Chapter 3: A Probe
Linley, Salomon, and the others vanished from beside the round table almost instantly, reappearing by the transparent window. They all looked outside through the transparent window—
Hovering in midair were several hundred people, a formidable force. The leader was a tall, slender man with graying hair, yet his face was exceptionally handsome, looking like a young man. He also carried a sword on his back.
"A sword on his back?" Linley was puzzled.
In the Infernal Realm, very few experts chose to carry their weapons on their backs; most stored them in interspatial rings.
"So many Highgods!" The handsome young man's expression changed slightly as well. As the leader of a notorious bandit group famous for millions of miles around, he knew which convoys could be robbed and which could not.
"Boss, do we make a move?" a middle-aged man behind him asked in a low voice.
The handsome young man immediately turned around without hesitation: "Make a move? Are you out of your mind? Everyone, retreat!" Instantly, the several hundred bandits and robbers fled at top speed downwards.
The metallic lifeform, however, continued on its way without being affected in the slightest.
Inside the metallic lifeform.
Linley and the others had returned to their original seats. Salomon said with a faint smile, "It seems I was a bit tense. Those bandits and robbers are even more cowardly than I imagined. We didn't even send anyone out, and they were scared into fleeing immediately."
Linley also smiled.
He had been startled himself just now.
Salomon had mentioned a divine sense probing, but Linley couldn't detect it. Naturally, the divine sense was probing for Highgods. To Linley, a Highgod was enough to warrant caution.
"Mr. Salomon," Delia said with a smile. "You don't need to worry. No matter how powerful the bandits are, don't we have Lord Reihmons on this metallic lifeform? With him here, it's not our place to fret." Delia wasn't concerned.
Salomon nodded in agreement.
"Delia, you shouldn't say that," Linley said.
"Hmm?" Delia looked at Linley.
Linley reminded her, "These bandits and robbers are almost all Demigods. A bandit group with a Highgod is considered a top-tier group. If a bandit group has several Highgods, then the number of Demigods in that group is definitely extremely high as well."
Delia and Salomon both nodded.
Hadn't they just seen that bandit group? There was only one Highgod, but there were several hundred members.
"If they really attack, yes, we're not afraid of their experts—Reihmons and the others can handle them. But if the enemy has numbers, we might end up facing a siege by a group of Demigods," Linley said helplessly. "After all, we only have about a hundred Demigod demons."
Delia only then realized this point.
If a real chaotic group battle broke out, how many could Reihmons kill at once? Even if he could save Linley and the others, he might not bother to.
They weren't related by blood or friendship; why would he save them?
"It seems we really do need to be more careful," Delia said.
"Boss, what are you guys talking about?" Bebe walked over with Nisse.
Seeing Bebe and Nisse, Linley couldn't help but laugh. "Bebe, I've noticed that you and Nisse look a bit alike."
"Really?" Bebe looked puzzled, then a moment later, he had an epiphany. "Ah, I get it, Boss. Have you noticed that you and Delia look a bit alike too?"
Linley was startled and couldn't help but exchange a glance with Delia.
As husband and wife, it was natural for them to share some similarities.
"That's called having a married couple's look. So, Nini and I also look a bit alike," Bebe said, winking, and looked at Nisse beside him. "Nini, am I right?"
Nisse just snorted, but there was a hint of joy in her eyes.
Linley and Salomon exchanged a look and couldn't help but laugh. It seemed there really was a chance for Bebe and Nisse to be together.
The journey on the metallic lifeform was very peaceful. Linley and the others spent most of their time in cultivation. Although the distance from Diyi City to their destination, Lancifeng City, was four billion miles, that was the straight-line distance. Their route wasn't a straight line; they needed to avoid some dangerous areas.
Another four years passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside Linley and Delia's room.
"Whoosh!" Linley opened his eyes.
Delia seemed to sense it and also opened her eyes. "Linley, why did you stop cultivating?"
"Delia, I've hit a bottleneck in the Profound Truth of Velocity for the Elemental Laws of Wind," Linley said with a strange expression.
"A bottleneck? How is that possible?" Delia was shocked.
When cultivating the profound truths of the Laws, one usually only hit a bottleneck near the end, when they were about to achieve mastery. In the early and middle stages, progress would just slow down, but a bottleneck wouldn't appear.
"Linley, didn't you say last time that you estimated it would take another twenty or thirty years to complete the fusion?" Delia asked.
"Delia, four years ago, I guessed it would take me twenty years to reach the bottleneck, and then a few more years to break through to mastery," Linley said with a wry smile. "But I was wrong. This Profound Truth isn't as difficult to cultivate as I thought, the further you go."
"I didn't cultivate the 'Fast' and 'Slow' states separately. Instead, I cultivated them together, using each to verify the other."
"At the beginning, it did take longer and longer. But when I reached the later stages, by verifying them against each other, the speed of deduction and breakthrough actually got faster and faster. It's like 'Fast' and 'Slow' are two paths that start by extending in opposite directions, getting further and further apart. When they reach the farthest point, they start to get closer. Through mutual verification, I've been bringing these two paths closer and closer together. Now, I've reached the final moment of fusion." Linley shook his head. "But this bottleneck has stalled my cultivation."
Delia felt a bit confused.
As a Demigod of the Wind Element, Delia had also comprehended the two profound truths of 'Fast' and 'Slow'.
But she couldn't fuse them, nor did she understand how these seemingly opposite profound truths could be merged.
"Come on, let's go out and get something to eat." Linley didn't force himself. When encountering a bottleneck, it was best to relax first before continuing to cultivate.
"Another divine sense?" Linley suddenly frowned.
Just now, a Demigod's divine sense had swept over the metallic lifeform.
Delia smiled. "On our journey, there have been so many using divine sense to check us out. Even Demigods dare to use divine sense. If they find we have few people and are weak, they'll probably come to rob and kill us directly."
"Forget it." Linley was also tired of these bandits and robbers.
Everyone on the metallic lifeform had gotten used to the divine sense probes from bandits. They couldn't be bothered to pay attention, as they knew that even if they went out to chase them, they probably wouldn't catch many.
Today, a Highgod's divine sense swept over the metallic lifeform.
But the demons inside the metallic lifeform were either cultivating, drinking, or chatting, completely unconcerned.
"Everyone, retreat!"
A silver-haired young man led nearly a hundred subordinates in a dive, fleeing into a deep valley in the mountains below.
"Whoosh!" The metallic lifeform didn't slow down at all, disappearing over the horizon.
Inside the mountain valley.
Gurgling...
Stream water flowed along the riverbed.
"I've waited so many years, and finally, I've found them." The silver-haired young man stood by the edge of a pool. Behind him stood a black-robed burly man respectfully.
"Haide!" the silver-haired young man said coldly.
"Sir," the black-robed burly man bowed.
The silver-haired young man said solemnly, "You immediately notify Young Master Inigo. Tell him we've found the two old fellows' convoy. As long as the young master knows that the metallic lifeform passed through our area, it will be easy to determine the approximate region it will pass through next."
"Yes, sir."
The black-robed burly man nodded slightly.
Hundreds of millions of miles east of the silver-haired young man, in Lancichi City, an entire hotel had been booked by several hundred people.
Inside one of the courtyards of the hotel, a sinister-looking young man with blood-red long hair was sitting in a chair, flipping through a thick book. A servant beside him said respectfully, "Young Master, Haide is outside, requesting an audience."
"Haide?" The blood-red-haired young man frowned. "Who is Haide?"
"One of the messengers," the servant said respectfully.
In the Infernal Realm, messages were usually sent by finding someone with a divine clone, allowing the two clones to be in two different places.
For example, one clone in Yemu Prefecture and one in Hongyang Prefecture. Although they were billions of miles apart, the two clones were the same person. If one clone learned the news, the other divine clone, billions of miles away, would also know.
This was a common method of communication in the Infernal Realm.
"Finally found those two old fellows?" The young man was overjoyed. "Let him in immediately."
"Yes."
A man identical to the black-robed burly man named Haide entered the courtyard. He immediately knelt respectfully on one knee. "Young Master Inigo, Lord Paget asked me to tell you that the two old fellows' metallic lifeform just passed through Lord Paget's location."
"Oh?"
Inigo was overjoyed. He immediately flipped his hand, and a huge map appeared on the table.
"Passed through Paget's place? It seems those two old fellows' convoy is passing through the Nis Mountain Range. Since they chose this route... then—" Inigo looked at the map, and a smile appeared on his face.
"I cast my net wide, and I've finally found these two old fellows."
Inigo nodded slightly. "I wonder how strong the demons those two old fellows hired are. Hmm, let's test them first."
"You immediately send a message to Viona. Tell him to have his men ready and go to the area around the Bulen River. Those two old fellows will definitely have to pass through that region." Inigo immediately instructed the servant beside him.
"Yes, Young Master." The servant immediately withdrew.
Now, only Inigo was left in the courtyard.
Inigo narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured, "Those two old fellows, carrying all the wealth of their master's family and fleeing to the Zijing Continent, must have a big plan." Then, Inigo sneered. "No matter what they're plotting, just the astonishing wealth those two old fellows are carrying—if I get it, I'll make a huge profit."
Inigo's face was full of smiles.
"How much wealth does the ancient Boye Family actually possess?" Inigo's eyes were full of anticipation.
"Inigo." Suddenly, an aged voice sounded. An old man in a green robe with silver hair entered the courtyard.
"Ah, Teacher." Inigo quickly said.
The green-robed old man shook his head. "Inigo, you've brought so many men this time and spent so much money. If it all ends up being for nothing..."
"Teacher," Inigo said in a low voice. "Don't worry. If we fail, I'll just lose the wealth I've accumulated over the years. But if we succeed... Teacher, the Boye Family is finished, and those two old fellows escaped with all their wealth."
"The wealth the Boye Family has accumulated over countless years." Just thinking about it made Inigo's heart tremble.
But the green-robed old man frowned. "Young Master, think about it. They are carrying such astonishing wealth. Why didn't they go into hiding? Instead, they hired so many demons to escort them. It seems they still want to return to the Bifu Continent."
Inigo frowned. "I find that strange too."
"If it were me, I would have disappeared without a trace long ago." Inigo laughed. "But, Teacher, regardless, I've found their trail now. As long as we kill those two old fellows and seize that interspatial ring..."
"I hope it succeeds," the green-robed old man said.