Coming towards Yang Su’s side Xi Shen quickly placed his hands on his head and sent his Divine Will inside his consciousness.
With eyes closed, Xi Shen scanned his mind to see that it was extremely chaotic.
Xi Shen frowned and immediately used his Divine Will to forcefully stopped Yang Su’s increasingly scattering mind.
Immediately after Xi Shen did that, Yang Su’s eyes that were blank came to but they suddenly transformed into red rubies, and his hair swiftly become a bright shade of red.
Yang Su then let out a painful scream while a blast of energy burst from his body that sent Xi Shen flying back.
The volcano around them started shaking violently and the lake of lava began swirling around as if something beneath it was rising to the surface.
Xi Shen did a somersault and landed on his feet before his gaze immediately turn to the lake of lava. His Heaven Physique suddenly began pounding against his consciousness while he was battling with Gu Mo.
That’s why he wanted Gu Mo to leave immediately and changed his mind about investigating that strange Demonic Qi. He could sense that something was going to happen with Yang Su.
And surely something strange was happening to him. He slowly began to rise into the air, while his hair glowed a crimson red color as it float about slowly. His eyes could no longer be seen and they only looked like two brightly red-colored orbs.
Xi Shen’s face was extremely solemn when he saw whatever it was in the lava was about to break the surface.
With a loud swoosh, the lake of lava was violently thrown in the air and a terrifying pressure engulfed the entire inner volcano.
Xi Shen’s body immediately shook uncontrollably, and he stared wide-eyed in complete shock at the thing that exited the lake of lava.
“Wh-what the fuck is something like that doing here?!!”
Xi Shen unlike his usual self could not control his emotions and cry out in stupefaction.
….
…
..
In the Bai Clan Xi Shen’s puppet looked at Bai Shu and said, “Before I make a decision, I want to know how you know about the Hidden Fragmented Realm. The fact that it is opening in a year’s time but no one is talking about it means this is a secret that is kept between the upper echelons of the Maple Continent and is only past down to the disciples who are qualified to enter. How did someone like you come to know about it much less have a map of it?”
Bai Shu immediately responded by saying, “Sir, if you suspect that I’m lying to you then I assure you I am telling you the truth. I had the map ever since it was given to me by my mother, but I was only able to find out about the Hidden Fragmented Realm and its connection with the map by accident. One feature of the underground passages is that the walls are of a dense and strange Ore that disrupts a person’s Soul Sense. So as I found the passage and explore the Bai Clan, I came upon some of the forbidden areas of the Clan, and it was there I heard some elders of the Clan talking about the Hidden Fragmented Realm and choosing Chosens to enter it.”
Hearing that the underground passage had such a feature Xi Shen was sure he could find a way to escape, but that means it would be even more heavily guarded.
However, Xi Shen couldn’t help but ask, “Chosens, what are those?”
This was a new term Xi Shen hadn’t heard about as well, and he was really starting to get the sense that he still had a long way to go before he understood this era fully. He had only been here for roughly thirteen years and had only read books within his family, so it was understandable that he didn’t know everything.
As the saying goes, reading a thousand books about the world isn’t worth as much as actually going out and experiencing it for one's self.
Xi Shen decided to keep that in mind from now on. As soon as he formed his Faction missions to the outside world is a must. There are even well-known places on the Maple Continent that looked extremely interesting to him and were worth exploring to satisfy his researcher side.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Shu began explaining what he knew about Chosens, but it really wasn’t much.
“Sir, I only know that they are disciples from the top institutes on the Maple Continent that have been pulled aside from normal disciples and were being groomed in secret. They’re people who are within the top percentage of truly extraordinary geniuses on the Maple Continent.”
Xi Shen let that information sink in as he thought for a while.
After, Xi Shen let out a sigh before he shook his head, and said, “Bai Shu, is it? I can’t fulfill your request as I’m in no position to run around finding a Core Formation Realm expert to assassinate them. And how do I know you don’t want me killing a good person, I’m not soft-hearted but to kill someone innocent is going against my morals.”
“He’s not!!” Bai Shu suddenly yelled.
“That man is the worst scum in this world, and if he wasn’t a part of the Bai Clan he would have long been dead from all the enemies he has made! He killed my mother in cold blood, I want him dead no matter what!”
Xi Shen looked at Bai Shu who had lost his calm composure. He then asked, “Isn’t he your father?”
“There’s no way I’ll acknowledge that man as my father.”
Bai Shu's voice was filled with heaven reaching resentment as he spoke those words. But Xi Shen said once again, “I’m not accepting your offer. If you want to kill him then work harder and do so in the future. Now tell me where the entrance to the Labyrinth is, and give me the map you made of the passages.”
Bai Shu’s expression became downcast when he heard that even the map wouldn’t convince Xi Shen to accept his request.
Bai Shu closed his eyes tightly and he once again regain his composure. After which he opened his eyes and then turned towards a bookshelf within the room.
He took up a book that was at the front and open it to the first page. A folded beast skin was inside, and after taking it out and placing back the book he came to hand the beast skin to Xi Shen.
Xi Shen took it and unfolded it to see that it was covered in lines that looked like the stems on a leaf.
It was the map of the underground Labyrinth. Xi Shen was once again impressed by Bai Shu’s intelligence. To hide something this important in plain sight, and plus if anyone did find it, they would think it was just some lines drawn at random.
While Xi Shen was looking at the map Bai Shu spoke up and said, “Sir, the entrance to the Labyrinth is within the forest nearby. If you go south from here you’ll come upon a waterfall, behind the waterfall there is a secret door that is opened by shifting a small stone. Sir should be able to find it easily.”
Bai Shu was calm, and Xi Shen looked up from the parchment to stare at him.
Xi Shen could tell that he wasn’t lying, but he could also tell that he was disappointed his plan didn’t go as he expected.
Xi Shen let out a sigh in his figurative heart once more and thought to himself that he would meet more people like this Bai Shu. People who have stories of their own and were struggling with their own demons.
But he wouldn’t go out of his way to help everyone he meets like this, well, unless it would benefit him in the future. Bai Shu was a part of the Bai Clan, and with his situation, it would be difficult to find a place for him by Xi Shen’s side.
It was sad, but this was just one of many times Xi Shen wouldn’t stick out his neck to help someone.
Xi Shen placed the map of the Labyrinth within his robes and without saying another word turned and left.
He casually walked out of the courtyard and headed south, in the direction of the cave.
Xi Shen’s speed wasn’t that fast but he managed to reach the area in half an hour.
He had been worrying about the Divine Will of the expert along the way, but for some reason, it had stopped scanning the Bai Clan.
Xi Shen felt it was suspicious but he didn’t place it in mind and soon reached the waterfall. He wasn’t worried that Bai Shu would rat him out, cause if he did, they would surely try to search his memories and if they found out about his conversation with him from before, as well as the fact that he had been secretly using the Labyrinth to spy on elders conversations, he would certainly be killed for it.
Bai Shu was smart enough to know the outcome if he said anything about having met Xi Shen.
After coming upon the waterfall, Xi Shen wasted no time heading behind it and began searching for the secret entrance.
He quickly found the stone and shifted it to open a stone door that lead down. Xi Shen took a step forward to enter but his face suddenly changed dramatically as memories from his original self in the volcano came to him.
Seeing the massive hand that was sealed with chains covered in runic symbols from the God Era exiting the lake of lava, he blurted out at the same time as his original self.
“Wh-what the fuck is something like that doing here?!!”
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Word Count: 1669
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel