Divine Artifact

The western part of the Sunset Mountain Range.

Prequet carried Fang Yun, taking half a year to reach this point. In truth, if they had flown at full speed, they could have crossed the entire Yulan Continent in less than a day. However, they were not simply traveling; they spent most of their time exploring the Sunset Mountain Range, which made the journey take longer.

During this time, aside from visiting various "perilous lands," they also sparred with quite a few peak Saint-level experts within the Sunset Mountain Range.

By now, the name of Fang Yun from the South Sea had already begun to circulate among the peak experts of the Sunset Mountain Range.

"Master, that mountain standing upright ahead is Sunset Peak."

Prequet carried Fang Yun as it took flight, speaking in a respectful tone. Having followed Fang Yun through the Sunset Mountain Range, it had grown increasingly in awe of him.

Almost all the peak Saint-level magical beasts in the Sunset Mountain Range were completely powerless before Fang Yun.

"Many people on the Yulan Continent have always believed that the location of Sunset Peak is where the sun sets."

Prequet added.

Fang Yun looked up and gazed into the distance. A mountain peak, sharp as a sword, stood before him, incredibly steep. The surrounding mountains in the distance were at most only as tall as the waist of Sunset Peak.

Near the summit, clouds and mist swirled, and the sky was filled with an orange-red glow, creating a magnificent and beautiful scene.

This Sunset Peak was not the highest mountain in the Sunset Mountain Range, but within a hundred-mile radius, no other peak could compare to it.

Furthermore, the steepness of Sunset Peak was among the best in the entire Sunset Mountain Range; even for some low-level warriors, attempting to climb it was extremely dangerous.

"Let's go up."

Fang Yun said.

In his past life's memories, he had also watched the sunset. But that scene was completely different from this one.

Although the scenery of Sunset Peak was famous throughout the continent, it was located in the far west of the Sunset Mountain Range, near the edge of the Yulan Continent, a place rarely visited by people. Coupled with the presence of some high-level magical beasts, and even rank-nine magical beasts, even fewer people came here.

Even those who were out for training generally would not choose this place.

Those who truly came here were almost all like Fang Yun—people simply traveling the continent and appreciating its beautiful scenery.

"Whoosh~"

Hearing Fang Yun's words, Prequet soared toward Sunset Peak.

Looking from afar, a black shadow carrying a person on the back of a giant dragon headed toward the horizon.

Prequet landed steadily on a small, protruding platform on the side of Sunset Peak. This spot had been specially cut out by an expert in the past and offered the most comfortable angle for viewing the sunset.

"Master, there are magical beasts fighting down below."

Prequet spoke directly.

During the flight up, there had been fluctuations of battle below. Such situations were common throughout the Sunset Mountain Range.

It was either for the sake of territory or killing for various other reasons.

And while Sunset Peak was not the deepest part of the Sunset Mountain Range, it was a place where the elemental energy of heaven and earth was extremely dense; in such a place, advancing in rank was easier. It was quite normal for magical beasts to fight and compete here.

Fang Yun nodded. He had also noticed the scene below: a Black Dragon and a group of Pangolin Mice were fighting.

The Black Dragon belonged to the rank-nine dragon race and was an extremely powerful existence. The Pangolin Mouse, on the other hand, was a type of rodent magical beast known for its defense, with the strongest among them reaching the rank-nine level.

The Black Dragon could fly, circling in the air while continuously spitting dragon fire downward to attack.

The rank-nine Pangolin Mice possessed nearly invincible defense; even the dragon fire, which could melt solid rock, did not have much effect on them. With a casual flick of their tails, countless boulders were hurled at the Black Dragon in mid-air.

Most importantly, there wasn't just one Pangolin Mouse. Besides the two leading rank-nine Pangolin Mice, there were three rank-eight Pangolin Mice, over a dozen rank-seven Pangolin Mice, and nearly countless low-level ones. They were densely packed, forming a massive swarm.

For a time, small instantaneous spells and countless boulders were hurled toward the Black Dragon in mid-air.

Although the Pangolin Mice were numerous, they could not fly. Facing the Black Dragon, they had no effective means of attack other than the most rudimentary methods.

This was the advantage of flying magical beasts.

Of course, facing so many Pangolin Mice—especially the two rank-nine ones that were not much weaker than itself—the Black Dragon would not be foolish enough to descend and fight directly.

Moreover, this group of damned rats was too detestable, especially the two rank-nine and three rank-eight ones; they coordinated their boulder-throwing to constantly force it to change position. This prevented it from safely casting rank-nine spells, as it was not yet capable of instantaneous rank-nine magic.

To fend off these boulders, it could only continuously use the simplest dragon fire to defend itself.

Thus, the scene before them unfolded.

"This Black Dragon is a disgrace to the dragon race."

Watching this, Prequet couldn't help but puff white smoke from its nostrils.

The dragon race was proud; losing a battle was one thing, but fighting like children playing house was truly shameful.

Fang Yun, on the other hand, was watching with great interest.

Before reaching the Saint level, no matter how powerful magical beasts were, their fighting styles were often quite monotonous.

This group of Pangolin Mice was using their coordination to greatly diminish the Black Dragon's aerial advantage. Although they were unlikely to win, it would also be difficult for them to lose.

As the swarm of Pangolin Mice kept throwing boulders, the rock walls and the ground beneath Sunset Peak quickly became riddled with uneven pits.

"Oh?"

Just as Fang Yun was watching the show, he suddenly noticed something. He sat up straight and focused his attention on a pit dug out by one of the Pangolin Mice.

A moment later, Fang Yun's eyes brightened. "Interesting."

As he spoke, Fang Yun patted Prequet and said, "Go on, head down and make them disperse."

"Yes."

Prequet had long since been annoyed by the sight.

Following this, Prequet flew directly downward, letting out a roar while still in mid-air.

Accompanied by the roar of a Saint-level dragon, the fighting Black Dragon and Pangolin Mouse were both startled by the sound, and the battle ceased almost instantly.

Prequet carried Fang Yun down to the very base of Sunset Peak. Prequet's large eyes swept over the Black Dragon and the Pangolin Mouse, white smoke puffing from its nostrils as its voice was filled with dragon might, "The battle is over, get lost, all of you!"

If the Black Dragon had won, its mood might have been better. But right now, it was in a terrible mood; although the Black Dragon and the Tyrannosaurus were of different species, they were both part of the dragon race.

Hearing Prequet's words, neither the Black Dragon nor the level-nine Pangolin Mouse dared to object, and they scattered in all directions to flee.

Although level-nine magical beasts were powerful, they had no ability to resist a Saint-level dragon.

Prequet watched the fleeing magical beasts and puffed out a cloud of white smoke in disdain.

Fang Yun chuckled, jumped off Prequet's back with ease, and walked over to an oblique pit he had noticed earlier.

This pit was located just below a vertical face of the mountain, a hole the Pangolin Mouse had just dug out at the base of the peak.

Prequet's attention shifted along with Fang Yun to this pit, its tone somewhat confused, "Master, what is this?"

Inside the pit at this moment, there were clearly some special stones that differed in color from the surrounding rock, appearing extremely smooth and flat. Moreover, it seemed that much of it was still buried by the mountain and not fully exposed.

If one did not recognize this type of stone, one might just take it for a peculiar rock. Just like Prequet, even though it was a peak Saint-level powerhouse, it hadn't noticed this stone before.

Fang Yun casually broke off some of the other rocks around it, revealing another portion, and this time, there were some special, carving-like patterns. As for the rocks Fang Yun broke off, they were no different from debris in his hands.

"Perhaps there is some treasure here."

Fang Yun said casually.

However, deep down, he was certain that this was a magic array.

But considering that Beirut was likely watching this place, Fang Yun naturally wouldn't say anything more. Even if Beirut weren't watching, Fang Yun had no need to explain further.

"A treasure?"

Prequet's eyes lit up. It then took the initiative to step forward, carefully scraping away the other surrounding rubble.

A moment later, a space similar to the hinterland of a giant cave had been dug out at the base of the mountain by Prequet.

And at the bottom of this hinterland space was a massive circular platform, which was clearly a huge, complex magic array.

Embedded in the center of the magic array was a curved, pale cyan longbow. Even though it had been buried for who knows how many years, the longbow remained completely undamaged.

The grip of the longbow had a distinct, specialized handle, and the two ends were shaped like some kind of entwined plant. The bowstring was made of an unknown material, crystal clear and translucent.

All the carved patterns in the surrounding area converged toward this longbow.

With just a single glance, Fang Yun determined that this was a magic array with a sealing function.

The sealing magic arrays on the Yulan Continent were basically all used to seal the weak points in space between the Gebada Plane Prison and the Yulan Continent plane.

The original work had clearly stated that such spatial weak points were rare, but there were a few. It was just that only Linley had found one in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and pulled out the Violet Blood Soft Sword, which allowed some people from the Gebada Plane Prison to escape by luck.

He hadn't expected that he would actually encounter a seal point himself.

"Master. This..."

Prequet looked at the complexity of this magic array, and a stormy sea surged in its heart.

There were quite a few magic arrays on the Yulan Continent, and even as a magical beast, it had seen many. But it had never heard of, let alone seen, a magic array as complex as the one before it.

And the source of the dense heaven and earth elements here was actually this black circular platform. Especially if one sensed it carefully, there was an extremely restrained wind-element aura emanating from the longbow.

This was definitely a wind-attribute "artifact."

As a peak Saint-level powerhouse of the Sunset Mountain Range, it had also entered the Necropolis of the Gods; although it hadn't entered the deeper levels, it still had some experience.

Artifacts were extremely precious!

The artifacts on the Yulan Continent basically all came from the Divine Planes or the Necropolis of the Gods.

This magic array actually used an artifact as its core!

Unlike Prequet's shock, Fang Yun was in a pretty good mood. An artifact used to seal a spatial weak point like the Violet Blood Soft Sword would not be much worse than it.

The Violet Blood Soft Sword was considered an extremely powerful Sovereign Artifact.

The god-level beings who descended upon the Yulan Continent in the past were all extremely powerful, so it was normal for there to be something no weaker than the Violet Blood.

Fang Yun had the strength, but weapons were relatively scarce. He was the poorest Sovereign in name and reality. Although he could forge a Sovereign Artifact, it would take at least several thousand to ten thousand years.

Therefore, he did not yet have a Sovereign Artifact.

Although this longbow was only an artifact, it could still be used by his true body for the time being.

"Step back a bit."

Fang Yun said to Prequet.

"Yes."

Prequet didn't know what Fang Yun wanted to do, but it didn't dare to linger here. A magic array embedded with an artifact—the one who set up this magic array was at least a god-level powerhouse.

Fang Yun walked to the magic array and forced a drop of ordinary blood from his finger, letting it fall onto the longbow.

"Hum~~~"

As Fang Yun's blood dripped onto it, the longbow actually emitted a vibration that felt almost like joy. A pale cyan halo continuously manifested around its body, and the entire bow appeared as miraculous as a living plant.

A moment later, the halo slowly receded.

Even though the blood Fang Yun forced out was ordinary, he was, after all, a Sovereign; the energy contained within his true body's blood was naturally different. The longbow absorbing this blood to acknowledge him as its master was also a form of enhancement for the bow itself.

If it were to follow Fang Yun for ten thousand years and be nurtured by his Sovereign Power, this longbow could even become an incredibly powerful Sovereign Artifact.

Fang Yun reached out, and the longbow flew directly out of the magic array, landing steadily in his hand.

"It really is some kind of plant."

Grasping the longbow, Fang Yun could easily judge some of its materials.

It seemed to be made from the branch of some unknown plant.

However, Fang Yun's attention soon shifted to the magic array before him. With the longbow gone, the magic array was naturally considered damaged.

The patterns on the magic array slowly began to glow.

"Boom!"

A low, rumbling sound echoed, and the mysterious magic array's light grew increasingly blinding.

Fang Yun did not linger, retreating to where Prequet was located in the distance.

Even though he did not fear the power of the magic array's destruction, there was no need to take the brunt of it head-on.

Following that, the rumbling sounds became more frequent and increasingly urgent!

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Waves of sound resonated like drums, and the magic array trembled violently along with the rumbling.

"Crack—"

Accompanied by a shattering sound, several cracks suddenly appeared on the glowing magic array.

As the cracks appeared, the light on the magic array began to flicker, and the rumbling grew even more rapid.

"Poof!"

Finally, the magic array, its cracks widening, exploded instantly after a final, urgent rumble.

Waves of spatial ripples spread toward the distance.

The entire Sunset Peak collapsed under the force of these ripples, and the area within several miles was affected.

The energy fluctuations were felt within a hundred-mile radius, and countless experts in the Sunset Mountain Range were startled awake, looking toward the direction of Sunset Peak with grave expressions.

The energy released by the destruction of this magic array was even more terrifying than a Forbidden Magic.

Prequet also wore a grave expression, "Master, the magic array is broken."

It was not worried about the energy; after all, at this distance, the energy was not enough to affect a peak Saint-level expert. It was worried that the destruction of the magic array would draw out the master who had set it up.

The thought of someone capable of using a divine artifact to set up a magic array was terrifying.

Fang Yun nodded without speaking.

At this moment, the space where the magic array had been became visibly unstable. Various unstable energies dispersed in the area from time to time.

"Let's go, let's leave first."

Seeing that the magic array had only damaged the surrounding terrain and that no powerful experts had escaped from the Gebada Plane Prison, Fang Yun lost interest.

When Linley pulled out the Violet Blood Soft Sword, Dylin happened to be at a weak point in space, so he had escaped directly.

But as he took the longbow, it was clear that no one on the other side of the Gebada Plane Prison had noticed. Thinking about it, Dylin being there was just a matter of luck; others might not necessarily have that same fortune.

However, it was hard to say if others might escape in the future.

"Yes."

Hearing this, Prequet was eager to leave immediately.

Dark Forest, Inside the Metal Castle.

Beirut stroked his small mustache, a smile on his face, "That little guy's luck is truly not bad. Very well, it can be considered giving those fellows some hope."

Among the group of experts who descended from the Blue Star, there were only two or three who were truly interesting. And this Fang Yun was one of them.

If a few more people were to emerge from the Gebada Plane Prison, then this Yulan Continent would become even more interesting.

During the time Fang Yun spent traveling through the Sunset Mountain Range, the experts of the Yulan Continent also discovered that there were some unfamiliar faces among the strong. However, it did not cause too much chaos.

Yulan Empire.

In the Temple of Life, This was the most sacred place in the Yulan Empire, where one of the most powerful existences on the continent resided: the High Priest Catherine.

At this moment, a delicate-looking female mage looked at the High Priest, her expression puzzled and her tone respectful, "Teacher, that Kawent's talent is not very strong. His strength is also average, at most just reaching the peak of the Saint-level. Why would you..."

"Do you want to ask why I took him as a disciple?"

The High Priest had long silver hair and wore a unique mask; her voice was quite neutral, making it difficult to distinguish her gender at first.

"Please enlighten me, Teacher."

The female mage bowed slightly.

"Hasya, are you aware of the situation on the Yulan Continent over the past six months?"

The High Priest's voice held no emotional fluctuation as she asked indifferently.

Hasya did not understand the High Priest's intent, but she still nodded gently, "This disciple is aware. Over the past six months, whether among magical beasts or humans, there has been an increase in powerful individuals."

After the powerhouses from Blue Star descended, it was naturally impossible for there to be no ripples. After all, the lowest among them were at the eighth or ninth rank, and there were even many Saint-level experts—individuals capable of becoming famous across the continent. If one observed with intent, it was easy to discover the clues. This was especially true for magical beasts, as they possessed a strong sense of territory; once a strange powerhouse entered, conflict was inevitable.

As conflicts increased, the reputations of these powerhouses naturally spread. Being relatively unfamiliar, they naturally attracted the attention of some people.

"Then, do you know where these powerhouses come from?"

The High Priest continued to ask.

"This disciple does not know."

Hasya answered truthfully.

She was already among the strongest individuals below the Saint-level limit; while they were considered powerhouses to others, they did not count as such to her.

Therefore, she knew of these powerhouses, but she had not fully grasped their specific origins.

"These unfamiliar Saint-level powerhouses all come from the South Sea."

The High Priest stated directly.

"The South Sea?"

Hasya was full of confusion.

The South Sea was vast, seemingly without end. While there were many hidden experts cultivating in seclusion within the South Sea, the vast majority were magical beasts. Where would human powerhouses come from?

Even if these powerhouses existed, why had they all suddenly appeared in the world? She could not fathom it.

The High Priest did not explain this point, merely looking outside as her voice remained unchanged, "You only need to remember to pay more attention to powerhouses from the South Sea in the future. Unless absolutely necessary, do not get entangled with them."

As a God-level powerhouse, she had naturally sensed the fluctuations when the Magic Teleportation Array in the South Sea was established.

Later, as more and more powerhouses from the South Sea appeared, she could easily guess that the South Sea might have undergone some changes. Could it be that something had happened at the Necropolis of the Gods?

In the South Sea, only the Necropolis of the Gods contained such a large number of powerhouses.

However, not long after, she had received a voice transmission from Lord Beirut, so she naturally dared not interfere. Perhaps Lord Beirut had released some powerhouses from the Necropolis of the Gods. It was just that they were all Saint-level for now; whether there would be God-level powerhouses in the future, no one could say for sure.

She also did not know why Lord Beirut would do such a thing.

Although Hasya did not understand, she still nodded. Seeming to think of something, she spoke up, "Is this Kawent also from the South Sea?"

The High Priest nodded.

This was also the reason she had taken Kawent as a disciple.

Being "noticed" by Lord Beirut might perhaps be helpful to her in the future, much like the situation with the "little black mouse" that Lord Beirut had previously sent a message about.

She took both of these matters extremely seriously.

Of course, it was not just the High Priest who took these two matters to heart; the War God O'Brien had also received a voice transmission.

Naturally, O'Brien was also quite concerned about this matter. He recruited a powerhouse from the South Sea, and even though this powerhouse was only at the eighth rank, O'Brien still personally stepped forward to accept him. This incident caused quite a sensation in the O'Brien Empire, as it had been a long time since the War God had personally stepped forward to take on a disciple.