I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality Chapter 928: An Exchange, a Frightened Retreat and the Descent
Above the ruins of Anvil Base, the rift in space that the Holy Spirit race’s power had opened lay across the clouds like a wound torn open.
After a short spell of charging, the Holy Spirit race’s teleportation array was at last complete, and a mass of tentacles a size smaller than before squeezed slowly out of the rift.
The instant he emerged, the entire continent felt that terrifying pressure!
The sky seemed to change colour. The cloud layer was pushed aside by an invisible force, forming a vast hollow with the tentacles at its centre.
Across the wasteland the alien creatures pressed themselves low one after another, not even daring to raise their heads.
Without a doubt, though this Holy Spirit was somewhat smaller in build, it was a genuine eighth-level creature!
The mass of tentacles hung still in the air for a moment. Finding no threat, several compound eyes poked out from the gaps between the tentacles and carefully scanned the surroundings.
His bearing carried an obvious wariness, ready at any moment to meet an attack that might come.
After a careful search, he found that there was nothing at all across the entire wasteland.
And so the whole mass of tentacles let its taut body relax, and he gave off a low mental resonance, as though letting out a breath of relief:
“No movement for this long; it seems he is dead. That troublesome fellow has finally been dragged to his death!”
Realising that humanity’s strongest one, the man who could bring him threat and death, was very likely dead already, the tentacles that had been huddled close together unfurled, carrying an air of looking down on all under heaven:
“So this world is destined, in the end, to be taken by this king!”
As he spoke, his compound eyes began to turn, and the Holy Spirit King’s gaze easily crossed a distance of several thousand li, locking onto a faint spatial fluctuation coming from an underground space somewhere to the northwest.
Very soon his attention shifted to the rift in space rapidly taking shape above the backup base, and he sensed the otherworldly aura seeping out of that rift as well.
“Oh? Who would have thought that besides me, some other king from another world would come hurrying along? A pity. To be preparing to descend upon this world only now is rather too late!”
The Holy Spirit King’s tentacles swayed lightly, and he moved swiftly off in that direction.
His form, several thousand metres across, passed through the clouds, and every push of his tentacles drew a heavy echo from space itself. But the closer he came to that rift, the more he felt that something was wrong.
The aura that shook out of that rift weighed even on him, and the mental fluctuations that seeped out of it every so often seemed to hold countless excited, greedy cries.
The Holy Spirit King slowed in surprise. “What sort of damned world is this?”
Although the world on the other side seemed very dangerous, he was not nervous.
After all, as one of the Holy Spirit Kings, he found invading other worlds as ordinary as his daily meals, and he understood the present situation very well.
In the current state of this world, a newly opened rift in space could not possibly let the massive body of a king-level being descend quickly, in a short time.
It would necessarily begin by probing with large numbers of low-level creatures, continually borrowing the power of those that had entered this world to widen the rift, and only then could the true body step across.
That was why he had said just now that for the other side to be preparing to invade this world only now was too late.
Because the other advanced civilisations had long since obtained, through an unbroken stream of invasions, portals able to send king-level lifeforms directly across.
“No, wait, not necessarily. Some savage world kings will try to force an invasion by breaking open the world rift with their own true bodies. Perhaps that is exactly what they have in mind.”
Thinking this, the Holy Spirit King could not help waggling his tentacles, a gesture that in his civilisation’s culture signified mockery.
“If that is so, perhaps this time I may even collect a king-level trophy?”
At the thought, the enormous mass of tentacles drifted fearlessly toward the spatial anomaly:
“Only now thinking of coming in, they must be some inferior civilisation that lucked into king-level combat power. Very well. Since they have come already, let me first see just what form this race of creatures takes!”
By now the rift had opened far enough to carry messages across.
All the compound eyes among the tentacles focused at once on the far side of the rift, and when he saw clearly what was over there, the Holy Spirit King’s body went stiff!
It was a world that defied description. At the other end of the rift, dense masses of creatures crowded the entire void.
From elemental types to flesh-and-blood types, and on to special mechanical types, they came in every bizarre variety.
But whatever their form, every last one of those creatures was saturated with a savage, bloodthirsty aura, as though born for nothing but slaughter.
With the Holy Spirit King’s experience, he naturally recognised that these must be some kind of servant race.
But if a mere servant race was this terrifying, then what kind of terrifying civilisation could command monsters like these?!
And so the Holy Spirit King’s gaze crossed the dense ocean of monsters and finally locked onto the figures at the very rear with the strongest presence of all.
That terrifying momentum, that savage aura, and power that stood above everything… there was no doubt!
“You must be the masters of these monsters. So you are lifeforms this mighty; no wonder your civilisation can command monsters such as these.”
The Holy Spirit King’s mental fluctuations passed through the rift and carried across.
At the other end of the rift, the leaders of the Shadow Dragon race, as the targets of this message, found their faces, already dark enough, turning darker still.
They squirmed awkwardly, and instinctively glanced at the unremarkable human beside them.
Clark stood not far behind them, his hands clasped behind his back and his expression indifferent; hearing this mental communication, he did not so much as lift an eyelid.
But this reaction of his only made the Shadow Dragon leaders more afraid.
Looking through the rift at the Holy Spirit King on the other side, the Shadow Dragon leader’s slitted pupils twitched, and inwardly he was already cursing:
“Where did this lunatic crawl out from? Is that the kind of thing you just go claiming?! My master is standing right next to me, goddamn it!!!”
As the trump card among Clark’s cannon-fodder legions, the Shadow Dragons were indeed formidable in combat: not only was every one of them at the eighth level, but even among units of the same level they were counted among the very strongest.
Savage by nature and tremendously powerful in battle, they had always been the finale of the cannon-fodder legions’ line-up.
So the Holy Spirit King’s mistaking them for the leaders of this horde of cannon-fodder units was not entirely absurd.
As for the high-level wizards who had been standing beside them all along, the Holy Spirit King simply ignored them.
After all, out of combat, wizards really were quite inconspicuous.
Seeing that the mass of tentacles on the other side meant to go on “chatting”, the Shadow Dragon legion, to show its loyalty, let out a roar under its leaders’ command without the slightest hesitation.
Savage mental fluctuations surged back into the rift like a tsunami.
Although the rift in its present state could not let much power through, that pure, unadorned lust for slaughter still carried across.
The Holy Spirit King flicked his tentacles disdainfully, a gleam of contempt flashing in his compound eyes. “A truly inferior civilisation. Not the least bit of manners.”
He drifted back a little, his mental fluctuations carrying a lofty composure:
“Yet another fool who thinks numbers can make up for a gap in quality. Very well, let me teach you that even between kings, there are differences!”
…
…
Before long, the spatial passage on the other side had already opened a gap of no small size.
The cannon fodder nearest the passage had already charged out of the legions and launched an attack on the Holy Spirit King.
Seeing this, even the Holy Spirit King was somewhat surprised. His aura as a king, a higher creature, had actually failed to make these lowly bugs afraid?!
Slap-slap-slap!
With a casual stretch of his tentacles, he smashed to pieces the several thousand members of the cannon-fodder legion that had come pouring out first.
In this world’s present state, he had no need at all to worry about the other side’s high-end combat power breaking through.
Under these circumstances, trying to gather intelligence on this unknown civilisation through the spatial passage was what mattered most.
“Hmph! Let me see just what civilisation you are, that you dare to set yourselves against the Holy Spirit race! I will make you understand what a terrifying thing it is to speak insolently to a great king!”
Once more casually swatting to death another batch of cannon-fodder creatures that had charged up, the Holy Spirit King brought his many compound eyes together, trying to sharpen his sight and see more of the situation through the rift.
Slap!
Suddenly a pair of enormous dark golden hands slapped up into view and caught hold of either end of the rift, seemingly straining with all their strength to widen the spatial passage.
“Hm?” The Holy Spirit King was taken aback for a moment, then gave a savage grin. “Hahahahaha! Who would have thought there really is a fool with no fear of death who wants to prop open the spatial passage with his own body? It seems I can take one more king-level trophy today!”
Laughing uproariously, the Holy Spirit King unfurled every one of his tentacles and gathered his strongest power.
Thousands upon thousands of tentacles tore through the air, crossed the spatial passage and stabbed at the dark golden giant in the middle of the rift!
“Choose! Will you fall back and give up the spatial passage you have propped open, or let me devour a part of your body… Ah!! What the hell is this?!”
Halfway through, the Holy Spirit King suddenly screamed in terror, straining with all his might to pull back his tentacles.
Yet even stretched taut to their limit, those tentacles could not be drawn back at all.
He could see hands out of the darkness, one after another, some grotesque and ferocious in shape, others made entirely of elements, hauling on his tentacles.
At the same time, excited voices even came from the other side of the spatial passage.
“Heh heh heh heh! Got it!”
“No grabbing, no grabbing, this one’s mine!”
“Pull him over, quick! According to Jie Ming’s earlier research, eating this race’s bodies can purify mental energy!”
“Hm hm hm hm… don’t let him get away, drag him over here!”
One terrifying voice after another hidden behind the darkness, full of endless greed, terror and boundless excitement, was actually hauling him with all its might toward the other end of the spatial passage!
What the hell was on the other side?!
Feeling that irresistible power, the Holy Spirit King was utterly terrified, and without the slightest hesitation he severed every one of his own tentacles!
“Damn it, I have been tricked! This is no ordinary civilisation at all!”
Howling this, he shook off the cannon-fodder legions closing in from every direction, and the Holy Spirit King flew swiftly away into the distance:
“I must warn those civilisations. Another one who wants a slice of the cake has come!”
…
…
“He got away, then.”
On the other side of the rift, Jie Ming, who had manifested his Dharma Form and was straining without pause to tear the rift wider, curled his lip.
At this moment his Dharma Form was not especially large, only a few thousand metres, since the spatial passage before him was not large enough either.
Clark drifted over from the side and glanced at how fast the rift was widening. “It will probably take several more months to open. A pity none of our power has been steeped in the other world; we cannot help.”
Jie Ming shook his head. “No need to worry. It will not take that long. The other side is ready as well.”
“Quick to run, at least.”
Inside the underground base, the old man’s clouded eyes looked in the direction where the Holy Spirit King had vanished, as though seeing straight through the rock walls to the scene outside.
He shook his head, clicking his tongue in admiration, then turned to look at Jie Ming. “Now I believe that wizard civilisation of yours can do what it promised.”
After all, only a strong civilisation was qualified to pity those at the bottom.
A weak civilisation could not even keep itself alive; how could it spare a thought for whether others lived or died?
Without a doubt, judging by what had just happened, the wizard civilisation had proven its strength.
Jie Ming smiled and raised a hand, tracing a dark golden rune in the void.
The rune swiftly expanded, becoming a vast array that covered the entire roof of the cave.
“Then, as agreed. I need your power.”
The old man nodded.
He drew a deep breath, and a terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from that aged body.
All of his power was released without reserve, like a star about to go out that bursts into its most brilliant light in the final moment.
That power flowed along the runic veins Jie Ming had traced into the core of the array, and the array instantly lit up with a dazzling golden light.
This was the method Jie Ming had come up with: this world’s spatial passage could only be opened once it had been steeped in this world’s power, so he would simply find someone of this world to help open it!
He had originally meant to have the people in the base help, but since he now had this strongest one, it would naturally take far less effort.
The two forces joined across the endless void, and the rift widened at a speed visible to the naked eye, very soon stretching over a thousand kilometres long.
Dense hordes of cannon-fodder creatures poured out of the passage, letting out excited roars as they set foot on the soil of the new world.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, inside the temporary underground base.
Jack was standing in front of Jie Ming and about to say something when he saw Jie Ming’s body suddenly go limp and the whole of him topple forward.
He instinctively rushed forward and caught Jie Ming, but the instant he touched him he sensed something was wrong.
The body in his hands felt different by the moment: the outline of the bones was shifting, and the density of the muscles was changing.
He looked down. Jie Ming’s face was blurring, and very soon it had become another face, one he knew well.
It was Gavin!
Jack stared at the face, frozen where he stood.
“This boy was your first friend in this world, after all. Give him a burial.” Jie Ming’s voice came from behind him.
Jack whipped around to see Jie Ming standing not far behind him, his face and appearance the same as before.
Jack opened his mouth, and for a moment did not know what to say.
Seeing this, Jie Ming raised an eyebrow. “What? Even with things come this far, you are still unwilling to take me as your Mentor?”
Jack was silent for a moment. He lowered his head and gently laid Gavin’s remains on the ground, then reached out and closed his eyes.
Jack stood up, faced Jie Ming, and performed a somewhat unpractised wizard’s salute. “Teacher.”
Jie Ming broke into a smile at that, but before he could respond, a silver-grey figure darted out from the side.
Viola’s face was alight with excitement, her silver-grey hair flying out as she ran and her eyes shining like two gems.
“Jie Ming, you have actually taken a disciple! That is wonderful!”
In a single bound she was in front of the flustered Jack, hands on her hips, looking him up and down. “Little one, I’m your teacher’s Senior Sister, you know. Hurry up and call me Senior Aunt!”
Caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, Jack was somewhat at a loss, and he instinctively glanced at Jie Ming.
Jie Ming nodded to him helplessly, so Jack obediently said, “Senior Aunt.”
“There we go! Good, good!”
Viola patted his shoulder in satisfaction, so hard that Jack actually staggered.
Jie Ming then introduced Clark to him as well. “This is Mentor Clark, my teacher. You may call him Grand-Mentor.”
Jack looked at Clark’s utterly expressionless face and instinctively stood up straight. “Grand-Mentor!”
Teacher Kastilla came over from the side and shooed Clark away. “You, what are you doing bullying a child?”
Once the commotion had died down, Jie Ming brought Mentor Clark and Wizard Augusta, both seventh-level wizards, before humanity’s strongest one.
The two wizards had already heard the relevant intelligence from Jie Ming in detail, and now that they had met the old man they were both very satisfied.
Faced with the two of them, however, the old man smiled quite calmly. “Though I am most grateful for the regard you hold me in, this old man has not many days left to live. I fear I cannot help you with a great deal. I only hope you will treat the humans of our civilisation well…”
Before he had finished speaking, Jie Ming had already taken out a golden pill and pressed it into his hand.
The old man looked down at the pill in his palm, which gave off a soft golden light, and looked at Jie Ming in puzzlement.
“This is a Longevity Pill.” Jie Ming explained it with no expression at all. “Refined specially for your constitution. The effect is mediocre; it can probably only extend your life by two thousand years. Remember to take another within those two thousand years, and you can keep extending it indefinitely.”
The old man’s hands, cupping the Longevity Pill, began to tremble.
His lips moved, and his voice was a little unsteady. “This thing… it cannot be cheap, can it?”
Jie Ming nodded gravely.
The old man’s face said he had expected as much, and he was about to say something when Jie Ming went on. “Converted to your strength, it takes an ordinary seventh-level wizard about a year to earn a single Longevity Pill.”
The old man and Jack: “?”
Would you care to listen to the nonsense coming out of your mouth?!
How is that fair?!
Once again the old man was made aware of the enormous gap between the two civilisations.
He was silent for a few seconds, then smiled, at peace.
He held out his hand once more to Jie Ming and Clark. “My name is Carl. I hope to join your esteemed civilisation.”
Clark stepped forward and took his hand. “Welcome aboard, Carl.”
Author’s Note: This one didn’t split well into two chapters, so I just made it a two-in-one. This is the only chapter today.