The Valley of Mist's status as a forbidden zone had become all the more famous recently due to the existence of a new species of blood drinking mosquitoes that had inhabited it recently.
Before, some people had used to enter it as it looked harmless from the outside, but now, seeing the mosquitoes that were clearly visible even if someone was a kilometer away, no one dared to enter.
Hence, when a hooded man walked inside quickly, there was no one around to see him enter.
After going inside, he took off his hood to reveal a face with a bulbous nose and thin lips.
Of course, this was Daneel, who had donned a different disguise on the off chance that somebody might be watching the Valley.
However, with the system constantly scanning around, he was happy to see that there was no one.
Using the Hidden Item detection tool, he quickly made his way to the headquarters of the Withering Leaf Sect which remained untouched since all those months ago when he had come here and obtained that technique which had helped him so much in his training.
After all, he had placed numerous formations and trinkets to detect if anyone stepped within a few kilometers of it, and they had not been activated over all this time.
Preparing to upgrade them, he collected all of the ones he had laid down before on his way inside.
Passing through the library, he finally reached that spot near the sect leader's chambers where he had been stopped before.
According to the system, this was where the heart of the formation which protected the sect was present. Before, he had been told that he needed to upgrade the system if he wanted to take control of it.
Well, he had the upgrade now.
Telling the system to begin analyzing the formation, Daneel thought back to the meeting he had had with the Watcher before leaving the sect.
Ashahell. He knew that he had heard that name before, and when he had sat down later to think on it and make the decision regarding the Watcher's request to infiltrate the Big Four, he had let himself recall the moment where it had been mentioned.
A black-robed man, speaking with rage and frustration due to the fact that he was going to die soon.
Indeed, during that fight in the ancestral grounds of the Black Raven Kingdom where the Matron had intervened to protect him from that Black Robed man who had secretly been in charge, his last words had been regarding this Ashahell.
He had tried to recall the exact words, but facing difficulty in doing so, he had simply asked the system to replay the man's statements regarding.
[Affirmative. Checking memories. Two statements found. Replaying first statement:
"It's because you are foolish to think about the future when there will not be one. The Church cannot be stopped, and when they come, Angaria will bleed and die. When that time came, I wanted to go over to the other side after breaking through to a Champion so that I can have more authority. Why do you think I was fighting with Ashahell in the first place? Do you really think he just found me in that place after I had killed those 10,000 people? You fool, both of us had the same plan! He helped me, but betrayed me and fed me to the Council after sealing my mouth. If I hadn't managed to get away with this chamber and the seeds, I would have died already. Corruption has seeped so deeply into each of the Big Four that it doesn't matter even if they realize it now. Angaria will fall. Anyone who believes otherwise is just being wishful."
Replaying second statement:
"There's no chance of that. The moment I appear in front of Council, the restriction he placed will trigger and I will die. You know there is no way to stop that. Just kill me. All my life, all I wanted was power. For power, I was ready to do anything and everything. Curse my luck for being born in the same time as that man, who is a thousand times more ruthless than me but still adored by millions. He will betray the continent. If you fools continue to trust him, you will only be led to ruin. End it."]
Daneel remembered that the first statement had been said in response to the Matron asking how the man had dared to use demonic plants which would ruin the land forever.
The second, was his response to the Matron's request to testify in front of the High Council.
Going through his words, Daneel felt that same panic from before when he had heard that the Church might attack in just a year.
He knew that he couldn't trust the words of that black-robed man either, but something told him that someone like that wouldn't lie, especially when they were going to die.
After all, it fit. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill 10,000 people to break through was definitely capable of siding with the church and helping them for his own hidden motives. Also, the man had stated that Ashahell would betray the continent, just like the Watcher claimed.
Right now, Daneel was inclined to believe them both, as he just couldn't risk ignoring this threat.
The best case would be if he could somehow verify everything with his own eyes, and for this to happen, what he needed to do was clear:
He needed to accept the Watcher's request, and infiltrate the Big Four.
Actually, he also had another motive in wishing for this - data.
The Big Four would definitely be the place with the most comprehensive collection of information in the entire continent, so if he managed to infiltrate one of them, it was possible that he might be able to empower the system with the data it needed.
The way he saw it, the best decision was to trust the Watcher for now and at least go and find out for himself just what kind of man this Ashahell was and what he had in place.
However, he needed to be stronger.
Hence, he had made his decision.
He had told the Watcher that he would infiltrate the Big Four, but he needed some time before he could embark on that mission.
Time to break through to become a Warrior.
Of course, the Watcher had been more than happy to hear this, and had told him to just go and come back when he was ready. Apparently, he had been planning something like this for a long time, and had a foolproof way of sneaking him inside and giving him the opportunity to achieve what he wanted.
All in all, Daneel's excursion to the Hidden Kill Sect had been very fruitful.
Not only had he taken control of it, obtained an inheritance and upgraded the system, he had also figured out a way to possibly get the all-important data were also obtaining the opportunity to foil the Church's early attack on Angaria, if that was true. Of course, before leaving, he had also earned a fortune which would go a long way in furthering the plans he had put in motion in Lanthanor.
Now, he had just one goal: uncover all the secrets he could using the upgraded system, and rush through to the Warrior realm.
Too long had he been stuck as an Exalted Human, unable to devote too much time to training while taking care of so many vital things.
Thankfully, it was now time to change that.
Hearing the sound of something shattering, Daneel looked up to see that his way was unobstructed.
This was the highest tower of the beautiful Withering Leaf Sect, and as he entered the sect leader's room and viewed the breathtaking scenery, he smiled to himself.
The stone room had many bookcases and paintings, but using the system's instructions, Daneel walked to a specific painting of a very exquisite leaf.
Lifting it up, he punched.
The formation had already been deactivated, so all that remained was a wall stopping him from his goal.
As expected, the stones parted to reveal a hidden space, in which there was a small velvet pouch.
Picking it up, Daneel quickly opened it and saw that it contained numerous cubes, which looked like data trinkets.
Going through each one, he smiled with satisfaction due to the fact that he had found what he wanted.
[Partial Inheritance/Spell Technique: Art of the Withering Leaf found. Using the concept of a leaf's ability to sustain itself and survive despite the harsh conditions it is subjected to, the spell technique allows its user to absorb magic attacks up to a certain threshold before shooting them back with multiplied power. Because the inheritance is partial, only 2 attacks up to the level of an Exalted Warrior can be absorbed and returned. Factor of Power Multiplication: 1.5x. It is expected that the full inheritance has the capability of absorbing more than two attacks up to Exalted Champion level before returning them with a power multiplication of at least 2.0x.]
Yes!
Another inheritance, and a very practical one at that.
In fact, Daneel had seen this one at work when the vice sect leader had used it against the ex-King of Lanthanor and the Grand Court Mage. They had only been able to watch in horror as their attacks had been returned towards them, shooting past them to kill the members of the Royal Family.
Now, he was capable of such an incredible feat too.
Humming to himself merrily again, Daneel teleported away to his next stop.
Only, he couldn't have suspected that his act of breaking through that formation had alerted an enemy whom he had forgotten about.