Chapter 1225
I Want to Die
July 2nd, early morning.
The carriage traveling from Heaven City to Holy Spring City had been on the road for over a day.
Of course, it was less of a “carriage” and more of a “Dragon Carriage.” Heaven City was already nearing the heart of the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, and without Sherlock accompanying them this time, the horses, requiring a large amount of drinking water, would struggle to maintain their body temperature in such high heat. Their speed wouldn’t be much faster than camels either.
As they ventured deeper into the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, the daytime sandstorms grew fiercer. Many routes were engulfed in sandstorms that blotted out the sky. Getting caught in one would lead to becoming lost.
When time was not a constraint, the carriage could take shelter within a barrier and wait for the sandstorm to pass. But now, with time pressing, forcing passage through a sandstorm would injure the horses’ eyes and windpipes with the rapidly flying sand.
Therefore, when the convoy left Heaven City, Eivass had them bring along all the horses. One could only say that horses, as creatures, were not very convenient for travel in the desert.
The creatures pulling the carriage now were Leviathans.
The sturdy protection on the Leviathans’ bodies, resembling dragon scales, allowed them to charge into sandstorms without hesitation. Even if sand entered their exhaust pipes, a few forceful “coughs” would clear them out.
Even if they had to be mindful of the carriage’s sturdiness and avoid accelerating too quickly on the ground, they could take flight with the carriage during good weather and land on a sand dune before plunging into a sandstorm.
A monster like a dragon pulling a luxurious carriage through the sky – this scene looked as dreamlike as a fairy tale movie.
The Harpies, seeing this from afar, were greatly startled and veered far off course, hiding themselves. It wasn’t that they knew it was Eivass’s mount, but rather the instinct of flying creatures was to avoid any aerial units larger than themselves.
Although there was a slight bumpiness inside, Isabel had already returned. The others’ bodies could generally withstand the jolts. Only old Master Ibn, being elderly, would feel somewhat uncomfortable. However, with Eivass’s healing, nothing serious would happen.
In fact, Eivass initially did not want to bring Ibn along, just as he was reluctant to bring Haina.
Eivass was about to grapple with a Heavenly Envoy this time, and he didn’t have the time to escort them back to a safe place. This meant that anyone who stayed would have to face an Abyss Heavenly Envoy.
As an ancient Heavenly Envoy, possibly the remnant body of Ai Shiping, this was indeed Eivass’s fated enemy, a battle he could not escape.
But Eivass did not want to involve others. The primary reason was the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s immense attack power. Eivass lacked the confidence to protect those around him. Furthermore, casually using resurrection abilities would uncontrollably increase the conversion progress of the Sin Eater Beast, which was already close to its limit.
Therefore, Eivass’s initially planned teammates were only Lily, Zhu Tang, and Mu.
Ten li east of Holy Spring City, beyond a long snow-capped mountain, lay the territory of the Taichu Empire. Yes, not far east of Holy Spring City was a snow mountain. Some opponents of the Lord, and sages unwilling to be too involved in the affairs of the Oasis City-states, lived at the foot of that mountain, devoid of any animals. They survived by living in hand-built stone houses and boiling melted snow for water.
No caravans or Slave Knights from other city-states would pass through here. At least, in the worldview of the Anxi people, this was the pure “edge of the world.”
Occasionally, they would cross the mountain range to the Taichu Empire on the other side of the snow mountain, trading medicinal herbs collected from the mountain for daily necessities and food. Only during the Night Festival would they return to the city to participate in brief revelries.
The friend Zhu Tang knew was an old man living on the snow mountain.
It was said he was a court sage exiled for saying something displeasing to the Lord. Therefore, he not only knew many languages but was also skilled in rituals, poetry, and politics. He mastered various historical classics and board games and played the lute quite proficiently.
He taught Zhu Tang various card games not popular in Taichu and learned about tea ceremony and fishing from Zhu Tang. They had trekked through the snow mountain many times, collecting precious medicinal herbs from its peak together, so Zhu Tang was quite familiar with the terrain there.
As long as they could safely leave the city, Zhu Tang and Mu could flee east at any time to a sufficiently safe location. With the hermits from the snow mountain, there shouldn’t be much of a problem. The only concern was whether the tsunami caused by the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s arrival could surmount the mountain range.
Lily, on the other hand, could hide in Eivass’s shadow. Unless struck by a special attack, she could be considered relatively safe.
—However, Ibn and Haina were different from them. Zhu Tang and Mu were returning home to Taichu. For them, it would mean being unable to return home. If they followed Zhu Tang to Taichu, they might never be able to come back. To return would require crossing the entire desert. Perhaps only after Anxi was transformed by Eivass in the future might they have a chance to be brought back.
Sin Thorns could neutralize the Extraordinary Power of any Path. With the disturbances from the Sin Thorns beneath the desert, teleportation spells could not be used from within the desert, much like strong magnetic fields could disable delicate electronic equipment.
Even Fifth Tier or Sixth Tier Great Sorcerers had to travel the desert on foot. No one knew if Sin Thorns were buried beneath the desert ahead.
Other spells being affected would at most result in unstable flames, curses skewing towards others, or being nullified. However, if a teleportation spell were severely affected, it could result in being uniformly distributed as red jam within a fifty-meter radius upon landing.
After all, even when boarding an airplane, one had to switch to flight mode! Teleportation spells were far more dangerous than flying.
“You two… aren’t planning on coming back?” Eivass finally couldn’t help but ask the two.
Old Ibn smiled and nodded, appearing perfectly at ease. “Yes, I won’t be coming back.”
“My lifespan was already nearing its end… I remember telling you before.”
—That was true.
Ibn, the court Ritualist, had already felt his life nearing its end several months prior. It was precisely because he felt he was about to die that he accompanied Eivass to the Ascension Ritual.
At that time, he had already prepared to sacrifice himself to send Eivass to a higher level. While he survived and completed the Ascension Ritual later, partly due to his extremely exquisite ritualistic spells, another part was due to sheer luck. His resolve to face death was never fake.
The Ascension Ritual extended old Ibn’s lifespan, and he even grew a few black hairs. However, he remained an old man. The extended lifespan was not enough for him to regain his youth. The Life force he had overdrawn during the ritual had to be repaid now.
“You and I both know that death is not the end of life, nor is it eternal separation,” old Ibn said slowly. “But entering the Dream Realm and falling into the Origin River, the soul always has a direction of flow.”
“…Who are you pursuing?” Zhu Tang on the side asked hesitantly, closing his eyes.
“Naturally, the Father Snake.”
Ibn knew what Zhu Tang was worried about. He smiled at him, then turned back to look at Eivass seriously. “I wouldn’t go so far as to pursue a Ring Heavenly Envoy.”
“The Father Snake rarely recruits Disciples,” Eivass couldn’t help but remind him seriously. “The Father Snake and Hengwo have the fewest Disciples, even fewer than Amber. You’ll most likely be taken by a Ring Heavenly Envoy.”
“I know. But if I don’t strive for it, I won’t even have a chance,” Ibn sighed. “The Tide of Transcendence has arrived and not yet ceased… If things are as you told me before, and the Father Snake is planning to transcend Amber and go to a world beyond this world—then the day He chooses will only be August 8th.”
“After death, without guidance, it takes about a week to enter the Dream Realm. There are also many lost souls lingering on the other shore… By the time they queue up to enter the Origin River, it will likely be another week.”
“I have to die by July 20th at the latest to have a chance of being picked up by the Father Snake. Considering the Father Snake will inevitably be increasingly busy, it’s better to die sooner than later. And to be picked up by the Father Snake, one must naturally perform a ‘Transcendent Act’ that astonishes Him—”
“—What else could be more ‘Transcendent’ than dragging this aging body into a god-slaying plan?”
At this point, Ibn smiled with considerable excitement.
