I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

So, Lis adjusted the order slightly.

Following behind them, Lis quickly found Philip and the others.

"Why did you suddenly come to Lonely Mountain City? If I had known, I would have brought people over to find you earlier."

Philip said to Lis with a smile.

He naturally trusted Lis's strength and skills; otherwise, he wouldn't have represented the Elf Kingdom in negotiating cooperation with the Church of the Gods.

"Due to some accidents, I happened to encounter the plans of those Evil God believers in Lonely Mountain City, so I stayed for a while."

"I haven't communicated with the Dwarf Royal Court here, so Philip, please don't tell them I'm also in Lonely Mountain City."

Lis waved his hand as he spoke.

Of course, he couldn't tell Philip that the Legendary Day Elf was actually his disguise from the start.

However, it was later taken advantage of by the Evil God believers.

Meanwhile, Lis was also reminding Philip not to tell the Dwarf King about his presence in Lonely Mountain City.

After all, he was still eyeing the Magic Ring within the Heart of Molten Fire!

Should the Dwarf King find out that he was in Lonely Mountain City and later discover it was he who took the Magic Ring that's akin to a Holy Artifact for the Dwarf Clan,

it would be hard for the Dwarf King not to make that connection.

Lis didn't want to get into so much trouble.

Even though Philip found Lis's request a bit strange, he still nodded in agreement.

After all, Lis was an Elf Sage from the Elf Kingdom, and even if he was discovered, there was an excuse to be made.

"Speaking of which, weren't you looking for the nest of those Shadow creatures?"

Lis remembered something and asked Philip,

"Why were you wandering in circles when I found you earlier?"

"Uhh..."

Philip awkwardly rubbed his hair, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Well, it's because the aura here is too weak, and I haven't found the right direction yet."

Philip thought for a moment and then spoke honestly without hiding the truth.

Although it was a bit embarrassing, the more urgent matter was to quickly find the nest of those Shadow creatures and capture those Evil God believers.

"I see..."

Lis nodded slightly.

He understood that although Philip was a Legendary Alchemist with many magical and powerful alchemy tools and was quite formidable in direct combat,

he was unfamiliar with Shadow Power from the Shadow Plane, making it indeed hard to trace the tracks.

But these were not a problem for Lis.

"By the way, let me introduce a friend."

Lis called out to the distance.

Kelleb emerged from the shadows in the distance and approached Philip.

Philip could naturally sense the powerful Legendary Aura emanating from Kelleb, realizing he's also a Legendary Strongman.

"This is Bishop Kelleb from the War God Church, and he's here with me to find the lair of the Evil God believers."

"It's an honor to meet you, Kelleb."

"Hello, Philip."

The two exchanged brief greetings, acknowledging each other.

Kelleb was not surprised at Lis's good relations with the Elves.

Jokingly, Lis was almost like family with the Elves.

Even as a Human, he could represent the Elf Kingdom in dialogues with the Church of the Gods — could their relationship need further explanation?

Naturally, with Lis and Kelleb joining, the command of the small team was handed to Lis.

Lis took no courtesy, directly leading everyone towards the depths of the mine.

Mastering Shadow Power, he could clearly differentiate the various Shadow creature auras.

So what was troublesome for others was as clear as following road signs for Lis.

Lis led the group forward straightforwardly, even at junctions without any hesitation.

They ventured a great distance through the winding paths.

By this time, the surrounding mine seemed long abandoned, with aged debris and some damaged roads scattered around.

Furthermore, the mines were becoming more confined, forcing everyone to crouch down as much as possible to continue.

Though progressing this way was quite troublesome, they could still move forward after Lis and Philip used Fossil to Mud and Cleaning Spell.

Then, Lis suddenly halted.

Both Philip and Kelleb stopped upon seeing this.

In that moment, Cendelle led the Elf Warriors immediately into vigilance against the surroundings.

Lis lowered his stance and said,

"I can sense that the lair of those Shadow creatures should be up ahead."

"However, I don't sense any Life aura, which is odd."

After mastering the Legendary Domain of Life, Lis's sensitivity to Life auras was quite keen.

Yet, within the space ahead, apart from the extremely dense and almost tangible Shadow Power, Lis didn't sense the presence of any Life aura.

Even if Evil God believers were present, this wouldn't be the case.

Either the opponent was so powerful that they could conceal themselves from Lis's perception.

Or they had some special method to completely block their own aura.

Lis leaned towards the latter.

However, even so, if Evil God believers truly existed there, they must at least be at the Legendary Level.

Philip and Kelleb nodded, understanding Lis's point.

Lis turned to Cendelle and said,

"Philip, Kelleb, and I will go in."

"Cendelle, you stay with the others at the cave entrance, and remember not to let any Shadow creatures escape."

"Yes, Lord Lis."

Cendelle nodded, her voice crisp and clear.

She wasn't a child, and naturally could tell the priorities.

At this moment, those without Legendary strength entering would simply be a hindrance to Lis and the others.

Lis nodded, thinking how useful his subordinates were.

Lis walked forward a few steps.

However, instead of moving towards the front passage, he approached a rock wall on the right front.

Lis extended his right hand forward, gently caressing the rock wall before him.

In just a few seconds, a section of the rock wall, indistinguishable from the surrounding walls, transformed into a deep gray.

It was as if a perfectly concealed drape had a corner unveiled by Lis.

Lis nodded to Philip and Kelleb, then went in first.

"Tsk, I didn't notice anything at all."

Philip shook his head, following Lis inside.

Kelleb, naturally, said nothing, silently trailing behind.

This time, following Lis has exposed him to numerous things.

It also made him realize that achieving Legendary status is not the end; he still has a vast future ahead.

At the very least, the current Lis was beyond his reach.

After the three entered, the Shadow pathway did not disappear.

Cendelle personally monitored the Shadow passage, preventing anyone or anything from escaping it.

The other Elf Warriors spread out, guarding this segment of the mine.

...

Beyond the Shadow passage lay a rather expansive space.

However, under the influence of the dense Shadow Power, there was no light in this space.

But for Lis, who possessed Dark Vision, this was not an issue.

Philip and Kelleb quickly arrived behind Lis, cautiously observing the underground space.

Clearly, this kind of lightless environment didn't impact them either.

"Tsk, it's somewhat disgusting."

"I didn't expect the followers of the Shadow King to have achieved this much!"

Lis murmured to himself.

The space before him was shrouded in a heavy and viscous darkness, where light lost its meaning, leaving only endless gloom.

The entire space was vast but far from empty.

The mountain before them was hollowed into a labyrinthine structure, like a giant anthill, aged and riddled by some indescribable force over countless years.

The cavities varied in size and shape, with some as narrow as slits, permitting only one person to sidle through, while others were as spacious as halls, allowing several people to stand side by side.

Yet all emitted an eerie and unsettling aura without exception.

Each cavity seemed like an isolated small world, exuding the same aura as the Shadow creatures that once rampaged through Lonely Mountain City.

"Welcome, to my Shadow Nest!"