Chapter 3179: Chapter 3179: A Dangerous Place

He studied the two maps carefully, cross-checking each area, one by one.

The terrain of the grassland area in the south was relatively straightforward, so Zen didn't pay much attention to it. The key was to compare the four corners on the board with the map in his palm.

About five minutes later, Zen had finished comparing the two maps. His originally relaxed eyebrows were now furrowed tightly. His target was not on this map.

Noticing Zen's expression, Chieftain Richie asked, “You didn't find it, did you?”

This map only portrayed the south region of Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore, so it wouldn't have been surprising if Zen couldn't find what he was looking for. Zen nodded with a sigh. He had no choice but to look for it elsewhere.

Just as Zen was about to bid Richie farewell, Elvinia piped up excitedly from his shoulder, “Wait a minute, Zen! Look at the rightmost area of the map.”

Zen frowned slightly, as though he didn't understand her. Then, it dawned on Elvinia that he couldn't hear her due to their massive difference in body size. Channeling her strength into her voice, she repeated it again loudly.

Finally understanding what Elvinia was saying, Zen turned to look at where she was pointing.

On the rightmost side of the map, the grassland area suddenly stopped and was replaced by what seemed to be a desert. On the carved map provided by the Elephant Man race, it was carved vaguely, which was why Zen hadn't noticed it before.

But even so, the junction of the grassland and the desert formed a triple-gourd shaped area.

“Now look at the left side of the map on your palm. Is there a wavy line?” Elvinia continued excitedly.

When Zen looked at the map formed by the Other Shore Key on his palm, his eyes lit up. This wavy line was just enough to match the lower part of the triple-gourd!

He even pressed his palm down and observed the two maps more carefully. The more he studied it, the more he felt they were a match.

“Thanks for your careful observation, Elvinia,” Zen said with a smile.

“Certainly.” Elvinia smiled back sweetly.

Then, Zen turned to face the chieftain. Richie looked back at him uneasily.

Pointing his finger on the map, Zen asked, “Chieftain Richie, I think this area goes beyond the territory of the Elephant Man race. Do you know where this is?”

“That place...” said Richie hesitantly.

Zen studied Richie curiously. Was this place special?

At this moment, the high priest suddenly cut in. “Humans, I advise you to give up your plans of going there. That's not a place you can set foot on.”

“Why not?”

Of course, Zen wouldn't back down just because some priest was warning him.

“It's very dangerous there—very! No one is more powerful than the ruler of Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore. However, even three of them lost their lives there, one after another,” the high priest blurted out. ꭆãNỘꞖĚ𝘴

Zen knitted his brows, slightly surprised at the high priest's sudden outburst. Elvinia, who had been listening too, frowned deeply.

With the strength of the purified being, they had gone through the Other Shore very easily. This place didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. It never would've crossed their minds that it was so dangerous that three purified beings had died there.

“The stage rulers died there? And as many as three? How was that possible?” Zen asked in disbelief.

“Young people tend to forget about this history, but it has been seared into the memories of us older ones,” the high priest said in a hazy tone. “Back then, they had fought fiercely for years in Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore, just so they could earn the title of stage ruler. No matter which side won, they would immediately head there as soon as possible.”

Pointing at the rightmost area of the map, the high priest continued, “They did all that just to reach that place. However, it was just far too dangerous. Unfortunately, even the stage rulers were not able to enter that place and make it out alive!”

“Who were they?” Zen narrowed his eyes.

“I don't know,” the high priest answered, shaking his head. “At that time, I was just a child. Our Elephant Man race often suffered unexpected disasters. It was not until they had failed three times did they finally choose to give up. Since then, our race has begun to live a peaceful life...”

The high priest's tone turned bitter at the memory.

“But according to your story, there were more than just one force?” Zen asked.

“Yes, there were at least three forces,” the high priest replied.

If these forces were able to compete with each other directly for the position of stage ruler, they must have been among the top civilizations on the whole Other Shore.

The one-eyed monsters and the black monkeys instantly came to his mind when Zen realized this. In addition, the three-eyed boy in Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore must have come from another force. Could it be-- were these the three forces the high priest was talking about?

“So you'd better not go there. Otherwise, you will die,” the high priest warned ominously.

Although he hadn't seen Zen's fighting skills with his own eyes yet, he knew that Zen was by no means an ordinary person. But no matter how powerful he was, there was no way he could survive. The high priest didn't think he could be stronger than those stage rulers.

“Thank you for the warning. If it truly is too dangerous, then it's not worth taking the risk.” Zen cupped his hands and bowed respectfully towards the high priest.

Elvinia, who had been sitting on Zen's shoulder this whole time, glanced at him confusedly.

The Zen she knew wouldn't have shrunk back from the face of difficulty.

After that, Zen bade them goodbye, despite Richie inviting them to stay. Together with Elvinia, Zen headed out into the grassland once more.

Not long after leaving the Elephant Man race's settlement, Zen's body began to shrink rapidly. .

He grabbed Elvinia, and they fell onto a blade of grass like two raindrops.

“Are you really leaving?” Elvinia asked with hands on her hips. She eyed Zen suspiciously.

“Of course not.” Zen shook his head, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “But it seemed like the Elephant Man race didn't want us to go there.”

“And so? Are they qualified to stop us?” Elvinia said haughtily.

Even though she was tiny compared to an Elephant Man, she was confident she would be able to kill them all.

“Of course they can't stop us,” Zen smiled gently. “But I suspect that the Elephant Man race is related to those great civilizations, which means, the Elephant Men might have been left here on purpose by the other civilizations, in order to keep watch.”

Previously, Zen had suspected that the fences were not built by the Elephant Man race. Now, it seemed that the purpose of building those fences was probably to divide the territory and to confine the Elephant Man race to the grassland.

“That's just your speculation,” spat Elvinia.

“Whether I'm right or wrong, we'd better go to that place after bypassing the Elephant Man race. It will be much safer that way.”

“You're right...”

After the conversation, they started to head north, straight towards the area marked on the map.

Meanwhile, in the house that stood in the center of the Elephant Men's settlement, the high priest suddenly bolted upright, “Richie, hurry! Take down the Heavenly Spirit Bead!”

Richie trembled slightly at the high priest's sudden request.

The Heavenly Spirit Bead was a sacred treasure of the Elephant Man race. It had always been placed on the top of the totem pole, where it was worshiped by all the members of the race.

The bead had been sitting on the top of the totem pole since time immemorial. It had played an important role in providing the Elephant Man race with power.

No one was allowed to touch this sacred treasure, not even the high priest himself. Yet now, the high priest was demanding he take it down right this instant!

To his horror, Richie suddenly realized that the situation must have been much more grave than he could possibly imagine.