CHAPTER 514: SAINT HATERS.

His voice was loud and clear and it drowned the entire Council building into a sea of silence where only the sound of a breeze was audible. Hao Ren smiled, he used his spirit sense to check the situation and found that the people were all looking in the direction where he was standing.

The young man said, "Council Lord, if you don’t come out, I will block the door and issue the challenge for you all to face me. I am sure you would enjoy that."

This sentence shocked the people, blocking the door was a concept where the challenger wouldn’t lose anything, the further he progresses the higher the praise and respect. However, if the council or the faction that was facing the challenger lost even one single match, they would be ashamed.

Hao Ren aiming at the reputation of the council was something that Council Lord could not overlook so he sighed, and then a middle-aged man appeared at the door. The man replied, "I am the council lord of the Iron Star Island Forging Council, Fudge. Welcome Grandmaster Ren."

Hao Ren smiled and cupped his fist to the man. He said, "Thank you, do I need to throw down the gauntlet or would you allow me to look at the keepsake?"

The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head before he said, "The keepsake has been here for a long time. Long before I even took charge of the position. However, this keepsake is something that none of us could make any sense out of."

Hao Ren raised his brow and Fudge beckoned him over as he said, "Follow me. You will see what I mean."

The young man quickly climbed the stairs and followed the host, Fudge. After a few minutes, they came to a place at the second basement level, and they found a vault there. Fudge said, "The robes that you saw above have never been perceived by anyone because they are not the real artifact keepsake."

Hao Ren was shocked, and he said, "Looking at the craftsmanship of those robes, I thought it was something forged by Saint Tang Zhen."

Fudge shook his head and said, "The artifact that was forged by Lord Tang has reached the pinnacle of the craft. We cannot keep it outside for the people to perceive. Well you will find out soon."

The man placed his hand on the vault door and chanted an incantation. The door of the vault let out a thud and then it moved backwards before splitting into a two dual hinged door. Fudge nodded to Hao Ren and the two of them walked through the threshold.

Hao Ren sensed some strong fluctuations in the void and his gaze was focused on the center of the vault. Fudge observed Hao Ren and found that despite the treasured materials and artifacts placed in the vault the latter was looking at the center of the vault where the said Keepsake was placed.

The middle-aged man nodded and then they walked to the center of the vault. There stood a mannequin wearing a robe that appeared to be a normal piece of clothing but when inspected with spiritual senses, the people would be thrown into a strong illusion. Fudge didn’t dare to let out his spiritual sense and wanted to tell Hao Ren the same, when the young man said, "I see why you cannot keep this thing outside for inspection. This is surely the trickiest artifact under the clouds at the moment."

Fudge was shocked and asked, "You can see it and yet remain calm! Is the illusion not working on you at all?"

Hao Ren chuckled and replied, "No, it is not, I practice a special technique that allows me to see past illusions. This one is still sealed to some extent."

Fudge was surprised and asked, "What do you mean by sealed?"

Hao Ren replied, "The mannequin and the robes are a pair. The mannequin is a World Overlord level puppet and the robe is the spirit collection medium. I am assuming that if the owner of this puppet is attacked, then it casts an illusion and kills the attackers. Usually it should work at the command of the owner, but since it is working on its own, then I am guessing it is because of the illusion formation in the robe to have lost some effectiveness."

Fudge was shocked, and he was swallowing hard because he didn’t expect that Hao Ren would be able to see so many things in such a small time. He wanted to exclaim at the top of his voice that the young man was a monster, but he stayed calm and let out a sigh as he said, "Yes, my master come to the same conclusion over the centuries. He gave up the seat of the Council Lord to dedicate his time to focus on a way to find out how to fix this flaw."

Hao Ren smiled and shook his head as he said, "The robe is made from Everlasting Jade Silk, the fabric won’t ever perish by natural means, so the only thing that can be done is to retrace the array lines and carve them on the threads again. Though, it is very tricky. There are two many things that can go wrong in that process."

Fudge shivered and asked, "Can you tell me what are those things?"

Hao Ren replied calmly while gazing at the robe, "The illusion’s degree and significance changes from person to person. We cannot be sure about how strongly this will affect the people. Another aspect to consider is the command on recarving arrays that are left behind from ancient times. I am sure Saint Tang would not have chosen something simple if he intended to pass this to other people. I mean, despite all the respect, that man was a menace when it comes to tricking people."

Fudge nodded seriously and said, "Yes, tell me about it, that man left behind texts with seventy percent information and often said, ’Tread forward and discover your own truth’ like what the fuck does that even mean? How can a saint be such a devil?"

Hao Ren sighed and said, "I know right."