Chapter 167: High Level Seal
Chapter 167: High Level Seal
.
This was clearly seen by the spirit, whose face now bore a slightly irritated expression, but there was no time to think about that.
First he had to take care of the other human.
He released part of his power, and immediately the ice sculptures that had become the tendrils began to crumble.
The thin layer of ice exploded as the tendrils were freed. All of this happened within a few seconds, and when the spirit looked toward Zhu Rong’s position, it noticed that he had already moved from there, and was now hovering in the air.
The spirit wasn’t sure what the human intended to do, but it didn’t matter, he planned to take care of him quickly before dealing with the one who had fled.
"You know, even if you successfully escape from here, it wouldn’t matter. This place is under my command, and soon I’ll be able to reach any part of it," said the spirit, emphasizing the futility of their resistance to what was inevitable.
Zhu Rong, floating in the air, heard this and smiled, a smile far beyond normal, a manic one.
"Oh, really? Well then, let’s see if that’s true or not," he said, raising his hand.
A swirling sphere of energy had formed on it.
The spirit didn’t notice it in the heat of the moment, but now that he examined it, his eyes grew serious as he sensed the chaotic elemental power contained within.
Seeing that the other side had noticed the energy sphere, he smiled even wider, then cast a challenging glance at the spirit before pulling his arm back and, without hesitation, unleashing the sphere with full force on a trajectory aimed upward.
The spirit, sensing the chaotic power in it, grew serious. He felt that something wasn’t right, and when he saw where the attack had been aimed, he finally understood,
"No."
He immediately launched himself toward the sphere, moving the tendrils nearby to reach it quickly.
Zhu Rong saw this and didn’t waste time. Instead, he hurled himself, not toward the spirit, but toward the tunnel.
The reason the spirit panicked wasn’t because of the attack it self, but because of where it had been aimed.
It wasn’t against him, nor against the cocoon; rather, it was far above the cocoon, directed straight toward the ceiling of the cave.
***
Meanwhile, while all this was happening, the various groups sent to search for the seals were scattered across the mountain, and after some searching, they had all begun to sense the positions of these seals.
The process had been quick and strangely easy, leading everyone to think there might be something wrong.
Yet when the first team reached the spot, the only thing they saw was a stone pillar three meters high, with large horizontal inscriptions carved into it.
It was tall and imposing, and although covered in foliage and moss, its refinement had not been diminished over time.
It was clear that it had been here for a very long time, centuries, perhaps even longer, considering to whom the secret realm belonged.
The first team to locate one of the three seals was the team from the Masters’ Pavilion. When they reached the stone pillar, they were left astonished.
To the eyes of an ordinary person, it would have been just a pillar with runes, nothing more than an object sealing something. But to experts like them, it was a work of art. Though the appearance was simple, they could immediately tell by eye that it was far from simple.
The complexity of the carved runes and the combinations formed with the spiritual connections between them, invisible to the untrained eye, were a delight to behold.
One of them, a man of medium height with long white hair and a scholar’s robe, stepped forward immediately to examine the stone pillar.
He was a Master engraver of the pavilion.
He had been sent into the secret realm to keep an eye on some of the young prodigies of the pavilion who had come together, as well as to try his luck here like the others.
When he learned that the place had been a legacy of the first human emperor, he was filled with anticipation for what this place might hold and couldn’t wait to see what lay beyond the golden gates of the palace on the mountain.
He knew that among various things, secondary professions had flourished most during the era of the first human emperor, so much so that even now, the level of knowledge and skill that the experts of that time had reached was unattainable by most current masters.
Only the grandmasters could hope to match their level, that is why when he learned what kind of place this secret realm was, he was ecstatic.
He didn’t think at all about why the palace’s gates had been sealed, nor why finding these seals seemed so easy.
Now, seeing this marvel before him, he could confirm that it was definitely a high level seal, something that, in itself, should have made him happy, as examining it would allow him to learn much,
but instead, his expression grew serious.
The more he examined the series of runes on the pillar, the more he began to understand their main function, and his expression became complex and contemplative.
"This seal is not meant to seal an object, but a creature," he immediately noted.
The seal, which had apparently been intended as part of the formation that sealed the palace gates, was far from what he expected. It was not at all what he had imagined, and indeed, it was not a seal for objectsm it was part of a larger formation to seal living beings.
There was no way it could serve a formation that would unlock the gate. No matter how much he thought about it, that was impossible.
"And considering the complexity of these schemes, what kind of creature would require such a powerful seal?" He was increasingly curious and puzzled by this, but at that very moment, he felt a vibration coming from the ground below.
Before he could understand what it was, a loud explosion echoed, and everyone turned their attention to the mountain.