Chapter 4: Iron Blade Gorge
Linley also tightly held Delia's hand.
"The peak... yes, that day will surely come." Linley would always remember. The figures of Beirut and Dunnington were his goals!
Suddenly, stifled laughter came from beside him.
Linley turned his head to look, only to see Cendi and Ina secretly peeking in their direction. When they saw Linley had noticed them, the two immediately shrank back into their respective rooms. Linley couldn't help but smile and called out, "Wendi, Nana, come over quickly. Oh, Nana... your father and mother have already returned to the Bloodridge Continent and are heading towards the Prefecture of Azure. I estimate they'll be back in about a year or so."
"Father and mother are coming back?" Ina poked her head out, her face full of surprise.
Linley smiled and nodded. He and Bebe were connected by soul, and they could each sense the other's location.
"Oh, that's quite fast," Delia said from beside him. "Bebe and Nisse, this round trip took just over a hundred years. It seems they didn't stay too long in the Prefecture of Jasper. I wonder how Bebe's relationship with Salomon turned out."
Linley said with a faint smile, "No matter what, Bebe won't suffer a loss."
With Bebe's current strength, Salomon was no match for him. Although Salomon was Nisse's brother, Linley knew Bebe's temper well. If Salomon went too far, even if Bebe spared his life out of consideration for Nisse, he would probably still teach him a lesson.
"Linley, how about we go visit Lord Beirut? It's been so many years, and we've never been there. We can also wait for Bebe and the others there," Delia suggested.
"Great, great! Let's go to the ancestor's place!" Ina was the first to respond.
Linley had indeed never been to the residence of the Prefecture Lord of Azure. He smiled and nodded. "Alright, let's go to Lord Beirut's place. Bebe will also know our location and can come directly."
So Linley and the others changed the direction of their metallic lifeform and headed towards the Prefecture Lord's residence.
The residence of the Prefecture Lord of Azure was located in the northern district of Azure City, the foremost of the ten major cities of the Prefecture of Azure. Nearly half of the entire northern district belonged exclusively to the Prefecture Lord. The Prefecture Lord's personal guards and servants numbered in the tens of thousands.
Linley and his group were warmly received by Beirut upon their arrival. They settled in and stayed there.
Nearly a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Linley and Delia were strolling in the garden. The garden was filled with a wide variety of flowers—red, blue, yellow—scattered everywhere. Smelling the fragrance of the flowers and walking with his wife was truly a pleasure. Suddenly—
Linley turned his head to look west and smiled slightly. Then he turned to look at Delia beside him. "Delia, Bebe and Nisse have arrived in Azure City. They should be here in a little while."
"In a little while?" Delia couldn't help but show a hint of joy. Then she hesitated slightly.
"Delia, is something the matter? Go ahead and say it." Having spent so many years with Delia, Linley could guess what she was thinking from just a look or an expression. Delia hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Linley, it's been nearly two thousand years since we came to the Infernal Realm. The crisis for the Four Divine Beasts clan has been resolved, and you've reached the Highgod level. I was thinking... maybe we should return to the Yulan Continent for a visit. I really want to see Sasha and Taylor, our two children."
Linley was stunned.
Return to the Yulan Continent?
In an instant, scenes flashed through Linley's mind—scenes from his youth studying at the Ernst Institute of Magic, being together with Yale, George, and Reynolds, scenes of his arduous training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, and scenes of all the loved ones he cared about.
He hadn't felt the urge to return before, but now that Delia had brought it up, Linley felt an urgent, burning desire in his heart. A powerful impulse surged in his chest. "Yes, return to the Yulan Continent. It's time to go back and see. I wonder how Yale and the others are doing, and Warton too. And Sasha and Taylor... I don't know what's become of them." Linley's heart was filled with anticipation.
"Yes, let's go back together." Seeing Linley agree, Delia was overjoyed. As a mother, her concern for her children came from the deepest part of her heart. "I wonder how my brother is doing now..."
Linley also remembered Dixie. When they first entered the Ernst Institute of Magic, Dixie was hailed as the institute's number one genius. It was only later, when Linley learned the flat-blade carving technique and his spiritual energy skyrocketed, that he continuously broke through until he surpassed Dixie.
"Bebe hasn't been back for a long time either. Since he's just returned, we can ask him and his family to come with us to the Yulan Continent," Linley said expectantly. "To be honest, I'm still a bit curious about what's inside the Necropolis of the Gods on the Yulan Continent. This time, we can take a look as well."
Having cultivated to his current level, Linley didn't have a strong desire for the Necropolis of the Gods, but he was still curious.
"Necropolis of the Gods?" Delia sighed. "Back then, when you went to the Necropolis of the Gods for ten whole years, I was constantly worried at Dragonblood Castle." Linley felt a bit embarrassed when he heard this.
"Boss!" Bebe's voice rang out from afar.
"Bebe is here. Let's go out and meet him." Linley and Delia immediately walked outside. When they got outside, they saw that Beirut, Wendi, Ina, and the others were already there to welcome them.
Bebe and Nisse were enthusiastically chatting with Beirut and Ina.
Seeing Linley approaching, Bebe immediately walked over and said with a smile, "Boss, it's been a long time!" He gave Linley a big hug. Linley laughed and asked, "So, how did it go in the Prefecture of Jasper this time?"
"What could go wrong?" Bebe pouted.
Linley looked at him with confusion.
"Salomon? He kept apologizing, of course. Good thing he knew what was good for him. Otherwise... hmph, hmph." Bebe snorted a couple of times. Linley breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Salomon did care about his sister and had a sincere attitude.
In reality...
After Salomon saw the floating image of Linley's performance, and especially after learning from Nisse about Bebe's relationship with the Prefecture Lord of Azure, Beirut, how could he dare to have a bad attitude? He treated Bebe even better than his own brother.
"Haha, let's all go to the main hall and talk in detail," Beirut said with a smile.
As they walked towards the main hall, Linley secretly communicated with Bebe: "Bebe, Delia and I have talked it over. We're planning to return to the Yulan Continent. We've been in the Infernal Realm for so many years and haven't been back. Do you want to come with us?"
Bebe's eyes lit up.
"Go? Of course I'm going!" Bebe immediately sent a mental message back. "Boss, I'll talk it over with Nini. She'll definitely agree."
The group sat down in the main hall.
Some servants brought up various delicious dishes and delicacies. Linley spoke directly: "Lord Beirut, we've been in the Infernal Realm for a long time... Bebe and I have discussed it. We're planning to return to the Yulan Continent."
"Return to the Yulan Continent? I'm going too!"
"I want to go too!"
Wendi and Ina shouted out almost simultaneously.
Beirut let out a surprised sound, then smiled and nodded. "That's right. You've been in the Infernal Realm for a very long time. If you want to return to the Yulan Continent, you'll need to use the teleportation passage at the Iron Blade Gorge on our Bloodridge Continent."
Linley knew that each of the five continents and two oceans of the Infernal Realm had its own teleportation passage.
However, the cost for using these passages was extremely high.
"Lord Beirut, how much is the teleportation fee?" Linley inquired.
"Generally, teleportation between higher planes and divine planes is cheaper. But teleporting from a higher plane or divine plane to a material plane is extremely expensive. Teleporting from a material plane to a higher plane or divine plane is free," Beirut explained.
Linley was aware of this. He just didn't know how high the cost was.
"I wonder if I have enough inkstone on me," Linley thought nervously.
Beirut laughed. "But if you go to teleport, just show this token, and you can use the passage for free." Beirut flipped his hand, and a blood-red token appeared in his palm. The token emitted an aura that made one's heart tremble.
Linley and the others looked over.
"Free use of the teleportation passages?" Bebe's eyes lit up. "Grandpa, give it to us."
"Hey, I'm only lending it to you for this one trip!" Beirut quickly said. "This token was granted to me by a Sovereign. I relied on it back when I casually visited a large number of material planes. Otherwise, no matter how much money I had, I couldn't afford teleporting again and again. Just this once. After you use it, you must return it. I'll lend it to you again when there's time later."
Bebe pouted.
He was clearly dissatisfied with his grandfather's stinginess.
"Thank you, Lord Beirut," Linley quickly said.
"Haha..." Beirut laughed. "If anything comes up when you're on the Yulan Continent, feel free to come to the Forest of Darkness to find me. My divine clone has always been in the Forest of Darkness."
"Divine clone?" Linley was surprised.
Beirut smiled and nodded.
Linley was a bit astonished... because the Beirut he had seen on the Yulan Continent back then had the exact same attire and aura as the one before him. Was the one he met back then this divine clone, or the one currently in the Forest of Darkness?
"Here's the token for you. Don't lose it." Beirut said solemnly, then tossed it to Bebe.
Bebe caught it. "Don't worry. It won't get lost in my hands."
For this return trip to the Yulan Continent, Linley's family of three and Bebe's family of three all set off together. The day after receiving the token, Linley and his group of six departed directly for the Iron Blade Gorge.
The Iron Blade Gorge was the location of the teleportation passage on the Bloodridge Continent.
As Linley and the others flew over, they could see the Iron Blade Gorge from afar. Its appearance was very distinctive, but what confirmed it was the Iron Blade Gorge was the large number of Bloodridge Army soldiers patrolling the area.
"Halt!" a Bloodridge Army soldier shouted loudly.
Linley and his group immediately descended. The leading Bloodridge Army soldier, with short, steel-needle-like golden hair, swept his cold, sharp gaze over Linley and the others and barked, "What business do you have at the Iron Blade Gorge?"
"We want to use the teleportation passage to return to a material plane," Linley stated.
The golden-haired, burly leader was startled. Quite a few people used the teleportation passage to go to other higher planes or divine planes, as the cost was much lower. But returning to a material plane... the price was terrifying.
"Oh, follow me." The golden-haired, burly man led the way.
Linley and his group of six followed the Bloodridge Army soldier into the interior of the Iron Blade Gorge. Shortly after, they arrived at the teleportation passage inside the castle atop the gorge. The magic array of the teleportation passage was identical to the one Linley had used when he came to the Infernal Realm.
"There are six of you!"
There were quite a few Bloodridge Army soldiers here. One of them sized up Linley's group. "Three Highgods, one Demigod, one God, and one Saint-level. According to the rules... for returning to a material plane, the teleportation fee for each Highgod is ten trillion inkstones. Each Highgod can bring ten Demigods for free..."
Linley was shocked by what he heard.
He finally understood why, over so many years, very few gods had returned to the Yulan Continent. The price was simply too outrageous. Ten trillion inkstones was probably the entire wealth of a Seven-Star Fiend. An ordinary Highgod could never afford it.
"So, you need to pay three trillion, uh..." The Bloodridge Army soldier was just halfway through his sentence when he saw the token in Bebe's hand.
"Hurry up and activate the teleportation magic array," Bebe said calmly.
"Yes!" Upon seeing the token, the surrounding Bloodridge Army soldiers immediately stood at attention and quickly began to activate the magic array. Suddenly, one of them turned his head and asked, "My lords, which plane are you going to?"
"The Yulan Continent plane," Linley stated.