Bait

Many rank 1 Magi left the hall on the first floor through the two doors.

Though they did not know much, from the serious atmosphere that emanated through the hall after the announcer’s words, they felt as if they were being pushed down by a mountain.

*Hua la la!*

The masses dispersed quickly and in an instant, only a few rank 1 Magi were left in their original seats.

On the second floor where the VIP rooms were, not one Magus left.

*Boom!* The doors closed, and the solemn atmosphere shot up to the extreme!

“Oh? Is it starting?”

With a smile about his lips, Leylin watched the centre and prepared for a good show.

“Alright! Let’s start with me!”

From a VIP room on Leylin’s far right, there travelled a very robotic voice that was neither male nor female. It had obviously been heavily processed.

“I have one portion of the potion Sea of the Ocean. I wish to exchange it for the hearts of three Fire Scorpions, or the core of a Lava Tyrant! Is anyone willing to make this trade?”

Along with the words, a projection of the potion was sent over, and could clearly be seen by everyone in the hall.

“I have two Fire Scorpion hearts, and wish to replace the rest with magic crystals. How does six million sound?”

A hoarse old voice sounded.

“No, I only need fire elemental materials! However, I can buy those two hearts from you for whatever price you name…” It was a pity that this offer was rejected by that Magus. Next, these two Magi spoke through the communication device, their conversation now a secret to the Magi outside.

The MC on the platform was already just standing aside, leaving the area for the rank 2 Magi to use.

Leylin waited silently and watched as all kinds of precious items were traded. His expression was calm, like that of a cheetah waiting for its prey to rise up to the bait.

After discussions with Iron Crown and Leylin’s own judgement, he could now confirm that this exchange meeting was a setting that Iron Crown or the light Magi faction were using to lure out Alistair.

All that they were putting out were items that Alistair could not resist.

At this moment, an item that made Leylin’s eyes twinkle was exhibited in the hall.

“A high-levelled alchemy notebook, recording terrifying information from the abyss. Those who possess too little spiritual power will see illusions while flipping through it. The previous owner has already gone completely crazy and died, so the next buyer has to be careful.”

Along with this voice, a book that was black on the outside and had blood-red eyes projected in the middle of the notebook was displayed.

This notebook looked to be extremely torn, and even a few corners were damaged. However, the red eye in the middle was still extremely agile. Though it was just a projection, Leylin felt as if this eye was focusing its attention on himself, causing him to tremble inside.

In addition, Leylin also noticed something interesting on the surface of this black notebook.

Beside the red eye, there were countless veins and black runes. These runes were all twisted together, and actually seemed to resemble little black snakes.

“This…” Silver light flashed at Leylin’s palm, and the Book of Giant Serpent that had been kept in his spatial pouch appeared in his hands.

The runes on the surface of the Book of Giant Serpent were extremely similar to that on the notebook.

“The Great Magus Serholm! This is likely to be the notebook left behind by him…” Leylin mumbled to himself, eyes shooting out crimson rays.

At the same time, blood-red rays furiously exploded forth from the crystal on Leylin’s wrist.

“89”

[Warning! Warning! Too much adrenaline is being secreted, and there is an 89% chance that this will stimulate the nerves indefinitely, and result in a detrimental effect on the mind!]

The A.I. Chip sent out blue words before Leylin.

“How… How… How troublesome!” Leylin roared lowly, and then loosened a black water flask from his waist and gulped deeply.

The water that had the potion of tranquility mixed inside calmed the impulse that had risen in Leylin.

At this moment, the sounds of people quoting prices out there could be heard again and again. It was evident that this notebook that recorded information about the abyss had garnered the interest of many rank 2 Magi.

After advancing to become a rank 2 Magus, a lot of Magi who did not possess high-grade meditation techniques had lost their direction. Hence, they were extremely enthusiastic about researching information regarding the Ancient Era as well as other geographical locations, hoping to discover methods for them to advance.

The aura of the abyss on this notebook was extremely strong, to the point that Leylin’s face paled slightly.

For this reason, this alchemic notebook had received the attention of numerous rank 2 Magi.

“I really like this notebook. What do you want?”

Leylin contacted the Magus selling this notebook through the communication device, speaking in a low voice.

“What do you have for me?”

Evidently, this notebook was extremely popular and the seller was waiting for something good before he would sell it.

“Three standard portions of an ancient spiritual force potion that can be said to be useful in helping a Magus break through. I can even add in 500g of Filthy Magic Dust! Since you have this notebook, you must have done some research on items in the abyss. This Filthy Magic Dust is a precious ingredient that came directly from the abyss!”

Leylin thought for a moment and immediately showed his bottom line.

The Tears of Mary potion was now of little use to him. In addition, after advancing to rank 2, they were now nothing in his eyes.

Also, he was now disguised and this person would not be able to investigate his background. Even if that happened, would anyone dare make things difficult for a rank 2 Magus?

Leylin now had the power to take care of himself on the south coast, and was not afraid of any challenges!

“Hss… Ancient spiritual power potion that’s useful in breaking out of a bottleneck? And Filthy Magic Dust from the abyss?”

It was evident that after Leylin quoted this price, the Magus was shocked into silence for a long while.

After a few minutes, Leylin received his reply.

“Show me the potion!”

“Fine!” Leylin pondered for a moment and then produced a test tube filled with the Tears of Mary. Some silver light bundled up a bit of the potion and disappeared into that Magus’ room.

“It really is an ancient potion! Alright! Let’s proceed with the trade!”

Though the Magus tried his best to suppress it, Leylin could still hear the impatience in his voice.

“Alright! However, I’m not getting the better end of the deal here, so you need to tell me about the origins of this alchemy notebook!”

Leylin, on the other hand, was extremely composed and hoped to gain more clues.

“… Alright, I’ll tell you everything I know…”

The voice was quiet for some time and then sent some information over to Leylin’s room.

Leylin carefully skimmed through the information and then nodded.

The trade between these two VIP rooms was extremely rapid. Outside were the spiritual forces of many rank 2 Magi, seemingly extremely curious about the trade between these two people.

However, Leylin nor the Magus had any intentions to reveal anything.

A moment later, rank 2 Magi continued with the exchange and one after another, all sorts of precious and rare items were displayed.

“Next up is a treasure from the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane!”

A lazy voice sounded from the VIP room right smack in the middle.

In a split second, people seemed to even stop breathing, focusing on the VIP room from which this voice was produced.

The secret plane was now a hot topic and all the precious materials from there were sold at a very high price.

Upon hearing that the rank 2 Magus in the VIP room wanted to make a sale, even the few rank 1 Magi downstairs began to whisper amongst themselves after getting over the shock.

“Is it coming?” Kemoyin’s Scales surfaced on Leylin’s skin as he stared hard at the room.

From the information he had gathered, Leylin knew that the rank 2 Magus Alistair had only stolen a treasure from the ruins. What he did not know was that this treasure could display its might only when coupled with another item in the ruins. It could even help a rank 2 Magus to advance.

With his fervent desire to break through, Leylin could confirm that even if he knew this was a trap, there was a high chance that Alistair would still come charging in.

What appeared on the screen was a concentrated green liquid that formed a ball, floating in mid-air.

“This is the extract of a Wisdom Tree. Its purity is at 5, the highest level. The ancient Wisdom Trees have the intelligence of an enlightened Magus, and its extract has the effect of raising one’s spiritual force. When used with other treasures to break through, it is extremely effective!”

The hall broke out into a large commotion.

Even potions that could help acolytes or rank 1 Magi to increase their spiritual force would result in a mad scramble for them. A precious item like this that could help a rank 2 Magus break through to rank 3 was something that had not ever appeared in the entire south coast.

“Wisdom Tree?”

Understanding flashed in Leylin’s eyes.

“Indeed, only the crystallisation of ancient wisdom like that in the legends has enough spiritual force to help a rank 2 Magus break through.”

In myths and legends, the Wisdom Tree was a very amiable old being, and many famed ancient Magi had received its teachings and enlightenment, and even its blessings and gifts, which helped them to accomplish much.

In the information in ancient texts, Leylin had seen how Magi had received gifts from the Wisdom Tree. After drinking the extract, the Magi were able to break through.

“For rank 2 Magi, just the effects of the extract are hardly enough. It needs to be stored for a period of time, and for this reason, the item in Alistair’s hands is necessary.”

Leylin quickly discovered the entire story. “We’ll just have to see if Alistair’s coming!”

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