"Shen is here."
Ryfon stared at the spirit band with hollow eyes. The message had come from an unknown source that had no name or number.
Some part of him was hoping it would turn out to be a lie but guess that was too much to hope for.
He reached out with the other hand and quietly started typing.
"Alone?"
"Unconfirmed. Contact has been lost with everyone that even saw him once."
"Where…is he staying?"
"Deck A, subsection 1-S. The entire area has been given to him temporarily."
'The entire subsection? That's more than enough to house two thousand people and still have room left over…' Ryfon's mind raced with many thoughts before he sent the last the message.
"Alright, I'll go check it out myself," and left for Deck A.
Passing through a few short-range teleportation portals he arrived at Deck A which was reserved for VVIP cultivators within a few minutes. The wide-open hallways were mostly empty with a few vague shadows occasionally whizzing past one another.
No one bothered to stop him or even asked for identification because of one simple fact, no one would be stupid enough to walk into the lion's den of their own volition. Everyone on Deck A had extremely powerful backgrounds and were the main force of a ship this size.
Walking through these identical hallways for a little more than 20 minutes, Ryfon arrived in front of a thick door that had the words "Subsection 1-S" engraved on it.
As he had done the dozen times before, Ryfon moved his spirit band over the scanner but the door didn't open.
Seemingly expecting the result, he swiped the spirit band over the scanner repeatedly but there was no change whatsoever.
After more than a few dozen tries, Ryfon stopped and stared at the door with an expressionless face.
"I will stay here as long as I need to, uncle."
"……"
There was no response for the next 5 minutes but when Ryfon didn't move an inch from the spot, the scanner finally beeped once and the door opened on its own.
Ryfon lifted his foot and stepped through to the other side but what he saw there left him completely speechless.
It was like he had walked through a portal to another world.
Lush green lands as far as the eye could see with entire orchards of colorful trees bearing all kinds of different fruits and flowers covered his sight. A gentle breeze carried with it the scent of these flowers and trees as it brushed past his face.
For a good little while, Ryfon was rooted to the ground, stupified. But that was not because of the sudden change in scenery, but its specifics.
Once a cultivator broke through the chains of the Profound Realm, he would be able to bring his Mind Palaces into the outer world. The higher the realm, the stronger this effect would be.
At first it would just be a simple imitation of the actual Mind Palace. Then it would manifest itself in reality and from then on it would keep building on it until it became a fully functioning space of its own.
There was only one path in front of Ryfon that snaked through the colorful scenery but it was one he had seen many times before.
Ryfon took in a deep breath that was filled with the scent of a fruit that brought back numerous memories for him.
"Looks like the rumors were true," he mumbled with a sorrowful expression while continuing with heavy steps.
The further in he went, the heavier the scent became until finally he was surrounded by trees bearing a dark red fruit. It looked like a miniature gourd and smelt like honey and wine.
This was a fruit that was exclusively found in the royal palace of the great Elvish empire. It was a gift given to the Elf King by the emissary of one of the Human Ancients on the birth of his firstborn daughter.
From then onwards, the only place it could be found in the Beast world was the private palace of Ryfon's only older sister, Princess Zenthia Biric.
She was born under a lucky star, gifted with unparalleled beauty along with an innate physique and constitution that had never been seen before until then.
Ryfon walked through the familiar gardens engrossed in the memories of his sister that had raised and cared for him up until the very day she was exiled.
Before he realized, Ryfon found himself standing in front of a giant tree more than 10 meters in length. Under it sat a single silhouette, resting against the trunk.
Ryfon stopped a few meters away from him and bowed from the waist.. With an emotionless voice he spoke, "Uncle."
