Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  This didn’t have anything to do with how strong one’s spiritual energy was; rather, what mattered was one’s ability to multitask carefully, because each inspection had to be very careful.

  The spiritual energy couldn’t be too strong or too weak!

  “The Okerlund Plane…although the population is far smaller than the Infernal Realm’s, there are still nearly eight quadrillion people.” Linley said with a frown.

  This sum was simply too enormous.

  There was nothing that could be done. The Okerlund Plane’s two major continents each had a circumference of over a hundred million kilometers. The Yulan continent’s circumference was just twenty or thirty thousand kilometers. The difference between the area of the two was a difference of nearly a hundred million times. Even the Yulan continent had a population of billions; thus, it only made sense for the Okerlund Plane to have a population of nearly eight quadrillion.

  Compared to the Infernal Realm, though…

  It was just a rounding error.

  “Not just humans. There are also all sorts of magical beasts of the land, of the skies, and deep in the seas. The red caltrop diamond might be stored within their bodies as well.” Linley said resignedly.

  If he wanted to investigate further, it would indeed be a laborious task.

  But of course, if he wanted to search quickly, that was also possible!

  That was to ignore the ability of these humans and magical beasts to endure his power, and to blast his almighty divine sense out indiscriminately! The result would be that the countless humans and magical beasts with weak souls would always die. If one didn’t have to worry about the lives of the specimens being inspected, of course it would be much faster.

  But the number of people who would die would be astronomical.

  “To kill eight quadrillion humans for the sake of more quickly finding the red caltrops diamond, and a similarly astonishing number of magical beasts? Make this entire plane a plane of the dead?” Linley couldn’t help but shiver, just thinking about it.

  Forget about using that sort of method; even if someone else dared to do it, Linley would stop them!

  “Boss, the process of forging a divine artifact requires all sorts of hammering and refining. If an interspatial ring was within it, it would definitely shatter. Thus, it isn’t too likely that the red caltrop diamond was hidden within a divine artifact.” Bebe said. There were only two people in the entire universe who could do what Bebe could do.

  Linley nodded. “Our only choice is to begin inspecting the bodies of the humans and beastmen.”

  “Brodie. That bastard. He really picked a good plane. If he picked a small plane like the Yulan plane, with a low population, it would be much easier to search. But that bastard had to pick this Okerlund Plane.” Bebe couldn’t help but curse.

  “Don’t be impatient. The other eight groups have already begun to search the bodies of the various living creatures here.” Linley laughed calmly.

  As for himself, he couldn’t be bothered to go search.

  Linley’s divine sense was powerful enough to stretch across the entire plane. Once the red caltrop diamond being discovered, Linley would immediately know.

  “I now only lack a single talisman.” Linley lowered his head, staring at the interspatial ring in his hands. He sent his divine sense into it, easily locating that ‘crown’ within it. The pentametal crown was adorned with the nine soul pearls, and was now only lacking a ‘red caltrop diamond’ in the central setting.

  Now that Linley and Bebe were in the Okerlund Plane, they didn’t have to worry about Sovereigns causing problems for them, and so Bebe had given the interspatial ring containing those two items to Linley.

  “Bebe, make a trip with me.” Linley suddenly stood up.

  “What are you going to do?” Bebe was startled.

  “I’ve discovered that the Paragon of Light, Clementine, hasn’t just ordered his Highgod subordinates to carefully search within the bodies of all sorts of living creatures; he himself has led his forces towards the headquarters of the Radiant Temple. It seems he wishes to borrow from the power of mortal organizations in order to search for the red caltrops diamond.” A hint of a smile was on Linley’s face.

  This was indeed an excellent method.

  When Brodie had arrived at the Okerlund Plane, he might have often taken out the red caltrop diamond. Some mortals might thus have seen it. It was indeed possible that by relying on worldly power, they might find some hints regarding the diamond.

  “He sought out the Radiant Temple. Then I will go for…the assassin’s guilds.”

  Linley’s divine sense covered the entire plane. He naturally was able to easily discover many of the secrets of the Okerlund Plane.

  The Okerlund Plane’s Fogdeep continent was awe-inspiringly vast. Because of how large it was, there was no way for a single empire to arise and unify it. The Fogdeep continent had more than a hundred empires alone, and duchies were as common as ox hair.

  The power of some special, hidden organizations, however, surpassed that of any empire.

  For example, the number one assassin’s guild of the Fogdeep continent, ‘Bloodknife’. According to legend, the number one expert who supported this assassin’s guild was someone who had reached the level of Deity. It also had hundreds of Saints as well.

  Bloodknife didn’t have a central headquarter; its bases were divided into class-three, class-two, class-one, and special-class divisons.

  Because the Fogdeep continent and the Beastgod continent were too vast, Bloodknife had a total of eight ‘special class’ bases, two of which were located on the Beastgod continent.

  Bloodknife’s special-class base in the Mengya Mountains.

  “A caltrop-shaped red diamond! Right, send the word to every single base, based on this diagram. Anyone who can provide any information regarding this red caltrop diamond will immediately be promoted to the rank of ‘core member’, and be awarded a tamed Saint-level magical beast, along with a soulbinding contract!” The number one expert of Bloodknife had already reached the Deity level. Known as ‘Elder Shadow’, this was the order he gave.

  The ranking of this mission was ‘Blood-rank’.

  It had been more than a hundred years since the last Blood-rank mission. Once the order went out, it was immediately conveyed to the various bases, and all of them immediately went crazy, ordering their forces, external intelligence, and even street-level hoodlums to begin searching for news about the red caltrop diamond.

  However, Bloodknife’s members were all puzzled. Why would Elder Shadow so desperately want the red caltrop diamond, and even offer a tamed Saint-level magical beast as a reward?!

  Within the Mengya Mountains. Inside a secluded, quiet residence.

  An old man with blood-red hair and blood-red eyebrows bowed in an extremely respectful manner. “Lord Baruch, with regards to the matter of the red caltrop diamond, I’ve already notified all of the bases within the Fogdeep continent about it. As long as the red caltrop diamond has made an appearance, our organization will definitely locate it for you, milord.”

  “However, our organization doesn’t have that much influence in the Beastgod continent.” The blood-haired elder said apologetically.

  “You’ve done quite well already.” Linley smiled and nodded.

  “Here are eleven God-level divine sparks. There is one for each of the seven Laws and four Edicts. This can be considered your reward.” Linley waved his hand, and eleven God-level divine sparks flew out.

  The blood-haired elder’s eyes instantly turned red.

  God-level divine sparks! To him, a Demigod, this was an absolutely wondrous treasure.

  “Let me remind you that after you fuse with a divine spark, you will find it very hard to make any further breakthroughs on your own.” Linley said calmly.

  “Your subordinate is willing to accept this.” The blood-haired elder said hurriedly. Upon becoming a God, he would be on a level comparable to the two formerly supr
eme experts of the Okerlund Empire.

  “If you are able to find anything regarding the red caltrop diamond, I can give you a Highgod spark. Enough. You can leave now.” Linley said calmly.

  “Yes, Lord Baruch.”

  The blood-haired elder was so excited that his eyes were shining. He didn’t dare to disturb Linley any further, and he immediately departed.

  Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 38, Lionheart City

  As Bebe watched the blood-haired elder depart, he pursed his lips. “That old fellow has remained in the material plane for too long. His viewpoint is too narrow and restricted. He’s too foolish. He actually, voluntarily wishes to fuse a divine spark.”

  He’s not foolish. He’s intelligent.”

  Linley laughed. “The Okerlund Plane, having a huge population base, has given birth to quite a few Deities. Most likely, the people here have some degree of understanding regarding the Infernal Realm, Netherworld, Celestial Realm, and other places. Unless they are able to reach the Six Star Fiend or Seven Star Fiend, going to the Infernal Realm is a form of suffering. That old fellow, in the Okerlund Plane, is a supreme expert. He can enjoy life and relax. Why go to the Higher Planes?”

  Bebe was startled. Then, he nodded. “That’s true too.”

  “Right, Boss. Did you tell my Grandpa Beirut regarding this Okerlund Plane?”

  “Of course I did.” Linley laughed. “Your Grandpa Beirut’s clone in the Yulan continent is currently living at Dragonblood Castle with my divine clone. I’ve told him everything about what has gone on here…Lord Beirut has also tapped his connections and investigated into the Life Realm’s various locations to see if there has been news regarding the red caltrop diamond.”

  Bebe nodded. “Right. We do have to pay attention.”

  The red caltrop diamond. Even in his dreams, Linley dreamed about acquiring it!

  Although it was very likely that the red caltrop diamond was in the Okerlund Plane, they couldn’t rule out the possibility that it had followed Brodie to another plane.

  Thus, Linley had to rely on Beirut’s assistance. Beirut had quite a few friends. It wasn’t too hard for him to pay attention to news of this nature. However, in recent days, Beirut had uncovered no information regarding the red caltrop diamond.

  Fogdeep continent. Beastgod continent. The dwellers of these two continents continued their normal lives. The ‘Descent of the Gods’ hadn’t changed much. The various Highgod Paragons and those ten thousand Highgods began to search the humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen, and other races, but they did so carefully. They didn’t harm these creatures.

  As for Linley…

  He maintained a constant watch on the entire plane. Those Highgods and Paragons…whenever they acted a bit unusually, Linley would pay close attention.

  Given how Linley’s spiritual energy surpassed that of a Deity using Sovereign’s Might, this oversight went completely unnoticed by the Paragons.

  Time continued to pass in the midst of this inspection process.

  In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

  Mount Liangya.

  “Lord Baruch.” The blood-haired elder had come once more.

  Linley and Bebe both looked over.

  “Lord Baruch, your subordinate once more gained information regarding the red caltrop diamond.” The blood-haired elder said hurriedly.

  “Oh?” Bebe just snickered. “In the past two months, you’ve brought over a few dozen reports, and even located ten red caltrop diamonds.”

  In the past two months, the Bloodknife guild had indeed found more than ten red caltrop diamonds, but Linley had discovered through his divine sense that they were ‘fake’ and he had rejected them before they were even delivered to him.

  “This…your subordinate is unable to verify these items.” The blood-haired elder laughed awkwardly, then said hurriedly, “But this time, this news does seem rather credible.”

  “Speak.” Linley said calmly.

  “Right.” The blood-haired elder said hurriedly, “Roughly thirty years ago, a magus who was training and adventuring at the borders of the Fogdeep Forest saw two experts flying through the air. They looked like a couple. The woman had a long necklace, which had a red caltrop diamond fixed into it.

  Linley and Bebe’s eyes lit up.

  Thirty years ago? A couple? Flying in the air?

  “And that couple?” Linley said hurriedly.

  “That adventuring magus only saw the two pause in midair for a moment to discuss something, and then they flew deeper towards the Fogdeep Forest. As what happened next, the magus didn’t know.” The blood-haired elder shook his head.

  “You can leave now.” Linley said.

  “Yes.” The blood-haired elder left respectfully.

  Linley and Bebe began to frown.

  “Boss, the situation is bad.” Bebe said.

  “It is fairly bad. Brodie and his wife went deep into the Fogdeep Forest. Clearly, they were flying towards the teleportation array. Most likely, they went through it to leave the Okerlund Plane.” Linley began to worry. “If Brodie and his wife really took the red caltrop diamond and left this place, things will grow problematic. Searching for them will be like searching for a needle in the sea.”

  Although according to the Planar Overseer’s information, the couple had gone to the Life Realm…

  How vast was the Life Realm?

  In addition, could it be that the two wouldn’t then pass through the teleportation array of the Life Realm and once more teleport to another plane?

  How was one to find them?

  “However, there’s another possibility.” Bebe mumbled. “They were flying deep into the Fogdeep Forest. Aside from leaving with the red caltrop diamond, the other possibility is, they hid the red caltrop diamond in some lifeform within the Fogdeep Forest.”

  Linley’s eyes lit up.

  “This is indeed possible.” Linley couldn’t help but feel overjoyed, but then he let out a sigh.

  The Fogdeep Forest was tremendously vast, and the number of magical beasts and primeval races which lived within it was very large. To search for it there wouldn’t be easy either.

  “Hrm, the Radiant Temple? That ‘Radiant Goddess’ has actually voluntarily gone to find Clementine. Can it be that something special happened?” Linley had always kept his divine sense active and covering the entire plane. Naturally, he noticed this.

  Within the Fogdeep continent, there was a shining lake that was more than a million kilometers in circumference. In the center of the lake, there was a small island that had a circumference of nearly ten kilometers as well. This island was known as the ‘Radiant Island’, or the ‘Sacred Island’. This was the headquarters of the number one church of the Fogdeep continent, the Temple of the Radiant Goddess.

  In the center of the Sacred Island was the Radiant Temple. The Radiant Temple was divided into nine upper stories and nine underground stories.

  Ever since the Paragon of Light, ‘Clementine’, led his forces to descend on this place, he had let the Radiant Goddess suffer just a little bit. She then immediately, terrified, allowed Clementine to live on the top of the ninth floor. As for the Radiant Goddess herself, she remained on the sixth floor.

  The sixth underground floor. A silver-haired, silver-eyed, barefoot woman dressed in plain robes was currently frowning. This person was the ‘Radiant Goddess’, worshipped by countless people in the Fogdeep continent.

  “Lord Clementine has been searching for news regarding the red caltrop diamond. Then, should I…”

  After hesitating momentarily, her eyes grew determined. She immediately left her residence and headed towards the top of the Radiant Temple.

  “Let her in.”

  Within the vast, wide Radiant Temple’s uppermost floor, Clementine was silently seated on his throne, his eyes closed. His divine sense was constantly extended, but of course, there was no way he could compare to Linley. Normally, by relying on his spiritual energy, he was able to just barely
cover the Fogdeep continent.

  Even Paragons wouldn’t be so wasteful as to constantly use Sovereign’s Might.

  If he did do that, most likely in a single month, he would have used up an astronomical amount of Sovereign’s Might.

  “Milord.” The Radiant Goddess walked in, her feet unclad.

  “What is it?” Clementine opened his eyes.

  Clementine’s stare made the Radiant Goddess feel as though she were a tiny boat in the midst of a wild storm, about to capsize at any moment. The Radiant Goddess trembled slightly, then said respectfully, “Milord, you are searching for a red caltrop diamond. Your subordinate remembers that a friend once told me…if many powerful Deities come in search of a treasure, I am to give this to one of the experts. He said…this is a gift for me. That friend of mine was named Brodie!” As she spoke, she produced a small red box.

  In that instant…

  A divine light flashed in Clementine’s eyes. He immediately spread out his divine sense, wanting to wrap it around the surrounding area and forbid other Paragons from using their divine sense to search this area.

  But it was too late!

  Four divine senses instantly swept over that box.

  “Haha, Clementine, we have to thank you, haha…” A voice rang out in Clementine’s mind.

  Clementine’s face grew ugly to behold. He also swept the box with his divine sense, and then, in an instant, with a ‘rumble’, the box transformed into dust. The box in the hands of the Radiant Goddess had been completely crushed, and she couldn’t help but be badly frightened.

  “You’ve done well. Now scram.” Clementine snorted coldly.

  “Yes.” The Radiant Goddess didn’t dare to say a word. She immediately left.

  “Nine Paragons, five in the Fogdeep continent, four in the Beastgod continent. Only three Paragons should have discovered that secret.” Clementine frowned. “Why didn’t Linley keep his divine sense up at all times?” In reality, there had been four divine senses which had swept through the box, but Clementine had only discovered three.