Chapter 376
Chapter 376
Many disciples curiously glanced at Arthur as he accompanied Shu Ru . She’s the top disciple in the Mirage Era hall and it’s rare to see here speak or walk with a man . Seeing the jealous and envious gazes, Arthur inwardly scoffed but didn’t say anything .
Contrary to them, the less time he spends with her the better it’s for him . They were considered friends but their relationship isn’t that deep . They helped her and she helped them, give and take, harmonious and without trickery .
Very soon, Shu Ru entered the big cathedral along with Arthur . The guards around this giant building were much more powerful than the ones roaming the sect .
Shu Ru has to introduce Arthur to her grandfather so he can bestow him the honorary elder status . Even if the rest of the sect isn’t pleased with the presence of a strange, they can’t go against her grandfather’s words .
Moreover, he isn’t going to remain here for a long time .
The duo reached a spacious hall which was devoid of people . Arthur glanced around, contemplating the amazing architecture and the unique decoration used . It bore a resemblance to some churches yet this one seemed much more majestic .
Excluding the two of them, there was another figure a distance away from them . The old man wore a simple white robe, he had his hands behind his back as his attention was focused on a large golden stone before him .
The stone was engraved with an unknown language and no one from this sect was able to understand it . It is said that if one gains enlightenment from one of the three stones inside this hall, their cultivation and understanding will increase drastically .
It’s a shame only Shu Ru was lucky enough to understand a sliver of this language .
Even when they neared the old man, he kept ignoring them, acting as if they didn’t exist . Thanks to Appraisal, Arthur found out that it’s a God Monarch, however, he seemed to be way weaker than Losha . He didn’t feel the threatening pressure emitted from the reincarnator .
In fact, he had confidence in defeating the elder but killing him is probably impossible without Makaze . Shu Ru didn’t call for her grandfather, instead, she patiently waited for him to finish .
Arthur activated [The All Seeing Eyes] and focused on the golden stone . Though it was an inanimate object and didn’t seem like it contained any Energy, the reality was different .
The golden stone was actually composed of countless threads of Golden Energy . Such energy is foreign to Arthur . Even with his vast knowledge, Arthur was still unable to fully comprehend the engraved runes .
Nonetheless, he still understood a few words but they weren’t enough to understand the whole sentence . This language was learned from one of the countless corpses he possessed in Astria .
Appraisal gave him a bit of information about this ancient language . It belonged to the Buria Empire, a powerful force that dominated a third of the Cloud Sea Universe a long time ago .
’Is the Mirage Era Hall their descendants?’
Arthur didn’t dwell too much on the matter . It’s not like it concerned him but he was still a bit intrigued by the Buria Empire . For just one empire to control a third of a whole universe, it must have been incredibly powerful . Though the real question is; How did such a mighty empire crumble?
Claud didn’t know anything about the Buria Empire so Arthur was left clueless .
After thirty or so minutes passed, the old man’s body slightly trembled before he turned toward the two of them . He started rubbing his long white beard as he assessed Arthur with a gentle smile on his face .
"So you’re the one Ru’er was talking about . "
Shu Ru didn’t tell her grandfather everything about the couple but she still disclosed their strength . Although he was only at the God Realm, Arthur’s real power surpassed the Sovereign Realm .
Such cases were extremely rare but not impossible . In fact, most of the people who could leapfrog Realms are usually in possession of extraordinary treasures .
"Yes, I am Arthur . "
"Hm? No last name?"
Arthur friendly smiled back and added
"MoonStar . Arthur MoonStar . "
The old man frowned and asked again
"Ah... I don’t think there’s any sect or clan with such a name . "
As to confirm the elder’s suspicions, Arthur answered
"I came from a low-Realm . "
The girl’s grandfather nodded his head while stroking his beard . His gaze was unfathomable yet even someone like him wasn’t able to see through Arthur . Though he felt some kind of ominous energy inside of his body, he didn’t seem to be using a treasure or anything like that .
Only after a minute or so did the old man turned his head to Shu Ru and said
"Ru’er, show me your new companion . "
In response to his words, a miniature white beast appeared on the girl’s shoulder . It wasn’t as aggressive as before, it gently rubbed its body on Shu Ru’s hand, trying to show its affection .
"Hoho, quite a powerful fellow . "
Despite its hate for anyone but Shu Ru, the Yin Beast didn’t lash out at the old man when he tried to hold it . In fact, it obediently remained still .
After inspecting the Yin Beast for a few seconds, the old man gave it back to his granddaughter then added:
"I see that your cultivation rose too... good good!"
Whilst the two family members were conversing with each other, Arthur started a little adventure .
’Don’t forget my words! You can steal the corpses but don’t possess them . ’
One of the reasons he came to the Mirage Era Hall is because of dead ancestors . The sect was proficient at formations, so if he could steal the lifeless bodies of the ancestors and possess them when the time was right .
It wouldn’t be easy to sneak inside their ancestral hall and retrieve the corpses, nonetheless, hard doesn’t mean impossible . Moreover, being able to build strong formations will greatly strengthen him and would allow him to face against any unforeseen troubles .
Some formation master can kill several Sovereigns with just a single formation . As for Gods, they’ll be slaughtered like chicken . However, the degree of difficulty to build such formations is too high, which is why it’s better to possess powerful and knowledgeable ancestors .
Using Dark Cloud, the unique skill of Zodiak’s robe, the real Arthur disappeared and was replaced by a very real copy . It had the same cultivation and was absolutely flawless .
As long as nothing happens, it shouldn’t be discovered . Though it’s power is weaker than a God, it shouldn’t have a problem dealing with a few Immortals . Then again, if the Dark Cloud were to fight, its true identity may get discovered .
Arthur was unaware of the Ancestral Hall’s location but it wasn’t difficult to find it . After approximatively three minutes, he was stopped by an unbreakable defensive formation that enveloped a specific area under the cathedral .
To freely travel through the earth without any obstruction, Arthur possessed the body of the bone shark, which had unrivaled speed under the ground .
Thanks to his stealth skills, he wasn’t discovered even when he traveled at a high speed . The earth before him would turn into nothingness as the bone shark had a skill that allowed him to drill any ground before him in a very smooth manner . Only when his eyes caught sight of the formation did he halt .
The map showed him an area that was circled by a red line . This indicated the presence of a formation and the redder it was, the more durable and high-level it is .
"What to do now? If I try to get in, it’ll alert the whole sect . "
Such a formation isn’t simple . Despite his confidence in being able to break it or open a crack big enough to fit him, it’ll certainly cause a huge commotion .
Moreover, if such a thing happens at the same time he entered the sect, the blame will fall on him, no doubt .
Arthur pondered for a long time before he came up with a ridiculous plan . It was feasible but very hard, nonetheless, it’s worth the try .
He doesn’t need to use any extravagant skills, only the power of his eye . No matter how strong a formation is, it won’t function if time is stopped, after all, it needs to consume energy to remain active .
Until now, Arthur was never able to stop time, only slow it down by a lot . It’s a very helpful ability but it is mentally exhausting, too exhausting, in fact .
Arthur left the shark’s body and stood motionless as his eye started shining with a blinding blue light . Fortunately, he was underground so it wasn’t noticed . Very soon, he felt the air and energy around him slow down but it didn’t freeze yet .
He discarded any unnecessary thoughts and pushed the ability of his eye to the limits . At last, the time was momentarily stopped though Arthur ended up bleeding from his eye and nose .
He ignored the leaking blood and hastily entered the formation . The time stop lasted for no more than two seconds yet Arthur felt a fatigue that made his body numb .
Since he was inside without alerting the formation, he decided to rest until he recovered . Due to overworking himself, Arthur had to rest for a full hour before feeling fresh again .
"Be careful, that formation was but the beginning, I’m sure there are others . "
Claud repeatedly warned him .
...
Only after twelve hours did Arthur reach his destination . He repeatedly stopped time and rested each time he was blocked by a formation . There were all kinds of formations, moreover, each and every one of them was incredibly dangerous .
Exactly three coffins laid before him, however, there was actually a short old man meditating at the entrance of this ancient tomb . He emitted no aura and just by slightly sensing his presence, Arthur felt the chills .
’He’s dangerous... too dangerous . ’
Fortunately, Arthur was still a few meters underground and was hiding in the body of a small green sprout, making no different than a simple plant which just so happened to grow in that place .
Arthur’s Godly Sense would alert the enemy, however, his Sixth Sense wasn’t a technique but an enigma skills thus the old man won’t discover him if he used it .
As he activated the skill and tried to probe the old man, he was shocked to see that he couldn’t gauge the old man’s strength, meaning that his Realm is probably higher than God Monarch .
’Do you think it’s possible to escape after retrieving the corpses?’
Arthur asked Claud, who remained silent for a few seconds before replying
’I honestly don’t know . Here are the results I got from the ARK . ’
*Probability of retrieving the three bodies and escaping safely: 1 . 84%*
*Probability of retrieving two bodies and escaping safely: 5 . 99%*
*Probability of retrieving one body and escaping safely: 11 . 66%*
*Probability of escaping safely without retrieving any body: 87%*
’Damnit! It’s so low...’
Though Arthur was kind of a gambling man, he isn’t going to throw his life because was greedy over the body of a few strong ancestors . If he can’t retrieve them now, he will do so when he’s stronger .
He remained silent and motionless inside the body of the sprout, trying to think of a flawless plan but each time he came up with something, Claud would show him his probability of success, which is always lower than 15% .
’What if I use Rizaki? Wouldn’t the destruction buy me some time to escape?’
’No way, the cast time is long, you’ll be discovered in a second . ’
The dark cloud, which acted as Arthur’s copy, was guided to a luxurious room after giving a special badge that showed his status as an honorary elder . As for Arthur, he remained in that hole for four continuous days and it was only at the dawn of the fifth day did he come up with a doable plan .
The plan couldn’t be simpler, all he needed to do was act like an ant . Yes, as stupid as it may sound, he’ll possess an ant and forcefully weaken himself then roam around the room .
It all depends on the old man, however, he won’t bother to kill an ant, after all, this is ancient place and there’s bound to be a few insects lurking n the shadows .
With Claud’s help, Arthur’s stats were significantly lowered . All of them combined didn’t surpass a hundred points . In such a state, even a simple breeze of wind can kill him .
Nevertheless, there’s nothing to fear, the Tri-Spirit was still active . He’s weakened but it can intercept the enemy if anything happens . While it is true that it’s weaker than Arthur, it is a very powerful entity .
The plan was set in motion when Arthur possessed a small brown ant . He didn’t directly head toward the coffin but randomly roamed the gloomy and cold room .
The old man never opened his eyes or detected him, he remained in that meditative state even when Arthur roamed next to him . This reassured Arthur, who went around the room for about an hour or so before climbing one of the three coffins .
Although these coffins were closed, his body was small enough to fit it . The gap which seemed incredibly small was more than enough for him to fit 10 ants .
Full of excitement, Arthur entered the coffin, which was devoid of light then walked to the center of the corpse . As he reached his first destination, the first step of his plan was successfully done . The second step was to retrieve the body without alarming the guardian outside .
This step relied solely on the Tri-Spirit, which was proficient at using Death Energy . To create a corpse similar to the dead ancestor was impossible, however, to create lingering Death Energy that resembled the formless aura this corpse was emitting, was a feasible feat .
To imitate the aura of death and decay around this corpse, the Tri-Spirit needs ten full hours . Arthur wasn’t in a hurry so he calmly waited there, not afraid of the old man to discover anything .
The Tri-Spirit was doing a flawless work, it would absorb some of the corpse’s aura then release a similar one . This seemed to be leading to nothing as he was just replacing air with air . However, when the ancestor’s corpse, which still had death aura inside of it, was nothing but a mortal’s corpse, it would be absorbed and in its place would be the lingering energy the Tri-Spirit created .
Ten hours quietly passed, there was no disturbance whatsoever . When everything was completed, Arthur absorbed the ancestor’s corpse into Zodiak’s storage ring and moved to the next .
...
Thirty hours was supposed to be the time it takes to obtain the three corpses, however, the last corpse had some life energy in it, which caused Arthur to abandon any thought of taking it with him .
He could wield Life Energy but to imitate someone’s Life Energy isn’t an easy thing to do . Just like each person has a unique appearance, they would also have a unique Life Energy which would differentiate them from others .
Merely twenty-two hours after his arrival into this tomb, Arthur entered the hole in the ground and disappeared from this cold place . He distanced himself from the tomb and only when he was sure that he was relatively safe did he make Claud unlock the seal which was lowering his stats .
Calmly and without any rush, Arthur headed toward his clone and soon took its place . He leaned on the comfortable sofa and breathed a sigh of relief .
It was really tiring to bypass the formations and hide from the old man but it was still worth it . He may be a despicable friend since he stole from Shu Ru’s sect, however, he couldn’t care less .
His goals required him to become stronger and this is one of the ways for that to happen . When the White Specter Clan comes knowing on their doors, he should be fully prepared .
He knew Lucy’s attitude toward this whole matter and from the Joker said, the clan will do anything to retrieve her . Especially since she’s talented and even have a powerful Physique .
When such a time comes, a war is inevitable . Lucy already gave him the green sign, he would kill anyone who wants to separate them, even if it were her own parents!
**********
West of the Imperial Capital of the Green-Leaf World, there existed a humongous gate floating in the air . This gate would allow anyone to travel to higher or lower-Realms, you just need enough Spirit Stones .
Many people with special status can use this gate free of charge . The area around the gate was always bustling with people, some entering it and some leaving .
Just now, two figures appeared from within the transparent space inside the gate . One was a tall old man with a butler attire . He was old enough for all his hair to turn white but he appeared to be full of vigor . The one accompanying him was a girl that had exceptional beauty .
"Young Miss, the opening of the dragon’s lair is around the corner . Why would you come here?"
The girl gazed at the majestic city in front of her then replied
"I’ve heard that Master Losha is here . I want her to craft me a special armor to resist the dragon . "
The butler didn’t inquire any further, he merely followed her . His duty was not to ask questions but to protect her from any danger .