"Mephisto?" Lin Li was only stunned for a moment before he regained his composure. To be honest, this was not too much of a surprise. Lin Li had long known that there were two loopholes in Stephen's words. Firstly, it was impossible for Tamed Demons to appear in the forest. Every level of the abyss was a world with a strict hierarchy. Once a Ruler-level Greater Demon appeared in a certain place, even ordinary demons would have to retreat, not to mention these ant-like Tamed Demons.
Furthermore, Stephen had said that he was tracking Lin Li based on the magical waves. Tracking based on magical waves was indeed a basic skill that every Archmage should have mastered. There did not seem to be any loopholes in his words, but it was a pity that Stephen's opponent was Lin Li.
Lin Li was a rather cautious … er, or rather, a mage who was rather afraid of death. He would never leave his Magic Shield when dealing with small magical beasts below level-10. What more when facing a terrifying existence like Mephisto? When Lin Li was flying along the Water of Death, he had been paying attention to the magical waves he left behind. Every time Hutton stopped to recover his mana, Lin Li would secretly set up a Magic Annihilation Field to erase the faint magical waves.
Of course, the Magic Annihilation Field was not omnipotent. If the tracker had the strength of a Legendary-mage, he would be able to ignore the Magic Annihilation Field completely. Just a little Mental Brand would be enough to track Lin Li to any place.
However, Stephen's strength was obviously far from the Legendary-realm. It was impossible for him to track Lin Li with just a little Mental Brand.
It would be weird if Lin Li could not see the two obvious loopholes in Stephen's words.
Now, Connoris' reminder only confirmed Lin Li's conjecture …
"I got it." After informing Connoris, Lin Li did not turn around to ask Stephen about it. Instead, he continued to walk forward as if nothing had happened.
Lin Li had only seen a similarly huge palace once, and that was the Eternal Furnace hidden in the spacetime rift of the Fire Plume Ridge. However, the two palaces, which were equally huge, had a world of difference in style. The Eternal Furnace was a typical High Elves style — majestic, extravagant, and gorgeous. Walking into the Eternal Furnace was like walking into a High Elves' art hall. Even the most inconspicuous corner behind the door was decorated to perfection by the High Elves' almost perversely perfect plot.
Even though the Eternal Furnace had been left idle for more than 1,300 years, and even though Osric had moved all the valuable items into his mausoleum, Lin Li was still stunned by the artistic beauty of the place when he walked in.
However, the Palace of Darkness in front of him was a different story. Once he walked in, Lin Li felt as if he had walked into a gloomy and gloomy world. The walls on both sides were covered with green moss. His feet felt wet and slippery when he stepped on it. The cold wind blew past his ears, sending chills down his spine. Although there were phosphorescent lights on both sides, the flickering white light could not be used for illumination other than adding to the gloominess of the environment.
The pavilions, balconies, gardens, and corridors that could be seen everywhere in the Eternal Furnace were nowhere to be seen in the Palace of Darkness. The entire Palace of Darkness gave off the feeling of a desolate tomb. The only place that was decorated was probably the huge stone pillars. From the main entrance of the Palace of Darkness, one would see two huge stone pillars every 100 meters. These stone pillars were more than 100 meters tall. It would take at least 10 humans to wrap their arms around them.
Lin Li did not know what method had been used to carve statues on these huge stone pillars. Every statue looked ferocious and filled with endless ferocity. Some had wings on their backs, and some had horns on their heads. The only thing they had in common was that they held one or two weapons in their hands. There were sharp swords, machetes, hammers, chains, and daggers. Almost every weapon that Lin Li could think of could be found on these statues.
"What kind of demon is this …" Lin Li had been collecting information about the Abyss of Tharlen for a long time. Although he was not at the Guru-level, he was at least at the Master-level. However, the statues on the stone pillars had truly stumped Lin Li. They had passed by a total of 50 huge stone pillars, and there were exactly 50 statues on the stone pillars. Yet, Lin Li could not recognize any of them no matter how hard he looked.
"These are all ancient deities …" When Connoris said this, there was a rare hint of respect in his voice.
"Ancient demons?"
"To you humans, the prehistoric times were the era of Wyrms and Titans. Almost no human knows that apart from the Wyrms and Titans fighting for hegemony, the prehistoric magical beasts wreaking havoc on the earth, and the High Elves being born under the Tree of Eternity, there were 99 ancient deities who opened up the 99 levels of the Abyss."
"Ninety-nine ancient demon gods? But there are only 50 of them here … "
"These fifty Ancient Fiendcelestials have already perished," said Qin Wentian.
"What about the remaining 49?"
"If you can enter the world beyond the 50th level of the Abyss one day, you will have the chance to see them …"
"Are you kidding me …?" Lin Li scolded angrily. The world after the 50th level of the abyss was not a place that normal humans could set foot in. Not to mention a mere mage like him, even the brilliant Highlord Osric had only conquered the first 20 levels of the abyss with his Magic Legion.
The 20th and 50th levels were almost two completely different worlds. Before the 20th level, even some Greater Demons had the chance to ascend to the throne of the Lord, but after the 50th level, Greater Demons were just cannon fodder that could be sacrificed at any time.
Not only did Lin Li not know what kind of world it was after the 50th level of the Abyss, but no human in the whole of Anril knew. Ever since the Dark Age, no human could return from the 40th level of the Abyss alive. The world below the 40th level of the Abyss was an unknown mystery to all humans.
"Speaking of which, great Mr Soul Trader, I realized that you are quite familiar with the Palace of Darkness …"
"Nonsense …" Connoris's voice was not polite at all. "But I advise you to give up. Don't beat around the bush anymore. I will naturally tell you what I should tell you. It's useless no matter how hard you ask about what I shouldn't tell you."
"I say, Connoris, you are a great Soul Trader after all. Don't you know that honesty is the key to doing business? You're being so mysterious. It's not good for our cooperation … "Lin Li snorted in dissatisfaction.
Even an idiot could hear the threat in those words, not to mention a monster like Connoris who had lived for god knows how many years.
After about half a minute of silence, Connoris' tone finally softened. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but with your current strength, what can you do even if you know many secrets of the Abyss? For example, I can tell you now that there is a branch of the Tree of Eternity hidden in the 30th level of the Abyss. If it is used to make a magic staff, it will be at least 100 times stronger than the one you have. How about it, do you dare to go now? "
"Is there no practical one?"
"Practical one?" Connoris thought for a while. "Yes, there is. It is in this Palace of Darkness."
"Tell me about it."
"This will have to start from the origin of the Lord of Darkness. I have already said that the Lord of Darkness is actually the incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction. But do you know why the Dragon of Destruction threw his shadow into the Abyss?"
"If I am not wrong, it should be because the Dragon of Destruction wants to absorb energy from the Abyss of Tharlen."
"You really guessed it right …" Connoris' voice was filled with surprise. "That's right. The Dragon of Destruction threw the shadow into the Abyss of Tharlen to absorb the Dark and Evil Forces in the Abyss of Tharlen. This was the only way it could hide from the other four Dragon Aspects."
"Why did he hide it from the other four Dragon Aspects?"
"Have you forgotten what the five Dragon Aspects do? They guard the eight most basic rules of Anril — Light, Good, Dark, Evil, Time, Space, Nature's Balance, Origin, and End. These 10 rules oppose each other and depend on each other. At the same time, they maintain an extremely delicate balance. Once this balance is broken, do you dare to imagine the consequences? "
"The balance of the 10 basic rules is broken?" Lin Li was stunned at first, and then broke out in cold sweat. Once the balance of the 10 basic rules was broken, it would be a disaster for Anril. This was even more terrifying than the prehistoric magical beasts rushing out of the cracks in space.
It would be a world where black and white were reversed, and time and space were in disorder …
"So the Dragon of Destruction has fallen?"
"There has never been an accurate explanation in Anril as to how the Dragon of Destruction fell. However, when I was with Osric, I heard the analysis of the Highlord of the High Elves. According to Osric's analysis, the fall of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, was most likely related to the Immortal King …"
"F * ck …"
"However, Osric felt that the Dragon of Destruction did not completely fall. The two basic rules that it guarded must have been inherited by someone. Otherwise, Anril would have fallen into chaos. Anyway, Osric has made many similar speculations. If you have the chance to enter the Highlord's mausoleum in the future, you must find a way to find Osric's diary. There are many secrets recorded in it, some of which even the High Elven Queen does not know."
"Yes, I will take note." Lin Li nodded, and then revealed some doubts. "But, what does this have to do with the practical benefits that you mentioned?"
"Don't rush, listen to me slowly …" Connoris paused for a while before continuing. "The year the incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction descended into the Abyss of Tharlen, I happened to be in charge of a huge business involving tens of thousands of souls. At that time, the Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen was still Mephistos. The incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction did not have the time to chase it down from the throne. At that time, it was rather coincidental that I met the future Lord of Darkness. You know, I, Connoris, am a great soul trader. I could tell at a glance that the soul of this powerful demon was not complete. It was very likely to be a soul fragment that was split from a powerful existence …"
"What happened after that?"
"Hehe, everything that happened after that proved that I, Connoris, was right. The Lord of Darkness was not a demon born from the Abyss, but a shadow cast by Azardas, one of the five Dragon Aspects." "Azardas is indeed one of the most powerful beings in Anril. Just a fragment of his soul could easily defeat Mephistos and ascend to the throne of the Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen. Hehe, if anyone could obtain the power in this soul fragment, that would really be …" Connoris bragged proudly for a while before lamenting, "Azardas is one of the most powerful beings in Anril.
"The practical benefits that you are talking about, could it be the soul fragment of Azardas?" Lin Li gradually understood as he listened.
"That's right!"
"Don't joke around, Connoris. That's right. Mages can indeed absorb power from soul fragments, but that must be with the consent of the owner of the soul fragment. Do you think that with my abilities, I can steal the power of one of the five Dragon Aspects? Moreover, the Dragon of Destruction has been dead for many years, and the soul fragment that was split from it back then has probably disappeared without a trace … "
"Do you think I'm joking with you? No, no, no. The great Soul Trader never jokes. Think about it carefully. The time when the Dragon of Destruction fell should be the end of the prehistoric times, when the High Elves had just risen. However, the incarnation of the Abyss of Tharlen still existed until the end of the Dark Age … "
"But …"
"As for how to obtain the power of the soul fragment, you don't have to worry about that. Since I, Connoris, dare to call myself the greatest Soul Trader in history, I naturally have a way to help you obtain the power in the soul fragment. What you need to do now is to find that soul fragment and leave the Abyss of Tharlen safely. Remember, do not get caught by Mephistos, or else the consequences will be unimaginable …"
"I'll think of a way." After Connoris finished speaking, Lin Li's heart gradually became lively. That was the soul fragment of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. It contained not only a portion of the Dragon of Destruction's power, but also a large amount of the Dragon of Destruction's memory and experience. These memories and experience were the most important to Lin Li.
Now, Lin Li had one foot in the Legendary-realm, and was only one step away from breaking through. If Lin Li obtained this soul fragment, even if he did not absorb any power, just comprehending the memories and experience within it would be enough for him to easily break through to the Legendary-realm.
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