Chapter 313: Illusory Shrine (III)
Waiting without doing anything was unlike Long Haochen. In his state of realization, his body seemed to have become one with nature, just like one of the plants here, and like a piece of dirt or an expanse of clear water. Seated near him, Cai’er felt that if she didn’t have eyes to look at him, it would feel just as if he was disappearing.
Time passed minute after minute and hour after hour, the two parties consisting of powerhouses didn’t fear the wait. The sky was gradually becoming dimmer, until nightfall came. With night’s descent, the air cooled down while the natural humidity went up.
A day and a night passed like that.
When the sky started to go white, Huang Shuo started to stand up, looking at Ling Xiao. It had already been a day and a night, but the Illusory Shrine didn’t show any signs of appearing.
Right at that moment, a marvellous sensation passed over everyone’s head. Originally immersed in cultivating, everyone simultaneously reacted in the same way. They all looked in the direction from where the change occurred.
The surrounding space distorted slightly, and the smell of nature suddenly became thicker. Everyone felt a great amount of vitality being absorbed through their mouths. Even the demons finally started to have a cozy feeling from this.
Above the lake, tiny ripples started to appear, growing larger and larger, and in the middle of the lake, a gush of water started to sprout. At this time, the omnipresent essence of life began to converge from all directions.
With the arrival of dawn, the Illusory Shrine slowly rose above the lake.
Gradually, a dark green palace emerged from the lake, and the clear water from the lake ran off in rivulets. Its transparence reflected the green color of the palace. Under the brilliance of dawn, it seemed to radiate all around, and as it gradually rose, the vital essence in the surrounding reached its peak. All the surrounding plants reacted to it, growing at a monstrous speed. Gradually, the shrubs that didn’t even exceed a meter in height, grew up until exceeding the humans and demons in size, and the fragrance of flowers also became heavier.
Finally, this dark green colored palace sat on top of the water’s surface, the instant the sun finally rose into view. The orange glow of the sun illuminated the Illusory Palace and gilded this shrine of nature.
A faint steam revolved around the shrine, slowly dissolving under the radiance of the sun. After being reflected by the emerald shrine, the haze amplified the dreamy character of this fantastic scene.
Light and water themselves were the symbols of life.
This was a scene that stunned everyone, and that no one dared to budge, because it was truly too beautiful. When seeing such a beautiful scenery, everyone seemed to have forgotten the danger they were going to face.
The Illusory Shrine had an extraordinary appearance, differing from every existing building on the continent. It didn’t have walls in the common sense of the word. The outside was covered by layers of green crystals, that became bigger and bigger towards the bottom. All around the base, they stretched out in all directions, just like the eaves of a cathedral.
Supported by a bunch of thick and solid pillars, the immense roof sat at more than thirty meters height. Each of the pillars would at least need three people to encompass them, and it seemed that the whole palace was surrounded by a vague and soft green radiance. This hazy brilliance released from it made it impossible to see the interior of the Illusory Shrine.
From what could be seen, this shrine didn’t have any door. A total number of thirty-two pillars enclosed it, and concealed the inside of the shrine. It radiated an immense concentration of vitality, providing the surrounding with an extremely tranquil feeling.
Long Haochen felt a slight heat from his chest, and the Light Elemental Fairy Yating came out of her volition. Looking at this huge shrine, she slowly sank to her knees on a huge shrub, and bowed from afar. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and she muttered words in an unintelligible fairy language. Her body seemed to glow transparently in the presence of the shrine.
Although Light Elemental Fairies focused their worship on the God of Light, the elements of light, water and earth were all extremely close to the Goddess of nature. Therefore, the Goddess of nature could be said to be a partial master to them. Returning to this place filled with natural energy and feeling the embrace of nature, how could Yating remain calm? She could clearly feel her own vital energy rising, while the golden radiance in her body circulated like tidal waves. Although it became calmer with time, her originally partially transparent body was becoming opaque, looking very close to a human’s.
Compared to the time Long Haochen had just made a contract with her, the vital energy flowing through Yating was tremendous. She had even evolved twice by relying on Long Haochen’s physique as the Scion of Light.
However, the origin for her weak state was the mortal wound she had suffered back then. All this time, she had had to rely on the Saint Spiritual Stove to appease it. But at this very moment, in front of the Illusory Shrine of the Goddess of nature, her body gained an extreme nourishment, and the internal injuries in her body were healed in no time through the intense vital energy. It also laid a firm foundation for her next evolution.
A gentle green radiance spread in the air, giving rise to this fantastic scene. Perhaps because of the influence of the massive energy of life spread by the Illusory Shrine, the vegetation on the shore grew suddenly at a great speed, especially the shrubs located nearest to the lake. In the midst of their frantic growth, the Illusory Shrine rose from the lake. The lake was now completely surrounded by thick and solid shrubs, that looked extremely tough and durable.
It was indeed strange, but these shrubs kept growing until they reached the height of the Illusory Shrine. Stopping at this point, it was as if they didn’t dare keep growing further.
Ling Xiao gave a glance to the leader of the imperial Black Dragon guard Huang Shuo, instructing in a low voice, “It is now possible to enter. Numerous chances are awaiting inside.”
Huang Shuo nodded, turning back before directing a look at the black-clad youth who had shared eye contact with Long Haochen just before. The latter then walked up in front of him, before giving a calm nod.
“Ahbao, be careful. ”
“Yeah.” The black-clad youth gave a simple reply. A light tap on ground with his toes sent him flying high in the air. Yue Ye, Leng Xiao, as well as the other participating demons followed him one after another.
On the other side, the humans followed in their tracks. Long Haochen, and Cai’er were comparatively at the end of their own group, while the two groups of ten entered the Illusory Shrine.
The shrubs growing around the lake were extremely tough, giving their feet a firm and steady foothold as they walked on top of them. Both parties crossed the shore like that.
Ahbao? So this guy is called Ahbao. Long Haochen had heard Huang Shuo’s voice very clearly. He hadn’t seen this black-clad youth clearly, but as the leader of the demon group, his actual strength and ability couldn’t be low.
The ten of the side of the Temple Alliance didn’t have a specific leader. After entering the Illusory Shrine, everyone would do things their own way. The two groups which were designed entirely differently, now moved at a distance of about ten meters, walking over towards the small gap between the massive pillars.
When they arrived in front of the shrine, the previous dense life energy became weaker. This shrine in front of their eyes gave them a surreal feeling, as their senses were assaulted by the surrounding aura. It didn’t contain the slightest impurity, but didn’t have the same vegetative sweetness from before either. This vaguely gave off a presentiment of the particularity of this place.
Pulling Cai’er’s hand, Long Haochen followed the others towards the shrine from behind, telling her in a low voice, “Cai’er, our main task will be to reunite after entering. If you face any danger, don’t try to be brave no matter what. Just activate the Illusory Gem and leave the Illusory Paradise.”
Seeing his deep concern, her lips formed into a beautiful arc, followed by her low voice, “Don’t worry. Because I have you, I won’t act rashly.”
Long Haochen held her by the waist, as the two of them entered the Illusory Shrine in the proper sense. They were also the last ones to enter.
Right after they entered the Illusory Shrine, their view was filled with a boundless green color.
An illusory coloration of green was reflected in their eyes. It was totally devoid of anything else than green. The soft green radiance appeared the same as the most primitive form of life, undulations rising up and down in the rhythm of their breath.
Just as Ling Xiao had told them, only after walking through this green brilliance they would truly be entering the Illusory Paradise.
With a step forward into the glint of light, Long Haochen and Cai’er both disappeared into this green brilliance.
Having just gone into that radiance, Long Haochen immediately felt a soft current of spiritual energy wrapping him in its embrace, and Cai’er whose hand was originally held by him disappeared.
The surrounding green grew even more intense, but everything seemed to be happening far behind him.
It was exactly the same as when travelling by flight on the back of a magical beast.
Long Haochen shut his eyes, surrounded by a bunch of changes. He noticed that his mental energy was unable to force the soft energy protecting him apart.
A short time later, everything suddenly became clear again. After taking a sudden step forward, he was already in another world.
The chirps of the birds and insects refreshed his mind with a tranquil feeling.
Meanwhile, outside of the Illusory Shrine…
Remaining in the midst of the Temple Knights’ formation, Han Qian walked at the side of a tall Temple Knight, saying in low voice, “Haochen is now inside. Given his intelligence plus the protection from the Illusory Gem, he shouldn’t be in any danger. Are you here to wait for him to return, or is it about some other matter?” If Ying Suifeng and Leng Xiao had heard his current respectful way of speaking, they would absolutely be greatly surprised.
Because the Temple Knights were all clad in Mythril Foundation Armor, their appearance couldn’t be easily seen. In a deliberate low voice, the other knight replied, “It doesn’t matter, I will be waiting here for him to return. This time, the powerhouses from the demon side are not low in number, but with me here, I believe that they won’t dare to act rashly without thinking. Huang Shuo has already noticed my presence. Given his extremely high position in the Black Dragons’ imperial guard, and furthermore his status as the trusted confident of the Demon God Emperor, his strength is comparable to the top ten of the demon gods. Aside from the Demon God Emperor himself, and the Star and the Moon Demon God, no one would dare to be confident in being able to win against him. Without me here, this guy would surely do something fishy.”