"The Ancient Soul-Slaughtering Cult?!"
Leilin's eyes went slightly unfocused for a moment before he blurted out in shock, "The one filled with lunatics and psychopaths who believe spirits are the ultimate destination of all living beings in the world, and who like to conduct massacres and flesh-and-blood sacrifices from time to time? That evil wizard cult?"
"That's right! The Soul-Slaughtering Cult was just a small sect on the South Coast during ancient times. I'm surprised you actually know about it?"
The old witch gave Leilin a surprised look.
"Ruins left behind by lunatic cults are the most troublesome. There could be all manner of nasty curses and traps inside..."
Leilin had a clear estimate of his own strength.
Over a year ago, he could barely defeat a semi-elementalized wizard, placing him at the elite level among first-level wizards.
After more than a year of steady accumulation — his spiritual power and elementalization both rising — he had now truly reached the upper echelons of first-level wizards, ranking just below those on the verge of breakthrough whose spiritual power and elementalization had both peaked.
But while this level of strength was respectable across the entire South Coast and enough to make a name for himself, he would still die against any second-level wizard. At best, if he fled for his life, he might have a slim hope of escaping. The odds, according to the Chip's estimates, were less than ten percent!
Any wizard organization of note from ancient times would have at minimum second- and third-level wizards, if not fourth-level Morning Star wizards overseeing them.
The methods left behind by wizards of that caliber, even after thousands upon thousands of years, were not something the current Leilin could withstand.
"Don't worry — it's just a branch location! And I've invited other friends as well. I only need one thing from inside. Everything else can be divided equally among you!"
The old witch laid out her terms.
"So this thing must be very important to the old witch. In that case, maybe I can..."
Leilin's mind stirred, his eyes darting rapidly.
"I'll need to think this over for now..."
Out of caution, Leilin decided to go back and consult some records first before giving the old witch his answer.
"Fine, but make it quick. I plan to depart in five days. In the meantime, contact me through the Arcane Imprint whenever you need to!" The old witch nodded, then handed Leilin a dozen or so Soul-Binding Balls.
"These are the most recent spirits! But this time, I'll need an extra twenty percent of the potion. You can make up the difference with other goods — two hundred thousand Magic Stones and a Wolf Soul Flower. How does that sound?"
Leilin studied the old witch, whose spiritual power fluctuations were faintly diminished.
If she had been using the spiritual power potion herself, she wouldn't be in this state. It seemed that after every transaction, the potion had gone to someone else.
"Deal!" Leilin considered for a moment and agreed.
Because he wanted to fully exploit the properties of
This combined approach, according to the Chip's calculations, optimally utilized the ancient potion's efficacy.
As a result, he still had some of Maria's Tears in stock.
...
Five days later, on an open plain east of Sleepless City.
A bright, luminous moon hung in the sky, laying a thin veil of silver light across the ground.
Swaying tree shadows projected all manner of grotesque dark silhouettes across the earth, like fantastical beasts of every shape and size.
Whoosh!
Countless dark shadows converged, coalescing into three black figures on the open ground.
Two of the three were swathed in thick black robes, their faces hidden beneath hoods, giving them an even more sinister air.
"Old Ghost! When is Blood Hand arriving?" one of the hooded figures asked the one in the center — who wore no hood but instead a peculiar little demon mask.
"Soon!" From beneath the mask came the voice of a very elderly woman.
"Speaking of which, I can accept you bringing in Blood Hand — after all, he's part of our organization and his strength is decent enough. But who is this person?"
The hooded figure secretly transmitted a voice to the old witch, clearly displeased.
"Don't worry — she's a dear friend of mine. Completely trustworthy!" the old witch assured.
"I hope so, because otherwise, no matter how tempting your payment is, I'm leaving!"
"Relax, she's..." the old witch transmitted again.
"I see!" Whatever the old witch told the hooded figure, the exchange ended and silence settled over the scene.
A few minutes later, a pillar of crimson flame erupted from the ground, and a figure cloaked entirely in scarlet robes materialized on the plain.
"Sorry — running a bit late!"
Leilin tossed out casually, then swept his gaze over the figures gathered there.
He already knew the old witch, of course. There was also a hooded figure he had seen before in the Dark
"Blood Hand! You're here. Let me introduce you — you certainly know Copper Ring. This is Jay! A good friend of mine!"
The old witch introduced them first.
Having returned home and tested the spiritual power compression technique documentation the old witch had provided, Leilin had confirmed its effectiveness and now coveted the second half of the technique even more.
Moreover, he harbored some genuine interest in the ruins of an ancient wizard organization like the Soul-Slaughtering Cult. After some deliberation, he had accepted the old witch's invitation.
But since the old witch had invited others as well, Leilin had naturally arranged beforehand to appear under his Dark Wizard organization identity — Blood Hand.
Using this identity meant riding his Venom Wyvern was out of the question.
Leilin now wore a crimson mask depicting a snarling demon with horns atop its head.
"Blood Hand! Long time no see!" Copper Ring nodded to his colleague.
Leilin had established quite the fearsome reputation through several operations under his Blood Hand identity within the organization, earning a truly menacing notoriety. The fact that Bald Viper — who had previously been on bad terms with him — had simply vanished without even a follow-up from the organization only deepened Copper Ring's wariness of this Blood Hand.
Dark wizards respected strength above all, and Copper Ring would never underestimate Leilin.
"Copper Ring! And you must be Jay — greetings!" Leilin smiled and offered a friendly nod.
"All right, since everyone's here, let's move out!"
The old witch nodded, her figure vanishing into the darkness. Flashes of colored light followed one after another, and the clearing stood empty as darkness reclaimed the area...
The old witch led Leilin and the others onward, camping under open skies. Since they were all full wizards, their travel speed was tremendous — far surpassing that of any horse — and in just two days they had crossed the entire Trilliones Plains.
After that, they arrived at what appeared to be an utterly ordinary small town.
It looked like a perfectly typical western village, its total population likely not exceeding ten thousand.
The townsfolk were mostly tenant farmers and lumberjacks, and the roads were cluttered with piles of haphazardly strewn garbage and livestock dung.
"This place reeks!" Copper Ring was the first to complain.
Since the four of them clearly didn't look like ordinary people, they couldn't simply walk into town during daylight. The old witch had arranged for them to hide outside the village beforehand, then went in alone.
Afterward, the four of them strode in boldly, finding the streets littered with people lying about in deep slumber.
"This is..." Leilin sniffed the air. "Sea Anemone Flower pollen, and Stink Rat bone-joint secretions! At this dosage, they'll be out cold for at least three days and three nights!"
"Heh heh... And even if someone cut off their leg or killed them right now, they wouldn't wake up. Plenty of time for us to work..."
"Three days enough? Why not just kill them all — much simpler? We could even collect some flesh and souls while we're at it," Copper Ring said casually.
This was典型的 dark wizard thinking — fond of bloodshed and violence, preferring to solve most problems with slaughter.
"After the operation, you can do whatever you want with them. But right now, you follow my lead!" The old witch turned to glare at Copper Ring, an unsettling wave of energy radiating from her.
"Whoa—!" Copper Ring stumbled back several steps. "Have you lost your mind? You'd use that in your condition? Do you have a death wish?"
"Push me, and you'll regret it," the old witch said in a low voice.
Only then did Copper Ring remember that this old witch was one of the organization's veterans — well-connected, with deep relationships and unfathomable strength. If not for a catastrophic incident early in her life, her power would be far beyond what it was now!
At that moment, the other wizard — Jay — stepped directly behind the old witch, backing her up with her actions.
"Alright, alright! Let's all back off. No need for this!"
Leilin stepped in to smooth things over. "Under the White Wizards' threat-level classification, an entire town falling unconscious and an entire town being massacred are two completely different matters. The first only warrants a few apprentices sent to investigate, while the second immediately brings out full-fledged wizards!"
"For our own safety, Copper Ring, you'd better exercise some patience." He then turned to the old witch. "
The old witch fixed Leilin with a long look before speaking in a somewhat reluctant tone: "Fine!"
"...It was a small secret realm I stumbled upon while traveling. Likely some kind of laboratory — no more than a hundred acres in area. Three days is more than enough to explore the whole thing!"
"A small secret realm?" A flicker of faint disappointment crossed Leilin's mind.
On the South Coast, secret realms were ranked by level.