Linley was stunned. Return to the Yulan continent?
Instantly, Linley’s mind became filled with countless scenes. Going to study when he was young at the Ernst Institute. Playing around with Boss Yale, George, and Reynolds. Bitter training within the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. And the many friends and family he cared about.
Before they discussed the topic of returning, Linley hadn’t felt anything, but now that Delia raised it… Linley actually suddenly felt as though a pressing fire was burning in his heart, surging and charging through his emotions and filling his chest with ardor. “Right. It really is time to return to the Yulan continent to have a look. After so many years, I wonder how Boss Yale is doing. And Wharton and the others. Sasha and Taylor, those two… I wonder how they are doing.” Linley was filled with eagerness.
“Right. Let’s go back together.” Delia, seeing that Linley had agreed, couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. As a mother, the care and concern she felt for her children came from the deepest recesses of her heart. “I wonder how my elder brother is doing…”
Linley also remembered Dixie. Back then, when he had just entered the Ernst Institute, Dixie had been proclaimed its number one genius. But afterwards, due to Linley learning from the Straight Chisel School of sculpting, Linley’s spiritual energy had rapidly improved so rapidly that he had been able to make constant breakthroughs until he had finally surpassed Dixie.
“It has been a long time since Bebe’s been back as well. Now that he’s returning, let’s have him accompany us on a trip to the Yulan continent,” Linley said eagerly. “To tell the truth, up till now, I remain quite curious as to what the Necropolis of the Gods within the Yulan continent holds. This time, we can take a look.”
After having trained for so long, Linley no longer felt too much interest in the Necropolis of the Gods, but he was still curious, after all.
He still clearly remembered how, that year, Olivier and the others had risked their lives in adventuring through the Necropolis of the Gods. But of course, to the current Linley, the Necropolis of the Gods no longer posed much of a challenge.
“The Necropolis of the Gods?” Delia sighed. “You spent ten full years on that trip to the Necropolis of the Gods. I was worrying about you the entire time in Dragonblood Castle.” Hearing this, Linley felt rather ashamed of himself.
“Boss!” Bebe’s voice suddenly rang out from afar.
“Bebe arrived. Come, let’s go.” Linley immediately headed with Delia towards the outside. Once Linley and Delia reached the outside, they discovered that Beirut, Wade, Ina, and the others were already there waiting. Bebe and Nisse were warmly chatting with Beirut and Ina.
Seeing Linley walk over, Bebe immediately walked towards him and laughed, “Boss, long time no see.” As he spoke, he gave Linley a firm hug. Linley just grinned. “How was your trip to the Jadefloat Continent?”
“What do you think?” Bebe quirked his lips. Linley couldn’t help but look at him in puzzlement.
“Salomon apologized, of course. Hmph, fortunately, he knew how to behave. If he hadn’t… hmph. Hmph.” Bebe let out two snorts, and Linley couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. It seemed as though Salomon cared about his younger sister as well, and so had been rather meek in his attitude.
In truth, after Salomon had seen Linley’s performance in the scryer recording and after Nisse had let him know about the relationship Bebe had with the Lord Prefect of Indigo Prefecture, Lord Beirut… how would he dare to have a poor attitude?
“Haha, everyone, let’s chat inside.” Beirut laughed.
While walking towards the inner halls, Linley quietly discussed with Bebe, “Bebe, Delia and I have come to an agreement that we are planning to travel to the Yulan continent. We’ve been in the Infernal Realm for so many years, but have never gone back. Do you want to go back with us?”
Bebe’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. “Yes, of course, yes!” Bebe immediately sent mentally. “Boss, let me discuss this with Nisse. She’ll definitely agree.”
Everyone sat down in the main hall. Some servants walked over, carrying all sorts of fine delicacies and offering them. Linley said, “Lord Beirut, we’ve been in the Infernal Realm for so long… Bebe and I have decided that we are planning to return to the Yulan continent.”
“Returning to the Yulan continent? I’m going too!”
“I’m going as well.”
Wade and Ina simultaneously called out.
Beirut let out a surprised sound, but then smiled and nodded. “Makes sense. It has indeed been quite some time since you came to the Infernal Realm. If you want to return to the Yulan continent, you need to be transported back through the ‘Ironknife Gorge’ of our Bloodridge Continent.”
Linley knew that there were teleportation portals scattered throughout the five continents and two seas of the Infernal Realm. However, the price of each trip through these portals was very high.
“Lord Beirut, how much is the transport fee?” Linley asked.
“Generally speaking, moving between the various Higher Planes or Divine Planes isn’t as expensive. But moving from the Higher Planes or Divine Planes to material planes… now that is exceedingly costly. From material planes to the Higher Planes or Divine Planes, however, is free,” Beirut explained.
Linley understood this as well. He knew that it was expensive… but how expensive, exactly? “I don’t know if I have enough money on me.” Linley was rather nervous.
Beirut laughed. “When you go for your trip, as long as you show this medallion, you will be able to use the teleportation portals for free.” With a wave of his hand, Beirut pulled out a blood red medallion which emanated a heart-stopping aura.
Linley and the others looked at it. “Teleport for free?” Bebe’s eyes lit up. “Grandpa, give it to us as a gift.”
“Hey, I’m just loaning this to you for a single use,” Beirut said hurriedly. “This medallion was given to me by the Sovereign himself. In the past, when I roamed throughout the countless planes, I relied on this toy to keep my costs low. Otherwise, no matter how much money I might have, I wouldn’t be able to afford all those teleportations. I’m only giving it to you for a single use. After you use it, you have to return it to me. In the future, if you need it again, I can loan it to you again.”
Bebe couldn’t help but pout. Clearly, he was unhappy at how ‘stingy’ his grandfather was. Linley, however, immediately said, “Thank you, Lord Beirut.”
“Haha…” Beirut laughed. “Once you reach the Yulan continent, if there’s anything you need, feel free to come to the Forest of Darkness to look for me. My clone has remained in the Forest of Darkness this entire time.”
“Clone?” Linley was surprised. Beirut laughed and nodded. Linley couldn’t help but feel rather surprised, because the ‘Beirut’ he had met in the Yulan continent looked absolutely identical to this one, in both aura and clothing. Was the ‘Beirut’ that he had met the person in front of him now… or had it been the clone that was currently in the Forest of Darkness?
“Here’s the medallion. Don’t lose it,” Beirut said solemnly, then tossed it to Bebe.
Bebe caught it. “Don’t worry. How can I lose it?”
Linley’s family of three and Bebe’s family of three headed out together on this trip back to the Yulan continent. The day after they acquired the medallion, Linley’s group of six headed directly towards Ironknife Gorge, where the teleportation formation for the Bloodridge Continent was located.
Ironknife Gorge was an extremely easy-to-recognize landmark, and Linley’s group was able to see it from afar. What sealed its status was the large number of patrolling Bloodridge Soldiers that surrounded the area.
“Newcomers, halt!” the Bloodridge Soldiers called out loudly. Linley’s group immediately landed, and the leader of the Bloodridge Soldiers, a man with short, golden, metallic-looking hair swept Linley’s group with his icy gaze, then barked, “Why have you come to Ironknife Gorge?”
“We are going t
o return to a material plane through the teleportation portal,” Linley said.
The golden-haired man couldn’t help but be surprised. Quite a few people passed through the portal to the other Higher Planes and Divine Planes, since the price was much cheaper, but returning to a material plane? The price was terrifyingly high. “Oh. Then come with me.” The golden-haired man led the way forward.
Linley’s group of six immediately followed after the Bloodridge Soldier, heading deeper into Ironknife Gorge. Moments later, Linley’s group arrived at the castle situated at the peak of Ironknife Gorge, where the teleportation array was located. The magic formation that formed the teleportation portal was identical to the one Linley had seen when he had arrived in the Infernal Realm.
“There are actually six of you!” There were quite a few Bloodridge Soldiers present. One of them weighed Linley’s group with his gaze. “Three Highgods, one God, one Demigod, one Saint. According to the rules… returning to a material plane will cost each Highgod one trillion inkstones, while each Highgod can bring ten Gods with them…”
Linley, hearing this, was badly shocked.
He finally understood why it was that almost no Deities had returned to the Yulan continent despite the passage of so many years. This price was too extravagant. A trillion inkstones… that was most likely the entire networth of most Seven Star Fiends. There was no way an ordinary Highgod could possibly afford it.
“So in total, you need to pay three trilli… uh…” The Bloodridge Warrior only finished half his sentence before seeing the medallion in Bebe’s hands.
“Hurry up and activate the transportation magic array,” Bebe said calmly.
“Yes!” The surrounding Bloodridge Soldiers, seeing the medallion, instantly stood up ramrod straight, then quickly flew to the various parts of the array, starting to activate it. Suddenly, one of them turned to look at the group. “Milords, where are you heading to?”
“The Yulan continent plane,” Linley said.
5
BACK TO THE YULAN CONTINENT!
A cold, desolate wind swept across the world, carrying countless shards of ice and snow and hurling them randomly about. Within this icy world, multiple icebergs rose into the skies. After countless years of being ‘carved’ by the freezing wind, the icebergs had become completely smooth. If one stared into the surface of the icebergs, one could even see one’s reflections.
Within one of the tall icebergs.
Eleven mystical hexagram-shaped magic formations were set here, and next to them, not far away, was a house of ice. Currently, an old man with a white beard and white robes was walking out from within the house of ice, his blue eyes sweeping through the surrounding area. “It’s so rare to encounter someone, here in the Arctic Icecap! In recent years, the Saints that have come here to the Arctic Icecap are fewer and fewer in number. It seems I should go on a trip and roam the Yulan continent as well.”
This person was Hodan, the Planar Overseer of the Yulan Plane. Just as Hodan was preparing to fly away, suddenly…
Hodan couldn’t help but turn and look. He saw that one of the eleven magic arrays suddenly began to glow with light. Rays of light rose into the heavens in an eye-catching manner, seeming so illusory and dreamlike. Hodan couldn’t help but be greatly shocked. “The Infernal Realm. Someone is coming from the Infernal Realm back to the Yulan Plane, a material plane?”
Hodan knew exactly how astonishing the teleportation fee was. Even most Seven Star Fiends wouldn’t be willing to pay for such a trip.
Originally, his clan’s forces had sent out a group of people led by Sadista. Amongst that group, Sadista was the only Highgod present. Because of the cost of the teleportation fee, and how expensive it was to teleport a Highgod, a certain number of Gods and Demigods who teleported alongside the Highgod would be permitted to come for free. When his clan had sent Sadista and the others, they had spent a trillion inkstones!
“I wonder which wealthy, extravagant person it is,” Hodan wondered to himself. He unconsciously bowed from the waist. How would Hodan dare to be disrespectful to a figure who came from the Infernal Realm to the Yulan Plane? Although Hodan bowed, he still looked carefully into the magic array. He wanted very much to know who this person was.
Blurry rays of light formed, slowly coalescing into six figures. The six figures solidified, and the light of the array faded away.
“Lin-… Linley!” Hodan stared with disbelief at the six figures before him.
“Hodan, it’s been nearly two thousand years since I saw you. You look the same as always.” Linley laughed calmly.
Hodan swept Linley’s group with his gaze, shock in his heart. “There are three amongst these six whom I cannot sense the auras of at all. There’s actually three of them who are Highgods. Based on the teleportation fee… they spent three trillion inkstones.” Hodan was terrified by this figure. “Linley’s only been in the Infernal Realm for two millennia. How did he become so powerful?”
More than two centuries ago, the Reinales clan and the rest of the eight great clans had ceased their struggle against the Four Divine Beasts clan.
But Hodan was just a minor figure of the Reinales clan, and was assigned here as the Planar Overseer. He didn’t know too much regarding the situation of the clan in the Infernal Realm. Naturally, he didn’t understand what sort of status Linley now had! If he knew that Linley was now an Elder of the Azure Dragon clan, his legs would probably turn to jelly.
“Lord Linley, you, on the other hand, are now far more powerful than before.” Hodan was very respectful. He was just a God; how would he dare to be anything but respectful?
Linley turned to look at the endless world of ice and snow. The vast world was frozen and desolate, but Linley felt warmth in his heart. This was his home!
“Wade, this is the Arctic Icecap!” Linley was clearly rather excited. “The Arctic Icecap of the Yulan Plane! The Yulan Plane… my homeland! After two thousand years, I’ve finally returned! Finally returned, haha…” Linley was so excited that he couldn’t help but laugh loudly.
Delia’s eyes were moist as well. She was weeping from joy. “We’re back. I wonder how my Leon clan is doing. If my older brother is doing well or not.” Delia was incomparably excited.
Nearly two thousand years had passed in the Infernal Realm. The longer they had stayed there, the more they had longed for their homeland.
“So this is Father’s homeland?” Wade looked everywhere, also quite curious.
“Not even close. The Yulan continent is to the south.” Linley laughed. “Come. Let’s go to the Yulan continent. Hodan, we’ll leave now.” Laughing, Linley summoned a surge of divine earth power, sweeping them all up to fly away alongside him at high speed, departing from the Arctic Icecap and flying towards the Yulan continent.
As for Hodan, he stared into the distance as Linley left. “That year in the past, I kept on feeling as though Linley was a genius. But who would have imagined… in less than two thousand years, he would have returned from the Infernal Realm. Terrifying. Terrifying!” To be able to return from the Infernal Realm was a proof of power. How could ordinary Highgods possess a fortune of a trillion inkstones?
Flying was restricted and cumbersome in the Infernal Realm. Upon returning to a material realm, Linley felt his flying speed rise dramatically, and he was now ten times faster than when he had been in the Infernal Realm. He used his divine earth power to wrap everyone up, so as to help Ina, Wade, and the others move more rapidly as well.
After flying a short period of time, Linley saw, off in the distance, the sinuous northern shorelines off the North Sea.
“Boss, we’re at the Yulan continent!” Bebe called out excitedly.
“So this is the Yulan continent?” Ina looked around curiously.
Linley and Delia’s faces were slightly ruddy with excitement. It had been two thousand years since they had left, after all. Delia turned to look towards Linley. “Linley, where should we go first? To the Forest of Darkness? Or to D
ragonblood Castle?”
Linley let out a low sigh. “It’s been so many years since I’ve paid my respects to Father. Let’s go to the town of Wushan.” For some reason, Linley missed the town of Wushan the most. Perhaps it was because that was where his roots were. His youth had been spent there. That was where he had met Grandpa Doehring. And that was where he had met Bebe.
“The town of Wushan. Right. Let’s go to the town of Wushan,” Bebe said as well. “I was born in the town of Wushan,” Bebe turned, explaining to Ina and Nisse. The town of Wushan was a place of tremendous meaning for both Linley and Bebe. That was the start of their life.
“Right. To the town of Wushan. I want to see it,” Ina said jubilantly.
“The town of Wushan is probably covered with magical beasts.” Linley sighed. “After nearly two thousand years… I wonder what it has become like.” Two thousand years was too long a period of time, after all. It was enough for many things to occur.
“Father, I want to see our ancestral manor as well.” Wade was very eager as well.
“Then, let’s go.” Linley immediately led everyone directly to the western side of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, pressing forward towards the town of Wushan at a fast pace. Given that he was now a Highgod, he flew hundreds of times faster than in the past when he was a Saint. Flying through this material plane, where the restrictive forces were much weaker, Linley quickly arrived at the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
“When I was young, I spent more than half a year when I travelled from the Holy Union to the O’Brien Empire. But now, from the North Sea to here, I only spent as much time as is needed to drink a cup of water… oh, and there’s the town of Wushan!” Just as Linley finished his words, he arrived in the air above the town of Wushan, emerging from the mountains.
But in the air above the town of Wushan, Linley’s group came to a pause, puzzled. “Uncle, you said there must be many magical beasts here. But when we flew over here from the mountains, we saw many buildings and many people.” Ina didn’t understand. “Also, is this the town of Wushan? Why is it so densely populated? There has to be tens of thousands of people here.”
The Planar Wars: Book 7 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 4
