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Chapter 252 - Void Tunnel
🕑 Added 2025-02-27 07:00:05 +0000 UTCThe crowd immediately soared into the sky, following Envoy Lemure. Their hearts raced with excitement as they approached the portal to the legendary Mystic Realm, a place where its riches could potentially guarantee success for generations to come.
Soon, they exited the city and flew further west at a steady pace for about half an hour. Eventually, they arrived at an empty, desolate area devoid of greenery. The landscape was filled with sand and dry rocks, almost like a desert, which was strange considering they were still in a forested region. The atmosphere felt dry and suffocating, as if the very air had been drained of life.
"What's wrong with this place? There's no spiritual energy here at all," Leyvi muttered, his brow furrowed.
Anda shrugged, equally clueless. "No idea. It's like the life has been sucked out of this area."
Leyvi didn't have to wait long for an explanation. Envoy Lemure addressed the crowd, answering the unspoken question on everyone's mind.
"As you can see, this desert area used to be a lush forest. After the Mystic Realm portal appeared here, it began absorbing all the energy from its surroundings. Over the years, this led to the barren landscape you see now. At this moment, the portal has finished charging itself, so the atmosphere isn't as oppressive as it once was. However, if you had been here while it was still absorbing energy, it would have felt far worse—it would have drained your Qi as well."
"So that's why..." Leyvi said, his voice trailing off as he observed the desolate area. He couldn't help but think about the implications. If the portal had appeared in a populated area, the consequences would have been disastrous. The people living there would have had no choice but to abandon their homes and migrate elsewhere.
"Envoy Trudy, we're here. Disable the camouflage formation and open the entrance," Envoy Lemure shouted.
A few moments later, a distortion appeared below them. Slowly, a cluster of buildings emerged from the empty area, revealing facilities likely used to investigate the portal. At the center of the structures was what appeared to be a large pool of dark purple, wavy water.
The crowd buzzed with excitement, discussing the sight before them.
"That's the portal? I didn't expect it to look like that. I thought it would be more like a door, not a pool," Leyvi commented, his tone a mix of curiosity and surprise.
"My imagination was closer to what we're seeing now, but I pictured it as vertical, not horizontal," Anda shared, glancing at Valenia on her left. "Val, what did you imagine the portal would look like?"
"Val must have thought the portal looked like a broadsword," Leyvi teased, unable to resist.
"I did not! I never imagine anything!" Valenia retorted, rolling her eyes. Her name always seemed to get dragged into some stupid joke.
Leyvi and Anda chuckled together, their laughter drawing the attention of nearby groups.
Ava's eyebrow twitched. These weirdos, can't they shut up? Now everyone's looking at our group. She huffed in annoyance, noticing that half the onlookers were sneaking glances at Lilian's melons. So many sex fiends!
Suddenly, Anda caught a familiar, disgusting stench—but it was only for a moment. Leyvi had recently informed her about Ori Oregano, but she wasn't really surprised about it. Sure enough, after spreading her spiritual sense and scanning the crowd, she spotted Ori nearby. He must have noticed their group after their playful antics. However, considering how quickly the scent disappeared, Anda was confident that Ori had learned to control and hide his emotions.
Hmph, if you dare to cause trouble for me or my husband, I'll make sure to turn you into ashes, Anda swore silently, her protective instincts flaring.
"Alright, from now on, only those who are entering the Mystic Realm can proceed further. Everyone else, stay back and watch from here. Follow me, and don't touch anything inside," Envoy Lemure instructed.
Immediately, many participants hurriedly bid farewell to the people who had brought them here before following Envoy Lemure down.
"Hahahaha! Kids, don't die in there. Bring me some souvenirs from the Mystic Realm. I treated you all to Commander-Level Demonic Beast meat, after all. I deserve some souvenirs, right?" President Albert called out to the group he had brought.
"Teacher Albert, let me give you some advice as your student," Anda said, stepping forward. The people nearby were taken aback. When did she become his student? Are you learning to be crazy?
"Oh, look, it's student Anda. Hoho, what advice do you have for me?" President Albert asked, his tone playful.
"Stop spitting, and maybe more ladies will approach you," Anda said bluntly.
"Really? Is that why they keep stopping meeting me after a date?" President Albert replied, genuinely puzzled.
The people listening shook their heads. That's probably only one of the many reasons, they thought.
Meanwhile, Leyvi was speaking with Magnus Goldstone.
"Son-in-law, I hope you can watch over Victor if it's within your means," Magnus requested.
The first time Magnus had met Leyvi, he'd had a hunch that Leyvi would become someone extraordinary. That was why he had allowed Selene to be with him, even though Leyvi was an unknown at the time. Fast forward to the present, and his hunch had proven correct. Leyvi had been granted a Deed of Sovereignty—a status higher than Magnus himself. In such a short time, Leyvi had become the owner of a cultivator city.
Magnus wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but something extraordinary must have involved Leyvi. His decision to trust his gut had led to a great outcome, and he couldn't be happier about it. Even the always-complaining elders in the family, who loved to oppose his decisions, had finally fallen silent.
The only thing that vexed him was that the hateful and annoying flies like Vitali and Tordin had somehow managed to latch onto Leyvi as well with their underhanded tricks.
"I can't promise anything, but if I see him in trouble and it won't bring trouble to my ladies, I'll do my best to help," Leyvi said honestly.
"Haha. Don't worry. That's how it should be. Alright, you should go," Magnus replied, clearly satisfied. Leyvi's honest response was far more trustworthy than someone who promised to help no matter what.
After exchanging a few words with others, including Vitali and Tordin, Leyvi and his group followed the rest of the participants into the facilities.
Not long after, all 7,200 Mystic Realm explorers—or treasure hunters, or whatever label suited them—gathered around the large portal.
Now that they were closer, the dark purple, wavy surface of the portal became much clearer. It no longer resembled water but rather a warped mirror, reflecting the surroundings in a twisted, fragmented way, as if space itself were bending.
"Pay attention!" Envoy Lemure's voice rang out again. "After you enter the portal, you'll find yourself in a void tunnel. It will feel like you've lost all sense of direction, floating through nowhere. You also won't be able to breathe, so maintain your bodily functions with your Qi. But don't worry—just let it happen and don't struggle."
"We've stabilized the path, so a pulling force will guide you. You'll all arrive at the same place after a while. Alright, it's time. Good luck, and may you return with great wealth!"
"Envoy Trudy, disable the last formation protecting the portal!" Envoy Lemure shouted.
The crowd was surprised. There was another formation? They hadn't noticed it at all. No wonder the fools who had tried to sneak into the portal had failed. The facilities likely had even more preventive measures in place to fend off intruders.
A few moments later, Envoy Lemure instructed, "Okay, go! Just jump into the portal! Don't hesitate, don't panic."
The eager cultivators circling the portal wasted no time, jumping into it in batches.
When it was his turn, Leyvi immediately enveloped his Spirit Beast Portable Sanctuary with his Qi before leaping into the portal alongside Anda, Lilian, Valenia, and Ava.
The moment he passed through the portal, his body experienced weightlessness, and he lost sight of the others. He couldn't even spread his spiritual sense outside his body—it felt locked, as if suppressed by the environment. All he could see was darkness punctuated by dark purple cracks scattered around him. Some were small, others larger, and upon closer inspection, some were mere dots. Leyvi noticed that the larger cracks vibrated more frequently, though he had no idea what this meant.
A few minutes later—at least, that was how long it felt to Leyvi—he finally sensed a slight pulling force acting on his body, guiding him in a specific direction.
After an unknown amount of time, Leyvi spotted a large, open purple crack in the direction he was being pulled toward. Relief washed over him—he was almost there.
However, at that very moment, the pulling force on his body became erratic, flinging him in all directions.
What's going on? Is it supposed to be like this? Leyvi thought, unable to speak as the environment prevented any sound from traveling.
As chaos engulfed him, Leyvi noticed the dark purple cracks around him begin to vibrate and slowly open. What terrified him was that, as soon as these cracks opened, additional pulling forces began acting on his body, tugging him in different directions.
Shit! Shit! Shit! No, no, no! Please don't! Hurry up and arrive! Leyvi panicked. By now, he had a rough idea of how the void tunnel worked. He absolutely couldn't let himself be pulled into any of the other cracks!
Who knows where he might end up?
