Danny’s face changed.
“I’ve checked with my divine sense.” Nieff took a deep breath. “Those two Gods didn’t die. Danny. Lord Sadista went to kill those two Gods. Such a major event occurred over there, but those two Gods didn’t die. Lord Sadista has been gone for three days without coming back. Can it be that the result isn’t clear?”
“Perhaps… Uncle had some important business to attend to so he had to go somewhere,” Danny said in a pained manner.
Danny didn’t want to believe that his uncle had died.
Their clan was an enormous one, which had existed for ten trillion years. Naturally, it was divided into the main clan and the branch clans. In Danny’s branch, Sadista was the pillar and foundation of the entire branch clan. If Sadista truly had died, Danny could imagine what dire straits his clan would be in.
Nieff understood what Danny was thinking as well.
“Danny, no matter what, we have to face reality,” Nieff said seriously. “This is the Yulan continent, not the Infernal Realm. In the Yulan continent, even if Lord Sadista met with something important and can’t spare any attention to anything else, he would have contacted us with his divine sense. A divine sense communication only takes an instant, after all.”
“However, he hasn’t. We haven’t received any communication from Lord Sadista.”
Nieff’s face was grave. “I don’t want to admit it, but I have to say this. The plans of the clan have failed. The Necropolis of the Gods… at least our group has no hope for it. Without the power of a Highgod, we simply won’t be able to obtain the treasures that the clan needs.”
Danny nodded as well.
How could he not understand this point?
“Uncle… perhaps truly has died.” Danny nodded bitterly, but then he stared at Nieff. “But Nieff, so what if Uncle has died? Can it be that you…”
“Right!”
Nieff’s aura grew fierce. “Danny, the status that the clan has is a result of countless elders who risked their lives over the past ten trillion years. You and I are not very talented. Why is it then that we were able to receive divine sparks and easily reach the rank of Gods as descendants of the clan? It was the clan who gave us everything!”
Danny was silent.
“The Indigo Prefecture is our greatest foe! They are too powerful. The Four Divine Beast clans of the Indigo Prefecture are extremely powerful. That Linley… you should know as well that in less than a century, he has trained to the level of having two divine clones!”
Nieff laughed coldly. “I have never heard of such a talented genius amongst the Four Divine Beast clans, who could reach this sort of level without engaging in their baptism. And Danny, that Linley trains in earth and wind, not water! Do you understand what that means?”
Danny nodded.
“As soon as he undergoes the Ancestral Baptism of the Four Divine Beasts, I believe that ten thousand years later, the Indigo Prefecture will definitely have yet another Highgod of unsurpassed power. When that happens, I don’t even dare imagine how many members of our clan will die by his hands.” Nieff’s gaze was sharp. “But right now, he is only a Demigod who has yet to undergo the Ancestral Baptism of the Four Divine Beasts!”
“If we don’t kill him now, when will we kill him?”
Nieff’s gaze was cold and fierce. “I know that in the Yulan continent, Linley has some supporters and connections, but so what if he does? I would rather let myself die if it means killing him.” Nieff had relied on using a divine spark to become a God. He knew…
Although he was currently more powerful than Linley, in terms of potential, he was far inferior to Linley.
“Nieff!” Danny took a deep breath, shaking his head. “I recommend you not go and attempt to kill Linley right now.”
“What did you say?!” Nieff exploded with rage.
Danny sighed and said, “Don’t be hasty. There really is no need for us to kill him here in the Yulan Plane. Once he goes to the Infernal Realm, we can kill him then.”
“What a joke!” Nieff said. “First of all, when will Linley go to the Infernal Realm? What if he stays in the Yulan Plane until he reaches the level of Highgod, and then acquires a Sovereign artifact in the Necropolis of the Gods, and only then goes to the Infernal Realm. If we want to kill him then, would we be able to?”
Danny was stunned.
“Also. Once Linley reaches the Infernal Realm, there’s no way for us to be certain which transit location he will be sent to. Our clan is only influential in that area where we have power over. Do you really believe… we can pursue him across the entire Infernal Realm? Do you know how vast the Infernal Realm is?” Nieff stared at Danny.
There was nothing Danny could say.
Previously, Sadista’s primary goal was the Necropolis of the Gods, which was why he temporarily put aside killing Linley. In truth, killing Linley in the Infernal Realm wasn’t very practical. As one of the Higher Planes, the Infernal Realm’s size vastly outstretched the Yulan Plane by countless times.
Within the Infernal Realm, there also quite a few forces which were more powerful than both their clan as well as the Indigo Prefecture!
“Danny, can it be that you have forgotten those countless major battles we have had against the Indigo Prefecture? The figures of those elders who died, one after the other?” Nieff stared at Danny. “Enough. I’m immediately heading off for the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. I know that this time even if I am able to kill Linley, I might be killed by his supporters in revenge.”
“But if I can kill Linley, I will die content. Danny, I leave everything here in your hands. I’m leaving.” Nieff turned and left.
Since they couldn’t acquire the treasures of the Necropolis of the Gods, if they could at least kill Linley, this trip would not have been completely in vain.
“Nieff…” Danny didn’t want to watch Nieff go die. If he killed Linley… Nieff would be killed in revenge by those forces who supported Linley.
“For Reinales!” Nieff sent back with his mental message, and then Nieff himself flew into midair, streaking towards the western horizons, transforming into a black dot.
Danny was stunned, but then his gaze grew hard and resolved. In a soft voice, he said, “For Reinales!”
“Attend me!” Danny shouted towards the outside, and soon, a Demigod came over. Danny gave him a long list of instructions, and then said, “Remember, you must provide this information to Lord Hodan. You can go now.”
“Yes, milord.”
The Demigod immediately flew out of this residence, heading directly towards the Arctic Icecap.”
Within the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, in a half-shattered canyon where wild grass grew abundantly and where spring water flowed, the figures of Thunderwing Pegasi, magical beasts of the seventh rank, could be seen everywhere. The Thunderwing Pegasi all displayed leisurely elegance, occasionally flying into the air and then landing by the side of the springs, lowering their heads to drink water.
Suddenly, a human figure appeared here, causing the many Thunderwing Pegasi to be so terrified, they didn’t dare to move.
“Time to do what must be done.”
The short silver-haired Nieff looked around, then sent his divine sense into the minds of every Thunderwing Pegasus before he then sat down in the meditative stance. At the same time, he spread his divine sense out. Nieff restrained the area of his divine sense to just the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
The height of his divine sense was limited to just ten or so kilometers.
This sort of scale represented less than 0.1% of the Yulan continent’s total size. The amount of spiritual energy it consumed to keep a divine sense active in this region, to a God like Nieff, was completely sustainable. At the very least, he was able to replenish whatever he used up.
“Linley is still there. If he returns to Dragonblood Castle, he will have to fly through the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Once he does, I will discover him.” Nieff didn’t think any longer, and just waited h
ere for the hare to step into the trap.
Nieff didn’t dare to directly attack Mount Copper Gong. After all, Anras and Sadista had both failed. He waited here in ambush, and would thus have a much higher chance.
Linley quietly trained at Mount Copper Gong. Receiving guidance from one of the five Kings, ‘Bluefire’ Leylin, was a rare opportunity. In addition, Linley also knew… that ‘Bluefire’ Leylin wouldn’t stay too long here at Mount Copper Gong. He would eventually leave.
“Linley, the Profound Mysteries of the Essence of the Earth is a simple type of mystery. If you focus on training in it, you will succeed within one or two years.” Leylin laughed calmly. “But, if you wait until completely mastering the Profound Mysteries of the Essence of the Earth before attempting to fuse it with the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, you will most likely spent thousands or ten thousand years without being successful.”
“Fusing is far more difficult than simply understanding a profound mystery,” Leylin said solemnly.
Linley nodded slightly.
“Thus, the best method is… to begin attempting to fuse your insights regarding the ‘Essence of the Earth’ right away into your other insights. Don’t try to completely master the entire ‘Essence of the Earth’ as soon as possible. What matters more is the degree to which you are able to fuse it, and to make the degree of your insights match with your degree of fusion.”
Leylin laughed, “Perhaps in such a way, it will take decades or a century for you to master the ‘Essence of the Earth’. But by doing so, as soon as you achieve mastery in the ‘Essence of the Earth’, you will also have completed your fusion of the ‘Essence of the Earth’ and the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’.”
“I understand this principle.”
Linley had, after all, the prior experience of fusing the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ aspects of the Elemental Laws of the Wind. To fuse while gaining insights was actually much simpler.
But if one had reached mastery in both profound mysteries and then attempt to fuse them, it would be very hard.
If he waited until all of his profound mysteries had become mastered before attempting to fuse them, the insights he had gained into the various profound mysteries would clash with each other, causing the fusion difficulty to be even greater.
Linley’s training in Mount Copper Gong lasted for another three years. Within these three years, although his level of attainment in the ‘Essence of the Earth’ remained at the level he had reached three years ago, Linley had finally started the first step towards fusing the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and the ‘Essence of the Earth’.
Many people weren’t even capable of taking the first step towards fusing these two profound mysteries. The first step was the key, the most important part.
With a beginning, there would be chance for success.
“The power level after fusing truly is formidable.”
Although Linley had only fused just a little bit, he discovered that his Voidwave Sword had increased in power by 50% despite only using the same amount of spiritual energy as before. “And this is just the beginning. I can’t imagine how much more powerful my Voidwave Sword will become after I completely master these two profound mysteries.”
116
Attacked On the Way Back
Seated in the meditative stance on the ground, Linley could easily sense how the vast, boundless world was filled with earth elemental essence. Every single particle of it was so friendly and familiar to him. With Linley at the center, a surge of pulsating power was throbbing out towards every direction.
“Doooong.” “Dooooong.” …
Each surge of pulsating power that emanated outwards was filled with natural earth elemental essence. They rolled out like waves, interacting with each other while fusing with pulsating power.
Throbbing Pulse of the World. Essence of the Earth.
Linley was focusing on slowly fusing these two profound mysteries.
“Linley!” Linley, who had been in the middle of his meditations, was suddenly interrupted by a divine sense. Linley instantly knew that it was Delia who had contacted him. An unconscious smile appeared on Linley’s face. “Delia, what is it? Do you miss me?”
“Hmph, who misses you?” Delia let out a cute ‘hmph’. “Linley, I want to ask you, how long do you plan to train there on Mount Copper Gong?”
Linley couldn’t help but be startled.
Delia’s voice contained a hint of displeasure. Naturally, Linley could detect it. Only now did Linley realize that he had gone a bit too far. “I left Dragonblood Castle in year 10066, but this is now year 10072. Uh, it’s been almost six years. I haven’t gone back a single time!”
When he was training, he truly didn’t notice how fast the time went by. It felt like those years had passed in an instant.
“Six years. I can’t blame Delia for being unhappy.” Linley felt that he was in the wrong here.
“Linley, aren’t you training? You can train in Dragonblood Castle as well.” Delia now persuaded using gentler words.
“Um… alright. Delia, I’ll come back tomorrow,” Linley said immediately, and then added an apologetic message, “Delia, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not angry. Oh, did you say tomorrow?” Delia was both surprised and delighted. “I’ll immediately order the servants to prepare a banquet for tomorrow. Right, Linley, when will you arrive at Dragonblood Castle? Around noon, or at night?”
“I’ll arrive before noon.” Linley was certain of this.
Actually, ever since he had started fusing the ‘Essence of the Earth’ with the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, Lord Bluefire, Leylin, no longer needed to give Linley any more pointers. Thus, staying on Mount Copper Gong was no longer of much benefit to Linley anyways.
Within the elemental mansion in Mount Copper Gong.
“Whoooooosh.” The wild mountain wind howled, and the grass and flowers in front of the door to the mansion swayed. However, the wind wasn’t able to budge those several large trees there. The Lord of Mount Copper Gong, a King of the Gebados Planar Prison, Lord Bluefire, was currently there with his two brothers, sending Linley and Bebe off.
“Linley, even if you didn’t go back, very soon, I would be sending you off,” ‘Bluefire’ Leylin said amusedly. “Haha, the main issue is that very soon, I will go with my elder brother and second brother. We will depart from Mount Copper Gong, and also leave the Yulan continent.”
Linley knew long ago that Leylin was going to leave.
“Mr. Leylin, where are you going?” Bebe asked with curiosity.
“I’m not sure for right now.” Leylin let out a long sigh. “Perhaps I will pay a visit to the South Seas. That place used to be my homeland. Unfortunately, the passage of countless years has resulted in the continent where my homeland was located to sink into the endless seas long ago.”
That battle of ten thousand years ago had caused the other four continents to all be shattered and collapse.
“Mr. Leylin, if you have the time, you can pay a visit to my Dragonblood Castle. I will welcome you whenever you come.” Linley and Bebe had said their words of thanks long ago. After bidding farewell to Leylin and the other two, Linley and Bebe immediately left Mount Copper Gong and flew towards Dragonblood Castle.
After not having returned for six years, Linley now had a deep desire to return.
The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. In the gorge beneath the shattered cliffs. A place where there were few traces of civilization.
In the past, this was a paradise for magical beasts, but ever since three years ago, no magical beasts dared to go near this place. By the side of the spring waters, within a patch of wild grass, there was a faint human figure that could be seen. It was the God from the Infernal Realm, Nieff.
Despite waiting for three years, Nieff had never relaxed his vigilance.
His divine sense was eternally activated, covering this region as he waited quietly for Linley.
“This Linley will definitely
go back to Dragonblood Castle eventually. As long as he passes through the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts enroute to the Dragonblood Castle, he definitely will not escape!” Nieff arose, a black spotted spear appearing in his hands as he began to roam about the valley.
After all, having not encountered Linley despite three years of waiting, Nieff also couldn’t be certain as to when Linley would appear. He couldn’t waste all of his time waiting foolishly.
Only, Nieff didn’t realize that someone else was hidden deep within this gorge.
“This Nieff’s divine sense is very average amongst Gods. But he trains in the Elemental Laws of the Wind. In terms of speed, he is even faster than Linley. If Linley really does encounter him, it would most likely really be a bit dangerous.” The indistinct figure stared at the distant Nieff. Nieff was currently transformed into a gust of wind, and his spear blurred as it silently pierced through the empty air time and time again.
“However, danger is good.”
The blurred figure disappeared silently without a trace.
Nieff had come to a halt in his training, continuing to sit in the meditative position. But suddenly, he opened his eyes, staring towards mid-air with a dagger-like gaze.
“It is him. Linley!”
Nieff’s eyes were filled with a hint of wild joy. He couldn’t help but begin to laugh loudly and excitedly. “After waiting three years, he’s finally come!” In truth, Nieff was still hundreds of kilometers away from Linley. Naturally, despite how loudly Nieff had cried out, Linley wasn’t able to hear him.
“For Reinales, if I die, it will be worth it!” Nieff said in a low voice, his eyes filled with unmatched ardor.
Silently, Nieff transformed into a puff of smoke, transforming into the formless wind. This surge of wind flew at astonishing speed in pursuit of Linley. His speed was so great that it was much faster than Linley’s current absolute limit!
Nieff was a full God. After fusing with the divine spark, he had gained insight into three of the Elemental Laws within it. He was particularly proficient in fast movements.
Gods of Yulan: Book 4 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 91