Book 15, Priceless Treasure – Chapter 38, Juvenile Beast
Although they were astonished, Jarrod and Garlan, in dread of the power of Linley’s group, behaved extremely properly.
“Hey, Garlan. You two should have been in these Amethyst Mountains for quite some time, right?” Bebe laughed as he asked. Garlan and Jarrod glanced at each other, their eyes revealing a look of resignation.
Garlan let out a sigh. “Right. We have been here a long, long time. At least a hundred million years.”
“Over a hundred million years?” Linley’s group was stunned.
A hundred million!
A simple phrase, but a truly extravagant figure. Linley was only in his second century, and was a very long distance off from a hundred million years.
Jarrod said sourly, “In the past, Garlan and I also encountered the ‘Fog Wave’ situation, and thus we were unwillingly brought into the Amethyst Mountains. That day, the amethyst beasts were also very excited. They killed many people, but the two of us were lucky enough to survive. Back then, I was a God, while Garlan was a Demigod...after so many years, Garlan and I have both reached the Highgod level. But because too much time has passed, the two of us couldn’t be bothered to calculate it exactly. However, the hundred million year mark passed long ago.”
Linley was shocked.
To grow from a Demigod to become a Highgod, for most people, an extremely long period of time would be needed.
“Can it be that you don’t want to leave?” Linley looked at them as he spoke solemnly. “Or can it be that these Amethyst Mountains really are, as the legends have it, a place where one can only enter but not leave.”
When he had heard people speak of this at the edges of the Fog Sea, Linley had only half-believed it.
As Linley saw it, none of the amethyst harvesters had entered the Fog Sea. How could they know what the situation was for the people inside of it? Even though he himself had entered the Amethyst Mountains, Linley still clung to a few shreds of illusory hope.
He believed that he still had a chance to leave.
“Right. Once you come in, you cannot leave.” Jarrod said with great certainty.
“You really can’t leave?” Linley was stunned.
Was he to forever be trapped here?
The nearby Delia glanced at Linley, knowing that Linley wanted to go to the Indigo Prefecture and visit the elders of the Baruch clan. Delia immediately asked, “Jarrod, why are you so certain? The Amethyst Mountains are so enormous. There definitely are many people here. Not a single person has ever left?”
The brown-haired woman, Garlan, said consolingly, “I know you aren’t willing to accept this, but this is the truth.”
“First of all, the gravity in the Amethyst Mountains is very powerful.” Garlan said. “Generally, Highgods aren’t able to resist the gravity at all.”
Delia and Linley both nodded slightly.
Delia was a Highgod, but she was unable to resist this gravity. Although Linley’s body was tough, he still couldn’t resist the gravity and fly outside.
Garlan continued, “The Amethyst Mountains have existed for so long. Many of the people who entered this dangerous area early on have already reached extremely high levels of power, most likely comparable to Five Star Fiends, Six Star Fiends, or even more. There once was an exceedingly powerful Highgod who was actually able to resist the gravity and fly towards the outside.
Linley frowned.
“He was able to resist the gravity, but when he reached the area filled with those strange winds, he was affected and his head went dizzy. Although he was able to maintain his clarity, he stayed in mid-air for decades without being able to find a way out!” Garlan said.
Bebe said in astonishment, “Decades? In that area which made the mind go dizzy?”
“Right. However, that area is very bizarre. It isn’t just a simple confusion; even the soul is affected, and so there’s no way to fly out.” Garlan shook her head as she spoke.
Linley couldn’t help but feel his heart clench.
Even an expert who could resist the gravity couldn’t fly out. What could Linley do?
That Jarrod asked, puzzled, “Afterwards, it was quite strange. That expert abandoned leaving the Amethyst Mountains, but not long after that, he completely disappeared for no reason.”
“Disappeared for no reason?” Linley’s group of four was shocked.
Garlan nodded. “Right. Not just him. Afterwards, everyone who reached an exceedingly high level would suddenly disappear. Nobody knows if they died or fled, or if something else happened.” Garlan and Jarrod were very mystified as well.
Linley frowned. These experts who were at the Six Star Fiend or Seven Star Fiend level of power wanted to leave but had failed. There’s no way they could have left under their own power.
“Whether they died, left, or were controlled, there has to be some sort of mechanism here behind the scenes controlling everything.” Linley said to himself.
Linley stared at the Amethyst Mountains.
Linley kept on having this feeling that the Amethyst Mountains, in and of themselves, were very strange. ‘Soul essence’ was one of the most important components of a soul, but the Amethyst Mountains actually produced amethysts. This was inconceivable.
In addition, there was that white fog which perpetually covered the area, that strange wind sound, that astonishing gravity...
And also, that cave which occasionally suctioned in and occasionally blasted out!
All of these things made him uneasy.
“Garlan, Jarrod.” Bebe suddenly pointed towards the distant crevice. “Do you see that place which constantly blasts out amethysts? What’s going on with the cave in that crevice? Occasionally it blasts things out, and occasionally it stops, and then occasionally it starts swallowing things in. What is that about?”
“Don’t go to that place.” Garlan said hurriedly. “Those places are what we call ‘Demonic Amethyst Lairs’. In total, the entire Amethyst Mountains have 108 of these Demonic Amethyst Lairs.
“108 total?” Bebe stared. “This strange place actually has so many?”
Garlan said hurriedly, “Right. These Demonic Amethyst Lairs is the source for blasting out amethysts. They’ll normally blast out amethysts as well, only in fairly small numbers, unlike today where they blasted them out in extravagant numbers. Also, when the Demonic Amethyst Lairs stop blasting out, don’t be greedy and try to enter the crevice to snatch amethysts.”
“I know.” Bebe snorted. “I personally watched those four be swallowed into the cave. That poor Jenkin...” Bebe’s eyes were filled with a hint of sadness.
“Someone was swallowed in?” The nearby Jarrod let out a surprised sigh, then immediately said, “Those who were swallowed in were definitely newcomers who didn’t know these things. Of the three ‘blasting’, ‘resting’, and ‘swallowing’ stages of the Demonic Amethyst Lairs, the ‘blasting’ stage is the longest, the ‘resting’ stage is the shortest, while the ‘swallowing’ stage is in the middle. Not only is the ‘resting’ stage short, the length of each rest is different. There’s no pattern or regularity at all, and no one who knows how dangerous it is would dare to jump in.
Linley’s group of four nodded slightly.
They themselves had witnessed this. The ‘blasting’ stage was quite long, while the ‘resting’ stage was mere seconds.
“To harvest amethysts isn’t too hard. During the ‘resting’ stage, all you need to do is use an ‘Elemental Doppelganger’ or an ‘Elemental Hand’ in order to snatch some up.” Garlan laughed calmly.
Linley immediately understood.
Right. For example, the ‘Essence of the Earth’ could form a long hand to snatch some up. Even if the ‘swallowing’ stage suddenly began, there wouldn’t be much of a loss.
“Jenkin and those three...ugh.” Linley sighed in his heart. “But at that time, they didn’t know anything about these Demonic Amethyst Lairs. When they saw the blasting halt, they were overjoyed and went to collect amethysts.”
“Haha...actually, what’s the point of collecting amethysts?” Jarrod chuckled, shaking his head. “No matter how many amethysts you have, they are nothing but a waste of time, here in the Amethyst Mountains. None of us will go and do so...it isn’t as though we can exchange them for azurites and inkstones.”
Linley’s group was stunned.
“Right. If you can’t get out, what’s the point of having all those amethysts here in the Amethyst Mountains?” Olivier shook his head as well.
For experts like Linley and Olivier who weren’t content with normal lives and who liked to challenge powerful foes, having them forever stay in one place and never leave was an absolute torture.
“Whooooosh.” The faint sound of a blowing wind could be heard.
Linley’s group of four, along with Jarrod and Garlan were resting at a spot halfway up that very same mountain peak.
None of them knew where amethyst beasts might be located, so they figured they might as well stay and rest where they were.
Just as Linley’s group was chatting regarding the Amethyst Mountains, suddenly....
“Roaaaaar!” “Roaaaaar!”
“Aaaaah! Kill!”
A large number of bestial roars and battle sounds rang out, constantly echoing within the mountain forests. Upon hearing the roaring sounds, the faces of Linley’s group of six changed.
“Very many amethyst beasts!” Linley looked towards the origin of the sounds. Just from the sounds alone, Linley was certain that there were an extremely high number of amethyst beasts.
“There’s at least a few dozen of those amethyst beasts.” Jarrod said hurriedly. “We need to leave immediately.”
Linley instantly chose a direction. “We’ll go that way.” None of them wanted to encounter those amethyst beasts, and they immediately followed Linley at high speed. If two or three amethyst beasts came, Linley’s group could just barely fight them off when working together.
But if several dozen came...
They would definitely be finished. Even Linley and Bebe, when faced with the group attacks of those amethyst beasts, would be in peril.
“Hurry up.” Linley urged them, as the faint sound of furious roars could be heard from the white fog behind them.
“You are so slow.” Bebe immediately grabbed Olivier by the hand, and Olivier, borrowing Bebe’s strength, caught up.
“They really are fast!” Jarrod and Garlan were greatly shocked. The speed of Linley’s group wasn’t the slightest bit slower than the two of them, a pair of Highgods. Linley and Bebe in particular...when their powerful bodies exploded forth to maximum speed, they were actually slightly faster.
They ran the entire time. A long time later, the furious roars could no longer be heard behind them.
“Whew. We’re finally safe.” Bebe waved his hand, putting on his straw hat, crouching onto a nearby boulder. “Hey, let’s rest here. The amethyst beasts went in a different direction from us. They won’t be able to catch us.”
Linley and Delia sat down on one side as well, next to each other. Olivier casually found a place to stand.
Jarrod and Garlan had smiles appear on their faces. Garlan laughed, “Everyone, don’t be impatient. The Fog Wave will only last one day. That’s today. These amethyst beasts will just wildly run around. After today, the amethyst beasts will go back, and we will be able to live for countless years in peace.”
“If every day was like today, life would be utterly miserable.” Bebe muttered.
“Bebe. Even you’re afraid.” Linley pursed his lips, grinning.
“Anybody would feel a headache when faced with these unkillable freaks.” Bebe said helplessly.
Just as everyone was chatting casually...
“Hey, everyone, look. What’s going on over there?” Bebe pointed into the distance.
Linley’s group stared into the distance, and saw that in the distance, the boundless white fog was actually moving towards one direction at high speed. The white fog disappeared, increasing Linley’s line of sight and visibility distance. In the blink of an eye, all of the white fog within several meters of here completely disappeared.
Linley, Bebe, and the rest of the six stared, slack-jawed.
The six of them, halfway up that mountain peak, could clearly see to a distance of three or four kilometers. There were actually countless clusters of amethyst beasts now filling their gaze. The ones they could see numbered over a thousand, while others were deeper into the white fog.
“This...this...” Linley’s group was scared silly.
Two amethyst beasts were already so hard to deal with. A thousand amethyst beasts?
“There’s people! Oh, they’ve been surrounded.” Jarrod and Garlan’s faces changed. Linley looked carefully as well. Indeed...
Within an encirclement of amethyst beasts, there were hundreds of people.
Within the group of amethyst beasts, there was a larger one that was seven meters tall and twenty meters long; an amethyst behemoth. But what was most eye-catching wasn’t the enormous amethyst beast, it was that there was another amethyst beast that was standing on the amethyst behemoth’s head.
This juvenile amethyst beast was just one meter long. Compared to the amethyst beasts, it was nothing more than a speck.
When Godeater Rats battled, they might increase in size a bit, at which point they would be about on par with this juvenile amethyst beast. Logically speaking, this sort of juvenile beast should be hidden away and protected in a lair.
However, upon seeing the juvenile amethyst beast, Linley’s group shuddered, and not from the cold.
Because at this moment in time, the juvenile amethyst beast’s mouth was wide open. Boundless amounts of white fog were being swallowed into the mouth of this juvenile amethyst beast. Moments later, within an circumference of ten kilometers, there was no white fog left at all. The strange thing was...the white fog in the other area didn’t come fill the gap.
The juvenile amethyst beast rubbed its little stomach, and then its clear voice shook the world. “Haha, humans, the surrounding white fog is under my control. If you want to enter the white fog and flee, that will no longer be possible. All of you, prepare to become food.” The voice was as clear as that of a child’s, but the words were so fluid.
Linley’s group was shocked.
This was because the amethyst beasts they had encountered, when speaking, only stuttered. Their intelligence was low as well. But this juvenile amethyst beast was different.
“Haha, kiddos, kill them for me!” The juvenile amethyst beast shouted delightedly.
Immediately, the countless amethyst beasts all began to roar while charging towards those hundreds of surrounded people. Those hundreds of people all wildly executed their most powerful attacks. Linley could immediately tell that these hundreds of people were, amazingly, all experts. Those attacks they launched and the profound mysteries contained within caused even Linley to be astonished.
For a moment, the entire world was filled with thunderclaps, angry roars, and constant sounds of battle!
“Monster, die!” One man, a short silver-haired person who wielded a longspear, transformed into a ray of white light, glowing like the sun itself as he pierced through the air, striking straight towards the adorable juvenile amethyst beast.
The juvenile amethyst beast grinned wickedly. Casually waving a hand, a ray of violet light shot out, striking into the silver-haired man’s body. The silver-haired man fell down from mid-air, immediately dying!
“Oh, you were looking for death?” The juvenile amethyst beast said disdainfully.
Linley’s group was shocked.
“A soul attack!” Bebe said, stunned. “And it contains strange profound mysteries within.”
“This amethyst beast is capable of using the Laws in its attacks?” Linley’s face changed.
The juvenile amethyst beast definitely was no ordinary creature. It was completely different from those other ordinary amethyst beasts.
“Those humans should all be Highgods. Like me, they’ve been here a very long time.” Garlan said, stunned. “The one who was killed just now by that small monster was a very powerful Highgod. And he was killed in one stance. That small monster’s power...” Garlan found himself at a loss for words.
What sort of power was this?
The power of an Asura?
“Let’s hurry up and leave.” Linley said hurriedly.
“Too monstrous. Let’s go.” Bebe agreed.
Immediately, Linley’s group turned and left.
In the distant battlefield, that little juvenile beast who stood atop the head of the amethyst behemoth waved his hand, and a ray of violet light shot through the body of another powerful Highgod, killing him right away. And then, he suddenly turned his head to look towards Linley’s direction, muttering, “Oh? I was preparing to deal with you later. I didn’t expect that after watching for just a short period of time, you’d be so scared that you’d run.”
And then, the juvenile amethyst beast called out loudly, “Kiddos, pursue!” The clear voice shook the heavens.
Instantly, countless amethyst beasts immediately began to roar, and countless amethyst beasts began to gallop at high speed in the direction in which the little juvenile beast was pointing its claw at. On the ground, the only thing left was a few corpses. Those hundreds of Highgods were all dead!