*Shriek!*
Upon seeing the blood fluids, the Blood Vulture's eyes shot our rays of excitement as it started to shriek hysterically. A blood-coloured glow shone from his body.
Concurrently, large amounts of fresh blood spewed out of the Snake-Necked Turtle's neck like water from a fountain. It coagulated in mid-air and eventually formed lumps of blood clot which were swallowed by the Blood Vulture.
*Rip!*
Soon after, the Blood Vulture stretched out its long sharp black claws, and easily lifted the shell of the Snake-Necked Turtle. Using its claws, it separated the fresh flesh into segments of meat and started devouring the meat. His motions were smooth, as he nonchalantly ate a Snake-Necked Turtle in front of its counterparts.
The majestic beast presented a perfect combination of grace and bloodshed.
"Moooooo..." As they watched their companion being brutally murdered, the rest of the Snake-Necked Turtles mourned but did not dare to take a step outside the lake.
Leylin quietly watched this scene and maintained a neutral expression.
That was but a common occurrence in the natural world. Before the advancement to a stage where one could survive purely based on the injection of energy, such predatory acts were not considered to be good or bad. The survival instincts were merely the rules of life, meant to be followed and respected.
"Its ability to control bloodline!" On the contrary, Leylin was actually very interested in this specific ability of the Blood Vultures.
Furthermore, differing from the Snake-Necked Turtle, a mature Blood Vulture was at least at the standard of a Rank 3, the minimum criteria to achieve the Pure Ancient Blood! Leylin was extremely interested in the origins of these bloodline creatures.
'It's just… Should I go?' Leylin stroked his chin.
The King Blood Vulture could be of Morning Star rank, and under its detection, Leylin's stealth spell would not be of any effect. However, should the King Blood Vulture still be of rank 3 status, even if it was at the apex of the Crystal Phase, Leylin would still be confident in his ability to conceal himself.
'The number of choices we humans have is very troublesome!' Leylin thought. He sighed feeling like he was at a crossroads in life, with a dense fog shrouding his destiny.
In fact, this was a choice people would have come across many times in life in which their final choices can result in different outcomes, both good and bad.
'Do I go, or not?' Leylin debated with himself.
*Trrring!* Leylin tossed a dull golden coin and it landed on the back of his hand with the Luckbird staring back at him.
Even after a long while, the coin was not badly damaged, causing Leylin to heave a sigh of relief.
"Since the Coin of Destiny did not crack, this means that the Blood Vultures don't have a rank 4 in their midst. I can take my chances!" Leylin's eyes burned with passion.
The Coin of Destiny was Leylin's biggest accomplishment in Twilight Zone. It would, however, bring about huge misfortunes if it were to be utilised to predict the abilities of Morning Star Magi. But despite this flaw, it still benefitted Leylin without a doubt.
Since not a single crack appeared on the coin when he made the prediction, this suggested that there were no Morning Star beings blocking his path. That was good enough for him. Even if he used everything he had, he could not bridge the gap between himself and a Morning Star power.
As long as the opponent was not at the Morning Star realm, Leylin was willing to take the risk.
*Choo!* At this point in time, the Blood Vulture on the ground had already finished its meal. Leylin was stunned, as he looked at the Blood Vulture fly into the sky with the remains of the Snake-Necked Turtle in its mouth as if it wanted to bring the remains back into its nest.
"This is my chance!" Leylin's eyes flashed brightly, as he initiated his Shadow Stealth. He concealed his figure in the crevices and stealthily entered the carcass of the Snake-Necked Turtle.
The wind howled unceasingly. The Blood Vulture took off at a high velocity, the friction created by the turbulence had caused sparks to be created with the corpse of the Snake-Necked Turtle.
Fortunately, the collision of airflow ceased after it reached a certain height.
The Blood Vulture travelled at a high velocity, causing Leylin's view of the landscape below to be that of a blur. About 10 minutes later, they arrived at their destination.
Leylin could barely hide the shocked expression on his face as he saw the huge shadows not far from him.
Ahead of him was a huge mountain, solitary and upright. There was not a hint of vegetation, instead, it gave off a dark glow that made it seem as if it was some kind of metal structure.
Scattered all around were huge caves, of which Blood Vultures could be seen squawking in.
They were synchronized in their cacophony. Not only were their penetrating screeches ten times as strong as those of the individuals, they caused Leylin's Kemoyin bloodline to have a weird reaction, as if it was about to leave his body. Fortunately, this was just a momentary hallucination. Under the suppression of his Vapour Phase spiritual force, it disappeared without a trace.
"The Blood Vulture's ability to control bloodlines is truly terrifying!" Leylin muttered.
"Furthermore, this Ecological Garden is far too vast and wide!" Leylin developed doubts towards his previous judgement. "Don't tell me that this place is not simply an Ecological Garden or a Magus' garden, but a pocket dimension... A pocket dimension within another!"
Rumour had it that, among the various pocket dimensions that the ancient Magi left behind as a legacy, some even contained additional pockets of their own.
This sort of layering was extremely difficult, as it was impossible to shift a dimension into another. Even though Leylin possessed quite a few spatial items, he was unable to place his storage ring into his storage pouch.
But it was very obvious that the ancient Magi had methods to successfully break through this restriction, thus building this pocket dimension within a pocket dimension!
This kind of pocket dimensions were known as cores. It required the huge affluence and power of the ancient Magi to be able to build such a core. And in this core were stored all kinds of resources, many of which would make Morning Star Magi turn green with envy.
"Since the Sun's Child was within the Quicksand Organisation, then their powers would be considered top-notch even in the ancient times. Such organisations would hence possess the ability to construct these!"
Leylin guessed as such as he looked up at the entirety of Quicksand Castle, which was, in fact, an extraordinary pocket dimension!
*Choo!* At this moment, the Blood Vulture with Leylin let out a harmonious hoot and descended into one of the huge caves.
*Bam!* The carcass of the Snake-Necked Turtle was thrown to the ground, following which, the Blood Vulture started squawking. A few small pink Blood Vultures ran out from the cave, gnawing at the flesh.
It was obvious these small Blood Vultures were only children. Not only were their bodies shades of pink, they were completely bald, having yet to grow feathers. They were similar in strength to level 3 acolytes.
"After these Blood Vultures grow into adulthood, they are able to reach the level of a rank 3 Magus. Furthermore, they are able to control bloodlines. Since they were capable of flight too, their eggs, if sold, would definitely be able to obtain a high price!
Leylin looked at the baby Blood Vultures, which were as small as chicks, and thought that it was a pity.
Since they were born, these Blood Vultures would only succumb to the first creature they saw after they exited their shells, and could never be tamed by anyone else.
Taking advantage of the Blood Vultures eating the carcass, Leylin secretly exited the carcass of the Snake-Necked Turtle, and went to a corner of the cave.
"Shadow Technique!" Leylin used a complicated magic rune on himself. The darkness immediately shrouded him and Leylin vanished into the shadows.
The Blood Vultures were driving Leylin up the wall and at the same time, Leylin felt a terrifying life force fluctuating from the centremost cave.
That was definitely the King Blood Vulture, a peak rank 3 Crystal Phase creature!
Under the detection of so many high-ranked creatures, his Shadow Stealth could not hold out for long, hence Leylin had used yet added another spell.
The Shadow Technique was not exactly a spell but a special technique. When Leylin was in Twilight Zone, he had collected many rank 3 spell models. Even though the majority of them were flawed, there were still a few which were in good condition.
So with these models as a starting point, he developed his own special technique that was compatible with Shadow Stealth! Amongst everything, many of the ancient records of the Dark Elves gave him a lot of insights in his development of the special technique.
[Shadow Technique: Can be used on its own to hide the user's physical body, or can be used in combination with the rank 1 spell Shadow Stealth, increasing its strength, in which case the final strength will be similar to that of a rank 3 spell!]
It was very difficult to develop a rank 3 spell independently, but Leylin found Shadow Stealth an easy spell to cast. It was rare to come by such a combination of compatibility with both bloodline and aptitude. Hence, Leylin customized this Shadow Technique to amplify Shadow Stealth's ability, elevating it to rank 3 status.
The combination of the Shadow Stealth and Shadow Technique immediately produced a frightening end-result.
Leylin could clearly feel his own shadow being engulfed by a layer of dense darkness. He had been kept on edge before as he felt that he would be discovered anytime, but now, those feelings of trepidation had completely disappeared.
"So... Blood Vultures do like metallic surroundings. This is something the books never mentioned!"
Leylin ignored the exchange of the family of Blood Vultures, and without consent, looked around the nest of the Blood Vulture.
The cave was huge and gloomy, dimly lit, and had the foul smell of a certain creature. Of course, this didn't matter much to Leylin.
Following the path to the bottom of the cave, Leylin saw a huge bird's nest made with chunks of gold. Beside it were multiple smaller nests weaved with other unknown golden stalks and roots, radiating a faint light.
"This is…." Leylin walked closer and immediately widened his eyes as he was attracted to the objects inside the golden nest.
"Bloodline Crystals, Dragonroot fruits, and dried up bones of bloodline creatures!"
He was immediately able to recognize a few items.
-x-X-x-
Leylin recognised a few items in the golden nest.
First was a crimson gemstone. This was a bloodline crystal, a very precious material for Warlocks. It could even slightly increase the purity of a bloodline.
Though this was practically useless for Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks like Leylin, whose bloodline had been purified to the limit, it was definitely something that could cause most other Warlocks to go all out. As long as news about bloodline crystals was spread, the two female Warlocks, Freya and Miranda, would definitely pounce over like lunatics, willing to pay any price in order to obtain it!
The Dragon Root Fruit was also a very special plant, with a very durable outer layer that even surpassed the strength of Magus alloys. It could be preserved for over a hundred years, and Magi that ate it could increase the durability of their bodies. Rumours had it that there was a chance of inheriting a trace of a bloodline from within the fruit.
This would mean the beginning of a Warlock family!
Of course, for Leylin and all the others who already had a bloodline, they could no longer change it. However, if traded outside, it would go for a sky-high price. Such a resource could not be measured by price, and could be exchanged between Morning Star Magi.
The other few things included some skeletons that were each the size of a human femur, and the remains of a powerful creature above rank 3. Even after so many years, there was no erosion, and he could still sense some remaining suppression from a bloodline.
These remains were actually what were most useful to Leylin. The blood of most bloodline creatures came from the bones, and these specific remains came from powerful rank 3 creatures. With them on hand, he could refine an ancient bloodline out of it.
Besides these few items, there were also other bloodline items within the little golden Blood Vulture nests. Even Leylin, who was very learned and had gathered a terrifying amount of knowledge, could not identify everything.
There was no question that these were all bloodline items, and every single one was enough to make any Warlock go crazy!
"I see..." Leylin glanced at the pile of bloodline items, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes.
It was obvious that the growth of a Blood Vulture was inseparable from these items. Though they could be used directly, long-term contact with them increased its rate of maturation. It could also increase its strength and awaken its mysterious bloodline ability!
This was also why the Blood Vulture was so enthusiastic about gathering bloodline items.
Glancing at all these, Leylin had to expend a lot of effort to suppress the desire within his body.
"Though these are good, they aren't as important as the Lamia Hair. Also…"
Leylin glanced towards the Blood Vulture outside the cave.
He was currently in stealth, and with the added bonus from darkness techniques, he had not been discovered by the bird.
Though Shadow Stealth was great, there was one flaw. If Leylin wanted to take these items away, he would need to dispel his Shadow Stealth.
In that case, he would definitely be discovered the Blood Vulture, and the whole group might be attracted here. On top of that, with a terrifying King Blood Vulture, Leylin would need more than nine lives to survive!
This would definitely raise the guard of many other Blood Vultures, which would not be beneficial to Leylin's future plans.
'A regular Blood Vulture nest has so many great items inside. Within the King Blood Vulture's nest, there should be even better things!' A fire began to blaze in Leylin's eyes.
'The place with the highest probability of having the Lamia Hair should be the King Blood Vulture's nest!' Leylin immediately recalled the giant cave he had merely shot a glance at earlier, with very profound, horrifying energy waves hidden within.
'Looks like I'll be stuck here for a period of time. I'll have to find out the behavioural patterns of the Blood Vultures…'
...
"Uncle, are you sure this is the place?" Noah glanced at Robin who was beside him. They were now in front of a large door, intricate and complicated patterns on the frame.
The three remaining Black Horrall Snake Warlocks were like little followers as they gathered closely behind them.
"If we activate anything wrongly, we'll lose our way even more thoroughly and be stuck here till we die!"
"Don't worry. Based on the information I received, it can't be wrong. Besides, that item is too important to us!" Robin looked grim, yet there was a fiery look in his eyes.
"I need some time to confirm this. Have all the issues at the back been taken care of?" Robin did not even turn back as he asked.
"I've already set up five spells of abduction, as well as created a body substitute!" A sinister expression appeared on Noah's face.
"The moment they catch up to us, they will definitely be teleported to various areas within the maze and then be trapped in the Boundless Room till death. Barbarian Bears are such stupid creatures." He spoke confidently.
*Boom!* At this moment, a giant howl travelled from a short distance away, accompanied with the breaking of a spell formation and a roar, "Little worms, I've found you!"
*Ka-cha!* A pink crystal necklace was split open while Noah looked on in disbelief.
"Never underestimate your opponents!" Robin's eyes were still fixed on the giant door, but his voice was transmitted over, "They've only broken through our first defensive spell formation. We still have some time."
"Take care of the spell formations and try your best to buy me more time!" Robin commanded, and the other three Black Horrall Snake Warlocks bowed, before leaving immediately.
Rumbling sounds were heard constantly, and a large bear monster could vaguely be seen roaring in the spell formation, causing beads of cold sweat to roll down Noah's face.
*Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* Crystals shattered one after another, every time being followed by the voices of the subordinates.
"Second defensive spell formation destroyed!"
"The main body of the defensive formation is damaged. We can hold for less than a minute—AAHHH" The short conversation ended, followed by the abrupt blood-curdling shrieks, signifying the end of these Warlocks.
Noah clenched his fists. All of them were from his family, but they had all fallen in this exploration.
Now, only he and his uncle were left.
"I'll go and stall for more time." Noah exclaimed.
"No need for that." Robin interrupted his words and, raising his finger, tapped on the door a few times. Using some strange rule, he drew a circle.
A hum rang out as, in an instant, multiple water ripples appeared on the surface of the giant door. The tide surged, and then rushed into a brass keyhole.
Like a castle of blocks collapsing, the door rapidly broke apart into countless fragments, the two sides springing open and revealing a mystical luster within.
"Wretched maggots, I'll tear you apart!"
*Boom!* With a loud sound, the last spell formation hindering the Barbarian Bear Shaman shattered, revealing a giant Barbarian Bear with firm muscles all over. After seeing Robin, its eyes immediately turned red.
"Don't mind it. Let's enter." Robin pulled Noah through the door.
"If you want revenge, then come in!" The sound of Robin's taunts travelled over.
"Ahhh!"
Its eyes completely red, the Barbarian Bear Shaman chased them in.
Magnificent rays flashed, and the scene suddenly changed.
By the time Noah came back to his senses, he was already sitting at a dining table. On the large white tablecloth was not even a speck of dust, while the silver lampstand had candles burning above it.
"Hm?" After which, Noah found that he was unable to get up. Even the spiritual force and magic power that he had been so proud of as a rank 3 Magus could not be used at all.
He looked towards his uncle, fear and terror apparent in his expression.
At the other end of the table, the Barbarian Bear Magus was sitting in a daze. Though the muscles that were bulging displayed the fury of its owner, it could not move an inch.
"This is 'The Last Supper, which is the most impartial and bloody duel. Between us, only one side can live, while the loser shall lose everything and turn into the meal of the victor. In addition, the victor will even be awarded with the judge's horn."
Robin said matter-of-factly, seemingly very familiar with all that was happening.
The moment his words sounded, black figures suddenly appeared in seats that had initially been empty. There were no energy undulations from their bodies, their eyes completely red.
For some reason, the moment he saw them, Noah felt cold sweat running down his back.
He counted carefully. There were thirteen seats at this long table, but there was one empty.
"Now, for the first dish. The Bloody Mary Desert…"
An indescribable voice resounded in Noah's mind, sending a shiver down his spine.
...
"What the hell is this!"
At another area in Quicksand Castle, Kesha was quickly fleeing along a corridor, a Green-skinned Barbarian with a strange appearance escaping shoulder to shoulder with her.
These two were originally hunter and the hunted, but for some reason, they had formed an alliance, and were both looking pale in panic.
"All offensive spells of the four great elements are useless against it. Try special attacks! I'll cover you!" The Green-skinned Barbarian looked to be in pain as he flung a gemstone necklace behind him.
*Bang!* Terrifyingly chilly air exploded, covering the ground with a layer of frost as numerous runic chains appeared.
*Crack! Crack!!* What followed was the sound of ice shattering, and footsteps drawing closer.
A black figure materialised from the icy mist. It was a monster that looked like a middle-aged man wearing a trenchcoat. He donned a hood, and it was hard to tell what he looked like. The fingers on his two palms had disappeared, and in place of them were many scissors that were glinting with light.
The numerous runic chains did not stand a chance against the man's scissors, and were easily snipped at and broken.
"Eye of Petrification!" Many crimson runes appeared on Kesha's body as she bit her finger and drew a strange rune on her forehead.
Following that, her eyes turned into a pair of amber vertical pupils.
With the amplification from the blood rune, her innate spell had reached a frightful degree of power. A circle of petrification began to spread with Kesha at its center.
-x-X-x-
In the face of the Eye of Petrification, the man in the trenchcoat suddenly froze and an ash grey coat of stone formed across the surface of his body.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* His entire being turned into a giant statue and particles of dust fell endlessly from him.
"Icy Blades!" Under the manipulation of the Green-skinned Barbarian, numerous blades formed a tornado, enclosing the statue within as eerie noises rang constantly.
Moments later, the blades dispersed and the statue that once stood there had vanished, leaving behind a bed of fragmented rocks.
"It's finally over..." The Green-skinned Barbarian heaved a sigh of relief.
"No, not yet!" Kesha laughed bitterly instead.
Soon after, to his terror, the Green-skinned Barbarian saw the fragmented rocks explode, exposing pieces of flesh within.
Many of them grew tentacles and started amalgamating to reform the man in the black trenchcoat from before. Even a single tear could not be seen on his clothes.
"Goddammit!" The Green-skinned Barbarian cursed, "Where in the world did you infuriate this darned thing? Not only is it immune to spells, even physical attacks are useless!"
"I have no idea!" Kesha's face spelled despair.
After entering Quicksand Castle, she had only charged through a few levels before the man in the black trenchcoat set his sights on her. With her subordinates being lost one by one, the current situation seemed to bode ill.
Under the immense threat of death, the last Green-skinned Barbarian in pursuit was compelled to join forces with Kesha to defeat this creature together. But by the looks of it, they were at their wits' end.
...
*Chirp chirp!* A piercing sound sliced through the air. Violent whirls of wind were brought about as the earth was engulfed in darkness and shadows.
With a wing-spread wide enough to envelop the land in darkness, a Blood Vulture descended in the heart of an enormous mountain range that bore the appearance of a honeycomb, landing in the highest and largest cave.
Somewhere in the mountains, Leylin's eyes sparkled with a blue glint.
"Left at 4.47pm, and returned again after an interval of 23 minutes and 45 seconds!"
He was currently recording the King Blood Vulture's travel statistics with great detail. Over the past few days of observation, he had managed to reap some returns.
This King Blood Vulture had at least the strength of the Crystal Phase. The bulky physique of the creature and the terrifying spiritual force on it was sufficient to completely destroy Leylin's plans of seizing anything.
Besides, the King Blood Vulture had no need to leave its nest to hunt. It received sacrifices from the entire pack of Blood Vultures. Every day, numerous Blood Vultures would return with food and deliver them into the cave.
Hence, it rarely left the cave throughout the day, unlike the average Blood Vulture Leylin had seen earlier, which usually spent half its day flying around outside.
However, every afternoon, at this particular time of the day, the King Blood Vulture would leave the cave for a period of time, likely to patrol its territory.
This was the very chance that Leylin had been waiting for.
"The Blood Vulture is indeed a creature from the ancient era gifted with the bizarre ability to sense any bloodline treasures...." Leylin exclaimed.
Apart from the King Blood Vulture's cave which he had not dared to pry into, he had explored the lairs of the other average Blood Vultures and discovered many bloodline treasures which would be useful to Warlocks.
The accumulated value of these items were enough to make even Duke Gilbert lose his mind.
"Everything will hinge on tomorrow!"
Leylin watched the cave at the highest point with caution, and slipped into the darkness.
...
The next day, in the afternoon.
Following a cry, the gigantic King Blood Vulture stepped out of its cave once again, casting a shadow upon the earth. Terrifying vibrations swept the area, intimidating the other formidable creatures that watched over the region.
"The time is now!" Leylin's glance froze.
"Shadow Stealth!" "Darkness technique!" In a split second, his physical being vanished and was concealed within the shadows, surrounded by thick fog.
With the help of the concealing effects of the spell, Leylin fumbled his way to the cave right into the central cave.
'The King Blood Vulture's lair is guarded by two Blood Vultures that are already at the Hydro Phase! Whenever the King Blood Vulture is out on patrol, they are responsible for guarding his lair'
Leylin crawled onto the protruding top of a black rock and watched the two huge blood-red silhouettes in the cave closely. He furrowed his brows.
"According to my current abilities, I might barely be able to handle a single Blood Vulture at the Hydro Phase, but it would definitely cause a ruckus! There's a high possibility that the entire pack might surround and annihilate me, or that the King Blood Vulture might even return unexpectedly!"
Leylin took a glance at the silhouettes of the two guards, gritted his teeth, and passed through to the other side while hidden.
Two Blood Vultures at the Hydro Phase would be too much for him to handle with his current abilities, but the detection abilities of the powerful creatures might not be as acute as that of a human Magus. This was his chance.
Having already wasted too much time here, Leylin did not dare to continue waiting.
Even if it was risky, he wanted to give it a try!
In the shadows, everything outside was overcast. It was as if the world had been soaked in thick glue and every step he took, Leylin had to expend a great amount of energy and magic power, while at the same time taking note of how the two Blood Vulture guards reacted, making it a terribly tiring job for him.
Just when Leylin carefully arrived at the entrance, and was about to walk past one of the Blood Vulture guards...
"Chirp chirp!" The guard seemed to have discovered something and became alert, glancing around its surroundings with vigilance.
'Even for a powerful creature, once it has passed rank 3, no matter how dumb it was originally, it would evolve to have the intelligence of a human!' Leylin exclaimed.
He immediately commanded in his head: "A.I. chip! Begin the plan B!"
[Beep! Command received. Starting plan B.] The chip responded faithfully.
At the halfway mark of the mountain, a miniature model of a spell formation suddenly exploded, revealing a shadow servant within.
The shadow servant zoomed into a cave that was guarded by an adolescent Blood Vulture and grabbed a few pieces of bloodline crystals before escaping swiftly.
"Chirp chirp!!!" The Blood Vultures were left enraged, and numerous blood red figures flew out too, circling in the sky.
Before the shadow servant could run out of the perimeter of the huge mountain, it was torn to pieces by the explosive might of the Blood Vultures.
Although the two Blood Vulture guards did not take action, their attention was obviously taken away by the scene there. Seizing the chance, Leylin immediately took out a black crown.
This crown was very small and exquisite, and the design was not too flamboyant, as though it was specially made for females.
"Dark Elven Crown!"
This was Leylin's war trophy. After completely defeating the dark elves, they who submitted to him offered the crown along with their powerful meditation techniques.
This crown was also the first magic equipment that Leylin had obtained, and was at a higher rank than his Meteor Sword.
The Dark Elven Crown was a sacred legendary weapon, which possessed the strong ability to mask auras. The then-queen of the Dark Elves, Anya, used it to enter the core of central Twilight Zone in a single motion. If not for Leylin's secret interference, she might have emerged victorious over the humans and unified the entirety of Twilight Zone.
As a piece of magic equipment, the Dark Elven Crown had no doubt a hidden function, but as it had been used once recently, it took decades for it to be available for use again.
After getting hold of this magic equipm, Leylin had been constantly analyzing it using the A.I. chip, and had learnt many useful techniques and spells.
What made him especially interested was that the A.I. chip could forcefully stimulate a portion of the functions of the Dark Elven Crown when charged with a certain amount of magic crystals!
Although it only possessed a portion of its full powers, the Dark Elven Crown was still a piece of magic equipment! Its effect was limited only to Leylin himself. The scary thing was that it could even escape the perception of a Morning Star Magus.
This went without saying for the two Blood Vulture guards.
With the shadow servant outside holding their attention, along with the protection of the Crown of the Dark Elves, Leylin successfully infiltrated the lair of the King Blood Vulture.
Although the lighting in the cave was poor, it did not pose a problem to Leylin.
The floor was covered in dark red blood stains and the remains of other creatures which had varying degrees of decomposition; likely the food that the King Blood Vulture had consumed recently.
The entire cave felt eerie to Leylin, as though he was being watched closely by something.
Leylin reached out his hand and felt the wall which was black and studded with metal grains.
When his hand came into contact with the black wall, countless tentacles extended from above, but were quickly burnt his black flames.
"By the looks of it, this pack of Blood Vultures has been living here for a long time; even the mountains have been affected by the radiation and have come to life!" Leylin exclaimed.
Such materials that had been given life were very precious. Not only could they be added to self-defense spells, they could also confer the ability to heal oneself. Architecture that was built mainly with these materials usually could last for more than a thousand years without collapsing.
If such materials could be added to Leylin's Magus tower, its degree of stability would definitely go up a notch.
"What a pity that plans to exploit this area would certainly be too unrealistic!"
Leylin continued walking, deeper and deeper, until he reached the end of the cave, where laid a gigantic Blood Vulture nest.
Gold animal fur and the metal itself were laid out to form a sturdy mat, upon which there was a depression from years of use. Yet, there wasn't a single thing on the mat.
"Hmm?" Leylin was shocked, but followed with a bitter laugh.
"The bloodline items are only effective for the young of the Blood Vultures. It looks like the King Blood Vulture hasn't laid any eggs, so naturally there would be no need to collect these items…"
'I have to evacuate as soon as possible, and ransack all the other Blood Vulture lairs before that!' Leylin was determined.
He made a prompt decision on the spot; if there weren't any new discoveries, he would choose to leave immediately, and hardly did a sloppy job.
"Who would have thought that I would meet a comrade here!"
An exclamation sounded from a distance, causing Leylin to freeze in his steps.
He turned and firmly stared at a corner.
There, an illusory figure slowly came into view.
"A soul?! No! An even more powerful being!"
Leylin watched the figure that had suddenly appeared, as though he was about to face an enemy.
-x-X-x-
The illusion that surfaced was that of an astonishingly beautiful young woman. Her hair was like a sea of emerald green with light curls, flying in the wind like it had a life of its own.
She possessed a pair of mesmerising eyes, coupled with a delicate yet puzzling charm to her face. To Leylin's surprise, she gave him a baffling sense of familiarity.
Especially after the complete materialisation of the illusion, Leylin's blood vessels generated a sense of fear, as if he had met a natural enemy. Yet, he felt an amiability within her that tempted him to throw himself into the arms of the woman regardless of everything.
"Lamia?" There were agony and bitterness in Leylin's tone. From how called out to him just now, he managed to guess some things.
The similarity in temperament and looks between her and the Snake Dowager was especially striking.
The Lamia shared the same bloodline as the Snake Dowager. In fact, it had an even more direct line of descent compared to the Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Thus, on the whole, they could be considered siblings with blood relations.
"My brother! Tell me, why are you here, what are you looking for?" The green haired Lamia asked, her voice strangely charming, compelling him to answer.
[Warning! Warning! Instability detected in host bloodline, possibility of an emotional outburst!] The A.I. Chip sounded the reminder, snapping Leylin out from the confusion he was in.
This made him unwilling to look at the opposity party, particularly at the Lamia's eyes.
"Rumor has it that the ancient Lamia has the ability to manipulate any kind of snakes she desires. It seems like this is true indeed…"
It was merely a remnant soul, yet it almost got to Leylin. If the Lamia were to be at the Morning Star Realm, Leylin was afraid he might have to bow down to her.
"Your bloodline, it seems to be extremely pure, and you have a special power enveloping your whole body…." The virtual image of the Lamia bit her finger.
"Who are you, really?" Leylin spoke in a deep tone.
"I was a human once, I had a few names, but I have forgotten them all….." The virtual image smiled, as if she was narrating a story unrelated to her.
"Are you the soul of the ancient Lamia Warlock?" Leylin made a guess.
According to his intelligence, the ancient Quicksand Organisation once had a Lamia Warlock. And apparently, after her atavism, she became a true Lamia possessing terrifying power that even average Radiant Moon Magi could not match.
"No! She had perished completely. I am just a phantom image formed by the scattered fragments of memories that have evolved together after a very long period of time…" A sense of loneliness could be felt from the green haired woman's face.
"Even so, for your soul to take such shape, I am sure there is a source of radiation nearby!" Leylin's eyes lit up and he reached out and grabbed at the fur cushion.
Huge black claws appeared, splitting the fur and metal within and revealing what was underneath the surface.
It was a layer of white fur. Brush that aside and immediately a rich and heavy scent of undulating bloodline spreaded out.
"You can even resist the radiation undulation and the aura of the bloodline!" Leylin kept the white feathers in a flash and thereafter eyed the hollow area intensely.
It was the broken section of a bone, it must have been a part of some bloodline creature.
Although it might have been a long time ago, the horrifying threat and undulations emitting from the bone made Leylin have an impulse to kneel down.
"You are truly the adult form of a rank 5 bloodline creature; even though it is a broken section of a bone, it could still radiate even after your death. Moreover you can induce such a thing!" Leylin looked at the green haired Lamia in amazement.
For Blood Vultures, the remains of a rank 5 bloodline creature was a precious item to that was dearly cherished. No wonder the Blood Vulture had safeguarded it under so many layers, even going so far as to mask its energy with the feather.
"What do you intend to do here, my brother?" she asked again.
Leylin muttered under his breath and finally replied, "I want to acquire something that will speed up the maturation of my bloodline, for instance Lamia Hair or some such thing."
"Compared to Lamia Hair, this can help you more!" The Snake Woman smiled and the broken bone was flung out and landed on Leylin's hand.
"You…. Why are you helping me?"
Feeling the ecstatic joy boiling in his bloodline, Leylin knew the broken Lamia bone in his hands were the real deal. He could already feel the transcendence.
However he did not immediately accept it and instead asked some questions.
"I have been in existence for far too long…. It might be a few hundred years or even thousands. I can never leave the designated finger bone's radiation area..."
The Lamia shot a glance at Leylin, "Do you know how it feels?"
Leylin fell silent. Such pain, it did indeed have the ability to drive a Magus crazy to the verge of seeking death.
"If you take the finger bone, there will be a shortage of such a radiation environment and I will gradually fade away….." The young woman's silhouette became more and more illusionary with a smile of relief on her face.
"Wait. How can I resolve the shackles on the Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock bloodline?
Watching the young woman's illusionary image gradually fading out until the wall behind her could be seen, Leylin quickly blurted out the question.
"This problem, can only be solved by the Grand Matriarch….."
Accompanying the fading image, the Snake Woman's grew softer and softer until she dissipated into thin air.
"Grand Matriarch? Snake Dowager?" Leylin stroked the finger bone he was holding in his hands, his face a sea of infinite obscurity.
"Regardless of that, I better make a move fast!"
With lightning speed, Leylin kept the finger bone well, swept his eyes over the surroundings and launched the Dark Elven Crown.
Thick, black darkness enveloped Leylin completely, and coupled with his magic power he was able to pass through the gate which was guarded by the two Blood Vultures unharmed.
After he reached the foot of the mountain, Leylin looked back at the huge black form of the mountain and its innumerable caves. He looked hesitant.
This was practically a Warlock's treasure trove, but without a strength at the Morning Star realm, there was no way the entirety of the Blood Vulture could be subdued.
"I have, at most, five more minutes before the King Blood Vulture is back from his patrol. When he realises that the finger bone is gone, I am sure he will definitely launch an investigation into the matter…"
Leylin stroked his chin. He had been hiding up here for so long, the backup plans had to be more than these. But now, the biggest harvest was already in his hand. Whether to continue or not, he had not yet made up his mind.
Since ancient times, it was a common occurrence for an individual to place himself in danger for personal benefits. Leylin did not want to become one of them.
"Forget it! Let's go!"
With some regret, Leylin turned his head and left the place.
...
"Huh?! You are finally out."
Not too far away, a temporary underground cave opened up. A female Magus in pursuit ran in with a crystal ball in her hand. On the surface of the crystal ball, a blood-red layer appeared, getting brighter and brighter.
"If you had kept hiding in the nest of the Blood Vultures, I might not have been able to find you. But what about now?"
The female Magus flashed a smile.
She was in pursuit of Leylin all the way and had even used a spell to use a trace of Leylin's energy to build a tracking item. But after reaching this place, she realised Leylin had hidden in the nest of the Blood Vultures!
The King Blood Vulture there was at the peak of the Crystal Phase! Other than that, there was a big group of rank 3 followers. If she chased in after Leylin and a commotion was created, it would definitely alert the many Blood Vultures to join in for the kill.
Therefore, this female Magus chose to hibernate and wait. To her, Leylin would come for collection of resources, it was just a matter of time. As long as she waited with patience, regardless of success or failure, he would leave and an opportunity would present itself.
"All thanks to you, I was able to discover this treasure place. In return, I shall grant you a quick death…" The female Magus shook her robes and immediately disappeared underground.
[Beep! Warning! Warning! High energy force field undulations detected. Distance 15 kilometers away. Approaching quickly!]
The A.I. Chip gave out this sudden warning, shocking Leylin.
This was the advantage of having the A.I. Chip. Not only did Leylin possess the Magus' special abilities of consciousness scanning, he also had the A.I. Chip for exploration, probing and throwing necessary warnings.
Moreover, the range of probing by the A.I. Chip was much wider compared to Leylin's own ability.
"Begin imaging!" Leylin gave the order immediately. Soon after, a red-hued motion picture was sent in front of him.
It was an image of a living creature. There were only heat and radiation readings, without any signs of the gender, however the bright colours were a giveaway. It was a rank 3 Magus, one that had attained the Crystal Phase.
"Ah, the pursuers are finally here!" Leylin had expected this would happen.
*Hoot!* At this moment, from a distance, a high-pitched sound pierced forth, turning Leylin's face pale white.
"The King Blood Vulture is back! If I turn back now, all that awaits me is death!" As it is, at this point in time, Leylin curled his lips into a smile and commanded his A.I. Chip, "A.I. Chip! Prepare to activate all programs!"
[Command received! Activated!] The A.I. Chip alerted without any emotion.
*Hoot!* Immediately after the King Blood Vulture had entered its cave in the mountain, a violent cry rang out.
Two Hydro Phase Blood Vultures were pinned to the ground by its claw. Feathers and blood were smeared all over the ground. The King Blood Vulture snarled, creating a whole world of uproar in the Blood Vultures' mountain.
But that was not all.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Following Leylin's order, in a secret corner of the Blood Vultures' mountain, hidden spells were activated in series.
One after another, shadow servants manifested themselves at lightning speed, so much so that they appeared right next to the Blood Vultures' nests. They grasped at many of the bloodline treasures, with some even clasping onto huge Blood Vulture eggs, fleeing the grounds.
Basically, except for the area around the King Blood Vulture's cave, the rest of the mountain in its entirety was under attack. There were at least fifty such spells placed!
Corresponding with the loud snarl of the King Blood Vulture, multiple shadows of darkness bore through to the center of it all and immediately the whole of the Blood Vultures' mountain became a huge field of upheaval.
-x-X-x-
*Chu!* The King Blood Vulture used its wings and fanned the two Blood Condors in its path away, flying into the sky.
A crimson beam of light struck down, and a shadow servant who could not dodge in time was shattered, scattering multiple bloodline treasures everywhere.
With the commanding high-pitched squawk, the flock of Blood Vultures now had a leader and their formation immediately changed. Many of them flew high into the sky and, like a web, began to circle the shadow servants, occasionally dropping down in attack.
Though this method was effective at killing many shadow servants, the remaining servants' movements in looting them were much too quick. After paying the price of a large number of casualties, a portion of them still broke out.
*Chu!* The King Blood Vulture roared, bringing with it multiple Blood Vultures as it gave chase.
"Found you!" Leylin met with the person who were chasing after him.
It was a ginger female Magus. Her body was curvy, a golden headband rested on her forehead, and her pair of long and narrow eyes were fixed on Leylin.
"My name is Leylin. May I know yours?" In the face of her gaze that was ready to shoot flames, Leylin smiled slightly and performed a noble's bow, his movements so precise there was nothing to criticise.
"Tanasha!" This female Magus had not expected Leylin to feel so relaxed. Though her chest was bouncing in her anger, she still had a lot of self-restraint as she announced her name.
"Are you prepared to admit to your sins?" Tanasha glanced at the handsome young man in front of her. Captives could be ransomed in the central continent. In addition, he had not caused too many casualties to her organisation, and was also a human backed by the Ouroboros Clan. Hence, it was not too surprising that he was still calm in this situation.
"Oh, no, you've misunderstood," Leylin's smile was dazzling, "I just want to ask you this. Do you… like Blood Vultures?"
"What do you mean?" Tanasha's mind could not process this fast enough. But looking at the numerous crimson figures appearing on the horizon, she suddenly had a bad premonition.
Leylin acted before she could do anything, "Eye of Petrification!"
His eyes turned amber and the pupils became vertical slits, shooting out mysterious, unmeasurable rays of petrification.
Though it was only a rank 1 innate spell, with the addition of his Vapour Phase spiritual force and the strength of his bloodline, its power could not be underestimated.
At the same time, Leylin quickly chanted some incantations, and numerous shadows emerged from all directions, forming a giant cage that trapped her inside temporarily.
Tanasha's reaction was extremely quick. "Storm!" Almost at the same instant the rays of petrification appeared, her eyes turned silver-white, releasing dazzling light that blocked them.
Meanwhile, a giant storm appeared from behind her, forming a tremendous tornado that stirred up and created chaos in the interior of the cage.
However, Leylin's sudden attack made her falter. "Lance of Corrosion!"
A dark green lance, tip white, appeared in Leylin's hand. It shot towards Tanasha, accompanied by a burst of air.
"How confident are you that a mere Vapour Phase Magus dares provoke a Crystal Phase Magus?" Tanasha was expressionless, but her fury was evident.
*Snap!* Tanasha extended her delicate, pale arms and a translucent layer appeared on top of her smooth skin.
Leylin had used all his might when he shot this Lance of Corrosion forth, and yet, she'd caught it just like that.
*Boom!* She viciously crushed the Lance into powder, while Leylin paled as he took several steps back.
However, his smile now was as if he had gotten away with something.
"Hm?" Tanasha's brows furrowed. Only then did she notice that after the Lance of Corrosion had been destroyed, a white feather had appeared.
*Pu!* The white feather had exploded into powder and lightly stuck to Tanasha's body.
"This aura? And with a powerful lock-on spell formation…" Tanasha's brows furrowed and she immediately sneered, "I just need two minutes to-"
However, her expression completely changed.
Leylin, who was opposite her, waved his arms towards her and activated the Dark Elven Crown, and immediately turned invisible.
*Sou! Sou! Sou!*
Numerous black figures appeared. The shadow servants from before quickly pounced towards her, only to be killed by her while heading in her direction.
However, with this opportunity, they threw some bloodline crystals, bones and the like at her legs. There was an especially large egg that had been knocked so hard that it broke, revealing the egg yolk and whites within.
*Chu chu!* Numerous Blood Condors hurried over under the lead of the king, and upon seeing Tanasha, their eyes instantly turned red.
This was especially so for the the King Blood Vulture. It smelt its feather on Tanasha's body. It was a feather used specifically to protect the Lamia fingerbone and was extremely precious. The smell was extremely unique, and there was no way it could recognise it wrongly!
It now looked like the person who had infiltrated its mountain and looted the area as they wished, was also the thief who had stolen its treasure!
The King Blood Vulture was furious, crimson lightning materialising around it.
"I- I- I!" Tanasha was momentarily stunned. No matter how stupid she might be, she knew what Leylin had planned.
"Wait, O King!" Tanasha was now sending spiritual force waves to the mind of the King Blood Vulture, her final attempt at saving herself.
However, would the enraged King Blood Vulture listen to her explanations? Though it had the intelligence of an adult, it was now in an angered state. Usually, in its territory, it would have what it wanted. Why would it listen to the explanations of a human?
Numerous bolts of crimson lightning struck down, drowning her...
Meanwhile, Leylin had made use of the Dark Elven Crown, and was sneakingly heading back.
*Boom!* Soil upended at an area, revealing numerous bloodline items within. Red gems and white bones were scattered, giving off a dazzling luster.
"There's even a Blood Vulture egg here! It looks like a pretty good harvest."
Holding a giant egg in his hands, Leylin looked elated. This was a few times larger than an ostrich egg, and it even had blood-red patterns on the surface, powerful life energy radiating from within. Leylin could even feel a throbbing from the shell.
Blood Vulture chicks could not be tamed, but one still in its egg could.
Not only did it have the ability to find bloodline treasures, it was also very popular for its ability to reach rank 3 after it had matured.
Of course, Leylin had no plans of selling it off. Rather, he wanted to subdue it.
The central continent was vast and boundless. There were many places that even Magi were yet to explore, and the Blood Vulture's ability to fly was very useful in this area. In the future, he could gain a steady flow of bloodline treasures, which was the best advantage!
"The harvest is quite good!" Leylin quickly kept everything properly.
He had long since ordered the shadow servants to place whatever they had stolen on the road here. Whatever had been flung at Tanasha's feet was just a small portion. The real treasures had long since been moved away and were all with Leylin.
After checking all his gains, Leylin looked back towards the Blood Vultures' mountain, sinking into deep thought.
'The King Blood Vulture has brought all its main forces to annihilate Tanasha. She is a Crystal Phase Magus after all, and it is possible for her to hold them off for some time. Should I go back and rummage through the Blood Vultures' nests?'
Leylin immediately shook his head, throwing these enticing thoughts out of his mind.
"Forget it. What I now have is more than enough. I shouldn't take such a risk at the end like this."
"Besides, my real target is that rank 3 Crystal Phase Magus, not the rest of those bloodline treasures."
Leylin's eyes flashed ruthlessly...
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I want to slaughter that wretched Magus and turn his flesh and blood into powder and feed it to a Carnivorous Flower!"
Tanasha was in a tropical rain forest, sprinting hard.
However, she was evidently not in a very good condition. Not only were her clothes in tatters making her seem like a beggar, her entire right arm had disappeared. Her face was pale, with green veins visible on top.
This flock of Blood Vultures was truly relentless. In order to break away from them, Tanasha had to employ a few secret methods that would stimulate the potential in her body in succession. She had even discarded a clone that she had nurtured for a long period of time before she could successfully draw the King Blood Vulture away.
Tanasha was definitely fuming at the mouth, wishing she could eat Leylin alive.
"Tsk tsk, Ms Tanasha, you don't seem to be in good health. Do you need treatment?" In the quiet rainforest, a voice suddenly sounded, causing Tanasha's body to stiffen.
She then looked at the young man she would never be able to forget, blocking her path.
"How- how did you get here? I already destroyed all auras and smells that would identify me!" Tanasha gaped, disbelieving.
"You don't need to know. Right now, you can only answer a question of mine."
Leylin produced an ink-black cross blade and pointed it at her. "Submit to me, or die."
He had naturally used the A.I. Chip to scan the surroundings and hunt her down. Though Tanasha had concealed her aura very well, and destroyed all the localizing marks that Leylin had shot out, nothing could be hidden in the face of the A.I. Chip.
Not considering anything else, just the signs of a human passing through on the road would not be able to escape the A.I. Chip's nanoscopic scanning, no matter how hard Tanasha tried to cover her tracks.
It was only after Leylin confirmed that she was heavily injured that he chased up to her.
Tanasha was at the Crystal Phase, and was multiple levels higher than Leylin. In the past, it would have been a joke if a Vapour Phase Magus had announced his wish to kill a Crystal Phase Magus.
However, a hint of fear had already appeared on Tanasha's pale face. She had no choice but to admit that Leylin had the strength and ability to kill the current her.
-x-X-x-
Rank 3 Magi were categorised into several stages. Leylin, at the Vapour Phase, could compress his spiritual force into a physical, observable fog.
On the other hand, Magi at the Crystal Phase could solidify their spiritual force, even preserving it to sell.
Spiritual force at the Crystal Phase had an unimaginable advantage against Vapour Phase spiritual force.
In other words, even if Leylin, Robin and Kesha had teamed up against Lucian, they wouldn't be his match.
However, Tanasha's spiritual force was exhausted long ago, including her Crystal Phase spiritual force crystals.
He wouldn't be Leylin if he let such a good chance slip out of his hand.
Not only were Crystal Phase Magi powerful, they were considered nobles in the central continent due to their status as the reserve forces of Morning Star Magi.
Under usual circumstances, it was out of the question for Leylin to defeat Magi of this rank. Perhaps only Duke Gilbert, his mentor, would be able to.
But with Tanasha as she was, it would be easy.
"You…" Tanasha's pale complexion flushed in anger, her fingers trembling, "How dare a lowly Vapour Phase Magus talk to me like that?"
"Looks like I'll have to help you snap back to reality!" Leylin sighed in disappointment upon seeing her demeanour. His figure transformed into a ray of light and flashed in front of her.
*Thump!* He planted a fist on Tanasha's cheek.
*Buzz!* A barrier of light was created around Tanasha as a brilliant ruby ring shone. It was, however, too feeble to deter Leylin as he easily broke through.
In the blink of an eye, Tanasha was sent flying, a large red patch on her cheek.
The Meteor Sword has already reached her neck before she could react.
"Now choose… Surrender, or die!" There was a change in Leylin's tone. Now he demanded with utter disdain, every word pricking with a bone-chilling vibe. He had decided to kill were she to choose it.
He certainly did not wish to leave behind a Crystal Phase opponent.
Tanasha wisely chose to be silent in front of the cold-hearted Leylin.
This feeling of impending death was familiar to her. She felt as if she had returned to times of frailty and weakness, as old memories surfaced and she momentarily became distraught.
"What is with this woman's mental state?!" Leylin shook his head, Tanasha's reaction was nothing out of the ordinary since he was aware of the common psychological instability of Magi. There was also her injuries to consider. Moreover, all who entered the Forgotten Land would certainly have a dark past of own.
"I'm only giving you three minutes! Be quick!" Leylin tightened his grip on the sword and brought it closer to Tanasha's neck.
Other Crystal Phase Magi would probably have a sense of dignity and pride, but things were different in the Forgotten Land. Those human Magi who entered here were mostly those who had reached an impasse, willing to forgo everything for a means of sustenance. It was easy for the mto capitulate.
Leylin's cold voice caught Tanasha's attention. The angry flush on her face had already dissipated by then, leaving behind a canvas of ivory.
"I… surrender!" She replied so softly Leylin could barely hear a thing.
As if on cue, Tanasha fell limp to the ground, her backbone losing support the moment she agreed. Her tears were uncontrollable.
The Meteor Sword remained on her neck in spite of everything.
"Make an oath! Also, relinquish your spirit source!" His voice was cold as ice.
"I… Tanasha…" Hesitance crossed Tanasha's eyes as she fought an internal battle. However, she ended up choosing to surrender.
A sparkling strand of spirit source was released from her forehead and landed on Leylin's palm.
That was a Magus' lifeline. Were it not voluntary, it would be completely impossible to offer it to another person. Rules were even stricter in the central continent, to prevent the dominance of one over another. Of course, this didn't stop people with influence and power from committing it but similarly, it had to be done in secret or they would be boycotted by all Magi.
This was no issue at all for Leylin since he didn't plan for Tanasha to be seen by others.
"Master…" Tanasha called out in a deep voice and got up to her feet. She resembled a broken puppet, someone that had lost her soul.
"Being forced into the Forgotten Land, you must have your own dark past. But rest assured, I am not going to compel you to do things that are disgraceful to Magi. Instead, I can give you hope. A hope for revenge."
There was a bewitching tone to Leylin's offer and Tanasha's eyes lit up a little as the word 'revenge' rang in her ears and a hint of anger rushed through her.
"That's right! Revenge!" Leylin made eye contact with Tanasha and lowered his voice. "I promise, when I'm strong enough to take revenge for you and not worry about the possible repercussions and retaliation, I will aid you in accomplishing your dream. That is, if you work for me wholeheartedly till then.
"I'm not trying to patronise you. You see, I've reached the Vapour Phase at less than a hundred years of age. Moreover, there will be no problems with advancing to the Morning Star realm because of my Kemoyin bloodline!"
Deep down, Leylin was aware that with his method, Tanasha would only be willing to become a puppet to him. To milk her for everything she was worth, Leylin needed to ignite her battle spirit by fuelling her with hope.
And instead of empty promises, he promoted his skills to Tanasha, proving his capability to help her in her revenge.
"One hundred years old! Vapour Phase!" Tanasha gazed at Leylin with a heightened intensity.
A hundred years of age was definitely old for humans. But for Magi, especially those who were at rank 3 and above, it wouldn't even be considered as puberty.
For Leylin who have both the talent and bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, his status in the Ouroboros Clan could not be overlooked. All this pointed to one thing: There was a substantial chance for him to become a Morning Star Magus.
Even someone with the capability to escape a rank 3 Crystal Phase Magus would crumble like paper in the face of a rank 4 Morning Star Magus.
"I am at your beck and call, Master! I, Tanasha, will be your most loyal servant as long as my revenge is assured!" Tanasha knelt on a knee and gritted her teeth, a little more willing this time.
Although it was a mere promise without a covenant, what more could a captive like her bargain for?
"Haha…" Leylin cackled.
The addition of Tanasha was definitely a reinforcement to Leylin, given her strength which was more than his.
Plus, she would be hidden from the public since this assistance would be carried out in secret.
That was Leylin's plan all along, to gather as much of an underground force as he could in case anything unexpected occurred.
"Take these potions quickly and recover!" Leylin showed generosity to the newly-recruited Tanasha and presented her with three tubes of differing colours.
"High-grade healing potion! High-grade spiritual force recovery potion! Sacred regeneration potion!" Tanasha's face was painted with surprise as she recognised these three potions. Apart from their heavenly price, these potions were heavily utilised by large-scale organisations as their war reserves and could not even be bought with money.
This was especially true for the sacred regeneration potion which could stimulate the regrowth of limbs that were as good as the original with absolutely no side-effects. It was unfamiliar, even to a rank 3 Magus like Tanasha.
"Thank you, Master!" Tanasha bowed and sighed in relief,
"Don't mention it, it's just something I made!" Leylin added to his credibility.
Sure enough, Tanasha's eyes widened at his sentence. She was beyond impressed, advancing to Vapour Phase before the age of a hundred was amazing enough, she did not at all expect that Leylin would be a Potions Grandmaster as well. This was genius at its best and would be considered rare even in the central continent. As long as there were no mishaps along the way, success was pretty much guaranteed.
Hints of hope filled Tanasha's eyes as she watched Leylin...
Simultaneously, in a clandestine area, Noah was staring at his dish, face drained of colour.
There was an indistinct bloody liver-like substance lying on the white china, emitting a chalky fog.
"Eugh…" Noah slapped a palm over his mouth, resisting the urge to gag.
In his vision, the Barbarian Bear Shaman's stomach was cut open, and a large amount of yellow grease flowed out from it. There were also visible traces of the skeleton inside.
"Uncle, I can't do this any longer!" Noah cried through the spaces of his fingers.
Robin didn't look good either, his body was missing huge chunks of flesh and he was covered in terrifying wounds.
"It was rumoured that this place is dominated by the sin of gluttony, we will be attacked if we stop partaking! We have to keep going, success will be ours if they fail first."
Robin persisted to his best abilities whereas Noah's hand trembled as he picked his cutlery. Ultimately, he put them down again. All the food here was created from the sin of gluttony and due to it, all spells would be rendered useless; only their own tenacity could help them withstand the 'feast'. *Ring ring ring!* The melodious bell rang from afar, but to the trio it seemed like it came from the depths of hell...
-x-X-x-
Noah made several attempts to reach for the knife and fork but he gave up halfway, letting out an expression of intense suffering.
He collapsed on the dining table with a bang, his teeth clenched tightly.
Similarly, Robin had a pained look on his face as he endured the nausea and swallowed a bloody piece of meat.
Within 30 seconds, the ringing of the bells came to an end, lasting only for a short duration.
*Ka-cha!* Out of nowhere, it seemed as if a huge invisible mouth took a bite. At this moment, Noah let out a deep cry.
A large portion of his flesh was missing on the right side of his head, his ear having completely disappeared. From the side, his ghastly white teeth could be seen. It was a horrifying sight.
Suddenly, a streak of light flashed across. A bloodied ear, still twitching unconsciously, appeared before a dark figure.
"Ew...."
After a few rounds, Robin and Noah had paled, now resembling corpses. However, the Barbarian Bear Shaman on the other end had finally reached its limit and collapsed onto the table.
*Buzz!* As if a signal was given, the Barbarian Bear Shaman was immediately moved to the 13th chair, which was unoccupied. When this was done, numerous dark figures pounced on it.
"Ah..." The Barbarian Bear Shaman shrieked continuously. Soon after, fur and skin started disappearing piece by piece, followed by flesh, veins and even bones.
*Hoo...* The Crystal Phase Barbarian Bear Shaman no longer had any power to fight back and vanished within the dark figures.
Even up till the very last moment of its life, the Barbarian Bear Shaman was still very much conscious, as could be seen from the expression in its eyes.
After they engulfed the Barbarian Bear Shaman, the many dark figures dispersed and vanished into thin air one after another. At the same time, Noah could feel the strong imprisonment fading..
"It's finally over…" he sighed, plopping to the ground shortly after. He began to vomit, almost to the point of spewing out bile.
"I swear. I won't be able to eat anything for at least three months…" Despite his bitter expression, Noah's bodily wounds were in fact healing quickly.
However, Robin's fervent eyes were fixed on a particular part of the void. From Noah's perspective, a presence had already arrived somewhere.
"What reward do you wish for?" An inexplicable voice rang within the hearts of the two men.
"I want…" Robin answered. His voice was deep, but even more so, it carried his unrestrainable excitement....
At this point in time, Leylin walked out of the ecological garden with Tanasha and they returned to the illusory corridor.
"Master... According to our research, we will be able to get out after passing 3 more spatial points." Tanasha's condition seemed to have improved greatly, and even her missing arm was able to grow out again with the help of the potions.
"Yes," Leylin nodded.
"After we get out, stay in the Forgotten Land for the time being. Wait for an opportunity to sneak out and join me! Do you have any restrictions in your organisation?"
"No! I am one of the leaders in the Alliance of the Exiled, I didn't agree to any sort of soul-binding contract!" Tanasha responded quickly. It wasn't surprising given her Crystal Phase strength.
"That's good…" Leylin nodded. He was about to say something else but all of a sudden, his expression changed and he gave Tanasha a look.
Tanasha acknowledged with a nod before disappearing into a wave of water.
Based on the readings on the A.I. Chip, Magus energy waves were detected ahead. Since Tanasha was a backup plan arranged by Leylin, she could not show herself easily in front of outsiders.
Leylin smiled at Tanasha, who was now concealed behind the water, and walked past a corner.
Then, he saw a warlock dressed in a black robe, slumped on the ground. A puddle of black blood was growing beside him. Leylin knew this warlock well - he was one of Kesha's men, named Arcus.
"Wake up, Arcus!" Leylin flipped Arcus over and immediately noticed the criss-crossed wounds on his chest as dark blood gushed out continuously.
"Curse power!" Leylin's expression hardened as he felt an enormous power from the long, narrow cuts.
As a Magus, Leylin was knowledgeable in curses, especially those in the Book of Giant Serpent, left behind by Great Magus Serholm. They inspired him greatly and even led him to develop many new ones of his own. This knowledge helped him to a great extent when he was at the south coast.
However, the deeper his knowledge, the more he understood about the strangeness and difficulty in coping with such power.
In particular, the curses from ancient times were those that Leylin was unwilling to make contact with even now.
It seemed like Quicksand Castle also contained a terrifying curse power, and this power had already found its way to Kesha and her group.
To the unconscious Arcus, whose face was faintly branded with a spell made of dark fumes, Leylin looked at him and said, "Today is your lucky day!" He then smiled and pulled out a tube filled with a green solution from his leather pouch.
Leylin applied the thick, green fluid onto Arcus' wounds drop by drop.
*Sizzle!* The green fluid immediately went through a strange transformation as it condensed into many tiny green worms, which remained on Arcus' skin. It was a rather disgusting sight.
After that, the numerous green worms aimed at the dark fumes and pounced on them. They engulfed the dark curse power as if they were having a meal.
As time went by, the dark fumes on Arcus' face slowly faded away and he opened his eyes.
"M...Master Leylin! Thank you for saving me!" Arcus had realised the situation he was in. He struggled to bow but was stopped by Leylin.
"Did something happen to sister Kesha and the others?" Leylin's voice was calm and full of wisdom.
"Yes, yes! After we entered Quicksand Castle, we were attacked!" Arcus answered with his pale, dry lips, sounding a little frightened.
"It's a terrifying monster in human form! Not only are spells and physical attacks ineffective, the wounds inflicted by its scissors cannot heal! It also possesses a frightening ability to enter the void and heal itself!"
"Sir! Please save my master!" Arcus pleaded sincerely.
"Don't worry! We are an organisation of bloodline brothers and Kesha is also my sister. I will not leave her in the lurch!"
"Rather than that, you..."
"I'm fine! I can leave by myself!" Arcus knew for sure that his presence was a burden thus he made a sensible decision.
"Alright! We are already near the exit, all you have to do is avoid the Magi outside, then leave this pocket dimension!"
Leylin nodded and watched Arcus as he limped out of the place.
"Master, are you going to save them?" A wave swept past the empty space and Tanasha, who had been concealed all these time, appeared again.
"Yes!" Leylin nodded.
Kesha had been good to him and they were relatively close. He had to save her.
Of course, more importantly, through his analysis of Arcus, Leylin had already prepared himself for said curse . At the very least, he could ensure his own safety.
If it was like that, there was no reason to refuse to rescue them while he was here.
"You don't have to involve yourself with this matter anymore, you may leave first!" Leylin ordered Tanasha.
After that, he immediately handed a large black box to her.
"You have to guard the contents of this box carefully. Do not open it, return it to me when we meet again later!"
"Yes, Master!" Tanasha bowed. After receiving the box from Leylin, a bright light flashed and the item disappeared.
Although rare, spatial artifacts could be found even on the south coast and Twilight Zone, leave alone the central continent.
Tanasha had long since entered the Crystal Phase. A storage artifact was no big deal.
As he watched Tanasha's silhouette moving away, Leylin turned in the opposite direction and disappeared into the corridor.
...
"Huff..."
Kesha hid behind a large shelf, and her tall chest moved up and down unsteadily as she breathed.
"How is it? Has the trap succeeded?"
She asked a Green-skinned Barbarian beside her. Both Kesha and the Green-skinned Barbarian had long, narrow wounds on their bodies. A pool of dark gas circled above those wounds.
These two Magi were almost entirely drained of their energies and they were at their worst condition.
"The Fogbound Labyrinth can only trap it for 3 minutes!" The Green-skinned Barbarian said bitterly.
"Damn it! That amount of time isn't even enough for us to recover, not to mention getting past the illusory corridor!" Kesha looked despair.
Being pursued by the man in black, especially after sustaining such injuries, the illusory corridor had refused to transport a cursed person like her several times. They were practically trapped in there while still alive.
By now, both Magi were already at the their limits. They had no more strength to fight back.
"I'd never expected that I would die here, and with a green-skinned dwarf beside me!" Kesha let out a faint sigh.
"What did you say, woman?" Angered after being called a dwarf, the Green-skinned Barbarian jumped up and pointed his staff at Kesha's nose. "If you guys hadn't intruded and killed many of our clan members, we wouldn't have chased after you and we wouldn't have run into that thing!"
"You…" Kesha wanted to refute further but her expression suddenly changed. She and the Green-skinned Barbarian dodged in opposite directions.
Ka-cha! A brilliant, silver-white light streaked across and the large shelf was split into two. It exposed the silhouette of a man in a black trenchcoat who held a pair of scissors emitting a sharp radiance.
"Oh no! It broke through earlier than expected!" The Green-skinned Barbarian turned pale, looking even greener than usual, and it began to shiver.
"Fuck! I knew it, you green-skinned dwarves can't be trusted!" Out of her despair, Kesha burst out swearing.
The man in black made an ambiguous howl. The sounds of the scissors echoed as his footsteps slowly drew near.
With her sea of consciousness now dried up, a bitter smile emerged on Kesha's face. However, the man in black was evidently not one to show mercy even towards a female as he raised his hand and pierced at Kesha's eyes with the scissors.
"Explosive Fireball!" A massive explosion sounded.
Numerous dark figures gathered to form a cage and bound the man in black.