Death… And Me

Chapter 4499: Wait

The incoming cultivators weren’t flying, but judging by their speed, Rean was certain they were already Zone Gods. We couldn’t forget that flying in both the Zone God and even the Law God Realm was extremely taxing, so most cultivators would rather move through the ground whenever possible. Unless there was some specific reason to fly, walking or using other methods of transportation was simply more efficient.

One thing that must be mentioned was the fact that this City Prison of Woster didn’t seem to be particularly well-developed. Even after all these years, the twins’ group and the others hadn’t seen a single airplane passing by the Ashen Hills. Considering how common airplanes were in Besgol, the difference was quite striking.

That didn’t mean there weren’t any, though. During the few visits Roan made to the outskirts of Dlaval City, he had seen one or another. It was just that compared to the constant flow of airplanes he had seen in Besgol, you might as well say there were none here. He could count on a single hand the number of airplanes he had seen during those visits, despite spending quite some time observing the city.

That said, the chances of seeing a cultivator or a group of them using an airplane were extremely low. Roan believed that anyone who possessed an airplane most likely held a very high status in Dlaval. After all, if airplanes were already uncommon in a place with thousands of Law Gods, possessing one was likely enough to distinguish someone from the ordinary cultivators.

—

The incoming group had three members, and as they got closer to the giant sphere of red-golden flames, they noticed Rean floating in the air in front of it, looking in their direction.

Flying was a mark of a Zone God at the very least, so they didn’t simply underestimate him. In fact, the three immediately became more cautious when they saw him. They had no idea what was happening in front of them, and the fact that another cultivator could remain so close to the flames without any obvious difficulty was already enough to make them wary.

Finally, they stopped a few tens of meters away from Rean. The leader glanced past him toward the massive sphere before asking, ”Are you responsible for this?”

”Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves first?” Rean asked with a smile. ”I can see these friends are humanoid cultivators, and so am I. I’m Rean, by the way.”

The leader didn’t seem particularly interested in exchanging pleasantries. But he still spoke for the group. ”Fariu-Gu, and the two behind me are Cloki-Hu and Palaka-Tian. Now, let’s not waste each other’s time. Are you responsible for this or not?”

Rean smiled in response before slowly landing on the ground. ”That would be me indeed. If these friends don’t mind, could you leave me alone? I’m in the middle of an experiment.”

The leader of the group narrowed his eyes before snorting. ”Hmph! If that were truly the case, why would you do it here, where others could notice the phenomenon? What are you trying to hide? It must be something quite good if you’re standing between us and that thing.”

”Sigh...” Rean nodded as if he had expected that reaction. ”Very well. It isn’t an experiment, but more of a mistake. I should have seen it coming, but now the only thing I can do is wait. Oh well, if you wish to go in and take a look, by all means, be my guest.”

Then, Rean stepped aside while putting his hands behind his back. There wasn’t even a hint of concern on his face.

Fariu-Gu had to admit he hadn’t expected Rean to relent that easily. He glanced at Rean for a moment before saying, ”That’s quite compliant of you.”

Rean shrugged. ”There are three of you with only one of me here. What exactly do you expect me to do against the three of you at once? I’m not crazy.”

Fariu kept his eyes on Rean for another moment. Rean’s attitude was strange, but there was nothing obviously wrong with what he said. If Rean truly was alone, resisting three Zone Gods at once would indeed be foolish. More importantly, the strange flames behind him were clearly the main source of the phenomenon, and Rean didn’t seem to be particularly concerned about letting them approach.

Fariu finally spoke to his two companions. ”You two, go ahead and see if you can find out what’s happening inside.”

”Understood!”

Cloki and Palaka immediately walked past Fariu. However...

*Tsss...*

Before they even got as close to the flames as Rean was, their skin began to burn. The temperature ahead was simply too extreme. They had barely advanced before the heat became unbearable, and soon after, parts of their clothes and skin caught on fire.

Red-golden fire!

*Argh!*

The two immediately retreated while desperately using their Godly Energy to extinguish the flames. Even after they managed to put them out, both of them were left looking terrified at the giant sphere of flames. They had only approached it for a brief moment, yet they had already suffered injuries.

Rean saw all of that without finding it particularly surprising. ”Is something the matter? Seems like these two friends can’t get too close. What about you, friend Fariu?”

Fariu wasn’t an idiot. His companions weren’t much weaker than him, and if they couldn’t get that far, he definitely wouldn’t be able to do much better either. If anything, he was shocked to see Rean standing so close to the flames in the first place. The distance between Rean and the sphere was something neither Cloki nor Palaka had been able to reach.

”He tried to lure us to our deaths!” Cloki said, a murderous expression appearing on his face.

”Shut up!” Fariu shouted back. ”Are you an idiot? If he wanted to get you killed, he wouldn’t have let you retreat that easily.”

Cloki’s expression stiffened, but he didn’t argue further. Fariu was right. Rean hadn’t done anything to stop them from retreating, nor had he shown any hostility toward them. If anything, he had simply watched them approach.

Fariu then turned back to Rean. ”Still, I’m surprised this friend can stay so close to those flames. Are you perhaps... a new Law God?”

Rean almost burst into laughter.

Law God?

Him?

He wasn’t even a Zone God yet!

Of course, Rean wasn’t going to correct Fariu. Instead, he merely smiled. ”What do you think?”

Fariu’s expression became slightly more serious. He had expected some sort of answer, but Rean’s response gave him nothing. The more he observed the situation, the more uncertain he became.

The reason Rean could stay much closer to the flames was actually pretty simple. Rean was the epitome of Yang Energy, while the fox was basically pure Yang with her flames. Her Red-Golden Flames were naturally not as dangerous to him as they would be to others.

Besides, Rean had been with the fox for a very long time and had seen her fight with those flames for just as long. He had already lost count of how many times she had returned to him while still covered in her flames. Over the years, he had become extremely familiar with them and had gradually become much better at understanding and resisting their effects.

Fariu still wasn’t certain about Rean’s cultivation. Then again, he was aware that there were thousands of Law Gods in Dlaval. It was simply impossible for him to know every single one of them, especially if Rean was a new one. Fariu himself was a Late Stage Zone God, and since he couldn’t get anywhere near the flames like Rean, he was pretty sure Rean at least had a higher cultivation than himself.

One thing was certain: even if there were thousands of Law Gods, each of them was still a powerhouse in their own right. It wasn’t as if Law Gods were common enough that Fariu could simply ignore one. That was precisely why he didn’t want to retreat. He had never seen those flames before, and the fact that Rean wasn’t making any attempt to contain the situation made him increasingly skeptical of his own judgment.

Perhaps there was something extremely valuable inside those flames. Perhaps Rean had discovered some rare treasure. Or perhaps the phenomenon itself was the treasure. Maybe Rean wasn’t as strong as he believed either. Fariu didn’t know, and that uncertainty made him unwilling to leave.

”I think friend Rean here won’t mind if we stay for a while, now will you?” Fariu asked with a smile.

Rean could immediately tell what he was thinking.

’So he wants to wait for more cultivators to notice what’s happening here, or he might have already contacted others.’

Rean didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he glanced back at the flames. He could stay much closer than the others, but even he couldn’t enter them. Whatever was happening inside was beyond his ability to interfere with at the moment.

’In any case, all I can do is wait.’

Rean then casually crossed his arms and continued watching the red-golden flames. He had no intention of giving Fariu any useful information, but he also wasn’t worried about the arrival of more cultivators yet. As long as no one tried to interfere with the fox, he could simply remain there and see how things developed.