novelraw Chapter 449 - 448 - Voracious Jungle Island
Chapter 449 - 448 - Voracious Jungle Island
If Wild Heart Isle was a beast paradise that tolerated cultivators' presence, Voracious Jungle Island was a death trap to any intruder.
Unlike the varied landscape of Wild Heart Isle, Voracious Jungle Island was much smaller and completely a stifling shadowy jungle. Reptiles were in the majority but many birds also lived there happily.
All were very strong beasts as it could be said the entire island was constantly at war. At the heart of it, however, was a single race none dared cross.
The Illusion Python Clan had 7 Star Tiers, an unprecedented number to start with but any race that even tried to move against them would suddenly find their lairs turned into hellscapes they could not survive.
The pythons at Wild Heart Isle were learning much from Annabelle but the reverse would be true if she were on Voracious Jungle Island.
A vast mountain was at the heart of the island and it was the home of the Illusion Pythons. The concentration of Qi was one of the densest in all of the Floating Isles. It was also one of the highest islands so no island cast a shadow over it at any time of day.
The ideal conditions gave rise to the ascension of the beasts. It was from Voracious Jungle Island that the supreme beast sect began. They bowed to no one.
At the heart of that mountain in a rather warm cave, raucous laughter could be heard. A gigantic python shook the cave with her laughter as another of her kind frowned deeply.
"I do not see what is so funny, mother! If the boy succeeds in taming Wild Heart Isle, he will become a true overlord even we cannot face!" The smaller python was clearly related to the larger as both had ghostly pale scales.
They made it difficult to tell where the body of the python was alone but combined with their illusion skills, they became ghosts that would kill without warning if provoked.
The large snake began to shrink and wiggle until an old woman stood calmly in front of her daughter. Her eyes were still reptilian and dark gray, but the mirth was clear on her wrinkled face. Her long hair was the same ghostly pale as her scales but her robes were bright white.
"Come, come. Surely you are not so thick headed. You will be as bad as Ashosia if you keep this up." A flickering of a black tongue followed the old woman's words. The young python did not like them at all.
"She, at least, sees the danger Lind Frey poses to us! He was able to injure a Star Tier heavily and then killed it! He is only tier 4 of the Sky Realm!" That fact was hidden deeply by them. If word got out, there would be those on Voracious Jungle Island that would happily march to the tune of Lind Frey.
Strength was paramount to beasts and being able to jump a major realm was something even the fools of the Wilds would dream of learning from!
"Ah, you hear the words but do not comprehend them. You see what you wish to see but not what is. What have I taught you all these millenia?" The old woman was still amused but disappointment was clear in her voice.
The young python now wiggled and shrunk until a light young girl glared at her mother. She was a reflection of the older and still retained some scale patterns on her skin. She was clearly still at the early stages of the Star Tier.
"You do not worry enough about the threats of these 6 elemental humans! They are stronger than the others and seem far more powerful in their Arts as well. They could threaten us!" A long tired sigh followed the tirade.
"Ashosia is not wrong to be our envoy and worry about what she finds but she does not have the perspective to parse that knowledge accurately. Do you think I am so addle minded to not watch out for threats to us?" The amusement was gone and now a cold aura spread thick on the air.
The young girl shivered as she realized she had overstepped her bounds. While she had more leeway, she was still a follower, not an equal to her mother.
"Leia is with him! She is in danger!" The young girl finally spoke the worry in her heart. The old woman's face softened slightly.
"You are too overprotective of your younger sister. We are aether beasts! We can die at any time. She has received not only excellent tempering but the lessons of the Moebius Sect have let her explode in strength!" The old woman then turned to an empty corner. "Wouldn't you agree, Mistress of Illusions?"
The young python had her teeth grow longer as the air shimmered before a stunning aether child appeared. Like other beast powers, aether children were not killed on sight. Both races were of Heaven and Earth but they were not so friendly to let one into their chambers!
"DIE!" The young girl moved far faster than a Sky Realm could hope to react but the woman never moved as the attack passed harmlessly through her!
"Sigh, you have been neglecting your lessons Rory. We will be having a talk about that later." A flush of embarrassment filled the young girl's face but she scanned the cavern to see where the aether child really was.
"Your clan is powerful, Matron, but they are overconfident. If I was an enemy, only you would have been able to stop me if you were able to focus on the whole mountain." Annabelle felt no fear as she was not really there.
She had known some people would be spies or possibly those that wanted to profit off the sect lessons but the fact an Illusion Python was actually a spy had stunned even her. Beasts were far more straightforward, yet it still fit their point of view.
The world was meant to be molded and clearly the increased intelligence only enhanced that particular race.
"Your ability to hide has improved from your last attempts. I applaud you for trying to learn from us but your projection is still a bit tenuous." Annabelle flushed a bit at the praise but could only nod at the rest.
"My husband has not revealed young Leia for what she is. He has stated that so long as she earnestly learns and works for the sect, she will be protected. If, however, you make her an enemy, he will expel her." Annabelle was very serious and any sweetness was not present at all.
"You would harm my sister?!" Annabelle looked at Rory in confusion.
"Being expelled simply means she will be sent out of the sect. He would have her escorted to the relay point and enough Qi stones to get home." The Matron nodded but Rory clearly did not believe a word of it.
"Forgive my daughter, Leia was her favorite sister and they are very close." Annabelle nodded as a smirk crossed her face.
"She often mentions her big sister when excited but then clams up when I have asked about her in detail. Her affection is very strong." The Matron giggled as that little detail was so like her youngest daughter.
It also showed that Moebius Sect was far more dangerous to try and blend in as beasts could be too honest when emotions ran high.
"What brings you to my mountain, young lady? You have never crossed this line before." Rory stared at her mother in shock. An intruder had regularly been entering their island, even as a projection, and she did nothing?!
"My husband assumes you know of what happened already if not before but he wants to extend an open invitation to the beasts of this island if they wish to learn. Obviously they cannot come to us but I can relay lessons if appropriate apparatus are set up." The Matron was actually stunned.
For the first time in a very long time she was caught off guard.
She assumed the Mistress of Illusions was gathering intel for an invasion, stealing techniques, or even just comparing the 2 bloodlines of Illusion Pythons to each other. The range was benign to dangerous but nowhere was being offered lessons on it!
Her shoulders began to shake before more laughter shook the cavern. Rory looked disgusted while Annabelle actually smiled.
"THAT BOY IS AMAZING!" The words made the 2 young women jump and Annabelle's image flickered. "You are using the light stones to connect our 2 islands?" It was one of the resources many cultivators dreamed of harvesting.
Light and darkness Qi stones were damned rare in any grade but the beast islands were known to have them since beasts naturally sought out ideal environments to grow stronger. All the cultivators had to do was identify the race to know such a resource existed.
Annabelle nodded as shock flooded her face. The method to project so far was only given to her by the Illusion Pythons on Wild Heart Isle as she had felt a resonance somewhere.
She had assumed it was somewhere on the island but when she realized she was able to project to Voracious Jungle Island, she knew it was impossible to do on her own, but the light Qi stone added to her power considerably.
It took years to hone it and not be noticed by the beasts there. Only recently had she been exploring the mountain as Lind confirmed Leia was of a much stronger bloodline but she hid it.
The only reason a beast would hide a bloodline was to either blend in for safety or because they wanted to deceive those around them for some reason. Given what they knew of the Matron, it was likely Leia was one of them.
The rest was easy to unfold as Annabelle was able to confirm Leia was not only from Voracious Jungle Island but a daughter of the Matron herself!
"Good, then it is easier than you think. How do you think I have kept an eye on Leia all this time?" Now it was Rory who was shocked. Their mother knew what was going on herself?!
Annabelle bowed in respect to the Matron.
"May I know your answer, Matron?" The old woman seemed to contemplate things for a time. She then looked at her daughter and sighed.
"While I personally have no issue, many here would. They are full of fire and pride. There is nothing wrong with it but forcing them to comply would fracture all I have built. Teach Leia well and we will simply say that is enough." Annabelle narrowed her eyes as there was no promise of defending their sect but she did not push it.
The Matron was very old but nowhere near the end of her life. Having met the Black Shelled Tortoise, she knew Star Tiers could be fearsome beings.
"Very well, I will relay messages if desired but only of a personal nature." The Matron nodded as Annabelle became particles of Qi.
"Crude but a true testament to her title. To think a young Sky Realm has already reached my level of illusions." Her mother's words rocked Rory. While she fought with her mother on many things, her mastery of illusions was not one of them.
Not a single Illusion Python of either island could match the Matron.
Stating that the young aether child had done so spoke volumes for her future potential. If Annabelle was already that strong, what would she be in the Heaven Realm?! Alarm bells sounded within Rory but then she was flattened against the rough stone ground.
"You need to learn to school your face better, daughter. If I sense even a sliver of threat to the Moebius Sect without an order from me, I will skin all involved alive!" Rory knew it was no longer her mother talking but the Matron of the entire Voracious Jungle Island.
"I–I understand and obey!" Rory squeaked out a response but the pressure held for a time until it slowly let up. She ran from the cavern but the cold gray eyes followed her everywhere she went.
The Matron had another name before she became the overlord of the island. Eternal Gray Eyes. None could escape her sight!