Chapter 29 Chapter 29 - Hells Ways (1/2)
CHAPTER 29
HELL'S WAYS
[Bisected Defender Plate – Soul Armor]
Level: 65
Defense: 850
Strength: +60
Regeneration: +50%
Soul Strength: +10% (Upgradable)
Unique: Soul Armor – can link up to (3) other pieces of gear and increase their stats by 20%.
Special effect: Cannot be fully destroyed.
Special Effect: <Amplified Reflect> - reflects 60% of incoming attacks. Can instead store the damage instead.
Special Effect: <Ring Burst> - consume stored damage and inflict Soul Attack to selected targets within 4m.
Special Effect: <Bisected Soul Set: 1/4>
Each additional set piece will add additional Special Effect. They are selected randomly based on materials used during the crafting.
Note: A masterpiece crafted by an Adept Blacksmith. Due to perfect circumstances, this piece of armor formed a Basic Soul. By upgrading the armor piece through re-forging process, it is possible to elevate sentience, increase the maximum amount of <Set Pieces> and add additional effects.
Looking over the stats, Lino felt somewhat stumped and at a loss for words. Although he expected it to be on the up-and-up of things considering it was a Soul Armor, he was still given quite a shock. Not only were all the arrays he fiddled with and inscribed onto armor perfectly combined, the armor could actually be used as a core to form a Set! Naturally, other pieces would be of lower quality, but they would in turn strengthen the core piece further. In addition, there was a rather substantial increase to the strength of the wearer and a decent boost in regeneration which, when combined with mpyrean Writ's>, would probably shock anyone into silence. One thing Lino didn't expect was the additional boost to Soul Strength; the latter was available only to Soul Realm cultivators, and it primarily increased the range of their Divine Sense, resistance to mental attacks, illusionary formations and such, as well as increased the potency of soul attacks. While 10% increase seems rather marginal, it would effectively double Lino's mental facilities once he ascends to Soul Realm. There was even a chance of increasing the armor's sentience, which Lino found absolutely astounding. Uh, I probably need to keep this a secret from everyone other than Ella and Eggor… otherwise I might die.
Although the armor lacked the ascribed rank as it was a Soul Armor piece, Lino was more than certain that it was at least of Legendary grade just judging by its special effects. Legendary-grade crafts were a rare commodity even in the world of cultivators, where each piece could spark a conflict between not only loose cultivators, but even ranked sects. Though lacking as one of the final defensive lines of a ranked sect, it is still considered quite a treasure. Stroking his lower chin, he nearly burst out into conceited laughter. Even if he was completely untalented when it came to cultivation – as he relied entirely on the method itself for such a quick progress – it appeared as though he wasn't that shabby when it came to crafting.
”Hm, Ella left this morning,” he mumbled softly as he stored the armor into his void world. ”And that guy left somewhere saying he'll be back in two days. I'm too exhausted to start crafting another pieces for the time being,” and he also lacked designs. ”And I'm yet to figure out the path of [Celestial Rod]. Oh!” he exclaimed as he quickly took out a familiar, metallic plate with strange inscriptions. ”Should I go and try sell this?” [Celestial Plate] may not be a combative item, but it was rather queer, and Lino knew that many-a-curious people would be interested in it. However, his spirits quickly damped as he had nowhere to sell it within a Bridge Village. The village itself wasn't militant, mainly focusing on crafting and mining, and most of the contracts with the capital had to do with offensive weapons and armors, which [Celestial Plate] certainly wasn't. ”Eh, I can wait until we go to the Capital,” Lino said as he stored the plate back into the void world. ”Ah, Ella told me she left some more books for me. Let's do that until that bastard comes back.”
**
A large mountain piercing the clouds was covered in lush green from top to bottom; along the elongating, rugged path were many lakes and flatlands and crisscrossing rivers, and mountain's width could hardly be described as a natural phenomenon. Up the mountain, one would stumble across several villages and even smaller towns, and three hegemonies – cities governed by Lords. However, the part of the mountain which pierced the clouds didn't belong to any of them, nor did they have the privilege of ever ascending that high. Above the clouds, the mountain suddenly stretched outwardly like a crown, with four spire-like pikes erected high upwardly even further into the sky. The inner part was sunken, like the crown's hollow parts, while edges almost appeared chiseled in their design, perfectly symmetrical. The entire sunken part of the mountain covered nearly twenty kilometers, and was home to a massive, spiraling spire that had countless angled and sharp-looking towers breaking off its central structure. At the very top was a massive set of petal-shaped platforms, forming a gigantic, white rose. The entire spire was a mix of white and red hue, but the two never mingled together, as though cleanly separated by a higher force. Surrounding the spire were four massive lakes, over which countless, crisscrossing wooden bridges were built, connecting smaller settlements around the spire to each other, and to the spire itself. Architecture on the outer edge was rather simple, mainly consisting of solitary, squared houses made of brick with flat roofs. The further in one ventured, the more lavish the buildings got, going from being made from brick to being made from heavy stone, until the very innermost ring surrounding the spire which had several dozen structure built entirely of white marble stone, strange, maroon red stone and refined and recolored black granite. Each building was at least thirty meters tall, with several straight spires and countless patterned decorations on their façades.
The road leading up the main, spiraling spire was empty, surrounded by swaying grass and countless flowers, procuring a rather serene and tranquil scenery. Discarding the dirt pavement, the upwardly spiraling road rounding the spire was made entirely of precious, white and red crystals, making it seem almost as if there were liquids within eternally dancing, but never mingling. The spire was separated into seven clear layers, and the higher one went up, the less thorn-like structures there were. Currently, on a first layer, surrounded by serene beauty and effusive charm, Lu Hao and Yan Hao were standing in front of a protruding, thorn-like building. Although Lu Hao had come to the Dying Roses' headquarters two times before, it was his first time ascending the famed Undying Rose, building which even Seven Holy Grounds of Mankind coined as one of the world's architectural miracles. On the other hand, it was Yan Hao's first time within the Main Sect, as well as his first time ascending the spiral, which gave him a rather large shock. The layer they were on had a disc-like floor, with several buildings made entirely either of white or red materials of all sorts blooming from the ground. However, all of the important figures of the Undying Rose building lived within the 'Thorns', and it was no exception for the first layer. As the two were lost in their own thoughts, a simple door they were standing in front of opened, revealing a set of stairs leading upward to the central part of the building. Taking a deep breath, Lu Hao was the first one to step while pulling Yan Hao to follow him.
After ascending the stairs, they emerged in a rather simple-looking yet beautiful room. There were no external decorations brought in; the sculptures of various kinds of beasts were seemingly spilling over from the wall, white and red in color, while even the seating chairs and a low table were chiseled out of the floor itself. On the other side of the room was another door, but they knew they could not go inside, and simply chose to sit down on one of the chairs, cross-legged. After waiting for a few minutes, the door opposite of them opened, and through it walked a rather modest-looking middle-aged man. He had clean and styled black hair, supported in a bun by pins, and well-groomed black beard spreading through his low and sharp jaw. His eyes were rather narrow, like eagles, and his black pupils emitted charm that one is hard-pressed to find in the secular world. Though his body didn't appear to be anything special, Lu Hao knew that beneath that seemingly loose and simple white robes rested a body of a man that could level the entire Umbra Kingdom – and all its inhabitants – with a flick of his fingers.
”Lu Hao greets Great Uncle!” Lu Hao exclaimed solemnly as he kowtowed three times. Following his lead, Yan Hao did the same.
”Ho ho, looks like you haven't really forgotten your origins.” the man smiled amiably as he stroked his beard, sitting down opposite of them. With a wave of his hand, a tea set with steaming cups suddenly appeared in front of the three from the thin air. ”Sister keeps clawing at me for sending you away; you really ought to visit more often, Lu.”
”Ha ha, I ask Uncle to forgive me,” Lu Hao laughed lightly. ”I burdened you with my Mother's quacking.”
”Hmm, don't worry about it; I was burdened by her quacking long before you were born, brat,” the man laughed as he picked the cup of tea and drank a sip. ”This is?”
”He's my adopted nephew as well as my direct disciple,” Lu Hao pointed to Yan Hao and explained. ”Though he's lacking in talent, I hope Uncle can offer a pointer or two.”
”Hm, not bad, not bad,” the man nodded lightly as he scrutinized Yan Hao; feeling the former's gaze, Yan Hao felt all hairs on his body stand up, as though all his secrets – including his thoughts – were revealed to the man. ”He's an ambitious young lad, unyielding, but not abstinently proud to die for stupidity. If you guide him well, he might make something of himself just yet.”
”Ah, Great Uncle overpraises me!” feeling the Lu Hao's poke, Yan Hao quickly exclaimed as his cheeks flushed slightly red in embarrassment.
”Ha ha, don't mind it,” the middle-aged man waved his hand lightly while turning toward Lu Hao. ”What about Shi?” the moment he mentioned the name, the middle-aged man's smiling expression weakened somewhat as it grew bitter.
”… ah, Master couldn't come back, unfortunately,” Lu Hao shook his head lightly. ”It has to do with our own arrival here.”
”Oh? Something's happened? Did that Clan you mention finally declare a war?” the middle-aged man asked, seemingly somewhat surprised.
”No; unfortunately, it is much worse,” seeing his nephew's grave expression, the middle-aged man also grew serious. ”Endo Clan is wiped out.”
”Hm? Who did it?”
”… a few months ago,” Lu Hao slowly began, taking a deep breath. ”One of our high-rank informers from within told us that Endo Clan Patriarch's daughter was actually a Demon – or rather, he suspected she was.” hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression suddenly darkened as his eyes flashed in strange, cold glint, completely contradictory to his usually smiling face. ”He told us that he heard how Patriarch brought an egg from the Capital, and how when she was born, her veins were apparently black and pulsating. Because the details were so specific, we knew it was probably true; though the Endo Clan was probably aware of the Demons, I can't imagine them knowing the exact details to fabricate such story unless they've witnessed it. We intended to immediately eliminate the threat and didn't report it as we believed it was just a Low-tier Demon.”
”… it wasn't?” sensing the underlying meaning, the middle-aged man asked.
”No,” Lu Hao shook his head. ”Eventually, our plan failed. However, Master stumbled upon a young cultivator and informed him of the truth of the matter. We aren't certain how, but the young cultivator managed to kill the Demon; however, immediately after, Demonification occurred, corrupting over a hundred people.”
”High-tiered Demon?!” the middle-aged man exclaimed softly. ”Although a threat, I don't think you'd come here simply because of a single High-tiered Demon.”
”Master and I directly went out ourselves to help the Kingdom's army deal with them, and stumbled upon the strange signs.” Lu Hao elaborated further. ”Rather than following their instinct, the Demonized people would engage in guerrilla warfare, often retreating when their circumstances were unfavorable. We also realized that the nearer we came to the Capital, the thinner Qi got; we suspected it was merely a natural formation, but after closer examination, we understood that it was being subverted. All of this pointed us to two realizations: there was a Portal being constructed somewhere in the Capital, and it has been under construction for a while, and there is definitely at least one Great Demon behind the scenes. Master suspected that the Great Demon is at least at Purity Realm, and we simply have no means to deal with it, which is why I came here.”
”…” the middle-aged man turned to silence as his brows knitted together. ”This is strange,” he spoke after a few moments, sighing lightly. ”Usually, when Demons invade trying to subvert Qi, they go to the places with high density. Rather than sending incubated children, they send over fully grown ones as to quicken the process. According to you, the High-tier Demon was brought back from the capital in its incubated form. If there is one, there must be another. And if there is a Portal, with surrounding Qi being subverted to the point where it can be sensed, it is at least 60% completed. All of this simply sounds… impossible.”
”Indeed,” Lu Hao nodded gravely. ”Even in high density areas of Qi, it would take at least a decade for a Portal to reach the point where its subversion of Qi could be sensed by people under Purity Realm. I seek guidance, Great Uncle.”
”… although I would like to go there myself, that's impossible unfortunately,” the middle-aged man sighed lightly. ”Even walking in there, I would cause Qi to implode. I've recently accepted three new disciples, two of which have already ascended to Purity Realm, while the third is a Peak Mystic Realm. I'll directly assign them under you. Although it sounds ludicrous, this is starting to remind me of the Godfiend Crusade two thousand years ago. Even if there's an inkling of such catastrophe repeating, we must squash it before it has a chance to. Do you have any plans on how to handle it?”