Chapter 280

Somewhere in Huan Wai Xu Kong, far from the elemental plane.

Enveloped by an extraordinarily rich strange power, a magnificently grand architectural complex rose.

The Temple is not material, or more precisely, not made of elemental substance, yet it still shows a texture like elemental matter.

Viewed from a soul's perspective afar, the rolling strange powers resemble mundane clouds, and the Temple looks like a sky‑city perched above the clouds.

At the core of this 'sky‑city' hangs a huge floating ring, at whose center grows a tree as white and translucent as white jade.

Under the tree is a white‑jade lawn, on which sit four 'people'.

The four look like two men and two women in humanoid form, yet their bodies glow with different colors, and the surrounding void is wrapped in a faint, flickering strange light field.

One of the women has a rune plaza around her body that is noticeably clearer and more condensed than the others'.

From time to time, condensed light‑green orbs surface from the light field, linger a moment, then vanish.

This woman has a thick, long cascade of pure black hair flowing down like a waterfall, largely covering her nude, voluptuous, graceful body, which is even whiter and more delicate than the surrounding white jade.

At this moment she sits cross‑legged beneath the white‑jade tree, one hand combing her hair, the other bracing the ground.

"What a unique elemental life—looks very interesting."

She said so.

The other three reacted differently upon hearing her.

A gaunt man in a deep‑blue mage's robe snorted coldly.

"Lady Adel, unique it may be, but it's also extremely arrogant and ignorant!"

The black‑haired woman is the 17th‑level Great Being, the Goddess of Life Adel.

"De Rui Tan, I know you dislike him, but don't be so harsh—after all, this is a rare amusement that appears only after long ages."

Having said that, she turned her gaze to another woman with emerald hair, wearing a diagonal‑strap robe that exposed her left upper torso.

"Nerri, you said he moved Glenphil's head—did you find where it moved?"

Nerri, Lord of Dreams, a 14th‑level mighty god.

Her face showed a hint of distress: "I'm still looking, but I'm certain it moved—I found that Glenphil's memory vanished out of thin air."

"Oh~ It's been so many days, and you still haven't found it?"

Nerri spread her hands: "Too bad, I haven't found it; his technique for manipulating the life‑brain is superb, even surpassing De Rui Tan's."

De Rui Tan objected again: "We've never competed—how do you know he's superior to me?"

"What right does a short‑lived elemental life have to be superior to me?"

Adel spoke: "De Rui Tan, don't let jealousy blind you. Life forged from elements can also give birth to great beings."

De Rui Tan gave the woman a slight bow: "Perhaps, but this requires accumulation over long ages, and he is too young."

Nerri then turned to the ever‑silent blond youth: "Perry, you're not usually the talkative type—why are you mute today?"

The blond youth sat cross‑legged on the ground, wearing only a crude pair of leather pants that revealed his immensely strong upper body.

He is Perry, the Forest God, a 13th‑level mighty god.

Speaking of which, De Rui Tan, who is below 13th level, is actually the weakest of the four gods.

At this moment, the forest god propped his chin on one hand while playing with a small creature crawling all over the ground, making it spin round and round.

Upon hearing the sound, he lifted a finger and pinched up the small thing: "What's there to discuss? No matter how unique or interesting, it's still just a mortal. In my view, it's merely an insignificant light spirit."

"It appears in the morning and fades by night, so its brief life ends—as if it had never existed."

De Rui Tan burst out laughing: "Perry, you despise him even more than I do!"

Nerri laughed: "Though he's mortal, he already possesses a legendary soul, far tougher than a light spirit."

Perry asked: "Can it withstand the Annihilation Gun?"

Nerri shrugged: "Then you're being too harsh—this thing is a strain even for us to block."

Perry, however, grew impatient: "Lady Adel, did you summon us to your divine court just to discuss a mortal?"

The black‑haired woman shook her head: "Of course not."

She dropped her casual demeanor: "It concerns the birth of a new divine artifact."

"The Gate of Creation on the Lost Plane shows signs of reopening; likely a brand‑new divine artifact will be born then."

"The bad news is that everyone wants the artifact, so competition will be fierce."

"I want you to gather the saints of the mortal realm, form a treasure‑hunting team, and try your luck in the Lost Plane."

"Of course, to cope with any battle that might erupt, the team must be as strong and as large as possible, with each of you providing at least ten saints."

"I also promise you that whoever's saint obtains the artifact will have control over its use."

The remaining three listened intently, their faces showing both excitement and apprehension.

If Luosen were present, seeing this scene, he would be amazed at how rich the expressions of these void gods are, to the point of being hardly distinguishable from those of mortals.

After the Goddess of Life Adel finished speaking, the Lord of Dreams Nerri immediately said: "Oh~ Now we have something to do."

The Forest God Perry asked: "Lady Adel, is it the same set of rules as last time, or a total free‑for‑all?"

Adel shook her head: "The Supreme Ruler Gaudimir has fallen asleep; with no one presiding for now, it's a free‑for‑all."

"Oh~~~ This will be fun—expect many casualties." In his mouth, the word "people" naturally refers not to mortals but to gods and demons.

Adel said: "Anyone else with questions?"

De Rui Tan immediately said: "My lady, I haven't yet fully mastered the plane, so I fear I cannot provide enough saints."

Adel glanced at him, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in her dark eyes.

"De Rui Tan, you can certainly negotiate with me now; when I later need your help, I'll also negotiate with you—all right?"

De Rui Tan's expression hardened: "I was wrong, Lady Adel."

"I will master the plane as soon as possible, but I still have some unfinished business; in half a year, half a year later I will return to De Rui Tan."

Atrason.

Land of the Rising Moon.

Ao Saila stood again at the doorway of this tiny treehouse, a sorrowful expression on their face.

"Duola, the Empress's banquet in Mei Da Xilin has concluded smoothly; Taierze and the others did not act, and they have not returned."

"They most likely encountered trouble; calculate, what is their current situation?"

A few minutes later, Duola's voice came from inside the treehouse.

"They were captured."

"The assassination squad members are currently detained in the Cloud Mountain Prison of Mei Da Xilin, and the three Golden Warriors are now in Weilan, having become captives of the Natural Emperor."

Ao Saila was not surprised; he had roughly guessed this answer, yet upon truly hearing it, a sharp pang of pain struck his heart.

"They are all prodigy warriors of my race; I explicitly told them to abandon the mission if the situation turned unfavorable. Why were they still captured?"

"I don't know, Ao Saila; I can only divine the warriors' vague fate, but cannot see the specific destiny threads."

"Fine, then I will arrange a rescue now."

He could ignore the three lower‑tier Elves legendary warriors from before.

But the three Golden Warriors could not be ignored; they must be rescued at any cost.

"Do not go rescue!"

Duola's voice sounded from inside.

"Fate tells me that Weilan is far more terrifying than Mei Da Xilin; unless there is a total war, sending any number of people there is just a futile death."

Ao Saila fell silent.

They are currently unable to launch a total war, because most of their main forces are on the Storm Continent.

The good news is that the war situation on the Storm Continent is proceeding very smoothly; it is estimated that in another year or two, the so‑called Fusion Empire can be completely crushed.

But during that year or two, they are powerless to look eastward.

He could not help but ask again, "When exactly will the master return?"

The majestic Sacred Elves Empire, the realm of the mighty True God, being bullied by two mortal empires without being able to retaliate, filled him with extreme fury.

The fundamental cause of the current situation is that the master insists on going across the sea to attack the Fusion Empire! Otherwise, deploying the Elves army with the Golden Seed eastward would surely sweep away all mortal realms.

What was originally just a venting question this time received an answer.

"The master said he will return within half a year."

It was a clear answer, causing Ao Saila's eyes to brighten, almost unable to believe: "Really?"

"I don't know; anyway, the master told me this."

"Additionally, the master wants you to stay low‑key lately, focus on accumulating power, and collect as many souls as possible."

"Whether the souls come from the Fusion Empire or other mortal empires, gather as many as possible."

"Finally, the master also gave a list, instructing you to collect various resources according to it; the more, the better."

As they spoke, vines in front of the treehouse swayed and handed a list to Ao Saila's hand.

Ao Saila took it with both hands and said, "I will do my utmost to fulfill the master's command!"

He left happily.

Inside the treehouse, Duola looked somewhat worried.

"De Rui Tan's contact frequency with me is increasing, he may reach out at any moment; I guess he's truly returning."

She now has an incomparably powerful new master and is no longer worried about De Rui Tan's return.

But De Rui Tan's frequent contacts prevent her from leaving the treehouse to serve her powerful new master.

Although the new master does not demand a service frequency from her.

She believes such service must be rendered; at least once a month, to strengthen her bond with the new master.

Now the plan being interrupted makes her mood extremely irritable.

"Ah~ that damned De Rui Tan, truly idle after a full meal; you leave and then come back again? Looking for death?!"

(End of chapter)