Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level?-Chapter 160[Vol. 6] - The Gathering Shadows
[Vol. 6] Chapter 160: The Gathering Shadows
Violet was someone who valued “science.”
For any seemingly inexplicable phenomena or events that defied common sense, she firmly believed there had to be a logical explanation at their core. She would go to great lengths to uncover that explanation.
This time was no different.
In such an unfamiliar environment, Violet wasn’t about to relinquish her awareness and blindly trust in vague, eerie tales of mysterious rules.
While she did close her eyes, her SP took over, continually monitoring everything around her.
The sound of waves grew increasingly vivid in her ears. However, in reality, she and her companions were still walking hand in hand through the dense mist covering the hills. There were no spatial portals, dimensional rifts, or anything of the sort suddenly appearing to pull them into another realm.
Until the moment the sound felt so close it seemed the crashing waves might reach out and touch them. Spraying against their bodies and soaking their clothes.
As she stepped forward once more and her foot landed again…
She had crossed into another world.
“Ah…”
In that instant, Violet suddenly understood.
The truth of this place, the [Endless Wasteland Sea], became clear to her.
It was astonishing…
Such a masterfully crafted use of divine power.
Violet couldn’t be certain if this was truly the [Endless Wasteland Sea], but the place where her feet now stood was undeniably part of a “divine realm”, left behind by some deity.
A fragment of a god’s domain, much like the sacred sanctuary left to Tiyelu by the Demon God Olivia. This place carried profound power unique to a realm that transcended the mortal world.
It wasn’t [Magic] that permeated this space but something else entirely, [Cycles].
A law that felt abstract yet rigid, rejecting anything that didn’t belong. [Cycles] was the first and most fitting word Violet could think of to describe this profound and peculiar force.
The precision with which this divine realm had been segmented and designed far surpassed anything Violet had encountered, even within the “Illusionary Realm” of the “Ten Thousand Demons Mountains”. It was so intricate that, despite wielding power of a similar level, she had only just now grasped the ingenuity behind it.
The deity who created this realm seemed to have programmed it with logic akin to a complex system. The divine domain would only manifest in the physical world and pull outsiders into it when specific conditions were met. It was as if the divine realm descended, overlapping with the mortal plane before separating again.
This was pure “law”, needing no spatial magic or other external means to operate.
Had it not been for the fleeting disturbance she sensed earlier, reminiscent of the moment she summoned a divine realm herself, Violet might never have unraveled this truth.
“……”
Gently releasing the hands of the two girls beside her, Violet opened her eyes to take in the surrounding scenery.
It was the *sea*, and yet it was not.
The sound of “huala, huala” evoked images of crashing waves, but upon stepping into this place, Violet realized the sound wasn’t caused by seawater striking the shore. Instead, it came from countless flowers swaying in the wind, their petals brushing against each other.
A *sea of flowers*.
Bright red blooms, as vivid and captivating as blood, stretched endlessly to the horizon. The dim sky above was devoid of sun or moon, resembling an eternal twilight. A timeless, ancient breeze carried whispers across the floral expanse.
“Upon the threshold of the underworld, at the edge of the ‘Three Path’… flowers bloom like blood, the horizon boundless…”
The familiar sound of soft chanting came from nearby. A middle-aged man dressed in white stood amidst the crimson sea of flowers, smiling faintly.
“Welcome, all of you, to the [Endless Wasteland Sea].”
…………………………
Meanwhile, back in Xinchuan County, in the [Wangxi Basin], several mysterious figures had gathered silently, surveying their surroundings.
Some concealed their bodies beneath hoods and cloaks, while others made no effort to hide their forms. Scales, fur, or other distinctly non-human features were exposed, their shapes and sizes wildly varied. Their appearances defied conventional description, making them seem even more otherworldly and alien.
The monsters’ terrifying gazes roamed and swirled across the depths of the basin as if searching for something, but they found nothing.
After a long silence, one of them spoke in a rough, unrefined version of the [Ancient Spirit Realm]’s common language.
“Did you all… also receive the signal from [Nameless]?”
The group nodded in unison, each expressing their agreement in their own peculiar way. Another creature followed up immediately.
“The situation here is very different from what she described. We might have been deceived.”
The gathered figures broke into a flurry of murmurs.
“[Nameless] doesn’t lie. Perhaps something happened later that forced her to change her plans,” one suggested.
“Ha! So that wretch has been hiding here all along! No wonder we couldn’t find her. That clue we finally managed to get, suddenly disappeared, leaving us waiting for so long. How infuriating!”
“No, no, [Headless], you’re mistaken,” another retorted. “From what we see now, it’s clear that [Nameless] was ambushed by a powerful enemy and forcibly sealed here. It’s only recently that she’s been able to send out her signal for us to come and rescue her.”
“Oh? Who could wield such power?”
“Isn’t it obvious? To suppress [Nameless] so silently, it could only have been the [Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden] herself.”
“…”
At the mention of that name, the monsters instantly fell silent. Their varied expressions betrayed a mix of emotions, unease, dread, and perhaps even resentment, toward the one the name represented.
After a moment, one finally spoke again.
“There’s no need to worry. The [Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden] hasn’t appeared for a thousand years. She’s likely already dead, defeated by the benefactor we all serve. Now that the Great Era is upon us again, the influence of her broken island and its constraints over the [Ancient Spirit Realm]’s factions has significantly weakened. I believe that’s why Nameless has finally been able to break free.”
“Even so, where is she? She promised to regroup here, wait for us, and help her fully escape so we could work together on our greater plans. But now there’s not even a shadow of her presence!”
“Don’t be impatient. I can sense traces of some lingering power here… Ah, there it is. This way.”
A figure completely shrouded in a black cloak silently opened and closed its eyes, then moved toward a section of the mountain wall nearby. With a flick of the short staff in its hand across the rocky surface, large chunks of stone crumbled and fell away, revealing a narrow, meter-wide opening. From within the exposed rock, a faint golden light shimmered like a translucent barrier.
The golden screen blocked the entrance. It appeared to be only half an inch thick, with no visible patterns or bright radiance. It resembled an ordinary golden eggshell, fragile enough to break at the slightest impact.
“Hmm… This should be the sealed location [Nameless] mentioned,” the cloaked figure murmured. “But what is this golden light? She didn’t mention anything like this before, did she?”
As all eyes focused on the golden barrier, trying to study it further, a soft noise interrupted their thoughts.
“This might be the reason why the plan encountered unexpected changes. I’m not skilled at breaking barriers. This is your department.”
“Ha! Everyone, stand back!”
A towering, headless creature stepped forward, its body covered in bristling coarse hair, muscles bulging grotesquely, and standing over three meters tall. In place of a head, its abdomen housed a massive, gaping maw lined with jagged teeth.
“Just a flimsy eggshell? My favorite thing to break! Watch me smash it to pieces in one go!”
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It raised its enormous iron fist, nearly the size of a child’s head. As its right arm’s muscles swelled explosively, the sheer force of its strike began to ripple outward. Even before the punch landed, the air roared with a hurricane-like pressure, and the monsters behind it had their robes whipped wildly by the wind.
“WOOOOSH!”
The sky above darkened almost instantly as thick clouds gathered, lightning flashing and thunder roaring in response to the tremendous power being unleashed.
Without a doubt, this display of strength had transcended mortal limits and touched upon the very edges of “laws” themselves.
Using the Origin Realm classification of the realms of power, this creature’s strength was clearly at least at the Transcendent level. A force of this caliber could dominate an entire region, requiring the combined might of a nation to challenge it.
If such an earth-shattering punch were to strike, it wouldn’t just obliterate the seemingly fragile barrier. It would likely shatter the entire basin and surrounding mountain range in a single blow.
