Chapter 541: Chapter 541

Eternal Island was broad, its shoreline draped with dense emerald forest. The woods contained tangled shrubs, wild grass, mushrooms, and moss. Venomous insects and snakes crawled in the branches, turning the area into a no-go zone for ordinary people.

Of course, such threats posed no real trouble for this squad from the Covert Martial Arts world. Qi seeped faintly from the combat artists' pores into the surrounding air, granting them an acute danger sensor.

Whenever danger or an attack approached, they responded with inhuman speed. Every snake coiled among the trees had its head either blasted apart by a fist or crushed between fingers.

Some with still stronger Qi made no visible move at all. They strode ahead with great strides as though the peril did not exist. Yet wherever one of them passed, the Qi they radiated stunned the poisonous insects and snakes on branches and underbrush alike to death. The creatures hidden in mud or beneath stones were not spared either.

Given the island's humidity and heat, bacteria would eat those corpses away within two or three days.

Tap, tap, tap ... tap, tap, tap ...

Footfalls faded through the forest. The Covert Martial Arts delegation travelled in near silence, only a few whispering now and then.

Everyone present were heads or elders of great sects so no one reacted like green novices. They were all people who had weathered storms in their youth. Setting foot on the main island was only the first step; they would not celebrate until they located the ancient ruin. Their task would only be done after surviving the ruin's dangers and traps and obtaining its Covert Martial Arts Secret Techniques. Until then, their goals were one and the same.

Cassius led his four subordinates, along with the concealed Evil Mother, deeper into Eternal Island ahead of the pack. The ancient ruin lay squarely in the island's central region. Cassius had once consulted the Book of the Devil and learned Eternal Island's general layout.

The whole archipelago consisted of the south island and north island, separated by sea yet linked by narrow passages. In addition, Eternal Island possessed an inner isle encircled by a river. The ancient ruin was situated upon that inner isle.

Cassius touched the bronze key in his coat. It still emanated a rippling chill. Whether they could bypass some of the ruin's dangers this time depended on the key, since it could unlock a hidden passage inside the ruin.

From there, he could descend straight to a zone very near the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist. In that way, he would save time and skip the traps. Unfortunately, though he had the bronze key, the ancient White Bone Tree was not in his possession at the moment. There was a hazard within the ruin that only the ancient White Bone Tree could wholly negate, allowing safe passage.

Moreover, the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist lay deep within that very zone, making it unavoidable.

"Black Rain Manor ... heheheh ... you should be arriving soon as well ..." Cassius laughed coldly at the thought, his gaze turning profound.

As time passed, the Covert Martial Arts team soon reached the forest's depths. After another hour, they emerged into an open tract. It was a ring-shaped hillock encircled by water that was no deeper than a dozen metres. Green grass and wildflowers swayed gently atop.

At first glance, the terrain seemed ordinary. Yet the thick, churning mist rolling over it lent an air of mystery. They could only make out the outlines of the hills, but nothing beyond was visible.

A sense of hollow unknown pervaded the place.

"The Ao Yin Ruins had fog too. Could there be a link between the two?" Cassius wondered, never pausing his stride. His black boots struck the brook's bank, then he leaped.

His whole body glided through the air in a narrow arc. He crossed the stream and landed atop the tallest slope, quietly scanning the distance. The many combat artists of the Covert Martial Arts world hurried after him.

There were colossal statues below the hill. Their lower halves were rooted in earth while their upper halves were heavily weatherworn. Their edges were blunted and their surfaces rough as grindstone.

One row of statues stood left, another right. Between them ran a broad aisle, as though these towering guards awaited a monarch's carriage to roll by and receive the people's homage.

"Relics of an ancient civilisation?"

"Let's go have a look ..."

The combat artists headed toward the statues. It was only when they drew nearer that they felt the statues' enormity. They had to crane their necks just to glimpse the tops. Each monolith stood roughly seven or eight metres tall, its chisel strokes coarse yet conveying a warrior's might. The statues' heads bore helmet-like adornments, making their skulls appear especially thick.

A sweeping glance showed them all overgrown with moss. Some even served as nesting sites, streaked with white droppings.

Cassius silently stood at the avenue's mouth. For some reason, an inexplicable feeling stirred in his heart. He drew a shallow breath and steadied his mood.

He stepped onto the path. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the statues on either side seemed to quiver. However, no aura stirred when he focused, and Cassius eased toward one statue.

When he touched it, the weathered rock crumbled into black powder. Who could say how long these statues had stood here?

He bowed his head slightly, watching the sand fall from his palm. He sensed a strange vague familiarity. Oddly, though he had never remembered meeting them, his body reacted as if by instinct.

Cassius slowly lifted his gaze. Thin sunlight broke the mist and settled on the giant's shoulder, leaving it towering and solemn. After a moment longer, he turned and rejoined the main group. He traversed the statue road with the Covert Martial Arts group.

Silence returned as the mist drifted lazily.

Crack, crack, crack, crack ...

A series of rifts split the stone. Chips fell from the giants and moss peeled off their backs. Beneath the statues were pale roots that seemed like totems burrowing deep into the stone. They wriggled and twitched as if they had just received some command. Yet the statues under their control remained silently resistant.

Whether they had sensed Cassius's true aura and dared not act, or his presence somehow repelled them, no one could tell.

Crack, crack, crack, crack ...

Another crackle of fracturing stone rang out. Suddenly, both rows of towering statues turned their heads toward the path Cassius had taken. Pairs of crimson eyes gleamed beneath their severely weathered helms. They stared through ages of history into the thick fog. It was like they could glimpse Cassius's silhouette beyond the white haze.

The wind carried a murmuring voice away.

An hour later, the Black Rain Manor party arrived on the hill's far side, having clearly broken through the Ripple Practitioners' blockade to enter Eternal Island.

Led by Tyrant Black Dragon and Ripple Master, they had advanced swiftly without hindrance. It was mainly thanks to Ripple Master, who had lived on the Eternal Archipelago and knew the terrain well.

Thus, he was perfectly suited to be a guide for intruders. He was even quicker than the Gate Organisation's team.

Ripple Master wore a fitted black tailcoat. His wavy hair and trimmed beard were impeccably groomed. He sported a wide-brimmed tall hat that shadowed his brows, leaving only his blue eyes visible. He looked flamboyant yet faintly refined.

"We have left the forest. Ahead lie two routes. Take the right side of the hills and you’ll reach a hazardous sea of alien blooms. That way is also longer. Go to the left and the distance is much shorter. You’ll find a cluster of statues. No real danger, just move through quickly..." Ripple Master spoke slowly, eyeing the roiling fog ahead.

The group trusted his words. After all, he was the expert. He had been a Ripple Practitioner of Eternal Island, and had reportedly lived here for over a decade. It was only later that he had defected, been hunted, and joined Black Rain Manor.

"Let's move." Tyrant Black Dragon strode ahead first. The joints of his rugged metal armour grinded with a series of deep groans. His tattered black cloak hung low, making him resemble some kind of ancient knight.

The Black Rain Manor team consisted wholly of formidable and uniquely skilled knight-level elites. At the very front stood Tyrant Black Dragon. As he had said before, he excelled in land combat. His feet were steady, his strength boundless, and within him lay the power of a raging dragon.

His physique was the greatest in Black Rain Manor.

Tap, tap, tap ... tap, tap, tap ...

A line of Hellsings crossed the hillocks and appeared at the stone corridor's mouth. The entire party stepped in with remarkable speed. In less than a minute, they had covered half the distance.

"I don't know why, but I keep getting the creeps... It's chilly, yeah. Maybe too much moisture in this fog."

"Let's hurry through."

The Hellsings muttered softly, their pace quickening.

"Something feels off to me." Tyrant Black Dragon, leading the way, turned to Ripple Master. "You're sure this path is safe?"

"Of course. I've gone between inner and outer isles by this corridor every time. Must be over a hundred trips. Never once faced an issue..." The Ripple Master answered earnestly.

"Keep moving, stop second-guess—"

Before he finished, a huge crash behind them was followed by a wet splatter of flesh.

Both whipped around to see chaos in the Black Rain Manor ranks. At the rear, a Hellsing had been hammered into the ground by a gigantic stone fist!

The pit spanned two metres across and sank three or four deep, its rim spattered with gore. It seemed the Hellsing within had been pulped by tremendous force and the culprit was the nearby colossal statue.

Crack, crack, crack, crack ...

The statue slowly twisted its body, its massive head staring at the ground. Blood dripped from its fist, strips of torn cloth clinging to it, making for a gruesome sight. At the same moment, the surrounding statues all turned. Every gaze fell upon the Black Rain Manor party in the road's centre.

"This is what you call safe?" Tyrant Black Dragon glared at the Ripple Master, his cloak lifting in the air.

"That's unexpected!" The Ripple Master frowned. "Nothing ever happened before! Damn it, these statues shouldn't be moving..."

He cursed under his breath, but the statues' assault did not cease.

Crack, crack, crack! Boom! boom! boom!

The giants possessed immense power. Though their bodies moved slowly, their punches, once locked on, were swift and crushing. Their heavy fists swept in wide arcs, forcing many Black Rain Manor members to dodge.

Some unlucky ones who failed to evade were struck and shot off like a cannonball. They would skip across the ground like a stone over water. Each bounce left a smear of blood until they sprawled motionless. Regardless of whether they were dead, they were certainly gravely wounded.

"Don't take those fists head-on!"

The Hellsings shouted, each deploying his own skills. Yet some still faltered or were struck unaware by such mighty blows. In a short span, three or four had already perished.

"Get out of my way!!!"

Tyrant Black Dragon's sturdy legs drove into the earth. His burly frame swelled, shoulders and arms bulging to nearly twice their former girth. His armour creaked under the strain as the steel almost wailed. He hurled a clenched fist as if catching a hurricane. Slender white streams of Qi stretched between his fingers.

Tyrant Black Dragon and the advancing statue traded fists head-on. The over-seven-meter-tall giant's charge was broken. It staggered back, leaving deep pits into the ground. The source of this content ɪs novelꞁire.net

Another punch sent the statue rushing in from the left backward as well. Tyrant Black Dragon led the charge, knocking aside eight or nine charging statues in succession with ferocious might. However, more statues only converged around him. Sensing his strength, they chose to swarm him.

Even Tyrant Black Dragon's eyelids twitched at the sheer number of looming giants. He snapped his head toward Ripple Master.

"Where's the ancient White Bone Tree?! If not now, then when?!"

Ripple Master narrowed his eyes. With no choice he drew the ancient tree from his coat. He poured energy into it, and the tree turned translucent like a crystal lamp. A strange ripple swept in every direction.

In an instant, every statue froze. Time itself seemed to halt. The pale roots that controlled them likewise turned clear, faintly glowing as their writhing ceased. What was more, the tree's ripple washed through the air, pierced the sea, dove underground and reached unknown corners of the Eternal Archipelago.

There was a vast dark cavity deep underground, where all the roots converged on a towering stump. It formed a spider-web that touched every corner of Eternal Island. That pillar-like stump appeared caught in a strange state. It was neither wholly living nor dead,as well as both illusory and real.

It was as though two worlds overlapped within one place.