Chapter 2991: Chapter 2992: Return to the Surface
"When you go up from here, youâll reach the outermost layer of the underground aqueduct, which leads directly to the outside ruins."
The speaker was the Cyclops Da Bao, who had opened a hole in the ceiling above. A dark shadow emerged from the hole and pointed inward: "Iâve just surveyed the surface, and thereâs no one nearby; you can go directly."
Doxâs eyes widened: "Are you telling us to pass through your body?"
"Body?" Da Bao paused for a moment, then quickly shook its head: "No, this is just an passage I opened. Only by going through this passage can you avoid touching the Magical Energy Array below."
"But isnât this your body?" Dox clearly remembered that the holes opened by the Cyclops Family in the walls were alive and belonged to their physical form in the Material Realm.
"No, itâs not..." Da Bao didnât know how to explain because this passage indeed bore characteristics of its body, but its core had already left the passage, so it technically shouldnât be its body. Shouldnât the body be a fusion of the core and the physique?
"Indeed, this is your body. Da Bao, I didnât know you had a taste for eating people." Dox appeared utterly relentless.
This left Da Bao speechless with anxiety.
Angel sighed at the scene and said irritably: "Dox, if you donât want to go, stay here. If you want to leave, Iâd suggest keeping your mouth shut."
With that, Angel turned to Da Bao: "Genggui, donât pay attention to him."
After pausing a moment, Angel looked back at Kaier and the others: "Letâs go."
Without caring about Doxâs bewilderment nearby, Angel was the first to fly into the hole...
Angel was currently on his way out of the underground aqueduct. After leaving the Heart Space, he immediately returned to the Sageâs Hall.
At that time, facing gazes filled with either activation or curiosity, Angel didnât say a word about his Alchemical process gaining some insight and planned to find a place for contemplation and meditation.
Although Angelâs statement was a bit abrupt, given that he had recently refined something resembling a âMysterious Object,â the crowd wasnât surprised.
Whether it was a Mysterious Object or a Half-step Mystic object, after Angel refined it, he was bound to have gained understanding and insights. Itâs absolutely crucial to quickly solidify and apply the acquired knowledge.
Thus, even though the crowd was extremely curious about the items Angel refined, they didnât question him but gestured for Angel to proceed as he wished.
In their minds, Angel would likely meditate in the Qingkong Poetry Room, but what they didnât expect was that Angel had no intention of staying in the underground aqueduct.
In fact, he wasnât interested in remaining there; his so-called contemplation was just a casual excuse. His actual goal was to find a reason to leave the underground aqueduct.
It wasnât that he disliked the underground aqueduct or feared the Wise Sovereign.
Itâs simply because he would frequently enter the Mirror Domain and needed an absolutely secret place. Although Qingkong Poetry Room was nice, Angel couldnât remain there indefinitely. After all, he wasnât alone; whether it was Dox, Kaier, or Vay, or the Black Earl, they all had their own matters. He couldnât keep them waiting indefinitely.
Of course, Angel could let them go first, but once they left, and especially when the Black Earl took Adanis back to Noah, itâs possible that the Wise Sovereign could reclaim Qingkong Poetry Roomâs jurisdiction.
At that point, the Wise Sovereign could monitor every corner of the underground aqueduct, even if they bore him no ill will, Angel couldnât endure such "contemplation."
Thus, he had to leave the underground aqueduct immediately.
As for where to go, that could be decided later.
After Angel expressed his intention to leave, the Wise Sovereign didnât put much effort into stopping him, as they had the True Words Tome constraint between them, ensuring that information wouldnât be leaked.
The Wise Sovereign was only slightly regretful that he couldnât exchange Alchemical insights with Angel.
Angelâs reason was so grandiose that the Wise Sovereign couldnât interfere.
However, the Wise Sovereign was somewhat comforted by the fact that Angel provided a method for communication.
Angel didnât hide his connection with Laplace. He straightforwardly explained that due to researching the Sweet Dreams and subsequent Alchemical matters, Laplace began to view him differently, leading to deeper exchanges and establishing a friendly relationship.
If the Wise Sovereign needed to contact him, he could have Laplace deliver the message on his behalf.
This didnât surprise the Wise Sovereign; he already knew of Laplaceâs friendly relationship with Angel from when Laplace personally intervened when Adanis attempted to disrupt Angelâs Alchemical process.
Although not surprised, the Wise Sovereign felt conflicted... Others werenât aware of Laplaceâs identity or his âuniquenessâ in the Daylight Mirror Domain, but the Wise Sovereign understood clearly. Originally, he thought his relationship with Laplace was the closest, only for Angel to emerge unexpectedly.
Despite the complexity, the Wise Sovereign remained rational, understanding that having Laplace and Angel maintain a good relationship was beneficial to both Laplace and himself.
Additionally, he was confident that Laplace trusted him more, given that he was Laplaceâs saviorâa point Angel couldnât surpass.
What the Wise Sovereign didnât realize was that although Laplace acknowledged him as a savior, enough time had passed for much of that debt to be repaid. Attempting to bind Laplace solely with gratitude was practically impossible.
Laplaceâs relationship with Angel was entirely different; Angel was the only friend Laplace recognized, as well as the first friend Laplace actively sought.
In terms of the stability and resilience of bonds, the Wise Sovereign couldnât compare to Angel.
So, because there was a way to contact Angel, the Wise Sovereign didnât try too hard to retain him. After confirming Angelâs departure from the underground aqueduct, he arranged for Da Bao to lead the group out.
...
After passing through the hole Da Bao had opened, the group arrived at a spacious underground plaza.
The walls of the plaza were adorned with numerous fluorite lamps emitting a faint green glow, so the plaza wasnât entirely dim under the lampâs light.
Judging by the style of the wall lamps, it was clear that this wasnât a millennia-old decor. Plus, the fluorite quality was quite low; typically, it would break down in a few decades, so the fact that they remained lit indicated some routine maintenance.
This was evidently not the work of the Wise Sovereign.
That was probably the doing of the explorers of the Garden Labyrinth ruins or the merchant organization.
Regardless, the evident traces of human activity indicated they had left the Magical Energy Array-infested underground aqueduct.
"If you follow this road, youâll reach the exit. However, thereâs someone guarding the exit. If you donât wish to be discovered, you can also break through the ground to leave." Da Baoâs Genggui head emerged from the cave to inform the group.
"If thereâs nothing else, Iâll take my leave now."
Seeing the group remain silent, Da Bao left first.
After Da Bao departed, Angel turned his gaze to the stone slab hovering in mid-air, which was the Black Earl.
He sensed the Black Earlâs spiritual power transmitting some sort of information into the Void.
"Is the Black Earl contacting his main body?" Angel asked.
Black Earl: "You guess?"
Angel: "..."
Seeing Angelâs silence, the Black Earl chuckled and said: "Unless you show me the Mysterious Object youâve refined, Iâll tell if Iâm contacting my main body."
Angel: "Itâs not a Mysterious Object."
Black Earl: "I know, but Half-step Mystic is almost the same as a Mysterious Object."
Angel: ... How could it be considered almost the same? Thereâs a vast difference! A step away is a world apart, which is the difference between a Half-step Mystic and a true Mysterious Object.
Angel: "Letting you see it is no problem. But are you sure you want to see it here?"
Though the Indestructible Heart Mirror isnât truly a Mysterious Object, its Mysterious Aura is genuine. Without the suppression from the underground Magical Energy Array, once revealed, its aura will undoubtedly overflow.
It might attract the prying eyes of outsiders.
The Black Earl pondered for a moment and said, "Where do you plan to settle next?"
Angel: "For a proper settling, I should return to the Barbarian Cave. But right now I have some inspiration, so Iâm planning to find a secluded place nearby to settle down first."
Angel thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps Bilun Tree Court... or the Sandworm Market would be suitable."
Bilun Tree Court is right near the ruins of The Garden Labyrinth. Itâs the nearest Wizard Market. Although itâs not very large, finding a secluded spot shouldnât be a problem.
As for the Sandworm Market, itâs in the Laksum Principality. Angel mentioned it because they came from the Sandworm Market. Kaier is definitely going back there since his research nook is there; Dox, though deciding to follow Angel, still has his bar there that he needs to check on. Angel also gave Dox the option to either follow him back to the Barbarian Cave or stay at the Sandworm Market.
Either way, no matter what Dox chooses, they need to visit the Sandworm Market.
"Itâs better to capitalize on inspiration promptly; running around can easily make it dissipate." At this time, Dorkas suggested, "My recommendation is to go to Bilun Tree Court first."
Angel shrugged indifferently: "Either works."
Black Earl: "Since you plan to go to Bilun Tree Court, find a place to settle first, and then let me take a look at the mysterious object youâve refined?"
Angel: "Arenât you in a hurry to return to the Noah Family, Lord Black Earl?"
Black Earl: "No hurry, I have some matters here to attend to."
Having already left the underground aqueduct, he could return to the Noah Family whenever he wanted. After all, no one dared covet him.
Angel: "So, you werenât communicating with your main body earlier, my lord?"
If it were communication with the main body, Black Earlâs avatar definitely would not have appeared so relaxed.
The Black Earl smiled and said, "Not yet, I plan to confirm the addresses of the other Noah clan members before contacting the main body."
Here, the âother Noah clan membersâ refer to the empty-hearted Noah people whose memories had been erased by Adanis when thrown into the Sea of Void Mirror.
These empty-hearted people had been rescued by the Wise Sovereign, and some survived to the present. The Black Earl plans to continue contacting the Wise Sovereign to locate all these empty-hearted people first before reaching out to the main body.
And Angel deciding to stay in Bilun Tree Court also allowed the Black Earl to conveniently make contact. He hadnât forgotten his promise to Angel... to discuss avatars after leaving.
Angel: "No contact with your main body? Then you were just now..."
Black Earl: "I was in contact with Adanis."
As the Black Earl said this, he paused and looked at Angel with a puzzled expression, "Speaking of which, do you know what happened to Adanis?"
Angel: "Hmm?"
Black Earl: "After Adanis came back from the Qingkong Poetry Room, she entered the mirror box. I could feel she hadnât left, but she wouldnât respond to any of my communications."
"Oh, she specifically went to find you, and then she disappeared upon returning. Did you do something to her?"
Angel: "..."
Black Earl: "I mean, did you use a mysterious object on her?"
Angel: "I didnât do anything."
However, Angel understood why Adanis was unresponsive. She was probably too embarrassed to face him and was pretending to be dead.
In this regard, Angel couldnât explain clearly, so he shrugged: "Perhaps Adanis has something of her own to attend to. After all, she spends most of her time in the Mirror World and likely doesnât pay much attention to the disturbances of the outside world."
"Is that so?" Black Earl whispered, still feeling something amiss, but he couldnât argue, so he put it aside for the time being.
Since they decided to temporarily cultivate in Bilun Tree Court, they didnât delay any further and left this underground plaza directly.
However, instead of following the underground passage direction, Vay created an âearth elevator,â breaking through the rocks directly to the surface.
Upon reaching the surface, Vay used an earth ripple again to sense the surroundings.
"Hmm, odd... itâs broad daylight, but thereâs no one within a kilometer radius?" Through the earth rippleâs feedback, Vay confirmed that there was indeed no one within a kilometer.
Usually, a large number of mortals would be treasure hunting around the ruins of the Garden Labyrinth.
Now, in broad daylight, there was not a single soul. This seemed odd to Vay.
"No need to be surprised, the Merchant Organization confirmed a new underground passage. Coupled with the experiences of the Gray Merchantâs party underground, the organization is sure to have taken action. People nearby have certainly been evacuated, so itâs normal that thereâs no one here." Dox placed a hand on Vayâs shoulder: "This is the most basic knowledge of their response. You, my friend, should stop cooping up in your divination shop and go out more, otherwise, you might really become silly."
Vay shrugged off Doxâs hand irritably: "You talk as if you know everything. So tell me, where is the Merchant Organization now?"
Dox pondered, stroking his chin with his right hand: "I donât know where they are now. But I do know it wonât be long before someone comes looking for us... maybe theyâre already on the way."
Vay widened his eyes: "Really?"
Dox shrugged: "Just a hunch."
When someone else said âintuition,â Vay might hesitate, but when Dox said âintuition,â it was practically equivalent to the truth.
At this moment, the Black Earl, who was floating in mid-air, spoke calmly: "Dox is right, theyâve already arrived. And more than just one person."
The Black Earl spoke with such certainty, indicating he wasnât relying on intuition but actual perception.
Angel: "Is the Gray Merchant among them?"
Black Earl: "Yes."
Angel muttered quietly: "Thatâs good."
With that, Angel turned to Dox: "I have something to take care of. You stay here and pass this item to the Gray Merchant for me."
Angel retrieved a segmented crystal from his bracelet and handed it to Dox. The crystalâs cross-section had a black silhouette, precisely the Gray Merchantâs missing important memory.
Dox looked bewildered at Angel: "Youâre planning to leave me behind?"
Angel: "I need to retreat immediately, this is for you to handle."
Angel had already sensed that a message from Laplace had appeared on the Indestructible Heart Mirror, so he planned to withdraw first.
Dox: "Why me?"
Angel patted him on the shoulder: "No reason. Didnât you want me to reforge the Red Sword for you? Maybe Iâll have some insights during my retreat this time?"
Doxâs initial dissatisfaction vanished, and his eyes lit up: "Alright, no problem, leave it to me!"
Dox grasped the crystal firmly, afraid someone might snatch it away.
Angel chuckled softly: "Iâll be waiting for you at Bilun Tree Court."
Saying this, Angel summoned The Gate of Void, preparing to leave.
Before departing, Angel suddenly turned to Dox: "By the way, when you meet the Gray Merchant, pass a message to him for me..."