by KSY
“Am I the only one seeing things? Ryan’s Evil Fire Spirit looks no different from a living Hell Mantis. It even possesses genitals!” Danr asked with disbelief. Sheldon and Brian also had the same expression as Danr. They were able to see the peculiarities of Lachesis with a single gaze.
Initially, they’d been unable to tell that Lachesis was an Evil Fire Spirit, if not for the Hell’s Fire flames covered her sickle-like front legs. No being except for Asuras and Asura dragons possesses Hell’s Fire flame, so they’d deduced that Lachesis was Ryan’s Evil Fire Spirit.
Sheldon could tell that Lachesis was completely different from his own Evil Fire Spirit, and was unable to think straight for some time after seeing Lachesis for the first time. Sheldon had already decided to question Ryan thoroughly regarding the process that he had followed to create her.
Sheldon, Brian and Danr were again stunned, when they noticed that, except for them, no one else in Sundering Valley was able to detect or see Lachesis. This fact told them a lot about her capabilities.
“Let’s keep the existence of Ryan’s Evil Fire Spirit a secret. If this news spreads, then it will bring endless trouble for little Ryan as well as both Family Clans,” Sheldon said in a grave manner. Danr and Brian just nodded their heads. They clearly understood the gravity of the situation: an Undead creature that looked no different from a living creature was something unheard of.
On Endless Divine World, the facial expressions of Solomon, Herman and Heron were no different from those of Sheldon, Danr and Brian. They were also looking at the screen in front of them with looks of disbelief.
“How the hell is he able to control a Primordial Inferno Undead creature so effortlessly?” Solomon asked. He was having a hard time believing the scene in front of him: he had never seen anyone control a Primordial Inferno Undead creature in the entire Divine Universe.
Primordial Inferno Undead creatures are the true rulers of the Inferno Undead creatures of Hell. Solomon had but naturally exchanged blows with quite a few of them over the years so he knew about them, but not many people even knew about their existence. Herman and Heron were no different.
Solomon had just told them about Primordial Inferno Undead creatures which had shaken them up completely. The expressions of Heron and Herman turned ugly.
“Father, I have a hunch that this entire situation is somehow linked to Sheldon. He also controls an Inferno Undead creature,” Herman said. On hearing him Solomon just nodded his head.
“This Sheldon is definitely nuts to give a Primordial Inferno Undead creature to such a young kid,” Heron said in an angry manner. He had an urge to beat the shit out of Sheldon. The things that his father had told them about Primordial Inferno Undead creatures had been enough to scare him and his brother. If Ryan lost control over his Primordial Inferno Undead creature, then Grandura was as good as finished.
“I don’t think it was Sheldon who gave the Primordial Inferno Undead creature to Ryan, but he is definitely linked to it somehow. This is the weakest Primordial Inferno Undead creature that I have ever seen in my life,” Solomon pondered aloud as he remembered the time when he had gone to challenge a Primordial Inferno Undead creature.
He continued, “To be precise, it is too weak. The actions of this Primordial Inferno Undead creature are quite similar to those of a young child. It takes billions of years for an Inferno Undead creature to evolve into a Primordial Inferno Undead creature, and sometimes even more, so you can assume how strong they are.”
“Then what’s your take on it?” Herman couldn’t help but ask.
“If I am not wrong, there is a high chance that Sheldon has a Martial Skill in his possession which allows a Martial Artist to create an Inferno Undead creature. He must have passed that Martial Skill on to Ryan. The Inferno Undead creature created by Ryan just turned out to be different for some unknown reason,” Solomon said with an excited expression while Herman and Heron had a look of disbelief as they were having a hard time digesting Solomon’s words.
“If I am not wrong, even Ryan has no idea about it. He must be thinking of it as a normal Inferno Undead creature. Herman contact Sheldon and ask him everything about the Martial Skill while I talk to Ryan,” Solomon added further as he picked up the Master controller of the Treasure Space.
The first thing he did was to make sure that the actions of Ryan were no longer visible to the people present in Sundering Valley. He had no intention of taking any chances. He wanted to keep the news regarding the Primordial Inferno Undead creature a secret. Solomon’s eyes were shining brightly with excitement.
Herman also quickly sent a Mental-message transmission to Sheldon.
A big commotion had erupted in Sundering Valley due to an incident which was beyond the comprehension of everyone present there including Sheldon, Danr and Brian.
Two screens had blanked out without notice, the ones that were focused on Ryan and Raban. It was only after few minutes that they started to work again, but they were no longer focused on Ryan and Raban but on some other participants instead.
The expressions of Ryan’s family members and the family members of the other members of Raban’s group changed drastically. This was not the first time this situation had occurred, but it only happened when the participant being shown on the screen was severely injured and was about to be ejected from the Treasure Space.
As a result, everyone assumed that Raban’s entire group had been annihilated instantly since the two screens had blanked out simultaneously. The family members of all the members of Raban’s group assembled near the portal of the Treasure Space to receive them. The doctors were also on standby. Everyone was patiently watching the portal, but no one was ejected by the Treasure Space even after half an hour.
Ryan’s family members and the family members of other members of Raban’s group erupted with joy.
“It seems that some problem has occurred with the working of the screens,” everyone assumed as they returned to their previous positions. Solomon had made sure that none of the screens showed even a glimpse of Ryan. Currently, Ryan was with his fellow group-members because of which he was also visible on the screen that was also focused on Raban, so the screen focused on Raban had blanked out as well.
Ryan instantly received the news from Caius that the screens were no longer showing him and his fellow group-members. On hearing this news, Ryan felt giddy, as he had given up on finding any more Soul beings while inside the Treasure Space as he would have had a tough time explaining it to anyone.
He knew that he couldn’t tell anyone about Netherworld Honey, otherwise it would only bring endless trouble, but now things were different. He had a hunch that this had most likely been done by someone from the Main branch, and that it had most likely happened because of Lachesis.
Ryan could also tell that this person didn’t have any bad intentions towards him, otherwise he wouldn’t have blanked out the screens, but had done that to protect him.
He knew too that Yama was silent about a lot of facts regarding Lachesis, which made him certain that Lachesis was an Abnormal existence. He was certain that this person wouldn’t have any problem if he had a few extra Soul beings.
It took Ryan and his group-members around twenty days to reach Forest of Tears. They had to pass through numerous Treasure Lands just to reach it, and the Divine Trials were to end in one-and-a-half months.
Forest of Tears looked no different from any ordinary Death land. The entire forest was covered in a thick black fog, which reduced visibility to just a few meters. It was littered with Corpse Tree Spirits, Soul Devouring Mortal Tree Spirits and other kinds of Tree Spirits of Death Attribute. The shortest Tree Spirits were around a few hundred meters high, while the tallest ones were around a few kilometers in height. Ryan and his fellow group-members had already entered the forest, but had stopped after going a little deeper as they heard various sounds coming from the forest’s depths.
The sounds varied from the roar of beasts to the screams of women.
Everyone in Raban’s group couldn’t help feel a chill down their spines when they heard these sounds, except for Ryan. He was not affected by these sounds, as the atmosphere there was quite similar to that in Desolate graveyard, but he had sensed a familiar vibe coming from the depths of Forest of Tears which intrigued him.
“Ryan, do we really have to go any deeper into the Forest of Tears?” Natasha asked in a timid manner. Other members of the group also had this question. For some reason, they felt really uncomfortable, which was actually normal for Martial Artists of other attributes, whereas Ryan was able to move around a Death land without a hitch as he was a Death Attribute Martial Artist.
“I will send my Undead creatures first to pinpoint the location of the Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirits before we personally take action. In the meantime, we should find a place to hide. A lot of participants are heading here. It will become problematic if they find us before we get ourselves Nascent Soul Fruits,” Ryan said in a grave manner.
The expressions of everyone changed drastically. Ryan and his fellow group-members had made sure they avoided other participants while on their way to Forest of Tears, as many groups were openly gunning for them. They knew that things would get dirty if they were caught by the other groups. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that other groups might even try to injure them severely just for the sake of Nascent Soul Fruits.
Everyone readily agreed with Ryan’s proposal and started searching for a cave or somewhere similar to hide. Ryan, on the other hand, slapped his Undead pouch and about hundred Undead creatures appeared out of it. All of them entered deeper into Forest of Tears under his order. Lachesis also secretly left along with them.
It didn’t take long for Ryan and company to find a suitable place for hiding. It was a cave at the base of a small hill near the border of Forest of Tears and another Treasure Land. The best part about this cave was its entrance, which was covered with harmless-looking black vines that acted like a natural camouflage. No one would even imagine that there was a cave behind them as the entire hill was covered by those vines.
Ryan was only able to find this cave because of an Elemental Beast living in it. Ryan and his fellow group-members quickly entered the cave, which was quite big, unlike its small entrance. It could easily accommodate over a hundred people comfortably, but there was a big problem. It stank. Some of the members of Raban’s group felt like vomiting after entering it.
“Bur! Bur!” the owner of the cave made a threatening sound as it hopped towards Ryan and company in a threatening manner. The expressions of all the girls in the group changed when they saw the Elemental Beast. It was a Ghost-face toad, which is a Divine Elemental Beast of Death, with the body of a toad and the face of a human. So, its ugliness can be imagined.
The one encountered by Ryan and company possessed Low-grade bloodline purity. This Divine Elemental Beast is known for its powerful Innate Abilities that target the souls of its enemies. The Ghost-face toad was finished off by Raban all alone with a single stab of his spear. This spear was his Life Weapon. The dead body of the Ghost-face toad was stored away by Raban in his Spatial pouch.
Soon they found the source of the smell in the cave. It was a pile of bones and decaying bodies of unlucky Elemental Beasts. Ryan used Hell’s Fire flame to burn this pile into nothingness, and the smell also disappeared soon after, which brought relief to everyone.
Ryan quickly found himself a corner in the cave and sat in a meditative position as he sent his consciousness into the black side of his Soul World, while Raban and the rest also found themselves spots for resting and meditating.
“Yama, what do you think?” Ryan asked the moment he arrived in the black side of his Soul World. He was still thinking about the familiar vibe he had sensed earlier from the depths of Forest of Tears.
“There is a creature in this forest that is somehow related to the Asuras,” Yama said with a smile on his face.
“I also came to the same conclusion. I am thinking of going deeper into the forest,” Ryan said. He was certain that he would be safe inside Forest of Tears as both his bodily toughness and the strength of his soul had already reached a stage where even the Immortal Realm Beings of Forest of Tears would be unable to harm him, as their Cultivation Level had been suppressed by the Treasure Space.
Ryan’s Martial Spirits could already tell what his intentions were.
“It would be better if you first pinpoint that being’s location with the help of Lachesis and other Undead creatures before personally entering deeper into the forest,” Dargar suggested. Ryan readily agreed, and started to concentrate on the information that was being sent by Lachesis and the Undead creatures. He had no intention of missing out on any detail.
He remained in a meditative position for the next few days. His Undead creatures had already pinpointed tens of Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirits. Soul Devouring Tree Spirits look like the banyan trees from Ryan’s previous life. The leaves and the bark of this Tree Spirit are pitch-black in color which gives it a ghastly appearance. The Soul Devouring Mortal Tree Spirits were around seven-to-eight hundred meters in height, while the Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirits were around a few kilometers in height. Ryan found that all the Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirits had one or two fruits on their branches. That fact made Ryan giddy, but Lachesis and Ryan’s other Undead creatures were unable to find the being with an aura similar to that of an Asura.
Raban and company were looking at Ryan with a hopeful expression while patiently waiting for good news. They were unable to do anything else due to their anxiety, especially Livius and the Four Devils. The importance of Nascent Soul Fruit was manyfold higher for them than for the others. It was a matter of life and death for them. The expressions of everyone suddenly changed as they sensed the presence of a large number of Martial Artists just outside the cave entrance.
Raban and company immediately got ready for combat.
“It seems we are late. Those bastards have already gone deeper into Forest of Tears.” a young man roared in anger. A lot of heated voices could be heard following his voice. The expressions of Raban and rest turned ugly when they realized that these people were looking for them.
They looked at Ryan with thankful expressions as it had been his suggestion to go into hiding. If they hadn’t done so, then there was a very high chance that they would have been besieged from all sides if they’d still been outside. They sighed with relief when they sensed them moving away from the cave.
In the depths of Forest of Tears, a being that had been sleeping for millions of years woke up.
It was a Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit, but unlike other Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirits, it was not at all gigantic. It was even smaller than most Soul Devouring Mortal Plant Spirits - at around thirty meters in height. This Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit’s appearance was quite different from that of normal Soul Devouring Trees. Its leaves and bark were blood-red in color.
It was clear from just these features that it was a Variant Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit. It was growing in the Inner region of the Forest of Tears, and there was no other vegetation growing in its vicinity for hundreds of meters. The Variant Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit had no Nascent Soul Fruits hanging from its branches. All creatures of the Forest of Tears including Undead creatures kept a distance from it because of the Baleful aura released by it. Anything that came into the contact with its Baleful aura died instantly.
The reason the Variant Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit woke up was because it sensed a familiar vibe from a Skeleton Undead creature that was standing within its Baleful aura without being affected by it in the slightest. The branches of the Variant Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit moved like a whip towards the Skeleton Undead creature at lightning-fast speed. They coiled around the Skeleton Undead creature’s arms and legs following which it pulled the Skeleton Undead creature closer to itself as if hugging it.
The Variant Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spiri
t had no intention of letting go of this Skeleton Undead creature, as this was the first being that had ever tried to come close to it since its birth, and its aura provided a familiar and comfortable feeling. It quickly sent its intention to the Skeleton Undead creature via Mental-message transmission, and the Skeleton Undead creature transmitted these Mental-message transmissions to Ryan.
Ryan’s expression turned ugly when he received the Mental-message transmission from the Variant Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirit, as he couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. It had been abandoned by its own kind and had been all alone since its birth: it had no one to rely on, and was literally begging the Skeleton Undead creature to stay alongside it.
“Don’t worry. I will take you with me,” Ryan thought to himself as he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw were the faces of his group-members looking at him with great expectation.
“I have pinpointed the location of thirty Soul Devouring Immortal Tree Spirits and all of them have one or two Nascent Soul Fruits hanging from their branches,” Ryan said with a smile on his face, and the expressions of everyone lit up on hearing these words.
“I will be going deeper into Forest of Tears all alone,” Ryan said while still maintaining a smile on his face, and their facial expressions changed drastically.
“Can’t you use your Undead creatures to collect the Nascent Soul Fruits without going deeper into the forest yourself?” one of Ryan’s fellow group-members asked with a concerned expression.
“I am not going deeper into the forest for collecting Nascent Soul Fruits. My Undead creatures will collect them for us like I said before. I have found something interesting in the forest. I need to check it out otherwise I might regret it for the rest of my life,” Ryan said with a mysterious smile.
“Can’t we come along with you?” Raban asked with a serious expression.
“No. The Undead creatures and other beings of Forest of Tears will get unnecessarily attracted towards us if we move in a large group. I will be able to move around faster all alone,” Ryan said with a serious expression.