CHAPTER 679: SECRETS REVEALED

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Eight hours later, the entourage resumed their journey.

It’s still as peaceful as it was before, all thanks to Cedric, of course. This has truly become a peaceful and serene sightseeing tour because of him, which the whole entourage was thankful for.

The lingering spirits of the deceased wisely stayed away from them, chased away by the scorching will of Cedric, which appeared like a rising sun to them. Because of this, their path towards the very core of the Profound Heaven Realm was clear and undisturbed.

Some people in the entourage have already noticed their client walking forward both with purpose and aimlessly at the same time. It’s like he knows where he wants to go, but he’s also preoccupied by something, keeping his attention away from the road.

Well, this was because they couldn’t see what he could see, and they couldn’t be blamed for that.

If they could see through his eyes, they’d probably be distracted too. Because the closer they got to the very core area of the Profound Heaven Realm, the more strange things were manifesting before his eyes. This indicates that he’s approaching the real origin of the mutations here, and he was very close to unfolding the truth about this place.

To other eyes, though, there weren’t many changes at all. If anything, the only difference they could infer was that the spirits should appear and act more berserk the closer they got to the core. But with Cedric’s will keeping them at bay, all those ghosts could do was to snarl at them from a distance.

If Cedric were to retrieve his will, there was no doubt that the sea of ghosts outside would start their relentless assault on the whole entourage, dragging them forcibly into dreams of life-and-death battles.

It’s not like the ghost didn’t try, though. Some certainly did try to infiltrate Cedric’s domain, but that turned out to be really painful for them because as soon as they entered, they were instantly scorched by his radiant aura. The agony was something that they couldn’t endure; it’s something that they just couldn’t bear no matter how defiant they may seem.

After a few more hours of walking, they finally arrived.

"So this is the core area of this realm?" someone from the entourage whispered softly. From his tone, it’s evident that this was also his first time here.

"Yeah. Kind of disappointing, isn’t it?" Somebody, one that has been here before, replied.

"Indeed. I thought there’d be something special here."

They’re not wrong, technically.

The core area was barren. Aside from a very large crater, which was quite possibly caused by a huge battle that happened here, there wasn’t much here.

Looking closely, though, one could see a lone straw hut in the middle of that crater. It looked completely out of place given its environment. By all means, it shouldn’t be there. It looks so flimsy and weak, like a strong gust of wind would send it crumbling down.

But it’s there.

How it stayed up was a mystery. It’s either there’s something weird about it, or it was built after the huge battle that happened here. Either way, nobody would really think much of it; after all, there were far more strange sights in this realm than a lone hut standing in the middle of a large crater.

But that’s exactly why it’s special. Especially in Cedric’s eyes.

’That’s it; that’s what’s causing all of this to happen,’ he muttered to himself.

Now that he’s standing this close to it, the secrets could no longer be hidden from him.

It wasn’t so much about the straw hut itself but what’s inside of it.

There is a well-preserved corpse inside the straw hut. The strange thing is that the corpse wasn’t from a Life Evolver. It was mortal through and through. Cedric couldn’t see any hints or signs of evolution from the corpse, which supports this idea.

But it also contradicts itself because how was it preserved for this long? Cedric couldn’t see any special mechanism in the straw hut that could help with corpse preservation. Hell, the hut itself wasn’t all that special; it was just affected by whatever’s going on with this corpse.

Only those who had some decent achievements in life evolution would have their flesh and bones stay as pristine as this even long after their deaths. But as stated earlier, the dead person inside wasn’t a life evolver. They’re just a normal person, so how could this be possible?

"Hey, what’s wrong with him?" Someone from the entourage softly elbowed one of his colleagues, whispering this question.

They saw Cedric standing still, staring at the center of the crater for some unknown reason with his brow furrowed.

The colleague glared at his friend and shushed him. This guy was provoking a disaster by being too curious. They shouldn’t even be asking questions like this because, by all means, it was none of their business. Moreover, this might offend their client, and if it did, then it’s their necks that’d be on the line because of it. Therefore, it just wasn’t worth it.

This message has been passed to that person through a glare, and judging by how he recoiled in fear, it seems that he got it, loud and clear.

Obviously, they’re unaware that their little exchange certainly didn’t escape Cedric’s senses. He might look distracted here, but he wasn’t distracted enough to not know what’s happening around him. He just didn’t care enough, that’s all.

It wasn’t until an hour later that Cedric’s brow finally relaxed and enlightenment came to him.

’Ah, I see. So that’s what happened.’

He figured it out. It’s the undying will of the person inside that’s making all of this possible.

Willpower has always been strange. It doesn’t have a form, nor is it visible like any energy source out there, yet nobody has ever doubted its existence. It has always existed, it has always been there, and there aren’t many people who could truly grasp everything that it could possibly do.

This mortal didn’t have any talent to pursue the path of life evolution. This was an obsession that Cedric managed to trace by flipping through the history of this area through Time Laws.

This obsession was also a resentment. This mortal hated the fact that he was born inadequate for the path of life evolution, especially since he was also obsessed with the idea of living forever.

Cedric saw brief images of this mortal trying various means to change his fate, yet all of them failed and pushed him to the brink of despair. Helpless, he could only relent and accept the fact that he’d die someday.

Then, an accident happened. Two life evolvers descended upon his home world and fought intensely due to some grievances. And as expected, when two giants clashed, the mortals suffered.

This mortal, specifically, was among the casualties, and he resented his early death greatly. He was already driven nearly crazy because he couldn’t become immortal, and yet before he could even reach the natural end of his lifespan, those two life evolvers came and brought him to his grave early.

The mortal hated that; he hated them. His hatred was so much that it warped reality itself, a feat that not even life evolvers could do easily. His willpower bloomed into a poisonous flower that infected everything around him.

His obsession turned into an undying will, and it has grown strong enough to drag those who were responsible for his death to a never-ending cycle of life, death, and rebirth through the dream battlefield.

But since the mortal was just that, a mortal, who didn’t know anything about life evolution and its mysteries, plus his overwhelming resentment for...well, everything, his venom tainted everything, even the innocent ones.

He couldn’t control the real extent of what he could do. And judging by how angry he was at everything, it’s clear that he wasn’t interested in controlling it either.

It started with those who caused his death, then the people behind them followed suit because they also appeared in this place and investigated their disappearances. Those people also fought each other and provoked the ire of the resentful mortal; in the end, they got dragged into the dream as well.

The more life evolvers he felled, the stronger his will and resentment became. And at some point, it has grown strong enough to alter the state of this entire realm.

It’s his undying resentment that preserved his body and this straw hut until now. Because he died ignorant of his capabilities, instead of being able to pursue some form of immortality through this, he turned into a vengeful ghost that will forever haunt this realm instead.

’How very unlucky,’ Cedric sighed.

But to give credit where credit is due, this mortal was truly something else. The coincidences that happened to him might never be replicated for a second time.

As for why the council decided to keep it this way, that’s on them. Cedric had no desire to know their reason.

Learning the secrets of this place already satisfied his curiosity, and that’s all he wanted.

Cedric turned to his entourage and said, "Alright, I’ve seen what I want to see here. Let’s return to the cruise."