Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3092: Chapter 3093: Bai Niao

An unseeable Blood Tree?

Camilleon’s brows knit slightly: ”In the Lofte World, as far as Blood Trees go, there should only be the Grey Master and the Proliferation Tree Mother.”

The Grey Master and the Proliferation Tree Mother both fall under Evil Gods. The Grey Master is also called the Ash Tree Lord, presiding over Corrosion and Assimilation; the Proliferation Tree Mother presides over Desire.

Even though, from the sound of it, the Authorities They hold don’t seem overwhelmingly powerful, Evil Gods are different from other Deities. The terror contained in Their Authority far surpasses all other beings in the Void that dare call themselves gods.

Their Authority is more like a warped Law, applied broadly throughout the Infinite World.

Even a Legendary Creature that has grasped Law-level abilities, once it steps into Their Domain, finds it hard to resist that all-pervading distortion.

Camilleon muttered under his breath: ”Whether it’s the Grey Master or the Tree Mother, neither is easy to deal with. Even for me, They’re hard to handle...”

Before Camilleon could finish, the Observer beside him immediately cut in: ”Hard to handle, huh? If you dare face Them head-on, I’d already call you brave.”

Camilleon: ”...”

He didn’t want to admit it, but what the Observer said wasn’t wrong.

Camilleon himself is a Legendary Wizard; he dares face Abyssal Demon Gods, Barbarian Wild Gods, even fallen gods eroded by blood-poison. But if you ask him to face Evil Gods head-on, he’s scared too.

Evil Gods are far too bizarre, and moreover, Their death inevitably leads to the birth of new Evil Gods. In fact, even a God Slayer can end up becoming the next Evil God.

When faced with an Evil God, Camilleon has only one option: detour.

Though They’re called ”evil,” Evil Gods don’t have anything like the normal moral concept of good and evil. When They look at other beings, it’s almost always with complete indifference.

As long as you don’t go out of your way to provoke Them and just walk around, They generally won’t bother about you.

”Doesn’t matter whether you call me brave or not. I’m not scared of Them, I’m scared of trouble.” Camilleon was wary in his heart, but in front of a foul-mouthed friend he still had to keep up a tough front.

The Observer let out a cold snort and said nothing, too lazy to expose Camilleon.

Camilleon: ”If an Evil God blocks your path, dealing with it’s a huge hassle. So if there really is a Blood Tree, I’ll choose to go around it... But are you sure this information is real?”

Camilleon gave the Observer a suspicious look: ”Where did you get this intel? Bai Niao told you? You patched things up with Bai Niao?”

Camilleon fired off three questions in a row, going from doubtful to pressing, and the further he went the more certain his tone became, as if convinced Bai Niao was the one who’d told the Observer.

The Observer had originally been thinking about how to fabricate a source, but the moment he heard Camilleon’s questioning, his attention was diverted: ”What does this have to do with Bai Niao?”

”It wasn’t Bai Niao who told you?” Camilleon exclaimed in surprise.

”Leave who told me aside for now. You tell me first: why did you think it was Bai Niao? Did Bai Niao go to the Lofte World?” When the Observer mentioned Bai Niao, his expression was a bit awkward, but as soon as he guessed Bai Niao had gone to the Lofte World, his face tightened into worried seriousness.

Camilleon also caught the change in the Observer’s expression and couldn’t help mocking him: ”Looks like your emotional knot with Bai Niao still isn’t undone? I really don’t get you two—thousands of years of friendship, and you just say it’s over and it’s over?”

Camilleon, the Observer, and Bai Niao had been close friends for many years, basically running together since the Wizard era.

Later, differences in ideals drove the three down separate paths. Camilleon went to Nuke Academy to do research, while the Observer and Bai Niao joined the Orderly Guild.

Camilleon stayed in frequent contact with them, but with the distance between them, there were plenty of things he didn’t fully know. For instance, he had no idea why, a thousand years ago, the Observer and Bai Niao suddenly fell out and cut ties entirely.

He’d asked both sides, but never got a clear answer. Camilleon was helpless about it.

”You understand nothing.” The Observer shot Camilleon a cold sideways glance. ”Leave that aside. I’m asking you: did Bai Niao go to the Lofte World?”

Camilleon grunted: ”Yeah, she went to the Lofte World over ten years ago.”

”How could she go to the Lofte World? Doesn’t she understand what things are like there?” Once he confirmed Bai Niao’s whereabouts, the Observer’s brows furrowed tight, obvious worry in his eyes.

The water runs deep in the Lofte World.

The Observer didn’t know exactly what secrets the Lofte World hid, but he knew that even Miracle Wizards are generally unwilling to go there.

Also, although nowadays they kept calling the Evil Gods ”Evil Gods of Lofte,” strictly speaking, Evil Gods weren’t born native to Lofte. Their origins are unknown; for reasons unclear They congregated in the Lofte World.

And They only have eyes for the Lofte World—They never stray far from it.

This is also why, even though the threat level of Evil Gods is extremely high, Wizards aren’t particularly dread-filled toward Them. As long as you don’t go into the Lofte World, you won’t draw the gaze of Evil Gods.

But from these little details, you can see the Lofte World harbors big secrets, and hides great horrors.

As the Observer’s old friend, even though outwardly they’d already ”fallen out,” that was just on the surface. No matter what Bai Niao thought, at the very least the Observer still had deep feelings for her.

”She understands the Lofte World better than you do. Half her bloodline comes from there, after all.” Camilleon said, ”Her trip to the Lofte World was arranged by the Orderly Guild. Same duty as you—she’s also basically an Observer in the Lofte World now.”

The Observer: ”She...”

Camilleon: ”Don’t talk about her. You’re the one who ran off to be an Observer at the drop of a hat. You’re no different from her.”

The Observer: ”...”

How is that the same? In the Southern Domain Wizard World all these years there hasn’t been a single Legendary Wizard born. There’s practically no external threat; aside from the mysterious chaos three hundred years ago, nothing major has happened.

But the Lofte World is a different story—that place is a world of despair. Strange incidents happen there constantly. Sometimes you can’t even tell whether it’s a Mysterious Chaos or an Evil God upheaval, because some Evil Gods seem to brush up against the boundary of Mystery itself.

As an Observer, Bai Niao’s most important job is to quell disasters caused by Mysterious Objects. In the Lofte World, she has to take part in quelling chaos all the time. If she accidentally encounters an Evil God, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Seeing the flicker in the Observer’s eyes, Camilleon waved his hand: ”Don’t worry about her. I was in contact with her not long ago; everything on her side’s fine. This time, aside from assigning her as Observer, the Orderly Guild also sent over more than a dozen Mystic Hunters, and even the Vice Guildmaster’s secretary has been posted in the North Cross Region to establish a temporary branch of the Orderly Guild. With that many people there, she’ll be all right.”

”The more you say that, the more worried I get.” This was the first time the Observer had heard that the Orderly Guild set up a temporary branch in North Cross.

Under normal circumstances, a world only has one Observer. Now, the Lofte World had this many people stationed there, and even the Vice Guildmaster’s secretary had been sent—could it be that the Guild had activated the Book of Kael and foreseen some major event?

Camilleon: ”If it were something truly earthshaking, they wouldn’t just send the Vice Guildmaster’s secretary. Word is, they’re there for some piece of Disordered Object.”

”Disordered Object?” The Observer said, ”A Disordered Object is about to be born in the Lofte World?”

Camilleon shrugged: ”That I don’t know. This kind of thing counts as an Orderly Guild secret. But judging by how personnel have been deployed, it might not be inside the Lofte World itself; it could be somewhere around it. Otherwise the Vice Guildmaster’s secretary wouldn’t be setting up a temporary branch in North Cross.”

The Observer still wanted to say something, but Camilleon cut him off: ”If you want to know what’s going on over there, just contact Bai Niao directly. You’re old friends, you’re both in the Orderly Guild, and you’ve got communicators. It’s much easier for you to reach her... and while you’re at it, ask Bai Niao for me whether there really is a Blood Tree around the Lofte World.”

”I... won’t ask.” The Observer was silent for a moment. ”If anyone’s asking, you ask her yourself.”

Camilleon narrowed his eyes: ”What exactly happened between you two that you’re not even willing to contact her?”

The Observer kept his face cold and stayed silent.

Camilleon shrugged: ”If you want me to ask, at least give me your communicator. The communicator I share with Bai Niao isn’t as good as you Orderly Guild people’s; yours has Mysterious Power augmenting it, so you can talk in real time. Mine has a delay—takes at least several days to get a reply.”

The Observer hesitated for a while, then finally took out a teardrop-shaped communicator from his storage space and handed it to Camilleon.

Camilleon took the communicator and gave it a look: ”The Mysterious Aura on this communicator’s already pretty thin. Once we use it to contact Bai Niao this time, it probably won’t be able to do cross-multiverse, space-time-distance communication again. You sure you want to use this chance on Bai Niao?”

Observer: ”I’m not using it on Bai Niao, I’m using it on you. Didn’t you say you wanted to check whether there’s a Blood Tree?”

Camilleon snorted: ”Like hell I’d believe that.”

”One thing on the face, another in the heart. Saying you’ll never have anything to do with each other again, yet in the end you’re still worried about Bai Niao.” Camilleon muttered under his breath.

The Observer kept a straight face and pretended he hadn’t heard.

Camilleon: ”Since you’ve already decided, then I’ll use it, but don’t you regret it later.”

Observer: ”What are you talking so much nonsense for, I told you to use it, so just use it.”

Camilleon held the droplet pendant, rubbing it lightly with his hand. Before long, the pendant began to glow with a faint blue water-light.

As the halo rose, Camilleon took out a card Bai Niao had left him, on which a blood essence pheromone was recorded.

The card also shone with light, slowly merging with the watery radiance.

Taking advantage of the moment when the water-light and the card were fusing, Camilleon turned back to glance at the Observer: ”I asked you a question earlier and you still haven’t answered. Where did you get your intel on the Void Blood Tree?”

Observer: ”I have my own information channels. What’s it to you?”

Camilleon: ”Who are you trying to fool? If you had an information channel for the Lofte World, how could you not know that Bai Niao went to the Lofte World?”

The Observer fell silent this time, neither speaking nor making any expression.

Camilleon still wanted to press on, but just then, the card happened to completely fuse with the water-light. At the same time, a familiar voice came from the other end of the droplet pendant: ”...Who?”

”It’s me, Camilleon.” Camilleon shot the Observer a glare, annoyed; he’d press him later—asking questions came first.

”Camilleon? Why are you holding ’his’ communicator, are you at his place?” A cold female voice came from the other side of the droplet, Bai Niao’s voice.

Camilleon: ”What do you mean ’his’ and ’his’? What’s going on with you two, you don’t even say each other’s names anymore?”

”I am now the Observer, I don’t need a name. Same for him.” Bai Niao said coolly. ”Don’t waste words. What did you contact me for?”

Camilleon: ”Why are you acting just like him? Can’t I reach out just to catch up?”

Bai Niao gave a short ”hmph”, not bothering to respond.

Camilleon: ”Alright then, I’m looking for you for two things: the first is, how are things going over there?”

Bai Niao was silent for a moment: ”I just told you a few days ago...”

Camilleon: ”I know, but someone is very worried.”

The Observer stared wide-eyed, glaring at Camilleon, silently mouthing: Don’t you spout nonsense about me!

Camilleon wore a look of complete understanding, then continued to Bai Niao: ”Someone is worried sick, but his mouth is stiff, just refuses to say it. Fortunately I’m here, so I’ve been roped in as the mouthpiece.”

”Ah, he’s even threatening me right now, telling me not to talk nonsense. But if he really wasn’t worried, would he be willing to hand his communicator over to me?”

Listening to Camilleon’s stream of nonsense, the Observer was so furious he wanted to snatch the communicator away on the spot.

Only, before he could get his hands on it, Bai Niao’s voice came from the communicator: ”Help me pass a message to him. Tell him I’m alright.”

The Observer’s body paused, and Camilleon immediately scuttled into a corner.

The three-meter-tall burly man actually wedged himself into a little nook, like a lump of meat-mountain.

Camilleon: ”Anything else you want to say? He can hear you, just say whatever you want.”

Bai Niao fell silent for a while, then said calmly: ”I hope next time, he can tell me himself... That’s all.”

The Observer froze on the side, remaining mute.

Camilleon glanced at the somewhat at-a-loss Observer, then at the droplet pendant, his expression rather smug: first of all, this wasn’t payback for being yelled at. As a friend, it was just painful to watch the two of them quarrel, so seizing this rare chance, he decided to poke through this paper window himself. Secondly, for the record, this wasn’t revenge, definitely not because he wanted payback.

”Alright, what’s your second matter?” Bai Niao asked again.

”The first one isn’t finished yet. You can’t just say you’re fine and be done. Has the Disordered Object over there appeared? Has the Lofte World undergone any major upheavals? What’s the concrete situation in the Lofte World as you currently understand it? Also, have you located your direct bloodline descendant, do you need our help?” These were questions Camilleon hadn’t asked before, since he wasn’t part of the Orderly Guild. But this time, with the Observer at his side, he took the chance to air all his doubts at once.

Bai Niao: ”The Disordered Object hasn’t shown itself. The Lofte World also hasn’t had any major upheavals for now. The Evil Gods have all Concealed themselves and haven’t manifested for many years... It’s just that the atmosphere here is as desperate as ever. Doomsday talk runs rampant, various Hidden Churches are coming out one after another, everything’s a mess.”

”But there’s one thing you might find interesting. In the past, the Transcendents of the Lofte World stayed hidden, but in the last few hundred years, with Hidden Churches emerging, they’ve cultivated quite a few native Transcendents. This kind of Extraordinary System is rather interesting... I feel like it’s derived from the power of the Evil Gods.”

Camilleon: ”I remember that the Evil Gods of the Lofte World used to frequently grant power to their believers, didn’t they? Even though among those who could receive Their power, ninety-nine out of a hundred would go insane, there were always a few successes.”

Bai Niao: ”It’s different. The recorded grants in the past were more of a chaotic power. But now, this power seems vaguely to be taking on a systematic form.”

”This system is much weaker than the Magic System; but the mysterious part is, this power that’s derived from the Evil Gods actually targets the Evil Gods rather well. Among these Transcendents, a few have even used this power in an attempt to steal the Positions of the Evil Gods. Although, from the looks of it, they’ve failed so far, it’s still very valuable for research.”

Camilleon pondered for a moment: ”The way you’re describing it, it does sound pretty good. But most of my research is in the All-things School; I don’t dabble much in the Rationalist School.”

Research into Power Systems falls under the ”Rationalist School” at Nuke Academy, whereas Camilleon belongs to the All-things School. There isn’t much overlap in their research, if anything he’s a bit closer to the ”Actionist School.”

”...I’m going to take on a mission to save an extinct race later. It’ll probably take two or three years. If I still have free time after the mission, I’ll come to the Lofte World for a look as well.”

Even if he wasn’t too skilled in the Rationalist School, Camilleon’s enthusiasm for research at this moment outweighed his concern for accumulating foundation.

Bai Niao: ”When you come, you can find me at the Outer Coordinates.”

She paused, then continued: ”As for my direct bloodline descendant, I’ve found them. But I’ll handle this myself. You don’t need to worry... The communicator’s time is limited. If you still have something, ask quickly.”

Camilleon: ”There’s one more thing. I’ll be heading to the North Cross Region in a few days, I want to...”

Before Camilleon could finish, Bai Niao suddenly interrupted: ”Your mission to save an extinct race is in the North Cross Region?”

Camilleon froze for a moment, then replied: ”Yeah.”

Bai Niao: ”You’re in the Southern Domain Wizard World now? If you’re going to the North Cross Region, try to detour. Don’t come near the Lofte World in the near future.”

Bai Niao’s voice was very sharp, filled with vigilance.

Camilleon and the Observer seemed to think of something and exchanged a suspicious, startled look.

Then Camilleon spoke softly: ”Why? Has the Lofte World run into some upheaval?”

Bai Niao said quickly: ”I mentioned before that the native Transcendents of Lofte tried to steal the Positions of the Evil Gods. Although most of them failed, several Evil Gods were impacted, and among them the Gray Lord took the heaviest blow. It seems He lost some organ.”

”Now, in the Void outside the Lofte World, the Gray Lord has spread out a burning Flame Blood Tree. Any Extraordinary Life that approaches, as long as they lay eyes on the Blood Tree, will have their life energy drained away.”

”Quite a few Void lives have already been sucked completely dry; even if Legendary Creatures pass by, they’ll shed a layer of skin.”

”If you don’t want to get hurt, I advise you not to come to the Lofte World anytime soon, don’t even get close.”