MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

"I did not know that the venerable Immortal Phoenix Sect would be willing to work with a mad scientist turned traitor," Alex replied, his calm expression revealing no emotions.

Alex instantly recognized the blazing phoenix insignia, knowing it belonged to the Immortal Phoenix Sect, a Twilight-grade sect just shy of becoming an Imperial sect.

The only thing stopping them from claiming that title was their ability to overthrow one of the existing sects occupying a position among the seven cultivator domain peaks.

So, while the apothecary having the backing of the Immortal Phoenix Sect was not an ideal situation, it was within his expectations, and now, whether his plan would be successful or not depended entirely on how things unfolded once he met the man in person.

"Young man, the two of you are coming with me whether you agree to it or not."

"But to give you some peace of mind so you don't do something stupid before you meet with Sir Sawbone, I will tell you that if you don't see value in what he is willing to offer, then you are welcome to leave," The female said, her mountain-like aura leaving no room for negotiation.

'Why is she not leaving?' Alex questioned, seeing Lady Yue not leaving as agreed between them.

Alex had kept Yue by his side out of respect for Oldman Kang, as he was the one who gave him the intel on the selective mass assimilation technique.

He had allowed her to join him only after making sure she could survive and escape without question in case they found themselves in a perilous situation.

While she was a half-step Void Core Realm cultivator, someone equivalent in strength to an early-stage Domain Ruler, he was not going to take her with him to the den of wolves, where her chances of survival were slim.

'Why are you still here?' Alex questioned telepathically, feeling somewhat annoyed by her not doing as they had agreed upon.

'If I tried to leave, she would kill me,' A calm reply came, forcing Alex to instantly use the Eyes of the Ancient, knowing that while a bit odd, Yue was not an idiot to joke or be stubborn at such a moment.

In a single glance, Alex located two figures hidden in the void, with the first being a very familiar face, an old man with a big mustache, and the other being an unknown old lady cloaked in a blazing red robe with a phoenix insignia ingrained atop her forehead.

'What the hell is going on?' Alex questioned, feeling bewildered by the strange circumstances he had found himself in.

Alex could not understand why Oldman Kang was present, seemingly ready to take on the third-stage Void Core realm cultivator, and from their stance, it was clear that he was not their target but rather Lady Yue.

Alex was expecting to be taken to a hidden lab, meet the apothecary, find an opportunity to summon Elder Mortisha, and then create his false domain to end the apothecary's life as swiftly as he could before extracting his memories.

However, it seemed like things were not going to unfold as he had hoped, or they could, but with so much unknown, he was not even certain if he would even get to meet with the apothecary.

'Oldman, what is going on?' Alex asked telepathically, not knowing what to make of this entire situation.

'Kid, all I can tell you is that the young lady is not in danger, at least not in the danger of dying, but I can not be certain if things will unfold as you were hoping for, so play along, and hopefully, everything will be fine,' The old man said, giving no context of what was actually going on or what they needed to do.

'Aeon, I am also an adventurer, so don't worry about my life,' A calm voice sounded in his mind, and while surprising, it only confused him more.

Alex's immediate reaction to her claim was that she was lying, possibly to make him go on with his plan if he got the chance, but he also quickly realized that her claim could be true if her identity was a recognized figure with a background was ignored.

Alex knew that the way to differentiate adventurers from realm inhabitants was the immediate recognition that came when either of the two parties looked at the other.

However, while a bit costly and somewhat of a waste, a simple realm ruler wish could grant an adventurer a perfect disguise of a realm inhabitant for a certain period.

But Alex had known Yue for months, and while they had not talked or met very often, he understood that if she was telling the truth, then she must have used multiple wishes till this point.

After considering everything, it was easy to deduce that she must be lying, and reaching that conclusion only worsened how he was feeling at the moment.

Alex was in a difficult situation, as he wanted to go forward and meet the apothecary and hopefully get the technique, but he also realized even if the circumstances were perfect and everything went as he wanted, the possibilities of Lady Yue and Oldman surviving would be slim.

'Looks like my only hope will be the champion's game,' Alex thought, not willing to sacrifice the two people for a technique that might be helpful.

'Oldman, if you can keep that hag busy for a few seconds, I can kill this one, and then we can escape,' Alex said after a moment of silence.

'Kid, If I could, I have already done it, so we have no choice but to go with them,' A quick reply came from the old man as he exited the void, followed by the old lady.

Alex could only keep silent and follow the lead of the old man, as with a quick step, he appeared before the space tear opened by the old lady, followed by Yue, and one after another, they stepped through it, with the two elders following closely behind.

As Alex regained his vision, he was welcomed by a massive chamber filled with advanced technology, bathed in the ethereal glow of cyan and green lights.

Various bio-pods of different sizes lined the walls, each filled with strange, glowing liquids and suspended figures, their forms barely discernible through the dense fluid.

Magical runes and intricate circuits intertwined on the surfaces of high-tech consoles, which hummed with energy and displayed data on floating, holographic screens.

Alex examined his surroundings through his void sense, though his eyes never left the ominous individual standing before him.

The nearly three-meter-tall figure had pale white skin, sunken eyes, and protruding cheekbones, with hair a ghostly shade of white, yet the aura he exuded was peak Sixth Rank at best.

Beside him stood a crimson-haired vampire, exuding a menacing presence, his aura as powerful as any peak eighth Rank Ruler Alex had felt.

"Interesting, very interesting," The pharmacist Zareth uttered as he walked nearer to Alex, his hollow gray eyes coming to life.

"You are blessed with some special gifts," Zareth uttered with an emotionless look as he tilted his head to look closely at Alex's eyes.

"Welcome back, Lady Liarda, and I see that you have brought the mysterious woman with you," Zareth uttered as he stepped past Alex and walked next to Yue.

"Just as you said, she is far from normal," Zareth remarked, raising his hand. Instantly, the floor beside him shifted, revealing a bio-pod filled with clear liquid and a suspended figure inside.

Alex looked at the figure inside the pod, and upon seeing the face of the female, he could not believe his eyes. The female inside was a carbon copy of Lady Yue, as aside from a slightly paler complexion, there was no other difference between them.

"So tell me, girl, who are you? You are not Yue Xiuying because she is inside this bio pod, living in stasis for the last eight months," Zareth said, a hideous smile stretching across his face.