by Zhuang Bifan
Connoris was one of them too. He was not killed, but was sealed in a hammer for his great knowledge. His memory was not taken away, as it was required for the construction of the Eternal Furnace. The other 12 Demon Lords were not as lucky. After their consciousness and memory were wiped off by Osric, their souls and energy were sealed in 12 oil lamps.
These 12 oil lamps had been enchanted by Osric. By rubbing against the surface of the oil lamps, one would be able to summon the soul of the Demon Lord inside. Although they were not as almighty as before, and did not have their consciousness and memory, the energy they were left with was still terrifying. All of their souls were incredibly close to the Legendary-realm.
Furthermore, under Osric's magical enchantment, they would live on eternally, and their energy would never dwindle, either. Even a man who had reached the Legendary-realm would not have much chance of defeating a Demon Lord.
Unfortunately, before the oil lamps could be used, the High Elves Dynasty fell. At the same time, the life of Osric came to an end too. No one knew what happened to the 12 lamps thereafter…
Lin Li did not expect one of the lamps to be with the Brilliance Shrine.
And now, Englos was giving it to himself as a gift…
Lin Li would be lying if he said he was not moved by such a huge temptation. That was an oil lamp that sealed the soul of a Demon Lord! With such a rare treasure, it was like Lin Li got a bodyguard in the Legendary-realm.
But, Lin Li did not dare to reach his hands towards it…
Lin Li had always believed the idea that "one who was unaccountably solicitous would be hiding evil intentions". Since Englos was not a generous and bighearted man, only ghosts would believe that he had no ulterior motive in offering Lin Li such a treasure.
That was reality. The greater the benefits, the larger the problems.
The motive behind this gift had to be a favor Englos wanted to ask of Lin Li. Such a powerful present could only mean one thing—the favor Englos wanted to ask of Lin Li might not be even achievable by normal men in the Legendary-realm.
"Hehe, President Felic, don't listen to the crap that darn fatty is talking about. The gift was personally chosen by His Holiness, Rosario. You don't need to worry about anything…" Englos explained to Lin Li sincerely. It was as though he saw Lin Li's concerns. "Of course, President Felic, the Brilliance Shrine has a favor to ask of you. We are sure that it will be an easy task for you…"
"Oh?" Lin Li frowned. "Mr. Englos, can I know what matter made you so anxious first?" he asked suspiciously.
Before Englos could start talking, Hoffman smiled. "Hehe, two of you can continue without me. I still have something to settle there…"
After saying that, Hoffman waddled off with his plump body before the two other people could react. He was the decision-maker of the Glittergold Trade Union. As a businessman known for his wickedness, how could he not know that the matter the other two were about to discuss would be a confidential one? If he were to know of it, he would certainly get himself into trouble. Thus, he'd rather suppress his curiosity and escape from the scene first…
"Hehe, that fatso is clever…" Englos could naturally read Hoffman's intentions. But, that was what he wanted too. Englos proceeded to bring Lin Li to an isolated corner.
"President Felic, you should be aware of the tragedy that happened in the Sunset Mountains 32 years ago, right?"
"Yeah." Lin Li nodded. In fact, Andoine had told him about it when he'd first come to Anril World.
There were many poisonous snakes and deadly beasts in the huge area the Sunset Mountains covered. The scariest thing was that there would be a black tidal flood during the seventh month of each year. This black water would make all the magical beasts living in the Sunset Mountains go berserk, and they would attack and devour each other. Even if it was the lowest-ranking Three-eyed Blood Wolf, it would dare to pounce at any poisonous python it saw. That was the effect of the Black Current. The craze would continue for a period of seven days, and only dwindle at the seventh night…
The Sunset Mountains would be the most dangerous when the Black Current struck. A Legendary-mage like Andoine would have to leave his wooden house before the seventh month, and only return after the mad massacre ended.
However, as compared to the Black Current 32 years ago, these were just small ripples…
The Black Current 32 years ago was a true catastrophe. Yet, only few knew about it.
Lin Li was one of them.
No one in Anril knew when the phenomenon called Black Current began. People only knew that Black Current was recorded in the history during the Dark Ages by the High Elves. However, due to the passage of time, human beings had gradually accepted the Black Current as it would only affect the magical beasts in the Sunset Mountains, and not interrupt their daily lives. No matter how crazy the beasts were, they had never brought the madness out of the Sunset Mountains. It was as though there was an invisible shield that separated the Sunset Mountains from the outside world.
This phenomenon went on for many years, until that fateful event 32 years ago…
One day, a traveling mage was attacked by a pack of Three-eyed Blood Wolves when he passed by the Sunset Mountains. But, being an Archmage, that mage eliminated the pack of wolves very easily. After he returned to the guild of magic, he did not let the matter bother him. He told a few colleagues around him, and they brushed it off as a joke.
No one had expected that the Guild's President got to hear about the "joke" too. He realized the gravity of the matter, and reported the incident to the Supreme Council.
After an urgent meeting, the Supreme Council made a decision to send a team of Archmages into the Sunset Mountains to look into the matter. Then, they discovered a terrible secret—they found out about the offspring of prehistoric magical beasts. These beasts had made use of the brand on their souls to control the tens of thousands of magical beasts forcefully…
The prehistoric magical beasts had been endangered before the Dark Age, and the remaining of their offspring had been living on islands in the Endless Ocean. No one knew how horrifying the prehistoric magical beasts were. The later generations could only derive from the records passed down by the High Elves that during the era when the Dragons and Titans were competing for hegemony, the prehistoric magical beasts managed to make use of their strong lifespan to stay alive. From that, they learned how formidable the beasts were…
Chapter 366 - Viper's Poison
If not for the rise of the High Elves, these prehistoric magical beasts might have completely taken over Anril, but even then, the High Elves who considered themselves deities paid dearly in their fight against the prehistoric magical beasts. Many of them died under the claws and fangs of these beasts which possessed incredible strength and inherited the power of magic by blood when they were born. They did not have to learn their magic, nor did it have spells—they merely had to roar or think of it to harness devastating power.
More than once, the blurry records of the High Elves had mentioned how savage and powerful these prehistoric magical beasts were. They were cruel and crafty, possessing thoughts of their own just like the High Elves. Every fight they fought caused them to become stronger, and if they were allowed to evolve for thousands and thousands of years, a race like that of the Titans or the Dragons might be born.
But in the end, the High Elves emerged victorious even though they had to pay for their success with blood and lives as they slaughtered all the prehistoric magical beasts on the land. Only a small percentage of the beasts managed to survive as they escaped into the endless ocean and lived on tiny islands scattered around it.
Strictly speaking, the descendants of these prehistoric magical beasts today could not be considered true prehistoric magical beasts, as the blood in their veins had been diluted through thousands of years of evolution. The only thing that remained unchanged within them might well only be a tiny brand in the depths of their souls.
However, it was this tiny brand
that allowed them to control other magical beasts easily as they were like kings to other common magical beasts. The hierarchy in the world of magical beasts was incredibly strict, even more so than that of humans, and it was a rule that had been followed through thousands of years of evolution. Even a magical beast that had surpassed the Legendary-realm would not dare think of going against a prehistoric magical beast due to their innate fear, just as a rat would never think to go against a python no matter how strong or ferocious it was.
When news from the Sunset Mountains arrived, the Supreme Council was shaken to its very core. Once the prehistoric magical beasts overcame the Supreme Council, a calamity would await Anril. If an army of thousands and thousands of magical beasts marched down the Sunset Mountains, they would cause unimaginable damage. Even though they were not as strong nor had the ability to form thoughts like prehistoric magical beasts and fight the humans for power to rule Anril, they were still able to wreak havoc and kill like locusts destroying a field. Perhaps it would only take a year for the whole Felan Kingdom to fall under their attacks.
The only cause for celebration was that there were not one but three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts. While it sounded contradictory, that was the truth. These three descendants did not stand on the same line, but instead each wanted to kill the other two as well as the magical beasts they controlled. This Black Current had become their battlefield as thousands of magical beasts died in the fight, staining the Sunset Mountains red with their blood.
Due to this Black Current, the three Arbitrators who had never personally intervened made a trip to the Ledin Kingdom. That night, the Supreme Council reached a consensus with the Brilliance Shrine to send the most powerful fighters of theirs; the mission was to ensure the three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts were killed in the Sunset Mountains at all costs.
These were the two most powerful forces of Anril, and this was the first time they were working together. The end result was as everybody saw: the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine remained in Anril, while the Black Current in the Sunset Mountains remained an annual event, except they could no longer see any trace of the descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts amongst the magical beasts.
The Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine both kept their lips tightly sealed, so not many people knew about that fight. Even Lin Li had only managed to hear bits and pieces of it from Andoine after much probing; hence, Lin Li could not understand why Englos chose to mention it out of the blue.
"One of the three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts was a descendant of a prehistoric viper. Its lineage had been the least diluted, and it had inherited the poison of the prehistoric viper nearly in full…" Englos sighed heavily as pain could be seen in his eyes. "Who knew that just before it died, it would bite His Holiness Rosario…"
"…" The smile on Lin Li's face froze. Even in Lin Li's knowledge, the prehistoric viper was merely something he had seen only in books, and while he was not unfamiliar with viper's poison, something that was a target of many guru's antidotes, it was because the viper's poison was probably the most sinister and crafty poison in the world.
The prehistoric viper had a diet that consisted mainly of poison. It acc.u.mulated numerous types of poison, and they all combined in its body, forming an unimaginably complicated kind of new poison. Only when this novel poison combined with the poison that already existed in the body of the prehistoric viper did it form true viper's poison, though. The viper's poison lay somewhere between a poison and a curse, neither purely a poison nor purely a curse, and was virtually incurable. No amount of purifying the body or the mind would be sufficient neutralize the viper's poison completely.
Perhaps the strongest in the world, the likes of Rosario and Apophis, could suppress it using their strength, but this did not solve the root of the problem. The more strength they used to suppress the poison, the greater the harm they suffered. Whether it was after a couple of years or a couple of decades, the viper's poison would relapse once again, and when that happened, even a true deity would not be able to do anything about it…
"No wonder…" Lin Li wanted to say that it was no wonder Rosario never left the Church of Dawn for the past few decades, but changed his mind. This had to be the Achilles heel of the Brilliance Shrine, and he would only make things awkward by pointing it out…
"No, His Holiness Rosario stays in the Church of Dawn not because of the viper's poison, but due to other reasons…" Englos seemed to have read Lin Li's mind, and hurried to continue before Lin Li could speak. "But that's not important, I'm here today to ask you something besides bringing you a gift…"
"Mr Englos, surely you're not thinking of asking me to cure him of the viper's poison?" Lin Li was shocked. "Aren't you thinking too highly of me?"
"No, no, no, you misunderstand, President Felic, we both know how sinister the viper's poison is; unless a pharmaceutics guru appeared, nobody would be able to cure it. I'm here today to ask you for a promise… I hope you can promise me that one day, if you become a pharmaceutics guru—"
"Say no more, Mr Englos…" Lin Li shook his head and cut him off before Englos could finish his words. "My apologies, but I cannot promise you this, because even a pharmaceutics guru would not be able to cure it. Please don't ask me why I am so sure of it, because I have my reasoning. However, I can give you my word that if one day I possess the knowledge to cure the viper's poison, I will make it a priority to save His Holiness Rosario."
"Alright, President Felic, I'm assured by your words." Englos seemed to fear that Lin Li would go against his words, and thus when he finished, he shoved the oil lamp into Lin Li's hands. "President Felic, since it has come to this, you would be looking down on this old man if you continued to reject me!"
"Well…" Honestly, if he could, Lin Li would choose not to accept the oil lamp, as even though it was a treasure, with it came heavy responsibility. Accepting it meant that he had to find the cure for the viper's poison whether he was willing to do it or not. This was not a matter of his own interests, but that he could not skive after accepting something from somebody, which Lin Li knew he could not do.
It was one thing to fool others, but another to fool yourself.
However, just as Lin Li was about to reject him again, a voice appeared in his brain.
"Idiot, do you know how many people covet the treasure in your hands? How did I get to know an idiot like you! Let me tell you, if you don't accept the oil lamp, there's no way you'll open the Eternal Furnace!"
"Hehe, since you have said so, then I shall accept it, or else it would be really rude of me. Don't worry, Mr Englos, I'll try to find a cure for the viper's poison as soon as I can…" With Connoris' reminder, Lin Li accepted the oil lamp again even though he had pushed it away, but as he spoke to Englos, he willed a bit of mental strength into the Ring of Endless Storm. "Connoris, I'm going to have to remind you that if you're fooling me this time, you're dead meat!"
"Don't worry, I'm the noble Soul Trader and only do fair deals, I would never fool you. If you have time later, let me out of this damn Dimensional Space and I'll tell you the story of the oil lamp. You'd better hurry, I'm suffocating in this damn place…"
Connoris' voice became softer and softer, and when it completely disappeared, Lin Li turned around and smiled at Englos. Just as he was going to thank the archbishop again, he suddenly heard a yell full of surprise.
"It's you!"
Chapter 367 - Gryphon Egg, Potion Bottle
Rina finally realized that the genius pharmacist her teacher spoke of, the new president of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic, was the Necromancer she'd met a few days ago at the castellan's banquet. With a cry, Rina unsheathed her sword unconsciously, and the guild hall quieted down with a clank of her sword…
"You damn Undead creature, why are you here?"
"Why is your memory so good…" Even though he saw the sword, Lin Li was not worried about it—there was nothing he should be concerne
d about, after all. Think about it: where were they? This was the Tower of Dusk, and even Englos would not be able to hurt him, much less Rina who was merely a Paladin. Lin Li would not need to use any magic—all he had to do was use some mental strength, and the All-Kill Array would turn this beautiful Paladin into ashes.
However, this was quite embarrassing in front of an audience, and even the thick-skinned Lin Li brushed his nose sheepishly. He suddenly realized why the Paladin had recognized him—damn it, why did this Recovery Potion work so well? It took barely any time for his bruised face to recover. No wonder this woman recognized him…
Whatever, since she already recognized me… this is my turf, don't tell me she's going to attack me?
As he faced the shining sword, Lin Li merely laughed. "A pity that brain of yours could use some help…"
"What did you say!?" His words were like adding fuel to a fire, and angered the already emotional Rina further as she tightened her hands on her sword.
"Rina!" At the same time, Englos recovered from his shock and his expression darkened. He bellowed, "Do you know what you are doing?"
Englos could not believe it. He had been fawning over Lin Li this whole time, and even gave away the valuable Demon Magic Lamp to get the promise of the genius pharmacist, only for his cherished disciple to ruin it by drawing her sword and calling him an Undead creature!
At that moment, Englos was trembling with anger.
"Don't worry, Mr Englos, it is only a misunderstanding. We can just clear it up…" Lin Li patted him on the shoulder not only to calm him down, but also to let him know that he was not angered by this and that he remembered their promise.
"Thank you." Englos nodded, and his anger somewhat subsided, but he still looked sternly at Rina. "Rina, apologize to President Felic now, or you can forget about calling me teacher,"
