“It’s fine,” Linley said consolingly.
Garlan’s face was covered with a smile that was born from having escaped a crisis. She said, “Delia, don’t worry. Although those amethyst beasts are very powerful, they don’t understand any profound mysteries or natural laws, and they don’t appear to know how to use divine sense either. These small pathways that are hidden within the wild grass in the bottom of the lake are so well-hidden, they won’t easily be able to discover them.”
Linley’s group nodded slightly as well.
After they had charged into the water, they had naturally immediately spread out their divine senses to investigate the surrounding area. When they had passed by that hidden little pathway, the divine senses of the group had naturally discovered it.
“Right. What have we to fear? Even if they discovered that hidden little passageway, the passageway is so narrow, while those amethyst beasts are so huge. Would they be able to fit?” Bebe said disdainfully. The amethyst beasts were physically quite large. There was no way they would be able to squeeze in.
“Bebe speaks the truth. It’s fine. Everyone, we can rest here,” Linley said.
“No, it’s useless.” Jarrod shook his head helplessly. “No matter how small the tunnel is, the amethyst beasts will still be able to enter. Amethyst beasts are capable of changing their bodies.”
“Changing their bodies?” Linley couldn’t help but feel shocked.
If they really were able to change their bodies, it would be terrible.
Garlan nodded somberly as well. “Right. However, amethyst beasts can’t freely change their size to expand or contract. Rather… for example, they can make themselves shorter, to a height of one meter, but their length will multiply. To be more precise, their total body size doesn’t change.”
Linley began to understand.
These amethysts beasts were like ‘water’, capable of changing into multiple configurations, but the overall size remained the same.
Linley stared at the tunnel and said slowly, “All we can do is hope that we won’t be discovered. Once we are, we won’t even have a place to run.”
“Don’t worry.” Garlan’s laughter was very brilliant. “We won’t be so easily discovered. In addition, once the Fog Wave ends, these amethyst beasts will all disappear. By then, we won’t be in any danger, and will be able to live a long, leisurely period of time.”
Linley blew out a breath, saying quietly to himself, “I hope that today will pass safely. Once today passes, it will be safe.”
71
Life in the Amethyst Mountains
Within the gorge, a large number of amethyst beasts were surrounding the shores of the lake, and the juvenile amethyst beast was standing atop the head of the amethyst behemoth, staring at the lake.
One amethyst beast after another left the waters of the lake and returned to the shore, all of them hanging their heads.
“All of you are idiots. You can’t even find a few people who fled in there.” The juvenile amethyst beast was furious.
Not a single amethyst beast dared to make a sound.
The juvenile amethyst beast considered things. “We’ve wasted a great deal of time by the lake already. The Fog Wave day is about to come to an end. We can’t keep wasting time like this.” The juvenile amethyst beast immediately let out a loud shout, “Kiddos, let’s go. We’re leaving this place. Let’s keep killing humans.”
“Roaaaaar!” Instantly, countless amethyst beasts let out excited roars.
They wanted to kill as well. After all, countless years would pass before a Fog Wave, and only on such days were they permitted to come out. Their time on this day was very valuable. If they wasted it all here, they would feel that it hadn’t been worth it.
Roaring, the countless amethyst beasts followed the juvenile amethyst beast away.
“Hmph. Hmph. I’ve memorized those people. I hope you are still alive when the next Fog Wave comes. At that time, I’ll definitely take good care of you.” The clear eyes of the juvenile amethyst beast had a hint of craftiness flash through them.
While continuing on their path of carnage, the many amethyst beasts spread throughout the area. Many humans were caught and killed. Many Deities had been brought in by the Fog Wave, numbering over a hundred million, but they were slaughtered to the point where less than one in ten survived. The survivors, even including those who had originally already been present within the Amethyst Mountains, numbered less than ten million.
After the Blood Sun went down and the Violet Moon rose, the day of the Fog Wave ended.
But of course, because the Amethyst Mountains were perpetually shrouded by that white fog, nobody could see the Blood Sun or the Violet Moon.
However, the Amethyst Mountains operated as if by clockwork. The number of amethysts being blasted out by those 108 Demonic Amethyst Lairs dropped down, returning to their normal state. The forces of the eighteen great clans outside the Amethyst Mountains came to a halt, while feeling excited for the number of amethysts they had procured.
Within the Amethyst Mountains, those amethyst beasts immediately headed back, quickly disappearing within the amethyst mountains. There had been so many amethyst beasts, but now, there were very few Deities remaining.
Linley’s group, due to being within that cave, wasn’t certain of the passage of time. They waited for well over ten hours. Not until the next day did they emerge from the lake.
By the shores of the lake in the gorge, Linley’s group of six sat there, resting.
Jarrod’s face was covered in excitement. Gratefully, he said, “The day of the Fog Wave has finally ended. After this day, we’ll be able to live for yet another hundred million years in peace. I didn’t expect that I, Jarrod, would be able to survive two Fog Wave days in a row.”
“To be able to survive, even losing a divine clone is worth it.” Garlan felt very happy as well.
Linley looked at Jarrod and Garlan. He could tell that the joy they felt sprang from the bottom of their hearts. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled, and he asked, “Jarrod, within these Amethyst Mountains, our visibility is limited to one or two hundred meters. It’s always covered by white fog, and we can’t go out. Don’t you care about this at all?”
Linley’s words caused a feeling of agreement in the hearts of Bebe and Olivier.
In the Amethyst Mountains, aside from the day of the Fog Wave, there was virtually no danger at all. But to forever be bound by that powerful restrictive force and not even be able to fly, while at the same time only being able to see to a distance of a hundred meters? To be limited to this situation for a long time would indeed be very boring and painful!
Jarrod and Garlan exchanged a glance. Both of them began to laugh.
Jarrod looked at Linley. “Linley. It isn’t that we don’t want to go out. It’s that there is no way out of this damnable place. Since we can’t go out, what else can we do? We’ll just quietly enjoy life. At least I still have Garlan.”
Garlan’s face turned slightly red. From the gaze she shot at Jarrod, the deep love she bore could faintly be seen. After all, after having been with each other for almost an eternity, they were no longer able to be separated from each other.
“I refuse to believe we can’t leave.” Bebe harrumphed. “Let’s head straight out. If we can’t fly, then we’ll walk to the ends of the Amethyst Mountains. Keep walking! I refuse to believe we can’t walk out. If we walk to the ends, I’ll burrow into the ground and leave by the ground!”
The ground outside the area of the Amethyst Mountains wouldn’t possibly be so hard.
“You won’t be able to make it out!” Garlan urged. “The gravity of the Amethyst Mountains isn’t just ‘up’ or ‘down’. It is as though the entire Amethyst Mountains is exerting gravity in every direction. No matter whether you are on the ground, underground, or in the air, you’ll still be affected by the gravity of the Amethyst Mountains!”
“What?!” Linley was shocked.
He himself ha
d read the descriptions of the profound mysteries of the Laws in that book. With regards to the ‘Gravitational Space’, he knew that it was equivalent to creating a ‘Gravitational Space’ in a certain area. But Linley had never heard of causing an entire area to have a gravitational pull in every direction.
The Amethyst Mountains were like a giant magnet.
No matter whether one was under, to the side of, or above the mountains, one would still suffer the gravitational pull.
“Also, aside from gravity, there’s that strange wind region. There’s no way at all you can leave that region,” Jarrod said, then laughed. “Delia, Linley, thank you so much. Garlan and I will leave now.”
After Jarrod and his wife left, Linley, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier didn’t give up. Although they had heard what Jarrod had said, until they had witnessed it for themselves, they wouldn’t give up. Immediately, the four of them began to head out through a straight line.
The gorge that Linley was in was tens of thousands of kilometers away from the borders of the Amethyst Mountains.
The gravitational power of the Amethyst Mountains was simply too great, and Linley’s group didn’t travel that quickly either. It took them half a month before they reached the edges of the Amethyst Mountains. However, as Linley’s group tried to continue travelling forward, a terrifyingly strong gravitational force immediately affected their entire body, instantly pulling them back into the Amethyst Mountains.
It was very bizarre!
Standing on the stones at the border of the Amethyst Mountains, Linley’s group felt fine. But as soon as they took a single step towards the front, they would suddenly sense that gravitational force tug them back to the Amethyst Mountains.
Linley had never heard of such a bizarre gravitational pull.
Within a Gravitational Space, the power of the gravity would pull downwards. But this gravity actually centered around the Amethyst Mountains and pulled in every direction.
They couldn’t even take a single step outside the Amethyst Mountains. How would they leave?
Linley’s group racked their brains, spending an entire month at the borders, but with nothing to show for it. In the end, helpless, they had chosen to give up. The four chose a mountain hollow that was only a few hundred kilometers away from the border and began to live there.
Within the mountain hollow, Linley’s wind, earth, and fire clones were all training, while Linley’s original body accompanied Delia.
Linley was casually seated on the ground, his back resting against the stone wall. Delia was resting against Linley’s side as well. Delia raised her head to look at Linley. Delia, in her heart, understood that Linley had always desired a life full of excitement. If they truly had to spend eternity here within the Amethyst Mountains… this was simply unimaginable.
Delia still remembered that month they had spent at the borders of the Amethyst Mountains, constantly testing.
Actually, simple tests could have been completed in a month.
However, because Linley and Olivier didn’t want to give up, they had frantically come up with one idea after another to test things out. They all wanted to leave here and return to the Infernal Realm. However, after persisting for a month, Linley had finally given up. Delia understood that in his heart, however, Linley still couldn’t accept it.
“Linley, do you truly want to leave?” Delia said softly. “Perhaps you can use a drop of that blue water drop?”
Linley turned to look at Delia, shaking his head slightly.
Linley had told Delia and Bebe about the ‘Sovereign’s Might’ over the course of the 20 years they had spent in training after the Volcano Titan, ‘Phusro’, had departed. They all knew… that Linley’s final trump card was the ‘Sovereign’s Might’.
By using the Sovereign’s Might, he definitely would be confident in his ability to resist the gravitational pull.
But how could he use it?
Linley shook his head. “Even by using Sovereign’s Might to resist that gravitational pull, it’s hard to say if I’d be able to fly out of the chaotic region. Delia, you should know as well that there were previously Highgods who could resist the gravitational pull, but upon reaching that chaotic region of strange sounding wind, they still were unable to fly out.”
“If I use the Sovereign’s Might and am still unable to get out? That would be disastrous.”
“In addition, Sovereign’s Might is extremely precious. We can’t waste it. Unless something extremely important happens, it can only be used at the point of death.” Linley understood that if used at a critical moment, the Sovereign’s Might could not only save him, it could also save Delia and the others.
This was a game-changing treasure. How could he easily use it up?
“But being here for a trillion years… can you withstand it?” Delia said softly.
Linley stretched his hand out, taking Delia into his arms. Gently, he said, “Delia, it’s just a trillion years. Jarrod was able to withstand it. Why can’t I? By your side, even if I have to spend eternity here, I would be willing.”
Delia felt moved in her heart, and Linley held her all the more tightly.
“Linley, what do you think Sasha and Taylor are like now? What is going on in the Yulan continent?” lying in Linley’s arms, Delia said softly.
Thinking about his son and daughter, Linley couldn’t help but smile. “They should be doing quite well. Who knows if they are missing me.”
Delia laughed as well. Lifting her head up, she looked at Linley. Pursing her lips, she said, “Of course they miss you, their father. However, most likely Taylor and Sasha won’t have imagined… that their powerful, almighty father is trapped inside a mountain range in the Infernal Realm, and will most likely be here for countless years.”
Linley couldn’t help but laugh as well.
But then, it turned into a sigh. He turned his gaze towards the white fog, as though seeing through it to the Yulan continent. “We are living in the Infernal Realm now. The Yulan continent is too far away from us.”
Living in the Amethyst Mountains, Linley’s mind was very calm. His original body didn’t need to train in any Laws, while Delia had reached the Highgod realm and thus didn’t train. Linley spent every day with Delia, and the two of them lived a leisurely, quiet life.
But of course, Linley’s earth, wind, and fire divine clones continued to train.
Bebe and Olivier were training as well, while occasionally sparring.
Linley’s ‘Elemental Laws of the Wind’, due to focusing on gaining insights into the ‘Sound Waves’ and ‘Music’ profound mysteries at the same time while fusing them, improved at a very slow rate. As for the ‘Elemental Laws of Fire’, this was Linley’s weakest aspect, and so naturally he trained very slowly.
Only in the ‘Profound Laws of the Earth’ and its ‘Worldwalking’ profound mysteries, which Linley wasn’t fusing with any other profound mysteries, did his training speed improve rather quickly.
Living peacefully like this, 50 years quickly passed. Over the course of these years, because he was living in the Amethyst Mountains and therefore constantly affected by the gravity here, Linley had begun to master the basics of the ‘Gravitational Space’ profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. However, ‘Gravitational Space’ was an extremely difficult profound mystery, and so Linley primarily continued to focus on Worldwalking.
Before entering the Amethyst Mountains, Linley had spent nearly 20 years on Worldwalking.
Now that he had spent 50 more years, Linley finally reached the level of mastery in Worldwalking.
Within the mountain hollow, Linley’s divine earth clone, Bebe, and Olivier were together.
“Boss, you really are formidable. You even achieved mastery in Worldwalking!” Bebe said in celebration.
“The Worldwalking profound mystery is naturally connected to the ‘Essence of the Earth’, and it belongs to one of the simpler types of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. Despite that, however, I s
till had to spend over 70 years before breaking through.” Linley sighed.
In the past 70 years, Linley’s greatest improvement had been in the soul!
In the Amethyst Mountains, there was no lack of amethysts!
Even on the grounds of the Amethyst Mountain, if one went in serious search of amethysts, in a single day one would pick up more than ten thousand. If one went to the Demonic Amethyst Lairs, even though they didn’t spew out as many amethysts as they did during the Fog Wave day, when they were in the ‘resting’ phase, the number of amethysts in the crevice weren’t that many, but if one used a giant elemental hand to grab some, most likely in a short period of time, one would be able to seize a million.
Once, when Olivier and Bebe were bored, they had made a trip to the crevice and had spent half a month there, pulling out over a hundred million amethysts. Afterwards, bored, they had come back. In the Amethyst Mountains, these amethysts were simply too worthless.
Others found it hard to refine amethysts, but Linley was different.
After constantly refining amethysts and strengthening his soul, Linley was far more powerful than he had been 50 years ago. After all, during these 50 years, his soul had been continuously growing.
“Now that you have the Worldwalking ability, the Amethyst Mountains are even safer than before.” Olivier sighed. “These rocks are still part of the world. By using the Worldwalking ability, you can fuse with the rocks and pass through them. When the next Fog Wave comes, due to having the Worldwalking ability, you will be better able to preserve yourself.”
Linley nodded slightly.
Only a tenth of Deities trained in the Laws of the Earth, and in that portion, fairly few mastered ‘Worldwalking’. Jarrod and Garlan were unfortunate; neither of them had trained in the Laws of the Earth. They knew that training in Worldwalking was excellent for staying alive in the Amethyst Mountains, but training wasn’t something you could do just because you wanted to, even if you had all the time in the world.
The Infernal Plane: Book 5 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 56
