Chapter 129: Farewell to Dean Harman (Request for Votes)

In this world, there are always those who stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid, rising above the billions, looking down upon the masses with cold indifference and manipulating life and death with ease. Philip Luo is undoubtedly one of these individuals, and one of the very highest at that; his actual power even surpasses that of the Emperor of the Blood Alliance.

Lant’s enmity with Luo Jones can only be attributed to his youthful naivety at the time, when he held overly idealistic fantasies about Philip Luo. After returning to the city, things unfolded exactly as Xu Wen had anticipated.

The group of necromancers known as the "Dead Souls" had not been discovered; the bloody massacres in several towns were the work of another faction that had long since infiltrated the Qingyun Empire independently. More than three months had passed, and those people seemed to have vanished into thin air. The thousands of experts dispatched by the Blood Alliance had searched everywhere to no avail and had already headed toward the "Magic Night City" on the border where the two nations were at war. Yet, despite the military buildup at the border, there was an abnormal calm.

The Dark Empire had not launched the first strike, and the Qingyun Empire, unable to identify the major threat within its own borders, was hesitant to act for fear of causing collateral damage. Now, reflecting on the situation, the Dark Empire’s massive move to attack the Qingyun capital months ago—even going so far as to utilize two major families from Jerusalem—only to result in this current stalemate, seemed rather reckless.

Xu Wen had an intuitive feeling that something was wrong. However, this was not his area of expertise; he could rack his brain and still fail to discern the Dark Empire’s true intentions or their next plan. But one thing he was certain of: the crisis facing the Qingyun Empire had not been resolved.

Furthermore, there was another strange point. The Bimon Dynasty, a major power that had stood against the Dark Empire for centuries, had made no moves or statements after the Qingyun Empire was attacked. This was also deeply perplexing.

Having grasped the events that had transpired in the Qingyun Empire during this period, Xu Wen used the excuse of contemplating Earth-Emperor level magic to ask Dean Notin for an independent training chamber. As for the mercenary group, He Chen could handle it.

Xu Wen was using an independent medium-sized training chamber specifically designated by the Imperial Merchant House for the Fourth Prince. The walls were reinforced with high-strength metal and shock-absorbing materials, making it incredibly luxurious. This room had been left unused by the Fourth Prince for a long time, so as soon as Xu Wen made his request, the head of the Merchant House—the former princess—immediately sent someone to usher him inside.

"If anything comes up during my training, just ring the bell. I do not wish to be disturbed when I am cultivating," Xu Wen said to the maid after inspecting the environment.

The latter nodded and replied respectfully, "Yes, sir. The Princess has ordered us sisters to keep watch outside day and night. If Mr. Xu has any instructions, just call out."

"Very well, you may go." The maid bowed and left.

Once the maid was gone, Xu Wen quickly released his spiritual energy to carefully inspect the entire chamber. After a soft incantation, a hazy, fiery-red barrier rapidly expanded outward from his center. A barrier with a diameter of five meters enveloped him; from this point on, anyone entering from the outside would only see a red dome. Having made full preparations, Xu Wen took out the stone whose origin he had speculated about countless times from his storage ring.

The moment the stone was removed from the ring—which insulated it from all elements—an intense, vortex-like suction erupted from it. The air began to heat up. The stone, initially glowing with a faint red radiance, instantly turned into a dazzling, brilliant light. It was as if something inside was greedily and frantically devouring the fire elements from all directions. Even the barrier Xu Wen had deployed was affected; as elements drained away, had Xu Wen not quickly noticed and channeled his spiritual energy to maintain the barrier's equilibrium, it would have completely collapsed within seconds.

Even so, Xu Wen was startled. As the stone on the ground continued to absorb elements, the red light grew increasingly intense, appearing like a massive red gemstone, and vast magical power rose from within it.

Xu Wen stood up in shock.

This magical power! It was so strong! No wonder the two factions outside the Joseph family’s territory had not only fought each other to seize it but had also caused collateral damage to everyone around them.

"What on earth is this?" Xu Wen looked at the stone on the ground, now completely obscured by the red radiance, his eyes filled with the crimson glow.

However, it lasted less than three minutes.

"Damn it, I can't hold on!" Xu Wen suddenly felt a wave of intense exhaustion and depletion. Sweat broke out on his forehead, his spiritual energy was draining rapidly, and in a short time, most of the energy in his body had been absorbed.

Panic set in, but he dared not delay. He flipped his hand, and a ball of golden flame rose from his palm, forming the shape of a hand that grabbed the stone. Fortunately, the stone’s temperature was not high, and it was returned to his storage space without resistance. Yet, the moment he grasped it, the remaining spiritual energy in his body was drained away even more violently than when he had first taken it out—the intensity far exceeding that initial moment.

The red light vanished, but Xu Wen was pale and gasping for breath. He hurriedly took a spirit-invigorating pill from his treasure belt, chewed and swallowed it, and sat cross-legged to recover his energy while looking down at the thick layer of white powder covering the floor.

Indeed! It was just like last time. The stone exterior was rapidly evaporating due to the anomaly, and because the duration was different, the amount of white powder on the floor had increased.

He checked his storage ring again with his spiritual energy. The stone, now quiet, had become much smaller. The piece that was originally half a meter long was now only about the size of two bricks, less than thirty centimeters. Xu Wen was now basically certain that there was some special substance inside the stone—perhaps a sentient treasure, or perhaps something unknown. Regardless, Xu Wen decided he must get to the bottom of it.

Judging by the speed at which the stone was weathering, Xu Wen surmised that if he did this once more, the secret inside would likely reveal itself automatically.

Without further hesitation, Xu Wen began to fully circulate his Chaotic Sea of Consciousness to absorb and recover his spiritual energy.

"Huh?" After a while, Xu Wen suddenly opened his eyes, raised his hands in astonishment, and his eyes were filled with bewilderment. Why did it feel like his spiritual energy had subtly increased? Although the increase was relatively small, Xu Wen monitored his spiritual capacity every day; such a minute change could not escape his notice.

"Could I be this lucky?" Xu Wen quickly associated this with the mysterious stone. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but the scene of his spiritual energy being frantically drained flashed through his mind like a tide. He recalled that at the moment his "Chaotic Sea of Consciousness" was emptied, there seemed to have been a subtle change in the speed at which it generated elements and in the size of the container itself.

Filled with uncertain anxiety and excitement, Xu Wen resolutely stopped recovering his spiritual energy. He looked back at the teleportation array he had used to enter the chamber, walked over, and removed a crystal core from it. Without the complete array, people from the outside could not enter; he would simply have to place the core back when he wanted to leave.

Returning to his original spot, Xu Wen impatiently took the now much smaller stone out of his ring. A faint red glow rapidly transitioned from weak to strong, its intensity so great that Xu Wen’s entire body seemed to dissolve into it.

Xu Wen carefully sensed the immense suction coming from the stone. His spiritual energy flowed into the stone, from a small trickle at the beginning to a floodgate opening in the later stages. This time, because his initial reserves were low, he quickly reached a state of total depletion.

Little Tiger stood guard beside Xu Wen, looking majestic. He had already prepared to intervene at any moment; as soon as the suction from the stone threatened Xu Wen’s body, he would have Little Tiger help him break the connection. But as his spiritual energy rapidly dried up, the suction also weakened significantly.

Xu Wen could clearly feel the speed of his Chaotic Sea of Consciousness beginning to accelerate, and its volume began to expand and grow at a clear and distinct rate! This discovery naturally filled Xu Wen with inexplicable joy. Increasing his cultivation? This stone actually had the miraculous ability to allow one to increase their spiritual cultivation? This was too heaven-defying!

Suddenly struck by such a massive windfall, Xu Wen did not dare to drop his guard. He knew the truth that great rewards are often accompanied by equal measures of danger. Therefore, even though this mysterious stone brought him the ecstasy of passively increasing his cultivation, he dared not miss even the slightest change within his body.

His face grew paler, and he prepared to sever the connection to the stone! But at that very moment, a bizarre thing happened—the stone in his hand vibrated slightly, as if a heart were beating. It resonated with Xu Wen, and he felt a powerful surge of spiritual energy flowing backward through the suction, rushing into his mind!

"Oh no!" With a thought, Xu Wen realized something was wrong. It was indeed reckless to try and increase his cultivation using an unknown method before learning the details of the stone... something had gone wrong!

Without hesitation, he issued a command to Little Tiger, asking it to help pull the stone away.

Roar! Little Tiger roared anxiously. After Xu Wen collapsed, the stone had become tiny, like a fragment of red crystal, clinging tightly to Xu Wen’s palm. It tried using its teeth and claws several times but couldn't pry it loose. Its tiger eyes were filled with anxiety and panic, and it could only roar loudly in his ear, hoping to wake its master.

Just then, an unexpected command entered Little Tiger’s mind. Little Tiger immediately quieted down. It looked at Xu Wen suspiciously, carefully licked his face with its tongue, and then obediently curled up and lay down beside him, though it still kept a worried watch on Xu Wen’s pale complexion.

Above the fiery-red Chaotic Sea of Consciousness, two hazy figures stood facing each other. One of them was naturally Xu Wen. Gazing at the vortex spinning rapidly beneath his feet, this was his second time entering the Chaotic Sea of Consciousness, but this time he was facing the complete version. Its range had expanded significantly, and waves continuously surged upward; the scene was truly spectacular.

However, his attention was quickly and deeply drawn to the figure opposite him, and he could no longer look away! It was not the unfamiliar mage he had seen when comprehending the "Flame Ring," but a figure that felt vaguely familiar, becoming clearer and clearer, until finally...

Xu Wen breathed rapidly, looking at the person opposite him in disbelief—an old man with a kind and gentle smile, floating there, watching him quietly and with gratification.

(To be continued)