“I don’t know.”
Ivan shook his head directly.
However, it was mentioned in the scriptures that the Life and Death Cocoon is one of the commonly seen excellent materials for casting clones, but the detailed records about the ‘Life and Death Cocoon’ are missing.
Of course, it’s not just the data on the Life and Death Cocoon that’s missing.
“Actually, I don’t know either, but during an accidental exploration, someone discovered an interesting place and also found something similar to a ‘Life and Death Cocoon’.”
“In gratitude for your help last time, I’m willing to take you to that place and help you acquire the deeply hidden Life and Death Cocoon in the perilous land. What do you think?”
Sorcerer Doug disliked owing favors for too long. The longer the debts of gratitude among the members of the Five Leaves Spear were dragged on, the more troublesome things would become. He had come this time with sincere intentions.
“It’s a deal.”
After pondering for a moment, Ivan nodded in agreement to Doug’s request. “Seeing how serious you are, I guess the enemy we have to face this time is not going to be easy. Can you tell me now?”
“Spiritual Body.”
Doug uttered two words.
This caused Ivan’s expression to darken, feeling as if he’d been deceived.
According to the descriptions of the senior sorcerers, a Spiritual Body is a strange creature born from the long-lingering obsessions of some beings with strong spiritual or will power after death, nurtured by certain special environments and through fortuitous coincidences.
Spiritual Bodies have no physical form; they are like an aggregation of a special power.
The most troublesome part is that without exception, Spiritual Bodies use the power of curses, employ various strange methods, and have ways to easily contaminate a sorcerer’s spiritual power, catching one off guard.
Such difficult-to-deal-with creatures are undoubtedly one of the adversaries sorcerers least wish to encounter.
Fortunately, these fortuitously born Spiritual Bodies are not numerous, and they can only linger in certain special environments. If they leave these environments, their strength is greatly reduced, or they might even annihilate themselves.
“Sorcerer Doug, may I ask how many Spiritual Bodies we are dealing with?” Ivan inquired.
“A nest of them, countless in number.” Doug replied truthfully.
“This—-” Ivan showed a look of difficulty.
“You needn’t worry, I’ve found an interesting item called a ‘spiritual entities jammer.’ It can both conceal our presence and keep the Spiritual Bodies from daring to approach,” Doug said.
Doug had come prepared, naturally having considered how to handle the troublesome Spiritual Bodies. Luckily, he’d found something that could interfere with them.
An object that bore a strong resemblance to a compass.
It was the fantastic item Doug mentioned, emitting a subtle force field that made one feel uncomfortable. When spiritual power was used to probe it, it was immediately suppressed by the field.
To Ivan, it felt as if something were attempting, over and over again, to grind away his spiritual power, a truly peculiar sensation.
“In that case, I will accompany Sorcerer Doug on this trip.” Ivan was not one to give up easily. The other party had prepared everything, what else was there to say?
“That would be most ideal.” Doug smiled.
Both men were decisive. Having reached an agreement, they promptly got up and left Rapid Wood Tower and departed from East Capital East Blade City.
Under Doug’s leadership, after traveling for four days and three nights, they arrived at a forest that looked as ordinary as any other.
Ivan noticed that there used to be a small town on the outskirts of the forest which had now become a ruin. Not a single person or even a mouse could be seen, casting an extreme desolation.
“It looks deserted now, but come nighttime, under the moonlight, this place becomes lively.” Doug pointed at the deserted town as he explained.
“I’ll wait and see,” Ivan raised his eyebrows in anticipation.
The two waited outside the town, awaiting the arrival of the night moon.
After a while, the clear moonlight fell from the moon, illuminating the abandoned town and the forest. Soon after, a thin fog began to spread, enveloping the town and the forest in a translucent, light veil.
Making it hard to see clearly.
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
“Somewhat interesting,” Ivan responded.
As the fog swept by and lifted a corner again, the small town had gained a few normal shops, where one could see shadows busily preparing to open their stores for business.
With the passage of time, the small town became more and more normal, and the number of people weaving through it steadily increased.
“Let’s go, it’s our turn to make a move,”
Doug’s expression didn’t change as he watched. After a pause, he stood up, walked towards the town, and gestured for Ivan to follow.
If one didn’t sense deliberately, the townspeople would appear no different from ordinary people, with the usual hustle and bustle of a small town: shouting, hawking, and bargaining incessantly filling the air.
But Ivan could sense that the townsfolk were creatures similar to Shadow Ant servants, carrying a kind of aura that one would be wary of.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have good news for you all. Wafting Scent Castle is recruiting a group of strong guards, with generous compensation, generous compensation. Those willing to participate in the assessment, please come with me,”
“I am willing.”
“Ha ha, we’ve finally waited for the castle to recruit guards.”
The words spoken by the man resembling a butler attracted attention and led to cheers from the surrounding people.
When the butler returned, a large group of people, including Doug and Ivan who had mixed in among them, followed him. This action made Ivan feel puzzled.
“This is the easiest way to enter Wafting Scent Castle, bar none,” Doug, noticing his confusion, explained subtly.
Ivan nodded slightly to show that he wouldn’t make any imprudent moves.
Under the butler’s lead, those participating in the guard assessment left the small town and headed towards the forest behind, not noticing when a secluded path appeared in the woods.
Enveloped in fog, the group delved deeper into the forest.
In a blend of moonlight and mist, a noble castle emerged in the depths of the forest, the very destination of the group.
Upon stepping into the castle, Doug signaled, and the two stealthily left the assessment group.
“Congratulations, you have become guards of Wafting Scent Castle, and the glory of the Wafting Scent family will be with you,”
“That’s great.”
“Woo woo woo, I’m sorry to my deceased mother.”
Seconds after the two left the group, the butler turned around and announced some news. A portion of the group had successfully become guards, and naturally, they were overjoyed.
There were more who failed.
Many of the failures cried bitterly, and some, overwhelmed by sorrow, even drew their swords to take their own lives.
Ivan was left staring in astonishment.
What about the assessment?
The suicidal didn’t die; they were clearly playing dead on the ground, right?
Were these guys just putting on a play for others to watch?
Before long, the butler who had left hurried back and publicly announced good news.
“Ha ha ha, the young master is born.”
“Oh, our wise and valiant young master is finally born.”
“The master is very happy and has promised something in his joy. For the next few days, the castle will celebrate with the townsfolk, allowing any town resident to come to the castle to participate in the celebration banquet.”
As the butler’s words fell, the mist at the entrance of the castle swirled, and a large number of civilians had already arrived. From their conversations, it wasn’t hard to hear that they were guests celebrating the birth of the young master at the castle.
Ivan clearly saw that those who had been lying on the ground playing dead had quietly blended into the civilian crowd, acting so professionally.
In the blink of an eye, the celebration banquet at the castle began, nearly gathering everyone from the castle and the town.
“Let’s go, while there are fewer people inside, let’s meet this so-called ‘young master,'”
Seeing this scene, Doug finally took action. The two paid no attention to those attending the banquet and slipped straight towards the depths of the castle.