Chương 435: Fire and Brimstone (IV)

Long Tao landed gently atop a jagged, cracked rock, slowly spreading out his Divine Sense and taking account of where he was. It was a mountain of sorts, though clearly artificially made; it shot almost vertically up, with spear-tipped rocks jutting out like emblems of a crown. It stood at around two miles tall, and he had landed about halfway up to its tip, just beneath the rolling blend of ashen clouds.

A stretch of land extended below, with the mountain bleeding into another set, forming a valley-like line where he could sense quite a few herbs exuding exuberant Qi. The wind was gentle, if a bit chilly, and he was one of the seventeen that had landed within a fifty-mile radius. Most were kids, though two appeared to be Elders of one sect or another, as one was at the peak of the Inner World and the other was a False Demigod. He headed north, though decided against immediately going over.

Even if he were worried slightly for that Master of his, the man had more means than he let on and was likely to be just fine. As for the kids... that was less of a certainty, but Long Tao was a firm believer in letting them find their own way. If they were felled in this tiny little nothing, then they were simply not meant for anything greater. He slowly descended the mountain, entering the maw of the valley. Trees sprung on either end, thick and wide, with rather colorful canopies hanging above.

The scent, too, changed from a somewhat nondescript, sulfur-adjacent one, to a more meadowed scent of fresh grass and flowers. Why they called this place a 'Phoenix Realm', Long Tao couldn't quite understand. He actually recognized the place--did as soon as he caught glimpse of it within the portal--and the place had little to nothing to do with a phoenix.

Though there was a 'tomb' of it somewhere toward the center, it was more of a ceremonial one since the man who built the realm erected it in honor of an old friend. He'd been to this place once or twice before, though, back then, it wasn't so much a secret realm as it was an ordinary pocket dimension. Nearly every Emperor who wanted to make a name for themselves or leave a legacy behind had about a dozen or so of them. Sometimes, when they died, the knowledge of these places would die with them...

until someone accidentally stumbled upon the entrance. Spacetime, Long Tao had learned a long while back, was growing more and more unstable with each new generation. Membrane was thinning out, which was what afforded the glimpse to the 'beyond' in the first place. There was a good chance that nobody alive in this world knew the actual origins of this place, though it was also clear that they had access to its inner machinations as the entrapment array was the ilk that even he would take some time to break.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. He took a casual stroll between the trees, ignoring the oddly shaped critters and the luminescent herbs. Though they were rare and likely useful to that nameless alchemist that latched himself to Master, the true prize was at the heart of the valley. It didn't take him long to reach it, as the valley itself was barely a few miles long, though he was far from alone.

Most of the twenty-one had converged toward it, having likely sensed the strange fluctuations of Qi. As Long Tao emerged, all eyes drifted toward him, hostility immediately shooting up within them since they recognized he didn't belong to any of the major powers. He was momentarily confused as to why they weren't fighting and clawing for the thing, but a quick glance revealed that it was being guarded by a rather annoying little thing: Transient Serpent.

It was a half-spirit and half-living thing that wasn't particularly strong, but was so difficult to kill that even Emperors tended to just ignore it if they had any other choice.

"This isn't the place for the likes of you." Just as Long Tao was about to take an extra step in, a body appeared in front of him and blocked it. He didn't even look up, simply flicking his fingers gently. Less than a breath later, the body blocking him shot backward like a cannonball, exploding into a shower of blood and gore in the process and disintegrating wholly. He didn't stop the step he was taking, continuing on as gasps rang out and everyone else began gathering Qi en-masse, raising their defenses.

Long Tao ignored them all, his steps unhurried as he headed over to the serpent who coiled up around the tall, shimmering flower. The little creature's skin was pearlescent and faintly transparent, the flow of blood visible beneath the surface. It was no longer than a foot, a pair of purely white eyes staring hollowly at him as it began to pulsate, preparing to take off with the flower even if ripping it out so violently would destroy half its value.

It was then that Long Tao paused, about ten feet from the center; it wasn't because of the serpent or even because of those surrounding him, ready to pounce at any moment should he actually take the flower. No, what made him stop were the pair of eyes watching from the east, perched in the shadows atop of the nearby mountain. He casually glanced over and twisted his neck to the side; a mere breath later, a shadow dagger flew past his ear and toward the serpent, who thrashed out with its tail, though to no avail.

The dagger penetrated through and embedded itself into the flower's roots, with the vapors of shadow and ashes erupting immediately and consuming the entire thing until there was nothing left. Long Tao cracked a grin; he didn't care that the flower was gone. Though useful, he imagined that the Wellspring Ginseng wasn't exactly completely rare in this place. What was far rarer was someone using shadow arts so expertly and silently.

He didn't pursue--the figure had darted away as soon as it threw the dagger, and even if Long Tao could catch them, it wasn't worth the effort. He did wonder why the little thing decided to destroy the flower, though seeing hostile reactions of everyone since they seemed to think it was him who did it... perhaps that boy got annoyed that Long Tao spotted him? And this was his revenge? Long Tao nearly burst into laughter, eyeing his surroundings for a moment before taking out a sword and stabbing it to his left.

It met flesh rather quickly as blood sprayed out as though from thin air, a figure materializing a moment later with their throat cut up, gasping for breath for a second before falling down to the ground and dying on the spot.

"I wasn't the one who destroyed it," Long Tao announced rather indifferently.

"You can either act upon that petty, stupid pride of yours and die here, or you can be smart and go away. It's your choice."