Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

It was difficult to find a new life without blood and fire, war and slaughter!

  At the same time as the death of Morrian Plane, a large group of otherworldly invaders had broken in and were wildly robbing and looting. They searched and looked for resources, materials, knowledge, and valuable slaves. Their brazen actions only hastened the passing of Morrian Plane.

  There was no doubt that the lives of the inhabitants of the plane were the most tragic and helpless during this tragedy!

  They could do nothing but hide and try their best to delay their inevitable deaths.

  Unfortunately, like a slowly sinking ship, there was simply no escape, no matter how they struggled. They could only close their eyes and wait for the moment, the day, that they would finally die.

  Everyone’s hearts were heavy as they walked in this dying plane.

  Greem and the two others could not help but reflect on their own world. If their origin plane–if the World of Adepts–were to suffer such a calamity, where would they go?

  Even though the destruction of their origin plane didn’t mean that the adepts would all be exterminated, the loss of their homeworld would scatter the adepts across the universe. They would no longer be a core that could gather and combine the powers of all adepts in the universe.

  When that happened, the adepts would lose their source of fresh blood, and all the survivors would end up being measly slave owners or conquerors of foreign planes. In another thousand years, the adepts’ legacy would vanish as the survivors assimilated with the natives of whichever plane they found themselves residing.

  When that happened, the group known as the Adepts would silently disappear from the boundless sea of galaxies!

  The three adepts headed east after emerging from the plain. They then headed north after passing through the Crehen Mountains. Their destination was the pre-determined Evac Point One. The Emerald Hills.

  The Emerald Hills of Morrian Plane was also an exceedingly famous tourist area.

  While the adepts traveled, they avoided all areas with concentrated populations and numerous spatial rifts.

  In all honesty, they had already made more than a sufficient profit on this trip. None of them wanted to run into any more otherworldly creatures. Sadly, with the continuous crumbling of the world, and the collapse of the planar laws, the suppression imposed on the invaders decreased by the day.

  As such, the number of invaders seeking to take advantage of the circumstances only continued to increase!

  Naturally, some of these newcomers were ignorant fools.

  The adepts had to fight their way out of some situations, even as they continued to march forward.

  If it weren’t for the overwhelming might of the party and their teamwork, this trip to the evacuation point might have been more dangerous and complicated than the mission itself.

  The three adepts’ emotions were those of sorrow, sadness, and an indescribable gloom during the journey.

  Greem had been confused by the presence of these emotions, and he only realized what was happening after receiving a notification from the Chip.

  These emotions did not come from them. Rather, they were emotions projected by the dying planar consciousness that had afflicted their very souls. As they were all currently enveloped by the planar consciousness, this affliction of emotions was subtle and unnoticed.

  The Morrian Plane did not wish to die either. It had its own fear and unwillingness.

  As it slowly headed towards death, it struggled and screamed for help with all it had. It projected the feeling of despair and the madness of awaiting death outwards, afflicting the souls of every living being present within it.

  It was sinking, and it was despairing.

  And it dragged all living beings to sink and fall into despair along with it.

  The surviving inhabitants of the plane charged out of their shelters as if possessed, wildly attacking all the invaders with no regard for the massive gulf in power. It indirectly hastened the death of the planar consciousness.

  Since the day of defeat, the systematic arcane power of Morrian Plane quickly faded away.

  Large groups of arcanists vanished from Morrian Plane, migrating to some unknown place. However, in the process, they had left behind an innumerable amount of low-grade arcanists and apprentices.

  All the refugees swarmed towards the regions where the light of the arcane tower still shone. The remaining arcanists were crowded in a small living area, using what remained of the arcane energies to repel the increasingly hostile environment and the terrifying otherworldly creatures.

  The weaker humans quickly died because of radiation, starvation, or infighting. Scenes of deceit, betrayal, and dark despair played out in all the shelters.

  The actors of these plays put on a stellar performance, perfectly exemplifying the despair and madness inherent of human nature in the course of awaiting death. It was a depressing reality and one that made a person sigh in helplessness.

  With the powerful elementium resistance of Fourth Grade adepts, Greem and the two others were barely affected by the ‘insignificant’ changes to the environment. However, all the small villages along the way were not void of life.

  On the contrary, they only found human corpses in barren wastelands.

  These bodies were always malnourished and deprived of food. It was obvious that they’d had no choice but to flee their shelters out of starvation to search for food, only to die to the overwhelming energy radiation on the outside.

  It had barely been two weeks, yet the entire Morrian Plane was on death’s door. Every living being inside the plane was also drawing their last breath!

  Greem’s spirits were downcast as he walked in a world like this.

  Chapter 1138 - Party Disagreement

  Emerald Hill.

  This place was once a beautiful tourist spot in Morrian Plane.

  Its soil contained an unusual mineral particle that would glow jade-green, blue, and many other different colors under sunlight. These colors would even shift and swirl under the moonlight, making it seem as if the earth was made up of pieces of gemstones that flowed like a liquid in the night.

  That was how this place won the name of Emerald Hill!

  However, the former beauty had now completely vanished. Emerald Hill was now a bald, empty hill. The rocky hillside had no soil or vegetation; its stone foundation was exposed to the air, cold and unfeeling beneath the moonlight.

  A small campfire burned in a small camp at the top of the hill. Seven hooded figures huddled together, seemingly waiting for something.

  It had been thirteen days since the Day of Ruination. Morrian Plane was becoming increasingly unstable, and more and more otherworldly creatures were appearing in higher frequency. Trying to find an undisrupted place under such conditions was extremely difficult.

  Especially since the planar barrier was starting to disintegrate with the ruination of the plane world. Thousands of tons of material substance from regions closest to the spatial rifts were whisked away by the spacestorm and scattered deep into space.

  Moreover, these losses were continually happening. As long as the rifts remained open, the material substance of Morrian Plane would continue to be lost to space, leaving only the most hardened and toughest essence substances of the plane.

  Of course, the living creatures whisked into space had no nope of survival!

  “Captain Roy, how long are we supposed to wait?” An adept in black robes lifted her head and asked softly, her tone filled with dissatisfaction.

  The adept’s hood slid off her head as she spoke, revealing her white and smooth chin. There was a beauty mark on the corner of her mouth, giving her an exceptional sense of charm.

  “Indeed, Captain. The members of that party might all be dead now. Otherwise, they should have already arrived by now!” Another adept chimed in with the same upset tone.

  “There’s nothing to complain about!” The captain of the party wore a gold headband on his head. He had a deep claw mar
k on his left cheek, with gray mist still rising from the wound. It made him look unusually cold and cruel. “We agreed to wait here for three days before we separated. It’s only been two days now. Just a day more, and we can leave. Why the hurry?”

  “You’re not wrong, but this plane,” The female adept’s voice was low, but her tone was filled with worry, “I can already hear constant explosions coming from the skies these past few days. It means Morrian Plane’s planar barrier won’t last for much longer. Once the planar barrier shatters, the ultra-long range interplanar teleportation array we brought with us will be affected by the spacestorms. When that happens……”

  She did not finish her words, but the suggestion was more than enough to provoke the imagination of her companions.

  As elite Fourth Grades selected from their respective factions, the two parties had already successfully completed their missions and returned to the evacuation point. Unfortunately, of the twelve people that had set off, only seven had managed to return.

  Five elite Fourth Grade adepts had died in Morrian Plane over the past fifty-three days. A casualty rate of nearly 50%. It was a testament to the danger and terror of the mission they had to carry out!

  Meanwhile, Group Three–which was meant as a diversionary force–had only four members, all of whom were newly advanced or inexperienced adepts of the various major factions. Given their power and ability to adapt, their chances of surviving such dangerous missions were fairly low.

  That was why the groups of the elite had been secretly guessing at the number of survivors in Group Three, even as they gathered here and waited for them to return.

  The weak two-headed adept was most certainly dead, and the golem master esoteric adept also had a high chance of dying. After all, the two of them were only good at fighting but not fleeing. Their chances of a successful escape when surrounded by enemies were nearly zero.

  The somewhat famous fire adept was reasonably powerful, but the more you stood out on such a dangerous battlefield, the quicker you died. Therefore, his chances of successfully leaving after completing his mission weren’t very high either.

  On the contrary, the Dark Witch was an intermediate Fourth Grade, and her magic was inclined towards mobility and ambush. People like her were most suited to an otherworldly battlefield. She could advance and retreat, fight and flee as she wished. Her powers would certainly improve immensely if she survived this battlefield.

  However, while the adepts were waiting in silence, three towering figures appeared on the distant, winding road. The three figures were quickly approaching the camp.

  The adepts around the campfire were on alert now. Shuffling sounds could be heard under their robes as they grabbed their wands, scrolls, magical equipment, and treasures in their hands. They were prepared to strike at any time.

  The female adept stood up and took a good look at the approaching individuals. She couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise.

  “Mm? It’s Group Three! They…they’ve returned with three people.”

  It was a simple sentence, but it couldn’t help but make the other adepts frown.

  Soon, Greem, Holly, and the siblings managed to scale the stony hill and meet up with the other adepts.

  “Three people,” the leader of the group mumbled under his breath. The wound on his cheek started twitching, making him appear all the more ferocious.

  “Sir Roy, we have returned!” Greem and the other seemed to have detected the hostility and coldness in the gaze of the other adepts. As such, Greem took the initiative to greet the leader.

  “Greem, where is Shani?” One of the adepts in the group of seven stood up. She took off her hood and questioned coldly.

  It was a female adept whose entire body was shrouded in a chilling aura. Her eyebrows were thin and delicate, carrying with them a trace of resolved, murderous intent.

  Judging from her appearance and the clan emblem she wore on her chest, she was a Coldwinter Witch!

  Coldwinter Witches were a branch of the Northern Witches. Though they were a different clan from the Dark Witches, they were still a subordinate clan to the great Witch Queen. The Northern Witches were a united group of people, especially against outsiders. They were a group of women with a united front and were extremely difficult to deal with.

  Greem lowered his eyes, a faint trace of sorrow appearing on his face.

  “Lady Shani has very unfortunately fallen in battle against an otherworldly creature!”

  “Bullshit! You are lying! Who in this plane could corner Shani and kill her with her powers? The Dark Witches are famous for never dying!” The Coldwinter Witch roared angrily and in complete distrust of Greem’s words.

  Greem’s expression didn’t change. He lifted an eyebrow and softly explained.

  “Arcanists of this plane certainly cannot, but those otherworldly creatures can. Shani died at the hands of a powerful enemy with an artifact. His name was Mietzel, the son of the God of Wisdom Hierro. If you don’t believe the truth of my words, you are free to find a diviner to verify it.”

  An artifact. A god’s son. The God of Wisdom.

  This high-impact information caused all the adepts to frown uncontrollably.

  The Dark Witches all had soul energy pools that could preserve their soulbrands. It allowed them to run about the battlefield brazenly, making their combat style incredibly barbaric and aggressive. Even if they died in the line of battle, they could revive through the soul energy pool and completely reforge an energy body.

  It was what made the Dark Witches such difficult opponents!

  However, if a Dark Witch ran into an enemy with an artifact, the enemy could undoubtedly use the higher-grade properties of the artifact to trap and exterminate their soul. It made sense for Greem to explain Shani’s death in this manner.

  A scrawny old adept stood forth and demanded with a wicked smile on his face, “If even Witch Shani died in battle, how did the three of you escape alive? Could it be that all of you just cooped up somewhere safe without accomplishing your missions?”

  “Indeed, that must be the cast. I knew this ragtag bunch was unreliable.” The other wounded adepts also started making a fuss and closed in on the three adepts threateningly.

  “Hand over your mission crystals. I need to examine them!”

  The leader also became suspicious of Greem and the two others when he heard the words of his companion. He demanded the mission crystals.

  The mission crystals were an item passed down by their superiors before the group departed. They could record brief images of the party conducting their missions and were often kept by the party leader.

  These items contained the aura of higher-grade adepts, and there were no ways of altering its contents. Therefore, it was the most direct evidence of a party accomplishing its mission.

  Greem was shocked for a moment, and his expression turned dark.

  “Examining mission crystals is something that should be done by our superiors. Are you not overstepping your bounds by making me hand over the mission crystal!?”

  “Hmph! Who knows if you have finished your mission if you don’t hand over your mission crystal. I am the leader of this group as appointed by the Great Adepts. Everything I say here is of absolute authority. Now hand over your mission crystals!” The adept with the gold headband coldly replied.

  Greem glared at him coldly for a brief moment before nodding his head slowly. He took out a magical crystal the size of a fist and passed it over.

  Holly and the siblings hesitated for a moment before handing over their mission crystals as well.

  The leader took the crystals. He first verified their authenticity before lifting them to his eyes and reaching in with his Spirit to examine the images within.

  Chapter 1139 - A Terrifying Incident

  After a long pause, Adept Roy put down the mission crystal and looked at Greem with puzzled eyes.

  “They have finished all the missions assigned to them and even assaulted a floating
city. The images recorded in the crystal prove that they have indeed gone to the core area of the floating city and even retrieved valuable information!”

  There weren’t too many images of battle recorded in the mission crystals. Greem had only used it to record some brief scenes of combat. In particular, there was the scene of Illhoof fighting against the Fifth Grade Great Arcanist in the arcane palace at the center of Reisin Graden.

  Anyone who viewed the images would be able to estimate Greem’s position from the angle and distance from which the images had been recorded.

  “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. How could they have entered and left the floating city unharmed with their ability? They must have cheated somehow.” The Coldwinter Witch was still pursuing the question.

  Her gaze quickly landed on the weakest of the three of them– Mangus.

  “Speak, Mangus, how did Shani die?”

  Mangus’ eyebrow twitched. He lifted his head and said coldly, “You will have to ask Witch Shani yourself! We were a proper party, and still, she chose to work alone, simply because she’s powerful. Otherwise, she would never have been surrounded by enemies and killed alone!”

  The Coldwinter Witch’s face turned dark.

  However, before she could press the issue, Adept Holly spoke up angrily as well.

  “Witch Shani died at the hands of the son of the God of Wisdom. I can attest to that as well. Moreover, we have already avenged her. We killed most of the believers of the God of Wisdom there! Even the god’s son has died!”

  “Oh?” Adept Roy’s gaze sharpened as he turned towards Greem. “You people killed the god’s son?”

  Greem shook his head lightly and replied with a bitter smile, “How could we beat him with our power? He has an artifact. The one that killed him was a lich. His name was Kanganas, and it seemed like he belonged to some unusual organization known as the Great Pan-Universe Alliance of Liches.”

  “Lich Kanganas. He came to Morrian Plane as well!” Adept Roy seemed to know something about Kanganas. His expression turned solemn upon hearing his name, as if he was incredibly wary of the lich. “You are truly lucky to have survived after meeting Kanganas. Be careful the next time you meet that guy. He’s infamous for his cruelty and cunning. His favorite hobby is collecting the corpses of powerful casters!”