CHAPTER 851 THE COMMOTION IN THE FORBIDDEN AREA

Standing in front of the crystal wall, Darren used his spiritual sense to pierce through its cracks.

He could only see an endless void behind the wall. Everything was completely dark and empty. The

atmosphere was so still and undisturbed.

Darren marveled at this discovery.

He knew that this was a spiritual space created by his mind. But he could feel that it was real. He

couldn't help but shudder at that thought.

As he tried to figure out what it was, a thought came up to him, unbidden. 'Does this space have

something to do with the small world prototype I've developed?'

The memory of the last time he tried breaking through to the Holy Realm came back to him. Back then,

he had comprehended the Reincarnation Holy Will and a little knowledge of the small world prototype.

'Or could it be my Assimilation Skill playing some part in this?' The thought also occurred to Darren.

After reaching the Genuine Domain Degree, the crystal space had come to its existence. It hadn't

changed since then even though he had been assimilating many other talents for some time now.

'Never mind. It's no use guessing if there aren't any proof. I'll just keep an eye on this ancient spiritual

crystal space next time when I use my Assimilation Skill.'

Upon reaching that decision, he turned his attention on comprehending the Holy Will.

Three months had passed.

And Darren still hadn't made much progress with the Holy Will. He was greatly discouraged by this and

his spirits were low.

One day, Lord Donald sent someone for him.

Darren was led into a hall where Lord Donald sat. There was a grave expression on his face.

Before Darren could even bow and show his respect, Lord Donald immediately spoke up. "I'm afraid I

have some bad news, Darren."

"What's wrong? Are the three clans challenging us? Or is the Space-time Palace causing trouble?"

Darren inquired, worriedly.

Lord Donald shook his head. "No. It's none of those things. I'm afraid Auberon is dead."

For a moment, Darren feared his heart had turned to stone and was now sinking at the bottom of his

guts. The words rang inside his ears, but his mind couldn't process what they meant.

"What?"

While it was true that Darren and Auberon's relationship weren't that close, he hadn't forgotten how he

had rescued him from the number nine Badlands.

With the news of his death, the memories of what they had gone through poured into Darren's mind like

a wave. Tears sprung up into his eyes, blurring his vision.

Auberon had been Lord Donald's most trusted law enforcer for many years. In those years, he had

proved himself loyal to the lord, never once questioning or defying his decisions and commands. He

was not simply a law enforcer, but he was also a friend in many ways. Losing him, Lord Donald was the

one most affected by grief.

After a while, Darren finally composed himself and asked gently, "My Lord, may I ask how he died?"

Lord Donald sighed and rose from his seat.

"Come and have a look!"

He led Darren into the palace where Auberon's body was laid to rest.

Auberon was in a stone coffin. His body was charred beyond recognition and not a single patch of skin

was clean or uninjured. If not for his clothes and weapons, no one could have identified him.

Having seen corpses in similar state as this, Darren was unfazed upon seeing the butchered remains

of Auberon. He had already witnessed ten more men slain like this back when there was a commotion

in the forbidden area last time.

He knew that this did not bode well.

"Lord, has that fiend's arm escaped?" he asked.

"A black fog obscures my vision of the entire region. No one dares come close to it so I'm not sure,"

Lord Donald replied.

"What about the halberd of Hiram the Great?" Darren asked. Lord Donald shook his head.

"We can't know its condition either. All the senior holy warriors of the major clans are all looking into the

fog now. I have seen it as well. It's strange how nobody can come close to it. Many of us tried, but it

was futile. We now wait for our seniors to come back."

"When will they return?" Darren asked.

"In about ten days."

Darren nodded his head thoughtfully. "Maybe Hanson, Mathew and I could go there and investigate it

first? We might be able to help."

Lord Donald looked hesitant to accept Darren's proposal. He didn't want to endanger Darren as well.

"But..."

Before he could even voice out his doubts, Mathew and Hansom appeared. "Don't worry, Lord Donald.

We'll be helping Darren on this one."

Lord Donald looked at the three of them sternly, before giving in. They had no other choice anyway.

"Fine. I will rely on you to protect Darren. Likewise, please take care of yourselves.

With Lord Donald's blessing, the three set off at once. Soon, they approached the place where the

fiend's arm was suppressed.

When they were two kilometers away from their destination, the three slackened their pace.

A thick black fog loomed over them, covering the entire expanse of the sky. Behind it, nothing could be

seen or heard except for some faint roars every now and then.

Upon getting nearer, they saw several senior holy warriors that gathered near the fog.

"Ha-ha, it is as I expected. The power of the Sacred Palace is failing and now they can only send

someone like you!"

Chilton mocked as soon as the three arrived.

Darren glared at him. "For an honorable senior holy warrior, you sure are so cynical. Such attitude does

not fit a person of your position."

Chilton couldn't let such attitude go amiss. His glare was equally threatening. "Eloquent now, aren't

you? Have you forgotten that I have given you the Cross Bloody Killing Token? You'll be hunt down.

How dare you come here now?"

"Do you dare to kill me here at the edge of the forbidden area? Do you think you can shoulder the

responsibility?" Darren snapped, menacingly.

Darren knew that killing was not permissible within the borders of the forbidden area for blood could

cause it to react erratically. Chilton couldn't attack him here.

And Chilton was no fool. He may be loud and offensive, but he was fully aware of the consequences if

he drew his sword against Darren. He didn't want the wrath of all living things to fall on him.

"You little vermin!" Gritting his teeth, Chilton simply took a deep breath and reigned in his anger.

Suddenly, he laughed. "You really are a brave young man. I'll let you live for the time being as there are This material belongs to .

more important matters that we have to attend to first."

In his mind, he had already marked Darren as a doomed man. There was no point arguing with him if

he would be slain soon.

"Hanson, let's end this old bastard as soon as this is over."

It was Mathew who was unable to contain his fury any longer. His threat held as much hostility as he

could muster.

"You have improved a lot in your realm. Your killing sword intent has gotten much purer now. Together

with my dark gold internal force, I reckon we can easily defeat one or two senior holy warriors if it

comes to that," Hanson stated. His tone was cold and his intent was clear.

Chilton was astonished by their blatant threats.

Hanson and Mathew were both renowned cultivators. Their skills had even improved greatly ever since

they entered the Holy Realm. Now, they were only one step away from becoming junior holy warriors.

With their current level, it was very likely that they could go through with their threats successfully.

Chilton didn't bother responding to them. Instead, he simply sized them up, thinking that these two

were indeed worthy opponents. But he had been a senior holy warrior for so long that he was confident

he could handle the two.

"Very well then. You two shall make a fine addition in my hunt list," he sneered.

Hanson only snorted at him with disdain. "We look forward to it."

Unwilling to talk to these inferior people, Chilton stepped back and flew back to his companions.

Darren drew his attention back to the black fog in front of them.

It had swallowed the entire sky in darkness. Silhouettes of ferocious beasts flashed here and there as

the fog rippled, but they faded away eventually.

Three days had elapsed, but nothing unusual had happened yet.

As hours passed, its ominous aura had remained still and undisturbed, but everyone became more and

more apprehensive.

"Darren, can you sense any fiendish aura inside it?" Matthew asked.

Darren shook his head. "It's strange, but I don't think the fog has any fiendish aura."

"I don't feel it, either," Hanson agreed.

Suddenly, a harsh sound clanged through the air.

The northern part of the black fog was surging wildly like dark waves.

"What? What's happening?" Hanson exclaimed.

"It's going after the direction of the three great clans!"

Darren and the others immediately followed the fog's direction. Soon, they found several senior holy

warriors locked in battle against several beasts that seemed to have been borne out of the fog.

However, Darren and the others couldn't see them quite clearly.

Amid the clash, a cry of terror pierced the air.

A senior holy warrior stumbled forward as if pushed by an invincible force. Blood oozed out of his

mouth as he fell.

This shocked Darren and the others.

A cold gust of wind blew around them. Its icy aura stabbed at them, burrowing deep within their bones.

Everyone shuddered.

"Get the hell out of here!"

the mightiest of the senior holy warriors shouted at them.

But another senior holy warrior only shook his head, smiling wryly at them as he dealt with the invisible

force attacking them. "It's too late for them to leave now."