"Found you, you little rat!" The Magus was able to make out Leylin's words from his mouth's movements, immediately causing his eyes to turn red.
"Void Assassins, don't hold back. Kill him!" As if having lost his self-control, the Magus held onto the command stick and roared.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* At least eight Void Assassins appeared instantly, charging straight for Leylin. In front of him, the large flame giant was also snarling as it brandished a large flaming metal whip.
The sealing formation, the flames, and the surprise attacks from multiple Void Assassins would be extremely troublesome for normal Morning Stars to deal with.
Even Demon Hunter Cyril would probably be seriously injured under such an attack!
[Beep! Found spiritual force link. Eliminating three areas with fake signals, determining coordinates!]
The A.I. Chip's robotic voice sounded by Leylin's ears, causing a smile to rise up on his face. Ever since he realised that there was probably someone behind the scene, Leylin had commanded the A.I. Chip try and identify the location of the core control room.
The slip ups and injuries sustained from before were all intentionally done to get his opponent to take the bait.
A spell formation was not able to supply adequate data and information, but the other party had obviously not been satisfied. He had dispatched someone to attack, allowing the A.I. Chip to discover his traces immediately!
'From my guesses and the A.I. Chip's simulation, the other party probably isn't that strong, and may not even have access to the core control room of the ruins. Otherwise, it wouldn't be an attack just of this level!'
Leylin watched the sharp blade and flames coming towards him, a strange smile appearing on his face.
A splendid layer of crimson-red rays suddenly emerged from his body, turning into four rings that floated up and down.
"Rank 1 innate spells: Kemoyin's Scales, Eyes of Petrification!"
"Rank 2 innate spell: Toxic Bile!"
"Rank 3 innate spell: Intimidating Gaze!"
"Rank 4 innate spell: Bloodline Metamorphosis! Combining to form the Morning Star Arcane Art: Kemoyin Serpent Transformation!"
*Rumble!* A humongous serpent that measured tens of thousands of metres long suddenly descended on the region.
Spell formations fell apart, the earth cracked, and multiple buildings turned to dust. Even the air was beginning to shake.
*Po!* The flame giant from before, as well as the many bindings and fire elemental spell formations, were swept away by the large snake's body. All the runes were destroyed, and even the the spell formations at the base of the buildings flickered out.
In front of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, the Void Assassins that were the size of a regular human were like ants. Their sharp swords could not even pierce through the scales, and instead, were sent crashing to a random area with a swing of its tail.
The Arcane Art of the ancient Morning Star Warlocks— Kemoyin Serpent Transformation. This trump card that would allow Warlocks to transform into a terrifying ancient beast appeared once more!
The giant black snake hissed as it aimed its head in a specific direction, its starry amber eyes the very personification of ridicule. Its body was like a black storm as it crushed the area.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!* On the way, various little flickers of brilliance could be seen on the giant serpent's body, which then dimmed.
"Wha- What's going on? Is this a Morning Star Arcane Art? He- he dared-"
Having been locked onto by the aura of an ancient, giant beast, the Magus in the core control room went limp and fell to the ground. As he made contact with the other party's eyes, the fear hidden deep in his genes exploded forth as his body went stiff, unable to move even a finger.
The direction in which the giant serpent had looked in was evidently the location of the core control room. Seeing how the other party was crushing everything in its way, it would probably take seconds to reach him.
This old man shuddered, now regretting provoking this fiendish person.
*Boom!* Like in a magnitude 9 earthquake, all the items in the core control room jumped up and fell loudly onto the ground.
Hearing the accompanying hisses, the old man shuddered even more in fright. He knew that the terrifying ancient, vicious beast had now reached the outside of the core control room.
"I have the defensive spell formation of the core control room. It… It'll be fine!"
The attack from before had been obstructed, giving the old man some confidence. However, before he could struggle to get up, an even more powerful tremor could be felt.
*Rumble!* Bricks fell everywhere and the roof was torn open. Two eyes that were like stars shot out terrifying rays of light.
"Ah!" The old man went limp, a fishy smell even travelling from the crotch of his pants.
"Little worm, do you think you can hide?" The gigantic serpent suddenly turned small, regaining the size of a regular human. Large amounts of black gas turned into armour that merged onto his perfect body.
Leylin charged into the control room and held the old man by the throat, eyes flashing with a dangerous glint, "A mere Crystal Phase Magus dares attack a Morning Star on the sly?"
His own aura had weakened slightly, the consumption from before had not been small.
Due to the limitations of the peace agreement, Morning Star Magi were not allowed to use Arcane Arts that would affect large areas in the central continent. However, this was the Scarlet Crescent ruins, and technically speaking was not on the central continent. Naturally, that agreement did not extend to this place.
But why did the other Morning Star not use it?
It was because there were usually extremely powerful spell formations in the ruins. If the range of the Arcane Arts were too large, there would definitely be a chain reaction that would not be beneficial to the Morning Star Magi.
The second was because Magi had entered in order to plunder resources. How could they use such a powerful technique and destroy everything? Did they not want the loot?
Only people like Leylin, who thought nothing was taboo and had the A.I. Chip to find the specific location of his opponent, dared to bulldoze through after determining there were no traps or counteracting spell formations.
This also had to do with the old man having yet to gain complete control. If not, with the activation of any of the true ancient spell formations, Leylin would definitely be unable to break through and might even be trapped to his death by the spell formation.
"But since I started it, the situation will immediately change…"
Leylin laughed wryly inside. This was the consequence, but thankfully, he'd already prepared himself mentally. Even if he did not gain much here, it was all worth it.
...
"Hm? These undulations? Morning Star Arcane Art?!"
Vicious energy undulations immediately passed through the range of the ruins. Almost all Morning Star understood in that instant.
"Since someone has already made the first move, we need to hurry up!"
Cybel glanced at the wall made of large amounts of vines, and immediately looked annoyed, "Get out of the way!"
"Of course, my lord!" Paul, who knew what Cybel was planning on doing, immediately retreated far into the distance in case he got injured.
Afterwards, frightening energy undulations gathered at Cybel's body, and a giant, all-annihilating storm even more terrifying than Philip's swept through the place...
"A bunch of youngsters who don't know how to follow rules!"
At the other end, a middle-aged man, golden all over like a god, shook his head helplessly. He put down a document in his hands.
"Anyway, someone has already taken control of a portion of the detection spell formation in the ruins. There's also that feeling of being spied on…"
The middle-aged man's brows furrowed, "I'm afraid that this truly must be the headquarters of the ancient Scarlet Crescent, and must have a high value. If news of how I had come here with a group of Morning Stars and yet was one-upped by someone else spreads, it'll definitely be a huge joke…"
"In that case!" The phantom of a giant gold lion appeared behind the middle-aged Magus.
*Boom!* Just the pressure from the aura was enough for the entire building to collapse, the air shattering like iron chains.
"This feeling… These undulations… It's a great Radiant Moon Magus!"
Collins, as well as the other Morning Star Magi, began to look grim at the other end.
The phantom image of a golden lion in the horizon gave them a very bad feeling.
It was not just the Morning Stars of Jupiter's Lightning. Even the Warlocks of Spirit Circle and Wind Wolf Lair immediately sped up their movements, berserk energy waves emanating from them.
When they no longer had reservations, the terrifying destructive ability of Morning Star Magi were showcased completely.
"As expected, after I made the first move, it caused a chain reaction among the other Morning Stars. None of them are holding back anymore and charging in this direction…"
Leylin looked at the notebook that lay wide open. Many buildings had already been broken through by a few black dots, and there were warning sirens everywhere.
*Gurgle… Gurgle…*
The old man was almost unconscious.
Never did he expect that, in just a short instant, these Morning Stars would suddenly turn into ancient oppressive beasts, the defensive spell formations like a mere joke in front of them.
At the thought that he had even thought of relying on the spell formations here to deal with them, cold sweat unceasingly dripped from the old man's forehead.
Leylin had yet to come up with a way to deal with the descendant of Scarlet Crescent. He had a very soft personality, and just by being threatened, he had immediately handed everything over, which included even the jurisdiction to control the Void Assassins. This saved Leylin some time, and also allowed the old man to escape the gruesome fate of having his soul searched.
It was not just this. On the other party's body, Leylin found the inheritance from his ancestor, which was quite a large harvest.
From his eyes, Leylin could tell that the old man still seemed to be hiding something. Time was scarce, however, and Leylin could not waste more time to settle it.
"What are you afraid of? The setup of an ancient Magus won't be that simple…"
Leylin shot the man a glance and spoke disdainfully. Though his earlier actions might have seemed reckless, the route had already gone through the A.I. Chip's meticulous probing and calculations, and he had not triggered any fundamental, large formations.
After all, for ancient Magi, Morning Star was the bare minimum level. How could there not be specific countering spell formations? Those Magi would probably soon be in trouble.
-x-X-x-
"Ancient Morning Star Arcane Art — Ocean Crash!"
With a body thousands of metres tall, a monster with the head of a cow, body of a human and tentacles for feet emanated powerful energy undulations.
Behind it, four giant rings of light constantly flickered and fused, and the power of its point mass strengthened immensely from before, forming an alarming spell.
Like an ocean god had been enraged, great amounts of ocean water formed horses, goblins, dragons, and various other ancient beasts, drowning the large spell formation opposite it.
In front of the Morning Star Arcane Art, the large spell formation had broken out a powerful defensive force, but it was still smashed to smithereens, the vast ocean water bringing a great amount of pressure and washing through.
"This seems to be a cultivation base!"
Siebel's aura suddenly grew unstable before he returned to his human form that would consume less energy. He charged into the spell formation and began to rummage through as he wished.
The Arcane Art left the base in a mess, looking like ruins after the end of the world. Yet, there were still some intact objects lying in the dust and emanating light that attracted hi's attention.
"This is a Thousand-Eyed Worm Egg. It's so big, and can practically be exchanged for an astral stone of a similar quality…"
"And very concentrated refined gold. There's so much…" Siebel's eyes lit up, cheeks turning a rosy red.
Various famous and also unknown precious materials were lying on the ground like trash. Though many had been destroyed, they were still of high value.
Such enormous wealth was placed before him to be chosen from. Even in his life, this experience was very rare.
"Haha… If I'd known, I would have done this long ago. Though it might affect some treasures, I can save time and attack a few other areas…"
Siebel's eyes turned slightly red, as he scanned the ground and kept anything of value. He then left, reaching another area.
The surroundings of the large laboratory were flickering with crystal luster, obstructing Siebel like a city wall. At the door, there was a wooden sign that was a warning.
"Grandmaster Nuuk's Alchemy Laboratory! Do not disturb if you are not supposed to be here! You will bear the consequences!"
"He's already been dead for over tens of thousands of years. Who are you kidding?" Siebel had originally been surprised by the crimson words on the sign, feeling a chill down his spine, but the harvests he had reaped caused him to get greedy.
"Once I attack this place, I can move on to the core area. The treasures there must be even more amazing…"
Siebel's expression changed several times, but he gradually made his decision. Rays from innate spells of various ranks lit up from his body.
Of course, he had also set up several layers of defence, with magic equipment that looked like shells covering his body.
"Be ruined! Morning Star Arcane Art— Ocean Crash!"
The azure ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see, as well as the vicious ocean animals, immediately submerged the laboratory in front of him. All sorts of lights exploded, before dying down.
By the time Siebel was done, the laboratory had turned into a large ruins. All the spell runes had either been destroyed, smashed, or had disappeared.
"Haha… As expected! My guess was right!"
The counterattack he had expected did not arrive, and Siebel's face showed his elation. He first sent a few puppets forth cautiously, and after determining there was no danger ahead, pounced towards the ruins hastily and began to look through it.
Even Morning Star Magi did not get such chances often.
Meanwhile, spilledvarious violent and dangerous reactions were rapidly happening out of sight.
"Determined to be point mass reaction! Judged Morning Star-ranked enemy at area DK-34, activating counterattack spell formation."
Up in the air in the secret space, large amounts of vacant spaces fused together and formed the strange shape of a crystal ball. At the heart of it was an unusual human in black robes, eyes giving off crimson rays.
Traces of a mysterious aura were emitted along with the control room's command. In the area above what had been the laboratory, a concealed spell formation began to operate.
"Extrapolating force of point mass. Attribute determined to be: Water. Activating counterattack spell formation. Begin!"
"Hm? What's going on?" Siebel raised his head, and in that moment, his intuition as a Magus made him feel immensely threatened, some existence was giving him the chills.
"Not good! I need to leave immediately!" He turned into a blue silhouette as he darted out.
However, it was too late. With a terrifying, high-pitched sound, a large, crimson spell formation appeared in the air. Large numbers of runic chains formed a cage, trapping him inside.
"Target confirmed. Beginning annihilation." The icy, robotic voice immediately gave Siebel the feeling that he was in immense danger. However, as a Morning Star Magus, he would naturally not sit and wait to be killed.
"Ah! You want to kill me, just with this spell formation?" Siebel snarled, body exploding and revealing his true marine form.
At the same time, the enormous undulations from the Morning Star final technique appeared once more.
"Morning Star Arcane Art— Ocean Crash!"
A tremendous ocean descended, and many ancient creatures thundered as they charged straight for the runic chains.
*Weng!* The attacks fell on the thin runic chains, but were not able to cause any damage at all. Large amounts of blue light were absorbed by the chains, causing Siebel's face to immediately turn pale.
"Ho-How?" Seeing a spell formation like this that could absorb a whole Morning Star Arcane Art, Siebel seemed to have been dealt a massive blow. Were Morning Star not able to do as they wished in the continent? Their Arcane Arts were even more horrifying, so how could this have happened?
Only now did he understand how terrifying ancient Magi were, but it was far too late.
*Xiu!* A giant blue bow appeared, still having some of the power Siebel's own point mass as it shot out blue flames.
At the heart of the blue flames, there was a unique long arrow, the arrowhead having alarming black threads that distorted time and space.
*Pu!* Like paper being ripped through, his defensive layers were pierced through by the blue arrow, and even the Morning Star Magus' famed soul force was rendered useless under the black threads.
The giant blue arrow pierced through Siebel's chest, pinning him to the ground.
"I… will actually here… in the hands of a trap…" Siebel's expression cycled, and he was unsure if he should laugh or cry.
Though these injuries would cause regular people or even Magi to die straightaway, Morning Star Magi had a vigorous life force and powerful vitality that still allowed them to struggle for their lives for a period of time.
"I never thought I'd die here. Thankfully, I still have the marine tribe's deity egg and can be reborn."
Siebel had a wry smile on his face, unwilling to part with the precious items and magic equipment he had found. However, there was no way around it.
The marine tribe's deity egg was a secret method of the marine tribe Magi to save one's life, for Morning Stars and above. It was able to separate one's blood, flesh and soul in the form of a marine egg, and after the fall of the main body, they would then be reborn in the egg.
As it was part of the Magus, after a period of training, it was possible to even return to the Morning Star realm!
Since it was so valuable, it was obviously extensively sought out. However, due to the limitations of the race, only the marine tribe were able to use it, causing many human Morning Stars to wring their hands in defeat.
Though there were some Magi who had one or even a few clones, if the main body fell, it was extremely difficult for the clone to reach Morning Star and was even considered impossible.
"Collection of soul aura complete. Beginning obliteration of soul brand."
At this moment, the icy robotic voice sounded once more, giving Siebel the impression that he was really in trouble.
Immediately after, he felt a strange force being transmitted to his body through the bow and arrow, and with the sensing abilities of his soul aura, felt it trace the source and reach a part of the past.
A scene suddenly appeared in his mind. It was that of when he had carefully placed the deity egg in his Magus Tower.
At that moment, multiple black threads were sent out, puncturing the deity egg.
"Oh! Noooo…" Siebel yelled while struggling. He could tell that with the changes in the scene, his original connection with the deity egg had been completely broken, and he would no longer have any chances at rebirth. In that case, if he were to die, it would truly be the end...
"How– How did it become like this?" Large amounts of blood spilt from the corner of Siebel's mouth, which then turned into blue bubbles that exploded. His eyes closed for eternity.
In ancient times, there were many Magi with clones or those who entrusted their lives elsewhere. The methods were strange and hard to be determined, but many Magi who had participated in the great ancient Magus war had still fallen.
Once the original was completely wiped out, even a Morning Star would be helpless.
*Poof!* A spot of light that was like a morning star emerged from his body and, with the guidance of a stream of astral light, broke through the space and left.
This was a Morning Star Magus' point mass, holding his soul within.
Based on legends of the ancient Byron Empire, when Morning Star Magi completely died, their soul would return to the astral plane for eternity, floating in the deepest part of the astral plane and waiting for their next chance at reincarnation.
"Point mass discovered! Beginning seizure!"
A few large hands full of black runes emerged from the air and grabbed at the point mass. The formless force immediately spread throughout the area, causing the starlight to turn unsteady.
*Sou!* Taking this opportunity, the large black hands grabbed hold of the point mass, disappearing into the darkness.
-x-X-x-
Previously, hidden in the control room, the scenes of Siebel's death were displayed on the crystal screen for a pair of crimson eyes.
When the point mass was caught by the person behind this whole situation, the power bar increased by one unit on the side of the screen.
"..." The crimson light in that pair of eyes flickered intensely, but it soon subsided.
The chamber turned deathly silent again. A dark figure stayed at its spot, unmoving, unbreathing.
Meanwhile, news of Siebel's death swept through the entire ruins like a hurricane.
"What's this feeling?" Leylin's face changed the moment the astral plane opened automatically upon Siebel's death. He felt the fluctuation in the atmosphere of the astral plane and the point mass.
It was the same feeling he'd gotten when he'd killed Cyril, something he'd never forget.
"The death of a Morning Star Magus? The point mass returning to the astral plane?" Leylin mumbled in disbelief.
He took a long breath afterwards, "Sure enough, ancient ruins aren't this simple. Even this core control room could be a mere disguise, with another true one hidden somewhere else!"
Leylin had gotten this suspicion a little earlier. Even if the old man didn't have full authorisation, the defence of this place was far too weak. Now, it seemed it was only to be expected if this place was just a ruse that could only control the simplest spell formations.
Those powerful spell formations that had the power to suppress Morning Star Magi, and were even strong enough to kill them, were all hidden somewhere in the dark.
Leylin looked at the old man who was lying on the ground with sympathy when he thought of this.
It was obvious that his ancestor was of little importance in Scarlet Crescent, he had not even gotten a single bit of information about such matters.
"Anyway, all these things is none of my business. I've gotten what's important, and therefore, it's time to leave…" Leylin smiled, then flipped open the pale yellow notebook.
Even if the old man's ancestor did not have much status, they had been very careful and had even noted down a secret passageway for the sake of their descendants. It allowed Leylin to leave Scarlet Crescent directly without returning through the original route, which greatly reduced the level of danger.
"If this works out, the mission this time will truly have gone perfectly!"
Leylin rubbed his chin, "The others only know that I have entered the ruin, but they don't know what I have gained, there's still room for manipulation."
At the bottom of his heart was an idea about how to break apart the bloodline shackles, a gift from the ancient Wisdom Tree. This was priceless information for bloodline Warlocks.
Because of this, Leylin had to safeguard the secret, or else he could be rejected and even persecuted by the bloodline Warlocks.
"The timing's just right. I know Siebel's dead, but the rest of the Morning Star Magi aren't aware of this, which means he can be my scapegoat!"
Leylin could not help but sneer as he thought of what he saw in the core control room earlier on.
The other Morning Star Magi did not have the spell formation of this control room to monitor the entire ruin. At most, they only knew that one Morning Star Magus had perished, but they would not know which one it was.
In this case, it was possible for him to disguise himself as Siebel, it wasn't like the dead could talk.
"Transfiguration! Projection Technique!" With a thought, Leylin's aura changed, becoming similar to Siebel's.
But this was far from enough. His cover would be blown the moment a Morning Star Magus scanned him with soul force.
"I planned to use this for research or just to sell it off. Who knew I'd be using it now…" Leylin flipped his palm, revealing a translucent test tube. There was a tinge of blue blood in it, emanating light.
This was the blood Leylin had extracted from Siebel during their fight.
"Conceal the bloodline! This is going to remove all light and resist detection…" Leylin spoke in a half-singing and half-chanting voice.
These were Arcane Arts that the A.I. Chip had deduced from the inherited memories of the bloodline.
It enabled one to use the bloodline of the target, covering up their own aura and imitate the energy fluctuations on the target. Soul force would be unable to detect it.
Moreover, this was a long-lost arcane art of bloodlines. Leylin had witnessed it when he'd awakened his own Kemoyin bloodline. Other Morning Star Magi would definitely not have thought of it.
The spells sounded out as the test tube opened up in tandem with Leylin's incantation. The blue blood drifted into the air, turning into a hazy shadow that enveloped Leylin.
In the blink of an eye, Leylin looked as if he changed into another person. Not only did he have the same look as Siebel, even his aura mimicked those of the marine tribe.
It was so much so that the energy fluctuations of a Magus were emitted from him, as opposed to those of the vastly different Warlocks.
Even the Radiant Moon Magus of Jupiter's Lightning would find it hard to recognise him under such circumstances.
"Ma– Master?"
The old man who sat on the ground saw Leylin changing completely into someone else, and he could not help but stutter.
Leylin soon turned and looked at him, a trace of hostility flashing in his eyes.
...
Tremendous golden flames crackled and melted the void within seconds, clearing out a path of lava.
A blonde-haired middle-aged Warlock walked out with both hands behind him, followed by the phantom of a humongous golden lion.
"Right here! This is the first location where the energy fluctuations of a Morning Star Magus appeared. The core control room must be nearby!"
His brows furrowed while he glanced through the scenery on both sides. Looking at the huge depression and the remaining seawater, he frowned.
"Was I too late?"
*Bang!* Just then, the core control room nearby exploded, and a ferocious blaze engulfed everything.
The Warlock snorted with disdain, and a huge amount of fire was absorbed by the phantom at his back in an instant. His powerful soul force scanned around and discovered a blue figure immediately.
"Are you still trying to leave?" He smiled sarcastically, while a ray of golden lightning shot out immediately from the phantom behind him, quickly arriving at the blue figure.
"Arcane Art— Myriad Waves!"
An illusory domain in the form of a blue ocean was emanated from the blue figure, and a large surge of waves rushed ahead to form a huge wall that shielded him.
*Ka-cha!* Golden lightning split the waves apart, revealing the original form of the trembling fellow.
This was a giant who was a few meters tall, covered in blue skin. The inhuman aura was obvious.
"Marine Giant Siebel? Indeed, he was the fellow guarding this region, and one of the first to enter the ruins…" The middle-aged Warlock nodded, then he saw Siebel's figure flicker before he fled quickly.
"You can't escape!" Wayde, the Radiant Moon Warlock followed after him right away. As the blue giant was the first to reach the core control room, he must have gotten lots of treasure. Just the structural plans of the ruins would have him green with envy.
"Hand me everything you've obtained, and I will allow your truesoul back into the astral plane!" Wayde looked indifferent, but the phantom lion behind him started to fidget.
'Only a fool will stay still…' Half of Leylin's body was severely burnt, but his figure moved swiftly in the ruins to escape. Even though the situation was bad, he had managed to escape from Wayde for the moment with the guidance of the map he had acquired.
Leylin put in huge effort to disguise himself as Siebel in this time period. Not only had he changed his aura completely using the Arcane Art, he had also used the data recorded by the A.I. Chip to imitate his domain, perfecting the facade.
With the aura, domain, and even the face matching, even if Leylin told him the truth now, Wayde wouldn't believe him.
Not to mention that he'd spent a lot of effort to conceal his powerful spells. With the rush he was in, his opponent would not have a single clue about his identity.
As for the old man and the core control room, Leylin had destroyed them both; he would never let someone who knew his secrets to live. After all, once the old man fell into another's hands, his disguise would be rendered useless.
'I didn't expect him to be this fast… Moreover, he's a rank 5 Magus who excels at lightning-based attacks!' Leylin smiled wryly. He had disguised himself as Siebel, and even had to mimic his spells. Despite the fact that Leylin knew water could not outpower lightning, he continued to use water spells to fight against Wayde as he could not risk exposing himself.
What was worse was that the opponent was way too fast. He had been caught unprepared.
However, it was all worth it.
A trace of a smile showed up on Leylin's face, and blue light flickered in his eyes as he tested Wayde's patience with the help of the numerous spell formations in the ruins.
At last, Wayde fumed with rage at the slippery moves of the Morning Star Magus before him, and did not want to probe Siebel any longer.
"Void Devourer!" His hand reached out ferociously, and the phantom opened its monstrous mouth in an attempt to swallow him.
*Buzz!* As if a massive black hole had appeared in the void, everything distorted and disappeared into the lion's monstrous mouth.
'This was what I was waiting for!' Leylin's eyes glinted, and he hid behind another huge bell tower.
*Crack!* The bell tower was broken, and even the foundation was uprooted by the suction force.
*Buzz!* A strong wave of energy appeared, unveiling a complex spell formation hidden underground.
"Hmmm, what's this? Power from the core?" Wayde's brows furrowed. Soon, he was buried in crimson spell formations that came out of the blue.
"Intruder spotted, Radiant Moon Warlock!" A cold mechanic voice sounded.
-x-X-x-
"Success!" Not far away, the golden lion phantom was trapped in a crimson spell formation. Seeing it growl continuously, Leylin clenched his fist resolutely.
Since he had the guts to take Siebel's place, he naturally also had a way out.
Many important locations were marked out on the notebook he had seized. The energy hub was one of the most important places. Leylin was confident that once this area was attacked, the hidden defense program would immediately be activated.
After all, he had intentionally avoided many spell formations along the way, and used Morning Star Arcane Arts with restraint. Thus, he appeared relatively harmless. Needless to say, the program would deal with the more terrifying rank 5 Warlock first.
A Radiant Moon Warlock was not to be trifled with. Even in the ancient times, such a Warlock was a strong contender that conquered.
The collisions between these two would instantly devastate their surroundings, causing an already chaotic region to become even more disordered.
Even if there were any problems or clues left behind, they would have been quickly wiped out in the destruction.
As the golden lion phantom continued growling, Leylin smiled coldly, his body completely fading into the void.
The ruins no longer held any attraction for Leylin. The dangers would increase exponentially, and forcing himself to stay wouldn't bring him any benefits as well. Leylin thus decided to evacuate.
...
Half a month later, Phosphorescence Swamp, Ouroboros Clan headquarters, inside of Leylin's huge castle.
"How were the ruins of Scarlet Crescent?" Leylin was now wearing a loose robe and conversing leisurely with someone else through the screen in front of him.
Paul's figure surfaced on the screen, just that he seemed a little gloomy. Even his tentacles were drooping listlessly. Evidently, he didn't receive any good news.
"It has been confirmed that the ruins of Scarlet Crescent have been completely closed. The coordinates have all become invalid, and I reckon that it has undertaken a spatial jump!" Paul didn't look too well.
Previously, with the directions from the notebook, Leylin had managed to escape unharmed through a spatial path that had opened up. Hence, he also missed the drastic changes that had taken place afterwards in the ruins. Of course, this was how he avoided danger.
It was only after Paul and company emerged in a fluster that Leylin found out about what had happened in the ruins.
It turned out that the ancient Magi from the Scarlet Crescent had left behind an Adamantine Golem in the ruins, which acted as the control centre.
This Adamantine Golem had an intelligence on par with humans, and could think like a normal human being, except that it was equipped with a program to comply with orders.
What was even more special was that not only had this Adamantine Golem mastered all the ancient spell formations in the ruins, it could also recharge itself by devouring Morning Star Magus point masses!
During the previous fight, upon discovering that it couldn't defeat the rank 5 Warlock, Wayde, the Adamantine Golem immediately started attacking the other Morning Star Magi in the ruins.
Numerous ancient spell formations had surfaced, costing Paul and company dearly.
In front of spell formations specially deployed by the ancient Magi, even Morning Stars were destined to fall. Blair and another Morning Star had fallen straight away from Spirit Circle. On Wind Wolf Lair's end, Philip was seriously injured while Palesa fell directly. Even Cybel, the strongest of them all, was severely wounded, and was rumored to have almost fallen from his Morning Star position.
On the other hand, Jupiter's Lightning was no better. At least half of their men suffered grave injuries, while the remaining few had superficial wounds.
After recharging through absorbing numerous point masses, the Adamantine Golem started to show its prowess. With the assistance of the many ancient spell formations, even Wayde was wounded and eventually chased out.
The other Morning Stars had to get themselves out of danger one by one. Paul was lucky; he had managed to jostle his way into a spatial crack, and was teleported to the border of the Magus world, which saved his life.
From then onwards, the Scarlet Crescent ruins vanished from Crystal Mountain. Other Magi came forth afterwards, but no matter how hard they tried to scout it out, not even a trace of the place could be found.
According to the judgement of a few specialists, the Adamantine Golem must have activated a spatial jump right after attaining sufficient energy, teleporting the ruins away.
Under such a situation, these Magi were so stunned that they could only drop the idea of going in for another round of looting.
As for Leylin? He fabricated a lie about how he hadn't gained a lot after entering the pocket dimension, and had immediately backed out after the rank 5 battle started.
This, of course, raised doubts from Cybel and the others, but those were only suspicions. Furthermore, as they had just lost a great deal of strength, they were in no position to question Leylin.
Additionally, someone else had taken the limelight away from Leylin.
"Oh right, has Sebel been found?" Leylin asked seriously, trying to contain his laughter.
Due to Wayde's allegations and other evidence, many Morning Stars unanimously agreed that the Marine Giant Siebel of Jupiter's Lightning had gained the most fortune from the ruins, and had even intruded into the core control room.
Jupiter's Lightning reacted relatively strangely. They declared that Siebel had already fallen and perished. Even the deity egg in the Magus Tower was damaged. This did raise some suspicions.
However, the Warlocks led by Wayde were enemies with them, and thus did not receive any response. They could only try to probe for information on the sly.
"He hasn't! As you know, prophesying about a Morning Star Magus is really troublesome, especially with the presence of the Morning Star domain. Coupled with the radiation from the Magus himself, even a Radiant Moon Magus specializing in prophecy spells cannot solve such problems. We need someone that is at least a Breaking Dawn, and he has to be an expert in prophesies…"
Paul gave a forced laugh. A Breaking Dawn throne specializing in prophesies? Leylin smirked. Such a person has never been seen before in the central continent.
"We suffered many losses this time round, and returned with only injuries. Only you managed to reap some decent gains!" Paul seemed sour, which was rare. He stared at Leylin's right ear.
Leylin gave a light laugh and touched his earlobe. A crescent accessory covered his ear, casting a crescent shadow.
This was a high-grade magic equipment: the Scarlet Earring! After confirming that it didn't pose any danger, Leylin immediately put it on.
A high-grade magic equipment! Even Morning Star Magi would be envious. After all, even the raw materials of such an item have disappeared from the face of the central continent for a long time, thus it would be impossible to produce it again.
Perhaps only the Breaking Dawn noble powers who have explored other worlds and obtained loads of resources might own a few of these items.
Most of the magic equipment that Leylin had seen before were low-grade items, and even middle-grade items were rare. It wouldn't be hard to guess the value of this high-grade piece magic equipment.
Not only did Leylin escape unscathed, he even reaped relatively huge gains. It was no wonder that Paul was envious of him.
It was only after much deliberation did Leylin that decide to display this magic equipment. His previous actions may have appeared suspicious; if the first batch of Magi who entered left without a single piece of loot, it would attract unwanted attention.
Now, the appearance of the Scarlet Earring would serve as a reasonable explanation for all that happened.
Paul thought to himself, 'If it was me, perhaps I would have been satisfied with the discovery of the Scarlet Earring as well. It would have been enough for me to stop there and find my way out instead.'
What was more miraculous was how the complete disappearance of the Scarlet Crescent ruins had made most of the contract that Leylin signed with them obsolete. He didn't even have to redistribute what he'd obtained.
Initially, when they decided upon the allocation, they had included the entire ruins as one of the most important lands. Now that they had suffered a dead loss, the agreement would naturally lose its validity as well.
This was definitely beneficial for Leylin.
He was prepared to keep the secret of the ancient Wisdom Tree until his death. It was only an intelligence report anyway, and didn't occupy much of his share. Withholding this piece of information and then distributing his profits fairly would deceive everyone.
Now that he was the sole owner of all the shares, it was even better.
As the previous agreement was made obsolete, anything obtained from the ruins would be belong to the person who found it. No matter how jealous Paul was, he couldn't do anything about it.
With such a high-grade magic equipment, it was needless to say that Leylin's strength would increase exponentially. Now that Cybel was suffering from heavy losses, they couldn't make things ugly even if they wanted to, as their strength could not be compared to Leylin's.
Not only that,Spirit Circle and Wind Wolf Lair had suffered great losses in terms of strength. The successive fall of their Morning Stars caused problems to surface in their rule. Enemies from before also started getting themselves ready for action.
In such uncertain times, they would be more than willing to receive external assistance from Leylin, who had good connections. This would be more favourable than allowing him to side with their enemies.
That was how this matter passed.
'If it were not for the two Radiant Moons!' Leylin secretly added on.
Although Leylin had tried his best to cover his tracks through questioning himself, it was hard to guarantee that he didn't leave any traces behind at all. If the Scarlet Crescent ruins were found, or even broken into, it would be possible to find gaps through on-site tests.
There were many tricks up the sleeves of those Radiant Moon Magi, many of which he would not have even thought of. Thus, there was still a hidden danger.
But what was a little risk compared to these returns?
Furthermore, the Radiant Moon Warlock on Leylin's end, Wayde, was very certain that the Marine Giant Siebel was the main culprit. This imperceptibly lifted immense pressure off Leylin. Since he had long offended that Radiant Moon Magus from Jupiter's Lightning, a little more enmity wouldn't make much difference.
"Oh right, Sir Leylin, you seemed to have gained a lot from this trip to the Scarlet Crescent ruins. I have a few items here as well, how about a mutual exchange?" Paul finally revealed his true intention of making the call.
Although both he and Leylin had obtained a few items in the ruins, they might not be fit for use, thus it was vital to exchange items of equivalent value.
-x-X-x-
"Alright, we can make the trade in the Morning Star trading area!" Leylin said after a moment and nodded. He then ended the call.
The point of the transaction was a small plane that was accessed and linked through the astral gate. It was the channel to which Cybel gave Leylin access for trading amongst Morning Star Warlocks.
That was a large camp and trading area built together by a few Radiant Moon Warlocks, and Leylin was delighted.
Though his Magus Tower and astral gate were still under construction, he could still travel through another astral gate.
While pondering over this, Leylin entered a large honeycomb-like structure in the technological section.
Here was an astral gate that could be used.
"Your Grace!" Schadt brought a group of Warlocks in white coats that looked very much like researchers from his previous world, and bowed to Leylin.
"En! I want to use the astral gate here. The rest of you can leave first." Leylin waved his arms, sending Schadt and the rest away.
With his current status, Schadt did not dare say more. He immediately brought his subordinates away, giving up the spacious laboratory to Leylin.
"Astral Gate!" Leylin saw a giant stone gate in the spell formation at the centre.
Around the stone gate were blue flames that formed a giant bundle of light and covered everything. If Leylin wasn't at the Morning Star realm, he might not even see the true body constructed of astral stones.
The stone gate was simple yet dignified, spatial runes roving around and revolving every once in a while as they emanated a unique luster.
"Astral plane! What a vast, wide place. I wonder if I'll be able to explore it to its depths in my lifetime…" Leylin sighed. He had a premonition. Perhaps… When he completely understood the secrets of the astral plane, he would achieve his goal of immortality!
[Beep! Astral gate opened. Please determine coordinates!] The A.I. Chip's robotic voice sounded.
The giant stone gate emitting blue astral light began to rumble, a large black whirlpool appearing in the middle. Boundless silver spatial rays shot out from within, as well as a vast, mysterious astral aura.
"Go!" With a wave of his hand, a point of light that was like a star landed on the astral gate.
These were the coordinates to the Morning Star trading area that Paul had given him. After the A.I. Chip had recorded it down, he could use soul force and turn the location into a point of light.
The coordinates of different worlds and plans were very different from the 2D plane coordinates in Leylin's previous life. It was definitely not 3D either, but something that constantly warped and jumped in curves. At the same time, they seemed to have some point of reference in the astral plane and formed a specific frequency.
Even with the powerful calculative abilities of the A.I. Chip, it was still unable to simulate the entire process. Only through continuous use could it be completely understood.
When the point of light that was like a star landed on the surface of the stone gate, a startling change happened.
*Bzzzz!* The astral gate trembled, the countless wandering runes emitting an alarming luster. The two sides of the gate opened with a rumble, revealing a spatial passageway that was like a galaxy.
"As expected, the consumption is very little. Just the reserves of astral stones that I borrowed can be used for three days or more!"
Leylin was in no hurry to enter, only watching the A.I. Chip as it recorded data, and couldn't help but nod.
The operating rules of the astral gate still had to abide by the most fundamental physical laws. The further the teleportation, the greater the consumption. The Morning Star trading region was at the edges of the Magus World, and the consumption was obviously low, to the point that it was negligible. It was very convenient in moving manpower or cargo.
"Hm? That's not right! This Morning Star area is obviously a strategic location for large bases and war movements of high-ranked Warlocks!" Leylin was startled, but immediately understood.
With a point of communication in the Morning Star area, as long as organisations had Morning Star Warlocks and astral gates, they could be sent aid from the Morning Star area through astral gates, and could even have Warlocks from the union lend their support!
It could be said that the Morning Star area, along with the astral gates, was a huge teleportation network that linked all bloodline Warlock organisations
"What an amazing plan! Such a convenient method of receiving aid, and very flexible as well. It's no wonder that bloodline Warlock organisations are spread throughout the central continent, and are still so close. There doesn't seem to be any issues that might divide them…"
The more Leylin thought about it, the more clear it was. He couldn't help but begin to admire those Radiant Moon Warlocks for their thoughts and decision.
Of course, the requirements to enter the teleportation formation was very high. There needed to be at least one Morning Star Warlock or above, as well as an astral gate.
Any one of the Dukes of the Ouroboros Clan could have sent for help from the Morning Star region through the astral gate. The invaders would immediately be destroyed, and Leylin would not have had to risk his life alone.
At this thought, Leylin had little to say.
If he had obtained the coordinates to the Morning Star region earlier, things would not have been so difficult for him, to the point that he needed to gamble on some things.
However, it wasn't too late. The connection between the Ouroboros Clan and the Morning Star area was established once again, and he could obtain reinforcements any time. He would not have to be as cautious as before.
Leylin laughed, a trace of dark soul force emitting from the area between his brows and into the passageway.
Since it was the first time he was making contact with the Morning Star area, he would not put himself in danger. On top of that, the consumption of having his body going through as compared to just his soul force was much higher. Using his soul force would save a lot of energy.
It had to be said that sometimes, Leylin was a very miserly Magus.
The spatial travel was very quick this time, and the repercussions were mild. Leylin focused his mind on the soul force, and immediately felt it going through the astral gate and linking with another small-scaled plane.
"Foreigner, this is the gathering area of bloodline Warlocks. State your name and status!"
Just as the soul force reached the outer regions of the plane, Leylin felt a powerful undulation being transmitted to him. That was the bloodline aura unique to Radiant Moon Warlocks, ruthlessly scanning Leylin's soul force.
'A Radiant Moon Warlock, and their real body at that! This must be the protector in charge of the Morning Star area,' Leylin wondered inside, his soul force emitting a stream of information.
"I am Leylin Farlier of the Ouroboros Clan." At the same time, the dark soul force instantly sent out a layer of crimson brilliance, with the aura of the Kemoyin bloodline.
The unique power of a Warlock's bloodline, as well as the aura of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, symbolised his status. It was a mark that was difficult for others to imitate.
"En! Cybel's brought you up before, and the bloodline power is correct. Welcome home, little guy!" The conscient immediately turned friendly, sending Leylin some words of encouragement and retreating into the other plane.
Leylin's soul force did not hesitate and followed him in.
"Is this the Morning Star area?" A streak of dark light formed a black human figure. Leylin couldn't help but look around, fascinated.
He was now in a large square. Raising his head, he could see a shattered sky, with nebulae and giant protective stars and the like in the spatial cracks.
Above some of the protective stars, there was a huge ring of light that was even larger than the sun, looking as if it was about to fall.
High-ranked Warlocks could be seen walking around the square on occasion. Compared to the small-scaled gathering before, Leylin now saw even more Morning Star Warlocks, and with some, he could not even sense the source of their bloodline.
This was the point where high-ranked bloodline Warlocks in the central continent gathered, and naturally could not be compared to the last time.
Leylin began to observe carefully. The Warlocks here were naturally at the Morning Star realm and above, their bodies all having unique auras. Some looked completely different from regular humans just from their outer appearance.
It was evident that this was not their first time here. They were not surprised by Leylin's presence in the square, going about their own matters.
Some of them had descended with their real bodies, while there were others like Leylin with just a thread of their soul force changed into flames, bundles of light, or other shapes.
"Paul, I'm here!" Leylin's soul force turned into a rune and sent out a message to the imprint.
Almost instantly, he received a reply, "Welcome, welcome! Are you at the square? Wait, I'll come get you!"
Minutes later, a large steel puppet reached the square, its sapphire eyes shooting out light and immediately finding Leylin's location.
Identifying people by their soul force was the main method Morning Star Warlocks used to distinguish people. They were rarely wrong.
Seeing Leylin staring at his puppet, Paul couldn't help but chuckle, "Haha… my friend! It's your first time here. I'll gift you a steel puppet soon, since it's slightly inconvenient without a body!"
Morning Star Warlocks used astral stones very sparingly, and if it was not necessary, they would not try to pass through with their real bodies. Instead, through their soul force, they would prepare a clone or puppet, and things would be fine.
The black figure formed from the thread of Leylin's soul force laughed and spoke, "This isn't bad either. Aren't you going to bring me around?"
"Of course!" The large steel puppet immediately led the way, every step causing an earthquake, attracting the attention of many Warlocks.
"This is the Morning Star area, the holy land of bloodline Warlocks. It's also where all our strength and hope lies!" Paul explained.
"You should understand how trading and everything works, right?"
"Of course. A network of teleportation spell formations spanning across the central continent! As expected, it's a huge project!" Leylin sucked in a deep breath.
-x-X-x-
"Yes. Through the Morning Star Area, any Morning Star Warlock can get support at anytime. Even if our brothers are spread throughout the central continent, this place can still keep us closely linked."
Paul's words held a tone of awe, and the respect he held towards the Warlocks who had thought up this plan was obvious.
"Yes. If I had had the coordinates to the Morning Star Area the last time, things wouldn't have been so difficult…" Leylin sounded helpless as he sighed.
"Haha… but it's not too late to know now!" The hand of the steel puppet seemed to pat Leylin's shoulder, but went through the black figure.
As if trying to hide his embarrassment, Paul immediately laughed as he spoke. "Oh! By the way, all of our bloodline Warlock organisations provide each other with long-distance delivery services. Of course, they take a fee, and need to be on good terms with the other party!"
"Bloodline Warlocks are very united…" Leylin's eyes shone, immediately knowing the function of this service.
Even if it was the airship network of the Monarch of the skies, it would take years to travel from one end of the central continent to the other. In the process, they had to move across countless dangerous regions, and even Morning Stars would find this troublesome.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, other Magi would stay in their own territories, and seldom conducted super long-distance travels.
With the teleportation through the Morning Star Area, travelling to any region in the central continent could happen in an instant as long as there was a Morning Star Warlock organisation there.
Of course, as the teleportation was through the astral gate, the arrival would be at the other party's headquarters or even Magus Tower.
This served as a threat to the Warlocks who teleported over. The Warlocks that received them would not easily reveal secrets of their nest to another Warlock.
This required a certain amount of trust from both sides, as well as unity.
However, Leylin believed that with the huge pressure from the external world, and the coordination of the few Radiant Moon Warlocks in the inner circles, this was not yet a problem.
"The space here is large, and there are many uninhabited areas. As long as you take control of it, it's yours and you're free to do as you like, as long as you don't encroach on public territory!"
Paul continued on, "I have a castle outside, but you need to be careful. In these uninhabited regions, there are vengeful spirits and the like. Things will get very complicated if you get hurt, since it's malice that has been amassed in a location."
Leylin looked grim as he nodded, tactfully not asking what had happened to the people who had fallen to this state.
"By the way… Where is the trading hall?"
Leylin took a quick look. After walking out of the square from before, there were only a few shops here and there, with some puppets or clones inside selling personal items. Some of the shops had even closed their doors, only accepting members.
However, just the light from the front desk had Leylin in a daze. The astral stones that he had found so difficult to acquire when he was rank 3 seemed to be of less value, with each shop having a couple pieces.
There were obviously many treasures here. Leylin even saw quite a few medium-grade magic equipment.
However, what confused Leylin was that the trading hall that he was looking for could not be found. Even after he walked a whole round through the trading area, he could not find anything that resembled a building.
"Uh… Lord Leylin, my castle isn't too far away. How about we go there andrest, sampling rainbow juice and jewelled meat from the Gourmet World? How about it?" Paul awkwardly laughed.
Leylin's expression turned cold with dissatisfaction. Paul was obviously afraid that after seeing the trading hall, he would be able to accurately gauge the real value of his items, thus disabling his ability to take advantage of him.
"Hehe… Big octopus, are you swindling newbies again?" Before Leylin had even flared up, a large flower that looked like a rose giggled from the side.
The rose looked about the size of a regular human, its roots twisting around each other and forming something similar to a human's two feet. A little girl's face appeared at the stamen.
"Hey, newbie! The public area for trading is above you. Just look up and you'll know. No need to thank me…"
The giant human-shaped flower hummed while skipping off, while Paul's face turned red. Thankfully, he was now controlling a puppet, and it was not evident.
"Above me?!"
Leylin raised his head in amazement, staring at the large, starry skies that were like the universe, particularly at the giant star that looked ready to fall. Numerous rings of light formed a pattern around her, bright and beautiful.
"Could it be?!"
Leylin was shocked, soul force immediately extending to the protective star.
*Rumble!* Like a universe exploding, information streamed into Leylin's brain. If he had not already reached Morning Star realm and had some experience in the past, he might explode from this onslaught of data.
"Selling 5632 g astral stone! Accepting exchange with item of equal value!"
"High grade meditation technique— Void Phantom, total of five levels. Complete. Requesting…"
"Purchasing bloodlines, remains or even goods from ancient creatures at a high price. Price will be favorable. Add me immediately!" At the side was a secret imprint symbol.
"Medium-grade magic equipment trade. I need a defensive magic equipment. Any difference in price can be compensated with another hundred star gems!"
"Selling living beings— Desolate Bone Wolf tribe, as well as a wolf king with a limit of rank 3!"
"Selling spatial Arcane Art, as well as an incomplete spatial coordinate. If interested, please hurry…"
Leylin's eyes flashed with blue, the A.I. Chip quickly turning and gathering all this information, forming a large price list and a curved line of the selling price.
Leylin chuckled, clearly understanding the preciousness and general prices of certain items.
"Haha… The weather's quite good!" Paul laughed. "Lord Leylin, there's too much chaotic information here. I just wanted you to get some rest…"
Paul said something even he wouldn't fall for. Would soul force need rest?
Unexpectedly, Leylin immediately agreed. "Lord Paul, please lead the way!"
"Wha- What? You still want to go to the castle? Oh, no, no! I mean… are you not going to take a look at the market?" Paul was slightly confused and even bewildered, to the point that he forgot his words.
"Haha! Spirit Circle is my Ouroboros Clan's ally, so I obviously believe you! Besides, I'm rather curious about the rainbow juice and jeweled meat!" Leylin lifted his head and chuckled, looking as if he did not mind. Paul was immediately touched.
What he did not realise was in the moment Leylin laughed, there was a cold glint in his eyes.
After walking out of the public area, everything instantly seemed desolate. The Morning Star Area was a plane after all, and no matter how many of their few Radiant Moon Warlocks had dealt with it, they could not attend to every single area.
Even public places were frequented only by Morning Star Warlocks, and thus appeared like a ghost town.The area was large but there were few people, and the frequency of an individual occupying a lot of land was extremely high.
The situation was even worse outside. Besides a few castles and buildings like that near the public region, the other areas were basically a wasteland.
The vengeful spirits formed of malicious thoughts and ill intent were very stubborn and difficult to deal with.
Before a complete 'purification', even Radiant Moon Warlocks had few methods to deal with it. They could only allow them to lie around idly, not even able to make use of them.
They headed all the way to Paul's castle.
While it was called a castle, Warlocks' aesthetics were rather different from those ordinary people. The castle in front of Leylin was a few large spheroids floating in the air, with a column connecting the bottom to the ground.
"Look! This is the castle I designed myself. What beautiful arches! And that feeling of complete perfection! Oh! It makes me want to recite a poem…" Paul was obviously in a good mood, but Leylin politely declined.
On the ground, there was an installation similar to an elevator. The smart butler immediately recognised Paul's aura, sending him and Leylin into the castle.
"Haha… This area is rather crude with only a few refined-gold servants. Don't take offence…" Paul brought Leylin to a strangely-shaped hall to sit, and an intellectual servant immediately brought a round plate over.
Inside was juice that was spilling over with an aroma, as well as roasted meat.
The juice was poured in a transparent glass cup, but revealed a seven-coloured luster, similar to a rainbow. The meat, too, had a tint on the surface similar to jewels.
These two were food from another world. Even Morning Star Magi would have difficulty obtaining this. The taste was amazing, and though Paul usually could not bring himself to enjoy it, he had taken it out and shown off his treasure for Leylin's sake.
"It's alright!" Leylin laughed as he shook his head. While he knew that in theory, they could move migrants here to work, the purification was not thorough enough. Besides Morning Stars, even other low-ranked Warlocks might not be able to handle the contamination, much less regular people.
Perhaps… The union head had already attempted at experiments in this area, only to be met with failure.
Leylin did not think into this, picking up his cutlery in a practised manner and elegantly cutting himself a piece of jeweled meat.
"Oh!" The moment the piece of meat on the fork entered his mouth, the delicious juice from the meat combined with a unique aroma and began to attack Leylin's taste buds, causing every cell in his body to rejoice.
"That is delicious! I'm not going to hold back then!"
Mind ready to take some revenge, he began to enjoy the food without restraint, feeling a thrill go through him as he watched Paul's heartache.
-x-X-x-
The Gourmet World was another world in the astral plane.
Rumours from ancient times had it that even a brook or a rock would taste supremely delicious there.
This was the pinnacle of enjoyable food, and many Magi could not resist the temptation.
Based on Leylin's knowledge, the Warlock Union had yet to have any records of a successful attack on another world, which made these all the more precious.
Seeing the delicacies in front of Leylin constantly being consumed, Paul's robotic face seemed to be in anguish, especially the soul force that unwittingly showed his emotions. Leylin was even more cheerful as he ate quicker.
Though his main body wasn't here, the pleasures felt by soul force could be connected to the main body.
When Paul could no longer endure this, Leylin raised his head properly, "Lord Paul! Seems like we can now discuss the issues about trading the spoils…"
The look of grievance Paul had on his face had Leylin laughing inside, but his expression was even more serious. Paul wanted to vomit blood.
...
After coming out from Paul's place, Leylin's expression still held a smile.
Though he had taken a hasty look, the A.I. Chip had already remembered the prices of everything in the trading market, giving Leylin a price list of objects used by Morning Stars and above.
With this list, Paul's thoughts of taking advantage of Leylin's unfamiliarity with market price was thoroughly fruitless, and he had even suffered a loss of great amounts of treasures from the Gourmet World.
Recalling his expression of wanting to vomit blood, Leylin felt the urge to laugh.
Of course, Spirit Circle was still Ouroboros Clan's ally, and Leylin had not gone too far. At least, when he had been eating the meat, he'd thrown a few bones to Paul.
When he sold off some of the treasures from Scarlet Crescent at a slightly discounted price, Paul's dead expression eased slightly. That said, the other party would definitely not dare deceive him anymore.
*Boom!* Yellow earth exploded, and a giant black figure strode forward, each step causing the surroundings to tremble.
"As expected, a puppet is easier to use than soul force!" Leylin controlled the giant black steel puppet, extremely satisfied.
The soul force from before had only been a virtual body, and he could not do many things. On top of that, the energy consumption was high. Now that he had the puppet, it was like giving his soul force a layer of clothing. Not only could he do things that needed a corporeal body, even the energy consumption had lessened.
This puppet was obviously not Paul's. Leylin had teleported one over himself.
After negotiating the trade, the two of them had immediately used the astral gate and sent over the items, finishing the trade in an instant. The teleportation fees were meagre, but Paul took responsibility for that. Leylin had taken the opportunity and sent over a puppet for himself, causing Paul to roll his eyes.
"Something I made myself is easier to use. Besides, I don't dare touch any of that octopus' things. Who knows what soul scrying techniques or traps are inside…"
Leylin was still quite fearful towards the most mysterious branch of bloodline Warlocks, the spirit Warlocks.
"Hm?!" Leylin's eyes flashed, having discovered something. His body turned into a black figure, colliding into a little hill like a savage beast.
*Boom!* The hill exploded, sending rocks flying everywhere. While dust flew everywhere, a human figure flew out.
The human figure looked thin and small, and its body was translucent. One was somewhat able to see the scenery behind it.
"A vengeful spirit that possesses worldly malice?" Leylin burst out in laughter, soul force forming a large hand and grabbing it.
By the time his opponent came before him, Leylin realised that the vengeful spirit looked to be only 13 or 14 years old. It looked like a delicate boy, eyes still holding fear.
"The environment isn't bad here, and the vengeful spirit created here is considered top-rate even in the central continent. Should I take over a place and build a spirit experimentation area or something…"
Leylin watched the boy's faint figure in the large hand, stroking his chin.
This vengeful spirit was completely intimidated by Leylin's terrifying pressure, and could only tremble.
"Hm? Is this power the malice of the world?" While grabbing the boy, Leylin felt a strange force emitting from the body, and even trying to invade his soul force.
This was a force similar to the force of destiny, yet at the same time also similar to Gaia's extensive will. If not for Leylin having researched deeply into these two areas, he might not even have noticed it.
"If it was a complete and powerful world, even Morning Stars would be unable to handle its malice. It's a pity..."
Leylin sighed. This was merely a plane, and it was broken. Even Gaia's will had been defeated at the hands of Radiant Moon Warlocks till it was in tatters. If not, it would not have only this amount of strength.
Gaia's will was, in actuality, the culmination of common trains of thought amongst living bodies, and even non-living bodies such as the earth and ocean.
Now, however, all intellectual beings of this plane had been exterminated, leaving behind vengeful spirits, and allowing Warlocks to take over more of it.
Perhaps… Tens of thousands of years later, humans would thrive. Gaia's will, which would be protective of the new humans and Warlocks' benefits, would completely replace the original will here, and beat these down.
"This sort of malicious intent depends on the entire plane. If a new Gaia is not created, or the area is completely destroyed, this situation will not completely die away. It will be very troublesome…"
Leylin's brows furrowed. Soul force began to quiver with a specific undulation, immediately shaking out this malicious intent.
*Bang!* The faint figure of the boy in his hands immediately looked sinister and quickly exploded, turning into streams of black air and dissipating.
"How long will it be until all the mysteries of the soul are laid bare before me?"
Leylin observed the desolate area, sighing ruefully as he commanded, "A.I. Chip! Show me the progress on the simulation of the fifth level of Kemoyin's Pupil!"
[Beep! Progress of 5th level of meditation technique, Kemoyin's Pupil: 30%!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned. This number had been stuck here for a long while, and if he did not make any breakthrough, he would probably not be able to make any progress.
Looking at this number, Leylin sighed silently.
In terms of a Magus' progress, progress from ranks 1 to 3 relied on spiritual force. From 4 to 6, it would touch on the soul. The even more mysterious rank 7 required the grasping of some power of the world, or in other words— laws!
Leylin was now stuck in the training of the soul.
Kemoyin's Pupil only had four levels, and there was no elaboration on the later realms. Leylin could only grope around blindly.
However, soul force was hard to understand. Even the A.I. Chip now could not completely come up with the date of others. How could he conduct simulations and the like?
'Perhaps even rank 5 or 6 Magi or Warlocks might not be able to fully understand the working of souls. In addition, while strengthening soul force, one can only rely on meditation techniques and long periods of time…'
Leylin couldn't help but recall the Wing of the Sun. Even this top-grade meditation technique's explanation about souls was not clear. The author had often marked speculation and guesses. That meant that even a terrifying rank 6 being like the Sun's Child did not have enough understanding of the soul, and only depended on the characteristics of its race to gain power.
'Compared to Magi, Warlocks use the power of their bloodlines to strengthen the soul. Most of the time, nobody understands how it works. Meditation techniques mostly teach how to activate the power of the bloodline, which is why their knowledge on souls is even lesser than that of Magi! Maybe that's one of the reasons why, amongst bloodline Warlocks, there haven't been the appearance of any rank 6 thrones…'
Leylin touched his chin, beginning to make conjectures.
"First thing's first, I have to completely revitalise the bloodline of the Sun's Child. With the Wing of the Sun, I might be able to gain something. Next, I have to purchase large quantities of renowned works on souls by Magi and Warlocks, and I must obtain level 5 or 6 high-grade meditation techniques…"
"These two methods are the most practical. For the latter, I can solve it right here!" At the thought of the information at the trading market, Leylin's eyes brightened.
*Rumble!* Though it wasn't the first time he'd seen it, he was still awed by the large amounts of soul force and conscients mixed together. The scene of uncountable amounts of data streaking through still left Leylin with his mind blown.
On the giant planet of the Morning Star area, basically all Morning Star Warlocks left a trace of their soul force or will here to conduct trades.
Some wills stayed here, relying on selling information and earning large amounts of top-grade resources.
Leylin noticed keenly that the use of magic crystals had been lowered to the utmost, and they were almost completely unseen.
This was very normal. Among Morning Star Warlocks, who did not have a few or even tens of large-scaled magic crystal mines? This could not be used as something of much value.
The currency here was something else that Leylin was very familiar with— astral stones!
Astral stones had become the norm, and were the currency being used. If Morning Star Warlocks had something they needed, they would usually sell off what they had on hand and, after accumulating enough astral stones, buy it.
For Morning Star Warlocks, astral stones were an eternal, hard currency. They would not depreciate in value.
The information in the market changed completely every few moments, making Leylin think back to the stocks, securities, and futures markets of his previous world. It caused him to feel dazzled.
-x-X-x-
'A.I. Chip, begin scan! Keywords: Soul force, high-grade meditation technique.'
Thankfully, Leylin had the A.I. Chip which was fused with his soul. It responded instantly to his thoughts, [Beep! Mission established, starting scan!]
Soon enough, a blue display was projected in front of his eyes, showing a very long list. Leylin gathered himself and started looking through the information carefully.
"High-grade meditation technique—Void Phantom: Five layers in total and complete. As long as…"
"Ancient soul force Arcane Art— Multi-luster Sacrificial Rite: Able to strengthen soul force and improve the power of spells that are rank 4 and above by 50%, all in exchange for the egg of a Nefarious Filthbird!"
"Crystallised soul force: 500g of the crystallised soul force of a Morning Star in exchange for astral stones of the same quality!"
"Ancient Bloodline— Offspring of the White-scaled Illusory Tiger: Not only can it keenly sense soul force, a contract with it has the extraordinary effect of strengthening the soul. Prices to be negotiated face to face!"
The large amounts of data dazzled Leylin, every item on the screen nearly causing him to salivate. He realised then that he was poor. He was way too poor!
Whether they were from his plunder of Twilight Zone or his other sources of wealth, his resources that could originally be sold off at astronomical prices were dispensable to Morning Stars.
Other things, such as his bloodline refinement method and the data on Quicksand's experiments could not see the light of day.
Leylin suddenly found that the only things he could take out to sell were the astral stones he'd appropriated from the clan treasury.
"This won't do! I need to find a source of revenue as soon as possible!" Leylin watched the items on the screen, eyes turning slightly red.
These Morning Star Warlocks had gathered too many amazing items. As long as he obtained a portion of any of them and hand it over to the A.I. Chip to experiment with, the progress on the analysis of soul force would definitely increase rapidly. This was very important to him.
"But… a source that suits a Morning Star, and it needs to be regular as well…"
He found himself in a bind. Other Warlocks would surely have taken such sources over already, how would he get a chance? His only option was to think up a brand new source of income.
Leylin flipped through the pages absent-mindedly, and finally found some things he was interested in.
"Teleportation required: I need to reach Sunset Mountains within three days. If any friends have teleportation points, please contact me. Prices are negotiable!"
"Requesting help: Rebellion by Marine Dragon Whales at the East Region. Need at least three Morning Stars to suppress them. Each will be guaranteed a minimum of 1000g of astral stones, and additional rewards will be given to those who capture their enemies…"
"Assistance required in attacking the Mage Basin. Once conquered, offering 5% of their yearly profit!"
...
All sorts of conscients gathered at the other end of the trade area, communicating rapidly. The deals were near-instant.
"If there isn't anything else, I'm afraid I'll have to take on some missions here, becoming a mercenary of sorts…"
Face grim, Leylin followed a thread of information to a dark conscient, "May I know if Sire here is selling high-grade meditation techniques?"
Floating in front of Leylin was a bundle of black light. An extreme darkness full of terrifying energy converged on it. Though it was merely a conscient, it was still enough to cause Leylin to feel fear.
"En!" The other party answered unwillingly, as if not really interested in this deal. Unlike other items, this sort of knowledge and special techniques could be sold off multiple times and not even at a very high price, which was Leylin's first target.
After all, he had already gained a top-grade meditation technique, Wing of the Sun. With this one, as well as the other accumulations from before, the A.I. Chip's research would reach a whole new level and he could obtain more information.
"May I know the price?" Leylin calmed down, readying himself to negotiate with the other party. He did not have a lot of astral stones, and there were a lot of good resources here. He needed to be frugal.
Besides, the requirements listed by the other conscients were just unbelievable. Even Leylin could not take it, especially the one asking for the egg of the Nefarious Filthbird. He'd blacklisted that choice right away.
The Nefarious Filthbird and Trial's Eye were at the same level and had the ability to traverse worlds. How could it be of equal value to an ancient Arcane Art?
Just thinking of this, Leylin felt that they were crazy. As for the soul force crystals, he could just produce himself. They weren't all that useful anyway.
In general, since there was news of people hoping for an exchange, they obviously wanted to sell items off at a higher price. Hence, very few deals were made in this trading area. Most of the idle soul forces and conscients lazed around here, and once they saw a cheaply-priced trade, immediately pounced forth like a bunch of sharks that smelt blood.
Morning Star Warlocks were erudite, and also had the detective ability that soul force offered them. Each and every one of them was old and sly, and while it was not impossible to get pick up cheap gains, the effort and time one needed to put into it was too much.
This was the conclusion Leylin came up with after surveying the scene multiple times. Hence, he gave up on the thought of picking up cheap deals and began to trade honestly.
"My Void Phantom not only has five complete levels, but also includes an affinity to the element of illusion. It's at an unconditional price of 5000g of astral stones!" The dark conscient didn't seem to care if Leylin actually wanted to purchase it.
"Mm! However, its requirements for the users is too high. Besides, we're all Warlocks. The high-grade meditation techniques of Magi are only for reference, which makes your price too…" Leylin frowned. With his knowledge of high-grade meditation techniques, just a few casually-thrown-out sentences caused the conscient to begin hesitating.
"Furthermore, haven't you sold this meditation techniques many times already? How can it have the same price as before?" Realising he had a chance, Leylin immediately attacked.
...
After a complicated negotiation similar to the business deals in his previous world, Leylin finally bought the high-grade meditation technique, Void Phantom, at a low price just like he wanted to. However, the astral stones he had gotten from the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan had been practically halved in that instant.
He calculated it all carefully. The real wealth was definitely on the three dukes, and all that was left in the headquarters were merely scraps.
Leylin had too few astral stones left on him after buying the meditation technique. He took a look around, and upon finding nothing special quickly found a little corner, his soul force withdrawing from the Morning Star area.
"Hah…" In the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan, at the core laboratory in the technological department, Leylin gave a long huff and observed the black crystal in his hands.
[Beep! High-grade meditation technique Void Phantom has been recorded. Saved into database under high-grade meditation techniques] The A.I. Chip's emotionless voice sounded.
"Very good!" Seeing the progress bar that was now progressing again, Leylin's heart that had been aching was finally consoled.
He left the technical department and came before the bloodline laboratory from before.
This was the core laboratory of the Ouroboros Clan, and only the three Morning Stars were allowed access to it. Of course, after Leylin took over, he had used this as his own laboratory. The experiment on the revitalisation of the Sun's Child bloodline had been performed here.
"Tower genie, how's the situation with the specimens?" Leylin asked.
"The specimens are currently doing well. The number of surviving blood-sucking loaches is being kept at 20 and above, and they have consumed 32.7 tons of culture fluid."
The tower genie projected a series of data in front of Leylin, to which he nodded his head. At the beginning, the blood-sucking loaches' numbers had rapidly dwindled, but after the other specimens had gotten used to the bloodline of the Sun's Child, they could finally survive for a longer time. At this point, a decent number of them could remain alive at a time.
Leylin came to the cultivation pool from before.
The liquid in the pool had already turned a dark green, with occasional streaks of gold flashing underwater. It had also expanded tenfold from before.
Water splashed everywhere, and a golden monster jumped out to bite at Leylin, its mouth full of sharp teeth. It was even spitting out flames!
*Tsss!* Before the flames could reach him, they were blocked by a layer of white light. Black lightning grouped together to form a large hand, slapping it back into the water.
"Mm! It's very lively!" Leylin chuckled, judging this mutated blood-sucking loach.
Perhaps, calling them blood-sucking loaches was no longer suitable, since what was in front of Leylin was a whole new species that had gone through the stimulation from the bloodline of the Sun's Child.
It had expanded in size by ten times and was full of golden scales. There was even a strange horn-like thing on the head, and it had scarlet eyes and sharp teeth below. It growled, on the offensive.
As if the attack had given rise to some chain reaction, multiple golden streaks jumped out from under the water with a splash, beginning to attack each other and roaring. Some of these loaches had grown a pair of sharp claws at the stomach area and were unusually ferocious as they launched attacks at their own kin.
"The offensive abilities of the blood-sucking loaches has increased by a large amount. Every time there's a bloody battle like this, the surviving blood-sucking loaches will gain even more strength. The most powerful blood-sucking loach is estimated to survive for 45 days and 21 hours. Its bloodline was from a blood-sucking loach king…" The tower genie introduced by Leylin's ear.
"Is it this one?" Leylin had noticed the golden blood-sucking loach right at the centre. It had already bore no semblance to its previous form, and had grown to become a more powerful being. Flowing scales covered its entire body like a layer of smooth liquid. The bloodied look in its eyes had not ebbed, but it now seemed to have some intelligence.
After observing for a while longer, Leylin ordered, "That's enough. Prepare the next phase!"
*Rumble!* The ceiling above the cultivation pool suddenly opened, and some mysterious fluids were poured in from a translucent crystal container.
As if it had been exposed to a stimulant, even the largest blood-sucking loach immediately immersed itself in this 'civil war.'