Xingli Palace.
Fang Zheng had heard from Shana and other Fire Mist Warriors that it was the headquarters of the "Masquerade". Some Red World followers also told him that the Xingli Palace was an aerial fortress that could move and turn in the air at any time, and because of some special protection from the law of freedom, it would hardly appear in front of anyone.
But then again, when Fang Zheng actually walked into the Xingli Palace, he found that this place was not at all like the base of some dark organization as he had imagined. Instead, it was more like an exquisite work of art... Well, it was like the Western fantasy world section in the main park.
But unlike the amusement park, the biggest problem here is...
“It’s so quiet.”
Standing in the hall paved with black floors, Fang Zheng looked at the girl in front of him and sighed helplessly.
"Are there only two of you here now?"
That’s right, according to the girl, right now in the entire Xingli Palace, there is only her and a middle-aged man in a suit who is following her respectfully.
"Yes, leader."
Hearing Fang Zheng's question, the middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and answered tremblingly.
"Master Qianbian is still outside, and Master Bellpeol has her own mission, so right now, only the Great Imperial Wizard and I are in Xingli Palace..."
"I can tell from your face. If you keep staying up late like this, you'll die from overwork, uncle."
Fang Zheng looked at the Red World disciple named 'Lan Ti' Fei Kelu with sympathy. It was strange that every Red World disciple had learned superhuman skills, but their looks were very different. The girl in front of him and Tilia were both beautiful. But the Red World disciple in front of him looked like a programmer who had worked overtime in the office for seven days and seven nights and finally found that there were bugs in the program that needed to be fixed. Uncle, your looks are really not good.
"Thank you very much for your concern, Alliance Leader."
Hearing Fang Zheng's words, Fei Kelu showed a wry smile, and then he wiped the sweat from his face again.
"I'd like to make it clear in advance that I'm not the leader of an alliance."
But Fang Zheng obviously would not follow his pace. He waved his hand and continued walking forward.
"You want me to be the leader, but I refuse. Because you can't make me the leader. First of all, I need to know what kind of organization this is, because I don't want to find out I'm on a pirate ship after joining, and then everyone will come to trouble me. So I have to try it out first, and then make a decision."
"But, you are indeed our leader..."
Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Fei Kelu almost cried. He didn't know why. Logically, the leader should be familiar with them, but what was going on with this human? To be honest, Fei Kelu was also skeptical about this, but the girl in front of him insisted that she was her leader, so what could he do?
He is also desperate!
The girl in white robes didn't say anything, and Fang Zheng didn't say anything either. He just continued to walk forward with Tilia and Nanoka. Not long after, the girl in white robes stopped in front of the stairs. She turned around respectfully and stared at Fang Zheng without saying a word. Although the girl didn't finish her words, the others still understood what she meant - from now on, only Fang Zheng could move forward.
In other words, no one else is qualified.
Tilia showed a hint of dissatisfaction, but this time she did not stick to Fang Zheng, but glanced at the girl in white robe meaningfully, and then stood aside. Nanoka and Sonia did not dare to speak - this was the lair of the Red World, and she was a Fire Mist Warrior. The situation was just like the protagonist of the good side ran into the villain's base alone. Nanoka did not think she had the ability of 007, so of course she stood aside and acted like a grandson.
Fang Zheng glanced at the girl in white robe and continued walking forward.
As he stepped onto the stairs, he saw a flight of stairs appear in the empty air in front of him. As Fang Zheng continued to move forward, the stairs gradually extended upwards. When Fang Zheng reached the end of the stairs, a chair appeared in front of him.
This is far worse than the Frozen Throne.
Looking at the dark and unremarkable chair in front of him, Fang Zheng was speechless. Is this organization called Masquerade so short of money? Not only do their employees look like they are dying of overwork, but even the chair prepared for their boss is so simple. It seems that this organization understands what hardship and simplicity mean.
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng sighed, then he turned around and sat down on the chair.
“…”
“…”
"Uh... should I tremble like a tiger and emit some turtle aura or something?"
Looking at the white-robed girl and the unlucky old man below, Fang Zheng suddenly felt that his current performance seemed to be quite unworthy of their expectations.
“This, this…”
Hearing Fang Zheng's words, Fei Kelu broke out in a cold sweat and had no idea what to say. Looking at him like this, Fang Zheng shook his head.
"Okay, let's stop playing. After all, you are too old to handle the excitement."
To be honest, Fang Zheng doesn't care about these things, but Fei Kelu's image is too awkward. Every time Fang Zheng sees Fei Kelu, he thinks of those poor and lovely programmers in the programming group of his own company. They look like this every time they work overtime in front of the computer to fix bugs.
What Fang Zheng missed even more was that every time at this time he would come forward to serve them a cup of steaming hot coffee, then look at them with a smile and say - "I want to change my requirements..."
We are all good people, so don't make things difficult for them.
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng casually opened the codex, then picked up the black soul stone and put it in.
“Click.”
The next moment, the atmosphere around suddenly changed.
Here we come!
Feeling the scene in front of him begin to shake, Fang Zheng closed his eyes. This was the reaction he should have when he activated the Soul Stone for the first time. Every time he activated the Soul Stone, Fang Zheng would go over the identity and experience of the soul in the Soul Stone like watching the opening animation. However, this scene did not appear when he first got the Soul Stone. However, Fang Zheng also knew that it was because the Soul Stone was sealed, and now... he finally activated the Soul Stone.
And Fang Zheng finally knew the true identity of this soul stone.
One of the three great demon gods in the Red World - the god of creation, the sacrificial snake.
Through these memories, Fang Zheng finally understood what kind of place the world called "Red World" was.
It was a chaotic alien world. Not only were the laws of physics completely different from those on Earth, but there was no so-called "five senses" either. It was a dimension that could be interfered with and influenced by consciousness. Based on this, it was a world where "powers themselves existed in a mixture". At the same time, it was a world with an extremely harsh living environment. It was very difficult to just maintain one's existence. Because of this, the residents of that world had given up everything in order to survive. Therefore, there was no "matter" in that world, let alone "culture" that relied on the existence of "matter".
If we use a description that is understandable to earthlings, then the Red World is more like the underworld or the spirit world, an illusory world without physical characteristics in the strict sense, and the people of the Red World are "spirits" who only have self-awareness but no physical bodies.
In this way, the whole process of the Red World's followers coming to this world becomes clear.
First of all, in the "Red World", as "spirits", they need to cast a spell to create a bridge connecting the Red World and the Earth, and then they will pass through that channel and come to this world.
After coming to this world, the "Red World Disciples" who are only spirits need to first attach themselves to an object - it can be a living thing, a dead thing, or even clothes. In this way, they can have a fixed form in this world.
However, this is just the beginning. A fixed form is the key to their staying in this world, but it is not enough. They need to devour more power of existence. Only when their power is strengthened can these Red World disciples use the art of humanization and transform from "spiritual things" into humans.
This is true for Fariagni, Tilia, and even Lamy. Even taking a step back, this is true for Alastor, Sonia, and other Fire Mist Warrior contractors. Just like the necklace that Alastor inhabits, the bracelet that Sonia inhabits, and Marjoline's book, these are the "material carriers" that the Red World disciples first need after coming to this world.
From this point on, they are no different from the Crimson World. It is only after this that differences arise - the Crimson World will devour enough power to transform themselves into human form that can move freely.
The King of the Crimson World will sign a contract with humans, using their bodies as "carriers" to infuse the power of existence and allow himself to exist in this world and become fire mist warriors.
Then, it is understandable that the Red World's people act recklessly in this world.
Their original world was a world lacking even food and power. You know, in order to survive, these Red World people even erased the existence of "matter". It was like a person who could only survive by eating grass roots every day, and then suddenly came to a world full of abundant food, without danger and natural enemies. There were delicious food everywhere, and beautiful things that they had never seen before. For the Red World people, this place was like heaven!
In addition, when the Red World Cult came to Earth, there were only a few documented city-state civilizations on Earth. It was just like astronauts who were forced to leave Earth due to lack of resources in the 23rd century discovered a new continent full of fertile land and mineral deposits - and the only people on it were natives waving spears and shouting!
Even if it is the Avatar, they can only deal with private development companies. If a group of Protoss come, they will also be in trouble.
Not to mention, the Earth three thousand years ago... the people there were probably much more backward than Avatar.
And when the Red World people who possess fighting power comparable to that of the Protoss come to such a place, there is no need to ask what will happen next.
They were attracted to this new world full of beautiful things and abundant resources, but unfortunately, the levels of the two worlds were different, so even if the people of the Red World wanted to move, they had to face a problem - they needed enough power of existence to be able to survive in this world.
Then, in response to the prayers of the people of the Red World, the God of Creation appeared. He created the "Great Chains" in an attempt to fulfill the wishes of his compatriots.
From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with the Sacrifice Snake. He is the Red World Demon God, and he is also the god who is specifically responsible for affirming desires and creation. Is it wrong for him to be loyal to his duties? As a god, he came all the way to Earth because of the call of his people, and he worked hard to realize their wishes until the last moment... No wonder the Red World people respect the Creator God so much. In today's materialistic society, it is rare to find such a leader who is willing to take responsibility and take the lead in fighting on the front line.
Fang Zheng felt that if he were a member of the Red World, he would definitely be moved by such a responsible leader.
In comparison, the so-called God of Heavenly Punishment and God of Guidance are not that good...
Not only that, Fang Zheng also got a secret from this soul stone.
"I see……"
He slowly opened his eyes and looked in front of him. At this moment, in the hall, the girl in white robes had already kneeled respectfully in front of him, and Fei Kelu was also half-kneeling behind him tremblingly. As for Tilia and Nanoka, they were still standing by, but no one came to care about them - after all, there were only a few people here.
But for Fang Zheng, he didn't care about these. What was important was the secret he learned from the soul stone of the sacrificial snake.
And at this moment, he finally grasped the key to completing the main mission.