Female Novel
Chapter 5497
Charlie was acutely aware that his pursuit was not of Morgana herself, but rather the enigmaticdestination she sought.
After unveiling the portrait of Morvel Bazin, Morgana promptly silenced the Warriors Den. Her fear waspalpable, yet her urgency drove her alone to China, to the secluded Shiwan Mountain. It was a testamentto her dire predicament.
Charlie suspected that Morgana’s quest likely revolved around the secrets left behind by Morvel Bazin,perhaps even the elusive secret of immortality, hinted at by Gideon in the past. With this conviction, heresolved to follow her into the heart of the Shiwan Mountains, regardless of the potential reward, as itwouldn’t add to his risk and held the promise of answers.
Within the depths of the Shiwan Mountains, Morgana resembled a martial arts heroine, gracefully glidingthrough the treetops, effortlessly traversing the rugged terrain. The ordinary world below felt like a levelplaying field to her, even as she ventured deeper into the wilderness.
As she distanced herself from the highway and ventured further into the mountains, she realized thatlittle had changed in these mountains over the past three centuries. The verdant hills remaineduntouched and desolate.
With the memories of yesteryear guiding her, Morgana continued her journey through the mountains,progressing seamlessly even as the night’s darkness shrouded her surroundings. Moonlight and starlightstruggled to penetrate the thick canopy, and rising humidity veiled the terrain in an eerie mist.
Navigating this inhospitable landscape was challenging for mere mortals, but Morgana seemed immuneto its perils. She moved resolutely through the darkness and fog, while creatures of all kinds scurriedaway in her presence, yearning to avoid her.
After nearly half an hour in the mist, Morgana reached the depths of a low valley. Here, the fog grewdenser, and the air hung heavy with moisture, saturating it to the point of producing water droplets. Thevalley’s low elevation trapped moisture and carbon dioxide, rendering the oxygen content dangerouslylow.
What made it even more treacherous was the presence of toxic gases, akin to methane, released byrotting trees and swamps over countless years. These compounds had combined to create a toxicmiasma lethal to all living creatures.
Despite the inherent dangers of this place, Morgana remained undaunted, even growing more excited.She ventured deeper into the toxic fog, holding her breath as nausea washed over her.
At the valley’s nadir, enveloped in inky darkness, Morgana’s senses expanded, rendering thesurroundings vividly clear. In this abyss, her gaze fell upon a multitude of massive stone pillars, eachmeasuring five to six meters in height and two to three meters in width.
Though they appeared natural and untouched, the sheer number of stone pillars and their haphazardarrangement suggested deliberate intent. Someone had collected and placed them here with purpose.
Morgana, far from surprised, caressed the stones with a reverent touch.
In a hushed tone, she whispered, “Master, senior, Morgana has returned.”
She ventured deeper into the stone forest, her steps guided by the ancient Nine Palaces and Baguaarray set up by her master, Morvel Bazin. This enigmatic formation concealed its exit from thoseunfamiliar with its secrets.
Outsiders could only break the formation by destroying all the stone pillars, an act that would alert MorvelBazin before they succeeded. If their assailant proved more formidable, he could use the formation’s sizeand the pillars’ density to gain the upper hand and escape.
Morvel Bazin had hidden within this formation for centuries, and no one had ever breached its defenses,except for Morgana and her senior, Lucius. Now, returning to this place, Morgana followed a familiarroute, deftly navigating the labyrinthine stone forest.
After several rounds of travel, she abruptly shifted her course, revealing the exit of the Bagua Array, anartificial stone archway. The stone gate bore engraved couplets in wild cursive calligraphy.
The first couplet spoke of eight centuries spent in seclusion, while the second alluded to nearly amillennium among the stars and the moon.
These ordinary verses concealed an extraordinary question within their horizontal lines, “Can I liveforever?”
Morgana gazed upon these words with familiarity.
She mused, “Master, what is immortality? Five hundred years or a thousand? You lived a millennium,changing your name, but could three centuries of cultivation not defy death? Is there a path in this worldto transcend the bounds of mortality?”
A sardonic smile played on her lips as she shook her head. “I’m overthinking it. How could you haveknown the answer? If you had, you wouldn’t have perished three centuries ago.”
With that, Morgana pushed the stone door ajar, revealing a chamber of roughly forty square meters. Sherecognized this place well, where she and Lucius had once meditated, where dried bloodstains borewitness to the moment she had plunged her sword into his heart.
Morgana’s thoughts drifted as she touched the centuries-old bloodstains.
She whispered, “Lucius, the memory of thrusting that sword into your heart still haunts me. If you hadacquiesced then, could we have been spared these three centuries of separation? With our combinednovelbin
might, perhaps we could have expelled rebels long ago, claiming dominion over this world together. It’smy fault alone, you could not foresee the future, nor the pleasures it might bring.”
With a sigh, she murmured, “Everything before me appears unchanged from three centuries past, exceptfor your dried blood, proof that none has ventured here in all that time.”
Her brow furrowed as she pondered, “So the person who unveiled the portrait of Master has never beenhere. The Jagoan couple hasn’t been here either. So who is this person? Where did Bruce and his wifeunearth the secret of immortality?”