Chapter 1212: Shadow of the Earth

The black mud sprayed from the "fountain" splashed over Red Butterfly and the stone man, while the black mud flowing at their feet, imbued with the earth's curse and malice, had already covered the area where the two were fighting. Red Butterfly, above the black mud, seemed to fade, losing her originally bright colors, but the illusion magic could still take effect.

The people outside the black mud could only see countless scarlet points of light dancing within the silver mist, and in the eyes of the gray stone giant, Xia De's figure emerged from within the silver mist. Using the obstruction of the dual illusion magic, he wielded the holy silver 【Moonlight Greatsword】 and slashed at the gray stone giant's arm, after which the greatsword was forcibly shattered by the giant's right arm:

"Blade of Distorted Time!"

Three identical giant swords cleaved down from the void in the next instant. One was still shattered by the stone arm, while the other two struck the stone man's body, but only left shallow wounds on the stone surface.

"This hard?"

The arm, carrying tremendous force, struck toward Xia De's head, but upon hitting, it was still a swarm of red butterflies scattering within the silver mist.

The pitch-black Chains of Sin shot out from the illusionary silver mist like long serpents, coiling and binding the stone man's right arm. But the gray stone giant gave a sudden violent tug, instead pulling Xia De out from the silver mist:

"Although I know you're very strong, isn't this a bit too much. Power of the Red Dragon!"

This time Xia De neither dodged nor avoided. As a faint spiritual light enveloped his entire body, under extreme power he swung out his fist. The gray stone giant likewise threw out its fist, and in the next second, amid a heavy thud, Xia De was sent flying backward, but the gray stone giant was also forced to retreat two steps.

Both men's arms were twisted into unnatural shapes, clearly having suffered heavy weight. And this sharp pain finally caused the "gray stone giant" to sober up a little. He let out another frenzied roar, then strode at full speed into the depths of the silver mist. Within 【Silver Moon's Illusion】, he should have lost his bearings and been unable to escape no matter what, but running blindly on pure instinct in his frenzied state, he actually broke out of the silver mist, charged toward the people entangled in battle at the outer edge of the black mud, and while they dodged in all directions, sprinted into the dark distance of the estate where the lights had already been completely extinguished.

Every step caused the surroundings to tremble; his weight was absolutely more exaggerated than his height.

Taking advantage of the brief lull in fighting, the group that had been battling the Church and Young Lady Lathses also retreated without a sound. By the time the next round of attacks hit them, the people discovered that the living humans had actually turned into stone statues. This scene was quite similar to what Xia De and Young Lady Benanice had encountered outside the city.

"Run!"

Although the opponent had escaped, Xia De didn't mind. He didn't have Luvia's special power to identify the Chosen Ones, but he felt that this fellow who had used the power of the earth to take the form of a gray stone giant didn't seem like a Chosen One. There would be plenty of chances later to track him down and confirm his judgment.

Shaking off the splattered black mud, he wanted to rendezvous with Young Lady Lathses and seize the moment to leave this place, but the instant he turned, the ground violently trembled once more. This time, the completely unprepared Xia De lost his footing, his body pitched forward, and he was forced to bend over and brace himself against the ground with his hands.

When he stood up, looking at the black mud covering both hands and feeling the stinging pain on his skin, this bout of frenzied earth was indeed more severe than the previous few he had encountered.

Another aftershock made the erupting black mud even more violent, and the surrounding people fled in panic toward the outer perimeter. And Xia De, who was close to the "vent" of the black mud, thereby perceived even more things. From the very beginning, he had been curious about what exactly that spring eye connected to.

It was only curiosity at first, but as that "spring eye" grew larger, his inspiration suddenly caught a certain power that made his heart pound wildly.

Bathed in the "black rain," he stared in disbelief at the source of the black mud. The trembling of his soul meant extreme longing, and the concentration of the perfume essence in the little "Desire" bottle in his pocket had, at this moment, condensed to the point where it almost glowed on its own.

He felt it—felt something that could satisfy both flesh and soul at once, felt the thing he needed most:

"Impossible? Divinity!"

"I'll handle things here, you all retreat outward!"

He reached into his pocket, pulled out the Door Pendant and gripped it tightly, shouted to the people outside the black mud's range, then took off his coat filled with all sorts of toys and spellcasting materials, bundled it into a ball, took out a new piece of clothing to wrap the coat in it, and turned it into a stone toy to prevent petrification.

Then, amid the people's gazes of surprise or incomprehension, he suddenly darted into the source of the black mud.

Since the spring eye spewing black mud had been wide enough for that gray stone giant whose waist was three times Xia De's width to pass through, of course it could also let Xia De through. He knew doing this was extremely dangerous, but he also knew he had to.

Every opportunity to obtain divinity should not be let slip, especially since, in that instant of the earthquake just now, he had truly sensed the power deep within the earth:

Taking a deep breath, he plunged his entire body into the black mud, following the hole in the ground, as if falling into a bottomless abyss.

"No!"

Young Lady Lathses watched this scene in horror from the outer perimeter, her mouth agape as she froze on the spot, unable to believe what she was seeing. But just as the sorrowful feeling had just welled up, a verdant green light representing nature and vitality burst through the black earth and shot up toward the vast night sky.

Silver Moon shone down upon the people.

(Xiao Miya running.)

Falling into the black mud, there was no feeling of sinking through water, nor any feeling of being trapped in a cesspit—Xia De didn't know how to describe the feeling—instead there was a warmth like returning to a mother's embrace. The process of sinking was not free fall, but a continuous descent with a sense of cushioning.

Especially when Xia De sank deep enough, wrapped in the black mud he could no longer feel the stinging of soul and flesh, only feeling such comfort all over his body that he wanted to fall asleep right there.

The boundless black mud seemed to vanish, and Xia De sank into that eternal darkness. He sensed frenzied emotions, but also sensed a warm embrace. Even with his sensitivity to space, he could not at this moment determine whether he was still sinking, or had already stopped at some position within the black mud.

Both divinity and the Primordial Fire were warning Xia De of the danger here. As the first crack ran through his left eye, brilliant golden fissures spread across his entire body, and within those golden fissures there was clearly a scorching fiery light.

The appearance of the light illuminated this dark space. Xia De floated within it, and gradually made out, not far ahead, a human figure opening its arms toward him.

That figure was female in form, barefoot, draped in nothing but a tattered black robe, a black hood covering her head so her face could not be seen, but her entire skin was an eerie grayish-white. Her figure was exceptionally tall, arms spread wide as she floated in the darkness. The strips of her robe fluttered backward around her body, her two slender legs crossed over each other, extraordinarily graceful.

It is worth mentioning that the front of that robe had no buttons at all, thus exposing certain parts of her front half. But this not only failed to give off a lewd feeling, instead there was a special sense of divinity and motherhood.

That figure's voice appeared directly in Xia De's ear:

"Are you willing to return to the embrace of the earth?"

The voice was so sorrowful and compassionate; she did not try to tempt Xia De, merely issuing an invitation. Xia De stared blankly at the tall woman. His mental state was still normal at this moment, yet he did not immediately refuse.

He could feel how warm, how reassuring the embrace now opening toward him was. And the moment this thought arose, the pressures of reality seemed extraordinarily heavy. Yet embracing the figure before him, returning to the earth, seemed to make those pressures vanish—no more chasing the Chosen Ones, no more busying himself with all sorts of unexpected events, no more dealing with all kinds of strange people, no more worrying about what to eat every night.

【Is that so?】

"She" asked with a light laugh, and as the voice spoke in his ear, it was as if a warm breeze had brushed against his auricle.

A faint silver radiance spread around Xia De's body, and he felt as if he had become somewhat clearer-headed:

"I'm sorry. If I fail to complete the path to godhood, one day I will return to the earth as well. But not now—there are still many people, and a cat, waiting for me to come back. Thank you for the invitation, but I cannot return to the earth right now."

He softly expressed his apology. The figure with arms spread wide seemed to sigh silently, some earthy yellow light spread toward Xia De, and the figure melted and vanished into the darkness.

"What was she? I didn't sense any power of divinity on her."

【The consciousness formed from the earth of the Randle Valley, not a truly existing soul or conscious entity, merely a certain instinct manifested by the Randle Valley as the center of the earth. It saw your divinity, saw your specialness, and wished to merge with you to delay the earth's frenzy. It is the Shadow of the Randle Valley.】

"She" explained softly.

The earthy yellow light drifting from the vanished figure had now reached Xia De, and the radiance granted him some not-very-powerful, but very peculiar, power.

【Outsider, you have come into contact with Miracle and Enlightenment.】

【Outsider, you have obtained the Hexing Art—Stone to Mud. Turn natural, unprocessed hard stone, or non-natural stone whose individual volume is no greater than yourself, into an equal amount of thin mud.】

"Stone to Mud" is a type of advanced hexing art, requiring the prior study of the basic hexing art "Earth Plasticity" and the wonder art "Land Affinity" before it can be learned; the corresponding counterpart is the hexing art "Mud to Stone." Of course, ordinary "Stone to Mud" can only be used on natural, unprocessed stone, so it is difficult to use it to directly destroy buildings. And the hexing art Xia De obtained was clearly an enhanced version—only the volume of the non-natural stone could not exceed Xia De's own body, and Xia De immediately thought of stone statues.

"Her" voice had not yet finished:

【The Randle Valley has expressed friendliness toward you. When you walk upon this land, plague and thirst shall not trouble your body or soul.】

【Outsider, you have gained insight into "Shadows."】

PS: Begging for votes at the start of the month, it's really wonderful to see comments.

(End of this chapter)