Death… And Me

Chapter 4431: Hot Topic

By the time Roan reached the section of the Alchemist Guild responsible for selling herbs and pill ingredients, he had already forgotten all about Restifiana and the promotion test. In the end, he had only taken the examination to obtain the discount granted to Level Two Alchemists. As far as he was concerned, everything before that had simply been a necessary step to reach this point.

Most of the common herbs and ingredients were purchased using Besgolar, the currency employed throughout the Besgol Region whenever something cost less than a single Godly Spawn Crystal. Naturally, nearly all everyday materials fell into that category. Only the valuable items were traded directly with Godly Crystals.

Roan slowly walked through the shelves, checking the quality of every ingredient before making his selections. He wasn’t interested in buying only enough for his immediate needs. Since he already knew the kinds of pills he would be refining over the coming weeks, he simply purchased everything at once, filling his Spatial Ring with herbs, monster materials, and auxiliary ingredients.

After paying for everything, he left the Guild and headed straight back to the twins’ residence.

Since they had agreed to spend the next two weeks stabilizing their cultivations instead of continuing their breakthrough, Roan intended to dedicate that time entirely to alchemy. By the time those two weeks were over, he wanted to have enough pills prepared that none of them would need to worry about refining medicine again for quite a while.

Alchemy wasn’t the only thing Roan took care of during those two weeks.

Before locking himself inside his workshop, he contacted Rean, Celis, and Kentucky, telling them everything that had happened during his conversation with Tobao and Arcis.

The three of them were quite satisfied with the outcome, especially because they didn’t need to hide their ability to fly. Well... Kentucky wouldn’t have bothered with that one anyway.

Still, the first one to make practical use of that freedom ended up being Celis.

—

He accepted missions at the Godly Crystal Farm north of the Besgol Region, where the Godly Colossus Crystal continuously attracted Godly Creatures.

As mentioned before, missions to that location were among the hardest to obtain.

Everyone knew it was by far the safest and most efficient hunting ground in the entire region. The waiting list for ordinary cultivators often stretched over several months, and many people reserved their turns long before they actually planned to go.

The fees were equally intimidating.

Normally, the Besgol Region collected thirty percent of every Godly Crystal obtained from defeated Godly Creatures.

At the farm, however, that amount increased to fifty percent!

Yet, despite surrendering half of every crystal they obtained, cultivators still competed fiercely for those missions.

The explanation was straightforward.

The Godly Colossus Crystal never stopped attracting Godly Creatures. While venturing into the wild meant spending days searching for prey before risking one’s life in battle, the farm practically brought the enemies directly to the cultivators. Even after paying the Guild’s share, the overall profits were considerably higher than hunting anywhere else.

Naturally, the waiting list only continued growing.

Fortunately, Celis never needed to worry about it.

It wasn’t because he could ask Tobao or Arcis for favors. If necessary, he certainly could, but there was no reason to.

Members of Elite Exploration Groups automatically received priority whenever missions became available.

That arrangement didn’t generate much dissatisfaction.

Elite Exploration Groups were exceptionally rare to begin with. The Godly Subjugation Guild only recruited the very best experts into those teams, meaning their members occupied very few mission slots despite having priority.

—

Once the mission began, Celis immediately spread his roots beneath the ground.

Although his cultivation had improved considerably after reaching the Aura God Realm, the distance his roots could extend was still limited. Rather than wasting time running from one battlefield to another, he simply flew whenever he needed to reposition himself.

His movements became incredibly efficient.

He would descend onto a group of Godly Creatures, spread his roots through the battlefield, devour everything within range, collect the crystals with the assistance teams, and immediately fly toward the next location before anyone else had even finished their own battles.

Naturally, people noticed.

Everyone nearby could clearly see the World Swallowing Cedar crossing the skies. Since they could also sense that he was merely an Aura God and wasn’t relying on any treasure or flying artifact, discussions quickly began spreading across the farm.

Some cultivators even stopped what they were doing for a moment just to watch him fly overhead.

Celis, however, couldn’t have cared less.

His only objective was cultivation.

Now that he had reached the Aura God Realm, ordinary Godly Beasts barely posed a challenge anymore. Considering Godly Beasts were supposed to be opponents equivalent to Aura Gods, Celis once again proved himself to be an extraordinary exception.

Was he intentionally showing off?

Not in the slightest.

If flying allowed him to kill even one additional Godly Spawn every day, then flying was obviously the correct choice.

Nothing else entered his mind.

Five days later, Celis finally returned to the enormous crater where the mysterious energy kept nearby Godly Creatures away.

Only then did the curious cultivators finally seize the opportunity to approach him.

Most of them had been completing missions at the farm during those same five days, repeatedly watching the World Swallowing Cedar soar through the air while effortlessly moving from one battlefield to another.

Before paying attention to anyone else, Celis first accepted the rewards for the two missions he had just completed.

He glanced at the contents of the spatial ring before making a quick calculation.

’Seventeen Godly Beast Crystals... and forty-nine Godly Spawn Crystals. Not bad for only a few days of work.’

Calling it ”not bad” was a considerable understatement.

Among all Aura Gods participating in the farm during those five days, Celis had undoubtedly accumulated the greatest number of Godly Beast and Spawn kills.

The numbers themselves might not seem particularly large, but that was simply the reality of fighting Godly Creatures. Even earning half that amount would already exceed what most cultivators managed after risking their lives deep inside the Godly Creatures’ Territories.

”Hey, friend! Could you wait a moment?”

Celis stopped before turning toward the voice.

The speaker was another cultivator collecting his own mission rewards. He quickly noticed the man wasn’t alone. Quite a few people nearby were watching with obvious curiosity, but this fellow appeared to be the only one brave enough to walk over personally.

”What is it?”

”Sorry for bothering you,” the man said while scratching the back of his head. ”I’m also an Aura God. My name is Vacarci.”

He hesitated briefly before continuing.

”I was wondering... are you using some kind of special treasure or artifact that can’t be detected?”

Celis calmly shook his head. ”No. I’m a support-type cultivator. My roots, vines, and leaves are simply the best way for me to spread my race’s innate abilities across the battlefield.”

”A World Swallowing Cedar, right?” Vacarci nodded. ”I’m not referring to your absorption ability. I’ve seen two other World Swallowing Cedars before, so I know how incredible that innate talent is.”

His eyes shifted upward for a moment. ”What caught everyone’s attention was your flight.”

Celis immediately remembered what Roan had told him before leaving.

-You don’t need to hide it anymore. Tobao and Arcis will handle the consequences. Just do whatever benefits you the most.-

Since that was the case, there was no reason to avoid the subject. ”I can fly.”

Vacarci blinked. ”You... really can.”

”Before you ask why,” Celis continued, ”it appears to be related to the Great Void my companions and I ascended from. We don’t know the exact reason. We simply can.”

He looked directly at Vacarci. ”Anything else?”

Vacarci frowned. ”I’ve never heard of a Great Void causing something like that.”

”The same way you’ve never heard of anyone ascending from the Vinx Great Void,” Celis added without hesitation. ”We are the first.”

He shrugged. ”So even if you continue investigating, you won’t find any answers.”

”I’m not using a technique.”

”I’m not using a treasure.”

”For some reason, the Celestial Plane’s restrictions on flight simply don’t apply to me. I’m flying the same way I did back in my Great Void.”

”That’s all.”

Vacarci still looked unconvinced. ”So... you don’t even know how you’re doing it?”

”I know that I can.” Celis’ answer remained as straightforward as ever. ”Whether you believe it or not changes nothing.”

With that, he turned around and walked away.

Even if there were only a single additional Godly Spawn Crystal waiting somewhere on the farm, he would rather spend his time earning it than standing there answering endless questions.

Vacarci watched him disappear before letting out a helpless sigh.

The other cultivators nearby exchanged glances before beginning to discuss everything they had just heard.

Before long, stories about the mysterious cultivators from the Vinx Great Void began spreading throughout the Besgol Network.

This time, however, they didn’t remain confined to the Besgol Region alone. Word gradually reached neighboring regions as well during the weekly 15-minute communication, making even more people curious about the strange group of ascenders who seemed determined to break every rule the Celestial Plane had established.