Chapter 1029 The Looming Doom <TOC> Chapter 1031 The Frozen Dragon Scale
Translator: SumTLMan
Rhine offered a nod of affirmation.
“Indeed, it’s Angel,” confirmed Rhine, “Florence is keen on purchasing the Rhythm of the Ocean from Angel.”
Sanders furrowed his brows. Initially, he had thought Florence was seeking Angel due to some leads on “Lucas’ Skull”. Surprisingly, it was for the Rhythm of the Ocean.
Rhine continued, “Florence’s plan is to offer the Fragment of Constant as a trade, with a specific quantity, around three drops.”
The value of the Fragment of Constant need not be spoken aloud. What surprised Sanders was that the Rhythm of the Ocean was so valuable?
During his previous journey into the Abyss, Angel had mentioned the Rhythm of the Ocean. However, Angel seemed reluctant to elaborate, merely glossing over the subject.
Considering the Rhythm of the Ocean was Angel’s premier high-rank work, Sanders had paid close attention. Later on, he tried to test the exact effects of the Rhythm of the Ocean by contacting Angel, only to find Angel repeatedly dodging the subject. Although Sanders suspected some sort of trickery, he respected Angel’s choice as the alchemist of the piece and did not delve further.
Now hearing Rhine’s explanation, he was surprised at the lofty value attributed to the Rhythm of the Ocean.
“The recent ‘Song of the Deep Sea’ expedition yielded fifteen drops of Fragment of Constant, with Florence alone securing ten drops. He claimed he was willing to use three drops as trade, but I speculate that disregarding their own cost of upgrading the Wizard Garden, he could negotiate a little more.”
In other words, four drops!
Four drops of Fragment of Constant would be nearly enough to create a low-grade Wizard Garden!
The value of the Rhythm of the Ocean was somewhat beyond Sanders’ expectation.
However, to Sanders, he was more interested in finding out what Angel had deliberately concealed, rather than the overt value of the Rhythm of the Ocean.
Rhine fell silent, looking towards the stoic Sanders.
Despite the gravity of the matter, Sanders remained utterly composed. Rhine couldn’t help but admire, remembering his own surprise when Florence initially proposed the deal. Sanders, on the other hand, appeared to have anticipated the value of the Rhythm of the Ocean early on.
Though Rhine was ignorant of it, Sanders was in fact far less knowledgeable about the Rhythm of the Ocean than he was. The reason he could remain so serene was because Angel’s mischief was just too shocking. For instance, the potential of the Wilderness of Dreams is infinite, making it nearly impossible to evaluate by mere value alone.
Therefore, when Sanders heard about the Rhythm of the Ocean, apart from inwardly cursing Angel’s knack for stirring things up, he was remarkably unfazed.
“What do you think?” Rhine inquired.
“It’s Angel’s creation, it has nothing to do with me, my opinion is unimportant,” Sanders paused, “and besides, Angel’s current situation is unknown. I think it would be better to first bring him back from the Abyss before discussing anything else.”
Sanders came this time for Angel’s affairs.
When he had returned to the Savage Grottoes the other day, he informed Rhine of the changes in the interplanar passage without delay. Rhine urged Sanders to keep calm as his friend ‘Dimension Walker’ Aesop, due to the planar fusion, happened to be nearby.
As a rare space true knowledge wizard, Aesop should have some insights.
Earlier, Rhine sought out Aesop and then summoned Sanders over.
Rhine stated, “Angel should be free of concerns for now, given he’s in Whispering Wind Valley.”
Sanders didn’t agree, “There have been extensive abnormalities in the Gloaming Mountains. Before I entered the interplanar passage, I felt very uneasy being there. To avoid unforeseen incidents, it is better to quickly return and fetch Angel.”
Sanders paused, addressing the crux of the matter directly, “The interplanar passage has been experiencing problems frequently, is there a reason for this?”
Rhine, recollecting Aesop’s words, answered, “From here to the Abyss, the spatial energy is currently unstable, but not to the extent of a Spatio-Temporal Mystery. Your situation is very likely an exceptional case.”
The Spatio-Temporal Mystery was indeed an exception among exceptions. Even Rhine himself might not escape smoothly if trapped, so Sanders was actually quite lucky.
“Problems occurred in the interplanar passage two times in a row. Are both exceptions?” Sanders frowned.
“According to Aesop, indeed they are exceptions,” Rhine confirmed. “Although not long ago, the path to the Abyss experienced an energy tide, the surge has mostly subsided, and it won’t affect the interplanar passage you created individually. At present, there are no other abnormalities in between, so your experiences should be special cases.”
Sanders trusted Aesop’s words, but he still felt it was absurd that two consecutive failures were deemed exceptions. He had a vague feeling that there might be other hidden factors that hadn’t emerged yet.
“Has he designated a departure point?”
“If you’re venturing into the Abyss within the next few days, your best bet would be near the Fragrant Lake in the Arelle Principality. The spatial energy there is not as unstable as the Paramjit Plateau.” What Aesop actually said was that even if the passage was opened at Paramjit Plateau, it wouldn’t matter much. While the spatial energy there is somewhat unstable due to a failed planar fusion, it’s only relative. Even at its worst, it’s still more stable than Whispering Wind Valley in the Abyss.
Whether it’s the Paramjit Plateau or the Fragrant Lake, the creation of an interplanar passage to the Abyss would always involve moving from a region of high stability to one of lower stability. All in all, there’s not much difference.
“I understand.” Sanders noted the location and prepared to leave.
He still had the Fragment Ephemera, enough for the round trip. However, the number of Fragment Ephemera required to bring Angel back was quite substantial. Just thinking about it made Sanders cringe.
“In that case, I’ll accompany you on this journey.” Rhine rose from his seat along with Sanders.
Sanders looked at him, puzzled.
Rhine shrugged. “An old bone like me, stiffened by years of inactivity, could use a trip to the Abyss. Plus, I think highly of Angel. I’ve already given him the spirit of the Path of Magic Siphon. If anything happens to him, wouldn’t my effort be in vain?”
Rhine knew that as soon as Sanders brought Angel back from the Abyss, he would probably rush back immediately. Thus, even if Rhine leaves, it won’t be for long. Besides, he hadn’t left home in quite some time, and recent disturbances, such as the failed planar fusion that brought wizards from various organizations to bother him, had been plenty. This was a perfect opportunity for him to lay low for a while. If time permits, he’d like to visit Sky Island…to see Samantha.
Rhine’s expression dimmed at the thought of Samantha.
Upon seeing Rhine’s frown, Sanders almost instantly figured out what was on his mind.
“You might not get the chance to visit Sky Island. Your wish to see your daughter… It’s probably not going to happen.” Sanders stated, “Also, I don’t think Samantha wants to see you.”
Rhine quickly hid the fleeting gloom and muttered, “As long as you’re there, she would come out to see you even if she doesn’t want to see me.”
Sanders: “…” It’s indeed a familiar taste.
Quietly, Sanders and Rhine left the Savage Grottoes.
As the Arelle Principality wasn’t far, they planned to fly directly there. Midway, Rhine, looking at Sanders’ tightly closed lips and furrowed brow, jokingly remarked, “You look worse than when Mirror Lady wanted to use the Sky Earth Observation to peep at you bathing.”
Sanders dismissed Rhine’s jesting words, “I can’t shake a sense of unease.”
“Unease?”
“On reflection, since we left Watchtower Fortress, it feels as though an unseen thread in the background is pulling all the strings. Logically, the Gloaming Mountains should not have such a number of demons, something is off here,” Sanders couldn’t shake the feeling that he had missed some crucial clue.
“We’ll find out when we get there.”
Soon, they arrived at the tranquil and beautiful Fragrant Lake.
Initiating the interplanar passage, connecting with the Abyss. Every step was flawlessly executed, but for the coordinates of the Abyss, Sanders couldn’t select the third layer, he could only pinpoint the outermost layer.
Echoing Aesop’ words, this time, Sanders opened the interplanar passage smoothly, without a hitch.
They successfully smuggled themselves from the Wizarding World into the Abyss.
Upon stepping out of the interplanar passage, Rhine wore a nostalgic look on his face, “It must be nearly a thousand years since I last visited the Abyss. Such a memorable scene.”
Scene? The azure blue sky of the Wizarding World had been replaced with a gloomy, dust-filled firmament. The surroundings were wild, barren mountains, the air reeked with a chilling, bloody stench. What scenery was there to speak of?
Sanders didn’t have the energy to critique Rhine’s taste.
He quickly assessed the surrounding environment and swiftly located the direction of the Translayer Gate.
“A few thousand miles in the southwest direction, there’s a Translayer Gate that leads straight to the third layer,” Sanders’ chosen location was precisely the Translayer Gate that led directly to the Gloaming Mountains.
Going this way, it was certain they wouldn’t be able to reach Sky Island.
Although Rhine felt a twinge of regret, he didn’t mind. From a long-term perspective concerning Savage Grottoes, Angel’s safety indeed needed to be the priority.
A few thousand miles didn’t seem far for them. In no time, they had arrived at the Translayer Gate.
Upon reaching the Gloaming Mountains of the third layer of the Abyss, Sanders immediately went on high alert.
However, to his puzzlement, he and Rhine traversed from the south to the north of the Gloaming Mountains, a whopping tens of thousands of miles, without encountering a single ambush.
This was completely inconsistent with their previous encounters.
When the forces from Watchtower Fortress were withdrawn, they would almost be attacked every hundred miles or so. How could their journey now be so smooth?
“Seems like you’ve been worrying over nothing,” Rhine commented.
“Hopefully, that’s the case,” Sanders replied, his expression still somewhat tense. Even though the Gloaming Mountains were calm now, the strange feeling in his heart hadn’t dissipated.
Why was it that now, when he retraced his steps, not only did the interplanar passage not malfunction, but there also seemed to be no dangers in the Gloaming Mountains?
A spark of realization flashed through Sanders’ mind, but before he could grasp it, it disappeared.
“We’ve reached Whispering Wind Valley,” Rhine announced at this moment.
Following Rhine’s gaze, Sanders saw a continuous stretch of mountains ahead. In the central valley surrounded by the mountains, lay Whispering Wind Valley.
“It’s also very quiet here, there are no demons in sight,” Rhine said after sensing the surroundings.
However, Sanders, who had a bird’s-eye view of Whispering Wind Valley, changed his expression abruptly when his gaze fell upon a deep pit in the corner of the valley, “Something’s wrong, we’ve got a problem!”
Chapter 1029 The Looming Doom <TOC> Chapter 1031 The Frozen Dragon Scale