Book 6, Chapter 61: History 2
Chapter 61: History (2)
Diomedes couldn’t remember anything before he had become an Astral.
When he gained immortality, he also lost many of the earthly pleasures that he once enjoyed. From then on, he was unable to enjoy the sweetness of fruit, the pleasantness of a gentle spring breeze, and the joy of love.
Yes. Converting to a spiritual body not only limited his ability to interact with the outside world, but even the emotions that he could feel.
Diomedes had once believed that this was an irreversible process.
That was, until he discovered the theory of Origin Energy creation.
Yes. This was the main reason behind his desire to see the Spring of Immortality realized, which would pave the road for a new breed of Astrals.
To restore his long-forgotten senses, Diomedes had begun researching the theory of Origin Energy creation and the Spring of Immortality.
At the very beginning, however, his research was quite rudimentary and uninspired.
What really set him hurtling down this path was an unintentional dream.
The Astrals typically did not dream, because the Astrals didn’t need to sleep.
For them, dream realms essentially did not exist. They were merely products of illusory daydreaming.
But one day, Diomedes had suddenly had a dream.
In that dream, he had seen himself complete the Spring of Immortality.
Even though it was just a dream, it felt incredibly realistic, so much so that he could even recall the finest details.
After he awoke, he attempted to recreate some of what he had seen in the dream, with a modicum of disbelief.
The results astounded him.
This path was actually tenable!
The Spring of Immortality that he had seen in his dreams could actually be realized!
Diomedes believed that the true god had inspired him with this direction.
Unfortunately, Diomedes wasn’t able to remember the construction method for all of the components of the Spring of Immortality, and there were some parts that he wasn’t able to immediately understand. It would still take time and hard research for him to fully comprehend what he had seen in his vision.
However, this was not a problem for Diomedes.
From that point onwards, he became furiously mired in his research on the Spring of Immortality.
In order to actually recreate it, Diomedes had traveled far and wide, scouring the land for the necessary resources.
He had searched like a man possessed, all the way to the sea.
The sea contained one of the most important materials for constructing the Spring of Immortality: the Revolving Spring.
The Revolving Spring was a unique spatial item. Its hallmark was that it was always revolving, spinning repeatedly without ever stopping.
This Revolving Spring was absolutely critical and necessary for the Spring of Immortality’s construction.
Diomedes had searched as hard as he could for it and finally discovered the Revolving Spring. Unfortunately, in the moment of his triumph, he had been suddenly ambushed by a vicious Sea Beast.
Even though Diomedes was ultimately able to defeat the beast, he had been badly poisoned in the process, and his lifespan began to decay rapidly. Clearly, this poison was no ordinary poison; it was actually effective against spiritual bodies, which meant that Diomedes’ death was fast approaching.
It was at that moment that he encountered Imbly and his disciple.
At that point in time, Imbly had been looking for an opportunity to retaliate against the Oceanids. Once he ran into Diomedes, he believed that this opportunity had come. He suggested constructing the Spring of Immortality here to Diomedes, as he would be able to use its power to survive.
Diomedes informed Imbly that there were still a few special requirements for constructing the Spring of Immortality that weren’t fulfilled yet.
As a highly talented metalworker, Imbly could fulfill all of the requirements that Diomedes just so happened to be lacking. However, there were some changes to the original plan because of this unforeseen turn of events.
Even so, Diomedes’ impending death gave him no other option. He could only agree to Imbly’s suggestion and help him construct a Spring of Immortality here.
He knew that Imbly definitely had an ulterior motive for helping him construct the Spring of Immortality, but he had no choice if he wanted to survive. Because of the spring’s unique properties, he was able to stave off death. However, this also meant that he would never be able to leave the spring either. In the end, he chose to go into hibernation afterwards.
This period of dormancy had lasted for twenty thousand years.
“Twenty thousand years. The outside world has changed so much in such a short period of time,” Diomedes said with a sigh. “And yet I have been sleeping here this whole time. What is the difference between that and death? Perhaps I should never have tried to prolong my life in the first place. Getting old and dying is a natural part of life after all.”
“So you want to leave?” Su Chen asked.
“Yes, I want to leave. Even if I die in the process, as long as I can go out and take a look at the world again, I will be satisfied,” Diomedes calmly stated as he stared aimlessly off into the distance.
Su Chen nodded. “I can understand how you feel. The fact that you’ve been sleeping here for twenty thousand years is perhaps a sign of your destiny. Maybe death is the best option for you.”
As Su Chen spoke, he stepped aside, opening up the path behind him.
“I’m in no hurry,” Diomedes said as he chuckled amusedly. “Don’t you want the Deep Sea Sorrow? Here, it belongs to you know. Do you see the Origin Formation inscriptions down there? As long as you can nullify them, you will be able to take it with you.”
Su Chen replied, “I’m not in a hurry either. Please, sir, you may go first.”
“No, I insist. You first.”
“You first.”
“You first.”
“Please, there’s no need to stand on courtesy with me.”
“Not at all, not at all. You are my elder, so this is only proper.”
The two of them bantered back and forth, neither of them willing to make the first move.
Su Chen remained all smiles, but he refused to touch the tree.
Diomedes’ expression gradually sank. “Young man, you’re here to take the Deep Sea Sorrow, aren’t you? The opportunity is right before your eyes, but you’re ignoring it? What are you trying to do?”
Su Chen calmly replied, “Old man, if you want to see the outside world that badly, then why don’t you take the opportunity to do so? Could it be that you can’t?”
Diomedes trembled slightly before he smiled again. “Rubbish! What do you mean I can’t? I just don’t want to at the moment!”
Su Chen smiled, but his eyes remained cold. “So why not take a step forward and show me?”
Diomedes glared at Su Chen, and his expression began to shift.
After a long time, he finally relented and said, “Impressive, kid! It seems that I wasn’t able to keep it from you in the end.”
He chuckled. “Fine. I admit that my body has fused with this spring a long time ago, so I indeed cannot leave on my own. However, this tree is the foundation of the Spring of Immortality. As long as you take it with you, I will still be able to leave.”
“I’m afraid that not only is it the Spring of Immortality’s foundation, but it is also the foundation for the array that is suppressing your power, right?” Su Chen calmly elaborated.
Diomedes was stunned. “What are you talking about?”
Su Chen chuckled coldly. “Imbly is an Arcanist. The Arcana Kingdom’s downfall was partly due to the Astrals. How could he possibly treat an Astral so kindly as to genuinely try to save their life?”
“It’s because he needed to use me to construct the Deep Sea Sorrow!” Diomedes yelled futilely.
“Yes, but that’s not the only way you two could have struck a deal. He could have also forcibly suppressed your strength. Am I right, Elder Diomedes? Or should I say…… controller of the Deep Sea Sorrow.”
As soon as Diomedes heard this, he almost fell over with fright. “How did you know? This is not possible! This is not possible!”
Su Chen glanced at Diomedes with a complicated expression. “You made two mistakes. First of all, you mentioned that Imbly constructed the Deep Sea Sorrow here to help you in an attempt to make me overlook the fact that you need assistance to escape. But you forgot that the statue outside looks like an Astral. How could Imbly have made a statue in the form of an Astral? Therefore, you must have been the original creator of this place.”
Diomedes fell into a stunned silence.
Su Chen continued his explanation. “Second of all, you don’t even know who I am. Actually, I have encountered a spectre like you before. Interestingly enough, he also tried to use his lies to resolve his issue, but I was able to see through his tactics. You are not the first one to try something like this. However, this is not the important part, which is — you do not know how deep my understanding of the consciousness is……”
Su Chen was the inventor of Soul Armaments, after all.
His comprehension of consciousness power was far more profound than most people’s.
Additionally, the method that had been used to join Diomedes to the tree was actually somewhat similar to Su Chen’s Soul Armaments production method. Thus, once Su Chen realized that the tree itself was the Deep Sea Sorrow, he kept the possibility of Diomedes himself being a Spirit Tool in mind.
Even though this sounded quite fantastical, Patelocke had already been a Spirit Tool for some time now, and he had even been transferred over into a transmission puppet. He was still a Spirit Tool in essence, and it was just that his form made it easier for him to move around.
How could Su Chen not see through Diomedes’ secret?
And this also explained something else that Su Chen had had a hard time understanding: how exactly had Corniga managed to program such a complicated set of instructions into the Sovereigns?
And now, he finally understood.
It was Diomedes!
With this intelligent lifeform as a part of the Deep Sea Sorrow, it was only natural that he could continue to carry out Corniga’s orders.
As for why Diomedes would help Corniga command the Sovereigns, it obviously had to do with his survival.
Su Chen knew that if Diomedes didn’t issue such orders, his fate would be grim.
But obviously, Diomedes wasn’t willing to just roll over and submissively comply.
As such, he had always been waiting for an opportunity.
When Su Chen arrived in front of him, he instantly knew that this opportunity had come at long last, which was why he had tried to use his words to create a favorable situation for himself.
Unfortunately, his tactics had been completely seen through by Su Chen.
When he saw that Su Chen had not fallen for his tricks, Diomedes’ expression contorted. “Those two bastards imprisoned me for twenty thousand years! Twenty thousand years, I tell you! They used me as their Spirit Tool, forcing me to help them control the Abyss and attack the Oceanids. I was never willing! Human, if you let me go, the Deep Sea Sorrow will be yours. I will never do anything like this again. I want freedom! I just want freedom!”
Su Chen gently shook his head. “If you had told the truth from the very beginning, I would have considered setting you free. But since the first words out of your mouth were lies, that means that you harbor evil intentions. Set you free? I think that you’ll have to obediently stay in this tree for some time.”
As he spoke, he turned around and placed his hand on the tree.
He didn’t try to undo the sealing Origin Formation present in the tree. Instead, he added on a few more layers of protective seals, picked up the tree, and pulled it out from the ground, roots and all.
“No!” Diomedes yelled desperately.
Su Chen ignored him, and the large tree slowly began to detach from the ground.
After the tree was uprooted, the previously constant stream of water began to dry up.
Su Chen didn’t mind. The Revolving Spring was contained within the Deep Sea Sorrow, so the Spring of Immortality would be wherever the tree was.
But because this item had some unique spatial properties, it could not be placed into an Origin Ring.
And obviously, carrying it around out in the open would not be practical.
Diomedes had been unwillingly dragged back into the tree, causing the entire tree to tremble in rage.
When Su Chen saw this, his heart moved and he said, “Make this tree smaller, Diomedes.”
There was no response.
“You’d better listen to me. Even though you won’t be able to leave the tree, I can at least take you out from this desolate world. Don’t you want to get a good look at the outside world? I can promise you at least that much if you follow me. But if you don’t listen……”
The tree then began to rapidly shrink, stopping when it reached the size of a sapling before falling into Su Chen’s hand.
“Very good,” Su Chen said with a delighted smile. “Now Patelocke has a companion.”