Chapter 30: Dual Layers
After seeing the information for the third ring of the main quest, Su Xiao understood. First, the Grand Sage's soul chain had been withdrawn from the outside of the container, replaced by a secondary-generation divine maiden named Shataye.
No wonder the Grand Sage could hold on and maintain its peak state. Now that it was no longer its own soul chain being eroded by ancient god energy, it naturally advocated maintaining the status quo.
The rumors circulating outside were that the Light King, the Grand Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen had sacrificed themselves to seal the ancient god. This gave the Grand Sage unimaginable prestige among the beast clans. Even beast clans that didn't support it held respect for it.
Once the seal was broken and only the Grand Sage remained alive, its prestige among the beast clans would plummet, facing all kinds of doubts.
For the Grand Sage, this was a huge loss. It needed its current prestige to accomplish something. It could be said that the current Grand Sage was the ruler of half the beast clans, not through power, but through prestige.
If Su Xiao wanted to open the seal, he only needed to find the secondary-generation divine maiden Shataye, cut off her soul chain, then return to the White Town, cut off the Light King's soul chain, and the seal would be completely broken.
Su Xiao speculated that the secondary-generation divine maiden Shataye's soul chain should have the same soul fluctuations as the Grand Sage, which was why it could replace the Grand Sage's chain wrapped around the container. Cutting off the secondary-generation divine maiden Shataye's soul chain would inevitably affect the Grand Sage.
The secondary-generation divine maiden Shataye was within the beast clan's territory, likely located in the area within the Ero River.
Not to mention anything else, the third ring of the quest provided a lot of information. Judging by the situation, it was almost like establishing a holographic map marking the location of the secondary-generation divine maiden Shataye.
If it were a Reincarnation Paradise quest, Su Xiao could guess the general content: "Find the secondary-generation divine maiden Shataye." That simple, nothing else. There would be no mention of the enemy being extremely cunning or the soul chain being replaced.
Su Xiao had once been in the Moon God World's main quest first ring, which was "Find the Soul Speaker." Reincarnation Paradise's quest introduction was just that simple and direct.
The quest time limit was eight days. The existing insect towers in the northern part of the continent were limited, which meant most of the quest time would be spent traveling.
Stepping on soft, withered branches and leaves, Su Xiao walked through the jungle. The trees here were not tall, and broadleaf plants grew wildly. These broadleaf plants only had a little green left in the center of their leaves, the rest being brownish-yellow, soft and losing moisture.
The entire forest was withering, and natural elements were also showing signs of depletion. Under the circumstances where the ancient god had been sealed for hundreds of years, this withering was very abnormal. Even if this world had been sucked dry by the ancient god, the north shouldn't have turned out like this.
After traveling for dozens of kilometers north, a withered yellow plain appeared ahead. Finally, a beast clan settlement appeared. From a distance, it looked like a giant skeleton over a hundred meters long, with ribs piercing the ground, and many hyenas resting underneath.
The so-called beast clans looked basically no different from wild animals, but they had intelligence. Their biggest characteristic was that as long as they weren't starving, they wouldn't attack other intelligent beings.
Sensing Su Xiao and the others' arrival, a hyena about four meters long, with light black fur all over its body, got up from the ground. It wore a bone tooth necklace around its neck, clearly the leader of these hyenas.
"Woof."
A short, unique hyena call spread. The hyenas on the plain all looked at Su Xiao. Many small hyenas also ran out of earthen burrows, all running towards Su Xiao's direction. These small hyenas clearly knew that whenever human merchants came here, they brought many novel things.
Don't think the hyena clan was non-aggressive. They were one of the fiercest tribes in the north, just not too aggressive towards other intelligent races, allowing a certain degree of trade.
"It's been a long time since any humans came here. Welcome to the 'Bei Wu Tribe.'"
A blind old hyena spoke human language. It was so old its fur was starting to fall out.
"I am the 'Speaker' of the Bei Wu Tribe, the only 'beast' in the entire tribe who can understand human language. We 'beasts' are different from the bugs. Our civilization was cut off long ago. Perhaps in a few more generations, we will degenerate into true beasts."
The old hyena sat on the ground. Upon closer inspection, one could vaguely see scar-like carvings under the fur on its neck. Whenever it spoke human language, these carvings became especially prominent.
"Human, do you want to trade with us? Or are you just passing through? Don't go any further. Past the Ero River is the territory of the betrayers."
"Betrayers?"
Baha looked puzzled. The area within the Ero River was the Grand Sage's territory. Logically, the Grand Sage had high prestige among the beast clans. The beast clans under its command shouldn't be called betrayers.
"Compared to us, they are closer to the human form. Why did the Sage choose them? Perhaps... the Sage has other plans, after all, they are stronger."
The old hyena seemed a bit despondent. It could be heard that it held great respect for the Grand Sage, but also some dissatisfaction.
"Beast clans closer to the human form?"
"That's right. Starting a few decades ago, they began to walk upright, gained arms and legs, only their heads, fur, and tails still retained the appearance of beasts. They abandoned the form the beast clans had maintained for a thousand years."
When the old hyena said this, it bared its fangs, a hatred and hostility from the bone. If it were just a change in appearance, it wouldn't hate them to this extent.
"We need to go within the Ero River. We're short a guide. Are you interested?"
Hearing Baha's words, the old hyena's gaze became wary.
"Give it up. That's not a place humans can set foot in. Two days ago, a few humans went to the stone bridge and all died there."
"That's not important. Become our guide, and we'll pay you."
"It's not a matter of payment..."
Before the old hyena could finish, Baha took out a string of crystal resin pendants.
'Crystal Resin Pendant · Soul Life: Specific Ancient God Energy Resistance +9 points (Alchemy inscription engraved).'
Seeing this crystal resin pendant, the old hyena hesitated. If the females in the tribe wore this treasure during childbirth, the risk of corruption would be greatly reduced, increasing the survival rate of the cubs.
"You're willing to use this crystal resin ornament as payment? Since a few decades ago, the Kodo School has stopped trading with us. The scarcity of this crystal resin ornament in the north is far beyond your imagination. Am I, an old hyena in the eyes of humans, really worth this price?"
The old hyena was very honest. As one of the few tribes on the northern border, it always had an ideal: to re-establish trade with humans and bugs. But it had made many efforts, only to receive hostility. The hostility of human and bug strongmen towards the beast clans was beyond the old hyena's imagination. The last time it left the north, it almost died because of it.
"It's yours, guide sir."
Baha tossed the crystal resin pendant. The old hyena tilted its head and caught it. It took a deep look at Baha and Su Xiao, then turned and walked back. After a while, the old hyena handed the crystal resin pendant to the hyena leader, seemed to say something to it, then walked back to Su Xiao and the others.
"Before we set off, you have to answer me one question."
"Speak."
Su Xiao felt the old hyena wasn't too problematic, at least as a guide.
"Are you enemies of the Sage?"
"Yes."
"Same as I guessed. I don't support the Sage, but I respect it. I'm just your guide. I won't help you fight. I won't live much longer, and I have nothing to worry about."
"Fine."
Su Xiao roughly understood the old hyena's attitude towards the Grand Sage. It was respectful, but regarding many of the Grand Sage's actions, the old hyena, and even the entire 'Bei Wu Tribe,' had some dissatisfaction with the Grand Sage. This dissatisfaction accumulated over time to the current level, commonly known as surface respect.
Although the old hyena looked decrepit, it was very agile, especially after receiving the crystal resin pendant. It promised to lead the way to the 'Last Green Land.'
The old hyena led the way. After crossing the plain, they arrived at a road overgrown with withered grass. According to the old hyena, this used to be a trade route. At its peak, the bugs built a trading post here. Later, something happened that turned everything to dust.
Sure enough, not far ahead, Su Xiao saw an abandoned trading post with several signs hanging on it, written in the bugs' language. The content included insults like 'Betrayer' and 'Stinking Beast.'
It could be said that the bugs suffered heavy losses here, almost being arranged by the Grand Sage to cry bitterly, and never dared to come again.
With the old hyena guiding them, travel efficiency improved a lot. After traveling quickly for over five hours, a wide expanse of water appeared ahead, so wide that the opposite shore couldn't be seen. This was the Ero River.
The Ero River was not turbulent. It was a stagnant river that had stopped flowing long ago. The water was light purple, and the vast expanse of water was lifeless. The river water was highly toxic and could reflect a purple glow at night.
Walking along the riverbank for a few kilometers, Su Xiao saw a stone bridge. Hundreds of rock pillars sank into the water, supporting the bridge deck above. The bridge deck was about twenty meters wide, with no railings on either side. Some parts of the bridge deck had holes of various sizes.
The bridge deck was nearly a hundred meters above the water below. Anyone with acrophobia walking on the bridge deck would have weak legs and sore feet. What was even more thrilling was that the river water below was not only highly toxic but also highly corrosive.
"Are you sure you want to cross here?"
The old hyena began to feel uneasy. Although it was about to die of old age, it still held reverence for death. The older one gets, the more afraid of death one becomes. There was nothing shameful about it.
Su Xiao walked on the severely weathered bridge deck. He suspected this stone bridge could collapse at any moment.
Behind Su Xiao, Bubu Wang was far from Baha. Once an enemy appeared, Baha would immediately take Bubu and retreat. As for Moon Spirit, she was a combatant and wasn't afraid of this terrain.
Walking on the stone bridge, Su Xiao was ready to counter an enemy ambush. He really needed to catch an enemy right now, at least to know where the Grand Sage's lair was.
The stone bridge was very long, conservatively estimated to be over five kilometers. Apart from the bugs' construction techniques, Su Xiao couldn't think of any other race in this world that could build such a marvel.
Until Su Xiao reached the end of the stone bridge, the expected attack never came. The most troublesome situation had arrived. The Grand Sage was too good at holding on. Not only did it not show itself, but it didn't even send its beast clan subordinates to attack.
Just as he crossed the stone bridge, Su Xiao felt himself pass through a barrier like a 'force field.' The surrounding light suddenly dimmed, and a thin mist filled the air ahead. A prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Prompt: The Hunter has arrived at the Dream Maze Forest.]
[This area is divided into two layers: the Reality Layer / the Dream Layer.]
[Dream Maze Forest (Reality Layer) Danger Level: Eighth Rank Area.]
[Dream Maze Forest · Last Green Land (Dream Layer) Danger Level: Eighth Rank High-Risk Area.]
[Prompt: All substances in the Dream Layer have physical characteristics. If the Hunter chooses to enter the Dream Layer, it will be the physical body entering, not the spirit.]
[Prompt: The Dream Layer is part of this world, not a space created later. The Hunter has not left a soul root in the Dream Layer. If the Hunter chooses to leave a soul root in the Dream Layer, the Hunter's soul strength will be reduced by 50% for 219 natural days. After this adaptation period, soul strength will gradually recover.]
[Because the Hunter has not left a soul root in the Dream Layer, to enter the Dream Layer, the Hunter needs to use the Reincarnation Mark's alternate plane entry permission. This permission will consume Soul Coins.]
[Checking...]
[Check complete. If Su Xiao needs to enter the 'Last Green Land · Dream Layer,' he must first find an 'Access Point.' After successfully entering the 'Dream Layer,' the Reincarnation Mark's alternate plane entry permission will activate. This permission consumes 100 Soul Coins per hour.]