An Approaching Conspiracy
If the route that Leylin had taken had been filled with hordes of darkness creatures on the way to the eastern capital, the journey would not have been so quiet.
Even if Leylin were to survive, Baelin, Jenny, and James definitely would have died in the mouths of these dark elemental beasts.
It was obvious that within the icy caves, in the places that these beasts convened, they hated light; they would attack with all they had the moment that they detected any.
"Even I would need to spend a lot of time and magic to deal with all of those bats every day. It's not worth it."
Leylin sighed.
While the groups of bats were running amok, he had used a concealment spell. Hence, he had naturally not been pursued or attacked by the bats.
After doing some experiments, Leylin made up his mind.
"Night Vision!" He used this spell on himself.
This was an essential spell for many Magi in the subterranean world. With this spell, they could see things in the dark as if it were day without giving off any light that would attract aggressive beasts.
"A.I. Chip, display the map in your records!"
After he casted the spell, Leylin gave an order to the A.I. Chip.
Immediately after, a 3D image appeared in front of his eyes.
This was the simulated model the A.I. Chip had formed after analysing the map Celine had given him.
Nearby Leylin, there were red dots that constantly moved nearby Leylin, indicating the activity of high-energy beings. Compared to the previous inflexible map, this was even more detailed and reliable.
In a cave like this that was as complicated as a maze, Leylin had a definite advantage with his A.I. Chip. At the very least, with the A.I. Chip recording down everything, he would not get lost.
The icy cave could easily cause people to get lost. Every year, there were acolytes or even Magi in the guild who got completely lost in the cave. According to other Magi, if they had been enticed to enter deeper areas, they would have likely died in the mouths of the dark elemental beasts.
"Show me the best route to where the Icy Jade Scorpions are the most active!"
Leylin ordered once again.
Then, on the surface of the 3D map, a red line extended from the marker for Leylin's current location. It led to the deeper levels of the icy cave, even marking a few important areas.
"Let's go!"
Leylin looked around him and then disappeared into the crevasse.
Within the fort, in a concealed room.
Skrill saw the scene of Celine sending Leylin into the icy caves through a crystal ball, a grim expression on his face.
"Did that bitch Celine think that I wouldn't dare do anything to her if she found a peak rank 1 Magus to depend on?"
Skrill's facial muscles began to contort as he stared at the shapely body in the image, his expression especially insatiable and passionate.
"You're mine, and I will get you and make you my most beautiful treasure!"
Skrill moaned in an abnormal way.
"How is it? Have you made your decision?" Meanwhile, in a corner of the world, black mist rose and constantly changed shape, eventually turning into a human figure with vague features.
"There's a large issue with your plan. Celine has already recruited a peak rank 1 Magus into her Nature's Alliance. Our original plan will not work."
In front of others, Skrill concealed his previous expression and seemed cold.
"Peak rank 1?!" A startled gasp was heard from the mist. "Is your information accurate? Why would a peak rank 1 Magus be willing to join a small guild?"
"How would I know?" Skrill's face darkened. Being scared away by Leylin like that was the ultimate humiliation for him.
"He could easily repel the elemental particles around me, and his elemental conversion was at a very high level. Even if he's not a peak rank 1 Magus, he can't be too far from that… I wonder if that whore, Celine, tempted him…"
At the mention of Celine, Skrill's mood worsened again, leaving him feeling frustrated and unresigned, as if a delicacy meant for him had been robbed by someone else.
"Jeje, a peak rank 1 Magus is a little troublesome, but you should also believe in the guild backing us. A peak rank 1 Magus is definitely not enough to hinder our plan!"
The person shrouded in the mist was very confident.
"What do you plan to do? A peak rank 1 Magus isn't so easily dealt with. Besides, two peak rank fighting would definitely lead to a huge commotion. Aren't you afraid of being exposed?" A curious look appeared on Skrill's face.
"Jeje! It's not as if we don't have a peak rank 1 Magus in our organisation. Did you forget about that good opportunity we have? He will definitely accept!"
"Do you mean…" Skrill's eyes brightened.
...
"Hah…"
Leylin breathed out white mist.
The moment water vapour reached the outside air, it immediately condensed into tiny crystals that fell to the ground and produced slight sounds.
"A.I. Chip, what's the current temperature?" Leylin casually asked.
[The temperature is now -75 degrees Celsius!" The A.I. Chip immediately answered.
This temperature was more than deadly for regular humans, but in Leylin's eyes, this was a mere chill.
As he advanced deeper, he reached the very borders where Celine's map indicated.
It was at this place that he entered the territory where the Icy Jade Scorpions were active.
"The Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath!" Fire burned in Leylin's eyes. This material was extremely effective in suppressing the issues he had from his bloodline, and so he definitely needed to get his hands on it!
As the overall data and gene composition was different between Magi, this was as good as hitting the jackpot for Leylin. If he missed this opportunity, he really had no clue where he would find this material again.
[Discovered being that matches Host's description. Distance: 621 metres.] The A.I. Chip prompted, causing Leylin to perk up.
He followed in the direction the A.I. Chip indicated, and not long after, he saw the actual body of the being.
At the end of the tunnels of the icy caves, there was a huge cave, on the surface of which were mosses and little bushes, forming a rather infertile area where food was produced.
Here, two groups of beings were having an intense confrontation.
On one end was a large, transparent, green scorpion that looked as if its entire body was made of green ice.
The two large pincers in front constantly danced back and forth, and its venomous sting curved behind it, moving erratically and looking ready to strike.
Blue, chilly air was produced occasionally, from the mouth of this Icy Jade Scorpion, and spat towards its opponent.
With just a look, Leylin knew that this large Icy Jade Scorpion was what he was looking for.
Facing the Icy Jade Scorpion was a group of blue ants.
These ants were the size of a mature adult's finger. Their two large and sharp saw teeth kept opening and closing, producing terrifying, ear-piercing sounds.
It was a pity that in the face of the hard shell of the Icy Jade Scorpion, their attacks were futile.
Even if they crawled all over the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion, they could not affect its movements. On the contrary, every time the Icy Jade Scorpion raised its large pincers, numerous ants were sent flying.
The chilly air puffed out by the Icy Jade Scorpion also froze many of the ants into little crystals, which it then swallowed.
This was a battle where the Icy Jade Scorpion was foraging for food. It was the absolute winner here.
"A.I. Chip, scan the data of the Icy Jade Scorpion in front of me!"
Leylin immediately ordered. After advancing to become a rank 2 Warlock, the A.I. Chip that was spiritually bonded to him had also gained many benefits. Besides a power up in its simulation abilities, beings like this that had force-field related innate skills could have their data taken down as long as they were below rank 2.
Of course, for beings above rank 2, the A.I. Chip would be discovered and counterattack.
[Icy Jade Scorpion's Strength: 15.9, Agility: 10.3, Vitality: 25, Spiritual force: 45, Special attacks: 1. Icy Breath: An attack where the Icy Jade Scorpion spits out large amounts of extreme icy air. Power: 30-45 degrees. 2. Freeze: When heavily injured, the Icy Jade Scorpion can seal itself in ice and lower its bodily needs to the minimum until its body completely heals. 3. Icy Armour: The icy layer on the surface of the Icy Jade Scorpion's body can effectively defend against physical and magical attacks, and also has a slight rebound effect on light magic.]
The A.I. Chip quickly sent out a row of data, and displayed a projection of that Icy Jade Scorpion in front of him.
"Even amongst rank 1 Magi, this is quite powerful!"
Leylin judged.
A Magus's strength could generally be decided based on their spiritual force. Acolytes were definitely below 20, while rank 1 Magi, which were otherwise known as official Magi, had a spiritual force between 20 and 80. As for rank 2 Magi, it was above 80. Based on Leylin's conjectures and the simulations from the A.I. Chip, the spiritual force of peak rank 2 Magi could reach 200!
The strength of most rank 1 Magi's spells was between 20 and 80 degrees.
Not only were its various stats were extremely high, the strength of its breath could even reach past a degree of 30. With its innate defensive spell-like icy armour, even a regular rank 1 Magus was not its opponent.
"This strength is almost that of a semi-converted Magus. I wonder what the elites or even emperors of the Icy Jade Scorpions are like?"
At this point, the battle had also reached an end.
Experiment and Seizure
Leylin shifted his attention to the battlefield.
The Icy Jade Scorpion had now completely won, and after a single hiss, most of the blue ants fled in all directions.
The Icy Jade Scorpion did not chase after the defeated army of ants. Instead, it crawled to the top of a mound and used its large pincers to dig at the mound, revealing a nest with numerous holes that made it look like a honeycomb.
In it were large numbers of orderly lined up white eggs.
*Chi chi!* The Icy Jade Scorpion gave a cry of exultation and began to pig out.
"My apologies, but I'll need to disturb you for a while!"
However, its feeding time was interrupted by another being. The tiny red eyes of the Icy Jade Scorpion fixed were fixed on the human figure in front of him, its two large pincers constantly flying in the air and its poisonous stinger flexing behind its back.
*Chi chi!* The Icy Jade Scorpion was instantly enraged by Leylin, who had disturbed its meal. Large amounts of icy mist was produced from its mouth and aimed at Leylin.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
The temperature in the cave lowered, and everywhere this icy mist passed by, exposed rocks shattered into countless fragments.
"Extreme cold! The unique breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion is said to possess an ability from the Icy World."
Leylin muttered to himself while covered in the blue icy mist.
Immediately after, the large amounts of blue gas vied to enter through Leylin's skin.
[Beep! Detected absorption of large amounts of icy energy. Extremely effective towards suppressing bloodline issue of emotional instability. Saved!]
The A.I. Chip intoned.
"It's not enough! This level of iciness is not enough!"
Slightly disappointed, Leylin shook his head. He then extended his right arm, at which large amounts of icy mist converged, forming a small spiral in the air.
This sight caused the opposing Icy Jade Scorpion to pause its actions.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
The blue icy mist shrunk in Leylin's hand, and its light blue lustre disappeared, revealing a pure hue.
Minutes later, the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath had completely disappeared from Leylin's hand. Left over in his palm was a thin piece of ice that looked the same as what Celine had traded to him, though this shard was much smaller.
"The crystal shard of the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath!" Leylin lanced at the white icy shard in his hand and suddenly sighed. A silver ray of light flashed, and the icy shard suddenly disappeared from Leylin's hand.
"This Icy Jade Scorpion is still too weak, and its breath can only help in suppressing my emotions by a small amount. If I really want to cure myself, I'll need to do tests on an even more powerful Icy Jade Scorpion."
Leylin looked at the Icy Jade Scorpion in front of him. As it spat out large amounts of chilly air, the surface of this large scorpion looked transparent, and it was looking at Leylin from afar, seemingly about to escape.
"It still has a certain level of intelligence!" Seeing its behavior, Leylin was even more interested.
"I need to obtain a complete experimental body, record its data, and gather some materials!"
Leylin looked at this large scorpion that looked to be formed entirely out of green ice and broke out into a smile…
Several hours later, in a large icy cave that had just been opened.
The entrance to the cave had been sealed by Leylin. He had also used some concealment methods to prevent ordinary beings from discovering this place.
On a large ice platform in the middle of the cave were tens of black iron pillars standing tall to form a cage. The Icy Jade Scorpion from before was kept inside, occasionally letting out low growls.
Leylin off to a side, holding a petri dish that held a green shell within. This shell was from the exoskeleton of the Icy Jade Skeleton.
*Drip drop!*
A droplet of red liquid was dripped onto the surface of the icy shell, causing the shard to begin to boil and produce large amounts of steam. The shell constantly melted until all that was left was a black fragment.
Leylin was delighted upon seeing this. A glimmer of excitement appeared in his eyes, and he used a pair of tweezers transfer this fragment to a test tube.
"I've pretty much gathered all of the samples and data. All that's left is to gather data on the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath."
Leylin glanced at the Icy Jade Scorpion in the cage and suddenly clapped.
*Pak pak!* Large amounts of sparks flashed at the top of the black iron cage, and blue streaks of electricity whizzed on the pillars, reaching the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion.
*Chi chi!* Enraged, the Icy Jade Scorpion growled and spat out large amounts of chilly air.
This chilly air formed a thick layer of frost on the metal cage, but most of it automatically drifted to Leylin, forming another one of the white crystallised ice shards from before.
"Effects of electrostimulation: Excellent! Next is to try flames…"
Leylin snapped his fingers and black flames ascended, as vibrant red tongues of flames extended and engulfed the Icy Jade Scorpion…
After extensive experimentation, Leylin finally gathered the information he needed regarding the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath.
"Matured scorpions can spit out this extreme chilly air attack 5 or 6 times a day. Each time, the amount can form a shard that is a tenth of the size of what Celine gave me."
Leylin glanced at the Icy Jade Scorpion in the cage.
The scorpion currently had its pincers trailing on the ground, looking lifeless. The green on its body had almost disappeared, turning it into almost a translucent crystal scorpion.
Due to its characteristics, Leylin wondered once again if he should confine a few Icy Jade Scorpions, but quickly discarded the idea.
Based on the information he had gathered from Celine and Siegfried; these Icy Jade Scorpions could only survive in the icy caves. The moment they left, they would immediately die. Should they survive, their later generations would slowly turn degenerate.
The Icy Jade Scorpions could only maintain their unique properties while living in the icy caves.
In addition, though these beings had some intelligence, they were very obstinate, or rather, fascinating! This was because Leylin had found a control mechanism inside its sea of consciousness!
Protect this place. Protect the queen! Such determination seemed to be passed down with its bloodline, constantly existing in its mind. If Leylin wished to expel this brand, he would need to destroy its sea of consciousness. However, the Icy Jade Scorpion have long since died, which would render this whole effort meaningless.
"They are so tightly bound as a group!" Such a strange control over them made it difficult for Leylin to understand.
In wolf packs, there were instances of the alpha males being chased out after losing in a battle for power. However, the Icy Jade Scorpion made Leylin think more of queen bees or queen ants. Only in these sorts of simple organisms would there be a situation of ultimate power and control.
"It looks like there's a need to go to the nest of the Icy Jade Scorpions!"
Leylin muttered to himself while looking at the Icy Jade Scorpion trapped in the cage.
Though he could occasionally come over and gather the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion to suppress the issue with his bloodline, he could not truly cure it.
What he wished for was something that could completely eliminate all of the negative emotions from his body!
It wasn't really a matter of convenience, but rather, it was the fact that it was a weak point that others could target at any time. Leylin wasn't going to be so stupid as to let it be.
It was evident that just the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath could not achieve this. Leylin could only place his attention on the elites that were a rank higher than this Icy Jade Scorpion, or even their emperor…
With this thought, Leylin immediately got to work.
Using the information, he had gathered from the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion, he produced a few materials from his spatial pouch and created some powder that was specifically useful against Icy Jade Scorpions.
This powder would produce a unique smell after being burnt, which was an indescribable temptation to Icy Jade Scorpions.
With this powder, Leylin walked around the region where Icy Jade Scorpions were active and caught over ten regular Icy Jade Scorpions, and even an elite as well.
Elite Icy Jade Scorpions were bigger than the regular Icy Jade Scorpions by a factor of almost 1.5 times. Their jade-like bodies were also covered with mysterious patterns.
These patterns covering the back of these elite Icy Jade Scorpions were curses, but they were incomplete, causing Leylin to be puzzled.
All Leylin could do was get the A.I. Chip to record these images so that he could do research on them in the future.
These elite Icy Jade Scorpions were almost as powerful as semi-converted Magi. With the added bonus of being in the icy caves, their strength was even further amplified.
However, in front of Leylin, who had now regained enough of his power to be equivalent to a peak rank 1 Magus, it was like snow that had been exposed in front of the sun, allowing him to obtain many good research materials.
The quality of the elite Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath was far above that of regular ones. It was enough to suppress the negative emotions caused by his bloodline for ten years, which filled Leylin with more hope of being able to completely rid himself of it!
Leylin was now hidden behind an icy plain, watching a group of Icy Jade Scorpions that were migrating.
There were tens of Icy Jade Scorpions gathered here, and with Leylin's interference, about half of them had left the area. Moreover, these were all matured bodies!
The entire group went berserk for a period of time, but even after sweeping through the area, they still could not find any traces of Leylin.
The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor could not do anything but choose to migrate to another location.
However, this was exactly what Leylin had planned on.
Previously, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor had hidden in a nest that was heavily guarded by numerous elite Icy Jade Scorpion guards. The moment there was any situation, Leylin would immediately be met with the attacks from the entire family.
The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was akin to the existence of a peak rank 1 Magus. Along with the tens of Icy Jade Scorpions, all of which had the strength of official Magi, peak rank 1 human Magi would almost certainly die. Even if it was Leylin, it would be difficult if he could not use his full power as a rank 2 Warlock.
However, the situation had changed!
Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor
Due to Leylin's use of guerilla tactics, the cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions had lost many of its members.
In addition to this, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor had been separated from the safety of its den; it chose to make its move.
This movement was the opportune moment for Leylin to act!
With just a thought, Leylin caused a fierce, black hurricane to suddenly appear to sweep across the icefield.
As the violent black hurricane swept forth, the layer of ice that had remained frozen for ten million years immediately cracked open, and turned into white powder that scattered in the wind.
The hurricane slightly took on the shape of a tornado, collided with the cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions that were in the process of moving away.
"Jji! Jji!*
The cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions suddenly emitted intense howls.
As they made this noise, all the Icy Jade Scorpions immediately gathered together, puffs of frosty air came out from their mouths as they constructed a very thick layer of ice that formed a wall in front of them.
As if unsatisfied with the firmness of the ice wall, these Icy Jade Scorpion did not stop exhaling; instead, they continued until the ice wall's thickness had exceeded two meters before they gradually stopped.
*Ka-chak! Ka-chak!*
The black hurricane threw itself at the ice wall, and an ear-splitting noise similar to scraping one's fingernails on glass echoed. Little flakes of ice were constantly being shaved off the wall.
The Icy Jade Scorpions at the back immediately increased their rate of puffing to patch up the gaps in the wall caused by the hurricane.
The remaining Icy Jade Scorpions united, and their combined power was equivalent to ten official Magi working together. Even a peak level 1 Magus would have to withdraw if facing an attack of this degree!
But Leylin was no ordinary peak rank 1 Magus! Although the total quantity of his current spiritual force was only that of a peak rank 1 Magus, but his spiritual force had already undergone the rank 2 Warlock advancement, and as such had the ability to solidify.
"Hmmph!"
At this moment, a cold snort was heard from within the black hurricane.
Immediately, a massive amount of silver spiritual force dispersed and covered the surface of the black hurricane. Silver cracks appeared on the hurricane's surface.
From afar, there seemed to be a layer of silver on top of the black wind blades.
*Bang! Bang!*
Under the attack of the wind blades, the giant ice wall could no longer hold on, and deep fissures appeared in the wall. These fissures increased in size until the wall crumbled completely.
*Ka-cha!*
*Bang!* The giant ice wall fell to the ground with a loud noise, and the black hurricane then engulfed the entire cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions.
*Ji! Ji!* Numerous Icy Jade Scorpions roared, the jade radiance on their bodies glimmered as they resisted the attacks of the wind blades.
Although the attacks of these wind blades were very strong, most of these Icy Jade Scorpions were fully-grown adults. With their icy armour and their defences from the chilly air about them, they remained in a deadlock for quite a while.
The black hurricane came quickly but disappeared just as fast.
In several seconds, the hurricane had swept through the place where the cyclone of scorpions was and vanished into the horizons of the icefield, faintly emitting incisive sounds.
However, after hearing these sounds, all the Icy Jade Scorpions became frantic as if they had gone mad, and pursued the hurricane.
It was a pity that speed was their weakness, and they could only look on helplessly as the hurricane swept further and further away, until it finally faded into the horizon.
Leylin urged the hurricane on, and the green shadow wrapped within sped forth until it was confirmed that the Icy Jade Scorpions could no longer overtake it. Only then did the hurricane disperse, revealing the identity of the green shadow.
After seeing the black hurricane dispersing, the figure of a green Icy Jade Scorpion was revealed. This Icy Jade Scorpion's build was slender, and it appeared to be very gentle and exquisite. Compared to ordinary Icy Jade Scorpions, it was rather on the small side.
However, it was different from other Icy Jade Scorpion partially because of its imposing mannerisms. In addition to these, on the back of this Icy Jade Scorpion was a complete pattern, which had been seen earlier on the body of an elite Icy Jade Scorpion, though it had been incomplete. This pattern had the form of a distorted female's face.
This Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor assumed an offensive stance and lifted both its arms, facing Leylin.
"You do not need to struggle anymore. You should know of the disparity between our strengths!"
Silver spiritual force flashed in Leylin's eyes while he grinned.
Relying on his present strength, he would need to squander a large amount of spiritual force and magic power to face off against the cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions that had already lost most of its soldiers. After all, the opposing party could be regarded as a group of Magi working together, with a peak rank 1 Magus commanding them! As he had yet to recover his strength as a rank 2 Magus, even Leylin felt dread.
But now, he only needed to take care of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.
*Jji! Jji!*
Reacting to Leylin's words, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor calmly issued a sound that increased by several pitches that made it even more piercing.
A big, green, misty brilliance was emitted from its shell, forming a thick ice armor that covered its body.
After putting on this ice armor, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor increased in size; it had gone far beyond that of an elite Icy Jade Scorpion and was almost the size of three ordinary Icy Jade Scorpions added together.
*Whoosh!* The Icy Jade Scorpion emperor simply left an afterimage where he had stood as he turned into a dark green ray that wanted to attack Leylin.
"Sigh. In the end, this problem can only be resolved with brute force!"
Leylin quickly drew back, and the moment he retreated, the ground suddenly exploded, crushed stones flying everywhere to reveal a big hole.
*Pu!*
The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor withdrew its pincers, and puffed out a big blob of blue icy breath without hesitation and aimed it at Leylin.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
The sounds of solidification constantly sounded, and there was even a transparent twisting seen in the air.
"Such chilliness! It even caused the air to freeze!"
Seeing such a powerful chilliness, Leylin could not help but be excited. Only this type of crystallised breath could completely eradicate the emotional instability that had resulted from his Warlock bloodline
"A.I. Chip! Scan the opponent's data!"
Leylin's eyes flashed blue.
[Beep! Task established, beginning scanning. Beep! Target is covered by an unknown force field, unable to be scanned.] The A.I. Chip quickly intoned.
"Oh!" Large amounts of black air were emitted from Leylin's body, forming a shield adorned with various patterns. It smashed into the chilly air.
He could disregard the breaths of regular Icy Jade Scorpions, but the attack of this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was not something he could withstand with just his body. If he did that, he suspected that this fierce chilly air would freeze his body to death!
The shield formed of black air slammed into the blue icy mist, and darkness formed at the centre. It was like a black hole, swallowing the shield and chilly air and even the air itself.
"Unknown force field? Where is it?" Leylin asked. With the amplified power of the A.I. Chip, only rank 2 creatures could shield themselves from the scanning. This Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was clearly at peak rank 1.
[At its back, where the distorted human face is.]
The A.I. Chip responded quickly, and after hearing this expected answer, the gears in Leylin's mind began to turn rapidly.
A few exceptionally formidable creatures from other worlds had almost godlike strength. They had formed unique runes of their own that symbolised their path, achievements, strength and many other attributes.
This rune often had a mysterious strength that could be used as a link to them and could be passed on to descendants, and could even traverse dimensions.
This phenomenon was more distinct in bloodline creatures. Leylin even suspected that the perfect rune formed from his innate spells, as well as the rune of the human face on the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor could be classified as such.
*Ji ji!*
Seeing Leylin blocking its attack, a trace of human-like mockery appeared in the gaze of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor. It suddenly lifted its back.
*Weng Weng!*
The female face on its back seemed to come to life, rays of green light circulated and produced an ear-piercing wail.
*Ji ji!*
Invisible sound waves streaked past Leylin's body, and he was in a slight daze.
*Xiu!* The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor immediately seized this rare opportunity and rushed to Leylin's front as its large claw snipped at Leylin's waist.
Meanwhile, Leylin looked absent-minded and was actually stuck in a daze, allowing the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor to attack as it liked.
*Ka-cha!* Sharp giant claws immediately chopped Leylin's body into two, and large amounts of blood, water, and internal organs gushed out. The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's gaze exhibited its elation.
*Shua! Shua! Shua!*
However, this joy did not persist for a long time. The blood that flowed from Leylin's body seemed to have a life of its own as it twisted, forming a crimson cage that closed in on the Icy Jade Emperor.
Leylin, who was now in two halves on the ground, began to transform, finally revealing his true appearance. He was formed of countless shadows, and was actually an illusionary virtual body!
There was a flash a distance away, and Leylin appeared.
He looked at the human face on the back of the Icy Jade Emperor, fear still lingering in his mind.
"What a terrifying illusory spell, to actually be able to affect me, even though my spiritual force is already solidified! If not for having met that banshee in the secret plane of the Spirit Slaying Sect and done research on the spiritual attacks like wails, it would have been dangerous!"
The attack of the human face on the back of the Icy Jade Emperor was even more powerful and strange than that of the banshee. Leylin had almost fallen into its trap.
*Ji! Ji!*
Countless blood tendrils climbed up the cage, engulfing the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor. It constantly howled and waved its large claws around, constantly puffing out.
"I need to finish this fast!" Leylin flung out numerous potion bottles.
These bottles exploded in the cage, forming an immense fiery mist that kept the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor inside.
This was what Leylin had brewed through numerous experiments, a potion that was especially made while taking into consideration the properties of the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion. Though he did not have a sample from the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, Leylin had increased the dosage. Based on the simulation experiments from the A.I. Chip, this potion was enough to affect a peak rank 1 Icy Jade Scorpion and cause it to become rigid.
As expected, as more mist entered the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, with crimson tentacles constantly twining around it, its howls became weaker until they disappeared.
Ancient War
Within the icy caves, in a hidden room.
This was the temporary laboratory that Leylin had created in the basement. It was like a large-scale basement, with Icy Jade Scorpions trapped in various holes. However, they all looked lifeless, as if most of their energy had been sapped.
At the centre of the laboratory, Leylin was excitedly facing a small mountain of ice.
At the end of the war, the emperor of the Icy Jade Scorpions found that it was impossible for it to escape, and it could only resort to its ultimate innate skill—Freezing!
This was an ability unique to Icy Jade Scorpions, where a layer of solid ice was formed around the body until their injuries recovered.
The fact that it had used this move showed it had no other alternative.
The block of ice in front of Leylin was huge and could be even said to be an ice mountain. Large amounts of mist emanated from the mountain, lowering the surrounding temperature.
The layer of ice was no ordinary one. Its hardness could even be compared to steel.
The Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion's protective layer of ice was naturally even more terrifying than that of regular Icy Jade Scorpions. However, this was merely a small issue for Leylin.
Besides, though this move could protect the Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion, it was also a prison! Hence, after completing his research, Leylin had used this layer of ice to imprison it.
Leylin was now holding a thin, long needle, and jabbed it into the ice mountain!
This needle had been custom made. It was a shiny silver colour and almost a metre long. The moment it contacted the surface of the ice mountain, it produced a sound similar to that produced when molten iron meets water.
Next, a red dot appeared on the surface of the ice mountain. The silver needle had pierced through the layer like it was going through cotton, and directly reached the shell of the Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion.
It was currently like an insect frozen in amber, unable to move and even unable to blink.
*Zi!* The needle shook a little and then pierced into the body of the Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion, extracting some green blood.
After seeing this blood, Leylin's expression showed his excitement.
...
Half a day later, Leylin stared at the green blood essence in the petri dish, looking hesitant.
The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was now similar to a peak rank 1 Magus in terms of its strength, and that obviously meant he could not refine the pure ancient bloodline from it.
Even so, Leylin had found a lot of information from its bloodline.
Some ancient creatures could use a special method and transmit information and images to their descendants through their bloodline. This information was hidden deep within their genes, and only the creature itself could awaken it.
But Warlocks were different! Their research and understanding of bloodlines was enough to undo the complicated genetic lock and allow this ancient information to see the light of day once more!
Leylin had found some ancient information in the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion.
"Though I don't know if it's good or bad, I'll just look at it!"
Now, after seeing the blood essence of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, even Leylin's own Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline trembled, giving him some confidence.
"Retrieving spirit memory!"
A sliver of silver spiritual force extended from Leylin's forehead, entering the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion.
...
*Rumble!*
It seemed like he had gone through a long period of darkness before he saw light again.
Leylin woke up, but he now found himself immobile. However, his body kept crawling, as if he was an observer that was living in this body. He could observe, but had no control.
Surrounding him was a world of white snow with a layer of ice on the ground. Leylin saw his reflection on the layer of ice on the ground.
He had six jointed legs and a stinger, but his upper body was that of an adult male, though his two large hands had turned into pincers.
"What kind of ancient creature is this?" Leylin was stupefied.
There was little information passed down in the South Coast. There was no record of this being in the illustrated handbook of ancient creatures, and there were also many powerful creatures from other worlds that were not recorded. That was why Leylin did not know the true identity of this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor ancestor.
However, the vast, bubbling strength it had made it obvious to Leylin that this creature was far above him in terms of might. It had even reached the level of a Morning Star Magus!
*Pak!*
An ice mountain that was thousands of metres tall broke into pieces in front of the Scorpion Man, and it brandished its large pincers as it advanced indifferently. Occasionally, it would battle with beings that were as powerful as it was, and the stray ripples would break off large fragments of ice.
Until one day!
*Ka-cha!* The Scorpion Man had just ripped up an ice dragon, and was gulping down its flesh and blood. As if sensing something, it raised its head and looked into the horizon.
*Rumble!*
The heavens split and the earth shattered. In the sky far away, it looked as if someone was tearing out a large hole. A horizontal crack that spanned a hundred thousand metres emerged in the sky.
Snakes! A giant black snake with silver armour! There was even the Giant Kemoyin Serpent that Leylin was especially familiar with rushing through the spatial crack, entering this icy world.
The appearance of these giant ancient serpents marked the start of a massacre.
The Scorpion Man howled. He could feel that just the stray ripples from the spatial crack was enough to heavily injure or kill him! Furthermore, every one of those snakes did not lose out to him in terms of strength. However, affected by his own bloodline and the surroundings, he couldn't help but rush to the opening of the spatial crack.
Along with him were other beings of this word. Icy Dragons, Giant Chilly Eagles, Ice Spirits, and even some creatures that were natural enemies were somehow summoned, putting down their prejudices against each other and rushed to the battlefield.
The two forces slammed to each other, blood and flesh flying, the space contorting around them.
The Scorpion Man and a giant serpent battled. It was as if he had gone crazy, constantly attacking it.
This all came from a premonition deep inside him. If these snakes were to continue existing here, this place would be damaged or even destroyed.
Kill! Kill! Kill! Life and death battles went on, and it was common for Morning Star Magi to fall. There were also corpses falling from the sky, their auras enough to make Scorpion Man tremble in fear.
"Hsss!"
At this moment, a loud hissing from a snake caused the Scorpion Man to come back to himself.
All of the creatures on the battlefield looked at the spatial crack.
A ferocious ancient aura leaked out through the crack, and all the snakes respectfully lowered their heads. The Scorpion Man was forced to lie on the ground from the pressure.
The black crack suddenly extended, and a large ball of snakes that was the size of a planet seemed to want to pass through the crack and descend on this world.
The aura emitted from the snake ball made the Scorpion Man shudder from the very depths of his heart.
The other creatures of the Icy World were just like him.
*Weng weng!* The entire Icy World trembled, layers of ice breaking to reveal a female giant who was several tens of thousands of metres tall.
This female giant had a very boorish face. She had copper armour, a pike and a green shield.
The female giant first roared at the snake ball, but received no answer. The large snake ball constantly forged forward, widening the spatial crack at its seams.
Upon seeing this, the female giant raised the pike in her hands and pierced towards the snake ball.
A devastative power appeared on the surface of the pike, red lightning flowing around the body of the pike. It was as if the the gods had cast out a pike that could destroy worlds!
"Hsss!"
The pike arched through space, appearing in front of the snake ball.
The snakes that had entrenched themselves separated, revealing the body of a beauty in the middle of the snake ball. Every single strand of her hair was made of tiny snakes, yet she did not look strange, but was instead very charming!
The woman smiled sweetly, surpassing the limits of race with her enchanting features. All creatures, and even space and the world found her pleasing to the eye, not wanting to see her take on this pike.
A few creatures of the icy world even betrayed their faction and began aiming for the female giant. However, before they even came close, they turned into powder by the lightning on the body of the female giant.
*Pak!*
Two large palms formed of countless groups of snakes extended from the snake ball, grabbed hold of the pike and broke it!
The pike that seemed to hold the powder to destroy the world was split into two halves by these large hands.
However, they were not yet satisfied, ruthlessly grabbing at the female giant!
A black blade formed out of the spatial crack instantly appeared in front of her.
*Bang!*
The female giant's head and body separated, and large amounts of green blood spurted out.
A violent explosion resounded through the battlefield, and countless dangerous spatial cracks were created.
A droplet of green blood that was almost as large as a human head fell on the back of the Scorpion Man. The intense pain and burn immediately caused him to let out a miserable cry.
He was then swallowed by a large spatial crack.
At the last moment before he was swallowed up, the Scorpion Man looked at the giant Mountain Wyvern made entirely from an ice mountain and descended onto the battlefield, breaking the spatial crack.
Within the snake ball, a woman's sigh was heard…
Darkness! A darkness that spread throughout the heavens and earth surged up and invaded Leylin's body.
"Hah!"
Leylin gasped in large breaths, cold sweat rolling down his face.
"That woman! The one inside the snake ball! I've seen her before!"
Leylin immediately thought of the dreamlike trance he had been when he had advanced to be a rank 1 Warlock. The woman inside there looked to be the exactly the same person as who he had seen from the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor!
"Unless… That woman in the snake ball is the legendary Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes! And was the war that I just saw the battle where the ancient Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes invaded the Icy World…?"
Information Of The Bloodline And A Conjecture
Leylin felt that he had correctly deduced the gist of the story.
In ancient times, after the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes had failed to take over the Shadow World, she brought her descendants with her and migrated to the Purgatory World. It was probably during this time that she had infiltrated the Icy World!
However, the inhabitants of the Icy World's naturally resisted this invasion.
According to Leylin, the Scorpion Man seemed to have received some powerful spiritual insight. Being able to interfere with the strength of a Morning Star creature through the spirit was either the work of the female giant, or the will of the world.!
The result was the death of the female giant, but with the great effort on the part of the Ice Mountain Wyvern, the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes' plans to invade the area were thwarted.
In the great battle, the female giant had been killed, and a droplet of her blood had landed on the back of Scorpion Man, which had wounded him greatly. Unable to avoid the spatial crack, he was swept in.
In the end, Scorpion Man had travelled to the Twilight Zone through this spatial pathway and had then died from his injuries.
Even so, he still had the strength of a Morning Star Magus, and the blood of the female giant, whose power was inconceivable. Hence, after his death, this entire region was affected by the radiation from ice, forming a topography and climate similar to that in the Icy World!
The Icy Jade Scorpions evidently had some connection with the Scorpion Man, but this connection had degenerated. Its human upper torso had completely disappeared, and there were no other obviously similar characteristics.
"It's because of this that Icy Jade Scorpions could survive! They were actually creatures from another world. They could only survive and reproduce because of the radiation of extreme cold here."
Leylin sighed and thought about the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes.
He reckoned that the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes should have attacked the Icy World after migrating from the Purgatory World, due to the fact that this world must have been extremely important to her and her race.
After the setback when trying to seize the Shadow World, she had no choice but to withdraw and bring her race to Purgatory World.
However, the fire attribute of the Purgatory World did not quite suit snakes, which were more compatible with the shadow element. After reproducing and beginning to adapt, their race even began to have some fire elemental attributes in their blood, but they were also mixed with the chaotic will of the Purgatory World in their bloodline.
This could be the origin of the emotional instability of warlocks with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent. After all, snakes were usually not so emotionally unstable as to lose control and rage.
Based on Leylin's deductions, the issue with ancient Warlocks with snake bloodlines should have been an apathetic nature, and they might have even needed to hibernate. However, with the chaotic will added in from their time in the Purgatory World, their emotions were also altered.
The original characteristic of coldness had become a fiery temper!
Hence, the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes had attacked the Icy World once more, probably hoping to use the chilliness there to treat the emotional instability issue with her bloodline!
Of course, her plan failed in the end, but the Icy World had also paid a large price.
For this reason, the Icy Jade Scorpion Breath from the Icy World was useful in treating the emotional instability that stemmed from Leylin's bloodline.
"Sigh… what a complicated relationship!" Leylin held his forehead, which was starting to hurt from how hard he was thinking.
"Though these are all but conjectures, my thoughts should be correct. It doesn't matter even if I'm wrong, since the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes, Ice Mountain Wyvern, and the Purgatory, Icy, and Shadow Worlds are too far away to even matter…"
Leylin smiled wryly, "I just need to know one thing, which is how the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor can heal my emotional instabilities. That will be enough!"
"A.I. Chip! Set up a plan to extract the Icy Jade Scorpion Breath and design my treatment process!"
Leylin immediately ordered.
[Mission establishing, beginning analysis! Setting up data model!] After receiving the command, the A.I. Chip quickly began to operate.
Meanwhile, Leylin, deep in thought, stroked his chin.
Honestly, after seeing that ancient war, it was impossible for him not to be stirred up. That droplet of blood that had dripped onto the back of Scorpion Man had stirred up Leylin's interest as well as his desire to conduct research on it!
That was a strength that far surpassed Morning Star Magi—it might even be equal to a great rank 5 Magus. It could even be from a bloodline that was at rank 6 or 7, which even ancient Magi would have would have found difficult to attain!
If Leylin gained it, how much stronger could he become?
Though Warlocks could not change their bloodlines, doing research on the blood of these existences was sure to be unbelievably useful for his future.
In addition, the Scorpion Man had had the strength of a Morning Star Magus while he was alive. There was no need to refine his blood. It was the purest bloodline possible from an ancient creature.
Leylin's breathing became rough just from wishing that he could enter deeper into the icy caves and look for the remains of the Scorpion Man.
However, he then smiled wryly.
Based on the remaining memories left in the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor just now, Leylin knew that Nature's Alliance and the other small guilds only controlled a tiny area of the icy caves.
Deeper underground, there lived all sorts of icy creatures that were ten or even hundreds of times stronger than the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, all of which formed their own small Icy World.
The remains of the Scorpion Man were probably at the deepest level of this Icy World!
There, rank 2 icy creatures would be running rampant. It wouldn't even be surprising if rank 3 creatures emerged there.
Even if Leylin became a rank 3 Warlock, was not sure that he would be able to leave without a scratch. He would need to at least have the strength of a Morning Star Magus to completely break into this place to get the remains and bloodline.
"Strength! It all comes down to strength!" Leylin smiled wryly and gave up on any thoughts of exploring further in.
Though those were great items, Leylin was not going to risk his life for them!
Leylin had always been very prudent. If he was less than 70% confident, or if his life would be in danger, he would definitely choose not to take this risk.
Besides, in a situation where the icy caves had existed for such a long time and yet nobody had realised their true origins. Leylin was not afraid that other Magi would come here. There were also the icy creatures down there, which were a great defensive line.
He had already figured things out. Once he had enough power, he would come back here and obtain the presents from Icy World.
"Things need to be done one at a time. First, I need to deal with the problem of my emotional instability!"
Leylin's pupils returned to their calm state, his expression revealing his rationality.
...
Outside the icy caves in the Twilight Zone.
"Take note. The expedition into the icy caves is very dangerous this time. Though you are all the cream of the crop in our guild, as long as you haven't become an official Magus, you have virtually no way to protect yourself in there. Take care not to leave the sight of the team leader, understand?"
A valiant looking middle-aged man dressed in armour was currently preaching to a group of acolytes.
"Hey, Mully! Are you bringing acolytes down there again?" Old Madre, who was guarding the area, greeted him with a smile.
"Yes! The joint conference is beginning soon. It's best to raise the strength of these little monkeys under me. It can't be helped even if it's a little dangerous."
"How is it? Have there been any icy explosions or migrations of dangerous creatures within the caves?"
"Currently, I haven't received any reports that mention such a thing. Furthermore, there's currently a famed professor from Nature's Alliance in there. If there is a problem, you can ask him for help, especially since we're all allies!"
Old Madre laughed and then mentioned Leylin.
"Professor Leylin who came from the eastern capital? I heard that he's a master at the peak of rank 1!"
Though Mully said all this, he still looked unwilling to accept this. It looked like even if he really met Leylin, they wouldn't be able to get along.
After all, it was shocking that a peak rank 1 Magus had entered a small guild such as Nature's Alliance.
Like many other Magi, Mully thought that Celine was bragging.
"Celine really is quite pitiful. She's been going around looking for help nonstop. Nature's Alliance is in a very dangerous position."
Old Madre sighed, but a glimmer of delight flashed in his heart.
Whether it was Leylin or Mully being on the losing end in there, it was still going to be a delight to see.
"Hmph! Whose fault is it that you two are always harbouring evil intentions towards my Celine?"
Madre thought in his heart while revealing an enthusiastic grin. Compared to when Leylin had entered, he was much more passionate while explaining things of note to the acolytes.
From an outsider's perspective, Old Madre was still a very respectable senior.
*Whoosh!*
At this moment, large amounts of chilly gusts of wind blew out form the crack in the ground, and the acolytes could not help but wrap themselves tightly in their clothes.
"This means someone is coming up… huh! They're fine!"
Old Madre was bewildered.
"What's going on?" Mully rushed over and asked.
"It's Magus Leylin! He's out! Magus Celine has already come here quite a few times to check if he's out yet. I need to inform her!"
Old Madre did not take him seriously, even complacently laughing after seeing Mully clenching his two fists.
*Bang!*
A figure with a large, icy mountain on his shoulder rushed out from the crack.
"Are you Leylin, the new, famed professor that joined Nature's Alliance?" Mully sounded impolite.
"Yes! What's the matter?" He was beaming widely.
This person was naturally Leylin. In this period of time, after constantly extracting the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, he had already healed the emotional instability from his bloodline using the treatment designed by the A.I. Chip.
The extreme chill originating from Icy World, as well as support from the A.I. Chip had completely expelled the chaotic will in his bloodline that came from Purgatory World.
Though there might still be an issue deeper in his DNA, the A.I. Chip calculated that until he became a Morning Star Magus, the emotional instability of Warlocks would not be an issue. Leylin was therefore in a good mood.
The Headquarters' Location
"I…I…"
Mully hesitated. Although he doubted the other party's strength, Magi were a rational bunch. If it wasn't for Celine, he would not even dare to provoke the other party.
Now, he was somewhat uncertain.
If Leylin really possessed such huge power and he decided to challenge him, wouldn't he be courting death?
Immediately, Mully opened his mouth wide, " This… this is…"
In this moment, Leylin had already thrown the ice mountain on the floor, producing a loud sound.
Within the ice mountain stood a thin bodied Icy Jade Scorpion that was unmoving, as if it were a statue.
"Celine! Get some people here and move these items!" Leylin contacted Celine through the secret imprint, and from the other end came a surprised squeal.
"Oh? Previously, Magus Leylin went down with the purpose to do research on the Icy Jade Scorpion. It looks like his gains were pretty good! Unexpectedly, he even caught a smaller one. It seems like it's a young one!"
Old Madre smiled and explained.
While in its frozen state, the Icy Jade Scorpion's breath was suppressed to its lowest and Old Madre did not see it.
"No, damn it! This isn't some young Icy Jade Scorpion! It's the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor! A peak rank 1 Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor!" Mully retreated while stammering.
"I have seen it before. This is absolutely the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor! Look at the terrifying markings on its back!"
Mully retreated to the edge of the site, afraid that the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor would go wild at any time.
"Raurghhh… Seriously!"
Madre picked up what seemed like a pair of glasses and placed it on his nose, taking a good look at the Icy Jade Scorpion. This was then followed by a squeal as she took a few steps back.
"Mag… Magus Leylin! Di- Did you catch this?"
Old Madre started to stammer as well.
"Of course!" Leylin smiled and nodded.
After having suppressed the emotional instability from his bloodline, Leylin massacred all of the regular Icy Jade Scorpions and collected their materials. As for the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, he could not bear to kill it.
After all, its value while still alive was much greater than the value of the materials on its body.
He still had many simulations that he needed to complete on the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, and Leylin was also extremely interested in the waning of the Icy Jade Scorpion's life once it were to leave the radiation from the icy cave.
Hence, he had to wrap the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor and bring it out.
Leylin could only gather all the materials from the regular Icy Jade Scorpions inside the spatial pouch, and since it could not hold living beings, he had to carry an ice mountain all the way out.
However, the look of disbelief on the faces of these two Magi that turned into one of respect was rather amusing to Leylin.
He did not intentionally try to conceal his powers, but there was the underlying intent of showing his might.
After all, the might of a peak rank 1 Magus was not unfounded, and an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor with a strength comparable to a peak rank 1 Magus was enough to intimidate everyone.
Although Celine had been actively disseminating the information of her guild, she had not acquired the acknowledgment from the other guilds as Leylin had been keeping a low profile. Most Magi had even thought of this as an elaborate scam and were here merely to look for trouble.
But now, these small guilds would think twice before coming forward.
Though he wasn't afraid of trouble, he hated having to personally involve himself in these small matters. It wasn't a bad idea to scare them away with this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.
Even between peak rank 1 Magi, their battle abilities were varied. Since Leylin was able to catch a Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor that was similar to a peak rank 1 Magus, didn't that mean that he was at the top of the peak rank 1 Magi?
Old Madre and Mully exchanged glances, and their gazes towards Leylin was filled with reverence.
"Lord Leylin, it's great that you could come back safely!"
At this point, Celine was excited as she brought back the two acolytes from before.
Leylin looked at them and nodded. It seemed like Celine had been waiting here with these two acolytes after he had left, which was rather considerate of her.
"An Icy Jade Scorpion is a creature with the might of an official Magus and they lived in clusters. Initially, I had my worries, but thankfully we were under the blessing of Gaia!"
Celine patted herself on her chest and was hesitant at the start, as she was worried for Leylin.
Hearing that, Old Madre and Mully surreptitiously rolled their eyes.
The one who should be worried should be the Icy Jade Scorpions. This Lord had already captured the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor and the remaining Icy Jade Scorpions had either disbanded or sought refuge with the other cyclones.
At this moment, Celine found the ice mountain beside Leylin, " Do we need to move this?"
"En! Send two people to follow me to shift it to the Eastern capital before we look for a lab to analyse it further." Leylin patted on the ice mountain behind him.
" If you wish to find a lab, the headquarters of the Nature's Alliance is just nearby for your Lordship's usage."
Celine's eyes sparkled and suggested, "Furthermore, I would like to discuss in detail with your Lordship regarding the previous matter."
"Your headquarters is nearby? Great, let's go!" Leylin nodded in agreement. There wasn't anything important in the basement he used in the eastern capital. All valuable equipment was carried on his person at all times.
As for the overall facilities, Nature's Alliance's lab was definitely better than his own established lab.
"Hop on and call another carriage to move this ice mountain back to the headquarters!"
Celine commanded. She went forward to take a good look at the Icy Jade Scorpion.
Through the translucent ice, a rune that closely resembled a face could be seen at the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion.
"This is… the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor!!!" Celine covered her mouth with her eyes wide opened.
...
Whoosh!
A huge waterfall which seemed to fall from the sky like a white curtain, created huge splashes in the underground pond. A constant rumbling sound of the water echoed in the surroundings.
After passing the waterfall, there was a small canyon.
Scattered around the canyon was a variety of plantations and some historical structures.
The landmarks and road signs were covered in vines, with constant rays of light shining from above.
This was where the Nature's Alliance headquarters resided.
Leylin looked around with curiosity at the whimsical constructions.
Although these buildings appeared slightly run-down, there were slight glints of magical glows which indicated the existence of a powerful spell that had been cast on the wooden walls.
Nature's Alliance, albeit being a small guild, had accumulated their high-level meditation techniques over multiple generations in the past hundreds and thousands of years, proving their might.
Periodically, a few Magi acolytes, dressed in grey gowns, would come out of the building to greet Celine.
"Oh Celine, it has been so long since you last visited!"
At the same time, a grey mole jumped out from a human-sized mushroom and lifted its claw, greeting Celine.
The grey mole was the size of a boy and had sparkling bright eyes brimming with liveliness. It had a spotlessly white moustache that dropped down from the bottom of its mouth to the floor.
"Nice to meet you, Grandpa Cedric!"
Celine expressed with respect, "I brought your favourite berries!"
Celine carefully placed the two strange fruits that looked like green dates on the ground.
"En! Not bad! That's my favourite!" The gigantic mole used its agile claws to pick up the fruits and threw them into its mouth, crunching noisily,
"This is my newly recruited famous professor, Leylin Farlier! He will be having the same level of authority as me!" Celine introduced, after the mole finished eating.
"Leylin what?" The mole took a good look at Leylin with beaming eyes. "En! Deep and immeasurable power! Looks like you have pinned all your hopes on him…:"
Leylin looked at the mole, " A guard animal? It has the strength of a rank 1 Magus. Not bad."
At this time, Celine introduced to Leylin, " Grandpa Cedric was Nature's Alliance's guardian during my great great grandmother's time. He is usually very gentle, just don't disturb his sleep…"
After introducing the two to each other, Celine brought Leylin to a hall.
There were tens of acolytes waiting in there. Seated at the front were Obo and Ilya whom Leylin previously met.
"To think that a Magus guild will end up with only a rank 1 Magus, an animal as a gatekeeper and a few apprentices. What a failure!"
Leylin became speechless as he followed Celine in.
Celine went forward and introduced Leylin to the acolytes, "This is Professor Leylin whom I've invited over! From now, all of you need to respect him like how you respect me. No, you all should treat him with even more respect, do you all hear me?"
"Professor Leylin!" The acolyte greeted with their beaming eyes.
Leylin's past achievements slowly spread around through Obo and Ilya. The apprentices felt extremely happy and elated knowing that they have a rank 1 Magus taking charge.
"Nice to meet all of you! A Magus is a follower of the truth. I hope to see all of you in the hall in the future!"
Leylin spoke a few words and indicated Celine to let the students leave.
All along, Leylin did not like such situations and furthermore, he was not interested in the group of acolytes.
The sole purpose of gathering the students was to introduce Leylin. The introduction ended within minutes, leaving Celine and Leylin in the hall after the students left.
"Can we talk now? Seems like something was wrong before I left the icy cave."
Leylin took a glance at Celine as he asked with a smile.
"I can't seem to hide anything from you!" Celine bit her lips and finally made up her mind.
Joint Conference
"Do you know about the joint conference of the eastern guilds?"
Celine asked.
"Joint conference?" Leylin repeated. In the Twilight Zone, there was a parliamentary system, but it was simply a compromise between all the large and small organisations.
One would be able to understand just by taking these words literally. Besides, Aaron had also information about this in his memories.
"My apologies! I've been wandering in the borders of the regions and I don't know much about this. I've heard something, though. Isn't it a conference where multiple guilds segregate their rankings and profits?"
Leylin answered.
"Exactly!" Celine's wry smile became more prominent. "The joint alliance is a grand occasion for the Magi in the eastern capital. Every twenty years, all the guilds in the eastern capital will gather. Nine council members will, in their capacity as hosts, mediate all conflicts, conduct another election, and divide territories."
"Even the rating of guilds will be decided during this joint conference! As long as they are not large-scale guilds, all can apply, and after some inspections, territories will be redistributed, with more benefits… The guilds that do not meet the requirements to hold their ratings will be demoted, and the territories they hold and most of their rewards are transferred to other new guilds."
"So, what you wanted to ask me concerns this rating!" Leylin pondered while looking at Celine.
"Yes, my lord!" Celine bit her lips.
"Because of my mentor, Nature's Alliance's rating during the previous joint conference was that of a small-scale guild. My strength is inferior to my mentor's, so my ranking will cause us to fall till we aren't even rated. In this case, most of our benefits have to be given away, and since we can't enroll many acolytes, Nature's Alliance will eventually die out."
Through Celine's explanation, Leylin had a better understanding of the rating system.
Generally, there were four rankings. They were the unranked, small-scale, middle-scale and large-scale guilds!
From Leylin's perspective, as long as there was one official Magus in the guild, they would be unranked. Most guilds in Twilight Zone had this rating.
Above that was the small-scaled guilds like Nature's Alliance. They possessed specific areas where they made profits, such as the icy caves, and there were usually a few official Magi or even semi-converted Magi taking charge.
There were then the middle-scale guilds. Not considering other details, at the bare minimum, they needed to have a peak rank 1 Magus.
In large-scale guilds, they were the elite guilds with rank 2 Magi in charge. Since the establishment of the joint conference, there were only a handful of instances where guilds were rated to be large-scale. Every time this happened, there would be a huge revolution involving the deaths of countless Magi.
The evaluation was not necessary to be in tandem with a Magi's rank, as battle power differs even within a rank itself.
Hence, the ratings relied entirely on battle power! They would usually exchange hands with others of the same rank, and the shedding of blood on the battlefield was not uncommon.
Of course, there was another method. As long as one submitted research material that the nine council members approved of, one could also be rated according to the merits of the research. However, this was an extremely difficult process, and few had passed through the rating review using this method.
Celine's mentor was said to be astonishingly powerful. Though he had yet to become a semi-converted Magus, he had somehow drawn a tie with a semi-converted Magus and had thus been thought to have an equivalent level of strength. Nature's Alliance had thus been acknowledged to be a small-scale guild and received permits to estates and mines.
If their rating went down this year, all of these would naturally be revoked, and without these resources, Celine alone would not be able to continue managing the Nature's Alliance. Hence, she had no choice but to look for outside help.
However, a semi-converted Magus was already considered an elite within the ranks of rank 1 Magi. At most, they would have been groomed by other organisations.
Though Celine had attracted the attention of a few official Magi, some of whom were inferior to her, with the allure of her body, what use was it? The rest were like Skrill who had some ulterior motives, and Celine didn't dare to make use of them.
Leylin's appearance gave Celine a sliver of hope.
"As long as my lord agrees to lead us in the joint conference, everything in Nature's Alliance will belong to you, including myself!" Celine slowly took off her coat, revealing her delicate body.
Under the translucent light that shone on her pale, exquisite skin, she was even more alluring. Along with that expression of one preparing to die for her cause, it made one have the desire to ravage her.
"But why me? If these are the conditions, I believe there are many Magi, such as Skrill, who are willing."
Leylin was expressionless. Women were merely for him to cope with stress. Sex was not anything special after he performed it one too many times.
"If I'm going to sell myself, I'm obviously going to sell it to someone more powerful. Skrill had been a candidate, but he was already responsible for another guild, and his appearance is a little too strange."
Celine's answer was direct and very practical.
*Pak! Pak! Pak!*
Leylin applauded. "Intelligent! Rational! Able to see the big picture! Fine. I'll go to the joint conference with you!"
"In that case, I'm yours now, my lord!"
A blush appeared on Celine's cheeks…
...
The next day, with Celine guiding, Leylin strolled around the headquarters of Nature's Alliance. He then went straight to the library and did not emerge from it.
As for indulging in pleasures of the flesh? Leylin merely satisfied his needs every once in awhile. He could resist it during such crucial times.
Celine naturally understood this. After seeing Leylin in a hurry to pounce and start flipping through the books, she tactfully retreated.
Leylin watched her back and nodded. He was quite satisfied with this woman—she was rational, smart, and rather pretty.
"A.I. Chip, record!" He ordered silently, his eyes flashing with blue light.
After all, Nature's Alliance was a Magus guild. There were thousands of books gathered in the library, including information about the culture, geography, and politics in the Twilight Zone, amongst other information. More importantly, there was an account of the Magus World.
These were all things that Leylin now lacked. As such, he did not restrain himself at all and ordered the A.I. Chip to record everything.
As time passed, the database in Leylin's A.I. Chip was enriched. He now had a very profound understanding of the Twilight Zone.
Leylin proceeded further in, and even browsed in a few of the secret libraries within Nature's Alliance.
Some of these areas were forbidden territories and acolytes were not allowed to enter. However, he was now a famed professor in Nature's Alliance. After agreeing to Celine's request, he basically had control of this area, and there was no issue at all.
The items in the secret rooms obviously held more precious things than what was displayed in the public areas.
Not only was there large amounts of research data, there was also information from Magi expeditions, regarding meditation techniques, reserves of high-grade content and even some conjectures by senior Magi.
To be honest, at Leylin's level, general research materials and information were not much to him.
What he really cared about were the hypotheses and speculations of the senior Magi.
Though a lot of them were proven wrong by the A.I. Chip's calculations, they could still provide some new ways of thinking for Leylin.
In addition, there were differences between the studies in the subterranean world and in the south coast. The essence of these differences was worthy enough for Leylin to use as a reference.
"Hm?"
At this moment, Leylin had unintentionally flipped to a page that held research material that he was interested in.
"The maintenance and mending of the sea of consciousness!"
This was a very old scroll. It was a volume formed of leaves strung together, with information recorded on it using images and words, and it had an aura of nature.
What was written down had left Leylin astonished.
His sea of consciousness had been injured while using the ancient teleportation spell formation, and even the edges had cracks.
The A.I. Chip could only give the suggestion of solidifying spiritual force and slowly mend it.
Hence, Leylin was now unable to use part of his spiritual force, and only had the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus.
Though this was effective, it was just too slow.
After two years of recuperation in the town, his injuries had recovered by just a small amount. Leylin was getting impatient and was seeking a way to accelerate this process.
"A.I. Chip, record this information and analyse the feasibility of this method for me."
The sea of consciousness was linked to the roots of Magi and Warlocks. Leylin did not dare act without caution.
[Beep! Information has been recorded, setting up a simulation model.] [Beep! Effectiveness on Host body: 12.92%.] The A.I. Chip quickly arrived at a conclusion.
"So low?" Leylin was in disbelief, and could only force a laugh. One's sea of consciousness differed from person to person, and it was only natural that the mending method had such an effect.
"But it's a good thing that it works. I'll gather more information on this topic and let the A.I. Chip design a treatment plan based on the state of my body. The rate of success will then increase!"
Leylin comforted himself.
The books in the secret rooms did not have information on just this topic.
A lot of the information here was useless or even harmful to acolytes but was extremely useful for Leylin.
He had even found a notebook with reflections concerning the use of rank 2 spells. It seemed to have been written by a great Magus.
Nature's Alliance was merely a small guild, and there had never been a rank 2 Magus here. He wondered where they had obtained this from.
But Leylin accepted this with a smile. This notebook could supplement the rank 2 spell models that he had received from Celine.
Remodeling By Freezing
In the Nature's Alliance's laboratory.
Leylin stared at the large ice mountain, his expression revealing his regret.
Around the ice mountain were numerous crystals that were emitting blue light that constantly swept across the ice mountain. They formed a spell formation, and the blue light.
[Failure of simulating icy radiation. Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's life force is gradually weakening.]
The A.I. Chip intoned with no emotion.
*Bang!* All of a sudden, the crystals emitting blue light exploded, and the rays from the spell formation dimmed.
"Is it still a failure?" Leylin sighed.
This was the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor that he had taken captive. Ever since he had brought it from the icy caves, it had been constantly weakening. This was even happening while it was in its frozen state, or else it would have long since died.
Leylin had no other ideas. After multiple failures while trying to simulate the special radiation from the icy world, he had already given up on this idea and was preparing to make use of this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor as much as he could.
"It's impossible to extract an ancient bloodline from it, and I've already recorded all the information I've obtained from its blood. So…"
Leylin shifted his gaze to the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor. The rune of a distorted woman's face seemed to be alive.
Through the memories in its bloodline, Leylin knew that this type of Icy Jade Scorpion originated from the Scorpion Man that had the might of a Morning Star Magus.
The moment Scorpion Man had been drawn into the spatial crack, a drop of the female giant's blood landed on his back.
From then on, the Scorpion Man's bloodline was tainted by the blood of a higher ranking being.
The descendants of the Scorpion Man all had this rune on their backs.
Strictly speaking, the rune on the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion was just a projection of the power of the female giant's bloodline.
However, just a projection and the wail it let out was enough to almost catch Leylin in an illusion.
In addition, the bloodlines of these higher ranked creatures all possessed incredible might even if there was just an aura of it left.
"A.I. Chip, how's the analysis on this fear-inducing rune?"
Leylin asked.
[Analysis complete. Obtained freezing and healing runes that are incomplete at 45%. Able to make a cross reference with 31% of the information with the wailing banshee] The A.I. Chip intoned.
"Huh?" Leylin was surprised. "Looks like the innate ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion to freeze and heal itself was affected by and formed from the blood of the female giant."
He suddenly had a thought that would exploit the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor to the fullest.
"If I combine that information about the technique to mend my sea of consciousness with the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's innate skill, burning through its bloodline and stimulating the abilities of the runes on its back to form a bloodline imprint that can be used once…"
Leylin's eyes shone blue as he calculated, "In that case, I can also use this freezing ability once, and its effects will even be amplified. The power of the bloodline inside would be enough to mend the damage to my sea of consciousness."
Using solidified spiritual force could do this as well, but it took far too long. In addition to this, Leylin wanted to regain his strength as a rank 2 Warlock as soon as possible.
"Freezing" was a unique innate talent of the Icy Jade Scorpions. While heavily injured, they could protect themselves in a thick layer of ice. Not only was it an ultimate defence, it could also help heal injuries.
Now, Leylin wanted to use this ability on himself.
"A.I. Chip, what is the feasibility of this idea?" Leylin immediately asked in his mind.
Large amounts of information and graphics flashed, and the A.I. Chip gave an answer. [Feasibility is at 87%. Host body first needs to undergo changes in order to be able to tolerate icy radiation.]
"As expected, it's possible!" Leylin's eyes exhibited his joy.
The innate freezing ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, as well as the slight projection of the power from an ancient bloodline, was definitely able to repair the sea of consciousness of a rank 2 Warlock.
This was the optimal method to make use of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.
After all, Leylin already had a lot of materials from the Icy Jade Scorpions. Besides, how could materials from another world be more important than his own strength?
"En! In that case, I should start making some preparations."
Leylin glanced at the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor in the ice mountain. Covered in a block of ice, this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor looked more fantastical, the green on its body looked almost alive.
Only the weakening of its life force and breath showed that it did not have long to live.
"A.I. Chip, prepare the Bloodline Ignition Potion. It's essential to make some preparations."
Leylin's eyes glinted coldly.
To completely make use of the freezing innate ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, it was necessary to burn up all its blood completely and stimulate the fear-inducing rune on its back. Then, one needed to model it into a freezing bloodline rune, which involved a very complicated process.
However, all these preparations needed to start from somewhere. This was to ensure that this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor could live through this, and secondly that Leylin himself could adapt to the harsh cold while in the frozen state.
...
Three days later, in the laboratory.
"Leylin, may I enter?" Celine's voice could be heard from outside.
"I've already undone the alarm spell formation. Come in." She promptly heard Leylin's answer and did not hesitate as she pushed the door to enter.
"This…" The moment she entered, Celine instinctively wrapped her clothes tightly around her.
Within the laboratory, large amounts of mist was everywhere. There was even a thick layer of frost on the surrounding walls and some instruments.
Meanwhile, Leylin was naked in a giant glass tank.
He was soaking in a blue icy liquid that seemed to be seeping into his body bit by bit, turning him a little blue.
"What are you doing?"
Celine had long since gotten used to Leylin's naked body, and she naturally approached him without flushing red. She judged the trough and was puzzled.
She found this icy aura very familiar.
"Isn't this the unique radiation of the icy caves?" All of a sudden, Celine thought of its origins.
"No, this is just an imitation. It isn't even 50% of the original, and can't keep an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor alive."
Leylin breathed in deeply, and the icy blue colour in the tank faded, turning from a dark blue to a lighter one, to the point that it was slightly translucent.
Over ten seconds passed, and the icy liquid in the trough had turned translucent.
Leylin stood up and walked out at this point.
Celine had prepared a towel and began to dry the droplets of water on his body like a caring wife.
"What do you plan to do to the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor?" Celine enquired.
"We're both going to go to the joint conference of the guilds in the east capital. When that happens, only Grandpa Cedric will be here, and it can't deal with an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor with the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it by then."
Leylin was overjoyed.
Through the tempering of his body with the icy radiation over these few days, he had gradually gotten used to such a chilly temperature. With a few more remodelling attempts, he would be able to make use of the freezing innate ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor without any residual effects on himself to treat his injuries.
Of course, he would not mention this to Celine. She was an intelligent woman who knew what could and couldn't be asked.
"Do you need clothes?"
After dressing Leylin, Celine rested her head on Leylin's shoulder, her nimble little tongue licking at Leylin's earlobes and silently hinting at something.
"Of course not!"
Leylin laughed and pressed her down…
A warm breeze blew, causing one to have the urge to take a nap.
In the subterranean world, the humans of Twilight Zone could not divide the year into four seasons. They had only two ways of detecting the current season. One was based on the activity of the planet's crust, and dividing the year into the cold and warm season. Another way was through specific crops, and dividing it into the planting and harvesting seasons.
Such a warm breeze was the most obvious indication that it was the warm season.
Leylin sat on the back of a horse carriage with Celine by his side. An aromatic, crisp smell travelled over from Celine's hair, causing Leylin to feel slightly restless.
The people driving the carriage were the two level 3 acolytes, Obo and Ilya.
Within all of Nature's Alliance, these two were the ones who were somewhat able to do this.
The animals used to pull the carriage were obviously not horses, but an animal found underground—Wildebeests!
These animals were a lot larger than normal horses. They also had bony armour, and what was most obvious was the single horn on its head.
These animals were more patient than horses, they could also withstand some amount of radiation, and were the first choice for light Magi of the Twilight Zone when they went out on expeditions.
Of course, they was only useful for ordinary acolytes and Magi.
As for even more powerful Magi, they were naturally able to tame even more ferocious, mystical creatures, or even top-grade pets while they went on their journeys.
For a small guild like Nature's Alliance, using a Wildebeests showed how hard pressed they were.
However, they had no choice. After Celine took over, Nature's Alliance had not been in a good state and had been pressured in many areas. Based on the intel she received, there was a large possibility that the Nature's Alliance would be demoted from its rating in the joint conference.
In this situation, Celine had no choice but to look for external help. She could only turn to Leylin.
Though Leylin had been said to be a famed professor in name only, Celine had been tactful and given most of the authority in Nature's Alliance to him. Leylin wouldn't turn down such a large gift as well.
He also needed help from the other organisations for his upcoming plans. He had wanted to help Nature's Alliance expand and assist them based on the agreement they had.
However, it was also not a bad idea to take over this organisation.
Leylin thought to himself as he eyed Celine, who looked calm.