GDK 655: Come with me!
"What? Young man, what are you doing here?" Kelly cried out in surprise when he finally discovered Han Shuo's presence.
Back on Kasi Empire, Han Shuo had once joined forces with Kelly to bring down the Shrine of Ice. The two were never best friends by any measure, but they had once fought shoulder to shoulder and were at least friendly with each other.
"I was going to ask you the same question!" Han Shuo too had an awkward smile on his face. After Kelly and that middle-aged man emerged, Donna seemed alarmed. Without needing much thought, Han Shuo could tell that the middle-aged man was not a friend but a foe. The fact that they were in opposing factions meant that they might have to fight each other.
Han Shuo had a pretty good impression of Kelly. The Druidic Order was a major partner of Lancelot Empire. Han Shuo had no wish of becoming Kelly's enemy. However, just from Donna's expression, Han Shuo knew that he did not have much choice. He felt rather helpless.
Kelly let out a sigh. He too was aware of the situation and didn't seem too willing to make an enemy of Han Shuo. He felt just as helpless about it.
"What are you all standing here for? Don't tell me that you traveled from distant lands across the universe just to gaze at me?" that middle-aged man who came with Kelly said smilingly to the crowd when everyone gazed at him foolishly.
"I truly did not expect that Lord Olde would be here. This is getting more and more interesting!" Donna relaxed and smiled.
"My main objective in coming to this world is to locate the remains of my ancestor. And naturally, I have to visit here in passing to see the miraculousness of this place. After all, my ancestor's death seemed to be associated with the strangeness of this place!" that middle-aged man they called Olde smilingly nodded and explained to Donna.
Immediately after hearing Olde's words, a thought crossed Han Shuo's mind - Could that Tree of Life under the barren island of the Boundless Sea be the ancestor that Olde wanted to locate?
The moment that Olde appeared, Han Shuo's avatar that cultivated in the elemental energy of death felt somewhat uncomfortable. Similar to how gods who cultivated in the element of darkness would be especially sensitive to the presence of gods who cultivated in the element of light, that avatar of Han Shuo's who cultivated in the element of death was sensitive towards gods who cultivated in the edict of life.
That Tree of Life at the bottom of that barren island was obviously transformed from a very mighty god who cultivated in the edict of life before his death. The quick-witted Han Shuo immediately made the association and surmised that the remains which he buried could likely be the person that Olde seeked.
However, Han Shuo would only bury this information deep inside his heart and would never speak of it at such a moment because the remains were located rather close to the Cemetery of Death. If Olde was to learn of the location, he could possibly also discover the Cemetery of Death's presence.
Olde, as one who cultivated in the edict of life, ought to be very sensitive to the energy of death. Han Shuo was a prudent man and naturally kept his silence over the matter. Donna and her party, on the other hand, and not to mention Eriksson and the others, were not fully convinced of Olde's words.
"Lord Olde, if you don't mind, we can probe this place together!" Kaiser put on a sunny smile and invited.
"That'd be great. Haha, I was quite worried about not having enough understanding of the situation in this place!" Olde gladly obliged and hopped along towards Kaiser and his party.
As Olde was getting closer to Han Shuo's group, he discovered that Donna was staring vigilantly at Olde as though she was ready to deal with Olde's attack at any moment.
As Olde walked past Donna, he stopped in his tracks right in front of her. He chuckled and smilingly said, "Miss Donna, please, don't be so strained. I have only stopped by to tour around this site. As long as you have no intention of destroying all life on this continent, I will not do a thing to you!"
"Well, if that's the case, that'd be great!" Donna said in a phony calmness. She was still on guard against him.
"We people who cultivate in the edict of life are all lovers of life. We will not be taking any lives except in the last resort! Haha, the last time the situation between our factions escalated to the point of war was all because they wanted to destroy all life on the continent. That was why my ancestors were forced to come forward. As long as your people have no such intentions, I believe that both of us will have a very pleasant excursion!" Olde said in all smiles. Despite his cordial demeanor, there was a deeper meaning to his speech.
Donna did not reply, but silently nodded. No one knew what intention she had in mind.
"Hi there! You must be Bryan?" Olde suddenly turned towards Han Shuo and put on a rather fascinated face.
Han Shuo was startled. He had no idea how would this Olde character recognized him. He looked at Olde puzzled and nodded while side-eyeing the people around him.
"I have heard a thing or two about you from Kelly. Haha, you seem interesting; a pretty good lad. But what a pity you have chosen to cultivate in the element of death!" Olde joked as he looked deeply into Han Shuo's eyes.
Han Shuo was stunned and failed to understand what Olde actually meant. He did not play smart in replying like he actually understood those words.
Donna, Bolten and the others looked back and forth between Olde and Han Shuo with astonished and baffled eyes. They couldn't understand why Olde would be interested in a being as small as Han Shuo.
"Well, I wish you nothing but the best!" Olde did not express any more of his thoughts. He smiled and nodded at Han Shuo before taking off with Kaiser and his party.
At this moment, Kelly, who was following behind Olde, gazed at Han Shuo and forced a smile but then sighed and shook his head before leaving with Olde.
Over on the other side, when Eriksson saw Olde approaching, he suddenly put on an irritated look and let out a soft groan. However, he did not voice out any of his discontents.
On Profound Continent, the Shrine of Ice and the Druidic Order had been in conflict for a long time in fighting for more followers. The dispute over in this mortal world sure had some effects on these gods who oversaw the operations of their religious organizations. It was nothing surprising that some might feel discontented to meet those on the other side.
"Let's go, we will head deeper into it!" Kaiser softly exclaimed. He shot a glance at Donna a distance away, turned to Olde and solicitously proposed, "Lord Olde, do you mind leading our party?"
"Nope, I'm just touring the place alongside you people. Please, don't mind me!" Olde rejected Kaiser's proposal and chuckled.
"Alrighty then, let's go!" Kaiser did not insist. He took the initiative to lead the way and secretly sent meaningful glances at Eriksson who was wearing a sour face, hinting to him not to sabotage the relationship.
They headed straight towards the Ninth Realm Mystical Yin Harvester as though they had simply forgotten about the presence of Donna and her party.
Han Shuo, who was standing beside Donna, could tell that she was obviously relieved when Olde rejected Kaiser's proposal. After Kaiser and the others had made more distance, Donna turned to the youngsters behind her and solemnly instructed, "Try not to provoke that Olde fella as much as you can. He is infamous for being a pestering one. As long as he is not hostile towards us, we don't have to mind him!"
It was obvious from her words that Donna was very much concerned about this man. After she finished her words, the team of arrogant youngsters expressed their agreement. It appeared that they were familiar with Olde's history.
"This Olde character, is he very hard to deal with?" among the party, Han Shuo was the only person who knew nothing about Olde.
Donna forced a smile, nodded, and explained, "Olde is infamous for being a nosy little bastard. He also happens to be remarkably strong. Where we're from, Elysium, the Plane of Gods, Olde is known to be a very peculiar fella. He's not usually interested in most things. But once something catches his interest, he will never let go until he gets what he wants. A real headache, that guy!"
Elysium, the Plane of Gods! This was the first time that Donna mentioned her origins to Han Shuo. He was rather shocked.
Han Shuo had heard about Elysium from various sources. Bechymos and that McKinley trapped inside the Holy Grail had mentioned Elysium more than once.
Based on Han Shuo's understanding, Elysium, the Plane of Gods, ought to have been the highest level material plane of all. Legend had it that the Elysium was where the supreme Creator lived. The elemental energies there were more intense than on any other material plane. That material plane was suitable for the cultivation of all elemental energies and edictal forces.
The Elysium also housed the most energy ores, the mightiest of gods, the most ancient of family clans, and countless enigmatic mysteries. It was said to be infinitely vast, the center of the universe, and where gods congregated and inhabited.
By account of Bechymos and McKinley, Elysium was the birthplace of gods and also the place where gods from numerous material planes gathered. Practically all the Overgods lived on the Elysium.
Just like anywhere else, there were numerous powerhouses on Elysium. The mightiest of which were naturally the twelve Overgods who cultivated in the twelve fundamental forces. Many of the ancient family clans aligned their allegiance to either one of the twelve Overgods. Not only did these family clans constantly wage war on the Elysium, they never ceased fighting for control over all major material planes.
In this infinitely vast universe, perhaps ninety percent of all low, medium, and high-level material planes were under the control of those ancient families and the twelve Overgods living on Elysium.
Having heard so many stories about Elysium, Han Shuo knew just how significant the Plane of Gods was. Now having learned from Donna that she and her team hailed from that very plane, Han Shuo finally understood why these people would think of themselves as superior beings after arriving on Profound Continent.
Elysium, the Plane of Gods. After completing all my matters on Profound Continent, I will make sure to personally make a trip there and have a look! Han Shuo thought to himself.
"Let's go, we'll catch up to them!" Donna instructed her team as Han Shuo came to a decision.
Kaiser, Olde and the others had all travelled out of sight. Donna, Han Shuo, and their partners hastened ahead. They were not met with any abnormality or peril during their approach to the Ninth Realm Mystical Yin Harvester where the mystical yin aura was thickest and most dense.
Sensing the intense aura of mystical yin around him, Han Shuo took a few deep breaths greedily. He indulged in the wonderful sensation of having the aura of mystical yin entering his chest, gently crossing through the meridians and bones in his body before they were converted by his demonic infant into energy as slight as threads that deposited throughout his body.
Gazing into the distance, Han Shuo discovered that the several towering mountains up ahead seemed to have been relocated to this place using an immense amount of supernatural power, altering nature to form this miraculous Ninth Realm Mystical Yin Harvester. He could not have been more astonished.
After actually arriving at the formation and observing the breathtaking scenery around him, Han Shuo was in such great awe of the person who deployed the demonic formation that he could not express it in words. A project of such a magnificent scale was not nearly as simple as moving the mountains and draining the seas. The laws of nature were exceedingly diverse and intricate. Han Shuo simply dared not to imagine just how terrifying the strength of the person who managed to accomplish such a feat.
"Incredible! This seems to be man-made! But who would have such a resolution to make such a magnificent structure?" Olde cried out in amazement.
"Could one of the Overgods have incidentally come to this material plane and produced this masterpiece with their divine energy?" Kaiser mumbled his guess. He was extremely astonished as well.
"That's impossible. All this definitely could not have been accomplished using just one type of elemental energy or edictal energy! It would take at least several Overgods to produce this spectacle!" Eriksson remarked in a deep voice.
Upon hearing those words, the party shook and scratched their heads. They knew better than to think that those Overgods would be so bored to do such a thing. On top of that, there was bad blood between the Overgods and therefore they wouldn't have cooperated to work on such an undertaking. However, everything that they saw here showed indistinct clues that these were man-made. With that, they couldn't come up with any conceivable explanation no matter how hard they racked their brains.
"In- Incredible!" Donna couldn't help herself and cried out in surprise when she saw that the towering mountains seemed to have been twisted and arranged to form a monstrous design.
Han Shuo's first impression of the warped mountains was that they were altered using a type of demonic arts technique. There were some marks on them that gave Han Shuo a familiar feeling. However, the more he thought about it, he found himself having not a clue what was going on.
The scene on this third layer of the underground world had completely exceeded Han Shuo's imagination. He became speechless when he saw how the Ninth Realm Mystical Yin Harvester was formed using the mountains as the formation crux and the earth tore to make the formation lines.
"I think, we will only fully understand what is really going on here when we arrive at the deepest part of it!" Olde suddenly chimed in excitedly.
However, upon hearing those words, even Donna and her party showed some hesitation. Before making their way over, they had vaguely learned from their ancestors about the dangers of this place. Therefore, when they heard Olde suggest that they should venture deeper, they began to grow concerned about their own safety.
Before they had even arrived at this formation, they suffered a round of painful battering from over a dozen mystical demons. It didn't take much brain power to be able to draw the inference that the most mysterious region would house the greatest danger. They were now having second thoughts about advancing forward.
"What are you guys afraid of? Isn't exploring the area your purpose of coming to this place? Why is it that you have all turned hesitant when you are right at the front door?!" Olde ridiculed.
Hedonist's notes:
Translator: Hedonist
Editor: Emily