For the group aboard the airship, the attack from the fierce smoke birds was but a minor incident.
Having escaped the predicament, the airship continued its steady flight toward the destination.
“That cousin of mine is always like that, always playing little tricks. Don’t take it to heart.”
“If you don’t mind, why should I, an assistant on the side, mind it? After all, she didn’t say anything offensive about me.”
“Haha, it’s good that you think like that. We’ll be arriving at the Nine-Colored Pit in another two hours.”
At Solomon’s invitation, Ivan and Doug once again visited the spacious room where they had discussed matters the day before. Solomon first reassured Ivan a few words, just to prevent him from harboring any grudges due to Delia’s actions.
It wasn’t hard to see that, although the people from the Belizi family were competitive, their relationships weren’t that bad,
Ivan thought to himself that this competition probably wouldn’t be as intense as expected, which was also a good thing.
The airship soared through the high skies, and after almost another two hours of flight, a wondrous land with a myriad of colors appeared on the ground below, visible from a thousand kilometers away.
The high-energy battlefield—the Nine-Colored Pit had arrived.
In fact, the Nine-Colored Pit, just like Cloud Gazing Cliff and the Blood Plains, was created by the twisted forces left behind from the fierce clashes of supremely powerful beings, a place of chaotic rules.
Usually, such places would be considered ‘Forbidden Lands.’
From a distance, one could already see the Nine-Colored Pit emitting halos of various colors, its overall appearance stunningly gorgeous. As a Forbidden Land, the interior of the Nine-Colored Pit surely teemed with things to be wary of.
In the Vernon Millennium Archive, Ivan had specifically looked up information about this kind of Forbidden Land and had a certain understanding of them.
Afterward, having personally witnessed the transformation of the Black Scythe Lord and seen the aftermath of the war at the Abyss, he understood even more the terror that such places held.
Due to the chaos of the rules, some creatures could be small insects one second and transform into horrific giants the next, climbing several levels of power—this was the chaotic terror of a Forbidden Land.
Of course, the reality certainly wasn’t as exaggerated, and changes wouldn’t happen in the blink of an eye.
Before the airship arrived at the Nine-Colored Pit, two Level 3 Sorcerers emerged from the third floor, elders of the Belizi clan who had not shown themselves before.
Everyone paid their respects.
“There’s no need for formalities.”
“Fellow sorcerers, your willingness to travel great distances to come to our Belizi clan’s aid speaks volumes of your deep loyalty and fellowship. You all are friends of the Belizi family, and friends need not be stringent with etiquette.
“I have a small gift here, hoping to bring you some joy and relieve the fatigue of your long journey.”
The two elders did not put on any airs and casually presented the group with gifts.
Ivan glanced at them, 10 mid-grade magic crystal cards. Mid-grade Demon Crystals were not naturally occurring but were the essence extracted from mid-grade magic stones, which were then formed into magic crystal cards.
This was equivalent to ten thousand mid-grade magic stones, a million low-grade magic stones.
Although it wasn’t anything rare, it was quite practical; giving them to the group as travel expenses was fitting and reflected the Belizi family’s sentiment.
After the two elders made their polite remarks, they gave a few more instructions, the kind that resembled words of warning against internal strife, and then stepped forward to open up a shortcut that led to the interior of the Nine-Colored Pit.
“Be wary of the Lei clan; I sense the presence of those barbarians.”
“Rest assured, elder. Should we encounter those barbarians, I will ensure they won’t be returning from where they came.”
Delia, skilled and bold, stepped into the haloed passage ahead of her two companions, and in the blink of an eye, her figure was submerged in the light.
“Let’s go.”
Solomon gestured to Ivan and company and was the second to fly into the channel floating in midair.
The so-called “ancient pit” was, as the name suggests, a large pit on the ground created by the residual effects of a battle. Its scope was broad enough to be described as “vast,” not smaller than an intermediate-sized city.
Due to the chaotic nature of the battle’s aftermath, the terrain within the pit was complicated and mazelike.
The shortcut carved out by the two elders wound this way and that, yet it did not confound these sorcerers, who were close to advancing to Level 3. Before long, they had descended into the pit.
With the pathway behind them gone,
the group invariably grew more vigilant, warily observing their surroundings.
Undoubtedly, this was an eerie place.
The ground was scorched black; in some areas, tufts of flame spewed forth, in others, one could see bubbling hot magma, and in some places, sparks flew, continuously erupting with crackling roars.
At first glance, the scorched earth seemed to contain nothing else, but the group was well aware that any chunk of land might conceal dangerous creatures.
They were beings born from the pit’s chaotic and distorted field of energy, innately in tune with the surrounding chaos. In this environment, they thrived, ready to leap out at any moment to launch an attack on the group.
“Solomon, to ensure fairness, each family is only allowed to bring two sorcerers, not counting pet beasts, yet you’ve brought five. This is quite overbearing of you,” Doug accused Solomon before the group had even started moving.
Such direct naming caught many off guard.
“Hmph! I’d advise you to mind your own business. The two elders have no objections, and if you, Doug, have any issues, keep them to yourself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind having a fight with you before we find what we’re looking for,” Solomon retorted with an uncompromising attitude.
“Afraid, are you?”
“Then bring it on, whether it’s one-on-one or three-on-three, I’m more than willing.”
As the scene suddenly turned volatile, Ivan and Doug exchanged perplexed glances, both feeling it was somewhat inexplicable.
While they were puzzled, Solomon and Doug truly began to fight, forcing the others to back away as booms of battle echoed in succession.
“Is there a subtle force field affecting emotions?”
“No.”
Ivan quietly asked Locke via telepathy, who then provided a negative response.
Watching the two fiercely battling, he couldn’t help but view the scene with a sense of oddity.
It seemed that with an elder present on the airship, these guys had managed to put on a facade of harmony, but in reality, they were at complete odds.
Thinking about it, the resource that these scions of great families were earnestly contending for, the one Solomon had been planning for in advance, was likely not just any ordinary advancement resource. It might also be for laying a foundation towards advancing to Level 4. The Belizi family certainly had the capabilities.
Level 4 was the significant threshold. Once attained, one could leap to the upper echelons of the sorcerer world and taking control of the entire Belizi family would not be far-fetched.
Thus, what the group was engaged in was essentially a ‘foundation conflict’; there would be no semblance of harmony.
“Two boring fellows, we’re moving on first.” Having watched indifferently for a while, Locke led his companions along a path deeper into the pit.
“Let’s go!” You Lei also departed, choosing a different path, yet the direction was the same.
The battle between the other two continued, the sounds of fighting reverberating in all directions, causing the ground’s various sparks, flames, and magma to become increasingly active.
The air around them grew hotter.
“Solomon, you just wait.”
“Doug, next time I won’t spare you.”
Both men sensed the eerie changes around them and mutually decided to cease fighting.
It was apparent that neither was ready to let bygones be bygones.