The Era of Gods

Chapter 614: Chapter 614 Self-reliance

The green underbrush was shrouded in a thin mist, making it appear hazy, adorned with wild grasses of various colors. If one ignored the disgusting cries in the distance, it would seem like a paradise.

Fifteen wizard apprentices, most clad in black robes, rode their horses through the forest. One of them took out a water flask from behind, took a sip, and grumbled:

“Those damn beast-faced birds, their screeching is nauseating.”

The air was somewhat hot, and the jungle was very humid. Riding through the woods, their clothes quickly became damp, which was extremely uncomfortable in this humid environment.

The group gradually sped up as they went, according to the map, this was deep within the Ghost Fog Forest and not too far from the underground palace ruins located in the jungle. The mentor had already arrived with his apprentices ahead of them.

“We’re quite far from the underground palace ruins. Occasionally, some monsters from the ruins escape, so be careful.”

An experienced wizard apprentice surveyed the surroundings and loudly reminded his companions.

Lin Xiao untied his black robe and shook off the dewdrops clinging to his waterproof cloak. Another apprentice, also shaking his cloak, approached and said in a low voice:

“I heard that the underground palace ruins have three levels, but it’s not fully explored. From time to time, I hear about people discovering new sealed chambers and gaining great benefits. Should we take a look when we get there?”

Lin Xiao’s eyebrows raised, his experience allowing him to immediately understand what the man was implying, and he said with a smile:

“Better not. It’s my first time out, and my experience is insufficient. I’d rather stick to simple tasks.”

Having declined, the man didn’t press further, shrugged his shoulders, and moved aside to chat with another unfamiliar wizard apprentice.

He laughed coldly to himself; such an obvious ploy to find cannon fodder would only fool the newbies.

Although he was new among the wizards, he was no novice himself. Tried and tested, he could see through such ruses at a glance.

The team stopped here for a moment, then continued forward at a slower pace.

After a short while, Lin Xiao suddenly sniffed. In addition to the peculiar smell of the jungle, there was a faint, fresh scent of blood in the air, indicating that there had been slaughter here not long ago, but there were no signs of battle nearby.

He was puzzled when suddenly a soft grunt came from the back of the group. Most of the fifteen quickly turned around, only to see… nothing out of the ordinary.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the last person in the procession, but he looked back at them, expressionless, as if nothing had happened.

A few seconds later, when everyone began to look away, Lin Xiao suddenly tensed and with a ‘clang’, drew his sword, startling the others into reflexively spinning around. He pointed to the last person and said:

“He’s dead!”

No sooner had he spoken than a white shadow flew out from behind the man. The group, none with weak eyesight, instantly saw a transparent ghost holding a man’s soul fly away; the wizard apprentice who was riding the horse fell down as his soul was snatched away.

“Kill!”

An invisible force bound it, preventing it from moving. Two transparent blades of wind, each about a foot long, three fireballs, and several threads of unseen power struck the white apparition. With a bang accompanied by a shrill scream, the transparent ghost blew apart, and another wizard apprentice’s soul also burst apart, but was bound by an invisible force that prevented it from breaking completely, gently drifting back into the body.

With a groan of pain, the ensouled wizard apprentice regained consciousness, his actions extremely difficult as he thanked everyone.

Lin Xiao earnestly returned the bow; after all, he had indeed saved the man’s life. As for the injuries to the soul, that wasn’t his concern. In such a situation, if one didn’t act decisively, waiting for the soul to be taken would mean certain death.

After this encounter, everyone became extra vigilant.

Level 3 wizards were still quite formidable. Together, even an official wizard would have a hard time dealing with so many of them. They continued on their way without incident and soon saw a high tower covered in vines and moss standing in the dense forest, riddled with holes.

That was the location of the underground palace ruins. It was said that long ago, this was a school’s base. Then, something happened that led to the overnight destruction of that school. The Empire sent experts to investigate but seemed to find nothing. They just declared the place abandoned, and it was not allowed for others to occupy the base. Thus, over time, it fell into disrepair.

The surface of the underground palace was completely deserted, covered by the thriving jungle. If it wasn’t for that still-standing tower, it would be very difficult for outsiders to locate this place.@@novelbin@@

They used the tower as a landmark and soon arrived at the front of the ruins, where the school’s main gate must have been. A small camp had been set up in front of the ruins of the gate, and a few apprentice wizards were clearing the surrounding vines and weeds.

As they approached, several apprentices happily waved. A bewitchingly beautiful female apprentice with a tall, shapely figure approached them. Everyone dismounted, and she said:

“I’m Ai Lian, the mentor’s apprentice. You’ve arrived just in time. Clear around the camp a bit more; we’re expanding the camp.”

Her commanding presence instantly made her unpopular.

However, since she was the mentor’s disciple and the mentor himself was in the camp tent, they naturally couldn’t refuse. After tethering their horses, the group began to divide the labor and started working.

Lin Xiao took on a task to clear weeds and, from his pack, he pulled out a sharply-edged shovel to use as a knife, slicing and sweeping aside the encroaching weeds from the edge.

The roots and stems of these weeds were as thick as chopsticks and extremely tough. Forcefully cutting them with the shovel not only caused a foul-smelling liquid to flow out like blood but also made them twist and turn like snakes, as if they were living things.

However, these were indeed not living things. This type of weed was common everywhere in this world, or it might be said that many plants in this world were just as bizarre.

With strength ten times that of a normal person, he cleared the weeds in his assigned area in just a few strokes, revealing a large cleared space. Then someone brought over a type of spray and soaked the soil, killing the insects and weed activity hidden in the grass, ensuring that no grass or insects would invade this area for several months.

Many hands make light work. The camp was quickly set up, with several fires distributed around its perimeter. By the time all this was done, night had already fallen, and the tent flap opened as a figure stepped out from within it.

A moment of silence fell over the camp as everyone’s gaze shifted toward the figure, their faces showing a hint of respect as they loudly greeted, “Instructor Julian.”

This was a senior Official Wizard, who, it was said, had crystallized his spiritual power a long time ago and was about to advance to Level 2. Once promoted, he would immediately become an upper-level powerhouse of the school.

Instructor Julian had a tall and extremely handsome appearance, and at first glance, he looked like a noble’s son—both his appearance and habits were vastly different from the typical wizard that people imagined.

Lin Xiao couldn’t shake the feeling that this style seemed familiar, as if he had seen it before.

When the female apprentice named Zhu Lian saw the instructor come out, she quickly approached and sweetly called out to him, unbothered by the gaze of others as she snuggled into the man’s embrace. Julian casually wrapped his arm around the waist of her serpent-like body and gave it a few squeezes.

The expressions of those around them did not change at all, as this kind of situation was quite common in this world.

Many women or men of average heritage but with good looks would attach themselves to the strong—during the day they were instructor and disciple; at night, they were lovers sharing a bed.

After squeezing his disciple a few times, Julian looked up and said to the new apprentices:

“You are already clear about the task. At the end of this trip, each person can get five Magic Stones. If you hand in a portion of Ancient Moss, you can earn one extra Magic Stone. Furthermore, if we collect more than one hundred totals of Ancient Moss this time, everyone will get an additional three Magic Stones after finishing.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Instructor!”

Everyone immediately became excited, as if filled with energy.

Julian smiled with satisfaction, holding the female disciple as he returned to the tent. Soon, the flickering candlelight was accompanied by faint moans and the sound of impacts, which grew louder as time passed.

Many apprentices, with envious looks, moved further away from the tent, adhering to the principle that the abnormal is normal here.

The next day, bright and early, several apprentices who didn’t seem to have slept well gathered and announced the start of their task after assigning duties—although the instructor did not make an appearance.

Most of the Ancient Moss grew inside the underground palace ruins, but occasionally it could be found amidst the surface ruins as well. Compared to the dangerous interior of the palace, the surface was safer, so searching here was the obvious first choice.

The apprentices split up to search their respective areas. After all, they were all Level 3 wizard apprentices with a fair amount of power, so if they encountered real danger, they would be able to hold on until the instructor came to rescue them.

The ruins were seldom visited and vegetation was lush, with tendrils like snakes twining around trees and the remnants of buildings—sometimes actual snakes hung there and could suddenly strike as they passed by.

Before moving, Lin Xiao applied anti-insect and anti-snake medicine on himself. Coupled with his own powerful agility and perception, he could generally detect hidden snakes and insects in advance.

But the most dangerous threats here were not snakes or insects; it was the various demons hiding within the ruins.

As he passed a large tree, numerous tendrils hanging from it suddenly came to life without any wind, and vines as thick as fingers, like snakes, violently wrapped around him and dragged him under the tree.

“Bang bang bang…”

A series of snapping sounds rang out as Lin Xiao used brute force to break a dozen or so tendrils and burst out. With a backhand sword strike, he chopped off several more, and with continuous chops, he scattered large sections of severed tendrils and leaves. Soon, he had brought down the entire patch of tendrils and the tree as well, and at the base full of white bones, he found the tendrils’ rootstock and continued digging downward. In no time at all, he unearthed a head-sized flesh knot covered in roots, cut off the thick base, and carried it out.

This was the core of the massive vine, which could be used to concoct Magic Potions or sold to wizards that specialized in plant systems to cultivate combat plant magic pets, worth six Magic Stones.

He wrapped the item in layers of cloth like a rice dumpling and stuffed it into his backpack. Just this find alone meant his trip was not in vain—it was well worth the effort.

He continued his search, but his luck seemed to have run out. He searched the surface of the entire underground palace ruins until night without finding a single piece of Ancient Moss.

If others had not found some, he might have thought there was none on the surface at all.

When he returned to camp, everyone sold their Ancient Moss to the instructor, and Lin Xiao took the opportunity to sell the rootstock for six Magic Stones as well.

After resting for the night, the group got up early the next day and, after washing up, they gathered at the entrance of the underground palace. After a while, Wizard Julian arrived with a few of his disciples, ready to join everyone in entering the underground palace.