Book 18, Highgod – Chapter 27, Sovereign’s Emissary
Because they had killed the Spirit Snake, the Abyssal Fruit Tree felt enmity towards them?
Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but look at each other, not knowing what to say.
“Haha.” Bailey laughed as he spoke. “But of course, that’s just my deduction! Otherwise, I have no other explanation for why the Abyssal Fruit Tree would act in such a manner towards you two, while differently towards me. But no matter what...this matter is at an end, and I need to thank both of you for me being able to acquire the Abyssal Fruit.”
Linley laughed calmly.
Linley still felt a hint of goodwill towards Bailey. No matter what, Bailey had at least informed him of the appearance of the Abyssal Fruit. If Bailey didn’t want for Linley to know...he didn’t have to tell Linley at all. In addition, Bailey had toiled for countless millions of years for the sake of this Abyssal Fruit.
Such perseverance made him worthy of acquiring this most precious of treasures, the Abyssal Fruit.
“Wasn’t it said that after acquiring the Abyssal Fruit, one would be received by the Sovereign and become a Sovereign’s Emissary?” Bebe muttered. “So where’s the Sovereign?”
Linley’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly swept the surrounding area with his gaze.
If the Sovereign appeared, his goal would be accomplished.
“Whoooosh.”
Because of the departure of the Abyssal Fruit Tree, the gray fog once more filled this region. Suddenly, not too far away, a humanoid figure suddenly appeared, causing Linley and Bebe’s eyes to light up. “”Could it be that the Sovereign has come??” Linley and Bebe were both very eager.
In but an instant, that figure appeared before them.
The person was very skinny but very tall, and he had a head of unbound, long silver hair. His eyes swept past Linley’s group like the eyes of a hawk, finally halting on Bailey’s body. Laughing calmly, he said, “Bailey, congratulations on acquiring the Abyssal Fruit! Come with me now to the Sovereign’s palace and await the Sovereign’s summons.”
“It’s you!” A look of astonishment appeared on Bailey’s face. “Arthurs [A’se’si]!”
“Right.”
The silver-haired man laughed calmly. “It’s been so many years, but you still remember me. You’ve remained at the Abyssal Mountain all these years. I know all these things. I, too, was surprised...that you actually managed to endure all these years of loneliness and the countless years of waiting. I have to say, I admire you!”
Bailey began to laugh loudly. “That year, when we entered the Abyssal Mountain together, I swore an oath as we entered! That I, Bailey, would either die in the Abyssal Mountain or emerge as the Sovereign’s Emissary!”
Linley and Bebe now completely understood.
So this person wasn’t a Sovereign; rather, it was the person who had acquired the Abyssal Fruit on Bailey’s first trip to the Abyssal Mountain.
“So this person is a Sovereign’s Emissary!” Linley had a thought. “Since he lives at the Abyssal Mountain, his relationship to the Sovereign should be fairly close. Perhaps through him...”
The goal of Linley’s trip to Abyssal Mountain was to meet the Sovereign.
“Big Brother, congratulations.” The violet-haired youth, Bloan said with whole-hearted sincerity.
Bailey beamed towards his little brother as well.
“Bailey, let’s go. Come with me to the Sovereign’s palace.” Arthurs urged.
“Arthurs.” Bailey said. “How about this. Let me send my little brother out of the gray fog region, and then I’ll accompany you.”
“No rush.” Arthurs laughed calmly. “Come with me, and bring your little brother as well. He can first wait at the border region between the gray fog region and the violet fog region. He’ll just wait there a day or so. After you see the Sovereign and have the arrangements made for you, you can send your little brother away at that point. Your little brother is in no particular rush, right?”
“Big Brother, it’s just a day.” Bloan said very excitedly. “The next time we meet, you’ll be a Sovereign’s Emissary.”
“Actually, the power your big brother now wields after having eaten the Abyssal Fruit is already comparable to that of ordinary Sovereign’s Emissaries.” Arthurs said calmly. “However, the reason why your big brother is so powerful is because of the Abyssal Fruit. After having acquired the Abyssal Fruit, he has already, naturally become the Emissary of the Netherworld Sovereign.”
Bailey laughed and nodded. “Then Arthurs, let’s go.”
“Wait a moment.” Only now did Linley speak.
“Eh?” Arthurs and Bailey both looked over, and Bailey hurriedly introduced, “Arthurs, this is Linley, who came alongside me. The two of them are reputedly from the Infernal Realm, and also exceedingly powerful.”
“The two of them, even without Abyssal Fruit, are already quite powerful.” Arthurs had a calm look on his face, and he said unhurriedly, “I know exactly what happened in that grand battle. Linley, you are an expert of the Four Divine Beasts clan, and yet you came to the Netherworld for this Abyssal Fruit? I rather don’t believe it. What other business do you have?” Linley’s Dragonformed appearance already caused quite a few experts to easily guess his status.
Linley’s heart clenched.
This Arthurs seemed to have a rather poor attitude towards him.
“Mr. Arthurs.” Linley said hurriedly. “It is indeed true that the purpose of my visit to the Abyssal Mountain was not for the sake of the Abyssal Fruit. I have an important matter which I wish to ask the Netherworld Sovereign regarding. I would like to ask for your help...to lead me forward to see the Sovereign! I have something extremely, extremely important to discuss!”
Linley’s attitude, appearance, and manner of speech all gave voice to his sincerity.
“Arthurs.” Bailey looked towards Arthurs. Clearly, he too wished for Arthurs to help.
Arthurs just let out a calm laugh, then said casually, “You’ve come an unimaginable distance from the Infernal Realm to the Netherworld, and charged into the Abyssal Mountain without any care for your own life. To do this...of course I know that you must have an important matter to discuss with the Sovereign. However, over the countless planes, there are also many people who wish to see the Sovereign! Can it be that just because you wish to see the Sovereign, that I must lead you? What sort of status does the Sovereign have? Why would the Sovereign be willing to see all of you? In addition, I’m not qualified to lead you there!”
Linley couldn’t help but say frantically, “Ar...”
“Enough.”
Arthurs said calmly, “I’m simply a Sovereign’s Emissary. Don’t make things hard for me. If you truly have made up your mind to meet the Sovereign, then continue adventuring forward. After exiting the gray fog region, enter the violet fog region! After you reach the violet fog region, you’ll be able to reach the Sovereign’s palace. By then, whether or not you will see the Sovereign is a decision for the Sovereign to make.”
Linley understood now as well. Arthurs was just a Sovereign’s Emissary; in other words, a servant. How could he be qualified to lead Linley over?
When he understood this, he no longer tried to persuade Arthurs.
Arthurs glanced at Linley, then shook his head and said, “Linley, I’ll offer you one more word of advice. Just give it up and leave the mountain! The path up ahead isn’t so easily walked. Bailey, let’s go.” As he spoke, Arthurs, Bailey, and Bloan all flew away at high speed.
Linley and Bebe didn’t follow. They just stayed there.
“Boss?” Bebe looked at him.
“Continue forward.” Linley said calmly. “Arthurs advised me to go down the mountain, yes, but I knew long ago...that the violet fog region is definitely dangerous. But no matter how dangerous it is...I will still go through it!” Whether for the sake of his father or for the sake of his dead friends, he had to go deeper into the Abyssal Mountain.
Bebe nodded slightly. “Wherever the Boss goes, I go.”
Linley glanced at Bebe. He couldn’t help but laugh, but in his heart, he felt a hint of apology. For now, no one could say exactly how dangerous the violet fog region was. Bebe, however, ignored it all and continued to loyally follow Linley deeper in. Still, over the course of thousands of years, there was no need for Linley and Bebe to say words of thanks to each other, as though they were outsiders.
“Let’s go.” That’s all Linley said.
“Right.” Bebe followed as well.
The two fearlessly advanced into the gray fog region. In the gray fog region, since they were no longer affected by the gray fog, it was just a matter of luck for exiting it. Linley and Bebe spent nearly half an hour searching, encountering and battling quite a few maddened Highgods on the way. Linley and Bebe didn’t dare to engage in battle for too long, fleeing each time. After half an hour, they finally exited the gray fog region.
While they had been at the base of the mountain, they had seen that the white fog region and the gray fog region took up more than ninety percent of the entire Abyssal Mountain. When Linley and Bebe arrived at the empty space where the gray fog region and the violet fog region intersected, they discovered that, upon taking a closer look, the violet fog region was also fairly large.
“The two of you made it out?” A voice rang out.
Linley and Bebe, who had just made it out of the gray fog region, turned to look. They saw the violet-haired youth, Bloan, laugh while walking towards them. “The two of you came faster than I expected.”
“We can’t compete with you. You had a Sovereign’s Emissary guiding you.” Bebe pursed his lips.
Bloan laughed calmly.
In the past, Bloan had always been frost-faced, but now he often laughed and smiled. There was nothing for it...his only family member, his big brother, was still alive. To Bloan...this surprise was an even greater and better one than acquiring an Abyssal Fruit!”
“Linley.” Bloan looked at Linley. “My big brother and the Sovereign’s Emissary, when leaving, asked me to once more warn you that this violet fog region is very dangerous, far more so than the gray fog region. Although the two of you are very powerful, you killed the Spirit Snake...once you go in, you will have virtually no chance of making it out again.”
Linley frowned.
“Killed the Spirit Snake?” Linley said.
“What does killing the Spirit Snake have to do with the violet fog region?” Bebe asked.
Bloan said, “That Arthurs told me that the Abyssal Fruit Tree normally remains within the violet fog region. Only once in countless years will it enter the gray fog region! Those Highgods have a chance in the gray fog region to acquire the Abyssal Fruit, but there’s no way they will make it in the violet fog region. Now that you’ve killed the Spirit Snake, it’s best if you don’t go to the violet fog region.”
Linley and Bebe exchanged glances.
They couldn’t help but feel the situation was bad!
So over the course of countless years, the Abyssal Fruit Tree always resided within the violet fog region.
“Thank you for your warning. However, we will still go make the attempt.” Linley said.
“Of course we’ll go. Why should we fear the Abyssal Tree?” Bebe said disdainfully. Although he said this, however, in his heart, Bebe wasn’t confident either. This was because earlier, when he used his innate divine ability against the Abyssal Fruit Tree, he hadn’t been able to find its divine spark.”
Bloan, seeing they wouldn’t be dissuaded, had no choice but to say nothing further.
Linley and Bebe flew directly into the violet fog region. Bloan watched them fly in, then let out a sigh. “I hope the two of you will make it out alive.” On this trip to the Abyssal Mountain, Linley helped him and also let him see his big brother. Bloan felt quite a bit of goodwill towards Linley and Bebe.
The violet fog region!
“Hey, it feels really nice.” Bebe looked suspiciously around, while Linley also vigilantly kept watch. The surrounding area was filled with endless violet fog, and indeed, it was very different from the white fog and the gray fog. Within the violet fog region, not only were there no negative effects to the violet fog, the two felt refreshed and relaxed.
It was much like...
That refreshing feeling they had when they smelled the Abyssal Fruit.
“This violet fog region is so quiet!” Bebe sent mentally. “Boss, it seems as though the violet fog region doesn’t have much danger.”
“Don’t be careless. Advance with caution.” Linley said with a frown as he advanced.
Tri-colored regions. From the white fog region to the gray fog region, then to the violet fog region! Linley didn’t believe that the violet fog region would really be as calm and peaceful as it seemed on the surface. That Arthurs had also repeatedly warned him as well; clearly, this violet fog region was extremely dangerous!
Large amounts of dwarf trees and bushes were growing on the ground.
There were no other lifeforms present.
Linley and Bebe didn’t dare to relax at all, but after advancing for quite some time, they still didn’t sense anything.
“Can it be that we are going to just be allowed to advance like this?” Bebe murmured.
Linley’s pupils suddenly contracted as he stared to the front.
“What’s that!” Bebe called out in shock.
From afar, a large number of branches and leaves could be seen at an astonishing density. The violet fog region had much greater visibility than the other regions, allowing nearly a thousand meters of vision, but despite that, all they could see up ahead was those dense clusters of leaves.
“Let’s take a closer look.” Linley said in a low voice.
Linley and Bebe advanced forward. Once they drew closer to the trunks of these trees, Linley discovered to his astonishment that...“This...this branch is actually the branch of an Abyssal Fruit Tree!” Linley could recognize it at a glance. The Abyssal Fruit Tree was not like ordinary trees; the branches were very unusual.
An enormous, sturdy branch of multiple meters was present, and not just one; many branches of similar thickness were present!
The many branches all intersected, giving birth to countless smaller branches.
“This is the crown of a tree! An astonishingly large tree crown!”
Linley couldn’t help but feel stunned.
Originally, when they had been in the gray fog region, they had seen that the Abyssal Fruit Tree stretched out to hundreds of meters, with the main trunk being just two or three meters. But this same exact type of tree present here...the branches alone were multiple meters thick. What they saw was nothing more than the crowns of the tree. They hadn’t even seen the main trunk yet. How enormous must this tree be?!
“There’s more than just one Abyssal Fruit Tree?” Linley couldn’t help but feel breathless.