It was a withered tree with no signs of life left in it. It was about the height of two humans. The tree was so withered that, just by touching the trunk, layers of dried bark would fall off.Fane ignored the people behind him. He slowly knelt down, staring right at the tree's roots. The three of them looked toward where Fane did and did not notice anything strange.The roots seemed to be just like any other part of the tree. It was unknown how long it had died. The white skin spoke of the ages past. With Fane not having said anything yet, the other three did not dare to make any careless moves.The three of them merely stared at where Fane was looking. However, no matter how they looked, they could not find anything strange about it. After kneeling down for a long time, Fane slowly stood up.His eyes had an unusual look to them, "What's the point of doing all this? Is there anywhere special in this place?"After saying that, he looked up to look at his surroundings. It was still
"Then we can never switch off our senses. As long as he notices anything wrong, we should flee immediately, don't even think about anything else!"Death was terrifying. It was something all of them did not want, nor were willing to face. Their group was not that prominent among the geniuses gathered in the Hidden Place for Resources, but back within their own clans, they were among the elites.They were either internal or chosen disciples within their clans. Normal informal disciples or runners, and most of the other internal disciples would never dare to look down on them.They were always greeted respectfully, and they had their own bright futures to look forward to. Hence, none of them were willing to lose their lives in a place like this.Isaiah's whole body was trembling slightly because he was constantly being flooded with the pale face of Riv in his head.Just half a day ago, Riv had been joking around with the rest of them. He never expected that the next time they met, th
However, he had never been a particularly expressive person, so he resisted his surprise. The people behind him obviously did not have Graham's level of control.The moment they saw Fane, they all widened their eyes. Their faces were full of questions. Graham first nodded slightly at Hayden before he walked forward to them, saluting Fane. "Fane, I can't believe I'm meeting you here. I'd have thought that you'd already have been at least twice as far inside, killing countless fiends."The words sounded respectful, but Fane paid no mind to it at all. He felt amused that Graham was definitely not as upright and straight as he wanted to seem. It would seem like Graham was a schemer as well, and he would need to be careful interacting with Graham.Fane merely nodded slightly, shooting Hayden a look. Hayden immediately understood what Fane wanted, and did not hesitate to reveal everything they had discovered. Graham had a dark look on his face. Once Hayden finished, Graham said seriou
Fane had a trace of uncertainty in his voice, "Nelson?"At that moment, Nelson was in an incredibly bad state. His clothes had all been stained with blood, his body ripped all over by some unknown weapon. He looked to be in a worse state than some beggar by the side of the road. He had lost all trace of his usual noble demeanor.Nelson tightly clenched Fane's arm, his lips trembled slightly, "Fane! I finally found you!"At that moment, the rest of them had caught up. When Isaiah saw that it was the chosen disciple, Nelson, he widened his mouth in surprise, not daring to believe what he was seeing.He immediately knelt down, holding Nelson with both hands, "What happened?! How are you so injured?!"Fane did a simple check of Nelson's injuries. A third of his Vessels were already broken, and he had countless wounds, big and small. There were even two broken bones. The fact that Nelson had managed to reach this place was already a testament to his will.Nelson no longer had the ener
Nelson's lips curved into a bitter smile as he spoke. It was as if he was mocking himself as well as the people who had discussed it back then."I had thought that as long as he didn't provoke them, and as long as he tried to stay out of their way, we wouldn't be in any danger. No one would've ever expected that they'd suddenly stop advancing when they noticed us, and rush right at us instead."The five of us fled the moment we realized something was wrong. However, we were too slow, and they eventually caught onto us. Not even bothering to listen to us, about our identity or where we're from, the first thing they did was attack us with their weapons!"Nelson's whole body trembled, his eyes growing bloodshot as flashbacks of what had happened ran through his mind. He felt completely broken.He gulped and continued, "How could we have stood up against them? I looked on as my fellow disciple fell right before me. At that moment, all I could think of was fleeing!"Thankfully, the eld
Fane snorted, not thinking much about it. "I think he'd still be able to return. As long as all of us die here, no one will be able to prove what he did. He'd naturally be able to go back safely and might even receive a bountiful reward."The others visibly soured at this. Even though it was hard for them to criticize the situation, with Griffin's status as well as the others from the Dual Sovereign Pavilion present, they still abhorred Griffin's actions silently.Even scumbags would detest those who only knew how to suck up to others when challenges arose.Isaiah gritted his teeth as he said, "He's gone too far. What he's done before is one thing, but with what he did this time—""That's enough," interjected Fane as he raised his hand, "it's not worth us wasting time talking about him at this point."Fane then slowly stood up and turned to look at Graham. "Do you have any way of communicating with the rest?"With them gathering up their forces against us, our best course of acti
Graham frowned as he looked at Fane earnestly. Fane gazed into the distance, looking at the endless color of blood on the horizon. He fell deep in thought, and after a good while, he finally opened his mouth and continued, "He wants to kill us. There are, after all, benefits to achieving just that. After all, we're his competitors, and only by killing us will he easily obtain those rewards."If we successfully arrive at the foot of Netherworld Mountain and get sent back to the Divine Void Slope, there will be another battle after that. If it had been before, he would probably have been incredibly confident in beating the both of us. However, right now… He probably doesn't have that confidence anymore."Graham nodded in agreement; Fane was right. Killing them would save him a lot of trouble.Fane smiled coldly before he added, "He's got a grudge against me from the start, too. Furthermore, he definitely has another goal in entering the Hidden Place for Resources. In clearing us, his
"There are so many amazing things on the Divine Void Slope, so who wouldn't want them? Of course he wants them all for himself, and if that's the case, then he first needs to get rid of all of us!"Graham could still not fully accept everything that was said, and doubt clouded his eyes.Fane smiled lightly as he walked forward, placing a hand on Graham's shoulder. "Since his goal is obvious, then everything he's done is to contribute toward that goal. Him leaving the mark behind is also for that goal."Even though he still doesn't know the full details, as long as we obtain even more evidence, the answer will naturally reveal itself."Graham nodded, not understanding it fully. The two of them suddenly fell silent, and neither of them said anything. They were both deep in their own thoughts, but Fane seemed to have a calmer expression, while Graham's was much darker.He was incredibly worried about what would happen next. After a long time, Graham finally urged, "Then, what should
There was a heavy rumbling as the door slowly opened. A boundless sense of energy seemed to come from it.A few of them looked inside. Other than the green light, they could see nothing. The light completely obscured their sight. If they wanted to look inside, they would have to step in themselves.On the way there, Fane had already talked to Lourain about it. Lourain wanted to see what the legendary Valley of Enlightenment was like. That was why Fane asked for two spots.The three of them exchanged looks with each other, and they did not hesitate to step forward together, entering the door.The power of distorting space suddenly pulled the three of them in. The space around them started to spin rapidly. They did not know how much time passed, but it felt like a whole century before the space slowed down in front of them. Then, the sense of weightlessness disappeared as their feet landed on solid ground.The three of them had not been sent to different locations and arrived at the
Zayne scoffed, "Alright then, how do you want to work together?"He wanted to see what Fane was trying to do.Fane did not waste any time, "Both of us have all three keys, and we can open the door. Ten people can enter the door anyway. I just need two of those spots.Zayne looked at Fane meaningfully, "You sure know quite a bit."Fane even knew that only ten people would be allowed through. He seemed to have done his homework.Zayne took out his purple key from his storage ring. At that moment, all three keys were there. As long as all the keys were placed together, the gateway to the Valley of Enlightenment would open."If you only need two spots, then I don't mind working with you," Zayne looked at Fane meaningfully, but he quickly added, "However, make sure you don't cause any trouble during the important moments."Fane smiled before he said, "I've always been someone who keeps to my word. I'm more worried that you'll cause me trouble instead. There are many geniuses in the V
The two of them knew what that meant. Their eyes met, and worry was evident in their eyes."Is it Fane again?" Zayne said with a frown. At that moment, the first name that popped up in his head was Fane.Only Fane would truly be a big problem for them. Seymour's expression turned sour. He suddenly felt like Fane seemed to be his Achilles heel. Fane could pop out at any time and put him in a difficult spot."That's right! It's me!" At that moment, a voice was heard from afar. The two of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw five figures appearing in the air.This time, Fane did not have a disguise on. He was facing everyone with his real face."It really is you!" Zayne's face completely soured at that moment. Even if they were meeting for the first time, he was already incredibly sensitive to Fane's name.Nothing good ever happened when Fane was mentioned and Fane had actually appeared in front of him."How dare you!" Seymour shouted angrily!He walked forward to sta
When Shin and the others saw that, they were speechless. That person who had looked down on them was completely bound and on the ground at that moment. He looked pathetic.Fane quickly walked toward Warren, reaching out to pull off the mask to reveal his face.Fane controlled his energy, reducing the destructive power in Warren's soul. After the pain diminished, Warren slowly woke up.He looked up and saw the one person he never wanted to see in his life. He lost his voice as he said, "Fane?! It's you!" He almost bit his tongue as he spoke.Fane smiled and nodded slightly, "Yes. It’s me.""No wonder, so it's you! Where's Presti then?" Warren looked up and said.Fane raised an eyebrow and shot an incredulous look at Warren. Warren immediately understood what happened, and his whole face turned pale, "He's dead!"Fane nodded. There was nothing much to hide. Warren gulped, suddenly feeling like his thoughts from earlier were an absolute joke at that moment. He had even been think
After seeing that, there was a surprised look on Warren's face. However, he quickly pushed back that surprise. Even if that man was skilled, he would just be an above-average warrior. Above-average warriors were like paper to him!"Brat, it looks like you have some skill. However, that means nothing in front of me. I'll show you right now what a warrior at the peak is!"Right after he said that, he circulated his true energy around his feet. Red energy started to frantically blow away the dust on the ground. He lunged into the air incredibly fast.Fane raised an eyebrow before he started to form seals with his hands. Countless seals danced around in the air, and a chain appeared.That chain looked like a black dragon as it danced in the air.Warren scoffed in disdain. It was just a petty trick from an above-average warrior in his eyes. That chain would shatter in just one blow.He did not even bother thinking about it as he raised the sword in his hand. A silver ray of light quic
He leaped forward and landed in front of those four. Fane had already noticed Warren a while ago, but Fane relaxed when he saw Warren was alone. If it was just one person, then there was nothing to worry about!"Presti really is a piece of trash. He couldn't even get you!" Warren said with a sneer.Shin clutched his chest and turned to look at Cavill next to him. Cavill nodded slightly and did not say anything. The two of them shut their mouths at the same time as they looked in Fane's direction.Warren immediately felt something was wrong. He turned to look at Fane and saw that Fane was still completely calm as if nothing had happened."Brat, it looks like you're no ordinary person!" Warren said with a sneer.Fane turned to look at him before saying calmly, "Are you here to kill us?"Warren laughed out loud, and his eyes were full of mockery, "What do you think I'm doing here? Do I look like I'm here to chat?"Fane laughed. He could not believe another one turned up so soon aft
When Warren heard that, he felt incredibly exasperated. He mumbled, "It's just Shin, how could there be any trouble? Even if he has some fellow disciples with him, Presti is more than enough. They're all trash anyway."Zayne frowned, and he unleashed an incredibly strong aura that forced Warren to take a step back, "Shut up! Do you think we can afford to be careless right now? We're at the cusp of accomplishing everything right now. We have to be extremely careful. What kind of attitude is this?"Warren immediately shut up and did not dare to say anything. Zayne coldly looked at Warren, and deeply felt like Warren was not someone who could accomplish much. If it was not for the fact that he was useful, Zayne would not even bother bringing Warren through the door with him.Seymour turned to look into the distance. Gray mist filled up the skies, and no one could see the end of the horizon.There was nothing in the skies, and Seymour suddenly started to feel some worry. He was not clo
In front of an ancient stone door, two men were standing there, while another was sitting down and resting.The men who were standing had very stiff expressions on their faces. The two of them looked at each other with animosity in their eyes. It was obvious they were not friendly with each other. The man who was sitting down had his eyes shut and completely ignored the other two."Seymour! You're just the same as Desmond. You can't even get something so simple done. Desmond lost his life. I think you're about to follow suit!" Warren sneered as he mocked.Seymour's expression was dark, and he shot right back, "Warren, stop with those disgusting words of yours! Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do. You're just trying to push me down and take all the credit for yourself!"Stop joking around! You aren't smart enough to steal my credit! Even though Desmond is already dead, he still did the best he could. He was just tricked by Fane. If it was you, you wouldn't even have
Fane frowned. After he reached out to grab Presti's neck, Presti's life ended with a crack.Shin's eyes widened as he looked at Fane with fear. His savior could very well kill him!Cavill started to panic as well. He looked at Fane with alarm. Even though he was thankful that Fane saved the two of them just now, he had no way to tell what Fane would do after this. Fane slowly walked in front of them, and he did not show much emotion on his face.Cavill said in a dry voice, "Fane, you…?"Fane shook his head, "Don't panic. I won't kill you. Let's work together. It's not like only one person will be able to enter after the door opens."Shin looked at Fane with an incredibly inquisitive look. He thought about it before he said, "I… I don't want to work together. I'll give you the key as thanks for saving me. That Valley of Enlightenment doesn't sound like a good place at all. If I enter, I don't even know if I'll be able to survive."As he spoke, Shin had a bitter look on his face.