The Ganges Secret Realm had been discovered when Leilin was still a first-rank
Looking up at the towering metal gate stretching into the clouds, with its intricate patterns etched across the surface, Leilin couldn't help but recall the scenes from his own advancement.
Back then, he too had used the sentient core of the metal gate, along with a great number of wizard souls as fuel, to push his Eye of Comoin into the second level in one leap.
The memories were vivid, but the old acquaintances had long since vanished, stirring a faint sense of emotion in Leilin.
"As you command, my lord! Please wait a moment!" The garrison captain immediately placed his hand upon the great gate, and the metal doors rumbled to life, emitting a dazzling radiance.
"Oh?" Leilin looked at the garrison captain and let out a soft sound of surprise.
"Lord Leilin noticed it too?" the Night Primarch said with a smile from the side.
"Mm." Leilin nodded. "This wizard — he should be the reincarnation of the gate's original sentient core, correct?"
Upon hearing this, the garrison wizard captain suddenly trembled.
"That's right! We spent a great deal of effort to successfully subdue the core spiritual entity within the gate, then nurtured it to the point where it was ready for reincarnation. After that, finding a suitable physical body for it took even more effort..." Dark Flame said with a laugh from the side.
"But ever since we obtained it, operating the secret realm's gate has become much easier. Now he's our Night Lighthouse's honorary professor — Kings!"
"Kings? What a fine name!" Leilin studied the other party. Only when the man began to feel his skin crawl did Leilin chuckle softly and send a mote of light into Kings' forehead.
A layer of metallic defense uselessly materialized across the man's body surface, but it had no effect, and he could only watch as the light sank in.
"Lord Leilin, what is this...?" Dark Flame's face showed alarm, but he made no move to intervene.
First, he knew Leilin's strength and would not humiliate himself by trying to interfere. Second, through their recent time together, he had come to understand that Leilin was not the type of wizard who killed readily. His temperament was quite good, and this must surely serve some unique purpose.
"Consider this a small gift from me, little fellow..."
Leilin chuckled as he strode through the great gate, with Niss following close behind.
"You two, stay alert!" Dark Flame was bewildered but still followed them in, leaving behind the stunned Kings standing there.
After the light's invasion, there was no pain or anything of the sort as one might have expected. Instead, it transformed into a stream of information that poured into Kings' sea of consciousness, leaving him instantly dazed.
Numerous letters formed an opening line: "Advanced Meditation Method — Dark Gold World, Metal Affinity Compatible!"
The enormous text plunged Kings into a trance in an instant.
"My lord?" After following Leilin into the Ganges Secret Realm, Dark Flame could no longer hold back and asked.
"Rest easy. I simply gave him a small benefit," Leilin said with a smile. He had owed the metallic gate's sentient entity of the Ganges Secret Realm a debt from when he advanced to the second rank. Now, encountering its kindred spirit here, it was only natural to make amends.
All of this arose from his own heart, without any special compulsion. Had he not encountered the entity today, he probably would never have thought of it again.
"The Central Continent, the South Coast, the Dark Polar Region, and the Keli Archipelago..."
Leilin's eyes flickered. "Once all these connections — or rather, these threads of fate — have been resolved, that will be the moment I cast off everything entirely and break through the bloodline limitation!"
Though he did not know why he had to do this, a premonition deep within his heart told him that carrying out these tasks would bring only benefits and no harm.
"Hah..." After hearing Leilin's explanation, Dark Flame still harbored some curiosity about why Leilin had taken such a liking to Kings, but at least he let out a long breath of relief.
Three blinding streaks of light tore across the sky and shot rapidly through the Ganges Secret Realm.
Leilin's eyes shimmered with constant flashes of light.
Ever since he had fully revealed his Morning Star power and brought these black and white wizards under his command, he had virtually become the uncrowned king of the South Coast. Whatever he wished to do, the black and white wizards would compete with one another to accomplish it for him.
A single order, and both black and white wizards would work themselves to the bone for him.
Such an almost inconceivable thing had actually come to pass under Leilin's powerful methods of consolidation, leaving many uninformed common folk to cry out in disbelief. Some busybodies even issued proclamations declaring that the South Coast would enter an era of lasting peace — but in truth, they were all thinking too much.
With everyone pooling their efforts, whether Leilin wanted to find someone or learn about some old grudge, progress was extremely swift.
Krupp had married Darrenley under Leilin's auspices, and the two would return to the Keli Archipelago to rebuild an empire at the original site of the Farell Family.
After all these matters had been settled, Leilin had originally intended to leave at once, but both the black and white wizards had simultaneously made a request of him.
Though Leilin intended to depart, the Farell Family would remain here, and Leilin was also quite interested in what they described, so he had come to this place after all.
The three of them were no ordinary wizards, and their flight speed was extremely fast. In a very short time, they arrived at the center of the Ganges Secret Realm.
In this location, a sprawling complex of buildings materialized, bearing the insignias of various wizard organizations on all sides — clearly the layout of a major ruin.
Once Leilin and the others arrived overhead, a commotion stirred through the various camps below, and a beam of white light rose to greet them, revealing an elderly wizard with white eyebrows.
The moment the old wizard saw Leilin, he immediately bowed in reverence: "Nonof greets the great Morning Star Wizard, Lord Leilin Farell! Please, my lord, forgive our previous offenses. For this, we are willing to pay any price..."
This wizard was none other than Nonof — one of the senior white wizards who had organized the siege against Leilin last time!
After being taught a lesson by Leilin last time, and having even the Blade of Avarice destroyed, the three highest-ranking white wizards had fallen into silence.
However, once word spread that Leilin had advanced to Morning Star, the Nine-Ring White Tower — the white wizard faction under Nonof's control — had carried out Leilin's orders more thoroughly than anyone else, bustling about and handling numerous tasks, clearly motivated by a combination of atonement and currying favor.
Therefore, upon seeing this old rascal, Leilin simply rolled his eyes. "Rise."
"Thank you, Lord Leilin! Your mercy is vast as the boundless ocean, as if it could embrace the entire universe..."
Nonof grinned fawningly as he rose, and of his own accord positioned himself behind Leilin, leaving Niss and Dark Flame thoroughly speechless.
"I didn't come here for this today. Let's go!"
Leilin arrived above the ruins and looked down. The enormous buildings were ancient and majestic, carrying a distinctive aura. The arrangement of the structures appeared remarkably deliberate, as if containing some kind of mysterious formation within.
"This is..."
Leilin's pupils contracted, and he descended with a dark expression.
"My lord?" Dark Flame and Nonof gathered around him.
"We can't determine it yet. Let's enter the central hall first!" In response to their questioning gazes, Leilin waved his hand.
"Yes! Please follow us, my lord!" Dark Flame and Nonof hurried to lead the way.
With the two of them guiding, Leilin naturally encountered no obstacles within the ruins.
"This site emerged after one of the secret realm gates was destroyed. We initially believed it held the secrets of whoever built the Ganges Secret Realm and fought multiple fierce battles over it, before finally concluding that it had to be jointly developed..." Nonof seemed somewhat wistful.
"And within these ruins, we did indeed discover many valuable things at first — even the remains of a Wise Ancient Tree. Fifty-five years ago, we successfully completed a full exploration of the entire ruin, only to discover something far more extraordinary..." Dark Flame added from the other side, unable to resist chiming in.
As the two spoke, Leilin passed through layers upon layers of buildings and arrived before the grand hall at the very center.
It was an unnamed great hall, flanked on all sides by massive white stone columns. There were no doors and no walls — it could be entered from any direction. The roof featured a large circular opening, through which the sky was visible.
The interior of the hall was entirely empty, with only more complex, intricate patterns adorning the ground.
"Lord Leilin! Look..." Dark Flame and Nonof exchanged glances, their faces tinged with bitterness.
But Leilin's entire gaze had already been drawn to the enormous patterns on the ground. "This is..."
"Chip, scan!" Leilin immediately commanded.
[Chip]: Task established. Initiating scan! The Chip's mechanical voice rang out, and before long, feedback arrived.
[Ancient Composite Sealing Magical Array detected. Identified formulae: Annihilation Rune, Dimensional Lock, Powerful Isolation...]
"As I thought. These buildings are all part of a massive sealing formation, and the core is right here!" Leilin stared at the ground, where those complex patterns seemed to possess a life of their own, beginning to flow slowly.
"Due to the special nature of the ruin's core, both our factions have been engaged in fierce competition over this site. It was only when Gegewu and the Soul Butcher Cult appeared that we were forced to unite and develop the ruins together, causing progress to accelerate rapidly. After discovering this place and conducting a joint investigation, we found... we found..."
"Found that this is an entrance to the underground world — the first level — but it has been sealed. Is that correct?"
Leilin looked up.
Nonof and Dark Flame both glanced at Leilin with surprise. They had only learned this through their respective ancient elders poring over vast quantities of old texts, yet Leilin had identified it at a single glance. This kind of ability...
Could it really be that as a Morning Star Wizard, one truly could do anything?