Chapter 261: Apocalypse Plane
Originally, Leon didn’t know much about Vaughn’s Alchemist’s Lab. Compared to Vaughn’s Vault on the distant Crystal Isle, this laboratory was far less famous. All Leon could really recall was that it housed a set of soulbound magical artifacts—the Crystal Balance—a treasure vault overflowing with magical materials, and six discarded alchemical vortexes. Beyond that, the details were pretty vague.
But when Leon entered the stone tower and saw Fran merge with the Crystal Balance, it all came back to him. This place wasn’t just about a vault or a legendary artifact set. The most important thing here was a path—a path between planes.
It was unlike any other plane path Leon had ever heard of.
This plane path had never truly appeared in the Northend World. Even the Ivory Tower, which left behind these records, had never managed to break through it.
Back then, after a bitter struggle against powerful foes, the Ivory Tower conquered Vaughn’s Vault on Crystal Isle. The vast resources and advanced techniques they gained propelled the Ivory Tower to new heights, keeping it among the top powers in the Northend World for centuries.
After seizing Vaughn’s Vault, the Ivory Tower’s exploration continued for nearly twenty years. During the final phase, a Sky Rank mage made an unexpected discovery.
This mage found that Vaughn had left behind some notes in the vault. In those notes, Vaughn described discovering an unbelievably rich plane, with descriptions so exaggerated that the entire Ivory Tower was shaken. If everything in those notes was true, that plane’s wealth would surpass the Bone Plane by at least tenfold!
This was no joke...
The Ivory Tower’s rise owed at least half its success to the Bone Plane. Now, with the possibility of a plane ten times richer appearing, there was no way the Ivory Tower would let it slip by.
After an intense round of discussions, the entire Ivory Tower mobilized, launching a full-scale search for clues about this mysterious plane. The hunt lasted fifty years, during which the Ivory Tower combed through nearly every Vaughn-related ruin.
But in the end, all they found were a handful of scattered clues.
The only thing they could confirm was that the key to unlocking this mysterious plane was a Soulbound Relic Set...
At that time, the Ivory Tower was at its peak in the Northend World. Forget a mere Soulbound Relic Set—even an Essence Relic Set was within their grasp. So, the Ivory Tower issued a bounty, offering a reward so tempting it would drive any Sky Rank mage mad, and began a frenzied search for this Soulbound Relic Set.
That search ended up dragging on for several centuries...
The three young mages who had once stumbled into the Bone Plane were now at the very pinnacle of power within the Ivory Tower. An entire era had passed before any news of the Soulbound Relic Set—the key to the mysterious plane—finally surfaced.
Even then, the Ivory Tower remained formidable...
With almost the entire institution mobilized, the Soulbound Relic Set inevitably ended up in the Ivory Tower’s hands. Bain, a Sky Rank mage, personally intervened and effortlessly suppressed the Crystal Balance’s avatar.
Over the next ten years, Bain devoted himself to unraveling the secrets of the Crystal Balance.
Day after day, for a full decade, Bain never once set foot outside the Ivory Tower.
Ten years later, Bain finally emerged from the Ivory Tower.
And then, something strange happened...
Almost everyone realized that after ten years, Bain’s magical power hadn’t improved at all—if anything, it had regressed by a full rank. He’d been a ninth-rank Sky mage when he suppressed the Crystal Balance’s avatar, but ten years later, he’d dropped to an eighth-rank Sky mage.
Even more alarming, people discovered that the Crystal Balance’s power had skyrocketed during those ten years. When Bain first acquired it, it was just a Soulbound Relic Set; a decade later, it was on the verge of reaching the level of an Essence Relic Set!
This revelation sent shockwaves through the entire Ivory Tower overnight.
Only then did Bain, looking utterly defeated, admit that for ten years, the Crystal Balance had been siphoning his magical power nonstop. There was no way to resist it. For the first few years, he managed to keep up through relentless meditation, but as the artifact’s power grew, the fragile balance finally broke. His magic level plummeted, dropping him from ninth-rank Sky mage to eighth-rank.
And so, the Ivory Tower faced a dilemma.
Should they keep chasing the mysterious plane, or save Bain...
The Ivory Tower Council quickly made their decision: save Bain at any cost.
In the end, the Crystal Balance was completely destroyed, its avatar obliterated, and Bain was finally freed from its grip.
But at the same time, the Ivory Tower lost any chance of ever entering that mysterious plane.
Originally, the story should have ended there.
But there’s one more detail worth mentioning. Even though the Crystal Balance was destroyed, plenty of mages inside the Ivory Tower kept searching for clues about the mysterious plane. And, sure enough, over the next decade or so, they actually managed to dig up quite a few leads.
By then, the Ivory Tower was nearly certain that the plane portal was hidden in one of Vaughn’s alchemy labs. The lab itself was easy to identify—it was a floating stone tower dedicated to producing alchemical golems!
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That’s why, when Leon saw Fran obtain the Crystal Balance, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of envy—in fact, he was secretly delighted.
The Crystal Balance is far more sinister than Fran could ever imagine. Not just Fran—even Bain, who once stood at the peak of Sky Rank mages, was helpless against it. He was a legend, undefeated in battle, wielding the true transcendent artifact: the Death Tome.
But in the end, it didn’t matter. The Crystal Balance still drained his magic, dragging him from ninth-rank Sky mage down to eighth.
If even Bain couldn’t withstand it, what chance does Fran have?
Leon would bet his life that if Fran actually took the Crystal Balance home, he’d be sucked dry in less than a month—reduced to a shriveled corpse. Not even Sylas West or Nolan himself could save him then...
The power of the Crystal Balance is undeniably immense.
Leon had seen all sorts of magical relics, but at this level, nothing matched the Crystal Balance. Think about it: Fran was just a fifth-rank mage, yet with the Crystal Balance, he was forced straight to the rank of Title Archmage. Even his alchemy reached the level of a true Creator.
Such a terrifying boost in power—Leon had never seen anything like it in his life.
If it had been any other artifact, Leon would have given up on the mysterious plane without hesitation. Sure, the plane was unimaginably rich, but it was also full of unknowns. Leon never trusted anything he couldn’t truly control.
Compared to that, the Crystal Balance—with its massive power boost—was what Leon really wanted.
Unfortunately, the Crystal Balance was just too sinister. Leon knew he couldn’t control it. If even Bain couldn’t resist its magic drain, Leon stood no chance...
So Leon hesitated only briefly before making his decision...
He slipped the two rings onto his ring fingers and gripped the rune-covered staff. Instantly, a surge of incomparable power flooded his body.
"Human, do you wish to become the new master of the Crystal Balance? I can give you limitless power, endless wealth, I can give you..." At that moment, a seductive voice echoed deep in Leon’s mind.
"Shut up!" Leon knew this was the avatar of the Crystal Balance. Unlike the deception it used on Fran, this time, facing Leon, it chose temptation.
Unfortunately, Leon already knew Bain’s fate—he’d heard the story thirty thousand years later.
Otherwise, he might really have been tempted by this sinister artifact’s avatar...
With a cold snort, Leon began channeling vast amounts of magic into the Crystal Balance. Under the surge of power, the two rings started to glow with a strange light. The staff in his hand seemed to dim, yet everyone in the exploration team could sense a surging power gathering within it...
One arcane symbol after another spilled from Leon’s lips—these were the fruits of Bain’s ten years of research. The symbols formed an incredibly obscure incantation. As Leon’s chanting grew louder, the rings shone even brighter, and the power brewing in the staff began to flow like a flood...
“Open for me!” As Leon uttered the final mysterious symbol from the Death Tome, the rings’ light instantly faded. At the same time, the once-dim staff erupted in dazzling brilliance, illuminating the entire vault.
Then, Leon simply traced the staff through the void...
A plane path opened...
This plane path was unlike any Leon had ever opened before. The surrounding space was twisted to the extreme—even the path itself looked broken and ready to vanish at any moment.
Even more terrifying, an overwhelming magical fluctuation was slowly radiating from the entrance of the plane path...
“No wonder the Ivory Tower spent centuries...” Leon stood at the entrance, feeling the immense magical power emanating from within, and couldn’t help but feel a chill.
At this point, Leon was absolutely certain: this plane’s wealth far exceeded that of the Bone Plane—ten times over, at least...
That incredible magical fluctuation was coming from the far end of the plane path. The path itself was just a channel connecting two different spaces. Think about it—the distance between those two spaces was practically infinite, yet the magic could still reach across. How powerful must it be at the source?
"Wait..." Just as Leon was marveling, a few golden strands of light rippling through the twisted space caught his eye.
Those golden strands, in the midst of all that distortion, would be impossible to notice without looking closely...
Leon only spotted them because he’d read descriptions of this golden light in some old records.
"No way..." This discovery left Leon gaping, his face frozen in shock.
"Merlin, what’s wrong?" Salomon, standing nearby, instantly grew tense.
Salomon knew this young Archmage all too well. In all his years, he’d never seen anything—or anyone—make Leon react like this.
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But now, standing at the entrance to the plane path, this young Archmage was frozen in shock...