"This is an astral stone. The base price is set at 200 million magic crystals, and every increment set at a minimum of 1 million. You may use resources of equal value to make up any difference! Let the auction begin."
The presenter waved his hand and the huge screen in front of Leylin lit up immediately in bright colors.
Watching the numbers on the screen clambering up bit by bit, Leylin's mouth curved into a bitter smile.
His guess had come true; this astral stone was one of the three most valuable items up for auction. The price had soared to an outrageous amount.
It looked like he did not have enough magic crystals at the moment and would need to sell some of his resources.
Leylin was glad that he had no lack of good materials on him. Were he to sell them all, he would still qualify to join the bid.
"1 billion magic crystals!" Leylin immediately yelled his bid with an announcement device in the hopes of scaring off the rest.
"1.1 billion magic crystals!" Another bid was heard immediately. It came from VIP lounge 1. Although no other announcements were made after the first, who didn't know that the occupant of the VIP lounge was the Morning Star Magus Demon Hunter Cyril?
Leylin stroked his chin and his eyes gleamed with traces of caution.
"Ha ha! Cyril, aren't you embarrassed to bid so low?"
Another voice was heard from VIP lounge 2. Soon after, the screen refreshed to reflect a new price, "2 billion magic crystals!"
"Huh? This conduct, another Morning Star Magus?"
Leylin's mouth twitched in a bitter smile, "Trouble is brewing….."
Even though he was confident in his wealth, he was not egotistical enough to compare himself to someone at the Morning Star realm.
Moreover, with these two Morning Star Magi nipping at each other, wouldn't he be courting death if he were to get involved any further?
Yes, the astral stone was truly valuable and losing the opportunity of acquiring it was extremely unfortunate, but compared to his own mortal life, Leylin knew exactly which was more important. He sensibly gave up on contending for it.
On the other hand, Leylin did not lose all hope. There was still the anonymous barter that he was looking forward to after the auction was completed.
In VIP lounge 1, Cyril's face hardened the moment he head the voice of the other party. "This voice… It must be Emma, that bitch!"
He may have been swearing at her, but his face was actually filled with endless fear.
Blood Duchess Emma, was well-known for her crazy and savage ways. The other party was too a Morning Star Magus, how could she not show him respect?
"3 billion magic crystals!" The astral stone was an important element in the current stage of his astral gate experiments. In the near future, there was a possibility that he could uncover the coordinates of the devils, hence his dire need for it. He knew he had to bid successfully for it, even if it meant paying a sky-high price.
As such, Cyril yelled his bid reluctantly, as if his heart was bleeding.
"Haha… Cyril, your pocket is as poor as your city of sins, I bid 4 billion!" Emma, who was seated at the opposite side, had clearly received some unknown information, hence she was determined to not give in.
The price for this astral stone clearly surpassed its actual value, which made him reluctant to bid. Yet, he was evidently embarrassed by Emma's mockery a moment ago.
"4.5 billion magic crystals!" Cyril immediately shouted out. Deep in his heart, he made up his mind that if the opposite party dared to bid further, he would give up. He would let her pay the unnecessary magic crystals for it.
"Haha… Cyril, do you think I am going to bid further? Wrong, this astral stone is not such a special item after all. It is no big deal if I were to let go and let you have it."
Unexpectedly, Emma withdrew and stopped bidding, causing him to feel a rush of anger.
"Honestly, to spend 4.5 billion magic crystals on an astral stone... Cyril, where has your astuteness gone?" she ridiculed sarcastically, adding salt into his wound.
"This bitch! One day… ONE day…" Cyril clenched his teeth in rage, wisps of blood clouding his silver pupils.
The horrifying ripples had caused the other guests in other VIP lounges to feel uneasy.
"Emma, just you wait and see…" after tossing these last words at her, Cyril stood up and left in a hurry, not wanting to linger for another second.
Leylin, on the other hand, upon hearing the name, was slightly taken aback. 'Blood Duchess? Isn't that Freya's mentor?'
Blood Duchess Emma was a Morning Star Warlock, the second elder of the Ouroboros Clan.
'If it's her, it's no wonder she couldn't see eye to eye with Cyril…'
Leylin drew a deep breath. 'I didn't expect someone of such status to be present here. I am sure she has just arrived, otherwise, the Sun's child bloodline would not have been acquired by him…'
After the favourable harvest from the Quicksand pocket dimension some time back, Leylin and company had immediately relayed all specific details to Duke Gilbert.
Especially Leylin. With the presence of Cyril, they were sure they would never have the chance to step foot in the Forgotten Land again. Therefore, he laid out the route map clearly and specifically, paying special attention to the possibility that Quicksand Castle was the core of the pocket dimension.
His scheme was for the Ouroboros Clan to hanker after the Quicksand pocket dimension. In fact, if they were to successfully seize it from the hands of Cyril, Leylin would then have the opportunity to conduct deeper exploration.
One single pocket dimension would fail to stir the greed of the Ouroboros Clan. However, what if the location in question was an ancient pocket dimension with another pocket dimension in within?
Especially since this pocket dimension was built by Ancient Warlocks at a time where rare natural resources were scarce.
Other than the useful information, Leylin's bloodline crystals and Blood Vulture egg, as well as Robin's own harvest, had left Duke Gilbert delighted.
As such, upon his return, Gilbert immediately invited the other two elders in the hope of joining together to go up against Cyril.
According to rumors, after the showing of Ouroboros Clan's power, not only had they shamed Cyril thoroughly, they also managed to be allocated a share of the pocket dimension, as well as priority purchasing power, amongst other benefits.
Hence, from here on, the relationship between Cyril and the three Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks would naturally deteriorate.
In the past, when the 3 allied against Cyril, they had almost defeated him.
Due to this same reason, Cyril had never forgotten about Leylin or the other two Warlocks. In fact, he had even covertly issued warrants for their arrest.
This was one reason why Leylin had holed up in his territory bitterly for almost a century.
Learning of the positive outcome of the situation at the higher level, Leylin was truly relieved that he could attend the auction held the next day, plus the anonymous barter thereafter.
Otherwise, he would have given up on the idea of attending the exchange.
The frightening probing abilities of a Morning Star Magus could not be underestimated. If Cyril had been present throughout, there was no way Leylin could stay anonymous for long.
And once he was discovered by Cyril, he knew his life would be as insignificant as an ant, being crushed by with just a single finger.
Now, armed with the knowledge that Emma was here, Leylin did not have the slightest amount of intentions of acknowledging her.
If it were Duke Gilbert, he would have stepped up with warm greetings, in the hopes that he might, in a way or two, help Leylin to acquire some astral stones or such, but Emma? Forget it.
She might have been an elder of the Ouroboros Clan, but they were from different factions, which might make the meeting awkward.
His thoughts of Emma naturally led to those of Freya.
This female Warlock was indeed lucky. After the positive transaction of bloodline crystals with Leylin, she had successfully managed to save her family. And thereafter, there were rumours of her research in seclusion. It was as if she was attempting to break through the bottleneck to advance.
It was known that, once a Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock was promoted to the rank of the Morning Star realm, their bloodlines would be purified. This method was naturally preferred compared to that of obtaining it through the easier method of having a pure-blooded Warlock join the family.
What was worth mentioning was the fact that, among the female Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan, Freya was considered to be one with discipline and self-respect. The only negative characteristic was her eagerness to be first.
Leylin stroked his jaw and pondered over the rumours about her decision enter seclusion. It was as if she was trying to stimulate and break through the Hydro Phase.
Due to this reason, Leylin was even more adamant about not revealing himself to Emma. He dreaded thinking about the possibilities of her forcing him to become a part of the family for the purpose of her advancement. How awful would that be?
On the other hand, if he had been discovered by Cyril first, by hook or by crook, he would definitely seek Emma out and ask for help. Any terms and conditions then would have been agreed upon, as it was all worth keeping his life.
You could only have one life. Once that was lost, nothing else mattered. In such cases, Leylin's integrity was relegated to the back seat.
With such misgivings, Leylin went low-profile once again. He made sure his spiritual force compression technique and transfiguration spells were in full operation, and made sure his energies were not discovered by the other two Magi.
Luckily, that fateful night, Leylin felt enormous energy undulations transmitted from far beyond Azure Mountain City. It was not only him, many Magi were distracted by it.
Although they were very far away, the energy undulations were frightening and caused Leylin to feel somewhat suffocated.
The lower ranked Magi felt nothing. Only those who were close to the Morning Star realm could notice and be mindful of that terror.
Soon after, Leylin received news of Demon Hunter Cyril and Blood Duchess Emma's departure from Azure Mountain City. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
With such volatile elements, the fewer there were in his life, the better.
This was probably the similar mindset of the other Magi. Under such circumstances, in the presence of multiple Morning Star Magi, there was no way they could have acquired their desired treasures with their limited magic crystals.
What were they to do if one of the two-eyed what they wanted?
A stifled atmosphere had hung over the auction these past two days. The most dissatisfied of them all was the Oakheart Clan. With the intrusion of the law-breaking Cyril, their revenue had suffered a steep decline.
The third day, the auction erupted in full force, as if finally free of suppression and mounting pressures. The degree of liveliness far exceeded Leylin's expectations.
-x-X-x-
The third day of the auction commenced with much flair. The lower ranked Magi had been suppressing their enthusiasm and saving their magic crystals to the best extent of their abilities, hence once the pressure was diffused, they exploded into action.
Every item was sold for a high price, so much so that Leylin was quite surprised by the number of wealthy Magi that emerged. Some were in the VIP lounges, but there were also others amongst the crowd. It seemed like although he was very rich, he did not belong to the group of the most wealthy.
Leylin witnessed one of the Magi in the crowd buy a treasure for more than 100 million magic crystals nonchalantly. The cause for this transaction was the ever-so-common jealousy of a love rival!
When he began socialising with others, Leylin learnt that this young kid was the direct descendant of a Morning Star Magus who possessed a lot of resources and influence. It was natural for there to be a lot of magic crystals at his disposal.
However, he hadn't dared to be arrogant in the face of the two Morning Star Magi present, and had hence only revealed himself now.
Leylin also saw Vance, the patriarch of the Rolithe Family, successfully buy a spell formation that was optimized to increase the chances of advancing to the Crystal Phase by 20%. At the same time, he'd also bought a lot of other supplementary materials for the process. It seemed like he'd reached the bottleneck and was ready to advance.
Leylin stole a glance at their party. According to the Coin of Destiny's guidance, the item he needed to acquire now was probably in their possession.
The last great treasure up for auction was top-grade magic equipment— the Tri-Python Ring!
It was rumoured that the bodies and souls of three ancient cold pythons were extracted to cast this piece of magic equipment. Not only was its spatial storage boundless, it could even withstand three full attacks of a Morning Star Magus!
A full-power attack from an ancient Morning Star Magus was known to be able to kill anything under that level. Such spells had the ability to blot out all light; they could crush mountains and destroy rivers!
To possess the ability to withstand up to three such attacks, this Tri-Python Ring was undoubtedly the most precious treasure up for auction this time.
Even Morning Star Magi would be envious of its ability. This piece of top-grade magic equipment would be a great advantage in a battle between Magi of the same rank. It could flip the heavens and the earth for its user's sake.
Its value climbed steadily up to the last bid of 8.6 billion by a Magus from a VIP lounge.
According to Leylin's estimates, that party could be a Morning Star Magus. In fact, it might even turn out to be the Azure Mountain King.
In spite of the hiccups along the way, this Azure Mountain auction had concluded successfully. The emergence of the Tri-Python Ring had created strong waves that continuously spread even to the surrounding areas.
Some lower ranked Magi began to leave the city, heading back home to continue with their own research or embarking on another journey. With the decreasing number of Magi, the city seemed to have regained some order. The original chaos had considerably eased up, and the situation became peaceful.
Leylin and some other high ranked Magi, on the other hand, were waiting in silence.
To them, this auction was similar to an appetizer. The actual main course was yet to be presented.
On the surface, it looked like the Oakheart Clan had recalled their elite patrol. However, the actual fact was that the level of caution had increased threefold. It was only that the security concerns were now internal.
Everything was set up for the anonymous barter. The anonymity of the event meant that many Magi were now disposing of stolen goods. Hence, there were going to be many precious high-quality treasures offered for an attractively low price.
The Oakheart Clan would guarantee safety and confidentiality of both parties. On the other hand, they would not be held responsible for the consequences and disputes that would arise after a successful transaction.
In a room in a small hotel, Leylin who was in the midst of meditation opened his eyes. A flower-shaped secret imprint emerged from his contact book, bringing with it the voice of Serene. "Sir Blood Rogue! The anonymous barter will take place tonight. As for the venue…"
This woman had been attempting to rope Leylin into the Oakheart Clan, and had kept a close tab on his whereabouts. Still, Leylin would not let her have her way. Not only had his past been hidden flawlessly, his attitude towards her left him neither close nor distant, causing her great distress.
Finally, he had even changed his accommodations. The only way to contact him now was via the secret imprint, which left her helpless.
When night fell, Leylin changed his outward appearance once again. Following the directions he was given, he arrived at a spot outside Azure Mountain City.
Unexpected incidences were not rare at such private events. Even under the watchful eyes of the Azure Mountain King, the Oakheart Clan did not dare hold the event within the city, choosing an outside venue instead.
As such, even if anything were to happen, the damages would be reduced to a minimum.
'Huh? There are other Magi too?' After his descent, Leylin noticed another Magus who had also just arrived a step ahead of him, walking towards an unremarkable cave.
"Welcome!" Two old men wearing the Oakheart Clan uniform emerged. Without any questions, they handed over a black mask.
The Magus nodded his head without replying, accepted the mask, and headed in.
Without the need for a number, command, or even an invitation card, any Magus would be granted access as long as they knew of this entrance. In addition, they would be given items to help conceal their identities. It was this persistent and tight secrecy that allowed the anonymous barter to be successful for so long.
According to Serene, the entire location had been masked by a cover-up spell formation. With these matching face masks and their own identity concealment, even their genders were difficult to make out. Even Morning Star Magi could not see through these disguises.
Leylin's mouth curved into a bitter smile.
"In reality…" He stopped mid-sentence, and stepped over to take the mask from the old man before proceeding to head inside.
Both these old men were at the Crystal Phase, and yet were stationed to guard the entrance. The Oakheart Clan had indeed invested heavily into this event.
'A.I. Chip! Mobilize the atomic microscope and begin scanning!' Leylin commanded in silence.
[Beginning Scanning! Microscope engaged… *Beep!* Abnormality detected!]
The reply from the A.I. Chip was swift. Leylin noticed within his line of sight that on the black mask were innumerable ladybugs flooding the surface. These were the same creatures that he'd seen at the auction.
In fact, their numbers far exceeded what he had seen previously. They were even cautiously entering Leylin's body.
'Hehe… This is the true Oakheart Clan!' Leylin shook his head.
The spell formation enveloping the entire barter was genuine. The concealment runes on the mask were also genuine. Otherwise, it wouldn't have by-passed the inspection of the many Magi. However, the Oakheart Clan had secretly planted these ladybugs all over the event area, including on all the masks.
They hadn't dared to tamper with the spell formation for fear of being discovered by Morning Star Magi. However, with these ladybug spies, which were ten thousand times smaller than a speck of dust, everything that every Magus did, and all other matters regardless of importance would ultimately be known by them.
'I'm afraid even Morning Star Magi won't be able to detect these… ' Leylin sighed, and a layer of fine black powder appeared on his hand.
As if drawn by some unknown attractive force, the ladybugs advanced in the direction of the powder, and soon lumped together into a ball.
'A.I. Chip! Begin imitation of the organism's energy signature, issuing misleading information!'
The A.I. Chip's feedback was immediate.
[Mission received. Beginning…]
Leylin had been low-key for these past three days, and hadn't bought anything at the auction. He had held back due to fear of the espionage of these bugs.
However, he hadn't been idle at all. He'd made use of the A.I. Chip's abilities to continuously scan and collate data about these bugs, learning all there was to know.
Knowing the tendencies of large organisations, if they'd rigged the auction to their advantage, there was no chance they wouldn't do the same with the anonymous barter. In fact, the surveillance would even be much stricter. Therefore, Leylin had prepared well with his own customized potion on top of his disguise.
After the powder took effect, Leylin could see through the microscopes that the ladybugs had slowed to a languid crawl. Soon, they all moved back to the mask.
Leylin was pleased and smiled. Walking in, he slid the mask on. At the same time, a mysterious current and fine undulations emitted from his body.
At the huge barter event, in the centre of a hidden area.
"Reporting to Grandfather! According to feedback from the stardust bugs, everything is working normally!" The present chief of Oakheart reported respectfully to a middle-aged Magus with blue hair.
"Hmm! There are rumours about some convicts from the north heading towards us here. They had stolen some local treasure with intentions to trade and dispose of their stash. Be alert and pay special attention!" The blue haired Magus spoke indifferently, without the slightest degree of power and influence, yet it made the chief of Oakheart nod his head ceremoniously.
"Do not worry. Under the strict surveillance of the stardust bugs, nothing can stay hidden, regardless of the methods they use!" There was a reason for the chief's confidence.
This species of stardust bug was a unique find from another plane. The Azure Mountain King had stumbled upon it during one of his interplanar experiments.
Thereafter, through intensive research, not only had he successfully tamed this organism, he had also given it the ability to work as a probe, becoming the secret trump card of the Oakheart Clan. In the entire clan, only the Azure Mountain King and the current elders knew of this.
Given their minuscule size, their energy undulations could not be detected without a special instrument. Thus, even Morning Star Magi couldn't find out about them as they were spread everywhere undetected.
The knowledge that these presumptuous Morning Star Magi had the impression that their concealment skill was flawless, not knowing that everything was being exposed, made the chief smile heartily.
Of course, armed with such stardust bugs, he had even used them for his own benefits, to peek at the naked body of female Magi and had even kept the images. However, he was careful not to reveal such details for risk of angering the other Morning Star Magi, and having them turn on the Oakheart Clan and razing the entire clan to the ground.
-x-X-x-
"You're in charge of this. The opponent is merely a Magus at the Crystal Phase; with your secret guards, you must take him down," the Azure Mountain King spoke nonchalantly.
"Understood, Grandfather!" The chieftain nodded before bowing and leaving.
After acquiring all the information, he would first let these fugitives dispose of their goods before he went forth to hunt them down and receive the bounty. This method of taking advantage of both parties was not a foreign concept to him.
If wealth was being accumulated quickly, it would usually involve bloodshed. Even if the Azure Mountain King was a Morning Star Magus, the Oakheart Clan would not have been able to develop so quickly without these methods.
The Oakheart chieftain's heart was aflame as he impatiently arrived at a control room, rubbing his fingers. "How many Morning Star Magi will come to the anonymous barter this time? I"m looking forward to it…"
"This is the central control room. Commanding all daughter elements to transmit gathered images," he pressed a crystal and ordered.
Quickly enough, numerous fragmented projections formed a screen with many little squares on it. On the surface were the outer appearances of the Magi participating in the barter, as well as their true appearances.
Beside the images of some of the exceptionally beautiful female Magi were even full-body images. Of course, they were without clothing. The chieftain's eyes widened, and he looked excited.
What he did not notice was that in one of the parts in the corner, Leylin's character had a completely foreign face.
The barter was held in a large karst cave underground. The ground was filled with powerful runes and brands, emanating formidable energy waves.
The mask Leylin had on gave off a black layer of light that resonated with the spell formation on the ground, hiding his body in darkness.
From the outside, all the Magi who entered were black blobs of light, and it was difficult to even distinguish their sexes.
In addition, the strength of the spell formation was something Leylin had never seen before. He could not help but order the A.I. Chip to record the pattern down.
It was evident that this was a spell formation that only Morning Star Magi were able to set up. It was even able to ward off the probing of other similarly-ranked Magi.
This had been verified by the many Magi who had participated in such events in the past.
It was a pity, though. Even if the Oakheart Clan hadn't tampered with the spell formation, they had surreptitiously placed a deadly spy on all their bodies.
Bugs that were ten thousand times smaller than specks of dust would not be discovered even if on someone's body. On top of that, these stardust bugs had the innate skill of concealing themselves.
With the Oakheart clan's nurture and specialised training, these stardust bugs had already turned into dreadful spies that could tell the identities of every single Magus in the trading event.
"So sad…" Leylin strolled along with the numerous black blobs of light, feeling regretful.
He had yet to do much research on this type of bug. He could only achieve the effect of hiding himself, but it would require a lot of time to trace the origin and even steal the others" footage from the central control room. Perhaps, he might need to even develop his own stardust bugs and sneak them in to achieve that goal.
All this required time! However, he only had three days at the auction. It was already amazing to be able to accomplish what he had done. Wasn"t that obvious from how the many Morning Star Magi here had yet to realise the secret of the stardust bugs and how their identities were completely exposed?
When the black blobs of light in the cave increased in number, a crisp bell sounded, attracting the attention of multiple Magi to a circular stage at the centre.
Light began to flicker there, revealing a blond middle-aged Magus.
"The many of you may or may not know me. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Leo Oakheart, the host of the Azure Mountain auction. I shall also be the host of this anonymous barter…" Leo's expression was brimming with a warm smile.
"I"ll cut to the chase. As the anonymous barter only takes place for one night, I shall not waste any more of your precious time. There are two parts to this event. First, the Magi who need to trade items can come onto the stage in order to show the item you wish to sell, and declare what you hope to obtain in exchange. Each person is limited to three items! When the time for the public exhibition is over, next will be the trade. Everyone may communicate privately, but this place does not permit any fights, and once you are out of range of this cave our Oakheart clan will not be held responsible for any of the items you have traded!"
Nearing the end, Leo's voice became stern. As if to complement his words, a large pressure emanated from within the spell formation on the ground like a huge mountain.
"Please do not worry. All of us are aware of the Oakheart clan's rules," a low voice sounded from within the surrounding Magi. It was evident that some of these Magi had been here a few times.
"Good!" Leo nodded, and yielded his position on the platform.
*Swish!* The moment he left the stage, three streaks of black darted forth.
It was obvious that these Magi were all experienced. They knew that it was most advantageous to go up first, since what they needed might very well be in the hands of the next Magus. The sooner they went up, the easier it would be to obtain the items, and their own items would not be traded off so quickly as well.
"Hehe… my apologies…" The black streak in the middle was lightning-quick, and reached the platform a moment before the other two. A robotic voice sounded from the black streak, and it was difficult to identify the gender of this person.
Upon seeing this, the other two streaks of black light hesitated and could only retreat. They knew the rules of the Oakheart clan, and that if they did not obey they would be in trouble. Hence, they did not have any plans of doing things by force or arguing.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, what I have brought to exchange here is an ornament, the "Forbidden Ancient Clock". In exchange, I require…" The moment he spoke, the audience was in an uproar.
"The forbidden clock? Isn't that the inheritance of the Lucca clan in the north? Why is it here?"
"Rumours have been circulating recently that a few fearless Magi snuck into the clan and stole it, and then scattered till they were near the Azure Mountain. He can't be one of them, can he?"
Leo, who was watching on, was also slightly surprised. He had not expected the other party to make their move so quickly.
With a thought, countless stardust bugs crawled all over the Magus" body in secret. With them on his body, that Magus would definitely be unable to escape from the Oakheart clan.
"The Forbidden Ancient Clock? A.I. Chip!" Leylin, who was under the stage, was similarly startled and quietly issued a command.
[The Forbidden Ancient Clock. One of the mysteries inherited from ancient times. Said to hold the power of time, and is the treasure of the northern Lucca clan.]
The A.I. Chip quickly came up with a paragraph and a picture. It was a vivid image from a piece of parchment paper, within which was a giant black wall clock. The clock hand was twisted, and gave a strange sense of confusion.
"The power of time?!" Leylin's eyes widened. "This is an extremely advanced power. How can low-ranked Magi control it…"
There were many who knew about the rumours surrounding the Forbidden Ancient Clock. Many Magi stared at the black blob of light onstage with fiery gazes.
Or to be precise, they were staring at the item the Magus was displaying.
It was a round ornament. It looked exactly the same as the picture of the ancient clock that the A.I. Chip had shown. The surface was the colour of dark copper and did not seem the least bit special.
"A.I. Chip, scan!" Knowing something was off, Leylin commanded the A.I. Chip to perform a scan.
[Mission established. Beginning scanning. Beep! Interrupted by an unknown force field. Scanning unable to proceed.]
On the interface of the A.I. Chip, Leylin saw a strange blank region at the sides of the black item, preventing the A.I. Chip from scanning.
After advancing to become a rank 3 Warlock, the A.I. Chip had also been upgraded. Issues like this, where there was interference from a force field that prevented it from scanning, hardly happened anymore.
The only possibility was that this Forbidden Ancient Clock was the real deal. The A.I. Chip was still unable to draw data on the power of time.
"However, what the A.I. Chip might be unable to probe might not be the clock, but some other mysterious item that causes a similar reaction…" Leylin touched his chin and continued watching the platform.
As expected, that Magus continued to demonstrate a few tricks, proving the authenticity of what he held.
A unique treasure, especially one that was related to the domain of time, was more than enough to be highly sought-after by Magi, even if it was merely a small component.
On top of that, this Magus had not quoted a very high price. Not only could it be exchanged with some precious materials, he even accepted magic crystals. This immediately caused the eyes of all the Magi present to go red in desire.
This was an anonymous barter event. Even if they obtained the item, the Lucca clan might not be able to find them. The number of Magi who had this thought in mind was definitely not small.
At the end, another Magus shrouded in black light used an astronomical price of 15 billion magic crystals as well as numerous precious materials and put pressure on the other competitors, finally obtaining this item.
After obtaining this item, the Magus knew that he could not stay for much longer and quickly left in a hurry. The Magus on stage did the same.
In order to protect customers, the Oakheart clan had even set up a random teleportation formation. Customers leaving would be transported to any area near the Azure Mountain, which even the Oakheart clan would not know. Hence, there was no need to worry about being followed.
However, these things were all just to prevent any attention. Leo had long since planted stardust bugs on their bodies. Not just the seller; even the Magus who had obtained the item was now under his eye.
This feeling of being in control of another's fate was truly intoxicating.
-x-X-x-
Leylin noticed that after those two Magi left, a few others in the cave had secretly followed along. Under the enormous temptation, it was evident that Magi did not mind being robbers every once in awhile.
'It's a pity that compared to the Oakheart clan, your methods are too cheap…' Leylin sighed and glanced up at the stage once more.
When the Magus left the stage, another black ball of light streaked over to the position. A friendly male voice sounded, "Ladies and gentlemen, what I shall now display is…"
Leylin watched on detachedly. The items on display were on a whole other level compared to the auction, and there were many precious items, some of which could even be said to have already been lost to time.
The prices of these medicines were lower. Most Magi demanded that their items be exchanged for other items, and they were even willing to trade for lower-levelled materials.
There were few Magi who were like the one before, agreeing to trade for any item, and even agreeing to take magic crystals. Most clearly indicated what resources they required. If nobody had the item, they would not make the trade no matter how many magic crystals were offered up, and might leave regretfully.
In general, though the items here were top-grade, so the chances of success were not very high.
Halfway through the event, it was finally Leylin's turn. He muttered to himself as he headed onto the stage, already sure of which items he was going to exhibit.
An ancient black female crown, as well as a few multi-coloured potions, floated above his hands.
"A piece of magic equipment, the Dark Elven Crown. Extremely effective in concealing large groups. There's also a blood-igniting potion, divine potions and other top-grade potions!" With a push, these items all began to float, undulating with tempting lustre.
"I wish to obtain an astral stone in exchange for all these, or a means to obtain astral stones…" He had produced these items after careful deliberation. The Blood-igniting potion and the many others were top-grade potions, and with his knowledge as a Potions Grandmaster, it was not difficult to brew them again as long as he had all the ingredients.
The Dark Elven Crown was not of much use to him, and it did not quite match his own strength. It belonged to Twilight Zone, and Magi of the central continent would definitely be unable to tell its origins, which made it perfect for sale.
Bloodline treasures or refined bloodlines held very obvious markings that could very well expose him. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Leylin had no wish to sell them.
It had to be said that the items Leylin had displayed were all very practical. The Dark Elven Crown was a piece magic equipment after all, and was definitely valuable.
However, with all of the items together, he would probably only be able to obtain an astral stone the size of a little finger. If he obtained information on how to acquire them, that would be quite generous.
Leylin watched the Magi downstairs expectantly. To construct an astral gate, it might not even be enough to sell himself away to gather enough astral stones. He had no high hopes, however, as constructing astral gates was something only Morning Star Magi were capable of.
All he wished now was to obtain resources to proceed with the preliminary research. For this reason, he merely needed a few of astral stones.
However, the rarity of astral stones exceeded Leylin's expectations. Though the items he was exhibiting caused a commotion amongst the Magi, nobody was willing to make this trade.
If they planned to use information, they lacked real news. One could not underestimate Magi; they were extremely sensitive to the authenticity of this sort of information. The Magi below were also unable to bring any news that would be able to cheat Leylin.
Leylin sighed inside.
All of a sudden, he saw one of the black blobs of light flickering at the corner of his eye.
Elated, he immediately commanded the A.I. Chip to use its scanning abilities at full power, even emanating tempting ripples that lured the stardust bugs on the other party's body to cooperate.
In the A.I. Chip's field of vision, the figure of an old man vaguely appeared. The image from the stardust bugs that Leylin had coerced might have been blurry, but it was enough for Leylin to recognise who he was. This man was someone he had seen before!
'It's Vance, the head of the Rolithe family?' Leylin immediately let go of his hesitation and turned to leave the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what I wish to trade is…" The moment he left, another Magus came up in a hurry, producing materials gained from high-energy creatures. He went on and on, introducing the item...
When everyone Magus had gone up once, Leo immediately announced that the event would now continue to the free exchange segment.
This free exchange meant that all the Magi present would have a place to display the items they wished to sell. It was just like a street stall.
This was also the last chance for Magi who had not profited at all from before.
Even if they could not obtain resources they were in urgent need of, they could also sell things here and exchange for more regular items, such as magic crystals.
However, there were Magi who were already content or had no interest in magic crystals who left the anonymous barter after the first segment by the teleportation spell formation.
Leylin unhurriedly came before an area and displayed the Dark Elven Crown and top-grade potions he had exhibited previously. He mentioned that he would only accept astral stones, and had no intentions of obtaining magic crystals.
He caught a glimpse of Vance, who was hesitating not far away, and grinned.
He was now 'fishing'. The other party had not come forward for some unknown reason, but he definitely had an astral stone or might have some information about it. All this meant hope to Leylin.
"Sire, may I see what you have?" Unexpectedly enough, before Vance came over, another person had been attracted to his stall.
This person had blond hair and a very amiable smile. In the entire floor, the only person not using magic to conceal himself would be Leo.
"So it's Lord Leo. Of course, but I will only accept astral stones!" Leylin waved his arms, his voice already changed using the A.I. Chip. He was thus not recognised.
"Tsk tsk… This magic equipment's design is very ancient, and even holds the style of the ancient Gloomy Forest region…" Leo evidently had no eyes for the top-grade potions at Leylin's stall, but was evidently unwilling to part with this dark elven magic equipment.
"My apologies!" After staring at it for a long while, Leo finally put down the crown regretfully.
"I have a female cousin who really likes things of this style. On top of that, this is even magic equipment! I hope to buy it, so just tell me a price in terms of magic crystals…"
Leo's expression showed his sincerity. With his status, it was very rare that he would speak so amicably.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not lacking in magic crystals. I only want astral stones, no matter how small!" Leylin politely rejected him, "I'm sorry, but you're in the way."
There were a few Magi waiting to watch a good show here with Leo around, but the blob of light that signified Vance seemed to be shrinking back.
"Hehe… Sire, if you are willing to sell it, you shall gain a good relationship with our Oakheart clan!" Leo focused on the black bundle of light in front of him, eyes seeming to look past the concealing formation at Leylin's face.
"What? Is the Oakheart clan threatening me?" Leylin's voice went higher, attracting the attention of many Magi.
"Of course not, you're misunderstanding! I was just impatient. My apologies!" This had not gone the way Leo had expected. It was the first time a Magus had not taken his clan into account.
The prestige of his clan was the foundation of this very auction. He bowed in apology, but a sinister trace glinted in his eyes.
'You… you dare treat me this way?' He silently sent down a command, and Leylin quickly found that the stardust bugs that he had hypnotised into submission had received a command. They would reveal information about his looks and ranking, as well as crawl over his body so that he could be tracked.
'If this were a regular Magus, they would be in trouble, but to deal with me…' Leylin sneered inside, 'A.I. Chip, send fake fluctuations!'
[Mission established, beginning task…] Soon enough, false information was transmitted to Leo through formless undulations, and successfully sent information on his location.
"Hehe… Sire, here is a portion of an astral stone as compensation!" Already thinking of Leylin as a dead man, Leo magnanimously produced a purple embroidered case and placed it before Leylin.
'Oh? I'm unexpectedly profiting?' Leylin was delighted and opened the case, finding an astral stone the size of a quail egg.
"I only wanted to try purchasing with magic crystals. Since you are unwilling to accept it, I can only resign myself and part with this treasure." Leo's words were elegant, and he had even given up this astral stone that was even more valuable than anything Leylin had on display. He successfully reversed the image of his clan.
"Oh! I was much too hurried just now. My apologies." Leylin knew when to stop and placed the cosmic stone back properly, "All these items are now yours!" he pointed at the potions and crown at his stall.
With what he had, he could at most only obtain an astral stone the size of a pinky, but Leo had given him one the size of a quail egg. This meant Leylin had obviously gotten the better end of the deal.
Leo kept everything from the stall properly while observing Leylin. He was especially careful with the Dark Elven Crown, though he was snickering inside.
'You must be proud, huh? Excited? It's a pity, but you'll only be taking care of that astral stone for a short period of time before you'll have to spit it out obediently, and even give me your life while you're at it!'
-x-X-x-
Leylin had long guessed what Leo was thinking.
Since they had already dispatched stardust bugs to find out the background of all the guests, the Oakheart Family had probably done their fair share of killing and seizing treasure. They hadn't been discovered only because they had concealed it well, and the targets they chose were mostly those without power and support.
What interested him more was the other party's obvious desire for the Dark Elven Crown.
'The concealing effect of this magical device has a large range. Although it is sufficiently extensive, for a Magus, a range that is too large might become a burden to them, making the concealing function less favourable.' Leylin stroked his chin and squinted.
'The only reason why this could attract Leo would be its use in war…' Only a sneak attack in such a wide area would be the place for this piece of magic equipment to be put to use.
Therefore, whatever purpose the other party had purchased this magic equipment for would be revealed soon. Leylin absolutely did not believe what he said about giving it to his cousin or any rubbish of the sort anyway.
'However, having gained something here, Vance…' Leylin looked over at his empty stall, and glanced outside at the corner of his eye.
Indeed, the sphere of light that represented Vance had left together with the Magi who were crowding around to watch the scene earlier on.
Although Leylin still did have items of a higher value, it would evidently be inappropriate to put them up.
However, merely letting him go was clearly not Leylin's style of doing things. He had now completely understood the rarity and scarcity of astral stones. If he had the chance to obtain one more, he definitely wouldn't mind.
As time passed, the anonymous barter had come to an end.
Groups of Magi left on the teleportation spell formation one after another, rays of light flashing repeatedly. The entire cave quickly became quiet.
At this moment, Leo appeared, along with 7 or 8 Magi behind him. There seemed to be both old and young Magi, but what remained the same across all of them were their frightful energy waves and astonishing murderous aura.
"I will personally handle the Magus that sold the Forbidden Ancient Clock. Number 6 and 7 will be in charge of the buyer! The other party is only a small fry with little power. As long as we kill him and destroy the evidence, there wouldn't be any consequences…" Leo swiftly delegated missions, occasionally throwing out a locating crystal.
"As for Number 5, you'll go after the fellow that took the astral stone and kill him. That is his actual appearance, don't worry! He only has the strength of an initial Hydro Phase Magus!" They were the secret elite force of the Oakheart Clan, and every Magus was in the Crystal Phase. To Leo, dispatching even one of them to deal with Leylin was already thinking too highly of him.
Number 5 was a bulky middle-aged Caucasian. Upon receiving an image, he discovered that Leylin was a young man with brown curly hair and nodded.
"Also, if possible, try to catch him alive. Our clan's underwater prison has been short of prisoners of a sufficiently high rank…" Leo laughed coldly, sending shivers down the spines of the other Magi.
The Oakheart Clan's underwater prison naturally would not be any average place. Even rank 3 Magi in the Crystal Phase that entered would surely face death, and would even be sentenced to the cruelest penalty before dying; even their corpses would be an unbearable sight to behold.
'Looks like this youngster has greatly offended Sire!' number 5 secretly thought. He slapped his chest and guaranteed, "Rest assured, Chief! I will definitely arrest him for you to punish!"
"Alright! Excellent!" Leo nodded.
"Is everyone clear about the rules of our Clan? If something goes wrong, immediately destroy all evidence. I'd rather you commit suicide than divulge any information about the clan, or else…" He watched the Magi indifferently. The icy-cold look in his eyes made them sweat profusely.
Although they had already risen to Crystal Phase, as long as they were human, there was bound to be something or someone that they cared about or was their weakness. And all of this was secretly controlled by Leo and the clan.
While every single one of them was strong rank 3 Crystal Phase Magi, they did not dare to disobey Leo's orders because they were deterred by the Morning Star Magus.
"Great! Let's set off!" With a wave of his hand, the numerous Magi instantly transformed into rays of light, launching in all directions.
...
At this moment, Leylin was following closely behind Vance.
He had already set his eyes on the other party at the auction venue. There would only be one outcome when a scheming Leylin and a clueless Vance come together: an easy target. With the aid of the A.I. Chip, he immediately marked Vance.
He wasn't far from where Vance's transmitted location was and had promptly followed him.
"Hmm?" Leylin then discovered that the stardust bugs on him had sent him information.
"Someone is chasing after me, and he's just a mere Crystal Phase Magus? What a pity Leo didn't come himself, or else I might be able to take the Dark Elven Crown back…" After the experience with Toram, Leylin now had confidence in his combat capabilities.
If an average rank 3 Magus in the Crystal Phase tried all the tactics possible, there still might be a possibility of defeating the enemy.
However, if the other party had more than 3 people, then his only option would be to ditch the plan and run.
If Leo alone came for him, he thought of making him stay here forever, but since it was just a Magus in the Crystal Phase...
"Since I can't kill you, I'll annoy you. A rank 3 Magus in the Crystal Phase probably wasn't easy to nurture…" Leylin stroked his chin, and an evil look flashed in his eyes.
'However, I will first have to settle with Vance, or it will be an unexpected factor that could easily result in consequences I can't have thought of.' After much thought, Leylin used the Transfiguration spell to transform into the image of Blood Rogue that he had used in the auction venue, and stopped Vance in his tracks.
"Who is it? Oh? Mr Blood Rogue?" Vance examined the Magus in his way, stunned. Even after recognizing that he was Blood Rogue, he did not seem relaxed, but instead became more alert.
"I wonder why Sire is blocking my way?" Vance stared at Blood Rogue in fear.
His ability to randomly transmit spell formations and find out his whereabouts was definitely something worth being cautious about. Vance's heart beat rapidly, and he had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
"I am the Magus that was selling the Crown of the Dark Elves previously. It seems that you, Sir, seem to have information about astral stones, so I followed you with hopes of obtaining it…" Leylin spoke politely.
"Oh! It's you!" Having made a great realization, Vance patted his head, but his expression suddenly changed, "But, how did you recognize me?"
At that time, he had been using the concealment spell formation, and had even put on a few layers of disguise!
"About this, of course…" Leylin smiled, keeping an enigmatic expression. But before he could complete his sentence, he turned behind and his face changed.
There, Number 5 had hidden his face and was swiftly coming after him. using up to them.
"Such waves? It's a Magus in Crystal Phase. You went so far as to provoke someone of this level?" The old man's eyes widened, and deployed a few layers of defense in succession.
"He came too quickly, what a waste! With a bit more time, I could lower Vance's defense levels and attack in one go!"
Leylin glanced at Vance, "I'll have to get this done and over with!"
*Whoosh!* Both of his hands abruptly turned blood red, and huge claws grabbed at Vance, making loud sounds.
"I knew you were up to no good!" Vance hollered, as layers of soil made their way onto his body, forming a humongous clay giant that was more than ten metres tall.
"Kill!" Leylin's face was expressionless, his eyes filled with a piercing look that was sharp enough to kill. His spiritual force, which was already in Hydro Phase, flowed into the Claws of Blood without end.
The massive clay giant roared, raising his fist to greet the strange bloody claws flying towards him.
*Bam!* The blood red claws were sharp beyond comparison, and instantly scratched the other party's fist, even leaving a deep groove in his chest.
"Hmph!" Vance's stifled snort came from within the clay giant, his voice filled with dismay, "Such strength? Aren't you a Magus in Hydro Phase?"
*Boom!* With that, the clay giant immediately turned and hurriedly escaped.
But why would Leylin let him run off? Numerous potions flew in mid-air, and terrifying elemental particles converged, taking the shape of a jet black sickle.
"Rank 3 potion combination spell—Death's Blade!" Gigantic black sickles slashed through the giant silently, without a single wave.
The clay giant's entire body trembled and he suddenly came to a standstill. Soon after, along with the loud rumble, the clay giant disintegrated in all directions, revealing Vance within.
It was just that Vance now had a more pitiful appearance. Both legs were broken at the knees and blood was gushing profusely, but no matter what spells or healing potions he used, it was still useless.
"No! Don't come over! I can give you anything you want, I… I still have some clues about astral stones… You'll definitely need it…" Seeing Leylin inch closer step by step, Vance started to panic, promising a whole heap of things.
He didn't wish to die. He treasured his life, even more now that he had already collected sufficient materials and was about to advance to the Crystal Phase.
"Blame Jessia if you wish!" Leylin was apathetic. He had never believed in intelligence that was revealed in the face of death, and the Crystal Phase waves that were getting closer also meant that he was running out of time.
"I have enough astral stones, the intelligence means nothing to me. If you don't have any on you, at most I'll think of it as doing all of this for nothing!" Leylin had thought this through clearly. He had gone on the trip with the intention of giving it a try.
He didn't need the intelligence, because with a piece of astral stone with him, there wasn't a need to risk his life for another imaginary desire.
Therefore, Vance's fate had actually been set from then.
"Jessia?" Vance paused, recalling his grandson's cheeky wife.
"What has anything got to do with her?"
But he didn't have to think any further, as a blood-red ray of light threw him into darkness...
-x-X-x-
Leylin searched the other party's body at the speed of light. His eyes lit up as he tugged the red gemstone off the other party's ear.
Using his spiritual force to swiftly explore the inside of the pendant, an astral stone the size of a fingernail immediately came into view.
"Brilliant!" As expected, Vance had indeed lied about the intelligence that he had gathered before he died. He had always been carrying the astral stone around.
Not only that, there were certain materials that were kept inside the earrings that surprised Leylin.
"The Diamond Jellyfish…" Leylin couldn't help but smile as he glanced upon something that seemed like a crystal figure.
"This is indeed a genuine first-rate material that is capable of increasing the chances of breaking through to the Crystal Phase by 35%. No wonder the other party was so confident in advancing." He couldn't help but take a look at his own condition.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 3 Warlock (Hydro Phase). Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent, Strength: 30, Agility: 30, Vitality: 45.5, Spiritual Force: 315.6, Magic Power: 315 (Magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force)]
It had been a while since Leylin had advanced to the Hydro Phase. In recent times, he had always used the power of his bloodline to increase his spiritual force, instead of using spiritual force potions.
After a century of disuse, his body's resistance to potions had almost completely worn out.
As long as he used this potion once more, he should be able to fulfill the requirements of Crystal Phase.
"Vance has indeed given me many good things!" Not only that, most of the things that Vance had painstakingly prepared to break through to the Crystal Phase were also useful for Leylin. This had indeed saved Leylin a lot of trouble to search for them.
He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The Coin of Destiny had indeed guided him well. Vance was practically his lucky star, although the man himself would not think that way.
"Found you!" Number 5 descended in front of Leylin, emitting terrifying Crystal Phase energy waves.
"Leo didn't follow you? This is indeed disappointing!" Leylin looked at Number 5 and shook his head as his face showed regret.
"How dare you? Even though you've just killed a Hydro Phase Magus, you can't belittle the dignity of a Crystal Phase Magus!"
Number 5's face hardened as he gathered and concentrated the spiritual force all over his body.
"I should inform you that I didn't just kill a Rank 3 Hydro Phase Magus, I also killed a Magus that just broke through to the Crystal Phase not long ago.
"Just in time, the specimen that I had gained previously seemed a little weak, maybe I should gather another one…" Upon hearing Leylin's words, Number 5's expression darkened.
Number 5 looked at Leylin who laughed indifferently, and suddenly felt like what he'd done was ridiculously dumb.
Yet, it was too late as there was a black ray of light concentrating on Leylin's finger….
...
"I'll remember this, Oakheart Clan!" On the other hand, a hawk-nosed Magus, with terrible wounds and even scars that were created from spell formations, was currently fleeing in disarray.
Even though he has already reached a high level of the Crystal Phase, and his spiritual force is only a few steps away from peaking the Crystal Phase, he was still unable to defend himself from the combined attacks of three Crystal Phase Magi. He lost tragically and even suffered serious injuries.
In particular, the leader Leo could be said to be this Magus' nightmare. He brought along a high-energy creature which was the main cause of his injuries.
What made him even angrier was that he was unable to escape Leo's clutches even when he changed his aura. This meant that the other party had left a mark on him.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to find out what exactly the other party had done. The fact that even his communications equipment was restricted made him realize the disparity between the two parties, driving him insane.
"Oakheart Clan, I will definitely expose your dirty tricks to the entire world!" the hawk-nosed Magus howled in desperation as he soon found himself cornered by the three.
"You'll never get the chance!" Leo showed a ruthless expression as he concentrated a terrifying amount of energy fluctuations on his body.
In that instant, the shadow of a beast that appeared behind him gradually took form as it stood in front of the hawk-nosed Magus.
That creature howled, making an unpleasant sound.
This creature seemed to be a combination of a wolf and a squid. It has the head and the body of a wolf and yet its lower body was equipped with white tentacles, complete with suction pads, that sent shivers down one's spine.
The creature, which had eyes that looked like green lightbulbs, stared intensely at the Magus. At the same time, there were traces of dark green gases being emitted from the suction pads.
The gas then concentrated on the hawk-nosed Magus' body, forming a thick layer of adhesive that caused him to slow down.
*Roar!* The tentacles, located at the lower body of the creature, bloomed like a flower as they headed towards the hawk-nosed Magus.
Leo watched in pleasure as the creature swallowed the hopeless fellow into its stomach. The creature's stomach didn't stop squirming as if it was digesting the entire body.
It was always the same cycle. Those he pursued would first curse him, then fear him and his creature, and ultimately they wouldn't be able to escape their fate of death. Witnessing these Magi eventually die was always a heartfelt pleasure for him.
Even though this current target was not a beautiful and skilled female Magus, the fact that he was from an affluent family was enough to make up for his loss.
"This Hocada Beast…" Suddenly, the creature wrapped itself with its uncountable hands, forming a humongous meat lump and even breathing like a human being.
"It's almost reached the stage of evolution. Once it evolves, I'm afraid…" Leo's expression darkened.
This unique Hocada Beast originally belonged to his Morning Star Magus grandfather who found it among the debris of another plane.
The creature was now merely in its infancy, and could still swallow terrifying Crystal Phase magi. Once it was fully grown and its ability increased, only his Master Grandfather would be capable of subduing it.
*Snap!* A sharp and clear sound could be heard from Leo's chest as he stared blankly.
He couldn't believe it as he took out a rhombus-shaped crystal from his embrace and saw the surface being filled with cracks and at the same time, it wasn't shining.
Number 1 and Number 2 couldn't help but narrowed their eyes.
"This is… the crystal that seals the spirit source. Which comrade perished?"
"Number 5. But how is that possible? The other party is only a Hydro Phase…"
Leo hated this feeling as it meant that things went beyond his control. "Exactly what happened? Which Magus concealed his capability? Or was it merely sheer luck that a high-ranked Magus helped him? Drat, there are so many possibilities…."
Leo's expression turned ferocious: "Number 1, Number 2… I want you…"
"Buzz!" Just at this time, a subtle energy wave was transmitted from Leo's ring in the form of a blue ray of light as an image was projected in the sky.
In this image was a blue-haired Magus with eyes, more brilliant than the stars.
"Master Grandfather!" Leo bowed respectfully while Number 1 and Number 2 knelt on the ground as they shivered. The dignity of a Morning Star Magus could not be violated even if you were at the Crystal Phase.
The expression of the Magus in the image was awful: "I felt a portion of the dispatched stardust bugs being destroyed."
Leo narrowed his eyes. The fact that the Oakheart Clan made use of stardust bugs to spy on each and every move of the Magi was a top secret and the consequences would be dire if this secret was to be exposed.
Even the Azure Mountain King, who was also a Morning Star Magus, would not be able to appease the anger of the numerous Magi.
Adding on, once the female Morning Star Magi found out that their conduct and deeds were…. Leo didn't dare to even think about it anymore.
"No matter what, this has to be resolved immediately. Luckily, the last information that was sent through the stardust bugs is that the other party is not of a high rank, not even to the extent of nearing the Morning Star realm. Go to the location with these coordinates first, I'll arrive soon!"
The Azure Mountain King's tone was pressing and commanding. He'd emphasized on the matter at hand when he hung up.
"These coordinates?" Leo looked at the information that the Azure Mountain King had sent him as his eyes narrowed into a line.
He remembered very clearly that these coordinates located the direction that the Magus who had killed Number 5 fled to.
The scene of his confrontation with the other party flashed in his head.
He remembered the other party's calm voice and realised how foolish he was back then. Maybe back then, the other party had already seen through his tricks and found a way to free himself as he awaited Leo's arrival.
Once he thought about it, he'd truly been inane! Leo's expression dropped instantly, now as gloomy as rain.
"Follow me!" Leo's voice was very dry, as if he was dying of thirst in the desert. Number 1 and Number 2 looked at each other and helplessly forced a smile.
Based on the conversation just now, they had already guessed that something serious had happened and they were aware of the consequences of knowing too much.
This was the sad part of being controlled by someone else. Even if they knew they were at a disadvantage, they would not dare to rebel.
"Humph!" Leo turned his head away coldly as Number 1 and Number 2 followed closely behind him.
The stardust bugs were top secret. In past history, only the leader of the Oakheart Clan and the Azure Mountain King knew of them. Since these two heard the name, they were already destined for death.
Maybe the Azure Mountain King had already thought of this. He was only delaying their deaths because he had a use for them.
It was important to clean all evidence once the deed was done. After all, no one could know of the clan's biggest secret…
*Thump!* Number 5's body fell on the floor with a small black hole in his forehead.
"Not bad!" Leylin's breathing was unstable. After all, it was not an easy task to deal with a rank 3 Crystal Phase Magus. Yet, as he looked at Number 5's ring, his expression brightened.
-x-X-x-
Only after finishing with the plunder of Number 5's body did Leylin turn his gaze upon the black mask, his expression grave.
"The coercion of the A.I. Chip cannot last a long time. Once it fades, the controller of these bugs will get the news right away…"
The powder he'd used on these stardust bugs would only work once; moreover, once the effect was gone, he was afraid that these bugs would still leak out all the information to the central control room.
Leylin could not allow this. Once he thought of the Morning Star Magus behind the scenes, he felt a chill.
Fortunately, the other side still did not know his identity, so as long as the proof could be wiped out clearly, chances were that he could escape notice.
Once he thought of that, a green flame fell on the mask, growing larger.
Explosions could be heard from the mask, so soft that one couldn't hear them without the help of the A.I. Chip.
After confirming that the stardust bugs had all perished, Leylin burned the entire area to ashes, laughing grimly before leaving.
...
With his timely retreat, Leylin did not get to see Leo's crazed look as he arrived.
Leylin had been very careful to avoid places that could be monitored by Magi, even choosing to forgo travel by airship in favour of making his way on land. He hadn't even hesitated to pass through some dangerous zones.
By the time he'd arrived at a safe zone outside the region of influence of Azure Mountain City, he'd even gotten news about the great changes there.
Watching the news that Azure Mountain City had imposed a curfew and sealed off the airship network, even starting to hunt for him without restraint, Leylin could not help but feel glad at his early departure.
He did not care about how crazy the Oakheart Family was, and didn't even plan on spreading the news.
Although announcing the secret of the stardust bug would hurt the Oakheart Clan badly, there were few benefits for himself. On the other hand, this secret would make for a good bargaining chip in the future.
Leylin looked forward to the day he advanced to become a Morning Star Magus and the hush money the Azure Mountain King would provide.
Of course, having such dreams before advancing to the Morning Star realm would be nothing but courting death!
Since he didn't choose to use an airship, Leylin's return trip seemed to take a long time.
For the sake of caution, he'd even taken a big detour and only then snuck back into his own territory.
Only after entering his Magus Tower and being greeted by the mechanical voice of the tower genie did he relax completely.
A cup of hot coffee was placed on top of the table, emanating a rich and sweet aroma. Yet, Leylin only sat there without any facial expression, rapping his fingers on the table.
Leylin reflected on his actions after returning to his safe haven and listed out his weakness and gains in detail. He has always been doing that and it is because of this that he could survive without much mishaps in this sinister Magus world.
He had gained a lot on this trip, enough to shock any Crystal Phase Magus. But, at the same time, he'd provoked a power that was very troublesome. Just a little bit of thoughtlessness could've ended up with him dead.
The rage of a Morning Star Magus was awful. Once he was discovered, forget Leylin himself, not even his family and friends would meet a good end.
"I've cut off all the clues. To the auction house I was just 'Blood Rogue,' and at the anonymous barter, I'd disguised myself as well. I even destroyed the evidence afterwards. To think to look for me from all this is nearly impossible!"
Leylin was very confident in his own methods and the A.I. Chip's coverup.
"As for prophetic spells, they're very inaccurate on their own, and they work much worse against high ranked Magi. Adding on the cover from my Magus Tower…" This aspect was what worried Leylin the most.
There may be no normal clues, but if any mysterious spells were added into the mix… the thought scared him.
Especially prophetic spells. Those were extremely troublesome. Unless you were much higher in rank than the other party, as long as they paid a certain price, they could find out everything about you!
"Fortunately, there are very few prophetic Magi on the continent, and to correctly trace it back to me with my strength being at the Hydro Phase and the cover of my Magus Tower, it'll be impossible for those normal ones. And to employ a Morning Star Magus that specialized in prophecy for the task would entail a huge price."
With the database of the A.I. Chip and his personal experience with the Coin of Destiny, Leylin understood the workings of prophecy Magic much better than any ordinary Magus at his level.
"And the Azure Mountain King is not a prophetic Magus, and to pay the huge price of a Morning Star realm prophet is impossible within a short period of time… I must take advantage of this opportunity and immediately advance to the Crystal Phase. If things drag out until then, it'll be much better…"
It took much more to predict the location of a Crystal Phase Magus to one at the Hydro Phase. What Leylin needed to do the most now was to improve his own strength so predictions would fail.
Strong radiation would be enough to interfere with such things!
Once Leylin advanced to the Morning Star realm, all this would count as a minor matter. Nobody would offend one Morning Star Magus for the sake of another.
Once Leylin advanced to the Morning Star realm, he could use this matter of the stardust bugs to extort the other party. At that time, the Azure Mountain King would only be able to swallow that bitter pill obediently.
'And there's no need to worry much about Vance and the Rolithe Family!' Leylin remembered the patriarch of the Rolithe Family that died at his hands. Because of Jessia's entanglement and having been detected by Leylin's Coin of Destiny, he will always be at the losing end, how miserable is that.
He didn't even know who killed him. As for the Rolithe Family, for them to find out would be even harder.
"Diamond Jellyfish, astral stone!" Leylin touches his chin, muttering, "For such precious treasures to appear in such a small family at the same time is abnormal. Perhaps I should have Parker go watch them…" For the current Leylin, a family with only a Hydro Phase Magus was no matter.
Even were Vance not dead, with all the subordinates Leylin had amassed in over a century, he didn't even need to move himself to crush them.
However, for the patriarch of a small family to suddenly advance by leaps and bounds, and at the same time to possess such precious treasures, made Leylin unable to help but suspect that he had found some great treasure or inheritance.
In the central continent, there were plenty of Magi. As a result, there was an abundance of inheritance and historical remains. Almost every day in the Magi World, there would be lucky Magi who would ride on the coattails of their ancestors, and have high possibilities of promotion.
'No, the Rolithe Family does not know right now that I'm the murderer. It would be too obvious to let Parker go.' Leylin was not afraid of their vengeance, but he was worried that the Oakheart Family would also associate him with the killer, which would be terrible!
Leylin thought for a bit, and opened up a secret imprint, "Tanasha! Go to the Black River Domain, and secretly watch the Rolithe Family. Report to me their every move!"
"Understood, Master!" came her respectful voice in return.
After slowly separating from the inner circle of the Forgotten Land, this lady had wholeheartedly joined Leylin and become his most powerful subordinate.
For a Crystal Phase Magus, even eliminating the entire Rolithe Family would be no problem, leave alone simply monitoring them.
"Now that the annoyances are out of the way, let's take a look at the spoils!" After closing the secret imprint, Leylin spat out a breath and waved his hand, causing a few objects to appear on the table.
Inside a purple box were two black stones, one big and one small, each flickering in a weak blue light.
These were Leylin's main purpose in making the trip—astral stones!
The big one was from Leo and was the size of a quail egg, and the small one was what he'd plundered from Vance. It was only the size of a fingernail.
In fact, the one he'd gotten from Vance was enough to conduct preliminary research on astral gates, but to Leylin there would never be enough. He wasn't losing money anyway, and one could never have too much of these high-class resources.
Especially after he reached the Morning Star realm. At that point, the number of astral stones he'd need to build an astral gate already made Leylin worry, so even though he had enough for now, the more the better.
"With all these things, this trip was worth it!" Leylin touched his chin, looking at the other things on the table.
The most eye-catching of them all was a crystal statue, bright and pink, that seemed indestructible as if made of diamond.
This was a Diamond Jellyfish, a valuable natural resource that had been lost to time. It could greatly increase the probability of a Hydro Phase Magus advancing to the Crystal Phase.
Although the rest couldn't compare to the Diamond Jellyfish, they were still very precious treasures, altogether useful enough to increase the probability of a breakthrough further by one or two levels.
Adding the optimised spell formation, it seemed like Vance's chances of promotion this time were quite big.
Unfortunately, all of this had now become Leylin's fortune. The goods from Vance and Number 5 had swelled Leylin's pockets once more.
"No wonder the atmosphere felt strange lately, I better just stay within my tower and breakthrough the Crystal Phase bottleneck..." Thinking of what he'd heard and seen on the trip, Leylin's face became gloomy.
Whether it was the Ouroboros Clan, or Azure Mountain City, everyone seemed tense and depressed, as if war was on the horizon.
-x-X-x-
Sly old Leylin was definitely able to recognise the stifling feeling when a huge war was approaching.
It was not just the mood. The bustling activity in the trading hall, the bloody missions, what had happened when Leylin had last been dispatched, as well as the appearance of the Ancient Forbidden Clock at the Azure Mountain Auction event all alluded to Leylin's premonitions being correct.
The military strength of the central continent far exceeded Leylin's experience in the south coast and Twilight Zone. The moment Morning Star Magi began using their final techniques, the damages were devastating.
With such terrifying attacks, it was no longer just about harming innocent commoners. Even lower ranked Magi were nothing but cannon fodder!
As such, Leylin could no longer distance himself from the whirlpool of events.
The volcano that was connected to the Twilight Zone was currently filled with lava, and he was unwilling to abandon the Ouroboros Clan now. After all, he was happier with the lifestyle here.
"For a Morning Star to rise, many choose to pave their way with bloody murder. What I lack now is precisely that, a tempering in fire and blood." Leylin's pupils blazed with ambition.
'In the Magus world, the central continent is the highest layer, the place where all the high-ranking Magi reside. If there is disorder here, it's likely to spill over into the other regions as well. I cannot have too many considerations that will distract me. The most crucial issue right now is to strengthen myself as soon as possible…'
With that thought, Leylin immediately sent out an order: "Tower genie, close off my bedroom and the main laboratory. Announce that I'm going to be conducting a very important experiment and do not wish to be interrupted in any way. Move all the items from Warehouse 1 to my lab."
"As you wish, master!" The tiny green genie flapped her wings and bowed midair, disappearing in a flash…
About three months later.
In a quiet room in his Magus Tower, Leylin was seated with a head of messy hair and wrinkled clothes that had picked up dirt. In contrast to his ragged clothing, his eyes were bright, their blackness glorious and intimidating as they sparkled. Beside him were innumerable test tubes piled up, making the whole room look like a messy dump.
"A.I. Chip, investigate my current status." he ordered, and it faithfully reported back:
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 3 Warlock (Hydro Phase). Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent, Strength: 30, Agility: 30, Physique: 45.5, Spiritual Force: 349.9, Magic Power: 349 (magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force)]
This tremendous increase in spiritual force was the harvest Leylin had been looking forward to for the past few months. It was mainly due to the consumption of extremely powerful potions.
These potions, if offered to the Ouroboros Clan, would be enough to last their Warlocks an entire year! Such was the frightening results of piling up his resources.
For the past century while he lived in seclusion, Leylin had resisted the constant temptation of using spiritual force potions. He'd even concocted many himself, saving and sealing them up. Relying only on his bloodline to advance, he had slowly eliminated his body's resistance to them.
The continuous use of potions would've been harmful to his personal growth. Now, however, with his foundations solid, raising his strength to the peak of the Hydro Phase would be as smooth as liquid flowing, with no obstructions whatsoever.
"Three phases to the third rank," Leylin muttered under his breath, "the Vapour, Hydro and Crystal Phases. Spiritual force needs to reach 250 for the first, 300 for the second, and a whopping 350 for the third. Well, now I've achieved it. I can attempt to break the bottleneck to the Crystal Phase!"
The data computation of the spiritual force in the third rank was split into three sub-ranks and and their corresponding abilities had significant disparities.
After all, 100 kilograms of cotton and 100 kilograms of steel might weigh the same, yet their density and durability were completely different.
The spiritual force statistic varied widely between the different phases of the third rank. Between the Vapor Phase and Hydro Phase, a huge difference existed, and with the Crystal Phase, the disparity was even more terrifying.
Magi with such abilities could already be considered as reserve duty for Morning Star Magi. Spiritual force in Crystal Phase was the exact base material for the construction of 'point mass'!
Once one advanced to the Crystal Phase, they would experience a revolutionary change in their body. Leylin had vague experiences of this change through Toram and number 5. The A.I. Chip too, had been in the midst of diligently exploring such changes.
"Warlocks are different from regular Magi after all. We even need to meet bloodline requirements." He beamed. Prior to this, his personal progress had far exceeded that of his bloodline. When he was promoted to a rank 3 Warlock, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline in him had still been stuck in its infancy. Were it not for the purity of his bloodline, every breakthrough would've had him requiring a ton of help.
And now, with constant exposure to the Lamia fingerbone, his bloodline had matured, finally catching up to and synchronizing with the progress of his body.
The bottlenecks that had been holding him back vanished without a trace.
With the addition of Vance's gift of the precious Diamond Jellyfish, Leylin was exceptionally confident in his breaking through to the Crystal Phase.
[Probability of host breaking through to the Crystal Phase: 89.6%] The A.I. Chip, too, agreed with his expectations.
Leylin nodded, evidently pleased. He took out his book of secret imprints and flipped to a particular page.
"Tanasha! Any recent news about the Rolithe Family?" He noticed Tanasha had tried several times to contact him, but he had missed it in the midst of his personal advancement.
"It's extremely strange. This family was already in chaos from before, and it's said that the reason was that their chief had left without any reason. Three days ago, the whole family disappeared without a trace after a huge commotion… " Although her voice was steady, Leylin could tell Tanasha's suppressed fear.
"Who's the person responsible?" He asked in a low voice.
"I do not know! I cannot find any traces of a high level Magus onsite…" Tanasha smiled bitterly.
No Crystal Phase Magus would be able to hide all traces from another at the same rank. The attacker must've been higher-ranked than Tanasha!
Leylin furrowed his brows and fell silent. After some thought, he remarked, "You are no longer needed there. Make your way back, paying attention to hide yourself well!"
He closed the book. The blood had drained from his face and he'd turned solemn.
The entire Rolithe Family had disappeared overnight. This was much more alarming than if they'd all just been massacred.
He could sense an ever-growing spiral enveloping the whole continent.
The Ouroboros Clan, Lucian, Freya, Robin, Kesha, and everyone else he knew— none would be able to escape. In fact, even he might not be able to escape the same fate as them. At least that was what he'd found out from the Coin of Destiny.
Each time Leylin tried to see further into the future, the coin automatically alerted him that it was exceeding its capabilities. It was obvious that it couldn't see past that boundary.
"If it is so, I will go ahead and break through now. The more dangerous the situation, the more power is required!" Leylin's steely gaze burned with determination.
For Magi at his level, refraining from food and water for months would still cause no harm. In fact, there were even some more ambitious Magi who, in a bid to devote themselves further to research, chose to conduct necrosis on themselves to separate themselves from common needs. It was a bitter price to pay; Leylin had no desire to do such a thing.
If he couldn't find joy in the search for truth, whatever he obtained, be it absolute knowledge or control of the entire world, would not be worth it.
However, although he couldn't be compared to those necromancers and spirit body types, he relied on his vitality potions and showed no signs of exhaustion himself.
On the contrary, his spiritual force had advanced to a state of perfection. Leylin had a hunch that, were he not to be successful this time, the next attempt was going to be an uphill task. Leylin had always been one to put a lot of faith into his own premonitions.
With a wave of his hand, the test tubes lying on the ground disappeared. What replaced them was a mysterious spell formation.
[Crystal Phase spell formation (improved version): an essential spiritual force item for all Hydro Phase Magi to advance. Capable of enhancing the crystallisation of the spiritual force and eliminating spiritual force impurities.]
On the surface of the spell formation was a blood red rune that resembled a spiralling snake.
The Crystal Phase spell formations used by Warlocks were not the same as those used by regular Magi. Leylin was not impressed by the kind Vance had bought at the auction, and hence decided to use the one Freya had given him.
Some time ago, Freya had used an enormous amount of precious materials, as well as a set of Hydro Phase and Crystal Phase spell formations to exchange for a single item from Leylin— a bloodline crystal. To her family's relief, it had assuaged their bloodline deterioration.
And by using the resources he had acquired, he had been able to advance quickly. Now, the time had come for this Crystal Phase spell formation to work its magic.
The A.I. Chip had used the original formation from Freya's family, but had made some improvements.
The effect of purifying of the spiritual force, though, was something Leylin had prepared himself. Spiritual force that had been amassed using potions meant that it needed to be purified and altered.
Leylin had always placed a load of importance on his personal foundation.
"Begin!" Leylin made up his mind. He pulled out the Diamond Jellyfish from his cosmos pouch and bit down on it.
The transparent crystal cracked as it was crushed under his teeth. He ruthlessly bit into the thing.
This was a Diamond Jellyfish, an ancient precious material. It had the ability to enhance the spiritual force and advancements of Magi. He had no idea how Vance had gotten his hands on such a treasure.
The Diamond Jellyfish melted in Leylin mouth, becoming a rush of warmth that flowed throughout his body. It made him extremely comfortable, and he finished it up in a few mouthfuls.
After the last of it was swallowed down, Leylin felt a terrifying heat emerging from his abdomen. Slowly, he began to feel like he was burning up.
[Consumption of essence by host, concluded as Diamond Jellyfish. Spiritual force increasing!] The A.I. Chip responded.