actually felt in his heart that the pendulum in his hand looked like it was naturally vertical, with no mysterious power involved at all. But what if... what if the divination target's location just happened to be here? What if the divination direction just happened to be the place the vertical pendulum was currently pointing to? Wasn't there a probability of that?
Although this naturally vertical pendulum looked no different from an ordinary plumb bob, showing no sign of mysterious power intervention at all, but... but what if the location resulting from the divination was exactly the point where the pendulum would be vertical to the map? Then it could only appear this way, right?
Neither Buck nor Clifford believed that the mysterious divination ritual left by their esteemed Mentor, which consumed precious Spirituality, would fail. Therefore, this seemingly natural vertical pointing should be the result of the divination, even if it was a mudflat.
This was a result divined using precious Spirituality. Even if it looked suspicious, it had to be taken seriously, didn't it?
"Clifford, bring enough people. We'll go and take a look at this place now..."
Saying this, Buck placed the pendulum crystal on the table and quickly walked towards the exit of the secret chamber. Clifford followed behind him.
"Got it. We have to go and see, after all..."
Following Buck, Clifford also quickly left the secret chamber.
Several hours later.
The door of the secret chamber was suddenly pushed open again. Buck, looking gloomy and dark, walked into the secret chamber without a word, his trouser legs covered in mud. Behind him, Clifford also hurried in with quick steps. His eyes were wide, his face full of anger, and half of his body was covered in mud, as if he had fallen in the mud.
Buck and Clifford, having clearly returned without success, walked quickly to the desk, while Clifford muttered as he walked.
"Pendulum... pendulum... pendulum my ass! It didn't show anything! It just got me covered in mud!"
As he spoke, the angry Clifford grabbed the pendulum crystal on the table with his hand and threw it violently aside in frustration. The pendulum crystal bounced off the table and landed nearby, unfortunately but coincidentally hitting a glass bottle of lime powder placed next to the table. The glass bottle was knocked over, and the lime powder inside spilled out directly, forming a pile on the table. The dust scattered in the air splashed onto Clifford's and Buck's faces. Clifford started coughing, while Buck silently wiped it off.
"We underestimated them too much. We really didn't expect those guys to have counter-divination methods."
While wiping the dust off his face, Buck said coldly. Although there wasn't much expression on his face, his eyes were filled with anger.
"Cough, cough, cough... You, what did you say, Buck? Counter-divination? Our divination was countered?"
Coughing, Clifford spoke to Buck in a surprised tone, while Buck nodded coldly.
"Yes, the Mentor said... in this world, where divination exists, counter-divination also exists. As long as the corresponding Spirituality can be collected and a ritual performed, divination can be countered... And among this Spirituality, there must also be precious 'enlightenment'.
"Hmph... I underestimated them too much. To think they could also obtain the rare Spirituality of 'enlightenment'. Their foundation is deeper than I thought..."
Putting his hands behind his back, Buck said solemnly, while Clifford spoke again with confusion.
"Then, what should we do now? If we can't find those guys' location, we can't even talk about counterattacking!"
Listening to Clifford's words, Buck took a deep breath, and then continued to answer slowly.
"I will go and talk to Bill again and try to find a way to meet the Mentor. If I still can't see him, then I can only visit him in my dreams..."
...
At night, in the apartment building by Nanyang Flower Road.
'Information retrieval has been blocked...'
Lying on the sofa, feeling the decrease in her accumulated Spirituality and the system's notification, Dorothy let out a sigh of relief. She still felt a lingering fear about almost being found by some inexplicable method.
'Phew... it's finally done. I was almost divined out of nowhere. In this strange world, I still need to be more careful...'
Dorothy sighed in her heart. After this incident, besides sighing, she was more curious.
'This world actually has such a method of obtaining information from a distance? That's interesting. According to the system's prompt, this divination method also utilizes Spirituality, requiring 'Light' and 'enlightenment'. I myself am an Extraordinary of 'enlightenment', so I don't lack 'enlightenment'. So, if I can get more 'Light' in the future, will I also be able to perform divination? With divination, I can obtain information efficiently!'
'Also, the properties of various Spiritualities are quite interesting. 'Light' has the meaning of insight... and'Shadow' can block the insight of 'Light'. Combined with the effect of that ring of concealment from before, the Spirituality of'Shadow' seems to carry the meaning of hiding and concealment, which is opposite to Light...'
'And then there's'Silence'... it can actually delete information. What happens when it's deleted? What is the specific meaning of the Spirituality of'Silence'?'
Thinking about these questions, Dorothy suddenly felt that her understanding of this world and mysticism was far from enough.
"It seems I need to consult Aldrich more when I have time... but..." Dorothy murmured, then frowned and took out her wallet, which hadn't been full for long.
"It's just that I don't know if my tuition fees are still enough?"