“Alright, you can wander around the city for now. I have some things to attend to,” Medusa said, without waiting for a reply from Yealper. She immediately headed into the city, descending into the basement cave.
The place was dark, damp, and filled with the smell of blood.
But Medusa seemed unaffected, her body relaxed as she transformed into her true form: a massive golden serpent.
“You’re finally back!” A woman’s voice echoed through the empty cave, filled with both joy and concern.
“Mm.” He responded faintly, coiling around a stone pillar and licking at the wounds on his body.
His scales were cracked, his body covered in injuries.
These were the wounds sustained while escaping from Underground City, caught in the aftermath of battle.
“You’re injured? Hm? You didn’t get the crown?” The woman’s voice was filled with concern, yet there was a hint of relief.
Medusa sighed helplessly and spoke, “Senren got the crown. Not only that, Gaka also managed to escape.”
“Gaka is still alive? Could he try to take back the World-in-Hand?” The woman’s voice was anxious. She understood the uniqueness of the Endless Desert, which had once belonged to Gaka’s World-in-Hand.
Although Medusa had inherited the Sea God’s legacy, she had never been able to refine the Endless Desert and claim its ultimate treasure.
If Gaka regained his freedom, he would surely attempt to reclaim the Endless Desert.
However, Medusa wasn’t particularly worried. She spoke calmly, “I can feel it. Gaka is trapped in the Tower of Death, his life is nearing its end, and he won’t last long. What worries me is that Dark City might act during the King’s Meeting in three months.”
She then briefly explained her encounter in Dark City.
Senren had guessed correctly. While Medusa was aware of the situation, she had no intention of revealing it to the other kings.
The seven great kings of the Realm of Chaos were under the influence of the Four Emperor Kings. But Medusa didn’t feel a sense of allegiance to the Four Emperor Kings. Their power was waning, which meant more opportunities for her.
“Dark City plans to take action against the seven great kings?” The woman’s voice sounded puzzled, as she hadn’t received this information.
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After a moment of thought, she continued, “I suspect that Celestial Vault’s current operation is targeting the Heavenly King.”
The Celestial Vault organization, like Skybroke, was full of fanatics who sought to peer into the heavens, ultimately turning themselves into something neither human nor ghost.
Now that Skybroke had fallen, to continue growing, they needed to find the next strong individual to merge with a World-in-Hand and refine their power.
The Heavenly King was the only viable candidate.
“Target the Heavenly King? Do they have the strength to do so?” Medusa asked, doubtful. He knew just how terrifying the Heavenly King was—his strength was on par with that of an Emperor-level powerhouse.
If Medusa had managed to break through to the ten-star threshold, she would have long become an Emperor herself.
Even so, she and the Emperors were on equal footing.
The woman’s voice was calm as she replied, “Don’t underestimate Celestial Vault’s strength. They’ve been researching the laws of The Heaven through their puppets. I’ve heard that they’ve made some breakthroughs.”
“Did they really manage to research the Puppet of Laws?” Medusa asked in surprise. Dark City’s research on puppets was no secret.
Their methods were cruel, using powerful individuals as test subjects. The inhuman, ghost-like beings of Dark City, along with the madmen of Underground City, were all failed experiments—discarded remnants of their research.
If Celestial Vault succeeded in perfecting this research, it would certainly unleash a bloodbath across the continent.
The woman continued, “For this King’s Meeting, you should refrain from participating for now. I’ll contact the Church of Light to see if they’re involved in this operation.”
Medusa, however, shook her head, the savage expression on her snake head shifting into a hint of amusement. “How could I miss something so exciting? There might even be other benefits to gain. Don’t worry, my unique talent means I’ll be safe.”
He felt a surge of excitement inside. Even if Celestial Vault could defeat the Heavenly King, it would surely come at a great cost. Perhaps he could profit from it.
“Alright,” the woman reluctantly agreed, though still a little uneasy, “I’ll join you at the King’s Meeting.”
Medusa nodded without rejecting her suggestion. He spoke, “I need to go into seclusion to heal. Gran City is in your hands. Also, I brought someone with me from Underground City. Keep an eye on them for me.”
“Understood.” The woman agreed.
Medusa said no more, coiling his body tightly. His golden scales shimmered as he focused on healing and recovering his strength.
…
Endless Desert, howling winds, endless yellow sands.
John and his group wandered aimlessly.
“Master, it seems we’ve gotten lost here,” Avis said, shielding himself from the sandstorm as he stood at the front. The surroundings were vast and desolate, with no discernible direction.
John looked helpless, realizing he had underestimated this desert. No wonder even Emperor-level powerhouses dared not enter recklessly.
Along the way, they had encountered numerous attacks by magical beasts, including a formidable thousand-year-old snake.
But they had yet to find Medusa’s descendants or locate Gran City.
John had also asked Gaka about it.
However, Gaka hadn’t fully refined this World-in-Hand, and with the sea turned into desert, everything was unfamiliar to him, making it impossible to determine their direction.
“Hey, look over there! Could that be Gran City?” Sword Demon suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead. Through the swirling sandstorm, a faint oasis and a towering city emerged.
John furrowed his brows. He had a feeling this might be a mirage.
But if a mirage appeared here, Gran City should be close by.
“Let’s go check it out!” John said.
Avis nodded and, braving the howling winds, quickly moved toward it.
But as they drew closer, the oasis in the sandstorm became more illusory, and soon it vanished entirely.
It was indeed a mirage.
The group was left disappointed.
“Damn it, what kind of cursed place is this?” Cand-Dragon grumbled. They had been wandering the desert for over ten days, and even he was beginning to crack under the pressure.
John also felt helpless. He spoke, “Let’s keep moving.”
He knew that Gran City should be somewhere nearby, but he wasn’t holding out much hope. The surroundings were vast and desolate, and there was no way to tell which direction they were heading. They could very well be moving in the opposite direction.
They were at the mercy of luck.
The group wandered through the desert for another week.
Fortunately, with John’s World-in-Hand, they could take turns resting inside it. Otherwise, they would have long since collapsed from exhaustion.
“Hey, have we reached the edge of Endless Desert?” Cand-Dragon exclaimed, staring into the distance in disbelief.
At that moment, the fierce winds stopped. The endless, barren desert stretched out, and in the far distance, a vast blue sea appeared on the horizon, reflecting the sky.
An island rose from the sea, shrouded in mist, looking like a fairyland. A gigantic whale leapt out of the water, sending massive waves crashing into the air.
Sword Demon spoke up, “This has to be another mirage. No sea water should appear in the sky. But, the sight is certainly magnificent.”
The group nodded in agreement, staying where they were and watching curiously.
Whooo…
Suddenly, a long, mournful whale song echoed through the air. Deep and rich, it sounded lonely, like an old man who had endured many hardships, softly weeping—a cry that struck deeply into the soul.
The group couldn’t help but feel moved.
Spoorate spoke up, “Big brother, that whale sounds so lonely.”
John nodded in agreement.
“No,” Tracy said, her voice tinged with surprise, “Wait a minute—this is a mirage, isn’t it? How could there be sound?”
The group paused, unsure. Could it be that this wasn’t a mirage?
A vast ocean suddenly appeared in the desert, along with an island full of life—nothing about it made sense.
But the sound was incredibly real, filled with an intense emotional power that struck deep.
“Avis, go check it out,” John snapped back to reality, patting Avis, who was sitting down, urging him to go.
“Alright!” Avis flapped his wings and soared into the air, speeding toward the sea.
The surface of the sea shimmered under the sunlight, and a gentle breeze brushed against them. John could even smell the faint scent of saltwater.
This wasn’t a mirage!
The group was shocked and pleased, and Avis quickened his pace.
Buzz!
A damp sea breeze hit them, but just then, a strange ripple of Spatial power swept through the air. The entire sea, along with the island, suddenly vanished without a trace.
Before them once again was nothing but the endless desert.
The group stood frozen, unable to move or comprehend what had just happened. It was hard to accept.
“Could it be that it really was just a mirage?” Sini asked, puzzled.
Sword Demon jumped down from Avis’s back, picking up a bone from the sand. “John, this looks like a fish bone.”
“There are some here too.” Spoorate also noticed several fish bones scattered around.
John remembered what Gaka had told him—that Endless Desert had once been a sea, but it had been destroyed by Medusa and Dark City, turning it into a desert.
But now it seemed that a sea still existed within this endless wasteland.
“Let’s go, we’ll enter World-in-Hand for now.” John looked around. No sign of the sea was visible. He decided to ask Gaka and see if he knew anything about it.
With a thought, he led the group into World-in-Hand.
They arrived beneath the Tree of Life and woke up Gaka.
John recounted the appearance of the sea to Gaka.
“Mountains of Immortals!” Gaka’s voice was filled with excitement. “This is the core of the Endless Sea. It seems that this World-in-Hand is still intact. If we can enter the Mountains of Immortals, I can help you refine this World-in-Hand.”
“But why did it suddenly disappear?” John asked, confused. He had never encountered anything like this before. Medusa’s Gran City and the oasis could traverse freely through the desert, which he could understand, but this sea was vast and an unclaimed World-in-Hand. It should be able to shift freely, yet it didn’t make sense.
Gaka thought for a moment before speculating, “It’s likely a protective mechanism of the Mountains of Immortals. It doesn’t want to be discovered. The only way to enter it is to find Gran City, and from there, you can access it.”
John sighed. It seemed there was no other way.
The group returned to Endless Desert and once again began wandering aimlessly.
From time to time, they were interrupted by fire lizards or snake-like magical beasts in the desert, all of which were easily cut down by the group.
Half a month passed unknowingly.
In the past few days, the mirage of Gran City had been appearing frequently.
John was certain that Gran City was nearby, but they still couldn’t find it.
He almost considered giving up. But they were already completely lost in this desert and couldn’t escape, so they had no choice but to push forward.