Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  His excessively rational and practical mind had not only wiped out all self-deception and delusion. It also caused him to no longer require illusory and transient love and relationships to numb himself!

  Traveling throughout the world, exploring the infinite universe, and uncovering the secrets behind this world. This simple and true idea slowly rose to the top of his heart and became the ideal with which he was most obsessed.

  The pressure of survival had been what pushed Greem forward before he advanced to Fifth Grade. Every effort he had put into improving himself had been for the sake of survival, for the sake of himself, and for the sake of his clan. For the sake of all these things, he had been sprinting forward with all his strength.

  Upon advancing to Fifth Grade, his lifespan had been extended to over ten thousand years, putting him in another dimension of existence entirely. His body and soul’s principle conversion had also caused subtle but fundamental changes to his thoughts and mentality.

  The pressure of survival was no longer so immense. Even with Great Witch Maysa lurking within the adept faction and the God of Wisdom, God of Fire, and now the God of the Hunt threatening from outside, Greem still lived his life without worries and in a fulfilling fashion.

  If he was pushed into a corner, he would even give up the Capital of Steel in Camp Exodar. He would retreat to the Fire Elementium Plane. This place would never allow foreign beings to invade en masse. Greem’s enemies would have to enter individually if they wanted to search for him. However, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack given the Fire Elementium Plane’s size.

  If even this place was not safe, Greem didn’t mind abandoning everything and wandering space.

  At any rate, given his ability, he could travel anywhere he wanted. He couldn’t be pushed into a corner so easily!

  Moreover, he was all alone. There were no concerns he would leave behind. He wouldn’t stay and fight to the bitter end over the meager territory he had here. It was precisely this unburdened mentality of his that gave rise to this feeling of freedom in Greem.

  As he was right now, Greem was filled with curiosity toward the universe. He even had an impulse to travel everywhere, slowly experiencing the wonders and mysteries of the world!

  Chapter 1485 - World Altar

  The Molten Altar.

  Greem stood silently before it.

  He had a feeling that if he used this world altar to perform a high-grade sacrifice, something unexpected would happen. However, he also had a feeling that this unexpected incident wouldn’t be something bad for him.

  Since it wasn’t something detrimental, then that meant it was something good!

  With a strange desire to just give it a try, Greem decided to perform his sacrifice here.

  Sacrifices were actually very simple things!

  Prepare a magical altar and allow the individual to contact an exceptionally powerful higher entity through the sacrifice. Prepare the appropriate sacrifice, and the whole process was ready.

  Whether those higher entities would have the free time to respond to the requests of some ‘ants’ would depend on their mood and the quality of the sacrifice. As long as the sacrifice’s quality was sufficient, the higher entity wouldn’t care if the individual performing the sacrifice wasn’t too respectful.

  When worldly mortals performed a sacrifice, they always made it a grand affair. They would choose young and pretty girls to serve as priestesses and cull large amounts of livestock for the express purpose of entertaining the higher entity.

  However, sacrifices with a higher entity were little more than ‘fair’ trade for Greem. There was no religious or mysterious flair to it at all. Both sides took what they needed and walked away satisfied; there was no need for all the decorum.

  After evacuating everyone unrelated from the Molten Altar, Greem slowly walked up to this ancient altar that had been abandoned for over ten thousand years.

  Greem stepped on the severely degraded wooden steps lightly and started to walk up, admiring the ancient ruins as he did so. Five minutes later, he stood in front of the strange stone platform of the altar.

  He didn’t know what material the stone platform was made of, but it was a gray-white color and looked ancient. Carved into it were all sorts of unusual patterns and strange runes of unknown purpose. Even as knowledgeable as Greem was and as intelligent as the Chip was, they couldn’t make heads nor tails out of these ancient patterns whose legacy had clearly died out long ago.

  Strangely enough, when Greem’s eyes swept across the stone platform, the sounds of the runes naturally appeared in his mind, even without anyone to teach him.

  Still, he had no idea of what the incantation meant or what the purpose of the runes was.

  Interesting…Greem couldn’t help but marvel.

  “Oh omnipresent Will of Fire, Greem presents his request to you. Please accept the intricate gift I have prepared for you,” Greem shut his eyes and chanted the incantation out loud, silently attempting to communicate in his mind with the world’s consciousness.

  Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, no matter how sincere he was, there was no motion from the altar. There wasn’t even a single trace of movement from the fire elementium.

  What is it? Not gonna show itself unless there’s food on the table?

  Greem sighed and took out a divine authority fragment. He placed it gently on the stone platform.

  The effect was immediate. The moment the divine authority fragment touched the still-warm platform, a golden beam of light shone out from within the altar. It turned into a giant pillar of light that pierced the skies.

  The tip of the pillar of light exploded into a beautiful rain of golden light when it touched the sky. The sparks slowly drifted down from above, enveloping the entirety of Molten Altar and isolating it from the rest of the world.

  An indescribably massive consciousness descended from the skies and locked onto Greem’s Spirit.

  All of Greem’s spiritual senses, as well as the Chip’s detection abilities, were forced back into his body. Only his sight, hearing, and physical senses remained unaffected. It almost seemed like all of his supernatural powers had been sealed and could not be used.

  Greem had practically become an ordinary mortal next to the incomparably powerful consciousness. He no longer had any of the things that he usually prided himself upon!

  “Human, are you the one that wishes to sacrifice this divine authority fragment?”

  It was a tremendous, majestic, and mysterious voice. It had none of the emotions of a living being. It only possessed an ancient aura that suggested at its incredible age, as well as a commanding air of authority.

  “Great Will of Fire, it is indeed I who is sacrificing to you…please, accept my sacrifice!” As a Fifth Grade Great Adept, Greem knew full well the flow and process of a sacrifice.

  No amount of deceit or deception was necessary when communicating with such a higher existence. Their mental consciousnesses were both linked, and none of Greem’s thoughts or desires could escape notice.

  “I can accept the sacrifice. Tell me your request!”

  “I wish to elevate the level of the fires that I possess. I am not satisfied with their might.”

  “I can sense two entirely different fire origins on you. Which one do you wish to elevate?”

  “May I know their effects after elevation before I make my decision?” Greem tried to communicate with the great consciousness.

  “Human, you have a fire origin that has a trace of the smell of Undying. I can elevate it to Soulburn. From then on, your fire will possess the ability to burn the soul directly. The other fire has the smell of Mirror Image. I can elevate it to Clone. From then on, your illusory images will possess around 30% of your offensive power,” It might have been a boon provided with the first sacrifice, but the Will of Fire of the Fire Elementium Plane was being unusually gentle and friendly.

  Elevating the Undying Flames to Soulburn definitely seemed to be an improvem
ent in the level of the fire principle. It would make Greem’s attack even more terrifying than before!

  Meanwhile, elevating Fire’s Image to Clone would improve Greem’s control over the battlefield, as well as his ability to preserve his life. With three fire clones at his disposal, Greem would be able to unleash even more devastating combinations in battle.

  Greem bit his lip lightly. He couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment.

  “Human, I can sense the aura of more divine authority fragments on you. Why don’t you sacrifice all of them? Then you won’t have to worry about the choice!” The Will of Fire hinted in a considerate manner.

  Damn! This Will of Fire even had a dog’s snout for a nose. To think it could even smell something like that!

  As expected, the older you were, the more cunning you became. Any intelligent entity would become sly once it had lived long enough. To think it even understood the principle of hunger marketing.

  Greem couldn’t help but mentally grunt about the Will of Fire’s ‘cunning’ as he took out another divine authority fragment and placed it on the platform. He then chuckled. “I choose to elevate Image to Clone! As for the extra fragment here, may I ask a favor of you?”

  “What is it?” The Will of Fire seemed to be in a good mood to see two divine authority fragments.

  “Help me merge these two things together!” Having said that, Greem carefully placed the fire divine authority fragment onto the platform alongside the Orb of the Fire God.

  “Your request does not exceed the value of the sacrifice. It is accepted…the sacrifice shall begin now!”

  The Will of Fire’s loud and majestic voice boomed, and golden flames ignited upon the platform. The two fragments that Greem had placed on it instantly melted in the flames before disintegrating into countless sparks that dissipated into the air.

  The Will of Fire had taken away its sacrifice!

  The next second, two beams of golden light descended from the skies. One beam engulfed Greem while the other engulfed the divine authority fragment and orb on the platform.

  Countless mysterious and profound fire runes formed in midair before rushing into Greem’s body like swallows to their nests. Greem instantly felt a mysterious force modifying the Fire’s Image in his soul consciousness. Much of the fire origin knowledge that he couldn’t figure out in the past suddenly appeared and became part of his mental consciousness.

  Meanwhile, the golden pillar engulfing the fire divine-authority fragment had melted it down, reducing the fragment to a strange sort of liquid. The liquid was then merged with the Orb of the Fire God.

  The orb glowed brightly as strands of golden flame and blinding runes wove together and modified its internal structure. The Fire God’s furious and savage shout seemed to ring out in the air faintly as bright yellow flames burst forth from the orb, resisting the modification brought by the runes.

  If Greem were the one performing the modification, he would not have been able to stop the uproar brought about by the Fire God’s wrath. However, not even the Seventh Grade Fire God Sinai could stop the Will of Fire within the Fire Elementium Plane.

  As the infuriated roars and cries slowly faded away, the Orb of the Fire God glowed like a miniature sun. It was undergoing an unprecedented change. The one guiding this process was the Will of Fire, which had received Greem’s sacrifice.

  As they say, you get what you pay for!

  With the Will of Fire performing the modifications, Greem no longer had to worry about the orb’s original owner. That was because all marks and soul fragments Sinai left in the Orb of the Fire God had been wiped away by the Will of Fire. The only thing left to Greem was a new artifact waiting to accept a new owner.

  The grade of this divine equipment was advanced Fifth Grade, one minor grade higher than before its modification!

  However, what made Greem most excited was that the Fifth Grade divine spell Scorched Earth stored within the Orb had now become Critical Wildfire.

  It was a genuine Fifth Grade fire spell that possessed a complete spell model and activation incantation. As long as Greem was willing to study it carefully, he would actually be able to grasp this violent, offensive fire spell.

  These benefits were only a portion brought about by the change to the Orb of the Fire God.

  Once the orb accepted its new owner, it would become Greem’s exclusive origin equipment. It would no longer have anything to do with Sinai. To be able to truly obtain high-grade magical equipment compatible with one’s soul origin– what could make an adept happier than this!?

  Chapter 1486 - Mysterious Entity

  The sacrifice ritual had come to an end, and the Will of Fire was slowly dissipating.

  Greem seemed to remember something all of a sudden. He asked in a loud voice, “Great Will of Fire, what would I need to sacrifice to you if I wish to become a Fire King?”

  “A Fire King? To obtain my approval and become one of the rulers of this world, you must at least sacrifice twenty fragments of divine authority. Of course, if you have more of those that are fire divine authority, fifteen fragments will be enough!”

  Twenty fragments of divine authority…wouldn’t that be all the power of a Sixth Grade god?

  To have a mere beginner Fifth Grade fire adept like himself take apart a Sixth Grade god and preserve all their power at the same time. Greem could never imagine himself doing something so ridiculous, even if he had ten times the arrogance and confidence!

  Greem put away the Orb of the Fire God when he sensed the will had vanished. However, he did not leave. He stood there and waited silently.

  The sacrifice ritual had gone too smoothly and too ordinarily. It seemed to be at odds with the strange feeling and premonition Greem had earlier. Were his senses off, or did he miss something during that whole process earlier?

  Greem thought in silence as he continued to scan the area.

  While Greem was filled with doubt, a mysterious mental message rang out in his mind.

  “Hey, kid, you got any more treasures of that level in your hands? If you do, sacrifice them to me. The stuff I can offer you will definitely be way better than what the Will of Fire can!”

  Greem’s expression changed drastically when he heard this voice. Shock and surprise appeared on Greem’s face, and a hint of something that suggested he expected this to happen.

  Greem closed his eyes and scanned his surroundings even more meticulously. However, he still couldn’t find the source of the mental message. He only knew that the voice had just abruptly appeared in his mind.

  “Kid, there’s no need to keep looking for me. My actual body is long since gone. Only a fragment of my soul remains roaming this land. If I were to be more direct, I would say that you’re stepping on my body, kid!” This mysterious spiritual fluctuation that had appeared out of nowhere was incredibly weak. Given the aura that it was giving off, the entity didn’t even have a First Grade’s power.

  “You must be that powerful Eighth Grade Fire Hierarch of the history, aren’t you? The one that died. Did you find a way to come back to life?” Greem never dared to underestimate those high-grade existences.

  Each one of those old monsters possessed mysterious abilities and taboo techniques.

  Greem wouldn’t be surprised if you told him that even an old monster that died tens of thousands of years ago could come back to life. On the contrary, he would treat that as a matter of course.

  “You…you know me?” The spiritual fluctuation turned a little more intense.

  “I don’t know much! That said, given that I had the guts to choose this place as my territory, I’ve definitely done the prerequisite investigations. Isn’t that right, Lord Gomanreas?” Greem said, half in jest.

  All of a sudden, the mental voice vanished entirely. It was like someone holding their breath. The spiritual fluctuation was gone.

  Greem wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, he waited silently.

  Time slipped by. Perhaps it was a minute, or fifteen, or ev
en an entire day and night. Greem waited patiently and quietly. Finally, the mental voice abruptly rang out in his mind again.

  “You’re still here…why, kid?”

  A victorious smile appeared on Greem’s face when he heard the voice in his head again. He chuckled and said, “Because I’ve been waiting for you to come to a decision!”

  “A decision? A decision on what?”

  “On whether you will choose to go down this path of revival that has no return!”

  “Kid, you don’t have much in the way of power, but you’re quite bold, aren’t you? To think, a mere Fifth Grade fellow like you dare intervene in a conflict between Eighth Grade entities! Huh! I wonder if I should call you ignorantly courageous, or unbelievably brave?”

  “The latter, of course!” Greem smiled. “I know very well the consequences that might arise from working with you. However, if I remain your only point of contact, then we won’t alert those former enemies of yours, will we?”

  “Enemies? My enemies aren’t in this plane. Moreover, I’ve been dead for ten thousand years. It’s a question of whether they even remember my existence at this point!”

  “Good, very good. Now, the biggest problem that stands between our cooperation is what exactly your relationship with the Will of Fire is? Can it…tolerate your revival?”

  The mysterious fluctuation suddenly went silent. It then started to undulate once more after a long pause.

  “Kid, my enemy isn’t the Will of Fire, but those Titans. Those damned bastards tore me to shreds and cast my soul to the winds under the banner of sweeping away the toxic elements of the various planeworlds. They forced me to slumber for so many years.”