I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"This is the mission that Lu Ban and I first encountered. At this point, in my past, the Night Kingdom was attacked by Frost, and humanity ultimately resisted the demonic tide. Meanwhile, in Lu Ban's future, he will go to the moment when the Night Kingdom was attacked by Frost and defeat Frost. It seems that he changed the past, but in reality, because Lu Ban met me first, Frost's defeat was a predetermined event. Even if he did not succeed, the other chosen ones would have succeeded. This is the fundamental meaning of the Silent Land's existence."

"Similarly, based on the time when we last met Twisted Fate, in this future, Twisted Fate will go to Lu Ban's world, sacrifice himself, and seal the evil god. At the same time, in Lu Ban's past, the world was saved by Xuan Jun, and the evil god was sealed. Since Twisted Fate had already met Lu Ban before this, the saving of Lu Ban's world is a predetermined event. Even if Twisted Fate does not succeed, other chosen ones will sit in this position and become Xuan Jun."

She looked up at Lu Ban and Stone.

"So, do you understand now?"

"Understand what?"

Lu Ban asked bluntly.

“As long as you haven’t personally witnessed Drizzt’s death, the event that caused his death is uncertain to you. Or to put it another way, Drizzt is still alive in some time and space in another realm. If we can find this time and space and make him give up on going to your world, we can save him.”

Chapter 616 Deceiving the World

Hearing Sia's words, Stone felt somewhat incredulous. He took a deep drag on his briar-carved pipe. The relaxing air passed through his throat and trachea, entering his lungs, bringing Stone a slight pain that made him even more alert.

"Isn't this a bit too far-fetched? Excuse me, but I mean, Mr. Twisted Fate has been missing for ten years. Even if we have some way to try now, so much time has passed. Can we really change history?"

His thinking is quite normal. The past cannot be changed, which is the common understanding. If the past could be changed at will, then the understanding of the present would lose its foundation.

But in a foreign land, anything is possible.

"That's possible."

Xia said with certainty, then looked at Lu Ban.

"Do you remember what I told you before? I once saw Du Danping in a foreign land. At that time, Du Danping was already dead to you, but to me, Du Danping was still alive and well. If I had recognized him earlier, I might have been able to inform him and save this senior."

“That might not work, because I have already seen Du Danping’s remains.”

Lu Ban thought for a moment, but still didn't reveal that he had crushed Du Danping's body to ashes.

The impact is not good.

However, he then thought of something else.

Was the task I undertook simply to "witness" Du Danping's death?

Once it is observed and confirmed by other chosen ones, then Du Danping's "death" will become a fait accompli.

However, Du Danping is the chosen one of the Silent Lands, and those great beings who created the Silent Lands have no reason to make Lu Ban do these things.

Or perhaps, the Great Old Ones on Aldebaran, through some mysterious connection, made themselves into tools?

Lu Banshen even considered another possibility.

Is it possible that Du Danping did not die? Since he was able to face the Old Ones directly and contend with them to a certain extent, he must have had many ways to save his life. Even Lu Ban, when facing the sealed Lord of the Mountains and the mud monster god, did not immediately give up, but still had room for maneuver.

It seems illogical that Du Danping, who left behind fragments of melody in various alien realms and faced many sealed ancient rulers, would be burned to death.

So, is the person who has been playing the piano at the Jiangcheng Grand Theater really Du Danping herself?

For example, he was able to leave behind a clone, but what actually died was Du Danping's clone.

In any case, Lu Ban did not witness Du Danping's death, so in a sense, in Lu Ban's mind, Du Danping was not dead.

For example, Du Danping mastered some methods of creating clones. His clone remained in the alien realm. When the Jiangcheng Grand Theater encountered danger, his clone sacrificed itself and became the corpse that Lu Ban encountered.

In Song Yunyan's eyes, Du Danping was left at the Jiangcheng Grand Theater and burned to death in the flames; his remains had long been buried.

In Lu Ban's eyes, Du Danping's remains were playing the piano on the stage of Jiangcheng Grand Theater, and he did not witness Du Danping's death.

If all of this was a performance orchestrated by Du Danping, who pretended to be dead and, in the eyes of the Chosen Ones, had vanished from this world...

That means Lu Ban can also go and rescue Trist.

According to Stone, after meeting Twisted Fate, Twisted Fate completed several missions. Therefore, it is possible that Lu Ban could come into contact with Twisted Fate through missions in other realms.

However, since the future Lu Ban already knew about the disappearance of Twisted Fate in his past, the future Lu Ban needs to deceive the present Lu Ban to a certain extent, making him believe that the body in the cave in Jiangcheng Mountain is indeed Twisted Fate's remains.

Thinking of this, Lu Ban became even more interested in Daoist Heming.

After all, it was Xuanjun and Heming Daoren who led Twisted Fate to make these choices, and his initial motivation for wanting to learn about the mud monsters was because he encountered these things in the Silent Land.

In some mysterious way, his fate was influenced by Lu Ban.

If we can find the Crane Cry Taoist, we might be able to break this cycle of fate and save Drizzt.

"Let's put aside the matter of Drizzt for now; it's all just speculation. Let's deal with the problem at hand first."

Lu Ban said.

Stone nodded slightly and then put down his pipe.

"Hmm... It's very likely that the will of Daoist Heming resides in an object, a creature, or even a person. I think the most likely candidate is Master Byron, who is a successor of the Heming School and has the highest probability of having come into contact with Daoist Heming's relics."

"The so-called art of resurrection is just like the mud; it's merely a trick to manipulate and usurp the corpse. The successors of Daoist Heming rely on these methods to spread corruption and seize profits."

Shea agreed with Stone's statement that resurrection was impossible in the ruined capital, but she still had some concerns.

"However, our mission is not only of [Ascension] difficulty, but the objective is to survive until the end of the Summoning Night. If it were only Crane Cry Daoist's disciple, the danger would not be so great."

The young mage pondered.

"By the way, what were you referring to when you told them about Browning's legacy?"

Lu Ban asked Stone, who was a local and had previously communicated with Browning, so he definitely knew much more information than Lu Ban.

"After Browning bought the house, he often stayed here, trying to unravel its secrets, because according to legend, the Crane Cry Taoist left his legacy at Stormy Mountain Villa, which may be the secret to immortality."

Stone said, placing his hand holding the pipe on the table as if recalling something.

“Normally, such claims are nonsense, lies made up by real estate agents to promote sales, but in Browning’s case, they do work.”

He pulled a small notebook out of his pocket. Lu Ban recognized it as the notebook that Trist had used before. Although it might not be the same one, it was probably the same model.

Aside from his appearance and pipe, he even inherited this trait.

"Look, this is a photograph by Browning, taken three months ago."

Lu Ban and Xi Ya looked at the photo.

The photo is black and white, but the quality is quite good, and some details can be seen. Among them, the most surprising thing is Browning's appearance.

"Browning's son is over thirty, so he must be at least fifty, right?"

Lu Ban glanced at Xi Ya.

"really……"

Xia nodded slightly, agreeing that theoretically it was correct.

But Browning in that photo clearly looked to be only in his thirties, not even forty. If he dressed up carefully, he might even pass for a recent college graduate.

Immortality?

Lu Ban asked a question.

Chapter 617 Horcrux

"According to the hospital's medical records, Browning is nearly sixty years old this year, but he looks very young. Although this can be explained by spending money on maintenance, it is more likely to be the influence of supernatural forces."

Stone explained.

"In fact, Browning never aged after he moved into Rainstorm Lodge at the age of fifty; in fact, he grew younger with age. Although he lived a secluded life after that and did not communicate much with many of his former companions, people still noticed this fact to some extent."

"You mean, Browning may have already touched upon some of the exotic pollution?"

Sia knew very well that rejuvenation was rare, but not impossible.

After receiving extraordinary power, at least on the surface, humans can temporarily achieve eternal youth and ageless appearance. However, this appearance is accompanied by severe pollution. It can be said that beneath the glamorous exterior lies a rotten interior, making them no different from monsters.

Like the portrait of Dorian Gray, he appears youthful and beautiful, but in reality, he is decaying and withered.

“This Stormy Mountain Villa definitely contains the pollution left by Daoist Heming. This pollution may combine with the pollution brought by Master Byron, allowing Daoist Heming to return to this world again.”

Stone speculated.

"Browning commissioned me to find the things left behind by the real Crane Cry Taoist in the mansion. I don't know if he just happened to live here and came into contact with the pollution, or if he had already mastered some of the secrets. In any case, he hoped that I could search the entire mansion and find the secrets buried here. Unfortunately, he died before I could do so."

"He probably just found that living here makes him younger, so there's no need for him to come to you again after he's already found the legacy of Daoist Heming. It would be completely unnecessary."

Hia made her judgment.

"really."

Stone nodded, saying that he thought so too.

"Is it possible that Daoist Heming left a part of his soul in some object, thus unknowingly bewitching Browning and preserving his youthful appearance, and that if Daoist Heming's remains were to come near such an object, it would enhance his power?"

Lu Ban suddenly said.

"It's similar to, uh, Horcruxes."

He was referring to a concept from a children's literature work, where the soul is divided into several parts and injected into objects. As long as the objects are not destroyed, the soul in the fragments can be used to revive the spirit.

That makes sense.

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, Stone had a sudden realization.

"Since Daoist Heming's ascension was not a true departure from this world, but merely a transformation of his form, then if he were cautious enough, he would have set up an avatar or a backup plan. That thing possesses Daoist Heming's will and knowledge, so it's quite normal that it bewitched Browning."

"In other words, if we don't find the Soul Artifact that Crane Cry Daoist is hiding here during the Night of the Soul Summoning, then Byron will use Crane Cry Daoist's remains to enhance the power of this patriarch, and we will all be severely corrupted and lose our sanity."

Sia speculated.

This is the most likely outcome at present.

"Thankfully, Master Byron hasn't arrived yet?"

Lu Ban sighed.

“There are two possibilities: Byron knows exactly what Horcruxes are in Stormwind Manor, and his arrival would cause the contamination to spill out; or he doesn’t know what Horcruxes are either, and he needs to search for them like we do.”

Stone offered his own perspective.

"Based on the mission, I think the latter is more likely, otherwise if he arrives in the next two days, it will lead to the resurrection of Daoist Heming."

"There is another possibility: if that thing stays near the remains of Daoist Heming for a certain period of time, such as nine days, it will be absorbed by Daoist Heming's will."

Lu Ban added that he had another sudden inspiration.

"If we just take care of Byron halfway through and steal the remains he's carrying, wouldn't we be able to complete the mission quickly?"