Chapter 547: Eternal Unchanging Mist

Shortly after Lei Keton left, a bolt of lightning streaked across the dark sky, its silvery light illuminating the ground, and a figure clad in a black classical robe and a matching pointed soft hat appeared on the massive stone.

A single crystal lens was set over his right eye; his hands were clasped across his chest as he amusingly surveyed the surroundings, and in a voice devoid of emotion he sighed, "What a pity, arriving a step too late—what a loud commotion just now. No wonder they came here to ascend; had it been outside, the steam would have burst from the Perfect Land and a round of Divine War would have begun in the mortal world."

"Yet with such a ruckus, the 'Hanged Man' hidden on the mountain only glanced once and paid no further heed—such an attitude is rather thought‑provoking!"

"Perhaps my true self should also go out for a walk; the 'Time Worm' stored in Paries can be retrieved at an opportune moment."

As his words fell, he lifted the single lens on his right eye with his right hand, the figure vanished from the stone, and the next instant reappeared on a small hill several thousand meters away.

After a one‑second pause, his figure vanished again.

Hundreds of li from the place of ascension, Lei Keton, carrying a dark‑copper lantern, flickered forward; he did not know that A Meng had appeared there shortly after he left—had he known, he would have moved faster.

The flickering figure shifted forward a few times, then suddenly stopped, standing quietly before a rotting tree stump, gazing calmly ahead.

About five hundred meters ahead lay a crudely arranged altar, upon which were scattered numerous spiritual materials harvested from monsters.

Directly before the altar knelt an elder dressed in dark brown beast‑skin; his hair was completely white, hanging messily, and he muttered something low, his posture exceedingly devout.

Behind this elder, sparse rows of dozens of figures knelt, each holding a beast‑skin lantern; they wore simple beast‑skin garments, heads bowed low, their bodies showing varying degrees of mutation.

"People from Moon City?"

"Because of the commotion I caused earlier, they thought it was feedback from this gray mist, so they began the ceremony again?"

After murmuring to himself twice, Lei Keton turned his head toward the gray mist on the other side, a faint violet hue shimmering in his eyes, as if he could glimpse all the world's secrets.

In this state he could clearly discern the very nature of the endless gray‑white fog spreading before him; he even saw fragmented specks of light within the historical mist—some dim, some flashing—seeming that with focused attention he could read the information they contained.

I can also see the pores of history, the records they hold? It must be my own peculiarity; I can grasp any form of existent information, so I can perceive the data within those historical pores—other "sages," even "knowledge emperors," might not achieve this.

He silently sighed in his heart twice, his gaze again drawn to the endless gray‑white mist ahead, which, with the Moon City residents' rites, was gradually changing, gaining a hint of living instinct.

He could still clearly hear the residents of Moon City chanting in a giant‑like tongue the revered name: "Eternal Unchanging Mist, the barrier that solidifies space‑time, the all‑encompassing existence."

As the residents repeated the chant, the quietly flowing gray mist ahead surged again, emitting a low, hissing sound like air rubbing, or a deep, hoarse growl.

The gray mist continuously coalesced and tore, and gradually it ripped out a vague face, as if countless tiny insects writhed and merged, forming a visage between human and beast, straining to extend outward from the wall of mist.

Witnessing all this, Lei Keton whispered, "Interesting, the recent disturbance seems to have revived it a bit."

The dark‑copper lantern in his hand flickered a few times, and his figure repeatedly "flashed"; in a moment he stood before the boundless wall of gray mist.

He lifted the lantern toward the sky; the face emerging from the endless mist stretched downward, the mist rubbing the air and emitting a hissing sound, as if it were breathing.

Lei Keton raised the lantern and met its gaze; deep‑blue‑purple light flowed slowly in his eyes, reflecting a dense, dazzling starry sky.

In this state he could perceive the gray mist's condition and the emotions of that face more clearly and effortlessly.

"You bear malice toward me because you remember the scent just now?"

Lei Keton murmured, the dim light stretching the distance far and long; no matter how the face on the mist elongated downward, it could never truly approach him.

Silently staring at the face on the mist, he extended his idle left hand slightly, forming an ancient dark horn imbued with heavy, powerful resonance.

An angelic‑level "Horn of Destruction," when sounded, emits a low, inescapable hum; the overlapping sound waves can shatter everything within a certain radius.

He brought the "Horn of Destruction" to his lips, cheeks puffed, and blew forcefully.

A deep, heavy hum resonated instantly, invisible sound waves rippled outward in circles, and the surrounding void emitted countless tiny crackling sounds, as if it were fracturing, gradually moving toward ruin.

Amid the destructive‑tinged sound waves, the face formed from countless gray mist particles—half human, half beast—collapsed bit by bit, turning into primordial historical mist that merged into the endless gray‑mist wall behind. Behind Lei Keton, the Moon City residents conducting the rite noticed the disturbance, staring in shock at the suddenly appearing figure and the face sprouting from the mist.

After a brief daze, High Priest Nim, who was presiding over the ceremony, quickly ordered everyone behind him to retreat.

Woo~ Woo~ the heavy, destructive hum transformed into invisible sound waves that expanded outward, far and wide, nearly covering an entire city.

Within this range, whether gray‑white fog, the ground's soil, even the silvery lightning striking from the sky, and the surrounding oppressive darkness all began to crumble and dissipate piece by piece.

After about half a minute, the echoing horn sound finally faded.

Lei Keton stood calmly in midair; the ground he had stood on vanished, leaving a huge crater, while ahead the gray‑white fog churned, the void‑created gap sealed, and the remaining dim space was swiftly shrouded again by darkness.

"So it really doesn't work," Lei Keton said, swinging his right hand that held the lantern a few times, murmuring.

The next moment, he raised his left hand high as if touching the sky above, and warm, clear radiance swiftly appeared around him, gathering in his hand to form a spear of pure, blinding white light seemingly composed of pure sunlight.

Under the lantern's dim glow, the spear in his hand became exceptionally white‑hot, as if coated with brilliant gold.

The spear, upon taking shape, slipped from his grasp and plunged straight into the depths of the mist.

The slowly surging mist suddenly roiled violently, and within its depths a miniature sun of extreme white flame rose, bright enough to illuminate the whole city, emitting scorching white light that seemed capable of purifying all.

The gray mist continued to surge outward for a while, then began reconverging inward, gradually engulfing the miniature sun and obscuring all its light.

"These mist‑formed seals also inherit some traits of the three paths; brute force cannot break through."

He whispered to himself, slipped his left hand into his pocket, and turned to walk toward the direction of the Moon City crowd.

As he stepped, his figure flickered a few times, easily leaving the area devastated by the "Horn of Destruction."

Less than a kilometer from the site destroyed by the horn, the Moon City people, bearing varying degrees of mutation, stared ahead with tension and curiosity.

Only after the incessant surging mist gradually subsided did whispers begin, both curious and worried.

At the front stood the elderly High Priest Nim, beside whom a young man holding a beast‑skin lantern hunched unnaturally, with protrusions of varying size along his neck and cheek as if new limbs were sprouting.

He looked ahead uneasily, seeming worried that the mysterious attacker of the mist might suddenly appear before them and launch an assault.

He remained vigilant yet slightly hopeful, asking the nearby High Priest Nim:

"High Priest, that suddenly appearing figure—was it truly a human? Or a monster from some deep darkness? Was it attacking this gray mist?"

"I don't know either," High Priest Nim sighed softly.

"Are you discussing me?"

A clear, youthful voice speaking a language entirely different from theirs suddenly echoed around the Moon City crowd.

Everyone instantly became alert; Lei Keton felt he could even hear the frantic pounding of their hearts.

Halting his approach, he lifted his lantern, pulling a faintly friendly smile onto his face, and said:

"I mean no harm; I just saw you all watching this side, so I came out of curiosity."

The Moon City crowd seemed even more nervous upon hearing him; they hesitated to get closer, yet dared not step forward.

(End of Chapter)