Chapter 598
It seemed to have instinctively stopped, yet it had no idea why it did so.
Xia Er slowly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Sadana.
Now, she was almost certain that the woman before her, named Sadana, was indeed the real Sadana... otherwise, the Anworm wouldn’t be so intent on protecting her.
With deep brown, slightly wavy hair that fell to her shoulders, and gray-brown eyes, Sadana had faint freckles on her cheeks that hadn’t yet faded, giving her the appearance of someone around nineteen years old.
But no matter how she looked at it, the person who was now cowering behind Leimeides, still bearing the marks of fear, didn’t seem like the kind of terrifying otherworldly being capable of injuring an Anworm or inflicting serious damage with just a glance.
She didn’t resemble herself at all...
Many otherworldly beings, even the Anworm, had mistaken her for Sadana in the past...
Xia Er couldn’t fathom what resemblance this woman bore to her.
But soon, a faint spiritual alarm began to ring in her mind, and the buzzing intensified.
“Looks like we have a visitor...” Leimeides slowly retracted her smile, her expression shifting as she looked toward the door.
The Anworm quickly concealed its presence, retreating into Leimeides’ shadow, while Xia Er, after casting one last glance at Sadana, turned her attention to the entrance of the inn.
The earlier commotion seemed to have attracted something’s attention.
A “living corpse” stood at the door, her skin swollen as if it had been soaked in water, yet her body, neck, and even eye sockets were pierced by black spikes the thickness of fingers, inscribed with runes.
These black spikes emitted a faint glow from within her body, and chains connected them, swaying gently like a veil of iron locks draped over her face.
She wore a complex robe made of layered black fabric, with inscriptions shimmering in a dark green hue.
Rustle—
The figure slowly lowered her head.
“Miss Leimeides,” her voice, as if punctured by iron rods, rasped, “Lord Death’s Omen requests your presence.”
“No need to go,” Leimeides replied with a grin, “We’re just about to leave.”
“The celebration starts in two days. If you can’t make it in time, you can come tomorrow... Lord Death’s Omen invites you to join,” the woman, pierced by the dense iron rods, spoke slowly, “A sincere invitation.”
After a brief silence, Leimeides sighed and said, “I knew it...”
“Alright, alright, I’ll attend. No need to rush me,” Leimeides waved her hand dismissively.
After receiving Leimeides’ verbal promise, the chained woman bowed slowly, seemingly in gratitude, before turning to leave.
As she turned, Xia Er noticed that her back was also pierced by even longer iron rods, the chains trailing down and swaying gently, resembling wings made of iron.
“Such a nuisance...” Leimeides shook her head and said, “Looks like we’ll have to stay for another two days... Come on, let’s sort out your matters first.”
Leimeides turned to Xia Er and asked, “Why did you want to kill her?”
Xia Er’s earlier attack had been decisive and ruthless, aiming straight for Sadana’s head. Even Leimeides had almost failed to react, thinking it was the thing hiding in her shadow that had acted.
The creature in the shadow, which the red-haired girl had referred to as the Anworm, had a high affinity with her... and her instincts told her that the Anworm could be trusted.
But the girl before her... Leimeides found somewhat inscrutable.
She claimed to come from the Abyss, yet very few had survived from the Abyss throughout history. Aside from a few scrolls of “historical records” written in Abyssal script, there was hardly any documentation left.
Moreover, those so-called “historical records,” once translated by those with general knowledge, appeared to Leimeides and her companions as nothing more than a very ordinary rural narrative, lacking any literary flair.
In fact, the entire text merely chronicled the events of a single village.
However, the subsequent records did pique some interest... speaking of a witch’s descent, splitting the heavens and the earth, and opening a path for the Abyss...
Leimeides wanted to take Xia Er back to the tower for research... oh no, not research, just to chat more, but it seemed that without attending the celebration, that fellow named Death’s Omen wouldn’t let them leave.
Silver light flickered.
The deadly Blood Roland in Xia Er’s hand vanished, and she looked at Leimeides, slowly revealing a smile: “I mistook her for someone else.”
There was still plenty of time; the next time Xia Er made a calculated move, the Anworm could withstand her attack, but it would never anticipate Xia Er’s surprise strike.
As she spoke, Xia Er glanced up at Sadana, smiling and nodding at her, as if she had truly just made a mistake.
Of course, Leimeides wouldn’t buy that; anyone could see that Xia Er was hiding something.
“So it was a case of mistaken identity...” Sadana wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, letting out a sigh of relief, “You scared me.”
“Looks like we both have quite a few questions for each other,” Leimeides picked up her fork again and said, “Let’s save those for after the celebration.”
“Who is Death’s Omen? Why did he invite you?” Xia Er asked Leimeides, “To the point of offering an early invitation?”
Xia Er had indeed heard from Salas that her brother was going to the coming-of-age ceremony, but the celebration didn’t seem to be the same as the coming-of-age ceremony.
“Because he’s reaching his limit,” Leimeides wiped the juice from the corner of her mouth with a napkin and explained, “His followers have sensed that his limits are near; he needs someone from the tower to vouch for him, even if it’s just a student.”
Reaching his limit?
Who was she referring to? Death’s Omen? The god of death that Salas spoke of?
The messenger who had come to deliver the notice was at least a fourth-tier transcendent, so Death’s Omen’s power must be at least that of a transcendent being or higher...
Needing someone from the tower to vouch for him... was the tower an entity recognized by those transcendent beings? Could even a student’s endorsement lend more credibility to a being referred to as a “god”?
What was the tower, anyway? It sounded like an academy.
“What is the tower?” After finally finding someone who seemed to know a lot about the old ecology, Xia Er couldn’t help but ask.
Leimeides didn’t seem annoyed by Xia Er’s question; it was a topic worth discussing... in fact, it was common knowledge.
“The tower is an academic center established by a group of madmen, though its development has somewhat exceeded the founders’ expectations.”
Leimeides explained, “We, along with the sages, deconstruct the Tavir seeds, attempting to acquire that power for ourselves—without the need for faith.”
“As for the Tavir seeds, you should know what they are... if you really come from the Abyss, the Abyss possesses a Tavir seed.”
At this point, Leimeides paused slightly, as if waiting for Xia Er’s response.
“(Abyssal language) ‘Cocoon of Light’,” Xia Er replied.
“Correct.” Leimeides nodded, clearly surprised that Xia Er could provide the right answer, and seemed to accept her claim of coming from the Abyss a bit more.
The “Cocoon of Light” was evidently a more powerful existence than “Uniqueness.”
“Uniqueness” seemed more like a fragment of a “Tavir seed” such as the “Cocoon of Light.”
“Why is it called a ‘Tavir seed’?” Xia Er asked curiously.
“Tavir is the founder of the tower; it’s named after him.” Leimeides shook her head and said, “You can call it ‘source material’ or ‘sacred remains’; different places have different names for it.”
Just like in the otherworld, there was no unified naming for the complete form of uniqueness in the old days.
“I haven’t finished my food yet... I’ll give you one last chance to ask a question,” Leimeides looked at her plate and sighed, “The bugs are about to drown in the soup.”
“Go ahead and eat,” Xia Er suppressed her curiosity.
Xia Er had too many questions swirling in her mind; clearly, one question wouldn’t suffice to cover them all. She wanted to wait until Leimeides finished eating to continue.
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Chapter 307: A Glimpse of Death’s Omen (8133 words)
After Xia Er refrained from asking further questions, the atmosphere in the inn’s dining room became somewhat tense.
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