The battlefield roared heavily. Lost without meaning, all of the Black Masks, including the Spirit Beasts that they controlled, barged forward with mindless fury. They had lost the Paradise Hearts, ergo they had lost their reason to be civil. The gloves were off now. The Black Masks had now reverted back to their primal form… a criminal syndicate that sought to destroy anything that stood in their path.

Rabid strikes, each one more frantic than the others, were thrown out from the Black Masks. After Bingbing froze the Lantis Sea, it created a stable platform for the criminal syndicate to fight on, rather than their flimsy longboats. Tier 7 Spirit Beasts that were only effective on land were now fully utilised. They charged straight out of their cages and leapt from one glacier to the other. The Lantis Navy, whose cannons had been disabled by the plethora of natural disasters, was forced to react similarly. Archers stood behind while the vanguards jumped down their ships with their weapons in hand.

The clash that ensued was a deadly one. Blood splattered all over the place, corrupting the pure white ice that lay all over the Lantis Sea. On one corner, there would be a mountain of snow. At the other, there was a hill of mutilated bodies. And the carnage was happening all while the Spirit Venerates battled it out for supremacy. No one on the Black Masks cared about damaging the warships of the Lantis Navy. Even if they sunk all of them, a couple million gold ingots later, and a fresh batch would be up and running. Elite experts, on the other hand, were a little less replaceable.

It took decades, centuries even, to train a fully adept cultivator. If the Black Masks could even kill half of those present, their sacrifice on this day would at least yield some results.

“...” Shin watched the bloodbath occur right before his eyes. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his reinforced palms. The draconic eyes gleamed, all while hiding a fiery hate that could burn Hades itself. Shin would love to join the battlefield and mow down as many of those hateful degenerates as he possibly could. And yet… he didn’t…

“My Prince, you mustn’t...” Heigui Xuegang’s soft voice entered the burning mind of Shin. “You can’t leave my protection.”

“I know!” replied Shin. “If I leave your barrier, I’ll become the focal point of attention. The Brahmins would all target the Spirit Venerates and me of the Republic, and Senior Zishen would all rush to protect me. When that happens, even more chaos will ensue.” The young Prince laid down the logic, stunning his protector in the process. “I understand all of that! I know why I can’t move a muscle now! But… That doesn’t stop me from having these feelings!”

Shin had caused disaster time and time again from his brash actions. Looking back, he really was young and stupid. Thus, Shin swore to never endanger anyone else due to his careless actions. No matter how hard it was to watch the Black Masks kill off members of the Lantis Navy… Proud, brave members that all had families… Shin had to endure…

“It’s good that you know...” Heigui Xuegang blinked twice. Self-restraint was hard to accomplish, particularly when there were lives at stake. So, it was admirable for Shin to hold himself back all while dozens died right before his eyes. Unconsciously, the Spirit Venerate strengthened his Xuanwu shell, not giving even the slightest chance for any attack to fly through.

BANG!!! Yet another Lantis naval officer fell in battle. It seemed like there was a fresh casualty literally every second now. The dragon blood within Shin boiled as every fibre of his being was calling out for him to move. However, Shin’s rational mind kept holding him back. Heigui Xuegang kept a close eye on the youth, ready to hold him back should the need arises. Fortunately, the Spirit Venerate didn’t need to resort to those drastic measures.

“Shin!” A white-haired girl with crystal angel wings flew into the barrier.

The young Prince’s face instantly brightened up. His two arms were raised to accept Bingbing’s hug. Unfortunately, he didn’t anticipate how powerful it would actually be.

“Oooof!!!” Shin spat out a mouthful of air as Bingbing’s petite yet sturdy head crashed into his chest. Falling down to his bum, the young man felt his entire life flash before his eyes. It took him a few seconds to come back to his senses. “Bingbing… You should learn how to control your strength… Your Tier 9 power could have killed me...”

“Yip! Sorry about that!” The little girl beamed brilliantly, showing not the slightest hint of remorse. She was just happy to reunite with Shin once more. “Yip, yip! So! I did great right? Shin, I froze the Lantis Sea, just as you’d requested!” Bingbing looked like a daughter who was seeking her father’s approval, completely unlike how an entity that was equal to that of a Spirit Venerate was supposed to act.

“Yeah, you did an awesome job!” Credit where credit’s due, Bingbing’s actions did change the tides of the war, swinging it into the Lantis Navy’s favour. Everything that the Black Masks had thrown onto the battlefield had been neutralised. The submarines had all been destroyed by Zishen, Bingbing, and the Azure Dragons. The longboats were now stuck in a frozen hell that could never be thawed out. And most importantly of all… The Paradise Hearts, the lifeblood of every Payirci, had been utterly destroyed.

Bingbing had a role in many of those objectives, and it wasn’t even a stretch to bestow upon the Spirit Beast a badge of honour for her troubles.

“Hehe...” The Kamaitachi purred in bliss, all while Shin gently stroked her head. No matter if she was in her human shape or gerbil form, Bingbing was still the spoilt pet that yearned for the young man’s warmth.

Shin watched the calm little girl lovingly. Inside the barrier, it was peace and quiet. Outside the barrier, there was pandemonium. As much as Shin wanted to help, him staying out of the way was the best help that the Lantis Navy could get. Splat! Yet another brave warrior fell down on the battlefield, his head cleaved cleanly off. Even Lady Seph’s divine powers were incapable of sewing a head back together.

Making a mental note to track down each and every one of the fallen’s families to give ample compensation, Shin brought Bingbing closer into his embrace. For now, all he could do was pray for the Lantis Navy to withstand the onslaught of the Black Masks and take the least amount of damage as they possibly could...

❖❖❖

The Uncharted Wildnerness. The Illusory Canyon.

“Bah… Still nothing...” Shizen jumped out of the thick mist of illusions, gasping in a huge mouthful of air.

“Hahaha, I told you! The Tree of Illusions isn’t easy to find!!!” A well-endowed man jumped out at the same time as the nature boy. On his wrists, there was a thin handcuff that was not too tight, but not loose enough for his hand to slide through. Connected by a single thick chain, there was no way that Shizen could escape the man’s control or as Venerate Maurice puts it… ‘protection.’

“Right… Could you take these off now?” Shizen grumbled as he shook his wrists.

“With pleasure,” the man took out a silver key and gently placed it into the lock of Shizen’s handcuffs. The young man rubbed his wrists with a happy smile. It was the first time he got some privacy over the past three hours. Within the Illusory Mist, if Shizen wanted to pee, he had to either hold it in or do it right in front of his Spirit Venerate protector. Both choices were arduous to pick from.

Furthermore, when Shizen simply wanted to sit down and absorb the abundance of elements, the nagging Venerate Maurice would go on and on about his numerous adventures throughout his explorer life. Granted, some of them were quite intriguing. However, Shizen came to the Illusory Canyon with an objective in mind. He wasn’t that interested in poking his affairs into the business of others.

“Urgh… I’m finally free...” Shizen complained, his bum falling straight to the floor. He took a quick rest, massaging his tired limbs from all the walking that they’d done. Every single time they explored the area, they were sent packing back with nothing. They had spent over two weeks exploring the Illusory Canyon, and the Tree of Illusions was still as hidden as ever.

“Tired?” The Spirit Venerate mused. “If you’re feeling tired, you could always call off this mission. Take some time to absorb the Mind-Elements here. At least you would have something for your troubles.”

If Shizen was completely honest, even he felt like this endeavour was turning fruitless. They had explored almost every ‘safe zone’ that Venerate Maurice had identified, but the Tree of Illusions still didn’t bother to show itself. The pair did, however, find some human remains, hinting their fate should they overstay their welcome.

‘Tsk… Is this really the farthest I can go?!’ Shizen screamed internally. ‘I joined Kanari’s faction just for the chance of meeting this bloody tree! If I go back now empty-handed… I would have just wasted my entire life!!!’

Shizen was adamant about meeting the Tree of Illusions. There was something primal within his soul calling out for it. Ever since he experienced the Soul Tree in Kanari’s secret amphitheatre, the nature boy had sought out the Empyrean Wonder’s majesty. Not to mention, Shizen wanted to become stronger… Strong enough to keep up with the freaks that were Shin and Kanari. Their cultivation rate was far superior to any of their companions. In a decade or two, the pair would have left Shizen in the dust.

Shizen didn’t like that idea at all. He had been on the receiving end for far too long. It was time to give something back.

“No, we’ll continue… There are two more weeks left, right?”

“... Suit yourself.” Seeing that his persuasion had failed, Venerate Maurice heaved out a deep sigh before retreating back into his cave. “We’ll continue the search tomorrow… For now, just take a long rest...”