Chapter 1230: Section 1231: Return to Ice Valley
An apprentice from Gravity Forest suddenly knelt on the ground, tears of blood streaming down long after the moment passed.
The other apprentices were baffled. Angel had just shared a brief moment of silence with this apprentice from Gravity Forest, and they still didn’t know what had happened. Why did he suddenly kneel and shed blood tears?
“You all can leave now. As for him, let him cry it out slowly,” Angel’s voice reached everyone’s ears.
Although they were still curious about what had happened during the silent moment earlier, since Angel, the “super strong being,” told them to leave, they didn’t dare say much more and exchanged glances before quickly scattering away.
Angel glanced at the apprentice with blood tears streaming and turned to leave.
Not long after Angel left, the breathing of the apprentice from Gravity Forest gradually faded, and with the rise of the wind and dust, he eternally slept in the mournful land.
After parting from Greerwu, who was unwilling to let go, Angel and Popota headed in the direction of Ice Valley to the north.
Traveling by gondola would be too conspicuous. With countless demons in the Abyss, even though Angel’s strength had greatly increased, he didn’t want to get involved in unnecessary fights. Besides, Ice Valley wasn’t far from there, so they decided not to use a vehicle.
Along the way, Angel maintained a steady pace but was recalling the events that had happened earlier.
Regarding Zefara’s information, it was indeed a sporadic event, and as expected, the informant was indeed the apprentice from Gravity Forest beforehand.
According to his statement, the wizards in Gravity Forest had a consensus on dealing with the proposition presented by Sanders—after all, they shared an unresolved hatred. However, whether to spread this hatred to the entire lineage of Illusion Demon Island was a matter of debate.
Now, opinions were roughly divided into two factions. The moderates thought it was unnecessary and unwise to spread the confrontation to others, which could provoke a full-blown retaliation from Barbarian Cave. Meanwhile, the radicals believed that the lineage of Illusion Demon Island was integral to Sanders, and wiping them out was essential to eliminate future troubles.
With arguments on both sides, no one could come to a unified decision in the end.
Zefara was one of the more radical individuals, and he happened to be nearby; the apprentice recognized Angel’s identity and passed the message to Zefara, hoping to receive commendation for his actions.
This was essentially the whole process, and it closely matched Angel’s initial guesses.
Therefore, Angel wasn’t particularly concerned with the information about Zefara. What intrigued him more was another matter.
The technique he used to make the apprentice from Gravity Forest speak was, in fact, the Heart Illusion Technique.
By applying psychological pressure, he created a psychological illusionary space. All of Angel’s questions were asked within the other’s mind, so to onlookers, it appeared as if they were performing a mute drama, suddenly falling silent.
Angel had used this Heart Illusion Technique before, but since he had a limited understanding of Heart Illusion, it could only be effective when there was a significant gap in strength between him and his opponent.
The apprentice from Gravity Forest had reached the peak of a Second-Level Apprentice, and compared to Angel’s current status—excluding physical strength—there wasn’t a large gap. Angel had never thought he could control his opponent with Heart Illusion; he merely wanted to exploit an opening in his heart, using the Art of Nightmare Illusion and Fear to force him to speak his truth.
Unexpectedly, just the use of the Heart Illusion Technique alone had made him speak; the Art of Fear became a means for execution.
The specific reason was that the channel through which Angel had released the Heart Illusion Technique this time was not his usual right hand, but he had shifted it to his right eye.
The Heart Illusion Technique released through the right eye showed a significant increase in effect!
Was this an enhancement effect associated with the right eye?
Angel experimented and found that other Art of Nightmare Illusion techniques, when released through the right eye, did not have such an amplification effect, but the Heart Illusion Technique generally had a slight enhancement, including the Art of Fear.
Angel recalled what Sanders had once described about the characteristics of Heart Illusion. Heart Illusion affects emotions and desires, and mastery of psychology is a prerequisite for its study. Because of the complexity of human nature, the threshold for learning Heart Illusion is high.
“Affecting thoughts, emotions, and desires?” Angel muttered softly as if he had suddenly realized something.
Often, the eyes are the outlet for emotion, and many times, the look alone can convey feelings and desires. Using the eyes as the channel for casting Heart Illusion Technique, logically, it seems to indeed have the effect of stirring emotions. But usually, such an effect is minimal. It just so happened that his right eye underwent a significant change, creating a contrast which made the effect apparent, right?
Lacking other explanations, Angel could only tentatively accept this theory for now and planned to use this casting channel as a subject for validation in future research when he had some free time.
…
“Angel, what did they say about that little girl?” Popota suddenly asked.
Angel didn’t hide anything and relayed all the information he had received.
After listening, Popota spoke with a puzzled tone, “The contrast in Isu’s behavior is too great. When that group of apprentices previously pressured her to give up the stolen item, Isu kept clarifying that she hadn’t stolen anything. Moreover, given the strength she had previously shown, it’s absolutely impossible that she would be forced to flee by a group of apprentices. There’s been a huge contrast both in her abilities and her personality…”
“Why did she suddenly attack you, if she had kept quiet for half a month?”
Angel could confirm that he had never met Isu, so what did it mean that Isu suddenly attacked him? Could it be that Isu was in cahoots with Zefara and attacked in retaliation after seeing Zefara get into trouble?
But then Isu munched and swallowed Zefara, which didn’t seem like an act of an ally.
This riddle could probably only be answered by Yisu himself.
However, Angel did not wish to encounter Yisu again. Having already faced several twists and turns in the Abyss this time, he did not want to stir up unnecessary trouble.
From the Moliya Plains to Ice Valley, they did not encounter any enemies on their way.
Instead, it was in the forest outside Ice Valley where they met a patrolling team of Half-Blood Demons. However, these Half-Blood Demons quickly fled in panic upon seeing the Flame Mark on Angel’s earlobe.
The mark of Odeclass, he could not speak for other places, but at least near Ice Valley, its deterrence was quite sufficient.
Having arrived smoothly at the mouth of Ice Valley, endless wind and snow drifted below, and the strong winds blew incessantly, making it impossible to see the situation clearly.
Angel activated the Flame Mark, and a circle of firelight surrounded him and Popota.
“Let’s go, jump down.”
Angel, with Popota in tow, leapt into the wind and snow-filled Ice Valley.
The icy wind howled, obscuring any view of the path ahead.
Angel could only follow the direction from his memory, exploring bit by bit. During the process, he also warned Popota to never leave the range of the firelight.
The wind and snow in Ice Valley were not ordinary; they were composed of special energy. Everyone who came into contact with this wind and snow would be cursed.
Besides the wind and snow being taboo, there were many other dangers here. Even with the protection of the Flame Mark, Angel was apprehensive throughout the journey.
After rounding countless bends, Angel finally saw what seemed to be the outline of a palace on the distant cliff.
Just as he was about to fly with Popota toward that palace, Popota suddenly began to tremble violently, his legs shaking as he pulled at Angel to point behind them.
Angel turned to look back.
Unbeknownst to them, a giant dragon, exuding terrifying red flames, had appeared behind them without any warning, emitting no aura, not even the heat from its flames.
In comparison to Angel and Popota, the dragon was several dozens of times larger.
Misty vapors entwined around its fierce head, and its cold vertical pupils quietly observed Angel.
The moment Angel saw the giant dragon, he immediately realized who it was and bowed respectfully, saying, “Esteemed Lord Odeclass, I have understood the method to craft the Fire Transmission Stone and have also obtained the necessary materials. I will promptly create the Fire Transmission Stone you require.”
Odeclass’s cold gaze watched Angel quietly for a long time before finally saying, “You have changed a lot.”
Odeclass typically was succinct and to the point, never speaking about things he did not wish to discuss. His mention of such an off-topic matter now showed that he was extremely surprised inside.
Angel, who hadn’t expected Odeclass to suddenly make such a remark, was pondering how to respond, but Odeclass had never intended for Angel to reply and took flight with a flap of his fierce wings, heading towards the ice crystal palace on the cliff.
Angel, taken aback, quickly followed with Popota.
After a while, they entered the palace. The interior was the same as before and had not changed, remaining deserted and silent.
By this time, Odeclass had transformed from his dragon form into a human shape.
He stood with his back to Angel, silent in front of the painting at the very forefront of the palace.
Angel gazed at the painting, and Feng inevitably came to mind again, though the painting was not Feng’s own work, but created under his guidance.
Feng’s role in this chess game was too distinct.
If Angel were to return to the Southern Domain, he would likely be involved with Feng again, as there was still the Tidal World waiting for him to explore.
It took a good while before Odeclass turned around to look over.
The human form of Odeclass still exuded an indescribable majesty and oppressiveness, his hair like red silk with flames seemingly dancing upon it. His robe was black but edged with bright red patterns which lacked any regularity, resembling the magma flowing beneath the earth’s surface.
Angel, due to his previous experiences, remained composed. But for Popota, this was his first time, and his legs were still trembling.
In a low voice, Angel said, “This is my… apprentice.”
Angel had intended to say ‘friend’ but considered that this status would likely not be acknowledged by Odeclass, so he simply referred to Popota as his alchemy apprentice.