Rescue
Noah made several attempts to reach for the knife and fork but he gave up halfway, letting out an expression of intense suffering.
He collapsed on the dining table with a bang, his teeth clenched tightly.
Similarly, Robin had a pained look on his face as he endured the nausea and swallowed a bloody piece of meat.
Within 30 seconds, the ringing of the bells came to an end, lasting only for a short duration.
*Ka-cha!* Out of nowhere, it seemed as if a huge invisible mouth took a bite. At this moment, Noah let out a deep cry.
A large portion of his flesh was missing on the right side of his head, his ear having completely disappeared. From the side, his ghastly white teeth could be seen. It was a horrifying sight.
Suddenly, a streak of light flashed across. A bloodied ear, still twitching unconsciously, appeared before a dark figure.
"Ew...."
After a few rounds, Robin and Noah had paled, now resembling corpses. However, the Barbarian Bear Shaman on the other end had finally reached its limit and collapsed onto the table.
*Buzz!* As if a signal was given, the Barbarian Bear Shaman was immediately moved to the 13th chair, which was unoccupied. When this was done, numerous dark figures pounced on it.
"Ah..." The Barbarian Bear Shaman shrieked continuously. Soon after, fur and skin started disappearing piece by piece, followed by flesh, veins and even bones.
*Hoo…* The Crystal Phase Barbarian Bear Shaman no longer had any power to fight back and vanished within the dark figures.
Even up till the very last moment of its life, the Barbarian Bear Shaman was still very much conscious, as could be seen from the expression in its eyes.
After they engulfed the Barbarian Bear Shaman, the many dark figures dispersed and vanished into thin air one after another. At the same time, Noah could feel the strong imprisonment fading..
"It's finally over…" he sighed, plopping to the ground shortly after. He began to vomit, almost to the point of spewing out bile.
"I swear. I won't be able to eat anything for at least three months…" Despite his bitter expression, Noah's bodily wounds were in fact healing quickly.
However, Robin's fervent eyes were fixed on a particular part of the void. From Noah's perspective, a presence had already arrived somewhere.
"What reward do you wish for?" An inexplicable voice rang within the hearts of the two men.
"I want…" Robin answered. His voice was deep, but even more so, it carried his unrestrainable excitement....
At this point in time, Leylin walked out of the ecological garden with Tanasha and they returned to the illusory corridor.
"Master… According to our research, we will be able to get out after passing 3 more spatial points." Tanasha's condition seemed to have improved greatly, and even her missing arm was able to grow out again with the help of the potions.
"Yes," Leylin nodded.
"After we get out, stay in the Forgotten Land for the time being. Wait for an opportunity to sneak out and join me! Do you have any restrictions in your organisation?"
"No! I am one of the leaders in the Alliance of the Exiled, I didn't agree to any sort of soul-binding contract!" Tanasha responded quickly. It wasn't surprising given her Crystal Phase strength.
"That's good…" Leylin nodded. He was about to say something else but all of a sudden, his expression changed and he gave Tanasha a look.
Tanasha acknowledged with a nod before disappearing into a wave of water.
Based on the readings on the A.I. Chip, Magus energy waves were detected ahead. Since Tanasha was a backup plan arranged by Leylin, she could not show herself easily in front of outsiders.
Leylin smiled at Tanasha, who was now concealed behind the water, and walked past a corner.
Then, he saw a warlock dressed in a black robe, slumped on the ground. A puddle of black blood was growing beside him. Leylin knew this warlock well – he was one of Kesha's men, named Arcus.
"Wake up, Arcus!" Leylin flipped Arcus over and immediately noticed the criss-crossed wounds on his chest as dark blood gushed out continuously.
"Curse power!" Leylin's expression hardened as he felt an enormous power from the long, narrow cuts.
As a Magus, Leylin was knowledgeable in curses, especially those in the Book of Giant Serpent, left behind by Great Magus Serholm. They inspired him greatly and even led him to develop many new ones of his own. This knowledge helped him to a great extent when he was at the south coast.
However, the deeper his knowledge, the more he understood about the strangeness and difficulty in coping with such power.
In particular, the curses from ancient times were those that Leylin was unwilling to make contact with even now.
It seemed like Quicksand Castle also contained a terrifying curse power, and this power had already found its way to Kesha and her group.
To the unconscious Arcus, whose face was faintly branded with a spell made of dark fumes, Leylin looked at him and said, "Today is your lucky day!" He then smiled and pulled out a tube filled with a green solution from his leather pouch.
Leylin applied the thick, green fluid onto Arcus' wounds drop by drop.
*Sizzle!* The green fluid immediately went through a strange transformation as it condensed into many tiny green worms, which remained on Arcus' skin. It was a rather disgusting sight.
After that, the numerous green worms aimed at the dark fumes and pounced on them. They engulfed the dark curse power as if they were having a meal.
As time went by, the dark fumes on Arcus' face slowly faded away and he opened his eyes.
"M…Master Leylin! Thank you for saving me!" Arcus had realised the situation he was in. He struggled to bow but was stopped by Leylin.
"Did something happen to sister Kesha and the others?" Leylin's voice was calm and full of wisdom.
"Yes, yes! After we entered Quicksand Castle, we were attacked!" Arcus answered with his pale, dry lips, sounding a little frightened.
"It's a terrifying monster in human form! Not only are spells and physical attacks ineffective, the wounds inflicted by its scissors cannot heal! It also possesses a frightening ability to enter the void and heal itself!"
"Sir! Please save my master!" Arcus pleaded sincerely.
"Don't worry! We are an organisation of bloodline brothers and Kesha is also my sister. I will not leave her in the lurch!"
"Rather than that, you..."
"I'm fine! I can leave by myself!" Arcus knew for sure that his presence was a burden thus he made a sensible decision.
"Alright! We are already near the exit, all you have to do is avoid the Magi outside, then leave this pocket dimension!"
Leylin nodded and watched Arcus as he limped out of the place.
"Master, are you going to save them?" A wave swept past the empty space and Tanasha, who had been concealed all these time, appeared again.
"Yes!" Leylin nodded.
Kesha had been good to him and they were relatively close. He had to save her.
Of course, more importantly, through his analysis of Arcus, Leylin had already prepared himself for said curse . At the very least, he could ensure his own safety.
If it was like that, there was no reason to refuse to rescue them while he was here.
"You don't have to involve yourself with this matter anymore, you may leave first!" Leylin ordered Tanasha.
After that, he immediately handed a large black box to her.
"You have to guard the contents of this box carefully. Do not open it, return it to me when we meet again later!"
"Yes, Master!" Tanasha bowed. After receiving the box from Leylin, a bright light flashed and the item disappeared.
Although rare, spatial artifacts could be found even on the south coast and Twilight Zone, leave alone the central continent.
Tanasha had long since entered the Crystal Phase. A storage artifact was no big deal.
As he watched Tanasha's silhouette moving away, Leylin turned in the opposite direction and disappeared into the corridor.
...
"Huff..."
Kesha hid behind a large shelf, and her tall chest moved up and down unsteadily as she breathed.
"How is it? Has the trap succeeded?"
She asked a Green-skinned Barbarian beside her. Both Kesha and the Green-skinned Barbarian had long, narrow wounds on their bodies. A pool of dark gas circled above those wounds.
These two Magi were almost entirely drained of their energies and they were at their worst condition.
"The Fogbound Labyrinth can only trap it for 3 minutes!" The Green-skinned Barbarian said bitterly.
"Damn it! That amount of time isn't even enough for us to recover, not to mention getting past the illusory corridor!" Kesha looked despair.
Being pursued by the man in black, especially after sustaining such injuries, the illusory corridor had refused to transport a cursed person like her several times. They were practically trapped in there while still alive.
By now, both Magi were already at the their limits. They had no more strength to fight back.
"I'd never expected that I would die here, and with a green-skinned dwarf beside me!" Kesha let out a faint sigh.
"What did you say, woman?" Angered after being called a dwarf, the Green-skinned Barbarian jumped up and pointed his staff at Kesha's nose. "If you guys hadn't intruded and killed many of our clan members, we wouldn't have chased after you and we wouldn't have run into that thing!"
"You…" Kesha wanted to refute further but her expression suddenly changed. She and the Green-skinned Barbarian dodged in opposite directions.
Ka-cha! A brilliant, silver-white light streaked across and the large shelf was split into two. It exposed the silhouette of a man in a black trenchcoat who held a pair of scissors emitting a sharp radiance.
"Oh no! It broke through earlier than expected!" The Green-skinned Barbarian turned pale, looking even greener than usual, and it began to shiver.
"Fuck! I knew it, you green-skinned dwarves can't be trusted!" Out of her despair, Kesha burst out swearing.
The man in black made an ambiguous howl. The sounds of the scissors echoed as his footsteps slowly drew near.
With her sea of consciousness now dried up, a bitter smile emerged on Kesha's face. However, the man in black was evidently not one to show mercy even towards a female as he raised his hand and pierced at Kesha's eyes with the scissors.
"Explosive Fireball!" A massive explosion sounded.
Numerous dark figures gathered to form a cage and bound the man in black.
Escape
Kesha felt giddy, her head was spinning, but she soon fell into a strong embrace.
"Ley…Leylin!" She was taken aback and called out his name.
"Sister, it looks like you're in a difficult situation!" Leylin rubbed his nose and gently laid Kesha down. He then tossed a potion at her.
"This is a purifying potion, it can eliminate the curse energy from your body! Use it as soon as possible!"
"Thank you!" Kesha's face glowed with a lovely smile. Having just escaped from death, she was especially touched.
"Wait up! That… Can you also give me one…?" The huge Green-skinned Barbarian Magus rolled over like a ball, and he was eager to please.
"Huh?" Leylin looked at Kesha.
"Give it to him! After all, we fought alongside each other!" Kesha nodded her head.
At this moment, countless black shadows exploded forth with a bang. Trenchcoat stood in the center, completely unharmed. He made eye contact with Leylin and started roaring.
"This kind of feeling, it isn't a common hybrid curse. It's a gene curse!" Leylin's face grew absolutely serious.
The so-called gene curse was a high-grade curse. It had the ability to materialise itself which was extremely difficult to cure.
Leylin himself had mastered a few curses. However, even he was not too sure about these gene curses.
"I'll take care of him. You two, use the potions and leave as quickly as possible!" he said in a deep voice.
As with any curse, there were limitations on the scope of the effect. As for Trenchcoat's gene curse, it most likely prevented him from leaving the confines of Quicksand Castle. In fact, he might not even make it through the illusory corridor in the outer layer.
Kesha and the Green-skinned Barbarian nodded their heads in agreement and opened the test tubes.
"Right, for such a high-grade curse to make an appearance is fortunate. I have long wanted to study them!" Leylin's eyes lit up like a spark of fire. He threw out a large number of potions.
*Boom* A flash of jade-green flames ignited and blazed fiercely.
"dkjsklgmnsklm..."
Trenchcoat seemed to have some apprehensions with regards to these flames and muttered some senseless words.
"A.I. Chip! "Leylin ordered, "Compare with every language in the database!" However, the A.I.Chip had not recorded Trenchcoat's words and so was unable to find an answer.
"Let's go!" Kesha and the Green-skinned Barbarian yelled. Both had the black cursed energies from their body expelled successfully by the purifying potions.
As he watched Leylin and his two companions leaving, Trenchcoat standing opposite bellowed loudly and charged at them.
*Crackle!* A copious amount of jade green flames were blazing on his body ferociously. Big patches of black clothing were flaking off onto the ground, revealing the badly scarred skin beneath.
A long hideous wound extended all the way down from his right shoulder blade. It looked like a huge black centipede, a sinister and horrifying sight.
What made Leylin frown was the fact that the profound and brutal power of the curse seemed more pronounced and vigorous on Trenchcoat's body.
"Run, now!" Leylin waved the Meteor Sword in his hand, bringing forth horrifying poisons and the sharp radiant sword shadows, causing the surrounding structures to collapse one by one.
"Use this!" The Green-skinned Barbarian held out a glittering crystal ball that was radiating beautiful, brilliant rays.
"This is an escape crystal ball. It consists of at least 5 escape charms, enough to get us out of here!" The Green-skinned Barbarian Magus met Leylin's eyes and explained it to him, seemingly trying to win his favour.
"Good job!" The blue light in his eyes sparkled and the A.I. Chip affirmed the authenticity of the crystal ball and its favourable functions.
He immediately stimulated the crystal ball and the three of them vanished in a blinding flash.
A black shadow whizzed past and Trenchcoat's pair of scissors slashed across empty space as it produced senseless, incoherent roars.
Inside the illusory corridor, the surrounding walls were filled with images of many plants and flowers. Many of the plants were in a continuous loop of life — from germination, to growth, then blossoming and finally withering.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Loud thuds of heavy objects falling were heard. Leylin and the rest were in the middle of the corridor.
"Alright! I can no longer feel the power of the curse at this location. You are all safe!" He shut his eyes and exclaimed.
Hearing his words, Kesha and the Green-skinned Barbarian broke into smiles of relief and joy.
"So, it is now time to discuss how we should 'handle' this!" Leylin pointed his finger at the Green-skinned Barbarian, revealing a sinister and calculative grin.
"Oh! No! You can't do this to me. I saved your companion's life! And we even fought alongside in battle!" The Green-skinned Barbarian raised both his arms, pleading innocently.
It didn't adopt any form of resistance as its spiritual force had been drained a few days ago when it was in pursuit. It even needed Leylin to stimulate the escape crystal ball as it wasn't able to do it on its own.
"But the fact is, you came here to capture us, no?" Leylin saw through his clumsy trickery. Thus, he held up the cross blade and aimed for the Green-skinned Barbarian's brains.
"Seeing how things have turned out, you have paid the price accordingly. I will spare your life this time!" At that moment, Leylin revealed his true intentions.
Having heard what he said, Kesha, who was initially displeased, suddenly snapped out of her emotional state.
"But…. I do not possess any other good stuff!" The Green-skinned Barbarian Magus pleaded pitifully, but secretly slipped an odd bracelet out of his right hand.
Leylin refused to believe that. Being a Crystal Phase Magus, how could it not have a few aces up its sleeve?
Looking at the current situation, although both parties were seriously injured, they could have mustered up their remaining strength for another fight. Yet, Leylin only wanted compensation and did not want to test the opposite party's threshold which would have inevitably caused them both to suffer.
"Hand over the compensation! Or do you want to start a fight here?" Leylin's tone was harsh and intense.
"Sister Kesha! When the compensation is presented, I'll share 50 percent with you!" Once these words were spoken, Kesha immediately inched closer to Leylin's side, showing her support.
For this exploration, Kesha had ended up losing her life savings and there was no way she could ever step foot into Quicksand Castle again. She had also lost three capable assistants, who were all feared dead, so now she thirsted for compensation for her losses.
Seeing how Kesha reacted, the Green-skinned Barbarian let out a bitter smile, "All of you human Magi are shrewd and greedy, worse than the devil!"
It resigned itself to its fate, crouched down, and handed a black pouch to Leylin.
"Go ahead and take a look! My treasures are all in there!"
Leylin reached out to received the pouch that seemed to be made from animal fur. Upon further probing, many useful items of brilliant lights and vibrant colours could be seen.
Crystal Phase Magi in the Forgotten Land were not as wealthy as Crystal Phase Magi elsewhere, but it was enough to please the two Vapour Phase Magi.
There were so many precious materials inside that Kesha was dazzled by its extraordinary splendor as she let out a thrilling cry.
Leylin chose some of the most precious ones, including a few copies of notes and thereafter handed the pouch to Kesha.
Kesha showered her delicate charm on Leylin in appreciation, then started choosing gems from the pouch without restraint. When she finally passed the pouch to the Green-skinned Barbarian, it was obvious the pouch was shrivelled and light, with lots of missing items. The Green-skinned Barbarian was heartbroken.
"Alright! Since the ransom has been paid, we shall take our leave!"
Leylin bowed slightly, his lips curled in a slight smile as he walked quickly along the corridor with Kesha. They disappeared at the end, leaving the Green-skinned Barbarian speechless and bitter.
A few days later, at the desert surrounding the Quicksand Castle, in a dim and gloomy underground area.
A wave of bright red brilliant rays flashed past, and the silhouettes of the uncle-nephew pair — Robin and Noah — appeared out of thin air.
"You are both finally here, Leylin and I have been waiting for a long time!"
Kesha stood up, a tone of dissatisfaction in her voice. Soon after, she gazed attentively at Robin: "You... what happened?"
Using her aura detection abilities, it seemed that Robin had changed greatly, yet she couldn't tell exactly what changed.
"Huh?" Leylin scrutinized Robin's face intently.
There was no change in his outer appearance, with an unusually bewitching handsome outlook, but in the space between his eyebrows, there was an additional black symbol imprinted. Multiple blood vessel lookalikes covered his entire forehead.
What amazed Leylin more was that the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline on Robin's body seemed to be strengthening continuously, with the tendency to purify gradually.
If it weren't for the extremely pure and concise bloodline in Leylin's own body, together with the probing of the A.I. Chip, he wouldn't have noticed such changes.
"It's nothing. On the contrary, I have never felt better!" Robin chuckled, rational as ever as he whipped out a huge foreleg and started gnawing on it.
There were scales covering the whole animal foreleg and purple-black blood was still dripping from the severed site. It was clearly a high-energy creature from the vicinity.
Robin wolfed down his food with gusto and finished it up with just a few mouthfuls, meat and bones.
He felt like he could be wrong, but after eating the meat, Robin's bloodline seemed to have strengthened slightly again.
"Eww…" Noah's face turned ash-white after witnessing Robin feasting on his food. He turned away, not daring to take another look.
"And what happened to you?" Leylin had a premonition. He was sure Robin had acquired some rare resources from Quicksand Castle.
Of course, he had his own fortuitous encounter and the benefits were not small. Luck wouldn't shine on only one person, and Leylin understood this theory.
"No…Nothing, it was just a traumatic experience. I might fast for a period, I do not even want to see anybody eating anything.…"
Noah waved his hand weakly. The horrible memories from the previous dinner left a deep horrifying impression on him.
"Noah has experienced too little, let him be! We need to leave the Quicksand pocket dimension immediately! Any objections?"
()
Robin was evidently clear-headed and wise, not mentioning anything about his experiences in the castle. Leylin and Kesha, as well, were too tactful to ask.
Demon Hunter
"No matter the profits or losses, it is time to leave."
Leylin nodded, approving of Robin's suggestion.
He had gained quite a lot this time, and had long since had the inclination to leave. More importantly, his pursuer, Tanasha, had surrendered into his service. The Green-skinned Barbarian Magus was also heavily injured, and only after being extorted precious materials from was he released. As for the road that Robin had taken, it was evident that it had been disastrous.
These were Crystal Phase Magi! The three powers outside would probably be stamping their feet in anxiety.
By the time they reacted to the situation, Leylin and the others would probably be met with the joint attack from the three powers.
On Leylin's end, the Black Horrall Snake Warlocks that Robin and Roya had brought were all dead, and those following Kesha were probably in a similar situation. Arcus, who Leylin had rescued, had not met with them here. This would only have happened if he had other plans, or he had met with some unexpected situation, causing his strength to be greatly diminished.
If they did not choose to escape now, were they going to wait to be killed?
"Alright, I agree as well." Kesha sounded helpless. Out of everyone here, she had gained the least, and it was not even enough to make up for the loss of the three Warlocks from her family. When she returned, this would be a huge blow to them.
Anxiety was apparent in Kesha's eyes.
"As for the way out, it's definitely impossible to go through the entrance of the pocket dimension. We should use our original plan and look for the weaker areas of the pocket dimension, and use escape runes to tear through the space and exit!" Robin exclaimed.
The entrance of the secret realm had probably been placed under heavy military guard long ago by the three organisations. Leylin and Kesha would not suggest leaving that way, and they all nodded in agreement.
...
Under the scorching rays of the sun, the moisture in the ground evaporated, cracks appearing within.
Somewhere, many cracks converged and caused a terrifying explosion. A hole opened up in the void, and a few pitiful figures dashed out of a tunnel.
"Based on these energy particles, it looks like we've successfully escaped and reached the Forgotten Land!" Leylin commented after sensing the energy particles that were so sparse that they could be overlooked around him as well as the desolate surroundings.
"That's right! This must be the Tuck Barren Lands close to the Forgotten Land, which is very close to the city of sins, Nefas!"
Robin checked the surroundings, and he looked elated, "Leylin, I didn't expect your abilities at calculating the areas where space is weak to be so impressive!"
"Yes! Not only did you use the shortest time possible and find the place where space was weak, you also evaded space storms and chose a place that is closest to Nefas City!"
It was no simple task to find the weakest spatial node in a pocket dimension. For Magi, this would require a very precise and meticulous probing ability, and the requirements when it came to calculation were even more terrifying.
"Hehe… What are you saying, that's only a coincidence!" Leylin rubbed his nose.
All these may seem difficult to a regular Magus, but for the A.I. Chip, it was just a walk in the park. He had even especially chosen a spatial node closest to Nefas City, all so he could leave that place as soon as possible.
He had reaped marvelous gains this time, and he had a bad feeling about this. It was this feeling that prompted him to leave without hesitation, even so going so far as to expose some of his abilities.
"It's best that we leave as soon as possible. Something feels off." Leylin furrowed his brows. The resources in the Quicksand pocket dimension were far too plentiful, and just the highly valued pocket dimension, Quicksand Castle, was enough to arouse the interest and greed of Morning Star Magi. A Morning Star Magus was not something any of them could handle.
"I have a bad feeling about this too." Robin looked grim as he agreed as well.
Hearing this, Noah and Kesha could feel the seriousness of the situation. The premonitions or feelings that Magi had, especially that of high-ranked Magi like Leylin and Robin, were usually accurate. It did nothing to reassure them, causing them to tremble in fear.
"Have the organisations in the Forgotten Land contacted the external world? Or is there any supporter of theirs?" Leylin asked Robin as the group of Magi hurried along lightning-quick.
"Contact? They're a bunch of vicious criminals, or those who can no longer stay in the central continent. How could there be any communication between them?" Robin scoffed at the idea.
"They can't even leave the Forgotten Land, and can at most conceal their identities in Nefas City."
At this point, his expression changed and he immediately halted his footsteps. "You mean…"
Leylin's expression was grim as he nodded.
"What's going on?" Noah was baffled, while Kesha seemed to have some thoughts on this, "The organisations within the Forgotten Land and Nefas City have contact with each other? Or…"
She did not dare speak further, but the heavy atmosphere lingered in their hearts.
"But what can we do if we don't go to Nefas City? The airship station there is the most convenient way to communicate with the external world." Kesha bit her lips.
"Let's take the long route." Leylin let out a long breath.
"This will take more effort. I've seen the map, and we'll pass through a few dangerous areas with rank 3 Magi. However, as long as we're careful, there's a large possibility of us passing through, though it might take a bit more time…"
Robin nodded, agreeing with Leylin. Though it was very troublesome to divert their route all based on a conjecture, Kesha and Noah exchanged a few glances and did not object.
The Magus World was filled with danger, and any carelessness could lead to the misfortune of death.
Those who could become high-ranked Magi were very confident in their premonitions, and would prefer to avoid any trouble even if it would cause them to expend more effort.
The moment this group was about to turn around, there was an unexpected situation.
*Ka-cha!* A huge hole opened up in the sky, and countless black streaks of lightning appeared with a thunderous sound..
An incredibly mighty pressure suddenly descended, causing Leylin and the others to stand in a daze.
Suddenly, Leylin felt this whole region being isolated from the surroundings, and the air suddenly becoming heavier, to the point that he could not even move a finger.
"This is… the domain of a Morning Star Magus! I've felt it before at my mentor's. I can't be wrong!"
Robin turned back, face so pale it was like a corpse's.
"Found you!" A hoarse voice was transmitted from the black hole in the sky, cold, unfeeling and condescending. It was as if Leylin and his group were a bunch of insignificant little ants.
Numerous black streaks of lightning twined around each other to form a black, giant palm, grabbing at Leylin and the rest.
"Ah-!" Leylin wanted to retaliate, only to find that not only was it difficult to use the spiritual force in his body, even the sparse elemental particles in the external world had disappeared, as if they had become insulators of elemental particles.
[Host body affected by unknown force field. Spiritual force suppressed by 80%. Stats in all areas decreasing.]
The A.I. Chip's voice sounded, being distorted as if it was being interfered with.
In terms of Leylin's own stats, there was a large decrease in all of his abilities, and he had been suppressed to about as strong as a rank 1 Magus.
"The suppression from a Morning Star domain, and its influence, has turned us into elemental insulators!"
A wry smile appeared at the corner of Leylin's lips, "The terror of Morning Star Magi is something I can only hope to achieve!"
Honestly speaking, he was still in a good condition. Kesha and Noah had already collapsed, leaving Robin and him somewhat able to stay standing. However, in front of the giant black-lightning palm, they were helpless.
"Hmph! Cyril, it's not up to you to give my students a lesson!" Just as even Leylin gave up all hope, a voice suddenly rang from beside him, a familiar sound immediately perking him up.
"Mentor Gilbert!" Robin and Kesha exclaimed, delighted.
Following that, Gilbert appeared by Robin in loose white robes, his two eyes turning into dangerous vertical pupils.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* Ash gray stone skin extended on the black lightning hand, and it eventually collapsed in mid-air, turning into a pile of powder as it sprayed downwards.
*Po!* Like a soap bubble that had been pierced through, Leylin felt his body become lighter, the region he was in returning to the world. That feeling of being shrouded in a tight membrane disappeared.
The numbers on the A.I. Chip were returning to normal, as was his contact with the elemental particles.
[Beep! Detected reactions from two unknown force fields, resulting in a neutralizing effect.]
The A.I. Chip prompted, and a look of comprehension flashed in Leylin's eyes. 'This is mentor's Morning Star domain, cancelling out the other party's force field!'
He had also gained a deeper understanding of how formidable Morning Star Magi were.
Without reaching the Morning Star realm, just a Morning Star domain was a torture to many low-ranked Magi. In the face of Morning Star Magi, the concept of strength in numbers was just a joke.
"Giant Serpent Duke Gilbert!" A figure appeared in the sky suddenly, and though he was just standing there, Leylin felt that he was like a high mountain.
"Demon Hunter Cyril!"
Leylin lowered his head, taking a few secret peeks at the sky.
Cyril's face was gaunt, and his lips were very thin. He had a pair of silver eyes that could inspire fear and the Magus robes he wore, with black threads that formed demonic images and the many chains, axes and torture instruments along with, made him look frightening.
"Wait here. I'll go have a good talk with him." Gilbert placed his arms at his back. Wrapped in dense crimson rays, he floated above and, with Cyril, transformed into two shooting stars that disappeared into the horizon.
"Hah…" Robin let out a long breath and dropped to the ground. He no longer cared about his image.
The situation just now could be said to be extremely dangerous. If Gilbert had not reached in time, they would probably be in a terrible state.
Private Airship
"What exactly is going on?" Noah shook his head, still feeling slightly giddy.
"Demon Hunter Cyril tried to hinder us, but Mentor showed up in time to save us, as simple as that!" Kesha laughed bitterly.
The great name of Demon Hunter Cyril struck his ears like a peal of thunder. Rumour had it that this infamous, ferocious being would make even the most cunning devil burst out in tears, regretting that they were ever born into this world.
Simply thinking about falling into the hands of such a person had her breaking out in cold sweat.
"I should've thought of it earlier. Nefas, the city of sins, and the Forgotten Land are in close proximity and there are frequent interactions between their people. It is impossible that the forces in the Forgotten Land are not in contact with the Demon Hunter." Robin's face was full of remorse.
In actual fact, what he meant was that those forces were the other party's lackeys. When they saw that they could not handle their group, they immediately informed their master.
However, there was no conclusive evidence. In addition to that, the Demon Hunter was also a Morning Star Magus, which was why Robin spoke obscurely.
"If Mentor Gilbert hadn't arrived in time, we would've been in grave danger. Oh yes, why did Mentor come here?" Robin asked with a doubtful expression.
"It was me!" Leylin stood out and gave a bitter laugh.
"Before I left, I'd already had a bad premonition. Thus, I gave Parker a letter. If I failed to return within the time limit, he would hand it over to Lucian immediately, who would then pass it on to Mentor… Thank goodness! Brother Lucian is indeed trustworthy. Mentor also didn't get caught up in a high-level experiment..."
His words were only partly true. As a matter of fact, it was the Coin of Destiny which allowed Leylin to predict the interference of a force at the Morning Star realm. However, he could not bear to give up on the Lamia Hair, hence he adopted such a compromising measure.
From the looks of it, it wasn't a bad result.
"Sorry! I acted on my own!" Leylin admitted and apologised immediately.
"No! It's nothing! We still have to thank you for your vigilance!" Robin waved.
"That's right! Who would've known that the Demon Hunter was actually so treacherous? He even tried to snatch away small fries like us!" Kesha spoke with a face full of indignation.
"Silence!" Leylin and Robin shouted simultaneously to stop her.
"Towards Morning Star Magi, even if we are enemies, respect must be given no matter what! This is to respect the truth!" Kesha flushed red from embarrassment and lowered her head.
*Rumble!* At this time, a large wave was transmitted from afar. Leylin looked towards that direction in concern.
"No need to worry! The Demon Hunter may be famed for his strength, but you have to believe in our Mentor. He is also very powerful!" Robin noticed the worries on Leylin's mind and gave him a comforting smile.
"Let's hope things will be as such!" Leylin replied a little forcefully.
Getting Duke Gilbert out was already his last resort. Apart from this mentor, he could no longer think of any other ways to make the Demon Hunter give up.
Should their mentor be defeated, the students themselves would not have a good ending as well.
"Strength! It still comes down to strength!" Leylin could not help but clench his fists together as his yearning for the Morning Star realm grew.
*Whoosh!* A scarlet ray of light streaked across the horizon and Gilbert's silhouette emerged before Leylin and the others.
"Mentor!" Robin and Leylin rushed to bow.
"You rascals, look what trouble you've gotten yourselves into, you even provoked Cyril!" Gilbert swept his eyes over before a smile surfaced on his bald, bare face. It seems, that in the battle between him and the Demon Hunter, he was not on the losing end.
After realising that, Leylin heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. At least the worst case scenario no longer had a chance of occurring.
"Alright! You must be exhausted after the expedition, just take a trip back on my airship!"
Smiling, Gilbert waved his hand and a small airship appeared on the spot.
Although it was smaller in size than the public airships, it was evidently more luxurious and ornate. The spell formations drafted on it were also more intricate and powerful.
"This is…" Leylin's mouth opened wide.
Despite its small size, it was still a proper airship! With enough space to fit an airship of this size, surely Duke Gilbert's space artifacts must have been at the level of magic equipment at least!
But Robin thought Leylin had lost his senses because of the airship. "This is the 'Black Scale,' Mentor's ship. When he advanced to become a Morning Star Magus, the Fayle clan sent it as a gift. It can use any network of channels and will be treated as an honoured guest at maintenance and rest stops!" he explained with a smile.
"What a lavish clan!" Leylin gasped. The family which had control over the central continent's airship channels, had a lot of inside information as expected.
"Will they send a gift for every Morning Star Magus after they are promoted?" Leylin suddenly remembered and asked.
"That's right! Basically, after a Magus is promoted, the Fayle clan will definitely send a private airship as a gift!" Robin nodded.
"What a great scale of spending!" Of course, Leylin knew very well that it was probably not the intention of the Fayles. Instead, the Monarch of the Skies was using the chance to get on the good sides of the Morning Star Magi.
The Black Scale's interior was very luxurious. Comprising a master room, guest room, kitchen, meditation room and a customized living room, the airship was big enough to accommodate dozens of people without seeming crowded. For a private airship, this was enough.
Gilbert sat on a sofa in the middle of the living room while Leylin and the other 3 stood respectfully at one side. A few clear-winged elves carried the teapot and cups and swiftly poured a cup of red tea for everyone.
"Sit!" Gilbert chuckled. "I am also rather interested in your experiences this time round!"
Leylin's heart stirred. He knew that whatever was to come could not be avoided, but he showed no dissatisfaction about it.
By the sole fact that Gilbert saved him, it was only right to share a large portion of the reward.
"Tiny energy waves are detected! Identified as Bloodline artifacts' detection technology! Space artifacts are unable to cut them off!"
By this time, the prompting sounds of the A.I. chip had reached Leylin's mind. In his vision, he distinctly saw a scanning wave sweep past the 4 of them, not even sparing Noah.
The wave was so obscure that even Robin could not feel it scanning his body, it even went on to scan Leylin's spatial pouch and ring. Despite that, Leylin's face remained unchanged.
The few people remained silent for a while before Robin took the lead and spoke up, "Mentor, It's like this…"
"...." After listening to his narration, Gilbert looked at the imprint of the spell on Robin's forehead and took a deep sigh, "I didn't expect that you would ultimately choose this path!"
"This is my choice!" Robin bowed and replied, "If not for this, I'm afraid I wouldn't even get the chance to look at the realm of the Morning Star!" He spoke resolutely.
"As your mentor, I can only guide and advise you in your pursuit of the truth and the power of the bloodline. As for your final choice, I will not interfere any further."
Gilbert shook his head and said, "Since you are insistent on doing this, then so be it!"
"Mentor..." On the other side, Kesha was acting like a little girl, on the verge of crying. She spoke about her encounter extremely miserably.
"Arcus and the other two are all dead... That's half the strength of my clan... Mentor...."
Towards the end, Kesha's eyes flushed red and she started crying. Tears flowed out like a waterfall. She spoke nothing about her earnings from the extortion of the Green-skinned Barbarian, which was done in collaboration with Leylin.
"Alright! Alright!" Gilbert said helplessly. "After this, I will give orders for your clan to be taken care of!"
"Thank you Mentor!" Kesha's face brightened up instantaneously, with such speed that it created a pang of admiration in Leylin.
"Leylin, how about you?" Gilbert finally directed his attention to Leylin, with a slight smile of interest in his eyes.
'What the hell. Amongst you, one is his former student, while the other is a woman. I, the newcomer, am at the greatest disadvantage!' In his mind, Leylin rolled his eyes but he kept a calm expression on his face. He patted the space pouch respectfully and a few items appeared on the desk.
"A bloodline crystal!" Kesha covered her mouth and let out a gasp as she saw the blood-red stone.
However, Robin's focus was on the long-root fruit and a few pieces of large, milky white bones.
As for Gilbert, he looked engrossingly at a large egg which sat in the middle of the desk. As he looked at the blood-red runes on it, he appeared to be deep in thought.
"Leylin, you've struck it big this time in the pocket dimensions!" Kesha leaned forward, almost squeezing her whole body into Leylin's embrace. "This sister's clan is already so pitiful, shouldn't you help me out?"
"Haha…" Gilbert, however, made a carefree laugh.
"This is the egg of a Blood Vulture! Blood Vultures in the ancient times were originally well-known for searching for bloodline artifacts. Leylin, I suppose you got lucky and found a nest of Blood Vultures?"
"Yes!" Leylin scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "After I found the nest, I hid there for a few days before I finally seized the chance and snuck these things out..."
Upon hearing that, a hint of jealousy appeared on everyone's face, even Robin's. Why didn't such good luck descend on him?
"These items, I'm willing to offer them all to Mentor!" What Leylin said thereafter turned Robin and Kesha's minds blank.
"It's not even possible not to offer…" Leylin gave a sincere look, but he was utterly bitter inside.
After discovering that Leylin possessed these items and did not hand them over, Gilbert would not feel good about it. If that was the case, Leylin's future life in the Ouroboros Clan would be difficult.
"Haha… Good!"
Gilbert laughed out loud…
Completing The Project
Upon hearing Leylin's words, Gilbert stared blankly at him for a while, and then started laughing heartily. "I will accept your gift then!"
"Thank you, mentor!" Gratitude was apparent on Leylin's face as he bowed.
"Sure! Of course, I wouldn't simply just want to have your things for no reason; after all, Blood Vulture eggs from the ancient times are still very precious!" Gilbert lowered his head in thought.
"How about this? Aren't you currently accumulating contribution points to buy the scroll that can inject life into constructs? I'll make an exchange with you directly then; a sealed fourth-grade magic scroll would be sufficient to make up for these items!"
Gilbert swept his hand across the table top. The numerous bloodline treasures vanished, and a grey scroll covered in simple floral designs appeared.
"Thank you, Mentor!" Leylin received the scroll and expressed his thanks again, this time with more sincerity.
"Besides…" Gilbert glanced at Leylin's ring and smiled.
Leylin scratched his head and displayed his embarrassment, knowing that Gilbert had discovered the items he had hidden in his spatial ring.
...
After nightfall, Leylin lay on his bed and examined the scroll in his hands, satisfaction written on his face. "Exchanging those items for a fourth-grade scroll is indeed a fair trade, I didn't suffer!"
He then looked at the ring on his hand and collapsed onto the bed, looking as though he would fall into deep sleep soon enough.
Bu in actual fact, he was sneering secretly. What Gilbert had discovered was actually what Leylin purposely wanted him to.
Inside the ring, there was only a single Bloodline crystal and a few remains from ancient times. Gilbert did not value them exactly because there were only a few items, thus he silently agreed to Leylin's secret stash.
In actual fact, what Leylin had handed over today was not even ten percent of his real loot, much less the fingerbone left behind by the fifth-grade Lamia from ancient times.
The temptation of such an item was too huge, and even Leylin was not willing to take it out. If not, it would be hard to pass Gilbert's checkpoint.
No matter what happened then, it would not be a situation that he would want to see. After all, Gilbert was rather nice to him, and he didn't want to fall out with his mentor and the Ouroboros Clan.
Benefits are the greatest reason why people are divided, and Leylin did not want to use the fingerbone to put the bond between master and disciple to the test. Might as well avoid it for the better good.
Yes, the real loot, including the Lamia's fingerbone, were not on Leylin himself! Therefore, no matter how strict Gilbert was with his inspection, there was no use at all!
"However, although this journey was dangerous, I finally attained the items I wanted, and the other loot is not bad…" Leylin thought as he lay in bed, quickly falling into deep sleep for real.
The Black Scale travelled at high speeds. Initially, Leylin and company took more than a month to travel from the Ouroboros Clan to Nefas City, but the return journey only required about ten days or so.
After returning to headquarters, Leylin, his mentor and a few seniors gathered together and returned to Onyx Castle to check on the Magus Tower in his territory.
"Welcome, Lord Leylin!" Parker stood in front of the black Magus Tower and saluted respectfully to Leylin. His voice still sounded old as usual, and was strangely mismatched with his youthful face.
"How is the construction of my Magus Tower going?" Leylin stepped forth and gently caressed the black tower, admiring the exquisite runes on it and the faint but powerful energy waves it emitted. A smile spread across his face.
"The entire structure of the Magus Tower has been completed, we're just left with a few cores and most importantly, the activation of the spirit of the Tower! These are awaiting your completion, Master!"
Parker's response made Leylin satisfactory. He was serious when working too; the previous task that Leylin had given him was performed well. He had successfully delivered a letter to Duke Gilbert and helped Leylin avert his misfortune.
"Excellent! Leylin nodded, "Bring Snoopy to my lab someday. I haven't taught him anything new in a long while too!"
He, of course, knew that age was catching up to Parker and he had no ambition, so he placed all his hopes on his grandson Snoopy, whose importance surpassed any reward.
Of course, after hearing what Leylin said, Parker was slightly excited and his bow almost reached a right angle, "Thank you on his behalf, Master!"
"On my way back from this trip, I obtained the Scroll of Life. Under my orders, prepare to begin work. I would like my Magus Tower to be completed immediately!" Leylin gave his orders indifferently.
"Your wish will be executed!" Parker replied. All the preparations for construction were already complete, and the other core materials had already been prepared too. All was left was to wait for Leylin to return and take the lead.
Wandering in his own Magus Tower, Leylin examined every corner carefully.
The interior of the Magus Tower was very spacious. Leylin created all of it according to the highest standards, with a complete set of facilities that looked refined and luxurious.
Leylin looked at level after level, especially the positive and negative energy reactive pools, along with other places such as the laboratory, the binding room, and the ecological garden.
"A.I. Chip! What are the results of the scan?" While looking around his tower, Leylin did not forget to let the A.I. Chip fully scan and record the decorations and spell formations that he saw before conducting an inspection.
1 The A.I. Chip sent feedback faithfully.
As the blueprint of the structure was originally done by Leylin himself, using the A.I. Chip's perfect deductions, the decorations of the entire Magus Tower were perfect, almost to the point that no fault could be found.
The remaining areas that could be further optimized were only small problems that resulted from improper construction and other reasons. No matter how perfect his plan was, as long as it was executed by humans, accidents were bound to happen. Leylin had long prepared for this.
'The rest is alright, but the previous ecological garden can be altered a little by adding in the data I collected about the environment in the ancient times while at Quicksand Castle!' Leylin stroked his chin.
Since the Magus Tower was yet to be completed, he could still take the chance to amend it now. If he waited until the defensive spell formations were activated, especially after the tower genie had been awakened, then he wouldn't be able to amend anything even if he wanted to.
"A.I. Chip! Design an improved version of the blueprint according to what I said earlier!"
Leylin had always liked to put the A.I. Chip in charge of the nitty-gritty things, while he himself was responsible for directing the big picture.
[Task established, adjusting original blueprint! Adding in simulated environment parameters from ancient times, beginning formation of the blueprint…]
The A.I. Chip operated swiftly and projected a new blueprint in front of Leylin within a few minutes.
Leylin scanned the blueprint many times, satisfied with the blueprint made by the A.I. Chip. "Yes! To maximize the use of the original resources and set-up, I just have to add a few items and spell formations! This will do!"
He now had numerous subordinates and a huge number of Stone tribe slaves. Once he handed down the task of amending the place, it would only take a small number of people working in shifts day and night for ten days to complete it.
Leylin stood at the side of the negative energy reactive pool on the lowest level, and examined the complicated spell designs. At the radiance of the pure gold, silver and other precious materials, his face showed no signs of sadness or joy, maintaining tranquility.
[Simulation of the spell formations of the entire Magus Tower complete, 341 dummy runs, number of malfunctions: 0!]
The blue glow of the A.I. Chip flashed in the depths of Leylin's eyes.
"Begin!" Leylin exhaled gently, and placed a piece of compressed energy crystal that was emitting immense light rays and heat, much like a miniature sun, into a groove at the heart of the spell formation.
*Brr!* The entire spell formation started to shake, and ring after ring of runes appeared out of thin air. Traces of light circulated on the spell formation.
"Start!" Leylin's spiritual force extended and connected with the spell formation.
In the instant when the spiritual force came into contact with the spell formation, Leylin felt as though he had opened a valve, causing a multitude of energy particles to be frantically absorbed by the spell formation, before passing through a complex conversion channel and flowing into the negative energy reactive pool.
Meanwhile, outside the Magus Tower, Parker, Kubler, Snoopy and Leylin's other subordinates had all gathered to watch this scene, their eyes all brightly lit.
A huge elemental wave seemed to form a vortex that was absorbed by the black Magus Tower.
One by one, the magical runes on the body of the Tower lit up, bringing about frightening and yet stable waves, firmly connecting to one another.
Only Leylin was in the Magus Tower at that moment. He ran to the top of the Magus Tower at the speed of lightning and saw that the external appearance was almost the same, but the spell formation and storage pool gave off an entirely different vibe.
"Next, the positive energy reactive pool!" Leylin pushed the same high energy crystal into the groove, and the same activation spell appeared from Leylin's hands, merging into the four walls.
*Boom!* At the top of the Magus Tower, a huge elemental wave practically condensed into a physical substance, energy particles of various colours emitting brilliant lights and vibrant colours.They quickly subsided into two rainbows, one bright and one dark.
Soon after, the bright rainbow was absorbed by the peak of the Tower, while the rainbow with a hint of gold submerged into the ground.
The positive energy reactive pool buzzed continuously, the elemental liquids within accumulating further and further until it finally reached the middle mark.
Two spheres of light that resembled stars emitted from the peak and underground of the Tower, spreading continually across the structure. Numerous runes lit up one by one, and finally converged at its centre.
[Magus Tower spell formation fully activated! Currently operating well!] the A.I. Chip pointed out.
At that point, Leylin was standing on the point of intersection of the positive and negative energy reactive pools. An unadorned scroll covered in bizarre floral designs appeared in his hands.
"Fourth-grade magic— the Scroll of Life!"
"A.I. Chip, prepare to inject knowledge into the being!"
Leylin ripped open the grey scroll, and rays of light burst out. Suddenly, a terrifying attractive force was transmitted from the scroll. The Vapour Phase spiritual force of his consciousness was consumed in huge quantities, and the process only came to a gradual stop when it was close to being exhausted.
1. 8% of the main structure of the Magus Tower has been scanned. Defence spell formation operation intact, areas that can still be further optimized: 2!
Tower Genie #1
Of course, with how much of his wealth Leylin had expended on this, the power of the activation spell was not to be belittled.
A circle of sparkling starlight shrouded the tower. Numerous runes flickered in sync and breathed at the same rate, as if having lives of their own.
A faint blue figure began to form in front of Leylin. "Master, this tower genie is here to serve you!"
This tower genie had been branded by Leylin's spiritual force upon its birth.
In addition, it was one with the Magus Tower, and could help Leylin take care of any minute details that might be difficult to find.
"Alright. Here's my first mission. Accept this and fuse with it!" A blue seed shot out from between Leylin's eyebrows and quickly entered the blue tower genie's figure.
A multitude of data flowed across the tower genie's eyes, and a tremendous amount of complicated information even caused the newly-formed tower genie's figure to flicker, as it eventually turned into a ball of light.
By the time everything had stabilised, the A.I. Chip's robotic voice was produced from within the blue ball of light, [Digitization complete. The A.I. Chip system is now serving you. Please choose the exterior appearance.]
"A tree elf!" Leylin had never had anything against humanoid managers.
The blue ball of light shook, and eventually formed a blue elf the size of a human head, with a pair of wings formed of starlight.
"I'll call you Number 1 in the future." Leylin nodded, very satisfied with this intellectual body's external appearance.
"Understood. Number 1 greets Master!" The blue elf bowed, though its facial expression looked mechanical.
[Beginning networking.] Such an expression actually pleased Leylin more. What he needed was an absolutely rational manager, and from the very beginning, he had not built in any emotional functions.
With this command, a data interface connected Leylin's A.I. Chip with the elf using a stream of spiritual force.
[Beginning synchronizing of data. In the midst of tidying up] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded.
[Discovery of inharmonious spiritual force waves at three areas. Beginning elimination.] [Fusion with tower genie completed. Activation of anti-probing spell formation at full force.]
One after another, these prompts popped up, and the smile at the corner of Leylin's mouth grew wider.
Regular tower genies definitely lacked the terrifying calculation abilities of the A.I. Chip. The area that it could manage would only include the interior of the Magus Tower.
However, with what he was doing, not only could he control the interior of the Magus Tower from a distance away, he could even completely eliminate any damages that would otherwise have been hidden.
After fusing with the program that the A.I. Chip had duplicated, the tower genie had now become more intelligent, able to autonomously search for holes and repair them, and even take care of a few flaws or defects that had originally been there.
It could be said that even if Grand Duke Gilbert had done anything to the rank 4 scroll, it would have been pointless.
This was because Leylin had already modified the tower genie's structure with things of his own.
"Hah…" Leylin took in a long breath.
The construction of the Magus Tower, particularly the completion of the positive and negative energy reactive pools, now allowed the interior of the Magus Tower to have ten times the elemental particle concentration as outside.
The concentrated energy particles could even be seen with the naked eye, and for Magus eyes this was even more apparent. Leylin felt like he was surrounded by an elemental ocean.
The particle concentration in the central continent had already been very high, and that of this Magus Tower far surpassed that..
It could be said that in this environment, Leylin's progress in his meditation technique would not be too slow even if he did not use any potions. What was more frightening was that even trashy acolytes with a level 1 or 2 aptitude could break through their own limits and become official Magi if they studied and meditated here!
After recognising this, Leylin immediately made a choice. Unless there was anything terribly important, he would stay and settle down in the Magus Tower.
Outside the tower.
Parker and the others could not feel all this as keenly as Leylin, but after there was a rumble from the entire Magus Tower and it started emanating faint light, everyone still began to cheer. Even Kubler had shining tears at the corner of his eye.
A Magus Tower was a representation of strength in the central continent.
With a Magus Tower, and a Magus like Leylin who was viewed highly, regular Magi with Crystal phase spiritual force would not dare trespass in this area. In addition, with the large-scaled monitoring abilities of the Magus Tower, the rate of crime would definitely be lowered.
This signified that Leylin's power was secured, whether among mortals or Magi.
As a result, all the vassals who depended on Leylin were extremely moved.
*Boom!* At this moment, with the sound from a power switch, the entrance to the Magus Tower opened up, revealing Leylin's figure.
"It's finally done. Come in and take a look!"
"Many thanks, Master!" A few Warlocks immediately bowed. They had contributed to the construction of the Magus Tower, and naturally wished to take a look at it.
"Ah! The concentration of the particles!" Upon entering through the entrance, they were immediately shocked by the terrifying concentration of particles in the Magus Tower.
"As expected of the Magus Tower that my lord personally constructed. If I had studied in this place from my youth, I might have been able to break through to the Hydro Phase spiritual force stage by this time…" Parker carressed the cold and rigid walls, almost feeling like sobbing.
"Based on your contributions, I will give you different amounts of authority within the Magus Tower, as well as assign you your own bedrooms, laboratory and the like." Seeing all his subordinates, Leylin immediately made a promise to reward them.
"Many thanks, Master!" Numerous Warlocks were immediately touched. They had never even dreamed of having a place in such a high-grade Magus Tower.
This was especially so for Parker. Though he had little hope of advancing, all he wanted was to pave the way for Snoopy. He had never expected this treatment at any point in his life, and was immensely grateful.
Leylin thought nothing of it. These Warlocks were all his subordinates, and ought to be given rewards. With the tower genie supervising, they wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.
He would only open up the guestrooms, living areas and a few laboratories to them. The core areas, the positive and negative energy reactive pool as well as control room were safely in his control.
As it was very likely that they would live and perform research here, Kubler and the others had a different reaction and emotion to this.
Leylin brought them to look at the few levels in the middle, passing by the living room, bedrooms, library, and all the way to the Magus Garden.
Leylin had set up this Magus Garden like those of ancient times. Though he had yet to transplant any plants here, some vegetation and precious plants were already growing lushly.
A green light shone down. All this was the accumulated life energy that had come from activating the Magus Tower, giving the vegetation a huge boost in nutrition and vitality.
"With the positive energy pool, the entire Magus Tower's water circulation uses the purest water elemental particles and turns them into water that is purified to the highest degree. The yield from this Magus Garden would be enough to provide for thousands of people if the incoming energy stays at its peak," Leylin introduced, sounding a little proud.
With the bonus from the Magus Tower, he could obtain a strength comparable to a Magus with Crystal Phase spiritual force, and even provide for over five thousand people in the tower!
With this ability and self-sufficiency, it would be considered an extremely frightful large fort in times of war.
The Magus Tower was a terrifying war machine, and its amazing strength was enough to obstruct any attempts at spying on them.
"This is my future base!" Leylin sighed in his heart, but a smile then appeared on his face. "To celebrate the completion of the Magus Tower, I will hold a feast in Onyx Castle tonight. Let us all revel!"
An intoxicating clamour spread throughout the room.
...
Night fell and Onyx Castle was filled with scenes of jubilation, with many female singers, dancers and entertainers presenting their art with all the energy they could muster. Waves of delicacies and fine liquor were constantly sent to the feast like running water.
As this was in the form of a family banquet, the rules were lax, and even regular nobles were invited.
Though the Warlocks had formed a circle of their own, they were not repelled by the clamour outside. All faces were brimming with smiles, full of hope for the future of their territory.
With Leylin's status, nobody dared disturb him. He drank a few glasses and encouraged his subordinates with a few words, and then secretly left the castle.
The moon hung high in the sky, silver moonlight spilling down. The night air held a chill to it and was just right for those who had consumed alcohol.
Of course, with Leylin's body, there were few wines that could get him drunk.
He came to the side of the Magus Tower. Here, due the superb detection abilities of the tower genie, the original guards had all been transferred out.
A ring-shaped rune suddenly brightened on Leylin's hand. "I'm here. Come over!" Leylin said, his tone holding within a command that was difficult to ignore.
A black figure appeared from the air, and came to stand silently beside Leylin. "Come with me."
The entrance to the Magus Tower opened up with a rumble, welcoming its master.
They went all the way to the reception room, and only then did Leylin's facial muscles relax as he took a seat on the sofa.
"Sit! You don't need to conceal yourself anymore here. My Magus Tower has powerful detection spell formations. Even the spying of Morning Star Magi can be recognised!"
The person in black robes hesitated, and then threw back her hood, revealing a pretty female face with a golden headband on her forehead.
"Master!" She exclaimed in a low voice. This female Magus was the fugitive Magus leader that Leylin had subdued, Tanasha!
Watching Tanasha taking a seat, Leylin asked slowly, "I hope there weren't any troubles on the way here."
Deceit Seen Through
The Forgotten Land was very infertile and could be said to be a desert of the Magus world. Magi who travelled there were all fugitives who had been driven to desperation in the central continent.
Of course, Tanasha was no different. If her identity was exposed, it was not just her, but also Leylin who would be in deep trouble.
"No, I have been very careful so far. I didn't leave behind any information about my appearance or scent, and I did not use an airship!" she stated.
"Very well!" Leylin nodded. "Where are my things?"
"Right here!" A large black box appeared on the table with a swish of her hand.
Seeing the seal still perfectly untouched, Leylin gave a look of satisfaction. He opened the box, in which was a thick layer of soft white fur.
This was the King Blood Vulture's feathers. It contained the miraculous ability to conceal a bloodline's aura, and it had even fooled Leylin previously.
After brushing these white feathers aside, the energy waves of many bloodline treasures radiated out, surprising Tanasha.
A mountain of bloodline crystals and many strange bones, as well as fruits, rhizomes and such containing the power of bloodlines, were piled up messily, as if they were not of any monetary worth.
However, deep inside, Tanasha knew that once these items were revealed, it would greatly impact the Ouroboros Clan. Every single item in there could make a high-ranked Warlock go crazy!
Although she brought them over as per Leylin's orders, it was also by his order that she did not open the box. It was only then that she became aware of the contents of the box.
This was obviously Leylin's plan. When he acquired the loot in the pocket dimensions, he had already considered ways to get them past Gilbert.
After all, as the person who had sent out the information, he had already known long ago about Gilbert's arrival. How could he not have prepared for it?
Morning Star Warlocks' ability in detecting bloodline treasures was far exceeded Leylin's expectations. He had no confidence in hiding them at all. Hence, Leylin chose not to bring them with him.
Even if Gilbert monitored Leylin's spatial pouch and ring, he could only find some of the things that Leylin left behind intentionally. The real loot was all moved away by Tanasha.
With regards to this set up, it certainly was a decision that Leylin had made with determination.
Firstly, Tanasha had not only sworn her loyalty to him, but also allowed a part of her spirit source to be held by Leylin.
For a Magus, this kind of restriction was practically fatal. If Leylin destroyed that part of her spirit source, Tanasha would lose her mind even if she did not lose her life! On top of that, he deliberately won her over previously and agreed to take revenge for her. The assigned mission was just to transport an item. Leylin had some confidence in her.
For safety's sake, not only did he cast a sealing spell on the black box, but he also used the King Blood Vulture's feathers as a cover in order to conceal the bloodline energy waves of the treasures.
It seemed like the plan had succeeded.
Leylin looked at the pile of bloodline treasures, nearly laughing. Among the many bloodline energy waves, a fingerbone lay there quietly, yet majestically like a king. It made the other treasures seem less appealing.
Tanasha stared at the fingerbone as if she had seen her enemy, "What is this thing?"
Evidently, the aura of the fingerbone made her uncomfortable. This was unfathomable for a Crystal Phase Magus.
Even though it was just the remains of a creature, it had the power to make her so uncomfortable. How powerful could the living creature have been?
Tanasha fixed her eyes on Leylin. Now, she began to find this young Magus increasingly unpredictable.
"The Lamia fingerbone!" Surprisingly, Leylin answered the question directly.
"Tower genie, keep these items safely!" Leylin picked up the fingerbone and ordered the small blue elf beside him.
"Yes, my master!" The small elf held its chest and bowed. After that, a mechanical puppet walked over and took the black box to be stored in the treasury.
"Tanasha, come with me. I might need you later on!" Leylin called out to Tanasha with a downcast face.
Subsequently, he brought Tanasha all the way down to the room binding room before he came to a stop.
Powerful binding runes, energy-isolating runes, the power of corrosion, the weeping of vengeful spirits, gravity runes…
Tanasha looked at the runes on the walls as her expression darkened. With so many binding spells, even Tanasha, a Crystal Phase Magus, would have difficulties struggling her way out.
This led to an even deeper understanding of Leylin's financial capabilities.
"You set up such strict bindings. Do you intend to summon the great devil?" Tanasha asked, with a slightly provocative tone.
"No! This is only set up in case of an emergency. You know it— the astral plane is filled with all kinds of strange creatures. A little more preparation never hurts!"
Leylin's face carried an odd smile, "But never did I expect that the first subject that it would be used on, would actually be this!"
As a light shone from his right hand, the Lamia fingerbone in Leylin's hand immediately appeared at the center of the bindings. A strong sluice gate made of reinforced glass dropped and the many runes began to flicker.
The Lamia fingerbone lay there silently like a dead creature.
Tanasha held her breath. She knew that Leylin was probably going to show her something unusual.
"Tower genie, begin first-level operations of the bindings!"
Following Leylin's orders, the circle of lights in the binding room lit up all at once. An invisible power lifted the Lamia fingerbone.
"Start purification!" As per the tower genie's emotionless command, two small lightning clouds grew above the bone, streaks of lightning crackling as they burst towards it.
"I know you're still there. There's no need for the pretense! Come out!" Under the lightning, the white fingerbone appeared to be unaffected. However, Leylin had a straight face, with an expression as cold as ice.
After a few minutes, there was still no sign of any anomaly, causing Leylin to sigh deeply.
"Begin the next level of purification!"
"Authorisation verified! Inputting energy!" Upon hearing the tower genie's voice, the original two clouds began to transform immediately.
Dark, black clouds suddenly soared above the area, and the lightning acquired a subtle red hue. Thick bolts swept across the bone mercilessly, causing narrow cracks to surface on it.
"If you continue doing that, you'll destroy the fingerbone!" Tanasha looked at Leylin, but his expression did not stop, indicating he had no intentions of stopping.
Under the lightning that had been strengthened tens of times, the bone began to vibrate, as if it was going to explode into dust anytime.
*Ring!* Just when Tanasha thought the fingerbone was about to explode, a strange scene suddenly appeared. A ring of green light burst out violently, with such a strong power radiating that it split the dark clouds apart in a second.
*Hiss!* A touch of green light emerged. It then transformed into a phantom of a young, green-haired woman, now lunging towards Leylin.
Compared to what Leylin had seen previously, the image of the young woman was not only more illusory, but her face had also become a lot more complex, with rhomboidal scales. Her eyes were a sea of green and her pupils had become vertical slits.
As the Lamia's phantom swept her glance across with her pupils, Leylin's entire body became a little sluggish.
"Begin binding!" This time, the tower genie responded swiftly and gave an order.
*Bang!* A loud sound echoed as the young woman's phantom crashed into the clear reinforced glass, causing the runes to flash.
Soon after, an enormous gravitational strength emerged and pinned the woman to the ground.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* A chain of runes appeared one after another, binding the green-haired Lamia's phantom.
After coming back to his senses, Leylin, who had broken out in cold sweat, could not help but draw a deep breath. "That was really close!"
Although he tried his best to overestimate the opponent, the terrifying feeling of having his mind being snatched had given him a fright all of a sudden.
This was the definite control that a high-ranked bloodline had over a low-ranked one. In face of the great gap between the ranks, all efforts were to no avail.
"You dare oppose me? The Grand Matriarch will not let you off, bloodline traitor!" The green tongue of the Lamia's phantom forked as she spoke.
"Sorry! I don't have the habit of obeying orders that'll cause me to lose my life!" Though Leylin apologised, he showed no sign of remorse on his face.
"The Giant Kemoyin Serpent is a rank 4 creature. It needs to obey the Lamia's bloodline, which is of a higher rank. This is branded deep into the inheritance of the bloodline and is not able to be changed!" The Lamia's phantom glared at Leylin and asked, "How did you escape?"
"How would I know?" Leylin swished his hands.
In actual fact, he had guessed that it might have a connection with his bloodline. Not only was the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline in him extremely pure, there was a great possibility that through the A.I. chip's purification, his bloodline differed from the original.
"What is this?" Tanasha stared at the Lamia with a look of curiosity surfaced on her face.
"The owner of the fingerbone. Just a projection of a destroyed, shattered and unwanted memory fragment!" Leylin spoke with disdain.
"When did you find out?" After seeing Leylin like that, the Lamia calmed down.
"I knew from the beginning!" Leylin said calmly.
"I am not someone who would sit and wait for rewards. I only believe in achieving things through my own efforts. Seeing how you took the initiative to come to me, there's no way I could let my guard down!"
Frankly speaking, Leylin basically believed the part about the other party being tired of staying in the King Blood Vulture's nest, but he could not believe that it would be so boring and despair-inducing that one would seek death.
Ancient Magi had strong mental endurance, and on top of that, she was an extremely powerful Warlock. How could she possibly be cowed by a long period of solitude?
Perhaps her true intention was to get out, or to seize a corporeal body with the help of Leylin!
A Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock which is suppressed by the ancient Lamia, was definitely a first-rate target to seize control of!
Destroy
The moment Leylin used the Lamia fingerbone and fused with it, her remaining memory fragments would also fuse into his Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline, secretly lurking within.
When the time was right, the Lamia's sea of consciousness would burst forth. How could Leylin be a match for her?
It was not just the large gap between them in terms of their knowledge and experience. The inborn control in terms of his bloodline, as well as issues of how she would try to gain dominance over him would definitely put Leylin at death's door.
Having thought this through, Leylin's murderous intent towards the Lamia was at its boiling point.
However, he had not flared up but instead, pretended that he knew nothing. He waited till the Magus Tower was built, and once his most capable subordinate, Tanasha was at his side and increased his power to the maximum, he then lashed out on his home ground.
It looked like it had been a good idea to be so meticulous. If not, his opponent could have easily taken care of him.
"Shall we make a trade?" The scales on the Lamia phantom's face faded, returning her face to that of a young girl. Her delicate and pretty face even enchanted Tanasha, who was also female.
"What trade?" Leylin's voice was low.
"Help me find a flesh body. Anything is fine as long as they have the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline, and it's best if it's a female Warlock. In return, I can give you all my knowledge. Though you'll only obtain a portion of the knowledge that my main body possesses, she is a rank 5 pure-blooded Warlock. Just a small bit of her memories is enough to make you strike gold…"
Calm words rang from the mouth of the phantom Lamia, causing Tanasha's breath to become rough.
Inheritance from an ancient rank 5 Warlock? Perhaps even Morning Star Magi would go crazy in want over this.
The price he had to pay was a mere female Warlock, and with just a bit of effort, he could find them easily in the Ouroboros Clan.
*Clap! Clap! Clap!!*Leylin applauded, a slight smile on his face. "Good suggestion! What a great suggestion! Even I am tempted."
"Good! You can first—" The Lamia phantom's words stopped halfway, and a look of fury suddenly appeared on her face. "You!"
Countless chains tightened, binding her to the spot.
"Tower genie, use all stored energy and prioritise the bindings. The aim is to exterminate this person!"
"Tanasha, help me!" Leylin's face suddenly changed, and he made to deal the fatal blow.
Great amounts of thunder clouds were produced, lightning washing over the phantom time after time, causing her figure to become even more illusory.
Tanasha obeyed Leylin's order subconsciously, and her Crystal Phase spiritual force emanated, reinforcing the runes of binding.
"Traitor! The Grand Matriarch will not let you off! Hiss…" The phantom image eventually turned into a half-human, half-snake and hissed, her expression incomparably fierce.
"Let's talk about it when she finds me." Leylin's expression was resolute, constantly urging on the runes and spell formation of binding.
The inheritance from an ancient rank 5 Warlock was indeed very tempting, but Leylin had his own considerations.
The other party was merely a remnant spirit, and might even be the combination of a few memory fragments. How much could she remember?
And just for this, he would bring her around and let her scheme against him?
Though he was somewhat confident in his scheming abilities, Leylin was not certain that he could win over this ancient freak, especially when she could suppress his bloodline and was so enticing.
The ancient Lamia had started out enticing various giant serpent species, and Leylin did not want to unknowingly let her suggestions affect his mind.
For him, it was most practical to be able to take in harmless things. Everything else was an illusion!
"If you don't die, I can never be at peace." Leylin stared at the Lamia phantom behind the glass, a determined look in his eyes. "Maximise power!"
[Runes of binding operating at excess of 120% capacity. This is the most powerful attack.]
Along with the tower genie's voice, a streak of thick red lightning struck the phantom.
*Rumble!* The Magus Tower began to tremble, and fine cracks began to appear in the binding area.
The phantom image of the Lamia seemed to have given up all hope as she dissipated to nothingness under the red lightning.
*Pak!* A fingerbone with cracks all over its surface fell to the ground.
"It's over." Tanasha heaved a sigh of relief and glanced at Leylin as if she was looking at a freak, "That's inheritance from an ancient rank 5 Warlock! You actually…"
"I was, of course, tempted!" Leylin shook his head, "But it wasn't to the point that I would become muddle-headed in the face of it. Ancient Magi have too many methods. I wouldn't dare bring a disaster waiting to happen along with me at all times."
As he spoke, the tower genie constantly scanned the fingerbone in the binding room, streams of electric light moving across its surface.
[Level 1 scanning complete. No remnant spiritual force found.] [Level 2 scanning complete. No abnormal reactions found.] [Level 3 scanning complete. Confirmed total extermination of remnant spirit of Lamia.]
Red, green and blue rays shot out and scanned the fingerbone to and fro, not missing any spots.
A streak of blue flashed in Leylin's eyes, and he waited till the A.I. Chip gave the final confirmation before he issued the command, "Open up the protective layer!"
*Shoo!* The tempered glass split apart. Bathed in milky-white light, the slightly cracked fingerbone floated to Leylin's hand.
Though it looked like a mere fragmented bone, the rejoicing of his Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline told Leylin that the moment he digested this bone, his bloodline would become so pure it would be unimaginable, and might even be able to help him advance!
'If Mentor Gilbert were to know about this, he would immediately fall out with me in order to obtain it. What ties we have as part of the same clan, our mentor-student relationship or ethics would mean nothing at all.' Leylin sighed inside. If not for the isolation by his Magus Tower, he would not dare take it out now.
'Though it's best if I use it right now, it has too much research value! Besides…' Leylin glanced at the data recorded by the A.I. Chip.
[Activity of Host Body's bloodline increasing. Maturation period of bloodline estimated to be in 124 years, 4 months.]
Though it was just some physical contact with his skin and the waves and energy radiation from the fingerbone, it had the legendary effect of Lamia Hair, allowing Leylin's bloodline to mature by a large amount.
"Based on the situation, I don't even need to absorb the bone. I can make use of the radiation to increase the rate of my bloodline's maturation by nearly tenfold!'
"Looks like I'll need to stay in the Magus Tower as much as possible from now on…' Leylin touched his chin and ordered the tower genie, "Keep the Lamia fingerbone well. Store it based on all procedures for special grade 1 materials."
[Understood, master.]
The little elf quickly took the Lamia fingerbone and vanished.
There was no other way around it. Bloodline Warlocks were extremely sensitive to this type of item. If Leylin brought it with him, not counting Lucian and the others, Gilbert would definitely sense it.
The only way was to make use of the powerful energy isolation abilities of the Magus Tower and conceal the undulations from its aura.
After taking care of all these matters, Leylin looked back and revealed a kind smile to Tanasha, "Alright. Tanasha, welcome!"
After going through such a secret matter together, he evidently had a better relationship with Tanasha.
Making use of this opportunity, Leylin invited Tanasha to have a look around his Magus Tower. Glancing at Tanasha, who was immersed while glancing at the Magus Tower constructed with top-grade materials, the corner of Leylin's lips quirked up in a smile.
"Can I know more about your past?"
Leylin asked after the tour of the living room, where the tower genie had a few puppets deliver hot cocoa and desserts to them.
"Since I am now with Master, I have nothing to hide…" Tanasha held her mug with both hands and looked pained, as if immersed in some memory.
"I am of the Madie Lands, in the Dark Lunar Forest at the western region of the central continent."
Leylin listened closely. It was just another story about profits, women and other things that gave rise to blood and hatred, which he was familiar with. He learned the name of Tanasha's enemy.
"Some large family in the Crescent Moon Zither Alliance?"
"Yes! If Master could take revenge on my behalf and extinguish the Swaine family, my body, spirit and everything will belong to Master!" Tanasha promised, looking determined as she delivered her oath.
After hearing Tanasha's story, Leylin did not agree immediately, but sank into deep thought.
Crescent Moon Zither Alliance was a small organisation in the central continent, but since he had heard of it before, there was definitely a Morning Star Magus in charge. However, that Magus was not of the Swaine family, so there was a way to interfere in this.
"I can agree to this, but it might be a long time till then. You need to be prepared." Leylin watched Tanasha's eyes attentively and spoke slowly.
Tanasha ran her fingers through her hair behind her ear, a wry smile about her lips, "I understand! I am already very happy that Master agreed."
Leylin was surprised. It looked like this was her only wish.
"Alright! As for your identity, I have no way to solve that issue yet. I'm afraid you'll need to stay out of sight or return to the Forgotten Land. Do you have any plans?" he asked.
She lowered her head and pondered over it, "I still have a few things to take care of in the Forgotten Land."
"Alright." Leylin nodded.
"One more thing. In the Forgotten Land, there is a Kobold tribe. I'll need the blood essence from the stronger ones, meaning rank 3 or above!" The Kobolds were rumoured to have the great giant dragon bloodline, and Leylin was very interested in this.
"That's not a problem. There are many powers with conflicts amongst each other within the Forgotten Land. Battles are common!" Tanasha nodded and agreed.
Guest
Leylin holed himself inside the Magus Tower after its completion.
This was because the elemental particle concentration here far surpassed that of the outside, allowing his spiritual force to grow much. Furthermore, there were many high-level experiments that could only be done in the Magus Tower. Many of his previous theories could finally be put to the test.
More importantly, the Magus Tower could block out the probing of high-ranked Magi, turning into an elusive location which could hide Leylin's many secrets.
With those factors coming into play, it was natural that Leylin almost never left the tower, and had neglected both sleep and food to focus on his meditation practice and research.
Many top-notch results had been actualised with the A.I Chip's assistance, which had increased Leylin's own knowledge reserves.
In the gigantic library, Snoopy was trying his best to chain up a hysterical, screaming copper-coloured book that had pages filled with fangs, and properly settled it on a bookshelf made of black pinewood.
The library of a Magus was naturally extremely enriching, and represented the accumulation of its owner's knowledge.
Even though Leylin had the A.I Chip, he had previously collected many books from the south coast and Twilight Zone; the books were so plentiful that all the space was practically filled up. Now, they would have to tidy the books up and sort them out according to their different genres.
Other than that, the central continent was vast as well. Its accumulated knowledge was even more shocking. Leylin had always been actively purchasing books related to magic and a steady flow of such books were sent to the Magus Tower, which further enriched his collection.
His apprentice Snoopy was sent here to sort out and manage the conservation of the books.
Even if it was tough, he cherished this opportunity. Not to mention the stiflingly high concentration of energy particles in the tower, the chance to read so many books freely made him so happy that he could die.
Even if he had his head buried in books day in and day out, he would only have covered an insignificant portion of Leylin's collection.
Only now did he realise the depth of his Mentor's knowledge. Just the terrifying accumulation of information was enough for him to look up to Leylin.
At this time, in a room within the library, Leylin was sitting before a giant study desk, quill in hand, as he wrote with lightning speed.
Every second, tens of characters were jotted down, one after the other.
His astonishing speed as well as the coordination of spells allowed Leylin to perform a miracle unthinkable in his previous life.
A blue light glowed in his eyes as rows of words appeared unceasingly. He was actually trying to replicate all the information the A.I. Chip had recorded.
"All done!" Leylin looked at the messy yet seemingly organised documents on his desk, and his face revealed a satisfied expression.
"The entirety of the ecological garden's experimental data has been replicated. As for these…" Within the Quicksand Castle, Leylin's biggest gains were what he'd appropriated from the Blood Vultures. However, he had also found large amounts of miscellaneous data in the laboratory.
Due to the lack of the core information and the receptor model, the data could not be replicated at all.
But the other gains thereafter had allowed Leylin to see a glimmer of hope. In the spatial pouch of the Green-skinned Barbarian Magus whom Leylin had saved from a curse, Leylin had found some flawed research data and notes. From the looks of it, the forces in the outer circle had also obtained some data from their explorations.
Even though the other party had not managed to analyse any information, Leylin's deductive ability was very strong with the support of the A.I. Chip. He had instantly realised the connections between the data and the experimental information he had collected.
If he was not wrong, the torn and tattered journal he obtained from the Green-skinned Barbarian Magus was the core data that was missing in the laboratory!
Even though the Green-skinned Barbarian's collections were not complete, as long as Leylin had some form of data, albeit flawed, he would be able to derive the other information through deductions and simulations. It was only a matter of time.
After interactions with Tanasha, he had further improved the core data.
With his research, he gradually deciphered the experiments that were conducted in the gigantic laboratory.
"Studies on transferring and combining bloodlines?" Leylin held out a part of the deciphered content and muttered to himself.
Quicksand was undoubtedly an alliance of various Warlock organisations, and their research on bloodlines had never ceased.
Their experimental data was actually more in-depth and concrete than the research of the Ouroboros Clan, which had allowed Leylin to reach a whole new level.
'I have a premonition that if I finish analysing the experimental results and add them into my own A.I Chip's system, my research in bloodlines would advance to an unimaginable stage, even to the extent that I can directly extract genes from rank 1 and 2 bloodline creatures and assemble them into an ancient bloodline!' Excitement flashed across Leylin's eyes.
Bloodline shackles were the greatest pains to a Warlock. Those that had advanced to the peak of what their bloodlines would allow and reached a dead-end would normally choose to turn their attention to research on bloodline modulation and combination.
That was also the main direction of the research of the Ouroboros Clan.
While the three elders were looking for the Purgatory World, they were also trying to manufacture an even stronger bloodline by building upon the foundations of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline, and from there onwards, break their own bloodline shackles.
Of course, until now, the experiments had made no progress to speak of, not to mention any hopes for success.
"From the looks of it, in this area, the ancient Warlocks have greatly surpassed us…" Leyin sighed as he held the data tighter in his hands.
If he did not experience a breakthrough after being promoted to a Morning Star Magus, or if his search for the Purgatory World were to fail, this would perhaps be his last hope.
"Tower genie! Store the bloodline research data well, at level 1 confidentiality!" Leylin issued the command.
Nowadays, he felt that it had been extremely worth it to construct the Magus Tower. If he didn't have one, let alone experimentation and information storage, how would he hide such a valuable object?
Just after Leylin had consumed some food and was about to start research, the tower genie suddenly appeared before him.
"Master! A strong radiation has been sensed south-east of the Magus Tower, about 200 kilometres away. Estimated to be a Magus of rank 3 or above!"
In terms of range of detection, the Magus Tower far surpassed the A.I. Chip. That was also one of the reasons why many Magi liked to construct a Magus Tower in their territory. The feeling one got when in complete control of their territory and that nothing could escape their eyes was extremely desirable. More importantly, they were able to protect their own interests.
Of course, in terms of accuracy, the Magus Tower could not measure up to the A.I. Chip. Currently, it could only scan for energy spikes, and could not concretely tell him how many people there were or even their genders.
Leylin was not too worried about that. Even when compared to all other Morning Star Magi, his Magus Tower was one of the best in the entire central continent.
As the enemies inched closer, the accuracy of the Magus Tower's scans would increase until it could project a proper image.
"It's them! I'm afraid I'll have to go out for a while." Leylin looked at the two silhouettes in the image and stood up, feeling a headache coming on.
At the same time, Kesha had arrived at Onyx Castle with another female Warlock.
Kubler, who was in a butler uniform, lowered his head, "Distinguished Marquis Kesha, my Master is currently conducting experiments in the Magus Tower. If you could rest here for a while, I'll inform him immediately!"
As a Mankestre Bloodline Warlock, his position in the Ouroboros Clan was very low, and he could only admire the highly-ranked Magi like Kesha. If he wasn't Leylin's vassal, he would not even have a chance to speak to her.
"There's no need for that. He's already here!" Kesha waved her hands, and a shadow from afar waved back.
"Hehe… How did Senior find the time to visit me here?" Leylin landed on the floor, his robes flowing in the wind. He nodded to Kesha as a form of respect, and looked at the other female Warlock.
The Warlock had jet-black hair that gushed like a waterfall until her waist. This was an effect of the darkness elemental energy particles in the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline, but it matched Leylin's standard of beauty very well.
Her fair skin, gentle facial features and voluptuous body were what made many men find her unforgettable, but what left a deep impression on Leylin was her wild and reckless personality.
"Welcome to my castle as well, Marquis Freya!" Leylin's smile was a bit forced. Kesha, however, disregarded all societal expectations and came forward, giving Leylin a passionate hug.
"Leylin, I haven't thanked you for saving my life the other time! Originally, I had wanted to subsidise the construction of your Magus Tower, but from the looks of it now, you are so much richer than I am…" she remotely sighed, and appeared to be jealous as she stared at the splendor of the Magus Tower not far away.
"Keke… That's only some savings from a lifetime of risks!" Leylin touched his nose and said unabashedly.
"Alright. Freya and I came here today specifically to see you. Aren't you going to show us around?" Kesha curled her mouth. In front of close friends, she behaved in a feminine manner, and was sometimes even childish.
"Of course, of course, it'll be my pleasure. Please!" Leylin wryly stretched out his hands and locked arms with Kesha.
Inviting close Magi to take a look at one's Magus Tower, or even to reside and perform research there, was something many Magi used to strengthen their bonds with them. Leylin, of course, was not an exception.
Thanks to the manipulation abilities of his tower genie, things that he did not want found would be hard to discover while inside the tower, even for Morning Star Magi. Hence, there was no need to fear his secrets being exposed.