Chapter 311: The Mountain Temple
The two left the Merlin Family Manor and walked along the shore of Falling Star Lake. Before long, they reached the base of the mountain cliffs. Now that they were closer, it was clear—the canyon below was shrouded in mist, hazy and indistinct, making it impossible to see what lay within.
"Hm?" Leon stood above the canyon and glanced down, his expression suddenly growing serious.
"What's wrong?"
"This mist isn't ordinary."
"Yeah..." William Merlin nodded in agreement. "They say this mist wasn't here at first. Later, after our Merlin ancestors left the Ancestral Grounds and followed the First King to found the Kingdom of Andalusia, they declined the King's invitation, retired, and walked alone back into the Ancestral Grounds. From then on, they never appeared before the world again. That's when this canyon became filled with thick mist..."
"It's not just that..."
But Leon shook his head, then pointed with his Spiritstaff. A faint glimmer flashed across the Elemental Amber, and as his magic stirred, the mist above the canyon churned violently.
By now, William Merlin had already reached the rank of Grand Mage. He could see clearly: as the mist churned, flashes of light shimmered within, countless mysterious runes swirling up and down. Most importantly, William could distinctly feel that as his cousin's magic poured in, a massive magical force was rising within the mist. It wasn't wild or fierce, but heavy and steady—like a mountain range blocking their way. Just standing there, he felt an irresistible pressure.
"This..." As one of the Merlin Family's outstanding younger generation, William Merlin hadn't undergone the Bloodline Rite yet, but he'd visited the Ancestral Grounds many times before.
In the past, William Merlin only thought the Ancestral Grounds were shrouded in endless mystery...
But today, William truly felt it—the Merlin Ancestral Grounds were not just mysterious. The secrets hidden within were probably far greater than he had ever imagined.
"Come on, let's go down and take a look." Leon smiled, ignoring William's stunned expression, and started down the steep, winding mountain path toward the canyon floor...
The mountain path was long. The two walked for nearly an hour before finally reaching the bottom of the canyon.
Then, they saw a dozen towers...
The canyon floor was far more vast than they'd imagined, and the scenery was even more striking. As far as the eye could see, the end was nowhere in sight. Beneath the sheer cliffs, a dozen towers stood at varying distances, faint magical energy radiating from them—silent and mysterious. Even from afar, Leon could see that the shortest tower was at least seven stories tall.
"Looks like the Merlin Family's foundation is even deeper than I thought..." Leon couldn't help but sigh as he took in the scene.
In the Northend World, there are strict standards for mage towers.
A mage's tower can have at most two stories; a Grand Mage, four; an Archmage, six. These rules aren't written anywhere, but for countless generations, mages have observed them religiously—like the embroidery on a robe's cuffs, rarely defied. Magic may seem free and mysterious, but in truth, it's far more hierarchical and merciless than the mundane world.
From a glance, every tower here was at least seven stories tall. That meant at least a dozen Title Archmages lived in this place.
And yet...
Leon clearly saw that the farthest tower had nine stories!
What did that mean...
A nine-story tower signified Sky Rank!
But...
That nine-story tower gave off no magical fluctuations at all—a silence as absolute as death.
An ordinary person might have mistaken it, but Leon never would. After reaching the rank of Archmage, Leon's sensitivity to magical fluctuations had increased tenfold. He didn't even need to use his mana array—he could tell that the nine-story tower had lost its master.
In other words, the Merlin Family's Sky Rank mage had either left, or perhaps fallen. Whatever the case, they were no longer in that nine-story tower.
Still, even if that nine-story tower had lost its master, just the remaining dozen seven- and eight-story towers showed how terrifying the Merlin Family's foundation truly was.
All of these were Title Archmages...
"All those towers are home to generations of Merlin Family ancestors. After long, storied lives, they grew weary of the mundane world and chose to retire in the Ancestral Grounds, becoming its guardians. Normally, we’d never get a chance to enter here—it's only thanks to you, cousin, that I can see these guardian towers with my own eyes..."
"By the way, what about Thornton Merlin..." Leon wasn't much interested in the family ancestors, but as William spoke, he suddenly recalled Hoffland mentioning Thornton Merlin.
"Thornton Merlin isn't here."
"Oh?"
"According to the family secret records, when Thornton Merlin entered the Ancestral Grounds, he didn't stay in any of the guardian towers. He kept going deeper, and in the end, disappeared without a trace..."
"Deeper?" Leon's heart stirred at this, and almost instinctively, he looked toward the depths of the Ancestral Grounds.
Then his expression suddenly changed...
In the depths of the Ancestral Grounds, mountains rose and fell, rivers trickled, forests grew thick—a scene of picturesque beauty. But as Leon looked, he realized he couldn't see clearly at all. It was as if something blocked his vision; no matter how hard he tried, all he could make out were the mountains, rivers, and forests...
This discovery startled Leon.
At Leon's current level, his perception of the world had begun to touch upon its very essence. Like before, when those guardian towers stood there—ordinary people saw only towers, but Leon saw the currents of magic flowing around them, and the magical fluctuations they emitted.
At this level, Leon's perspective on the world was completely different from that of ordinary people.
But now, Leon suddenly realized that what he could see was exactly the same as what any ordinary person could see...
This discovery made Leon even more curious about the Merlin Ancestral Grounds. What was hidden in the depths that made it impossible for him to see clearly?
"Uh..." Just as Leon was quietly puzzling over this, William Merlin glanced around nervously. "Cousin, we'd better not linger here too long. I’ve heard this area around the guardian towers is seriously cursed. If you’re not careful, something bad could happen. They say a young family member once came here for the Bloodline Rite and ran into the ghost of an ancestor—he was so terrified, he fled without finishing the rite, and ended up half-crazy. He was supposed to be a genius, but before he could grow up, he fell. The whole Merlin Family mourned him for ages..."
"Alright, let's go perform the Bloodline Rite." Leon wasn't afraid of any curse here. To be honest, how could it be more cursed than the end of the world?
Still, before completing the Bloodline Rite, Leon had no time to study the Ancestral Grounds.
"It's just up ahead."
William led the way, and soon the two left the guardian towers behind, arriving at the base of a steep cliff. There, they saw the cliff split by some mysterious force, revealing a rugged mountain path that led deep into the mountain, shrouded in thick mist. They couldn’t see the end at all.
They walked for who knows how long before the path suddenly opened up. At the end of the rugged trail was a wide, hollowed-out space in the mountain, filled with birdsong, flowers, and lush greenery. In the center stood a temple, its architecture strange and unlike anything from the Third Dynasty or the styles of the last thousand years—rough, mysterious, and utterly unique...
"Could it be..." Leon stood before the temple, secretly astonished. The two fierce statues outside the temple, with their rough and mysterious style, instantly reminded Leon of the distant Nesser Dynasty—the era of dragons and elves...
If that were true...
Then this temple must be truly ancient...
Standing outside the temple, Leon could feel a sense of age and solemnity—a presence only formed after countless years of history and sediment.
Actually, back in the Apocalypse Plane, Leon had already discovered that the Merlin Family ancestors likely took part in the dragon-slaying war that led to the fall of the Nesser Dynasty. But that was only a possibility. After that war, the Merlin Family vanished almost overnight, only reemerging in the last thousand years. By rights, there shouldn't be a temple like this left behind...
"Let's go in and take a look." With that thought, Leon's heart stirred. Without waiting for William to speak, he pushed open the temple doors and stepped inside, into the ancient, solemn space.
Sure enough...
The moment Leon entered, he knew he’d guessed right. A powerful dragon aura filled the temple—the presence of a five-colored dragon, or more precisely, the aura of the Black Dragon of Destruction...
This discovery shocked Leon.
William Merlin had once told him that the Merlin Family ancestors truly fought in the dragon-slaying war. Leon had even speculated that if they did, the most likely scenario was them standing alongside the Azure Sage against the Black Dragon of Destruction...
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