Age of Adepts

With the aid of a local, Greem’s conquest became a lot easier.

For the fire creatures that had lived here for millions of years, the Fifth Grade Greem was no different than a god of fire. No matter how they struggled or resisted, there was no way they could change the inevitable result.

Greem’s overwhelming power was the key that guaranteed the successful execution of his will!

Taking down Lasbes was like pushing down the first domino tile. He was able to snowball and conquer a sizeable territory within the region. However, the fire creatures did not have much ambition, much less the dreams to conquer the entirety of the Fire Elementium Plane.

A Fifth Grade Fire King like Groms, for instance, conquered a good territory and enslaved some of the nearby fire creatures to serve as slaves. That was enough. There was no need to spend too much time making all the fire lords submit to him.

The Fire Elementium Plane was a classic ultra-sized planar world. It was a dozen times the size of a large planar world like the World of Adepts.

The upper limit of power between the two worlds was also very far apart.

The World of Adepts could only contain individuals of Fourth Grade and below, while the limit of power in the Fire Elementium Plane was Seventh Grade. That meant one was very likely to run into fearsome Seventh Grade fire creatures within the Fire Elementium Plane.

Greem was little more than an ant before such powerful beings!

Still, as a Fifth Grade fire adept, Greem would not hold back when it came to himself. He picked carefully and chose a special place for his residence. It was a place called the Molten Altar.

It was said that the Molten Altar was once the passageway to the kingdom of a certain powerful Fire Hierarch. However, something happened that resulted in the death of this Fire Hierarch. The holy fire burning on the Molten Altar was extinguished along with him.

Even so, the holy power that lingered around the Molten Altar had yet to fully dissipate after millions of years. Everyone who worshipped flames did not dare to approach the Molten Altar.

As an outsider, Greem did not have the same fear and respect that was engraved in the soul consciousness of the fire creatures. After much pondering, it seemed like the Molten Altar was the only place on Groms’ map that matched Greem’s identity as a Fifth Grade.

Greem brought the Emberweb broodmother along with him. On the sixty-eighth day since his arrival, they reached the Molten Altar.

It was a silent and desolate land.

Even with Greem’s tremendous and pervasive Spirit, he could not sense any souls or life in this area.

It was almost as if the place had been cursed. Even the scorched and withered earth and the hot winds blowing dust into the air seemed to carry a mysterious weight.

The winds howled, the fires rumbled, and the ground itself seemed to be crying..

Emberwb Broodmother Lasbes immediately stopped walking upon arriving here. An expression of fear and respect appeared on her ugly face.

“Master, better not choose this place! I…I can smell the smell of grudge and death here. Even high-grade creatures like ourselves will be inflicted with something bad if we stay here too long,” Lasbes advised hesitantly.

Greem did not reply. He simply stood on the spot and assessed this land silently.

He could see stretches of mountains rising and falling in every direction from where he was. Black smoke rolled above the towering volcanoes, and the scarlet flash of the lava illuminated the skies, causing it to appear dark-red and black.

There was a relatively flat plain amid all the volcanoes. At the center of the plain was a crescent-shaped lava lake about ten kilometers long. The Molten Altar was located within the crook of the curved lake.

The altar was unusually large and majestic, surrounded by giant hundred-meter-tall stone pillars. At the center of the structure was a four-tiered stone altar. A strange stone platform sat at the very top.

Due to its age, the altar was exceedingly old and was falling apart.

The stone carvings and decorations on the altar were crumbling. Even most of the stone pillars had collapsed entirely, leaving behind only foundations measuring two to three meters in height.

For some reason, strange images flashed through Greem’s mind when he saw the ancient ruins before him.

The entire sky and earth were crimson. A thousand-meter-tall portal of light stood at the center of the plain. The Molten Altar burned with a glassy, purple fire in front of that portal.

Fire creatures from all over crowded the plain. They were of different species and grades, but they had the same fervor on their faces. They prayed zealously near the purple fire on the altar, guided by numerous fire priests.

Every so often, a strong light would erupt from the purple fire, casting a purple glow on one of the believers.

Whenever the purple glow appeared, the crowd would erupt into thunderous cheering. The prayers of the believers would grow louder and louder. Everyone watched enviously as the believer clad in purple light slowly walked up the altar and vanished through the portal.

Every time this happened, the atmosphere would rise even further and closer to the point of total ignition.

All the believers became even more zealous and fervent, hoping that they would become the next one to be chosen.

Passing through the portal…entering the kingdom of the god…merging completely with the origin fire.

For some reason, this mysteriously intense wish infected Greem’s mental consciousness as well. Even he wanted to kneel down and pray before the Molten Altar.

[Beep. Detecting the intrusion of a mysterious foreign will. Please stay alert.

[Beep. Detecting that Host has been enchanted. Principle defenses are activating now.]

The next second, the two principle lights shrouding Greem’s body clashed and sent sparks into the air. A golden barrier instantly engulfed his hundred-meter-tall body.

With the golden barrier protecting him, the unknown emotion that had reached across time was abruptly dispelled.

Greem shivered. When he came to his senses, the vision before him had faded. The land returned to its former desolate appearance.

“Chip, what’s going on? What happened to me just now?” Greem asked solemnly.

[Beep. Detecting an unusual Spirit fluctuation forcefield in the region. Initial estimates suggest this is some sort of spacetime rewind to the ancient times. Suggesting that Host increase mental defenses!]

Spirit fluctuation forcefield?

Spacetime rewind?

Greem thought to himself. He couldn’t help but become more curious about the Molten Altar standing at the edge of his sight.

Judging from his vision earlier, a powerful fire creature resembling a god had appeared in the Fire Elementium Plane millions of years ago. He had forged a powerful god kingdom of fire and left the Molten Altar here as a passageway to the kingdom for selected believers.

A god of the Fire Elementium Plane.

If such an individual did exist, they would be thousands of times stronger than the World of Gods’ fire gods. The reason for it was simple. The number of believers and zealots was not even on the same level.

Most gods from the World of Gods were reliant on a single material plane. However, no matter the number of intelligent creatures there, it could not possibly compare to an elementium plane. Moreover, elementium creatures were beings with simplistic thoughts and few demands. They were not like intelligent lifeforms of other worlds, with complex thoughts and unending greed.

If a fire god did appear in the Fire Elementium Plane, he could have as many zealots as he desired. That was a far better scenario than fighting for believers in the various material worlds.

However, according to Greem’s understanding, the most powerful individuals in the Fire Elementium Plane were no more than Eighth Grade Fire Hierarchs. He had never heard of a fire god from this world whose power lay in faith.

It seemed like it was impossible for a true Elementium Ruler to be born among the elementium creatures!

It was said that this too had something to do with the Titans.

Greem had come across conjectures by other adepts when reading ancient records found in Zhentarim. These conjectures proposed that the four elementium planes were where the fundamental particles of the multiverse were most plentiful, as well as the source of all supernatural powers in the material worlds.

To avoid an excessively powerful individual rising from within the four major elementium planes and cutting off elementium supply to the material worlds, the Titans would patrol the elementium worlds every so often. They would exterminate any powerful individual who had a chance of becoming an Elementium Ruler.

Despite the countless elementium beings and vast lands of the four major elementium worlds, the most powerful individuals were only Eighth Grade Elementium Hierarchs. Ninth Grade Elementium Rulers had never been born.

This was the fundamental reason behind the shadows!

That meant the fallen Fire Hierarch here must have been a peak Eighth Grade existence. He must have been too powerful and was attacked by the Titans. His god kingdom then fell apart, and his altar was destroyed.

Even after millions of years, this Molten Altar retained a portion of its strange powers from ancient times. It could drag people into a sort of spiritual illusion that provided glimpses into ancient secrets.

Greem had managed to break free of the illusion earlier. What would have happened if he didn’t manage to do so?

Greem hesitated for a moment and asked gravely, “Lasbes, what have you heard of this Molten Altar? Are there any taboos here?”

Emberweb Broodmother Lasbes crouched behind Greem. She looked at the altar in the distance fearfully as she said in a trembling voice, “No native creature of the Fire Elementium Plane would ever approach the Molten Altar of their own accord. Rather, it’s the outsiders that always seem to be attracted by the altar. They are always drawn in somehow.”

“Do outsiders often go missing here?”

“Yes! Many outsiders disappear after they get close to the altar. No one knows where they go. However, the more reliable sources say,” At this, Lasbes couldn’t help but lower her voice, “Their souls were taken away by the dead Fire Hierarch to be used as energy for a revival. As for the truth of these rumors, I have no idea!”

A Fire Hierarch plotting a revival…that was shockingly major news!

Greem couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.