NOVPUB"The gods speak true; it is fortunate to have the favor of the Mother of All Things." Ivan could sense the changes in the others and, seeing that the situation had settled, he proceeded to bid farewell: "It has been an honor to visit today. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave now."
"Go ahead."
"Sorcerer Ivan, let us leave together and catch up."
At this point, the group of the Dark Night Mother Goddess couldn’t very well continue to trouble him. They also didn’t want to keep him here to irritate themselves further.
Meg suggested they leave together.
The two quickly flew out of the upper gathering place at the Lonely Mountain Residence, descending slowly to the base of the lone peak.
"Sorcerer Ivan, how was it? Those people didn’t continue to trouble you, did they?" Jenny rushed up anxiously before they even landed.
"Not too bad. This isn’t the place to discuss it. Let’s leave first."
Hearing this, Jenny immediately realized that things weren’t as simple as they appeared, and her expression darkened.
Subsequently, the three of them arrived at the edge of the secret realm. Using Earth Traversal, they returned to the first layer of the Underworld in no time, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed.
"Don’t worry. No one made a move. They undoubtedly intended to trouble me, but I declined them one by one. Besides, the Azure Throne was watching over things." Ivan said reassuringly to the worried Jenny.
"No, no, I didn’t help with much. I don’t dare claim credit. Also, we’re friends—always have been and always will be—so just call me Meg directly." Meg waved his hand, earnestly emphasizing.
"Miss Jenny, rest assured. Ivan is favored by great willpower. Those people wouldn’t dare trouble him." Meg added decisively.
"Thank you, Azure Throne." Jenny finally relaxed somewhat, but her face still carried an apologetic expression. "I’m sorry—I didn’t know Lilabet would arrange things like this beforehand."
Hearing this, Meg appeared somewhat exasperated yet decided not to dwell on the matter of formalities.
"Ultimately, they simply underestimated this sorcerer—otherwise, things could have gone much worse." Ivan shook his head lightly.
Frankly, it wasn’t uncommon. If it had been anyone else, upon hearing of resources to assist in condensing a throne, they would undoubtedly scramble for it, gratefully accepting the summon in grand fashion by the Core faction.
Unfortunately, he was not such a man.
Moreover, when matters fell to him, the relentless trouble they caused lit a fire in his chest.
"Meg, you haven’t been staying in that place all these years, have you?"
"You guessed correctly—I’ve hardly ever left."
Meg recounted his experiences over the years. He had indeed remained in the place where the two of them had once searched for the Nature Throne. From lord to Ancient King, and then from Ancient King to throne status, he had left only once during that time.
Seven short years later, he returned to the location, trying to push for throne status again, only to find himself running out of steam.
Initially, he thought of entering a deep sleep to enrich his reserves over time.
But later, the Dark Night Mother Goddess somehow entered that special place herself, bringing him the goodwill and assistance of the Core faction, which enabled him to condense a throne successfully within a short timeframe.
"Meg, the Dark Night Mother Goddess—she’s surely above throne level, isn’t she?"
"Of course not. She is at Level 7 Supreme status. In the Core faction, she is the strongest, followed closely by the Sea Mother Blai Bu. As for the Sea Mother’s specific strength, I don’t truly know, though both of them have lingering old wounds yet to be resolved."
"The Core faction also aligns itself with other Supreme-level powerhouses. If not for today’s absurd situation, honestly, I think drawing closer to them would be a good choice for you."
Meg knew Ivan would undoubtedly be vexed about earlier events. Regret and helplessness weighed heavily in his heart.
No matter how you looked at it, the blame couldn’t fall on him as a friend. Yet with the Core faction’s perspective, they probably thought they had acted rightly—this was open-ended.
"Indeed, life is full of uncertainties."
As for the Core faction, Ivan still hadn’t decided how to respond. At this moment, a deep urgency churned in his heart; he longed to condense a throne soon to escape the humiliation of being starkly weaker than others.
Soon after, Ivan and Meg parted ways. Ivan planned to return to the surface, while Meg remained in the Underworld.
...
Meanwhile.
After Ivan and the others left, the upper square at Lonely Mountain Residence fell into silence for a long time.
What seemed like a sure success ended up exposing their vulnerability. Not only did the sorcerer show no interest in their grand plans, but he also left them feeling foolish. The Core faction hadn’t been humiliated like this in ages.
"Ha—hahaha."
After the dead silence came Sea Mother’s laughter.
"Blai Bu, what are you laughing at?" The Thousand Claw Throne frowned.
"I just find it amusing—watching a ridiculous scene of big bullying small, unjust coercion, only to be rebuked without a comeback," the Sea Mother replied bluntly.
"If you disapprove, then why didn’t you speak up to stop it earlier?" The Thousand Claw Throne’s face darkened.
"A mere page of Abyss Plane Secret Techniques—it’s not enough for me to disregard Core faction interests. But, you’re right, I do despise your actions: to fabricate baseless charges and impose them on a junior! Where’s your dignity?"
The Sea Mother cast him a scornful glance, making no effort to hide her disdain.
"You! I did this purely for the development of the Core faction!" Thousand Claw Throne was incensed, but knowing he wasn’t her match, he could only offer a weak defense.
"And what about Jenny? Don’t you think this deeply wounded her? In my view, you should have approved her request earlier. When has the Core faction ever lacked the courage to carry responsibility?"
The Sea Mother tempered the disdain as she shifted to another pressing concern.
Given Jenny’s relationship with the sorcerer, previous actions may have planted seeds of bitterness in her heart—even leading her to drift apart from the Core faction. This would contradict their original intentions.
Moreover, the Azure Throne likely harbored discontent as well.
"Send Jenny into the Ash Plane? Out of the question—I won’t allow it," the Dark Night Mother Goddess declared firmly.
"If you’re adamant, then count me out," the Sea Mother conceded thoughtfully. She realized there were flaws in her own considerations:
"Actually, that sorcerer is a prime candidate. But he’s preoccupied with condensing his throne—it’s clear he lacks the time. We didn’t factor this in properly."
The group fell silent.
It wasn’t about shifting blame to outsiders; the Ash Plane was genuinely eerie—especially for members of the Core faction. The moment they set foot there, they might be exposed.
When it came to the Ash Plane, it was Danaila’s long-standing adversary.
Ten thousand years ago, Danaila had endured invasions from three major marauders—the Abyss Plane leading the charge, followed by the Shadow Plane and the Ash Plane.
Among the three, the first was formidable, while the latter two were shrouded in strange, treacherous powers, particularly the Ash Plane.
Such an enmity would endure through the ages; no matter how much time passed, whenever the occasion arose, Danaila would strike back to avenge the bloodshed of the past.
And now, their opportunity seemed at hand, targeting one of the three—the Ash Plane.
A task had been assigned to the Core faction: infiltrating the Ash Plane and uncovering its truths.
However, given the Core faction’s formidable reputation in past campaigns, the three marauders were undoubtedly still wary of them, marking them as primary threats. This made infiltration highly challenging.
Thus, they sought a sorcerer to act as their front-runner. But, of course, the sorcerer refused.
Repeated rejection didn’t sit well with them. In such circumstances, the Thousand Claw Throne discovered something vital—connected to the Core faction’s survival itself. They were all too eager to see the sorcerer fail.
Such was the unpredictability of life.
"I’ll make one more proposal—a method that would kill two birds with one stone, and that is—"
After a long silence, the Sea Mother broke the stillness.
"Oh? Let’s hear it." The others perked up.
"According to the sorcerer’s own suggestion: help him condense his throne first, then discuss the task." The Sea Mother continued.
"Absolutely not! That would equal apologizing to that human sorcerer. Where is our pride in that? We’re thrones of the Core faction; he’s just a mere Ancient King—not worth bending over for." Thousand Claw Throne immediately opposed.
The others didn’t seem inclined to agree either.
"There’s no time."
The Sea Mother sighed and offered no further suggestions.
