Chapter 1381
But soon, several Wizard Towers realized the downside—without buying large quantities of Azure Mana Elixir, their rivals would quickly outpace them. Opponents who were once evenly matched now had nearly twice the mana in battle, making it impossible to compete; the gap was simply insurmountable...
When exploring ruins together, one side would be forced to stop halfway due to mana exhaustion, while the other could simply take out an Azure Mana Elixir, drink it, and keep fighting and advancing. The resulting gains were no longer just one or two times greater—they were worlds apart.
In joint expeditions to conquer a plane, it was agreed that whoever claimed a territory would own it. Suddenly, one side, as if having swallowed a Berserk Mana Potion, began conquering at a breakneck pace. In just a month, the difference in territory grew to at least a quarter. For a plane, a quarter’s difference could rival a great noble’s domain, or even a sizable fraction of a kingdom.
Gradually, the advantage of the Azure Mana Elixir, once only suspected, became glaringly obvious. This was no longer a potion mages could afford to ignore—it wasn’t a last-resort lifesaver, but an absolute necessity.
With this gap, the sales of Azure Mana Elixir would not decline. For a long time, it would remain a staple, even if better mana potions emerged in the future. The Azure Mana Elixir would still be essential—though its price might not stay as outrageous as it is now.
The method for refining Azure Mana Elixir was cracked in less than a month. A top-tier alchemist, renowned for potion-making, even managed to reverse-engineer the entire production process.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help much. Imitation alchemy shops popped up everywhere—more than a dozen in just three months, with five alchemical families joining the fray.
Yet sales remained poor, and the profits were nowhere near those of the Azure Mana Elixir. The best of these knockoffs could restore only five percent of the mana the real thing did, and took eight seconds to recover even half the mana. They were only suitable for Archmages at best, and even then, not particularly effective.
Most other imitation mana potions were only suitable for Mages or Grand Mages. Some of the worst were only good enough for apprentices to use for instant recovery.
The best-performing knockoff was initially priced at five percent of the Azure Mana Elixir’s effect—so they set the price at nine thousand purple gold coins per bottle. Sadly, only the first day saw decent sales; by the second day, negative reviews began to flood in.
Over the next month, the price dropped to one thousand purple gold coins, but still, few mages were interested. It wasn’t until the price hit six hundred per bottle that sales recovered slightly, but at that point, the profit margin was worse than for some ordinary potions. There was simply no reason to bother making or selling it—too much effort for too little reward.
Faced with this situation, the Gilded Rose quietly released a second potion: the Radiant Mana Elixir!
The Radiant Mana Elixir shortens the time mages need to accumulate mana. Not only does it cause a one-time surge in mana reserves, but it also speeds up meditation for a set period.
Most importantly, the Radiant Mana Elixir eliminates the time-consuming process of mana accumulation—without any restrictions. You can use it continuously, with no side effects or diminishing returns.
After taking the potion, it’s as if you’ve received a buff spell. Once the effect wears off, just drink another bottle of Radiant Mana Elixir...
Similar potions exist, but they come with heavy limitations. Normally, you can only take a few doses, with each subsequent use less effective. After several times, the potion stops working altogether, and the first dose lasts a maximum of three days. The second dose, if you’re lucky, lasts just a day and a half...
And those potions aren’t particularly effective either. The best on the market can only boost meditation speed by thirty percent. In contrast, the Gilded Rose’s new Radiant Mana Elixir triples meditation efficiency, with effects lasting at least ten days—even longer for most, usually around fifteen days, and up to eighteen for those with special constitutions.
Of course, its power is terrifying enough, but most importantly, there are no restrictions—two bottles a month, fifty years straight, and the effect barely changes...
With the arrival of the Radiant Mana Elixir, a new buying frenzy erupted. Even factions previously unwilling to work with the Gilded Rose started to hesitate.
Once the weakest of all, the Andalusia Kingdom had, in just a few short months, seen its top factions leap forward in power thanks to these two potions. Combat strength among their strongest mages soared by twenty percent, and on the whole, every mage advanced a rank.
This was because the Gilded Rose had chosen to cooperate with the Andalusia Kingdom first. In Andalusia, the Gilded Rose's potions dominated every high-end market and eighty percent of the mid-tier market. As for the low-end market, the Gilded Rose barely intervened, leaving those potions to other alchemy shops and alchemists.
Whenever the Gilded Rose released a new potion, every faction in the Andalusia Kingdom would come knocking immediately to discuss cooperation. If the Gilded Rose wanted to trade for materials, no problem—whatever they asked for, as long as it was available, they'd get it.
After all, getting a new potion meant a boost in overall strength and even greater profits, earned faster than ever before. From any angle, it was a win-win.
With the Andalusia Kingdom’s performance as proof, cooperation in the Odin Kingdom picked up speed as well. More and more factions were signing exchange contracts with the Gilded Rose, including even a top-tier power.
Of course, where some are willing to cooperate, others inevitably look for different ways.
“Lord Farrow, our preparations for a branch in southern Odin have stalled. The Sanctum of Light has intervened—they’ve taken an interest in our Gilded Rose’s Azure Mana Elixir and said...
They said that if we want the Gilded Rose to expand into southern Odin, we have to pay the price. They want us to give up half the territory where Azure Mana Elixir ingredients are sourced, and reveal the plane coordinates..."
The messenger’s face flushed bright red, and at this point, he could barely continue speaking.
Farrow’s face darkened, his expression turning grim.
Trying to enter the southern Odin market without understanding the local powers? Impossible.
The Sanctum of Light is easily among the top ten powers in southern Odin. And keep in mind, the strongest forces in the Odin Kingdom are found in the south; making the top ten here would put you in the top six in the north.
The Sanctum of Light sits in the east of southern Odin. Every morning, when sunlight first touches the Northend World, it shines first on the Sacred Tower—the headquarters of the Sanctum of Light, said to be the very first place in Northend blessed by the dawn.
Sounds like the Sanctum of Light would be full of Light Mages, experts in healing magic. Too bad these people are insufferable—absolutely the top mad dogs of the Odin Kingdom.
If they run into a Dark Mage, they kill them...
If they run into a Necromancer Mage, they kill them...
If they run into anyone who isn’t a proper mage, they kill them...
Anyone the Sanctum of Light brands as a heretic—if you meet them, you’d better be ready to fight. Unless you kill them, you’ll never shake them off. That’s why they’re called mad dogs: they’re just that relentless...
If they don’t kill the so-called heretic in one encounter, they’ll keep hunting, no matter the cost.
Over the past few millennia, the Sanctum of Light has fought eight massive wars against Necromancer Mages and thirteen against Dark Mages.
The main reason the headquarters of the Crown of Thorns is so far from the Sanctum of Light is that they’ve had two major wars with them.
The scarcity of water mages in the Northend World is also connected to the Sanctum of Light. For a time, only water magic and light magic included healing spells, but there were very few water spells suited for solo combat—they were much better for army warfare...
Mist City, once a gathering place for water mages, was wiped out in a war with the Sanctum of Light...
Now, hearing that those mad dogs from the Sanctum of Light are eyeing the Gilded Rose, Farrow’s face turned steel gray.
No conditions, no benefits—they just want the plane coordinates. And by 'half the territory,' anyone with half a brain knows that once they have the coordinates, the whole plane is lost to the Gilded Rose. Those domineering, obsessive mad dogs would swallow it whole, leaving nothing behind.
Paying such a huge price, just for permission to open a branch in southern Odin?
Damn it, those bastards really dare to ask for anything. If this opens the floodgates, won’t everyone else start making outrageous demands of the Gilded Rose too?
"Ignore those mad dogs from the Sanctum of Light. We’ll open our southern Odin branch starting from the western edge. There are allies there who’ll help us set up the first branch. All the Dark Mages and Necromancer Mages in the west are gathered there. If we open a shop in that area, the Sanctum of Light’s mad dogs won’t be able to interfere.
Let that Dark Curse Mage go to the western part of southern Odin and open the branch there. The Dark Mages and Necromancer Mages are tightly united against the Sanctum of Light. Our people are Dark Mages too—if the Sanctum of Light causes trouble, those folks won’t just stand by.
When the potions go on sale, everything will be offered at a twenty percent discount, and Sky Rank powerhouses can get up to forty percent off!"
Even after saying all this, Farrow’s face still didn’t improve. Other factions were manageable, but the Sanctum of Light was a real headache. Their strength might only rank tenth in southern Odin, but when it comes to fanatical issues, they’ll go toe-to-toe with the royal court itself—they’re complete mad dogs.
For now, it’s only an idea, and it’s unclear whether it’s the will of the Sanctum of Light as a whole, or just one of their members. But for these maniacs, it hardly matters.
A few days later, more news arrived: the lord of the small town where the Gilded Rose planned to open its branch, who had supported the venture, was ousted by the Sanctum of Light. The reason? He’d been accused of heresy—either for ties to the Crown of Thorns or the Gilded Rose...
But it was just a minor town lord—no one wanted to provoke the Sanctum of Light’s mad dogs over something like this. As long as heresy was involved, those lunatics would bite anyone they could get their hands on...
The plan to open the Gilded Rose’s branch didn’t stop; instead, it shifted to the western part of southern Odin. In the words of the Sanctum of Light, it was the place where the light couldn’t reach—a land of corruption and decay. Every living thing and patch of earth there was a target for their purification.
The Gilded Rose refused to back down and was about to move forward, which immediately enraged the Sanctum of Light. Originally, they only wanted to take advantage of the Crown of Thorns’ internal strife to pressure them, but now the Gilded Rose was stepping up first. The Crown of Thorns remained hidden, busy with their own tasks, leaving no time to deal with the Sanctum of Light’s mad dogs.
Unable to find anyone from the Crown of Thorns, the Sanctum of Light turned their fury on the Gilded Rose. When the Gilded Rose’s people headed west, they were ambushed by agents from the Sanctum of Light—who just happened to run into two passing Dark Mages.
Seeing the Sanctum of Light’s agents show up in the west, chasing down targets, the local Dark Mages—who bore old grudges—didn’t hesitate. They took care of the Sanctum of Light’s agents first, then turned to question the Gilded Rose’s people about who they were and what they wanted...
Once they learned the Gilded Rose was preparing to open a branch in the west, but had been pressured by the Sanctum of Light, the volatile Dark Mages and Necromancer Mages exploded. In less than three days, every Sanctum of Light mage who infiltrated the west was wiped out. Even three Sky Rank powerhouses who came over met their end—their bodies divided up by three Necromancer Mages...
When Farrow got this news, he felt his hair stand on end...
"Damn it, those maniacs really aren’t afraid to stir up trouble. They don’t care at all, and they’ve hated the Sanctum of Light’s mad dogs for ages. Now it’s perfect—the Sanctum of Light will definitely see the Gilded Rose as allies of the Dark Mages and Necromancer Mages, and they won’t care about anything else..."
Originally, they just wanted to pressure the Crown of Thorns, maybe swindle the Gilded Rose a bit. After all, the Gilded Rose seemed like just another alchemy shop, and even a famous group like the Sanctum of Light would only negotiate protection fees, maybe haggle a bit. But in the end, they’d always collect their protection money.
No one expected the Gilded Rose to end up branded as heretics, closely tied to the Crown of Thorns and allied with the Dark Mages and Necromancer Mages. Now, the Gilded Rose was a major heretic, marked for crusade...
After all this, they’d somehow become the Sanctum of Light’s enemy. The death of three Sky Rank powerhouses would certainly be blamed on the Gilded Rose. Farrow felt it was getting out of hand and decided to go explain things to Lin Yun...
In the Natural Semi-Plane, Lin Yun was comprehending Runes of Truth. Now, he’d already grasped over nine thousand, and the runes he’d mastered were fully integrated into the semi-plane, accelerating its evolution even further. The size might not have reached two thousand kilometers yet, but its essence was becoming more and more like a true world.
Mountains, rivers, clouds, and blue sky—all had appeared. Life was being nurtured, and aside from some primitive insects, even simple crawling creatures were emerging. For the Northend World, that patch of ocean was just a lake, but here, life was thriving, even if most were tiny beings the size of a palm.
The pace of life’s progress felt like hundreds of thousands of years compressed into a decade—the evolution was terrifyingly fast.
Originally, the essence of the Natural Semi-Plane’s evolution was the most difficult part, but now it was becoming easier; the constant evolution consumed enormous mana, but expanding its size required sustained, massive mana consumption.
Mana in the Natural Semi-Plane was becoming scarce. The mana vines formed a dense green forest, continuing to expand. Now, their range had reached more than twenty kilometers, with thick vines rising from the ground and shooting into the sky, vanishing from sight—like emerald pillars piercing the heavens.
The mana pulled down from the void gathered into a surging river, plunging from the sky and pooling in the Lake of Mana. Despite the massive concentration, the lake’s surface didn’t grow—the mana was almost entirely consumed by the Natural Semi-Plane’s expansion.
In just a few months, the Natural Semi-Plane’s landmass had expanded to over thirty thousand kilometers—already rivaling some ordinary planes in size. Its structure was more complete, and its rules more refined. Even the size of the Fury Plane was only a few times greater than the current Natural Semi-Plane.
Watching a Rune of Truth slowly merge into the Sky Pillar Mountain, Lin Yun let out a slow breath. The runic currents in his eyes gradually faded away.