Chapter 0246: A Way to Escape

Huang Long and the others never expected that the reason why those imprisoned on the Dark Star couldn’t use magic or combat energy was such.
“Not bad,” Cecil said with a smile.
“So, to leave the Dark Star, we have to destroy this Magic-Prohibiting Mountain?” Huang Long asked.
Cecil was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter as if it were the funniest joke he’d ever heard. After stopping laughing, seeing the puzzled looks on Huang Long and the others’ faces, Cecil said, “This brother seems unaware. This Magic-Prohibiting Mountain spans hundreds of thousands of miles and is thousands of feet tall. Its entire body is made of Magic-Prohibiting Stone, which is harder than refined iron. Not to mention divine warriors—even lower-ranked gods who haven’t lost their divine power and use divine artifacts can’t destroy it.”
“Magic-Prohibiting Stone?” Huang Long asked in confusion.
“It’s a type of iron ore,” Cecil explained. “That’s how we on the Dark Star call it. I’ve heard from some divine warriors who came here that it’s called White Spirit Stone outside.”
“What? White Spirit Stone?!” Huang Long wasn’t too surprised, but Long Yi and the others’ expressions changed.
Huang Long glanced at Long Yi and the others. Could they know about White Spirit Stone?
“It seems you all know about White Spirit Stone too,” Cecil said, looking at them, unexpecting that they were aware of it.
“Indeed,” Long Yi nodded. Seeing Huang Long’s confusion, he explained, “White Spirit Stone is a divine stone from the Divine Plane—more precisely, from the Plane of the Light Supreme God, because such stones only exist there.”
“The Plane of the Light Supreme God?” Huang Long frowned, not expecting the topic to relate to that plane. Could this Magic-Prohibiting Mountain also be connected to it?
Everyone fell silent for a while.
Seeing Huang Long and the others deep in thought, Cecil was about to leave when Huang Long suddenly raised his head and asked, “So, apart from destroying this Magic-Prohibiting Mountain, is there no other way to leave the Dark Star?”
Cecil stopped and hesitated for a moment before saying with a wry smile, “There is another way, but just like destroying the mountain, it’s impossible.”
Hearing that there was another method, Long Yi and the others, who had been disappointed, immediately raised their heads and looked at Cecil, their faces showing unmistakable joy.
“What method?” Huang Long asked, though he wasn’t optimistic, as Cecil’s words suggested the escape method would also be extremely difficult.
“I heard there’s a River of the Heavens at the summit of the Magic-Prohibiting Mountain!” Cecil said.
“River of the Heavens?” Long Yi and the others exclaimed.

“Not bad. This Tongtian River is said to lead to an alien realm, but exactly where it leads is unclear. Moreover, this is just a legend. There’s no definite answer as to whether there really is a Tongtian River atop the Forbidden Magic Mountain or if it leads to an alien place, because no one has ever reached its summit,” said Cecil.

“Nobody can reach the summit of the Forbidden Magic Mountain,” Huang Long and the others blurted out, then seemed to realize something.

“Yes. Although the Forbidden Magic Mountain exudes an aura that repels magic, the area around it is rich in elemental energy, making it a favored habitat for Dark Star Beasts. It can be said that one-third of the star beasts live in the White Mist Desert, while the other two-thirds are concentrated around the Forbidden Magic Mountain and its surrounding tens of thousands of miles. Even on the summit, there are divine-grade star beasts, and these beasts generally live in groups,” Cecil explained.

“Divine-grade star beasts,” Huang Long murmured to himself.

Long Yi and the others remained silent, but they didn’t show signs of disappointment. After all, although it was dangerous, with their strength, they might still be able to reach the summit.

Se Cecil seemed to know that Huang Long and the others were clinging to hope, so he continued, “That’s just one aspect. Besides these star beasts, there are also terrifying swamps around the base of the Forbidden Magic Mountain. These swamps are extremely hard to detect, and even divine warriors who accidentally fall into them cannot escape. On the mountainside, there’s a poisonous miasma that causes even the bodies of divine warriors to rot, and those touched by the holy warriors die instantly. Even if one manages to pass through the territory of the divine-grade star beasts at the summit and reach the Tongtian River, it’s useless, because around the river, there’s said to be an ice rain that can freeze even souls. Swamps and poisonous miasmas might be avoided by luck, but this ice rain cannot be escaped—since it falls constantly, turning even lower-grade divine artifacts into ice stones.”

As Cecil explained, Long Yi and the others’ expressions grew increasingly grim. Even Huang Long furrowed his brows tightly.

Indeed, as Cecil said, swamps and poisonous miasmas might be avoided by luck, but this ice rain was an insurmountable barrier to death.

Lower-grade divine artifacts turned into ice stones just from being touched—this showed just how terrifying this ice rain was, even more so than the Yuan Magnetic Storm.

If not for luck, they would have perished in the Yuan Magnetic Storm long ago. Back then, Huang Long still had enough magic power to activate the Defense of the Immortal Pavilion.

Were they really doomed to stay trapped here forever?

Huang Long sighed inwardly. When he turned to look, Long Yi and the others had faces full of despair.

Complete silence.

Cecil said, “I know that those who have just entered the Dark Star surely don’t want to be trapped here. In fact, everyone imprisoned here shares this feeling. Over the past few hundred years, many have still gone to the Forbidden Magic Mountain with a sense of resistance. Among them were some divine warriors, but in the end…” At this point, Cecil shook his head. “Generally, they never return. Even if someone manages to escape by chance, they’re not whole anymore.”

Long Yi couldn’t help but swallow hard.

After a while, realizing that Huang Long and the others needed time to process this news, Cecil took the initiative to leave.

Once Cecil was gone, silence filled the stone house. None of Huang Long’s companions spoke.

“Do we have to die here?!” After a while, the Sea God Apton broke the silence, his face filled with despair and resistance.

Without the ability to use magic or combat energy, they were nothing but ordinary people with physical bodies, destined to die like ordinary people. They were once powerful beings in the divine realm—once they entered the divine plane and received divine essences and formed divine bodies, they could enjoy endless life. But now they had to face such a reality, which they couldn’t accept.

They had practiced hard for thousands of years, enduring countless hardships just to reach the divine realm, so they could live better and longer. Now, everything was about to be ruined!

Long Yi and the others didn’t respond.

After a while, Long Yi raised his head. “Brother Huang Long, what do you think we should do now?”

By now, Long Yi had gotten used to letting Huang Long make decisions and following his lead.

“We definitely have to go to the Forbidden Magic Mountain,” Huang Long said slowly, a glint in his eyes as he glanced around at everyone.

Long Yi and the others’ expressions changed.

“But the Forbidden Magic Mountain… us?” Beilin from the Phoenix clan showed concern upon thinking of the swamps, poisonous mists, and ice rains Cecil had mentioned earlier.

“The swamps, poisonous mists, and those divine-grade starbeasts aren’t problems,” Huang Long said calmly.

The swamps were hidden, but under Huang Long’s powerful divine sense, they were virtually non-existent. As for the most potent poisonous mists, there were pills to counter them. As for those divine-grade starbeasts, Huang Long already had plans to deal with them. Although he couldn’t use magic now, his divine sense wasn’t affected. He could still use the method of divine sense imprinting. While others might only be able to tame one life-starbeast, he could use this method to tame a large number of sacred and divine-grade starbeasts. With such a large number of sacred and divine-grade starbeasts, those on the Forbidden Magic Mountain wouldn’t be a problem at all.

So, now, Huang Long needs to do two things next. First, find materials to craft pills that can resist poisonous miasma; second, go to the White Mist Desert to capture sacred and divine-grade starbeasts. However, as for that ice rain, Huang Long isn’t sure about it. That ice rain can turn even lower-grade divine artifacts into ice stones. We’ll discuss it when we reach the peak of the Forbidden Magic Mountain. “Mud pits, poisonous miasma, and those divine-grade starbeasts—none of them are a problem?!” After hearing Huang Long’s words, Long Yi and the others were stunned, then their faces lit up as they looked at him. Though they didn’t know what Huang Long relied on, they knew he wouldn’t claim certainty about something he wasn’t sure of. “If that’s the case, we can head to the peak of the Forbidden Magic Mountain!” Long Yi said excitedly. “But what about that ice rain?!” Just as Long Yi spoke excitedly, the Sea God Apton spoke up. The once joyful and excited group stopped immediately, staring at Huang Long in silence. Huang Long smiled bitterly inwardly—he wasn’t omnipotent. “I can’t do anything about that ice rain either,” Huang Long said, causing Long Yi and the others’ expressions to darken. It made sense—since that ice rain could freeze even lower-grade divine artifacts into ice stones, how could Huang Long possibly deal with it? They couldn’t hide their disappointment. “But everything in the world has something that can counter it. Although that ice rain can turn lower-grade divine artifacts into ice stones, there should be something that can counter it—perhaps the Core Fire of the Dark Star,” Huang Long said after pondering for a moment. “Oh, Brother Huang Long, do you already have an idea?” Long Yi’s eyes lit up again as he asked eagerly. There was no idea yet; Huang Long shook his head inwardly. “Fire can counter ice. If we can find the Core Fire of the Dark Star, we should be able to deal with that ice rain,” Huang Long said. “Core Fire!” Long Yi and the others smiled bitterly. They weren’t unaware of the Core Fire—actually, every planet and dimension has one. But it’s deep beneath the surface, thousands of feet down. How could they reach such depths? Even if they somehow made it there, how would they retrieve the Core Fire? Since that ice rain could freeze lower-grade divine artifacts into ice stones, the Core Fire could melt them. They might be turned to ashes before even approaching it. “Let’s put aside the matter of the Core Fire for now and focus on other preparations,” Huang Long said after a while. “So what should we do now?” Long Yi asked. “The White Mist Desert!” Huang Long’s eyes sparkled as he replied slowly.