308: Ativia (Part 2)

The gray mist passage was incredibly bumpy; the Bone Boat was like a toy being tossed around by ocean waves.

Chaotic turbulence scraped against the boat's protective barrier, the screeching sound piercingly sharp.

Chen Yu gripped the gunwale tightly, her gold-rimmed glasses askew. "Holy crap, this crappy path is crazier than racing while being chased by dogs."

You Yu was doing his best to steady the rudder, pouring spiritual energy into the formation core like mad. "Lord Prefectural City God, save some strength. There's a tough fight ahead."

At the bow, Tudor held the judges brush, its golden light struggling to clear the path ahead as cold sweat poured down his temples. Every time the turbulence hit, the character for 'Judgment' on his forehead flickered wildly.

Shang Wan Ning stood at the prow, her phoenix robe unmoving in the violent airflow. Her right hand rested on the hilt of the son of heaven sword as she closed her eyes, sensing the thick chaos and violence at the end of the passage.

Sabrina's lair—they had arrived.

The Bone Boat smashed through the last of the gray mist, and a sickly dark red instantly swallowed their vision.

Below them, there was no land, only a slowly writhing ground covered in dark green scales.

Countless twisted tentacles extended from the crevices, covered in suckers and bone spurs, dancing wildly in the air.

In the distance, a giant mountain made of writhing flesh stood beneath the dark red horizon.

In the center of the mountain range, a bloodshot giant eye slowly turned, locking its gaze firmly onto the Bone Boat.

You Yu gasped. "It's the Hive Core, the sleeping place of an Ancient God."

Chen Yu's face instantly turned pale. "And you said the bonus would double? We're losing big time on this one."

Tudor gripped the scepter of purification, his amber pupils filled with the reflection of the filth as his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

Shang Wan Ning opened her eyes, and the son of heaven sword unsheathed with a 'shing'. The tip of the blade pointed directly at the giant eye, the golden light on its edge immediately tearing through the suffocating dark red.

The whispers of the Ancient God exploded in everyone's sea of consciousness, the inhuman rhythm sounding much like the gnawing of rubbing flesh.

[Fresh... Divinity...]

[So fragrant... so fragrant... let this seat have a sniff...]

Shang Wan Ning only gave Sabrina's phantom form a brief glance, and her heart sank to the bottom.

If this monster regained its strength and attacked the Mercury Plane again, the Underworld would surely be destroyed once more.

[A phantom form at the early stage of the Ninth Rank, plus over a thousand clones... charging in blindly is just seeking death!!!]

"Tudor!"

Shang Wan Ning shouted sharply, her blade suddenly turning. She slashed through a thick tentacle lunging at them, sending foul-smelling mucus splashing everywhere.

"Bypass the phantom form. Target: Gray Mist Territory."

"Understood."

The golden light from the judges brush in Tudor's hand surged, forcibly steering the Bone Boat's course. They brushed past the area below the giant eye by a hair's breadth. Countless tentacles missed their mark, letting out angry screeches.

The Bone Boat broke through the filthy clouds, and the scenery below changed rapidly.

A gray mist covered the land, and the twisted rock layers were coated in dark green mucus, slowly undulating.

Tattered strips of cloth hung from sparse, strange trees, looking like soul-summoning banners. The air was thick with the stench of sulfur mixed with rotting corpses.

Chen Yu pinched her nose and gagged. "Ugh... what kind of hellhole is this?"

"It's the lair of Sabrina's kin, the Gray Mist Territory," You Yu said in a low voice.

Meanwhile, he quickly put on the black magic robe prepared by Ling Qi, the large hood covering most of his face.

The robe was made of a special material that could block detection from anyone below the level of a god.

Shang Wan Ning, Tudor, and Chen Yu also quickly changed their attire.

Shang Wan Ning's black robe was embroidered with complex dark gold patterns, exuding a sinister pressure.

She looked like an unfathomable master of black magic.

"Remember your identities," Shang Wan Ning said, pulling down her hood. Her voice, coming through a special mask, was hoarse and cold.

"I am the 'Shadow Erosion' Master, and you are black magic apprentices. Speak less and watch more."

The Bone Boat landed in a hidden rocky hollow at the edge of the gray mist. The four abandoned the boat and proceeded on foot.

The gray mist was very thick, and visibility was pitifully low. The "ground" beneath their feet was wet, slippery, and sticky; every step felt like treading on rotting internal organs.

After walking for about half a day, the gray mist gradually thinned. The silhouette of a city appeared in the mist.

The city was built against a mountain, its walls constructed from gray stone mixed with some kind of dark red bone, soaring high into the gray sky.

The walls were covered in twisted reliefs depicting scenes of flesh sacrifice.

The city gates were wide open, and "creatures" of various forms were moving in and out.

Half-human, half-insect guards were inspecting cargo; hunched figures in tattered cloaks, covered in pustules, shuffled along; and a few "people" in black robes, showing only skeletal hands, hurried past carrying a writhing piece of meat.

Above, the gray mist was somewhat dispersed by a fourth-rank black magic circle, revealing a sickly dark red sky.

At the highest point stood a spire, with a crystal emitting an ominous green light suspended at its tip, radiating dark energy throughout the city.

"It's Wormrock City," You Yu whispered, stating the name from Ling Qi's intelligence.

"The center of the Gray Mist Territory and the stronghold of Sabrina's kin."

At the city gate, two squads of half-insect guards stood watch with bone spears. An insectoid leader, whose carapace glinted with a metallic sheen, scanned those entering the city with its compound eyes.

As Shang Wan Ning's group approached, the insectoid guards crossed their bone spears to block them. "Identify yourselves. What is your business?" the leader asked hoarsely, its compound eyes warily examining the dark gold patterns on Shang Wan Ning's black robe.

Shang Wan Ning slightly lifted her hood, releasing the pressure of a Great Mage.

The surrounding air temperature immediately dropped by several degrees.

She said nothing, extending a withered right hand from her sleeve. A wisp of eerie blue Soul Fire danced on her fingertips, with the faint silhouettes of agonized faces twisting and wailing within the flames.

The insectoid guard's compound eyes shrank, and it wisely withdrew the crossed spears, bowing its body ninety degrees as its hoarse voice took on a tone of reverence.

"Hon... Honorable Great Mage, Wormrock City welcomes you. Please, enter!"

He stepped aside to clear the way, not daring to ask another question.

In the Gray Mist Territory where black magic flourished, masters who could manipulate souls always held high status and were extremely dangerous.

Shang Wan Ning gave a cold snort, retracted the Soul Fire, and led her three "apprentices" through the city gates without a backward glance.

The scene inside the city was even more bizarre than outside.

The streets were paved with polished black bone, feeling cold, wet, and slippery underfoot.

The buildings on either side were grotesque: some looked like giant insect nests with mucus seeping from their holes; others were constructed from white bone mixed with dark red muscle, still faintly pulsating.

A few slightly more "normal" stone buildings were also covered in dark green moss and writhing patterns that looked like blood vessels.

There weren't many people on the street, and most were in a hurry.

Occasionally, figures in black robes could be seen, all exuding a gloomy aura.

There were "stalls" along the roadside selling nauseating things: writhing pieces of dark red meat kept in transparent jars.

Eyeballs soaking in green mucus, and even a few twisted fingers with bits of skin and flesh still attached.