122: Mutual Connection of Presence and Absence

117 - 121 I read it scrambled so you can too (though I don't quite get what happened there)

[The limited-time event: Dragon Blood has ended, unused points in the point shop will be retained]

[Point awards are now being distributed]

[First place...]

On the third day back, Qin Muye suddenly discovered that this time-limited event had ended just like that, though he wasn't sure why. However, it didn't matter much to him; the Dragon Blood event wasn't of much significance to him, and the second bounty for Dragon-type Heroes had ended without result.

Because of the Crimson series of weapons Qin Muye trafficked, the situation, which could have exploded at any moment, exhibited a bizarre calmness-the wars that were always on the brink of ignition had now ceased.

If it weren't for Qin Muye's deterrence with the trafficked Crimson series weapons, putting all else aside, the True Dragon Emperor would have taken the opportunity presented by the Dragon Blood event to start sweeping across the continent.

Everyone wanted to reach Rank 7, yet only one Rank 7 could exist on the Magic Continent at any given time.

But Qin Muye had no thoughts of competing, for he owned another territory, the Horror Universe. If push came to shove, he could just shift his core interests towards the Horror Universe, where there were no Lords.

After extracting the bloodline from the Dragon Corpse in his hand, Qin Muye casually wiped his hand on his white robe. Inside the Mage Tower, he wasn't wearing the Crimson suit; actually, he felt rather uncomfortable in it and wouldn't prefer wearing it if not for safety reasons.

The lavishness of that attire made it obvious at a glance that it belonged to the wealthy, not only with great attributes but also excellent for showing off.

"Master, you should inspect Hell in the Horror Universe today and participate in a cooperative council with the human upper echelons of the Horror Universe," suggested Black Hand as he approached, holding Qin Muye's Crimson outfit in hand.

Under normal circumstances, he should have gone the day after returning, but yesterday Qin Muye was adapting to the new Hell Power in his own body, so it got delayed. By the time he finished dealing with affairs, it was already dark; thus, he simply continued with the Dragon Vein experiment from before, and only this morning did the Dark Hand come over.

"I remember, this succession of events is indeed troublesome. How's the investigation of the time flow speed between the two realms progressing?" Qin Muye inquired.

Previously, as an instance, no matter how long one stayed in the Horror Universe, returning would always mean only 24 hours had passed, but now without the power of the "Lord Era" maintained by the instance ticket, there is definitely a difference.

"1-to-1, Master. Don't worry, it won't take too long," Black Hand had brought up this issue yesterday, so Qin Muye had given him the Super-Space Transmission Channel to test the time flow speed.

Now it seems that the time in both worlds is synchronized.

No need to worry about him, two days over there might become two years here.

"Alright, then let's set off," Qin Muye said as he donned his Crimson suit. He opened the gates to the Horror Universe through the Super Space-Time Transmission Channel. The location was naturally his own territory in Hell.

Before, it was the Hell from the Book of Death; now, it belongs to Qin Muye.

The communication could be handled by the Black Hand, but Qin Muye's role was to inspect Hell and discover any marvelous aspects of being the Lord of Hell within it. Accompanying him, besides the Black Hand and the Deacon Spirit Monsters, were Tian Qi and the Evangelical Spirit Monsters acting as bodyguards.

Once inside, Qin Muye could feel the entire Hell as if it were a book in his hand, open and with nothing hidden from his view.

"This Hell seems a bit empty."

Qin Muye found that this Hell appeared to be in a state of weakness.

He had also found the reason for his weakness, which was the erosion from a massive amount of Crimson Element. While it wouldn't kill him, living would also be somewhat difficult.

Luckily, aside from the Lord Talent of being the Lord of Hell, Qin Muye also had the Lord Talent of the Crimson Ancestor, continually softening these Crimson Element Crystals and suppressing them, freeing up space for Hell Power and thus making Hell a lot more lively.

"The two powers currently cannot coexist; they require further integration to do so."

"Now, the entire Akman Town and its surrounding environment have been sealed off by the Hell Church and the Church Court. You can approach them on your own, Black Hand; I won't go. If anything important arises, contact me via the Bidirectional Teleportation Gate. I need to figure out a way to integrate Hell Power with Crimson Elements."

"This way, I can control this Hell with the dual powers of the Lord of Hell and the Crimson Ancestor."

The current situation was that Qin Muye's mastery over this Hell stemmed from the Talent of the Lord of Hell, and he was not very satisfied with his control ability. However, if he were to fuse with the Crimson Element, Qin Muye's control would become much stronger, turning this Hell into his own line of Crimson descendants.

"Yes, Master, however, based on your previous description, these two powers may reject your current identity as the Lord of Hell. When the time comes, they may need to speak with you in detail," Black Hand knew that he was merely representing Qin Muye, and even if he had the authority to make decisions, they would still have to meet Qin Muye in person.

"You decide on these small matters; making an appearance isn't a big deal," Qin Muye said, focusing on the integration of Hell Power and Crimson Elements and not intending to interfere with Black Hand's decisions.

The entire domain is well organized under the management of Dark Hand; for someone with a mismatched profession like him to interfere would likely cause trouble.

"Understood, Master," said Black Hand as he was sent out of Hell by Qin Muye, with the Deacon Spirit Monsters and an additional fifty Evangelical Spirit Monsters in tow.

This Lord of Hell's ability turned out to be quite useful; the entrance was not sealed, so without the Super-Space Transmission Channel, Qin Muye could still use his teleportation ability.

A whole day passed in a flash, and Dark Hand still hadn't returned. If it weren't for the lack of activity at the Bidirectional Teleportation Gate and the absence of a death notification, he would have used the Lord Summon to call Dark Hand and the others back at the first opportunity.

However, this also served as indirect proof that things must be going smoothly; had there been any accidents, the Bidirectional Teleportation Gate would have been taken out of the inventory by now.

Retrieval did not require any physical effort; simply a thought was enough.

It was not until the next day that the Black Hand, with others in tow, arrived at Qin Muye's Hell.

The visitors were naturally senior members from both the Hell Church and the Church Court. They must have had a brief discussion yesterday, and it would likely take another two or three days to talk things through. This was to be a comprehensive partnership rather than a minor one, and many details needed to be further nailed down, not just casually agreed upon.

The others were somewhat baffled when they saw Qin Muye, as, in their minds, this Father Andrew, the Lord Scholar from an Exotic Realm, should possess a grandeur similar to the other Lords of Hell.

But now, the Temple had many tents set up, with Tian Qi cooking food amidst waving tentacles, while Qin Muye squatted in a corner, earnestly researching the integration of Crimson Elements and Hell Power, appearing somewhat neurotic.

"Find a place to sit and talk amongst yourselves. I've got some work to finish here," Qin Muye said, not lifting his head while casually continuing his integration work.

"Please, everyone take a seat, and if you have any queries, feel free to ask directly; my master will respond if he can," said Black Hand with a smile.

Several Deacon Spirit Monsters quickly set up a makeshift conference room in the Temple.

For the people of the Hell Church and the Church Court to arrive at Qin Muye's Hell was no simple feat. Although there was no Evil Spirit Army, the Crimson environment contains malice towards everything, so they had to wear protective suits developed by Qin Muye to avoid contracting the Crimson Disease and being eroded into Crimson Crystals over time.

Tea was served again, a scene that annoyed Tian Qi because it was the tea he had ordered the Evangelical Spirit Monster to brew for Qin Muye; yet before Qin Muye could even drink it, Dark Hand had taken it for his own use.

Tian Qi was akin to a fanatic, while Dark Hand was a politician; their personalities were worlds apart.

The Spirit Monsters under Qin Muye's command didn't need to worry, as the Crimson Ancestor's Lord Talent had granted his domain adaptability to the Crimson Element, so the Spirit Monsters didn't have to fear being affected by the Crimson Element.

For instance, right now, to Dark Hand, a bit of tea was nothing; Qin Muye didn't care about such trivialities, and if they could serve to embellish greater interests, it was naturally not a problem.

Dark Hand saw Tian Qi's displeasure and gave an apologetic smile. Each Spirit Monster Hero, due to their differing experiences and professions, also had different personalities.

It was fortunate that he recognized the bigger picture, or else he'd have had to unsheathe his tentacles then and there, and start smacking those Deacon Spirit Monsters with each one.

But for Tian Qi, this was for Qin Muye, and even if it had no value, you couldn't just take it-it had to be given by Qin Muye. If he didn't offer it and you took it upon yourself, that would be impolite.

If Qin Muye were not here, Tian Qi would truly act recklessly without regard for the greater good.