Large spouts of steam rose from the ground, blasting fine stones into the air as they did so. The internal temperature of these steam pillars was over five thousand degrees. Any human that got hit by these pillars would be vaporized without a trace.
The earth was undulating unevenly, with certain parts of the ground rising while others sank; wrinkles appeared all over the land. It was almost as if there was an earth dragon tunneling underground. Dirt flew everywhere around the lava lake as steam burst out from beneath.
From a distance, it seemed as if the ground itself was boiling like water!
The adepts on the Mothership noticed the abnormality on the ground a long time ago. Third Grade Blood Knight Windsor soon descended with a few other Crimson adepts to search for the source of this commotion.
Windsor wore intricate knight’s armor carved full of fine and complicated magical patterns. His crimson cape fluttered in the wind, making him seem all the more intimidating.
Windsor and the adepts hovered in the air above the lava lake as they silently observed the changes below. From a distance, they could not spot any invaders or suspicious creatures.
All the lava had drained away from the lake, and the lake’s scarlet bed could be seen. Scalding waves of heat rose from the bottom of the lake, the air itself heavy with the smell of sulfur and fire.
“Lord Windsor, it doesn’t seem like this was the doing of a person. Rather, something’s happening underground!” One of the Crimson adepts couldn’t help but frown as he said.
“Underground,” Windsor brooded in silence.
As a member of the Crimson, he naturally knew what was hidden beneath the lava lake. Now that something was happening underground…could it be?
While he was deep in thought, another Crimson adept let out a surprised cry.
“Look…what’s that?”
Windsor looked down and focused his gaze. He indeed managed to notice some new abnormalities.
Several dark red ribbons of light seeped out from beneath the dried bed of the lake. They were like prismatic tentacles of some giant squid, extending in every direction and toward the sky.
For some reason, Windsor’s heart trembled when he saw these ribbons of light. There was an impulse from the depths of his heart to simply turn and run.
The Second Grade adepts might not be able to sense anything unusual about these light ribbons, but as a Third Grade blood knight, Windsor had already started to gain a vague understanding of the higher powers. His sharp senses insistently warned him not to approach those ribbons of light.
Windsor hesitated for a moment before reaching into his storage pouch and pulling out a metal ore with a blue gleam the size of his fist. He relaxed his grip on it and let it fall to the ground.
The metal ore spun as it fell, the magical powers contained within leaving a blue trail in the air as it did so.
Diablue Ore. It was a magical ore that contained water elementium powers. The Diablue metal extracted from it was an excellent material for forging a water staff.
This Diablue ore might not look very large, but it was undoubtedly a mid-grade magical material. A piece of ore the size of a fist could easily fetch a market price of four hundred magical crystals.
The Crimson adepts did not understand Windsor’s actions, but they still focused and watched.
The Diablue ore fell toward the ground and happened to collide with one of the wandering ribbons of light. The moment it came into contact with the ribbon, green smoke appeared as the ore instantly turned red-hot. The terrifying heat vaporized the ore instantly, leaving only scattered flakes of metal drifting to the ground.
“Hss!”
The Crimson adepts immediately drew in a breath of cold air. When they looked at the light ribbons again, a hint of fear had taken over their eyes.
Diablue ore was not known for its defensive power, but it was still much harder than regular metal. In addition to its unique magical attributes, the ore would have no problem surviving an ordinary elementium attack.
The fact that these seemingly harmless and weightless light ribbons could possess such terrifying power was unthinkable. If the adepts became caught in the ribbons, there wouldn’t even be a body left to bury.
“You all return immediately and inform headquarters of the situation here. I will go down myself to have a better look,” As the one who shouldered the responsibility of overseeing this land, Windsor had an obligation to figure out the source of the disturbance.
It was very dangerous down there, and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and go down to explore.
Just as he was about to move, a familiar female voice rang by his ear.
“Come up! There’s no need to go down there anymore.”
It was Lady Mary!
Windsor lifted his head in surprise, only to find two beautiful and perfect women hovering silently in the air as they watched the ground.
And Lady Alice.
Windsor waved his hand, and the other Crimson adepts quickly flew upward in a hurry. They bowed and paid their respects to Mary and Alice before returning to the Mothership.
“Inform the commander to take the ship and await us fifty kilometers away from here. No one is to step within the lava lake area without permission! Go!” Mary quickly issued her orders.
Over the past eighty years, Mary had ruled the Crimson Clan while also serving in the capacity of Associate Dean of Horton Magic Academy. Her reputation in the Central Lands couldn’t be any greater, and she possessed tremendous influence and power within the Crimson Clan as well.
With just a single order, the giant Mothership had vanished over the horizon.
Only two pretty ladies were left above the lava lake.
Mary beat her wings, causing her to bob up and down slightly in the air.
After all these years, Mary’s beauty was still as it was in the past.
A beautiful face, crimson eyes, juicy red lips, fiery red hair that reached her shoulders, a slender waist, and long, white legs. She also wore enchanted dragon-leather armor that perfectly fit her form, making her appear all the more enchanting.
Meanwhile, Alice standing beside her appeared to have become even more gentle and noble.
She wore a purple starry robe on her person that outlined her slender figure. Her silk-like silver hair ran down her back, making her appear unusually gentle and tranquil. The light of intelligence gleamed in her long, narrow eyes, giving off a mysterious impression to all who saw her.
The two women stood shoulder to shoulder as they watched the undulating earth. Their eyes were filled with an unconcealable concern and sorrow.
“Alice, say…is he going to come out today?” Mary asked softly. There wasn’t any joy of reunion in her tone.
“Mm!”
“He’s…already…Fifth Grade?”
“Mm!”
“Then is he leaving the World of Adepts immediately?”
“…not that soon, but he doesn’t have much time left!”
“……”
The two girls both fell silent.
As they watched, the lava lake that had started to cool down began to tremble and quake violently once again.
Fines cracks appeared all over the earth like broken porcelain as blinding red beams of light shone from below. It was almost as if a burning sun was slowly rising from the ground.
Everything on the surface began to melt and soften. Even the air itself had reached ridiculous temperatures.
A giant hand broke apart the earth and reached upward amidst all the fire and lava. The fire hand bent and gripped the ground as a gigantic and fearsome flame humanoid emerged from below to stand proudly upon the earth.
Chapter 1436 - Planar Suppression
It was a flame giant blazing with golden fire, standing at ten meters tall!
Even though ten meters was far shorter compared to when he was a thousand meters tall, the strange fires that shrouded the giant constantly radiated tiny golden ripples.
The
se golden ripples were not visible to N ordinary mortal. They were almost intangible. Much like how magical auras could affect the environment, the planar laws changed wherever the golden ripples spread.
The one controlling this space was no longer the almighty planar consciousness, but a different, searing consciousness. It was the soul consciousness of the golden flame giant that ruled supreme here.
Looking from a certain perspective, the golden flame giant had become a source of principle power. The principle power flowing through his body was constantly interacting and communicating with the World of Adepts’ principle system, resulting in a trembling and rippling across the principle system.
However, the planar consciousness would not just happily relinquish control over its space.
Several law chains suddenly reached out of the space around the flame giant. They wrapped toward it like the tentacles of a ravenous octopus.
The golden flame giant clearly did not wish to be bound by the law chains. He roared and waved his hands as golden fire instantly engulfed a large stretch of space. The law chains within that sea of fire shattered. Even space itself started to distort and break down as the flames burned.
However, the planar consciousness was not so easily dissuaded.
The next moment, space tore apart, and even more law chains rattled as they rushed toward the golden giant. Where the law chains passed, the flames started by the giant were gradually suppressed.
The golden flame giant howled in agony and attempted to draw on even more of his power to resist the chains. At that moment, a golden halo of Fate landed on the giant’s body, temporarily halting his resistance against the planar consciousness.
“Greem, don’t confront the planar consciousness! You must endure its suppression if you want to extend your stay within the plane. Trust me, it will be okay!” Alice’s sweet and gentle voice rang out in the giant’s mind at the appropriate time. The giant finally stopped his futile resistance and gritted his teeth to endure the law chains’ painful restraint.
Once the giant had given up on resistance, the berserk law chains immediately wrapped all over his body and started to tighten. The golden flame giant moaned in pain as the law chains contracted. His body began to shrink, and the fires on his body began to extinguish.
Fifteen minutes later, the flame giant disappeared without a trace as a naked, muscular man standing two meters tall appeared on the spot.
Greem shook his head and winced before finally trying to get up from the ground.
His muscular body was covered in all sorts of mysterious and profound golden patterns. These patterns were then further covered and entangled with another layer of dark green skins, causing most of his power to be placed under an odd seal.
Of course, this layer of seals could not wholly suppress all his powers.
As long as he wanted to, he could draw enough power from within him to break the seal and allow the principle power of the golden ripples to rule over the space around him once more. In doing so, however, the conflict between him and the planar consciousness would never be resolved.
The planar consciousness would not rest until he was forced out of the planar world!
After all, letting a powerful principle adept like Greem roam the planar world freely was a bad idea. He would rewrite the planar laws wherever he went.
It was something that the planar consciousness could not allow to happen!
Greem had reverted from his body of fire to his current human body; most of his power had been sealed away. The upper limit of power he could unleash now was peak Fourth Grade, only a fraction of his true might.
It was such an unbearable experience. No wonder the Great Adepts could not tolerate it either.
Greem had personally killed two Fifth Grade creatures in the battles before this. It caused his ego to swell. He had come to believe himself to be sufficiently powerful.
However, upon advancing into a Fifth Grade Great Adept, he could finally experience for himself how ‘savage’ the suppression of the planar laws was upon ultra-grade beings!
It was a complete suppression from every aspect. From the body to Spirit to the soul itself- it was a complete suppression of the individual!
No wonder those Fifth Grade minor Scourge Lords became so ‘frail’ after entering the World of Adepts. Greem wasn’t the impressive one. Rather, it was the planar consciousness that existed everywhere that was impressive. It was the principle power that he had managed to grasp that was impressive.
The combination of the latter two was what actually caused an upset in his battle against the Fifth Grade minor Scourge Lords and what forged Greem’s moment of glory.
“Hm, what are you trying to do exactly? Showing up all naked after so long,” Mary couldn’t help but tease as she beat her wings and flew down from above.
Meanwhile, Alice blushed with a smile on her face.
Greem chuckled awkwardly and waved his hand, creating a red robe over his body.
However, where the golden flames reverberated, the space rippled turbulently. It took a long time for them to settle down once more.
“We are inside the plane right now. You…if it’s not necessary, you should restrain from using your principle power. Otherwise, the planar backlash will be a horrible experience for you!” Alice strolled to Greem’s side before standing on her toes and gently brushing his hair past his shoulders.
“Uugggghhh…it’s such a terrible feeling! I feel like my nose is clogged, my eyes are blindfolded, and there are fifty kilograms of chains wrapped around me. Even breathing is incredibly difficult!” Greem complained angrily as if he would rather die now.
His Physique was not comparable to the minor Scourge Lords, after all. The minor Scourge Lords were able to unleash devastating power within the plane even as they endured tremendous suppression. Meanwhile, Greem was currently having trouble even maintaining his powers at a Fourth Grade level.
“That’s because you’ve just advanced and haven’t gotten used to the planar suppression. Once you’ve been here long enough and adapted to it, you will be able to unleash more and more power,” Alice explained simply to him.
Greem already knew all this, but the experience was simply too unbearable. He wanted nothing more than to free himself of this torture and suffering as quickly as possible. It was only natural that he couldn’t help but complain.
“Have you advanced? Is that…golden flame giant your true form?” Mary asked curiously. She had already circled Greem thrice now. She even put her face near Greem’s and gently sniffed that sweet, enticing smell of blood pumping through his body, “Smells good! So good that I want to have a tiny, little bite.”
An amused expression appeared on Greem’s handsome face. He reached his finger out and flicked Mary lightly on her forehead. Greem then wrapped his arm around her waist before turning to ask Alice, “How much longer can I remain in the plane?”
Alice smiled and said, “Depends on how much of the plane’s blessing you still have! If you don’t leave the World of Adepts before the plane’s blessing is exhausted, the planar consciousness will find you and banish you!”
Greem focused his mind and immediately communicated with the Chip.
The next second, a gigantic countdown appeared in his mind.
[123 hours, 43 minutes, 57 seconds.]
Time was slowly ticking away.
This was the last remaining time he could remain within the World of Adepts. Moreover, if he drew upon power that exceeded the limit of this plane, that time would shorten dramatically.
He really didn’t have much time left to leave behind his ‘last will’!
“Chip, what’s the result of the self-assessment?”
[Beep. Beginning first self-assessment since grade advancement.]
Soon, a torrent of numbers flooded Greem’s vision.
[Greem. Male. Fifth Grade Principle Adept (Fire Specialization).
Starbeast Bloodline One: (Devouring Fish).
Starbeast
Bloodline Two: (4%).
Chaos Physique (Excellent Magic Resistance).
Heart of Principles (Fire Principles 217% complete).
Bodily Attributes: Strength 26 | Physique 35 | Agility 18 | Spirit 51+5.
Bloodline Talent: Energy Blackhole, Fire Principles (Undying Flames, Fire’s Image)……]
After a hundred years of accumulation, in addition to the flames that Greem had devoured from Sinai, Greem had managed to increase the analysis of his fire principles to 217%. He had then successfully unlocked his second fire principle ability: Fire’s Image.
Greem could summon three mirror-images of fire from the flames he unleashed in combat. These images could replicate most of his abilities and commanded potent fire manipulation powers.
More importantly, Greem’s own self could switch freely between these three mirror-images, even under the effects of spatial interference or lockdowns.
Greem’s enemies would have to simultaneously endure the merciless bombardment of four powerful fire principle adepts. Moreover, if someone wanted to attack Greem himself, they would first have to eliminate all three mirror-images first.
Just the thought of what would happen made Greem uncontrollably excited!
Apart from the changes in his fire principles, Greem had also activated the analysis of a second starbeast bloodline in addition to the Devouring Fish. Once the analysis of that bloodline was complete, Greem would gain a second bloodline transformation ability.
When that happened, he could freely switch between his bloodline transformations as the situation demanded, making his combat tactics far more varied and dangerous!
Of course, the effect of having multiple bloodline transformation abilities on his development as an adept was something that needed to be observed over a longer period of time. He didn’t need to worry about that issue for the moment.
“I still have some time. So, what do you think we should do next?” Greem grabbed Alice by the waist and whispered into her ears.
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