Pillar of Yita

The Carry House on the other side of the Fore Saddle Bridge was semi-open, serving as the Beast Tamers’ position and lookout point. It was also equipped with parapets and shields, as well as a kind of lookout basket similar to those on mastheads. According to Tianlan, the original plan was to dismantle it once Luo Yu had learned to control the Clockwork Fairy, but it ended up staying until now.

Fang Hong saw Gita sitting in the Carry House, engrossed in reading a geographic treatise of the Cloud Sea Region, with a large pile of Aquen’s map scrolls at her feet. The little girl was so focused that she didn’t notice Fang Hong walking onto the platform until he was quite close, at which point she looked up with a flushed face and greeted him.

Fang Hong didn’t disturb her, simply nodded his head, and continued across the suspension bridge. At the rear platform, he stood outside the ladies’ Carry House and knocked on the door, ”Miss Atira, I’ve thought of something—”

Before he could finish speaking, the door opened as it was only latched.

Inside the ladies’ room, there were no miscellaneous items, and it appeared rather spacious. There was a simple bed against the wall, which actually had storage cabinets underneath. There were also some fixed cabinets, a bookshelf with a railing on the wall filled with voluminous books, a wooden barrel stuffed with various scrolls in the corner, and there was an Astrolabe—these must all belong to the Scholar of Natural History.

Fang Hong just happened to see Atira sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a brooch and daydreaming.

The Elf Girl turned her head at the sound, and seeing him, she was slightly taken aback. Fang Hong stood awkwardly at the entrance, feeling guilty as if he had trespassed, but thankfully he did not witness any embarrassing scene.

But indeed, those novels were all deceiving.

With this thought, he couldn’t help feeling a faint sense of disappointment—of course, just a tiny bit indeed.

”What is it, Ade?” Atira asked straightforwardly.

”Uh, that brooch...” Fang Hong looked at the brooch in the Elf Girl’s hand, naturally thinking that she must have noticed something amiss. He suddenly felt like someone who thought he’d discovered a significant clue only to realize that he’s actually from Mars.

Atira looked at him curiously.

With no other choice, Fang Hong recounted Miss Fairy’s analysis. Atira listened quietly, then walked over, her green eyes landing on him.

Finally, Fang Hong added, ”Miss Atira, you should still remember what Mr. Mazak said, right? That brooch may have been left by followers of Nikopolas, namely Believers of the Dragon Worship Sect—”

”Do Believers of the Dragon Worship Sect have the power to take away someone’s Starlight?” Atira asked, holding the brooch.

Fang Hong was momentarily stunned, as he had never considered this question.

Can someone take away another’s Starlight? Of course not, otherwise the world would be in utter chaos. However, the number of Starlights is indeed not fixed, he thought, recalling that in the Second World there are many treasures that can increase a person’s total Starlight. And these items were also the core contention among top-tier Chosen.

Fang Hong suddenly paused, remembering that in the First World there might also be such things—Elf Holy Grail, the ’Eternal Life, Endless Wisdom’ sung in ballads, isn’t it the typical feature of a Life Treasure? This Elven treasure should also have the power to permanently restore a person’s Life Force, that is, the ability to increase the number of Starlights.

”Starlight, Elf Holy Grail, Spire—right, and didn’t Atira’s brother also come to Elpaxin in search of the Elf Holy Grail?” he suddenly thought, sensing some connections, and couldn’t help asking, ”Miss Atira, where did the rumors about the Elf Holy Grail and the seven Obelisks first start circulating from?”

”It seems to be from Gula Port,” Atira replied softly, ”the place closest to the Abyssal Sea; the first Spire also emerged from within the Abyssal Sea there.”

The Abyssal Sea—that’s the place below the Eteliria Continent known as the deep sea of the Abyss. Whether in the First World or the Second World, records about the Abyssal Sea were only fragmented—some say there is a vast ocean below, while others say it’s blistering with fire, with magma flowing.

There’s also a shattered world below, the perished Aithelin.

However, due to the existence of the Turbulent Layer, the places where one could descend from the Cloud Sea to the Abyssal Sea layer were indeed few. The Abyss of the Sky near Gula Port was said to lead directly to the Abyssal Sea below, but few people have truly been there.

But after hearing this, Fang Hong frowned, ”…but isn’t the area near Gula Port the Dragon Worship Sect’s active region?”

Atira thought for a moment, realizing what Fang Hong was implying, ”You suspect that the Obelisk rumors were spread by Believers of the Dragon Worship Sect?”

Fang Hong nodded.

But he couldn’t help sighing, looking a bit dejected. ”However, the clues we have now don’t quite match up. It would be great if someone from that Adventure Group had survived.”

”I’ve thought the same, but those who went on the first adventure with Kid have all perished in the Traveler’s Swamp,” Atira said, remarkably calm—or perhaps she had come to accept this fact and merely needed the truth—”The bodies of others haven’t been found, but they are also missing, and the chances are slim.”

Fang Hong suddenly thought of something and asked, ”What about the initiator behind that Adventure Group? Even if the initiator died, there should at least be a sponsor, right? Who was the sponsor?”

Atira was also taken aback.

She looked up at Fang Hong with a gleam of joyful light in her eyes.

They had spent some time in Elpaxin, helping Gita and the others complete their tasks, and had also been gathering clues from various sources. Eventually, they made contact with the chairman of the Black Goat Commerce Association. After completing his request, they didn’t expect to end up with nothing more than a ’silent’ brooch.

The believers of the Dragon Worship Sect refer to worshippers of evil dragons spread across the entire First World; their internal structure is far more complex than just the followers of Nikopolas, with many factions within.

And even within the Cloud Sea Region, to find these people is like a wild goose chase. After all, evil dragon worshippers are secretive believers who shouldn’t see the light of day, often having a different identity in everyday life.

For various reasons, this brooch was as useful as it was useless to them.

Maybe because of the tangled leads, and with a heart in turmoil, the Elf Girl had never considered approaching the problem from another angle.

That angle was—how exactly was this Adventure Group formed? Why had her brother traveled such a long distance from home to join such a peculiar Adventure Group? Who was the creator? Who was the backer? Why did rumors about the Elf Holy Grail spread overnight from Gula Port?

Everything was filled with puzzles.

And behind puzzles, often lie the truth and the answers.

Atira, for a moment, felt like she was about to see the light through the clouds. With this thought in mind, she carefully observed the young man, her eyes filled with tenderness: ”Thank you, Ade, for always thinking about these things for me.”

Fang Hong smiled a bit, too embarrassed to say that Miss Fairy had also contributed, so he just acted as if he had taken all the credits. Scratching his head, he said, ”Actually, I think Mr. Mazak might know something, but sadly he didn’t tell us, and I guess he wouldn’t answer if we asked—”

”It’s okay, everyone has their own secrets, and even Goddess Ameya doesn’t ask people to give selflessly,” the Elf Girl replied with understanding: ”Help is mutual; we have no right to demand anything of others, but we can find our own way.”

Fang Hong nodded.

He, of course, knew that way; an Adventure Group would surely have left its records somewhere.

And that place was Golande’s Adventurer’s Hall—

But then he felt something oddly coincidental. By doing so, it seemed Atira and Parker, along with him, had the same destination in mind. He was also headed to Golande to inherit the name Morning Dawn Star.

As Fang Hong was pondering this, he suddenly heard someone calling his and Atira’s names from afar.

Turning around, from the platform, he could just make out two figures to the left front of the giant beast, with Tianlan and Luo Yu running back from the Forest. The French girl cupped her hands to her mouth, shouting toward the two, ”Sister Atira, Brother Ade, come quick, the Rock Shark has appeared!”

Only then did Fang Hong remember there was still this matter to deal with.

Indeed, the whole world over, making money is paramount.

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