Chapter 6: Gathering
While the strong experts of Wushan Mountain were gathering, Linley himself hadn't arrived yet.
More than a year had passed since Linley went into seclusion. The magical crystal vein had long been completely mined. Now, an ancient castle covering several miles in area had been built here. The master of this castle was none other than Linley. Every day, many people who admired Linley would come outside this castle to pay their respects.
...
Beneath the castle, in the miniature plane secret chamber.
Outside this miniature plane was terrifying spatial turbulence, with spatial rifts visible everywhere. Linley himself sat cross-legged in peace, quietly cultivating.
"Thump!" "Thump!" ...
The pulse of the earth struck Linley's heart like drumbeats, and resounded in his mind like thunder. Linley's comprehension of the profound mysteries of the earth's pulse grew deeper and deeper. Amidst the vast sea of law deductions, bits of insight surged into his heart.
The 256-layered pulse of the earth was transforming toward the 128-layer realm.
"Done." No one knew how much time had passed, but joy flickered in Linley's eyes. "After so long deducing, I've finally fused the 256-layered pulse of the earth into 128 layers. The pure power has increased by at least several times."
Although the number of vibration waves had decreased, the power was actually much greater.
This 128-layered pulse of the earth was countless times more powerful than the original 128 vibration waves. After all, the current 128-layered pulse of the earth had fully incorporated the profound mysteries of the earth's pulse. If he could use just a single wave to contain all the profound mysteries of the earth's pulse, then the attack power...
Would be at the level of a god.
"Continue." Linley didn't hesitate, once again immersing himself in that peculiar state, ceaselessly deducing. This time, the difficulty of deduction was clearly much higher. He had to expend nearly ten times the effort just to barely fuse two layers into one.
...
In the living room of the castle, a large group of people had gathered: Wharton and his wife, the five Barker brothers, and a crowd of children including Taylor and Sasha. Among these children were also the kids of the five Barker brothers. Everyone in the living room was waiting for Linley.
"Father, why isn't he out yet?" Taylor said somewhat anxiously. Now Taylor was already 1.7 meters tall; his height had shot up quickly this past year.
Wharton said with a faint smile, "Taylor, don't rush. Uncle Bebe has already gone to call your father. He should be here soon." Today was March 2nd. The War God's original order was to arrive at Wushan Mountain before March 3rd. Linley at least had to go over tonight.
"Barker. Are you going too?" Seisler, who was sitting nearby, asked.
Barker nodded slightly.
A green light flickered in Seisler's eyes. "To be honest, I'd also like to explore the legendary Necropolis of the Gods. But... I entered the Saint Realm too recently. My ability to protect myself is far from sufficient." Seisler was somewhat unwilling. These strong experts all had aspirations for the pinnacle of cultivation.
No one feared a little danger. If their will wasn't firm enough, how could they have cultivated to the Saint Realm?
"They're here." Seisler was the first to notice the arrival of Linley and the others.
Everyone looked toward the side door of the living room, because if Linley and the others were coming out from the underground secret chamber, they would enter the living room through the side door. Sure enough... after a while, Linley, with Bebe standing on his shoulder, and Delia, holding hands, entered the living room together.
Linley was surprised when he saw the living room. Why so many people?
"Boss, have a good time with the others. The next time we meet, it'll be ten years from now," Bebe's voice rang out.
"Ten years?" Linley was extremely shocked. He thought to himself, "Isn't it just entering the Necropolis of the Gods? Going into a tomb and coming back out—even a month would be too long. Why would it take ten years?" Linley looked at Bebe with confusion. Everyone else in the hall also looked at Bebe with confusion.
Bebe said with absolute certainty, "The Necropolis of the Gods opens once every thousand years. Each time, you have to stay inside for ten years. Only after ten years can you come out again... Of course, if you die inside, there's no helping it."
"Bebe must have learned this from the one in the Dark Forest. It can't be false." Linley understood in his heart, but this still made him frown.
Suddenly, Linley felt his hand tighten. He turned to look at Delia beside him. Delia's eyes were full of reluctance.
"I'm sorry," Linley said softly.
Setting off for the Necropolis of the Gods meant he would have to be separated from Delia for ten years.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Delia comforted Linley instead. "We'll have plenty of time together in the future. But Linley, you need to be careful." Delia didn't stop Linley from going to the Necropolis of the Gods, because she knew...
In Linley's heart, he had the goal of climbing to the pinnacle of cultivation.
A place like the Necropolis of the Gods—countless strong experts wished they could enter but had no chance. How could Linley give up such an opportunity now?
"Thank you." Linley's heart was filled with emotion.
"Spend some time with the children," Delia said softly. Linley turned to look at his two children, Taylor and Sasha. "They're so big now. By the time I come out of the Necropolis of the Gods, they'll already be over twenty."
Knowing he would be gone for so long, Linley stayed a while longer with his son and daughter.
It wasn't until dusk fell.
"Taylor, Sasha, go back now." Linley patted the heads of his two children.
"Okay." Taylor and Sasha nodded obediently.
Barker, standing nearby, looked at Linley. "Lord Linley, please help me with my matter." Linley nodded after hearing this. Barker also wanted to go to the Necropolis of the Gods, but the quota was limited. Linley would need to inquire first to know the result.
"Delia." Linley and Delia stayed together.
"Be careful," Delia said softly.
Linley nodded slightly. Then the two shared a light kiss. Linley and Bebe immediately flew up and left the castle, heading directly west toward Wushan Mountain.
*******
The wind howled as Linley and Bebe, like two rainbows, streaked across the sky.
"Bebe, why does the Necropolis of the Gods take ten years?" Linley couldn't help asking Bebe during the flight.
Bebe shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Grandpa Beirut told me this. Oh, by the way... about Barker wanting to go to the Necropolis of the Gods. If you can't manage it, I can go ask Grandpa Beirut. Grandpa Beirut will definitely agree."
"No rush. Let's ask the War God first," Linley said.
Suddenly, a doubt arose in Linley's heart. Bebe was also going to the Necropolis of the Gods with him, and Lord Beirut had agreed. Linley couldn't help asking, "Bebe, your Grandpa Beirut let you go to the Necropolis of the Gods. Isn't he worried about your safety?"
Bebe curled his lip and said, "Grandpa Beirut said that back in the day, he also went through life-and-death trials before achieving his later accomplishments. He wants me to go through some tempering as well. Besides, in the Necropolis of the Gods, as long as you're not too greedy, you're cautious, and your luck isn't terrible, staying alive isn't a problem."
Linley nodded.
After all, Desri, Fain, and the others had been alive and well all this time.
"We're here." Linley could already see Wushan Mountain in the distance. The two immediately dove down.
"So many strong experts." Linley immediately spotted the twenty-one experts. If he wasn't in his transformed state, quite a few of those twenty-one experts could match Linley. Even those weaker weren't much weaker. "But if I transform into my Dragonblood Warrior form, only Fain can fight me."
In terms of law comprehension, he was inferior to Fain.
But the Dragonblood Warrior talent was too strong. There was no helping it. For example, Bebe, as a Godeater Rat, had a talent even more terrifying than the Dragonblood Warrior.
"What a lively scene." Linley noticed that several pairs among the twenty-one experts were sparring in midair. Suddenly, a hearty voice rang out: "Haha! Linley, you're finally here. You're the only one we were missing."
Linley immediately landed.
It was already dusk. On the open ground, there were many tables and chairs. The many strong experts were drinking and chatting loudly with each other. Some, when the mood struck, would directly spar in midair. These top-tier experts rarely gathered together like this.
"Sorry, I'm late." Linley was a bit embarrassed and quickly greeted everyone.
Fain walked over with a smile and said, "It's fine. Teacher won't receive us now anyway. We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning for him to see us. Tonight, we'll just gather here and have some fun."
"So he's Linley?"
Many of the drinking strong experts turned their gazes toward Linley.
These were experts who had been in seclusion for thousands of years. Usually, they wouldn't pay much attention to newcomers. But... Linley's reputation was too loud. Especially since Linley was the ultimate warrior, the 'Dragonblood Warrior.' This made these secluded experts dare not underestimate him.
"Everyone." Fain stood with a faint smile, and everyone turned their attention to him.
Even the few pairs sparring above landed. Fain said with a faint smile, "Most of you haven't met Linley. You were all talking about him this afternoon. Well, now he's here. Oh, by the way, Krei, weren't you shouting all along that you wanted to see the power of the Dragonblood Warrior?"
"See the power of the Dragonblood Warrior?" A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Linley's mouth.
"Too bad he's a Dragonblood Warrior, not an Undying Warrior." A booming voice sounded. A burly man with short golden hair stood up. He was wearing a sleeveless vest, and his terrifying muscles seemed about to tear the vest apart.
This golden-haired man looked at Linley and said with a smile, "Linley, let me introduce myself. My name is Krei. I usually cultivate on an island in the North Sea. I've long heard of the Dragonblood Warrior's great name and have been itching to test it out. I'd like to spar with you, Linley. What do you say..."
"Sure." Linley said with a smile.
"Excellent." The golden-haired Krei's eyes lit up. Then his body muscles tensed. With a "Bang!" sound, the vest was torn to shreds. His body surface seemed to have turned metallic, emitting a metallic luster.
Fain said to Linley, "This Krei also cultivates the Laws of the Earth. But in terms of defense, he's ten times stronger than Hadeson."
Linley smiled slightly. "I know."
"Krei's body surface looks metallic, somewhat like the 'Earthguard Saint Armor.' At the Saint Realm, the Earthguard Saint Armor would have a diamond-like luster." Linley thought to himself. For a warrior to reach such a terrifying level of defense, he was indeed a super expert.
Linley flipped his hand and took out the Violet Blood Soft Sword.
"Linley, transform," Krei said in a booming voice.
Linley shook his head. "Not for now."
Krei looked a bit displeased and snorted, "Linley, you sure are confident." With that, Krei shot straight up into the sky. This was Wushan Mountain. They didn't dare damage it during their sparring, so they naturally flew up to the sky to fight.
Linley flashed and was in the air in an instant, his speed even faster than Krei's.
"Haha... come on!" Krei roared excitedly in midair, then turned into a blur as he charged at Linley. His right fist suddenly shot out, as if piercing through space itself, carrying a terrifying screech as it struck at Linley.
Where the fist passed, ripples actually appeared in space.
"Hmm?" Linley's expression changed. He had originally planned to use 'Wind's Movement,' but seeing the power of this punch, he was forced to change his move immediately.
He retreated swiftly, while the Violet Blood Soft Sword in his hand seemed to pierce through space. Wherever the Violet Blood Soft Sword passed, space would sometimes slow down and stop, sometimes produce chaotic overlapping images. On the blade of the Violet Blood Soft Sword, condensed spatial blades were also gathered, and clear ripples appeared in the surrounding space.
Wind's Profound Mysteries – Second Layer of Wind's Rhythm!
"Bang!"
The Violet Blood Soft Sword directly struck the fist that was shining with metallic light.
"Wuum~~" The terrifying force transmitted directly through the Violet Blood Soft Sword. Linley's battle qi surged on the surface of his body, and the pulse defense protected him, deflecting the terrifying impact. Krei also flew backward. A faint bloody mark had appeared on his fist, but it hadn't even injured him.
"Such terrifying defense. In terms of pure defensive strength, it should be comparable to an Undying Warrior." Linley was secretly shocked.
"Linley, I concede," Krei's voice rang out. "This Linley is really a monster. He's this powerful without even transforming. If he transformed, I wouldn't even have the strength to fight back." As he spoke, Krei flew directly downward.