by Zhuang Bifan
"Oh? You can tell that these are magical weapons." Lin Li did not hurry, and merely frowned slightly as though there was nothing he could not achieve in the world.
"Nothing in this world can escape my eyes." Connoris started tooting his own horn out of habit before continuing, "In my opinion these two magical weapons are no less powerful than the Titan Dragon Spear from the prehistoric times, and if you were to really collect them, then you'll really have it all. Unfortunately, if it was the Titan Dragon Spear, I would be able to help you, but these two… Oh right, do you know what the Titan Dragon Spear is? That was the weapon the Titans used to kill the Wyrms—"
"Whatever. I'm talking about the present, so why are you talking about the Titan Dragon Spear?" Lin Li said, annoyed.
Connoris was silent for a while, defeated, before he said, "Alright, I'll just say it. Even though I can tell that these are powerful magical weapons, I don't think it'll be easy to collect them, and I don't have any idea how to do so, either. So, I would suggest you give it up since it's not very likely for you to be able to overcome the strength of these magical weapons to subdue them, and you might even be wounded by them."
Connoris could not think of any method to collect them, and did not think that Lin Li would do better, either. He was an ancient deity that had lived for thousands of years, after all, and no matter how gifted Lin Li was, he just had not seen as much as Connoris had. Now, he was worried that Lin Li would be too stubborn; while there was no one using these magical weapons, it did not look like they were just waiting to be collected, either.
Lin Li could hear Connoris's concern, and thus he laughed as he replied, "Haha, don't worry, that's not what I'm worried about. There's something else."
Connoris did not calm down when he heard Lin Li. Instead, he became even more worried that something would happen to Lin Li and he would suffer along with him. He anxiously persuaded Lin Li in his mind. "I know that everything has been going smoothly for you, and even if there were dangers, you managed to avoid them, which is why you think you have everything under your control now, but I have to emphasize that you are unable to suppress the power of these two magical weapons."
Connoris's nagging was incredulous to Lin Li; hence, he only repeated, "Don't worry. Am I someone who goes in without thinking? If I say that I know what to do, then I really do, so don't worry about that. I have another problem that I need you to give me ideas for. Maybe I will be able to solve it then."
The real problem to Lin Li was what he was going to do about this naturally occurring Magical Domain after he was done collecting the Polar Snow and Raging Flames. It was such a miracle that there might only be one such Magical Domain in the whole Anril, and if he were to bid it goodbye, it might be next to impossible to see another one like this again.
It was a miracle because it was something possible only with the power of God, but it did not mean that it had to be the work of God. One thing for sure was that this could not possibly have been done by humans, because a naturally occurring Magical Domain had very strict requirements that could not be compared with a Magical Domain created by a Legendary-mage.
A Magical Domain created by a Legendary-mage could have different Rules, and as the Legendary-mage could serve as a mediator, these Rules did not have to exactly balance out. As long as it was within the means of the Legendary-mage, the construction of the Magical Domain would not be affected even if one Rule was weaker or stronger than the others.
It was just like how Lin Li's Magical Domain created from frost, light, and darkness had three Rules that coexisted with each other. The frost Rule was the weakest, and while the light and darkness were primary Rules, they were opposing ones. In other circ.u.mstances, light and darkness could not coexist, but with Lin Li's powerful mental strength and his understanding and use of Rules, the three vastly different Rules were able to exist in flawless harmony.
It was different with natural Magical Domains as there was no Legendary-mage to serve as a mediator. It was like balancing on a thread; one imbalance could destroy the whole Magical Domain. There were too many factors that could affect the balance in a natural environment. There were natural phenomena that could affect the balance, and even a small fly could shatter that immaculate balance that was required to keep the Magical Domain intact.
Hence, a natural Magical Domain was not something that was achievable by a human, and thus a miracle. But, even God might not be able to perfectly replicate this natural Magical Domain.
This world where fire and water coexisted was probably the most well-balanced Magical Domain in the world as both the water and fire primary Rules were able to coexist so flawlessly here. Even though a large part of it was due to the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames, such flawless harmony was already so impressive that even someone from the Sanctuary-realm might not be able to replicate it.
As all of this was naturally formed without any interference from external factors, this could not simply be attributed to luck. A coincidence might result in a surprising incident, but who knew how many coincidences were needed to create such a naturally occurring Magical Domain.
And Lin Li had a gut feeling that if he were to leave the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames here, this Magical Domain would one day evolve into a complete world, one where there were only two primary Rules: water and fire. By then, the Magical Domain would be steady on its own, and no external factor would be able to affect it. When Lin Li took the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames then, it would not cause any damage to this Magical Domain, either.
Unfortunately, Lin Li did not have the time to wait for that day to come based on the situation now. According to Tutankhamun, he only had a couple of years or so, and in that short amount of time, he had to do all he could to increase his power. The Legendary-realm was simply not enough, and the Sanctuary-realm was only a minimum that he had to attain. If he wanted to be able to protect all he wanted to protect when the disaster struck Anril, then he could not hesitate in the least.
He would not mind much even if he was not the savior, as it was not in his nature to hide when that day really came, either. It was hard to find an egg intact in a destroyed nest, after all, and if such a disaster befell Anril, it would not be possible for him to escape unscathed alone.
Moreover, Lin Li had not attained the level of not having any worldly attachments, either. He had come from another world, and did not have any kin in Anril, while due to his pursuit of magic, he did not have a lover, either. However, be it the amateur pharmacist Andoine who'd taught him magic when he'd first arrived in Anril or Gerian, the bad-tempered fatty, or even the old fellow who took care of him after that, they held an important place in his heart even though they were always rude to him when they spoke. If he was able to let these old fellows continue spending their days pondering over pharmaceutics, then what was a bit of hard work on his part?
Since he had to do something anyway, why should he tire himself over a dilemma? He would only mess up everything if he were to refuse being the savior on one hand, while tiring himself out trying to save everyone on the other. There was nothing bad about being a savior to Lin Li, as it was a proper title anyway. A title that he could use to ask those old fellows for something in return. He was already the incarnation of the darkness in Sendros' eyes, and he could always use the Holy Light to pretend to be the Son of the Holy Light too—only a fool would reject such a good deal.
Hence, Lin Li had to obtain the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames as soon as he could no matter what. These were two incredibly powerful weapons, and were also the shortcut for him to understand more powerful primary Rules. There was also an even more important reason, and that was that he would now have four of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars along with the Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light, but it was not just the number that mattered.
The truth was that back in the Demon Fall Valley at Jarrosus, when he had obtained the Holy Light in the underground palace, Lin Li had already had a peculiar feeling. He did not th
ink that when he arrived in Anril, he would once again see the debris of the stars that he'd once possessed. He did not think that he was once again in possession of the Holy Light just because of sheer luck, but rather that there was something leading him along.
The feeling intensified when he came across the second piece of the debris of the stars, the Gloomy Dark, in the Scar of Death. Looking at the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames now, Lin Li believed that he would soon come to possess all seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury.
Chapter 500 - Field Integration
Until then, whether one held three or four pieces of the debris of the stars would be totally different situation. No one could guarantee whether Stars of Fury and the remaining three pieces of the debris of the stars would be quietly lying around at some corner, waiting for collection just like Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, and Raging Flames. Maybe they were in the hands of a powerful opponent, whereas he needed to exhaust all his knowledge and experience from the Endless World to obtain them.
It was imperative to collect Raging Flames and Polar Snow, but the collection of these two would certainly lead to the destruction of the entire natural Magical Domain. For a natural wonder with such uncanny craftsmanship, Lin Li couldn't bear to destroy it so completely. It was an utter sin for a mage like Lin Li.
"Do you mean to take away those two magical weapons and also maintain this natural magical domain?" Upon hearing Lin Li's question, Connoris secretly cursed Lin Li for throwing such a conundrum at him. A hard problem like this was even more troublesome than collecting the two magical weapons.
"Yes, think about it. I could use something like those ancient demonic runes you've given me back at the Throne of Darkness." Lin Li suppressed his anxiety and tried to give Connoris some inspiration, be it useful or not.
"This is a divine place! I am not a god…" Connoris felt extremely helpless, but he had no choice but to help. He could only rummage through all his memories, hoping to find a solution.
"What about that demonic runes from the Throne of Darkness? Is that useful here?" asked Lin Li.
"No, no! That Throne of Darkness was the Magical Domain created by the Dragon of Destruction for its clone, but since it's generally out of the sphere of Magical Domain and can be considered a magical item, it's totally different from this natural magical domain," said Connoris. He was getting a headache from all this.
"Then what should we do? This may be the only natural magical domain in the whole Anril. Are we really going to destroy it with our hands?" said Lin Li regretfully as he stared at this bizarre water and fire world before him.
Just then, an idea suddenly came to Connoris' mind. He said, "How about we shift this natural magical domain inside the Eternal Furnace?"
"Shift it to the Eternal Furnace?" Lin Li contemplated. It was indeed a way, but the difficulty of its execution was immense.
Naturally occurring Magical Domains weren't like the Throne of Darkness left behind by the Dragon of Destruction. The Throne of Darkness was sustained by the Dragon of Destruction's power and had already been formed way back in the Dark Age. Even after the fall of the Dragon of Destruction and disappearance of the Lord of Darkness, the Throne of Darkness still remained standing. This natural magical domain was different. It was a nearly complete realm by itself. Polar Snow and Raging Flames were the two core mantras and also the center of this realm. It was even right to say that they were the strongpoints of this entire realm. Once they were taken away, the entire realm would naturally collapse as a result.
Therefore, even if this natural magical domain was shifted to the Eternal Furnace, it would inevitably collapse after Polar Snow and Raging Flames were collected, unless one was powerful enough to create another strongpoint. However, Raging Flames and Polar Snow were true artifacts representative of the powerful presence of the basic Rules of the water and fire worlds. Not to mention his current self, even if Lin Li could one day reach the Sanctuary-realm, he probably wouldn't be able to create a new Raging Flames and Polar Snow.
Connoris felt that his thoughts were finally clear. He quickly said, "Though we can't possibly create new strongpoints for this realm, we possess the Eternal Furnace and the fire wyrm's magical crystal…"
Lin Li was stunned, and doubtfully asked, "So what?"
Judging from his tone, Connoris was pretty pleased with himself. He explained, "Though fire wyrm's magical crystal isn't as powerful as Raging Flames, it fundamentally displays the same fire elemental Rule. If you can get one more identical ice wyrm's magical crystal, maybe we can replace Polar Snow and Raging Flames with them!"
Lin Li shook his head and laughed bitterly. "That's an ancient fire wyrm's magical crystal! Ancient wyrms are all at least level-25 in strength. Do you think it's realistic for me to fight another ancient ice wyrm that's at least level-25 with my current abilities? Besides, even if I really killed a level-25 and above ancient ice wyrm and got its magical crystal, how do I ensure that these two magical crystals can reach a true equilibrium here? You should know that this is a natural magical domain! Other than Raging Flames and Polar Snow, nothing can possibly maintain this absolute equilibrium."
Aware of Lin Li's doubts, Connoris wasn't dejected in the slightest. Instead, he smiled and commented, "Heh heh, I've thought of it already! There's no need for absolute equilibrium in the first place, you just need a bit of time. Hmm, that's right, at most one second is enough."
"Oh? How's that?" Lin Li was stunned by Connoris' words.
Connoris asked, "Do you remember what I told you before about shifting the Darkness Domain to the Eternal Furnace?"
Lin Li nodded, and replied, "I remember that, but we didn't have time for that since we got out of the Abyss of Tharlen."
"Then do you know what's the most distinct feature of the Throne of Darkness, or in other words, the Darkness Domain?" Connoris continued to show off.
"Is it Engulfment?" Lin Li wasn't annoyed by Connoris' showing off. As long as he could get what he wanted, it didn't hurt to satisfy Connoris' emotional needs.
"Indeed, it's Engulfment." Connoris was very pleased that Lin Li played along. He continued, "The most distinct feature of the Darkness Domain is Engulfment: the ability to engulf everything. No matter how powerful this natural magical domain is, as long as the Eternal Furnace can integrate the Darkness Domain, you can use that one second for the Darkness Domain to engulf it completely. But after Engulfment…"
Hearing that Connoris stopped all of a sudden, Lin Li asked, "What happens after Engulfment?"
As a mighty ancient deity who had lived for millions of years, to say that there was anything one didn't know was a total humiliation; at least the know-it-all Connoris thought so. Before this, he felt really embarrassed that he failed to recognize the magic gears beforehand. Later, he was even more ashamed and furious that he knew not how to collect the two powerful magical weapons.
Now, it was finally time to prove himself. Upon hearing Lin Li's question, Connoris felt so at ease. He proudly replied, "The Engulfment of the Darkness Domain is different from that of magical domains like fire and water. The aim of its Engulfment isn't destruction, but embrace."
Lin Li nodded, and said, "I know about this. Go on."
Speaking of Engulfment, any type of magical domain was capable of some ability that could be considered Engulfment, just that the characteristics of each ability were different. For example, fire used combustion as means to engulf things to enhance its own power. Meanwhile, water used infiltration as means of Engulfment. Be it horrendous floods or narrow streams, all of them were insidiously engulfed via infiltration. Wind used corrosion, and earth used burying. Every element had its own unique engulfment ability. However, under current circ.u.mstances, nothing was more suitable than Darkness Domain's Engulfment.
Lin Li wanted to preserve this natural magical domain instead of destroying it to obtain its power. Thus, the all-embracing Engulfment of the Darkness Domain was the most suitable. To explain it roughly with
a metaphor, when night fell and darkness loomed everywhere, did everything disappear in darkness? No, after darkness receded, everything was still there. Although this was only a metaphor which had many loopholes, it was good enough to show the all-embracing characteristic of the Darkness Domain.
Lin Li had quite some knowledge about the engulfing abilities of each domain, especially that of the Darkness Domain. This was because he held onto the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark, which had helped him to comprehend the laws of darkness greatly. However, to use a magical domain to engulf another magical domain was something Lin Li had never done, and he found it quite hard to imagine. Therefore, how to engulf, what would happen after engulfment… such questions had to be answered by Connoris who gave him this suggestion.
"It will be remarkable after Engulfment! The natural magical domain will completely integrate with the Eternal Furnace. That would be as good as the Darkness Domain!" The knowledgeable ancient deity Connoris was unable to contain his excitement just thinking about this.
Hearing Connoris' words, Lin Li raised his eyebrows and wasn't too convinced. He said, "But the Throne of Darkness is a magical domain created by the Dragon of Destruction…" What was the Dragon of Destruction? That was the Dragon Aspect of the Anril World! It held the purest power of the laws of darkness, and stood at the top of the pyramid in this world. Although the Dragon of Destruction was killed by the Immortal King, that didn't mean that the Dragon of Destruction was weak. It only meant that the Immortal King was too powerful. There was also a significant element of luck involved in his victory.
"No matter how perfect and powerful the Darkness Domain is, it's only created by the Dragon of Destruction. Unless you have truly mastered the laws of darkness or you're an incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction like the Lord of Darkness, it's impossible to release the true abilities of the Darkness Domain even after shifting it to the Eternal Furnace." Connoris couldn't conceal the pride in his voice.