In fact, Lin Li even vaguely felt that there seemed to be an invisible force affecting them along the way. Although they had experienced many obstacles along the way, it seemed that the enemies they encountered did not exceed the limits of the expedition, apart from the shadow of the Well of the Sun. Or rather, they did not exceed Lin Li's ability. Hence, every battle seemed to be extremely difficult, but they would always be safe in the end.
Lin Li did not think that the Immortal King's Sky Castle could be easily invaded by a person who had just entered the Sanctuary-realm like him. If that was the case, the Immortal King's Sky Castle would seem to be unworthy of its name, and the Immortal King would not be the best person in the myths.
Hence, although Lin Li did not mention it to anyone along the way, the feeling in his heart was getting clearer and clearer. Someone wanted him to reach his destination, but at the same time did not want to arouse their attention and suspicion. That person could only be Osric.
That discovery was the reason that Lin Li was increasingly certain that what Osric really valued the most was not the strongest magical weapon, the Sky Castle, but the special control crystal. Hence, although Lin Li seemed to be about to put the control crystal on the control panel, it was actually just a bait. It was not the real control crystal of the Sky Castle, but one of the strange magical crystals that Lin Li had obtained from the Malfa Family when he was in the Scar of Death.
Lin Li dared not say that he was 100% confident that Osric would swallow the bait, but he was at least 70% to 80% confident. According to his previous speculation, Lin Li could completely believe that Osric had been waiting for the moment he took the control crystal out of the Ring of Endless Storm.
After all, with Osric's strength, it would not be difficult for him to deal with Lin Li and the others. However, he could kill Lin Li, but he could not take the control crystal out of the Ring of Endless Storm. If Osric wanted to obtain the control crystal, he would have to wait for Lin Li to take it out himself before snatching it.
The only thing that worried Lin Li was whether Osric was familiar with the control crystal, and whether he would recognize the difference between the control crystal and the bait.
After all, Lin Li had yet to figure out the true origin of the control crystal. He only knew that the function of the control crystal was not just to control the Sky Castle. When he first explored the Sky Castle, his mental strength had been tempered by the control crystal, and he had also obtained a large amount of information left behind by the Immortal King.
Hence, even though Lin Li had already used alchemy to transform the strange magical crystal that was used as a bait into the appearance of the control crystal, and achieved the effect of passing off the illusion as the real one, and even the magical waves were very similar, Lin Li was still able to pass off as the real one. However, Lin Li could not create the power to control the magical crystals.
Lin Li's worry did not diminish even when Osric snatched the bait away from him. It was only when he and Osric started a spiritual battle in the magical crystal that his worries gradually subsided. He did not find anything wrong with the magical crystal even when he used his mental strength. Clearly, Osric was not familiar with the real control crystal.
However, in order not to arouse Osric's suspicions, Lin Li still did not relax at all, and pretended to snatch it with all his might. He did not even hesitate to pay a huge price for it. Even at the last moment, when Osric was about to put the bait on the control panel, Lin Li still vividly expressed his despair, helplessness, and indignation.
Lin Li only heaved a sigh of relief when the strange magical crystal was activated, and Osric's mana became violent. Although Osric had unparalleled power, Lin Li was not too worried that Osric would be able to get rid of the influence of the strange magical crystal in a short period of time.
However, Lin Li was not too sure about the origin of the magical crystals that could devour mana. Besides, the Malfa Family had only discovered them by chance back then. However, after studying them for such a long time, Lin Li already had a very clear understanding of the nature of the strange magical crystal. In fact, Lin Li often used the characteristics of the magical crystal to train his control of mana.
The reason that Lin Li could do that was partly because his mental strength had been tempered by the control crystal, and partly because of the research he had done in the past few years. Although Osric was much stronger than Lin Li in terms of realm, it was almost impossible for him to understand and master the characteristics of the magical crystal in a short period of time.
Of course, that did not mean that the plan was really foolproof. There was actually a huge problem, and that was that Osric had never come into contact with such magical crystals before. Although Lin Li had already found out from the Ashen Warlock that such a strange magical crystal did not seem to have appeared during the Dark Age, he still set up another trap inside for the sake of insurance.
Lin Li had already hidden a wisp of mental strength in the magical crystal, which contained the power of Mephistos, the Lord of Souls, and could isolate one's soul from the body. Previously, when Lin Li and Osric were fighting mentally in the magical crystal, it was actually used as a cover to prevent Osric from using his mental strength to probe the situation of the magical crystal.
After obtaining the Immortal King's notebook from the Ashen Warlock, Lin Li knew that there were actually some flaws in the perfect body that Osric had created. Back then, it was precisely because of those flaws that were hard to detect that Connoris could not perfectly integrate with his new body. Osric would also encounter the same problem.
Due to that judgment, Lin Li also designed such a trap in the bait just in case.
When he first saw Osric just now, Lin Li could already tell that the integration of Osric's soul and new body was indeed not perfect, and there were still certain problems. Although the new body was tailor-made by Osric for himself, it was obvious that the flaws had not been completely made up for. Hence, even a powerhouse like Osric would need a considerable period of time to adapt his soul to the new body.
Hence, when Osric placed the magical crystal on the control panel and triggered the strange power of the magical crystal, Lin Li immediately activated the trap that he had left behind. Although the small trap could only affect Osric for a moment, the momentary isolation of his soul made Osric lose the best opportunity to get rid of the magical crystal.
Mana was like water. The surging mana was like a river, while the calm mana was like a lake. Once the balance was destroyed, it would be like a broken dam that could not be stopped. That was the reason that no matter how powerful a mage was, he would not dare to use mana wantonly, because once the process of mana collapse began, it would be irreversible. It was the same for the Highlord now. His mana was being devoured crazily, and it soon led to the collapse of mana.
The surging mana leaked out of Osric's body like a flash flood. Faced with such a situation, Osric could not suppress it at all even though he was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, he could not even let out a roar, and could only glare at Lin Li with endless hatred.
The collapse of mana made his perfect body unable to sustain it any longer. In front of everyone, Osric's appearance was aging and decaying at an extremely fast speed. Soon, Osric, who was full of vigor and domineering just a moment ago, became shriveled and old. His body was hunched, and his skin had lost its luster. It was full of wrinkles and greenish-black scars.
Osric's appearance reminded Lin Li of the Ashen Warlock he had seen for the first time. However, the Ashen Warlock's body had naturally aged and decayed because he had existed for too long, while Osric's body had lost a lot of vitality due to the collapse of mana.
Seeing the changes in Osric's body, Archbishop Martin and the others finally understood why Lin Li had stopped them from attacking. However, at the same time, they were also extremely shocked. Osric was a powerhouse at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. How did he end up in such a state!?
Lin Li's obstruction gave Archbishop Martin and the others reason to believe that the reason Osric ended up in such a state was most likely related to this young Sanctuary powerhouse. As soon as that thought came to their minds, they couldn't help but feel a chill rise from the bottom of their hearts, and it immediately replaced the joy of surviving a disaster.
Such a scheme was too terrifying, and it was even more terrifying than the power of the Sanctuary-realm. Osric was one of the most famous geniuses of the Dark Age. Not only was he talented and strong, but he also had unparalleled intelligence. However, such an amazing figure who seemed almost invincible and was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm actually ended up in such a miserable state because of Lin Li's scheme!
Archbishop Martin and the others couldn't help but feel thankful that they did not stand on the opposite side of the Tower of Dusk during the exploration of the Sky Castle. Otherwise, they would have long been schemed against.
Of course, they wouldn't know that they had already been labeled as cannon fodder in Lin Li's scheme ever since they met him.
Looking at Osric's rapidly aging and decaying appearance, almost everyone thought that the outcome had been decided. However, at this moment, an illusory shadow suddenly rushed out of Osric's body, followed by infinite mana that shrouded the expedition.
The sudden change immediately gave Archbishop Martin and the others a great shock, but it was already too late for them to react. Fortunately, Lin Li seemed to have been prepared. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars entered the void, and the Domain World immediately enveloped the entire expedition. Layers of defense faced the overwhelming magical attacks.
"That's Osric's soul!" Archbishop Martin and the others finally reacted amidst the violent collision between the magic spells and the Domain World, and were horrified to discover that the shadow that flew out of Osric's body was actually Osric's soul.
That gave Archbishop Martin and the others a great shock. They finally remembered that Osric was a powerhouse at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and even if it was just a soul, it was not something that ordinary people could contend with. A powerhouse at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was already an existence that was close to the gods. Even if his body was aging and decaying, his soul was almost indestructible, and the power he possessed would not be weakened much because of the loss of his body.
The battle just now had already proven how terrifying a powerhouse at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was. The members of the expedition were simply a bunch of scum in front of Osric, and even Lin Li, who was in the Sanctuary-realm, was beaten up so badly that he almost couldn't fight back. Now that Osric's soul had come out, and his power was not much weaker than before, the outcome of the expedition was obvious!
However, Lin Li was not surprised at all that Osric's soul had escaped. It could be said that it was completely within his expectations. The reason was simple, and that was because Osric's soul had yet to achieve a perfect fusion with the new perfect body. When Osric's soul and perfect body did not merge perfectly, they would be like the Alchemy Colossus controlled by metallurgists. If there was a problem with the Alchemy Colossus, the metallurgists would be able to escape in time. However, if the two had already merged perfectly, it would definitely be rather difficult to separate them.
Of course, the fact that Osric had not achieved a perfect fusion was also an important reason why Lin Li's trap could work. If Osric had achieved a perfect fusion, Lin Li probably wouldn't have been able to plot against him with that magical crystal. With Osric's realm and strength, he would probably be able to instantly get rid of the influence of that strange magical crystal.
Hence, nothing in the world was perfect. If one gained benefits from one aspect, they would definitely lose something on the other. Hence, Lin Li should have been prepared for the current situation. At least, Osric, who had lost his body, would definitely be greatly affected in terms of strength.
"Damn it, all of you deserve to die!" Osric had never been so furious before. Even when he parted ways with the Immortal King, and even when he knew that the High Elves had already perished, he had never been as furious as he was now.
The dignified Highlord Osric, who was a mythical figure like the Immortal King, actually lost his new body because of the schemes of a junior. That was a great humiliation. In particular, it had been proven that all his previous schemes had been seen through by Lin Li, and he had even been tricked by Lin Li. That was even more unacceptable to him.
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