Chapter 952: Chapter 790: Internal Decision_2

Modu came before the curtain, and bowed slightly, saying

“Mage, they have arrived.”

“I know, please come in, guests…”

A calm and neutral voice came through, which visibly surprised Modu.

“This…”

But he said nothing more, carefully lifted the curtain, and made a welcoming gesture to the others.

“The Mage has been sitting here for many years, and it’s been a long time since she’s seen outsiders.”

Given his astonished look, it’s likely that not even their own people have been able to enter.

And Tao Yu also felt it–as the curtain was lifted, a slight spatial fluctuation appeared.

Only with his innate Spatial Affinity and thrice Deification laid bare here could he have possibly sensed it.

Though it was just a curtain being lifted, inside it was a space unto itself; it seemed as if the other side was right here, but in reality, it was worlds apart.

The claim of sitting here for many years may well be true.

Tony, unaware of this, curiously muttered to Tao Yu as he entered,

“Sitting in meditation for years? How about eating, drinking, and the rest? Has she never bathed…”

However, almost as soon as his voice faded, they had already passed through that layer of ripples.

The world in front of them stretched rapidly.

What was previously just a small area in the center of the dojo divided by a curtain,

Now, in their view, turned out to be the summit of a snowy mountain!

The bone-chilling wind drilled into their bodies, and the howling sound was still in their ears!

And the bald figure, back towards them, sat on a stone platform with snow piled upon him.

Just upon arrival, Tao Yu immediately noticed something wrong with the Ancient One–once the spatial cover was lost…

—-

A stench, as if accompanied by death, emanated from the Ancient One.

Even amidst the piercing wind, it made Tony cover his nose.

Even though he was shocked by the spatial transformation, he still couldn’t resist commenting,

“So it’s true, no baths…”

Stephen, pushed by Minato Namikaze, witnessing such miraculous changes and looking at the nearby cliffs seemingly carved by divine hands,

Wore a look of utter shock on his face.

His heart, burning with excitement, made him forget the surrounding cold.

With such Divine Miracles occurring, the prospect of healing him seemed only natural!

Only Tao Yu raised his hand to stop the others, and then said in a deep voice,

“Supreme Mage, what happened to you?”

“Guarding the Abyss dimension, I carelessly caught a bit of its influence, but for the moment, it’s not fatal.”

The Ancient One spoke as calm as ever, then slowly stood up and shook off the snow from her body.

“I might look a bit frightening right now, so please don’t panic,” she said.

After speaking, she turned around.

Even with a warning, the sight of the Ancient One’s nearly rotten body and terrifying face still gave everyone quite a shock.

This was not a human, but rather a decaying corpse.

“Oh, easy to say ‘don’t panic,’ you look even more in need of treatment than Doctor Stephen, if it would be effective.”

Tony commented feebly.

But looking at the Ancient One, Tao Yu also frowned.

The Ancient One, possessing the Time Gem and one of the strongest in the current world, had become like this!

Did she use the Dark Divine Book? To counteract the corrupting influence of the Abyss?!

“Did you actively engage with the power of the Abyss? The World itself is resisting it. As an individual within the World, you are strong, but this is too reckless…”

Tao Yu guessed the reason for the Ancient One’s current state.

Perhaps Stephen’s affliction had also been part of the Ancient One’s plan, but just the same, her current situation was indeed dire.

This is an independent world, and the World Will is extremely powerful, even capable of resisting the Abyss for long periods.

But even so, it couldn’t withstand the Ancient One’s deliberate confrontation.

Perhaps accustomed to fending off enemies from different dimensions, she regarded the Abyss invasion as another such dimension.

And as a result, she ended up in this state…

“Heh, I’ve made my guests laugh; indeed, I overestimated myself,” said the Ancient One, seemingly at peace with herself. Actually, she didn’t care much about her own life or death and saw it in a rather detached way.

She has struggled to maintain this point, perhaps choosing what she saw as a relatively better outcome.

Just like Divination, at least in this world, the ‘Clairvoyance’ ability of the Time Gem is still quite strong.

“What riddles are you speaking? What is the Abyss? The one from legends?”

Tony butted in.

“You can think of it as similar to the legendary Abyss, but even more troublesome. It will continuously erode this world and is almost irreversible. However, if nothing unexpected happens, there’s still a long time…”

Tao Yu said offhandedly. With legends of the Abyss everywhere, to avoid the trouble of explaining, letting them directly relate was close enough.

“Oh, so what do we do now? Can the old Mage still heal people?”

Tony pointed at the Ancient One’s current state.

But then, he saw a flash of green light from the pendant in front of the Ancient One.

Afterward, the entire scene of the Ancient One played backward like a slideshow, the imagery becoming extremely jittery.

Constant twitching and overlapping layers appeared.

At the same time, there was a sound of wailing ghosts and howling wolves, as if endless Vengeful Spirits were flying out of her body, circling and hovering.