Chapter 435: First Floor of the Holy Realm!
Silent Vale. A hundred thousand elite insectoid warriors set off!
Insectoid flags flew everywhere in that empty valley. The place was quiet, with not even a single gust of wind blowing.
Xia Fei was mixed in with the army together with Halleh.
Uti’s transport was at the back of this contingent. This emperor of the Golden Tent was actually unwilling to lead by example, and he was only heading into the Silent Vale because he had no other choice. After all, every time this holy land opened, it had always been the emperor of the Golden Tent who led the army onward, so of course Uti was not going to be an exception.
He was seated in a golden hover convertible, one hand supporting his head, seemingly contemplating something, his expression looking somewhat displeased.
Beside him was the apex expert among the insectoids, not including Li Mo, as well as the remaining two members of the Seven Sacred Champions, Fini and Tohme. The other five were either killed by Xia Fei or died due to his actions.
There was also Nimuni and Bellal, both top-grade ability users that Uti had called in at the last minute. These two were members ranked in the top thirty of the Sacred Warrior Leaderboard. Because Halleh was not serving the royal family, he was considered a free agent.
“It’s said that the Silent Vale is an open s.p.a.ce that the Black and White G.o.ds built together; split into a total of five floors, each floor is heavily guarded, with even exotic beasts patrolling the place. When we enter the Vale, we shall be on the first floor, and the exit on the fifth floor would open fourteen days later. If we can’t make it to the fifth floor within this time, we’ll be forced to stay in this Holy Realm for the rest of our lives, turning into untethered ghosts roaming the land,” Halleh presented to Xia Fei.
Xia Fei was wearing the uniform of an Insectoid elite guard, with a helmet and a mask. He followed behind Halleh as if he were his underling, and he had his Breath Control s.h.i.+eld his presence, which was why he hardly attracted any attention amid the troops. Furball also hid himself in Xia Fei’s clothes, so Xia Fei merely looked like a fatty to anyone else.
Xia Fei nodded. “Enter the first floor, leave on the fifth. I’ll remember that.”
Halleh continued. “Everyone will be given a guide map and a point counter. Each enemy you kill will give you a certain amount of points; making it past the natural barriers that the two Black and White G.o.ds set, as well as any secret that you uncover on this land, will also grant you points. Everything is noted and tabulated, for you to see easily.
“If you survive and make it to the fifth floor, then you’ll be able to exchange the points you earn for whatever item with the priests from the holy temple.”
“Normally, whatever you exchange will go to the emperor of the Golden Tent, but if Uti dies this time, of course that’s another story altogether.”
Xia Fei furrowed his brows. “Everyone will be earning points, so does that mean if I’ll be able to earn points if I kill the others?”
Halleh shrugged. “Maybe? However, the emperor of the insectoids have always been the one leading the expedition to the Silent Vale, and that’s to prevent the entrants from killing one another, but since the profits will all go to the emperor at the end of the day, the situation that you’re speaking of has never occurred before.”
All of a sudden, Xia Fei felt a chill run up his spine. He vigilantly glanced back and noticed the abomination Li Mo staring blankly at him. Though he had already lost his cognition, that limitless resentment he harbored for Xia Fei was still present, and given that his senses had been greatly enhanced after the synthesis, he would look over more than a few times toward this distant figure whom he was once familiar with.
Xia Fei could not help but feel his hair stand. He would recognize Li Mo even if the latter got reduced to dust; it was just that his current savage and hideous body did not even look half human. It was practically a ferocious monstrosity!
“Let’s go further in front,” Xia Fei said in a low voice.
“What’s the matter?”
“Leave your questions for later. I’ve got a nemesis among the troops!”
Halleh did not dare to say anything more and just quickened his pace as he made his way forward. Xia Fei, who was acting as his underling, stuck close to Halleh with his head lowered.
“Master Halleh!”
“We’ll have to rely on you quite a lot this time around, elder!”
Plenty of these elite warriors, who had gathered here from all parts of the insectoid territory on such short notice, recognized Halleh. After all, he was an exceptional being who was ranked third on the Sacred Warrior Leaderboard, so the whole lot stepped to the side and made way for him, greeting him as he pa.s.sed, while they ignored Xia Fei who was following right behind him.
Important characters would often be mysterious and others hardly knew what to make of their actions. They acted weird, so having an insignificant underling following behind him was hardly noteworthy. Besides, Xia Fei’s Breath Control made it seem like he hardly existed. Everyone’s attention was all drawn toward Halleh and the ma.s.s of darkness he was dragging, but no one could have imagined that this ma.s.s of darkness actually contained Ryun’s disciple, Mingjing. In order to eliminate Uti, the risk that Halleh bore was huge. Even ignoring everything else he had done, just taking away this disciple of the high priest was enough to sentence him to death several times over.
Slowly, Xia Fei and Halleh made their way to the front of the contingent, forming a separate small team with several dozens of vanguards. These insectoids all recognized Halleh and walked beside him while trying to get close. By noon, they had finally reached the end of the quiet valley!
Before them was a ma.s.sive gate reaching up to the clouds constructed to the side of a mountain. Half of the door was black, and the other was white. There were plenty of strange and ancient patterns carved on it, which gave everyone an extreme sense of awe!
“We’ve reached Serenity’s Gate!”
“Look over there; that’s the entrance to the Holy Realm!”
“Send a report to the troops behind. Tell them that the vanguard team has already reached the destination!”
The dozens of insectoid warriors were all elated, for these individuals only cared about the treasures that they could get their hands on once they got in, completely forgetting that this gate also represented the danger that awaited them!
Looking up in the sky, Halleh said profoundly, “This gate’s called Serenity’s Gate. The left is black in color, while the right is white, representing the Black G.o.d of Night and the White G.o.d of Day. Dusk will be when the two doors open, and it will activate once more at the same time fourteen days later.
“Remember: The last chance you can leave this place is at dawn, fourteen days later. Otherwise, this gate will disappear, and by then, even an immortal will have been left for death, trapped inside the G.o.d’s Realm!”
Xia Fei nodded. “Will all communication devices fail upon entering this place, all contact to the outside cut off?”
“Yes, that’s indeed the case.”
“Then that’s good enough.” Xia Fei smirked.
“Remember: The members of the Guild of the Wise will wear a white armband on their left when it’s time to act. Best not to harm them accidentally.”
Halleh nagged about their action guide, but Xia Fei was no longer listening. This was because he suddenly felt a wave of numbing pain creep up his left arm, as if he was being bitten by countless small bugs. This was especially true for the design that the Black G.o.d of Night had branded him with. It pulsed with a level of pain that made it unbearable to even walk.
It seemed to be vaguely calling Xia Fei, beckoning him to get closer and closer!
Xia Fei approached the black half-door on that huge gate in his groggy stupor. This half-door was hundreds of meters tall, thick and wide. It was as if Xia Fei could hear a voice coming from behind it, calling for him to come closer, while the similarly sized, white half-door was completely inert.
Xia Fei took several steps to the black door so that he was now right in front of it. Those other insectoid warriors were still busy communicating with the rest of the contingent behind them, and not one of them noticed him get nearer. Meanwhile, Halleh had been caught in a conversation with someone who had managed to catch up to him from behind, the two having an intimate exchange as if they knew each other.
It was in this little mess, while no one was paying any attention, that the unseemingly underling of Halleh disappeared!
…
*Zing*
The moment Xia Fei regained his senses, all he saw in front of him was an open plain that was fit for horses to gallop freely on. There was spa.r.s.e woodland growing out in the horizon, the gra.s.s and leaves all withered yellow, and there was even the sound of insects buzzing from time to time.
He turned back to find Serenity’s Gate behind him! Xia Fei had no idea when he had managed to cross into the realm behind Serenity’s Gate!
“What’s going on here?” Xia Fei furrowed his brows.
Phantom found this situation both hilarious and exasperating as he sighed. “You’re asking me? Who the heck would I be asking?
“You appeared to have lost your rationality moments ago, heading straight for Serenity’s Gate. You were about to collide with the thick, metal doors, and you couldn’t seem to hear me no matter how loudly I called you, then guess what happened?”
“What happened?”
“At that exact moment you reached the black metal half-door, you actually went right through it!”
“WHAT?! Are you telling me that I went through that thick metal half-door?”
“But of course! I’m thinking that you practiced a secret technique behind my back since even Furball got taken through the door by you. Wasn’t that the case?”
Xia Fei shook his head, puzzled. He reached where the design was on his left arm, the burning sensation still lingering.
“My left arm started hurting badly earlier, and I could just barely make out someone calling me. I’ve got no clue what happened after that, too,” Xia Fei said heavily.
Phantom exclaimed, “Your left arm?! Isn’t that where the Black G.o.d of Night left an imprint on you?”
“It’s precisely that!”
“That design on your left arm is something the Black G.o.d of Night left behind, and the black side of the gate was created by him as well. Perhaps there’s some connection between the two, which is what allowed you to pa.s.s through!”
Xia Fei nodded. “There doesn’t seem to be any better explanation aside from that.”
He took off his coat and let Furball out while also examining that design on his left arm. He saw that the black image remained as before, seemingly unchanged.
Furball yawned lazily and hopped up Xia Fei’s shoulder, doing his best to stay alert. That was because Xia Fei had already told him through his mind that battle was about to begin. Though this pet of his was usually very crafty and indolent in nature, Furball had never once skived off during battle, acting as if he was born to do battle.
All of a sudden!
A ma.s.s of light coming from afar began closing in on Xia Fei, and it was accompanied by the piercing howl of wind!
Xia Fei wanted to dodge it, only to find that he was rooted to the ground for some reason, as if someone had pinned him where he stood!
*Bang!*
The ma.s.s of light struck Xia Fei squarely on the body, transforming into a rain of lights as they dissipated into s.h.i.+ning bright lights around him!
Xia Fei felt his left hand and wrist tighten, as if it was being held by a pair of large and strong hands!
He lowered his head to look, only to find a watch-like device on his left wrist with a s.h.i.+ny golden exterior. The face of the watch was larger than that of a real watch, looking like the old-styled large display of an electronic watch, with numbers and images shown on it.
Furthermore, he now held a very complex map in his hand. Mountains, rivers, and roads were all depicted accurately on it. There were even packs of strange animals appearing all across the map.
Lightly tapping on the map screen, Xia Fei realized that he could magnify or minimize it to view how he deemed fit. The map could be considered a smart device.
“This must be the point counter and map that Halleh talked about,” Phantom stated.
Xia Fei nodded. “Yeah, that seems to be the case.”
“So what do we do now?”
Xia Fei smiled and looked around his surroundings. “Uti and his contingent will only be able to enter this Holy Realm several hours later. We’ve managed to arrive before them, and that’s an opportunity for us!”
“Look at the packs of exotic beasts here on this map. It’s clearly indicating the areas where those exotic beasts are active in. If I’m not mistaken, the trial here on this first floor should be related to these ferocious beasts. What comes to your mind when I talk about exotic beasts?”
“Hunt them down to gain points?” Phantom made a guess.
Xia Fei shook his head, bursting out laughing. “Don’t forget that I’ve got the Beast Spirit Codex! That’s the best chance for it to s.h.i.+ne!”
The corner of his mouth broke into a sinister smirk. “Uti, I shall leave you a very deep impression with my welcoming gift!”