Chapter 38: Young Beast
Although surprised, Jarrod and Garland were also intimidated by Linley, Delia, and their party’s strength, and they acted extremely friendly.
“Hey, Garland, you two must have been in the Amethyst Mountains for a long time, right?” Bebe asked with a smile. Garland and Jarrod exchanged a glance, both showing helplessness in their eyes.
Garland sighed and said, “Yes, we’ve been here for a very, very long time—at least over a hundred million years.”
“Over a hundred million years?” Linley and the others were startled.
A hundred million!
It was easy to say, but that was an incredibly exaggerated number. Linley had lived for just over a hundred years so far, still far from a hundred million.
Jarrod said bitterly, “Back then, Garland and I also encountered a situation like the Mist Tide, and we were forced into the Amethyst Mountains against our will. That day, the amethyst beasts were also frenzied, killing many people, but the two of us were lucky to survive. At the time, I was a mid-level god, and Garland was still a lower-level god… So many years have passed, and both Garland and I have reached the high-level god realm. Because the time was so long, we stopped bothering to count. But it should have been well over a hundred million years ago.”
Linley was shocked inwardly.
The time needed to grow from a lower-level god to a high-level god would generally take an extremely long time for ordinary people.
“Haven’t you ever thought about getting out?” Linley looked at them seriously. “Is the Amethyst Mountains really like the legends say—once you enter, you can never leave?”
Back at the edge of the Mist Sea, he had heard others say this. Linley had only half-believed it.
In Linley’s view, those who collected amethysts had never entered the depths of the Amethyst Mountains, so how could they know the situation of those who had? Even now that he had entered the Amethyst Mountains himself, Linley still held onto a sliver of hope.
He believed there might still be a chance to leave.
“Yes. Once you enter, you can’t leave,” Jarrod said very firmly.
“Really can’t leave?” Linley was stunned.
Was he going to be trapped here forever?
Beside him, Delia glanced at Linley, knowing he had always wanted to return to the Azure Prefecture to meet the ancestors of the Baruch clan. Delia immediately asked, “Jarrod, how can you be so sure? The Amethyst Mountains are so vast; there must be many people here, right? Hasn’t a single person ever left?”
The brown-haired woman Garland also comforted them, “I know you’re unwilling to accept it, but this is the truth.”
“First of all, the gravity in the Amethyst Mountains is very strong,” Garland said. “An ordinary high-level god simply can’t resist this gravity.”
Delia and Linley nodded slightly.
Delia was a high-level god, but she couldn’t resist the gravity either. Although Linley’s body was powerful, he also couldn’t overcome the gravity to fly outward.
Garland continued, “The Amethyst Mountains have existed for so long. Among those who were trapped here in the past, many have reached extremely high levels of power, likely comparable to five-star demons, six-star demons, or even higher. Once, a powerful high-level god managed to fly against this gravity toward the outside.”
Linley frowned.
“He could resist the gravity, but when he flew into the area filled with that eerie wind sound, he was affected and his mind became dizzy. Although he could stay conscious, he persisted in the air for several decades without finding a way out,” Garland said.
Bebe exclaimed in surprise, “Several decades? In that place that makes people dizzy?”
“Yes, but that area is very strange. It’s not a simple maze; even the soul is affected. You simply can’t fly out,” Garland said, shaking her head.
Linley’s heart tightened.
Even a powerhouse who could resist the gravity couldn’t get out—what could he do?
Jarrod added doubtfully, “Later, it was also strange. After that powerhouse gave up and returned to the Amethyst Mountains, he soon disappeared for no reason.”
“Disappeared for no reason?” Linley and the other three were shocked.
Garland nodded as well. “Yes, it wasn’t just him. Later, every powerhouse who reached an extremely high level would suddenly vanish. No one knows if they died, escaped, or something else happened.” Garland and Jarrod were clearly puzzled too.
Linley frowned. Those powerhouses who reached the level of six-star or even seven-star demons had tried to escape on their own but failed. It couldn’t be that they had gotten out on their own.
“Whether they died, escaped, or were controlled, some kind of force must be behind it all,” Linley thought to himself.
Linley looked around the Amethyst Mountains.
He always felt that the Amethyst Mountains themselves were very peculiar. Soul essence was the most important part of a person’s soul, yet the Amethyst Mountains produced amethysts in abundance—it was almost unbelievable.
Then there was the perpetual white mist, the eerie wind sound, the astonishing gravity…
And those caves that sometimes sucked in and sometimes spewed out!
All of this made Linley wary. Suddenly pointing at a distant pit, he said, “Look at that constantly spewing amethyst. What’s with that cave in the pit? Sometimes it spews, sometimes it stops, and sometimes it sucks things in. What’s going on?”
“Don’t go near that place,” Garland quickly said. “We call it the Amethyst Demon Cave. The entire Amethyst Mountains have 108 Amethyst Demon Caves.”
“108?” Bebe’s eyes widened. “This weird place has that many?”
Garland quickly added, “Yes, the Amethyst Demon Caves are the source of the spewed amethysts. Normally, they also spew, but the amount is very small, not as exaggerated as today. Also, when the caves stop spewing, don’t be greedy and go into the pit to grab amethysts.”
“I know,” Bebe said with a snort. “I saw with my own eyes those four people get sucked directly into the cave. Poor Jenkin…” Bebe’s eyes showed a hint of sadness.
“Someone got sucked in?” Jarrod exclaimed in surprise. Then he said, “Those who get sucked in must be newcomers who don’t know about this. The Amethyst Demon Caves have three stages: spewing, pausing, and sucking. The spewing stage is the longest, the pause is the shortest, and the sucking stage is moderate. The pause is not only short but also varies in length each time—there’s no pattern to find. No one would be foolish enough to jump in knowing the danger.”
Linley and the other three nodded slightly.
They had seen this too. The spewing stage was indeed the longest, while the pause lasted only a few seconds.
“To collect amethysts, it’s actually not hard. During the short pause, use an elemental clone or an elemental hand to grab a handful,” Garland said with a faint smile.
Linley suddenly understood.
Yes, for example, using earth elements to form a long hand to grab a handful. Even if it suddenly got sucked in, there wouldn’t be much loss.
“Jenkin and the others were really…” Linley sighed inwardly. “But at the time, they didn’t know about the Amethyst Demon Caves. When they saw it stop, they were overjoyed and went to collect amethysts.”
“Haha… what’s the point of collecting amethysts anyway?” Jarrod sneered and shook his head. “No matter how many amethysts you get, they’re wasted in the Amethyst Mountains. We can’t get out… and amethysts can’t be exchanged for inkstones or sapphire stones.”
Linley and the other three were taken aback.
“Yes, if we can’t get out, what use are all the amethysts in the Amethyst Mountains?” Oliver also shook his head.
For powerhouses like Linley and Oliver, who were unwilling to be ordinary and loved challenges, being trapped in one place forever was sheer torture.
“Whoosh…” A faint mountain wind blew.
Linley’s group of four, along with Jarrod and Garland, stopped to rest halfway up a mountain peak.
No one knew where the amethyst beasts were, so it was better to rest where they were.
Just as they were chatting and discussing the Amethyst Mountains, suddenly—
“Roar, roar…”
“Ah!” “Kill!”…
A large number of beast roars and battle cries rang out, echoing continuously through the forest. Hearing these sounds, the faces of Linley and the other six changed.
“There are a lot of amethyst beasts!” Linley looked toward the source of the sound. Just from the noise, he could tell there were many amethyst beasts.
“At least several dozen amethyst beasts,” Jarrod quickly said. “Let’s go.”
Linley instantly judged the direction. “This way.” None of them wanted to run into those amethyst beasts, so they immediately followed Linley and sprinted at top speed. If two or three amethyst beasts came, Linley and his group could barely handle them together.
But if several dozen came…
Then the others would definitely die, and even Linley and Bebe would be in great danger under the siege of so many amethyst beasts.
“Hurry up,” Linley urged. Faint roars came from the white mist behind them.
“You’re really slow,” Bebe said, grabbing Oliver by one hand. Oliver used the help to keep up.
“They’re fast!” Jarrod and Garland were astonished. Linley’s group was no slower than them, high-level gods. In particular, Linley and Bebe, with their explosive speed, seemed to have an advantage.
After running for a long time, the roars behind them faded away.
“Phew, we’re safe now,” Bebe said, flipping his straw hat back onto his head and leaning against a large rock beside him. “Hey, let’s rest here. Those amethyst beasts went in a different direction; they won’t catch up.”
Linley and Delia also sat down nearby, leaning against each other. Oliver stood casually to the side.
Jarrod and Garland smiled. Garland said, “Everyone, don’t worry. The Mist Tide only lasts one day—today. After today, the amethyst beasts will go back to being frenzied and come out. Then we can live in peace for eons.”
“If it were like this every day, life would be too painful,” Bebe muttered.
“Bebe, are you scared too?” Linley teased with a smile.
“These undying monsters are a headache for anyone,” Bebe said helplessly. Just as they were chatting casually—
“Hey, everyone, look at that,” Bebe pointed into the distance.
Linley and the others looked far away. They saw the endless white mist surging rapidly in one direction. As the mist disappeared, their visible range naturally increased. In the blink of an eye, several miles of mist had vanished completely.
Linley, Bebe, and the other six were all dumbfounded.
Standing halfway up the mountain, they could clearly see about three or four miles away a vast, dense crowd. Countless amethyst beasts filled their view—at least over a thousand were visible, with more hidden in the distant mist.
“This, this…” Linley and the others were terrified.
Two amethyst beasts were already hard to deal with. Thousands upon thousands?
“There are people! Ah, they’re surrounded,” Jarrod and Garland exclaimed in alarm. Linley and the others looked closely, and sure enough—
Inside the encirclement of those amethyst beasts were several hundred people.
Among the amethyst beasts, there was one of the largest, seven meters tall and over twenty meters long. But what drew the most attention wasn’t this massive amethyst beast, but a young amethyst beast standing on its head.
This young amethyst beast was only about a meter long. Compared to the amethyst beasts, it was a tiny thing.
When the Soul Devouring Rat fought, it would grow slightly larger, about the same size as this young beast. Logically, such a young beast should be resting in its nest.
But seeing this young amethyst beast, Linley and the others felt a chill run down their spines.
Because at that moment, the young amethyst beast opened its small mouth, and countless white mist surged into it. In an instant, the mist within ten miles around had disappeared. Strangely, the mist from other areas didn’t flow in.
The young amethyst beast patted its little belly with satisfaction, then a clear voice rang out across the sky: “Haha, humans, I’ve controlled the mist around here. You can’t escape into it now. Get ready to be food!” The voice was crisp, like a child’s, but it spoke fluently.
Linley and the others were shocked.
The amethyst beasts they had encountered spoke haltingly and had low intelligence. But this young purple beast was different.
“Haha, little ones, kill!” the young amethyst beast commanded proudly.
Instantly, countless amethyst beasts roared and charged at the several hundred people, who all unleashed their ultimate techniques wildly. Linley could see at a glance that these people were all experts—their attacks with laws and profound mysteries even made him feel alarmed.
For a moment, the sky and earth were filled with rumbling, roars, and the sounds of battle!
“Monster, die!” One of them, a silver-haired, burly man wielding a long spear, suddenly turned into a white light, dazzling like the sun. A streak of white light shot through the air, straight at the cute young purple beast.
The young purple beast grinned wickedly, casually waved its hand, and a purple light shot out, piercing into the silver-haired man’s body. The man fell from midair and died on the spot!
“Hmph, looking for death?” the young purple beast said carelessly.
Linley and the others were shocked.
“It’s a soul attack!” Bebe said in astonishment. “And it contains some strange profound mystery.”
“Amethyst beasts can also use law attacks?” Linley’s expression changed drastically.
This young purple beast was no ordinary existence. It was completely different from ordinary amethyst beasts.
“Those humans are all high-level gods, like us, and have been here a long time,” Garland said in shock. “That one just killed by the little monster was a very powerful high-level god, but he was killed in one move. That little monster’s strength…” Garland was also dumbfounded.
What kind of strength was that?
Asura-level strength?
“Let’s get out of here quickly,” Linley said urgently.
“Too insane. Let’s go,” Bebe agreed.
Immediately, Linley and the others turned and fled.
On the distant battlefield, the little young purple beast standing on the giant amethyst beast’s head waved its hand, sending another purple light to kill a powerful high-level god. Then it suddenly turned its head and looked in Linley’s direction, pursed its lips, and said, “Oh? I was planning to deal with you later, but you got scared and ran after watching for a bit.”
Then the little young purple beast shouted loudly and proudly, “Little ones, chase them!” Its crisp voice echoed across the sky.
Instantly, countless purple beasts responded with roars and, following the direction pointed by the little young purple beast’s small claw, sprinted in pursuit. On the ground, only a field of corpses remained—the several hundred high-level gods were all dead!