Chapter 188: The Two with Hidden Motives

Chapter 188: The Two with Hidden Motives

Lin Nuo treaded carefully, step by step, but he couldn’t appear too sneaky. With a confident stride and elegant demeanor, he resembled a righteous person, lest he be mistaken for a wicked villain by the sorcerers and get blasted into oblivion.

Oh, “mistaken” isn’t quite right; it should be “detected”—after all, he wasn’t here for noble intentions.

To his surprise, he encountered not a single guard or sorcerer on his journey, not even their spirit beasts.

How odd! Had they all gone out to fight a war?

Near the Sacred Altar, Lin Nuo indeed discovered many valuable resources, but he didn’t collect them. Better to be cautious and confirm he wasn’t being watched first.

His main target remained the Sacred Altar, close to the Three Heaven Stone. If possible, he aimed to destroy it, causing the entire Sacred Altar realm to collapse in an explosion.

Unbeknownst to him, he stepped onto the stone steps of the Sacred Altar, flanked by numerous torches that blazed with fierce flames.

He sensed an increasingly potent spirit force—the colorful, radiant Three Heaven Stone was drawing nearer.

Outside, explosions roared, and fierce beasts howled.

Regardless of how tumultuous it was outside, the interior remained as calm as ever.

Outside was a chaotic clamor, while the inside was the tranquility of one individual.

It’s not even midnight yet, and I’m already feeling a bit down.

But the fact that he hadn’t encountered a single person did strike him as odd. After all, this was a formidable Sacred Altar, a deity of the land. Even if there had just been an assault, they should’ve posted someone to guard it.

Was this a maneuver to lure him in?

Even if it were a trap, shouldn’t there be some sort of Zhuge Kongming putting on a show?

Having passed about ten stone steps, Lin Nuo finally reached the true Sacred Altar.

The Three Heaven Stone, formed from three rare spirit stones, radiated vibrant colors, surrounded by various divine beast statues. Lin Nuo suddenly felt as though he had entered a mysterious sacred territory.

There truly was no one here.

He felt as if he were dreaming; a famous Sacred Altar with absolutely no one around?

Could the sorcerers be laying an ambush for him?

But upon considering it, he was so weak that a single move from the altar’s sorcerers could send him to his death; they wouldn’t go to the trouble of ambushing him.

Perhaps they just left one person to guard, who had coincidentally gone to the restroom.

Everyone has their urges; even sorcerers must have urgent moments. If only they could use spirit techniques to solve their bodily needs—that would be something.

From Lin Nuo’s experience, in such crucial places, even if there wasn’t a watchful eye, someone entering would certainly relay information through spirit techniques to other sorcerers.

Moreover, the Three Heaven Stone would definitely have spirit techniques cast upon it. If anything unusual occurred, it would surely send an alarm to other sorcerers.

He knew this trick; after all, he wasn’t new to the game of thievery. Had he not encountered many similar alarms?

And hidden mechanisms, magic arrays, who knows how they might strengthen? But this subtle magic technique—was he not even aware of it?

He’d first take a look. If the spirit techniques were too strong, he’d back off.

Yet to his astonishment, upon examining the Three Heaven Stone and its surroundings by observing the divine statues, he found no traps or warning spirit techniques.

This was quite strange. Even if the guarding sorcerer had gone to the restroom, they would definitely set up some sort of array to be informed, right?

There was absolutely no obstruction! This was great news for Lin Nuo.

An ideal scenario: one person reaching the Sacred Altar without sorcerers and with no defenses or warning arrays, almost as if waiting for him to come and destroy it.

Looks like the heavens favor this villain!

Yes, having endured humiliation for long, perhaps it moved the heavens to reward him.

Once he destroys the Three Heaven Stone and the Sacred Altar goes up in flames, the future would be Lin the Villain’s dominion!

Time was of the essence; Lin Nuo pondered how to destroy the Three Heaven Stone.

Even without any warning spirit techniques, the surface of the Three Heaven Stone still had three layers of barriers. If he forcibly broke through, he could blow the Three Heaven Stone to smithereens, sending himself straight to oblivion.

Being cautious, the outer layer could be broken with a blast, and penetrating deeper would require more spirit power.

However, just as he was about to make his move, he sensed a strong aura approaching.

Lin Nuo immediately became alert and quickly withdrew his spirit techniques.

Who could that be?

Could it be a sorcerer returning from a restroom break?

Judging by the aura, it was a person—with considerable strength, it was highly likely to be a sorcerer.

Lin Nuo scanned his surroundings. If he jumped down the stone steps now, he might run into the approaching sorcerer.

What would happen then? Would he be greeted with “Hello, have you eaten enough?”

The situation was urgent. If he were spotted by the sorcerer the moment he burst in, they would undoubtedly think he had ill intentions. In a direct confrontation, there was no way he would win.

If it were a single individual, perhaps he could find a surprise victory.

Lin Nuo had no plans to retreat; he found a stone statue of a divine beast and hid behind it.

He was still skilled in concealing his presence. Being a mere third-tier magician, and with a concealed aura, the opponent probably wouldn’t even sense him.

Hidden in the shadows, he could use a poisonous projectile to strike the opponent, take a burst potion to catch him off guard, and then proceed to destroy the Three Heaven Stone—seemed like a foolproof plan.

Lin Nuo swallowed hard, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. Still, he had to remain calm; after all, he wasn’t new to high-stakes situations. It was time to take a gamble.

Soon, a great sorcerer in a yellow robe, Cang Zhao, returned with his spirit staff and ascended the stone steps, arriving in front of the radiant Three Heaven Stone.

What a magnificent Three Heaven Stone, how dazzling its spirit light! He’d waited here for so long, all for this moment.

To personally retrieve the Three Heaven Stone, then replace it with another spirit stone to temporarily stabilize the Sacred Altar; after he left, the spirit stone would shatter, and this entire area would be lost.

The plan unfolded smoothly. Even though those so-called righteous people formed the Righteous Path Organization and could fend off numerous fierce beasts, acquiring a wealth of soul shards, they never anticipated that those soul shards would be cursed with secret techniques. The resulting chain reaction from the accumulated soul shards would lead to a violent explosion!

They would suffer countless casualties, causing the Righteous Path Organization to collapse, and then a large-scale beast attack would ensue. The sorcerers inside the altar would have no choice but to emerge to battle.

In the end, only two remained—him and another sorcerer. Using some tricks, he could knock that other sorcerer unconscious. That sorcerer was now afflicted with poison, powerless to defend himself.

Without a sorcerer, no one could stop him. As for the disciples from the Righteous Path Organization outside, how could they be his match?

Alright, it was time to retrieve the Three Heaven Stone.

Cang Zhao was about to cast a spell when he sensed something was amiss.

The outer barrier seemed to have been tampered with.

Hmm? Did someone enter?

Cang Zhao immediately became alert, and Lin Nuo, seeing Cang Zhao began surveying the surroundings, felt that he had been detected.

Oh no, this sorcerer can even sense the concealment aura of a mere third-tier magician like me?