Enshrinement as a God

Agong's sincere admiration and gratitude were palpable, and Sorin's expression didn't seem bad either.

"Then we shall be on our way."

At Miss Mu's words, Sorin nodded in agreement.

Agong saw them off as they left, tightly clutching his newly transformed fishing rod in one hand.

'The cook told me to be careful... but they all seem like good people...'

Tongtian, and the three people he had just met (or rather, two of them), each had strong personalities, but they had been good to Agong, if anything, and had never harmed him.

If anything, Lingbao had bothered Agong, but that was all. It wasn't a reason to be so wary.

'Old Master Hongjun also seems like a good person...'

He was often away, but other than being a little strict about the tavern's work, Hongjun had never particularly interfered with Agong.

While Agong was lost in his own thoughts, Sorin and Miss Mu, who were walking towards the Hermit's Valley, were talking about Agong.

"That child, he was genuinely grateful."

"So you feel sorry?"

"For what?"

"Not just me, but Sorin also has a way to save that child, don't you?"

"That is a treasure of the clan. It's not to be used on humans."

"There's not a single clan member here anyway, so what does it matter?"

It was a useless excuse anyway.

No matter what he said, Sorin also had no intention of helping Agong.

"How long do you think he'll last?"

"Well... I don't know the cause. A month? Or two?"

"Why does Hongjun let a child like that stay at the tavern? If he's going to let him stay, why is he just leaving him in that state?"

The news that someone new was residing at the Mountain Sea Tavern had reached the ears of those who lived in the deepest part of the Hermit's Valley.

Judging from past precedents, it was unlikely that Hongjun would tell them the reason himself or introduce them.

Since the Non-Duality Gate could not just let even a small change pass, their representatives, Star-Lord, Sirsha, and Sorin, had visited the tavern together.

Thump!

"Huh?"

Sirsha, who was preparing to leave, flinched and stopped in her tracks.

Something strange had struck her.

In the foggy Hermit's Valley, for a very brief moment, a piercing sound like a scream had been heard.

It was a short and small sound that ordinary people would not have noticed.

But this was the Hermit's Valley, a place teeming with monsters wearing human skin.

Among the people of the Hermit's Valley who were sensitive to small changes, those who could be called trans-human would have surely noticed this external change.

"Hmm..."

Sorin, who was insensitive to such things, also let out a short snort.

He too, though not precisely, had felt the air change for a moment.

"Oh my, it's going to be hard to tease you for being dull now."

"What's going on?"

At Sorin's question, Sirsha quietly closed her eyes.

Normally, she could know of any change even a thousand li away in an instant whenever she wanted.

But this place was strangely a place where her power did not reach well.

She had to expend a lot of mental energy even for small things.

As Sirsha's thick eyelashes trembled lightly, a small scar around her eyebrow took on a prominent red hue.

It was a wound from Hongjun in the past.

"Hmph!"

Sirsha frowned as the scar darkened and opened her eyes.

In the past, she wouldn't have batted an eye, but her complexion looked extremely tired.

Sorin, although she didn't usually say it, had guessed that something had happened to Sirsha's body when she and Hongjun had met.

"Someone has broken the barrier of the Hermit's Valley."

The unprecedented power surrounding the Hermit's Valley was swirling along a huge current, either natural or man-made.

That was also the reason why one could not formally leave the Hermit's Valley unless it was through the path leading to the Mountain Sea Tavern, which Hongjun managed.

"Is it our side's power?"

Sorin showed interest.

There had been such attempts in the past, but there had been no successful cases.

"Basically, I feel a strong magical power, but... that's not all."

"Then?"

"It seems that a technique from the Central Plains was used together."

"Huh, they collaborated with a person from the Central Plains?"

The Mountain Peak Sect and the Sea Isle Sect, which had different natures, were hostile to each other, but the Non-Duality Gate maintained a position close to neutral, not on either side.

That was why, although not many, there were people in the Non-Duality Gate who had exchanges with each sect. It was clear that someone among them had caused this incident.

"Do you know who it is?"

At Sorin's question, Sirsha nodded weakly.

A nasty power leaves its traces.

Even in a fleeting moment, it could not hide its stench.

"A necromancer."

To her, his existence was so abominable that even uttering the word was unpleasant.

"What are you going to do?"

"Star-Lord will take care of it."

The people of the Non-Duality Gate were not all gathered in one place because they wanted to.

Although they were originally people who hated and killed each other, they were only cooperating for their own reasons.

If it was a necromancer, he was one of Star-Lord's people, so there was no reason for them to care.

However...

"It would be best if he were eliminated by Hongjun's hand."

It was unlikely that Hongjun would just watch this situation.

In the first place, who was it that had trapped them here and made them only look for a way to return?

To suppress a greater poison with a poison.

In the words of this place, it could be called 'using barbarians to control barbarians'.

* * *

The smell of sulfur in the foggy Hermit's Valley was stronger the deeper or more remote one went.

Especially in places where the smell of sulfur was strong, even a healthy person who approached would suffer from its toxicity, with their skin rotting, blood flowing from their nostrils, and suffering from auditory and visual hallucinations.

This was a level that was difficult to endure even for a master who had trained for decades and achieved a certain level.

Even if one endured the environment of this place of certain death, that was not the only danger.

Bzzzz!

Flying insects the size of a handspan and crazed wild animals roamed around this area, coveting their flesh and blood.

Swoosh!

Two people were cautiously walking on the ground that was bubbling and emitting smoke.

One man was wearing a thick robe and covering his face with his sleeve, and the other man was an old man who looked to be at least seventy, with pointed ears, rough skin, and a very pale complexion.

However, the old man, contrary to his frail appearance, was walking on it without even covering his mouth in this place where the poison of sulfur was rampant.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

An irritated answer came back to the suspicious voice that sounded unconvinced.

"We're almost there, why are you so impatient?"

The old man growled, baring his sharp, animal-like teeth.

The man was already annoyed to the core because the insects were not even targeting the old man and were only flying at him. In the midst of that, a murderous glint flickered in his eyes at the old man's tone, which did not hide his displeasure, but he skillfully did not show it.

He knew the old man's strange sorcery and skills well, and he also needed his help to get out of this cursed place.

"This is it."

The strangely shaped staff that was supporting the old man's body struck the ground that was emitting smoke.

Thump!

The opposite hand, which was not holding the staff, with its gaunt and dry fingers, danced in the air as if swaying in the wind.

Sssss!

For a very brief moment, a gentle breeze blew in the surroundings, which had been devoid of any wind, along with a suffocating stench.

And from the end of the staff that the old man had struck, a faint light leaked out, and the thick fog began to slowly disperse.

"It's your turn."

"Good!"

The middle-aged man raised both his hands in one go.

Then, in an instant, with a surge of heat, the veins on the man's face bulged and turned red.

The hem of the man's robe fluttered, and soon a red energy began to flicker in both his hands.

"Blood Rain Divine Palm!"

The flickering red energy flowed from the man's hands and poured towards the spot where the old man's staff was emitting light.

A force like a raging wave swept past, drying up the sulfur-filled land and burning the turbid air and the thinned fog.

The heat was so great that the ends of the old man's beard and eyebrows, who was standing in front of it, were about to burn.

"Sha, Arjira."

The old man took out a small pyramid-shaped tool from his pocket.

Then, the tool slowly floated into the air and began to spin on the old man's palm.

"Hahaha!"

The man slowly lowered his hands, his hair standing on end.

Although the flush on his face had not yet subsided, the sight of him bursting into a mad laugh with his bloodshot eyes was close to that of a madman.

In the spot where the man had struck a palm, strangely, the fog was swirling in the air and could not approach.

"Did you see the power of this Blood Demon Lord's Blood Demon Divine Art?"

The triumphant man was no longer covering his face.

The Blood Demon Lord.

He was a supreme master who had once driven the Shaanxi area into terror, a great demon who had committed massacres regardless of righteousness or evil with his cruel hands and powerful martial arts.

His martial arts were so powerful that he was considered to be on par with the Twelve Honored Ones of the World, but he had later been defeated by a punitive force that could no longer stand his atrocities, and his whereabouts had become unknown.

Since it had been ten years since he had disappeared from the martial world, people thought that the Blood Demon Lord had died from his injuries.

But such a Blood Demon Lord had been staying in the Hermit's Valley.

"We don't have time, so let's move quickly."

The old man, as if uninterested in the Blood Demon Lord's triumphant appearance, muttered a spell and moved his feet, following the scattered fog one step at a time.

The fog of the Hermit's Valley was not just a simple fog, but it had the property of repairing itself and pushing away foreign forces, as if it were a living being itself.

Not only that, but the thick fog was like a formation, so no matter how great a lightness skill one displayed or how marvelous a sorcery one used, one could not break through the fog and get out.

In the end, to leave the Hermit's Valley, one had to go through the entrance of the valley where they had entered, that is, the place where the Mountain Sea Tavern was located.

But if that had been so easy, they would not have chosen this method.

The old man and the Blood Demon Lord, despite their differences, had finally achieved their goal through years of cooperation to leave this Hermit's Valley.

"Hmm, but can't you just get rid of this damn fog all at once?"

The Blood Demon Lord, perhaps because a hot energy was emanating from his whole body, had thrown off the robe he was originally wearing.

A red energy flickered from his body, which was armed with hard muscles that seemed as if a needle could not penetrate.

The Blood Demon Divine Art was great in the past, but it was clear that he had achieved great success in the Blood Demon Divine Art during his secluded life in the Hermit's Valley.

"If you're confident, why don't you try it?"

The old man answered bluntly and then focused his attention on the pyramid in his hand again.

For now, he was shaking this barrier and opening a path with the power of the artifact he possessed, but if he lost his concentration even a little, all his efforts could be in vain.

"Hmm... hmm."

The Blood Demon Lord let out a short cough.

How could he, with his fiery personality, not have tried?

If he could have gotten rid of this cursed fog with the Blood Demon Divine Art, there would have been no reason to join forces with this eerie old man from the beginning.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Following the pyramid that was moving with a strange sound, the two slowly moved their feet.

Although the fog could not invade the vicinity of the old man and the Blood Demon Lord, the surrounding area was still surrounded by thick fog.

However, perhaps thanks to the strange tool and sorcery that the old man was using, they were able to walk in the right direction even in the fog.

"If we get out of here, I will let you taste the delicacies of the Central Plains and let you enjoy wealth and glory."

Even at the Blood Demon Lord's excited voice, the old man only twitched his lips briefly and did not reply to his words.

In the first place, to the old man, worldly wealth and glory were nothing but fleeting things.

What he was interested in was only the hidden secrets of this mysterious world and gaining higher knowledge and power.

He had needed the Blood Demon Lord's power to get out of this place, but once they were out, the Blood Demon Lord was also scheduled to be used as a good experimental material.

Swoosh!

At that moment, the pyramid that had been dancing in the old man's grasp suddenly began to shake violently.

(End of Chapter)