Chapter 269: The Transformed Fire Country
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The bottom of the magma pool had been exposed when the magma inside had dried up. The sight made Xu Que's hair stand on end as he stared at it suspiciously.
The bottom of the pool had been densely engraved with countless ancient runes, each one rich in Dao wisdom.
"Whoa, system! Come out and see what I've discovered! Isn't it great?" As a One-Star Amulet Maker, Xu Que naturally could recognize each of these runes.
The system was silent for a moment before responding.
Ding! "After some testing, these runes were found to be ancient spell runes. Confirm the use of 1000 Acting Tough Points to copy the engraving?"
"What? What's the use of copying these patterns?"
"These patterns are teleportation spell runes, they work just as well as a teleportation spell without the need to use a Spirit Stone. They can be activated any time, and are effective through the air…"
After listening to the system's explanations, Xu Que was finally able to grasp the significance of his discovery. Apparently, these runes roughly had the same function as the Group word from the Nine Secrets.
The Group word was a type of specialized spell from Zhe Tian, created by Ling Bao Deity. As long as these runes were engraved, teleportation across the air would be possible anytime.
But of course, the runes Xu Que had discovered were not as powerful as the Group word of the Nine Secrets, as there were so many runes engraved that they covered the entire surface of the magma pool. It would've required a whole day and night to complete.
Still, these were much more effective that the teleportation spells out there, as these at least did not require the Spirit Stone and there was no need to build an altar in order to teleport.
To put it simply, once Xu Que copied down these runes, he would then be able to tear through the air and teleport to any part of the continent whenever he chose, as long as he took the time to engrave the massive number of runes. This was as close as he could get to the power of the Group secret word, at least for now.
"Do I need to spend as much as 1000 Acting Tough Points to copy them?" Xu Que asked the system.
"Yes," answered the system tersely. "Confirm copying?"
"To hell with it, yes!" Xu Que answered after a long sigh. He knew it was necessary to copy the runes, although he was reluctant to part with 1000 of his Acting Tough Points!
But there was nothing Xu Que could do to argue against the system, so he had no choice but to sacrifice the hefty 1000 act tough points in exchange for this complex spell.
"Ding! 1000 Acting Tough Points spent. Runes successfully copied. Do you wish to activate the spell now?" asked the system.
At the same time, a huge amount of information flooded into Xu Que's head. Runes flowed into his mind like a river until they became deeply engraved into his memory.
"Will this spell bring me to another country?" Xu Que asked with his eyebrows raised. "It's time to go find the other Dragon Veins!"
"According to the Cultivation Stage of the host, this spell is able to teleport the host to anywhere within the five countries."
"Really?" exclaimed Xu Que in shock.
Surely that must mean that the further his Cultivation Stage advanced, the further this spell could teleport him!
Ah, in that case, the lost 1000 Acting Tough Points had been completely worth it!
Just like that, Xu Que suddenly got excited— wouldn't this also imply that once he reached a certain level of strength, this spell would be able to teleport him through the dimension and take him back home to earth?
"Ha, come on then! Let's see what this teleportation spell can do!" Xu Que shouted at the system. He then hopped onto the bottom of the magma pool and stepped onto the runes.
The system then issued him a warning.
"The host must complete the rune pattern before the spell can be activated."
Xu Que bent down his head and discovered that there was indeed a missing part in the rune pattern. It was the part where the destination was set. This meant that each time he wanted to use this spell, he must inscribe the destination in runes before activating the teleportation spell.
It was like using a search engine—you could only get results after typing in a query.
Xu Que then entered a calm state and knelt down on the floor of the magma pool. He then used his fingers to engrave a pattern of runes onto the blank part of the rock.
Chip! Chip! Chip!
The stone was chipped away as Xu Que was engraving it. Shortly after a complex pattern of runes emerged where there was a blank space on the stone.
Boom!
Shortly after, the entire magma pool rumbled and shook while the runes all lit up with brilliant white light, gradually increasing in intensity until the light became blinding.
The bottom of the magma pool was now entirely blanketed in a brilliant white light.
Xu Que could feel a strong sensation passing through his body. It rooted him to the spot and he felt a sharp pang of pain, as if he was being stabbed by countless small blades all over his body!
This force was much stronger than the one he had experienced in the other teleportation spell. This alarmed Xu Que very much, because even though he had practiced the God of Hell's Compulsion, his body still felt this much excruciating pain—this meant that this kind of teleportation wasn't just for anyone!
"Ahhh!"
The spell's force became more and more overwhelming. Xu Que could see the air and the dimension in front of him was slowly becoming warped and distorted, before it was finally torn apart!
The next thing Xu Que knew, he found himself swallowed up by a huge black void beyond the tear of the dimension!
Boom!
The bright white light had disappeared now, and the magma pool was quiet again…
But Xu Que had disappeared!
The next day, in the Imperial City of the Fire Country.
Several men who were of visibly high status were riding on handsome stallions and carrying fine swords, leading a massive troop of soldiers and cavalries into the Imperial City.
"Make way for the Prince of the Northern Province!"
"Make way for the Prince of the Southern Province!"
"Make way for the Prince of Ling Wei!"
...…
The announcement of the arrivals of these figures in the city had triggered waves of shocked gasps and whispers amongst the city dwellers. Everyone was stunned and distressed at what the presence of these people might mean. Rows and rows of people knelt to the ground as the princes passed by.
These were the royal princes of the Fire Country, and they were the royal brothers of the dead Fire Emperor!
Had they returned to claim the throne? Or had they come back to seek revenge for the Fire Emperor?
The people's hearts were thumping against their chests. No matter what reason these princes had come back for, it wouldn't be good news to them at all because the arrivals of these princes could only mean one thing—chaos.
To their surprise, though, these princes did not go straight to the Imperial Palace but rushed instead to the Great Lake, bringing with them cartloads of gifts to be sent to Madam Ya's mansion.
None of the city's dwellers could ever have expected this!
By sending gifts to Madam Ya, did it mean that the princes' stances on the Exploding Heavens Faction had softened? Could it be that the princes… no longer wanted to claim the throne?
Thus, in the short span of one night, the infamy of the Exploding Heavens Faction morphed into a reputation of respect, which spread throughout the major cities of the Fire Country and then to the four other countries!
All across the continent, young ambitious men did anything they could to find a way to join the faction!
Even the notes Xu Que had left at the Sky Incense Valley had been studied intensively by many scholars yet none of them could decipher the secret knowledge that it held.
From then on, a perplexing mystery riddled the Fire Country—"what in the world is QQ Group?"
...…
Meanwhile, Xu Que was still shrouded in utter darkness.
A day and a night had passed in the outside world, yet to him, it had only been the blink of an eye.
Notifications rang in his mind telling him that he'd earned more Acting Tough Points, although no explanation was given of how he had earned them.
Xu Que was already used to it by now, so he took no notice of it. Then, the weakening sensation he felt gradually subsided, and suddenly a small dot of light appeared in the pitch-black darkness in front of him. This spot of light grew larger and larger, until it soon engulfed his whole body!
Boom!
With noise reverberating in the background, Xu Que suddenly felt as if someone had pushed him from behind—then all sensation disappeared, and his whole body was hurled forward and he fell flat onto the ground.
And right in front of him was a clear blue sky, bright sunlight and green grass!
The teleportation spell had worked!
"Hey! Look out!" Xu Que heard someone shriek behind him.
He turned around and was flabbergasted by the sight in front of him—it was a peculiar retro-style 'car' speeding towards him. And on the carriage were two women wearing ancient-style clothes who were screaming at him in panic.
"Holy shit! This is ridiculous! Shouldn't I be in Fire Country? Where the fuck did they get the cars like the ones on earth?"
...
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