by Zhuang Bifan
It could be said that although the war in the Dark Age had brought about long-awaited freedom to humans and other races, it'd also caused many skills to suffer setbacks. It had been long since a Guru appeared amongst humans. Even the Pharmacists Guild which had an extraordinary position in Anril only relied on a few Masters to survive. The Master of Inscription, Master Moke who had been sent by the Supreme Council to draw the mageweath for the Tower of Dusk in the past, held a high status in the Supreme Council even though he was just a Master.
However, there was an absolute gap between the Masters of the Dark Age and the current ones. Could one really be considered a Master just because he could formulate a Master-level potion and draw a Master-level mageweath? In addition to that, there were also plenty of skills that had even completely disappeared. The apprentices learning those skills were hard to find, what more the masters.
Although they had been walking slowly along the empty streets, Lin Li and others were still far from their destination—the skyscr.a.p.er that was located in the center of the Sky Castle. Although the two Undead servants were puzzled, they followed closely, fulfilling their duties as servants.
Someone who hadn't done a lot of research on mageweaths would definitely laugh out loud and mock the High Elves for having a terrible design of the Sky Castle, for it seemed absurd for one to make a huge detour to get to a place that was obviously not that far. Was it necessary to make the city seem like a labyrinth? Could it really stop the intruders? However, Lin Li clearly knew that the design of the Sky Castle was one of the important reasons why it was considered a sky city that never fell.
Back when Lin Li had got the blueprint of the Sky Castle, he vaguely made a terrible guess after analyzing the design of the streets. However, now that he was in the place itself, he deduced that his guess was right, for the evidence further confirmed his guess that these zigzagging streets and the towers scattered around him constituted a huge Conquering Mageweath. Even though this mageweath might not have been activated for more than 1,300 years, the solid and powerful aura still filled the streets and alleys, making it seem intimidating.
In Anril, there was probably no one who knew the horror of the Conquering Mageweath better than Lin Li. Even amongst Master-level mageweaths, the Conquering Mageweath stood out the most. In Anril today, the Conquering Mageweath might not be necessarily recognized by anyone, though.
Even though Lin Li had also mastered the art of drawing mageweaths, he had never dared to think of drawing such a huge Conquering Mageweath in a city. The required materials alone included the blood of hundreds of wyrms.
Indeed, only a lunatic could design such a marvelous city, but he would definitely be a genius with a lot of imagination. When a Conquering Mageweath was enlarged by many times, it meant that all residents in the entire city could be integrated at any time and possess godly powers. If all the Sky Castles in the world were designed in such an impressive manner, it would be impossible to imagine how Geresco and the rest managed to destroy those Sky Castles back then.
Lin Li had once been amazed by the Eternal Furnace designed by Osric and shocked by the Throne of Darkness created by the Dragon of Destruction. After Connoris proposed to fuse the Throne of Darkness and the Eternal Furnace, he once thought that his mighty power might not be inferior to the Sky Castle, though it might not exactly be equal. However, now that he was truly standing in a Sky Castle, he realized how childish and ridiculous his previous mindset was.
Although the High Elves had already disappeared from the Sky Castle now, Lin Li could totally imagine how majestic of a view it would be when someone invaded the Sky Castle and they activated the Conquering Mageweath, allowing the ordinary High Elves to suddenly possess power greater than the deities.
However, while Lin Li was marveling over the power of the Sky Castle, he also gained a new understanding of Geresco's abilities. The title of the God of Mages was not just given to Geresco out of the mages' respect for his contribution to development of magic. Although he was not alone, he definitely was godly.
Be it the Conquering Mageweath which had infinite power or the deadly designs on both sides of the buildings, Lin Li had seen more than just those. He had every reason to believe that there must have been more deadly traps where he couldn't see them. Therefore, he still walked down the street even though he could already fly past those buildings as a Legendary-mage.
Despite having taken a lot of detours, Lin Li finally arrived at the center of the Sky Castle. In the middle of the spacious square lay the control hub of the entire Sky Castle. Compared to the tower in the middle of the Sky Castle, the Tower of Dusk was just like a toy. Even the materials used to build the Tower of Dusk that Lin Li was rather proud of seemed to be incomparable despite being gold and adobe.
Chapter 641 - Legendary Vengeful Spirit
However, when Lin Li walked towards the tower, he suddenly saw a figure jumping out of an exit not far away.
"Master Cheyenne, you…" Lin Li stared at the pillar of the Malfa Family, unable to believe how disheveled Cheyenne looked. His robe was stained and his hair was all over the place too. The jewel of the staff in his hand had become dim and colorless. He looked as if he had just fought a fierce battle that made him even more disheveled and pathetic than he already had been when besieged by the green dragons. Could it be that the Dark Blade had already attacked Cheyenne?
After seeing that Lin Li was the one who was talking, he smiled bitterly, and said, "Mage Felic, when did you arrive? Did you encounter anything on the road?"
Lin Li was a little confused, for he initially thought that Cheyenne had been attacked by the Dark Blade, but it didn't seem to be the case when he heard what Cheyenne said.
"Encounter anything? No. Weren't you with the rest?"
The entire Sky Castle had become a dead city. Since it was not the Dark Blade that attacked Cheyenne, the latter should not have been forced into such dire straits even if he had touched the magic gears accidentally. Moreover, it seemed obvious that Cheyenne was not hurt by any magic gears. Judging from the magical waves and the dimmed staff, there had clearly been a tough battle.
Cheyenne looked around, and found that Lin Li's group and he were the only ones there. While he was fixing his appearance, he fearfully said, "I don't know what went wrong with that Teleportation Portal. Ever since I got transported here, I haven't seen anyone else. As for what I look like, you may not believe it, but it's because I encountered a group of Vengeful Spirits."
"Vengeful Spirits?" Lin Li did not quite believe it. Vengeful Spirits were relatively common among Undead creatures. Although they were nearly immune to physical attacks, they were inherently afraid of light and magic. Besides, Cheyenne was a bona fide Legendary-mage. Even if he had really encountered a group of Vengeful Spirits, he wouldn't have become so disheveled. Even ordinary Archmages would be in a better state as long as they were careful enough.
Cheyenne shook his head, and helplessly said, "Even I don't quite believe it myself now. I don't know who designed this Sky Castle. When I'm walking along these streets, I seem to stray further and further away. I was just about to fly directly over those buildings, but I got attacked by a group of Vengeful Spirits. If they were ordinary, they would definitely be easy to deal with. However, there were actually some that had actual form!"
After hearing Cheyenne's explanation, Lin Li could not help but be surprised and glad that he didn't fly around just now. The Vengeful Spirits were incorporeal existences; hence, they were immune to physical attacks. However, being an Undead creature without substance would cause them to be restrained by the Holy Light that had purification effects. Even the sun, fire, and ubiquitous environments caused irreversible damage to the Vengeful Spirits. In reality, many of the newly formed Vengeful Spirits were destroyed by sun and fire.
Vengeful Spirits and Skeletal Warriors were the existences of the lowest level amongst Undead creatures. Their promotion processes were also the most difficult. That was how the Skeletal Lor
d of the Shadowglen could take Anril by storm when he advanced in level. It was not just a matter of luck. To a certain extent, it could even be described as a miracle. All factors were indispensable.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the probability of a Vengeful Spirit forming a physical body was almost the same as that of walking in the street and being killed by a meteor.
Cheyenne was really unhappy!
When a Vengeful Spirit almost became a physical entity, it would be almost Legendary…
Lin Li truly sympathized with Cheyenne…
While replenishing the mana in his staff, Cheyenne worriedly said, "Terrible. At least two of the Vengeful Spirits that surrounded me just now had Legendary power, and the other Vengeful Spirits were terrifying too. Had I not been a little lucky, I would probably have been in greater trouble…"
Lin Li was again shocked and thankful for his decision not to fly around. Vengeful Spirits were made up of vengefulness, and their existences were incorporeal. That was the very reason they could be almost immune to physical attacks. However, nothing was perfect in this world. Apart from the fact that they could be restrained and purified by Holy Light, other magic would deal great damage to them too.
In such circ.u.mstances, there would be no difference between Vengeful Spirits, be it the level-10 or level-15 ones. Only when Vengeful Spirits reached the Legendary-realm would they be able to turn all of their vengefulness into substance and gain high resistance to magic.
However, it was this incorporeal form of Vengeful Spirits that made them experience great difficulty in improving their strength.
The most important source of power for Undead creatures was the soul fire that souls transformed into after death. Hence, the Undead creatures had a way to enhance their strength, and that was to devour the soul fire of other Undead creatures.
The Vengeful Spirits naturally did not have soul fire. They couldn't enhance their strength by acc.u.mulating power or devouring the fire of other souls. In fact, even as time went by, their vengefulness would gradually fade, and they would also become weaker. In that case, how could they reach the Legendary-level and become a corporeal entity?
Even when Lin Li was in the Endless World, he had never met any Vengeful Spirits with a physical form, though he had encountered plenty of Vengeful Spirits.
"If Vengeful Spirits really have a physical form, it would mean that they are nearing the Legendary-realm," Lin Li said in disbelief.
While replenishing the mana in his staff, Cheyenne nodded, and said, "Yeah, two of the Vengeful Spirits that were attacking me indeed had Legendary power that was far beyond that of ordinary Vengeful Spirits."
Lin Li could not help but sympathize after hearing Cheyenne say that there was really a Legendary Vengeful Spirit. Vengeful Spirits below the Legendary-realm were all easy to deal with, but Legendary ones were much more difficult.
The Legendary Vengeful Spirits which could change arbitrarily between corporeal and incorporeal world without fearing magic were definitely one of the trickiest Undead creatures to deal with in the world. Even in legends, the stronger Vengeful Spirits would basically be Undead Lords.
Cheyenne obviously noticed the look of sympathy in Lin Li's eyes, but what else could he say about his bad luck? He glanced back at the street which he came out of, and said with a tinge of joy in his tone, "It's okay to deal with other Vengeful Spirits, but the two Legendary Vengeful Spirits were especially tough to deal with. I can't even deal with them despite putting in all of my effort. I don't know if I'm lucky or not. Fortunately, they seemed to have been restrained in one domain, thus giving me a chance to shake them off."
The Vengeful Spirits were confined to one domain! Lin Li was rather shocked. In fact, he had already begun considering and thinking about the origins of the Vengeful Spirits when Cheyenne started talking about them. Legendary Vengeful Spirits with physical form would never appear. Besides, the Sky Castle had already been in the crack of time and space for so long. The duration of more than 1,300 years would be enough to let any vengefulness dissipate over time, let alone bring about a Legendary Vengeful Spirit.
The High Elves were born at the Tree of Eternity, and their souls returned to the Tree of Eternity after death, thus making them fearless. In fact, they would never carry any vengefulness during their deaths; hence, they would never become Vengeful Spirits.
However, with the defeat of the High Elves during the war in the Dark Age, not only did they lose their supremacy, the High Elven queen had also been killed together with the destruction of the Tree of Eternity. In this case, it would be impossible for them not to bear any grudge; hence, it wouldn't be strange for them to become Vengeful Spirits.
But what did the confinement of the Vengeful Spirits in a domain signify? In Lin Li's opinion, there was a great likelihood that those grudges and vengefulness were integrated with a certain setting of the Sky Castle. In other words, those powerful Vengeful Spirits were part of the Sky Castle. Although the Conquering Mageweath had not been activated, it could still gain strength from the Sky Castle.
At that time, the High Elves, who were already at the end of their lives, chose to betray their glory and instead study Necromagic which they'd once hated. The former masters of Norfeller and the Legendary Lich from the Scar of Death were all High Elves who had lived in Anril and secretly studied Necromagic. Although they all made it seem like they were studying secretly either in the catacombs or in the mountains, no one knew if the High Elves weren't just all studying Necromagic.
The incredible talent of High Elves was well known. Even the various races ruled by the High Elves had no choice but to admit that the High Elves were born to learn magic. Necromagic was just another type of magic; hence, it was a piece of cake for the High Elves to learn. The only difficulty they had to overcome was their fear of filth.
Lin Li himself had been in contact with the High Elves who studied Necromagic. They were lunatics who would do everything to the extreme, but they did have the ability to be like that. The two elven Legendary Liches were just ordinary High Elves who were secretly studying Necromagic, but what about the Sky Castle?
There were still Vengeful Spirits in this Sky Castle that had been missing for more than 1300 years. Hence, Lin Li had no choice but to change his mindset.
From Lin Li's perspective, the Sky Castle had long become a dead city even though it had been built by the power of all the High Elves. The so-called defensive power was probably just the magic gears and booby traps. Although the skills of the High Elves had reached the peak level of that era in all aspects, Lin Li was not a pushover, either. It would not be tough for him to deal with the magic gears.
In fact, the encounters along the way from the teleportation to the arrival in the tower in the center of the Sky Castle proved that Lin Li was not being overconfident. He saw all sorts of intelligently designed magic gears which were brutal and wicked. Although this did not allow him to let his guard down, he did feel like he was in control of everything.
But now, the emergence of the legendary Vengeful Spirit made Lin Li reevaluate the Sky Castle. Although he had yet to encounter any Legendary Vengeful Spirits along the way, he was sure that he would see more than just magic gears when he entered the tower.
Upon sight of Lin Li's expression, Cheyenne waited quietly without uttering a single word even though he had already done what was necessary. He knew clearly that the elves seemed to be the strongest of the four parties and that the Dark Blade only fell shortly behind, but no one knew the Sky Castle better than Lin Li did.
"Master Cheyenne, the appearance of those two Legendary Vengeful Spirits…" Lin Li asked Cheyenne who was waiting after he recovered from the shock.
"They seemed to be High Elves. The bodies of the other Vengeful Spirits were not very solid, so their silhouettes were also very vague." Noticing that Lin Li had merely nodded, Cheyenne hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mage Felic, what do you plan to do next? This Sky Castle is designed like a huge labyr
inth. Even if you have a map, you might encounter other beings."
Lin Li smiled when he heard Cheyenne's words. It was obvious that Cheyenne had suffered because of the Legendary Vengeful Spirits, but he was too embarrassed to directly follow Lin Li. He looked up at the tower in the center of the square, and honestly said, "Master Cheyenne, do you see that tower? According to my speculation, the tower should be the one that controls the entire Sky Castle. If you don't mind, let's go take a look together."
Cheyenne turned to look at the huge tower in the center of the square that was so opulent that it could not go unnoticed. Although Lin Li did not have concrete evidence, he could also guess based on the size and location of the tower that it should have a very important role in the Sky Castle. Therefore, after teleporting here, Cheyenne also regarded the tower as his goal. As he delved deeper, he even felt an urge to fly past the buildings and go to the tower.
Chapter 642 - Orderly Maze
However, Cheyenne did not come here aiming for the control center. He simply felt that there could be the Immortal King's treasure or the relics of the High Elves in the tower that was in the middle of the city. Although the tower was not the only one in the Sky Castle, anyone with brains would think that being the one in the middle often meant that it was the most important.
After hearing Cheyenne's encounter, Lin Li began to keep his guard up against the Sky Castle. Hence, he did not hide anything regarding the tower being the control center of the Sky Castle.
Although Lin Li now had by his side the Vampire Norfeller, who had just reached Level-21, Lich Ujfalusi who was at the peak of level-22, and two Legendary Humerus Wyrms, Lin Li still had no confidence in his power, and was not certain that he could cope with what he might encounter next.
Especially after meeting Cheyenne again and realizing that it was likely that the psychotic High Elves had all studied Necromagic and even applied it on the Sky Castle, Lin Li felt the need to have more competent assistants. Although Cheyenne got harmed by the Legendary Vengeful Spirits, that did not mean that he was particularly weak. If Lin Li had been in his place instead, he would probably have been unable to withstand the attacks of the Vengeful Spirits more easily than Cheyenne.
