Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Not only did the crystal ore within the Chimera Valley in the underground city had a massive yield, but it also had several pieces of premium crystal ores. Amongst them were the Illusory Crystals that could be used to record the situation happening within a scene.

In order to strengthen the defences of the territory and prevent another surprise attack from the pirates, Goode had instructed the soldiers to build obscure, small-scale Magical Spell Formations at important areas within the territory, collecting the images and sounds captured by the Illusory Formation to the intelligence department for timely analysis, as well as filtering out the valuable pieces of information.

Compared to the mainland of the Magical Beast Territory, Jaboli faced both the threat of the Magical Beasts as well as the need to defend against the assault of the One-eyed Dragon and his pirates at any time. Thus, after the newest batch of Illusory Crystals have been processed, they were immediately sent to Yuna and used to keep tabs on all actions within a dozen mile radius from Jaboli.

To think that the Illusory Crystals had just been set up when they managed to capture such a surprising scene!

“Rodriguez, follow this group of people from the sea tribe personally and find a way to understand their strengths and weaknesses; However, remember to not alarm them. Even more so, do not engage in direct conflict with them!” After understanding what was going on, Yang Ling handed the Illusory Crystal back to the Corpse Wizard King.

The sea tribe had not passed through Jaboli City after reaching the shore but instead sprinted straight for the Amazon Forest, getting nearer and nearer to the underground tomb. This meant that their aim this time was not to deal with his Jaboli City, but was instead for the underground tomb. If his guess was right, they perhaps have also come for the legendary Teleportation Portal. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to mobilize his troops to deal with them.

However, taking this opportunity to understand the habits and strength of these sea tribes might prove useful for him in the future. After all, the reason for the One-eyed Dragon being able to lord over the seas was because there was a sea tribe backing him; If he wanted to kill off the One-eyed Dragon, he might have to cross swords with the brave warriors of the sea tribe. He had no choice but to make the necessary preparations beforehand.

“Sir, you mean to allow them to freely enter the underground tomb?” Looking at the expressionless Yang Ling, the Corpse Wizard King was a little hesitant. Rumor has it that the underground tomb was filled with treasures. Having another faction like this was akin to having another powerful opponent.

“Hehe, of course, the more factions that enter the underground tomb the better!” Yang Ling let out a faint smile, then took out the crystal skull from within his Space Ring. He then continued, “It is enough if I have the purple rat Little Ice and the Thousand-faced Mink by my side. Rodriguez, you bring the rest of the people to monitor the actions of the other major factions and tell me if there is anything wrong, go!”

“Yes, Sir!” Seeing that Yang Ling was unwilling to elaborate, the Corpse Wizard King accepted his orders and left.

It was a little difficult for the Corpse Wizard King to charge into the main camp of the Church or the Dark Association, but it would be easy for him to monitor their actions. No one would be able to escape his surveillance as long as he set up a few dark detection spells nearby.

After summoning the purple rat Little Ice and the Thousand-faced Mink to protect himself, Yang Ling closely examined the crystal skull in his hand.

Over this period of time, after absorbing a large amount of white fog from the Wizard’s Pagoda and consuming some of the Water from the Spring of Life, the two creatures have had an obvious transformation.

The body of the purple rat Little Ice had expanded by about thirty percent. The chilly wind it spewed out could not only freeze the enemy into an ice sculpture, but it could also completely destroy the body of the other party, causing it to shatter upon impact. As long as it gave a little more effort, it might perhaps be able to evolve to become a Level Surpassing Magical Beast. Its abilities would become even stronger if it could learn the Ice-sealing Domain!

There were no obvious changes to the appearance of the Thousand-faced Mink, but it was now much faster, its abilities improved drastically.

In the past, it could only summon over twenty illusory bodies of Level Surpassing Magical Beasts like the Dark Dragon King, the life force and offensive power of the illusory bodies maintained at around twenty percent of the original Dark Dragon King; However, currently, it was able to summon over thirty illusory bodies at once, all of them having over thirty percent of the Dark Dragon King’s life force and offensive capabilities, their Magical Energy getting deeper and deeper.

If the purple rat Little Ice had to put in a little effort to evolve to become a Level Surpassing Magical Beast, then the Thousand-faced Mink was just merely a thread away from becoming a Level Surpassing Magical Beast, making it very possible that it would become the second Level Surpassing Magical Beast by Yang Ling’s side. If it could learn the talent of its race, the Magical Illusion Domain, then it would perhaps be the most powerful Magical Beast when it came to a large-scale battle, being able to conjure an endless stream of powerful illusory bodies.

Even though the purple rat Little Ice and the Thousand-faced Mink were a little playful and frequently chased and played with each other nearby; However, with them as his guards, Yang Ling believed that no one would dare easily approach the Great Wizard Altar. As for climbing up the Great Wizard Altar and initiating a surprise attack on himself, that was even more difficult.

The Great Wizard Altar is the altar of a Soul Wizard, and Yang Ling would have a strong sense if someone were to step into the area a hundred step radius around the Great Wizard Altar, much less climb the altar itself. If it was necessary, he could activate the restrictions that he deactivated at any time, trapping his enemies within the Illusory Formation and Imprisonment Restriction before killing them. He need not worry about encountering a surprise attack from his enemies while he was refining the crystal skull.

The crystal skull was not much larger than the head of an average person, and it released a ring of pale silver light. It would not attract much attention during the day, but it was extremely noticeable at night. It looked a little like the skull of a human, but it felt like crystal to the touch.

According to the explanation on the stele, the crystal skull was made up of a large number of Essence Crystals coming from Level Surpassing Magical Beasts, Blood Essences, and a crystal called the Spirit Gathering Black Crystal. It was completed by placing and refining it for a full forty-nine days on the Great Wizard Altar, allowing it to absorb a substantial amount of Soul Energy.

Refining the crystal skull was difficult, but if he was successful in refining the skull, its power would be extremely strong!

It could absorb the souls of the people on the battlefield and strengthen the Soul Energy of its master; It could release tremors and attack the souls of the enemies; It could form a ring of light and defend against the soul attacks of the enemies… More importantly, as its owner’s abilities got stronger and stronger, the crystal skull could also evolve one level at a time, possessing even more supplementary activities. It would become a piece of equipment that would grow continuously.

In ancient times, the Wizards not only had to face harsh natural environments, but they also had to deal with various strange demons and monsters to ensure the safety of their tribesmen. Other than protecting the physical body of their tribesmen, they also had to make sure that the souls of their tribesmen were not damaged. Through the thousands of years of exploration, the Soul Wizards created the crystal skull that could grow continuously.

After absorbing a large amount of spiritual energy and Soul Energy, as well as gathering a substantial amount of their tribesmen’s Wish Power, the crystal skull could morph time and time again, possessing even more supplementary abilities. It would grow to become an extremely powerful weapon, or even into a Divine Weapon with unlimited might, becoming a most valuable treasure for the tribe.

Just like the Space Ring, when its master passed on, the crystal skull became a treasure without an owner. However, one exception was that aside from recognizing its master through his blood, the person had to use his Wizard Power and soul to once again refine the crystal skull before he could unleash its true powers. It was only through this could the crystal smile be used smoothly.

Following the explanation on the stele, Yang Ling sat down cross-legged on the ground, introducing a drop of his Blood Essence on the crystal skull before silently reciting the Wizard Mantra. A ball of black flame appeared on his palms, slowly refining the crystal skull.

The stele at the third level of the Wizard’s Pagoda contained several methods in refining equipment, but to a Soul Wizard, the most convenient and effective way is to directly exhaust his Wizard Power and mental energy to refine Wizard Weapons using his Fire of the Soul.

There was an endless number of Wizard Techniques recorded on the steles. Other than the training Wizard Mantra used by Soul Wizards, there were also splinter groups like the Wizard Martial Artists, Poison Wizard and Shadow Wizard. Amongst them, there was also the Weapon Wizard that specializes in refining and creating weapons and equipment.

Back then, when he had brought Master Aaron and the Gnome Elder into the Wizard Sect, Yang Ling had hoped that the two of them would one day become specialized Weapon Wizards, forging unique and powerful Wizard Weapons that are not found within the Tailun Continent for the Magical Beast Territory.

To a specialized Weapon Wizard, mastery over the Fire of the Soul is a definite prerequisite. Only weapons refined using the Fire of the Soul could be said to be a true Wizard Weapon.

The Fire of the Soul can be split into five levels — namely dark, red, green, purple and gold, each one higher than the rest. Dark Soul Fire can be used to refine low-level Wizard Weapons, red was used to refine mid-level Wizard Weapons, green for high-level Wizard Weapons and purple for premium Wizard Weapons.

As for the Gold Soul Fire, the stele had glossed over it, making Yang Ling curious as to just what kind of Wizard Weapons sat above premium Wizard Weapons.

Under the refinement of the Dark Soul Fire, the crystal skull melted into a puddle, then slowly took shape once again to become an eerie-looking crystal skull. It released streaks of sinister chilly energy, as well as waves of an obscure energy ripple. It also released waves of a baby’s wail that seemingly came from the soul from time to time.

Wherever the eerie sound passed, both the greedy troops and adventurers, as well as powerful fighters like Brown from the Church, felt their soul trembled. However, after they charged out of their tents, they were unable to pinpoint the source of the sound no matter how hard they tried.

The sound was fleeting and unstable, as if it had come from the horizon. However, hearing it closely, it seemed to have also come from the immensely deep underground tomb!

“Elder Brown, this sound is too strange. Why not we enter the tomb only after reinforcements from the Inner Templars arrived?” Looking at the sinister entrance to the underground tomb, a Spellcaster from the Templars softly voiced out his opinion, his expression grave and filled with worry.

Just now, while he was reciting an incantation to construct the Holy Light Magical Spell Formation, the assault of this strange sound and the wave of motion of his soul nearly caused him to be devoured by the spell he was casting. Other than the evil demons lurking within the underground tomb, he could not think of another terrifying monster that could be hiding nearby.

“No, there’s not enough time. According to the legends, the underground tomb would automatically close after opening for a period of time, and it would only reopen a thousand years later.” Looking at the entrance leading to the underground tomb not far away, Elder Brown had a grim expression. He deliberated for a moment before saying, “Currently, the entrance of the underground tomb is already showing signs that it is about to close. If my guess is right, it might close at any time within the next couple of days. We enter early tomorrow morning, there’s no need to wait for the reinforcements of the Inner Templars!”

After ordering the army to finish the preparations, Elder Brown left quickly. Before he entered his tent, he instinctively stole a glance at the tent on top of the Great Wizard Altar. As a Templar at the peak of Domain Expert, as a space element Spellcaster, he could instinctively sense that an obscure ripple of energy was enveloping the Great Wizard Altar.

Thinking back to Yang Ling’s abilities that were deep beyond comprehension, his expression turned even more grim. He turned around and instructed his personal guards to relay his orders that before the mission was complete, no one was to offend Yang Ling who had the home ground advantage, in case they invited unnecessary trouble.