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Path Of Quandary

"How could it be? Someone has already entered the Path of Quandary. That's extremely close to the core!" The old Magus wearing simple attire observed the light yellow notebook in his hands, letting out a low growl. His expression was that of anxiety.

On one of the pages of the light yellow notebook, a general map had been drawn out with weak black lines. There was a little black dot moving slowly in one of the central passageways that was labeled the Path of Quandary.

There were also other dots on this map, but they were all situated at the exterior regions.

The old man himself was marked with a white dot. Though he was much faster than the Morning Stars outside who were being hindered by the labyrinth, he was still at the middle section and a distance away from the core.

In contrast, Leylin's black dot was only a few steps away from the core which was marked in red!

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why is there a Magus that's so fast…" the old man cursed, his expression full of impatience and indignance, "It's a pity that I only have the correct method to enter the ruins. I can't control all the secret mechanisms, or else…"

Though the old Magus' ancestor had been a member of Scarlet Crescent, he was merely an ordinary member. While he had participated in the construction of the ruins, he had not been able to make contact with the core areas. Hence, obtaining this map, the password to enter, as well as some information, was the limits of what could be done.

Leylin had also unexpectedly brought forward the timing of the opening of the ruins, causing things to become disadvantageous for the old man. Even if he was hurrying along, careful not to fall into any traps, he was still behind Leylin.

"I don't care anymore! As long as I can get to the core area, I still have a chance of turning the tables!"

The old man angrily used his fingers and traced the map, finding another route. However, just when he was about to move, his pupils suddenly shrank.

A black dot entered the edges of a map. It was several times larger than the rest, and was ringed in red.

The few traps and patterns at the exterior were completely destroyed in the face of the large dot, and even their names disappeared from the map. The man wailed in anguish, "A rank 5 Magus rushed here so quickly. Are you even giving me any chance at all…"

While he kept lamenting, the old man's footsteps did not lose speed. Instead, he began to move more quickly.

If he was slightly slow and allowed the rank 5 Magus to take over this place, this area would no longer be of any concern to him. Besides, there was a certain item at the core region that he needed to obtain, which was his main goal.

"Just wait! Just wait till I get control of the core!"

The old man stared at the little black dot in the Path of Quandary, his expression revealing his frustration.

...

Leylin, of course, did not know that someone had him in their thoughts. He was now walking on a little pathway of ash-gray stone.

The path was surrounded by white fog on both sides, and it became increasingly dense as it concealed the scenery.

On the still, empty road, only his footsteps sounded unceasingly. The scenery that was exactly the same on both ends made it easy for one to forget time, giving rise to a strong sense of fear.

Combined with the unique power in the fog, even a Magus' tenacious willpower might not hold out.

If it were other lower-ranked Magi, they might long since have broken down, crying and yelling that they wanted to return, begging for release.

However, resolution showed on Leylin's face, as if this was negligible. In the face of his mindset that was ten thousand times more stronger than steel, things that ancient Magi had specifically set up to test one's will were trivial.

As Leylin went deeper in, the surrounding fog became more dense, and even his feet became unclear. Every step seemed like he was walking on clouds.

Leylin took a step, and the scenery suddenly changed.

Now, the room had dark yellow planks and a mouldy ceiling. The squeaks of mice could be heard from the corner.

It was the most common image seen by commoners in the continent. There was not one piece of furniture in this little wooden cabin. Strangely, all that existed was a golden parrot cage at the center, a toad with a pipe in its mouth on top.

"Hey, brother! Are you here to give me a love letter on Miko's behalf? Please tell her that I'm busy and can't make it to the date tomorrow evening!"

The toad was dressed in a black top hat, looking relaxed. It puffed out one white smoke ring after another from the pipe.

"…" Leylin was dumbstruck as he watched the toad, unsure of what was going on.

"Are you not Miko's messenger? Oh! Then it must be Elizabeth. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. That skin, full of folds and spores, as well as those protruding eyes… Oh! She's my angel…"

The toad jabbered on and on, but what it said only baffled Leylin. At one point, he could no longer take it and asked, "Where is this?"

"Quark's cabin, Number 232 at the edge of the world. Is there a problem?" The toad put its pipe down, its large eyes that were like light bulbs shooting Leylin a glance.

Could it be that the Path of Quandary is similar to an astral gate? Has Scarlet Crescent's defensive formation sent me to another plane?' This sudden thought left Leylin unable to decide whether he should laugh or cry.

Many ancient defence systems had a last resort when they encountered an enemy that was much too powerful for the spell formations to be of use— banishment to an alternate world!

This was akin to an astral gate, teleporting Magi out of the Magus world.

As this was a one-time thing with no definite coordinates, unlucky Magi would usually be sent into spatial turbulences far, far away; or even into a giant storm. It would be extremely lucky to find another plane with life on it. However, returning to the Magus world? There was no need to even think about it.

The current situation caused Leylin to have doubts.

At this moment, the floor suddenly began to tremble, seismic waves passing through every few moments.

"What's going on?" Leylin tried scanning with his soul force, but found that his soul force had been repressed to the limit. It could not even see past the cabin.

"It's nothing. I have a new neighbour preparing to move in…"

The toad jumped off the parrot cage nonchalantly, bouncing as it headed out. Leylin turned his head and thought about it for a moment, eventually following behind it.

After opening the door of the wooden cabin, his body suddenly went stiff, eyes flashing with disbelief.

In front of him was a large sandy wasteland. There were black holes and distorted nebulae in the sky, and a large green shadow that seemed to have taken root in the cosmos was shifting its body.

It was a giant ancient tree, its green leaves spilling with a jade-like lustre. Leylin had seen many ancient trees before, and there were enormous trees in Creevey City where houses could be built on their leaves. However, the entirety of Creevey CIty was like a tiny thing in comparison with this gigantic tree, not comparable to even a leaf.

"Hello, new friend! Do you need any help?" After seeing this tree, the toad happily went forward to welcome it, jumping onto a root as thick as a mountain.

Compared to the tree, the toad was like a speck of dust. No! It was ten thousand times smaller than a speck of dust!

Leylin was speechless. Soon after, he realised that he had indeed walked out of a wooden cabin, but the surroundings were a depthless black starry cosmos, and the cabin had been floating in the sky. There was even a shaky scrawl on the bronze door plate, reading 'Number 232, Edge of the World! This house belongs to Toad Quark.'

On that gigantic root the toad had jumped onto was another little cabin, this one constructed askew. There was a number there as well, 233. The name had changed to Wisdom Tree. Leylin had no idea how the big the other party was or how they entered the cabin. Watching the cabin on the tree root, as well as the toad, he could not come up with anything to say.

Shortly after, however, his expression changed. 'The ancient Wisdom Tree? The intellectual being of the Magus World that once enlightened multiple great ancient Magi? The culmination of all wisdom?'

*Rumble!* A few large cracks opened up on the tree that extended to the cosmos, sucking in the violent spatial storms and producing soundless whimpers.

Two enormous, yellowish eyes opened, followed by lips full of wooden lines.

"It's… been… a… long…. time… my… old… friend…" The tree's words were extremely loud. Just the sound waves were enough to blow everything over. Toad Quark had no choice but to hug the root tightly in order not to be blown away by the violent hurricane.

The Wisdom Tree's speech was very slow, taking a minute between syllables. It seemed that each thought required a great amount of time.

"And… also… a … new… friend…" *Bang!* The ground exploded, and a root that was like a mountain flew over, raising Leylin till he was before the ancient Wisdom Tree, meeting its starry gaze.

"I smell myself on you…" The Wisdom Tree's words were hard to decipher, but Leylin immediately understood what it meant.

"Is it the essence of the ancient Wisdom Tree? And this!" Leylin produced a wooden cup, though it was now empty.

It had once contained the essence of the Wisdom Tree, and had been vital in supporting Leylin's advancement to rank 3. This wooden cup had been said to be made out of the bark of the Wisdom Tree.

Breaking through the Fog

"You're a Warlock… Ah, I remember this feeling. You must be from the Magus World, right?" The ancient Wisdom Tree spoke slowly, each syllable taking a significantly long time. It was enough for any quick-tempered Magus to get annoyed.

However, there were no traces of impatience on Leylin's face. On the contrary, he was full of respect towards the ancient Wisdom Tree, especially since his advancement to rank 3 was all thanks to it. Hence, he bowed deferentially.

"Yes! I am Leylin Farlier, a rank 4 Warlock of the Magus World. Greetings, mighty Enlightener!"

The Enlightener was a title given to the ancient Wisdom Tree by the combined decision of all the Magi in the Magus World.

It was rumoured that the ancient Wisdom Tree was the culmination of all wisdom. It was even knowledgeable in all the mysteries of the cosmos and the universe. There were countless high-ranked Magi who had gained enlightenment with its help, and even the glamour of the ancient era was, in part, possible thanks to its guidance.

However, the mighty ancient tree which had granted enlightenment and solved riddles had disappeared from the Magus World all of a sudden. No matter how hard the ancient Magi tried to find it, no traces were left behind.

In the following generations, many Magus historians had attributed the fall of the ancient era to the lack of guidance from the Wisdom Tree, leading to many ancient Magi walking a path ridden with errors.

Though Leylin did not really agree with this standpoint, it was true that it was very knowledgeable regarding Magi.

"The Magus World!" The ancient Wisdom Tree's large eyes flashed with nostalgia, "I still remember… 20 or 25 dark ages ago, the Magi were all adorable little children. Oh! There was one called Aten, and he was pretty good at barbeques…"

The mighty ancient Wisdom Tree was like an old man trying to chase after the past, jabbering on and on.

Leylin waited silently at the side, while Toad Quark was beginning to get annoyed, "Old friend, are you moving again? You've only lived here for 87,000 years… I've only taken a nap, and you're already moving again?"

'An 87,000 year… nap?' Leylin was speechless.

"Yes, my friend! I feel the descent of terror. Even the end of the world can't hinder the spying of such power. The aftermath of the ancient era will continue to cause ripples, involving other worlds…"

The ancient Wisdom Tree said something that sounded like a prophecy, causing Leylin to be surprised. However, no matter how he inquired, it would not make a sound.

'It doesn't finish its words, ugh…' Leylin rolled its eyes inside, but then heard the sounds of the Wisdom Tree after speaking to the toad. "And there's you, you adorable thing. I can answer one question of yours as a present. Of course, it cannot touch upon the topic from before…"

"Many thanks, mighty Enlightener!" Leylin was elated. An opportunity to have the Wisdom Tree solve a riddle was not something any Magus could have even in ancient times. Even a Breaking Dawn Magus would smash their own head in for such a chance.

However, after the moment of ecstasy, he grew perplexed.

'What should I ask? How to attain immortality? That's too vague!' Leylin opened his lips, but eventually did not ask the question.

After an intense struggle, Leylin's pupils flashed with soberness. 'Even if it's truly the ancient Wisdom Tree, it's only one of the ancient legends. It's probably at rank 8 or 9 as a Magus, and even such a being needs to defend itself. Asking about is pointless. I need to think of something more suitable for myself…'

Having thought it through, the fog in Leylin's mind finally completely dissipated.

Leylin took in a deep breath, clenched his fists, and asked the ancient Wisdom Tree this question, "I would like to know how to break through the bloodline shackles of Warlocks!"

For now, there was nothing more important to him than solving this issue.

"This…" The ancient Wisdom Tree raised a root and propped it against its lips, looking extremely similar to a human in thought. "You can…"

...

The fog disappeared, and Leylin was started awake.

He rubbed his forehead that was slightly aching and glanced at the grey slabs on the ground. The fog was dissipating from the surroundings, and buildings were gradually revealing themselves. The lost look in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with confusion.

"Was that scene real, or an illusion?"

Leylin glanced at his hands, 'I'm already at Morning Star. Under the scan of my soul force, any illusory spells should have been seen through. Furthermore…'

Leylin felt his heart beat. 'The answer from the Wisdom Tree is still deep in my heart. It's very feasible.'

Such a situation left Leylin bewildered.

"Perhaps the Path of Quandary was a superior illusion, allowing intruders to find answers amidst their perplexment about where they were. This answer might already be deep in the intruder's heart, and only made known at this point. Of course, if it can't be found, they would remain lost there…"

Combined with his former knowledge and experience, Leylin came to a specious conclusion. Inside, however, he felt as if what had just happened was real.

With the strength of ancient Magi, it was not impossible to create a scene like that. Another plausible reason would be that through endless flowing from the river of time, many scenarios had converged at this point.

In other words, Leylin's mind had passed through the isolation of time and space, reaching one of the spatial fragments in the ancient era, and met the true ancient Wisdom Tree.

'Hah! I don't care anymore! There are only benefits for me here anyway! If it doesn't make sense, then so be it. When I get enough strength, I might even understand all of this naturally…' Leylin thought optimistically.

There were no cons whatsoever in coming to the Path of Quandary. He had even obtained a method to solve the issue of his bloodline shackles. While this was merely a tentative plan, it was still very precious. It might not even compare to all the benefits from Scarlet Crescent!

"However, since I've gone through the Path of Quandary, I should be getting some rewards." Leylin touched his chin, watching the large Magus building that had completely revealed itself, as a smile appeared on his face.

What had appeared in front of Leylin was a little western-styled building that was two storeys high. The window at the balcony was still open, as if the owner had only been gone a short period of time.

The brass door handle had a simple yet splendid lustre, and seemed to have been used regularly.

Leylin knew, though, that this building had been abandoned for at least over ten thousand years. It was naturally magic that resulted in this effect.

*Ka-cha!* After gripping the handle and putting some strength into it, the door was easily pushed open, revealing a hall with a giant fireplace. The firewood in there was still crackling and burning, a wave of heat gathering indoors.

"Besides what's on their bodies, Magi keep their most precious objects only in the bedroom, study room and laboratory…"

Leylin scanned the area quickly and immediately gave up on the living room, going up to the second level of the building.

He first found the study room. There seemed to have been some spatial spells used here, and upon opening it, what was presented in front of Leylin was an enormous space comparable to a football field. There were large bookshelves that towered at ten or so metres tall, but everything there was empty, leaving behind only a pile of ash in the compartments.

Leylin rummaged through the area quite a few times and had the A.I. Chip check the area repeatedly without giving up, but he eventually resigned himself to the situation and left the study room.

"I never expected that all the books and research materials would have been taken away… What would else would be left?"

Leylin was slightly dejected, but still searched through room after room. He then found the original owner's bedroom.

Unexpectedly, he was easily rewarded with something on the makeup table.

A blood-red earring in the shape of a crescent moon lay quietly in an opened jewellery box. After Leylin confirmed it was not a trap, he took it in his hand, and a stream of information was immediately transmitted over.

"Scarlet Earring! High-grade magic equipment. Work of Mefylk! … Ah! This is presented to my goddess, Jonase, my true love…"

From the opened jewellery box, it seemed that the owner had been preparing to wear the earring, but everything had suddenly come to an abrupt stop.

Leylin was confused as he looked through the bedroom, but still did not find anything that looked suspicious.

"A strange set-up!" Leylin mumbled to himself, keeping the Scarlet Earring and adding many seals outside.

Even if it it was a trap, a piece of high-grade magic equipment was worth the risk. Besides, Leylin was very confident in his judgment and the A.I. Chip's scans.

While leaving, he consciously took a look at the mirror frame at the makeup table.

There was a large oval silver mirror inside, reflecting Leylin's image. Strangely enough, the Leylin inside had a secretive laugh, causing him to be startled.

By the time he came back to himself, everything in the mirror seemed to have returned to normal, as if all that had just happened had merely been an illusion.

But would Morning Star Magi hallucinate? That was impossible!

Leylin's expression became gloomy as he gritted his teeth, quickly keeping the mirror and running out of the bedroom and out of the villa.

The moment he left the villa, it completely vanished, leaving behind a large depression that looked to have been gnawed at by beasts.

*Bang!*

A fist smashed onto a table, causing dust to fly, "Despicable! Damn it! He's actually taken it away! That was the magic equipment that was the easiest to obtain, and it was even of a high-grade at that!"

In an unadorned crystal private room, an old Magus looked annoyed, unwilling to accept this.

"It's not just that. He even took 'that' away!"

The old man's expression changed a few times before he made his mind.

Obstruction And A Grin

"No! No matter what, I have to get it back!" The old man took out his light yellow notebook. A map with many black dots appeared on it immediately.

"Find him! Rip him apart! And bring everything back!" Following the old man's growl, streaks of crystal-clear light flashed in the secret chamber and a few translucent puppets suddenly widened their bloodshot eyes.

As if they understood the old man's words, they rapidly shuttled through the void, gradually vanishing.

...

"This feeling, something bad's about to happen"

Leylin's eyebrows furrowed. He'd actually been feeling a sense of discomfort ever since he exited the Path of Quandary. It was as if someone was secretly spying on him. However, the scanning of the A.I. Chip and his own soul force could not discover anything.

And now, this feeling of discomfort suddenly intensified, even to the point of turning to anxiety!

"The malice that's pervaded the atmosphere…" Leylin shut his eyes and quickly opened them again. At this moment, his pupils had already turned into a pair of amber slits. A thin, blood-red line flashed across them.

Suddenly, rumbling sounds rang out as a large amount of spell runes flickered. A colourful radiance shot into the sky and formed a gigantic ice cage, trapping Leylin within.

"What? I definitely didn't trigger any traps… Unless…" Leylin squinted his eyes slightly. This situation caused him to become clear-headed.

"Haha… I, who have gained control over the entire core secret chamber, am an invincible existence in Scarlet Crescent!" In the core control room, the old Magus' face shone brightly, his hands still grasping a piece of ruby with its tips connected to numerous crystal threads.

Strings of complicated commands were continually transmitted through the ruby in his hands.

Numerous crystal-clear hexagonal snowflakes suddenly condensed within the trap, forming a large quantity of icy blades, shields, axes and such. They all smashed loudly towards Leylin's head.

Leylin thought of an idea. "Kemoyin's Scales!" "Blood Flame!" His body was immediately wrapped in a layer of dense, black snake scales as a blood-red flame raged above him, subliming the large quantity of ice.

As if it was provoked, the ice condensed once more with a sizzle. Its blue core became even more crystal-clear, emanating a piercing chill.

The ice, which was covered by the blue radiance, stood firmly while it was being roasted by the flames. A large quantity of cold air was emitted, even breaking through the Blood Flame's seal. It shot in front of Leylin, who smashed it apart with a frown.

Sharp icy blades slashed his body, only enough to create thin, long sparks. They couldn't even break through the outermost energy defence.

"Absolute Zero Kelvin!" Leylin's pupils narrowed and his face no longer had the previous relaxed look.

"This was undoubtedly set up by ancient Magi. Such a formation that unifies all the runes in the area is definitely difficult for ordinary Morning Stars to withstand… However, It doesn't seem to be working at full force… That means…"

Leylin seemed to be in a deadlock with the huge icy spell formation on the surface. However, he was actually calculating something in his mind.

*Whoosh!* Suddenly, space twisted and a few rays of white light seemed to have broken through the boundary as they appeared right before Leylin.

The handle, which bore the sharp broken sword, had already pierced the edge of Leylin's chest.

"So fast!" It was difficult for Leylin to react in time. The only thing he managed to do was strengthen the Kemoyin Scales' defence to the maximum.

Compared to other spells, the innate spells of Magi were activated purely by thought. With such incomparable speeds, they were the common last-ditch resorts when their lives were in danger.

*Schlick!* A broken sword, seemingly forged out of pure crystal, pierced through the energy defence as well as the runes outside the black scales with much difficulty, coming into contact with the scales themselves.

*Pop!* Leylin frowned, as if at something bursting. Behind him, a large Multi-Armed Race phantom came into existence and channeled a dark green energy to cover his body.

"My goodness!" The muscles on his right hand flexed, hammering a punch at the opponent. This made the translucent figure retreat.

After waiting for the opponent to put a certain amount of distance between them, Leylin looked at his chest with a gloomy face.

A bright white line in the shape of a crescent had been carved on the Kemoyin Scales. The sword had left behind a deep pit, taking a few smaller scales with it.

"Puppet?!" When Leylin got a clear view of the figures making a sneak attack, he shouted in surprise.

In front of him were a few translucent figures in pure white, body-fitting Magus robes. In their hands were a large quantity of physical weapons, including the broken crystal sword from before.

"A puppet that is able to break through my Kemoyin's Scales defence, such a rank… I'm afraid can only be created by an ancient Magus…"

Leylin looked at the bloodshot eyes of the puppet before him, confirming his conjecture, 'Someone's behind all this.'

"So this is the power of a Morning Star? Even the Void Assassin could not take down the opponent!" In the core, the old man's dignified face warped as he clenched his teeth.

"It doesn't matter. I have the spell formations to control the core and the puppets on hand. Even if it takes up a little more energy, I have to take down the enemy!"

With his orders, the arms of the Void Assassins surrounding Leylin warped, revealing daggers, knives, and even weapons that looked like power saws. They were all translucent except for the golden runes twinkling on them, seemingly made from crystal.

Space twisted once more as these Void Assassins vanished into thin air again. It was as if they were vipers hiding in the dark, preparing to deal a fatal blow at any time!

With these enemies around eyeing covetously at their prey, in addition to the pressure of the icy cage above their head, any ordinary Morning Star would definitely have sustained serious injuries.

"It's a pity that you met me!" A sneer emerged at the corner of Leylin's lips. Wasn't the shadow-attribute Giant Kemoyin Serpent even better at concealing itself in the void? He'd previously used spells such as Shadow Stealth to lay in ambush, and he naturally knew about the weaknesses and disadvantages of such spells like the back of his hand.

Although the ancient spell formation was a little more troublesome, the enemy evidently did not have complete control over it. This gave him an opportunity.

"Only…" Leylin laughed coldly as a radiance sparkled in his eyes.

A translucent figure shot out from the void with a whoosh, the dagger in its hands aimed ferociously at Leylin's eyes.

Leylin's face remained unchanged and he suddenly stretched out his wrist. When it came to a stop once more, he was holding one of the puppet's arms in his hands.

A gigantic blue iceberg, with a great blazing flame at its bottom, started to exert pressure on everything below as it rumbled. At the same instant, a sharp aura suddenly shot out in the other three directions.

"Good! Very soon, that thing will belong to me…" In the control room, the old man watched a pale Leylin. Looking at his wounded body, he could not help but let out a carefree smile.

"Haha… So what if you're a Morning Star? I'm the king here!" The old man spread out his arms and cheered, but his voice was instantly silenced with a grunt, as if he had been strangled at the neck.

When it came back, it returned as a frustrated curse, "How did he escape?"

In the projection he'd been looking at from the control room, Leylin's condition had already hit rock bottom. His entire body was soaked in blood, and he seemed ready to die at any moment. However, every opportunity to kill him was thwarted by small problems in the coordination of the Void Assassins, letting him evade it by luck. At least, that's what he'd seen it as.

And right when he was in the most desperate straits, that lucky Magus had actually discovered a flaw in the spell formation, directly breaking through space and escaping.

The old man roared in anger, smashing his fist violently on the platform of the control room with a bang.

"If I had known all the control spells, and obtained the highest authority, even a Radiant Moon Magus wouldn't be able to escape this place, let alone this Morning Star!" What followed the bout of rage was a sense of helplessness.

Indeed, he'd used his map and reached the control room, obtaining partial authority by following his ancestor's notes. In fact, he didn't encounter much danger at all. However, his ancestor did not have a high position in Scarlet Crescent. This naturally meant he had no way to gain complete control of the place.

That previous spell formation was actually the limits of what he could accomplish with his current authority. As for those Void Assassins, he had to thank the fact that their creator was none other than his ancestor. That was why he had a backdoor method to take control of them.

"Damn! Damn! DAMN!" The old man's face was full of indignance, "Just these Void Assassins have already made this trip worthwhile, but the most important item is still not in my hands. Not to mention, this place will definitely be monopolised by great forces in the future. I'll no longer have a place here…"

He subconsciously shot a glance at the other black dots. They were already very close to the core area, especially the one that represented the Radiant Moon. It seemed to have an unstoppable force, barging its way through and already sweeping past several small-scaled resource points, making the Magus secretly hurt.

Such desire and the strong indignance led this Magus to a decision, "Try again, no matter the result, you have to leave!"

He looked at another screen, pressing the jewel down without hesitation. A huge flame exploded forth, forming an enormous blazing giant that blocked Leylin's path.

"So it's fire after ice? But it's still of the same degree of power as the previous one…" Leylin shook his head, becoming more confident in his judgment.

"Catch him! Catch him!" The old Magus grabbed the jewel with both hands, his eyes full of excitement and desire.

And at this time, Leylin, who was on the screen, suddenly lifted his head and laughed at him. The old man's hair stood on end…

Sweeping of Obstacles

"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.

Carelessness

"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.

Setup

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.

The Continuation

"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 judgment 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.

Morning Star Area

"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 Breaking Dawn 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.