Chapter 792: Disguised Attire

Port Evans.

This was the easternmost port of the Asen Kingdom. Relying on trade with the Eastern Continent, it had accumulated unimaginable wealth. Every day, numerous merchants, adventurers, and mercenaries arrived here, chasing their dreams and bringing new vitality to this harbor city.

Although many of them would eventually become corpses in the gutters or victims of maritime disasters, there were always one or two lucky individuals favored by fate who could successfully board a passenger ship heading east and bring back a batch of specialty goods from the Eastern Continent.

Whatever the goods, they would immediately be purchased by the port’s merchant guilds at a hundredfold increase in value, fulfilling the myth of becoming overnight millionaires, which further encouraged even more people to come seeking opportunities to strike it rich.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Accompanied by the loud tolling of a giant bronze bell, a passenger liner from the Eastern Continent slowly docked at the harbor.

Before the ship had even fully stopped, numerous laborers rushed forward and, under the guidance of their foreman, began building a floating bridge to prepare for unloading the cargo.

Most passenger ships at this time were of dual use, carrying both cargo and passengers.

From the gangway on the other side, many fair-skinned, golden-haired Caucasians disembarked. Their faces were weathered by hardship, yet also bore expressions of deep nostalgia.

“Home… finally back!”

…

Among the crowd of Westerners, a few yellow-skinned Easterners stood out conspicuously.

“Is that… a crane?”

Wu Ming stood on the deck, watching the massive mechanical arm lifting cargo weighing several tons as effortlessly as a god’s arm. He nodded inwardly.

The end of this mechanical arm was a large net, woven from specially made cables, extremely sturdy, capable of easily hoisting several tons of cargo.

With the help of the cranes and the nearby conveyor belts, the cargo from the entire ship was rapidly unloaded, divided into smaller parcels, and carried by laborers to designated warehouses, all in a very short time.

“So it has indeed developed to this stage already?”

Wu Ming could keenly sense traces of magical energy on that mechanical crane.

Even if it was merely some basic enchantment techniques, it proved that the power of mages had already been widely applied to civilian infrastructure.

Wu Ming had no intention of drawing attention during this journey, so he disguised himself as an ordinary person and blended into the passengers aboard this transoceanic liner.

With his skills, neither the captain, the sailors, nor the other passengers detected anything unusual.

Even the Western deities remained completely unaware of his arrival.

“Hmm, what a prosperous port…”

This Western harbor was clearly more bustling than the Eastern Xinjie Port, yet also more chaotic.

On the noisy streets, silks and spices from the East, corals and pearls from the deep sea, root carving crafts made by tree elves, and all sorts of strange items related to voodoo magic were displayed in abundance on the shelves, dazzling to the eyes.

Although most of the passersby were Caucasians, there were also people of other skin tones, and even one or two fair-skinned, pointed-eared, androgynous beings walking by.

“Elves?”

Wu Ming glanced at them with interest. The elves in this world differed somewhat from the legends of his past life—not all handsome or beautiful, but rather possessing very androgynous appearances. Moreover, they always carried bows and daggers, and the smell of blood on them told Wu Ming these were not mere decorations, but deadly weapons used frequently for killing.

“First, I’ll travel around the Western nations to settle a few matters, and then head to the lands of other races…”

Wu Ming set his plan.

Besides conducting on-site research, his journey to the Western Continent also aimed to clarify certain issues.

At this thought, his hand, which was in his pants pocket, began stroking a ring.

This was the spoils of war Wu Ming had acquired during his last visit to Xinjie Port—a ring engraved with the image of the Ouroboros serpent.

It originally belonged to a group of strange high-level Western practitioners who had specifically traveled to the East to create chaos.

But when they crossed paths with Wu Ming, they were naturally wiped out completely, and the ring became his prize.

Initially, the symbol of the Ouroboros immediately reminded Patriarch Hentze of the World-Ending Serpent from the Saer Continent.

However, now that Wu Ming had obtained the complete inheritance and memories of the Infinite Serpent, he knew that this being had not left any arrangements or contingencies in the Western Continent of this world.

Therefore, the origin of this Ouroboros symbol was quite mysterious.

Wu Ming even suspected that after the fall of the great being who had created the Temple of the Creator God, the Infinite Serpent was not the only one to be reborn.

If there was another incarnation, then everything could be explained.

“The true body of the Infinite Serpent was an existence at the eighth level, very close to the ninth. Only a true ninth-level being could defeat it, damaging the imprint it left in the river of time… but even an eighth-level existence is not easily destroyed. Just one resurrection of the Infinite Serpent was enough to scheme across an entire universe, nearly ensnaring even me in its plot to ascend to the rank of Great Immortal…”

“If there was some flaw or divergence in the imprint of the Infinite Serpent, another incarnation unknown to it might have also been reborn…”

Wu Ming stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Of course, it might not necessarily be related to the Infinite Serpent at all…”

From the inheritance of the Infinite Serpent, he had learned that the Ouroboros emblem did not symbolize only the Infinite Serpent, but rather represented the lineage of an ancient evil deity!

Any great being who inherited even a trace of this ancient evil deity’s bloodline could use the Ouroboros symbol.

It seemed that this mark possessed a mysterious power. If a being of at least sixth level who also carried the bloodline of the evil deity used it, they could perform some ancient ritual to obtain whatever they desired from the evil deity.

However, judging from the Infinite Serpent’s extensive travels across countless universes without encountering any beings similar to itself, the bloodline of that ancient evil deity had already become very diluted.

Still, in this world of higher dimensions, anything was possible.

“What exactly does this Ouroboros ring signify, and which true deity is connected to it?”

When Wu Ming recently ascended to the rank of Great Immortal, all the deities of the Western world sent their congratulations.

Yet, based on Wu Ming’s knowledge of the Western pantheon, he had not detected any deity similar to the Infinite Serpent.

Unless it was the Supreme Deity!

But that was even less likely. If the Supreme Deity wished to wage war against the East, it would simply issue a divine decree, rather than resorting to covert sabotage through underhanded means.

“A hidden true deity, then? Or perhaps an existence equivalent to a true deity?”

Wu Ming murmured to himself.

In this world, although the path of divinity was the mainstream, there were still other paths.

Both Eastern immortals and Western liches and archmages possessed powers comparable to true deities!

Their towers or demi-planes, whether called wizard towers or blessed lands, were no different from the divine realms of major deities.

In fact, because they did not rely heavily on faith and thus enjoyed greater freedom, their limitations within the mortal world were actually fewer than those of true deities.

The Eastern Federation had leveraged this very characteristic to resist the deities and establish its headquarters directly in the primary world, effectively seizing the deities’ weak point.

After all, under the premise that divine beings could not freely descend into the primary world with their true forms and could only use avatars or divine possession, the true forms of immortals who could fully utilize their original powers in the primary world naturally held the advantage.

It was precisely by relying on this that the Federation had initially resisted the deities’ counterattacks and stubbornly survived until the present day.

If it was not a true deity, and not registered within the Western divine hierarchy, Wu Ming naturally would not have any information about it.

“Or perhaps it’s not another incarnation of the Infinite Serpent, but merely a cult formed by those who have been summoned by the ancient evil deity on their own initiative?”

Wu Ming pondered, “If that’s the case, then what was the purpose of their provocative actions in the Eastern Continent?”

“Regardless, this ring is the clue that will surely lead me to the truth!”

Wu Ming was quite confident about this.

…

The biggest difference between the Western and Eastern continents lay in the fact that one was a unified Great Chang Empire, while the other was a loose alliance of various kingdoms.

Across the Western continent, numerous kingdoms coexisted, each with layers of noble fiefdoms beneath them, resulting in a highly fragmented distribution of power.

However, between these nations, there were still certain organizations that wielded influence across borders—these were the churches and guilds!

The churches go without saying; any Western true deity that had gained recognition from the Eye of Surveillance could possess the right to preach in any nation, although how many followers they could attract depended entirely on the efforts of each individual church.

As for the guilds, they were more akin to the Eastern Federation—spontaneous organizations formed by civilians. Initially gatherings of specific artisans and practitioners of the supernatural, they gradually evolved into continental institutions with various functions. Although they lacked the discipline of churches and were filled with a free-spirited, chaotic atmosphere, their intelligence networks were exceptionally swift and accurate.

“In a major Western city, there will inevitably be numerous churches, as well as mercenary guilds and thief guilds…”

Wu Ming smirked. “Unfortunately, those thieves are like rats, always hiding their guilds and even setting specific opening hours. Otherwise, when it comes to the richness and accuracy of intelligence, the thief guilds would surpass the others…”

At this point, with few options, he directly entered the Mercenary Guild.

“Good day, esteemed customer. How may I assist you today?”

A smiling lady behind the counter asked, bowing deeply and revealing the curves of her ample bosom.

“I am a traveler from the East and would like to post a task. May I ask what procedures are required?”

Wu Ming asked with a smile.

“A deposit is required, and we will assess the content and level of danger of the task to determine its rank and the reward!”

The young woman sweetly replied.

Clearly, compared to the strict household registration system of the Great Chang Empire, implementing such a system in the fragmented Western nations was impractical. Therefore, the mercenary guild’s services were quite user-friendly, though naturally more expensive.

“May I ask what kind of task you wish to post?”

“A bounty! I need information regarding this ring!”

Wu Ming raised the Ouroboros ring in his hand and smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth.