Chapter 551: Chapter 551

This was the deepest layer of the ancient ruins, the fifth floor. It was hundreds, perhaps thousands, of metres below the surface. The surroundings were eerily silent. Cassius led the Covert Martial Arts party in a swift dash through the ruins toward the nearby danger zone.

It took them barely a minute or two to reach a broken stone bridge with a dried-up brook running beneath it. Weeds choked its bed, adding to the scene of desolation.

"The danger zone is on the other side?"

Cassius halted at the bridge's edge, his keen gaze fixed on the opposite bank. It was nothing but weeds, scattered rocks, and rubble. It looked perfectly ordinary, showing no strange visions or threatening aura.

After a brief pause, Cassius took the lead and stepped forward. He crossed the bridge, planting his feet on the far side.

At once, the scenery blurred. The weeds and stones on either side stretched away like clouds, racing backwards. It felt as though a conveyor belt had appeared beneath where Cassius stood.

Though he remained motionless, the environment shifted until he found himself far away. Cassius had experienced this hazy sensation before when he had first entered Black Rain Manor. It felt as though he had stepped into a separate, secluded realm.

It felt as if he had passed through a membrane, with two different worlds on either side.

"Interesting. Is this an innate ability? Can someone twist the fabric of reality? Or is this environment intentionally built by Black Rain Manor and the Ultimate Dark Form..." Cassius pondered aloud.

He recalled the fourth time-travel when he had entered the Ao Yin Ruins. The Holy Fist elder he met there had unfolded a world of indiscernible illusion with residual Qi around him. Cassius had trained, died, and been reborn within it, with time flowing at different rates inside and out. Perhaps his first guess was more likely than the second.

While he was caught up in his brief trance, the party arrived at a bizarre domain. Filaments of stifling heat seeped in from outside, writhing like serpents across their skin. The sensation made one uncomfortable.

Was the sky raining? No, the sky was snowing... Ashes.

Looking up, they saw ash flakes falling like drifting catkins. A gust of wind swept by, sweeping the ash into visible billowing arcs. The ashes landed with a soft hiss, exuding deathly desolation. It felt like life was still ebbing after a futile struggle.

Cassius saw whiteness spreading to every corner like a thick carpet. Hillside, flats, stones, and trees were suddenly clad in silver as in the dead of winter. Yet this winterlike scene held not a trace of cold. Instead, it was scorching. A fire-borne toxin seemed to permeate the air.

Zzz-zz-zz... zzz-zz-zz...

A combat artist clad in Qi brushed against the falling ash, prompting an immediate reaction. The ash disintegrated, and two streams of gas bored into his body. However, his Qi repelled them, annihilating both streams with the sizzle of a flame.

"These ashes will deplete our Qi drastically..."

Many combat artists showed wary looks.

"It will intensify the darkness within our bodies!"

On the Black Rain Manor side, many Hellsing members paled. They gained power through Black Rain Manor, but residual darkness lingered within them. When the buildup grew excessive, they could fall into madness. Their minds would turn unstable and fiercely aggressive.

These ashes seemed able to rouse that darkness. Such an environment countered the Hellsing rather hard. Of everyone present, only Evil Mother and Cassius were essentially unaffected.

Evil Mother, being a dark creature herself, felt quite at home. As for Cassius he could already morph into a Golem back when he had entered the Pale Lands with Ghost-Man and Iron Knight. Thus, he was nearly immune, and all the more so after further evolution of his Golem Covert Martial Arts.

"Interesting, this environment is almost identical to the Pale Lands of the World of Calamity. Is it a coincidence? Or has the barrier between the World of Calamity and the surface world broken here, causing an overlap?"

Cassius’s eyes narrowed as he continued guessing. "Or perhaps the so-called Pale Origin lies right here! It might be the Ultimate Dark Form hidden beneath the Eternal Archipelago!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ⓝovelFire.net

He instantly recalled the Black Rain Manor mission sheet from Ghost-Man and Iron Knight that had revealed details of the Pale Lands. The realm existed because an endlessly growing, undying giant plant was shrouded by an eternally burning, inextinguishable flame.

Thus, a strange balance had formed. Pale Origin burned forever, poised on the border of ruin and rebirth, repeating death and revival endlessly. Plants burned to black ash, while living flesh transformed into white ash.

Cassius was now different from before. Aided by the demonic well of Xiadu, he had seen nearly all of the World of Calamity. His understanding of Ultimate Dark Forms and Holy Fist had grown accordingly.

Pale Origin's state was unnatural, since what plant wished to burn? Clearly the inextinguishable flame was an assault tailored to such an immortal plant. Only perpetual burning could restrain limitless growth, keeping it neither alive nor dead.

Only a Holy Fist could perform such a feat. Which means that a Holy Fist had confronted Pale Origin ages ago. He had discovered a means to suppress it by unleashing an ever-burning flame. That flame likely paralleled a Holy Fist's endlessly growing Qi, and was meant for prolonged duels with mighty foes.

Pale Origin, struck by it, had ended up half-crippled. Its endlessly growing bulk and vitality had been burned away. It could only remain in a tenuous balance, its condition vastly weakened.

"So on this trip I might seize a Pale Seed and an Inextinguishable Flame... An unexpected gift." Cassius murmured to himself.

He always remembered that every artifact was tied to greater power. Soul Jade from Howling Canyon could nourish Qi. The Pale Seed could nest in Qi and grant it a measure of indestructibility. Then, by searing it with the Inextinguishable Flame and enduring horrific pain, one's Qi would undergo an ultimate tempering. Impurities would vaporise, and strength would refine and soar.

Cassius had planned to perfect the Golem's Qi Embodiment stage before hitting a bottleneck. Then, he would enter the World of Calamity to hunt such wonders. Unexpectedly, fortune had delivered them to his door. Assuming, of course, he survived to enjoy them.

Ash whispered down within the Pale Lands–like domain.

"Those with Sanctuary Stones may proceed—share extras if you have them. If you have none, withdraw for now. Do not force it, or chaos may turn allies to foes..." Ripple Master Monchi advised the Black Rain Manor's Hellsings.

The Hellsings immediately produced finger-sized verdant stones. The stones glowed, warding off the ash calamity. These Sanctuary Stones protected marked-ones in high-calamity zones for ten hours. They were scarce and costly single-use items. Naturally, top-tier knight-level Hellsing like these carried them routinely.

Even if they lacked a few, sharing ensured everyone received at least one. Ten hours would likely suffice for the battle's end. Preparations were complete. The entire troop set out again toward the centre of the ash domain. They knew it was the center by the colossal tree stump towering like a sky-pillar in the distance. It was impossible to miss.

Meanwhile, the instant Cassius's party entered the ash domain, Wood Spirit, poised at the exit that led from the fourth layer to the fifth to intercept them with Paradise's forces, blanched.

The Spirit stage beings wholly controlled by the Root of Pale Origin behind him panicked outright. They wheeled as one and bolted back toward their lair.

How did they jump from the first layer straight to the fifth?! Damn! Paradise is empty since I led everyone out. Those invaders will face no resistance! They will soon reach the Root of Pale Origin itself!

A flurry of thoughts flashed through Wood Spirit's mind, and he sprinted back at once. His speed kept rising, black cloak snapping behind him.

For millennia, the Root of Pale Origin had maintained a precarious equilibrium. It would never act personally unless it was desperate, for breaking that balance exacted a heavy price. Twenty years ago, when it had seized Wood Spirit's body, it weakened itself for a time.

Now, it was on the verge of being assaulted by many invaders. If it did not act, it would suffer unopposed damage. There was a chance the balance would fall entirely. However, if it acted, unleashing power would tug at every thread. That, too, could induce imbalance. Should the Inextinguishable Flame blaze stronger, it might end up in a weakened state forever.

Either outcome was unacceptable to the Root of Pale Origin. Fortunately, it commanded the island's mutant hordes beyond paradise. Unleashing them might delay the invaders until Wood Spirit and the others returned.

At the centre of the ash domain, the towering stump stood. Roots thick as monstrous pythons shook in what seemed like furious rage.

"Damned Flaming Sun, damned White Bird! If not for you two bastards, how could I have fallen to this plight?!"

The Root of Pale Origin's will surged, making the web-like roots that stretched through the Eternal Archipelago quiver. It was indeed an Ultimate Dark Form, but only half. The other half lay in the Pale Lands of the World of Calamity. Together, they formed Pale Origin!

In ancient times, Pale Origin had been entangled by a mighty Holy Fist named Flaming Sun and the two had clashed ceaselessly. They had ravaged the Pale Lands' terrain repeatedly.

However, over time, Flaming Sun Holy Fist began to falter. Though Flaming Sun was formidable, Pale Origin at full strength neared the level of the Totem King or True Progenitor of Blood. Had Flaming Sun’s fist technique not countered plant-type Ultimate Dark Forms, he could not have endured so long.

Millennia ago, the struggle intensified until Pale Origin's advantage became clear. It had even planned to capture Flaming Sun alive as unending nourishment. That would let it ascend fully to Totem King class.

After several more years of battle, Pale Origin succeeded. It subdued Flaming Sun Holy Fist and carried him to its lair to savor its prize.

However, the delicacy proved poisonous. Flaming Sun had done it deliberately. He had wanted Pale Origin to absorb him. Humanity in the World of Calamity had been on the back foot, barely holding onto a precarious balance.

Should he fall and free such top-tier might, dire consequences would follow. If Pale Origin moved wisely, the side of calamity might even break the three pillars, the strongest Holy Fists of the Southern Dipper line.

Thus, Flaming Sun ignited his own Qi, driving his fist technique to the limit. If his Qi did not die, neither would the flame. At the level of a Holy Fist, Qi flowed unending. And so too would the fire.

The mutually destructive move was excruciating. The user had to endure self-immolation across endless ages, keeping conscious to maintain his undying Qi and flame. Only thus could he barely restrain Pale Origin.

That day, Pale Origin's lair had blazed sky-high, and endless white ash blanketed the Special Zone. Wherever ash fell, flame burned without dying, binding his foe forever. Thereafter, the Special Zone became known as the Pale Lands.

Thus, Pale Origin had been entangled by the Inextinguishable Flame. It tried every means to shed the flame, even going so far as to split itself. It even contemplated fleeing the World of Calamity into the surface world to separate them.

Ultimately, Pale Origin used both schemes together. It located a weak spot between worlds, and after preparing, it split itself using a special art. The root that bore its mind then burst into the surface world. Yet upon arrival in the surface world, Pale Origin found itself in an underground ruin beside a desiccated corpse. Not an ordinary corpse, but the cast-off shell White Bird Holy Fist had left in the surface world!

A trap!!! I was duped!!!

Pale Origin realised at once that something was wrong. But it was too late. White Bird's failsafe activated, unfolding a Qi realm. It wrapped around Pale Origin, trapping it.

One of its roots suddenly sprouted a streak of golden-red flame. That was the force Flaming Sun had hidden on purpose! The Inextinguishable Flame kindled anew and history repeated itself. Pale Origin, now halved, fell into a crippled state.

It could only cling to balance, raising Ripple Masters remotely while seeking escape. And now, before it could break free, disaster had struck.

Cassius had barged in, apparently intent on ending everything! Pale Origin might become the first Ultimate Dark Form ever slain by one below Holy Fist level.

When misfortune arrived, nothing could stop it...