Chapter 362: Heading Deeper
The moment Xu Zhi discovered that trace of the Watcher’s aura hidden within the little aberrant’s body, she realized something was wrong.
She had been completely unconscious when she escaped from the Federation, so there was no way she could have known that such a “backup measure” had been left on the little aberrant.
As soon as she noticed it, she immediately used the power of her Authority to try to remove the aura.
She had not held out much hope.
After all, this thing had been used to monitor beings the Federation considered gods. As a newly advanced low-rank Named, her Authority should not have been powerful enough to erase it completely.
The result was exactly as she had expected.
Even Authority could not remove it outright.
Fortunately, it was only a faint trace. Xu Zhi tried enhancing the chaos attribute of her Moths through Authority, then placed one of the moths directly onto the wound where the aura lingered.
As expected, the aura was completely concealed, leaving behind only the chaos of the Moth.
Even so, Xu Zhi did not relax.
She knew that even the slightest leak of that aura could attract the attention of those who had created the Federation world. Remaining here was extremely dangerous.
She needed to head deeper into the Lost Land immediately.
Still…
The timing was actually quite good.
The aura had been discovered inside the Lost Land, which naturally possessed a barrier separating it from the outside world. Its immense size also gave her room to maneuver.
Moreover, she had already advanced to the Named stage and now possessed a certain degree of self-preservation capability.
It was about time she began cautiously probing into these matters.
“The little aberrant hasn’t recovered to Archbishop level yet. Once it returns to that rank, the Cup should become aware of its existence.”
However, because the little aberrant was her follower, it occupied a unique position.
Unlike ordinary believers, it was independent of the Cup’s peculiar ecosystem and was not part of that system at all.
As a result, it probably could not be directly located through the usual methods.
Even so, Xu Zhi had to prepare for the possibility that the Cup possessed other means of detecting its whereabouts.
The little aberrant was still a considerable distance away from regaining Archbishop-level strength.
Xu Zhi intended to keep it below that threshold.
Only when her Authority became powerful enough to conceal everything would she allow it to advance.
Still…
She did not believe the Cup lacked informants among the forces that had built the prison.
Otherwise, how could it have concealed the truth so perfectly back then?
Now that the Watcher’s aura had appeared, the Cup might receive word of it as well.
Of course, the Cup itself should know that it could not sense the aura of an Archbishop.
Xu Zhi considered the possible responses from both sides.
At the same time, she understood that as long as she remained hidden deeply enough, this would, for the time being, become a contest between the Cup and its enemies.
Sooner or later, however, they would discover the truth.
The one who escaped from the Federation world was not the original Archbishop.
When that happened, she—a native-born resident of the Federation—would undoubtedly become the target of all parties.
Xu Zhi had no intention of forming agreements or alliances with either side.
Nor would she ever join them.
If the two sides ended up fighting each other, she would be more than happy to watch.
With that thought, Xu Zhi immediately set off toward the depths of the Lost Land and headed for the follower closest to her.
At present, the weakest of her followers was the little aberrant, followed by Xiao Yi.
As for Doggo, Xiao Zhen, and the cat that had fallen into the Lost Land, all three had long since repaired themselves using the abundant extraordinary energy there. They had also continued hunting to raise their levels.
The black cat, Nightmare, possessed inherited remains and therefore became the first to advance to the Named stage.
Doggo and Xiao Zhen had originally been slightly behind.
However, after Xu Zhi’s breakthrough, both followers clearly sensed signs of their own impending advancement.
It seemed her ascension to the Named stage had also benefited her followers considerably.
That made sense.
In the past, whenever her followers advanced, the lagging Xu Zhi would receive benefits.
Now that she had become stronger than them, it was only natural that they would gain something in return.
When she learned that Doggo and Xiao Zhen were nearing advancement, Xu Zhi did not allow them to find places to break through on their own.
The Lost Land was simply too dangerous.
Advancing to the Named stage involved entering a lengthy period of slumber.
During that time, they would be completely unconscious.
If danger struck, they could only wait for death.
Unlike Nightmare, who lacked a physical body, Doggo and Xiao Zhen would be especially vulnerable.
It would be safer for everyone to regroup first.
The strongest follower, Nightmare, was also the farthest away.
The closest was Doggo.
However, Doggo’s enormous size made it highly conspicuous. It had to avoid dangerous regions while traveling, which ironically made its progress the slowest.
Xiao Zhen was located somewhere in between.
Fortunately, it could fly and was incredibly fast.
Xu Zhi decided to meet Xiao Zhen first.
Upon entering the Lost Land once again, perhaps because she had been mentally prepared, or perhaps because her resistance had increased after advancing to the Named stage, the temptations emitted by the Lost Land posed almost no trouble to her in the shallow regions.
That was only because she had no intention of leaving.
Xu Zhi was not sure whether things would change if she actually tried to return.
She cautiously retraced her steps for a short distance.
Yet the overwhelming temptation she had experienced during her previous departure from the Lost Land did not appear.
Was it because she did not genuinely intend to leave?
Xu Zhi did not waste more time testing the theory.
Based on current estimates, it would still take roughly two days before she could meet up with Xiao Zhen.
That was despite Xiao Zhen’s incredible speed and its ability to fly continuously throughout the day without rest.
Even so, Xiao Zhen would still stop moving at night.
Nighttime within the Lost Land seemed especially dangerous.
Once deprived of the sun’s protection, things hidden within the darkness would begin to emerge.
Xu Zhi spent the entire day traveling.
Along the way, any extraordinary creatures foolish enough to attack her were dealt with effortlessly.
One thing stood out, however.
She did not encounter any more creatures bearing the Cup attribute.
When night fell, Xu Zhi immediately chose a concealed location at higher ground to rest.
At the same time, she wanted to observe how the Lost Land changed after dark.
Traveling during the day required a great deal of concentration, so her Spirit Body had remained seated on the sofa, resting.
Now that night had arrived, her main body only needed to remain alert to her surroundings.
That meant her Spirit Body could finally move around a little.
The Lost Land at night was astonishingly quiet.
The sounds of insects and birds that filled the daytime air had vanished.
The native creatures all seemed aware of the dangers lurking in the darkness and hid themselves away.
Only the faint wind remained, accompanied by pale moonlight and the thin mist stretching endlessly across the continent.
The entire scene resembled something out of a dream.
Xu Zhi remained vigilant.
She also ordered Xiao Yi and the little aberrant to continuously monitor their surroundings, just in case.
After confirming that there were no immediate abnormalities nearby, she shifted control to the Spirit Body located in the lower district of Lian City.
Night had already fallen over Lian City as well.
The former slums were now even quieter than the Lost Land at night.
Everything was silent.
Even the sound of wind was absent.
Controlling the Spirit Body, Xu Zhi rose from the sofa and stretched.
Despite having sat there all day, the body’s joints showed almost no stiffness, and its muscles remained in peak condition.
Only after confirming this did she walk toward the dust-covered door.
In the nearly lifeless night, the door creaked softly as it opened.
Xu Zhi stepped out into the darkness.
