The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 207 The Pursuit (4.2k)

A heavy, humid aroma wafted into my nostrils, a mixture of the putrid smell of humus and the unique fragrance of aged plants.

Lynn looked up, and as the distance closed, the Twilight Mother Pillar appeared even more magnificent and imposing.

The eternal twilight light is thin here. The colossal mother pillar, with its towering, mountain-like crown of ferns, forms a semi-transparent, dark green dome. Intertwined with the dim, yellowish light, it creates a dreamlike, ethereal scene.

Countless bioluminescent mosses climb the rough branches and base of the mother tree's canopy, providing a second form of illumination for the area.

These mosses come in various shapes and colors, ranging from eerie green, pale purple, and dark blue to sizes ranging from a fist's width to covering an entire rock face, radiating a cold and eerie glow.

"Lord Kalek, where do we go next?"

The soft moss underfoot is several meters thick, serving as a natural sound-absorbing material.

The voice of Mon'en asking was exceptionally clear at this moment, yet it was confined to a few meters, making one feel that the air here was thicker than elsewhere.

"Let's continue onward. I will lead you along the path that Lord Lynn previously took."

Lynn looked at the massive and complex Twilight Mother Pillar in front of him, and said without hesitation.

Before arriving at the Mother Pillar of Twilight, Lynn had already figured out which direction to take.

That means following the path Durant might take.

As for where Durant will go?

If Lynn is not mistaken, he will most likely go to the place where 006 was when Felicity was unconscious.

If Durant really has a very good relationship with Felicity and intends to save him, then he will definitely go to the place where 006 went missing to try to find the doll.

If Durant is only pursuing the secrets behind this unknown, then he will inevitably go to the place where the anomaly occurred, which is also the place where 006 went missing.

"Luckily, you showed me the footage sent back by Agent 006 beforehand, otherwise, in this vast green maze, I really wouldn't know where to find you, Durant."

Lynn carefully recalled the video footage he had seen before, identified the direction, and calmly instructed, "Go that way."

"Yes." Meng En nodded, started the shuttle, and led everyone forward.

This shuttle, a relic from the Great Cataclysm in the Radiant Crystal Secret Realm, originally seemed to be of a very high rank.

Although countless years have passed and it is now dilapidated and most of its functions are unusable, its flight speed is still roughly equivalent to a first-level superior magical artifact, saving Lynn a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, this was the most presentable item on that ancient spaceship; otherwise, finding any combat equipment would undoubtedly have greatly increased the chances of success on this mission.

Number 006 spent a total of 16 days investigating the Mossy World, including 6 days outside the Twilight Mother Pillar and 10 days inside the Twilight Mother Pillar.

However, during the 10 days at the Mother Pillar of Twilight, No. 006 did not go straight ahead, but instead circled around, trying to record what it saw and heard.

Therefore, it didn't take Lynn 10 days to get to the place where 006 went missing; he arrived at his destination in just one day and one night.

This place is deep within the Mother Pillar of Twilight, where the dim yellow light of day has become almost invisible, and the main light source has become the glowing moss that covers the entire area.

Lynn turned his head and looked around. Before him was a vast expanse of green, with newly grown plants covering up all traces of the past.

Only the gnarled aerial roots of a mother pillar not far away can prove that this is the place where 006 went missing.

"Use this place as a center and search the surrounding area. If you find any suspicious traces, tell me immediately."

This is where the advantage of having more people becomes apparent.

After searching for a while, Mon'en made a discovery!
Amidst the deep green moss, a mother pillar's thick aerial roots split open with several large, mostly healed wounds. Blue-purple sap gushed from them, causing the surrounding moss to grow even more robustly.

The light emitted by some of the bioluminescent mosses was no longer constant, but flickering intensely, as if it were some kind of warning.

These are obvious signs of a battle, and they don't seem to be marks left by ordinary ferocious beasts.

Lynn was overjoyed and was about to continue searching, but Monn hesitated and said:

"Lord Lynn, shall we continue deeper? I think we can establish an outpost here."

Although they hadn't been deep within the Cangmu Mother Pillar for long, they had encountered quite a few attacks. There were two mid-level first-tier ferocious beasts alone, not to mention the ordinary ferocious beasts.

Lynn did not make a move throughout the entire process, instead conserving his energy, which left the accompanying crystal masters exhausted and inevitably considering giving up.

Lynn frowned, but couldn't think of a plausible reason for the moment.

His initial reason was to establish an outpost. Previously, we could say that we were following Lynn's route forward, and then establishing the outpost at the edge of the area that Lynn had explored.

But now, what Lynn needs to do is follow the trail forward, a fact that cannot be hidden from everyone... nor can it be reasonably explained why, upon arriving here, they did not establish an outpost first, but instead continued to pursue the unusual trail forward.

'Well... it's already good enough that they escorted me all the way here.'

"Anyway, they're useless against Durant or the mastermind behind it all, so I might as well go it alone!"

Thinking of this, Lynn nodded decisively: "You're right, Monn. You lead them to establish an outpost here. This will be the first base for the Spirit Crystal race to launch a counterattack!"

"As for me... this mark is really strange. I plan to continue tracking it to see what's going on."

After saying this, Lynn prepared to leave.

But at that moment, the crystal masters present suddenly called out to him:

"I am willing to travel with you, Lord Calek!"

The speaker was Weston, who was the first to step forward two days ago to say he would go to the Twilight Mother Pillar together.

Lynn turned around, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Weston stood beneath a patch of pale yellow, glowing moss. His newly donned armor was slightly too small, unlike the rock crystal heavy armor that Lynn had previously shattered, which fit him better and appeared somewhat cramped on his burly frame.

But the rugged Spirit Crystal Man's expression was one of excitement; his eyes, which were bright and terrifying, were fixed on Lynn, filled with a burning conviction.

Lynn slightly averted his gaze, but his peripheral vision caught the figure of the Dark Mother Pillar, and he suddenly sighed inwardly.

He understood why Weston would do these things and why he was not afraid of the potential dangers.

He did it for the sake of the entire Spirit Crystal race.

As he had said before, Weston had never forgotten the oath of the Brilliant family.

He wanted to see the Radiant Crystals shine in the moonlight, to see... the Spirit Crystal race one day successfully return to the surface.

The braver Weston was, the more frustrated and sad Lynn felt.

It is easy to tell from the information we have so far that the mastermind behind this must be incredibly powerful.

The entire Spirit Crystal race is probably nothing more than an ant that can be wiped out at will... The reason it hasn't completely wiped out the Spirit Crystal race now is probably just to better devour this world.

From the moment Lynn learned of these things, she never had the idea of ​​fighting against them.

He just wanted to find Durant as soon as possible, retrieve the portal beacon, and then immediately return to Gunn World.

Where can the Spirit Crystal Clan escape to?

What if one day, it were the wizards who faced this situation? '...One day, I will stand at the pinnacle of the entire astral plane!'

Lynn made a silent vow, his gaze hardening once more. He looked at Weston and shook his head in refusal.
"No need. Your strength is not enough. Going any deeper will only be a burden to me. You should stay here and focus on establishing the outpost."

Weston's eyes darkened, his heart filled with anxiety, yet he could find no reason to refute it.

"Let's settle on this. If you really want to do something, you can investigate the surrounding area... try to get as much information as possible. Only in this way might the Spirit Crystal Clan have a chance to survive."

Lynn sighed and flew away.

"Wait, Lord Calek!" But another voice called out to him.

Lynn turned to look at Monn.

The old crystal master chuckled, a hint of amusement in his voice, and said, "I can take on at least three Westons, so I should be of some help. Let me go with you, Lord Calek!"

Lynn was silent for a moment, without saying no, but thought for a moment and said, "I almost forgot something."

He pretended to rummage through his pocket for a moment, but actually took out a crystal from his storage ring, inscribed a simple mental cultivation method on it in the language of the Spirit Crystal People, and then tossed it to Weston.

This spiritual cultivation method is not powerful, but it is therefore more versatile and can also be used by people of the Spirit Crystal race.

"This is a cultivation method left behind by Senior Lynn. It can enhance mental strength and greatly make up for the shortcomings of the Crystal Master's cultivation method."

"Spread it out, spread it to all the Spirit Crystal race."

Weston's eyes widened as he carefully held the crystal, looking at Lynn, his eyes instantly reddening:
"Thank you for sharing this knowledge, Your Excellency Calek."

Lynn smiled slightly, said nothing more, and continued forward with Monen.

……

The deeper one ventures into the Mother Pillar of Twilight, the more blurred the concepts of day and night become.

Layers of fern leaves blocked out all the sunlight, leaving only the moss that shone brightly at all times.

Amidst the intertwined greenery, Lynn and Monne trudged along, searching for traces, some obvious, some subtle.

The further back in time, the fainter the traces Durant left behind became.

Many times, Lynn even thought he had gone the wrong way, until five days later, when Monn discovered a fresh trail.

A giant rat with withered wooden antlers lay on the moss. There were no obvious wounds on its body, but it was twitching continuously, and a few drops of bright red blood were faintly seeping from its face.

"Lord Kalek... what exactly are we chasing?" Monen asked, his eyes filled with undisguised fear.

The giant rat in front of them had no wounds on its body, and could even be said to be in perfect health, but it was lying on the ground with a dull look in its eyes, looking like a lifeless puppet.

Lynn did not answer, but a glimmer of joy gradually appeared in his tired eyes.

He was very familiar with the injuries on the giant rat; they were clearly caused by the mental shock magic commonly used by wizards.

'This time, only we wizards are going to the world of Mossy Scars.'

'Durant is nearby!'

Lynn stood up and looked around. Before he could examine the surroundings carefully, he suddenly heard a noise coming from not far to his left!
Swish!
Without the slightest hesitation, Lynn immediately rose to his feet!

Passing through the dense foliage, Lynn arrived at the source of the sound in the blink of an eye. Only then did Monn react and hurriedly chase after him.

When he arrived, he found that Calek was already confronting a tall giant.

The giant, clad in a long grey silk robe, stood suspended in mid-air, radiating a terrifying aura. A morbid, fanatical smile played on his lips as he glanced at Monn, who had just arrived, and then looked at Lynn:

"Deep within this towering fern tree, there are actually beings from the world of moss... This is truly divine assistance!"

Lynn tried his best to conceal any suspicious aura, and with a natural look of surprise on his face, he questioned sharply in the Spirit Crystal language: "What exactly are you!"

The camouflage of the Urzasha assimilation worm is not flawless; it cannot disguise the aura of a soul.

As a classic tool of disguise, its weakness is no secret in the wizarding world.

Therefore, Lynn knew that he only had one chance!
Durant ignored Lynn's words and silently reached out his hand, intending to use the memory extraction technique.

Lynn was so familiar with the process that she saw through Durant's move the moment his magic began to fluctuate for the first time.

Lynn was secretly delighted, but maintained a wary expression as he slowly approached.

Finally, just before Durant was about to perform the memory extraction technique, Lynn suddenly moved.

Stab it!

A bolt of azure lightning, like a thunder dragon descending to earth, roared as it charged toward Durant.

This attack was a full-force strike that Lynn had been preparing for a long time, and it even tore through the disguise of the Urzasha Assimilation Worm on his body!

Durant was visibly taken aback for a moment, then recognized the attack and gave a sickly laugh: "Lynn, you've finally figured things out and come looking for me!"

Facing Lynn's thunderous attack, he neither dodged nor evaded, and a protective layer of rock and earth quickly covered his body.

Durant's defensive magic was perfectly effective against lightning-based magic, so he looked relaxed and continued speaking:

"I am nearing the origin of this colossal being, Lynn. Help me refine it. If there is anything left after I reach the second tier, I can give it all to you!"

Boom!

The lightning struck Durant as he spoke, with a loud bang.

Durant initially didn't seem to care, but he quickly realized something was wrong and exclaimed in surprise, "A high-level first-ring lightning spell?"

Durant immediately dropped his dismissive expression and cast a defensive spell on himself.

But to his surprise, Lynn did not press his advantage at this moment, but instead had time to talk to the natives next to him.

“You may leave now, Monn,” Lynn said calmly.

Along the way, many ordinary ferocious beasts were dealt with by this Spirit Crystal Man, which is why Lynn is in such a complete state now.

Now, Lynn has successfully used the feint attack of the Thunderclap spell to activate the enforcement order against Durant, and the victory is already secured.

It's time to let this Spirit Crystal person leave.

“Ka…” Monen looked at Lynn, who had lost his disguise, his words stuck in his throat, his face pale, and he couldn’t say anything for a moment.

"Leave, Monn," Lynn sighed.
"Although I concealed my identity from you and fabricated some stories, everything else about the Mother Pillar of the Azure Dust is true... including that book on spiritual cultivation."

"There's no need to explore anything else. We are just passersby in this world, and we will leave soon."

After saying this, Lynn ignored Monn.

He turned to look at Durant, a faint smile playing on his lips.

(End of this chapter)