Chapter 773: To the Celestial Wind Region

"Anything I should keep in mind before I head to the Celestial Wind Region?" Max asked, his voice calm but edged with quiet urgency, eyes locked on Karl as though he could peel back secrets with his gaze alone.

Karl nodded, his expression turning serious, shadows of caution flickering across his face. "The information I shared with you hasn’t been made public yet," he said slowly, his voice dropping to a low murmur as though afraid the air itself might betray him. "So you’ll still have to do some digging to find the exact location of Lord Kome’s secret cave once you get there. There’s no map, no precise coordinates—only vague clues in ancient texts and rumors."

He paused, leaning closer as if to emphasize the weight of his next words. "But listen to me carefully—there will almost certainly be people from other major forces already sniffing around the Celestial Wind Region. Powerful from the seven overlord forces. Everyone wants a piece of the star stone and legacy of an expert from ten thousand years ago. So if you’re going...you’d better be careful. You might end up making enemies just by showing your face there."

Max nodded lightly, a faint smirk curling one corner of his lips as though the idea of rivals or hidden dangers only made his blood run hotter. "Alright," he said, his voice cool and resolute.

Then his expression turned sharper, more commanding as he looked Karl dead in the eye. "You should go back to the Black Lotus Guild and tell them that the Old Saintess from the Lower Domain will be arriving in the Middle Domain soon. And so will I."

"Old Saintess?" Karl gasped, his eyes widening with shock, mouth parting as if to spit out a barrage of questions. But before he could utter another word, a gust of wind swept through the narrow alley where they stood—and Max was simply gone, as though the shadows had swallowed him whole.

Karl stood there for a long moment, staring at the empty space where Max had just been, the chill of realization creeping down his spine. He rubbed a hand over his face and exhaled heavily, his mind spinning.

"I hope the guild doesn’t punish me for sharing the info about Lord Kome’s secret cave with Max," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he finally turned and disappeared into the milling crowd of the Battle Realm.

Meanwhile, Max emerged from a quiet side street and strode purposefully through the bustling avenues of the Battle Realm.

His sharp eyes swept over the sea of experts swarming the vast open square where the huge portal loomed, its surface shimmering like a pool of rippling silver under the glow of countless runes. This was the portal leading to the black cube placed in the Celestial Wind Region.

Streams of people moved in and out, their faces lit with anticipation, curiosity, and quiet greed.

Max paused for a heartbeat, standing before the towering portal, taking in the throng of warriors, merchants, and adventurers coming and going in an endless tide. A faint smile played across his lips as he flexed his fingers, feeling the raw pulse of energy thrumming in his veins.

Then, without a second of hesitation, he stepped forward and vanished into the swirling glow of the portal.

In the Hundred Battle Regions, chaos and combat were woven into the very air, as natural and constant as the howling wind or the shifting sun. Celestial Wind Region was no exception to this brutal truth.

Everywhere one looked, there were people locked in deadly contests—experts battling one another with swirling techniques that cracked the skies, warriors clashing with monstrous beasts whose roars echoed like thunder, and rivers of blood soaking into the dusty soil, painting the Hundred Battle Regions in grim shades of red.

After stepping out of the black cube into the Celestial Wind Region, Max found himself standing amidst a sprawling forest where towering trees loomed like ancient sentinels, their leaves rustling with secrets carried on the wind.

The scent of sap and distant ozone mixed with a faint undercurrent of blood, reminding him that this was a place where countless battles had been fought and lives had been ended.

Max narrowed his eyes, scanning his surroundings with his Three Dimensional Body, extending his perception through every tree trunk, beneath every shadow, and into the hidden folds of the terrain.

He knew well enough that if there truly was a secret cave left behind by a legendary expert like Lord Kome, it would almost certainly be somewhere secluded, perhaps even nestled among the winding networks of caves and ridges that riddled the region’s forests and mountains.

Max moved cautiously yet swiftly, ghosting between trees and boulders, his senses alert for even the faintest anomaly. It was during one such silent passage through a narrow valley that a sudden sharp noise tore through the air—a series of rapid sounds like arrows whistling past at lethal speed.

His body tensed as he whirled toward the sound, his Three Dimensional Body instantly locking onto three figures crashing into the valley clearing.

The first two figures hit the ground hard, skidding across stones and dirt before slamming into the banks of a narrow stream. Blood spattered the mossy rocks, and crimson spread in tendrils through the water, turning the babbling current into a streaked river of red.

Max’s eyes flicked over their forms; both were dressed in plain, practical robes, nothing to indicate allegiance to any major force. But their ragged breathing and blood-soaked clothes spoke volumes about the deadly pursuit they’d just endured.

Then the third figure descended, landing in a controlled crouch just a few feet from the other two. This man wore silver robes that glimmered under the dappled light filtering through the treetops, and upon his chest was emblazoned a black insignia shaped like a mountain clawed by three sharp talons—a symbol as familiar as it was foreboding.

"Mountain Gods Valley..." Max murmured under his breath, eyes narrowing.

He knew the mark well. Everyone from the Mountain Gods Valley, one of the seven overlord forces of the Middle Domain, wore silver robes, and their ranks were denoted by the mountain-shaped insignia upon their chests.

A single pointed peak signified a 1-star genius. Two pointed peaks meant a 2-star genius. And three pointed peaks marked a 3-star genius—a member of formidable strength and prestige.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay