At the dawn of the next day, Tulip, Zi, Pangu, and I packed our tent and made our way out of Mount Evergreen. We have stayed here longer than anticipated, but we gained a lot in the end.
On the way out, the number of monsters increased significantly. It seems this is Qarosd's way of light punishment for taking a valuable magical beast from its possession, even though we have made an agreement. Still, none threatened us. All of the dead monsters and beasts went into the little Winged Lion's belly; meat, bones, and cores, all of it.
There were thousands of monsters eaten, but even that barely satisfied Zi's abnormal hunger. It even made me wonder what I have brought upon myself.
Once we were finally out of the boundaries of Mount Evergreen, Tulip looked at me and asked, "So, where to next?"
Before I could answer, I felt like we were being watched. My instincts improved a lot after my encounter with the Fire Dragon Qarosd. Sensing such a thing was easy now. I turned around and saw Richard staring at us. It isn't the first time he has been observing us, now that I think about it.
He smiled when Tulip also turned around and replied to her question, "You will know the answer shortly."
"Richy," Pangu said. It is his own way of greeting Richard, one that the Lord of Chaos doesn't exactly like. There has always been some tension between the two of them, but Pangu won't tell me why. It's as if he were ashamed of the reason.
Nonetheless, Richard ignored him and looked at Zi, who was hiding behind me and clutching the fabric of my pants with its little paws. It was trembling uncontrollably. Even its voice was the same when it spoke to me through our bond, "What is he, Orion? Why is it that when I look at him, I just feel like I am staring at a dark and dangerous abyss?"
I was stunned. I have never heard someone describe Richard like that. Richard once again spoke before I could and addressed Zi, "Have no worry, cub. I am Richard, the ruler of this universe and Orion's teacher."
My eyes went immediately to him, and they narrowed, "How can you hear what he said through our soul bond?"
Richard looked amused as he asked me, "Are you really asking such a question, Orion? You can figure it out."
He is the Lord of Chaos. Of course, spying on a soul bond isn't hard for someone like him. I scowled, "Why are you even here?"
"First things first, hand me the map, Tulip." A scroll appeared in Tulip's hand, the one that we got from Emperor Sun, and she handed it to Richard. He opened it and murmured something that I couldn't understand.
He tossed it back to her and said with a smile, "Now you can know the answer to your original question."
She opened it as I came closer to her to look over. Six scattered points were emitting a slight white glow. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the glowing spots were the blade shard locations.
"The nearest piece is in Bing Zhi Di, in the north of the East," I said.
"Bing Zhi Di? What kind of name is that?" asked Tulip.
"Bing Zhi Di translates to The Land of Ice," answered Richard, "a place where Orion would love. Well, not as much as Mount Evergreen."
I chuckled and said, "I can't wait to go to another cold land."
"It is indeed the nearest spot, but you won't be going there just yet."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons."
"Okay then, O mysterious lord, where are we going?"
"You, Orion, are going to an abandoned island in the Pacific Ocean, near the shore of East."
"Just Orion?" Tulip asked. Richard nodded and explained, "You have recently stepped into the Sovereign stage, Tulip. But you still have to stabilize your powers before doing anything else. As for little Zi, I have prepared some things for it to grow properly.
"Besides, for this specific shard, Orion has to go alone."
"I just made the bond with Zi," I said while wincing.
"I understand, but this is the best for all of you. Ah, before I forget, Orion, start consuming the beast core of the Great Wood Serpent now, and continue to do so even when you are fighting."
Despite having my doubts and a lot of questions that I know Richard won't answer, I still did as he asked. I knelt beside Zi and instructed it, "I won't take long before I come back, Zi. Listen to what Richard and Tulip say and behave, okay?"
It nodded its head and said, "You can count on me. Just don't take long to come back, okay?"
I smiled and patted its head. I hugged Tulip and whispered in her ear, "It won't be long."
She grinned as we let go and they teleported to the Mansion of Night.
-----------------
Updated on 6/9/2025