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.
WMW Chapter 528
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.
WMW Chapter 529
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.
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