The cold breeze swept past, leaving behind pieces of dried leaves swirling in the air, which danced like butterflies.
The crystal clear stream flowed silently, adding to the tranquility in this area.
A grey squirrel shook its fluffy tail and ascended the tree as fast as lightning, and rapidly gnawed on the acorn it held. From time to time, it would twist its little head to observe its surroundings.
*Ka-Cha!* A dried piece of wood was stepped on and broke. The squirrel was startled as it let go of the acorn it held and climbed even higher in the tree. It looked down in apprehension at the human figure who had broken the peace in the area.
"The last time I've been here was less than a year ago, wasn't it? To think that it had actually changed this much…"
Leylin exclaimed as he glanced at his surroundings.
He had returned back to the small town where the Old Devil had brought him on an expedition to the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect.
Only this town had already been reduced to ruins.
A murky green vine crept around the town's ruins, in which the occasional figures of animals could be seen flitting past. However, there were no signs of human traces at all.
From the many visible indications, the inhabitants of this town had voluntarily chosen to forsake their homes soon after Leylin's expedition.
"This is the fear towards Magi!" Leylin shook his head and did not feel the slightest shock regarding this turn of events.
Although Leylin and the others came here covertly and did not slay any of the inhabitants, they still put the town's people in a deep slumber for three days. However, the residents would only associate these eerie methods with Magi!
It was known that Magi of the light Magi domain would be more friendly to regular humans on the surface.
However, who could have guaranteed that the residents would not see a dark Magus? Hence the flustered residents immediately chose to report it to the authorities.
However, during that time the Eternal Rivers secret plane had just been made public knowledge to all Magi. The strength of the light Magi had been concentrated there, so no one had the leisure to bother with a desolate little town who had suspected dark Magi activities. Furthermore, no deaths were reported!
Hence, the light Magi alliance only sent out several level 3 acolyte to investigate the matter.
Naturally, these acolytes would not be able to see past the disguise set up by an official Magus. Hence, the entrance of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane was not discovered. After searching the area to no avail, the group of acolytes could only conclude and report that there were dark Magi who had long since left, apparently achieving their goals in the area.
This degree of danger would naturally not attract the attention of the light Magi alliance, and things had been dragged till this state.
Even if the light Magi did not treat it with importance, how could the residents who had been living in the town their whole lives not mind?
Afterall, under the influence of the light Magi, they had often heard of dark Magi eradicating kingdoms throughout their childhood and as they aged into adults. Although the investigators had already concluded that the dark Magi left, there was always the 'what ifs'.
Hence, without any further support, the residents chose to leave this town.
Afterwards, several supernatural incidents in the area had caused the few elderly folks in the town, who had chosen to stay back, to disappear without a trace. These incidents had caused the town to be fully abandoned by all.
Leylin indifferently thought back to the news he had received of the town. After instructing Damien and the rest to defend his family, he had journeyed to this area and prepared to look at the ancient teleporting spell formation once again.
For the sake of advancing into a rank 2 Warlock, he had destroyed one of the gates to the secret plane and even killed two rank 2 Magi!
This animosity that was created was unusually huge! Although Leylin had confidence in his own strength, he still had to be wary of the fact that the light and dark Magi had their trumps cards: Magi who had reached rank 3!
Right now, Leylin was admittedly not a match for opponents of that level, hence he had decided not to tarry after choosing his escape route.
The dark and white Magi had already infiltrated every corner of the south coast, hence it was not possible to hide here.
Many terrifying and dangerous regions were also located on the south coast. Even for official Magi, going there would mean a 90 percent chance of death. If Leylin were to wander in those areas without any detailed information, then he would be a fool!
Moreover, even if Leylin's luck was good and he successfully managed to traverse past those domains, he might arrive in a barren wasteland like the Chernobyl Islands. Leylin still wished to walk further down the path of a Magus, hence he would not be willing to go to such an area.
However, the ancient teleporting spell formation was different! The distance of the teleportation was vast; it would at least span a distance several times that of the south coast. There was even a possibility that it would lead to another world!
Around the Magus World, there were several mighty worlds and planes. In ancient times, the ancient Magi conquered one world after another, and analysed the unique laws in those worlds to strengthen themselves!
This ancient teleporting spell formation was very likely linked to a world or domain that the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect had once dominated.
Moreover, the place that the teleportation would lead to was definitely a place abundant with resources, at the very least on par with the south coast. Otherwise, why would the ancient Magi have the leisure to create this teleporting spell formation? The cost of creating one was not a small figure, it was enough to cripple the finances of a faction like the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect. Leylin strongly believed that its creation was not merely for the sake of having a means to escape.
"Speaking of which, I wonder how that Gargamel, Old Devil, and Jaye are?"
Leylin stroked his chin.
Although he had already advanced into a rank 2 Warlock, he still had fear towards the Gargamel which had been borne through the fusion of countless vengeful spirits!
Afterall, it had been sealed for God knows how many years by the sect, and actually had the strength of a rank 2 Magus immediately upon its return!
One must know that the Black Horrall Snake back in the Dylan Gardens had regressed from a rank 3 Magus into an acolyte's level after such a long sealing period!
According to Leylin's estimation, the Gargamel inside the secret plane had at least reached the strength of a rank 4 Magus before it was sealed!
In ancient times, Magi of these levels had another term coined after them—Morning Star Magi!
According to the description of the Book of Giant Serpent by the Great Magus Serholm, after a Magus enters rank 3, their body will undergo a very long bottleneck period. For a rank 3 Magus to advance into a rank 4 Magus, the difficulty will surpass every prior advancement. It could even be likened to the fact that the difficulty of a regular human into a rank 3 Magus was far simpler than that of from a rank 3 Magus to a rank 4 Magus!
Even in ancient times, rank 4 Magi were rulers of their regions. As for their title, it was Morning Star!
What was a Morning Star? High above in the sky! Unparalleled! Eternal!
Magus who were able to advance in rank 4 were worthy of such a title! Moreover, their lifespan would be lengthened by a massive amount. Even living to a thousand years old was just child's play! To regular humans or even lowly ranked Magi, this was already reaching the realm of being immortal!
At this level, Magi would really be able to control the devastating powers of flipping mountains and burning seas! It was ineffective to use a sea of people to fight against such power! Just one of them would rival the existence of an army of lower leveled Magi!
It was a totally different idea from the Lightning Corps. Magus armies back in ancient times had at least tens of thousands of official Magi, including several tens of rank 2 Magi! As for captains and vice captains, rank 3 Magi were definitely the ones who held these posts!
If the Lightning Corps was of a standard like this, Leylin would have long since been dead.
However, a Morning Star Magus could obliterate the forces of the ancient Magus army!
The Gargamel which Leylin had seen before had already undergone a long sealing period. However, upon its return, it had the strength of a rank 2 Magus! The strength it had before must have at least been that of a Morning Star Magus!
To put it bluntly, such an existence could kill Leylin with just a finger.
If not for several sources of information which had confirmed the departure of the Gargamel from this area, Leylin would have never dared step foot in here again.
In an area close to the Nightless City, Leylin had given several of his spiritually bonded slaves missions before infiltrating the city.
With his methods now as a rank 2 Warlock, he could even avoid detection from a fellow rank 2 Magus, not to mention regular guards, by using the spiritual force compression technique.
After spending some of his magic crystals, he then easily obtained the information he needed.
All of the attention in the south coast was still on the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. As for the latest and hottest news, it was the birth of a newly advanced rank 2 Magus, Leylin!
As someone who had destroyed a gate to the secret plane and killed two rank 2 Magus, Leylin had already been put in the crosshairs of the dark and light Magi alliances. Even the danger level attributed to him was of the highest level!
In the south coast, a rank 2 Magus was already a force to be reckoned with like Chairman Siley of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. If Leylin was still in the academy, he could even participate in the turmoil for the Chairman's successor.
Although Leylin was listed as 'wanted' on the surface, many organisations had secretly offered him a position and even promised abundant benefits.
However, Leylin only chuckled at such ideas.
The resources he had pilfered were enough for him as a rank 2 Magus. Moreover, it was not easy to come out from this mess, he did not wish to be embroiled in such troublesome issues once again.
Apart from his information, the other news which had piqued his interest was the spirit plague in the western part of the south coast.
In several regular human kingdoms, there had been a very odd disease spreading!
People who had caught this disease would not suffer from any illness. Only that several tiny black spots would appear on their face and waist areas, where they would slowly be thinned down.
After seven days when the black spots became extremely huge, the diseased would then die without a sound.
After the light Magi's investigation, the spirits of the afflicted had disappeared without a trace. As for such methods, they were very similar to the spirit plague released by the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect!
This disease had a high contamination rate, which had already amounted to a casualty number of over a hundred thousand regular humans.
Even the light Magi alliance, who had their sights set on the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, sent a rank 2 Magus as the investigation head for this matter.
The most useful piece of information they had acquired was that in areas where the contamination rate was the highest, they had discovered the traces of the devout from the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect. As for their leader, it was none other than the Gargamel!
-x-X-x-
"Heh! It's harvesting spirits to recover its strength huh?"
Leylin figured out the purpose behind this Gargamel's actions.
This Gargamel, which had apparently regressed from the Morning Star Magus rank, would most likely be harvesting a massive amount of human spirits in order to regain its former strength.
As a collective body that was fused from countless vengeful spirits, the Gargamel did not have to increase its spiritual force through meditation like other Magi. What it needed to do was to absorb vengeful spirits. The more afraid and in anguish they were, the faster it could recover its strength!
And after it had collected all the spirits it needed, the Gargamel would regain the power it had once wielded.
For the south coast, this was a calamity!
To regain back its strength, the Gargamel had to absorb the spirits of at least 30 million regular humans. This number was equivalent to one-third of the total population in the south coast; the dark and light Magi would definitely not agree to it.
Moreover, no one could say for sure what the Gargamel would do after regaining its strength!
Leylin sneered. "But what has all this got to do with me? I'll leave this headache to the respective chairmen of the dark and light Magi alliance!"
He was no saint, nor was he like that bunch of lunatics from the Botelli Family, who had assumed the role of the protector of the world.
With his memory, Leylin was extremely familiar with the route to the small town. He walked towards what had once been the town's centre, to where the two storey wooden house was.
This location itself was rather remote, and cobwebs and dust were strewn in the entrance. This appearance made it look extremely unstable, as if a gentle breeze would blow the house down.
However, Leylin was not fooled by such an appearance. He raised his finger, on which a white glow of light converged.
*Weng Weng!*
Leylin's finger seemed to have caused some sort of resonance, and covert runes began to crawl like ants to where Leylin's foot was.
"The barrier to hide this area is actually still present?"
Leylin was somewhat astonished. Soon afterwards, he walked to the second level, to where there was an oil painting of an upper-class lady. This was the entrance to the secret plane that had long since been destroyed by Leylin.
"This secret plane was only a small-scale one, and the barrier of the space and isolation were not so strong. If they had strength comparable to the ones in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, that Gargamel would most likely still be confined in here."
Leylin reached out his right hand and touched the rough, black surface of the wall.
There was a thin layer of greyish black material, which had a granule-like feel to the touch.
Leylin's expression was extremely solemn. On the wall, apart from him feeling that his fire energy particles were affected, there was an additional spiritual force!
This force was extremely subtle, and could not have been discovered if one was not being cautious enough. It gave Leylin a vaguely familiar feeling.
"This spiritual force is filled with evil intent! There's no doubt about it—it's the spirit residue from that Gargamel! It had already escaped…"
Although he could surmise the escape of the Gargamel from the information that he had received, Leylin could only relax after confirming the evidence with his own eyes.
"However, it even laid an alert-type barrier, huh? It seems to have been set up for me…"
Leylin grinned. This Gargamel's methods were extremely covert. However, it was only useful against regular Magi. The Leylin from before might already have noticed it using the A.I. Chip, not to mention now, when he had the strength of a rank 2 Warlock. This Gargamel's tricks were ineffective against him.
Furthermore, Leylin's strength had increased by leaps and bounds, and that Gargamel had only set this alert to match the strength it had witnessed when it had first seen Leylin. Hence, such a miscalculation could occur.
"A.I. Chip! Scan!" Leylin ordered.
Very soon, a layer of scanning ripple that only Leylin could see was on the field. After Leylin advanced into a rank 2 Magus, the A.I. Chip seemed to have received a very large improvement. The task of scanning was completed in an instant.
[A concealed type of spiritual force was discovered; determined to have been left behind by a rank 2 creature! The type is attributed to that of an ancient spirit's barrier of the second form, analysing…" The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.
In the database of the A.I. Chip, there was an immense collection of pictures and information. Furthermore, after Leylin had gained control of the headquarters of the Four Seasons Garden in the secret plane, he had obtained all of the data that were available to him, and had saved it inside the A.I. Chip's database. Right now, Leylin could be said to be a true scholar— an existence that was extremely rare on the south coast.
A silver thread of spiritual force released a unique glow that was filled with a strong yet mysterious quality. It stretched out from between Leylin's brows and spiralled in midair, before writhing into the shape of a rune and imprinting itself onto the wall.
*Ka-Cha!* As if something had been shattered, the alert-type barrier that the Gargamel had left behind was completely destroyed.
With Leylin's current strength as a rank 2 Warlock, the act of breaking such a barrier was extremely easy, and would not raise the awareness of the other party.
"The might of the materialisation of spiritual force is definitely not ordinary!"
The corners of Leylin's lips curled up as he felt the firmness and power of his own spiritual force.
A rank 2 Magus had definitely reached a higher realm than a rank 1 Magus. Between the levels, not only did they have superb control over the modification of their own body and obtain various types of power, but they could then choose from the various paths and specialisations and walk further down the path of their own specialisation.
However, there was one ability that all rank 2 Magus had to cultivate in. That was the materialisation of their spiritual force!
This process was to materialise a faintly discernable spiritual force from nothingness using energy particles.
This type of materialisation could only be performed after having their elemental essence conversion reach at least 80 percent. The materialisation of the spiritual force using energy particles far surpassed the might of regular spiritual force. It was also one of the criteria needed to advance into a rank 3 Magus!
Breaking through to a rank 3 Magus required a minimum amount of spiritual force, and also a certain threshold where a rank 2 Magus could materialise their spiritual force.
Right now, Leylin was only at the starting point for the materialisation of his spiritual force, but he had already discovered the benefits of using such materialised spiritual force.
Spiritual force was, in fact, a catalyst for spells. After increasing in power through the use of a spell model and conversion, it would draw from the energy particles in the surroundings?
Right now, the spiritual force, which was acting as the catalyst, had been strengthened. No matter which spell was cast, its might would be increased!
Hence, the power of a rank 1 spell from a rank 2 Magus would far surpass the one that a rank 1 Magus had cast.
"Fortunately I made preparations to overcome the isolation of the secret plane!"
After expelling the Gargamel's spiritual force, Leylin looked at the already broken entrance, and sized up the surroundings, before withdrawing various items from his spatial pouch.
Through several past instances of extortion and plundering, Leylin had amassed a huge cache of resources that would even leave a rank 2 Magus gaping. The Insatiable Bottomless Pouch was almost filled with stocks of various ingredients. Hence, setting up a spell formation was not a problem.
Leylin's movements were extremely quick as he withdrew many different coloured gems and other bizarre items from the pouch and placed them on the floor. He also used a silver powder to draw out a triangular magic symbol on the floor.
*Shua Shua Shua!*
Leylin's right hand turned into claws. and several crucial spots in the spell formation were hollowed out to form the necessary shapes.
Soon after, he crushed the gems and energy jewels on the floor with his left hand!
Kacha!
Resplendent layers of light slowly spread out from the energy nodes of the gems, and like water, they slowly filled up the boundaries of the formation.
The spell formation seemed to have come alive, and it began to tremble, emitting beams of light.
Large amounts of visible distortion began to appear in midair above the spell formation.
Tiny specks of red light seemed like fireflies as they flickered within these distortions.
"What's next is the localisation of the secret plane's position!"
Leylin shut both his eyes and recalled the memory of when he was last in the secret plane of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect, searching for this familiar aura within the distortions in the air.
The various red specks of light, which were the weak spots of the void, flickered. If Leylin were to choose the wrong one, he would immediately be lost in the chaos of space and ripped into shreds by it!
At this moment, a darker coloured red glow appeared, and in it was an aura of spirits that Leylin was familiar with!
Leylin opened his eyes in solemnity, and a silver light flashed from his pupils!
"It's in here!"
"Sword of Memphis!" Leylin raised his right hand and clenched his fist as he slashed downwards!"
In the twinkling of the silver light, a transparent longsword appeared in his hands.
The slim blade accurately slashed at the darker red glow of light.
*Ka-Cha!*
The slash was as fast as lightning, and very soon, the darker red glow exploded, turning into a pitch black tunnel.
Without the slightest hesitation, Leylin dashed into it.
Moments later, after travelling through the darkness, Leylin once again emerged in the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane.
"Wu!" Leylin rubbed his forehead, "Opening the isolation tunnel of space is, indeed, very troublesome. It's very difficult to pinpoint it through the chaos of space…"
Very soon, he sized up his surroundings.
It was not very far away from the entrance that he had entered before, and Leylin still had some recollections of this place. However, what was different from before was that the surroundings here seemed to have been abused by a hurricane that was over magnitude ten. The surroundings were in shambles.
"Gargamel definitely threw a tantrum in here! I hope the teleporting spell formation is still alright!"
Leylin thought, before sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Hissss!" A huge black mist spread from behind his body, turning into many tiny black snakes with red eyes.
"Go forth!" Leylin whispered.
With his command, the countless tiny black snakes began to roam around in the surroundings. As for Leylin, he closed his eyes and used his spiritual force to sense everything inside the secret plane.
As he had the map of the secret plane that he had previously recorded, the searching was much simpler this time around.
-x-X-x-
Previously, on the peak of the mountain of white bones where the Gargamel was sealed, Leylin had made a map.
He later that found out that this was the main map of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect, and it was essential in his escape from there.
What he now needed to do was to explore the area and make a comparison with the map that he possessed.
Time passed slowly, and the state of the secret plane was presented in front of Leylin.
The secret plane of the Spirit Slaying Sect was largely ruined. Not only had all sorts of mechanisms been completely destroyed, but Leylin could not even find a single complete building.
It seemed that the Gargamel that had been sealed here must have been full of grievances.
That huge mountain of white bones and all the materials in the laboratory were all gone. Even the cabinets full of information were all empty, and it was obvious that the Gargamel had ransacked the area.
The little black snake that Leylin controlled with his mind approached a silver passageway meant to be used as an emergency exit.
The metal was well preserved and seemed to emanate a strong power that could subdue spirits. However, there were a few large stones that had been thrown inside, which were now obstructing the way.
The black snake easily slipped through the gaps in between the rocks and came to the place where Leylin had initially found the secret room.
*Rumble!* After pressing the power switch, a side of the wall slowly opened to reveal a secret room.
This room was extremely small, with a black spell formation in the centre that was surrounded by four stone pillars. Beside one of the pillars was the remains of a Magus.
*Sssii!*
The little black snake circled the spell formation and suddenly began to hiss.
Black flames began to burn from the surface of its scales.
The flames became increasingly intense, gradually forming a doorway with abstruse spatial runes on its frame.
"It's here!"
Leylin came out from the door of flames, and upon seeing that the spell formation had not been damaged, he looked satisfied.
"A.I. Chip! Scan the teleportation spell formation!" Leylin pressed his temples, and a blue light that only he could see began to sweep the spell formation.
[Beep! Scanning complete! Intactness of spell formation is 98.7%. Lack of energy present!]
The A.I. Chip quickly responded.
"Compared to 98.8% from the previous time, it has slightly been worn down. Looks like the area of destruction by that Gargamel was quite substantial, for even this place to have been affected."
Leylin rubbed his chin and ordered, "Based on the information I received regarding teleportation, begin tests simulating the restoration of the formation."
In his previous exploration, Leylin had obtained a diary from the skeleton here, which included information regarding the teleportation formation. With additional information that had he later gathered, he had learned the complete technique of the ancient teleportation spell formation; correcting this little imperfection would not be the least bit difficult.
Based on the calculations of the A.I. Chip, the formation only needed to be 97% completed to work, but it was still possible for there to be problems!
Leylin was not going to risk anything when it came to this long distance teleportation. Whether it was spatial distortions or the explosions of spatial elemental particles, anything could leave him dead without leaving any traces.
He did not want to die in some stupid accident.
[Beep! Scanned incomplete portion, beginning simulation of restoration process…]
As the A.I. Chip sounded, Leylin felt as if he had arrived right at the spell formation. His fingers slid like the most precise surgical scalpel as he mended the teleportation spell formation.
The runes carved onto the spell formation were extremely dense and complicated. They were more than ten times tinier than a strand of hair, and Leylin himself did not have the confidence that he could do this in one try and without errors. However, with the aid of the A.I. Chip, his every movement was filled with grace and fluidity. In less than an hour, he had already completed mending the few areas that were incomplete.
*Weng!* The blue light disappeared, and Leylin returned to normal. The feeling he had just experienced lingered in his mind.
In front of him, the black teleportation spell formation still retained its original state without any signs of change.
"The A.I. Chip's simulated experiments are becoming increasingly vivid!"
Leylin's hands flashed as they moved, his fingers forming all sorts of symbols and hand gestures. These were techniques that he had used while mending the spell formation. All sorts of complicated and profound signs were flawlessly made with his hands, as if they had been practised countless times, "Such a unique feeling had already been put to muscle memory…"
Seeing the signs being made so fluently despite only being used once in the simulation, it looked as if Leylin had trained for a decade. A flash of awe appeared on his face.
Leylin immediately thought of other areas in which this would be useful. For instance, learning rank 2 spells! Though he had used the A.I. Chip to aid him in using magic spells through the use of spell models, the movements were stiff and robotic, just like Magi who were training in something for the first time.
But this situation was different. If he used the A.I. Chip's simulation, his manipulation of his spells would reach a whole new level.
Though this was just a short simulation, Leylin now had a rather in-depth knowledge regarding the teleportation spell formation. Though he might not be able to set it up, simple maintenance was not a problem.
Leylin approached the side of the spell formation.
"Thank you for your teleportation spell formation, Lord Magus!" He first went to the skeletal remains of the Magus and bowed towards it. A large black hand then descended, countless tendrils extending and propping up the skeleton.
*Boom!* A huge pit was dug with the hand and the skeleton was placed within. Soil and stones fell, and this became a grave.
"The area is ugly, so this is the only way to give you a proper burial."
Leylin sighed and then came to the front of the spell formation.
"Naz's Hand, third formation!" Leylin made a spell pattern, and from the tip of his fingers, silver threads were sent out and entwined themselves along the surface of the spell formation...
Two hours later, the teleportation spell formation was now completely restored to its original state, as if it were brand new. Not only were a few damaged portions mended, even some of the original runes were improved using the A.I. Chip.
Leylin looked at the surface of this new spell formation, and his breathing became a little coarse.
"Next is the most important step, which is to test whether this spell formation is functional…"
The leather pouch at his waist automatically opened, and a black crystal flew out and dropped into the energy groove in the teleportation spell formation.
Within this crystal was a pure darkness, with even some transparent, distorted flames burning within. This was the essence of the magic crystals he had purified! The consumed had totalled over a thousand magic crystal cards, which meant a value of over a ten million magic crystals!
Although the ancient teleportation spell formation could send a Magus far away, the energy required to do was also monstrous.
If not for Leylin's recent successes in plundering, it would be difficult to gather this amount of magic crystals.
*Rumble!* After the essence of the magic crystal was deposited into the groove, the spell formation began to rumble.
Mysterious magic runes began to light up, and bright rays lit up every corner of the spell formation
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
Threads of pure energy from the magic crystal was extracted from the spell formation and poured into the ancient spell formation.
From the bottoms of the four stone pillars, rings of light emerged and spread to the tops of the pillars, until the top suddenly exploded to reveal a hole.
Piercing light rushed out of the centre of the pillars and formed four differently coloured bundles of light, which hovered at the tops of the pillars.
Earthen brown, fiery red, heavenly green, and azure balls of light silently appeared in mid-air.
"Oh? This power!" Within these four balls of light, Leylin could feel the familiar air of energy particles.
"These are… Earth, fire, wind and water?" Leylin was dazed and immediately recognised the natures of these balls of light.
He touched his chin and pondered deeply.
In a few ancient schools of thought, there had once been a concept that earth, fire, wind, and water formed the foundations of the world!
From the looks of it, the Spirit Slaying Sect also held such a thought.
"Activate!" Leylin exclaimed loudly, using a language that he had never utilised, which was full of a cryptic and ancient aura.
This was the Turian language that the Spirit Slaying Sect used! After recording information regarding this with the A.I. Chip, Leylin had effortlessly learnt this language.
*Weng Weng!*
Four energy balls constantly fluctuated, and different coloured rays extended from the balls, converging above the heart of the teleportation spell formation.
*Ka-cha!*
As if the fabric of space had been split in two, and as if lightning had descended, huge spatial distortions appeared in front of Leylin and became a depthless hole.
"Now the teleportation is working!" Leylin immediately came up with a backup plan. No matter whether or not he would need this teleportation spell formation, it would be an escape route if he ever required one.
"Should I go over?" A tempting thought appeared in his mind, but he mercilessly suppressed it.
Based on his conjectures and the A.I. Chip's estimations regarding space, spell formations like these did not consume a lot energy from the magic crystals, but the moment a real and living subject went through, the required energy would be enough to extract and consume all the power in the essence of the magic crystals!
Leylin was still not clear about the situation at the other end of the teleportation formation, and naturally could not take such a risky chance. In addition, the magic crystal consumption from the trip was bound to break Leylin's heart.
Without seeing the teleportation spell formation at the other end, Leylin was unable to tell if he could return safely. What if it is was a one-way trip?
"En! Spiritual force can't penetrate through, and detection spells are useless. There has to be another way…"
-x-X-x-
After that, Leylin used a couple of different methods to try to investigate the situation at the other end of the tunnel, but none of them worked.
His spiritual force still wasn't able to see through space and every detection Magus' spell was connected directly to spiritual forces so all of his plans didn't work.
After taking one last deep look at the tunnel, Leylin was extremely reluctant as he deactivated the Magus' formation.
*Ka Cha!*
The magic stone crystal in the groove of the magic formation automatically flew to Leylin's hand and the various light rays emitted from it became slightly dimmer.
"Hmm? 10% of its power was consumed?" Leylin frowned a little when he felt the loss in power of the magic stone crystal.
It was similar to using one million magic stones in the span of a short moment!
Moreover, Leylin didn't send any living creature through it and just used his spiritual force to investigate it! Otherwise, the magic stone crystal would have been instantly depleted!
"In this case, I must use something like a puppet or spirit slave that can automatically move by itself so that it can head in to check it out before being summoned back!"
Leylin rubbed his lower jaw.
Following this thought, he did not hesitate any longer to leave the secret plane of the Spirit Slaying Sect. As he was leaving, he purposefully set a formation at the entrance to replicate the scene before he arrived as much as possible.
Even though he could observe from various signs that the Gargamel would not be able to break through to the interior emergency pathway, Leylin did not want to take the risk.
With the help of the A.I. Chip's meticulous calculations, even if the Gargamel were to personally come here, it would not be able to discover anything. This meant that his personal safety had greatly increased.
After laying down the formation, Leylin left the place.
Brambles Iron Door, located in the western part of the south coast, was a large scaled Magus market.
The reason why this place had this name was due to an enormous iron door that was completely covered with thistles and thorns that was nearby. Behind it was a medium sized Magus's secret plane!
In the south coast, the secret planes were mostly controlled by the various large Magi organizations, and this particular resource secret plane was being controlled by the wandering Magi alliance, Iron Crown.
Since the dark and light Magi had suppressed them both openly and secretly and, after having experienced countless suppressions, many wandering Magi who were sitting on the fence had finally chosen to rebel against the major alliances!
This Iron Crown was a power that had been formed from wandering Magi.
In this location, numerous wandering Magi grouped together, took charge of the nearby domains, and even controlled a middle-scaled secret plane!
Even though the middle-scaled secret plane could not be compared with the Four Seasons Garden's large scaled secret plane, it was still extremely rare and precious!
The existence of the Iron Crown was like a torch in the dark; it attracted the various wandering Magi and acolytes from the various lands of the south coast and constantly expanded.
However, it was to this point only.
Since it was a Magi alliance and controlled the management and contract agreements, the Iron Crown had always been weaker than the powerful Magi alliances. When it dealt with the outside world, it always kept a neutral position. Moreover, it only recently had flourished to the point to being just slightly stronger than the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.
Furthermore, the dark Magi organisation Abyssal Bone Forest was only ranked as a mid-tier power!
It was also unknown what the higher ups of the dark and light Magi organizations were thinking. Perhaps they couldn't be bothered to make a plot to share that piece of land and just allowed the Iron Crown to continue existing.
This place had also turned into an enormous bazaar for all Magi!
Since the wandering Magi kept a neutral position, it had become the south coast's irreplaceable free market. No matter if it was a dark Magus or a light Magus, non-affiliated Magus or one from an alliance, all Magi had free entry to this place. Since the Iron Crown watched over this area, the security could be said to be great as there were no terrible incidences that happened, which resulted the rapid creation of a good reputation.
Leylin climbed to the summit of the mountain and looked with an elated gaze at the unfortified gathering city within the flat plain not far from his position.
"Is that the Brambles Iron Door? Its scale is almost comparable to the Nightless City…"
He took advantage of his high altitude and surveyed the area. He could see flat summits and large infrastructure gathered together. It seemed to be like a spider web that was expanding outwards from the numerous pathways.
Moreover, what made him feel amazed the most was that the gathering city unexpectedly did not have fortified walls or guards. Leylin could casually see various Magi moving about in various transportation devices as they moved in the gathering city in all directions.
Leylin had not felt this kind of atmosphere when he was in the Nightless City.
"When the Iron Crown was first founded, it was born from blood and flames. Initially, the thirteen wandering Magi had their hands covered with the blood of the dark and light Magi in order to run this place and to enable a place for the wandering Magi to live..."
Leylin sighed as he put on his hat before heading towards the Brambles Iron Door.
The specialty of the gathering city was that there were no obvious boundaries. After entering the perimeter of the Bramble Iron Door, Leylin saw various kinds and types of stalls on the road side.
Those stalls were set up by the wandering Magi. Leylin could also see acolytes, Magi, and even humans that were mending the stalls.
"It seems that this place isn't inferior to the Nightless City! I wonder if I'll be able to obtain the materials that I need here…."
Leylin thought to himself that his motives in coming here were to gather information, to replenish the ingredients he used most often, and to test his luck on whether he would be able to find any detection spell models. If it really was not possible to obtain them, then he would purchase a few puppets or spirit slaves to explore the plane.
"Hmm?"
Leylin walked without a destination in mind, but his gaze suddenly focused!
At the side of the main road, a group of Magi gathered and they appeared to be looking at some form of public notice.
Various images and words were shone onto an enormous black wall so that Magi from a few hundred meters away would still be able to see it.
The words were blood red with the words 'wanted list' written in large. Below the words, pictured of the Magi, their danger levels, and bounty rewards were mentioned.
Leylin had seen this before in Nightless City, but here, he was the top on the wanted list and was described to be incredibly dangerous!
His valiant achievements in his life up until this point in time were recorded, including the fact that he killed two great rank 2 Magi.
What made Leylin astonished was that currently on the wanted list his picture had shifted a position as he was replaced by an unfamiliar Magus.
"It seems that during the period that I disappeared, the south coast has experienced some major events!"
Leylin was a little curious, so he walked forward to see the words that were being shown.
In the south coast, the majority of the wanted people were people that gathered souls, such as a black Magus that committed crimes including slaying cities and eliminating countries. Once a rank 2 Magus entered the board, it would definitely be enormous news.
A rank 2 Magus would be counted as a big shot that oversaw an area on the south coast. There was not any news about such a person being wanted within the past few hundred years.
The rank 2 Magi on the wanted list had always been those few and there wasn't any news that they made a blunder and were caught.
Moreover, in this few short months, there was unexpectedly two rank 2 Magi on the board, instantly attracting the gazes of numerous Magi.
That was right! The person that was positioned in front of Leylin was a rank 2 Magus!
Leylin squeezed to the front row to read up on that Magus.
"Alistair Faron, rank 2 Magus. Title: Solitary Wolf. Crimes: During an exploration, he had killed the tree protector Aleken from the same faction, resulting in three army squads of the Light Magi Alliance to be annihilated, and vast resources from the Eternal River Plains' secret plane to be stolen! Risk level: Extremely high! If any Magus has any news regarding his locations and report it to a member of a nearby Light Magi Alliance, they will immediately be rewarded with a million magic stones as their reward! Killing the target will enable them to earn one billion magic stones or resources and rewards of equivalent value!"
In the image on the wall, Alistair had a mix of gold and white hair and was a youth which was smiling candidly. His eyes expressed the intelligence that he had accumulated from the passing of time. He had an extremely peculiar personal charm and a scholarly temperament.
After becoming an official Magus, Magi were able to undergo local surgery to change their appearance. Rank 2 Magi were able to undergo more extensive flesh and body alterations.
Since Alistair could kill two Level 2 Magi, he definitely would be at least at the rank 2 Magi's level. After all, he definitely would not be young since not everyone could be as perverted as Leylin, who could succeed in breaking through to being a rank 2 Magus level before he was forty.
As a matter of fact, when he broke through to the rank 2 Magus level, the entire Magi realm of the south had viewed him as an unprecedented genius.
According to what the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had said, they were extremely regretful of their initial actions.
"However, there were three Level 2 Magi. They seemed to be the guards of the Magi of the light Magi's alliance at the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. It looks like something major has happened there again!"
Leylin rubbed his chin as he was extremely interested in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane.
It was vast and had everlasting resources. It wasn't something that ordinary ancient Magi organisations could establish.
According to Leylin's hypothesis, those who built it should be an alliance with a few Morning Star Magi.
Moreover, the secrets in the secret plane still had a lot of areas to be investigated.
It was to the point that it was unknown which Magi organisation had created this secret plane. Currently, the dark and light Magi were also unable to give an accurate answer.
"From the circumstances that made rank 2 Magi to fall out with one another and even kill each other, including the high rewards that were to be given out by the Light Magi Alliance, there should be a remarkable incident that happened in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane…"
Leylin lips curled up into an interest filled smile. He wore his cap as he reentered the crowd.
After a short moment and spending sufficient magic stones. Leylin received a report that he had wanted.
-x-X-x-
"An important treasure? What is it?"
Leylin had now changed his appearance to that of a middle-aged man. As he stared hard at the human figure made entirely out of black fog, discontent appeared on his face.
"We don't know either, but it's definitely extremely valuable and has to be very tempting for rank 2 Magi. Upon seeing that treasure, Alistair betrayed the Light Magi Alliance without any qualms and plotted against Alex and Juna, and then snatched it away."
The voice of the person in the black fog was very hoarse and its body seemed to be on the verge of disappearing at any moment.
"Alright. One last question—Where is he now?" Leylin heaved a long sigh and asked.
"I'm not sure. Somebody seemed to have found traces of him in Nightless City. We made a conjecture of where he's going, and he's probably fleeing towards the Endless Ocean…"
Upon hearing this answer, Leylin shook his head.
The Endless Ocean was on the east side of Nightless City, and was in the complete opposite direction from the Brambles Iron Door. Even if he were to chase after him right now, he would not make it in time.
Also, to dispatch a large number of people for a piece of news that he was still unsure whether it was genuine was simply not worth it!
There were definitely a lot of Magi after Alistair. There were even rumours of a rank 3 Magus around, and Leylin was not going to participate.
He himself was a significant fugitive as well!
"Do you have any more questions?" The figure in the fog asked.
"No!" Leylin got up to leave this room.
*Clang!* The large door rumbled as it closed shut, and the room sunk into darkness while the figure in the fog gradually dissipated..
"Dear customer, you have asked a total of two 4 A level and 3 B level questions. The total cost comes to…"
After Leylin walked out, a woman dressed in a revealing manner emerged, swinging her enchanting hips. She looked like the boss of a pub.
A pair of ample breasts were almost pressed onto Leylin's chest.
"Alright, I understand!" Leylin seemed to be provoking her as he smiled, and a small black pouch with gold edges made a long arc in the air and accurately fell between the female boss' ample breasts, causing her to pout playfully.
After rejecting her intentions and attempts to make him stay, Leylin quickly left.
*Hualala!* The bricks on both sides of the door shifted, revealing a secluded and dirty pathway. A distance away the sounds of Magi clamouring could be heard.
Leylin turned back, only to find that the door had already vanished without a trace.
There was only a regular wall there, and the place where he had first entered was completely different from where he was now.
These Magi organisations that sold information as a living usually had a perfect mastery over methods in concealing themselves. Leylin could guarantee that their entrance at the Brambles Iron Door was definitely one of many others, and it was impossible to find out where their headquarters were from these entrances.
Even this female boss was not easily dealt with! Leylin rubbed his fingers and left with a smile about his face.
After Leylin left, in the place where the trade had taken place, the female boss' face changed and she collapsed onto a sofa, revealing her beautiful curves.
At the same time, the immense spiritual force that did not lose out to a peak rank 1 Magus was gradually exhibited.
This female boss was actually a peak rank 1 Magus! Even in the entire south coast, such strength could be enough to awe or intimidate anyone!
Now, however, cold sweat rolled down her face.
"How terrifying! This spiritual force…" The female boss patted her chest, fear still lingering in her heart, "He's definitely a powerful rank 2 existence! Why is he here?"
She could sense Leylin's probing at the beginning, and in actuality if not for Leylin holding back at the end, she would definitely be in a worse state.
The alluring female boss lay on her sofa for a while longer, thoughts rapidly running through her mind. All of a sudden, her expression changed.
"Could it be that he's here because he received that information as well?"
Immediately, she paled and murmured in a low voice, "It's getting harder and harder to do business here. This is not good! I need to leave as soon as possible! These kind of things happens every two or three days. I can't take it any longer!"
...
Leylin, who was elsewhere, was also recalling the whole matter.
Strictly speaking, this matter did have a connection to him.
After he had destroyed one of the gates into the secret plane, some mechanism seemed to have been triggered and resulted in the mysterious changes in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane.
A huge ruin had appeared at the heart of the secret plane.
Overjoyed at the unexpected good fortune, the dark and light Magi broke out in battle and, after much difficulty, settled on an agreement and developed this place.
The light and dark Magi had put in a lot of effort in their exploration!
These were the remnants left behind by the Magus who had created the secret plane! If there was a possibility of gaining some inheritance, then who wouldn't jump at the chance?
The light and dark Magi immediately dispatched their elites and teams that were headed by at least rank 2 Magi entered and explored the ruins.
In this exploration, Alistair, Alex and Juna's three teams worked together and overcame a few difficulties. It seemed like they had obtained some incredible item.
This treasure seemed to be an amazing item effective for rank 2 Magi. Alistair had chosen to betray his teammates for this item, and after dealing with Alex and Juna on the sly, he had swept up the treasure and fled!
Upon receiving this news, dark Magi immediately attacked, and this had serious repercussions on the light Magi's end. Not only had two rank 2 Magi died, even the corps that were guarding the area outside the ruins were attacked. At least three corps had been systematically annihilated.
Ever since that matter, the dark and light Magi in the south coast were in a tense situation.
Though the light Magi had had the upper hand previously, it was not as if the dark Magi were completely powerless. The difference in their might was not very big.
Now, in the span of a few months, including Alistair, the Light Magi Alliance had lost a total of four rank 2 Magi!
This definitely had an effect on the ratio of the power between the two factions. Though there were no losses in terms of their rank 3 Magi, which were the strongest they had, the dark Magi were starting to become restless.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Leylin. He was mostly attracted by that mysterious treasure.
"What could it be that would cause a rank 2 Magus to betray his faction and even plot against his companions?"
Traces of red appeared in Leylin's eyes, and there seemed to be a voice inside shouting, "Snatch! Snatch it! Snatch the treasure!"
A desire that he could feel deep inside his bones invaded Leylin's senses.
"Hm? That's weird! When did I become so irrational?" Leylin's expression changed and he grimly looked at the crystal at his wrist.
The crystal at his wrist was currently emitting a circle of red rays, looking about to drip fresh blood.
"The situation is getting worse!" An imposing look flashed by his eyes, and he opened a flask and drank from it.
*Gulp! Gulp!*
Large amounts of liquid that had a medicinal taste to it travelled down his throat, and Leylin's expression seemed to calm down.
As time passed, the rays from the crystal dimmed, and it turned into a transparent, colourless crystal.
"It's getting increasingly serious…"
Leylin kept the crystal and a solemn expression appeared on his face.
After drinking the potion he had brewed, Leylin could feel his spirit becoming tranquil, the impulse from before vanishing.
"The effects of being a warlock are really troublesome to deal with!"
Leylin furrowed his brows. After his heart had been modified such that he had completely fused with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, Leylin could feel that the intense emotions due to the bloodline, which he had suppressed with this potion of tranquility, were now beginning to stir restlessly.
After advancing to become a rank 2 Warlock, this situation had become increasingly serious.
Leylin now had no choice but to set up an early warning spell design on his wrist. This colourless crystal was a ward that Leylin had set up. The moment bloodline-induced emotions began to affect his rationality; the crystal would immediately emit blood-red rays.
The graver this issue was, the more piercing the red rays on the surface of the crystal would be.
Leylin now had no choice but to prepare potions of tranquility and keep it at hand, occasionally drinking some to prevent the emotions from affecting his mind.
After all, for him to be able to come so far, the A.I. Chip was an important factor, the other being a clear mind.
If he lost this factor, no matter how powerful he became, it would simply be a tragedy.
"These emotional issues of warlocks were definitely complications in ancient times. Though the great Magus Serholm had come up with this potion of tranquility, it can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. I need to find a way that can permanently deal with it."
Leylin looked grim.
"As for that Alistair, it's not my place to think about that. Also, he's so much further away…"
After regaining a clear mind, Leylin touched his chin.
"Of course, If he's so blind as to offend me, then that's a different matter altogether."
After thinking this through, Leylin wore his hood once more and left this deserted alley.
...
A few hours later, Leylin emerged from a large building that had been built using gold and silver, a helpless look on his face.
Behind him, a Magus that seemed to be the owner was watching him leave, an apologetic expression on his face.
This was one of the top three commerce centres in the Brambles Iron Door, and Leylin had just purchased some items.
It was a pity that besides replenishing a few frequently used materials, there was no mention of the long distance detection spell that Leylin had been hoping to obtain.
As for a method to solve the warped emotions from his Warlock bloodline? Leylin didn't even bother asking about it.
-x-X-x-
The inheritance of the Warlocks had been lost from the south coast for many years, so Leylin did not think that he would be so lucky as to be able to find a remedy so easily.
In addition, he did not want to reveal his trump card!
"I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to rely on the Great Magus Serholm!"
Leylin scratched his chin, walking as he pondered over this.
As a rank 4 Warlock at the Morning Star level, the Great Magus Serholm must have had certain methods to withstand the emotional side effects that ailed them.
The potion of tranquility from before was evidence of that!
Leylin planned to find some vestiges or ruins that had been left behind by him, and hopefully discover something.
Leylin, who had already made up his mind, proceeded to the outer layer of the Brambles Iron Door.
He urgently needed some information or news regarding the Great Magus Serholm. From this, he would be able to find some methods to relieve himself of the side effects of his bloodline.
"Is our guest here planning to leave already?"
Just as Leylin was planning on leaving the Brambles Iron Door, he was suddenly stopped by a strange person who was wearing a hood.
"Who are you? I don't know you!" Leylin, whose appearance was now that of a middle-aged man with a dangerous aura emanating from him.
The person he was facing could definitely sense this. He was currently like prey that had been marked by an ancient creature, and his two legs began to tremble involuntarily.
"Wait! Wait! My lord, I have no evil intentions!" The strange person began to wave his arms. To prove his identity, he even produced a metal disk and showed it to Leylin.
On the surface of the black disk, a symbol of the Iron Crown had been deeply engraved. There was no ornamentation on it, and the style in which it had been carved was with smooth, firm lines.
"Someone from the Iron Crown?" Leylin's tone became less aggressive, and his aura also calmed down. He sized up the strange man, who was also an official Magus, "What do you want from me?"
"My lord! We from Iron Crown are extremely respectful and humble towards the many powerful lord Magi. To be honest, the moment you entered the market, we had already noticed you…"
The strange person bowed towards Leylin, "Please come with me!"
Leylin scratched his chin and followed behind him. From this person's actions, Leylin could assume that the Iron Crown had already discovered his true strength. Then again, as the ruler of this area, a rank 2 Magus like him could easily disrupt everyday life here if he was not monitored. Iron Crown must have developed some sort of probing methods.
"How did you find me?"
Leylin, who was behind the strange person, couldn't help but ask this question.
After hearing this question, the hooded person in front proudly patted the pouch on his waist. *Xiu!* A black shadow instantly crawled up to his shoulder.
This was a high-energy being that was similar to a mole, with eyes that brightly shone like shining sapphires. As it looked at Leylin's body, it couldn't help but shiver, even wedging its tail in between its legs.
"Pardon me!" The hooded man patted the head of the mole-like being to comfort it. "This is my lifelong magical companion, a Krone Mouse. Krone Mice have a heightened awareness for powerful spirits. Hence, I was able to take charge and become the leader of the defence team of the Iron Crown."
Leylin glanced at the mole on this leader's shoulder, a look of understanding in his eyes, "To be able to make this creature that has already gone extinct your pet, it seems like you have pretty good luck!"
A Magus' magical pet or companion wasn't just some mount. They needed to sign a strict spirit contract, and could only have one magical pet or companion in his or her entire lifetime.
Not only did many top grade magical pets have amazing battle power, they could also enhance a Magus' magic or body. It was said that some legendary magical pets were able to help Magi break through bottlenecks.
Leylin had been looking for a magical pet that was completely compatible with him, but alas, such a thing was difficult to find. One could only depend on their luck, and as a result, Leylin still had yet to make a decision on his pet.
The Krone Mouse completely lacked the ability to fight, and did not have any special abilities that could increase the might of one's magic or his resistance to spells. Its meagre ability to sense things was basically useless. This Magus had completely abandoned all these possibilities in favour of obtaining a powerful ability in detection, and it was hard to determine whether or not he had made the wrong choice.
Leylin followed the defense team leader into a private room that was opened up by other Magi.
It was extremely quiet, and there were even a few Magi. It seemed that the entrance was tightly guarded, and was only open to members.
"Alright. Can you tell me why you brought me here now? I'll give you five minutes!"
Leylin was becoming a little annoyed. The leader, who had realised this, quickly launched into the main topic.
"If I'm not wrong, you must already have stepped into the realm of rank 2, right?"
The team leader seemed to be probing as he asked. Upon seeing Leylin admitting to this by staying silent, he straightened even more in his excitement and bowed once again.
In the south coast, rank 2 Magi were the absolute highest level, and were the leaders of large-scaled academies or the wielders of power in families! No matter where they went, they would enjoy treatment that was reserved for honoured guests.
"Oh revered Lord rank 2 Magus! We of the Iron Crown have recently been holding a small trading gathering between highly ranked Magi. Seeing that you did not look very satisfied, I was hoping you would be able to obtain what you wanted there…"
The leader began to explain, and a look of understanding shone in Leylin's eyes.
In general, though the resources on the south coast were quite plentiful, this was only so for acolytes and regular Magi. The moment one was promoted to become a peak rank 1 Magus or even a rank 2 Magus like Leylin had been, it would be difficult to find a market that could meet their needs.
Hence, trade meetings that were held by individuals, in which only Magi of a certain level were invited, became mainstream.
Many Magi resumed their habits of using material items to make trades after being promoted to a higher ranking, exchanging items for what they needed with Magi at the same level of strength as themselves.
Before, Leylin lacked power, and was not qualified to participate. Now, however, he had been especially sought out and invited.
"Is this a trading event organized by the Iron Crown? When is it? Where will it be?" Leylin questioned. He already had plans to take a look there. Meeting with other Magi at the same level of strength as him would be extremely helpful to him, and in this sort of setting, the appearance of amazing items was almost certain.
"We are extremely honoured to have you participate!" Seeing that Leylin had agreed, a hint of joy appeared on his face.
With both hands, he then passed a black card to Leylin.
"The trading event will be held three days later, and the address is on the card. When the time comes, you'll just need to bring the card and reach the place on time. In addition, the sages of the Iron Crown would like to have a long talk with all who are at least rank 2 Magi before the trade meeting. You'll definitely not be disappointed."
This leader provided more news, which seemed to be the most important part of this invitation.
"A meeting with them?" Leylin was surprised.
The sages of the Iron Crown were naturally not those who started the organisation, but they had the strength of at least peak rank 1 or even rank 2 Magi. Without this much strength, the Iron Crown would long since have been destroyed countless times over by Magi who harboured bad intentions towards them.
"May I know what it is about?"
Leylin fiddled with the black card in his hands. It was made out of some crystal and was cool to the touch. There were even rings engraved onto it that connected to form an intricate pattern that formed a large metal sword.
"I can't really reveal the details, but I can tell you that it has to do with the incident at the Eternal River Plains' secret plane."
The leader of the defense team smiled, but Leylin began to get nervous.
"The incident at the Eternal River Plain's secret plane? Was my identity revealed?"
Beneath his clothes, black scales protruded through Leylin's skin. However, he quickly reacted, and asked without changing his expression, "Are you talking about Alistair?"
"Yes! He's the lord who betrayed the Light Magi Alliance!" At the mention of Alistair, this leader's tone was still one of reverence towards a rank 2 Magus, causing Leylin to nod inwardly.
Of course, this had to do with his neutral stance. If this leader was a light Magus, he would not call him a lord, or else he would be punished by the enforcement team!
"Interesting! Very interesting!"
After coming out of the private room, Leylin touched his chin, and a smile appeared on his lips. He quickly disappeared into the throngs of people.
After finishing up this business, this defence leader politely encouraged Leylin to partake in the services provided here, which he did. It must be said that these places that were catered to service highly ranked Magi were truly different, whether it be in terms of food, liquor, women, or anything else. Whatever Leylin could think of, they could provide, and the quality was also first rate.
For large organisations like this, any rank 2 Magus was worth roping in. In addition, Leylin was extremely unfamiliar to them, which had piqued their curiosity.
The Iron Crown obviously did not dare look into his background, though some sorts of observations and investigations were definitely underway.
However, Leylin paid this no mind. This middle-aged man that he currently looked like was completely different, and there was absolutely no information regarding him. By the time the Iron Crown might have found anything out or linked him to anything, he would probably have been long gone.
"But Alistair?"
Leylin suddenly felt as if this was fate. He had already been prepared to let this man go, but somehow, he was nearby Leylin again.
"He's thought to have fled towards the Endless Ocean, but in actuality, he escaped towards the west. He's a little shrewd, but that's it…"
The diversion made by a rank 2 Magus was not so easily seen through. From Leylin's guesses, there was probably a rank 3 Magus involved!
-x-X-x-
After having lived in the south coast for so many years, Leylin now had a basic knowledge of the situation there.
Geographically speaking, though the south coast was said to be a coast, it was a huge continent that covered mountain ranges, marshes, plains, snowy areas, and all sorts of topography. There were even a few concealed, savage ruins that even official Magi did not dare explore.
The largest population on this continent consisted of the native people. There were around 100 million of these regular human, and were divided into hundreds of dukedoms in various sizes.
Behind these dukedoms were the dark and light Magi controlling them.
The nobility and lords who were in power were basically the descendants of many official Magi!
Every once in a while, large Magi organisations in the south coast would test the spirit and talent of these noble families and recruit them to become acolytes. They would provide them with knowledge for them to continue governing for generations.
Though these academies would also bring in peasant acolytes, the percentage was very low. Only those of exceptional talent would be considered, and most of the times, their lives could not be guaranteed.
Some light Magi academies would not even recruit peasant acolytes, only the dark Magi were willing to do so!
Even with such a large population, the number of peasants with spiritual talent was simply too small.
Out of over ten thousand plebeians, only one would be lucky enough to be born with talent to become an acolyte and a Magus.
Even amongst them, their talent was nothing exceptional. If one talked about third or fourth-grade aptitudes, one really needed quite some luck.
Hence, a lot of academies and schools disappeared not due to enemy invasions, but from not being able to find a successor. This resulted in the gradual diminution of their power and their eventual demise.
The dark and light Magi both divided their powers well and forbid the recruitment of acolytes at certain boundaries. Due to their conflicting ideas about management, the population that was under dark Magi jurisdiction and their prosperity could not compare to the light Magi.
Hence, the method of recruiting acolytes from outside their region became another way for dark Magi organisations to gain more acolytes.
In Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, this was also the case. They eliminated so many acolytes every year and were not able to steal people from the light Magi domain. This sometimes resulted in a lack of new students to recruit, and they had no choice but to try getting students from the Chernobyl Islands.
Though there were so many methods that could be employed, there were still few official Magi in the south coast.
In addition to this, the difficulty of the process of advancing to a new rank made this problem even worse.
Those acolytes with grade one or two aptitude would basically be unable to advance. Their limit would be becoming a level 3 acolyte.
Advancement to an official Magus was even more difficult, and the method to being promoted was controlled. Acolytes who were peasants had not even heard of a high-level meditation technique, and even if they were lucky enough to advance, they would be mediocre at best.
Rank 2 Magi were even more rare. In the entire south coast, there were only less than a hundred!
For this reason, the Light Magi Alliance's might was diminished after the loss of four rank 2 Magi, and caused the dark Magi to be stirred up.
If it was said that a rank 2 Magus was the highest level that could lord over rank 1, then rank 3 Magi were basically the real owners of the entire south coast!
Based on what Leylin knew, rank 4 Morning Star Magi had virtually vanished, and rank 3 Magi were truly the ones in control.
This was so much so that of all the rank 3 Magi who had had notable achievements, there were less than ten, and every one of them were leaders at the level of Magi from the Lighthouse of the Night.
From Kemoyin's Pupil and descriptions from the Book of Giant Serpent, after a Magus entered rank 3, one would awaken a lot of mysterious abilities. The difference between rank 3 and rank 2 was like that between heaven and earth.
If he was pursued by a rank 3 Magus, no matter what preparations Alistair had made, then all of them would come to naught.
"That Alistair is probably being pursued by a rank 3 Magus, and has been fleeing in this direction!"
Leylin felt like he had deduced the truth.
"That scamming inn actually dared to fool me with false news! If I ever see them again…"
When comparing the inn and Iron Crown, Leylin was naturally more inclined to believe that local tyrant.
In addition, he was quite interested in that exchange meeting.
"An exchange meeting held by the Iron Crown? I think I really should go take a look."
Leylin pondered, and turned in a corner.
Next, a silver-haired old man walked out, quickly vanishing into the market.
...
Three days later.
Not far away from the Brambles Iron Door., at an overhanging cliff.
The high black cliff seemed to cross the horizon. In the air, there was a little platform that was formed from a large protruding rock. On its surface was some soil, and weeds as well as vines and flowers that nobody knew the names of were growing.
*Whoo whoo!*
A black ray of light shot out from a distance away, arriving on the platform.
*Rumble!* A pit appeared in the soil, revealing a middle-aged, burly Magus.
"Based on the directions provided by the A.I. Chip, this should be the place!"
The burly man took out a black card and came beside the rock stratum. The simple methods used by regular Magi to conceal things were easily seen through, and the burly man laughed, sending out spiritual force waves towards a layer of rock wall.
*Bo! Bo!*
The rock walls were separated like waves, revealing two Magi in uniform, a metallic insignia on their chests.
At the sight of the man, they were extremely polite, "So it's Lord Black Snake! We are the Black Iron Guards of the Iron Crown, and we've been here waiting for you!"
Upon seeing him tossing out a card, these two were even more respectful as they bowed, "Please come with us!"
They then entered a hallucinatory spell formation, and the burly man expressionlessly followed them.
Within the spell formation was a flight of stairs, and after walking hundreds of metres, the Magi respectfully guided the burly man into a luxuriously decorated room.
After sending away the servants, the burly man surveyed the area.
In front of him was a huge crystal glass, through which one could see a large dome of spectator's seats and raised platforms.
There were a few Magi already seated, and the energy waves on their bodies were concealed well. However, under the eyes of this burly man, nothing could be hidden. This might was that of a peak rank 1 Magus, on the verge of breaking through!
Recalling the many passageways and large number of Magi, the burly man could not help but sigh, "Iron Crown has really worked hard to open up a passageway for us rank 2 Magi!"
This burly man was naturally Leylin's disguise.
After receiving the invitation, Leylin lost his desire to look around Brambles Iron Door., and found a random cave. He spent the day training in his high-grade meditation technique, and quietly waited for the time of the exchange meeting to arrive.
For Magi, meditation was something that had to be done everyday, and this was even more so for Leylin.
Kemoyin's Pupil was a meditation technique that was extremely compatible with him. Everytime he meditated, he could feel his power increasing bit by bit, and this speed was basically astonishing!
Based on his estimations, his current speed was several times faster than those rank 2 Magi that also had high-grade meditation techniques.
The reason had already been analysed by the A.I. Chip, and it had to do with his bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent!
After his heart had been remodelled, Leylin thoroughly fused with this bloodline. The mysterious strength held within was beginning to be activated by Kemoyin's Pupil, thus increasing his strength.
Each high-grade meditation technique had a different nature. As a Magus trained more, this could even increase a Magus in a certain area, raising one's elemental resistance or even creating a mysterious ability!
In Leylin's eyes, a high-grade meditation technique like Kemoyin's Pupil allowed one to modify one's body and strengthen it through training. A Magus' body would draw closer to that of the ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent.
As for that incomplete Sacred Flame, a Magus would train and produce a special spiritual force. It did not have any uses other than to extend into the extensive consciousness of the continent, and from the huge amount of historical information, pick out useful fragments and get some premonition.
However, this ability had a large amount of uncertainty, and were sometimes ineffective. The technique was also incomplete, which Leylin found to be a pity.
Behind the crystal glass covering, there was a comfortable white sofa, as well as a communication device that was covered in runes beside it.
Leylin sat without a word, dull silver spiritual force instantly connecting with the communication device, and instantly understanding the way to use it.
This was a communication device, which was also used to send the quoted price to Magi. Magi could manipulate their spiritual force to proceed with all sorts of exchanges, and avoid being recognised by people they knew.
The south coast was not that big, and there were plenty of rank 2 Magi who held resentment against each other. If they were to flare up and fight, then Iron Crown would definitely be in a difficult position.
Hence, they did not dare hold this exchange meeting at the headquarters, but rather set up this place.
For rank 2 Magi, Iron Crown was even more eager to please. On the little table beside the sofa, all sorts of snacks and fruits were placed. Some of them even had the ability to increase spiritual force and the effects of meditation, and their value was something that would even cause regular official Magi to become green with envy All these items were silently displayed here, letting Leylin pick as he pleased.
"Metal-Leafed Fruit!" Leylin easily picked out an apple that was emitting a metallic lustre, and bit into it.
The Metal-Leafed Fruit was truly the specialty from the secret plane that the Iron Crown controlled. It had the ability to condense spiritual power and increase the effects of meditation, and was highly sought by some official Magi. However, Leylin almost could not feel any effects.
After advancing to become a rank 2 Warlock, most of these resources that were useful to rank 1 Magi had lost their effectiveness. For items like this, the Iron Crown's special product, it was only a means for him to quench his thirst.