Chapter 2896: Chapter 2896: The Purified Being

Flamine lowered her eyes. Softly she said, “I have been to the Dark Region. I know how dangerous it is. Maybe it's too much to ask you to protect Elvinia, but I hope you will do your best.”

“You've been to the Dark Region?” Zen said, raising his eyebrows.

Flamine smiled. “It's not the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen, but the one of Stage Twenty.”

As one reached higher and higher stages on the Other Shore, the likelihood increased of encountering the Dark Region.

Powerful warriors like Flamine, however, had extremely powerful Souls of Light, and were equal to the challenges of the Dark Region. Flamine, for instance, would have no trouble overpowering the creatures on the Other Shore and in the Dark Region that Zen and his companions had faced in Stage Thirteen.

“Have you ever heard of the light column in the Dark Region?” Zen asked.

At the mention of the light column, Flamine's eyes flashed. Elvinia noticed and shot her mother a questioning look.

Earlier, when Elvinia had told her mother about the light column in the Phoenix Palace, Flamine had also reacted strangely. What did she know about the valley?

“I've already heard about it from Elvinia,” Flamine said solemnly. “The appearance of a light column in the Dark Region, well, generally suggests the presence of a purified being.”

“What do you mean by a purified being?” Zen said, looking interested.

“Some creatures can break through the restrictions of the Dark Region and become the strongest. We call them purified beings, and no one can match them in the Dark Region,” Flamine explained. “Of course, they are also extremely powerful even outside the Dark Region.”

Many years ago, Flamine had witnessed the birth of a purified being.

She had been in the Dark Region of Stage Twenty. She clearly saw a white light shoot up into the sky, pierce through the darkness, and freely fly within the Dark Region.

In response, the powerful creatures in the Dark Region had surrounded the light and launched an attack on the purified being. Even the other creatures outside the Dark Region had tried to stop the purified being from leaving the confines of the Dark Region. Some powerful Souls of Light had also joined the battle.

But no one could defeat the purified being. Within its light, it was impervious to the attacks of creatures in the Dark Region. The other creatures outside the Dark Region also failed to defeat the purified being.

At that time, Flamine recalled, the most powerful group in Stage Twenty was the Heavenly Element race. They had ruled over at least seventy percent of the territory of Stage Twenty. However, the purified being had engaged them in battle. Alone against the strongest members of the Heavenly Element race, the purified being had driven them into a small corner of Stage Twenty.

Zen listened closely to the story. “What does the purified being want?” he asked Flamine.

“It wants its own race to dominate all others,” Flamine said simply. “The purified being I am telling you about comes from the Rain race. As far as I know, the Rain race still controls Stage Twenty. Once you reach Stage Twenty, you will see for yourself the proliferation of the Rain race. By now, they must be stronger than ever.”

Indeed, any mention of the beasts of the Rain race in Stage Twenty was enough to strike fear into anyone in the Desire World. Few, if any, were willing to stay too long in Stage Twenty.

“Since the purified being is so powerful, why don't other races try to win it over?” Zen asked.

“Win it over?” Flamine repeated thoughtfully. “I'm sure someone has tried that. But how can we, as Souls of Light from the Source World, manage to win it over?”

The creatures of the Source World went to the Other Shore primarily to obtain Other Shore Tokens.

For the creatures on the Other Shore, the Other Shore Tokens were nothing special. They themselves could also be considered as Other Shore Tokens. Moreover, the purified being could dominate a whole stage.

Zen reflected on what Flamine had told him. He now knew several important things about the purified being.

There should have been a pig-faced monster buried in the tomb of the light column.

Nobody knew how or why the pig-faced monster had turned into a purified being. Then it had attracted the light outside the Dark Region.

Once it was reborn, it would lead its race in bloody battle. With its power, their race could become the strongest force in Stage Thirteen.

Thus the pig-faced monsters gathered around the light column and described what lay within it as a holy tomb. It was the symbol of their hopes for prospering their race. They had been afraid that Zen would desecrate it. ṛΑΝО₿Ёᶊ

Flamine was watching Zen. She asked directly, “When will you return to the Other Shore?”

She couldn't help but feel conflicted about her daughter. If Elvinia never returned to the Other Shore, she would have a lifetime of safety and comfort in the Oneness Sky Palace. She could even be happy. However, her cultivation level would stagnate where it was right now and never increase again. Just like Winchell's son, Evaristus. If Zen hadn't saved him, he would still be trapped in the whirlpool.

Zen said, “I don't know when the purified being will awaken. So the sooner we return, the better.”

Once the purified being woke up, the white light that enveloped the tomb would disappear, and he and Elvinia would fall into darkness once again. They would die there unless they ate the Darkness Fruits.

“You may leave in three days,” Flamine said slowly, biting her lips. “I wish to spend more time with Elvinia before you go.”

Flamine appreciated Zen's strength and knew he would do his best to protect Elvinia in the Dark Region. However, she was horribly aware of the dangers lurking in the Dark Region, and knew there was a chance that her daughter would not survive. She wanted to delay sending Elvinia back to the Dark Region for as long as possible.

Meanwhile, Athemar, Goran, and the others received the news that Zen had woken up. They immediately paid him a visit at the Oneness Mountain.

Like Flamine, they were familiar with the known history of the light column. The knowledge they had was riddled with gaps and shrouded in mystery. Athemar and Goran also couldn't explain the origins of the purified being.

The key point was that it had happened in the Lust World. This meant that neither Athemar nor Goran could lend a helping hand. They could only offer advice, and so they repeatedly told Zen to take action cautiously.

The three days requested by Flamine seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.

Flamine personally sent Elvinia to the top of the Oneness Mountain. She concealed her anxiety from her daughter and told her to be careful in the Dark Region.

Zen and Elvinia were fully prepared to return. They sat cross-legged on the floor, and closed their eyes.

A flame rose from Zen's body. The two of them returned together to the Other Shore.

The moment they opened their eyes, they were bathed in the glow of a bright light shining above them.

The two of them were in the center of a circle of light, about ten feet in diameter. Beyond the light was impenetrable darkness. Nothing could be seen at all.

“Elvinia, the Darkness Fruits,” Zen said quickly.

They were unable to see the environment of the Dark Region because the effect of the Darkness Fruits had already dissipated.

Elvinia nodded and took out two white fruits from her space ring. She handed one of the fruits to Zen.

They each bit into their fruits. As Zen swallowed the Darkness Fruit, he felt energy spreading throughout his body, and the darkness that obscured his vision seemed to lighten. He looked around him at their surroundings and instantly felt stunned.

To his shock, he and Elvinia were surrounded by several pig-faced monsters standing just outside the edge of the circle of light. Their ferocious fangs were bared. They were staring at Zen and Elvinia, and looked ready to fight.

Elvinia let out a small cry of astonishment as she saw the monsters around them.

She stepped closer to Zen, feeling uneasy and afraid.

“Don't worry. They can't come into the light,” Zen said calmly.

The pig-faced monsters leaned forward and roared, taking care to stay in the darkness.

“Get out of here, you filthy humans!”

“You are trampling the holy tomb!”

The pig-faced monsters roared and threatened them, but they couldn't step into the circle of light to attack the humans.

Zen smiled, shaking his head. “You know, if I were them, I would be kind and gentle instead of loud and threatening. I would try to lure us out of the light and into the darkness, where we could be slaughtered like fish on the chopping block.”

Elvinia scowled. “Luckily, they don't have someone who thinks like you. Be quiet. Don't give them any ideas.”

Zen shrugged. “My point is that these pig-faced monsters do not seem to be very intelligent. The black monkeys are smarter. So I don't understand why one of their own would become a purified being.”

As he spoke, he bent and carefully studied the holy tomb of the pig-faced monsters.

According to Flamine, there was a purified being buried within.

Zen placed a hand carefully on the tomb. He glanced around him at the pig-faced monsters and asked them, “Is one of your clansmen buried inside this tomb?”