Carrying a lantern, with a pair of demonic horns, and a tall stature—who else could have such an image? It could only be Thresh!
How should one put this... Spirit Blossom Thresh and Shadow Isles Thresh are, in fact, two different people, two independent entities. The material and spiritual realms do influence each other, but this doesn't mean the heroes of the Spirit Blossom world are incarnations of the heroes from Runeterra. Their relationship to the Runeterra champions is a peculiar one that can't be explained in just a few words. There is a connection between them, but it isn't a deep one.
In a sense, the heroes in the Spirit Blossom world are a kind of "lingering obsession," bizarre existences born from the folk tales and myths passed down in Ionia. Therefore, they are mythological figures from stories that existed before the heroes of Runeterra, not the posthumous incarnations of those heroes. Take, for example, Riven, the Blade of Exile from the Night Blossom camp. Her connection to the Runeterra Riven, aside from an identical appearance, is a lingering obsession she cannot let go of, as well as the guilt and remorse etched deep within her soul.
Therefore, although they exist on the same planet and not in a separate "skin universe," can you really not consider them heroes... or can you? The heroes of Spirit Blossom are unique. They are unrelated to the main universe, yet they have authentically appeared within it...
Leo rubbed his cheeks, feeling that this whole matter was incredibly complicated if you looked too closely. After all, did the material plane influence the spiritual realm, or did the spiritual realm influence the material world?
"Forget it. That's not something I should be thinking about right now." Patting his cheeks, Leo reached out and touched the ink wash scroll. "What I should be thinking about is how to escape the threat of the Stabbing Eye Gang."
Pressing the "Descend" button, Leo vanished from the Spirit Blossom spatial plane. —————— [Successfully descended to Purple Prison Mountain] [This descent will last for half an hour. Good luck, Summoner.]
"Swoosh—" The screen of light dissipated, and the familiar purple forest appeared before his eyes. Leo glanced around. The scene was still very familiar, but the towering purple trees made it impossible for him to determine his exact location. The fact that he wasn't punished for dying on his first descent brought Leo a great sense of relief.
No penalty for death, activating the codex and increasing exploration value just by discovering creatures, and growing stronger by increasing his own attributes—this was truly fantastic. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a low-difficulty cheat ability. It was just the number of descents... Leo thought for a moment and figured it wasn't a big problem. There would surely be a way to replenish his descents. As for whether it would be difficult... did he have any other choice right now besides descending?
Choosing a random direction, Leo started walking. Unlike his initial caution, Leo was now deliberately making a commotion, hoping to attract the attention of the creatures in Purple Prison Mountain. Activating the codex just by meeting them—how great was that!
After walking through the forest for about five minutes, Leo saw a patch of purple bamboo hidden within the sea of trees, with a gloomy green lake at its center.
[Purple Bamboo Forest discovered. Accumulating Exploration Value...] [Moon-Gazing Lake discovered. Accumulating Exploration Value...]
"This works too?" Leo blinked, a little stunned. So it wasn't just discovering living creatures that increased his exploration value, but locations counted as well?
Walking forward, Leo suddenly froze. Something by the lakeside had moved. Squinting, Leo instinctively took a step back. Among the bamboo by the lake, something stirred. As Leo looked closer, fear filled his eyes, and he subconsciously retreated two more steps.
"Hssssss—" A sound hissed through the air. The massive creature, hidden within the Purple Bamboo Forest and camouflaged by its surroundings, rose up. It was an impossibly large snake. Its raised upper body alone was dozens of meters long, and its enormous head was the size of a house. Two pairs of crimson pupils stared at Leo as a reddish-purple forked tongue flickered in and out.
Mustering his courage, Leo looked at his system.
[Creature of Purple Prison Mountain detected. Relevant Codex entry has been unlocked.] [Purple Prison Mountain Exploration Value +8] [Rewards accumulating...]
"Not bad. It's worth it, even if I die," Leo said, sighing in relief. This was fine. At least this descent wasn't wasted. +8 Exploration Value was so much more than what the little Night Blossom beasts had given him. But then again, it made sense. The sheer size of this thing was terrifying; it wasn't on the same level as those small fry Night Blossom beasts at all.
"Come on." Leo opened his arms, awaiting the arrival of death. If possible, he hoped to be crushed or rammed, not swallowed into the snake's belly.
Seeing Leo's provocative gesture, the giant purple snake's crimson eyes flashed. In the next instant, its massive body blurred into an afterimage, charging toward Leo's position.
"I wonder how many soul points this reward will convert to..." Leo muttered under his breath. With his naked eye, he couldn't even see the snake's movements. If it weren't for the commotion created by its huge body, he would have thought it had vanished when it suddenly disappeared.
Spreading his arms and waiting for death, Leo closed his eyes. But when he opened them again, he found that he hadn't returned to the Spirit Blossom space.
Looking ahead, Leo's jaw dropped.
"How interesting... A soul as weak as yours hasn't gotten lost in the Purple Prison Forest?" A deep voice rang out. Leo saw the great snake burying its head in the ground. And sitting on its purple cranium was a man. One leg was kicked out, swinging his calf, while the other was bent at the knee, his elbow resting upon it. He was dressed in magnificent brocade robes, his open chest revealing well-toned muscles. His long fingers were curled against his chin. His handsome face held a look of delight as he stared intently at Leo.
[Warning!] [Deity of Purple Prison Mountain discovered!] [Flee immediately! Evade this entity!]
Inside Leo's mind, the system continuously sent him warnings, urging him to escape as quickly as possible. But... escape? The corner of Leo's mouth twitched. Excuse me, Mr. System, how exactly am I supposed to escape from a deity? This wasn't the Thresh from the Shadow Isles that everyone wanted to hunt down, the backstabbing schemer... This was Spirit Blossom Thresh. This man was a genuine demigod! And in the Spirit Blossom world's lore, if he wasn't mistaken, Ahri and Thresh were the top-tier characters. Which meant... even in Runeterra, these two would be exceptionally powerful demigods.
Haha. A bitter smile appeared on Leo's face. Escape? He couldn't even outrun that snake, so how could he possibly escape from Thresh? That was just a fool's dream. But thankfully... Once the descent timer ended, he could go back.
Just as he was thinking this, Leo heard the system's notification tone.
[Warning! The Deity of Purple Prison Mountain possesses the ability to influence the physical world!] [He has taken an interest in your soul. If you are captured by him, your Soul Strength will plummet. If it reaches zero, you will no longer be able to leave the Spirit Blossom world!] [Summoner, please flee immediately!]
Leo, who had been so relaxed and nonchalant just moments before, gaped. "Huh?"