In the south coast, the storage type secret plane Leylin had previously raided and the laboratory type secret plane that the old witch found were all classified as small scale secret planes.
The area of these kind of secret planes usually didn't exceed a 100 mu and were only used to perform experiments and to store supplies. If one does not take into account of the items stored inside and only look at the area of the secret plane, its worth would be at the bottom.
Above that were the resource type secret planes, the area of that type of secret planes is usually larger than 100,000 mu. The area is large and the topology is varied and suitable to grow resources necessary to Magi.
The highest rank of secret planes are those that have spells that can adjust the living environments of both plants and animals, and can be controlled by a single Magus!
These are only under normal circumstances, there are also places like Dylan Gardens which Leylin previously found. Even though the area was small but it was personally arranged by the fourth level warlock great Magus Serholm, thus its value couldn't be compared to the normal planes of its kind.
"It's a shame! If it was a resource type of secret plane, we could occupy it in secret then alter it, hehe… then we would be filthy rich!"
Brass Ring was stroking his chin as if he was caught in some fantasy.
"Keep dreaming!" The old witch sneered icily, interrupting Brass Ring's fancy dreams.
"The bigger the area of the secret plane, the higher the cost of construction. As for the resource type secret planes which was larger than 100k mu, even for some ancient Magi organisations, there weren't many that could afford to construct it…"
"All the present resource type secret planes that belongs to the large organisations are all remnants from the ancient Magi which have been altered slightly, that's all! If there really was a resource type secret plane being discovered here, the likes of us wouldn't be able to stomach it. Even if we added our whole organisation plus the Boss that is backing it, it still wouldn't be enough!"
"Let's go! Even if it's just a laboratory type of secret plane, there must still be a lot of valuable stuff inside. We're also handing over a lot contributions to the higher ups. It's enough for you to trade for a lot of resources!" Leylin said.
For these kind of small scale secret planes, every large Magi organisation has set up missions.
No matter if it's Four Seasons Garden or the dark Magi organisation which the old witch belonged to, they all have the power to take it over. After which there naturally will be a lot of rewards for the finders.
If this was a resource type of secret plane then Leylin would put in some thought in order to pocket it himself.
Since it's only a laboratory type of secret plane, he didn't put much thought into pocketing it. After all even if he was to occupy it because it's so small he couldn't actually alter it that much. At most he would only have a small scale secret base to hide.
"The entrance to the secret plane is on the west side of this town, inside a two story wooden building!"
The old witch seemed quite familiar with the surroundings as she brought the three of them to a two-storey building made out of wood.
Compare to the small town, this place was even more remote. Weed were growing all around the villa and there were even two mole like animals quickly scurrying by.
"Originally this place was a lively street, but since 13 years ago the residents in this place kept dying one by one. Sometimes the town residents could hear sound of a woman wailing outside their homes, that's why the rumors spread about it being a cursed or a haunted house. The surroundings ended up being overgrown!"
The old witch opened up the rusted gates while feeling rather satisfied with herself.
"I found this place during one of my explorations, after a couple of months of investigation, I'm sure that the unusual situations around here is cause by the deterioration of the defensive spells around the entrance to the secret plane, unwillingly leaking radiation …"
"According to calculations, after 13 years the defensive spells should have totally deteriorated. Leaving the entrance to the secret plane exposed…"
"Thusly I pretend to be an ordinary person and bought this building, plus I added a facade on the outside so other Magi couldn't discover this place."
Leylin was listening to the old witch while he was exploring the inside of this building.
The bottom floor wasn't that big, it only contained 2 to 3 buildings. The hall was filled with a thick layer of dust and broken furniture. In the corner was a spiral staircase filled with holes. It was the only thing connecting these two floors.
Beneath this obvious state of decline, Leylin could feel a strong aura of negative energy.
This aura was extremely malevolent, and it carried with it a smell that Leylin was familiar with.
"Spirits! And they're spirits that have been driven crazy from being vengeful!" The corner of Leylin's mouth curved, "This old witch really found a nice place!"
"Follow me! Be careful not to touch the black mold on the walls, those are trigger points!"
The old witch was in front leading the while, bringing the three behind as they climbed the squeaky stairs to the second floor. She seemed extremely familiar with this place.
The area on the second floor was smaller than the large hall on the first, where the corridors only allowed 2 people to walk side by side.
By chance Leylin was walking beside Jaye, because the other person was entirely wrapped in a cloak and didn't speak much. Leylin couldn't even distinguish the other person's gender.
"This oil painting is the entrance to the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane!"
By the end of the corridor, the old witch was pointing towards an oil painting that was hanging on the wall as she turned around and spoke to Leylin and the rest.
Leylin's focus involuntarily shifted to the oil painting.
This oil painting depicted a richly dressed noble woman, using a delicate fan to cover half her face.
Due to time and age, there were a lot of dust on the walls. Even around the oil painting were a ring of thick dust.
The whole oil painting used green as a base color, and it didn't seem to fit the picture.
Besides, maybe it's because of the angle and line, but if he stared at it long enough, Leylin felt that the fan the noble woman was holding in the oil painting moved slightly.
Suddenly, the young woman inside the oil painting blinked her eyes!
"Is this oil painting alive?"
Leylin cried out involuntarily.
"You're finally awake?" The old witch advanced as she cackled.
"Foreign intruders, speak the password!" The woman inside the oil painting blinked again as information directly entered each Magus that was present.
"Password? Your masters have all perished, and right now we've come to take everything inside the secret plane!"
The old witch was staring at the woman in the oil painting, "If you choose to comply, there might be a place for you inside my storage room!"
"Password incorrect!" The woman inside the painting said. Leylin was keenly aware of that the fan which the noble woman held inside her hand closed slightly.
"It's only a being conjured by spells, yet it dares to disobey me!"
The old witch's eyes emitted green lights, and a ring of green fireballs emerged flying directly toward the oil painting.
*Bam!*
As the green fireballs burned the oil paint, the noble woman's fan closed entirely exposing the face behind it.
Leylin didn't expect that under the beautiful half of the noble woman's face was a nose and mouth composed entirely out of bones.
This appearance was as if the flesh and blood below the noble woman's eyes had instantly disappeared.
A feeling of discrepancy and wrongness suddenly assaulted Leylin's thoracic cavity.
*Scree!*
Following that, the shrill sound of a woman flooded the whole corridor.
The green fireballs started to crumble, turning into small spark of green fire. Following which it directly extinguished in the fluctuation of the air.
[Beep! Host is being attacked by sound waves. Resemblance to banshee wail 67%. Abnormality in muscle coordination, spiritual force circulation rate lowered by 89%...]
The A.I. Chip projected the status with red color in front of Leylin's eyes.
"Banshee wail? Could it be that there is a genuine banshee trapped inside that oil painting?" Leylin was startled, immediately a layer of crimson membrane appeared outside his body and isolated the sound.
Even though his ears still hurt, but his body has regained his mobility.
At the same time, a couple of blood red tentacles like intestines protruded from the oil painting and they headed for Brass Ring.
"Damnable thing!" Brass Ring cursed as his body protruded countless bone spikes. The red intestines was directly pierced and was severed.
"Bone Spike Arts?!" Leylin was startled, "He actually solidified this kind of innate spells onto himself, is he a masochist?"
Bone Spike Arts was a rank 1 spell, and was quite formidable. But its activation process was quite a hassle. It needed to be grown from a Magus' own skeleton then pierce the Magus' own muscle before attacking his opponent.
This kind of spell was literally hurting oneself before hurting your opponent, only maniacs and masochist would pick this.
"I'll tear you damnable thing to pieces!". One could see that Brass Ring was quite enraged since he was forced to use his innate spell.
Presently, his whole body was covered with bone spikes. It gave one the impression that he was like a white sea urchin.
At the same time, a green light spread from below his neck to his whole body, initiating blood staunching and similar effects.
"Stop!" The old witch's body started to emit countless translucent spirit bodies, and every one of them circulated around Brass Ring's body, making his speed drop.
"There is a spell effect on this oil painting, if you tear it apart the whole entrance to the secret plan will also collapse!"
The old witch's expression turned serious, "Let me do it!"
When the previous Banshee wail had struck, the bodies of both the old witch and Jaye emitted a black colored membrane. It seemed like neither of them suffered any injuries.
"Your Banshee wail was pretty good, it is a shame that the matching spell formation has been half collapsed due to the passage of time. What's left isn't something than can affect us official Magi…"
The old witch looked upon the Banshee within the oil painting with pity, as she stroked the surface of the painting with her hand.
Following which tiny dark purple dots originated from the old witch's palm and spread continuously. Like someone was adding a coat of paint.
"Come forth! My baby!"
The old witch said softly, her voice sounding tender and flirtatious.
As soon as these words were uttered, the Banshee within the painting turned fearful, as if she had encountered her natural enemy.
-x-X-x-
After the black purple colour extended throughout the entire oil painting, the banshee disappeared without a trace.
"That's a pretty good entrapment method! Did you buy this just for this purpose?"
Leylin approached the old witch, "I'm rather interested in this banshee. Can you sell it to me later? I'll buy it at twice the market price!"
"Once we're done exploring the secret plane and we find what I want, I can just give it to you!"
The old witch flashed Leylin a glance.
At the present, in the middle of the oil painting a small dot of silver light suddenly appeared.
The silvery light grew bigger and bigger and the surrounding void started to ripple. Finally, it settled into a corridor filled with a silvery sheen.
Resentment, wailing! A strong aura of dark spiritual power poured out constantly from within the corridor.
A faint mist started to rise around the whole wooden building and the sound of people of all ages started to sound all around.
This kind of scenery, if the old witch didn't previously put everyone in the town into slumber, would most likely have caused quite a commotion in the town.
"Even though there is no chance of encountering any ancient Magi inside the secret plane, but there are still some lingering curses and traps that are still working. We better be careful... considering that the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect was a Magi organization famous for researching spirits, one must prepare accordingly."
The old witch warned specifically.
"By now you should reveal to us what you're really looking for right?" Leylin locked the old witch with his gaze.
"Heuheuheu… relax, you'll all know when that time comes!" The old witch just cackled manically as usual.
"Speak the truth. Old Devil if you still won't we all will feel insecure…" This time, Brass Ring sided with Leylin, "If you don't tell me now, I won't be able to keep my former promises…"
"You guys…" The old witch was quite anxious but suddenly broke into a coughing fit. Her originally crooked body seemed to bend even more as if her waist was about to break.
"Sigh… Alright then!"
After a long while the old witch recovered her breath but her complexion was turning paler.
"It's an altar-like thing. There is only one of it in the whole laboratory. You won't be able to miss it!"
The old witch spoke with an impatience.
"Then what? Only this much information?" Brass Ring immediately asked.
"What else do you think there is?" The old witch's eyes emitted green light as her gaze bore into the body of Brass Ring, "I only found some clues from some ancient information that this altar might be inside this secret plane, how could I know any more specific facts?"
As if he was afraid that the old witch would again lash out at him, Brass Ring chose wisely not to ask any further questions.
"Then what's the altar's function?" After Brass Ring went silent, Leylin asked instead. "Don't tell me that you don't even know how to use the altar and still went to look for it."
"Of course not!" The old witch tried to calm her expression but still chose to speak at last, "That altar is a product made by the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect during their later periods, and is called the Spirit Altar. It has great benefits towards alleviating my current conditions. There is even a chance that it might directly cure it…"
"If you all help me get to it, then Blood Rogue's materials, Brass Ring's thunder fire stone, Jaye's gasping lakewater will all be given, not one gram less!"
The old witch guaranteed once more.
Leylin didn't completely believe it — it was apparent that the old witch had some other tricks up her sleeve.
"You and I are old friends, if I won't help you then who will?" Among the rest of the three Jaye was the first to speak. The voice was neither masculine nor feminine and carried a weird pitch.
"Alright! I was just asking!" Brass Ring also started to concede.
"What about you Blood Rogue?" The old witch looked over Leylin.
"If you are not planning to exploit us and make us risk our lives for your cause, I don't have any other objections!" Leylin sneered.
"That's good!"
The old witch looked at the corridor which emitted silvery light and said, "Alright, the corridor should be completely stabilised by now, let's us proceed!"
Following which the old witch's eyes radiated a fervent hunger as she stepped into the corridor.
Leylin and the rest looked at each other and followed.
The dazzling silvery light suddenly expanded and swallowed the four people completely.
"Buzz buzz!"
Leylin scanned his surroundings.
What he saw was a black corridor which seemed to be constructed by some unknown metal. The wall could strangely enough reflect their shadows.
But the shadows appeared twisted and seemed to emit a bone-chilling laughter.
"Illusion materialization technique?" Leylin smiled coldly. Black light flashed in his eyes and he was able to break out of the illusion immediately.
Following which he heard some buzzing sounds.
Following the sound a large grey cloud appeared. Once it got closer, Leylin discovered that this dark cloud consisted of densely packed, moth-like organisms.
Fur grew on these organisms, and the image of a huge eye was depicted on each of their huge wings. It seemed quite eerie.
"Careful! Those are the Spirit Devouring Moths!" The old witch raised the alarm.
"Don't touch the dust that they carry, otherwise your spirit and mentality will be continuously corroded!"
At the same time the old witch opened her mouth and emitted a shrill scream. Sound waves could be seen exploding forth like an artillery shell.
*Boom!*
Half of the grey clouds disappeared, and at the same time, a huge amount of dust billowed down like it was snowing.
*Whoosh!* As he heard the old witch mention the name of Spirit Devouring Moths, Leylin was already on alert. Now a scarlet red membrane of light enveloped his body and kept the dust at bay.
[Host's body is being attacked by an unknown powder. The powder has a sticky quality!]
[Activating the defense potion smeared on Host's body. Adjusting frequency, emitting shockwaves… Adhesive powder substance's effect removed!] A prompt from the A.I. Chip emerged in front of Leylin's eyes.
"Such a bother!"
Leylin had read about this adhesive quality in the Four Seasons Garden's library before. This type of attack would stick onto the opponent's body, and if the layer of light was removed before the powder was completely gotten rid of, the powder's magic would be activated and begin the second attack.
"Crimson Palm!"
Leylin's hands suddenly turned red as he struck an offensive pose. Both his hands clawed in front of him.
*Bang!*
Two crimson talons' image flashed through the void. It surrounded the Spirit Devouring Moths from both left and right and pressed towards the center.
Countless moths were directly torn into tatters by the blood talons, torn wings and grey dust like kept fluttering.
[Host's Crimson Palm's theoretical power: 20 degrees. Real power: 34 degrees, Crimson Palm reached boundary of limits, adding additional power!]
Along with the sound from the A.I. Chip's prompt, the phantom crimson claws in the air suddenly trembled, and blood-red flames burst out from his two hands, burning up all the falling bodies.
Without even emitting any smoke, the Spirit Devouring Moths were directly burnt to ashes in the crimson flames.
"Is this the signature move of the Blood Rogue — the Crimson Palm? Why is it so powerful?"
Brass Ring looked at Leylin with shock.
Within the dark Magi organisation, Leylin was a newcomer who went by the name Blood Rogue, and the spells that he often used were quickly revealed.
Brass Ring was aware that Leylin had such a technique, but he never knew that it had such a mighty offensive power!
"You have made great progress recently!"
The old witch secretly transmitted to Leylin.
From what Brass Ring had seen from the battle between the old witch and the Spirit Devouring Moths, he reckoned that these creatures were crafty and difficult to handle. Leylin, however, had used just one spell and completely demolished the opponent, which shocked the old witch.
It seemed that from the very beginning, this ally of hers had been developing at a frightening speed!
"This might… Is your elemental essence conversion more than 50%?" The old witch transmitted her voice to Leylin.
"What do you think?" Leylin answered indifferently.
"Hehe… the stronger you are the more it will benefit me. After all, compared to Brass Ring, I would rather trust you who signed a contract with me!"
The old witch made another promise while she spouted words she herself didn't believe, "As long as you help me, not only will I give you information about concealing your spiritual force, I'll also give you another million magic crystals. Hell, I'll even give up my position as an elder in the organisation to you!"
"A position like that is transferrable?" Leylin was a little shocked. The group that he was in, the Thousand Meddling Leaves, didn't have any real leader. The rank 2 dark Magus backing them was only in contact with a few of the elders.
The organisation had gatherings and trade fairs every once in awhile, letting the members have chances to find good opportunities.
The moment an elder felt that the lead a member had found was worth acting on, he or she would gather the members and launch a looting operation. The elder and members who had first found out about this chance would be able to get a bonus after the plundering.
It was obvious that once one became an elder, he or she would have a place as a leader in the dark Magi organisation. His or her status would be different.
"This situation would be impossible in a typical organisation, but what can I do when I have a dark Magi organisation backing me?" The transmitted voice of the old witch sounded bitter.
"Actually, besides me, the other elders have been changed quite a few times already. My condition hasn't been the best lately, and the number of people waiting to trample on me have increased…"
Her explanation made a lot of sense, but Leylin didn't really believe it.
"Alright! Since I've received your deposit, I'll do my best in the coming expedition!" Leylin agreed.
This entire exchange was very quick, and as they both came to an agreement, the blood-red flames that had just been ignited in mid-air, had been extinguished.
The old witch took on her role as the leader and guided them in. Minutes later, the four of them came to a fork in the path.
-x-X-x-
In front of Leylin and the rest of the exploration team.
A passage made of jet-black metal had opened up to three pathways, each leading to a different direction.
At each of the entrances, there were no obvious signs at all, causing a wave of foreboding to go through the four of them.
"Since it's a laboratory, how can there not be a sign for it?"
Brass Ring took the initiative and asked.
"There might have been one that had been destroyed by someone, or the Magi here had another method of communication that we're unaware of!"
The old witch shot a glance at Brass Ring. "What's wrong? We've come all the way here, are you thinking of backing out of our deal?"
"Of course not!" Brass Ring shook his head like it was the most obvious thing to do.
Not only were the rewards that the old witch offered extremely generous, there was a large possibility of there being large amounts of profit from within the secret plane. Neither of these were things that Brass Ring was willing to give up on.
"In that case, should we split up into teams and search, or do it by ourselves?" Leylin asked a very practical question.
"Of course, we're going to go in as a group! This is the ruins left behind by ancient Magi! Traps and other defense mechanisms are not easy for us to dismantle even as a group! It's much too dangerous for us to act alone!"
As the initiator of this operation, the old witch was resolute and made the decision for them.
"We've set up everything in the town already, and in the next ten days, there will certainly not be any people compelled to enter. This is enough time for us to clear up everything in the laboratory!"
After hearing her words, Jaye quickly agreed. Leylin thought it through for a while and also nodded.
"Alright then!"
Hearing Leylin's agreement, Brass Ring had no choice but to curl his lip and approve of this suggestion.
The four of them chose the path that was on the far right and entered.
*Step step!*
Black leather shoes and the metal flooring met, the friction causing a very piercing sound.
"Be careful. The methods of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect are much more difficult to deal with than Spirit Devouring Moths…" Leylin reminded as he glanced at the surrounding walls.
A bright sound was constantly travelling through the passage, and there were also some echoes.
Leylin suddenly paused.
Only his figure was left in the entire passage. The old witch, Brass Ring, and Jaye had all disappeared!
"What happened?" Leylin fixed his attention on the red reflection on the metal wall.
"Did I unconsciously activate some trap? Even the A.I. Chip didn't detect it!"
A hint of a smile appeared on his lips. "Looks like this expedition isn't going to be so simple…"
*Ding!*
Leylin's sudden stop seemed to have triggered some sort of mechanism, and behind him, the metallic walls seemed to have lives of their own as they converged, thus blocking his retreat.
"Crimson Palm!"
Both of Leylin's palms turn blood red once again, crimson flames burning from the claws as he pressed them directly on the converging walls.
*Sssii!*
As if cold ice had been directly thrown onto a blazing inferno, a sizzling sound of evaporating water was heard.
Under Leylin's hands, the unknown black metal turned completely red and constantly melted, forming puddles of liquid metal that stained the floor.
Over ten seconds later, the metallic walls that had suddenly emerged had a hole that was about one metre deep, and yet there was no sign of the end.
It seemed that in that moment, Leylin's path of retreat had been completely blocked by the black metallic wall.
[Based on the data taken so far, estimated thickness of metal wall: 45-47 metres. There is also a huge amount of the Manker Alloy found in the middle. Estimated time required for Host to entirely break through: 30 Minutes 56 Seconds!]
The A.I. Chip projected blue lines of data in front of Leylin.
"Half an hour. That's much too long!"
Leylin wasn't so naive to think that the Magus who had designed the trap would be so kind as to give him time to escape.
Sure enough, the longer amount of time Leylin stayed in there, the black metal in front of him also started to distort and gather in the centre as if it had a life of its own.
The passage became increasingly narrow, to the point that only one person would be able to pass through.
"I can't let this go on any longer. Otherwise, I'll be stuck in the middle of a huge metal sphere. It'll take too much magic power and spiritual force to get out!"
Leylin glanced at the wall that had a large hole in it and rushed forward.
*Zoom!*
With the help of his burly physique and his magic, Leylin's speed was already past the limits of a regular human. All that was left of him were a few long after images.
The passage ahead seemed to sense Leylin's approach and converged at an even quicker rate!
"Hah!" Leylin breathed in deeply and quickly spat out a few punctuated syllables!
In a split second, the blood-red layer on his body expanded, the flames' range achieving half a metre, emitting a fervent heat.
Leylin seemed to have been possessed by some ancient flaming creature, and with his body cloaked in crimson flames, he darted quickly towards the small crack left between the black metal!
*Bang!*
The entire passageway jolted slightly, and the sound of corrosion sounded.
Right as the metallic walls were about to converge, Leylin had forced his way out, leaving behind a human-shaped gap. Droplets of liquidised black metal were still dripping incessantly.
Leylin's charge had lasted for almost an entire minute, and he only stopped the flames when his field of view opened up.
"What a troublesome passage!"
Leylin looked at the black passage behind him that had completely closed up. This sort of passageway might not be able to kill a Magus, but it was able to make the opponent waste large amounts of spiritual and magic force, and just the slightest bit of hesitance would entrap the Magus within it. It would consume a lot of magic power to fire a spell, and by the time the Magus' spiritual force and magic power had been mostly used, coupled with the curses and traps, it was enough to inflict serious damage, or even kill the intruder!
"This trap should have several parts to it, which implies that this is the area where the next part will be activated!"
Leylin surveyed his surroundings.
This used to be a garden or a place where plants were cultivated. It had a large area, and streams of man-made sunlight shone upon the land. Those were the Sunbeam Moss, which were tenaciously exhibiting their usefulness. There was also evidence of plants wilting.
"Though this is just a small-scaled garden, it seems to have been well taken care of. It's such a waste that it was abandoned…"
Leylin constantly swept his eyes over the garden.
His time at the Four Seasons Garden's secret plane had allowed him to identify a few plants from their remnants.
"The Three Horned Flower, Spirit Breaking Grass, as well as the Half Bodied Bat, Upside Down Lizard-- These four are the main cultivators of this garden!
"The Three Horned Flower pollinates with the help of Half Bodied Bat, and the excretion from the Inverted Lizard is the best fertilizer for the Spirit Breaking Grass! In the middle of the region where the Three Horned Flower and Spirit Breaking Grass are located, there also seems to be a Star Fruit. This is what the Half Bodied Bat and Inverted Lizard feed on!
"This method of growing them…" A light flashed in Leylin's blue eyes.
"This can increase the output of the Half Bodied Bat by 50%, the Inverted Lizard by 40% and the Three Horned Flower and Spirit Breaking Grass by 10%..."
Constructing a garden outside a laboratory must have been to make it convenient to make potions and other items that would be useful in experiments.
The reason why Leylin was calculating the output of the plants and animals so carefully was because he wanted to probe and find signs of experimentation.
Just based on these clues, brilliant Magi could deduce the scope of experimentation and the laboratory's uses in ancient times.
With the knowledge that the A.I. Chip had gathered from the Four Seasons Garden's library, Leylin's knowledge was very profound. With the added aid from the A.I. Chip's calculations, he would also be able to make a fairly accurate guess.
"A.I. Chip! Search for similar ancient potion formulas that primarily require these four ingredients!"
Though the number of formulas that Leylin had received were few, the ingredients required to make ancient potions were made public. Only the steps to brew the potion had been written in code on the formula, and as a result, the A.I. Chip had gathered quite a lot of information.
[Beep! Entering simulated data! Searching database for compatible potions!]
The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.
Rows of data flowed, finally stopping on a few columns.
[Spirit Fusion Potion. Similarity: 79% Effect: Able to boost fusion between different spirits by a large margin, producing a new consciousness from a fused body.]
[Rejecting Spirits Removal Potion. Similarity: 56%. Effect: Able to eliminate confusion between spirits while fusing and stabilise the new spirit body.]
[Wolfiporia Potion. Similarity: 34%. Effect: Able to boost the power of the spirit by a large margin! Side effects: Spirit's consciousness will be expelled to a certain extent.]
Leylin examined the information pertaining to these potions, and the look on his face became more serious.
A period of time later, he sighed slowly. "These potions all complement each other. From the looks of it, I seem to have discovered something amazing!"
"Oooh…"
Just when Leylin was thinking of exploring further, a low and hoarse voice sounded, and an enormous and warped figure appeared in the line of Leylin's sight.
It was a huge monster that was about 10 metres tall.
There were numerous frightful wounds that were sewn together, and it looked to be the result of putting different body parts together.
This stitched up monster's right hand was twisted in a weird shape and had eight fingers. In the palm of its left hand was a large axe that was dotted with rust.
Other than the two large arms, there were many slim arms grown on its upper body and back which were continuously trembling.
"This is a type of vengeful spirit… the Loathsome Evil!"
Leylin sucked in a cold breath. "Such a huge physique! How much blood and flesh had to be sacrificed for its body to still be so solid?"
[Alert! Alert! High levelled creature approaching with a strong contamination of spirits! According to the Host's level, the threat is at a Grade 5!]
The A.I. Chip frantically warned.
-x-X-x-
The Loathsome Evil was a creature that Leylin had seen in ancient books. It was a type of life form that had been created by Magi.
Its exact origin was unknown, but Leylin could very clearly remember that in ancient books, the Loathsome Evil had been described as a fiend.
This type of lifeform had an exceedingly powerful body and vitality. What was even more frightening was the spirit pollution constantly emanating from its body.
Ordinary people were simply unable to withstand the pollution caused to their spirits and usually died en masse.
As a result, the appearance of a Loathsome Evil generally marked the destruction of cities and the loss of countless lives.
The most frightening record had been when an entire army of over a hundred Loathsome Evils appeared!
This terrifying army had destroyed two ancient Magi's headquarters and caused the deaths of approximately twenty percent or more of the population of the south coast.
Ultimately, only with the aid from an unknown ancient Morning Star Magus was that terrible army completely destroyed.
"I didn't expect the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect to have created this Loathsome Evil! Then again, the timing is just right!"
Within Leylin's eyes, there appeared a flash of understanding.
Based on the annals of the Magus world's history, after the disaster caused by the Loathsome Evils, the Spirit Slaying Sect sank into a weird state of affairs. First, they proclaimed their conviction that a supreme Magus had descended, and then they ruled this world. Soon after, they carried a very large scale blood and flesh sacrifice and thereby disappeared from this Magus world.
Now, it was clear to him that the thriving Spirit Slaying Sect had offended the Magi of the south coast, so the Magi had all joined hands to destroy this sect.
At this moment, the Loathsome Evil that had been wandering around noticed Leylin.
Through its eyes, one of which was big and the other small, its thirst for blood was self-evident. Even its huge, bloated body was trembling in excitement.
A light green haze permeated the entire garden.
"Spirit Pollution!" Leylin's expression became grim, as he recognised the most dreadful attack from this Loathsome Evil.
"Kemoyin's Scales!"
With a single thought, a fine layer of scales covered his body. The scales were jet-black and densely packed as they crept up Leylin's arms and even his face.
Under the protection of the scales, Leylin's current appearance was vastly different. There was even a hint of amber light in his eyes.
These scales did not give him a fiendish image, but rather, with the influence and charm that a Warlock's bloodline gave him, there was a sense elegance to his appearance.
Even a regular human would think there was a wild aesthetic to Leylin.
If Leylin was a sub-human and part of the Snake family, he'd even be treated as a precious tribute to the queen snakes of various families, though Leylin would definitely be unwilling to go through with it.
After activating his innate defense spell, Leylin was still unsatisfied and used his palm to stroke his neck.
A dark red light exploded from his neck, and like the scales, descended until it covered his entire body, forming something that seemed like armour.
Leylin was especially cautious when dealing with this fearsome Spirit Pollution. Not only had he activated his innate defense spell, he'd even used his trump card, the Fallen Star Pendant.
Not only did the might of an ancient Loathsome Evil surpass that of a rank 1 Magus, Leylin was unsure of what the Spirit Slaying Sect's Magi had done to increase its strength, making it even more troublesome.
Leylin wasn't willing to risk anything—harm done to one's spirit was much more difficult to treat than flesh wounds!
At that moment, other than the red membrane layer, Leylin had also had activated his two main items for defence—Kemoyin's Scales and the Fallen Star Pendant.
Just as Leylin had finished his preparations, the light green haze had reached his location.
*Bzzt!*
The moment the haze enveloped him, Leylin suddenly felt faint. Immediately after, the red light in his sea of consciousness rippled, and the crystal in the centre sent out a wave of spiritual force, dispersing his giddiness.
*Chik Chik!*
The moment Leylin's outermost crimson layer of protection came into contact with the haze, the sound of an object being corroded could be heard. Within a few seconds, it was completely broken through.
Next, the phantom armour from Fallen Star Pendant started producing unbearable sounds, the energy from its reserves constantly being consumed.
"It hasn't gone through my defences, but to think that this was the effect of the spirit pollution!"
Leylin trained his eye on the Loathsome Evil that was gradually approaching, the fear in his expression becoming increasingly apparent.
"Roarr!"
Two thick arms suddenly grew from its back and touched the ground, supporting the Loathsome Evil.
With a burst of power, the Loathsome Evil's speed rapidly increased, and it dashed towards Leylin, slashing at his waist with the axe in his left hand!
Before that massive power reached him, the air in the atmosphere seemed to be compressed into crystals that hurtled towards Leylin!
With a gleam in his blue eyes, Leylin ducked through the crack in the axe by twisting his body at an unbelievable angle.
"Latent Fireball!"
After dodging this attack, Leylin looked around and saw that the garden had been almost completely engulfed by the green haze. Unless he killed this Loathsome Evil, it would have been impossible to pass through.
In any case, Leylin didn't believe that the ancient Magi would let him leave so easily.
Hence, Leylin struck back fiercely, using the spell that had the most might!
*Boom!*
Along with the syllables that flew out of Leylin's mouth, a large number of black fireballs suddenly appeared around the Loathsome Evil's figure.
These fireballs quickly merged into a single mass, its volume expanding to ten times the usual size, and exploded in front of the Loathsome Evil.
Black flames engulfed the Loathsome Evil, and many of its slim arms were broken off from the explosion.
Just from a single little black spark landing on the ground, a hole was melted that was so deep, one could not see how far down it went.
[Attacking target in the centre! Power of Latent Fireball: 51. Added bonus from elemental essence conversion: 21. Target's defense in its front has been destroyed! Received data readings!"
A prompt from the A.I. Chip sounded out.
Out of all the spells Leylin possessed, the Latent Fireball was a magic that was second only to the Eyes of Petrification. Currently, with the added bonus from his elemental essence conversion, its degree of power was a terrifying total of 51!
Even an ancient monster like the Loathsome Evil could only tremble under the might of these flames!
[Beep! Loathsome Evil. Strength: 34. Agility: 19. Vitality: 40. Spiritual force: 25. Special Abilities: 1. Spirit Pollution. The Loathsome Evil will always be surrounded by Spirit Pollution similar to that emitted by ancient Magi. Once a spirit is infected, the creature will be cursed for eternity, and eventually wither away! 2. Devour: Loathsome Evil can heal injuries by consuming large amounts of flesh. At the same time, devouring large numbers of spirits will help the Loathsome Evil to evolve into stronger creatures!]
Seeing the data that the A.I. Chip had analysed, Leylin looked at the monster howling in pain within the dark flames with a sense of admiration.
"This power is comparable to that of a Magus with a 50% elemental essence conversion. If an army of Loathsome Evils is formed with an even more powerful leader taking charge, it'll definitely be difficult for Magus organisations to handle it. They would need to escape…"
Leylin was admiring the Loathsome Evil, but this was still a battle, and Leylin instantly cast another Latent Fireball.
Countless black fireballs emerged from the shadows and rushed towards the large mass of flames, causing it to burn even more vigorously.
Although Leylin possessed an interest in this Loathsome Evil, he would only extract some tissues and fluids from it after its death. He was definitely not planning on catching it live.
Hence, after seeing that the Latent Fireball was effective, Leylin immediately produced large numbers of the black fireballs, determined to kill off the Loathsome Evil in one go!
"Grah!"
The Loathsome Evil within the flames roared terrifyingly as it trembled on the floor, the many slim arms on its body melting and falling off.
*Boom!!!*
The black flames burnt through the Loathsome Evil's belly, and instantly, innumerable spirits escaped out of its stomach.
These spirits' faces were those of females and males of all ages, and most of these spirits were weirdly shaped. If they didn't have an extra hand on their faces, there would be an extra three legs on their bodies. Some even had various organs and structures stuck on their bodies and looked extremely similar to the Loathsome Evil.
The similarities between all of these spirits was a lifeless look in their eyes as if they had lost all intelligence.
"Don't tell me… This is a base where the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect creates Loathsome Evils?" Seeing this scene, Leylin compared his current conjectures with his previous guesses and came up with a conclusion.
These spirits mindlessly dithered around the Loathsome Evil and seemed to hardly be afraid of the black flames. They passed through without any trouble, and Leylin's expression darkened.
"This! Could it be that…" Leylin suddenly had an idea.
He immediately threw out several potions, and even mixed in pink pearls that were sure to cause damage to spirits!
However, it was too late.
With a high pitched cry from the Loathsome Evil, the surrounding spirits promptly blew up!
*Boom!*
The old witch's method used to explode spirits seemed to have appeared once again!
However, this explosion included potentially hundreds of spirits exploding at the same time. Its power far outstripped what the old witch had shown the previous time!
The black flames on the Loathsome Evil's body were extinguished in the explosion.
The waves from the frightening explosion hit Leylin.
*Poof!* The defensive layer from the Fallen Star Pendant suddenly flashed and fell apart like a soap bubble.
Leylin was sent flying, as if he had collided with the head of a train, and destroyed countless buildings as he fell back. There was a long line on the ground, tracing the path that he had been pushed back.
"Why didn't I detect such a frightening skill?" Leylin was startled and even a little angry.
[Detecting a force field that has been partitioned in a second defensive layer within the target's belly!]
A prompt from the A.I. Chip emerged once again.
-x-X-x-
Although the A.I. Chip's ability had been upgraded and strengthened by many-fold, but within this strange Magus world, it was still not as good as he desired.
Due to the earlier mistake, Leylin was not in the mood to go and investigate.
And by now, the Loathsome Evil had already approached him to attack!
On the present vengeful spirit Loathsome Evil's body, the majority of its hands had been cut off and it still had many burnt black patches and within its belly, a large hole had been cut open. This exposed its intestines and other unknown organs.
But these did not affect the vengeful spirit Loathsome Evil's mobility.
On the contrary, to one's eyes, the Loathsome Evil appeared to emit a scarlet radiance. Compared to before, it seemed to have become more fiendish.
The veins on its body seemed to be intertwined and protruding out, and they were like cyan snakes that were twisted about each other as this Loathsome Evil came at Leylin.
Many of its body flesh and fat had become abnormal because it had been burnt, but its speed was faster than before.
"F*ck!"
The scales on Leylin's body trembled a bit and the dust and pebbles sticking to it fell to the ground.
Although the recent spirit explosion was violent, but after it passed through the defense of the Fallen Star Pendant, its damage power was reduced and then it was entirely resisted by the Kemoyin Scales on his body.
For the present, although Leylin's body received a tremendous jolt, he almost had no other injury.
At this moment, the giant Loathsome Evil attacked with a flying speed, while it unceasingly spread out waves of the spirit plague.
"Shadow Concealment!"
When Leylin saw this scene, his mouth continuously chanted the spell. At the same time, the scales on his body emitted a dark lustre. As this dark light passed through him, his body became rather transparent.
Soon, the giant Loathsome Evil collided with the shadow of Leylin and went past and shattered a rotten flower pot that was behind Leylin, which burst into pieces.
During this time period of more than a year, Leylin, using the accumulated contribution points, exchanged them for many spell models. So here, Leylin utilised the Shadow Concealment spell of which he had a profound impression.
Before, within the Dylan Gardens, the Black Horrall Snake's attacks made it an unforgettable event for Leylin.
If it hadn't been for his natural cautiousness and also the fact that the additional firepower from his comrades, the outcome of the battle with the Black Horrall Snake would have turned out different.
After that time, he began to be interested in the Darkness element stealth spells. Eventually, when he was exchanging his contribution points within the Four Seasons Garden, he happened to discover these spell models.
[Darkness element's Shadow Concealment. Rank 1 spell. Its effects are: After the Magus cast this spell, he could hide within the crack of the shadow world and he would be immune to the attacks that happen in the real world. Time of concealment: 20s Elemental essence conversion bonus: 14s. It consumes a spiritual force of 10 and magic power of 10.]
This spell was entirely complementing his elemental affinity. Besides, the Kemoyin's Scales on Leylin's body also seemed to have magnified the effect of this spell.
Therefore, Leylin had expended a great deal of effort into learning this spell.
And after this spell, he had no longer any weak points with regards to his agility and concealment.
Leylin thoroughly took in the sensation of being in concealment.
This was a very strange feeling — time flowed as if it had been slowed by a tenfold. The surrounding atmosphere also felt very constricting. Each of Leylin's movement needed to consume even more strength than when he was in normal environments.
Leylin glanced at the Loathsome Evil.
It was now giving vent to its fury on the land surrounding it, as it had lost its original target.
The Loathsome Evil, by chopping with its huge hatchet, carved out many ditches in the surroundings, causing them to be in a complete mess.
Leylin noticed that the body of Loathsome Evil had a strange green tint to it — no, that's not it all, even the surrounding scenery, land and atmosphere was being polluted by a shining green mist. This green mist was very dense — it even made Leylin feel dizzy and he felt the sensation of wanting to throw-up.
Leylin's body felt as if it was hovering in mid-air; it slowly floated towards the Loathsome Evil.
The Loathsome Evil seemed to sense something and brandished the enormous hatchet in its left hand; as it did so, the enormous orange yellow hatchet swung at Leylin's waist.
If Leylin was currently in his physical form, he would already have been chopped into two halves.
But the current him was just a shadow in reality. When the enormous hammer swung past, his body just wavered.
The giant Loathsome Evil frantically brandished its hatchet. It often struck at Leylin's body, but not even a single piece of the clothing Leylin wore was torn.
It came closer… and closer!
Leylin kept himself in the sliding position and hovered above the Loathsome Evil's. When he looked down, he could see the constantly secreted yellow pus of the Loathsome Evil and the disordered teeth in its large mouth.
*Swish!*
With a flash of a black shadow, Leylin directly appeared in front of the Loathsome Evil.
Currently, Leylin's pupils had already changed to an amber colour, seemingly giving a peculiar gaze.
"Look into my eyes!" Leylin spoke with a strange tone as it brought a hissing sound with it. It was as though a snake was speaking.
Innate spell — the Eye of Petrification!!!
That voice seemed to carry a weird power. The Loathsome Evil couldn't help but look into Leylin's eyes with a bizarre expression.
*Creak! Creak!*
A greyish white halo started to shoot out from the Loathsome Evil's eyes and its face seemed to be constantly expanding.
"Roar!"
When the petrification effect had affected the entire head of the Loathsome Evil, it suddenly raised its head and roared.
Following the roar, the Loathsome Evil's flesh bulged. There was also two enormous solid flesh that suddenly appeared on its shoulder. It looked like it had grown two arms.
While its flesh was transforming, the greyish skin on the Loathsome Evil face's shedded. It was like a snake shedding its skin.
[The target's physique is too large. It is starting to develop immunity to the petrification! Based on current situation, remaining time it will stay rigid: 3 seconds!]
The A.I. Chip gave out a notification.
As expected, the movement of the Loathsome Evil slowed down. It opened its mouth and maintained an eccentric smiling expression. It was like a machine that had not yet been wound up, making it stop in a peculiar condition.
"This is a great opportunity!"
Leylin's eyes lit up. Numerous black fireballs entered the Loathsome Evil's mouth, causing continuous explosions within its body.
"Falling Star Pendant! Activate the remaining power!"
Leylin shouted and a faint red light ray appeared beneath his neck.
When the light ray consolidated in Leylin's hand, it formed a long blade.
Leylin stared at the Loathsome Evil and with a roar, the muscles on its arm bulged, expanding a few folds. It instantly made changed from a lean youth to a muscular man.
Leylin's body was filled with an explosive power at this moment.
He raised the blade with both his hand and leaped highly and performed a jump slash against the neck of the Loathsome Evil that was still burning with black flames!
*Gurgle! Splat*
The yellowish green pus splattered everywhere. Simultaneously, the enormous head of the Loathsome Evil directly rolled onto the ground.
After losing its head, the Loathsome Evil's four limbs were still moving. It was as though it was trying to flee.
Leyin's eyes was serene as he constantly tossed out streaks of purple medicine that landed on the enormous body and head of the Loathsome Evil.
*Boom!*
A purplish red flame started to violently ignite.
The flame enveloped the Loathsome Evil's body and head.
Crack! The head of the Loathsome Evil split apart and a group of grotesque-looking spirits appeared.
However, Leylin was already prepared for that as he tossed a pink gemstone into the flames, while constantly chanting.
The unconscious spirits were attracted to the pink crystal. They forgot to self destruct and just surrounded in front of the pink gemstone with their faces expressing reminiscing expression.
"Success! With the previous calculations by the A.I. Chip, the Derkoff Spirit Enticing Spell has been upgraded!"
Excitement flashed past Leylin's face. He then rapidly carved runes and incantations on the ground around the flames, and constantly tossed various materials into the flame.
Finally, the purplish red flame already changed completely into a pure purple colour. The group of spirits were constantly dissolving, they were melting like heated wax.
At this moment, a lot of the spirits wanted to self-destruct!
"Activate!" Looking at the densely-packed spirits, Leylin's lips curled up into a smile as he chanted the incantation.
Boom! A red halo lit up from the array, restraining all of the spiritual energy within the flame.
That light ray seemed to restrict the spirits from self-destructing. The spirits within expressed frantic expressions despite them being emotionless existences, and not a single one of them could self-destruct as they did before.
Mournful and piercing screams constantly rang in his ears.
Leylin could even feel the most painful wail from the Loathsome Evil.
While the purple flames were constantly burning, a strange smell constantly spread.
The Loathsome Evil's corpse that was at the center of the flame had already stopped moving. Moreover, under the effect of flames, from its fat body, a fatty, oily and viscous liquid began to flow down and around the surface of its body.
This fluid was extremely viscous and its colour was an odd black.
As that black, oily liquid constantly flowed, the corpse of the Loathsome Evil gradually became smaller, as though it was shrinking.
The ten-meter-long, enormous body started to shrink to the height of an ordinary person and finally became a monkey-like form with wrinkled body.
"This..."
Leylin looked transfixed at the constantly shrinking head of the Loathsome Evil.
When the head was completely dehydrated, an ordinary head appeared before Leylin's eyes.
Even though the skin was filled with creases, Leylin was able to recognise that this was a head of a western, middle-aged man, aged roughly 30 years or near about.
"It looks like the main ingredient in making this Loathsome Evil's body is a human body. Moreover, the manufacturing of its huge body is by inserting an enormous amount of crazed spirits into the human body and making them fuse together….."
This method made Leylin felt as though the human body was a womb and was nurturing something.
"The fusion rate with the human body was extremely high as those Loathsome Evils were originally human spirits. It's unknown how the Spirit Slaying Sect was able to solve the problem in fusing the spirits into the body. It's the key skill!"
Leylin's thoughts constantly revolved.
He had a feeling that this wasn't the final stage in the experiment on this Loathsome Evil.
The frantic spirits would finally breakout from the body after undergoing constant fusion with the body of the Loathsome Evil. They would get much stronger as they grow, creating a more sinister being in existence!
-x-X-x-
Leylin was watching the process of the Loathsome Evil coming together.
The spirit within the array was finally incinerated as the purple flame gradually extinguished.
Swish! The entire light ray from the spell formation completely shattered.
Leylin walked into the formation.
The smell of something burning wafted in the air, along with a repulsive stench that could make one feel nauseous.
"This odour is just like when something from the sewers is burnt!" Leylin frowned and walked to the center.
The human corpses had long since been burnt to ashes.
On the ground, in the middle of the charred and indented formation, a glistening object caught Leylin's eye.
Lying in the pit were fragments of green crystals, sparkling and splendid like little diamonds.
Leylin covered his hand with a layer of scales and grabbed ahold of the little diamonds.
"Quite light, but very solid!" Leylin kept applying pressure using his palm to the point that his joints popped, but even with his strength of 7.1, he was still unable to do anything to the little diamonds.
"..." All of a sudden, a low chant of salutations entered Leylin's ear, seeming to have been produced from within the green diamonds.
Filled with curiosity, Leylin brought the diamonds closer to his ear.
"Thank you, young man!"
In an instant, a dazzling white light seemed to fill the entire flower garden. In the white light, Leylin looked at tens of thousands of phantom human figures.
The countenances of these phantoms seemed familiar; they were the spirit bodies of earlier, but they had assumed their original form of a human.
The phantoms were both male and female. Some of them were dressed like Magi and acolytes. However, at this moment, they expressed gentle smiles as they slowly faded in the white light.
"En!" Leylin looked at the surroundings. As if it was due to the death of the Loathsome Evil, the green coloured plague quickly retreated, once again revealing the flower garden.
As for the spirit bodies from earlier, they had all disappeared without a trace, as if he were just dreaming.
However, Leylin knew that he wasn't hallucinating.
At this moment, the A.I. Chip's voice rang out.
[Scan complete! Item identified as spirit crystals! This is the essence remaining after the ignition of a huge amount of spirits!] In ancient compendiums, these were one of the many favourite currencies that many experts in different planes liked to use.
"Spirit crystals!" Leylin understood.
He had heard about this item before, but only high-level Magi could effectively use them.
It was impossible for a mere rank 1 Magus to break the surface of a spirit crystal to extract a spirit's power from within.
"No matter what, it will definitely be useful in the future!" Leylin picked up the green coloured spirit crystals littered on the floor, carefully placing them inside a small pouch. He even used a gold thread to seal the pouch, before placing it back in his robes.
The green spirit plague had completely vanished. Many fine cracks that looked like lizards littered the black rock walls at the edge of the garden.
Leylin walked in front of the cracks, and gently knocked on the fractured wall!
*Crash!*
Numerous stones fell, and large clouds of lime were thrown into the air. There was a deep hole in the wall, which was flickering with pitch black light rays.
A black glint of light flashed through his eyes.
He quickly plucked off a strand of his hair, and his mouth began to move as he chanted mysterious incantations.
The long black hair fell to the ground and constantly expanded, eventually turning into something that resembled a black snake.
This small snake had densely packed scales and a pair of red little eyes that looked like jewels. It was pocket sized, and did not look malevolent; on the contrary, it was rather adorable.
The little snake first coiled around Leylin, hissing its tongue. It licked Leylin's shoes and then slithered into the pitch black crevice.
Leylin shut both his eyes, maintaining a connection with the little snake through a thread of spiritual force. Images and sounds were projected before Leylin's eyes.
The lighting in the surroundings was very dim, but it wasn't a problem for the little black snake.
Through the eyes of the black snake, Leylin could see that the interior of the crevice looked like an ore mine with huge amounts of roots creeping in the surroundings.
The roots intertwined across the walls as if they were covering the surroundings of the cave like a fishnet.
The little snake continued to traverse into the cave. After slithering for about a kilometer, the little snake reached a yellow tree root that was like a wall that blocked its path.
"This is… a Misleading Mist Tree Root, an ancient defensive system to deter intruders!"
Leylin's heart was filled with glee. With the appearance of such a mechanism, it showed that he was nearing the experiment lab.
"Intruder! Answer one question of mine, or else you'll be ripped into pieces!" from the large trunk of the tree, the face of an old man emerged. The old man stared into the little snake's eyes as if it could see Leylin, who was controlling it.
"Ask!" Leylin gave off a wave of spiritual force through the little black snake. "Please state your question!" Leylin gave off his spiritual energy force directly through the black little snake.
"What has the face of a diamond, eyes like pearls, and in the winter, the maker of this object gives it a chance to reincarnate?"
"Hmm…" Leylin lowered his head, looking to be deep in thought. Though, in actuality, he was commanding, "A.I. Chip! Search database!"
[Beep! According to the clues provided to the Host, items that fit the description are: 1. Gemstone Starfish. Similarity: 97%. 2. Ocean Bed Sunflower: 78%. 3…]
The A.I. chip instantly gave the result.
"It's the Gemstone Starfish!" The snake said in front of the Misleading Mist Tree Root.
"Correct!" The Misleading Mist Tree Root let out an ear piercing holler. Like pulling out a radish from the ground, the tree's roots were uplifted, revealing the pathway behind it.
"As a reward, you now have the authority to go through!" The countenance of the old man on the Misleading Mist Tree Root revealed a smile.
"A reward, huh? I don't think so!"
The small snake shook its head and climbed through the passage.
*Pa!* In an instant, a giant tree root, like a huge palm, blocked the small snake's path ahead.
"I have permitted the Magus behind you to go, but not a magical creature like you!" Anger welled up on the old face of the root.
"Young Magus, are you belittling me?"
"It is a part of me, so I believe it has the right to enter!" The little snake raised its head, making eye contact with the giant face.
"No! You must personally come over!" The Misleading Mist Tree Root was stubborn in this aspect.
"If that's the case…" The little black snake lowered its head as if pondering over something.
Suddenly, the little snake coiled up and immediately darted through the passage.
*Pa!*
Suddenly, there were numerous bolts of black lightning that flashed into the originally peaceful pathway .Those flashes looked alive as they struck towards the little snake.
In the sea of sparks, the little snake was burnt to a crisp.
"It's a trap indeed! Grade 5[1. Refers to the relative level of danger to the Leylin's current stats.] and higher Black Prison Thunder, and there's so much of it. The tree root really invested a lot in this attack…"
Outside the entrance to the garden, Leylin looked towards the mud tunnel and smiled mockingly.
This Misleading Mist Tree Root was just a trap in the first place! Even if an intruder got the answer correct, he or she would still be lured into a trap.
It was a pity that after so many years, there was something wrong with the Misleading Mist Tree Root's intelligence. Leylin felt that something was wrong because it seemed to be much too anxious.
No matter how good a trap was, once it was found out, it was just another joke.
At this moment, a strong tremor came from the tunnel that Leylin stood in front of. There was even an ancient voice, "I'll kill you! I'm going to kill you, intruder!"
The walls of the ore mine seemed to be propped up by the roots of the tree. As they struggled to come out, it caused a huge chain reaction.
"This creature's vitality and strength are most likely above that of the Loathsome Evil. Moreover, as it is a plant, its life force is extremely tenacious, and it has resistances against spiritual force attacks. It'll be much more difficult to deal with than the Loathsome Evil, so if I was to fight it on its own territory inside the ore mine, as long as it would be willing, it could bury me alive at any time!"
Leylin pondered before raising his head, grinning mischievously.
"It's a pity, however, that such a plant organism like that has a strong weakness to something I have recently developed in the lab! I'll use it now!"
Leylin took out a nitrogen crystallised test-tube from the sack that he carried. There were no potions inside the test-tube. There was only a black organism on the bottom with a pair or translucent wings as if it was an insect.
After looking at this item, Leylin's expression became serious.
"I don't know if letting this thing out will be good or bad, but I have to give it a try…."
Leylin muttered to himself.
This was an item that he had unintentionally created.
Inside the test-tube was a type of termite found only in the Magus World. Leylin had discovered it while getting rid of the pests inside the Four Seasons Garden.
As the sequence of genes was different from other termites, they were extremely strong, and hence, were taken back by Leylin, who had later discovered a secret.
These termites had an extremely strange gene that will exponentially increase their life force and reproductive capabilities.
That speed was already beyond what was natural. Judging from Leylin's knowledge, this should have been made up of poisons and cells from another world.
After many instances of failing, Leylin could only increase the abilities of these termites with the help of the microscopic capabilities of the A.I. Chip, turning them into a weapon to deal with plant organisms!
It seemed like now was the right time to use it.
"Come! Let me see what happens when the strange items of the Magus world are coupled with modern scientific skills!"
[Host is about to release Living Organism No. 1! According to the settings, please input the parameters for self-destruction!]
At this time, the A.I. chip replied again.
"5 minutes!"
Leylin put a thread of his spiritual force into the test-tube, after which, he put several drops of another red potion into it as if making his final preparations.
After that, he looked at the shaking tunnel. The Misleading Mist Tree Root was still writhing around, trying to reach him.
"Enjoy your death now!"
Leylin sneered, opened the test tube, and directed the termite into the hole.
-x-X-x-
"A.I. Chip! Record the data, and create a folder on the experiment's results!"
While Leylin released the termite, he pressed on his temple with one of his hands, making a bright blue light shoot out from his eyes, and shine directly into the hole.
Under Leylin's observation, the termite directly climbed on top of a tree root after being freed.
The termite was like a speck of dust compared to the enormous Misleading Mist Tree Root, so it didn't arouse the attention of the massive tree.
[Living Organism No. 1 showing violent growth, and starting to propagate!]
In the graphic shown by the A.I. Chip, the termite, which was represented by a red dot, stayed on the yellow brown roots for a while, before its life force begin to increase tremendously, turning into a bright crimson red dot. Furthermore, many small dots began to appear in the graphic, scattering throughout the roots.
It seemed to have a domino effect. When the red light intensified, it grew from covering a root to instantly covering the entire wall, and drew close to the Misleading Mist Tree Root.
"What is this…Argh…"
Following which, the Misleading Mist Tree Root's screams could be heard throughout the garden.
Leylin could still hear the dense, hair raising, terrifying screams while he was at the entrance of the hole.
As for the termites, they had now filled the entire body of the Misleading Mist Tree Root.
What seemed like billions of termites began to open their incisors, and mercilessly chomped down on the roots. Within only a couple of minutes, the Misleading Mist Tree Root was riddled with holes.
The Misleading Mist Tree Root's screams become weaker, until it finally came to a stop.
...
*Buzz Buzz…*
The sound of flapping wings could be heard. A large cloud of termites was seen flying out from the hole. They were like locusts, devouring the remaining plants in the garden.
After devouring all of the plants, the flying termites began to buzz in fury.
[Alert! Alert! Intense energy waves emitting from the organisms' spiritual force. Previously inputted spiritual force has failed, termites entering a frenzied state!]
As the A.I. Chip called out, all of the flying termites began to mysteriously stop as they turned to Leylin, looking at him with bloodshot eyes.
"As expected, impromptu experiments are always filled with surprises. However, it's a pity that time is up!" Leylin was smiling.
When the A.I. Chip's countdown timer of 5 minutes reached 0, all of the termites, which were still flaunting their might, fell to the ground, losing all signs of life.
In the blink of an eye, there was a thick layer of termite corpses on the ground.
This was the security system that Leylin had inputted. It seemed to have an excellent effect.
"These things are filled with unknown characteristics! It seems that I'll still need a lot of experiments on it before I can use it practically….."
After which, Leylin picked up several of the termites' corpses to keep as specimens, before walking into the mud tunnel, which had mostly collapsed.
Very soon, he came to where the Misleading Mist Tree Root originally stood. It was a pity, however, that it was now only filled with mud and the remnants of a husk. All traces of the huge tree root's countenance had also disappeared.
"A lot of effort must have been put into this trap!"
Leylin looked at the black tunnel that the Misleading Mist Tree Root had used as bait. The inside of the tunnel was littered with many charred termite corpses.
From the looks of it, they didn't die from the self-destruction coded into their genes, but from the trap laid inside the tunnel.
As for where the Misleading Mist Tree Root once stood, there was another bronze coloured path.
The pathway seemed to be formed using ceramic. It looked extremely crude, but had a unique, good feeling about it.
As for the path, there was even a line of ancient Byron characters, "Tunnel to Experiment Lab #1! Top secret! Only authorized personnel allowed!"
The blood red words made Leylin shudder.
"This material..."
Leylin touched the bronze coloured ceramic wall. He felt that the material used to make this wall was extremely sturdy. Also, it gave him a similar feeling to the Blood Sobbing Alloy inside the Dylan Gardens. They were both used to isolate spiritual force energy waves.
"If this is really what I think it is, the item that is locked in here must be remarkable!"
The insecurities in Leylin's heart reached the max.
He cocked his head and pondered, not daring to enter recklessly. Instead, he found an empty space, and took out various items from his robes, creating a strange formation. The appearance of this formation was extremely strange, looking like an inverted "J." Afterwards, Leylin also carved a similar rune on his robes.
"It seems that I'm really fearful of death!" Leylin's insecurities lessened after arranging the formation. He mocked himself as he entered the tunnel.
The bronze coloured pathway wasn't long, and Leylin quickly reached its depths.
There was a small hall and in front of it, there was a black metal door, which was extremely tall, and over 4 meters wide.
On the metal door frame, there were various magic runes with the words 'Experiment Lab #1. Supervisor: Edward' written on it.
The words on the metal door were obviously very old, as there was some dust on it, and it looked slightly beaten.
When Leylin was in front of the doors, two figures entered his field of view
After seeing them, Leylin took the initiative to go forth. "Old Devil and Jaye, where's Brass Ring?"
The old witch and Jaye were the ones that had appeared in front of Experiment Lab #1, while Brass Ring's location was unknown.
"We stepped into a trap set up by the ancient Magi that caused us to become lost! In the trap, every time when we thought our partners were beside us, we had actually been separated and had gone further apart…"
The old witch replied, "When the trap activated, and the four of us entered the different pathways, I was met with a sound illusion that was arranged by the ancient Magi….After an intense battle, I found this place, and met up with Jaye. Her experiences were similar to mine….."
Leylin nodded his head, after which he briefly stated his encounters. As for his abilities and spells, he had naturally glossed over the narration of that area.
He then said, "In this case, we should just wait for Brass Ring…"
"We don't have to anymore! I can sense that Brass Ring is already dead!" Jaye spoke abruptly, causing Leylin to feel somewhat shocked.
This fellow, who seemed like a female, had seldom spoken ever since the group was formed. She also seemed to be rather close to the old witch, yet her energy waves were not very strong, just at the level of an average rank 1 Magus.
But now…
Leylin could not help but to look at Jaye.
Even though Jaye was still wearing a black cloak, her cloak was tattered. It seemed to bear traces of her battle.
Apart from that, the energy waves from Jaye's body were fluctuating at an unsteady rate. Sometimes, they had the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus, while at other times, it felt like a fledgling rank 1 Magus who had just advanced. At other times, it would intensify greatly, keeping Leylin guessing.
"Jaye had learned and remembered an extremely special rank 1 spell. We were able to estimate the timing of the death of the magus, so we decided to wait for you here!"
Jaye seemed rather antisocial, and she would not speak unless it was of the utmost importance. Everything else was explained by the old witch.
"Is that right?" Leylin was a little doubtful, as the rank 1 magic of the Magus World was extremely peculiar. There was an unknown amount of Magi that built on spells that their ancestors had created or modified in order to create many different unique spells to be passed down, so Leylin wasn't able to make a decision regarding what the Old Witch had said.
"Since you're here, let's take a short break before attempting to enter this Experiment Lab #1!"
The old witch seemed rather zealous. "I have a feeling that the altar I need is right inside!"
Leylin was somewhat speechless. This old witch appeared too impatient.
However, he still walked forward, and touched the black metal door.
Upon contact, an icy cold feeling could be felt as first, before a hotter temperature was felt. As for the sturdy metal door, it gave off a feeling of being indestructible.
From the runes and incantation on the door, Leylin could feel that this room was not used for experiments, but as a prison of some sort.
There was a brass keyhole at the center of the black door. The ethereal keyhole made Leylin's hair stand on end, and he felt a bone freezing chilliness.
"I can't fully understand the runes on this door, but I'm still able to make out the general meaning of some of the high levelled runes. There is a high levelled solidifying rune, and a metal memory rune. To break open this door, we will have to spend a lot of energy. Perhaps, we should try to find the key!"
Leylin suggested.
"There's no need for that! It's here with me!" The old witch cackled, withdrawing an extremely thick yellow bronze key from her robes.
This key was rather curvy, as if it was a ladle, but it was a perfect fit for the keyhole on the door.
The old witch took the bronze key, and inserted it into the door.
"Wait a minute!" At this moment, a figure appeared in front of her.
"Blood Rogue, what are you doing?" The old witch looked at Leylin, who was blocking her, rage evident on her face.
Jaye immediately stood behind the old witch at this moment. The magic rays emitted from her body caused Leylin's eyelid to twitch.
"It's nothing much, I just feel that the danger within has somewhat exceeded my expectations. I wish to withdraw!" Leylin was extremely calm.
"According to the information I've seen, this Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect has been the advocate behind the scenes of many ancient calamities. Moreover, it had been undergoing extremely dangerous spirit research…"
Leylin's expression was extremely sincere as he continued to talk. "Therefore, I suggest that we temporarily stop this exploration, and attempt to explore again after gaining much greater powers…."