Chapter 55 - 54: The Great Elf Plants Heist

"Everyone, don’t be afraid!" Master Laurie’s slightly ethereal voice echoed in their ears.

The female swordsman turned her head and instantly felt relieved. Master Laurie, the Lord, and the other two guards retained their clear, original forms, standing out starkly in this pitch-black world.

Alice came to a realization. They were projected into the Shadow Plane together, which was why she could see her companions so clearly.

Meanwhile, the blurry gray silhouettes in the darkness were likely the projections of other humans from the Main World into the Shadow Plane.

Just as shadow creatures appeared as pitch-black masses to human eyes under normal circumstances, Main World creatures naturally appeared hazy and indistinct when viewed from the Shadow Plane.

Nearby, Master Laurie was already asking, "My Lord, are you alright?"

"Uh... I’m fine." The Lord seemed a bit sluggish, but he quickly answered, snapping out of his daze.

Master Laurie thought nothing of it.

How could he possibly know that the very moment they were projected into the Shadow Plane, Mr. Xiahou had clearly seen three familiar figures flash before his eyes—

An official in a black robe, wearing a beaded imperial crown;

An enormous serpent with a human face and a snake’s body, wreathed in crimson flames;

And a graceful beauty in traditional palace attire, her eyes filled with sorrow!

The three figures only appeared for a split second, but Xiahou Yan was absolutely certain that the man in the black robe was King Yama, the very deity who had always protected him!

As for the human-faced serpent, it was much more fitting to describe it as a "dragon" from Huaxia, no matter how one looked at it.

And the beauty in palace attire went without saying. If clothing with such a distinctly Eastern style could be found anywhere in the Empire, Xiahou Yan would eat his crowbar on the spot!

These two people and one dragon were clearly his compatriots from Huaxia!

As the saying goes, "When fellow countrymen meet, tears are bound to flow." Yet, Mr. Xiahou didn’t shed a single tear; instead, he was brimming with suspicion!

Why would deities and figures from Huaxia, including King Yama, appear in this Western-style Otherworld filled with swords and Magic?

Moreover, even Eliot Igor’s "Divine Descent Technique," which was supposed to summon an Outer God, had somehow summoned the soul of an ordinary human like Xiahou Yan. The whole situation was incredibly bizarre!

However, the images of his three compatriots vanished in a flash, leaving behind only faint afterimages.

Before Mr. Xiahou could think further, Master Laurie began explaining the mission.

"Alright, everyone, don’t panic. Under the effect of ’Shadow Stealth,’ we have entered the Shadow Plane, which is essentially a reflection of the Main World! As long as there are no exceptionally powerful magical detection methods, our movements here will remain completely hidden from ordinary people. But please note, we can only move around in this space; we cannot interact with or affect anything in the Main World. Therefore, after successfully infiltrating the monastery, we will need to promptly exit the Shadow Plane to retrieve the Elf Plants!"

"You sure are familiar with how ’Shadow Stealth’ works," Lawrence muttered.

Even in the pitch-black Shadow Plane, Xiahou Yan could see Master Laurie’s old face flush red.

"A genuine Mage is just this knowledgeable!" The master patted his chest with feigned bravado. "We must have a thorough understanding of all kinds of Magic Systems, including Forbidden Magic, and have them readily at our fingertips!"

Setting aside how grating the word "genuine" sounded to the Lord;

Xiahou Yan couldn’t shake the feeling that, given how effortlessly and familiarly Master Laurie navigated the Shadow Plane—like a regular strolling through a brothel—the old scoundrel must have used "Shadow Stealth" before!

As for his motives...

The Lord guessed it had to be one of three options: peeping into the women’s bathhouse, peeping into the women’s restroom, or peeping into the women’s bathhouse before moving on to the women’s restroom.

Once the three guards had somewhat adapted to moving within the Shadow Plane, the group of five began their infiltration of the monastery.

When they entered through the main gates of the monastery, the two gray silhouettes standing on either side didn’t react at all. This indicated that the monastery guards in the Main World couldn’t see these five guest-starring Dark Temple Knights slipping right past them!

Invisibility was invincibility!

Since the effects of "Shadow Stealth" were so potent, the five of them, whose nerves had been tightly strung all this time, gradually began to relax.

In the Shadow Plane, even the stone brick walls of the monastery seemed to lose their solid forms. It was as if Xiahou Yan had x-ray vision, allowing him to take in the entire architectural layout of the monastery at a glance.

He quickly located the whereabouts of the Desolate Wind Mercenary Corps.

On the second floor of the monastery, a cluster of gray silhouettes lay sprawled on the ground, huddled together in twos and threes. It was obvious that the Mercenaries were fast asleep with nuns in their arms. Additionally, a few upright figures were slowly pacing the corridors, likely the sentries assigned to the night watch.

However, no matter how sharp the Mercenaries’ eyesight was, they were functionally blind and deaf in this situation, completely unable to spot Igor’s group!

In this world where no one bought couriers, wards, magical dust, or True Sight Gemstones, the power of invisibility was just that tyrannical!

However, the precious Elf Plants certainly wouldn’t be kept in the Mercenaries’ sleeping quarters. Xiahou Yan scanned his surroundings, then looked down beneath his feet, and quickly spotted a likely target.

Down in the monastery’s basement sat a massive, perfectly square crate, standing about as tall as a person.