YM778.TV Chapter 99: Peculiar Stone Gate
The things depicted on those murals were utterly improbable for this era—metallic automatons with a mechanical beauty, massive contraptions manipulated by scores of people simultaneously...
How could they be here?
Enzo struggled to comprehend until Priest Lucy urgently called out, "Enzo!"
Hmph!~
Exhaling heavily, Enzo snapped back to reality.
He raised his head again.Though astonished by the mural\'s contents, he realized these entities might not be as he initially perceived.
Perplexed, Priest Lucy asked, "Enzo, do you understand the meaning of these murals?"
Enzo examined them closely and replied, "I have a rough idea. These murals depict a tribe that created colossal mechanical creations. With these, they constructed incredible structures—a tall tower, a gateway, and a ship."
As he finished, Enzo froze in realization suddenly.
A tall tower?
Could it be—
Enzo stared fixedly at the mural\'s depiction of the high tower. Despite erosion over time leaving many parts indistinct, the outline of the tower was clear—a striking resemblance to the High Tower in Space.
Therefore, this grotto must be connected to the high tower.
The high tower was a place of trial. But what, then, was this grotto?
Enzo ventured deeper into the grotto, conjuring a ball of totemic energy in his hand to serve as illumination.
The grotto wasn\'t too deep. After about a hundred steps, Enzo came upon a large door.
The door was tightly shut, covered in moss everywhere.
Priest Lucy caught up by then and remarked, "I tried many ways to open this door earlier, but back then, it wasn\'t covered in moss. It depicted a large group of supernatural beings, somewhat similar to the beast tide you mentioned. That\'s why I suggested you come here to see..."
Listening to Priest Lucy\'s account, Enzo reached out and cleared away the moss covering the stone door.
Just as his hand made contact with the door, the token gifted by the Spirit of the High Tower suddenly appeared and embedded itself into the stone. With a click-clack sound, the door slowly swung open.
The door pulled Enzo inside.
At the same time, Priest Lucy panicked.
The thought of Enzo being in danger because of her was unbearable.
Suddenly, Enzo emerged from the stone door again and said to Priest Lucy, "Priest Lucy, I may need to leave for a while. Please inform Amy and the others when you return. Also, if you encounter any decisions you can\'t make, you can contact me through the Scepter of the Barren Mountain. I\'ve left enough totemic energy in the scepter."
With that, Enzo stepped back into the stone door.
As he entered, the door closed behind him, causing the moss to shake loose.
Years later, seeing the patterns on the stone door again, Priest Lucy couldn\'t help but take a closer look. But one glance made her pale with shock.
She vividly remembered that previously, the patterns depicted supernatural beings.
Now, those supernatural beings were kneeling, worshiping a man seated on a throne woven from vines with twin wings sprouting from his back.
What could this mean?
Could that man be Enzo?
Uncertain, Priest Lucy recalled Enzo\'s assurances before entering the stone door. Enzo should be safe for now.
He was cautious and wouldn\'t take unnecessary risks.
This realization eased some of her worries.
Leaving the grotto, Priest Lucy returned to the Crimson Star Tribe and relayed Enzo\'s instructions to Amy and the others.
Amy and the rest felt a mix of helplessness and guilt at Enzo\'s brief return and swift departure.
Under Enzo\'s protection, they had perhaps grown too complacent.
Feeling this urgency, even Amy made time to train and strengthen herself.
Others, both fighters and ordinary tribe members, followed suit.
Besides tribe building in the harsh winter, there was little else they could do.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Douglas, tasked by Enzo to head to the Exile Organization\'s camp, felt a surge of confidence. Even the sorrow that had engulfed Christina and the others seemed to dissipate.
He was about to meet the leader of the Exile Organization.
What was his name again?
Ah, yes... Logan.
Douglas sat back in his chair, eyes narrowed, and said, "Mr. Logan, you\'ve seen the goods I brought. These items took countless efforts to collect. If it weren\'t for this damn snow, I wouldn\'t have chosen to come here. You\'re a man of insight, so I\'m sure you understand how those in the Gold Oak Tribe, and even the Golden Lion Tribe, would react to these. They\'d go mad, wouldn\'t they?"
Logan nodded in agreement, "Of course, I understand that."
After sayting, he glanced at Douglas and continued, "However, Mr. Douglas, I believe you may have misunderstood.At Qaidam Lake, the Exile organization is the most powerful. Only we can offer a sufficient price."
Douglas shook his head and said,"No, Logan, I think you misunderstand. I have no interest in those \'gold leaves\' or such."
This statement surprised Logan.
As the leader of the Exile Organization, he had encountered many individuals. Upon first seeing Douglas, he had expected to find greed for wealth in this traveling merchant\'s eyes.
Originally, Logan hadn\'t planned to meet Douglas in person.
However, the goods Douglas brought had indeed shocked him.
The slightly yellowed paper combined with the feather quill could record information so conveniently.
Then there were those glass products.
Not only thin and light but also transparent. If they could be used in large quantities for Potion production, they would be incredibly convenient.
But what shocked Logan the most was that these items had been manufactured recently.
This indicated that the place where paper and glass were made was not far from Qaidam Lake.
Where could it be?
Plata Plain, Caucasia Mountain, Rivaille Forest, or the jungle!
Finally, Logan\'s gaze settled on the jungle.
It was his intuition.
And he always trusted his instincts.
Douglas hadn\'t expected Logan to deduce the origin of these goods so quickly. Now, with his confidence bolstered, he said to Logan, "Leader of the Exile Organization, since you are sincerely interested in purchasing these goods, I will be frank. I am employed by a great entity who entrusted these goods to me. Moreover, this great entity controls vast wealth, for whom wealth is as abundant as the water in Qaidam Lake. Of course, this doesn\'t mean—"
Logan interrupted Douglas and asked, "What does this great entity need?"
Douglas felt a bit displeased. He hadn\'t yet showcased his remarkable eloquence.
However, realizing he had been somewhat verbose, he didn\'t continue with other matters and said, "The great entity needs knowledge, especially supernatural knowledge! As long as you can provide enough supernatural knowledge, all these goods can be yours."
"Supernatural knowledge?" Logan puzzled.
Once again, the situation exceeded his expectations.
If Douglas wasn\'t lying, then indeed there was a great entity in need of such knowledge. Would he still need to seek supernatural knowledge from other sources?
After all, greatness also implied profound knowledge.
The papers and glass items could attest to that.
Without sufficient knowledge, how could such miraculous items be created?
However, Douglas had clearly stated that the great entity required supernatural knowledge.
The contradictory statements left Logan pondering. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility—what if both needs coexisted? Perhaps the great entity sought current supernatural knowledge.
This realization changed Logan\'s expression.
Besides being the leader of the Exile Organization, Logan was also a Potion Master.
But beyond these identities, he had a more secretive role as an ancient scholar with the ability to peer into secrets. Activating this ability allowed him to uncover a hidden past associated with an item.
Of course, this ability came with significant limitations.
It required a considerable cost and carried the risk of encountering unknown dangers while delving into the item\'s hidden past.
Logan rarely utilized this ability of the ancient scholar to peer into secrets.
Logan reflected on Douglas\'s words as he recalled his rare use of his ability—once to uncover the complete process of Potion production from a slate containing Potion knowledge.
And another when he founded the Exile Organization.
During the latter, he attempted to glimpse into Qaidam Lake\'s past to find a suitable location for the organization\'s gathering place. Instead, he witnessed a horrifying sight: countless supernatural beings rushing out from the depths of Plata Plain, destroying everything in their path and slaughtering all humans around.
It was a terrifying catastrophe.
And he himself had nearly died, targeted by some unknown entity.
Although he managed to escape and halt his ability in time, he suffered severe injuries, requiring an extended recovery period during which he brewed Potions to heal.
This incident revealed to him that this vast area harbored ancient secrets unknown to humanity.
Lost in thought, Logan was interrupted by Douglas\'s impatient query, "Mr. Logan, have you made your decision? If not, I don\'t have time to waste."
Douglas sat up, clearly eager to leave.
Logan snapped back to the present, smiling, and said, "Mr. Douglas, I agree to the deal."