The Rise of the Black Plain

After the group agreed to continue on to the location indicated by Minos, they would follow the route to the ancient ruin surrounded by spatial and temporal distortions.

This area was not far from the entrance to The Obsidian Shore. After just two hours of cautious travel from the time of the previous conversation in which this had been decided, the group arrived in the vicinity of this ruin.

When they stopped in front of a lake, where its shores were walls of old buildings covered in lichen and undergrowth, the group looked at their surroundings, with the strongest ones there forming strange expressions on their faces.

They could sense that the passage of time in that area was a little different from normal for Zocarro.

In fact, the area was strange. At certain points, time passed more quickly than normal for Zocarro, while at others, it passed more slowly.

What was wrong with that? Well, if one wasn't careful, they could go very wrong, lose contact with the rest of the group, or even spend too much time where it would be advisable to stay too little, and vice versa.

However, there were also several areas of spatial distortion in addition to temporal distortions.

Each spatial distortion could either destroy the bodies of those who passed through them or even send them to different places inside and outside The Obsidian Shore.

Without the right skills, exploring this place could easily lead a group like Minos' team to failure or even extermination.

That is precisely why few would venture into such a place of their own free will, which is why it is considered a high-value area but also one to avoid.

Faced with this submerged ruin, the leader of Minos' allied group asked, "Well? Are you in the mood to risk it? We'll follow you there as long as you do as you promised."

Minos smiled at the man before taking a few steps forward and beckoning his group to get ready.

The place was a little different from what Armhands had said, but he didn't think it would be impossible for him to get in.

Under the expectant gazes of his allies, he borrowed the cultivation of one of his guildmates, raising his cultivation to level 99 in the blink of an eye.

Those who didn't know Minos' unique ability were naturally surprised to feel the change in his aura.

His aura at level 97 already looked very much like that of a level 99 cultivator. The moment he stole the cultivation base of one of the peak Grandmasters in his group, his cultivation became so high that he no longer seemed to be a Mortal Journey cultivator.

He couldn't be said to be a Divine Journey cultivator, either. He still lacked something to buy himself from Sovereigns.

Yet the moment he demonstrated his seer abilities using his Space and Time Domain, everyone, even Ruth, was even more surprised.

'His abilities already look a lot like Sovereign's.' Ruth thought to herself.

Being able to fight Sovereigns and displaying Sovereign-like powers were very different things. In the past, Minos had never been able to do this. But by demonstrating this new proficiency, he was exposing just how strong he had become in recent years!

His companions from the Spiritual World couldn't help but be thrilled to feel Minos' power, while the others there merely felt more confident in this guy.

Meanwhile, Minos used his power of clairvoyance, which still needed to improve before he could be considered a seer, but which was already useful to him in situations like the one he was in today.

His eyes went completely white, and he felt glimpses of the future flashing through his mind, showing him places and dangers that could only be found in that water-covered ruin.

He sensed deaths coming if they followed certain paths or choices within that area.

As he did this, he gradually stabilized the temporal and spatial distortions in the path they would take to enter that place.

After a minute of doing this, he started walking towards the lake. "Follow me, but don't stay far from me. I can't control more than 30 meters away from me."

The spatial and temporal distortions in the surroundings were extremely strong. As much as the Space and Time Avatar's domain had a much greater range than that, he really couldn't manipulate a space larger than what he said.

Ruth and her guildmates obeyed him immediately, while their allies took longer to decide.

But sensing Minos' powers, that group soon followed behind him, quickly adapting their bodies to breathe underwater.

In less than five minutes, the whole group was in the submerged part of that ruin, where the remnants of an ancient civilization that had been based in this area a long, long time ago were.

As soon as they entered that grandiose lake, they could easily see the outlines of the city that had once stood there, noticing algae here and there, as well as many strange underwater creatures.

The group remained in combat position, with the support members ready to help the fighters if necessary.

Meanwhile, Minos continued to use his skill to lead the group to what had once been the surface of this city.

They swam for a few moments under the water-covered and distorted area, but soon Minos and they reached the bottom of the lake, where there weren't so many spatial and temporal distortions to get in their way.

By stopping using his domain so actively, Minos would see his surroundings normally, while his cultivation would gradually return to normal.

He stopped and said to his staff. "There are some opportunities here that will advance some of us to the start of the Divine Journey in a few weeks of cultivation. However, the variables here will kill half the group if we act disorderly."

The level 99 beings narrowed their eyes, interested in Minos' words.

"Have you seen a bit of the future? What is our best alternative?" asked the other group leader.

"I have. We have to stick together. We must collect our opportunities and leave them for us to take advantage of in a specific place in this ruin. If we don't do as I say, I assure you, half the group will perish.

Traps, strange phenomena, and dangerous creatures are hidden in various parts of this place. One wrong step will be enough for one of us to die." Minos said, looking at those he had seen perishing.

Gulp!

"There are 16 of us now. If we do as I plan, we can leave with 16 members in our large group, and 3 of them will have advanced to become Sovereigns. But if you don't do as I plan, we'll leave here with 7 or 8 people and only 2 Sovereigns."

"Let's do as you say. Lead the way, Minos." Said the alien leader of the group allied to the Armhands team.