Chapter 134: Eye of Reincarnation
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Of course, right now this magical relic is still far from becoming the legendary, most powerful Essence Relic that would shake the world thousands of years later.
Leon remembers that thousands of years from now, this ultimate Essence Relic would boast twenty-eight Alchemical Arrays and no fewer than seventeen powerful components. Back then, its existence nearly overturned the entire alchemical system—its structure impossibly complex, its capacity truly terrifying. In its complete form, the power it unleashed far surpassed any other Essence Relic of its era.
Unfortunately, this magical relic only existed in the Northend World for about a thousand years...
A thousand years later, its owner fell in battle on some nameless plane. Though Cloudspire Tower managed to reclaim the relic, its power was lost forever.
The strongest Essence Relic in Northend World was reduced to a mere mundane object.
Yet even after the relic was rendered ordinary, alchemists never stopped their research. Another millennium passed, and their studies drew ever closer to the truth. Only then did Cloudspire Tower finally admit that it all hinged on the mana crystal set atop the relic—
It was a Devourer Titan Mana Crystal...
An adult Devourer Titan is itself a vast plane, devouring anything it can—meteors, voidstorms, even the remnants of dead worlds are all delicacies to it. In all of Northend's history, no one has ever hunted a Devourer Titan.
Thus, the origin of this Devourer Titan Mana Crystal became one of the many unsolved mysteries of the peak era.
In short, Cloudspire Tower relied on this Devourer Titan Mana Crystal to create the most powerful Essence Relic of the entire peak era.
The Devourer Titan Mana Crystal doesn't grant the relic overwhelming power, so when it first appeared, it was merely a Legacy Relic. Yet the crystal brought limitless possibilities to this Legacy Relic.
Just its capacity alone was enough to overturn the entire alchemical system—seventeen components in total.
This carrying capacity even surpassed many Transcendent Relics.
Leon knows well about the Death Tome. In its complete form, the Death Tome can hold fifteen components, which already makes it top-tier among Transcendent Relics.
Of course, Leon also knows it's far too early to think about all that...
Right now, all he has is a Legacy Relic—an incomplete one at that. Aside from a Devourer Titan Mana Crystal and a piece of Wraithwood, it only has three Alchemical Arrays. As for components, there aren't any at all.
To reach the level of the strongest Essence Relic thousands of years from now, Leon still has a long, long way to go...
Or, to put it another way, there are still a lot of gold coins to spend.
Just the thought of those twenty-eight Alchemical Arrays is enough to make Leon despair.
We're talking about twenty-eight Alchemical Arrays here—the resources consumed would bankrupt dozens of Goldspark Trading Companies. With the little wealth Leon has, even finishing one would be a blessing.
And then there are those seventeen components...
These aren't ordinary components. Leon has checked the records—most of them are Essence Relic-level, and even the weakest ones are peak Soulbound Fragment-level.
Just think about it: back at the Blackhorn Auction, Leon and Salomon spent over a million gold coins to win a single Soulbound Fragment, and that was when no one else knew what it was. If everyone had known, the price would have at least doubled!
If that's what it takes for a single Soulbound Fragment, how could completing the strongest Essence Relic possibly be a matter of a day or two?
Even Leon can only promise that, within a year, this relic's power will surpass that of the Wraithwalker.
Of course, that's just bullying Lord Shaun...
After all, Lord Shaun's avatar is a soul entity, not known for raw power. His strengths are in crafting illusions and direct soul attacks—comparing him to a pure attack relic isn't exactly fair.
Leon doesn't even need this relic to reach Essence Relic-level.
As long as it can manifest a Relic Spirit and reach Soulbound Relic-level, surpassing Lord Shaun in power will be a certainty...
"Too poor..." Just thinking about the cost of twenty-eight Alchemical Arrays plus seventeen components made Leon sigh deeply.
Originally, after the Gilded Rose completed its expansion and became Seaview City's top alchemy shop, Leon thought he had more than enough wealth.
Now it seems it's still far from enough...
Forget it, better to focus on finding the Eye of Reincarnation first.
After thinking it through, Leon put the relic back in his pocket and headed straight through the Dark Arena, gradually moving deeper into the Prince's Crypt. As he advanced, the terrain grew more complex, the entire underground tomb like a massive labyrinth.
Along the way, the countless traps and mechanisms gave Leon a whole new appreciation for the Third Dynasty's alchemical technology. Arrow storms, blade mountains, seas of fire—these were nothing compared to what lay in the Prince's Crypt. Leon had truly broadened his horizons; every step was fraught with danger, every moment heart-pounding. This journey was every bit as grueling as crossing the Dark Arena.
He had to remember every path he'd taken while staying alert for traps. Leon felt like his hair had turned half white by the time he finally made it through this deadly maze.
What appeared before Leon now was an altar, atop which was enshrined the Hyber Dragon God—the first primordial dragon at the dawn of creation, with a body of gold and three heads representing Light, Darkness, and Chaos. Even as a mere statue, its boundless majesty radiated outward, filling Leon with an urge to bow in reverence.
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"Vanish!" Leon snorted coldly, casting a mental shield.
As the first primordial dragon at the dawn of creation, the Hyber Dragon God's draconic might was terrifying—enough that any ordinary archmage would surely have been crushed by it.
But Leon would not...
Leon had once pored over the records of the Hyber Dragon God's demise in that vast, decaying library—the last time a human mage in Northend dared to slay a god, restoring the orders of Light, Darkness, and Chaos to the hands of humankind.
For such a god, destined to fall, Leon felt neither fear nor reverence.
After casting a mental shield, Leon was finally able to endure the Hyber Dragon God's overwhelming presence and set about searching the temple. Strangely enough, it was common knowledge that the Hyber Dragon God adored treasures—the brighter and more valuable, the more they won his favor.
As a member of the Third Dynasty's royal family, the Prince surely knew this. In fact, that temple in Venomfog Gorge was filled with vast wealth.
Yet in this temple, aside from the altar, there was absolutely nothing...
Could it be that the Prince changed his faith before his death?
"Damn it, what are you doing here!" Lord Shaun, who had been quietly siphoning mana from the crystal, suddenly exclaimed just as Leon was deep in thought.
"I'm looking for something," Leon replied absentmindedly, releasing a Wizard's Eye.
Is it the Eye of Reincarnation!
You know about the Eye of Reincarnation?
Only a blind man wouldn't know..." Lord Shaun snorted disdainfully.
You mean..." Leon was startled. Lord Shaun said 'blind man' instead of 'idiot'—did that mean the Eye of Reincarnation was already within his line of sight?
Just look at the statue's eyes yourself.
Reminded by Lord Shaun, Leon quickly guided the Wizard's Eye over. Sure enough, as soon as it approached, the statue's eyes seemed to come alive, staring fixedly at the Wizard's Eye. Then came a strange magical interference—the Wizard's Eye simply dissipated.
That's weird..." Leon tried twice and got the same result. No matter how much mana he poured in, no matter how much shielding he added, the Wizard's Eye couldn't get within a hundred meters of the statue.
Weird doesn't even begin to cover it..." Lord Shaun sounded disdainful, but for some reason, Leon sensed a trace of fear in his voice: "You know, when Barov built this tomb, he was still in his prime. But after it was finished, he never left again. Most of the time, he stayed in this temple, muttering to himself—who knows what he was doing..."
That weird?
It gets even weirder. I'm telling you, Barov was even scarier in his old age. The empire's strongest man went mad—can you imagine? Such a nearly omnipotent figure, utterly insane. Barov killed all his subordinates and family, buried them in this tomb, and finally even drained all my mana, trapping me here forever...
The more Lord Shaun spoke, the more fearful he became; by the end, his voice was even trembling.
What happened after that?
After that, after that..." Maybe realizing he'd seemed weak, Lord Shaun grew angry after repeating himself twice: "How would I know? Once a relic's mana is drained, it falls into slumber. I don't sleepwalk, so how would I know what happened after that!"
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