Death… And Me

Chapter 4528: Working Nicely

The same way Roan had sent his Echo into Mario’s body before by sharing his energy, Sister Orb did the same thing now. She used the system’s power to block the strands of navy-blue energy that were trying to extract Mario and Revana’s souls. The strands continued twisting around their bodies, desperately attempting to penetrate deeper, but they could no longer make any progress.

Immediately, Revana and Mario’s expressions eased, and they slowly opened their eyes to look at Roan. They could see the energy strands being blocked, even though they were still trying very hard to enter their bodies. "Th-This... what is this?"

Roan looked around at the navy-blue strands surrounding them. "This is what the cultivators call the Ghost of Woster. As you can see, it isn’t really a Ghost. It is more of an escape-prevention system that kills anyone who tries to leave the confinement, that’s all."

Mario and Revana exchanged a nervous glance. Hearing Roan describe something that had terrified countless cultivators for generations as nothing more than an ’escape-prevention system’ made them feel rather strange. Yet, they couldn’t deny what was happening right in front of their eyes. The thing that was supposed to be impossible to resist was completely incapable of harming them.

Sister Orb worked for a few more seconds, finally giving Roan the green light.

[Alright, I built enough protection to last a few minutes for them. My system might be much weaker than our previous one, but at least I truly have full control of it. Still, since these two aren’t part of the system, the Echo in their bodies will disappear after that time, and the strands of energy will infiltrate again. You will have to touch their bodies again if you want me to renew the protection.]

’That’s enough for now,’ Roan said before taking his hands away from Mario and Revana.

The couple immediately felt the change. They could still see the navy-blue strands around them, but the protection remained in place for now. They looked at each other and could see the cold sweat covering their bodies. Their clothes were damp, and both of them still had lingering pain from when the Ghost had begun attacking their souls.

But above all, they could see how the so-called Ghost couldn’t do anything to them.

"Do-Does that mean... we can leave Dlaval?" Revana asked hesitantly.

Roan looked at them and shook his head. "I don’t know how far this environment extends, nor if there isn’t any other escape-prevention feature further ahead. First of all, I didn’t come here with the intention of escaping Dlaval. Just sit tight and try not to bother me."

The couple nodded immediately. They had no intention of questioning Roan any further. If anything, they were already extremely fortunate to have survived this long.

The first thing Roan wanted to confirm was whether the pillar energy and the Ghost were truly connected, and he had proved that now. They were definitely the same thing. The energy intensity was different only because of the distance and the strength of the source. Now that he had gotten this far, Roan could finally start the next part of his plan.

Roan sat down and closed his eyes.

Back in the pillar, it was through the strands of navy-blue energy that Roan’s mind reached the Dimensional Realm of the Navy-Blue and Golden Womb. However, even after checking every single pillar, he couldn’t determine where the Womb was located.

It wasn’t that finding it was impossible back then. The problem was that he never had enough time to check things clearly. He was always forced to leave because of the other cultivators around him, who would definitely love to rob him while his mind was away. Even if the pillars provided a connection to the Dimensional Realm, Roan had never been able to investigate that connection at his own pace.

Here, however, there was no such pressure.

Mario and Revana had no reason to attack him. If they tried something, they would definitely end up dying, and they knew that perfectly well. Roan was their only salvation. If anything, they had to make sure nothing happened to Roan. Somehow, he had acquired free protection for the time being.

[I’ll release a little bit of the protection so you can connect to the strands of navy-blue energy. Take your time to travel to the Womb’s Dimensional Realm. Once there, the two of us can try to record the energy signatures of that place to find its location later or find any other clues.]

Roan nodded.

The strands that had been barred from entering his body finally managed to make their way in.

"Se-Senior!" Mario and Revana exclaimed in terror.

"Lower your voice," Roan said without opening his eyes. "I’m fine. I’m allowing it to touch me on purpose. Just keep an eye out of the airplane and warn me if anything other than these energy strands tries to get to us."

Mario and Revana sighed in relief. "Understood!"

Both immediately moved toward the windows on opposite sides of the airplane, keeping watch over the surroundings. They were still nervous, but at least they now understood that Roan wasn’t helpless against the Ghost.

Roan let go of his resistance in the same way he had back in the pillar. His soul couldn’t be dragged away, but his mind could. He deliberately allowed the navy-blue energy to establish a connection, and the journey was almost instantaneous.

In the next moment, Roan found himself back inside the Womb’s Dimensional Realm.

His own projection descended, and he slowly walked around the Womb, which continued absorbing the Pure Yin Energy of Death. The place was still as strange as he remembered, and the Womb remained quietly suspended within the Dimensional Realm as it absorbed the surrounding energy.

Roan hadn’t had a single chance to touch the Womb until now, so he didn’t want to waste this opportunity. Well, he was only a projection, so he wasn’t sure whether he would actually be able to touch it anyway.

He extended his hand.

His palm landed on the Womb.

Surprisingly, he truly felt like he was touching it.

Just like Luxa’s Fiery Red and Golden Womb, it was surprisingly soft to the touch, even though it looked like a massive rock from the outside. The sensation was strange enough that Roan paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

’So it is you...’ Roan could feel the connection with the being inside the Womb. It was also reacting to his own Yin Energy, which was definitely the purest the being inside the Womb had ever felt. The reaction was subtle, but it was undeniably there.

However, that wasn’t enough for it to awaken as Luxa did. ’It doesn’t seem like I’m enough...’

Sister Orb, who was working on the readings of the Dimensional Realm, quickly spoke.

[There is a difference between your situation and Rean’s. In Rean’s case, he was physically present at the place where Luxa’s Womb was found. You, on the other hand, are only here as a projection. The amount of Yin Energy the being inside the Womb can feel from you isn’t even a thousandth of what it would feel if you were truly inside this Dimensional Realm.]

Roan nodded slowly. ’No wonder it is reacting to me but can’t awaken from its dormant state.’

[There is good news, though,] Sister Orb continued. [The Goslau Great Void Echo is indeed present inside this guy. I can feel it.]

Roan’s expression became slightly more serious. ’Let me guess: because I’m only here as a projection, you also can’t absorb it right now.’

[Bingo!] Sister Orb confirmed. [We will truly have to enter this Dimensional Realm or find a way of bringing the Womb out of it if you want to awaken whatever is inside, or for me to absorb the Echo Energy.]

Roan didn’t mind. There was no reason to force something that wasn’t possible yet. ’Then keep working. I’ll see if I can find any clues too.’

Roan retracted his hand from the Womb and began flying around with his projection inside the Dimensional Realm. He carefully observed every part of the space, paying attention to anything that might reveal where the Dimensional Realm was actually located or how the Womb was connected to Woster.

[Another thing: there is no doubt now that Woster kept its isolation for such a long time because of this guy. To be more specific, the isolation was created for it, for its sake. If we awaken it or bring it out, I’m pretty sure the isolation of Woster will collapse instantly.]

Roan stopped for a moment. ’Essentially killing the special characteristics of the environment, just like all the lava city that relied on Luxa’s heat began to die out once she was born,’ Roan pointed out.

[Exactly.]

Roan continued flying around, taking in the details of the Dimensional Realm. The connection between the Womb and the world outside was becoming clearer, even if the exact location remained hidden from them.

Meanwhile, Sister Orb continued working on the energy readings. This time, however, she wasn’t alone.

[Celis, are you getting the readings?]

Back in Dlaval, Celis was completely silent, his mind focused on what Roan and Sister Orb were experiencing. If they were looking for energy signatures or anything like that, the old Cedar was definitely the one to call. His understanding of energy made him far more suitable for this kind of analysis than anyone else in the group. ’Yes, that is working nicely. Try to stay as long as possible there.’