Chapter 1690 - WMW 63

Numerous heatwaves congregated within his sea of consciousness.

Leylin saw the silvery stream of Hydro Phase spiritual force circulate wildly. Even the core nucleus body glowed with strange crimson runes. It had only lacked just that little bit in the centre that would render it complete!

"Activate Crystal Phase spell formation!" The Crystal Phase spell formation set up at the center of the room immediately rumbled, the crimson runes on it lighting up one after the other.

Leylin began to shiver uncontrollably. Compared to the previous few spell formations, the feeling that came from this Crystal Phase spell formation included a terrifying compressive force, as well as a chill that dug deep into his bones.

Streams of icy air flowed into Leylin's sea of consciousness, combining with the boiling spiritual force.

On one end, there were waves of heat, but on the other end, streams of cold. Leylin felt like his brain had expanded and seemed on the verge of exploding.

With the alternating cold and heat, a huge transformation happened in his sea of consciousness, the boundaries constantly stretching outwards.

Much of the liquid spiritual force shrunk under the immense compressive force, and was refined further by the constant waves of heat and cold, glimmering with sparkles. This led to the formation of crystals, marking a shift from the Hydro Phase to the Crystal Phase.

Crystal Phase spiritual force was unique to each Magus, and Leylin paid attention to his own. It was made of dark, nearly black crystals, that held a hint of the crimson of fire inside them, denoting his affinity with these elements.

The liquid spiritual force turned to crystals, and decreased in size by several folds. The warm rush of the Diamond Jellyfish stimulated the generation of even more spiritual force, filling up the gaps.

[Beep! Host body breaking through current gene limitations. Stats in all areas increasing.] The A.I. Chip's voice rang. It had been monitoring him as per usual.

After entering the Crystal Phase, the entire body would experience a complete transformation as a foundation for advancing to the Morning Star realm, and this was only one of the changes.

"As expected, it's an advancement that affects even the genes," Leylin's expression revealed his elation. Amongst lower-ranked Magi, there were few opportunities to break through the limits of one's genes, and it was thus very precious.

[Beep! Host body's spiritual force has exceeded threshold, advancing to Crystal Phase Magus. Recalculating stats!]

The A.I. Chip's prompts came one after the other, and by this point, the waves of heat and cold had calmed and gradually disappeared. Within Leylin's sea of consciousness, a black crystallised spiritual force covered the area, seemingly indestructible.

His stats had been refreshed once more.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 3 Warlock (Crystal Phase). Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 35, Agility: 35, Vitality: 50, Spiritual force: 351.7, Magic power: 351.7 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force).]

Leylin observed the newly refreshed stats that the A.I. Chip had come up with, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Strength and agility have both increased by five points in one go, which is already pretty good. As for my vitality, if not for finding precious materials such as the blood dragon fruit, I wouldn't be able to achieve these numbers…"

His spiritual force had completely broken through the threshold of 350, allowing him to enter the Crystal Phase.

Leylin raised his arms. He could sense the modifications Crystal Phase spiritual force would grant his body. This was just the beginning, and though the effects had slowed and were not as obvious as when he had broken through, these imperceptible changes would result in a terrifying accumulation of strength over time!

'Senior Lucian advanced to the Crystal Phase when he was five hundred, and that speed is already considered rather quick in the Ouroboros Clan. Senior Robin is now only three hundred, and his advancement had shocked the clan, earning him a reputation as the most powerful bloodline talent in the last three hundred years!' Leylin tidied up the room while forcing a smile.

'I'm only two hundred and am much too young. If my speed of advancement is let out, it will definitely cause another huge ruckus!'

A Magus who had advanced to the Crystal Phase a hundred years before Robin did, without the help of external influences, would definitely shock even Gilbert. But what Leylin urgently needed now was strength, and he had no choice but to break through.

'I need to wait for a while longer. When the war begins, everyone will be focused on the battles. Though my speed will still cause a commotion, it will definitely be smaller than if news were to leak now.' With his mind made up, Leylin decided on not leaving for a while, holing himself up in his tower.

With the concealing spell formation he had set up, as well as the amplification from his Magus Tower, nobody would know that he had secretly advanced to the crystal phase unless Gilbert himself came and checked.

This hidden strength would definitely cause enemies who had misjudged his abilities to be in for a huge shock!

At this thought, a smirk rose about Leylin's lips, "I really am quite curious as to who will be the first to barge in…"

...

The underground of the Magus Tower was separated into many little rooms, forming many laboratories. The facilities were first-rate even in the central continent, and Leylin had only been able to achieve this by spending many magic crystals and resources. He even owed quite a few favours.

In the past, a few less important laboratories were open to a few high-ranked Warlocks that were under Leylin.

Now, however, this layer was empty. The Magi who usually remained in the Magus Tower had followed Leylin's command and left for a while. Even his disciple, Snoopy, had been chased out.

In the innermost, largest and most advanced laboratory, Leylin stood silently, drawing a rune on the floor.

Though he had simulated this activity a great many times with the A.I. Chip, he was still extremely focused while he drew, concentrating on the rune and lines on the ground.

Compared to the other spell runes used in the central continent, what he was now carving evidently held the style of another dimension. Some parts were even a mess of disorganised figures and lines, but closer inspection revealed that they were strangely three-dimensional.

Only when the last stroke was done did Leylin sigh slightly, looking at the spell formation that had no mistakes. "It's finally done!"

The long time he'd spent on carving had resulted in a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. With his current vitality, this should have been almost impossible.

[Scanning completed, confirmation that there are no errors.] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded at this moment.

'Then, the preparations for interplanar experiments are complete,' Leylin thought as he stroked his chin.

He had gone out and went through the trouble of finding an astral stone. Was it all not for the purpose of preliminary astral experiments? Hence, after he advanced to the Crystal Phase, he had been impatient to begin his research.

All experiments related to the astral plane were dangerous, and this held true even for preliminary ones. Hence, Leylin had no choice but to disperse all the Magi in the tower. This was to eliminate all external influences so that he could concentrate on the experiments here.

Interplanar experiments were a high-level research that only Morning Star Magi could conduct. They were connected to the glory of the ancient era, and Leylin ambitiously hoped to make use of this research.

Hence, this preparatory research work was vital.

Even this research had very stringent requirements. A high-grade Magus Tower, Hydro Phase strength and astral stones were the most basic requirements..

Though the requirement for the Magus was merely to have reached the Hydro Phase, Leylin wanted to be on the safe side. He waited till he had advanced to the Crystal Phase before he began the research.

The more powerful he was, the safer he would be. This was indisputable.

The information for the preparatory work regarding the astral gate obviously came from Duke Gilbert. By aiding him in many experiments, Leylin had gained valuable experience.

At the heart of this giant interplanar spell formation was the smaller astral stone that he had gained from Vance. The blue lustre on its surface seemed more powerful.

Leylin took in a deep breath and checked everything once more. Only after ensuring was fine did he issue the command. "Tower genie, begin charging!"

[Confirming authority. Magus Tower preserving 10% of energy as base reserve. Remaining energy will be used on the spell formation.] The tower genie rapidly reported.

The Magi outside watched this marvellous scene. The runes on the giant black Magus Tower dimmed one after the other. Besides a very dim glow, it had basically stopped operating.

After its construction over a hundred years ago, this was the first time that this had happened. It immediately gave rise to the panic of residents who knew nothing. This Magus Tower was a safeguard to them, and was the thing that could preserve their lives and safety.

Kubler, who had stayed behind in Onyx Castle, had no choice but to dispatch patrolling officers to put down these worries.

"Grandfather, will Mentor's experiments be successful?" Snoopy seemed to know more and asked Parker.

"How can the mysteries of the astral plane be something we can pry into? As long as we successfully activate the spell formation, the lord's experiment can be counted as a success!"

Parker forced a smile, "The energy required to probe into the astral plane is much too terrifying. Regular Magus Towers cannot withstand it, but don't worry about that. The lord's Magus Tower uses a top-grade set up of positive and negative energy pools, and there shouldn't be much of a problem in terms of resources."

*Buzz!*The giant Magus Tower trembled, and terrifying elemental tides formed two large rainbows, one dark and one light. One disappeared into the crest, the other into the base.

"Tower beginning charging, and positive and negative energy pools are revolving!" The genie reported.

Snoopy was no stranger to this scene, but now he could only silently pray, hoping that his mentor's experiment would be a success.

He felt a hint of pride at this.

Out of the entire continent, there were few Magi who could do even some of the preparatory experiments into probing through the astral plane alone as a rank 3 Magus. His mentor was one of them!

-x-X-x-

Within the Magus Tower.

Leylin gazed steadily at the giant interplanar spell formation. With the positive and negative energy pools working at full strength, the runes atop the spell formation lit up one after the other, causing terrifying waves of spatial undulations to converge on the spot.

[Spell formation working as per normal. 67% activated. Gaia cuvatures stabilised.] The A.I. Chip constantly monitored the spell formation, reporting to Leylin occasionally.

With the spell formation slowly activating, the blue rays from the astral stone right in the middle condensed, giving off a resplendent light.

The spatial undulations that had been on the verge of going berserk fused with the blue light and quickly stabilised, surging in a single direction.

At the same time, Leylin sensed that a frightening energy was surging out of the astral stone, supporting the operation of the entire spell formation.

[Spell formation activation increasing in speed. Progress at 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 100%!] The A.I. Chip rapidly intoned.

When all the runes within the spell formation lit up, the spatial energy followed a channel and converged before Leylin, forming a silver mirror the size of a fist. At the heart of the mirror was a small vortex, its destination unknown.

Leylin had seen this situation multiple times at Gilbert's. This meant that he had now made contact with the astral plane!

However, this spiritual force channel of his was much smaller than Gilbert's. Furthermore, he could not open a few simultaneously, and could only allow the entry of spiritual force seeds to find coordinates. Physical beings could not pass through.

It was naturally impossible for there to be a similar situation as the first time at Gilbert's, where a creature of the astral plane had passed through the mirror and attacked them.

Though he had lost the chance to fish for benefits, it was good that his safety was not compromised. In a way, the gains balanced the losses.

Leylin carefully appreciated this feeling. There was large difference between helping with someone else's experiments and performing one alone.

For instance, Leylin now sensed that with the assistance from the spell formation, especially with the energy from the astral stone in the middle, his own spiritual force seemed to be able to peep at the edges of a frightening dimension.

This was a confluence of time and space, the peak of the universe. A higher dimension which had an unexplainable existence!

Even just the aura that was given off was dazzling and glorious, going on for eternity and stimulating his desires to explore.

"Just becoming aware of all this is enough payoff from this experiment…" Leylin sighed.

The opportunity to see the astral plane was a very rare opportunity for Magi. They might not even need other advantages; just observing the astral plane every day would bring about indescribable benefits.

Of course, this was impossible. Experiments on the astral plane everyday? Even Morning Star Magi would go bankrupt!

[Beginning projection of spiritual force onto the astral plane. Recording data.]

The A.I. Chip instantly intoned under Leylin's guidance.

A thread of Crystal Phase spiritual force, with the gleam of actual crystals, appeared from Leylin's forehead and formed a spiritual force seed before quickly disappearing into the silver mirror, and into the vortex.

"Begin localisation support, activate navigation mode!" Leylin commanded.

Immediately after, his spiritual force seed seemed to find its way in the chaotic space, and went head on dauntlessly, even going against the current.

The A.I. Chip quickly began to calculate, and numbers began flashing before Leylin's eyes..

[Spatial turbulence estimated to happen in 0.34s. Suggested directional change is 34 degrees to the left.]

This spiritual communication happened in an instant, and Leylin's spiritual force seed immediately moved in a different direction, accurately avoiding the spatial turbulence. It even joined an undercurrent that headed east, floating further away.

Compared to Gilbert's experiments where he depended on luck, Leylin's method was evidently more effective, and he would find it easier to obtain results.

It was a pity that Leylin was the only one with support from the A.I. Chip, and it was not as if he could expose his secret.

Hence, while he was at Gilbert's, Leylin tried to familiarise himself with the A.I. Chip's functions, but did not dare use it at will. He could only go through with his plans when he was conducting his own experiments.

"As expected, with help from the A.I. Chip, chances of my spiritual force seed being destroyed are much lesser than average!" A hint of excitement appeared on Leylin's face.

[Warning! Warning! Spatial storm generated ahead. Time to impact is 0.0000001s. Retreat is suggested!] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded once more.

However, it was much too late. Though Leylin's spiritual force seed tried its best to retreat, its struggle was like that of an ant's against the flow of time. Besides, time was scarce, and the horrifying spatial storm was generated instantly in front, whirling the seed within.

Leylin fell two steps back, feeling dizzy, but he quickly recovered.

He was no longer a newly-advanced rank 3 Magus, and was now at the Crystal Phase, preparing to enter the Morning Star realm. Injuries that could harm his spiritual force then were now nothing to him. Even condensing ten or so spiritual force seeds at one go was not a problem.

"The support system of the A.I. Chip also has its limits. At most, it will allow me to go further than other Magi can." A wry smile appeared about Leylin's lips.

The dangerous spatial turbulences were extremely terrifying and unpredictable. Even with the frightening calculation abilities of the A.I. Chip, it was difficult to completely establish a pattern and understand them.

In addition, even when knowing there was danger ahead, once held by the spatial turbulence, Leylin's spiritual force might not be able to escape.

However, even so, Leylin was already content. 'The A.I. Chip can increase my chances of success from one in a million to one in ten thousand,' he thought.

One in ten thousand! As long as he persevered and continued trying, he would definitely gain benefits. In actuality, these odds were enough for Morning Star Magi to go green in envy, not considering the other methods Leylin had as well.

"In matters like these that depend on probability, the Coin of Destiny might be useful!" Leylin flipped over his palm, and a dim golden coin appeared in the middle of it. As this was his own experiment and nobody was around, he could use all of his methods.

A spiritual force seed was formed once again. Leylin rubbed the coin on the seed, and a layer of dim golden luster appeared on its surface.

*Ka-cha!* Meanwhile, a huge crack appeared on the surface of the Coin of Destiny once more, almost breaking it in half.

Seeing the Coin of Destiny on the brink of complete destruction, Leylin felt piteous before he stored it carefully.

The Coin of Destiny was able to predict anything as long as it did not deal with the Morning Star Realm. However, the moment it did, there would be frightful repercussions.

As for the turbulence in the astral plane? This was even more dangerous than Morning Star Magi.

Based on the situation, the Coin of Destiny would probably be completely destroyed after being used like this a few more times.

For the period of time that Leylin had been in the central continent, he had not seen any children of destiny such as Baelin and Longbottom. His instincts also told him that it would be a long time till he could make another Coin of Destiny.

What happened the last time was merely a coincidence. If he wanted to do it again, things would not be so simple.

"I hope the power of destiny will be able to help me proceed forward…" Leylin sighed and sent the dark golden spiritual force seed in.

[Monitoring. Vortex estimated to appear on left, recommendation to move far away.]

Leylin's eyes were now emanating blue light. The A.I. Chip's abilities were being utilised to the fullest as large amounts of data appeared before him.

He was like a helmsman who had gone through gales and waves. Amidst the storms, he continued to guide the seed forward, dodging in impossible ways and avoiding spatial turbulences.

Within the gigantic spatial crack, the golden ray was like a little boat passing through gaps in the turbulence, its movements unbelievably agile and smooth.

*Awooo…* At this moment, a giant black figure suddenly appeared in the air, pouncing towards the golden spiritual force seed.

"A creature of the void. I didn't notice it!" Leylin was extremely annoyed. Creatures that lived in these spatial cracks usually had terrifying spatial abilities, and the A.I. Chip was much too far away to scan and notice it.

"Dodge it immediately!" The dim golden spiritual force seed quickly evaded, but the black figure roared, refusing to let up. A sharp, giant mouth formed on its stomach, hot on the seed's heels.

[*Beep!* Warning! Warning! Spatial turbulence estimated to happen in: 0.00023s!] The A.I. Chip's prompt sounded again.

"Shit!" Leylin's eyes were now slightly bloodshot, and he was doing all he could to avoid that region.

*Rumble!* Berserk spatial undulations swept through, and Leylin's spiritual force seed was caught within.

*Awooo…* That creature noticed that its delicacy had been swept into the spatial turbulence, and could only roar at the boundaries before disappearing into the darkness.

"Is it going to die out again?" Leylin was full of agony.

At this moment, the golden rays on the seed flickered.

*Rumble!* An even more powerful spatial turbulence formed at the side. The two spatial storms collided, wreaking havoc on space itself.

*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* Countless bolts of silver lightning crashed into each other, tearing open numerous spatial cracks.

Leylin's spiritual force seed actually followed along a crack and, despite the alarm it had caused, fell in without harm.

"The power of destiny!" Leylin, who had seen this scene, suddenly sighed, holding more reverence for the mysterious, unmeasurable power of destiny.

-x-X-x-

In a wasteland where little red grass with serrated edges filled the seams of rocks, which were decorated with strange images of humanoid faces, droplets of black rainwater generated within the cracks in the ground, quickly rose, and rained into the horizon.

The rain here was actually black, and moved in the opposite direction.

A dim golden spiritual force seed lay atop a blade of red sawtooth grass, giving off spiritual force undulations and scanning the surroundings. Leylin admired the sight.

"In that case, I'll name this place the "Blackrain World". I never thought I'd be so lucky and find a plane without a protector, and I wasn't even discovered…

"If Duke Gilbert found this place, he'd definitely go crazy in elation, right? However, it's much too extravagant for me!"

A complete different plane represented boundless top-grade resources, as well as much information regarding different dimensions. It was more than sufficient to make a Morning Star Magus go insane in envy.

When it came to places like this which held traces of life and were possible to reside in, Leylin believed that Duke Gilbert would immediately hold no qualms and open the astral gate to arrive here, no matter the cost.

However, all this was much too early to Leylin. What he had opened up was merely a spiritual force channel that could not transport physical objects, much less his own body. That was a function of an astral gate, and still in the remote future for him.

"If not for this seed being formed from Crystal Phase spiritual force, it might long since have dissipated. However, at this rate, this merely slows down the process…"

The rays from the golden spiritual force seed were very weak. In this environment, it seemed on the verge of being extinguished.

"I can only transmit information here, so what's most valuable to me here would be the coordinates of this world, high-grade meditation techniques or information regarding the path to power and the like…" Leylin now urgently wished for a high-energy energy creature to take him away.

This was merely a spiritual force seed, and if it dissipated, then so be it. However, if he could make a trade with another party, that would be a frightful profit.

Even if it was just the simple exchange of information, that would be the most beneficial for him.

Ancient Magi had walked the path of glory through studying and imitating the paths of other worlds. If Leylin wished to restore the glory of the ancient era, he would definitely need to go along this road.

[Unable to determine world's location.] Leylin frowned. With the connection to his spell formation, he could feel that his spiritual force seed had reached a very remote area, and this connection was only faintly discernable, and seemed to be on the verge of breaking down.

"One way of sending out the coordinates is to project a localising mark there. As long as it isn't destroyed, it can send out waves of information infinitely, and then allow me to infer the coordinates. However, that's impossible for now." Leylin furrowed his brows.

How many benefits could be obtained from a new world? It was enough to cause Morning Star Magi to go crazy. Even Breaking Dawn Magi would go green in envy and work to obtain it! Before all that, what was needed were the coordinates.

This method of calculating the coordinates was very complicated. It could not be obtained so easily just by sending a spiritual force seed over. A series of meticulous, complicated calculations had to take place, as well as coordinating with the seed in that world.

However, the seed was now unable to hold on for long.

Being able to reach the Blackrain World was completely coincidental, and a repeat was impossible.

"There's another method. I can bewitch the intelligent inhabitants here and get them to set up some sort of altar, which in actuality would be a coordinate projecting device. I'll then determine…" As long as the coordinates were confirmed, the Blackrain World would not be able to escape his grasp.

Leylin had never heard of the terrifying ability to teleport himself into different worlds, even in legends.

In addition, without a protector, Leylin's spiritual force seed was not destroyed at the outer layer of the world. This meant that the Blackrain World lacked Magi who were at or above the Radiant Moon realm. At most, their highest battle might would be at the Morning Star realm, and therefore they lacked any defence!

"What I lack now is time…" Leylin gave a wry smile. His spiritual force seed could not be replenished in the Blackrain World, and was on the verge of dissipating.

The moment it dissipated, it would be a complete loss. How could he take it lying down?

A one in a ten thousand chance of finding a world was not so easily found. The Coin of Destiny had already been damaged to this point, and could no longer be used unless it was crucial.

At this moment, Leylin's brows twitched, "There's something there!"

...

Meanwhile, in the Blackrain World, Leylin's spiritual force seed lay in the plains, while two dark green humanoid beings approached.

These two creatures could somehow be said to look human. They had human torsos and two legs, but their bodies were filled with scales, and their eyes held blood-red pupils.

The arms were rather terrifying. On one side they had four, and on the other, three. There was even a horn sticking out from their heads.

"Since they have so many arms, let's call them the "Multi-Armed Race!" Leylin did not hesitate as he named this race, looking as if he was the conqueror of the place.

"…"

The two members of the Multi-Armed race gathered a type of green fruit while they conversed in a language that Leylin could not understand. Their language was not sounded with their throats, but information was relayed through something like electrical currents projected from their horns.

Even if he identified that information, Leylin still did not understand.

[Discovery of information regarding language of a different plane. Recording!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.

All methods of communication were definitely practical and universal. With enough samples, simulating them would merely be a question of time.

At this moment, Leylin noticed how frightful their physical strength was. It even exceeded that of a few rank 1 high-energy creatures.

"If this isn't the usual standard in this world, then their strength must be exceptionally high…" Leylin sighed, ordering the spiritual force seed to make a move.

"Hello!" Information in the ancient Byron language through spiritual force was transmitted into the minds of these two Multi-armed beings.

"p"

These two were obviously scared by the sound and immediately retreated, on their guard.

"The ancient Byron language is a languages governed by rules, and also one that is common to many worlds. I didn't expect it not to work here!" Leylin sighed. Though Magi of the ancient era seemed to have taken over many dimensions, and forcefully implemented their language and words, the number of different worlds out there were like the countless stars in the sky. It was very possible for some to have been overlooked.

"It's going to dissipate anyway. Any changes in the situation are better than none at all!"

*Buzz!* With Leylin's control, the dark golden spiritual force seed began to vibrate, giving off a dim radiance.

This strange situation immediately attracted the attention of two other Multi-Armed beings. They gathered in front of the seed and began to gesticulate at it. When they realised the dark golden seed posed no threat, they began to argue.

At the end, one of them seemed to have persuaded their comrade, and used a white animal skin to carefully pick up the spiritual force seed that was already looking weak, and darting in a direction.

The wind whooshed on both sides, the scenery blurring, and Leylin had to recalculate the strength of this race.

Tens of minutes later, these two Multi-Armed beings brought Leylin to a large tribe.

In terms of its appearance, it looked very primal. There were few houses, all built of bulky rocks that had been piled up, seeming very boorish.

Many beings of the Multi-Armed race moved around the tribe every once in a while, even greeting these two after seeing them.

Leylin obviously did not let this chance slip by and carefully observed everything in the tribe. He immediately made a discovery.

"Not considering the elderly and children, there seems to be only two types of looks for the Multi-Armed race."

The Multi-Armed beings had two types of looks. One was three arms on the right, and four on the left, while the other was the exact opposite, with four on the right and three on the left. The latter was usually larger, and their scales were more firm.

Leylin inferred that this could be a difference that indicated their genders.

The two Multi-Armed beings did not seem to have a low status in the tribe. They proceeded forth with Leylin and came before a giant cave.

"Hm? This place?" Leylin was immediately wary.

From within the cave, he could feel energy particles converging. This meant there was an existence that dealt with magic, and there were even undulations similar to those of spell formations. However, compared to the Magus World, it had a different style.

Outside the cave were hung all sorts of materials. Some were from animals and plants, such as the roots and fruits.

"Looks like I've been brought to the a place where offerings are made, or where the tribe leader resides. That's good too, since these people are usually more open…"

The two Multi-Armed beings firrst kowtowed outside the cave devoutly, and then yelled.

"Sknglk…" An answer resounded from within the cave.

The two Multi-Armed beings immediately placed the hide that carried Leylin within on the ground. Respectfully bowing, they then left.

The moment a sound entered Leylin's ears, he was instantly shocked. "Morning Star!!! There's actually a Morning Star-ranked being here!"

*Tok! Tok! Tok!*

Giant footsteps were heard, and immediately after, a being that was two times larger than others of its race appeared before Leylin.

It stared at Leylin's seed, giant blood-red eyes shining as it immediately grabbed it before its figure disappeared into the cave.

-x-X-x-

This was the result of the natural radiation of a creature which had achieved the Morning Star realm.

The space in the hillside was even larger, and many creatures' remains were casually abandoned at one side. The remaining energy waves on them made Leylin feel suffocated.

In the middle the platform, the livers of all kinds of animals were casually laid out at one side. An entirely black boiler foamed with white bubbles, making Leylin feel as if he was seeing a shaman of his old world.

Be it the insignia on one side or the totem, they were all decorated with bloody brown symbols.

This was Leylin's evaluation: the entire hillside seemed just like an unsophisticated laboratory, but it already possessed a certain ability for research.

In a flash, the large Multi-Armed Race being threw Leylin's seed onto an altar in the middle as the surrounding blood-red emblems immediately emitted a faint radiance.

Leylin suddenly felt as if he was isolated from his surroundings, and even if he wanted to explode, he could do nothing at all.

"Spell formation of a different tribe? Pretty interesting!" With the seed in their hands, the worst thing that could happen was just to lose it, hence Leylin was not especially afraid.

"The other… world's… spiritual force seed?" At this time, the Multilimb Clan member spoke. Using the ancient Byron language, he stuttered slightly, but Leylin managed to understand his words.

"Yes, honourable sir! I am a space traveller, and I accidentally ended up here!"

Leylin's heart soared. Being able to communicate meant that there was hope for a transaction. "Do you know the ancient Byron language?"

"Yes! Although we of the Quark tribe have already experienced 3 extinctions, our civilisation's legacy has never been gone!" The large Multi-Armed Race being seemed very proud.

Leylin nodded. In such a brutal tribe, the clan leader, witch doctors and leaders always had deep knowledge. This was a rule that held true in almost every world.

"As you have seen, I am currently only a spiritual force seed, which has nearly dissipated and poses no threat. May I know if it is possible to make a deal with you?" Leylin told him his requirements.

The spiritual force seed needed the person's own spiritual force to work, and now, it could be said that time was counting down to its annihilation. Even if the other party had a way, they could only delay it at most, without being able to solve the root of the problem.

Moreover, the journey to the Blackrain World this time was entirely accidental. It was impossible to create a space passageway even if he wanted to. Thus, he needed to obtain some valuable items immediately.

From Leylin's point of view, the Multi-Armed Race member who had already achieved the strength of the Morning Star realm largely fulfilled the requirements.

"Are you really doing this just for a deal?" The Multi-Armed Race member's eyes were full of distrust, and even more of cautiousness. The blood-red runes on the insignia twinkled, and it actually emitted energy waves similar to that of a lie detector.

"Of course!" Leylin answered without hesitation, almost believing his own lie.

"You are only left with a little bit of spiritual force, I'm afraid we have not much to discuss. Moreover, the previous disasters were all brought about by you all…"

The large Multi-armed Race member evidently showed distrust towards Leylin. The entire altar began to rotate, almost wanting to destroy Leylin's spiritual force seed completely.

'Bitch. Which bastard came first? They're making things hard for those of us who came later…' Leylin scolded in his heart. Still, he immediately shouted, "Wait, you don't need my things, but I'm sure your clan members do. I have a lot of remarkable information from different planes, including lots on organisational systems, planting, smelting, alloy-making, even potion-making and alchemy. I believe they will definitely be helpful to you and your clan…"

"I can obtain these items directly from you…" The large Multi-Armed Race member laughed coldly. Streaks of blood-red lines emerged on the altar, even scheming to penetrate the spiritual force seed.

"So it's this kind of soul-searching method!" Leylin's spiritual force seed suddenly shook, emitting a great dark gold radiance.

The streaks of blood-red spiritual force were drowned in the bronze radiance in a flash. Right after that, Leylin's spiritual force seed seemed to be more illusory, as if it would be forcibly destroyed in the next moment.

"As you have seen, this method is ineffective on me. Even more forced methods will not benefit us both in the end…"

Leylin was secretly relieved. This Multi-Armed Morning Star being only broke through to the Morning Star Realm based on his body strength. Similar to that male scorpion in the Icy World, it was a representation of power. Hence, its experience with regards to the spiritual world was still very feeble.

Such a creature could use its strong strength to beat up Leylin, but its power was inadequate to carry out a complicated job like soul-searching.

Should Leylin's spiritual force seed end up in the hands of a similar Morning Star Magus who concentrated on spiritual force, he would only be left with the road to annihilation, even having many of his memories opened up for the other to see.

But with Leylin being at the Crystal Phase, it was still possible to somewhat confront a barbarian with Morning Star strength. In the worst case, he could order the spiritual force seed to self-destruct, leaving the other party with nothing to gain.

"What exactly do you want?" The Multi-Armed Race member's expression turned sour.

"Simple. An equal exchange—both parties will provide valuable information, and as the outsider, I am willing to offer a portion first!"

Leylin's spiritual force seed vibrated, and sent a few books of information written in the ancient Byron language over shortly after.

In those were some primitive introductions of systems, and simple agriculture and alchemy techniques. Although it was not of much help to a matured Multi-Armed Race member who was at least rank 1, it was still enough to use as reference.

Furthermore, at the end of the information, Leylin specially attached some information on methods of setting up spell formations to refine their physical bodies, as well as knight-training manuals that were commonly seen in the central continent. Although it was just a starter, it was still valuable.

The Multi-Armed Race, a bunch which concentrated on physical strength, would definitely be more interested in items in this aspect.

Indeed, towards the agricultural techniques and other information that Leylin sent earlier, the large Multi-Armed Race member did not show any interest. Instead, he appeared very intrigued by the proposed killing techniques.

" An interesting item!" the large Multi-Armed Race member nodded, "The body refinement spell formations in here is enough to strengthen our children slightly. As for the last part about the killing techniques, although the structure is different, it can still provide some insights. I need the last part!"

"Then may I ask what you have in exchange?" Leylin was no longer anxious now that he had proven his worth. All that was left was for the other party to make his offer.

"You…" The large Multi-Armed Race member growled, but Leylin was not the least bit bothered.

If he were in his original body, he would naturally be very polite to the other party to protect his life. However, the worst case scenario was only losing a spiritual force seed. It was not a big deal, and hence, he was not anxious.

"What do you want?" Evidently, this Multi-Armed Race member also knew that now, Leylin was not afraid of him at all, and would not succumb to threats. If he still wanted that information, he could only give in.

"I am very interested in your training methods. Maybe…" Leylin tried asking. He was there to search for a way to increase his strength. Anything in that regard would definitely be very valuable.

A person such as this Multi-Armed Race member seemed to show hope for his own body to break through.

"We Quark tribe people are born warriors. Our strength is not trained, Instead, we are born with it!" The large Multi-Armed Race member proclaimed proudly.

Leylin rolled his eyes, "Then why is there still a great difference between you and your clan members?"

Creatures that had achieved Morning Star level in their adulthood, were all abnormally terrifying species. This Multi-Armed Race was not worthy to claim itself as the Quark tribe.

At the very most, they were only capable creatures with hopes of breakthrough to the Morning Star level. This piqued Leylin's interest, and he wanted to conduct research on it.

In fact, the Multi-Armed Race were also bloodline creatures. However, they were able to advance continuously, to a point that such monsters with Morning Star strength existed. This lifted Leylin's spirits.

If he studied their ways of obtaining strength, would he be able to find a method to break through the bloodline shackles?

"That is a top secret of our Quark tribe. How can we reveal that?" The large Multi-Armed Race member rejected straight away without hesitation.

"I don't need it to be in-depth. Just the simplest and most basic explanations will be enough. What do you think of that? As long as you give me this information, I can give you all of the missing parts about the spell formation, as well as the next chapter of the killing techniques from before!" Leylin tempted enthusiastically.

To the A.I. Chip, these most basic things were the most important, because they represented the foundation of the system! As long as the foundation was complete, based on the deductive ability of the A.I. Chip, there would be a day when this Multi-Armed Race's hidden secrets would be laid bare before Leylin.

"You give it to me first!" The large Multi-Armed Race member said.

Leylin pondered for a while before giving a proposition. "From the current situation, none of us will trust the other side. How about each of us hand over the information to the other party at the same time?"

"Alright!" The large Multi-Armed Race member agreed helplessly.

A huge wave of energy was emitted from its horns and entered Leylin's spiritual force seed.

[Detected influx of spiritual force, accept?]

"Accept!" Following Leylin's order, the curtains to the path for evolution was slowly unveiled.

Leylin did not go against his words as well. While receiving the information, he transmitted a large amount of information simultaneously.

When the transaction was over, both parties were relatively satisfied with their gains.

"Very well, visitor from the other world. You didn't deceive me!" The large Multi-Armed Race member was evidently delighted.

"Of course. This transaction marks the beginning of our trust, and hopefully in the future, we will still…Oh damn!" Leylin spoke halfway and his tone suddenly became exasperated.

The spiritual force seed that represented his existence suddenly became illusory, exploding into a ball of light shortly after and vanishing without any trace…

-x-X-x-

When spiritual force coagulated, it formed a spiritual force seed. However, when this seed entered another world, it would be unable to supplement itself.

Regardless of whether it was the previous experiment or the method of transmitting and receiving messages, they required a huge amount of spiritual force. Naturally, once this spiritual force was drained completely, it signalled the end of the seed.

In the Magus World, the huge interior of the Magus Tower.

The terrifying interplanar spell formation shook as the rays of light gradually darkened.

"Damn! Damn! Damn! Just when I managed to build a connection…" Leylin's eyes were bloodshot as he went berserk.

"That's a world! An entire independent world! Exactly how many times will I have to experiment before I can find another world that is not controlled by any outsider…" He stroked his forehead as he groaned.

[Interplanar spell formation shut down. Spell formation damage 0.19%, Astral stone energy depletion 37.98%!] At the same time, the A.I Chip transmitted the information to Leylin.

"Astral stone!" Leylin waved his hand and immediately, the astral stone that was in the center of the Interplanar spell formation returned to his hand.

However, the astral stone had already shrunk a little; its radiance had dimmed as well.

Originally, one such astral stone was able to support the interplanar spell formation for a long time. However, Leylin realised that in order to merely connect both sides' spiritual force, the formation had drained a huge amount of energy from it.

"What a pity…" Leylin remained emotionless for a good while before he recovered as his eyes brightened.

"It was indeed a coincidence to discover the Blackrain World without a space route or coordinates!"

"Luckily, I managed to acquire at least some information before our link got cut off…" Leylin's expression then darkened.

[Multi-Armed Race techniques have been collated,] the A.I. Chip reported in the meanwhile.

Even though that race with the Morning Star being called itself the Quark Tribe, Leylin was persistent in calling it the Multi-Armed Race. Naturally, the A.I. Chip followed his own scheme.

The foundational skills of the Multi-Armed Race were vary fragmented, and most of it was vague. While it was just the basic foundation of their skills, it was obvious that the clan head had done some modifications to conceal some parts of their skills.

However, it was definitely an easy task for the A.I. Chip to collate the different bits of data sent over and derive further information from that.

"From the looks of it, it seems similar to the way Branded Swordsmen and Steel Knights are nurtured…" Leylin had much experience, which made it easy for him to spot this fact.

In the Magus World, most of the ancient branches followed closely the path to strength of the other worlds, hence it was absolutely normal for things to be similar.

"A.I Chip, collate these three datas together and research on them," Leylin ordered.

[Task established. Proceeding with data enumeration.] The A.I. Chip immediately sent back.

Leylin definitely had little interest in the data on how to nurture Branded Swordsmen, since the data in his possession was incomplete. With this incomplete data, the most he could nurture was a rank 1 Magus, which was definitely of no use to him.

Needless to say, even a veritable flood of rank 1 Magi would be no match for someone at the Morning Star realm.

However, it was definitely useful to have many subordinates. If he could nurture rank 2 or even rank 3 Branded Swordsmen, then Leylin would have the upper hand in many engagements.

For Leylin who was the lord of a territory, such a plan would always be worthwhile and profitable.

Moreover, the training method of the Multi-Armed Race, together with their special methods of breaking through, seemed to be valuable for his research into removing his bloodline shackles.

Even though he wasn't yet at the bottleneck to the Morning Star realm, the fact that Kemoyin Warlocks could never advance to rank 5 and beyond had been weighing heavily on his heart.

...

The isolation of the Magus Tower extended to a period of a few months.

Those who were waiting outside, such as Parker, witnessed the tower absorbing huge amounts of elemental particles, a phenomenon caused by the spell formation operating the positive and negative energy pools to supply the interplanar experiment.

Apart from shock, all they felt was admiration for Leylin's wealth.

It was definitely a rare sight in the central continent for a rank 3 Magus to conduct such research for extended periods of time. The weight of astral stones he had in reserve alone would cause any other to go bankrupt.

"Marquis Leylin… This is seriously…"

If even the subordinates of Leylin were amazed, outsiders would definitely be surprised. Take, for example, the Warlock currently standing in front.

This Warlock had a fine appearance, which was common for Warlocks. This made him seem to be as ordinary as any other Magi out there, but the fact that this Warlock had a pure Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline within his veins created a sense of inferiority within Parker and the rest, which also heightened their alertness as they did not dare to take this Warlock lightly.

"Just the amount of astral stones used must be enough to drive a rank 3 Magus to desperation, right?"

The subordinates stared at the huge Magus Tower as they couldn't help but express their shock when they saw this man.

"Count Timmy," Parker respectfully stood aside.

Even though Timmy was a mere rank 2 Warlock and a Count, his regal bloodline made it easy for him to advance to rank 3 or even become a Morning Star Magus. Timmy definitely surpassed Parker, who was older than him and also a rank 3 Black Horrall Snake Warlock, in potential.

Besides, Timmy was originally from the Ouroboros Clan, and his network within the clan ensured that he was an individual that one could not take lightly.

"I came here to hand him this invitation. However, it seems like I came at the wrong time…" Timmy couldn't help but express his helplessness.

"Please do not worry. The lord still returns once every month. It has almost been that amount of time since he last came out, so I presume the Count will only have to wait patiently for a short period of time," Parker answered.

Timmy nodded his head. He himself was aware that, without prior notice, these high-ranking Magi would definitely not tolerate any interruptions when they were going through very important research. He wasn't willing to risk it as even a slight disturbance from the outside world could've resulted in the murderous intent of the Warlock being aimed at him.

"I would like to explore the prosperous Onyx Castle that I heard Marquis Leylin used less than ten years to build."

"That would be our honour," Parker nodded his head as he called another Warlock who was dressed like a butler. "This is Kubler, the butler of the castle. He'll bring you around afterwards."

Governing their territories was just a small matter to a Warlock. Yet, due to Timmy's age, he would definitely hold some interest in exploring such territories. Another reason was for him to pass the time while waiting.

"Count Timmy, this is Kubler at your service!" Kubler let out his most sincere smiling expression as he bowed respectfully.

...

The Warlocks who were outside joking and talking heartily were definitely ignorant towards the situation of Leylin who was inside the Magus Tower, perspiring madly.

At this point in time, in front of him stood a creature which had a sheep's head but the body of a crocodile. This creature appeared to be wise, questioning him on various topics.

"Do you know how the cape jasmine blooms?"

"What is one plus one?"

"How many tails does the Infinite Loop of Snakes have?"

The creature wore a black windbreaker and was talking in a foreign language, yet surprisingly, Leylin was able to understand him.

Leylin's forehead was still perspiring madly and he couldn't help but mentally let out a bellow of rage. 'This is impossible! In this frail mirror of dimension, how is it possible for a creature to cross over?'

As a high ranking Warlock, and a long-time assistant of Duke Gilbert, Leylin naturally understood that such interplanar experiments were very dangerous.

Many Morning Star Magi had led themselves to death as a result of coming in contact with too many strange and powerful existences, or even just by listening to the sounds of these existences. This curse could even extend to one's descendants.

Yet, what he'd been doing today was not nearly as reckless.

The minute his spiritual force seed entered the astral plane, this creature had found him and even immediately appeared directly within the interplanar spell formation.

[Abnormal energy source found! Engaging countermeasures!] The A.I Chip sounded.

During the construction of this interplanar spell formation, he had naturally considered the problem of other creatures, especially with the deaths of many Morning Star Magi serving as a warning.

Following the A.I Chip's statement, the symbols on the ground lit up to form a cage of crimson lightning that bound the creature firmly.

The lightning, as red as blood, crashed down onto the creature with the formidable strength of Leylin's Magus Tower.

*Crack!* Blood-red electricity arced along the creature's body as its clothing turned to ash. It developed sarcomas that leaked yellow pus as they exploded one by one.

The pus and lightning clashed with each other, resulting in an ear-piercing noise.

"How many times does the Frank's Chime strike in a century?"

The rotting flesh on the creature kept sliding off, yet it seemed not to notice as it continued to question him.

"Attack at full power!" Leylin ordered.

With a boom, numerous bolts of the blood-red lightning converged to form a huge sphere that struck down at the creature.

"Do you know…" The edge of the lightning sphere dug into the creature as its body disappeared slowly. The sheep head fell to the floor, still persistent in its questions. The two eyes were already overflowing with blood.

Boom! The lightning struck again, and it seemed as if time and space froze at that moment, only to resume flowing shortly after.

"What?" Leylin looked at the silver mirror in front of him The lab seemed to be perfectly fine, and even the interplanar spell formation was working alright.

There was not a trace tof the creature in the place it had occupied just before…

-x-X-x-

"Was that an illusion?" Leylin muttered under his breath and turned his attention to the A.I. Chip's records.

[Unknown forcefield interference detected! Host has entered a state of confusion.]

[Interplanar spell formation engaging countermeasures, charging!!"]

[Magus Tower prepared to eradicate interference, beginning.]

[Host has successfully been restored to normalcy. Alert ended.] The red records made Leylin feel gloomy.

In the middle of all this, the spiritual force seed that he had sent into the astral plane had vanished without a trace into a spatial rift.

"Tower genie!" Leylin called out.

"My Lord!" The green genie immediately flew towards Leylin.

"How much of our energy reserves are left?"

"Energy currently at 1.9% of maximum. Energy boost has been initiated," it replied instantly.

"What led to such a huge consumption?"

"Records are in chaos!" the tower genie expressed a rare puzzlement.

"Indeed! What happened a moment ago was real. It wasn't an illusion!" Leylin drew a deep breath.

He'd always known interplanar research was risky. Still, what he'd experienced just now was possibly his greatest research crisis to date.

'Fortunately, the three astral laws are unbreakable. Hence, the other creature was unable to pass through and could only create an illusory projection!'

Leylin stroked his chin, pondering about the events that had happened one more time, 'It was merely an illusory projection and yet it was that menacing. Had I opened an astral gate and allowed the other party to enter, perhaps my entire territory would have been destroyed…'

With such thoughts, he felt his lingering fear wash over him.

"Fortunately, it lacked the power to do anything. The situation was resolved by the countermeasure of the dimension spell formation!"

He exhaled a deep breath and turned his head around.

"Do you know—" A huge decapitated goat head with yellow liquid flowing out of it, appeared behind him.

Two huge lifeless pupils locked onto Leylin's.

"...."

In a split second, a layer of black scales surfaced on Leylin's body and both his eyes turned amber.

"Petrifying Gaze!" Rays of mysterious light hit the opposing wall, and a layer of whitish-gray stone covered it.

The goat head disappeared into thin air.

"This matter is not finished!" Leylin's face turned gloomy, "A.I. Chip, start scanning!"

[Beep! Mission established! Beginning scan!] It took but a few seconds for it to respond with its findings.

[Remnants of an unknown force field have been detected. Confirmed to be interplanar contamination.]

*Buzz!* He stopped the whole interplanar spell formation with a wave of his hand. And then, with a blast at the center, the astral stone turned into smithereens.

The energy from this astral stone that he'd acquired from Vance of the Rolithe Family had been exhausted completely.

Seeing the course of events, Leylin took a deep breath before stepping up to the middle of the room.

In the library, multiple sprinklers that were fixed to the ceiling and connected to an enormous pool in the center started spraying a fragrant whitish-green liquid.

"Rank 5 purification pool! I hope it's of help!" Interplanar defense was a compulsory course for anyone performing research in the area. Leylin had gotten Gilbert's own purification system a while ago and built an enhanced version for himself.

Green liquid dripped from the nozzles, its antiseptic scent strong and sharp. Soon, Leylin was completely drenched.

As the green liquid washed over him, green fur started to appear on the surface of his clothing before being washed off by the same liquid again.

"This is so troublesome!" Leylin assessed his situation and furrowed his brows. He stripped himself naked and jumped into the pool in the center.

*Zi Zi!* An enormous whirlpool formed of pearl-white liquid started bubbling lightly.

Traces of black liquid oozed out of Leylin's pores, visible to the naked eye.

After several rinses, Leylin stepped into another purification room. Inside, many human-sized flowers and plants were blooming. They opened up their petals and revealed their scarlet red tongues with suction pads…

After multiple purifications, Leylin wore a brand new loose-fitting robe and relaxed on a recliner.

'I've sent many seeds into the astral plane in the past three months, but unfortunately I didn't have help from the Coin of Destiny. There's no way to find the Blackrain World again. Not only did I suffer an irrecoverable loss, I have even provoked such a heinous creature…' Leylin weighed his gains and losses.

He had run many experiments on the astral plane, and had gotten some substantial gains. Yet, compared to his engagement with the Multi-Armed Race, it was all worth nothing.

With the A.I. Chip's help, he had figured out the secret spell, and named it Multilimb Strength.

The A.I. Chip's simulations had proven that such a secret spell had the ability to break apart one's genetic limitations. So much so, that it could enhance Leylin's current vitality by five to ten points.

To Leylin, such temptations were irresistible.

The more powerful one's vitality, the harder it was to advance further. When his vitality was at ten to twenty points, he hadn't bothered much about raising it. But now, to advance further from his base was an uphill task.

If word leaked of his Multilimb Strength, it would drive body-refining Magi crazy and cause them to act.

Even this one gain was enough to offset all his losses in the past three months!

This was the main attraction of the astral plane. There were both sides to a coin, no profit without loss. After becoming unable to use the Coin of Destiny, Leylin's experiments had been at a bottleneck, with multiple attempts to proceed resulting in failure.

Especially today. He'd unexpectedly drawn towards himself a completely unknown living creature. It was, in fact, not an organism. Just a formless being with consciousness.

When it flared up, it was potentially more horrifying than an ancient curse.

"My luck had been average, I think it's time to stop!" Leylin had a bad premonition about the dangers he had been facing.

"...."

He shut his eyes lightly, and when he opened them, the same decapitated goat head appeared in front of him again. Its eyes were filled with death and traces of ridicule.

Leylin sighed. Facing the goat head eye to eye, his face was expressionless.

Ten seconds later, the goat head once again disappeared without a trace, as if what had just happened was another illusion.

"So troublesome!" Leylin was evidently annoyed, "How dare it!"

He got up in a flash, grabbed his clothes, and went to the center of a restricted room.

Grasping the knob of the door, another illusion appeared as the yellowish-bronze knob morphed into a familiar goat head, glaring at Leylin, and giving him a sinister smile.

Such circumstances would drive any Magus crazy, and cause many other repercussions as well.

Upon opening the door, a cold mechanical voice was transmitted, "This is the core room! Only host Leylin Farlier is permitted entry. All trespassers will be executed." Soon after, horrifying spell energy locked onto Leylin's body.

Rays of red, green, and blue scanned his body. "Scanning has begun. Authority verified. Alarm lifted." With the last sound, his body felt a rush of relief.

This was a small core room. There was only an experimental table with a crystal ball, and on top of it were intermittent images of a white bone.

Leylin laid down on the experimental table. Soon, he could hear noises from all around. First were some animalistic growls, and then there were the pitiful cries of someone in the throes of death.

Leylin was unmoved and nonchalantly gave the order, "Begin radiation!"

"Beginning radiation!" A mysterious energy appeared from the Lamia fingerbone, streaking across Leylin's body. Slowly, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline in his body was roused to a gentle boil.

Given any other time, he would have enjoyed this process immensely. However, this time he felt different. Streaks of ash-grey fog appeared all over his body, enveloping him like a huge callous. It made him feel like he was struggling on his deathbed.

[Remnants of an unknown force field have been detected in the host. Confirmed to be interplanar contamination.] The A.I. Chip repeated, and then added something else. [It is advised to stop the Lamia radiation.]

"No! Increase the radioactive level. Raise it by 10 times!" an ambitious glare burned in Leylin's eyes.

The A.I. Chip only had the rights to suggest, not to execute anything. Acting on his will, rays of blue currents radiated from the Lamia bone, causing huge energy undulations. It broke through the grey fog and shone onto his body.

Leylin groaned as he clenched his teeth, both hands holding tightly to the experimental table, using so much strength that he left imprints on it.

Purplish-black patches started to appear on his body, looking similar to sunburns.

[Epidermal cells are now 39.78% damaged! Host is suggested to abort the radiation!] The A.I. Chip sounded once again.

"It seems to be insufficient! Increase intensity, adjust to 50 times!" Leylin locked his jaw tightly and hissed.

*Zi Zi!* The enormous radiation tangled with the ash-grey fog, turning it into a liquid that dripped down.

The noises surrounding Leylin began to intensify in both volume and chaos.

The white goat head once again appeared in front of Leylin. This time, the fur on it started to be shed one by one and the two horns started to shrink back into its skull, resulting in a huge change in its appearance.

After numerous alterations and transformation, the original goat head had morphed into a female human head. Her eyes were all-white, and were streaming blood.

-x-X-x-

[The force fields have been neutralised. Host body's contamination is being dissipated.]

With the mist surrounding Leylin's body becoming weaker, the female head in front of him became less distinct and finally disappeared into the air.

When the last bit of mist was gone, Leylin immediately ordered for the radiation to be stopped.

Following that, he saw his skin looking as if it had been severely burnt and smiled wryly.

These injuries would definitely have killed any normal person. However, for Magi, as long as the astral pollution could be gotten rid of, everything else was not an issue.

Leylin wriggled his body, and the wounds on his body began to crack. Skin began to crease in a process similar to that of snakes moulting. Then, as if taking off his clothes, he shed off the dead skin and revealed fair, unblemished skin once more.

In just a few minutes, Leylin, who had seemed like a malicious spirit, had regained his normal appearance.

After changing his clothes, Leylin huffed a long sigh. "It really was quite dangerous this time. That creature with consciousness is still something I am unable to comprehend."

Just some spiritual force contamination was too much for him to handle himself. This was an existence whose strength definitely surpassed the Morning Star realm, maybe even at the strength of a Radiant Moon Magus!

If not for his Lamia fingerbone allowing him to treat this through the neutralisation of force fields, he would be plagued with troubles for a long time.

Now, though, even if the contamination through radiation was very powerful, the Lamia was an ancient rank 5 existence. When the radiation from two highly-ranked existences collided, the only result would be mutual destruction.

Leylin had taken a risk with this, but the effects seemed pretty good.

"What happened this time is a warning. It looks like I should pause my experiments for now…"

Leylin walked out of the core room, ordering the tower genie to send him some desserts and drinks, before he asked, "How has the situation outside been in the time that I've been experimenting?"

While experimenting, Magi usually disconnected themselves from all communication to prevent any disturbances.

The tower genie now had the role of something like a housekeeper. Not only did it have to intercept messages from the outside, it also needed to filter out the most important information for Leylin to peruse.

"Someone from Freya's family came here? There's even an invitation card?"

Leylin touched his chin, "Could it be that she's already broken through to the Crystal Phase?"

His relationship with Freya was not half bad, especially after selling the bloodline gemstones to her. Though Freya had then secluded herself and not contacted him, they were part of the same clan. He had to give her some face.

Leylin thought for a moment and sent down an order, "Inform Parker that I'll meet that Timmy tomorrow!"

Besides this, there were a few other miscellaneous matters that Leylin had to take care of as the one with the highest authority. Without his approval, many things could not be implemented on this piece of land.

These were all necessary. Even if they might be complicated and result in lowered efficiency, they could not be avoided...

The next day, Timmy, who had been waiting for a long time, finally saw the well-known Leylin in the Magus Tower.

An adamantine puppet sent in some desserts and drinks before withdrawing.

Leylin watched the reserved young man. He was obviously very young, but the purity of his bloodline far exceeded that of Noah from Robin's family. This descendant of Freya's family was probably someone that they favoured. Sending him here was a show of how highly they valued Leylin.

"Lord Marquis Leylin's Magus Tower is truly wondrous!" Timmy praised from the bottom of his heart. Leylin's top-grade Magus Tower had a reputation of its own within the Ouroboros Clan. There were always guests coming over and gasping in awe over it.

However, when these words were produced from Timmy's lips, there was something very sincere about it that gave Leylin a favourable impression.

After chatting for a while, Leylin asked, "Timmy, what are your intentions in coming here?"

At the mention of his business, Timmy turned solemn, "I was asked by the head of the family to pass this invitation to my lord!" As he said this, he respectfully passed an invitation card to Leylin.

Usually, if it was something common, communication via secret imprints was enough. Getting someone to specifically send an invitation was only something that large noble families would do. Even then, it was only done when there was some celebration or important festival.

There was a sweet scent from the surface of the paper. After skimming through the content, Leylin nodded. "Freya has already advanced to the Crystal Phase! As expected, it's a joyous matter. I'll personally congratulate her!"

For high-ranked Magi, advancement was always very difficult. Each success definitely called for a celebration. When Leylin had achieved the Hydro Phase, he had invited his seniors over. Compared to the Hydro Phase, the Crystal Phase was multiple levels higher and more difficult.

"Many thanks, my lord!" Timmy bowed respectfully.

Though Freya had only just advanced and could not be considered any genius as compared to Robin, she was still quite decent.

In addition, their family still had plans of having a good relationship with Leylin. After all, Leylin was so young and already a Hydro Phase Magus. His future was boundless.

This was without them even knowing of Leylin's advancement to the Crystal Phase. If they did, they would definitely value him even more highly.

"I definitely need to go this time!" An invitation from nobility was extremely important. The other party had even especially sent someone over, and if Leylin did not attend, even Freya would feel very uncomfortable.

After sending Timmy away, Leylin lightly sighed. With his current strength, the rank 2 Timmy naturally would not be able to sense his real aura if he wanted to conceal it.

"Crystal Phase at two hundred years of age? That would be too high profile!" Leylin shook his head, "I need to keep a low profile and hide my strength before going there."

Leylin had gotten used to being a wolf in sheep's clothing. Right from his days as an acolyte, he'd developed a technique to conceal his aura and spiritual force waves. On top of that, he had obtained that spiritual force compression technique, making things much easier for him,

After reaching rank 3, the effects of these spells became weaker. Leylin improved on them again with the spell models he had obtained as well as those from the Ouroboros Clan. He had even especially created a few secret supporting techniques.

Leylin was very confident in his concealing skills.

If he went all out, even peak rank 3 Crystal Phase Magi might not be able to see through him. Unless it was a Morning Star Magus in front of him, there was nobody to fear.

'Freya is the beloved disciple of the Blood Duchess, Emma. She would normally attend!' Leylin touched his chin, pondering deeply.

"Recently, Kesha mentioned that the mentors seem to have found a world that could very well be Purgatory. The three elders have all been deep in experiments on the astral plane, and it's not quite likely that they'll emerge."

The desire Kemoyin Warlocks had towards Purgatory was something outsiders were unable to comprehend.

Mere traces of the Snake Dowager was enough for all the Warlocks in the Ouroboros Clan to go crazy. After all, the restraints of their bloodlines could only be resolved with her.

In addition, the Purgatory World itself was a giant world. It held boundless riches and, compared to the surrounding worlds, it could be said to be a large-scaled world. If not, the Snake Dowager would not have chosen to move her community here. This resulted in many Magi going forth and exploring.

"The Snake Dowager is probably an existence at or above rank 7. Even if they found her, what could the mentors offer her?"

Leylin shook his head, not very supportive of Gilbert's actions this time. However, there was little that could be done. Since the three elders were now consumed in their research on the astral plane, this gave him the chance to take advantage of the situation.

The other high-ranked Warlocks could not see through his pretence, and hence, concealing his spiritual force undulations and going forth to congratulate them was very possible.

...

Fresh flowers filled the ground. This was Freya's family's territory.

As it was a noble family that had been passed down through generations, the range of their territory far exceeded that of his own.

The wealth of the residents was something that Leylin, who had only managed things for a hundred years, could not compare to.

Freya's castle was situated beside a snaking river, with a sea of flowers around it.

Diverse, splendid flower petals spilled all over the ground, Leylin even smelt a fishy smell amidst the fragrance in the air.

He extended an arm and immediately caught a five-coloured spotted snake under a plant.

The scales of this snake were giving off a magnificent luster. Complementing the flower petals all over the ground. It was basically impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye.

As if feeling the bloodline in Leylin, the flower snake did not dare resist. Instead, it tried to curl itself up as much as possible, looking rather pitiful.

"Looks like another result of crossbreeding!"

Leylin was speechless and released this flower snake which had toxins potent enough to break through an ordinary Magus' innate defensive spell back into the sea of flowers, shaking his head.

As bloodline nobility, it would be unusual not to concentrate on techniques on modifying bloodlines.

However, for Leylin, who had gathered precious experimental data from the Quicksand Organisation, these experiments were rather unsophisticated.

All the creatures which had been created were the type that he couldn't even bother catching another glimpse of.

In comparison, the castle at the heart of the sea of flowers was what interested Leylin the most.

The Ancient Blood Serpent Castle that Freya's family had inherited was not a mere place for commoners like Leylin's Onyx Castle. This was a true ancient Magus castle.

After the great effort of bloodline Warlocks across countless generations, every inch of the land of the Ancient Blood Serpent Castle was completely soaked in the power of magic.

This created a very formidable defence that could defend against even Morning Star Magi for a period of time.

-x-X-x-

In the Ancient blood Serpent Castle were many phenomena that even their current leader, Freya, could not explain clearly.

As a result, when he first saw the crimson structure, Leylin quickly grew fond of the place.

'This sort of ancient castle is what is truly fit to be the residence of a Magus. My Onyx Castle lacks these details,' he thought as he sighed.

Freya's family was rumoured to even have seen Morning Star Magi amongst their ranks in history, and it was naturally something that Leylin could not compare to.

Yet, Leylin was confident in himself. As long as he advanced to the Morning Star realm, he would not need a long time before the Onyx Castle would be comparable to this Ancient Blood Serpent Castle and be a true ancient Magus castle.

A large number of carriages were parked at the plaza of the castle, and in the area were many magical creatures.

A large number of guests entered from the main gate, and the entire area seemed very lively. Greetings were thrown around audibly on occasion.

For someone to come here alone was very rare, and Leylin immediately attracted attention for it.

Thankfully, he was famous to begin with, and many members of the organisation had seen him before. Even for those who hadn't, there were definitely images and information regarding him. Naturally, he would not be mocked.

"Leylin, there you are!" After some disturbance at the gates, Freya who was dressed in glamorous attire, came forward to welcome Leylin.

Even though they had not met for a very long time, her face still looked childlike, and even though she had the might of a Crystal Phase Magus, she looked just like a little girl, a huge contrast to her mature and enticing figure.

'Calling me directly by my name? Am I that close to you?' Leylin rolled his eyes internally, but still allowed Freya to affectionately hold his arms as they walked into the castle.

This was obviously a signal with an obvious implication.

Leylin knew very well that, in Freya's heart, she probably did not have any intentions of giving up on him completely. She had always liked to show how close she was to him at public occasions like these.

However, he was just as happy about the situation. This way, there would be fewer female Warlocks coming to cause him trouble.

Only Miranda would have the guts to fight with Freya over a man. However, after being subdued by Leylin, Miranda had became a lot more down-to-earth.

"I'm very happy that you're here today. I hope to be able to meet you privately after the banquet, and discuss some matters regarding our mentor!" She lightly whispered into Leylin's ears, and tenderly hugged him before going to entertain other guests.

She was the main lead of the event today, and there were many distinguished high-ranked Warlocks who had made their way here. Naturally, she could not only accompany Leylin.

"Mentor?" Leylin stroked his chin.

From the looks of it, Freya had gained an interest in the rumours regarding the discovery of traces of Purgatory World. However, she seemed concerned as well, and this foresight set her apart from other Warlocks.

Leylin shrugged his shoulders, looked for a corner, and started to quietly enjoy the delicacies and wine.

As fitting of nobles with thousands of years of heritage, the banquet had very sumptuous food, which surpassed Leylin's expectations.

"Haha! Leylin, do you like being here alone? Aren't you going to dance?" After sitting for a while on the sofa, Leylin saw a familiar face.

The aura of Robin's body was gloomy, and the black marking on his forehead had occupied almost his entire face. It made Leylin rather uncomfortable.

He was now smiling at Leylin, holding a crystal glass filled with grape wine. On the other end, many female Warlocks wearing revealing clothes shot coquettish glances over.

"Senior Robin!" Leylin smiled and nodded, "I have no interest in these things…"

"That's not what you said when you were dealing with Miranda previously…" Robin smiled and shook his head, and sat beside Leylin.

Evidently, he had just used the female Warlocks as a conversation starter.

"The aura on your body… has reached a stage where even I can't seem to see through…" Robin sized up Leylin and said with a laugh, a glint in his eyes.

After being watched this way, Leylin felt chills down his spine. The greediness Robin was concealing well was causing him to feel apprehensive.

"Senior Robin, stop joking around. I've merely mastered a few powerful spells recently…" Leylin smiled and declined. His skills at altering his aura typically could not be seen through by an ordinary Crystal Phase Magus, but Robin had managed to do so, which put him on his guard.

"Why haven't I seen Noah around?" Leylin immediately diverted the conversation.

"He…" Robin's eyes registered fondness, "Noah has already reached the important milestone in his spiritual force's advancement to the Vapour Phase. He has been staying back in the family…"

"I would have to congratulate senior in advance then…" Leylin smiled, but yet felt like things were not as simple as how Robin made it out to be.

Robin became silent, before issuing an invitation, "All of us have benefitted greatly from the previous expedition. I've recently obtained some new intelligence. What do you think? Are you keen on another one? I am willing to give you 40% of the benefits this time round!"

"Expedition? Where to?" Leylin seemed interested, as he tilted his body forward slightly.

"An ancient pocket dimension. I can confidently say it holds an ancient Morning Star Magus' writings, and might even be related to the ruins of the Quicksand Organisation!" Robin slightly organised his words.

"Quicksand Organisation?" Leylin's eyes lit up, but the alarm bells ringing in his heart had grown extremely loud.

After deliberating for a long time, he finally gave a reply, "I'm sorry, Senior! I've been conducting an extremely important experiment recently, and I'm afraid I will not be able to head out for long periods of time."

The instant after he said this, he felt chills, as if he was being stared at by a ferocious beast.

"Oh! What a pity…" Robin sighed, then got up and left.

However, Leylin could evidently feel the fury Robin was trying to keep in, and many things that were hidden in the dark.

'What a terrifying man!' Leylin heaved a deep sigh of relief after seeing Robin's back.

'From the looks of it, the trip to the Quicksand Castle has caused a huge change in him…' Leylin had a feeling that this Robin was an entirely different person from that passionate and positive man he'd known.

However, even if it were the old Robin who had came forth with the invitation, Leylin would probably decline it as well. Currently, he was not short of anything. Since it was very chaotic outside, going out and exploring now would obviously just be a death wish.

On top of that, Leylin did not feel at ease with the current Robin.

Banquets like those between the elites were relatively boring, at least in Leylin's eyes. Many bloodline elites liked to flatter each other and flaunt their wealth, and eventually get themselves drunk.

Many good looking males and females would even cuddle on the stage, and then leave the banquet together and enter designated cubicles. According to rumours, the cubicles had relatively good soundproofing functions and even if the world were to crumble, the voices within would not be transmitted to the areas outside. The people in the cubicle were therefore free to do whatever they wanted without any worries.

The strength Leylin was displaying was that of a Hydro Phase Magus, As a Marquis of the Ouroboros Clan, many high-ranked Warlocks would naturally come forth to flirt with him. Even when he tried to hide in a corner, it was hard to get a break with all the coquettish invitations he was getting.

Normally, Leylin did not mind playing this game, but after the banquet, he had Freya's private invitation to attend to. Robin's appearance had also caused him to feel uneasy, and that had naturally been a killjoy.

It was not until Leylin felt like his facial muscles were cramping from him smiling that the majestic banquet was announced to have ended.

This was a celebration meant for just the high-ranked nobility. For the low-ranked Warlocks or peasants, they would get to rest for a weekend. Freya's clan would even provide white bread and rum free of charge.

From the looks of it, such an auspicious occasion had not occurred in her family for a very long time, hence the need for a large celebration.

Leylin did not bother with all of that. After the banquet had ended, under a maid's guidance, he entered the depths of the Ancient Blood Serpent Castle.

The materials that made up the castle had since experienced many changes due to it receiving the radiation from the many Magi that had lived there.

The walls were coloured a crimson that resembled that of human muscle, and even possessed the same elasticity.

The floor was covered with a red carpet, and large mouths emerged from time to time, swallowing the trash in one gulp before licking their lips, as if after a tasty treat.

There was not a single ordinary human in the castle. With the exception of the low-ranked Warlock maids who were leading Leylin, the majority were slaves of other races.

"Hovlin?" Leylin looked at the team of dwarf-like beings bowing to him in shock. Those dwarves were scrawny, but had very sharp ears.

"Yes, master! The Hovlin not only have long lives; they are also outstanding gardeners and chefs, qualified to perform jobs of varying degrees of intensity, and as a bonus, they have a high degree of resistance to radiation!"

The maid introduced the Hovlin to Leylin.

"I've naturally heard of the slaves used by noble families!" Leylin nodded his head.

In actual fact, during the construction of Onyx Castle, he had thought of purchasing slaves, but high-quality slaves like these were pretty rare. Only amongst bloodline nobility like Freya's Family would one find this many Hovlin.

"Master has been waiting in the study room for you!" The maid respectfully opened a walnut wood door and stood by the side. Leylin adjusted his collar before walking in.

"Welcome! You haven't seen my study room before, have you?" Freya had changed into a long loose robe, and had casually used a piece of fabric to tighten her robe. Her face was as youthful as ever.

"Yes. Your huge collection of books is shocking!" Leylin nodded his head, and pretended not to see Freya's attempts at seduction.

He knew very well what he could afford to play around with. For girls like Miranda, it was okay to have sex with them. However, it was different for girls like Freya.

Leylin was sure that if he was not prepared to take responsibility after his actions, he would definitely be chased down by the Blood Duchess until he perished!

Freya's eyes registered a ray of disappointment, yet she still made a promise. "If you want to, you can flip through any of the books here!"