Chapter 1404: Chapter 1404: The First Spy

That unimaginable amount of time was enough to bring about massive changes to the universe.

Time should have eroded the marks engraved on the wall of the mountain. It was impossible that they had been left unharmed for so long.

Zen's face dripped suspicion, and he quickly withdrew his conclusion.

Rocher also shook his head. “No, the words on the wall of this mountain were not written very long ago. There are vines around the mountain wall, and although these words look very ancient, the vines have not hidden them. I suspect these words were carved there less than half a year ago!”

Half a year...

Someone had carved the words on the wall of the mountain half a year ago as a clue.

Undoubtedly, the clue had been left behind for a certain someone. No civilization resided on the savage land, and only Rocher had been brought there by the Heavenly Sword Illustration.

In other words, someone had carved the words on the wall of the mountain half a year in advance in anticipation that Rocher would discover them.

When Rocher sensed Zen's wariness, a helpless smile rose on his face. “They've always been by our side. Watching us.”

'There are people watching me?'

Zen felt a chill run down his spine.

“From the moment you stepped out the door of the Luo Clan...no, from the moment you were born, they have been by your side,” Rocher emphasized, his words a haunting lullaby.

Coming from his mouth, the conspiracy sounded sinister.

It was hard for Zen to believe that someone had always kept an eye on his every move. It was rather unbelievable.

Seeing Zen's look of disbelief, Rocher continued, “Didn't you find it strange? You've had many coincidences in your life. You narrowly escaped death every single time. Some people would tell you it's because of your good fortune.”

“Luck truly exists,” Zen insisted, feeling even more confused now. Rocher was trying to overturn everything Zen had once believed in.

Rocher smiled knowingly. A light wave of his sword had dozens of strikes pushing forward. Each sword strike then sank into the mirror-like lake.

The lake had been tranquil, its surface like a mirror. Now disturbed by the dozens of sword slashes, many ripples appeared on it, instantly spreading in opposite directions.

“I performed fifty sword strikes.” Rocher was very fast in his moves. He seemed to be quivering in place, but he thrust out fifty strikes. Zen was able to count the number readily.

“Which sword strike left the deepest mark under the lake, do you think? You have one-in-fifty odds of being right,” Rocher said.

The sword strikes had penetrated the surface of the lake and dived into the mud. How could Zen know which sword strike left the deepest mark under the lake? The question was rather impossible to answer.

“With your luck, a two-percent probability is perhaps too easy,” Rocher continued, laughing. “In fact, the chances of emerging alive out of all that you have experienced in the past were perhaps even less. Take a guess.”

Zen was silent for a moment. “The sixteenth strike.”

“Wrong.” Rocher shook his head. “The depth of each sword strike is exactly the same. There is no difference. You see, Zen? Your luck no longer works.”

Rocher had merely used a little example to question Zen's good fortune.

“They are all liars. Think about it. Who told you about your luck?” Rocher asked again.

'Who told me about my luck?' Zen asked himself.

'First, it was Yolande. Then, Immortal Mist. Lavender. The mysterious girl in charge of the Illusion Battlefield…'

“What do they all have in common?” Rocher asked with a mysterious smile.

Zen frowned. There seemed to linger another truth in his heart, but that truth had always been covered by a layer of gauze, making it difficult for him to see through clearly. ⱤäＮ𝔬ᛒÊs̈

These people had suddenly appeared by his side!

Zen perused that line of thought carefully. They had all come out of the blue. From entering the Cloud Sect to the Cloud Hall, he did not imagine it reasonable that he had met those people.

Letitia, however, was the leader of Cloud Hall. It was given that he would have met her after joining Cloud Hall.

But the others were different.

'And Lavender! Her sudden appearance was rather strange.'

Zen's eyes flashed. At this moment, Lavender was still sleeping inside his body.

Rocher seemed to have read Zen's thoughts. “Lavender is different. She does know part of the truth, but she is more like a hitchhiker.”

“Is that so?”

As per Rocher's logic, everything Zen experienced was a trap.

At this moment, Zen felt as if he was in an illusion, that everything in the world was false and could not be trusted.

As he began to recall his past, all events that had happened to him seemed like lures meant to entrap him.

Zen was in deep rumination. How did he find the fairy palace?

Back then, when he had obtained the Weapon Refining Principle, he had also bizarrely received information about the Cloudy Mountain and the Dragon Valley. At that time, before he returned to G County, someone by his side had mentioned the two locations.

Someone had wanted Zen to take control of the fairy palace.

The person had placed a strand of information in the Weapon Refining Principle, so that Zen discovered the fairy palace “by accident” and entered it.

He could tell that the traces of this arrangement had been quite intricate and heavy. However, it had been impossible for Zen to be on his guard at that time.

That person had paid such an enormous price just to grant him the fairy palace? What was the purpose in this?

And what about Yan?

To lure him to look for Yan, there must be an even bigger conspiracy hidden behind this. 'Am I truly just a pawn?' Zen wondered.

A hint of pity appeared on Rocher's face when he saw Zen's agitated expression. He had long known that Zen would have an extreme reaction to this piece of information. Zen would have to adapt to this process by himself.

Rocher did not say anything else for some time, permitting Zen some time to swallow the bitter truth.

“Want to drink?” Rocher asked.

“It's no use. I won't get drunk.” Zen shook his head.

Beside him, Xenia flipped her hand and a few jade bottles materialized out of thin air. They were only palm-sized. She smiled and said, “I guarantee that they'll be of use.”

Zen glanced at Xenia indifferently, and then took a jade bottle from her. Opening it swiftly with one hand, he could smell the rich aroma of wine. The smell of it was very sweet, as if it was just regular sweet wine.

It did not matter. Even the strongest wine would taste like water to Zen.

However, as Zen took a gulp, he discovered that the wine glided to his mind in a strange way. It was as if his soul had caught fire.

“It's the Soul-burning Wine,” Xenia said faintly. “Only Celestial Position members have access to it. It's good wine and can make your soul descend into a state of drunkenness. Still, don't have too much of it.”

“He's too emotional right now,” Rocher said as he shook his head. He took a bottle of the Soul-burning Wine himself and gulped it down.

Rocher had taken on no less responsibility than Zen over the years. Gradually, he too discovered his fate was even worse than Zen's.

In fact, the Soul-burning Wine was not a type of wine, but rather a poison aimed toward the soul. However, it could give a warrior a drunk experience. If one took the poison directly, their soul would immediately corrode. The Celestial Position members had used a special technique to tame it down and moderate the poison's effect.

Some martial artists were addicted to alcohol, but after their cultivation reached a certain level, they did not find any sort of wine effective. The Soul-burning Wine, however, was different and could make warriors drunk. But it was something that could only be encountered by chance and not sought.

Zen felt as if the world was spinning around him. He could not help but sink into an uncontrollable, but freeing state. Nobody knew how many years he had gone without getting drunk. Soon, he fell into deep sleep by the lake.

“Zen is drunk. I'll take him so he gets some sleep,” Freya said. She stood up, wanting to help him get to his feet.

Rocher had also chugged a bottle of the Soul-burning Wine, but his eyes were still clear. His gaze shifted. What he had taken was only ordinary water.

He stared straight at Freya, his gaze piercing her. “Which great world are you from?”

Xenia also stood at Freya's side. Tiny lightning bolts constantly danced on her fingertips, as if she was trying to prevent Freya from escaping.

Freya's face was blank and innocent. “I don't know either... That great world doesn't have its own name.”

Because there were a number of great worlds, some of them were often left unnamed. They only had their own numbers, so it was not astonishing that Freya's world did not have a name.

Rocher crushed the jade bottle in his hand with minimal effort. He did not trust her at all. “Tell me your purpose. I don't want any strange people by Zen's side. And if you don't wish to tell me, you'll just have to die.”