284 - 291

Prowess

"What's going on?"　　

The Great Sage was surprised, and all of a sudden, his body lost all its strength.

*Boom!* Multiple steel creatures fell to the ground; the spirit flames in their black eye sockets died out. In a few seconds, they turned into dried up bones once again.　　

"Old friend!" The Great Sage wailed sorrowfully. His connection with his steed had been completely severed. In other words, the spirit of his companion of many years had been destroyed and no longer existed in this world.

"Who is it?" His eyes turned red.　　

That dark Magus and Siley turned in the same direction to look at Leylin, who had a helpless look on his face.　　

"It's you!" The Great Sage's face began to twitch. "You wretched trash! You dare…"　　

"How pointless!" Solidified blood-red rays shot out of Leylin's eyes, and the red light on his wrist was now extremely intense, to the point that it hit its limit. *Bang!* The early alert warning system crystal exploded, turning into sparkling powder.　　

"Shadow Domain!"　　

"Toxic Bile!"　　

Total blackness filled the entire region, and behind Leylin, a large number of shadows that looked like snakes forming the terrifying features of a Devil King.　　

The large shadow was like a beast that swallowed everything as it spread, the terrifying sounds of corrosion and the low huffs of those meeting the face of death sounding at the centre.　　

*Bang!*　　

A moment later, the black shadow disappeared, leaving the thirteen sages with no light in their eyes as they collapsed. Even the spirits in their bodies had been eaten through by the poison.　　

"Demonic Poison King! It's Demonic Poison King Leylin!"　　

In an area not too far away, the few light Magi who were planning to take advantage of the decision turned pale in fear at the rotted corpses under the black mist.　　

Though they had heard of Leylin's nickname as the Demonic Poison King before, they had never understood how terrifying he could be.　　

"Ley-Leylin, you…"　　

Not just that dark Magus, even Siley was a little stunned as he looked at Leylin, whose eyes were still shooting out blood-red rays.　　

The thirteen sages of the Iron Crown were a firm force that had been safeguarding this region. Every one of them had the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus, and their leader, the Great Sage, was even at rank 2!　　

Siley knew that if he were to be trapped by this group, things would very very troublesome. Even fleeing would be an issue. The terrifying vitality of the spirit beasts was something that Magi who developed their strengths based on spells were unable to contend against.　　

Now, however, this little group of Steel Knights that had been around for hundreds of years had died, just like that? And their killer was a newly-advanced rank 2 Magus, Leylin?　　

Siley scratched his bald head, wondering if he had been caught in some Rank 3 Magus' illusion.　　

"Who else is there?"　　

Leylin's expression was a little strange and he began to roar, the blood-red in his eyes more prominent as they swept in the direction where the light Magi were hidden.　　

"This is bad! He's found us!"　　

The leader whispered softly, and the entire group rapidly withdrew a large distance. It couldn't be helped! Leylin's poisonous attack that could affect a large area had terrified them.

"Hah…"　　

Leylin's current situation was not good. Not only were there a few small wounds left behind by the retaliation of the Steel Knights, his expression was also crazed. White streams of air exited from his orifices.　

[Liveliness of blood cells in host's body has exceeded threshold! Beginning procedure to forcefully control situation!]　　

All of a sudden, a flash of bright blue rays covered Leylin's body, and his body temperature lowered. The white mist condensed into fragments of ice inside and scattered all over Leylin's body.　　

"Damn it, I got emotional again!"　　

Under the control of the A.I. Chip and the stimulus from the biting cold, Leylin was finally able to regain his senses, eyes flashing with intelligence.　　

"I can't fight anymore, or else I'll descend into a crazed state and go on a killing rampage till I die…"　　

Leylin surveyed the area, keeping the sight of the battlefield in his mind.　　

Though walking the path of a warlock with a bloodline allowed him to possess an incredible might, to the point that he could use his innate talents from his bloodline to achieve victory against experienced rank 2 Magi or even kill them and gain a reputation for himself, this branch of ancient Magi, the Warlock, had quite a few flaws.　

The issue of becoming overly emotional was one of the problems.　　

Compared to the rational Magus, Warlocks were easily affected by the external world and were often extremely emotional.　　

Slaughter and battles would easily result in fury for Warlocks, causing them to descend into a crazed state and lose part of their rationality. If he were to be surrounded by enemies, he would not be able to escape at all.　　

"My bloodline is much too pure. The moment it flares up, even the potion of tranquility will be rejected from my body."　　

Leylin checked his stats.　　

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 104.3, Magic power: 53 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force) Status: Large amounts of adrenaline is being secreted. Similarity to emotional outburst of Warlock: 98.7%. Dispelling potion of tranquility.] 　　

"A.I. Chip, use Plan C!" Leylin could only laugh bitterly and give out the command.　　

[Received authorisation, beginning small operation on Host's body.]　　

The A.I. Chip loyally answered. In that moment, Leylin's pupils turned sky blue, and cold energy particles were produced from all over his body.　　

"He seems to have a problem! Go!!!"　　

The light Magi who had been pursuing them saw Leylin acting weirdly. Excited, the light Magus who was the leader waved his sleeves and countless flying bugs came together to form half a human face, flying towards Leylin.　　

"You just don't know when to stop!"　　

A fire rose in Leylin's heart, but with the force from the chilliness, it was quickly suppressed.　　

His right hand slashed downwards, and a formless, translucent ripple spread like a wave in the air.

The formless ripple immediately collided with the sea of bugs.　　

*Bang!* The half-formed human face stopped moving for a moment, and large amounts of flying bugs fell to the ground, their compound eyes no longer moving. The bodies became stiff and began to rot.　　

*Huahuahua!* Like rain, the bugs fell from the sky and formed grey droplets.　　

The formless poison seemed to be able to go through the void and connect to the Magus' spiritual force, corroding his actual body.

The Magus who manipulated the flying bugs staggered back, black tendrils that looked like snakes spreading on his face.　　

"Quick, protect me and help me leave!" At this moment, the leader of the group of light Magi finally regretted his greediness. Even when Leylin was in a strange state, he was not somebody he could handle.　　

"You're thinking of leaving?" Not far away, Leylin's lips curved up in a sly smile, and the black defensive item on his hand exploded. Black rays were pulled into a shape, turning into a longbow.　　

"Toxic Bile!"　　

Leylin used his innate rank 2 spell once more, his left hand pulling the string and releasing an arrow in the direction of the fleeing light Magi.　　

*Beng!*　　

With vibration from the string, a formless toxic arrow streaked through the sky, distorting the air as it passed.　　

On its way, the ground was charred black, plants died, creating a unique path that showed the arrow's route.　　

"No! You can't kill me! My father is-" The light Magus who was in the middle of escaping was so terrified that it seemed as if his spirit had departed. Next, his body trembled and his expression changed.　

*Ka-cha!* The clothes on his back were ripped open, revealing a translucent palm.　　

This palm was the size of that of a regular human, and it grabbed towards the transparent toxic arrow.　　

*Beng!* A formless ripple spread, and the surrounding Magi quickly retreated, fearing the toxins.

"The protection from a rank 3 Magus?" Leylin watched on not far away, his desire to kill even stronger now, "Nobody can save you today!"　　

He pulled the string again. *Bzz!*　　

Along with the sounds of vibration, the toxic arrow that had been at a deadlock with the transparent palm exploded, forming countless tiny arrows that went flying in all directions.　　

*Tss tss!* The translucent palm exploded in such a manner that there were numerous holes in it, which caused it to break down. From within, the roar of an old Magus could be heard.　　

With an expression full of disbelief, that light Magus stiffly collapsed.　　

On his back, a large wound from the explosion had been inflicted. His innate defensive spell that he had been so proud of had not been the slightest bit useful.　　

"You- you actually killed him! His father is a rank 3 Magus!"　　

Siley's voice trembled.　　

Leylin, who was still under the influence of the warlock bloodline effects, paid no heed to this. He turned, cold glaze piercing as he focused on Siley.　　

Siley quivered, suddenly remembering that his life was still in the hands of his opponent. He forced a smile, "Alright! I was just pointing it out. You can do whatever you want!"

Hesitation and struggle appeared in Leylin's expression, and dense black gas wrapped his body.　　

*Whoosh whoosh!*　　

Strong black gales blew madly towards the distance, and in a moment, disappeared into the horizon.　　

"That crazy guy is finally gone!" Siley and his partner glanced at each other, and then Alistair who was heavily injured and unable to get up, with bitter smiles.

"What should we do? Jajone's dead! Lord Eric won't let us off!"　　

The other light Magi made sounds of indignation in unison.　

"Kill those dark Magi and avenge Jajone!"　　

A light Magus stared hard at Siley and the rest with deep hatred.　　

Siley steeled his expression and stood with his partner, a ring of defensive energy particles appearing.　　

*Pu! Pu! Pu!*　　

In that instant, the looks on the faces of the Magi present changed. The fierce toxins suddenly flared up.

In the havoc that Leylin had wreaked previously, the Magi present had somewhat been affected by the toxins of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, and this was difficult to remove.

The light Magi had been affected by the attack towards Jajone, and their injuries were even more serious.　　

The two groups of people exchanged gazes, and eventually decided on leaving in a huff, rather than clashing.

The Chase

In a grassland filled with blood-red pastureland.　　

An old male Magus with a head of white hair and a kind smile was guiding a few acolytes along the pasture. In their hands were a few metallic items used for harvesting.　　

"The reason for our existence is to seek truth! The path of a Magus is a continuous search for the truth, researching about phenomena and objects, and finding the rules in them and applying these concepts to ourselves. This is the source of motivation and strength for Magi!"　　

While walking, the old Magus taught the acolytes who were following behind him.　　

"I've already told you about the unique characteristics of the Bloody Grass. However, you've only seen pictures and samples. Now, I've brought you here, where it is naturally grown…"　　

"Arnold! Take a look at this. Is this Bloody Grass any different from the rest?"　　

The old Magus asked a male acolyte with freckles on his face.　　

"Yes! It's thinner than others of its kind, and the veined pattern of blood on the surface isn't very clear. It might have met with some natural predator, specifically… specifically…"　　

Arnold was still a large boy, with some hair growing above his lips. He walked ahead and extended his right hand towards the Bloody Grass, wanting to take a closer look.　　

*Xiu!*　　

In that instant, a red shadow shot out from the Bloody Grass, heading straight for Arnold's face!

"Ah…" Arnold staggered and fell back, alarmed.　　

*Pak!* A black flash of light was shot out from the old Magus' hands, striking the shadow down.

It was a red beetle-like organism with grey spots on its back. Its sharp mouth let out cold glints, its teeth that were half the size of its body still moving.　　

"This is the Sawtooth Beetle, the natural predator of the Bloody Grass! It loves to gnaw at the roots of the Bloody Grass. If it is cultivated by hand, one must patrol every day and eliminate this sort of insect!"　　

"Arnold! You didn't even perform the most basic defence before observing the grass. This carelessness will cost you your life in the future!"　　

The old Magus shook his head and then headed off into the distance.　　

Arnold turned a little red as he rubbed his head, quickly stood up and caught up.　　

"Hey, big guy! You really are lucky! The spiral sawtooth attack of the Sawtooth Beetle is something even level 2 acolytes might not be able to take on! If not for mentor, you would now be a cold corpse…"　

A female acolyte approached him, snorting in disdain.　　

"Hehe…" Arnold scratched his head, making him seem even more thickheaded.　　

"Let's go! How could you even become an acolyte with that level of intelligence? It's basically a disgrace to us and to our mentor!" A boy wearing fancy clothes and seemed to have received education on the etiquette of the nobility walked past, leaving Arnold far behind.　　

"Mentor! The Bloody Grass can strengthen one's body to a certain extent, and is a huge temptation to some high-energy beings. It is usually found in places where high-energy beings hunt, so should we be a little more careful?"　　

The acolyte of nobility ran in front of the old Magus.　　

"You're on the right track, but I've already scouted the area. The only high-energy being here is just a Gale Shackled Weasel, which is about the limits of what you are able to handle with your abilities!"

The old Magus nodded, praising him.　　

"Though Bloody Grass can strengthen the body to a certain extent, its poison is too strong for us humans. It needs to be processed before it can be turned into a potion! Your mission now is to harvest enough Bloody Grass to brew a standard portion of body-strengthening potion, as well as remove the poison within!"　　

The old Magus began to issue the task.　　

"Understood, mentor!" A few acolytes immediately brought out their apparatus and separated, with the old Magus at the centre so that he was able to help every one of them in time.　　

"Good!" Seeing this, the old Magus nodded in satisfaction.　　

*Xiu!* A Sawtooth Beetle shot out of the Bloody Grass, brushed past Arnold's face and scared him so much that he fell.　　

"Haha! Look at that idiot! Mentor had already demonstrated that there could be beetles hidden in the Bloody Grass that looked less healthy, and yet you still try to harvest it!"　　

The acolyte of nobility coincidentally walked past. He raised his hand and chanted a few syllables, and a corrosive ball shot out, putting an end to the beetle before mocking him relentlessly.　　

"Look! I've almost gathered the required amount of resources, and you haven't even filled the bottom yet!"　　

The acolyte opened his bag and proudly showed it to Arnold.　　

"Don't bother with him! Levi, come help me! The roots of this Bloody Grass are too hard!" The girl from before hummed in dissatisfaction.　　

"Alright, alright, I'll be right there!"　　

Levi quickly cast Arnold away, approaching the girl and being particularly attentive to her.

Though they were still children, the youngsters of the south coast usually matured early. There were already indications of this early on.　　

Upon seeing this, the old Magus reminiscenced, "This is youth…"　　

He mumbled to himself, producing a pipe with golden decorations on the surface and beginning to smoke. White circles of smoke were constantly puffed out and appeared in the air.　　

However, while he was recalling the past, a slight tremble of the ground began.　　

"Huh? This is?" The old Magus immediately put out his pipe, this peculiar situation immediately arousing his interest.　　

In the next few seconds, the tremors became more intense till the ground began to shake substantially.　　

From a distance away, a group of strange beings, such as two-headed wolves, four-legged mutated elks and all sorts of high-energy beings, normal beings, carnivorous and herbivorous animals banded together that formed a wave that was hard to avoid.　　

At the very front, the old Magus even found a few large terrifying beasts that gave him a sense of danger!　　

"Assemble! Assemble here!" The old Magus yelled, his voice a little hoarse from his nerves.　　

"What the hell is going on?"　　

The acolyte of nobility, Levi, raised his head and stared at the scene, stunned. All of a sudden, he was drowned by the large numbers of Sawtooth Beetles that flew out from the Bloody Grass. The girl with him could not escape the fate of death either, the sound of flesh and blood being gnawed on constantly being produced.　　

The group of beetles were like grey spots constantly rising from the Bloody Grass, forming a cloud that entered the wave.　　

"What's going on? Why are there animals fleeing from danger in this season? Is there some extremely dangerous being chasing after them?"　　

The old Magus wondered to himself, not even sparing a glance at Arnold who had been running pitifully.　　

*Xiu xiu!*　　

A human figure streaked through the sky at an incredibly fast rate, creating two air waves that had long ripples trailing behind.　　

"You can't escape!"　　

A massive voice travelled from behind the figure. Following the sound, a large bundle of white light immediately appeared in front of the black figure, turning into a large shield.　　

"Scorching Touch!" With a wave of his hand, two streaks of red rays shot out from the shadow and created two large holes in the shield. Under the constant shimmering of the white rays, the shield quickly returned to its prior state.　　

Under the hindrance of the shield, the black figure stopped, revealing the appearance of a young Magus. He had black hair, his features handsome yet sinister.　　

Behind him, a line of white light brought with it immense pressure as it burst towards him.　　

*Weng!* A formless energy boundary dissipated in all directions with the light at the centre. A fantastical land of light and beauty suddenly descended upon this region.

"This is… the domain of a highly ranked Magus! It's a rank 3 Magus!"　

The old Magus gaped, his eyes on the verge of popping out, "Who in the world is he chasing after? Is it also a rank 3 lord Magus?"　　

The rays dissipated, revealing the figure of a blonde Magus.　　

"Poison King Leylin! You dare kill my blood! Even though Jajone was just trash, our family name must not be tarnished!　　

Countless rays were emitted from his body, forming a huge pike made of countless other pikes.　　

"Heavenly Pike!" The large numbers of pikes shot towards Leylin like raindrops.　　

"Toxic Bile!" Leylin spread his arms and a wave of toxins rippled towards the pikes. *Tss tss!* A large amount of white gas sizzled out, and the sounds of corrosion was produced from the pike formed of heavenly rays. It quickly began to fill with holes.

However, though the pike's power seemed to have been weakened, it still charged towards Leylin.　　

"Kemoyin's Scales!" From the surface of Leylin's skin, countless black scales with incomplete runes on it emerged. The black light exploded from the scales, forming a huge shield in front of him.　　

*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*　　

The pike penetrated the shield with black runes, focusing on Leylin's body and created a large number of sparks.　　

An unnatural flush appeared on Leylin's face, and he retreated. While flying backwards, he waved fiercely.　　

"Latent Fireball!"　　

Large amounts of black flames wrapped the shield of light from before, combusting fiercely.　　

The shield of light had become slightly thinner after the attack of the Scorching Touch. Now, with the attack from the Latent Fireball, white rays constantly flickered and eventually exploded, turning into little milky-white lights that were burnt till nothing was left by the black flames.　　

"Light Domain!" The blonde rank 3 Magus suddenly spread his arms, looking ready to give a hug.　　

*Boom!* The boundaries of light shifted such that it increased in area, including Leylin within.　　

A huge suction power exploded from the light Magus, and Leylin was involuntarily dragged closer to him.　　

"As expected of a rank 3 Magus! Though this light domain is but an imitation, it is still slightly able to suppress my strength!" Feeling the rapid increase of the number of light elemental particles in the air and the huge decrease in dark elemental particles, Leylin's expression became grim.

"Die!"　　

A white bundle of light carrying with it a terrifying destructive power rose from the rank 3 light Magus' hand, advancing towards Leylin.

Possession

"Activate gravitational spell formation at full power—100 times gravity!"

Leylin pressed his temples and ordered.　　

*Weng weng!*　　

A large, dark brown formation lit up and rose from the ground and tore apart the milky white domain.　　

The light Magus was stunned for a moment, the ball of energy in his hands changing its course and missing Leylin.　　

"An ancient spell formation? When did he set that up?"　　

The light Magus saw the terrifying formation that spanned for kilometres, shock apparent in his expression.　　

"I'll take advantage of this! Suction spell formation!" An inverted "L" shaped rune brightened on Leylin's body, and as if he was being sucked in by a black hole, he turned into a black streak and vanished.

"What an interesting little guy! It's a pity that all your methods are useless against me!" The light Magus calmly looked in the direction in which Leylin had fled, and suddenly laughed, shooting a glance at the old Magus from the corner of his eye. He turned into a ray of light and quickly left the area.　　

"Poison? Then he should be the Demonic Poison King Leylin, whose name has been going around! I wonder which faction and organisation that rank 3 Magus is from…"　　

The old Magus mumbled to himself in a daze, not noticing the look of envy in Arnold's eyes.　　

　　 ...

*Boom!* A black shadow slammed into the spell formation, the powerful suction spell formation smashed to pieces.　　

Leylin let out a long sigh, "A rank 3 Magus is someone I can't deal with yet…"　　

In the beginning, under the influence of his emotional state, Leylin had killed off Jojane, who had a powerful backing. Under his enraged state, he had not even taken the most basic protective measures.　　

When he had killed Jojane, the death mark from a rank 3 Magus was left on Leylin's body.　　

All Magi usually had this method. For Leylin, a mark from a rank 2 Magus basically had no effect on him. However, the mark from a rank 3 Magus was evidently not so easily dealt with.

Leylin forced a smile and took a look at his sea of consciousness.　　

Within the crimson sea was a little, maggot shaped, milky white ray of light. While Leylin was not paying attention to it, it would expand.　　

A large amount of time and spiritual force would be needed to wear down and expel this mark.

This was the best solution provided by the A.I. Chip, but Leylin would be found by his opponent every so often. There was not enough time to deal with this.　　

After a few battles, Leylin had a better understanding of his own strength.　　

In his current state, he was a terrifying existence to rank 2 Magi who were lucky enough to rank up.　　

With a high-grade meditation technique, as well as a powerful bloodline, Leylin's advancements in rank as a warlock always brought immense benefits and increases in strength.　　

However, for similar rank 2 Magi who also possessed high-grade meditation techniques, the gap was not so obvious.　　

"In my current state, I am considered an elite amongst rank 2 Magi. However, in the face of any rank 3 Magi, I have no confidence at all. Even being able to escape would depend on my luck!"

Leylin shook his head and walked out.　　

In front of him was a small, desolate little town, with dust, rubbish and all sorts of vines growing on the ground.　　

"No! The mark on my body is constantly emitting waves to track my location. No matter where I am on the south coast, I'll easily be found. I need to go to a place far, far away, to the point that the distance can interfere with the mark's transmission of information!"　　

Leylin's eyes showed his resolution. This was the desolate town where the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane had been!　　

"If this really doesn't work out, I can just use the teleportation spell formation and leave this place! If I'm quick enough, he won't be able to find out about this place, and I may still be able to return!"　　

If the Magus did not find out about this secret plane, Leylin could remove all traces of the mark, and then confidently strut back into the south coast.　　

The moment the entrance to the secret plane was found, no matter how much Leylin did not want to do so, he could only hold back the pain of having to abandon this place, destroy the teleportation spell formation there, and leave this place forever.　　

"I didn't think I'd need to use my last resort so soon!"　　

Leylin laughed bitterly, and from a spell formation at the villa, entered the secret plane. While going through the spell formation that went through the void, Leylin moved his hand and a red ray disappeared into the wall.　　

"I haven't been able to obtain probing spells or spiritually branded slaves. If I'm going over, I'll need to do it myself. Though I've already ascertained that the teleportation spell formation is alright after checking with the A.I. Chip, gambling like this really leaves a sour taste in my mouth…"

Leylin furrowed his brows and came to the secret room in the narrow pathway.　　

Though he was sure that the teleportation spell formation was fine, the state of the surroundings around it might not be alright.

What he could confirm, though, was that the other side of the spell was in a place that was very far away. As long as he escaped and broke the connection between the two spell formations, he would be able to break away from the chase of the rank 3 Magus!　　

"I'll take a look over there, and if it really isn't a good environment there, I can still come back!" Leylin consoled himself.　　

*Pu!* All of a sudden, a bright, milky-white beam shot out from Leylin's body and up into the sky, heading upwards in a straight line as if penetrating the hindrances of the secret room.　　

Leylin covered his head and staggered back. In his sea of consciousness, that milky-white light was spreading outwards, and no matter how Leylin used his spiritual force to obstruct it, it was of no use.　　

Leylin seemed to see a blonde rank 3 Magus rushing towards him.　　

"The time he takes to detect me has shortened. He's found this place!"　　

Leylin's expression turned grim, "I'll have to use my last resort and completely give up on this place!"　　

Not only that, even the teleportation spell formation had to be destroyed as well. If not, the Magus could give chase through the spell formation. With the mark, it was impossible for Leylin to hide.　　

*Tss tss!* Numerous black tendrils of smoke were emitted from Leylin's body. Meanwhile, in his sea of consciousness, a vast amount of red rays charged towards the milky-white spiritual force and encircled it, temporarily isolating it from external influences.　　

*Rumble!*　　

The secret plane began to shake as if there was a powerful existence attacking the area from outside.　　

"Alric is attacking the secret plane!" Leylin grit his teeth as the crimson ring on his finger exploded.　　

The alert spell formation that the Gargamel had set up on the wall had been damaged by Leylin in the past. However, the moment the red rays shone, it began to work once more, and a hidden spiritual force travelled through a special path.　　

*Hualala!*　　

In an area surrounding the little town, the grass and soil flipped over, and a strange 'corpse' crawled out!　　

This 'corpse' was shrivelled up and small, and resembled an old woman. Moreover, it had a couple of deformities. Not only were there two extra arms and legs, there was also a young face growing at the back of the head of the old lady.　　

It looked like a body that was shared by two people.　　

"The alert system set up by Master has been activated! The only person who can find this place has to be Leylin!"　　

Wisps of green light shot out of the old woman's eyes. "It has to be him!"　　

"Leylin? The offering that escaped?" The young woman's face behind the old lady opened her eyes.　　

"Yes! If not for him, you would have gained a body of your own and not have ended up in this state."

The old woman grit her teeth, a deep-rooted hatred apparent in her eyes.　　

She was Old Devil, the female Magus who had conducted secret dealings with Leylin in Nightless City. She had tried to use him as an offering to the Gargamel in the secret plane, in order to allow her daughter, Jaye, to regain her physical body. 　　

Unfortunately, due to Leylin's escape, her wish had been realised with a strange method.　　

Somehow, the Gargamel had forcibly induced half a corporeal body onto the old woman's body, and had placed Jaye's spirit within.　　

It could be said that Leylin had a played a very big part in causing the two of them to end up in this way.　

"I want to kill him!"　　

Old Devil roared.　　

"Have you forgotten Master's orders? He's an offering for Master, so only Master is qualified to enjoy him!" Jaye's eyes, behind Old Devil's head, suddenly glazed over as she muttered.

"No! I wouldn't dare offend Lord Gargamel!" The old witch quickly knelt down and begged for forgiveness.　　

"Then say your prayers, and report the happenings here to the great Lord Gargamel!"　　

Jaye closed her eyes after speaking, and the next time she opened them, she seemed to have turned into another person. "Mother! My illness seems to be getting worse…"　　

After implanting the spirit, the Gargamel had mixed in a few things into Jaye's spirit, and had set up a core of consciousness that would oversee the old witch.　　

Old Devil, whose daughter was being controlled, had no choice but to submit to the Gargamel.

"Oh, Great Gargamel, home of all spirits! You are the master of all, as well as the beginning and ending of all. Please listen to the prayers of your servant…"

The old witch took out something like a communication device and chanted a long verse of prayers from a scripture.

*Weng Weng!*　　

After Old Devil explained the current situation, the communication device began to vibrate.　　

"Yes, Lord Gargamel! It will possess me!"　　

The old witch was stricken with fear, but her body involuntarily knelt to the ground—after the modifications, her body was now no longer her own.　

A powerful spirit that was brimming with evil thoughts used a special method to rush out of the communication device and possessed the old witch's body.　　

Old Devil's body trembled violently, her eyes rolled back, and white foam frothed at her mouth.

Finally, her body was wrapped up in a black spiritual body and turned into a large, black, human figure.　　

On the figure's face, there was a mask of a devil's skull with a horn on it, which looked immensely strange.　　

*Chi chi!*　　

The Gargamel that had possessed Old Devil's body made a sound and charged towards the secret plane.

Teleportation

"Oh? A unique, diseased spiritual force, and spiritual power full of hatred and resentment! You are a Gargamel, the main cause of the plague in the west!"　　

The rank 3 light Magus, Alric, immediately identified the Gargamel.　　

*Chi chi!* What came in response was a loud roar from the Gargamel.　

The human figure with a bone mask waved his cape, and a great number of crazed and indistinct spirits pounced towards Alric, many of which began to self detonate in mid-air.　　

*Rumble!* The power of the explosion of spirits brought with it toxins of an ancient plague, causing Alric's face to change as he staggered backwards.　　

"Light of Saint's Glory!" He shouted, like a bishop not at all afraid of death, his face radiating with a dazzling light.　　

A large amount of milky-white, divine light was produced from Alric's body, and the silhouette of a large building that commanded respect appeared behind him.　　

The moment these spirits met with the sacred light, black gases emerged from their bodies, and their crazed expressions became peaceful.　　

Afterwards, with their faces full of tranquility and smiles, they threw themselves towards the building behind Alric.

"It really is the Gargamel, with a body constructed of resentment!"

The light Magus roared, and like a madman, rammed into the huge figure.　　

The divine, milky white cleansing light and the black power of loathing offset each other.　　

...

At this moment, Leylin was currently placing a black, magic crystal into an energy slot.

*Rumble!* The teleportation spell formation came to life, rings of light brightening and four energy balls that represented Earth, Fire, Wind and Water hovering on top of the four stone pillars. The red, yellow, green, and blue lights came together, sparkling brilliantly all this while.

"I never expected the rank 3 Magus to come so quickly! Luckily, I made some preparations…"　

Leylin looked at the spatial passage that was forming, and heaved a long sigh of relief.　　

He had anticipated that the rank 3 Magus would follow him. Afterall, every once in a while, the rank 3 Magus would use the mark to detect his position, not giving Leylin the slightest chance to rest or remove the mark.　　

To give himself more time, Leylin immediately thought of the Gargamel.　　

It had obviously remembered Leylin, and had determined that Leylin would definitely return to the secret plane. Hence, it had set up a secret alerting spell formation at the entrance.　　

However, with Leylin's powers of detection, this was very obvious, and the spell formation had been temporarily damaged and sealed by him.　　

Leylin's previous actions had completely activated the alerting spell formation and had drawn the Gargamel here, which would give him more time.　　

Since the rank 3 Magus was from the light Magi alliance, how could it just let the Gargamel, a body formed from resentment, go? In addition, the Gargamel was directly responsible for the recent huge plague in the west.　　

From the looks of it, everything was going according to plan.　　

A pitch black spatial passageway that emitted silver rays of light was constructed from nothingness on top of the spell formation.　　

"I need to leave this place, and I don't know when I'll be able to return!"　　

Leylin turned back to look at this region, suddenly feeling reluctant to leave.　　

No matter what, this was the place that he had grown up in. The memories of this place had already been branded into his heart.　　

If the other side was a place with terrible conditions, and if the rank 3 Magus was unable to find this place, Leylin might even make use of the teleportation spell formation on the other end and return. However, it was evident that this was no longer possible.　　

Leylin had no idea how long it would take for him to use his own strength to return instead of using the teleportation spell formation.　

"Goodbye, south coast!" Leylin murmured.　　

*Rumble!*　　

Just as he put one foot into the teleportation passageway, a rumble sounded out, and everything around him began to shake, as if there was a magnitude 10 earthquake.　　

*Huala!*　　

The roof of the secret room was torn open, and boundless amounts of sacred light flooded in.　　

"Leylin! Don't even think of running!" Alric roared, bearing terrifying injuries from spirits detonating themselves on his body.　　

The Gargamel was an ancient being after all, and its might even reached the thresholds of the level of a Morning Star Magus.　　

Though its power had not fully recovered and it was merely using a borrowed body, it was still able to cause some trouble for Alric.　　

"An ancient teleportation spell formation?"　　

Upon seeing the spell formation with its four, glimmering, coloured lights, he shouted.　　

As a rank 3 Magus, he had lived a few centuries. How could he not know what an ancient teleportation spell formation represented?　　

That signified another continent with endless resources and boundless benefits!　　

"Stay here!" Alric's eyes turned red as he approached the ancient teleportation spell formation. He could give up on anything for access to this teleportation spell formation. He roared, two large arms made of sacred light grabbing towards Leylin.　　

However, Leylin merely gazed at Alric coldly, and two words came out of his mouth. "Too late!"　

*Rumble!*　　

A layer of Kemoyin's Scales covered Leylin's body, and with a huge leap, the silverish spatial passageway swallowed him.　　

*Tss tss!* After teleporting one person, all the energy of the spell formation was sucked dry, and the various rays of light dimmed. The passageway disappeared.　　

"No…" Seeing the spatial passageway, which was gradually closing like a beast's mouth, Alric shouted.　　

*Whoosh!* He appeared in front of the teleportation spell formation, fishing out a high-grade energy crystal and throwing it into the energy slot.　　

"Quickly! Activate!"　　

Though Alric did not know the Turin Language, he still had other methods. Under the solidified milky-white holy rays that wrapped up the spell formation, the spell formation began to work.　

With large amounts of effort on Alric's end, the spell formation worked at twice the speed that it had with Leylin.　　

"Faster! Faster! Faster!" However, Alric was still not satisfied, and kept inserting his immense spiritual force into the spell formation.　　

He knew very well that the moment Leylin reached his destination, he would immediately destroy the spell formation at the other side. When that happened, they would be on two different continents, and his revenge for his son, as well as the benefits from the teleportation spell formation, would come to naught.　　

All he needed now was a little bit of time!　　

With the urging of Alric, a rank 3 Magus, the spell formation worked quickly, and rings of energy constantly ascended.　　

Once again, a pitch black passageway opened up!　　

"Exactly! That's how it should be!" Alric mumbled, eyes full of excitement as he watched the spatial passageway begin to open.　　

*Weng!* *Bang!*　　

However, just as it was about to completely open, the teleportation spell formation suddenly halted, the lights turning dim and the space cracking. The passageway then disappeared.　　

This situation meant that Leylin had already destroyed the spell formation on the other end!　　

"Damn it!" Alric roared, milky-white holy light that could be seen by the naked eye emitting from his body and destroying the items in the secret room around him.　　

Next, a light beam struck the teleportation spell formation, turning it into a huge crater!　　

Without the spell formation on the other side, this spell formation was merely a decoration. He obviously wouldn't leave any chances for Leylin to make use of this spell formation again.　　

"Despicable! Repulsive! Damn it!" Alric yelled, the pain of being on the verge of gaining something only to lose it right after feeling like a poisonous snake devouring his soul.　　

*Chi chi!*　　

At this moment, with the wails of spirits that had departed unjustly, the secret plane of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect began to shake.　　

A pair of translucent, black arms broke through the hinderance of the secret plane, as if tearing through cloth, and charged towards the centre of the secret plane.　　

"The main body of the Gargamel has actually reached rank 3…"　

Alric's face turned grim. Without even having the opportunity to lament over letting Leylin go just like that, his clothes began to flutter despite there being no wind, and he flew in mid-air, confronting the Gargamel.　　

　　 ...

After Leylin entered the spatial passageway, regret was apparent in his expression.　　

The immense spatial power was like several hundred tons of seawater pressing against him from all directions and tearing his body apart.　　

Kemoyin's Scales constantly produced crisp explosive sounds, as if about to crumble under this power.　　

If that happened, Leylin, who no longer had an innate defensive spell, would turn into minced meat in the flow of space.　　

"I miscalculated! I overestimated my own body's capabilities and the defence of Kemoyin's Scales!"　　

Leylin's expression was serious, "This is a spatial passageway connecting two continents. The pressure within is something that not even rank 2 Magi are able to withstand. There must have been some method used in ancient times to avoid this, but I haven't found it yet…"　　

"This can't go on!" Leylin saw his Kemoyin's Scales contracting, so he produced a red test tube from his pouch and smashed it.　　

*Puff!* A defensive layer formed from the red potion appeared on the surface of his body, and it began to vibrate for a while; after only three seconds, it shattered.　　

"A middle-grade defensive potion can only withstand this for three seconds?" Leylin was expressionless as he produced another potion.　　

As a Potioneering Master, he had tens of different types of defensive potions in his spatial pouch, which would be enough to last him for a long time.　　

*Bang!* The layer formed by the potion cracked, and was then quickly replaced by another layer of defence.　　

Leylin constantly went through his reserves to withstand this.　　

Finally, the potions were completely used up and a large pressure was once again put on Kemoyin's Scales.　

"Ah…" Leylin shouted in a low voice, spiritual force and magic constantly being consumed as incomplete black runes that formed a full-body shield was produced from his scales.　　

*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*　　

After being in a deadlock for a period of time, Leylin's spiritual force was exhausted and the defence of the Kemoyin's Scales shattered into pieces. A tremendous pressure began to tear Leylin's body apart.

Injury

Under the pressure of the space tearing, the sounds of bones cracking were constantly produced from Leylin's body, and fresh blood spurted out like a stream.

[Alert! Alert! Host body is currently in critical condition! Estimated time until cells completely fall apart from the pull of space: 8 seconds!]

The A.I. Chip projected a paragraph of red words in front of Leylin's eyes.

"This is happening even with the sturdiness of my body! What method did ancient Magi use to deal with the power of space?"

Leylin's expression suddenly turned sinister, his veins all popping out and his eyes turning red.

Just as the A.I. Chip counted down to the last second, the silver rays of light dissipated to reveal a pitch-black cave.

Leylin's mind jolted and he rushed towards the cave.

*Bo!* As if penetrating a shapeless water membrane, Leylin arrived in a physical world, and the immense pressure from space vanished.

"That was close!" It was all a blur in front of Leylin's eyes. With all his strength, he drew a red line and destroyed the runel on the spell formation beneath his feet, and went into a dead faint.

*Drip! Drip!*

The stalactite above him in the cave constantly dripped light red droplets that fell on the ground, producing a rhythmic sound.

Leylin's eyelids flickered and he opened his eves.

"Ugh!" He held onto his forehead, feeling the pain that was all over his body.

"A.I. Chip! Check my current stats!"

Leylin immediately spoke inside.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 15 (21.1), Agility: 4 (14.4), Vitality: 19 (27.9), Spiritual force: 0.01 (104.3), Magic power: 0 (104) (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Status: Serious injuries all over body, exhaustion of spiritual force!]

The A.I. Chip quickly intoned. At the sight of his condition, Leylin could only force a wry smile.

As he had underestimated the dangers of spatial teleportation, he had not made enough preparations. This trip through the spatial passageway had almost cost him his life.

Not only had his overall stats decreased, even his spiritual force had been nearly completely exhausted.

This state would probably spell the end for regular Magi. However, Leylin had a shocking vitality, and was even able to maintain his consciousness.

"I really got seriously hurt! Alric, I will return one day…"

A cold glint appeared in Leylin's eyes, and he shifted his gaze to his waist.

Seeing that the black leather pouch was still there, a look of relief appeared on his face.

This spatial leather pouch was a high-grade magic artifact. Though it did not have any offensive powers, its own defence was extremely startling, and with the spatial runes on the surface protecting it, it was not the least bit damaged

Thankfully this was the case, if not all of Leylin's assets would have vanished into thin air.

"Any regular Magus lucky enough to survive my injuries would also require a large amount of time to restore their strength. Their strength might even go down a rank from the injuries!"

Leylin checked the state of his body. Though there were serious injuries all around, he could feel a cold stream of air full of life and vigour being sent out from his heart. With his blood being pumped to all parts of his body, the stream of air within began to help heal his injuries. Though this process was very slow, the good thing was that this was a continuous process.

"The regenerative abilities of a warlock's bloodline are this powerful!" A hint of joy was seen in Leylin's eyes, "With the potions that I currently possess, I can even further increase the speed of my healing…"

With this thought, he expended a great deal of effort to raise the only limb that he could move, his right arm, and took out a red healing potion from the pouch. He used his teeth to remove the cork and, began to drink in huge gulps.

*Rumble!* A pink layer of light encompassed Leylin.

Due to the effects of the layer, the horrifying injuries on his body began to recover at a frightening speed.

*Ka-cha! Crack!* From Leylin's body, the sounds of bones hitting each other could constantly be heard.

The muscles on his face constantly twitched, and he huffed through his nose; even his breathing was becoming more serious.

After a few minutes of this, the pink layer on Leylin's body dissipated. *Pak!* Leylin soared into the sky, and from his previous position of half-sitting on the spell formation, he was now standing upright.

"All of my external injuries have now been healed. Though the internal injuries are a lot more troublesome, they wont affect simple movements!"

Leylin exercised his four limbs, did a few motions that were standard in Knight drills, and furrowed his brows.

"No! With my body, I can only withstand the movements equivalent to that of a Preparatory Knight. If not, it would affect the recovery of my internal injuries…"

In other words, before his injuries were completely healed, Leylin could only use the strength and speed of a Preparatory Knight.

Leylin touched his skin, retrieving armour from his pouch and putting it on.

His Magus robes had been torn apart by the pressure of the space, and they had long since turned into what looked like a beggar's rags, hanging from his body while being full of holes. Leylin simply tore his old clothes off.

After inspecting his body, Leylin focused his attention on the sea of consciousness within.

The state within was even worse. As a large amount of spiritual force had been used, his sea of consciousness even showed signs of drying up. The crimson colour had turned dimmer, and there wasn't even a hint of silver spiritual force.

Leylin's expression immediately turned grim, as even fine cracks had appeared on the walls of his sea of consciousness. If his sea of consciousness shattered, it wouldn't be as simple as falling in rank.

Upon seeing a little white ray still stuck in a corner in the sea of consciousness, Leylin's face turned even darker.

This was the mark that Alric had left on Jajone's body. After Leylin had killed Jajone, this mark had transferred itself to Leylin's sea of consciousness, sticking like a piece of sticky candy. No matter what Leylin did, it just would not disappear.

The only way to deal with this sort of mark was to use large amounts of spiritual force and slowly wear it down. Though it was from a rank 3 Magus, they were currently a huge distance apart, and without boosts from the original Magus, the mark would not be able to persist under Leylin's spiritual force. However, this required a lot of time, which Leylin did not have.

Now, however, it seemed like this was the time to deal with this thorn in his side!

Leylin sat down cross-legged, recalling the core information regarding the high grade meditation technique, Kemoyin's Pupil. "Meditation in your spirit. With your eyes, make eye contact with the Giant Kemoyin Serpent and gain its strength!"

The daily training of meditation techniques was something every Magus had to do. Every time Leylin used Kemoyin's Pupil, adjusting the frequency of his spiritual force until it was the most compatible with the operation of the meditation technique, he was able to penetrate through time and space and see the ancient, terrifying amber vertical pupils of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent!

This state was a phenomenon written about in the Book of Giant Serpent, which only occurred after one had studied it to a very profound level.

As Leylin meditated to a deeper level, the crimson rays in his sea of consciousness gradually grew stronger, and traces of silver spiritual force welled from the bottom from his sea of consciousness, refilling the dried up spring with new vitality.

In the dark cave, spots of dark red light fluttered in the air like fireflies, and entered Leylin's body. This entire process was silent, but the terrifying apparition of a giant serpent appeared behind Leylin. The huge body kept rotating, becoming more and more substantial physically.

After one round of meditating, Leylin had regained half of his spiritual force, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"As expected of a high-grade meditation technique! Whether in terms of rate of improvement or recovery, it's the best on the south coast! It's a pity that there are only three levels…"

Worry appeared on Leylin's face

Though Kemoyin's Pupil was a high-grade meditation technique, of all the inheritance he had gained from the Great Magus Serholm, there were only three levels of information.

The level of a high-grade meditation technique and a Magus' rank corresponded to one another. In other words, unless he could find the rest of the information regarding Kemoyin's Pupil, his spiritual force would be at a standstill due to the lack of a meditation technique.

"Based on the information that the Great Magus Serholm provided, the second half of Kemoyin's Pupil should be on the central continent. Where exactly am I right now?"

Leylin stood up, surveying his surroundings

"I'll go out and take a look! Hopefully, this is the central continent! Before anything else… A.I. Chip, are there any remedies for the damage to my sea of consciousness and the mark by the rank 3 Magus?"

Leylin enquired in his mind.

Large amounts of data, images and graphs flashed past, and the A.I. Chip worked at an extremely high speed, quickly giving an answer.

[Based on Host body's requirements, as well as comprehensive calculations of current conditions, this is the best solution: solidify large amounts of spiritual force in Host body's sea of consciousness, until all damage is healed and the mark completely disappears.

"Solidify large amounts of spiritual force?"

Leylin was surprised. This meant that before all his injuries were recovered, he would always need to solidify a portion of his spiritual force in his sea of consciousness, and would not be able to use that part at all.

In that case, his overall strength would largely diminish.

"How much do I need to solidify?" Leylin glanced at the cracks that were constantly expanding in his sea of consciousness, face falling while he asked cool-headedly.

[Requires 51.2% of Host's spiritual force!] The A.I. Chip quickly answered.

In other words, before completely taking care of all damages, I can only use the strength of a rank 1 Magus?"

Leylin stroked his chin.

Barren

"To heal the damage done to my sea of consciousness, as well as dispel the mark from Alric, half of my spiritual force can't be used during this period, right?"

Leylin stroked his chin while contemplating.

A moment later, he decided. "Let's start!"

*Weng Weng!*

The moment he gave the order, silver spiritual force in his sea of consciousness clung on to the nearest cracks at the edges, and then crystallised and solidified!

The silver crystals covered about half of the sea of consciousness, and within the crystal, the milky-white spot was frozen, like a little worm frozen in amber.

After solidifying about half of his spiritual force, Leylin realised that the fine cracks in his sea of consciousness had stopped expanding after having been reinforced by the solidified spiritual force. He heaved a huge sigh of relief.

This way, he had completely dealt with the troublesome parts of his body. The price he had to pay for this was that he could only use the strength of a rank 1 Magus.

After stabilising his injuries, Leylin was now in the mood to survey his surroundings.

It was rather dim, with some moss that gave off some faint light, which allowed him to see just a few metres away. Everything else was just pitch black.

"This must be somewhere within a cave! I wonder what direction leads to the outside…"

Leylin gave a long sigh and took another look at the teleportation spell formation.

The spell formation here was the same as that in the Ancient Spirit Slayer Sect's secret plane. However, a rune at one of the corners had already been destroyed by Leylin.

Leylin believed that if he was the rank 3 Magus on the other end if he was not going to personally keep watch, he would destroy the spell formation at the other area. Hence, this teleportation spell formation would not be able to be used for a long period of time.

On one end, the set up by the Magi of the Spirit Slayer Sect was very simple. There was only the spell formation in the cave, and other than that, there was a very long and narrow passage that seemed to be carved out from the stone walls.

"Night Vision!"

Leylin used a support-type acolyte level spell on himself.

A black glint flashed in his eyes, and darkness no longer hindered his sight and he took his surroundings in.

"The dark elemental particles here are very dense. It seems to be more than in the south coast!" While using this spell Leylin could tell the large difference between the two continents.

If it was said that the concentration of dark elemental particles in the air in the south coast was 1, it would be at least 1.5 or even up to 2 here.

"A.I. Chip! Test the concentration of elemental particles in the air and make a comparison with that in the south coast!"

[Mission established. Beginning collection of data. Generating comparative diagrams.]

Quickly enough, the A.I. Chip transmitted two different pie charts to Leylin.

In the pie chart, the ratio of colours that represented different elemental particles had various percentages. These were all presented in front of Leylin clearly.

"On the right is the average data found on the south coast, while the one on the left is the newest data!"

Leylin compared the differences between the two.

The newest set of data revealed that the concentration of dark, shadow and death, as well as other negative energy particles, rose to about two times that of in the south coast.

The positive energy particles such as that of light, plant and life were a little lower.

"Also, the concentration of earth elemental particles is quite high, while fire and water are quite meagre."

Leylin touched his chin, looking thoughtful.

"In other words, there is approximately the same concentration of elemental particles here as in the south coast, though the composition is a little different. The concentration of negative elemental particles is almost equal to that of a small scale secret plane, while the positive elemental particles are only like that of the Chernobyl Islands…"

Leylin made a few conjectures and took a few large steps forwards, entering the long and narrow stone passage.

This passage was quite long, and only after ten or so minutes of strolling did he reach the end.

At the end of the passage was a large stone door.

Calling it a door might even be a stretch. From what Leylin could tell, it was just a large rounded rock that was blocking the exit.

Through the chinks in the rock, Leylin could hear the faint sounds of wind entering.

"It's best to keep this stone door. When I need this teleportation spell formation in the future, I can still come back!"

With a thought, he used a rank 1 spell. "Shadow Stealth!"

Black rays surrounded Leylin's body, and within the rays, he started to become transparent.

The effect of Shadow Stealth was that the user would temporarily become hard to see, and would be able to hide within tiny shadows. He could pass through most physical objects, but in this mode, he would be unable to attack, else this stealth mode would disappear. Area of effect attacks using energy or sound waves were also the bane of this spell.

Now, however, this was just meant to pass through a rock, so it was a simple task.

The faint image that Leylin turned into easily passed through the shadows of the cracks on the rock and he reached the outside.

"Hah! This is…"

Leylin looked at the view outside, and was stunned for a few moments.

He was standing on a little hill formed from large rocks, and surrounding him was a vast plain. There were also a large number of shrubs.

A gloomy darkness encompassed the whole area, making it so that there was no light at all. The sky was dim and looked as if it would collapse at any moment.

Vastness, gloominess, a deathly stillness! This was Leylin's first impression about the place.

With the help of his night vision, Leylin did not have any trouble looking at his surroundings.

"This plant looks quite strange!" Leylin picked up a dried up twig on the ground.

"It has no leaves and at most, just has some thorns. On top of that, it seems like all the plants I can see share this characteristic!"

Leylin grabbed forward with his right hand, a little mole-like creature was captured from the ground. It constantly made 'chik chik' sounds.

"Its eyes are small and don't seem to serve much of a purpose. It also looks like it has albinism! This is a mutation from not being able to get sunlight for a long period of time!"

Leylin mumbled to himself, clearing up his doubts.

*Pak!* He tossed the mole aside and pushed himself into the sky using a dull, red light.

Leylin kept ascending, and he could feel pressure on his head. Finally, after who knows how long, Leylin reached the end.

This was a large rock rampart. It had a metallic sheen to it, which made it look like the canopy of heaven.

"So the top of this place is the Earth's crust!"

Leylin descended slowly, his expression still revealing his shock, "This is a subterranean world!"

...

On a plain made entirely out of rocks and moss.

Two grey boar-like animals that were a lot smaller used their thick and coarse snouts to dig into the earth, searching for edible food.

*Xiu Xiu!* Two black arrows were suddenly released, and the sharp arrowheads penetrated the back of these two little beasts, pinning them to the ground.

"It's not a bad harvest today. There are two grey boars! I can change the menu!"

On a hill, not far away, Leylin saw this scene, and joy was present in his smile.

Just ten or so minutes later, he used a wooden frame and made a fire. On top, the grey boars that had been skinned and washed were being roasted, a little grease rolling off the boiling hot skin. There was also an aroma that could make anyone drool mixed with the scent of pine wood, and Leylin's forefinger couldn't help but twitch.

"It's been around a month since I exited from the large rock hill where the teleportation spell formation is."

After gnawing away at an entire grey boar, Leylin sighed contently and kept the other one for later.

After a month of wandering around, he now had an idea of how barren this subterranean world was.

Here, it was possible to not see any life despite walking for days, and only moss and bugs were tenaciously surviving.

The pig-like creature that Leylin named "grey boar" was the biggest animal he had seen thus far. It was also the tastiest.

At this thought, Leylin couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

While the precious spatial leather pouch was extremely spacious, there was a limit to how much could be stored within. It was already full of precious items that Leylin had gained through various methods, the value of which was something even rank 3 Magus would be envious of.

Unfortunately, there was no good food or wine at all. Compared to precious materials, their value was much too low and it was not worth being stored within.

Hence, Leylin found himself living the life of a barbarian.

Water was not an issue. He was a Magus, and with a water elemental spell, he could easily produce large amounts of fresh water. If it was food, however, he had little in the way of options.

Because he was a rank 2 Warlock, it was fine if he didn't eat for ten days or half a month, but if it was a full month, it wasn't possible for him not to eat at all.

In addition, his living environment in his previous life, and even now, were all not unsatisfactory. He was used to having three meals a day, and even had some stringent requirements regarding the content of his meals.

Currently, after a long search, Leylin could somewhat find a few starchy plants and roots that he could consume. He might also be able to have some birds or berries.

Leylin was beginning to get tired of these meagre meals.

This boar-like creature that he had named "grey boar" was, by far, the tastiest out of everything else that he had seen here up until now.

"Damn it! I hope this isn't a completely barren land."

After walking for a full month, besides this desert-area, Leylin had also seen some plains. Leylin began to have some suspicions, as even large animals were rarely seen.

Honestly speaking, as he was accustomed to sunlight, Leylin had never realised how precious it was.

Assistance Required

Leylin had previously seen information regarding the resources of the subterranean world in an ancient book.

Legend has it that the ancient Magus World was only a small part of the surface of the earth, and before the ancient Magi's focus had switched to the other worlds, their goal had been the subterranean world!

The ancient Magi all wielded formidable power; even the sun and the moon would lose their splendor when put in front of these Magi. Many of the natives of the subterranean world had been subdued by them, and these Magi had then exploited layers and layers of the subterranean world to obtain endless wealth and resources.

It was recorded that the ancient Magi had exploited the 7 layers of the subterranean world!

It was said that the further down the layers one visited, the more powerful the ethnic race of that layer would be, and that at the core of the earth, there was an extremely terrifying female existence.

But these did not stop the ancient Magi from venturing further, and finally, the whole subterranean world had acknowledged them as their conqueror. This was all a part of the golden age of the ancient Magi.

Later, the still-dissatisfied Magi shifted their attention to different worlds, and conquered world after world until they ran into that extremely powerful world!

After what was known as the Final Confrontation, although that opposing world did not end up getting any benefits, neither did the Magus World—they deteriorated instead. Even the passage that led to the subterranean world had been destroyed by this war. Since then, the subterranean world had only appeared in legends.

At the least, within the entirety of the southern coast, Leylin had not seen any of the subterranean world's life-forms, nor had he heard of any passages to the subterranean world.

"From the previously gathered information and the sights seen, this must be the subterranean world; I just don't know which layer this is! However, based on the dangerous life-form that approached, it ought to be, at most, the third layer, else I would have ran into many dangerous, high-energy life-forms. Also, the probability of the life-forms I ran into being from the first or second layer is really large…"

Leylin kept on pondering this over.

Although he was uneasy that this place was a barren region, Leylin continued forth. The recent appearance of the grey boar supplied him with huge confidence to proceed on his journey.

While walking the whole journey, Leylin also made a record of his surroundings.

At the location of the ancient magic spell, which Leylin had named "Giant Stone Hills," the signs of life were so weak that, at most, one could see only moss and some insects, and nothing else.

As Leylin went about his journey, the signs of life gradually increased, and later, he saw something like bat-like birds.

He would occasionally see the grey boars and as he travelled further, the rate of encountering them grew higher.

Thus, Leylin was certain. He had already walked away from the life-restricting region and come to the outside world.

[Beep! Discovered energy waves! The estimate is that these waves are the aftermath of level zero magic. Direction: 15 degrees east, at 3,123 meters.]

Now, the A.I. Chip had issued a message.

"Huh?!" Leylin's thoughts shook: "Finally, there are some traces of an organism with energy!"

He quickly packed up and soon went in the direction from which the energy waves were emitted.

Although there was still a grave injury upon his person, and his sea of consciousness was even more injured due to him solidifying large amounts of spiritual force, he could still display the approximate might of a level 1 Magus. However, he did not pay any attention to this small point, and rushed to the scene of those energy waves.

What appeared in Leylin's sight was the scene of three males and two females confronting a high-energy organism.

These five people seemed to be a standard small squadron. Two males dressed in leather, who were at the very front, served as human shields, constantly swinging their huge iron swords. They, at the very least, had the power of a Grand Knight.

The other three wore gray robes that looked like what the magician apprentices of the southern coast wore, but the style of these robes was very old-fashioned; they were simple and unadorned.

"There are humans here! And they are acolytes!" Leylin inwardly felt elated at this prospect.

What the five acolytes were confronting was an organism that was similar to the huge grey board, but with a physique that was almost a dozen times bigger, and 3 pairs of huge, crescent-moon-shaped teeth beneath its snout. Hard fur grew all over its body, and it was entirely covered in pine resin, mud, and other forms of muck. It formed thick lumps that, like a battle tank that had donned armor on. The level 0 magic spell that had been previously used by those apprentices seemed to have only left burn marks in the region; it had been incapable of breaking through even the outermost defences.

"Hoo hoo…" Two puffs of white gas were emitted from the nose of this organism that looked like a suckling pig. After pawing the ground, it suddenly charged, and its whole body was like a derailed train as it ran towards those two Grand Knights.

"Ah!"

The floor shook, causing one of those Grand Knights to lose his footing. Soon after, he slipped and was sent flying by this huge boar-like beast. Upon having been gored upon his waist and back by the organism's huge tusks, blood poured out from his wounds like spring water.

Seeing this scene, the other Grand Knight let out a loud shout and immediately retreated, thus exposing those three apprentices.

With the Grand Knight no longer impeding it, the boar fiercely bared its teeth at those apprentices with a blood-thirsty glint in its eyes.

The two female apprentices were scared, and kept retreating backwards. *Thud! Thud!* The two of them tripped on something and fell down, expressions of despair coloring their faces.

The remaining male apprentice displayed a gentlemanly bravery, quickly appearing in front of these women with an expression of firm resolve. Still shouting something, he lifted his hand, from which small fireballs were emitted and aimed at the middle of the nose of that big-headed boar.

*Pat! Pat* The big boar's nose was blackened, but that did not slow down its assault speed by even a bit. On the contrary, the boar seemed to have been infuriated by that male apprentice, and its charging speed even seemed to have increased a little.

That male apprentice smiled helplessly, and then turned his head toward the two female disciples behind him and muttered something; his demeanor gave one the feeling that this youth was not afraid of dying.

*Hoo hoo!* The wild boar got closer and closer, and the three apprentices could now see clearly the blood vessels in the big boar's eyes and the the thick pores below its fur.

Of course, what they would find very hard to forget was the cold radiance of the three pairs of snow-white, fierce, crescent-moon-shaped teeth of the boar.

"Shadow Binding!"

At that moment, Leylin suddenly made his appearance, and several tentacles made of shadow extended outwards from below the belly of the wild boar, and transformed into several hands that firmly dragged the boat by its front hooves.

*Peng!* As if a magnitude 9 earthquake had suddenly occurred, that boar, which was charging at a high speed, suddenly fell down while making a huge noise; even the sounds of bones breaking could be heard from its body.

Soon after, the three apprentices saw a youth in leather armor walking out from behind the fallen boar.

Several black, shadowy ropes trussed up that fallen boar, not even leaving the smallest of weaknesses in the bindings.

"Are you alright?" asked Leylin, with a gentle smile on his face.

Those three apprentices saw Leylin, their expressions those of shock, and they opened their mouths to say, "gnkmfsk..."

The smile on Leylin's face drooped, and then he sighed. "This is really not the common language of the continent!"

What Leylin had just spoken in was the common language of the southern coast magicians, but what these 3 apprentices had spoken was not a language that Leylin recognised.

"This language's endings sound a bit familiar to the Metiya language, but the syllables in between resemble the language of the highlands…"

Leylin did not feel surprised in the least about the differences in the language. After all, after the ancient era, the subterranean world had been isolated from the earth's surface. It would be strange if the language was still similar.

"Hello! I am a nomad. Can you tell me what is this place?"

Leylin immediately switched to another language—this time it was the ancient Byron language!

The ancient Byron language brought with a strange power; it held power over rules and regulations. It could draw upon the power of the energy particles within the atmosphere, and was the foundation of all magic spells.

Thus, the ancient Byron language was also a language that all magicians were required to learn.

Whether it was the surface world or the subterranean world, the ancient Byron language was passed down from the ancient Magi, and there would not be even the tiniest bit of disparity in its usage.

Sure enough, upon hearing Leylin asking in the ancient Byron language, those 3 apprentices immediately reacted, and finally, that male apprentice took the lead to reply, "Respected Sir! Hello! This here is the Woody Wastelands of the Twilight Zone."

He gave a respectful salute. Although Leylin's actions were suspicious and the langauge that he initially used to speak was very different from their own language, from the way Leylin had easily subdued this huge, 6-toothed boar that had almost caused a complete wipe for their team, it was obvious that the other party's strength was superior to theirs.

This was the wilderness, where the strong preyed on the weak. If they got on bad terms with Leylin, then they would be killed, and no one would come to know of it. Thus, this male apprentice's mannerisms were very deferential.

"Twilight Zone?" Leylin frowned, and the A.I. Chip quickly searched through the storage database but did not find any details related to this.

"You might need this!" Leylin pointed at the Grand Knight who had been sent flying, and threw a blood clotting medicine towards them.

"Thank you!" Those two fallen female apprentices also stood up, and one of them immediately clutched the medicine and smeared it on that Grand Knight's injury. After hesitating for while, she bowed to Leylin.

*Hiss! Hiss!*

At that time, a snake formed entirely of black gas slithered forward and spat outan armoured Grand Knight who had lost consciousness from within its mouth.

"This one is also your partner, right? I had also conveniently picked him up."

Leylin pointed at the Grand Knight who had just been spat out, and those three apprentices, who had been scared by the sudden appearance of that huge black snake, retreated many steps.

"This coward!" Leylin heard that female apprentice mutter, but he only smiled indifferently.

After that, he asked, "Oh, by the way, do you know which towns are close to here and where the Magi's Bazaar is?"

These 3 apprentices looked each other in the eyes, and then that male apprentice, seeing Leylin's agreeable demeanor and speech, gathered his courage and stepped forward as he said, "The closest town from here is Little Bert Town in the west, and its distance is one and a half days from here. About the Magi's' bazaar… the official Magi's meeting point is located only in the capital city of the Twilight Zone…."

Treasure

As if baffled by the kind smile on Leylin's face, this acolyte mustered up his courage and asked, "My lord! Are you… perhaps, not from here? May this humble servant know what your name is? I… I am Aaron!"

"Me? I'm obviously not from around here!" Leylin laughed as he looked at these 3 acolytes.

"Though there are still a lot of things I'd like to ask you, I suddenly realised that it would be much faster if I were to see it for myself…"

Due to the look that Leylin was giving them, the 3 acolytes began to tremble, as if they were being stared at by some predator.

"Let's go!" Aaron yelled, getting in front of the two female acolytes and chanting incantations.

"What a joke! You're too slow!" Leylin shook his head, and three black streams of air shot out and entered the foreheads of the three acolytes.

They turned dizzy, and without being able to even make a sound, they fainted.

Leylin approached the male acolyte called Aaron, his right hand directly pressing on the top of his head. The acolyte's eyes turned jet black, and even his pupils vanished.

Large amounts of images and voices were like a video, replaying in front of Leylin's eyes. The A.I. Chip worked at full speed, gathering all the information it thought to be important and organised them.

This was a spell that was like searching through one's spirit. It allowed Leylin to look through the memories of lower ranked Magi.

However, this spell was not actually all that useful. It was only effective against beings weaker than official Magi, and the targets couldn't be resisting.

When Leylin had first seen this technique in the library at the Four Seasons Garden, he had merely gotten the A.I. Chip to record it in passing. Unexpectedly, he was able to find a use for it here.

Though it was a simple task for him to sneak into this little team and gain information with all the methods he had, Leylin couldn't be bothered to do all that. He didn't want to waste time either.

In addition, no matter how hard he tries to conceal it, there were many differences between magicians of the south coast and this subterranean world. This wasn't something that could be easily covered up with acting. Rather than being considered suspicious when the time came, it would be better to do something about it right now.

[Gathering information regarding subterranean language, named the 'Twilight Language'. Storing in database…] The A.I. Chip first collected information regarding the language. It would organise these data and transmit it to Leylin's memories. After some practice, Leylin would be able to quickly grasp the language used in this world.

Next was information regarding the geography and factions here.

Though Aaron was weak and had never left the Twilight Zone, his memories had been enough to allow Leylin to gain a better understanding of this subterranean world.

After he had gathered all of the valuable information, a cold glint flashed in Leylin's eyes and he forcefully began to modify Aaron's memories, removing all traces of his existence and the happenings today. He left behind the false memories of a high-ranked Magus with unclear facial features that had suddenly appeared and had helped them subdue the Six-Toothed Giant Boar.

These acolytes did not have anything Leylin found useful, and he did not want to kill anymore.

In a situation where he would not suffer any negative consequences, Leylin didn't mind doing some good deeds.

After all, he wasn't some homicidal maniac who killed people for the fun of it.

However this method of altering memories carried a very high risk. Leylin paid no heed to Aaron's original memories and forcefully did it. If there were no aftereffects, his luck must be unbelievably good.

Afterwards, Leylin repeated the process on the other four.

Though the information he gained was about the same, it created a rather complete set of information.

"This Six-Toothed Giant Boar shall be your compensation!" Leylin looked at the acolytes who were unconscious on the ground and laughed. The black ropes that bound the boar suddenly tightened, and splat! Blood flew in all directions!

A long time after Leylin left, Aaron woke up while clutching his head, "Ugh… my head hurts… where am I?"

Next, fragmented memories entered his mind, scenes appearing in his eyes, "We met a Six-Toothed Giant Boar. That guy, Blake, actually ran away first! We were lucky that a lord who was passing by saved us."

Aaron looked at the corpse of the huge Six-Toothed Giant Boar, he whooped with excitement, "How many magic crystals would such a large amount raw material fetch? I've struck the jackpot!"

*Hah hah!*

Fine streams of air streaked past Leylin's ears, as the scenery around him became long images, before further distorting and forming into streaks of light.

Leylin hurried towards Potter Town, recalling the information he had gained from the five.

This was indeed the underworld, and was the first layer, which was the closest to the continent on the earth's surface. It was a pity that this was but a small region that was disconnected from the rest of the underworld.

The Twilight Zone. This was the name of this region.

Around the Twilight Zone, if there weren't gathering points for fearful, sinister beasts, there would be a wide expanse of a lava ocean. These dangerous regions isolated the Twilight Zone from the external world, and without the power of a Morning Star Magus, it was impossible to escape from the isolation caused by these regions.

The only pathway that connected it with the external world had long since been abandoned.

Legends had it that thousands of years ago, there were two Morning Star Magi who had engaged in a great battle near the channel. The resulting fluctuations resulted in the crust of the earth collapsing, and causing terrifyingly large rocks that were almost several hundred million tons to thoroughly seal the channel and stop all communications between Twilight Zone and the external world.

It was for this reason that the Twilight Zone instantly turned into an isolated island. Luckily, the Twilight Zone itself was rather large. Based on Leylin's estimations, it was about half the size of the south coast. However, the population was only about four to five thousand. So, the resources were self-sufficient and able to maintain the upkeep till now.

"Based on Aaron's memories, this whole place is called the Twilight Zone, and it can be divided into the East, West, South, North and Central Regions, which makes up five in total. It is governed by zone, and there is no such thing as a kingdom or realm."

From Leylin's perspective, every city here could be said to be an independent power. As land was vast and there were few people, it was no surprise that organisations would flourish and decline quickly. Hence, it was rather chaotic.

Leylin was not interested in battles between mortals. What caught his attention was the information regarding the Magus World here.

In the Twilight Zone, the Magus World here had preserved the traditions from the ancient era, still developing through taking in personal disciples and forming schools of thought.

As for academies or anything of the sort, there was no mention of that in Aaron's memories.

Aaron and those two female acolytes were taught by a single mentor, and the Grand Knight was an assistant that they had employed while they went on this expedition.

However, what caused Leylin the most excitement was the information regarding high-grade meditation techniques in Aaron's memories!

That's right. In Aaron's memories, there were mentions of great amounts of high-grade meditation techniques. His mentor had once even promised that if he proved to have enough potential, he could even apply to obtain the qualifications to get a high-grade meditation technique to train in!

Compared to the situation in the south coast, where large organisations were very strict regarding this matter, Twilight Zone was evidently much more relaxed regarding the restrictions against obtaining high-grade meditation techniques.

These Magi schools of thought set their foundations on different types of high-grade meditation techniques. Basically, all high-ranked Magi a given organisation would train in a single high-grade meditation technique. The earliest schools of thought were formed from a group of Magi who trained in high-grade meditation techniques, and for the better exchange of ideas, had set up their own organisations.

"A high-grade meditation technique!" A flame began to burn in Leylin's heart.

However, he quickly came back to himself. The underworld was the most similar to the ancient era and had received much inheritance from the ancient Magi. In addition, with the isolation of the Twilight Zone, the Magi environment here still retained the style of the ancient era. Hence, inheriting high-grade meditation techniques was not unusual.

"However, from the fact that a school headed by a rank 2 Magus can be considered a large school of thought, the high-grade meditation techniques must not be that effective. If it isn't damaged, there might be specific ingredients that cannot be found here."

In Aaron's memories, the might of the Magi here in general was similar to that on the south coast. Official Magi were highly regarded and rarely seen. Rank 2 Magi were the big shots; perhaps a few cities in the five zones were under the control of rank 2 Magi.

"In general, the Magi here get to encounter even more high-grade meditation techniques. However, since these techniques are the core of every school of thought, besides a few specific people, Magi or acolytes will at most obtain a small part or a simplified version. This was the case for Aaron's meditation technique."

While searching his mind, some memories regarding meditation techniques were naturally recorded by the A.I. Chip.

Through comparisons, Leylin found that the meditation technique Aaron trained in was quite interesting. It had an ancient aura to it, similar to that of Kemoyin's Pupil and Sacred Flame. However the requirements were all lower, and it did not have the ability to really increase any ability or affinity towards elements.

After a careful search through Aaron's memories regarding the meditation technique, Leylin found out that he was training in the high-grade meditation technique from his mentor's school of thought, Aegalus. It was the simplified form of the Core's Flame technique.

This simplified version was a lot more effective in raising spiritual force as compared to the willpower runic meditation techniques that acolytes in the south coast used. After reaching a bottleneck in spiritual force, there was a certain probability of passing through the limits to become an official Magus by using items to assist this process. This probability was a lot higher than those who used Grine Water.

In addition, as he trained in the simplified version of a high-grade meditation technique, there would be no problems if he were to obtain a genuine copy of the technique and train in it. Hence, these simplified high-grade meditation techniques were given out to screen acolytes who were suitable for training in it.

"A treasure trove! The Twilight Zone is a large treasure trove of high-grade meditation techniques!"

Leylin's eyes were suddenly so bright that it was frightening.