Re: Evolution Online

A faint smile gradually returned to Xerathuna’s face. "It seems age has finally taught you some wisdom."

"Perhaps."

"You should have answered that way from the beginning. It would have saved us both considerable time."

The old man merely smiled as he stroked his beard, which only made several elders behind him exchange confused glances. They knew their ancestor well enough to recognize when he was swallowing his pride for the sake of the sect, and whatever expression currently rested on his face certainly wasn’t that.

Xerathuna didn’t bother trying to decipher it. As far as she was concerned, Green Mountain had made the sensible choice, which meant there was no longer anything standing between her and the little rat who had escaped her grasp for far too long.

"Go. Go and drag him out."

The paladin standing next to her immediately bowed and stepped forward. He only examined the area for a moment before identifying a portal in the southern part of the sect.

Three unfortunate Dralura had apparently chosen the worst possible time to enter Green Mountain. They had barely emerged from the swirling spatial passage when the paladin’s attention locked onto them.

The creatures immediately sensed the danger above them. Their heads snapped upward, and the moment they saw the golden-armored figure descending from the sky, mana erupted from their bodies.

However, whatever resistance they intended to offer never had the opportunity to materialize. The three exploded instantaneously.

The alchemy disciples nearby stared in stunned silence as the creatures that had caused so much destruction throughout Green Mountain died without even managing to launch an attack.

Just how strong was he.... a Dao Grand Master? Perhaps even a Dao King?

The paladin didn’t spare the corpses a second glance. Having confirmed that the portal was stable, he descended directly toward it, while several Green Mountain elders watched from a distance without interfering because their ancestor had already made his position perfectly clear.

The paladin landed before the portal and briefly examined the spatial fluctuations rolling across its surface. Whatever world existed on the other side seemed stable enough.

More importantly, the Divine Temple Sigil they were following was connected to whatever lay beyond it, which meant there was little reason to waste time searching anywhere else.

"He’s through there?" Xerathuna asked from above.

"Almost certainly, Esteemed Goddess."

"Then bring him to me."

The paladin bowed once more. "As you command." He then stepped through. Spatial energy wrapped around his body, and the golden armor disappeared into the portal without the slightest hesitation.

The Green Mountain Ancestor watched the entire exchange from high above, his expression carrying an amusement that several elders found increasingly difficult to understand. One of the Grand Elders eventually approached him and lowered his voice, careful to ensure that the Celestial Court cultivators couldn’t easily overhear.

"Ancestor, should we really allow him to enter the Treasure World?"

The old man glanced at him. "Didn’t you hear me? I told them I wouldn’t interfere." He simply shrugged and smiled. He then turned to look at the portal as if he was waiting for something.

Although the faint smile on his face made several elders suspicious, they could only follow his gaze and wait.

Xerathuna did the same, although for entirely different reasons. Her paladin was powerful enough that there should be very little inside the Treasure World capable of threatening him. As for Liam, she did not care for him very much. What she anticipated most was something else...

"This shouldn’t take too long." Xerathuna sneered as she continued watching the portal, already imagining the condition Liam would be in when Caelvar dragged him back through it.

Paladin Caelvar had followed her for centuries, and although he was merely her second-in-command, his strength was more than sufficient to deal with someone like Liam.

The little rat had certainly accumulated several unusual treasures and escape methods, otherwise he could never have survived their previous attempts to capture him, but there was an enormous difference between escaping from pursuers and defeating someone at Caelvar’s level in a direct confrontation.

The Green Mountain Ancestor heard her comment but offered no response, and when Xerathuna glanced toward him, she found the old bastard still wearing that irritating little smile.

He appeared far more interested in the portal than concerned about what might be happening to his disciple on the other side, which briefly made her wonder whether he knew something she didn’t.

Before she could dwell on the thought, the portal suddenly fluctuated.

"There," one of the priestesses behind Xerathuna said.

The spatial energy within the passage churned violently, and several of the Green Mountain elders immediately focused their attention upon it, expecting Caelvar to emerge with Liam in his grasp.

Instead, a young man wearing the robes of an inner disciple stumbled through, his face pale and his clothes covered in dust, and before anyone could understand what was happening, another disciple appeared behind him. Then another.

The portal erupted into activity.

Disciples began pouring through in groups, some supporting injured companions while others carried weapons, storage bags, or whatever belongings they had managed to preserve during their time inside the Treasure World.

Several looked exhausted enough to collapse the moment they reached familiar ground, yet as they realized that they were standing inside Green Mountain again, shock rapidly gave way to relief.

"We’re back!"

"Green Mountain! We’re actually back!"

"Move away from the portal! There are more people behind us!"

High above, several Grand Elders stared downward in disbelief.

"Those are our disciples."

"How did they get out?"

"There are hundreds of them..."

"More are still coming."

The Green Mountain Ancestor continued smiling without bothering to give any explanation. He stroked his beard and let out a hearty chuckle.

Xerathuna also looked surprised, but her surprise lasted only a moment before satisfaction appeared on her face. "You can thank me for that."

Several Green Mountain elders turned toward her.

Xerathuna gestured casually toward the portal. "Caelvar must have encountered your trapped disciples after entering and decided to send them out before dealing with Liam. He has always been unnecessarily considerate toward those who aren’t involved in our affairs."

One of the Grand Elders frowned as he looked between Xerathuna and the returning disciples, while another appeared as though he wanted to ask how Caelvar could possibly have located hundreds of trapped disciples, organized their return, and sent them through the portal within such a short period of time.

The Green Mountain Ancestor didn’t say anything. He merely continued smiling.

Xerathuna noticed. "You find something amusing?"

"Not particularly."

"Then perhaps a little gratitude would be appropriate. Your people apparently couldn’t retrieve these disciples themselves, yet my subordinate has already begun solving your problem within moments of entering."

The old man stroked his beard, but instead of answering, he continued staring at the portal with an expression that made Xerathuna’s irritation grow.

By then, the flow of disciples had begun slowing. Hundreds had already emerged, and after several more groups stumbled through, the portal remained empty long enough that the elders assumed the first wave had finished.

Then it fluctuated again. Every gaze returned to it.

Xerathuna’s lips curved upward. "That should be Caelvar."

The spatial surface rippled. Something golden appeared within it.

Xerathuna’s smile widened as the object crossed the boundary, but almost immediately, something felt wrong. It was much too small to be a person, and rather than flying from the portal under its own power, it struck the stone pathway with a heavy thud before rolling forward.

Clank.

The object rolled several feet.

Clank.

It struck a piece of broken masonry, changed direction, and continued across the damaged street before gradually losing momentum. The surrounding disciples moved aside.

For several seconds, nobody understood what they were looking at, because the object was still covered by a battered golden helmet, although several deep cracks ran through the once-pristine metal. One side had been crushed inward, while blood leaked steadily from beneath its lower edge and painted a thin red trail across the stone.

The helmet finally tipped over. A face became visible.

Shock and horror appeared on Xerathuna’s face. "Caelvar..." The object lying in the middle of the street was Paladin Caelvar’s severed head.

His eyes remained open, frozen in an expression that contained none of the confidence he had displayed before entering the portal. Even the golden armor protecting his neck had been torn apart so completely that jagged fragments still clung to the ruined edges beneath his jaw.

The entire Green Mountain Sect seemed to fall silent.

Several of the priestesses behind Xerathuna visibly recoiled, while the other paladins stared at the head with expressions ranging from disbelief to outright horror.

They knew Caelvar’s strength far better than anyone in Green Mountain did, and precisely because they knew it, none of them could immediately comprehend how he had entered the portal alive only to have his head come rolling back out a short while later.

Xerathuna didn’t move. Her golden third eye had opened completely.

Divine light flooded from it as her perception slammed toward the portal, no longer carrying the casual confidence she had possessed only moments earlier. She searched for Caelvar’s aura, his divine imprint, his soul, anything that might tell her that what she was seeing was some sort of deception.

There was nothing. The connection was gone. Caelvar was simply dead.

Behind the Green Mountain Ancestor, one of the Grand Elders slowly turned toward him, finally understanding why the old man had been so content to let the Celestial Court handle its own problem.

The ancestor smiled again. "It’s best for everyone to vacate to the grand hall for now. Your barriers will not be enough for what is about to come next."

The elders nodded and quickly followed the instruction.

"Get everyone away from here. Take the disciples who just returned somewhere safe, treat the injured, and activate the inner formations around the main hall."

The next second, divine power suddenly exploded across the heavens.

BOOOOOOM!

Golden light flooded the sky as Xerathuna’s aura erupted without restraint, and the pressure was so violent that Green Mountain’s grand formation immediately responded. Countless runes brightened across the barrier while the mountains beneath them trembled.

Right at this moment, the portal flickered again, and once more someone emerged from within. It was a simple transcendent-rank disciple.

Just as an elder was about to bark at him and ask him to evacuate, Xerathuna’s voice boomed loudly. "Little bastard, you are finally in my grasp."

Rage filled her eyes as she stared at the familiar face, the same insect from that backwater world that should not even be alive today. Liam was finally standing right in front of her.

"Die!" Xerathuna shot forward as an enormous golden palm materialized around her hand, its surface covered with countless divine inscriptions that illuminated one after another.

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