Mystical Journey

The absence of the Nine-Life Talent meant that Garen would lose his greatest advantage against the other peak individuals. Therefore, he had to find a method to cure the after-effects of both his Living Secret Techniques while he remained in this delayed decomposition environment.

Garen closed his eyes, seemingly free of worry about any trouble breathing he might encounter. This vitality underwent the modifications of the Nine-Headed Hydra’s genes, he gained a Totem Light type ability entering Form 5. Absorbing oxygen from seawater was a simple skill he had acquired, as it was one of the basic abilities of Totem Light.

It happened the moment he shut his eyes.

Thick black mist rose from his body quickly, dispersing in all four directions.

While Garen remained as the center, the surrounding water within a hundred mile radius gradually slowed in its flow, before appearing to almost solidify. The deep sea creatures around him escape by swimming towards the further parts of the sea.

At this moment, the sound of a resonance signal escaped from Garen’s body, transmitting itself to the flying carriage that was hovering above the surface of the sea.

Almost instantly, more than ten giant, dark blue Sea Hawks flew over the sky. The white-clothed Totem Users in who rode on the backs of these giant birds had dignified airs about them.

They were clad in white fur coats, and wore the symbol of the number seven in blue. Blizzard, Angel of the Night, and Spellcaster were among them.

"Courteous Tower Lords of the Seven Night Towers, I apologize for the trouble," Ivycius’s voice could be heard from the black carriage.

"As collaborators, we would never dream of neglecting such a simple task, much less a request from the Palace Master," answered the Grand Tower Lord politely. He was a feeble old man with a white beard that covered his whole face. "Food and drinks will be sent daily, as building a continuous passageway will take a considerable amount of time."

"That’s fine," replied Ivycius. "We must request for the dwellings to be built sooner, so that Skyharp and myself will have a convenient place to stay."

"Of course," replied the Grand Tower Lord respectfully.

He had felt a terrifying force the moment the black carriage arrived in the north. This force had greatly exceeded the powerful strength of his own Precious Heirloom, therefore he did not dare to remain idle, and instead gathered all of the other Tower Lords to welcome the visitors immediately.

He could only breathe a sigh of relief after witnessing Palace Master Garen sink into the depths of the sea, meaning that he had really come here just to retreat.

Among the people that arrived, he noticed that Ivycius, and another Elder called Phantom, were also first-rate professionals of the same level as himself, while Ivycius’s aura showed signs that he would break through any minute. Meanwhile, the other one, Demon Phoenix was impenetrable, meaning that facing her was like encountering an endless abyss. It was strange for such a powerful individual to merely be one of Palace Master Garen’s subordinates.

After witnessing this scene, the Grand Tower Lord thought of the good relationship between the Seven Night Tower and Black Swamp Palace, and his heart ignited with a fiery passion.

"From today onwards, these waters will be designated as Black Swamp Palace’s marine territory, and it will be our responsibility to provide the manpower to guard this place," said the Grand Tower Lord earnestly.

"That will be unnecessary. Palace Master only requires utmost secrecy. He does not need people to guard this place as both of us will be sufficient," said Ivycius in a lowered voice.

"Utmost secrecy, you say?" the Grand Tower Lord nodded certainly.

Suddenly, shocked faces appeared throughout the crowd as they lowered their heads to peer into the sea.

They could see that the previously dark blue seawater was now tinged black. Choppy waves crashed about the turbulent water, while the amount of crushed ice within the sea increased.

Minor changes had appeared throughout the sea.

The Grand Tower Lord’s expression changed slightly, as his fingers frantically drew gestures in the air. Instantly, a ray of white light shot out of his sleeve, but disappeared in flash.

The Grand Tower Lord closed his eyes and concentrated, attempting to detect something.

Moments later, he opened his eyes again, his face overcome with a grave expression.

"These changes have appeared throughout the entire hundred mile expanse of the sea!"

"It’s Palace Master!" said Demon Phoenix suddenly. "I could feel his breath!"

The three members of Black Swamp Palace exchanged glances but remained silent, merely observing the incomprehensible changes that were occurring below them.

However, the members of Seven Night Tower were overwhelmed with shock. If Garen managed to cause these extreme changes despite being submerged in an abyss over ten thousand miles deep, they would have to reevaluate Black Swamp Palace’s strength again.

This was not something within the reach of a regular Form 4!

Below the crowd, within a hundred mile range of the sea, the seawater started turning dark and cold. Dead fish and struggling sea creatures floated up on certain parts of the water. Colorless poisons spread across the expanse of water, before the entire hundred mile stretch of the sea was completely polluted, into an extremely terrifying and toxic no-entry zone.

Garen, who was currently located below the depths of the sea, was covered from head to toe in streams of green and red water. A thin layer of ice spread around him slowly while he remained in the center.

He raised his head and looked at the darkness above him, before closing his eyes slowly and sinking to the bottom with all his might.

*********************

Many months later…

Boom!

Thunderous noises echoed from the rolling black clouds.

Below the black clouds were seemingly endless red plains. Meanwhile, Nest Monsters had gathered there in large herds, resembling a huge wave.

Giant White Bats and Red Unihorn Lizards flew around in the sky like flying insects. At a glance, they looked like clusters of little red and white dots.

On the side of a dark red cliff where countless Nest Monsters were camping stood three silent figures, looking at the terrifying Nest Monster army in front of them.

A slender male figure in a green cloak stood in front, shielding himself so that only his eyes were exposed. He carried a dark green longbow on his back and wore a green hood on his head, giving off an indescribable sense of mystery and quietness.

The other two figures behind him were also clad in long grey robes, making it difficult to observe their bodies.

Dark clouds rolled through the sky, before a round hole appeared above the heads of the three people. A ray of white light shot out of the hole and formed a white pillar of light, descending upon the green cloaked man’s body.

He stretched his hands out before, a green, dark, exquisite longbow appeared in them instantly. It was the same bow that he had been carrying on his back earlier.

There was a spherical object at the center of the longbow that was constantly rotating.

After two crisp clapping noises, two blood-red wheels aimed at each other appeared on both sides of the bow. Meanwhile, a small, green snake slowly appeared on the body of the bow and slithered around silently, before coiling around. Finally, it gradually stiffened in place, before turning into a snake-like embossment.

The white light grew brighter, and along with it the faint light that reflected off the bow became clearer.

The man in the green cloak held the bow and arrow with both hands tightly, before raising it upwards with a quick motion.

Boom!!!

Numerous Nest Monsters exploded in an instant, letting out angry howls.

The Bats and Salamanders in the sky poked their necks out and screeched, while the black Mammoths, Four-Winged Giant Pythons and the other strange and powerful creatures howled in anger, as if they were about to unleash all their strength at once.

"This is a war of vengeance!" A cold male voice echoed from the green cloak.

*******************

Time flew by, as more than a year had already passed since Garen entered the depths of the North Sea.

The world fell into a surprising state of calmness.

Obscuro Society had gathered all of their forces in Ender, but since Hellgate did not make the first move, Ender’s Eternal Night Palace seemed like a powerful moat that was obstructing all of Obscuro Society’s Marshalls.

Strangely enough, Hellgate had suddenly disappeared for seemingly unknown reasons right in front of everyone.

The World's Totem King Festival in Ender had gone on for more than a year, and after the selections from the first match were decided, the strongest competitors were about to enter the semifinals.

Within the span of a year, eighteen competitors were finally selected for the semifinals, and each of them were peak Totem Users from across the land. Now, they were about to enter the Eternal Night Palace for the final matches.

Ender was simmering from within. The relationship between the local aristocracy, the army generals, the exterior forces and Obscuro Society were inexplicably complex and entangled.

Simultaneously, something else was happening on the vast red plains on the other side of the Vicra Mountains, in the northwestern part of Ender.

Obscuro Society’s numerous Empowered armies were engaged in a frenzied battle with the Nest Monsters. The Nest Leaders’ territory was a restricted area for humans, but Obscuro Society’s Silver Totems had invaded their Core areas.

Dark red, rotting corpses and skeletons could be seen everywhere, dyeing the area in a deeper shade of mahogany, while black smoke incessantly wafted out of certain places. It came from the war weapon that the Nest Leaders’ had built, the Rotting Well. This weapon was able to cause a continuous rotting effect to the armors of its enemies throughout a range of many kilometers.

The Rotting Wells resembled eyes that were flashing, with green light in the ground, but once its source was smashed open and the contents of its core flowed out, some of it remained dark and indistinguishable, while the rest of it gathered into winding, glowing green streams.

Monster corpses and Silver Totem skeletons were piled together, while flies and other flying insects buzzed around them. Flesh-eating insects had crawled into some of the corpses as well.

In the center of the red plains, where everything remained silent, a bright red pool was in the middle of the corpses, while the skeletons of two giant dragons formed a ring around the pool of blood.

Divine God Palace Master sat cross-legged beside the blood pool. He wore a black eye patch over one of his eyes, while his body was still covered in the same green cloak, except that it was now torn, with holes and blood stains all over.

Some of the blood inside the pool gathered slowly and formed a bloodied human figure. The human figure stood opposite Divine God Palace Master, while the corners of its mouth cracked suddenly, exposing a strange smile.

"It is almost time." The volume of its voice fluctuated like a communication device with strong signal interferences.

"That’s right."

Divine God Palace Master remained silent before closing his eyes slowly.

"You sacrificed millions of soldiers this year just to temporarily obstruct my return to the inner world, but for what?" asked the bloodied human figure in a low voice. "The flesh of two Time Dragons in exchange for the Original Heirloom to return as the core of the bow, and a pool of the blood of millions of soldiers… How generous…"

Divine God Palace Master did not reply, choosing to remain silent for a moment.

"You will die by my hand."

He stood up and turned around, before walking far away, without the slightest hint of nostalgia.