Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 381
However, Lin Li merely talked about the central tower, but did not give any explanation about the labyrinth-like streets Cheyenne had mentioned subtly. The Conquering Mageweath was considered one of the top-level mageweaths even amongst Guru-level mageweaths. Perhaps only a few High Elves knew about it. Although Cheyenne was the closest to Lin Li in this cooperation, their bond wasn't strong enough for him to really come clean about everything.
Although Cheyenne found the maze to be very strange, he did not continue probing when he noticed that Lin Li didn't seem too keen about talking about it. In his opinion, it was probably just some magic gears or booby traps. Since he had already barged in, there was no need to look further into it.
In fact, Cheyenne was now the weakest amongst the several forces, and the only trusted ally of his was Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. On the surface, he seemed to have accepted Lin Li's invitation calmly, but he was in fact more than happy. Hence, despite knowing that Lin Li was hiding something, he decided not to probe any further for fear that he would lose his ally.
The group arrived in front of the central tower, and Lin Li stopped in his tracks all of a sudden. Staring at the seemingly ordinary door, his forehead gradually creased into a frown.
"Mage Felic, is there some sort of mageweath on this door?" Cheyenne looked at the tightly shut doors and the two complicated mageweaths that made him feel a little dizzy. Although he could guess that this might be the magic lock of the tower, he did not study mageweaths in detail, and couldn't see what it was.
Lin Li hesitated for a moment before wryly saying, "If I'm not wrong, it should be the legendary Magical Thousand-contraption Lock."
"The Magical Thousand-contraption Lock!" Cheyenne's face grew sullen immediately. The legendary Magical Thousand-contraption Lock could not be deciphered even by the gods. Perhaps the legends might be exaggerated, but he no longer had the elite Bandits along with him to open the lock. Perhaps the Legendary-realm Bandit Lansdale from the Dark Blade would have the means to do so, though.
If Lin Li knew what Cheyenne was thinking, he would definitely tell him that even the ancestor of Lansdale would never be able to unlock the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock unless he had the real key, let alone Lansdale. That was how precise it was. Even the person who had set up the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock would not be able to open it without the key.
After Lin Li arrived in Anril, he had seen the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock several times before, including one time in the underground vault of Time Consignment Store. However, even though the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in the Time Consignment Store was clearly inferior, it still required more than 100 keys and a special maneuvering technique to be unlocked.
Based on Lin Li's experience, he deduced that the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in the door might really require at least 1000 keys and countless methods for it to be unlocked safely. It was not an exaggeration at all. Those who didn't know the right maneuvering techniques would never be able to unlock it.
Everyone knew that there were rules to follow, be it with an ordinary lock or a magic lock. In order to unlock a lock, finding the rules would be akin to finding the key, for the next step would be to find a replacement for the key. However, there were countless permutations within the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, and even the gods couldn't calculate them all.
"Mage Felic, is there really no solution?" Cheyenne asked, refusing to submit to fate.
Lin Li smiled bitterly, and said, "If it was another Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, I could try unlocking it, but there's no need to try with this one." Not only was there no solution, Lin Li wouldn't dare to try it even if he had one. They were not in the underground vault of the Time Consignment Store, but in the Sky Castle of the High Elves. The attack of the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock triggered by an attempt would definitely be massive. If he were to try it recklessly, it would be akin to suicide.
Although the way to the central tower was blocked by the unbreakable Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, Lin Li and Cheyenne both refused to resign to fate. Lin Li slowly walked along the bottom of the tower while scrutinizing it in hopes of finding a breakthrough.
When they got all the way to the back of the tower, Lin Li raised his head and looked up, only to see an open terrace on the second floor of the tower.
"Is there access to the interior of the tower?" Seeing that Lin stood still, Cheyenne looked up. He couldn't believe his eyes at all. Could this be possible? There was an unbreakable Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in front and a huge hole at the back.
Lin Li didn't believe that there would be such a good thing. The High Elves were not idiots. Since the front door was deadlocked, how could entry be granted at the backdoor? Needless to say, the terrace was definitely no less dangerous than the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in the front. At least the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock wouldn't be dangerous as long as it wasn't touched. However, the terrace was more like a bait that was waiting for the invaders to take it.
Actually, the significance of such a trap was very clear and blunt, yet people often found it impossible to turn down. Perhaps not everyone knew that the tower was the control center of the city of the sky, but everyone knew that it was in the central position and offered plenty of potential benefits. In the face of such a huge temptation, no one would give up even if there was deadly danger on the terrace. After all, humans would die for money.
It was predictable that the elves would definitely not give up, just like Dark Blade. Hence, there was no reason for Cheyenne to give up too.
Lin Li wanted something different from them. He could ignore the Immortal King's treasure, but not the great Sky Castle. Lin Li still had the key to the Sky Castle that was left behind by Geresco, after all.
"Mage Felic, do you think it can really lead inside the tower?" Cheyenne turned to look at Lin Li. Although he seemed to be asking for Lin Li's opinion, he was actually inviting him to go in together.
Lin Li looked away and thought about it for a moment. "This is an obvious trap, but the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock cannot be unlocked. There is only hope here. However, we can only find out if it can really lead to the inside of the tower by going in and exploring it."
After a brief conversation, the two of them decided to venture into the terrace and explore it, even though they knew that the terrace was a trap. Although the terrace was about 10 meters high, it was not an issue for the Legendary powerhouses to fly past it. When they looked in through the door, they could vaguely see what was inside.
Were their worries and concerns redundant? Lin Li and Cheyenne looked at each other strangely before carefully making their way inside together. One step, two steps, three steps… All of a sudden, everything around them changed. Everything in the room had disappeared, replaced by a dense forest.
White clouds slowly fluttered in the blue sky, while the sun radiated a dazzling light. In the dense forest, the leaves rustled in the wind, and everything seemed so beautiful and real, without a single trace of illusion.
How is this possible? Lin Li turned to look at Cheyenne, only to realize that he was shocked and bewildered too. Lin Li was not a rash person. Since he knew that there was a trap on the terrace, he was very careful when entering. Despite being a Guru, he did not find any mageweaths, Alchemy Arrays, nor magic gears. In fact, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the magical waves, either.
Looking at the completely different scene in front of him, Lin Li recalled everything that happened just now, and a legend popped up in his head all of a sudden. It was about the High Elves in the Dark Age. It seemed that the current situation could only be explained by that legend.
Cheyenne held his staff tightly, and glanced at his surroundings vigilantly while saying, "Mage Felic, do you think that that legend could be real…?"
Lin Li didn't see any trace of magic gears, because legend had it that this was a kind of magic. Despite being a Legendary-mage, Lin Li did not feel the slightest fluctuation of mana, because it was a magic spell cast by 10 mages of the Sanctuary-realm.
Although the Dark Age had already ended and the High Elves had been overthrown, while the Tree of Eternity was destroyed, no one would question their achievements in magic. During the heyday of the High Elves and their reign over Anril, the High Elves were the strongest race because of their perfect magical talents. It was said that the strongest defense force in the palace of the High Elves was not the Queen's Magic Legion, but the Orderly Maze put up by 10 figures of the Sanctuary-realm.
The Orderly Maze was a level-25 spell that had a weak magical wave that was subtle and even impossible to feel at ordinary times. If its presence was not known in advance, even a Legendary-mage who had mastered the nomological power would not be able to detect its existence.
That was one of the reasons that Lin Li and Cheyenne thought of this legend. Due to the sudden change in the environment, the two level-21 Legendary-mages did not feel the slightest fluctuation. It was as if the forest had always existed in the room, and they just naturally walked into it.
Although they knew since the start that there would be traps in this terrace, none thought that it would be the legendary Orderly Maze. Since it was called an Orderly Maze, it definitely had order as its highest rule. As long as one followed the correct path, they would not be affected at all.
Lin Li and Cheyenne had entered through the window; hence, they would definitely be punished by messing up the order, though no one knew how. However, the four of them were all keeping their guard up. They believed that the High Elves would not be so merciful as to only warn them using this spell.
The Orderly Maze was a level-25 spell that was set up by 10 powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. If the intruders would simply be transported to a different place, it would be a huge insult to magic.
Just as Lin Li and Cheyenne scrutinized the surroundings alertly while guessing the kind of magic that would be solidified in the Orderly Maze, a loud roar sounded from the forest all of a sudden. A demon exhaling a powerful breath rushed aggressively towards everyone.
The demon was 20 meters tall, with a huge sheep's head and a pair of giant spiral sharp horns on top of his head. He also had red eyes and was continuously exhaling fumes of black gas from his nostrils.The demon's body looked just like that of a human, but it was much taller and stronger. It also had a pair of black wings.
With every step of the demon, the ground would shake. The powerful aura also rose with the demon's footsteps, while the black gas became thicker.
Staring at the aggressive demon, Lin Li and Cheyenne suddenly thought of the Demon Lord Marther!
Compared to Anril, the Endless Abyss was a place of survival of the fittest. The Demon Lord who could rule a layer of the Abyss was definitely the strongest demon in that layer because he had to challenge the previous lord and brave various battles to take the throne.
Chapter 643 - Lord Marther
A short-lived Demon Lord would never leave his name behind even in the Abyss, let alone in Anril. Lin Li and Cheyenne were now facing a legendary Demon Lord well-known in Anril, Lord Marther who was from the 50th level of the Abyss.
In the Endless Abyss, a general law applied. The Demon Lords that were closer to the bottom were stronger, while those on the higher levels tended to challenge the ones on the lower levels because they thought that they were powerful enough to do so. Of course, such challenges had rarely been successful. It seemed that the lower levels of the Abyss were more environmentally helpful for the demons.
Lin Li didn't know whether the legend was true or not. However, he could clearly feel that the oppressive aura coming from the Demon Lord Marther was stronger than that of the Lord of Souls. However, as the ruler of the 50th level of the Abyss, why did the Demon Lord Marther show up here? Or have we somehow arrived on the 50th level?
All of a sudden, a possibility popped up in Lin Li's mind, and he turned to glance at Cheyenne before the two of them chorused, "Damn it, the Seven-Realm Spiral!"
What truly shocked Lin Li and Cheyenne was not the powerful and formidable Demon Lord Marther, but the location and circ.u.mstances of their encounter with him.
It was undoubtedly shocking; the High Elves were indeed shrewd and ruthless. They did not let the level-25 Orderly Maze go to waste at all. They actually further set up a level-25 spell, the Seven-Realm Spiral.
To Lin Li and Cheyenne, a level-21 Legendary-mage was worlds apart from level-25, the Sanctuary-realm. However, they were not completely clueless about the magic of the Seven-Realm Spiral, because it had an extraordinary significance to all Legendary-mages.
The Seven-Realm Spiral was not just a spell, but also a Magical Domain which was powerful beyond the imagination of a Legendary-mage. When a mage stepped into the Legendary-realm and began to touch the nomological power, he would master the Laws and make the power his through insight into nomological power. However, compared to the Laws used by the Seven-Realm Spiral, the mastery of the nomological power that the Legendary-mages had was nothing.
Contained in the Seven-Realm Spiral was a domain that only a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could enter. Not only was there the usage of nomological power, there was also a change in nomological power. It was the godly domain that created and ruined everything. It could be said that the Magical Domain of the Seven-Realm Spiral was what all mages pursued.
If the Legendary-mage's knowledge and mastery of the Laws was considered to be the first step of literacy, the Seven-Realm Spiral would be a pompous, articulate, and beautiful essay that was not just made up of a pile of words, but a whole world created by the author. This world would then be what gave those words a new and different meaning.
Every mage who had ever dreamed would see the Seven-Realm Spiral as his ultimate holy grail. Just like everyone who learnt to become literate would dream of using these words to compose a complete article, mages wanted to fulfil their dreams too.
Therefore, even though the Seven-Realm Spiral was a level-25 spell and a perfect Magical Domain that only the strongest in the Sanctuary-realm could create, almost all mages knew of its existence because it was their dream.
The Demon Lord Marther seemed to treat Lin Li and Cheyenne as challengers for his position. After roaring menacingly a few times, he reached out to condense a dark spear from the black mist around him. He didn't give them a chance to think at all, and instead immediately smashed his spear down at them like he was smashing a mountain.
Lin Li and his followers quickly dodged, while Cheyenne flew into the air to wave his staff at the Demon Lord Marther. He then said to Lin Li, "Please wait a minute, Mage Felic. Let me take care of this demon."
"Oh, I'll have to trouble you then, Master Cheyenne," Lin Li said politely before taking his Undead servants to the side away from the battle, feeling safe and secure. It was as if it all had nothing to do with him anymore, and he was just a member of the audience, waiting to see a good show.
Cheyenne smiled wryly, and thought to himself, I knew I would have to perform this task alone regardless of whether I said those words out of courtesy or not. That Mage Felic is just like that. He will never bother wasting his efforts as long as he could rely on someone else to solve the problem. Besides, there's no way you can blame him, because he will simply say that there is no need for him to intervene, since others could solve it.
The Demon Lord Marther could not be bothered what the challengers were doing, and saw no need to spare them any mercy even though they were not surrounding him to fight. His first goal was naturally to deal with the one who got singled out first. The wings on his back unfolded, and he flew towards Cheyenne while his spear fell apart into countless black flying arrows.
Although the power was dispersed, every black arrow contained enough destructive aura to make itself seem intimidating. It was as if an arrow was all it took to destroy the entire land. The sounds of the arrow shooting through the sky were akin to the yelling and howling of thousands of Undead creatures. It was as if humans were having their souls ripped out of their bodies.
Cheyenne hurriedly put his thoughts in order. It was not the time for him to distract himself now. After all, he was facing the fierce Abyssal Demon Lord.
With a swift spell, a dazzling light burst out of his staff, and a huge tornado that spanned tens of meters shielded him from the flying Demon Lord.
The countless black arrows were swallowed up by the tornado in an instant, and turned it black. However, none of them pierced through the tornado, and it destroyed them all.
The Demon Lord Marther let out a deafening roar, and threw a punch with his muscular arm, causing the entire space to quake. The tornado that had just swallowed countless black sharp arrows collapsed instantly under the mighty power. However, the punches did not stop, and his formidable power continued to attack Cheyenne, who was behind the tornado.
However, in the face of this powerful attack that almost shattered space, Cheyenne did not avoid it, and instead put on a smug and disdainful smirk. He moved the staff slightly forward and seemed to have condensed the space into an invisible giant shield, after which a loud explosive noise sounded in the air, leaving the Demon Lord Marther with no choice but to retreat.
Seeing this, Lin Li's pupils constricted slightly, after which he lowered his head and stopped paying attention to the intense battle in the sky. Although he only observed it for a while, Lin Li was no longer doubtful. Although the demon Mather was from the 50th level of the Abyss, he only had the strength of level-21 now. Cheyenne might also be only level-21, but he was at the peak of his strength. His power was likely to be nearing level-22.
Instead of observing the battle, Lin Li focused his attention on the world formed by the Seven-Realm Spiral as his strong mental spells seemed to have spread to the entire space instantly. The Seven-Realm Spiral was a level-25 Sanctuary-realm spell that could not to be seen through by just anyone. However, Lin Li had gained plenty of knowledge from the Book of Eternity, and could vaguely sense something about it even though he could not get a clear idea of the Laws contained in this spell.
