The Legendary Mechanic

Oathkeeper tried his best to suppress the shock in his mind and keep his mind frequency stable, so Han Xiao would not find out he panicked.

He observed Han Xiao's expression and mind frequency, but he could not see any mockery from him, only curiosity.

Did Black Star ask about the Sanctum because he knew the Holy Accord's plans, or did he hear about this name somewhere else? There were not that many people who knew about the Sanctum throughout the entire universe.

Oathkeeper's emotions were like a tiny boat in the raging sea. He maintained his cool as much as possible. He acted casual and asked, "Where did you hear about the Sanctum?"

"Someone told me." Han Xiao casually lied—no way he was going to tell the truth.

"Who?" Oathkeeper continued asking. "There are very, very few people in the entire universe that know about the existence of the Sanctum. Even advanced civilizations might not."

Since Black Star had mentioned the name 'Sanctum', Oathkeeper knew that Black Star definitely had some kind of knowledge about it. If he acted like he did not know about the Sanctum, he might lose out on the opportunity of finding out how much Han Xiao actually knew.

"Well… if I say it's intuition, will you believe me?"

Han Xiao had no choice but to use the jack of all trades of excuses. Although it was not very convincing, he did not plan to convince Oathkeeper anyway.

However, to his surprise, Oathkeeper nodded softly and did not continue asking any more questions. It was as if this was the right answer. Oathkeeper then said, "This is indeed a simple way of sensing the Sanctum, but it's not within one's control, and it's very blurry. Only individuals who reached a certain level in the hierarchy of life can maybe, somehow, possibly build an extremely weak link with the Sanctum, occasionally witnessing its blurry outline when connected with the universe. However, your senses are countless dimensions apart from it, and you will never come into contact with it. The most you'll experience will only be mumbling beside your ears in the ancient language…"

Han Xiao was stunned.

Excuse me, what's going on buddy? What's with this theology explanation?

Hearing what Oathkeeper was saying, Han Xiao did not know if he should believe him. He really did have no idea of what the Sanctum was, and he had only brought it up today with the attitude of trying his luck. However, it looked like the Holy Accord really did know about the Sanctum.

"Stop the nonsense. Can you say something that I can understand?"

Han Xiao could not take it anymore and interrupted.

Oathkeeper went silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating over whether he should expose any information. After contemplating, he decided that sharing some basic information would not hurt, so he slowly said, "The Sanctum… is an ancient existence. No one knows when it appeared. It might be even more ancient than the three Universal Civilizations. One can only sense or even come into contact with it during special timings using specific methods."

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

He had finally met someone who knew anything about the Sanctum, so he was not going to give up the opportunity.

"Then, what is the Sanctum? Where is it?"

Hearing this, Oathkeeper looked at Han Xiao with a strange expression. Seeing that Han Xiao did not look like he was faking it, he asked, "You don't know?"

"Why would I ask you if I did?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

What he knew about the Holy Accord was limited only to the surface; he really did not know about the Holy Accord and the Sanctum's connection. Therefore, he had no idea that he coincidentally asked the right question and horrified Oathkeeper.

Hearing this, Oathkeeper finally was relieved and glad.

It seems like Black Star really doesn't know about our plan. Did I misunderstand? Could there be no spies and Black Star got the information from somewhere else?

While thinking that, Oathkeeper continued speaking. "The Sanctum is not in the material world, nor is it in the secondary dimensions. In fact, it does not have a geographical location. I don't know how to define the Sanctum either, but I think it's more like a phenomenon."

"A phenomenon?" Han Xiao asked curiously.

"Yes, a phenomenon."

Han Xiao waited for Oathkeeper to carry on, but Oathkeeper had no intention to.

The two of them looked at each other, and the conversation got cut off.

Seeing this, Han Xiao knew that Oathkeeper was not willing to continue on this topic, so he changed the question and asked, "So, what's inside the sanctum?"

"…"

The two of them continued to look at each other.

"How many Sanctums are there in total?"

This time, Oathkeeper replied. "Six."

Han Xiao was a little stunned. This answer was not what he expected.

He asked a few more questions such as how to find the Sanctums, how to open the Sanctums, and so on. Without exception, Oathkeeper said nothing about any of that.

This guy definitely knows more, but he's just not willing to share any key information. Hence, the Sanctums are definitely something very important… although I still don't know what their uses are.

This thought flashed past his mind. Seeing that he could not obtain any more information from Oathkeeper, Han Xiao ended the Sanctum topic and went back to their deal. They decided on a new date, location, and method of the deal and agreed on it.

Having achieved what he had come for, Oathkeeper's silhouette exploded, turned into flowers of black flame, and dissipated.

Han Xiao sensed around, made sure that Oathkeeper had left, then caressed his chin and started pondering.

The Holy Accord organization seems to know about a lot of secrets. I might have to think of a way to get more information from them. The only way of contacting them now is when Oathkeeper contacts me, so I'm a little passive in this respect. During the deal, I can try tracing their emissary… By the way, there are six Sanctums?

Han Xiao was confused. This was different from what he had guessed. He originally thought there were only five Sanctums. Why six?

However, Oathkeeper was very ambiguous on this matter and was not willing to share any more information.

He had an idea.

After the deal is done, I can consider bringing up their intention to revive the Primordial Ones. Maybe I can use that in exchange for information about the Sanctums, counting it as the price for keeping my mouth shut.

…

Inside the secret temple in the Holy Accord organization base, Oathkeeper, who was floating in midair with his legs crossed, deactivated his spiritual projection. The clusters of flames floating around him went back into his body.

"How did it go?"

Law and Fay were waiting below and looking up at their boss.

"Black Star was friendly. The deal has been reestablished," Oathkeeper said slowly. "Prepare our chips. The method of the deal remains the same as planned, so we won't be tracked by Black Star."

"Understood." The two of them nodded.

Oathkeeper nodded and said with a tone that was a little grave but had some anticipation in it, "Due to the information state disturbance Destiny's Child talked about, the promised day has been brought forward. After we acquire the Holy Light Particle, we'll prepare to activate the Third Sanctum and the awakening ceremony. Thousand Shadows' Esper Ability is the foundation of the fusion. We have no time to wait for him to completely transform, so we'll have to start finishing it."

While speaking, Oathkeeper's eyes looked like they were staring deep into the universe.

"It's time to fulfill my promise and welcome the return of history."

"The spy…" The two of them brought the matter up at possibly the worst timing.

Oathkeeper's emotions were interrupted. He ground his teeth and said with frustration, "Humph, stop looking for one. I might have been mistaken."

…

In the Underworld dimension, the shattered black floating islands had assembled together into a black land. It looked like a flowing desert, sometimes with tall mountains, sometimes with deep cliffs. Its terrain kept changing.

In the sky, heavy black clouds covered the sky, some darker and some lighter. A pale white sphere of light floated in the middle of the sky like a moon. Its gently silver light penetrated the clouds, illuminating the land. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful.

More than half a year had passed since Hila started to refill the dimension's core energy. The broken space walls there were already repaired, and the chaotic space streams were blocked out. It was no longer in a horrible and heavily damaged state. This was what the Underworld dimension should really look like.

At the heart of the Underworld was a red lake. There was no wind, only high tides. When looking at it more closely, this was made of highly condensed and almost liquid formed energy. It was indeed Hila's death energy.

At this time, the piercing bright red had tints of faint black. This came from the Underworld and was applied on Hila through the Mark of the Underworld. Her connection with the Underworld enhanced the strength of her Esper Ability tremendously.

This was the inheritance of the former death energy Esper, which was given to Hila and made her much stronger.

Above the bright red lake, Hila was floating in midair with her legs crossed. She was surrounded by faint red energy, her eyes were closed tight, and her eyelashes were shaking. She was releasing her energy and giving it to the Underworld.

At this time, Onicelu appeared beside Hila.

"Your connection with me is stronger."

Hila opened her eyes and said with an expressionless face, "How much have you recovered after absorbing my energy for a few months?"

"About three percent, more than enough to fight against the chaotic space streams of the secondary dimensions."

"So little?" Hila frowned.

"After all, the energy of the Underworld comes from two Esper Abilities. If the vital energy Esper reaches Beyond Grade A and feeds the Underworld energy together with you, it will cause resonance and increase the speed of the Underworld's recovery tremendously. You're the only one now, so of course, it won't be as efficient," Onicelu said with a smile.

"I see…" Hila suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, since the Underworld is stable now, can the souls of the Hero Spirits be released?"

"Well, they can be, but it's too early, so I don't suggest you do that." Onicelu shook her head. "This is the graveyard of Hero Spirits. There are a lot of souls here. Their activities will consume the energy of the Underworld. The stronger the Hero Spirits were when they were alive, the more energy they will consume, which will decrease the speed of the Underworld's recovery even further. Before the Underworld recovers to thirty percent and the stable way of putting them to sleep is recovered, it's best to keep them sleeping."

"So, you're saying there's not enough power output now?"

"You can say that."

Hila sighed. Although the Underworld was powerful, there was a long way to go till it reached its peak, so it would take a very long time before she could summon Hero Spirit warriors like the founders.

This time, Hila suddenly got curious and asked, "Speaking of which, the Underworld can let the souls of the past temporarily awaken and let them come to this world again, so are there any other ways to let dead people appear in this world again?"

Hearing this, Onicelu searched her memories for a while then said with uncertainty, "When Nerkese and Eros, the two old masters, were still alive, I seem to recall hearing them speak about a special phenomenon related to the dead reviving."

"Really? What's that?" Hila asked.

"It's something called the Sanctum, I think… The two masters had an argument because of it once, and they hardly brought it up after that. It seems like someone invited them on a mission related to the Sanctum. I don't know the details, but they rejected it."

"So, what is the Sanctum? Is it similar to the Underworld?"

"No idea. I don't know much about it. I only overheard their conversation. However, from what I've heard, the Sanctum is very powerful, and reviving the dead is only one of its functions." Onicelu shook her head.

"I see…"

Hila shook her head. She was only casually asking, so she was not too concerned.

However, Onicelu thought about it for a while and said, "If you're very curious, there are some Hero Spirits of Primordial Ones in the Underworld. They might know something. However, if you wake them up, you won't be able to force them to go back to sleep."

"Never mind then. I'll think about it when they can go back to sleep after being woken up. There's no hurry."

Hila shook her head.

She memorized the information about the Sanctum and planned to share it with Black Star to discuss it.