Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Speculating The Conspiracy
Could it be a faction from outside the Underground-River Starfield?
Just as Potter was pondering, Oris burst into laughter and said, "The Beast Temple is not a faction within the Underground-River Starfield, but rather a native force in the Fierce Beast Continent. Especially their revered deity from the Beast Temple, something feels very wrong. I highly suspect that this entire scheme is orchestrated by him."
Hearing Oris's explanation, Potter found it hard to accept.
He questioned, "Oris, do you know what you're saying? Are you suggesting that the corpse of Eomaia was procured by the natives of the Fierce Beast Continent, but for what purpose? To simply give away the corpse of Eomaia without any gain, that's completely unprofitable."
Oris did not refute, in fact, he himself was unwilling to believe it after initially deducing this conclusion based on the collected clues.
Because it was too irrational.
However, no matter how irrational it was, based on the many clues he had at his disposal, it was indeed the closest approximation to the truth, and confirming it was simple: find the Revered Deity of Beast Temple. Unfortunately, Oris had once infiltrated the Beast Temple and discovered something even more perplexing - the Revered Deity of the Beast Temple had been dead for a long time.
In other words, his current conjecture was overturned.
"Who could it be, then?"
Oris murmured quietly to himself.
Meanwhile, Potter bid farewell to Oris, saying, "Regardless, the body of Eomaia is undeniably real. As long as that is the case, those people won't be able to resist this temptation. Oris, you stay here, I'll go find some people."
"Go ahead, I await your good news." Oris waved his hand, saying.
With Potter's departure, this deep pit tunnel fell into silence.
...
The Otrank Mountains.
Enzo, in a state of Magic Shadow, lurked in the shadow of a giant rock. Next to the rock, a group of people had gathered, hailing from a minor faction in the Starry Sky. However, these people had not noticed Enzo's presence.
"Oak, can we really seize the body of Eomaia?"
A young boy in the crowd asked. His aura was not weak, but from Enzo's perception, he seemed to be at the pinnacle of Level 9, far inferior to Patricia.
Beside the young boy stood a young man in armor.
The armored youth was not confident and hesitated, saying, "Perhaps we can."
In reality, the Armored Youth is well aware that they have no chance of obtaining the carcass of Eomaia. Even obtaining a few drops of Eomaia's blood would be extremely difficult. After all, compared to other powerful factions, they have no backing and their own strength is feeble.
But it is Eomaia!
If they could acquire just a drop of blood, they could improve their own bloodline, enhance their talents, and even have a chance to enter the Temple of the Seven Gods and become members of it.
This is the dream of almost everyone in the Underground-River starfield, and this group of people before us is no exception.
After the young man spoke, others joined in the discussion.
The discussions among the group were diverse, which gave Enzo a deeper understanding of the Underground-River starfield.
Soon after, Enzo quietly left.
His departure went unnoticed as well, which made Enzo appreciate the extraordinary nature of the Magic Shadow divine arts even more. This divine art had an exceptionally powerful concealment effect.
Encountering several other factions along the way, Enzo had now approached the central area of the Otrank Mountains. There, by a deep pit, a gathering of many individuals, some of whom possessed such formidable strength that Enzo couldn't even sense their exact power, indicated that they were at least at the level of deities.
During their discussion, Enzo heard a familiar name.
"Damn it! Are we really going to let that guy Oris block the passage all by himself? To enter, we need to pay thirty Elemental Origin Crystals. Why doesn't he just go and rob them?" someone angrily exclaimed.
This remark resonated with many others.
Someone else continued the tirade, saying, "Hmph, if it weren't for Oris being a member of the Temple of the Seven Gods, I would have already taught him a lesson!"
"Deal with him, based solely on your abilities!"
The previous words drew a scoff from the crowd.
Gathered around the deep pit, the people couldn't help but admit one thing - Oris had enough power and influence to block the passage and collect tolls.
Of course, there were reasons for that, considering he was the one who had opened up those passages in the first place.
There were traces of Eomaia's presence in the Otrank Mountains, and under Eomaia's influence, the mountains held many peculiarities, particularly underground. The soil was incredibly hard, making it nearly impossible for ordinary supernatural beings to enter the depths.
"Oris is in the depths of the pit."
Upon hearing this news, Enzo was somewhat surprised.
Based on the descriptions given by these people, Oris seemed to have chosen not to seize Eomaia's corpse, which was somewhat inconceivable to Enzo. After all, compared to others, Oris had a more urgent need for Eomaia.
This made Enzo realize that something was amiss.
With very few clues, it was difficult for him to deduce where the problem lay.
Just then, a violent wave suddenly emanated from the depths, causing a special aura to erupt. At the moment this aura appeared, everyone gathered around the pit stood up and exclaimed, "It's the aura of Eomaia!"
In the next moment, a massive corpse was thrown out from the depths by someone.
The body was the size of a small mountain peak, with red skin covered in scales bearing patterns representing different elements.
After Eomaia's corpse emerged, several people jumped out from the pit.
Immediately following, a roar resounded.
"Leave Eomaia's corpse behind!"
Along with the roar came a fiery red flame, soaring through the air and swiftly reaching the thrown Eomaia corpse, which it then hurled back to the ground.
At that moment, Enzo finally discerned that it was not a mere flame, but rather a person - a woman.
She was engulfed in flames, holding a long spear taller than herself, her gaze icy as she hovered in the air, looking down upon the black-robed man on the ground.
This black-robed man was the one who had thrown Eomaia's body.
He looked up at the fiery figure in the sky. Despite his disheveled appearance, he sneered disdainfully, "Lanathel, it seems you have grown weaker."
The fiery figure in the air was none other than Lanathel, a member of the Sloth Temple.
In a cold tone, she retorted, "Westover, is thievery all your Dark Society members are capable of? No wonder everyone says you are nothing more than rats in the gutter!"
The Dark Society, a faction within the Underground-River starfield, was not particularly strong but not weak either.
What set them apart from other factions was their members' enigmatic nature. They seldom made appearances, and when they did, they went to great lengths to conceal their identities. As a result, they had gained a somewhat unfavorable reputation in the Underground-River starfield.
Just moments ago, Westover, a member of the Dark Society, had infiltrated the depths of the abyss. His stealthy techniques had nearly deceived everyone. Just as he was about to retrieve Eomaia's body and make his escape, he was discovered by Lanathel, who had been lying in wait.
Within a fleeting moment, Mansfield and Oris appeared on the scene as well.
Seeing Oris again, Mansfield's expression became uneasy. However, Oris paid no mind to Mansfield and instead addressed Lanathel, saying, "Lanathel, it's been a while."
Lanathel glanced at Oris but did not respond.
Oris smiled and then turned to Westover, remarking, "Did the others in the Dark Society not warn you not to provoke me? I must say, your stealth techniques are indeed impressive."
Surrounded by the group, Westover maintained a calm demeanor on his face.
He surveyed the members surrounding him from the Temple of the Seven Gods and then glanced at the other factions who were observing from a distance. A wicked grin stretched across his face as he spoke, "Hmm, the Temple of the Seven Gods has reigned over the Underground-River starfield for far too long. Don't you all desire to overthrow them?
Now, with the imminent return of the Primordial Beast Clan, the top echelons of the Temple of the Seven Gods will be restrained. This is the perfect opportunity!"
"And what about Eomaia's remains? Don't you all want them?"
"Why should this treasure belong solely to the Temple of the Seven Gods?"
No one responded to Westover's inquiry, and it seemed that Westover himself was aware of this fact.
In the next moment, Westover made a mad move.
He burst into laughter and charged towards Eomaia's lifeless body. With immense elemental energy gathering in his hands, he unleashed a powerful strike upon Eomaia's remains, shouting, "Shatter before me!"
Witnessing this, Lanathel and Mansfield's faces contorted in alarm as they shouted in unison, "Stop!"
Unfortunately, their intervention came too late.
The colossal elemental force struck Eomaia's remains, tearing them apart into countless fragments of flesh that scattered in every direction.
This spectacle enraged Lanathel and Mansfield.
Yet for the onlookers, it presented a grand opportunity. They immediately sprang into action, vying for the fragments of Eomaia's flesh. The pursuit grew so intense that it escalated into physical altercations, with various elemental powers clashing, spells and even divine arts being unleashed. The chaos engulfed the entirety of the Otrank Mountains.
Coincidentally, one piece of Eomaia's torn flesh fell right in front of Enzo.