The Rise of the Black Plain

After reaching Vogel's border with the first kingdom of the eastern region, Minos used his spatial manipulation skill again and made a wormhole capable of placing him within that state.

He could erase the traces of his wormhole due to his Soul Avatar technique, which made it impossible for those chasing him to know where he had gone, and for those near his destination to find out where he had left from.

Minos did not want people watching him previously to know what he was doing or to notify individuals high up in their forces exactly where he was going.

At the same time, he wanted to prevent people in the states he would be passing through from now on from knowing who he was and spreading the information that he was traveling through this region.

In this way, he used his abilities to hide his tracks while he already had a low-level grade-4 item covering his spiritual fluctuations. Meanwhile, he was manipulating his appearance with his Spiritual Saint abilities.

He now had red hair, blue eyes, a short beard, and a mustache. His body no longer looked as fit as before. He appeared to be a few pounds over his ideal weight, which is rare for cultivators, but possible given some circumstances.

Minos could also manipulate his voice, so if anyone saw or heard him right now, they would not recognize the young and talented Emperor Stuart.

With these changes, he reached the first kingdom of the western region, Veora Kingdom, the weakest kingdom of this powerful region.

But even the weakest state in this area had as its strongest expert someone at level 96!

So upon arriving in one of the forests of that area, Minos immediately lowered his aura as much as possible, beginning his journey on the ground, not in the skies.

From there, he would begin his journey to the northern coast of the Western Empire, from where he intended to leave for the Ancestral Sea!

...

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Eastern Empire...

One of the Travisani family's high-ranking elders was at this very moment performing his job of keeping an eye on the vital signs of the empire's most important experts in an area of the imperial palace.

However, these vital signs were not the only thing that was there to be watched. Amidst the many high-level soul lamps was an array that signaled a certain map of interest to the emperor...

Precisely that thing that a level 93 elder was watching with squinted eyes at this instant, watching it slowly burn away, disappearing from this world without him being able to do anything about it.

"Shit! Someone figured out the location of the damn map and gained access to its key!" He shouted after the initial moment of astonishment, then immediately left to notify the emperor of this bad news.

This man was fast, and knowing he had crucial information, he didn't underestimate the situation and opened a wormhole to where his leader was without fear of punishment.

Appearing on that spot, he immediately felt the oppressive aura of Vico Travisani and prostrated before shouting. "Your Majesty, the Seraphim Ancient Sarcophagus map locator has just burned... Someone has obtained the key to that damned place!"

Vico immediately opened his eyes when he heard that, not looking at all well at this information.

"What? How is that possible?" He shouted in surprise, losing some of his poise for an instant, enough to cause storms above his state's capital, knocking out countless people with his voice that was as resounding as thunder.

"I don't know. The locator simply burned out while I was watching it."

The emperor controlled his anger and shouted. "Daniel, go after it immediately. I want to know who found the damned map and stop them from reaching the Seraphim Ancient Sarcophagus!"

A Spiritual Demigod at level 97 willingly heard that and quickly moved, setting off to begin his investigation.

Meanwhile, that level 99 man was worried, feeling that some faction of the Spiritual Church might get terrible help from it.

If it happened, the entire continent could be in danger!

"Shadow guards, I want you to move toward the Evergreen Empire. Keep an eye on the moves of the main factions of the Church and watch what Terence Evergreen is doing." Vico ordered his men.

After those words, half a dozen people hiding in the shadows at that location in the imperial palace moved, leaving for that state in the southern part of the continent.

With that done, Vico clenched his fists and called the imperial seer, a level 95 man, one of the few high-level grade-4 seers in the entire Central Continent.

"Neville, I need your help." He said, drawing the attention of a man dozens of kilometers away from the empire's capital.

'Your Majesty?' That man, in his home, looked up as he perceived his leader's call. 'What should I look for?' He wondered, knowing that his voice could not reach Vico, but that man would be able to receive his mental transmission.

Vico said, only for him to hear. 'Try to find out where the one with the key to the Seraphim Ancient Sarcophagus will depart from. Daniel is investigating the matter, so if you need anything, talk to him."

'Very well, I'll start preparing.'

Trying to predict something like what Emperor Travisani wanted was not simple. It required preparation, as it involved people of high level. After all, this was about something of continental importance, perhaps even worldwide relevance.

In this case, there was a possibility that the person involved in all this was using defensive artifacts against seers' visions, which could hinder or even hurt those trying to guess the future.

As experienced men of the highest levels, they would not rush to try to predict the future without proper preparations!

So Vico finished his orders and turned his attention back to himself, a little anxious for the first time in centuries.

'I hope it all works out... If what's in that place is found, chaos and wars will cover the continent!' He thought, remembering what a prophet once told him more than 12,000 years ago.

At that time, he was far from achieving his current greatness. Still, he heard from a prophet, a seer with extraordinary abilities, able to accurately tell what would happen in the future, about a significant period of chaos in their lands.

According to the prophet, it would all begin with a revolutionary who would unleash evil on the continent, bringing wars of conquest, power struggles within the Church, and the weakening of most of the Central Continent's states.

This weakening would be the precursor to a revolution that would happen next and would decide the fate of not only this continent but the entire Spiritual World!

As someone who wanted to try to prevent this calamity, who had grown and developed his state for this moment, Vico would do everything in his power to stop this evil from victimizing the continent!