The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1529

'There you are,' his lips curled thinking they would be more willing to talk it out now that it was a leveled playing field but their reactions were not at all what he expected.

They jumped back and unsheathed their curved blades with one hand while the other harbored the desert's flame to create fire shields.

He couldn't see the faces but their body language was not too different from that of a scared child. Whatever they were seeing was far above and beyond their expectations.

Step by step they moved back while holding his gaze. Behind them was Che Yun and next to him were a few small figures the same size as him. They were surrounding him, poking and prodding curiously when one of the adult Djinn spoke up.

"Eud alan!" he yelled, startling the little ones.

One of the smaller Djinns stood up and stomped his feet in frustration, "Lakinak qult 'anah yumkinuna alhusul ealayh!"

The adult Djinn wasn't in a talking mood and one shout from him was enough to silence the young ones for good.

"A'lan!" he ordered and they promptly moved back.

None of the adult Djinn had dared to take their eyes off of Hao Xuan for even an instant. When they were sure the young ones were far enough away, they threw down their swords while their fire shields expanded to create a complete wall around them.

"La qital!" one of them shouted from the other side as they retreated over the dunes.

From the start Hao Xuan hadn't even done anything so their reactions caught him off-guard.

'Just because I can see you now you give up and run?' he said contemptuously in a mixture of derisive amusement.

'I thought the Djinn were supposed to be some great warring tribes from the spirit realm,' he mused while picking up one of the blades they had left behind for closer inspection, 'Why would you run away like cowards after seeing one person-'

But the words got stuck in his throat when he saw his reflection on the blade's edge.

It showed a blinding figure of pure white light wearing a crown of pitch-black and violet flames. He resembled a human but the light around him was so bright that no one would be able to actually see that outline- at least not clearly enough to make out any details.

'Oh...that's why...I forgot to hide my presence. Damnit, I keep forgetting they can see my soul here.'

Even while most of his soul power was sealed by the Nine, what little leaked through was enough to render any ordinary umbral creature senseless. To them, he wouldn't look much different from a god casually taking a stroll through their lands in this form.

'I need to find a way to gain perfect control over my soul power so I can better hide my presence. Walking around like this will not be too helpful if I am trying to keep a low profile. And if I remember correctly, the Djinn are to the spirit realm what humans are to the material realm.'

'There are many different types of them and they can be found everywhere with their own cultures, religions, and even gods. If I can talk to them then maybe they can teach me more about the Umbral planes or even help me. And that language he was speaking, it sounded so familiar. Where have I heard it before?'

*sigh*

'So much to do and so little time.'

Hao Xuan threw the curved blade back in hopes that they would return to take them, giving him another opportunity to get to know them.

He examined his surroundings one last time before returning to the material realm. The desert appeared as an ocean of fire within the Umbral planes which didn't leave much else alive.

'No wonder it's so hot. The Yang energy is so potent that it even penetrates through the higher dimensions.'

With a thought and some light mediation Hao Xuan returned to his body. He looked around to make sure nothing else was nearby before quickly going out of the flag array and bringing Che Yun back.

He placed him in the shelter to rest before taking his leave but something caught his eye.

"What's this?"

There was a fingerprint on the side of Che Yun's head, right below the temple. Hao Xuan tried to wipe it clean but it appeared to be imprinted on his skin like a tattoo. He remembered that's where one of the younger Djinn's was poking him earlier.

"Then this is the mark of the touched? First one I've seen in person."

Sometimes when the denizens of the spirit realm came into contact with a denizen of the material planes, they could leave behind a mark of their presence that would change them forever, eternally connecting the mortal to the Umbral planes in a more meaningful way.

These mortals were said to be 'touched' and in some extreme cases the marks could even be fatal.

"This one doesn't look too bad though. The one who left it behind was also a kid so it was probably an accident. Hopefully it won't have any negative side effects."