V2 Chapter 170

While walking, Cian picks up and collected many kinds of rare plants and flowers. Some of them can be used as materials for Alchemy, while the others, God knows what use they had. At the very least he didn’t recognize them. Still, because they held magical power, they should not be bad.

This place was truly abundant and full of precious things, appearing as if no one has ever come here and collected any of them.

Sibylla would be happy if I give these things to her…

Recalling Sibylla’s smile, Cian couldn’t help but feel warm inside. He continued to stroll around with the Manticore as they went deeper into the forest, collecting interesting things while fighting monsters at the same time. At the north direction, he saw many rare plants and materials, such as a Mid-sized Magic Crystal Vein; sadly he doesn’t have enough time to mine all of them at once. Hence, he could only gather those he could and then stored all of them inside his Storage Rings.

The landscape moved up and down, after Cian and the Manticore pass through a small hill, a valley showed up in front of them. Since they arrived here, the tracks of the beasts clearly become a lot fewer. The surrounding gradually becomes extremely quiet.

Cian and the Manticore slowly continued their adventure, when suddenly Cian started to feel that something was off. This was because there were no traces of any Magical Beasts in the area that lay in front of him. There were no birds in the sky. And, the ground was so clean that not an ant could be seen crawling on it. What was really unreasonable was that he couldn't even feel half an earthworm inside the ground.

This place is too silent and desolate!

Did we enter some strange guy’s territory?

Cian thought as he looked around at the flowers and trees. They were all lush. He then breathed the air in. It was fresh, and there was no hint of poison in it, nor any strange things in the air. He was never worried about any poison, with his blood being poison itself. But what made Cian surprised was that he can actually feel the magical energy in the air, in this place. And when he opened his [Night’s Eye], it’s as if the magical energy crystallized, turning into a thick fog—so dense!

The Magical Power in this place is so dense—denser than where Amadea inhabited!

But what came to his surprise, even more, was that the Manticore which was extremely braved and fearless as they walk around the forest was now shaking in fear.

“What is it? Do you know this place?” he asked, doubtful.

No… I never went this far.

However, the Manticore shook her head, answering her master’s question. Then, she stared at him with a doubtful expression, growling softly.

Leona’s territory was around Amadea’s tree. Hence, she didn’t try to delve this deep. According to her, this is the territory of the annoying serpents. Because of that, she didn’t know where they were, nor what kind of monster was hiding in this place. However, for some unknown reason, she was getting chills and somewhat scared—which, she didn’t know the reason why.

Intuition?

Cian furrowed his brows. He then carefully drifted forward a bit, and then walked inside. He was not a person who got easily scared, and in fact, he was a bit curious. Strange… the trees and the flowers got increasingly lush. But, there was no sound of activity… same as before.

The air too got increasingly fresh and pleasant.

Cian looked around as he walked forward, and then inhaled a lung-full of the comfortable air. As he walks through the bushes and trees, he felt somewhat rejuvenated, as if all fatigue and dirt had been washed away. Cian couldn’t help but stop to check if he was somehow in an illusion, but his [Night’s Eye] was not reacting.

What’s going on?

When he opened his eye, he saw that there were bright purple and red colors all around him. It was extremely quite there. Then, Cian suddenly felt a subtle sensation. It was like his mind had grown fickle and impatient in this world. Everything had become quiet in the blink of an eye.

Everything was so quiet that it made one revel in the past. It made one's mind feel at ease, and made them feel like their souls had been cleansed…

This is…?

What kind of place is this?

The Manticore felt a tugging fear in its subconscious, and it wanted to run away. However, Cian seemed to be adamant about advancing. Hence, it could only let out a sigh and followed. If something happened, even if it died, it decided to let Cian leave safely.

Unbeknownst to the Manticore’s death will-feelings, Cian walked as if he was being enchanted. The ground he had just stepped-on had a silky feel to it… like the grass of a meadow. It rustled softly as he moved forward. He felt like he was walking in dreamland. The myriads of problems that had clogged his mind disappeared, and he felt his mind going empty… like he was sleep-walking.

Cian walked with extremely gentle movements; as if he was afraid that making any noise would ruin the tranquility of his mind. Even the constant nagging of his subconscious and Aanuel’s rhetoric but nonsensical strange wisdom that seemed to just want to mess with him was now gone, silent. It’s as if staying here, he was able to purify the evil spirit known as Aanuel—

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Fuck! You are the evil spirit! Your entire family is the Evil Spirit!!

A voice cried out in anger inside his mind.

Ho? So you are still here…

Cian smiled wryly.

However, Aanuel’s voice didn’t respond anymore. Perhaps, that was just his imagination?

Whatever.

Hostilities had filled his soul for a long time. Even his body was filled with filth due to Aanuel’s everyday depravation. Although, he had at most, cleaned his body away, and turned it for the better, there are still things that are engraved in the bones, especially deep in his mind. Still, the aura of this place, the tranquility—it’s as if, it was able to cleanse it all away.

Staying in this place made his heart and soul relax.

At this very moment, his brain was completely empty, and he didn’t have a single thought related to the world’s circumstances and his impending turbulent future. He only felt calm, full of eagerness, and completely filled with a happy feeling. This tactile sensation gave him an indescribable sense of pleasure.

This can’t be natural…

What happened?

The Manticore who was vigilantly surveying the surroundings while following Cian closely was suddenly shocked.

Master… he…he transformed!

Cian walking in front of it now had a bushy tail swaying behind his back and two erect long fox ears at the top of his head. Even his ash-colored hair had now become snow-white and its length reached his feet and it was glimmering as it swayed with the wind. Though, it's not like it was dyed white, but because of the glowing white color that it looks as if his hair had become white entirely. Now, he looked as if he was some god descended from heaven.

Cian looks solemn and peaceful as he walks, and his hair started to sway along with the motion. His hair was shining as if there was stardust coming out from it. Even the Manticore was mesmerized by this.

The magical energy radiating from it was strong and it only faded after being spread far away. It turned into a silvery flame attached to the hair then into electric current buzzing. Even the Manticore felt dazzled and captivated, especially when it saw Cian’s solemn and indifferent expression.

It was too beautiful!

It’s as if the Master in front of it, was not the master it had known.

As Cian walks, suddenly a small blossom revolved as it floated down from the tree. It silently fell down on his shoulders, but he didn't become aware of it because of the flurry he was in. There was a light breeze. And, the hair at the edge of his hairline started to sway gently…

It seemed like centuries had already passed.

But, it also felt like all of this had happened in a brief moment…

Cian smiled wryly…

Why is feeling like this…?

Feeling somewhat melancholic…?

“Still… I never thought an enchanted place like this, existed…what is this place?”

While in thought, Cian found himself walking to a cliffside and saw the boundless mountain range.

So big…so vast... Cian can hardly believe that this place was the same place as the Winter Mountain. The vast area covered by the forest was staggering. Cian had used all his eye powers to measure the mountains and forest, but even if his vision reaching more than thirty kilometers he still hadn't been able to see its end. That meant that if all of the wood in the forest was to be used for building a fire, it would burn for a very long time.

That horrifying winter land actually has this much beauty just behind it…?

It’s as if they were two different worlds, different planes… different realms.

One was Hell…the other side was Heaven…

It’s hard to believe that this was behind the Winter Mountain– it was a no man's land, a land completely cut off from the outside world, in other words, an abundant and resource-filled wasteland. He could only speculate how big the area between the Winter Mountain and the border of the forest was.

Both borders were extremely vast, it had to be much bigger than the territory of his Dreadstorm Empire.

How enormous was the Winter Mountain…?

Is this Winter Mountain the Grandline of this world that cut off a part of the entire Continent?

Just how big is this Continent?

In the face of such an extremely large and ownerless land, Cian’s heart began to itch. If he can conquer this land, Dreadstorm Empire would actually not mean anything to him anymore. he can just create another large Kingdom that wouldn’t lose to it in any aspect.

But he also knew that for the moment he was temporarily unable to bother himself with this piece of land. This land was not an uninhabited land. There were many forces that had laid their foundation here and claimed their own land. Unless he could make them submit, or conquer them… this piece of land would never be his completely!

Cian stared at the expanse of mountains and forest. To explore even just the parts around them could take a day or two. The sunlight was very warm. Cian turned and said indifferently, “Let’s start heading back to Amadea. I think we’ve gone far enough…”

Cian muttered as he turned around, and started walking away. The long hair behind him swaying and even his bushy fox tail moved along it. Tracing the path they came from, suddenly, Cian’s eyes narrowed as he felt a tugging sensation in his mind. Someone’s there? Activating his [Night’s Eye], he tried to survey the surrounding, however, he could barely see anything due to the thickness of the magical energy, and perhaps because of the level of his Magic Eye, it was somewhat limited.

However, this tugging feeling…

Strange… Cian frowned and suddenly turned heels. He started walking, guided by this strange feeling. The Manticore following him stared at Cian’s back, confused. Didn’t the Master say go back? That’s not the road…

However, it was extremely loyal and just followed behind Cian, alert, and vigilant.

After passing through the forest, Cian came out and saw a valley waiting for him.

The valley appears emerald-green, and full of thick foliage, one could see many tall ancient trees standing upright from the distant. The entrance to the valley is not very wide; it is only around fifteen to twenty meters wide. The valley wall on both sides are somewhat steep, many huge trees are growing there too. All the green vegetation makes this place appear so full of life.

Looking at a few miles from the entrance of the valley, it looked very auspicious and peaceful, the pleasant cries of the birds, the fragrance of the beautiful flowers drifted along with the wind, there is even a streamlet gathered together by spring water meandering between the plants, it was like a crystal clear ribbon made out of jade. There are no evil beasts roaming about at this place, it could be considered safe and blissful land.

At the distance, one can see a thick growth of trees ahead. In fact, there was no gap between them. They were maybe hundreds… or perhaps thousands of years old from the looks of it. They crowded together with no gap between the two trees. In fact, it seemed as if they were growing in the same place. They were seemingly fencing something from the surrounding area, and had effectively formed an enclosure…

"This is getting stranger…how can the trees grow almost the same and so closely—are they not afraid of getting smaller resources? These trees are idiots,” Cian can’t help mumbled, ignoring the fact that he was talking about trees.

Cian was curious. But, he possessed the caution of an assassin. Although land seemed peaceful and heavenly, precisely because of this auspicious and peaceful land, he felt as if a great danger is about to descend at any given moment. Thinking like this, he entered it as light as a feather.