Chapter 437: Red Thread

Within a few hours, Priam and Dandara reunited.

Standing beside Dandara was Eudora, wearing a radiant smile filled with pure excitement.

Priam frowned slightly, confused. Noticing the doubt in his eyes, Dandara quickly explained:

"She’s going to stay with me and train alongside my other partners. This girl is very innocent, but she’s incredibly intelligent. Besides, you promised to play with her before, didn’t you?"

Priam understood immediately. Dandara couldn’t form a contract with all the Pixies at once, so she’d chosen Eudora to train as the future leader of her race’s army.

"Big Boss! We’re going to see lots of new things!" Eudora cheered excitedly.

Despite having the body of a young adult, her mind was extremely childish. Dandara had already explained to Priam that the Pixies practiced a special technique created by the Goddess, which slowly nourished their bodies’ energies to enable them to use Sacred Yin.

For this technique to work, they had to fall asleep in a nest for countless eras. All Pixies went through the same ritual, remaining in a deep slumber for around 300,000 to 400,000 years and awakening only for a few brief days from time to time.

Once they finally completed the maturation of the Art, they emerged into the world for good, retaining an extremely childish personality at first—a condition that, fortunately, was only temporary.

In Eudora’s case, since she’d displayed absurd talent from a very young age, she’d spent 800,000 years cultivating and had awakened only a very short time ago, shortly before Priam arrived at the Inner Sect.

Priam looked at Eudora and gave a slight nod. There was no way he could refuse a young girl with such a pure gaze and aura.

"We’ll spend most of our time on the boat, but every now and then, we can stop and explore a little."

Eudora let out a little cheer of joy, brimming with excitement.

After that, the group boarded the Flying Boat. Dandara unloaded everything Priam had requested earlier onto the deck.

The most crucial item was a colossal stockpile of energy resources for the vessel: a greenish ore that, while not expensive, offered incredible efficiency for keeping the boat flying for long periods. Its speed wouldn’t reach 60% of its maximum potential, but the cost-effectiveness more than made up for it.

Dandara had simply stopped by the Sect’s treasury building and requested enough supplies for ten years of uninterrupted travel, along with a few other minor necessities.

All the Sect’s Elders knew who Dandara was and that any request she made was a request from the Principal Disciple.

She had no idea where they were going—she only knew the journey could take years. As for Priam... he didn’t know the exact location either, but he had an unfailing compass that would lead him there: Dandara herself.

Just as Meien had guided him to a place with which he shared a strong karmic connection, Priam was certain Dandara would help him track down the planets where the three races lived.

However, there was a limit to her technique. Dandara had to be within a reasonable distance of their destination. For example, the red thread connecting Meien to her destination had only appeared when they’d reached the northern region. Before that, Priam had known it would be pointless to waste energy even trying to track it.

Because of this, the plan was to travel through the universe until Dandara’s karmic connection pointed them in the right direction.

The universe was vast, but the technique’s range was enormous as well. Even if it took time, traveling through every quadrant at maximum speed, it shouldn’t take more than a few years to search every corner.

Dandara had brought along a map of the universe she’d requested from the Sect at Priam’s behest. She inserted a projection crystal into the control panel, and a large holographic screen unfolded before them.

The Universe stretched out in an almost circular shape, its proportions unimaginably vast. The Mortal Plane occupied the outermost regions, encompassing around 70% of the entire space. At the center was a smaller circle covering 25% of the area, marked as the Divine Plane. Finally, right at the very core of everything, occupying a mere 5%, lay the Celestial Cloud.

Priam had known for a long time that attempting to enter the Celestial Cloud was guaranteed suicide. Any Flying Boat that dared approach it shut down instantly, and any Sage lost almost all their strength upon getting close. Physically attempting to reach that place was a deadly taboo, which was why all the sects relied on mental projections through inscriptions.

Even so... using the passage to his Secret World, Priam felt it would be easy to transport someone there safely. He simply saw no reason to try it at the moment.

After studying the map, Priam plotted their initial route.

"Let’s first sweep through the eastern, western, and northern regions of the Divine Plane, just to be on the safe side. After that, we’ll head straight for the Mortal Plane."

Dandara agreed, and their long journey finally began.

As soon as the boat shot through space, Priam activated his tracking technique and fixed his gaze on Dandara. As expected, no red thread appeared, confirming the obvious: the races weren’t right under their noses in the Southern Region.

Days later, when they reached the Western Region, Priam activated the karmic search again, but there was no reaction. Before leaving the western sector, he checked one more time just to be safe, but nothing had changed.

Thirty days passed as they crossed the entire Divine Plane, confirming that the three races really weren’t there. Without further delay, the Flying Boat tore through the boundary and headed into the vast Mortal Plane.

***

Once they reached the Mortal Plane, time flowed smoothly and steadily. Before Priam even realized it, they’d already been traveling for over six months.

It all went by incredibly fast. Throughout that period, they didn’t have to sit around doing nothing on the Flying Boat. Priam and Dandara frequently entered the Secret World and visited the habitable planet. There, Dandara’s beasts trained freely, and everyone interacted with the local inhabitants, who were gradually turning the place into a true home.

Of course, someone always had to remain on guard aboard the boat in case anything unexpected happened. Priam left the passage to the Secret World open, allowing them to take turns staying outside. If anything unusual appeared, all they had to do was cross the portal and call for him. However, nothing happened.

The universe was truly unimaginably vast, and dangers in the Mortal Plane were rare, allowing them to travel without any major concerns.

But as those months came to an end, when they finally crossed another quadrant of the map, Priam activated the tracking technique once more...

"!"

The red thread finally appeared before his eyes.

Priam felt a surge of excitement, and without wasting any time, they immediately adjusted their course.

...

Less than a day later, a planet almost entirely covered in black rocks emerged before them. At the center of the globe lay a small ocean of crystal-clear water, divided in two by a single continent.

The Flying Boat approached one of the planet’s three moons and landed gently on its surface.

Priam took a deep breath, turned to Dandara, and took her hand.

After activating Transcendental Concealment, the two headed toward the planet, certain that the Sage who ruled over that place would never notice their presence.

Priam followed the red thread linked to Dandara until they reached one of the few tropical forests on the planet. At its center stood a simple, humble village made up of a few hundred wooden houses.

The pair silently floated above the settlement, observing the inhabitants below.

They quickly spotted colossal humanoid figures moving about casually. Both the men and women stood around two meters tall, and their bodies were covered in scales resembling polished black obsidian.

Their eyes were a bright, light blue, while their reddish hair created a striking contrast. The men had sturdier, denser builds, whereas the women were unexpectedly taller and more slender, with sharp, haughty gazes.

’They’re the Vitrarchs!’ Dandara communicated mentally, surprised. During their journey, she’d studied the records of every race connected to the Goddess.

In the past, the Vitrarchs had been known as ’The Goddess’s Shield and Black Spear.’

They possessed absurd durability and the purest affinity for the Earth element ever recorded. The men were masters of impenetrable defense, while the women channeled the element in a highly offensive manner—and their destructive power couldn’t be underestimated.

Priam nodded. The entire village seemed to house no more than a thousand people, while the rest of the continent might contain a few hundred more scattered about.

After confirming the situation, the two gently landed right in the center of the settlement.

"FREEZE!!"

Not even a second passed before furious shouts rang out.

A flurry of activity swept through the village, and hundreds of warriors hurriedly emerged, drawing their weapons. They all stared at the two newcomers with cold, alert eyes.

Priam fixed his gaze on a woman standing in the middle of the group. She wielded a large golden spear and was the most powerful Mage present.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" the woman roared, coldly pointing her spear at them.

"We’re not here to cause trouble," Priam said calmly. "You still uphold the Goddess’s words and legacy, correct?"

The moment those words were spoken, the leader’s expression faltered.

Priam nodded slightly, squeezing Dandara’s hand a little tighter.

The Goddess’s commands had certainly never been forgotten by these people.

...

Without delay, Priam explained his origins and intentions, after which he was escorted to the Goddess’s temple at the back of the village.

Upon arrival, the structure proved extremely similar to the other temples: the same statue lacking detailed features, with the characteristic multicolored glow shining at its center.

However, this time Dandara was by his side—and it was the first time she’d ever witnessed anything like this.

Priam noticed her fluctuations spiraling out of control as they approached. She wore a serious expression, accompanied by a distant, confused gaze.

Dandara was clearly feeling something. It was as if she were on the verge of remembering something crucial, yet couldn’t quite reach the memory. It was a truly strange, painful sensation, and she couldn’t even understand why she felt that way.

Back in the Inner Sect, she’d felt the same thing constantly. But here, the feeling was immensely stronger, especially when she laid eyes on that statue.

Suddenly, Dandara noticed something that left her shocked.

"Hmm?! The Goddess had a tail?! That... that doesn’t make any sense... The Sect’s records say she was a pure humanoid, belonging to an ancient race that went extinct a long time ago."

Priam was hearing this for the first time and was equally confused. All the statues he’d seen before, despite lacking details, had always possessed those features.

He quickly recalled something. Dandara had come from another world, and she was undoubtedly a powerful and incredible immortal. When she’d secretly come to this world, however, she’d had to reincarnate into a new body.

’Maybe... she didn’t really like her new body in this world. So she wanted others to worship her true form from another world... Knowing Dandara, that seems entirely possible to me,’ Priam murmured mentally.

After taking several deep breaths, Dandara squeezed Priam’s hand even tighter, struggling to stay focused.

They both approached the base of the statue. Priam extended his hand and began absorbing the energy contained within it.

However, seconds later...

’Damn it...’

Priam suddenly felt his vision darken and immediately turned toward Dandara.

She swallowed hard and understood the signal at once. Without hesitation, Dandara grabbed Priam and shot toward the sky at maximum speed, leaving the planet behind.

By the time they’d put enough distance between themselves and the planet and reached the moon’s surface, Priam had completely blacked out, and Transcendental Concealment dissolved into the air.