I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

Like everyone with this name, Mustafa is a royal chieftain who fled from Saudi Arabia—don't get me wrong, there are almost countless descendants of princes in Saudi Arabia, the only difference is whether you have money or not.

Sometimes, descendants of princes who have fallen on hard times and only hold the title may sell their noble titles to wealthy merchants. Once certified, they become true "nobles".

Mustafa's title of chieftain is questionable, but he certainly puts on a grand show. This is not surprising, as he is one of the few people in Algiers who can speak with both the official colonial forces and the National Liberation Front.

At times, official colonial forces and the National Liberation Front would even use him to communicate and exchange information, and to release certain messages.

The exile's smuggler friend had a long-term supply relationship with Mustafa. After exchanging some benefits, Mustafa promised to help the exile and her associates forge an identity document in Algiers.

“But, my friend Snyder, this is not part of our deal.” The portly Mustafa held up a finger adorned with a jeweled ring and said earnestly, “It is true that you were assassinated by the National Liberation Front, but you also took those two treasures.”

Mustafa may have some knowledge of the mystical world, but his knowledge is not deep; to him, the strange objects are just some rare antiques.

Therefore, he didn't quite understand why the spokesperson for the National Liberation Front was so angry with the exiles—the two heart-shaped artifacts could have been a great help to the organization, or used as fuel for promotion ceremonies to create new superhumans.

Once it falls into the hands of exiles, it means it can never be taken back.

As expected, the exile frowned, looking at Mustafa's fat face: "How can this be?"

Mustafa shook his head: "Don't be nervous, they don't intend to issue a warrant for your arrest."

The implication is that the previously promised aid has been completely wiped out, becoming nothing more than empty promises. At least in Algiers, the National Liberation Front will no longer be an ally for them.

The exile remained silent, sensing from all this that some kind of conspiracy was unfolding—someone had woven this trap, waiting for her to fall into it.

"How could this be? This is completely unreasonable."

Xingti said incredulously that after the series of events that happened in the past half day, all her goodwill towards the National Liberation Front had vanished.

Mustafa didn't give her the same friendly look he showed to exiles: "Don't give me that sour look, little girl. You should have your father or brother speak to you."

"You should learn to cover your face with a headscarf; that way you might avoid being stoned to death one day."

"Enough, Mustafa." The exile raised his hand to stop Mustafa from speaking. "I don't want to hear anything like that again."

“She is my friend. If she insults my friend again... then I will have to work even harder.”

The exile was, after all, the former crown prince of the purgers. Just an hour ago, he had defied the curse and killed four musicians, including two extraordinary beings with the third mark.

Mustafa could only give a sheepish smile and admit defeat. He then turned his gaze to Li Lin, whose eyes were staring blankly into the void.

As the only male among the group, Li Lin had long attracted Mustafa's attention.

“Who is…?”

"Melina, you have no heart!"

Li Lin, who seemed to be staring blankly at the void but was actually staring at the green desktop, suddenly shouted, startling Mustafa across from him so much that he almost fell off his chair.

"you!"

Li Lin snapped out of his daze and turned around to yell, "Why are you yelling so loudly!"

Mustafa was so angry that his face turned pale. Who on earth was shouting so loudly?! For a moment, he became restless. After a brief standoff, he let out a cold snort and left.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, his high blood pressure would flare up.

After Mustafa left, a very perceptive servant quietly stepped forward and placed a pre-drafted property deed in front of them. All they had to do was sign it, and the property under Mustafa's name would be transferred to the exiles.

The exile glanced at it, said nothing, and signed the document.

Mustafa arranged for them to live in an apartment the size of an office, which would normally be too small for them, but Virtin's suitcase perfectly solved the problem of the cramped space.

......

Their apartment is still in the Kasbah district, and compared to Mustafa's wealthy villas, the rooms here seem small and cramped.

But this is not the point.

The exile lowered his voice and said, "I suspect the liquidators are cutting off our assets through a pre-arranged plan."

The liquidators are not all reckless brutes who rush in and fight. To be precise, this is only a part of them. A considerable number of them do not confront the enemy directly. Instead, they use the special nature of the liquidator organization to build various networks of relationships and harass and weaken the liquidator's targets and enemies in every possible way. Their methods include, but are not limited to: theft, sending auditors to conduct continuous spot checks, confiscating property, and instigating gang members to harass them.

Do whatever is disgusting.

The exiles knew there were liquidators in Algiers, but they never expected that the liquidators here would be strategists who built networks of connections.

This is actually quite normal. After all, Algiers is located in Africa, and it is not easy to mobilize a special combat-oriented squad of liquidators into the city. It could easily provoke a riot by local religious forces.

“Then we can’t join the National Liberation Front.” The exiles characterized their actions in Algiers: “This time, we’re directly siding with the French colonists; I’m going to buy them off with time!”

The exile's lips curled into a chilling smile: "Those little bitches wouldn't offer such a high price!"

She's not incapable of using a dog-eat-dog strategy.

291

It must be said that although the French are influenced by human breast milk in various ways, they really put on a very impressive air.

Li Lin and his group would be questioned by patrol officers if they stayed near the outer wall of the governor's mansion for too long, let alone enter it.

This is only because most of them are white; if someone had approached wearing a hat or headscarf, they would have been dragged out and shot five minutes ago.

Moreover, they are in the open while the enemy is in the shadows. The slayer lurking in the dark is likely to be alerted by their next move. Before confirming his true identity, such an operation with little chance of success should not take place.

"To meet the real power holders, we first need to establish official connections. Let's rest today and head out to explore on our own first thing tomorrow morning... Oh, and if we encounter any special circumstances, we must resist immediately. Our safety is the most important thing."

When it comes to practical skills, the exiles are far more capable than anyone else.

As night fell and starlight blanketed Algiers, the people's first night on land was not entirely peaceful.

Xingti fell asleep very late, while Wilting stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. The exile's sleep was very light; it seemed that the slightest sound would wake her up.

Only Li Lin, who was sleeping against the wall, was sleeping soundly with Nian Tuanzi in his arms, carefree and oblivious to everything else.

......

Li Lin and Nian's consciousness ascended into Mansu together, and before their eyes appeared once again a vast expanse of starlight—the border of Mansu, countless fragments and tributaries of history, the angle between many times and possibilities.

For those entering Mansu for the first time, this border does not exist; they will be dragged along the Moonlit Path by their emotional passions until they disappear into the woods.

Everyone has at least two opportunities to visit Mansu in their lifetime, one of which is at the time of death.

For those who know Mansu better, crossing the Mansu border is actually a difficult and tortuous journey.

—The named beings in the woodlands often prey on those immortals who stray into the woodlands; in the Garden of Light of Mansu, the setting sun and crescent moon of the celestial sphere often travel together, and even a glimpse of their figures from afar can be fatal; and the River in the Painting, higher up, connects directly to the Sea of ​​No Light, the final resting place of the dead and other species; climbing just two steps of the Blade Stairs can cause excruciating pain that leaves permanent scars on the spirit body... not to mention that at the highest point of Mansu, the blazing radiance shines down, melting away everything that dares to look directly at it.

Fortunately, Li Lin's dark green desktop seemed to have a significant background, and Nian was an even more distinguished figure in the Mansu.

Those of higher rank than them had no time to block their path, and those of lower rank retreated quickly, fearing that they would be crushed to pieces if they stood in their way.

The instant Li Lin and Nian passed through the wall of starlight, their spiritual bodies took on different forms.

Nian's body suddenly stretched from a small, round dumpling, and amidst the clanging of metal, she transformed back into that white-haired, red-horned, and purple-eyed girl.

Li Lin's spirit body was far more bizarre than Nian's. His human form collapsed the instant it passed through the starlight, and then countless metals burst forth from the collapsed singularity. These metals and machines were bound together by some force, and then riveted and connected to each other to form a huge lever and gear mechanism.

These mechanical structures are connected at incredible angles, forming a sphere about half the size of a person.

"Am I a ball?" Li Lin said indignantly, his state of mind had been reversed after entering the Mansu.

However, anger came and went quickly. Li Lin soon felt a sense of novelty and looked around at Nian in amazement: "Do I look like a human being?"

"You look to me like a blonde fox maid who is 1.45 meters tall and has nine tails."

Nian yawned, and together with Li Lin, they flew higher and higher in the cobalt blue light, finally landing lightly in front of the overgrown temple.

No one else was summoned; only Raiden Shin, who had stayed behind, came out to greet them.

Li Lin clicked his tongue lightly. Raiden was a homebody back in Teyvat, and she's still a homebody here. It's truly a heartwarming display of craftsmanship.

Lightning was genuinely shocked by Li Lin's spirit body, probably because she had never seen Li Lin in this form before.

"This is you at the third mark."

Nian turned to Li Lin and said, his blue-purple pupils filled with certainty and understanding, "All extraordinary individuals must make a choice when entering the third mark: whether they are willing to spend a great deal of time in this stage to solve the riddles posed by the Stag Gate and become a Night Owl qualified to climb upwards with dignity in the Manshu..."

"Or should I give up this opportunity, let the desire to ascend consume me, be infected by the ambition of the Void Source Sichen·Soaring Spider, have my spirit body mutate, and finally completely cross the gate of Mansu as an alien species, thus abandoning my old self."

This is why the immortals say that without becoming an expert, one will forever lose the right to pass through the Three-Pointed Gate.

Only those who are granted access to the true secrets of Mansu can control their mutated spirit bodies through the touch of Sichen, thus completing the path to ascension, entering Mansu with dignity, and becoming immortals.

"Damn it, why isn't that old bastard Gribby dropping any more gold coins?" Li Lin thought to himself that he would kill Gribby, the gatekeeper of the Bucks, sooner or later.

The Gate of the Stag is named after the guardian of this gate of Mansus, a giant stag named Griby. Griby was one of the earliest learners in Mansus and a named one of the Old Gods. His body was destroyed in the war between the New Strategist and the Old Gods, leaving only his head.

Li Lin described this as "spending the night with Wu Zixu."

Having lost the ability to have sex and also the ability to move, Gribby's mentality became somewhat abnormal—much like the eunuchs of the Eastern and Western Depots in ancient China, whose physical disabilities led to psychological abnormalities.

Griby is bound by the laws of the sages and cannot attack the knowers, but he holds the power to open the gates of the stag. Griby will not open the gates unless the new apprentice can answer Griby's riddle about the stag.

Since the beginning of history, countless gifted apprentices have failed before the old riddler, Griby. Some wasted their lives at the gates of the stag, some simply gave up ascension to serve the Order, and some went out of control and became heretics.

The Divine Stars seemed to welcome this outcome, treating it as a kind of testing mechanism—those who could answer the riddles of Gribi were undoubtedly exceptional talents, one in a million, and by recruiting such intelligent individuals as immortals, Mansu would only become more powerful.

"Do you have connections?" Li Lin asked, still unwilling to give up.

“The answer is yes.” Nian shrugged. “But for the descendants of Sichen, the Gate of the Stag is not much of an obstacle.”

Nian seemed to have thought of something and looked at Li Lin: "Actually, you don't need to worry at all, because Si Chen, who is protecting you, is a double-horned axe."

“Gribby is the named owner of the double-horned axe.”