by Zhuang Bifan
Of course, over the course of the year he had been in the mainland of Anril, Lin Li had totally turned into a tomb raider of an alternative world. The more adventures he participated in, the clearer he understood that the dangers in treasure hiding spots and mausoleums of Anril were much greater than the emperor's tomb that was once mysterious.
However, now that he had gotten through the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral to reach Immortal King's treasury, he was confident that the mausoleum of Osric would not mean anything to him. If he had not come to the Breezy Plains to establish the Tower of Dusk, he would have gone to Alanna to find Aldwin, the president of Alanna Guild of Magic, to seek information related to Osric's mausoleum.
"The High Elves did not manage to avoid the passing of time, nor did the divine achieve an eternal life. Although I am not sure how much inheritance had Osric gotten from Immortal King, from my experience with him, I thought that you human beings should be glad that he died an early death. If not, he would have built the eighth sky castle," said Connoris gloatingly. Although he would not be able to avenge himself, he was feeling rather joyful knowing that his enemy did not get to fulfill his wishes before dying.
"So what? The six out of the seven sky castles had been destroyed, and the last one moved to this place. Even if Osric really created the eighth sky castle…" Lin Li suddenly stopped talking.
Lin Li knew about Osric's endeavor of creating the eighth sky castle from Connoris when he acquired the Eternal Furnace. At that time, he had limited understanding of sky castles. He was only shocked by Osric's ambitious and seemingly unachievable plan. But, now that he obtained the blueprint of the sky castle, Lin Li clearly understood the drastic difference between the Eternal Furnace and a sky castle.
In Lin Li's memory, Osric was a well-known figure during the Dark Age, yet he did not believe that Osric could really achieve something Immortal King couldn't, even though he was the latter's disciple.
Now, Lin Li had just heard something interesting from Connoris. Did this Soul Trader say that there was a great possibility for Osric to complete the eighth sky castle if he had enough time?
After all, each of the sky castle took a great deal of effort from Immortal King as well as manpower and resources from the High Elves. Resources, skills, and time were the three conditions that had to be fulfilled for this construction.
Time was considered the least demanding requirement out of the three. If Connoris was saying that Osric only lacked time, was he implying that he had fulfilled the two other conditions?
The construction of sky castles was not a trivial matter. Without sufficient preparation, he doubted Osric would have such a daring ambition. Even if he did not make enough preparation for the castles, he should have sufficient resources to maintain half of the construction efforts. If not, the construction of sky castles would be a joke.
The Eternal Furnace is nothing like the sky castle. Where did the other resources allocated for the sky castle go? Might he have kept them in his mausoleum, or used them to build his mausoleum?
Frankly speaking, these were wild guesses Lin Li dared not to believe. "Although Osric was well-known during the Dark Age, and was the disciple of the Immortal King, it had to be extremely difficult to build such a sky castle, didn't it?"
"Either that fella was trying to act in front of me, or he really had the confidence to do that, especially after he returned from this place. If that sense of confidence had been feigned, I don't think it'd have eluded my intuition," said Connoris with relief. Had Osric's plan succeeded, he would not have a chance to escape that darn furnace. It was lucky that Osric did not live for long.
"Tsk, why would he want to fake it in front of a soul sealed in a hammer?" Although Lin Li gave a disdainful reply, his anticipation for Osric's mausoleum grew.
"Hey, that dude consulted the almighty Soul Trader on many questions when he was constructing the Eternal Furnace. If not for me, he—" Connoris retorted.
"Yeah, yeah," Lin Li patronized Connoris. He had already started to consider Osric's mausoleum seriously.
Lin Li first heard about Osric's mausoleum when he was a Magic Shooter at Alanna Guild of Magic. At that time, Adventurers Guild and the Alanna Guild of Magic were in a deadlock over the key to Osric's mausoleum. That prompted them to establish a bet—the Adventurers Guild to have a member who could create high-level mageweaths, and the Guild of Magic to have a member who was capable of forging magical weapons.
However, President Aldwin of Alanna Guild of Magic was clearly at disadvantage with the bet. Having a guild that was entirely made up of mages, it was almost impossible to have someone who had the skills in forging. Lin Li's skills in forging brought him into the bet between the two guilds.
While it seemed that Lin Li had a critical role to play, he was a man without position and ability to participate in the mission for Osric's mausoleum. After he went to the Breezy Plains to establish the Tower of Dusk, he never stopped busying himself with the matters related to the tower. That made him delay his involvement in the mission.
Through his interactions with the Eternal Furnace, Throne of Darkness, underground palace in the Dragon Mountains, and other adventures along the way, Lin Li obtained great benefits that would help him grow the Tower of Dusk. Yet, in this process, his interest in Highlord Osric's mausoleum dwindled.
His attention switched to Immortal King's treasures when he acquired information about it, thinking that that had to be the most valuable treasure of Anril. He was once again convinced to delay the plans to look into Osric's mausoleum.
What Lin Li did not expect was that Osric had managed to empty all the valuable treasures before everyone else. And, from Connoris's words, Lin Li could deduce that Osric had definitely placed resources to construct another sky castle in his mausoleum. This idea grew Lin Li's ambitions.
Of course, that was a mere guess. There was still a possibility for Osric not to have placed all the treasures in his mausoleum. Regardless of the situation, Lin Li was convinced that he had to invest energy and time to venture into Osric's mausoleum to take a look himself.
However, while he decided on his next goal, Lin Li knew he had to consider the question of safety. Now that he knew that Osric was the disciple of Immortal King, he had to readjust his attitude towards Osric's mausoleum.
"If that is so, almighty Soul Trader, since Osric had consulted you on so many things, how much power do you think this disciple had inherited from Immortal King?" Lin Li asked, hoping he could acquire more information about Osric. After all, this unlucky ancient deity had interacted with Osric for a considerably long time.
"Hmm, at least enough for him to have the great confidence to construct a sky castle," replied Connoris in a tone riddled with uncertainty. He couldn't help it. After all, he was just a captive sealed in a hammer. How could Osric tell him everything?
Although he did not manage to acquire specific information, Lin Li was not the least bit disappointed. He could now gauge Osric's ability.
The construction of sky castles was not an easy job, for they were not any random city on the mainland of Anril. The construction required knowledge from almost every other aspect. The arrogance of the High Elves stemmed from their great powers. They were unlike the human royals who were only capable of boasting. Since Osric established the building of a sky castle as his goal, it meant that he was confident in his ability.
The thought if it reaffirmed Lin Li that Osric's mausoleum was not something to be trifled with. Had Osric invested half of the efforts of building a sky castle into the construction of his mausoleum, that mausoleum would be something beyond imagination of common men. Furthermore, it was only common sense for him to have focused on the construction of his mausoleum when he knew that his time was running out.
Lin Li could not imagine a mausoleum that had been built with adequate resources and skills. He was convinced that no one had ever managed to make a close prediction about Osric's mausoleum. Lin Li could not help but feel wor
ry that the number of fatal traps within the mausoleum had to be at least on par with that in the sky castles.
"Then, did Osric mention to you anything about alchemy arrays, magic gears, or any magic that could be used to create traps?" Lin Li's worries prompted him to ask Connoris another question.
"As for this, I remember Osric mentioning something about the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral. But, I am sure you know that both of them require one to derive it with true efforts. There are no shortcuts for those." Unfortunately, despite being the only contact of Osric, Connoris did not have a lot of understanding of that Highlord. He could not offer more information for Lin Li to predict possible powerful magical traps Osric might have set in his mausoleum.
"Hold on. Wasn't Osric the disciple of Immortal King? When did he mention the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral? Could he have entered this tower through the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral, just like how we did not manage to use the main entrance?" Lin Li inquired curiously. Although he did not obtain the information he initially wanted, he managed to think of new possibilities.
In fact, it did not matter when Osric grew an interest in the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral. Lin Li deduced that Osric had to have experience of getting through the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral. That left Lin Li with another doubt. While he was certain that Osric had the ability to get past the first few realms of the Seven-Realm Spiral, it had to be challenging for him to get through the last one.
Chapter 675 - Nothingness
Although the Stars of Fury that was condensed with magic only required Legendary-level mana, the attributes of the Laws contained in it could fully exert the power of Stars of Fury. Besides, the most powerful Thunderbolt was paired with the Stars of Fury. Such a combination could be considered lethal for almost all below the Legendary level. Lansdale was a good example. Even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could not endure for long under such attacks.
Lin Li was able to break through the last realm all thanks to the three pieces of the debris of the stars he had. Otherwise, he would have inevitably been defeated by Thunderbolt, just like Lansdale.
There were all sorts of speculations and theories about Osric's power and abilities. However, Lin Li, who understood the power of Thunderbolt, knew that even though the disciple of the Immortal King had Sanctuary-level power, he could not rival the Stars of Fury combined with Thunderbolt. Perhaps he could safely retreat, but he'd have to pay a huge price to break through the last realm.
However, the message left behind in the laboratory showed that Osric had really barged in there. If his strength had not reached the level of the Immortal King's, he wouldn't have anything to rely on. The biggest possibility was that Osric had at least one piece of the debris of the stars.
There were a total of seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and Lin Li already had four of them, namely Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, Rebirth, and Thunderbolt. Holy Light came from the catacombs of Norfeller's former master; the High Elf who was said to be Osric's younger brother and had turned into a Lich died because of Holy Light. Since the unlucky High Elf Lich hadn't known of the existence of Holy Light at first, Osric probably wouldn't have been able to use Holy Light.
Gloomy Dark came from the Scar of Death, which was also the altar of the Immortal King that was guarded by a High Elf Lich. If Osric had ever owned Gloomy Dark, it was unlikely that he would have left it there.
Lin Li did not know where Rebirth originally came from, and simply paid a huge amount of gold coins to obtain it. However, it was rather easy to acquire it. Of course, he also ended up getting into a battle with the Elven Mage Vidas because of it. However, in terms of power, Rebirth was not suitable for retaliating against Thunderbolt. Instead, it was better for the manipulation of vitality.
Thunderbolt was undoubtedly powerful. If it weren't for the fact that Lin Li already had had three pieces of the debris of the stars, he probably would have already been killed by Thunderbolt's attack in the last realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral.
In the underground palace of the Dragon Mountains, there was already a Natural Magical Domain with Raging Flames and Polar Snow. Osric probably knew about those two, and the underground palace might very well have been built because of them. However, Lin Li was sure that Osric had never touched either one of them, because the Natural Magical Domain would have collapsed long ago had he actually done so.
Six out of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had already appeared, leaving just one left for Lin Li to find. The last one's location, however, was unknown. Lin Li guessed that Osric's piece of the debris of the stars could very likely be Nothingness, which was combined with Chaos Laws.
Although the seven pieces of the debris of the stars could be considered comparable in terms of power, they exerted different powers because of the different nomological powers. The most powerful one was Thunderbolt, while the weakest was the contradicting pair, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark.
The most mysterious and unpredictable one was undoubtedly the piece of the debris of the stars containing the Laws of Chaos, Nothingness. Even though Lin Li had once owned all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and had a perfect mastery of the Stars of Fury, he barely knew anything about Nothingness. In fact, Lin Li felt that he was just clueless about it.
Although he'd once owned all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li had only used Nothingness once because the unknown and mysterious power within it made Lin Li too afraid to even use it. He had no idea what would happen if he were to use it. Besides, the only time he used it was when he faced the Dragon of Destruction. The memory of that was still fresh in his head.
Under the urging of the Stars of Fury, the power exerted by Nothingness was not as unstoppable as Thunderbolt, nor as violent as Raging Flames. However, the seemingly calm power was the very same one that was earth-splitting and gave the Dragon of Destruction a heavy blow. The force that could scare even the Dragon of Destruction was incredible to Lin Li.
If he guessed correctly, Osric really did control Nothingness; hence, even without the Stars of Fury, he would still be able to break through the Seven-Realm Spiral with ease using his Sanctuary-realm power. Perhaps that was the reason Osric had not taken away Thunderbolt.
Honestly, Lin Li felt rather impatient when he thought of the power that Nothingness had once shown. He secretly decided in his heart that he would definitely make a trip to Alanna after returning home in order to fulfill the agreement with Aldwin. He would also explore the Highlord's mausoleum as soon as possible. Given his identity and strength, Lin Li believed that he would definitely have the right to negotiate with them. He felt that he was not a small fry that could be ignored easily.
At the thought that Nothingness could very likely be in Osric's mausoleum, Lin Li even felt a strong urge to return immediately because Nothingness meant more to him than just another piece of the debris of the stars. Although he did not get Raging Flames and Polar Snow, he was already confident that he would get them. If he were to obtain Nothingness too, he would really possess the seven pieces of the debris of the stars again.
The significance of gathering the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was more than the possession of seven powerful arrows. The seven would bring about more than just an increase in combat techniques or upgrade in power. Instead, it was a drastic change.
Each of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained different nomological powers, and they were all bred in different environments. However, Lin Li, who truly used all of them before, knew that the seven pieces of the debris of the stars would form a whole new entity when pieced together.
Although the separated debris of the stars also had massive power, and was certainly above the Legendary-level, the pieces could only exert their true power when they became one in the hands of the same person. The kind of power that they exerted was beyond what an ordinary person could master.
Moreover, as the former owner of the Stars of Fury and the
debris of the stars, Lin Li also knew a secret that no one else did. The Laws contained in the seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained all the rules of the basic elements in the world, including all sorts of derived rules. Hence, when one mastered all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it would be equivalent to mastering all the elements of the world at the same time. The seven basic Laws of the world represented by the seven elements of earth, water, fire, wind, light, darkness, and chaos would also be exposed to the master.
When Lin Li had been a hunter, he might not have benefited much from it, but he was now a Legendary-mage, and Holy Light and Gloomy Dark that he'd obtained previously had brought him great benefits. He'd created the Light and Darkness Domain based on his understanding of the Laws of Light and Darkness. If he assembled all the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he would be able to gain a deep understanding of them all. To a Legendary-mage that was already extremely far away from the base Legendary-realm, the benefits were definitely hard to imagine.
Lin Li even felt that when he was holding the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in his hands, he would break through the Legendary-realm, being about to enter the Sanctuary-realm1. It was definitely not a delusion, because no one knew the power of the debris of the stars better than he did. Besides, the promotion of a Legendary-mage to the Sanctuary-realm did require a complete mastery of the seven basic Laws to create the World Domain.
However, it was not an easy task to enter Osric's mausoleum to obtain Nothingness. Lin Li had always thought that Osric being a disciple of the Immortal King was just a legend, and he even thought at some point that the Immortal King had at most given Osric some tips and pointers. However, there was now clear evidence to prove otherwise; hence, Osric's mausoleum might be more complicated than this Sky Castle.
Indeed, there were various indications that Osric's mausoleum was very likely to be a threat full of fatal dangers. Hence, Lin Li decided that he had to first study it carefully so as not to accidentally fall into a trap. Lin Like didn't want to fail in obtaining Nothingness because of his own negligence and even ended up losing his life.
