Chapter 433: Cataclysm
With a sudden roar, the Sand Beast stomped heavily, shaking the earth. The surrounding desert trembled as endless yellow sand collapsed inward. Each attack from the Sand Beast carried terrifying power—it became a blur, charging at Leon with a speed fiercer than lightning. Even a fifth-tier Sword Saint couldn’t dodge unscathed.
With a sharp crack, the Sand Beast tore through the air, nearly reaching Leon. But visible flames erupted from Leon’s body—he blinked away in a flash of fire, dodging the attack. At the same time, a dozen Fireburst spells exploded around the Sand Beast.
A barrage of Fireburst spells detonated in rapid succession, hammering the same spot on the Sand Beast’s body. Such ferocious attacks could shatter even the battle aura of a sixth-tier Sword Saint, but the Sand Beast only bore a scorched mark, blood seeping from the wound.
Blood dripped onto the scorching sand, evaporating instantly in the heat.
Leon hovered midair, using Levitation, the Doombringer Staff across his chest, mana surging through him. Inside, his two Alchemical Vortexes spun in tandem. After a brief buildup, he swung the staff, unleashing a dazzling burst of light.
Leon blinked in a flash of fire, closing in on the Sand Beast’s position. He uttered a cryptic, arcane syllable—now in his infinite spellcasting state, ignoring cooldowns, unleashing a torrent of fire magic: Fireburst, Dragonflame, Flame Aura, Sacred Fire Prison…
This region was already saturated with fire magic. As Leon unleashed spell after spell, a sea of flames erupted, engulfing the Sand Beast completely.
Roars, wails...
The Sand Beast’s roar was filled with panic and despair. Trapped in the flames, its tough hide glowed red-hot, scorched by the inferno. The sand beneath was beyond scorching. With a howl of agony, the Sand Beast pushed through the fire, charging forward several meters…
But what awaited it was a storm of spells—instantly, the Arcane Wheel blazed with dazzling light, hundreds of spells drowning the Sand Beast. When the magic faded, its massive body collapsed onto the sand, gasping heavily.
Three Ice Spikes struck—the Sand Beast was powerless to resist. With a wet squelch, the spikes sank deep into its body…
But just then, Leon clearly saw the Sand Beast’s body blur and shimmer—after a brief flicker, it vanished without a trace.
Boom!
The sound came from overhead. Leon looked up to see the gray sky torn open, a massive rift spreading wider. The blood-red sun was obscured, its scorching light snuffed out. Standing on the desert ground, Leon felt no heat at all—everything before him faded rapidly.
The gray sky, the desert, the blood-red sun—all vanished. With a violent twist, Leon’s vision blurred, and he instantly knew the illusion had ended…
Only, the place he was in now…
He glanced around—same architecture as before. He realized he was still on the eleventh floor of the Wizard’s Spire.
Directly ahead stood a doorway.
The doorway was utterly ordinary, with no trace of magical resonance…
Passing through that doorway should lead to the tenth floor of the Wizard’s Spire.
But he wasn’t ready to go yet—William Merlin and the others hadn’t emerged. He’d wait for them before heading to the tenth floor together.
After breaking the illusion, he realized the creator meant no harm. Entering the illusion was a rare opportunity—at least for him, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Otherwise, who knows when he’d grasp such profound magic.
So far, Leon Merlin, Ross Merlin, and the Dragonblood Orc had all gained significant benefits—especially the Dragonblood Orc, who’d leapt from seventh to ninth-tier Swordmaster just by sleeping. If he slept a bit longer, he might even reach Sword Saint…
Lost in thought, Leon’s gaze was suddenly drawn to something—a green seedling growing in a crack in the ground. It looked ordinary, but Leon stared at it, eyes nearly glowing…
Arcanavine…
Leon crouched down, staring in disbelief at the green seedling. He could hardly believe it—after a closer look, it really was an Arcanavine.
Arcanavine… Arcanavine…
This was a truly mysterious plant. Before it went extinct, every mage wanted to cultivate it—Arcanavine could absorb mana from the void, and the harsher the void, the more mana it drew.
After absorbing mana from the void, Arcanavine would refine and purify it, eventually forming a Mana Pool beneath its roots to store all that energy.
That alone made Arcanavine priceless—imagine a demi-plane with several Arcanavines, drawing mana from the void day and night, refining it, and channeling it into a Mana Pool. It would be an inexhaustible source of magical energy.
Unfortunately, Arcanavine’s growth requirements are so harsh that it’s nearly impossible for them to survive in the Northend World. None have appeared in over a thousand years.
Who would’ve thought one would appear here…
If Arcanavine fell into his hands, its potential would be unimaginable. On his natural semi-plane, two Primordial Deity Soul Fragments accelerated its growth—within ten years, the plane could mature, birth all laws, and even life itself. Then, it would truly become a world.
And that world would be under Leon’s control.
But ten years still felt too long for Leon. He’d dreamed countless times of having an Arcanavine on his natural semi-plane, drawing mana from the void and feeding it endlessly. How fast would that plane grow then?
Maybe the natural semi-plane would mature even faster.
He remembered his first visit to the natural semi-plane—there was a library belonging to Rudolph, and one book detailed how to cultivate Arcanavine. Rudolph must have considered using it to accelerate the plane’s growth.
But it seemed Rudolph never found an Arcanavine seed. Otherwise, the natural semi-plane wouldn’t have been so lifeless. Arcanavine had long gone extinct in the Northend World—finding a seed would be nearly impossible.
When Leon first gained the natural semi-plane, he had an idea—to borrow Duskfire from Oswald and open a certain plane, where an Arcanavine seed was said to exist. He remembered clearly: when mana was running dry in the Northend World, several Heaven-tier mages joined forces, reached that plane, and took the seed. But the environment was so harsh that the seedling died soon after sprouting…
The natural semi-plane’s environment was perfect for Arcanavine.
Leon couldn’t fathom how this Arcanavine was growing here.
It made no sense…
If you didn’t look closely, you’d think it was just a weed growing in a crack. Leon had thought so too—until he remembered this was the Wizard’s Spire, preserved for thousands of years, with no way for weeds to grow.
Then he realized—it wasn’t a weed, but the Arcanavine he’d dreamed of finding.
He carefully brought the Arcanavine into the natural semi-plane.
He hadn’t visited for months, and the natural semi-plane had changed dramatically. The river spanning the plane was now twice as wide and long, with lush trees and grass everywhere. There were no birds, but there were flowers…
Every time Leon entered the demi-plane, he was amazed by its changes.
Huh?
Leon suddenly sensed a shift—a chaotic force of laws. It didn’t take him long to recognize them: the four laws of earth, water, wind, and fire.
Leon knew exactly what this meant—once the four laws stabilized, the natural semi-plane could give birth to life.
Soon, Leon found the spot where he’d placed the two Primordial Deity Soul Fragments—a thriving forest. The deeper he went, the more vigorous the life. At the center, he saw the fragments, melted and resting quietly on the grass.
Not far away was a pond, radiating intense magical fluctuations.
Sensing such intense magical fluctuations, Leon was startled—the magic was almost indescribably dense…