For Leilin, the reason he collected high-grade Meditation Methods was to supplement the Chip's database and deduce the subsequent contents of the Eye of Comoran and the Sacred Light Candleflame.
With the Chip's immense computational power, even incomplete information was no issue. As for the difficulty of advancement—that was no problem either. After all, Leilin wouldn't be cultivating personally.
"Alright! I've seen your sincerity!"
Under Xiling's slightly stunned gaze, Leilin directly tossed back the pale golden leaf that contained the Crystal Mask's information and said flatly, "I'd like to enter the Ice Cavern alone for a time..."
"My Lord! The terrain inside the Ice Cavern is extremely complex. Even with a map, perhaps Obo or Ilya, or Xiling herself should guide you?"
Xiling's face tightened with anxiety. This was a chance to get closer to Leilin, and she didn't want to miss it.
"No need."
Leilin refused directly.
He had many secrets that couldn't be revealed to others. Bringing someone along would only make it harder to maneuver. Moreover, according to the Chip's analysis, the quality of Ice Jade Scorpion breath improved with the scorpion's level—so Leilin intended to push all the way into their nesting grounds, hoping to find higher-level specimens.
For a creature where even ordinary adults possessed the strength of formal Wizards, two Third-rank Apprentices would be nothing but fodder.
Even if Xiling went along, the odds of survival would be slim.
"Then please notify me when you come out, my Lord. Xiling still hasn't shown you our school..."
Xiling bit her lip and finally extended the invitation.
"I will!" Seeing her hesitate as though she wanted to say more, Leilin smiled inwardly. He agreed outright.
Then Leilin followed Xiling to the entrance of the Ice Cavern.
"This place is jointly guarded by six school factions—the Alliance of Nature, the Eight-clawed Spiders, the Verdant Vines, and others. A jointly formed Elder Council manages it. Previously, our Alliance of Nature held considerable power within the Council, but unfortunately, since my mentor's passing, our influence has waned steadily, to the point of being pushed to the lowest seat..."
Xiling led Leilin through the massive structure while periodically updating him on the Alliance of Nature's current situation.
Along the way, Leilin could see Wizards and even Apprentices wearing various robes and bearing different insignia coming and going.
"This place is called Ice Fortress. It was built and is defended collectively by all six schools. Many schools have also established dedicated research laboratories here to analyze the various materials obtained from the Ice Cavern... Although our Alliance of Nature has little influence now, getting you inside is still no problem."
As she spoke, Xiling led Leilin to the base of the fortress.
In the center of an artificially excavated underground cavern, Leilin saw an enormous white fissure.
Blasts of frigid wind surged continuously from the fissure, immediately dropping the cavern's temperature by more than a dozen degrees. White vapor constantly condensed into ice and snow, covering the entire rift in a thick layer.
"The Ice Cavern is shrouded in this icy wind year-round. The freezing aura attacks and ice blades that accompany it are troublesome even for formal Wizards. After years of exploration, we discovered that only this particular fissure has the weakest attack intensity and is the most suitable for entry. The other locations are either dead ends or require sustained exposure to the freezing aura—something that even Second-rank Wizards might not be able to withstand..."
"Mm." Leilin nodded.
Outside the Ice Cavern there were also enormous surface fissures. But from the way the Wizards ignored them entirely, it was clear those entrances were death traps. Only this one was the safest route.
"Well, if it isn't
At that moment, a Wizard guarding the entrance approached and smiled at Xiling, a hint of eagerness in his eyes.
Leilin looked at the Wizard's white beard that trailed all the way to the ground and silently rolled his eyes.
"No! I'm escorting one of our school's honorary professors inside," Xiling answered with a smile.
"An honorary professor? Him!"
The old man started in surprise, then eyed Leilin—the newly arrived Wizard—with open suspicion.
Though Xiling's abilities weren't enough to recruit particularly powerful Wizards, some formal Wizards who were quite taken with her had been willing to join the Alliance of Nature to be near the beauty. Unfortunately, Xiling had rejected them all. From what she'd hinted, she hoped to find a Wizard of at least semi-elementalized strength or above. But obviously, among her admirers, only Shageli had met that requirement—and he would never agree.
"Hello there, young Wizard! My name's Old Mad!" The elderly Wizard studied Leilin with appraising eyes, though his tone was very polite.
"I'm Leilin. A pleasure." Leilin offered a restrained smile.
Moreover, with his habit of constantly compressing his Spiritual Power, he concealed his aura and energy fluctuations very effectively, preventing Old Mad from gauging his true strength. But even so, it was enough to command Old Mad's attention and wariness—the unknown was often dangerous and terrifying, especially to Wizards.
"Since he's your academy's honorary professor, then of course he may enter!"
After receiving confirmation, Old Mad became very businesslike.
He produced a metallic sphere-like object and fired a red beam of light into the entrance.
Pop! The void trembled faintly, invisible distortions rippling outward, revealing a red luminous net that covered the entire entrance. This net was clearly a pre-installed defensive measure, concealed through some unknown method, without leaking even the slightest trace of magical fluctuation.
"This kind of arrangement?" Leilin mused inwardly. "If I hadn't known in advance, I might have been detected too."
"The Ice Cavern is extremely dangerous. Gale-force winds equivalent to Zero-level Spell attacks blow through it, and many high-energy creatures congregate inside. Please try not to venture too deep!"
Old Mad offered a few words of caution, then gestured for Leilin to enter.
"My Lord! The Ice Jade Scorpion's freezing breath carries an extremely sinister cold nature. Please be very careful!" Xiling added one last warning.
This scene made Old Mad slightly jealous on the side, but he said nothing.
Unlike Shageli, his feelings for Xiling were purely an appreciation of beauty, without any twisted or terrifying possessive desire. So when he saw that Xiling seemed inclined to throw herself into Leilin's arms, he simply chose to watch from the side.
"I'll be careful."
Leilin smiled in acknowledgment, nodded to Old Mad, and then disappeared into the blizzard.
...
Whoosh!
Howling wind tore past Leilin's ears as he plummeted downward at tremendous speed.
Finally, with a soft sound, Leilin landed steadily on the snow.
"This depth? Must be over three thousand meters below the surface?" Leilin surveyed his surroundings.
Along with the howling wind came a cacophony of noise, as if ten thousand orchestras were playing simultaneously.
Unlike the Wizard Fortress above, which was perpetually illuminated by Eternal Light Spells, the underground Ice Cavern was plunged into darkness.
"Light Spell!" Leilin raised his right hand, and a brightly glowing orb—like a blazing incandescent lamp—materialized in his palm.
"Go!" With a light command, the orb flew from his hand, rising into the air and circling around.
Long-lost light immediately illuminated the area.
Leilin took in his surroundings. He was standing in a hemispherical underground ice cavern, surrounded by countless densely packed holes that resembled an ant colony.
The surrounding walls were coated in a thick layer of semi-transparent ice. The Light Spell's glow reflected off the ice in kaleidoscopic colors, making everything look breathtakingly beautiful.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
The sound of countless wings beating erupted—as if tens of thousands of sparrows were screeching inside a sack—snapping Leilin out of his appreciation of the scenery.
Then, swarms of black dots poured from every tunnel.
Drawing closer, these black dots had pairs of fleshy wings, forked tails like swallows, tiny eyes, and pointed ears that gave their heads an even more fearsome appearance.
"Sun-chasing Bats! At least ten thousand of them!" Leilin quickly estimated their numbers.
"Squeak squeak..." The bats shrieked as they swarmed around the light orb like dark clouds encircling the sun, casting intricate shadows across the ground below.
"Squeak!" After circling the light orb for a moment, the swarm of Sun-chasing Bats seemed to receive some command and charged upward en masse, their fleshy wings beating as they enveloped the orb entirely, not letting a single sliver of light escape.
The cavern was plunged back into darkness.
After a moment, with the sound of wings flapping once more, the Sun-chasing Bats dispersed in all directions, and the light orb in the center had vanished without a trace.
"Sigh..." Leilin sighed. "Lighting up a light in a place shrouded in darkness is truly dangerous..."
In the underground world, the Dark Extremity where humans survived was only a small portion. Most of the dark beasts here had already been thoroughly exterminated, and more due to their weakness, the remainder would simply retreat upon encountering light.
But beyond the Dark Extremity, there were still many remote, untouched areas where light actually provoked the dark beasts' ferocity—triggering relentless attacks!
The dark beasts beyond the Dark Extremity were completely different from the ones Leilin had encountered on his journey.
Beast tides composed of vast numbers of extraterritorial dark beasts were something even formal Wizards would need to give a wide berth to.