Chapter 718 - 449: Song of Valiant

Chapter 718: Chapter 449: Song of Valiant

"The World Barrier..."

Danika gazed at the churning Divine Fog, a nostalgic look in her eyes. When she was young, she, her sister, Laurie, and their adventuring party had reached the end of the continent. It was the first time she had seen the legendary World Barrier, and she had been profoundly shaken by the magnificent sight. It was on that very night that Laurie declared his ambition to become the King of Gaia.

Seeing that wall of white fog, which reached from the heavens to the earth, she couldn’t help but think of her departed friends and family, and a wave of sorrow washed over her.

Zhou Chen took out a pair of binoculars and observed it carefully, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. On the surface, the World Barrier was just a magnificent wall of white fog, infinitely long and infinitely high, encircling all of Gaia.

But he knew it was nowhere near as harmless as it looked. Anyone who dared to touch the World Barrier would be ruthlessly destroyed by the immeasurable Divine Power it contained. Many of Gaia’s Kings had died attempting, and failing, to break through it.

Even Gods preferred not to approach the Restricted Area unless absolutely necessary. The higher their rank, the stronger the pull. The mere presence of a God near the Restricted Area would cause the chaotic Divine Power within to riot. Even if it didn’t cause much harm, the experience would be extremely unpleasant.

In the entire World, only Hermes could treat the World Barrier in the Restricted Area as if it were nothing, coming and going as he pleased.

Zhou Chen was aware of the World Barrier’s dangers, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity. His reckless side was itching to try and grab some of the Divine Fog for Forging.

—The King of Melting and Casting, Robert, had done just that. He had seized a large amount of Divine Fog for Forging, analyzed its essence, and created numerous Extraordinary Items, some of which were even Authority Objects. Later, Hermes took all those Extraordinary Items away. It was unknown whether he pocketed them himself or gave them all to the Star Association.

While scouting, Zhou Chen spotted several islands in the distant ocean through his binoculars. He opened his map for a quick comparison and confirmed that they were his destination: the place where Star Dust Carol was sealed.

The invisible Christmas Sled approached the islands and began to circle them slowly.

’Time for a little peek...’ Zhou Chen activated his system’s see-through function and easily saw the Desecration Church’s base inside the island. He counted carefully. There were over fifty Desecration Cultists inside the island’s structures. More than thirty of them were gathered in a large hall watching a movie or were alone in their rooms. The rest were on duty in the surveillance room.

"Show me the exact location of Carol’s cell."

[Wish Value -1000]

Zhou Chen immediately saw a conspicuous ball of light flare up more than a hundred meters below sea level. His see-through Ability allowed him to ignore the seawater’s obstruction and clearly see the Sealing Room.

He leaped onto the island and, with Danika’s help, found the hidden entrance to the base. After seeing through the Illusion Technique, a futuristic-looking metal door with a fingerprint lock appeared before them.

"Open the door, block the system feedback from it opening, and deceive the surrounding surveillance."

[Wish Value -2000]

The high Wish Value cost meant this was more than just a high-tech security door; it must have been fortified with powerful Magic defenses.

BEEP! The door slowly opened, but its status in the surveillance room remained unchanged, still displaying the word "CLOSED." The surveillance feed of the area around the door also showed no abnormalities.

Everything was normal.

The Desecration Cultists watched the monitors intently, on guard against any intruders, completely unaware that a dangerous Ghost had already slipped in.

Zhou Chen went to the surveillance room first and quickly finished off the Desecration Cultists on duty. Then he went to the dorms, knocking on each door to lure out and kill the Cultists in their rooms. Finally, he wiped out the ones in the main hall in one fell swoop.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water. In less than ten minutes, the base was cleared, and a bonfire point promptly appeared.

After lighting the bonfire point to save his progress, Zhou Chen went straight to the Sealing Room.

[Enter Star Dust Carol’s cell?]

[Yes]

[Entering Star Dust Carol’s cell...]

[You have entered Star Dust Carol’s cell.]

Beneath a dense, starry sky, a colossal jellyfish came into view.

It shimmered with light, its entire body composed of surging, variegated colors, vivid and dynamic, like the beautiful and magnificent light of the stars.

Myriad translucent, crystalline tentacles extended neatly, connecting to countless brilliant screens of light in the air, much like a central terminal extending a dense web of cables to plug into innumerable devices.

A cold sweat broke out on Zhou Chen’s back. He felt an intense pressure, a terrifying aura that far surpassed the Abyssal Spirits he had encountered before.

’Carol’s injuries don’t seem that severe!’

At the top of the jellyfish was the upper body of a nude woman, her eyes tightly shut as if in a deep sleep. The colossal, star-colored jellyfish was a Transformation of her lower body.

Her features were delicate and beautiful. She had a thick mane of long, golden hair that covered part of her torso. Her skin was like porcelain, as white as moonlight, and she exuded a sacred, inviolable aura.

Zhou Chen was a little confused. The aura of corruption on Carol wasn’t strong; one could even call it harmless. ’Could it be just as I guessed? Did Carol perform a Purification on herself in the end, which is why she backstabbed the other Abyssal Spirits?’

And the reason she was sealed was that the corruption hadn’t been completely removed and she needed time to wear it away.

’But if Carol got rid of the corruption, why is the Desecration Church still protecting her seal?’

Just as Zhou Chen was pondering this, the woman atop the jellyfish sensed the uninvited guest’s arrival and slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils were swirling galaxies, profound and mysterious.