Think about it, once
That woman's fragmented spiritual remnants would also merge into the bloodline of the Komodo Giant Serpent, lurking within him.
When the time was ripe, and the snake woman erupted within his sea of consciousness, how could Leylin possibly be a match?
Setting aside the immense gap in experience and knowledge, there was the innate suppression of their bloodlines, and the issue of who held the initiative—either could drive Leylin into a dead end!
Once he understood this point clearly, Leylin's desire to kill the snake woman burned with intense fury.
But he didn't let it show. Instead, he pretended to know nothing, waiting until the
Now it seemed fortunate he had been so thorough in his preparations; otherwise, a single moment of carelessness could have allowed his opponent to turn the tables.
"Shall we make a deal?"
The scales on the phantom snake woman's face receded, restoring her to the appearance of a young girl. Her exquisite and flawlessly beautiful visage was so stunning that even Natasha, a woman herself, felt momentarily captivated.
"What deal?" Leylin's voice was low.
"Help me find a physical body. Anybody with the Komodo Giant Serpent's bloodline will do—a female sorceress would be best! In return, I can pass on all my knowledge to you. Although I only possess fragments of the original's memories, she was a level five pureblood sorceress. Even half of her recollections would make you fabulously wealthy overnight..."
The calm words from the snake woman's phantom made Natasha's breathing grow heavy.
The inheritance of an ancient level five sorceress? Even a Morning Star Wizard would fight tooth and nail for something like that!
And the price to pay was merely a female sorceress. Such individuals could be obtained within the Ouroboros Circle with a little effort and care.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Leylin applauded, a smile on his face. "A good proposition! Truly a good proposition! Even I'm tempted!"
"Then you can first..."
The snake woman phantom's words were cut short as an expression of fury suddenly appeared on her face. "You...!"
Numerous chains tightened, firmly binding the snake woman phantom in place.
"Tower Spirit! All stored energy to be prioritized for the Binding Chamber! Killing the target is the first priority!"
"
Lei Lin suddenly changed his expression and launched a killing move without hesitation.
Massive thunderclouds formed. Lightning repeatedly scoured the Serpent Woman phantom, making its form even more ethereal.
Tanasha subconsciously obeyed Lei Lin's command, with large amounts of crystallized Spiritual Power emerging to reinforce the runes within the Binding Chamber.
"Traitor! Mother will not let you off! Hssss..."
The Serpent Woman phantom reverted to its half-human, half-serpentine state, emitting a snake-like hiss, its expression twisted with ferocity.
"Let her find me first!" Lei Lin's expression was resolute, continuously activating the runes and magic formations within the Binding Chamber.
The inheritance of an ancient fifth-rank Warlock was indeed very tempting. But Lei Lin had his own standards of measure.
The other party was just a remnant soul, perhaps even only a collection of memory fragments – how much could it possibly remember?
And just for these things, he was supposed to bring it along, subject to its scheming?
Although he had some confidence in his own cunning, Lei Lin was not certain he could completely outmatch an ancient monster, especially one that specifically countered his bloodline and possessed alluring, bewitching powers.
The ancient Serpent Woman had built her foundation specifically on giant serpent creatures; Lei Lin did not want to be mentally influenced without even realizing it.
To him, benefits that could be consumed now without harm were real. Everything else was illusory!
"If you do not die! My heart cannot be at peace!"
Lei Lin stared at the Serpent Woman phantom behind the glass, a look of determination surfacing in his eyes: "Activate at maximum power!"
"Restraint runes operating at 120% overload! Maximum attack!"
Along with the Tower Spirit's voice, a thick bolt of blood-red lightning suddenly struck the Serpent Woman phantom.
Boom!
The entire Wizard Tower trembled, and even within the Binding Chamber, fine cracks appeared.
The Serpent Woman phantom's face was twisted in despair as it dissipated entirely beneath the blood-red lightning.
Snap!
A finger bone, its surface covered in cracks, fell to the ground.
"It's over!" Tana sighd, then looked at Linley as though staring at a monster. "That was the legacy of an ancient fifth-level Warlock! And you actually..."
"Of course I was tempted!" Linley shook his head. "But it hasn't consumed me to the point of losing my senses. Ancient Wizards have far too many methods for trapping people. I wouldn't dare keep a trap that could detonate at any moment by my side..."
As he spoke, the Tower Spirit continuously scanned the finger bone inside the Binding Chamber. Tiny arcs of electricity crackled back and forth across the Serpent Woman's finger bone.
"First-level scan complete! No residual Spiritual Power detected!"
"Second-level scan complete! No abnormal reactions from the target!"
"Third-level scan complete! The Serpent Woman's remnant soul has been confirmed destroyed!"
Red, green, and blue beams of light swept across the finger bone repeatedly, not overlooking even the most minute section.
"Lower the barrier!" A faint blue light flashed in Linley's eyes. Only after the Chip had also reached its final confirmation did he issue the command.
Whoosh! The tempered glass doors retracted to both sides. A segment of finger bone, marked with fine cracks, flew into Linley's hand enveloped in a milky-white glow.
Though it appeared to be nothing more than a broken piece of bone, the Comoros Giant Serpent bloodline surging with jubilation inside his body told Linley that once he digested this finger bone, his bloodline would inevitably purify to an unimaginable degree — and he might even possess the potential to advance further!
"This sort of thing — even if Master
Linley sighed inwardly. If not for the Wizard Tower acting as a barrier, he wouldn't dare take this out right now.
"Using it immediately would be the best choice, but its research value is far too great! Besides..."
Linley looked at the data recorded on the Chip.
"Main body bloodline activity increasing. Estimated time for bloodline to reach maturity: 124 years and 4 months!"
Merely through skin contact, and the fluctuations and energy radiation emitted by the finger bone, it had achieved the legendary effect of a Serpent Woman's hair — boosting the growth rate of his bloodline by a significant margin.
"At this rate, I wouldn't even need to absorb the bone segment. Simply utilizing its radiation alone could accelerate my bloodline growth nearly tenfold!"
"It seems I'll have to spend as much time as possible inside the Wizard Tower from now on…"
Linley stroked his chin and issued a command to the Tower Spirit. "Store the Serpent Woman's bone segment properly! Follow the Special-Grade-One material storage protocols!"
"At once, Master!"
The small sprite quickly vanished with the Serpent Woman's finger bone.
There was no other choice — Bloodline Warlocks were extremely covetous of such items. If Linley carried it on his person, setting Lucy and the others aside, Gilbert would certainly detect it.
Only by relying on the powerful energy shielding of the Wizard Tower could such fluctuations in aura be isolated.
"All right, Tanesha — welcome aboard!"
After handling these matters, Linley turned back and offered Tanesha a warm smile.
Having shared such a secret together, his relationship with Tanesha now felt noticeably closer.
Sometimes, sharing a secret was itself a way to deepen a bond.
Seizing the opportunity, Linley invited Tanesha on a tour of his Wizard Tower. Watching her become absorbed in the lavish, top-tier materials that made up the structure, the corners of Linley's mouth curled upward slightly.
"Would you tell me about your past?"
After the tour concluded, in the sitting room, the Tower Spirit had several puppets bring out hot cocoa and sweet pastries as Linley asked.
"Now that I've pledged myself to Master, I have nothing to hide…"
Tanesha clutched her teacup with both hands, a bitter expression crossing her face as memories seemed to pull her inward.
"I'm Medi, raised in the Dark Moon Forest on the western side of the Central Continent…"
Linley listened carefully. The tale boiled down to nothing more than a cycle of blood feuds born from disputes over profit, beauty, and the like — he had heard such stories before. He took note of the names of Tanesha's enemies.
"A major family within the Crescent Lute Alliance?"
"Yes! If Master can avenge me and wipe out the Shiwen family, then my body, my soul, everything I am — it all belongs to Master!"
With a look of iron resolve, Tanesha swore her oath.
After hearing Tanesha's account, Leylin did not agree immediately. Instead, he fell into thought.
The Crescent Lute Alliance was also a minor organization on the Central Continent. However, since he had heard of it, there was surely a Morning Star Wizard presiding over it. That Wizard was not from the Shiwen family, though, which left room to maneuver.
"I can agree to your request, but this may take a very long time. You need to be prepared for that!"
Leylin stared carefully into Tanesha's eyes as he spoke in a measured tone.
Tanesha tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of her lips. "I know! The fact that Master is willing to agree — that alone makes Tanesha very happy…"
Leylin was somewhat taken aback. It seemed this woman simply needed to have a glimmer of hope.
"Alright! As for your identity problem, I can't resolve it right now. I'm afraid you'll need to go into hiding for the time being or return to the Forgotten Lands. Do you have any plans of your own?"
Leylin asked.
Tanesha lowered her head and thought for a moment. "I still have some matters in the Forgotten Lands that I must go back and deal with…"
"Very well!" Leylin nodded.
"There is one more thing! In the Forgotten Lands, there is a massive kobold tribe. I need the blood essence of the strong ones among them — at least those of the third rank or above!"
Kobolds were rumored to carry the bloodline of dragons, and Leylin was very interested in that.
"That won't be a problem. Many of the factions within the Forgotten Lands are at odds with one another, and battles break out frequently!"
Tanesha nodded in agreement.