Chapter 15: The Mysterious Man

The group appeared in the void. White examined the surroundings impassively. It had been quite a while since he saw this dreary place.

"Stick close," White ordered Nea who was looking around with wide eyes and gaping mouth. He took a direction toward their destination.

"Hey! Don't wander-" a member of the group said.

"Let's follow him," Brianna said.

The rest of the group followed her order despite their reluctance. With nothing but darkness around them, it felt as if they were walking in place.

Nea knew that the void was a place of nothingness but she didn't expect it to be this hollow. She looked at White. "Are you sure you know where you are going?"

"Like the back of my hand."

Nea observed their surroundings again and found nothing that could possibly guide the way. Maybe this was the Divine Weapon thing.

Eventually, White stopped. "Here."

"Here?" Nea asked. There was still nothing to indicate that they had progressed.

"You should do it or I may accidentally ruin your array," White said to Brianna.

"Is that so?" Brianna said flatly and looked at one of the scouts.

After another round of incantation, a rip emerged in front of them. Nea was the first to step in. She couldn't handle the hollowness of this space. Under their feet was another array albeit much simpler than the one in the Sanctum.

"This is…" Nea said as she took in the environment. The room they appeared in was made out of stone. Plants were growing on the walls. A night pearl was shining brightly on a corner of the room.

"One of our hidden teleportation points in the continent," Brianna said. "I'll tell you about other locations, be sure that you are not followed if you are forced to use one of them."

"It's not as if I can use the array," Nea said. She didn't even dare to have another trip in the void by herself.

"I'm not asking you."

Nea huffed. Talking with Brianna only ever ended in frustration. She turned to White and saw that he was frowning in thought. "What's wrong."

"Something is coming," White said.

"Eh?"

Brianna summoned her weapon.

There was a violent ripping sound and a man fell from the void. Everyone brandished their weapon except for White who merely raised an eyebrow and Nea who could only gape. White approached the man. "He is unconscious."

Brianna said, "Impossible, he just used the teleportation array."

White shook his head. "No. Besides the stationary arrays, Yulan also created teleportation sigils. However, she was unable to perfect it until the end. I assume there are some prototypes left. This man seemed to use one to get here. Those prototypes tend to cause violent tearing in space and uncontrollable destinations. Thus, many unfortunate test subjects were terminated in the process."

"He's still alive right?" Nea asked.

White chuckled. "Which is why I am surprised."

There were wound littered over the man's body. His black long hair was tangled. An ever-present frown marred his sharp visage. Even with his plain clothing, he didn't look like an ordinary person.

White said, "A man with a mysterious origin. I suggest we take him with us."

Brianna sighed in annoyance. Keeping the existence of the teleportation array was a top priority. Even if there was less than a 10 percent chance of someone surviving using the teleportation sigil, they had to uproot the issue before it could become a cause for concern.

One scout volunteered to carry the man and continue their journey. The room was located in a cave hidden behind vegetation. These plants were deliberately planted and imbued with magic to cover the entrance. No one could accidentally stumble inside. Outside the cave was a lush forest. There didn't seem to be any humans nearby.

Brianna said, "We will need to walk for a while before we can reach the closest city."

And so they set off. None of them talked much. Nea was not close with the scouts and she didn't want to talk with Brianna. White was focused on observing his surroundings. Couldn't blame him considering how long he was trapped in the vault.

They reached the city when the sun touched the horizon. Nea perked up when she saw an unfamiliar-looking city. Paddy fields spanned across the surrounding of the city. The buildings here had gabled roofs unlike the flat roofs found on the island. The people wore outfits similar to White's.

"We're in Da Yue?" Nea asked.

"On the border," Brianna said. "We will need to travel a bit more before we can reach the QingYang sect."

Eyes followed their group as they made their way through the city. Their group indeed looked out of place. And because of the war that had been raging, increased vigilance toward strangers wasn't strange. They managed to rent rooms in an inn despite the suspicion. Initially, they had planned to not rest and continued the journey, but because the mysterious man was still unconscious they decided to settle for a night.

"Can you see what's wrong with him?" Brianna asked one of the scouts.

The scout replied, "Besides the light wound on his body, there doesn't seem to be any other ailment that may prevent him from waking up."

"No head trauma?"

"None."

"Perhaps it's because of the teleportation sigil?"

"Unlikely," White said. "Let me try. I may find something." He sat on the bed where the man laid and took his wrist. He closed his eyes and reached out into the man's consciousness. Usually, there would be a natural barrier that prevented others from invading. However, this man's mental barrier was peculiar. At first glance, there was nothing off about it but once under scrutiny tiny cracks and holes could be seen throughout his shield.

White slipped past the man's ruined mental barrier. The man's consciousness was blank like that of a newborn baby. It seemed that the mysterious man had survived a brutal mental attack. To wipe clean one's consciousness would turn someone into an empty shell. A difficult feat to achieve. However White didn't believe that the man had his consciousness wiped out. He dug his hold into the unseen covering and ripped it apart. A bright seal array appeared in front of him.

"Found you."