Chapter 446 – The Scout from the Red Mist Land

Laney’s evolution ceremony was conducted at the exceptional-grade Miracle Building, the Iceheart Lotus Platform, equipped with a full set of auxiliary materials.

This was a privilege only available to core personnel of Tianyuan City.

Otherwise, if every epic evolution required elite members to be equipped with a full set of materials, Tianyuan City, with its limited resources, would have long been bankrupt.

Inside the Secret Realm, a pure white light beam shot into the sky, and a purple auspicious cloud drifted from the horizon, vast and majestic.

It announced the birth of a heavyweight epic life form.

“My god, is this the supreme and lofty power?!”

Xie Yi’s pupils reflected the distant white light and purple cloud, ripples surging in his eyes.

After a long while, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, a spark flickering at his fingertips before he extinguished it with a wave. He simply held the cigarette in his mouth, gazing into the distance until the brilliant light faded. He remained in that posture, his gaze distant and weathered.

Xie Yi was not entirely from a wandering military background.

He had once served under a Lord. Invited by the Lord, he emerged from the recruitment grounds, swore allegiance, and contributed to the territory’s growth and achievements.

Under his assistance, the territory gradually expanded.

From a small town to a city, then to a prosperous metropolis.

Towers rose, warriors assembled, and they swept through the Wilderness, obliterating one monster camp and Tribe after another.

That was the most unforgettable period of Xie Yi’s life.

Later,

the territory was destroyed during a Red Moon disaster.

At that time, he was not yet a Master Gunsmith, nor had he reached the Legendary Realm, but he was already a renowned local powerhouse.

Through his meticulous defense arrangements and command, the territory resisted the Red Moon calamity. The process was not exactly effortless, but it was relatively stable.

However, one day.

“Boom—!”

Cannons roared as Xie Yi wielded a machine gun, relentlessly pouring ammunition outside the city walls.

Suddenly, a dazzling, blinding burst of flames erupted behind him, rising like a blazing sun. The city’s buildings were engulfed by the spreading flames, and the rolling heatwave ignited his beard, hair, and the unlit cigarette he held in his mouth.

He froze, still mechanically firing his weapon, holding back the increasingly fierce and violent waves outside.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he came to his senses and found himself in an unfamiliar Wilderness setting. His status on the panel had changed to that of a wandering Hero with no affiliation.

It seemed he had survived.

He moved like a walking corpse;

He gradually understood his situation and learned to survive alone;

It took him three years to find the region where he had previously lived, only to discover that… the territory had been destroyed, and the country to which it belonged had also inexplicably perished in the Red Moon disaster.

It was utterly unexpected.

No one had anticipated that hundreds of territories would suddenly collapse.

Xie Yi wandered, traversing various parts of the Wilderness and crossing different Great Domains.

He survived alone, grew stronger alone.

He modified firearms, honed his body, and seized Opportunities.

He stepped into the Legendary Realm.

But he remained insignificant. He even witnessed and heard of city-level territories vanishing into dust under suddenly descending calamities.

Humans are too small.

Destruction is the predetermined outcome.

Over sixty years ago, didn’t a great nation spanning several Great Domains also suddenly disappear in a disaster?”But perhaps, miracles truly exist?”

Xie Yi patted his own head, “Damn it, why am I thinking so much? Just do it!”

…

On the Iceheart Lotus Platform, Laney sat upright.

Her posture was elegant and dignified, with neatly combed golden hair cascading like a waterfall down her back all the way to the ground.

At the center of her forehead, a white bud-shaped mark glowed, radiating a sacred purification power imperceptibly.

A pristine dome;

A ruined monastery;

Resonant hymns;

Shattered corpses;

Fragmented images flashed through her mind before sinking deep into her soul.

After a long moment, Laney opened her eyes, light swirling within them, too sacred to be profaned.

“I’ve awakened two advanced skills. Among them, Sacred Chorus is a joint spell that can unleash powerful effects when combined with others.”

“There’s another spell, or rather a Secret Method called ‘Blood Cleansing Art’—a rather strange skill.”

She pondered.

This Blood Cleansing Art was quite effective, capable of purging Filth—though only if it wasn’t deeply rooted—with effects similar to the Icy Purity Potion. However, the prerequisite for using Blood Cleansing Art was the blood of nuns.

The higher their rank and the purer their faith, the stronger the effects of Blood Cleansing Art would be.

But she could see at a glance that this Secret Method caused significant damage to the user. Using Blood Cleansing Art to remove Filth was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

Under what circumstances was such a Secret Method created?

She shook her head slightly.

Focusing her mind, Laney raised her palm, and a sacred mark slowly materialized in her hand, seemingly symbolizing the purest and most cleansing power.

「Purification Holy Seal」

「Description: Laney can condense a Holy Seal possessing the purest purification power and concept of purification, effective against all negative statuses, dark-type forces, including Filth. Simultaneously, the Holy Seal has strong sensing capabilities for dark-type forces, Filth, and other negative energies.」

At this moment, the Purification Holy Seal began blinking rapidly with a beeping sound.

After all, just outside the Lotus Platform structure, a massive Frost Dragon was radiating an ‘evil’ aura.

In the eyes of the Holy Seal, an undead dragon was undoubtedly evil.

(Sario: If it weren’t for guiding the newbie, who would come to a place filled with Holy Light like this!)

After some experimentation, Laney finally learned how to use the Purification Holy Seal initially. She turned off its detection of dark energy, and the seal finally stopped beeping and blinking.

Having completed her evolution, Laney stood up and left to avoid occupying the Iceheart Lotus Platform.

She returned to her daily workplace and living quarters—Tianyuan City First Hospital.

As usual, Laney made her rounds through the hospital, personally teaching some novice nuns how to utilize Holy Light power, before beginning her own cultivation.

She silently channeled her Holy Light power.

Particles of light element in the world danced around her like tiny sprites.

After her evolution, both the ‘Absolute Radiance Barrier’ and ‘Holy Light Walk’ abilities had shown significant improvement.

She extended her hand, milky white Holy Light swirling in her palm, within which a palm-sized Holy Seal appeared.When she held the Holy Seal, Laney could clearly feel that her sensitivity and command over light elemental particles had significantly increased by a level.

Clearly, the Holy Seal could also amplify her power.

It was like an Epic Treasure, perfectly suited to her, a life-bound treasure that could grow alongside her.

“There is still much power within the Holy Seal waiting for me to uncover.”

Suddenly, Laney’s expression froze, and the next moment she became grave, staring unblinkingly at the Holy Seal before her.

After a long while,

The Holy Seal suddenly flickered slightly.

“The Holy Seal flickered just now—that wasn’t an illusion; it’s giving a warning!”

Laney quickly checked and soon confirmed that what the Holy Seal detected was either dark-type power or Filth.

However, there should be no Crimson Mist drifting within the territory of Miracle Territory, and the hospital was located in the old city area of Tianyuan City, already in an inner district. How could Filth appear here?

Laney’s expression grew increasingly grave. She was no longer an ignorant young girl; as the person in charge of the hospital and the nun squad, she knew many secrets.

The appearance of Filth meant a major problem.

It might be a false alarm, but it absolutely could not be ignored. She would rather it be a false alarm.

Laney used the Mind Seed to directly contact her Lord and reported the situation.

“Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll have Isloria and Lu Liu take charge, and you assist them in finding the Filth target.”

Mu Yuan quickly thought of the Faceless One he had heard about in the Great Warzone.

Could it be the Faceless One?

It wasn’t necessarily so; the Monster Overlord’s methods of infiltration were far more varied than just the Faceless One.

If it were the Faceless One, it would indeed be somewhat troublesome. It was normal that the external sentries hadn’t detected it.

Even Rakshasa, who specialized in this area, could only find it quickly when he was clearly aware of the Faceless One’s presence.

“Regardless, we must take it seriously, but we can’t make a big fuss, at least not on the surface.”

“Besides, Tianyuan City should continue to operate as usual.”

He couldn’t lock down the entire city over something like this.

Moreover, today was the day when the Gem Grand Duke was scheduled to formally visit Tianyuan City. As the Lord, Mu Yuan would personally welcome the Gem Grand Duke. The suspected danger was left to Lu Liu and the others to handle. Mu Yuan believed they could manage it.

…

Flap, flap~!

A red-eyed Black Crow flapped its wings and landed. Its feathers elongated, and Black Feathers continuously drifted away, transforming into Sophia’s form in the blink of an eye.

“I only have this one permanent Incarnation left in the city, and for now, I haven’t observed anything unusual.”

Lu Liu said, “I’ve made a discovery here. I personally inquired with the security team and found that three people have already gone missing. The earliest one disappeared four days ago, but the security team always treated it as a minor matter and didn’t report it. This is my fault, and I will apologize to the Lord.”

Isloria’s projection appeared, “If people are missing, then there’s a 99% chance this isn’t an accident. It might be the Faceless One the Lord mentioned. If it is the Faceless One…”

She paused, “I’ve activated all inconspicuous detection methods and also had the Epic Mage Tower hover, but… if the enemy has perfect erosion and disguise abilities like the Faceless One, then even the Epic Mage Tower would find it difficult to detect.”

One-on-one, it would definitely be possible.However, identifying the infiltrators from within Tianyuan City, which already had tens of thousands of residents, was beyond their current capabilities.

“First, we need to narrow down the scope,” she said.

Laney took out the sacred seal, on which flickering light pulsed with a frequency higher than before.

…

The three of them quickly got to work.

Laney organized the nuns and continuously used the sacred seal for detection.

Isloria, based on the clues provided by Laney, gradually eliminated areas one by one.

Meanwhile, Lu Liu discreetly deployed elite troops from the defense corps to various checkpoints and summoned ten Fearless Warchiefs as a precaution.

Outside of these three, Tianyuan Experts like Seventeen, Xie Yi, and Xiliu also arrived in the main city district, fully prepared to intervene at any moment.

Around the same time, a carriage pulled by two silver pegasi slowly descended and entered the urban area of Tianyuan City.

The visitor was none other than the Gem Grand Duke.

The Gem Grand Duke was no stranger to Tianyuan City; his Legendary Realm subordinates had traveled back and forth several times, but this was his first personal visit to the city.

The land here was vast and desolate, with Tianyuan City standing alone across thousands of miles of territory.

Relying solely on its own strength, Tianyuan City had carved out a place for itself under the claws of the Monster Overlord.

“Judging by the scale of the city, Tianyuan is still a young territory. Perhaps it has only been established for a few years?” the Gem Grand Duke thought to himself, both astonished and vaguely recalling his own past.

In his youth, he too had been an ambitious lord, full of pioneering spirit.

The location where he established the Gem Territory was also at the edge of the civilized world, facing the Wilderness head-on.

It was precisely because of this that he achieved glorious military feats and rose rapidly through the ranks.

But now, he only sought stability. If given another opportunity to earn merits and advance—but one that required confronting the Monster Overlord directly—he would likely…

Decline.

Places like Tianyuan City, where the lord possessed countless resource-rich lands and his subordinates improved rapidly, also faced frequent disasters. A single misstep could lead to the destruction of the land and its people.

Progress was swift, but the fall could be just as rapid.

He was a man of status and position now. To take such risks again… it wasn’t that he didn’t dare, but it simply wasn’t worth it.

“What is happening over there?”

The Gem Grand Duke suddenly gazed into the distance.

His eyes easily traversed two blocks, keenly spotting a group of Tianyuan City elites gradually closing in.

“Just some scouts from the Monster Overlord,” Mu Yuan said.

Using his Lord’s perspective to overlook the scene, he could see more clearly.

Patrol teams and the defense corps had already blockaded the target area and were tightening the net step by step.

Lu Liu and Isloria followed Laney, moving forward as she swept the area with the hovering, flickering sacred seal.

A purifying white light showered down, falling upon hundreds of residents.

No abnormalities appeared on them; instead, their spirits seemed invigorated, and the fatigue and hidden injuries within their bodies seemed to vanish entirely. The people cheered the name of Saintess Laney, praising both the Saintess and the Lord.

However, Laney’s expression grew increasingly grave.

The sacred seal flickered more frequently now, beeping urgently as if warning of something.

When she directed the purifying power to shower down once more not far away, faint traces of black smoke suddenly emerged from an ordinary-looking man.

The black smoke was barely noticeable, but the sacred seal quickly detected this trace of Filth.

Extremely potent Filth!

It must be purified!A wisp of Purifying Holy Light burst forth from the sacred seal. Instantly, the man’s face and skin began to bulge and writhe, thick black smoke continuously billowing out, rising straight into the sky.

The surrounding residents fled in terror, scrambling and stumbling over themselves.

Amidst the hissing black smoke, a series of eerie “heh heh heh” laughter abruptly erupted.

A faceless existence stood beneath the Holy Light, enveloped in an aura of red and black energy.

“To think you could dispel my disguise… I shall take your power for myself!”

The Faceless One excelled at erosion and disguise, with frontal combat prowess inferior to others of the same tier.

Had his identity been exposed within the Taixuan Alliance’s warzone, he would have tactically retreated long ago. But here? This was merely a small provincial city—what did exposure matter?

Their stealth and survival abilities were first-rate.

He felt he could still put up a fight.

Causing chaos and leaving with flair—that was the kind of feat befitting one of the Faceless Ones.

Illusory faces materialized around him as the pressure of the Legendary Realm rapidly expanded.

The Gem Grand Duke’s expression tightened.

This was precisely why he hadn’t wanted to take risks!

A Legendary Realm infiltrator had already entered the city. In such a situation, even the slightest ripple of conflict could obliterate entire blocks.

Eliminating him would be like suffering three thousand losses to kill one thousand enemies.

What would the Tianyuan Lord do?

He turned to Tianyuan. The young lord merely watched calmly, his indifferent eyes regarding the scene as if it were already dead, utterly unperturbed.

(End of Chapter)