The Tomb
The residents of the small town were evidently prepared to join the army of scrap collectors. This might also have been the reason why they decided to live here, or their aim in being here.
At the same time, they were very unfriendly towards the foreigners who stayed in the inn, casting grave and stern looks at them from time to time, clearly treating them as prey.
As compared to the residents, who were great in number, the adventurers and mercenaries were outnumbered and divided. They gathered together, and couldn’t help but grip tightly onto the cleavers and swords they held.
Although they knew that the others did not harbour good intentions, these people who they could consider ‘one of their own’ made them feel more at ease in comparison to the sea of residents outside.
It was fortunate that although the two groups of people both shot glares at one another, they didn’t land themselves in a more heated conflict before the Spirit Wave could begin.
At this moment, a bizarre energy wave spread across the town, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
As for Leylin and the other Magi, the feeling was more distinct.
“It’s beginning...” Leylin gazed at the haloed moon in the sky.
According to the A.I. Chip’s readings, the intensity of a type of dark and cold energy waves was rapidly rising. So much that the region around the small town seemed to be enveloped in what seemed like a domain barrier.
‘The Morning Star realm? No! Its intrinsic qualities slightly fall short, it can only be a force field belonging to rank 3 Magi at most!’ The appearance of such a barrier made Leylin’s pupils contract, but he relaxed soon after.
“It’s... It’s appearing...” At this moment, a voice sounded, trembling either due to dread or excitement.
Leylin followed the crowd. Numerous rays of light that resembled shooting stars converged into a long, glittering river, flowing slowly from the perimeter of the small town.
Brilliant rays with resplendent streaks splashed across the horizon. Leylin’s eyesight allowed him to see the items in the rays of light clearly.
A single yellow leather shoe flew past, with tiny white wings on each side. The shoelaces were left on the side in a mess, yet the tip of the shoe was polished and shiny.
Behind the leather shoe was a black walking stick, likely processed directly from some sort of vine. Similarly, it was flying with the wings below its handle.
“What... Is this thing...” Leylin’s looked baffled.
Soon after, he also saw a rag doll, a shabby table and chair, and other items fly past, such as the kind of flower vases that were usually placed on counters.
“Is this a gathering of dilapidated commodities?” He was speechless, but still commanded the A.I. Chip to record this scene and monitor the energy waves.
After the junk flowed away along the river, Leylin could no longer bring himself to laugh.
Right behind the flow of light, a faintly discernible white line gradually drew nearer.
When it came closer, he could see numerous unfeeling faces. They had long, jet black hair, and were clothed entirely in white, slowly walking over along the ray of light... Perhaps walking would be an inaccurate description, because a cloud of mist hung under their feet. Their entire beings seemed to drift forward continuously while suspended in mid-air.
Although the adventurers and mercenaries next to Leylin had long heard about such a phenomenon, their legs still trembled with fear. They couldn’t even keep their jaws shut, and the sounds of teeth chattering could be heard as they shuddered.
In comparison to those people, the residents of this town ought to have gone through this before, and had experience. Although their faces were also deathly pale, they could still compose themselves, and were not humiliated.
The densely-packed silhouettes converged to form an enormous tide, which surged up violently next to the small town.
Leylin stood at the side, solemn, as his A.I. Chip frantically recorded the data. “There are so many spirits. Perhaps something major once happened in the vicinity, and it might be related to high energy radiation...”
In actual fact, many of the strange sightings observed across the entire central continent were caused by battles between high-ranking Magi or contamination by radiation. Such phenomena usually did not die out even after thousands upon thousands of years, and instead expanded outward unceasingly, vying over territory with the humans who lived there.
Hence, the prevention and cure of such contamination was a hot research topic for many of the large forces.
Numerous white phantoms squirmed towards a particular direction unhurriedly. Among them were males and females, children and the elderly, yet they were all expressionless. Their hair was let down, and covered their pupils.
Such an odd phenomenon made even Leylin’s scalp tingle.
Souls have always been seen as something highly bizarre and idealistic. In his quest for more knowledge, he had no choice but to carry on.
“Huh?” At this moment, the grandfather and grandson he had been observing with his soul force suddenly made a move.
Upon seeing the wave of numerous spirits, the elderly Magus seemed excited, and fished out a yellowing notebook. He appeared to be making comparisons, and even left the town secretly.
On the other hand, the other rank 2 Magi exchanged looks, then went to their separate corners and took out various materials from their robes to display on themselves.
“They are likely trying to use the power of the Spirit Wave to alchemize the magic items that are coming through!”
Leylin’s alchemic skills were high enough for him to be a grandmaster. With merely a slight glance, he immediately found a clue. Feeling that it was beneath him, he snorted coldly and didn’t bother about it.
He thought of leaving a phantom at where he was, while he himself would slip into the cracks of darkness so that he could follow the grandfather and grandson out.
In the notebook that the grandfather had taken out earlier, Leylin had seen something incredible.
“If that’s really the case, it will be interesting!” A brilliant light flashed in Leylin’s eyes.
“Grandfather... Are we... Really going to be around these spirits?” The grandson was only a cowardly acolyte. Seeing the translucent spirits, he tugged the elderly Magus’ sleeve in fear, his face pale.
“These spirits are of the lowest level, and aren’t likely to attack, what’s there to be afraid of?” The old Magus reproached, seemingly feeling a little helpless.
Although his grandson had pretty decent innate skills, he didn’t have much courage to speak of.
“But... We’re about to integrate into the sea of spirits directly! Once they discover that something’s not right, they’ll definitely rip us into pieces!” The old man’s reassurance did not calm the young boy down, but instead made him more fearful.
“If we don’t integrate into the spirit channel, how will we get to the tomb and obtain ‘that’?” An unyielding look was written across the old man’s face. He grabbed his grandson’s arm, then took out a few scrolls and ripped them apart.
*Buzz!* Upon ripping open the black scrolls, the pair was enveloped in a dull white glow.
After the radiance dispersed, both of their figures started to become ghost-like, and they even emitted energy waves similar to those of spirits.
The hostile glares that the spirits had been shooting at the pair also vanished immediately.
“Done!” The elderly Magus, who was becoming translucent, patted his chest. “This is a spell that has been passed down our family for generations, which can make these spirits temporarily view us as their kind...”
Seeing this, the boy was finally at ease, and squeezed into the stream of spirits together with the old man.
“What an intriguing spell!” A ray of light flashed in the air, and Leylin’s silhouette appeared, “It’s unlike the traditional spells from the central continent, and instead has a style reminiscent of the astral plane!”
Although the spirits were rich in number, most of them were of very low rank. They were absolutely incapable of detecting any flaw if a Morning Star Magus chose to conceal himself deliberately.
It was only until Leylin integrated into the Spirit Wave that he finally felt different.
“Space! It’s the power of space! No wonder that guy called this place a spiritual channel!” Leylin muttered under his breath. And he realised the path that the spirits were taking was oddly isolated from the rest of the central continent, forming a special channel.
Here, even if something was visible to the naked eye, it might actually be as far as hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
If one could grasp the rules of this channel, they would be able to use it to do things that many Magi would think unimaginable.
The old man ahead seemed very familiar with this place, and dragged the young boy along, advancing quickly. A blue light twinkled in Leylin’s eyes as he followed them closely.
“He’s using the spirit channel to hide something! I’m sure he must have been a Morning Star before his death!”
The further they went down the path, the more serious Leylin became. There were many dangers here that even he would be unable to ignore. If not for the fact that there was someone leading the way in front, he could not be sure if he would make his way through successfully.
There were fewer spirits lingering around at the back of the wave. A silver ray of light had appeared on the ground, and the old man was walking on it together with his grandson.
The minutes ticked by, and when they finally arrived at a particular site, ecstasy spread across the old man’s face. “Found it!”
Leylin’s footsteps came to a halt. The elderly Magus in front of him was standing under a huge butternut tree. The enormous forks in the branches formed an eerie symbol with three heads.
Upon seeing this tree, which seemed like some sort of landmark, the old man choked up in agitation, even shedding a few tears, “We’ve finally found it! The ancestral tomb!”
“Right here?” The young boy looked at the forked and ostensibly demonic branches, as the silver moon shone with an oddly nefarious glow, making him shrivel in cowardice.
“Yes, right here!” The old man was so excited that he nearly broke into a dance. “Our family’s cemetery is almost always hidden in the spatial rifts. Only when the Spirit Wave hits once every hundred years can we pass through the spirit channel to get here...”
A blazing radiance lit up in his eyes. “In the tomb lies the meditation techniques and magical equipment belonging to our ancestor. Just these items are sufficient to revive our family...”
“If that’s the case... Why didn’t our ancestors just leave this behind?” The young boy asked doubtfully.
“I’m not too sure myself. Anyway, this tomb is our family treasure, that’s for sure!” The old man seemed a little baffled himself, but it would soon be replaced by an even greater madness.