Chapter 381 - Don't Come Any Closer!

At two o'clock in the afternoon, on a plain in the eastern suburbs of Baichuan City.

In the distance, the outlines of distant mountains undulated under the azure sky. But there was a lush green forest close by.

The forest bordered a sparkling lake. It was not very large in area but had clear and beautiful water. Aquatic plants swayed abundantly, fish and shrimp swam, and white birds circled overhead. From above, the lake resembled a teardrop-shaped gem.

Half of it lay within the forest, while the other half was embedded in the verdant grassland. The terrain of the plain didn't have much undulation; even an ordinary person could vaguely see places several kilometers away at a glance. Occasionally, cattle and sheep roamed the small grassland, chewing on tender grass.

A tiny black dot remained motionless in the middle of the plain. Zooming in, it was a man sitting cross-legged. He had a tall and robust build, handsome and noble features, and medium-length hair as smooth as golden velvet that shone brilliantly under the sunlight. As it danced in the breeze, it reminded one of a lion's mane.

His bangs parted over his forehead, gaze fixed into the distance. The man's lips curled slightly upward, seemingly carrying an inexplicable confidence.

"Emerald Lake Grassland, located fifteen kilometers east of Baichuan City... There are no hills or mountains within an eight-kilometer radius. Hence, landslides, mudslides, or inexplicable rolling stones are absolutely impossible. Since Emerald Lake Grassland is an undeveloped area, the industrial zone hasn't extended there. The only main road is more than five kilometers away from my position. It's impossible for a train to appear out of nowhere and crash into me! Moreover, Baichuan City shouldn't be located on a seismic belt. In the past hundred years, Baichuan City has never had an earthquake!" Cassius muttered inexplicably to himself, his blue-black eyes gradually lighting up.

"So, this time, the advantage is mine!" He glanced around. Cassius had the physique of a top-tier combat artist, and could see detailed scenes several kilometers away over the flat terrain. Nothing unexpected happened; only some grazing cattle and sheep were leisurely walking, chewing on fodder in their mouths.

"Time to begin..." He calmed his mind and took out a palm-sized book from his bosom. The Devil's Book had a black hard shell exterior that felt like a carapace to the touch. On its surface was a lifelike, ferocious skull that exuded an aura of evil.

At first glance, it didn't look like anything good but Cassius thought it looked like a good thing. It was just a matter of whether the user could bear the cost of using the Devil's Book.

He was strong enough that the cost could be ignored. The benefit of obtaining hidden information could naturally be taken without paying. Cassius was very confident in himself, mainly because he had experienced two strength enhancements since returning to the real world: once by opening the Gate of Physique, and once by gaining life vibration energy from a three-day hunt.

He had clearly advanced several levels from when he had been barely hovering at the edge of a top-tier combat artist during his last time-travel. Cassius felt like he could easily endure misfortunes similar to when he first used the Devil's Book. After all, the information he wanted now about the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist shouldn't differ much in importance from the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist. The misfortune of both should be at the same level.

Unless... unless the misfortune is also affected by the user's own strength. The stronger the strength, the more dangerous the misfortune to be endured.

Cassius thought his luck shouldn't be that bad.

To be safe, he glanced around once more. After confirming everything, he pressed the front of the Devil's Book tightly against the Rune of Wisdom on his chest. In an instant, the normally stationary symbol of a snake began to spin rapidly.

The point where the snake's head bit its tail traced circle after circle along a fixed track, emitting a rich black-purple light, as if something was being extracted. At the same time, the Devil's Book also glowed with a bluish-purple radiance, seemingly resonating with the Rune of Wisdom.

It inexplicably exuded a dazzling, enchanting aura of fantasy. He felt a familiar heat, and the Devil's Book seemed to turn into a scorching branding iron, searing onto his skin.

The essence of calamity stored in the Rune of Wisdom was drawn out like liquid, seeping from his bones and skin, and devoured by the Devil's Book. Time passed second by second.

A

click

sounded and the Devil's Book automatically fell from his chest.

Cassius caught it with one hand and looked down. There were five diamond-shaped gems the size of pinky fingernails on the Devil's Book's hard shell cover. Now, the front two had lit up, emitting a charming yet somewhat eerie warm luster.

Cassius didn't have to fumble like an idiot anymore to try and unlock the pages of the Devil's Book. He pressed down on the two lit gems, injecting Qi, and the gems' luster dimmed.

Cassius's fingers moved slightly. He felt a little excited when he thought of how the book now had detailed information about the third Southern Dipper Fist technique. Taking a deep breath, he subconsciously glanced around again.

Very good, no unexpected situations occurred.

He opened the book, but he was met by blank pages. He kept flipping pages, until at about one-third of the way, there were two pages densely filled with black writing. Cassius scanned the pages and found that both pages were entirely about the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist, rather than two pages corresponding to two separate questions like last time.

"Could it be that obtaining information about the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist is more difficult?"

He continued to read carefully under the sunlight.

Sharp, elegant, grand and majestic, combining righteousness and uniqueness. It exuded a subtle sense of fatality—very elegant but deadly!

Like a waterbird spreading its wings by the lakeside, or spiraling upwards into the sky. Or diving down to hunt snakes and insects, carrying a composed and leisurely charm.

Cassius immediately felt that the characteristics of the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist were completely different from the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist and the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist.

This fist technique seemed to carry a sense of arrogance? An elegant arrogance.

It was neither biased nor unfair, but walked right in the middle. It was the most magnificent and grand fist technique! It had a sacred sense of elegant arrogance.

As he continued to read further, the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist was the same as the other two Southern Dipper Fist techniques. It corresponded to the Cygnus constellation in the sky; when all the stars were connected, it formed an elegant waterbird diving down. There were a total of sixty-six stars, corresponding to sixty-six body acupoints.

It cultivated a force called Thorn Feather Force. Its characteristic was devouring; the effect is simple yet overbearing. Whatever the Thorn Feather Force touched, it would be as if an invisible big mouth had bitten off a piece. In reality, those things didn't simply disappear but were annihilated by the force, turned into particles indistinguishable to the naked eye and left in the air.

It was terrifying. It seemed even more overbearing than Death's Fang Force and Reverberating Force. Since those two forces were spiral tearing and explosive shockwaves, people hit by them can still see how they died and could roughly guess the principle. However, someone hit by Thorn Feather Force would suddenly find a piece of their body missing! As they continued to fight, their body would seemingly be eaten away by an invisible mouth!

But the Thorn Feather Force is even more horrifying in terms of manifestation.

"Elegant, grand, but brutal?" Cassius muttered to himself and continued reading. The contents were actually about the Eternal Archipelago! Feng Liusi's guess back then was indeed correct. There was indeed a Southern Dipper Fist technique buried in the ancient ruins of the Eternal Archipelago, and that technique was the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist!

He sighed emotionally. "I'll fulfill Feng Liusi's regret myself."

Cassius was secretly shocked as he continued to read. The danger level of the Eternal Archipelago was too high, much higher than the Akaba Ruins where the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist was buried. Just some of the dangerous areas and hazardous species on the islands were enough to make one highly cautious.

White Bone Ring Trees and Bloodthirsty Ripples were highly dangerous forces native to the Eternal Archipelago. Not to mention, there seemed to be a mysterious force on the islands capable of using such powers.

The Devil's Book was quite user-friendly; the information it provided about the Eternal Archipelago wasn't from the current era but from the time-travel era Cassius was about to visit—that is, the period from three hundred to one hundred and sixty-five years ago. The Eternal Archipelago at that time was even more dangerous than when Feng Liusi went.

First, there were storms and sea monsters, then the powers on the islands. Lastly, there's a series of terrifying traps within the ruins.

Cassius took a deep breath. While he was somewhat worried, he was also a bit relieved. The Devil's Book did not mention anything about a "Holy Fist," meaning that the old man Feng Liusi had once encountered wasn't there. Cassius believed that the old Holy Fist master was the real threat on the Eternal Archipelago. After all, you couldn't place your life and safety at someone else's mercy.

Without the Holy Fist, even if the Eternal Archipelago were dangerous, Cassius still had the courage to venture there. It would be challenging, but not impossible.

In his last time-travel, he learned that Feng Liusi encountered the Holy Fist old man about sixty years ago. The information about the Eternal Archipelago provided by the Devil's Book was from the period between one hundred and sixty-five and three hundred years ago. That Holy Fist probably hadn't even been born then.

Cassius finally understood why the question to the Devil's Book cost two gems this time. The book actually provided two extremely important pieces of information.

Firstly, there was a bronze key of unknown origin in the treasury of the Dark Hunter Organization of the Hongli Empire. No one knew what it was used for, but the Devil's Book did. The key could open an alternative passage in the ancient ruins of the Eternal Archipelago.

It was an alternative route that is much safer than the normal passage. It could skip past some dangerous areas in the ruins that one would normally have to pass through, and even bypass an entire level. The route ended near the location of the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist.

This was extremely important news for Cassius because the ancient ruins were truly dangerous. Back then, he had teamed up with Feng Liusi and Saint Feinan. The three of them had ventured into the Akaba Ruins and only managed to obtain the inheritance after overcoming numerous hardships. If they had been a bit slower, they might have been devoured by the swarm of scarabs. The Eternal Archipelago ruins only promised to be more dangerous.

Cassius couldn't guarantee that he could find two such trustworthy companions with similar strength in his next time-travel. He had to be prepared to explore alone, with increased danger. The appearance of the passage key would greatly enhance his success rate.

This information was well worth it.

But the second piece of information was even more valuable. It seemed that the Black Rain Manor, a strange and bizarre building, contained a palm-sized ancient tree. This ancient tree was the origin, or ancestor, of all White Bone Ring Trees on the Eternal Archipelago.

If Cassius could obtain this ancient tree and bring it to the Eternal Archipelago, then the extremely dangerous White Bone Ring Trees would not only not target him but could even be used by him.

It would turn the forest environment of the Eternal Archipelago into Cassius's home ground!

The mysterious supernatural force used White Bone Rings as the source of their strength. The rings were produced by the White Bone Ring Trees, and were similar to its fruits. But if Cassius brought the ancestor of all White Bone Ring Trees to the island, would those magical White Bone Rings be affected or even backfire on their owners?

The Devil's Book didn't explicitly state this; it only said that Cassius would be able to move unhindered if he could obtain that ancient tree. But his speculations probably had a fifty percent chance of happening.

Two pieces of information: the passage key and the White Bone ancient tree.

Cassius felt that two gems were well worth the information; the Devil's Book had played a significant role. His main targets for the next time-travel were now clear—three places: the treasury of the Dark Hunter Organization, the interior of Black Rain Manor, and the ruins of the Eternal Archipelago.

Cassius was very familiar with Black Rain Manor. After obtaining those two items, the dangerous area of the Eternal Archipelago probably wouldn't be an issue. Now, the only thing Cassius needed to focus his greatest effort on was how to obtain the passage key in the treasury of the Dark Hunter Organization.

Fortunately, his identity in this time-travel was that of a member of the Dark Hunter organization. It was like infiltrating from within, giving him a certain advantage. However, the treasury was a very important place. Only a high-ranking member within the Dark Hunter Organization would be able to enter and exit freely.

The Devil's Book also described some of the stringent measures taken by the Dark Hunter Organization to prevent the treasury from being stolen.

Cassius now had two choices.

First, after entering the time-travel era, he could quickly fulfill the original owner's lingering attachment, then find an opportunity to forcibly raid the treasury. He could then steal the bronze key and be hunted by the Dark Hunter Organization.

This choice was more convenient and straightforward. The advantage is that it might be relatively quick; the disadvantage is that it would bring certain side effects. Like the Dark Hunter Organization launching a nationwide manhunt, for example.

However, he had a second choice. Cassius could try to operate under the original owner's identity and climb step by step to a high position within the Dark Hunter Organization. His identity as a combat hunter, his strength, and his achievements were the best tools for promotion. Perhaps he might even see the treasury be opened widely to warmly welcome the leader of the Dark Hunter Organization, Cassius!!

Hmm, it wasn’t a bad option. However, which one to execute at that time would depend on the specific situation. Cassius was just making a preliminary plan.

As he thought, he gradually came back to his senses, suppressing some of his excitement. Cassius had a satisfied smile at the corner of his mouth. Using the Devil's Book had yielded excellent results.

Woo woo woo... whoosh!!!!

Suddenly, a long piercing sound came from the sky. It came from far to near, and from slow to fast, as if right overhead!

Cassius suddenly thought of something, and his smile froze.

He looked up abruptly.

A fighter jet emitting black smoke and flames was falling out of the sky on him like a giant dying mechanical bird.

"Fuck, can't you play fair?!"