Mission

"Since the [Evil] Profound Mystery is called 'Evil,' its core essence must be related to this..." Luo Ya kept pondering the sensations he'd experienced when he first gained insight into the [Evil] Profound Mystery.

Gradually, an answer began to take shape in his mind.

When discussing the [Evil] Profound Mystery of the Laws of Darkness, one had to mention the [Sacred] Profound Mystery of the Laws of Light.

Light and darkness were two completely opposing laws, yet in many ways, they also shared common ground.

"Sacred and evil, angels and fallen angels... So 'evil' refers to a peculiar state?" Recalling the angels and fallen angels widely spoken of across the Material Plane, Luo Ya felt he was beginning to grasp the true core of the [Evil] Profound Mystery!

"The changes in one's aura brought about by the [Evil] Profound Mystery are merely the most superficial manifestation. The tentacles, spider legs, and wings are just different, somewhat unusual vessels. There's no fundamental difference between them!"

The more Luo Ya thought about it, the brighter his eyes grew, like a sage who had seen through the fog.

Humans were, after all, different from fallen angels and divine beasts. Even if they condensed wings or tentacles from divine power to fight, they certainly wouldn't be as convenient to use as their own bodies, so the power they could ultimately unleash would naturally be limited.

The reason they had to start by condensing tentacles and the like was simply that it made the Profound Mystery easier to grasp.

If he wanted to truly delve into the power of the [Evil] Profound Mystery, his own body was the perfect vessel!

Year after year passed.

In the blink of an eye, thirty years had gone by.

"Has Luo Ya still not finished cultivating?" Milia looked at the scene in the room.

The room's temperature had returned to normal, and sunlight even streamed in through the window, giving it a peaceful air. Only one spot still exuded a faint, sinister eeriness: the place where Luo Ya sat cultivating.

Unless she paid close attention, Milia could hardly sense that aura.

Luo Ya, deep in cultivation, was at a critical moment!

Ever since he'd gained a deeper understanding of the [Evil] Profound Mystery's essence thirty years ago, his rate of progress had increased dramatically. Now, he could feel that the [Evil] Profound Mystery was on the verge of reaching great mastery!

What was more, the fusion of the [Evil] Profound Mystery and the [Dark Element] had also reached its final bottleneck!

"Vmm..."

The aura of dark elements suddenly spread throughout the room. As a great quantity of dark elements gathered, the space around Luo Ya grew exceedingly strange. He seemed like an evil god embodying the greatest terror; merely looking at him caused one's soul to shudder!

Suddenly, Luo Ya opened his eyes. In those mysterious black eyes, a deep, tangible gleam seemed to flow, impossible to dispel. They appeared to lead into an endless abyss, harboring an immeasurable will of evil!

"So that's how it is. The [Evil] Profound Mystery affects the soul like this... It doesn't simply attack the soul. It's a deeper form of soul corruption, one that can even make an opponent lose their sense of self!"

Compared with direct soul-impact attacks, this subtle means of influencing the soul was undoubtedly far more sinister and difficult to guard against.

And even more terrifying!

"With this move, my soul attacks are no longer something to underestimate." Each field had its specialty. No matter how powerful the [Devour] Profound Mystery was, it mainly affected the physical realm.

It naturally couldn't target the soul as effectively as the [Evil] Profound Mystery.

"Unfortunately, I still haven't fused the [Fear] Profound Mystery. My ability to attack souls is still limited." Used on himself, the [Evil] Profound Mystery was a tremendous enhancement; used on an enemy, it was a sinister, hard-to-guard-against corruption.

But ultimately, it was only corruption. Its raw killing power was still lacking.

Of course, when fused with another Profound Mystery, this move was already quite powerful.

"Luo Ya, have you fully mastered that move?" Milia sensed the change in Luo Ya's aura and quickly guessed what he'd achieved through thirty years of cultivation.

"I suppose you could say I have." Luo Ya smiled, then asked, "Milia, how much progress have you made in your cultivation over the past thirty years?"

"I've successfully fused the [Wind Element] and [Wind Movement Technique] Profound Mysteries. The fusion of the [Wind Element] and [Clone Technique] has also reached initial mastery..." Milia's talent in the Laws of Wind was indeed exceptional.

At this rate, she could fuse the first three Profound Mysteries within a hundred years.

Of course, since the Laws of Wind contained so many Profound Mysteries, even fully mastering the fusion of three would only put her on par with the fusion of two Profound Mysteries in other laws.

"Let's go out and celebrate first, then take a Fiend Mission," Luo Ya said in high spirits. "This is the real beginning of our careers as fiends!"

Soon after leaving the restaurant, the three of them headed straight to the Fiend Castle.

When Milia asked what kind of mission Luo Ya planned to choose, he answered without hesitation, "One that takes us out of Liang'an Prefecture!"

"If we're going to venture across Hell, how can we stay cooped up in one little prefecture?"

The three of them then went to the second floor of the Fiend Castle.

Fiends with one to three stars accepted missions on the second floor, while those with four to six stars did so on the third. The fourth floor was reserved for Seven-Star Fiends.

After Luo Ya explained what they were looking for, a staff member at the Fiend Castle quickly replied, "Then how about an escort mission? There are eight second-star missions that would take you out of Liang'an Prefecture."

Fiends like the three of them, who were only one-star, could accept missions of up to two stars.

"We'll take this one." Luo Ya immediately chose the mission with the longest escort route.

Milia leaned in for a look and was slightly surprised. "To Liulan Prefecture, at the southernmost tip of Bifu Continent? That's a distance of over eight billion li. It really is far."

"That's what makes it fun," Luo Ya replied with an unconcerned smile.

The staff member could only shake his head to himself.

The missions posted by the Fiend Castle were no simple matter. From experience, he could tell at a glance that something was off about this one. There was bound to be a catch.

But he didn't know Luo Ya and the other two, so he naturally wasn't going to go out of his way to warn them.

Seven days later, at dawn.

A misty chill still lingered above House City, and the purple moon was faintly visible in the sky. The curfew had already ended, though. So early in the morning, Luo Ya and the others were up and heading straight for the city gates.

"Please, follow me." They were soon greeted by a middle-aged man in a blue robe and boarded an extremely luxurious, large Metal Lifeform.

"So many people." Luo Ya took a quick look around and spotted no fewer than five hundred fiends.

Most were only Midgod fiends, but nearly thirty Highgod fiends were also joining the mission.

"He took this mission too?" Luo Ya's gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked toward the Metal Lifeform's forward cabin, somewhat surprised. A crowd had gathered around a black-robed man with a pet cat.

"Lord Aliquin, now that you're coming along, my elder brother and I feel much more at ease." The two bull-headed Highgods praising Aliquin looked rather simple and honest.

"Coradi, you two should know how I operate." Aliquin put on a refined air, but the arrogance in his bones was impossible to hide.

"Haha, don't worry, Lord Aliquin. I understand. This trip is a long one. If we run into any insignificant fools along the way, my brother and I can handle them..." The bull-headed Coradi had clearly dealt with Aliquin before. He knew what Aliquin meant by his 'usual way of doing things,' but he didn't object.

Although Aliquin seemed difficult to get along with, he was undeniably powerful. And since this mission did seem unusual, Coradi didn't mind currying favor with him in advance.

Of course, not every fiend acted like Coradi. Plenty of them disdained the idea of ingratiating themselves with Aliquin.

After a while, once everyone had arrived, the client for the mission appeared. She was a young elf woman who looked bright and beautiful.

The elf girl Sherry came forward and greeted everyone. Then they officially set off.

In the blink of an eye, the Metal Lifeform vanished into the distance with a whoosh.