CHAPTER 835: GOING DEEPER

"What?" Grand Elder Javier asked in astonishment.

"That is the important thing that I wanted to discuss with you earlier today, Grand Elder," Sir Ferix chimed in.

"Because this is something I cannot say in front of others."

Grand Elder Javier looked at Sir Ferix, still filled with astonishment. After the shock faded, his face brimmed with excitement.

"Yes, that should be it. That should have happened in the first place. I already knew that Munez was bad news, and now all of it is truly proven. Fortunately, His Majesty Aldrian helped you." He then turned to Aldrian.

"I am truly thankful, and I’m deeply sorry for what my family has done to Your Majesty in the past," he said as he slightly bowed his body.

"No problem, Grand Elder. I also know that not all family members are at fault here. I can still differentiate the right from the wrong, and I don’t want to generalize the entire family as long as I am sure that not everyone is at fault," Aldrian replied.

Grand Elder Javier straightened his body and sighed.

"However, to think that my family had been led by someone like him for so long, and I did nothing about it, I just feel ashamed. No wonder the Barevisk family fell from the glory it once had," he said.

"No wonder he took on this kind of mission and offered the benefit to Ferix. I never thought he would be generous enough to give something that valuable to his little brother. The Celestial Angel Flower in this place? I believe that was also his lie. Bringing along people loyal to Ferix into the Poison Valley must have been just a cover to avoid suspicion." He looked at the unconscious Munez with an angry expression.

Aldrian did not comment on that, and Sir Ferix also did not say anything about the Celestial Angel Flower.

After that, they discussed how to proceed in the future. Aldrian wanted this problem to be resolved and for Sir Ferix to become patriarch as soon as possible. Next week, he had already prepared for departure to the Fallen Star Cluster, and he hoped that by then, he could already see Sir Ferix in the patriarch’s seat.

After an hour of discussion, they finally decided on their next course of action. Aldrian then said to them,

"I will send back my avatar, Grand Elder, Sir Ferix and Munez to the safe zone outside the core region."

Sir Ferix nodded but then looked confused. "What about you, Your Majesty?"

Aldrian smiled. "I still have something to do in this Poison Valley."

Sir Ferix and Grand Elder Javier did not ask any further, as it seemed to be Aldrian’s personal matter.

A moment later, Aldrian had already teleported them to the safe zone, leaving himself alone in this place. He observed the surrounding hall for a moment before disappearing.

Suddenly, the hall trembled violently. In fact, the entire base shook before the hidden place completely collapsed. No space remained, as the mountain buried the entire hideout down to the smallest gap.

The abandoned devils’ base was completely destroyed and buried without anyone knowing. No one would ever discover it unless they specifically searched for traces of the hideout here, but that would be difficult in an environment like this.

At this moment, Aldrian was already in the upper atmosphere of the Akares Star, looking down at the Poison Valley region. The region was truly vast, and he could clearly see how it was divided into three danger levels. The differences in the thickness of the fog could even be seen from space after all.

He ignored the outer and inner regions and focused on the core region. The ground of core region was an area he could not see from his current position. It was covered by thick white fog that, from where he was, looked more like dense clouds. The poisonous fog could even be sensed from the upper atmosphere.

At the center of the core region, the fog was at its thickest, and its color appeared slightly darker than the rest of the area.

Without any hesitation, he descended toward the center of the core region. Just in case, he covered his body with golden energy.

As he descended, he finally entered the clouds and immediately felt the strong mixture of poisonous gases surrounding him. He continued his descent as the surroundings grew darker, until he could no longer see anything at all. The region had already fallen into night, and with the thick clouds, not even a speck of light existed in this place.

As he kept approaching the ground, he finally entered the poisonous fog and instantly understood that even a peak pseudo-immortal cultivator would die the moment they stepped into this place. The poison here was potent enough to harm even an immortal.

’No wonder the Poison Valley covers such a vast area. The core region alone contains poison this deadly. With poison like this, it’s certain that something from the higher heavens exists here. To create a poisonous area capable of harming an immortal should be impossible in the First Heaven,’ Aldrian thought.

’Moreover, this poison... I see. No wonder it feels so chaotic and strange.’

He also took note of another fact when he sensed the poison and recognized it.

’This is Hydra’s poison, the high-stage Hydra poison from the higher heavens.’

Only after he descended to the central part of the core region did he become truly confident about what kind of poison this was. When he first entered the core region, he was not entirely certain, as the poison’s properties could have come from many sources other than the Hydra. But now, he was sure that this was indeed Hydra’s poison.

He could not extend his senses too far, as the powerful poison corroded them. Deciding to be cautious, he stopped descending and began creating his domain in this area. He did not know what might be waiting on the ground.

There could be a powerful being below, and if such a being existed, it would have to be strong enough to withstand poison of this level. That would mean it was one of the strongest existences in the First Heaven.

After creating his domain, he could immediately sense everything within it. There was no living being, but he could detect many herbs that had managed to grow in this harsh environment. Most of them had poisonous properties, but one among them did not, it was located near the edge of his domain.

That was the Celestial Angel Flower. The flower grew on a giant boulder, and there were actually more than ten of them. Thanks to the deadly poison in the area, no one had been able to pick them yet. Even Randolf, with his system, still had no means to reach this place.

There was another thing that made Aldrian truly satisfied and happy, he had confirmed his earlier guess about this place.

’This is faith energy, and all of it flows in this direction.’

The faith energy was flowing far below, toward the surface. Without hesitation, he teleported to the ground beneath. As his feet touched the ground, he could not see anything, it was completely pitch black.

However, he could still clearly sense his surroundings, even underground thanks to his domain. At this moment, he was standing beside a tall mountain with a large cave entrance. The deadly poison was actually coming out of the cave, which meant the source lay within.

The faith energy was also flowing into the cave, which meant the place where it gathered was inside. He could sense deep within and instantly knew what lay ahead. His eyebrows rose slightly after realizing what it was.

Without a word, he walked into the cave, which was clearly man-made. The walls were too clean and smooth to be natural. As Aldrian kept walking deeper for a few minutes, he finally reached the end of it.

There was nothing in front of him except the cave wall, and there was no sign of a secret path or anything beyond.

However, he kept walking forward, confidently letting his body collide with the wall, and as he did, his body passed right through it. The moment he stepped through, the cave transformed into a wide, dark hallway.

’Illusion law barrier,’ he thought.

Suddenly, the dark hallway lit up on both sides with illumination crystals, and statues along the corridor became visible. The statues of hydra heads embedded into the walls, and there were also murals on both sides depicting a nine-headed hydra.

Looking at them, Aldrian could not help but remember his past again.

’Speaking of hydras, I remember the one that was often seen with Long Shentian, the first hydra in existence. I wonder what his fate is now?’ he thought.