Chapter 167: Worm Master

"Go sort out your things. I’m going out to get some supplies for us. We can’t keep going in and out of here while we’re travelling. We’ll have people around us."

Moon nodded. He had thought about that, too.

This place was convenient, but they couldn’t keep relying on it once they left.

They would eventually have to travel with other people, and they couldn’t simply disappear into the Lost Realm whenever they wanted.

They also needed to consider how they would leave without exposing their secrets.

They could either use the underground tunnel beneath the gorge’s water or return through the entrance where they had entered.

Either way, they would have to be careful not to attract attention.

They also needed to pretend they were taking things out of their bags rather than pulling supplies directly from a treasure vault.

Moon didn’t want anyone becoming suspicious of how much they carried or where it all came from.

So he returned to sort out his clothes, pills, and other belongings.

Ugo also left in a hurry to gather the supplies they would need for the journey.

From the afternoon until evening, everyone was busy with their own work.

Nox left the Lost Realm early with Oshan since they had entered through Malong City.

They planned to distract the people around the gorge and draw some guards away when Moon and the others left through the underground tunnel toward the same alpine bush.

With the guards occupied elsewhere, the group would have a better chance of leaving unnoticed.

Levi once again lent a hand and already stirred up some trouble among the packs.

His men were spreading rumors that a secret realm would open in two or three months, not in the gorge cave but along the southern ring.

Some people believed the rumors.

Others didn’t.

Among the non-believers were the Vaelis Pack and the Vesper Pack.

The Vesper Pack had been keeping an eye on the gorge crack all along.

They had even tried to break through the scavengers and re-enter the cave.

But now, they finally understood how foolish they had been.

Before, Moon had cleared out the scavengers and put them to sleep, while Levi and his elder killed them easily, allowing everyone to enter without much trouble.

Now, however, a new pack of scavengers guarded the crack like a mountain.

Fighting their way through would only attract attention, and they would likely be dead before they could reach the entrance.

They could only curse their bad luck.

Meanwhile, another group had surfaced, seeking answers about how someone had managed to put the scavengers to sleep and how people could remain alive inside the gorge for so many days.

Even the High Priestess of the Palace of Fortune had taken some interest in the matter.

Some people suspected that a pack had already invented the poison-removing pill but was keeping it secret.

They wanted to monopolize all the gorge’s Moon’s Tears for themselves.

As a result, another wave of conspiracies began brewing among the packs, with some already planning to plant spies.

The eastern territory of Monalis Celestia was gradually becoming restless.

Rumors spread, suspicions grew, and different forces began making their own plans around the gorge.

Meanwhile, Moon and his team remained unaware of most of what was happening outside.

Only Nox and Oshan had caught wind of some of these developments when they were in Malong city.

And most of them came from Levi.

So when Moon finally stepped out of the Lost Realm, he had no idea that the once-peaceful Monalis Celestia was about to be thrown into turmoil because of his presence.

And the history itself was slowly being rewritten.

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When the sun set in the west and the entire Lost Realm was shrouded in darkness, the Moon Goddess slowly spread her wings through the Black Sea Gorge.

Moon, Ugo, and Axe stepped inside the exit tunnel.

It had only been a few days, yet Moon felt as though it had been ages since he last saw the outside world.

It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t looking forward to seeing the outside world again and experiencing the liveliness of its people. In fact, he was eager to go out.

These Alpha brothers thought he was an ethereal figure who was moody and silent.

But in reality, he wasn’t.

If anything, he would prefer to be a spoiled brat.

He had once been one, when his mother was still alive and well. But reality had forced him to become silent and kept his thoughts in check.

Yet, from time to time, he would still find ways to stir up trouble and torture his father by doing all kinds of irritating things he hated.

Once, he had secretly placed an earthworm inside his father’s Daoist robe before a sect master came to visit.

It wasn’t an ordinary earthworm, either.

It was a special species Moon had discovered himself in his yard, one that could hide both its breath and scent.

Even his father, a master mage, hadn’t noticed it.

Moon had been hiding nearby, waiting to see how his little discovery would cause trouble, when he heard the sect master suddenly exclaim in surprise.

The earthworm had wriggled out of his father’s sleeve while the two were dining.

It made a mess of the food, jumping around.

He could still remember the black lines on his father’s forehead and the suffocating expression of the sect master as he struggled to suppress his laughter.

But what pleased him the most was the events that followed,

After that day, the sect master and his fellow cultivators would always call his father "worm master." And the face he would make was so funny.

Moon could still remember that face vividly.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing he did.

Whenever he went to sweep the library floors or do other chores, Moon would always sneak into the library’s forbidden books and peek inside the cauldron of other disciples.

He had collected a lot of memory stones of each one’s black face with a grimace when they blasted the pills. He even released some for being called wasted.

Those little moments had once been enough to make him happy and keep going.

But all of that came to an end when his father sent him to face the beast tide. No matter what, he had never thought he would be sacrificed just like that.

Whatever affection he still held for his father died at that exact moment.

So did his mischievous delusions.

He knew affection was something born from delusion.

He knew that from experience.

So he stopped yearning for affection.

When even his blood connection had turned out to be a total lie, what were these unknown, so-called fated mates supposed to mean?

He didn’t believe in them.

He only believed in the exchange of benefits.

Moon stepped out of the tunnel and looked up at the water above him. The Black Sea Gorge was silent and peaceful.

At least, on the surface.

He carefully scanned his surroundings, making sure no one was tracking them underwater before moving toward the crack.

The three of them quietly made their way through the cave that led to the alpine mountain, where Nox was waiting and setting up his maze formation.

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Up in the gorge, the guards were still patrolling through the harsh winds and damp air.

None of them noticed that their targeted treasure trove had already disappeared.