Chapter 811: Deep Sleep
“GRRR…!” Lothar felt the growing pressure on his body. It was a disgusting feeling of sinking into mire. As he growled, the ring of gold flames around his body became more blinding as though it had the capability to turn the Throne of Darkness into ashes.
The rage of the Flame Dragon gave Lin Li immense pressure as well. The Throne of Darkness trembled uncontrollably as Lothar growled. He felt as if the laws that made up the Throne of Darkness were cracking. The Throne of Darkness was in an extremely precarious predicament. It seemed like it would be destroyed before Lin Li could optimize his use of the abyssal force.
Is this caused by the difference in power? Lin Li suddenly felt really helpless. He realized that although he had reached level-24, he was still a thousand miles away from Lothar.
However, Nefa who had previously resigned himself to his fate opened his eyes and stood with his injuries. Although he did not know what Lin Li intended to do, he knew that the Throne of Darkness would play a great part in Lin Li’s plan. Seeing how the Throne of Darkness trembled under the power of Lothar, Nefa knew he had to put himself together and devote all of his might to maintaining the throne.
After all, this Throne of Darkness was Azardas’ creation. Although Nefa did not have the Laws of Darkness, the Laws of Destruction and Evilness helped to give the Throne of Darkness a tremendous boost. All of a sudden, the helpless air emitted from the Throne of Darkness calmed down despite the fact that it was still relatively unstable.
Lin Li immediately took the chance to optimize his mental strength. He mobilized more abyssal force to put the Flame Dragon under layers and layers of shackles. Although the level-28 beast would be able to break free from these shackles easily, Lin Li knew that it would need some time to do so. Lin Li had no extravagant hopes that the shackles would be able to really suppress Lothar. He only hoped that he could buy time for Rogge.
Time trickled by. Then, Lin Li suddenly felt that the life force of the Eternal Forest was building up really quickly. It got to a terrorizing force in the blink of an eye, and seemed to have the power to break this space. At the same time, the massive life force entered the Throne of Darkness and rushed towards Lothar. The ring of gold flames around the Flame Dragon was instantly coated with a layer of green.
Finally, Lothar’s indifference vanished, replaced with panic. Lothar could feel that the irresistible life force that entered his body was suppressing his power tremendously. Lothar felt that he had fallen to level-27 all of a sudden. It did not stop. He felt that he had gotten down to level-26, and then to level-25… Lothar knew that he could not wait any further. He growled at Nefa furiously before he tore the space in the surroundings and plunged into it. Then, he was not to be found anymore.
Did Lothar escape just like that? Lin Li sighed in relief as he watched the last bit of fire element disappear where he last saw the Flame Dragon. He rejoiced secretly. This ancient Flame Dragon could really afford to put his grudges down. It was no wonder why he had survived the war during the prehistoric era. If he had gone all out before his energy was completely sealed, he would’ve been able to get rid of his enemies successfully.
With Lothar’s departure, the lush forest also started to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye. The weeds and vines on the ground turned from green to yellow and to gray before vanishing into powder. The towering trees started to shrivel as the leaves fell from the canopy. They disappeared before reaching the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the once lush green Elemental World vanished like a dream. What was left was a bare land and the branch of the Tree of Eternity that stuck on religiously near the passage of the Fire Elemental World. It was still emitting a green luminescent light as before. It appeared to be unaffected by everything that happened before.
After sending the Throne of Darkness away, Lin Li turned pallid. Although he had not fought the Flame Dragon for more than a few seconds, the use of the abyssal force had drained a huge amount of his energy. But, as compared to Nefa and Rogge, Lin Li was much better off. He had the ability to recover his mental strength and mana in a much shorter time than the two of them. The resolve of Nefa and Rogge vanished with Lothar’s departure, which seemed to paralyze them.
Nefa lay on the ground on his belly without paying any attention to his image as the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction. He did not immediately return to his human form, either. All he did was to pant heavily and leave his deep wounds to slowly heal.
Although Rogge’s injuries were not as severe as Nefa’s, his body suffered greatly as he was the main pillar of support for the branch of Eternity. Rogge sat on the ground, and his weak wave of mana was almost undetectable.
Lin Li’s brief period of rest had helped him regain a huge part of his composure. He glanced at Rogge and Nefa, and was not worried, as he knew that both of them were trying to use their own ways to recover. This was definitely the best chance to kill Nefa. But, having fought side by side with Nefa just now, and impressed that Nefa had not withdrawn from the battle prematurely… For whatever reason, Lin Li felt less desire to kill Nefa now. What was more important was to prevent his personal interests from hindering his promise with Rogge, an elder worthy of his respect.
Although Nefa was lying on his belly lifelessly, he was trying to pay attention to Lin Li’s behavior. He was feeling extremely depressed at the same time. Goddammit, what has he done? Why did he try to be the hero when he had no capacity for that? He knew that Lin Li had the power to decide his fate, despite his identity as the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction.
Nefa was extremely clear that no one would be able to forgive him for the tricks he’d played earlier on. That would not be a problem if he was not injured. After all, Lin Li was only a level-24 man who had yet to step through the gates of the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, he was still far from the realm. But now, he knew that his plight would render himself vulnerable to any common man, let alone one who had been in contact with the gates of the Sanctuary-realm.
However, just when Nefa was entertaining such thoughts, and trying to gather his powers discreetly, he was surprised that the young human mage did not fly towards him. Instead, he turned away. He picked up the branch of the Tree of Eternity and casually flung it at Nefa, who was expecting that he would keep it for himself…
It was not that Lin Li saw no value in the tree branch. It was due to his knowledge that the branch was what Rogge had promised to give Nefa. He knew that if he wanted to snatch that treasure in the future, he would naturally work for it with his own abilities. Now was not the time. After he threw the branch at Nefa, he silently proceeded to retrieve the seed of Eternity that had been hovering in mid-air. It was his possession, after all. Although it was a dead seed, it was still valuable as a source of mana.
However, just when Lin Li was about to put the seed away, he paused in surprise. He could clearly feel that something was different about the seed as compared to when he first took it out. The change was not due to the depletion of its mana. After all, they had been battling with a level-28 Flame Dragon. It was only normal for the seed to have an obvious decrease in mana no matter how massive its mana was. What shocked Lin Li was the faint life force he felt within the seed. It was as though there was something within that was in the midst of awakening.
Lin Li did not gain anything beneficial from battling Lothar the Flame Dragon. He knew that his progress into level-24 was a given. Even without this battle, a short retreat would suffice for the same results. In fact, Lin Li was at a loss for using the enhanced All-Knowing Potion. It meant that he wouldn’t be able to use it in the future.
However, if the seed were to be revived because of this incident, it would definitely be an advantage for Lin Li. Could it be Rogge’s interaction with the life force of the branch of Eternity that had awakened the seed? The thought of that made Lin Li extremely excited.
Yes, that’s right! The seed of Eternity is definitely in the process of awakening! Lin Li held the seed in his hands carefully as if any bit of carelessness would cause it to be damaged. He sent his mental strength into the seed and tried to analyze the transformation. Then, his furrowed brows gradually started to relax. A sense of joy surfaced on his face involuntarily.
The Tree of Eternity had the ability to support a mighty species that ruled Anril for ages. There would definitely be unlimited benefits for the Tower of Dusk if the seed of Eternity could take root there. Of course, it would at the same time invite many jealous gazes. Yet, that would not be an issue for Lin Li.
After putting away the seed, Lin Li sat beside Rogge. Without his help, he would not be able to leave this world. So, what he could do now was to wait. But, Lin Li was not idle as he waited. Lin Li continued to consolidate his new abilities as a level-24 mage, and reflected on his insights of the Sanctuary-realm in particular.
To mages, the process of enhancing their abilities was through the never-ending accumulation of powers towards the benchmark of the next level. Yet to Lin Li, his already massive mana and unlimited mental strength that was comparable to a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse’s made this process of accumulating powers a dispensable action.
Hence, while Lin Li only took a few minutes to enter level-24, his true ability was not what any newcomers could compare themselves to. The most important parts were Rogge’s advice and his experience of being part of the battle between Sanctuary powerhouses. He caught a glimpse of the Sanctuary-realm when he rose to level-24. Although it was just a little inspiration, it meant that Lin Li was already at the peak of level-24, and was at the point where he could see the gate towards the Sanctuary-realm.
Although he had used the improved version of the All-Knowing Potion before the expected date, Lin Li did not a bit regretful of his decision. He knew it was a wishful thinking to expect that the All-Knowing Potion could help him enter the Sanctuary-realm after he had a vague understanding of the realm.
After what seemed like an eternity, Lin Li heard footsteps coming towards him. He came out of his contemplative state, and saw Nefa walking towards him slowly in his human form. But, Lin Li could tell that although the external wounds on Nefa’s body had healed, he was still far from his initial condition.
The sight of Lin Li’s gaze made Nefa sulk. He threw a ball of something towards Lin Li. “This is what was promised to you earlier on,” said Nefa indignantly.
Lin Li reached out to receive the item. He saw that it was a robe that emitted a mysterious wave of nomological power. This robe was not any simple robe. Lin Li could even feel that its powers resembled that of Nothingness from the debris of stars. It seemed like that was what Nefa mentioned in the deal they had previously. It was a Domain Robe that Immortal King had input with the Laws of Space.
Lin Li had the least mastery in Nothingness out of the five pieces of the debris of the stars he had acquired. But, that could be complemented by this Domain Robe that had been integrated with the Laws of Space. Although it would not be able to help him exert all of the powers of Nothingness, it would be almost matchable to his powers with the other four pieces of the debris of the stars. Furthermore, the Laws of Space within the Domain Robe would be of a significant help for Lin Li to comprehend the nomological power within Nothingness.
Although Lin Li did not take advantage of Nefa who was severely injured, it did not mean that he had good feelings towards that crafty black dragon. But, when Nefa handed his Domain Robe to Lin Li voluntarily, Lin Li could not help but shift his preconceived judgment of Nefa by a little. After all, the situation now did not matter to the deal they’d wanted to make anymore.