Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Three. Cooperation Leilin had just displayed formidable strength in front of the old witch, and on top of that, he had the backing of the
As for being threatened with leverage over him?
Leilin hadn't joined any black wizard organization, so what was there to fear?
Once he successfully joined the organization behind the old witch, they would all be on the same side. Besides, Leilin had made other arrangements — there was no way he would let this old witch leak any information.
Clatter!
A heap of high-level Magic Stones, radiating intense energy fluctuations, was dumped across the counter by the old witch. Along with them came over a dozen black crystal cards.
These were Magic Stone crystal cards — each one was the condensed essence of one thousand Magic Stones, and they served as the energy source for many high-level wizard formations. They were extremely popular.
"All my Magic Stones are here. Take whatever you want from the shop — anything at all — just give me that potion formula…"
A pleading look appeared on the old witch's face, making it clear that she desperately needed this potion formula.
This reaction surprised Leilin somewhat.
He had expected the old witch to be tempted by the formula, but he hadn't expected her to be this frantic about it.
Still, this sort of situation naturally worked in his favor.
Leilin kept his expression neutral. With a light grasp of his palm, he swept the dozen-plus Magic Stone crystal cards and the dark-element energy particle crystals into his arms.
"How precious is a Spiritual Power potion formula that a full
Leilin spoke in a casual tone, while a hint of despair surfaced on the old witch's face.
"However, although I can't give you the formula, we can cooperate!" Just as the old witch was about to explode, a single offhand remark from Leilin dispersed the energy particles that had been gathering around her.
"Cooperate? How would that work?"
"You're very skilled in soul-related arts! And the raw material for this Spiritual Power potion is spirit bodies rich in soul power! You provide the raw materials and handle the preliminary processing. I'll take care of the final manufacturing steps. Once the potion is successfully brewed, I'll take sixty percent and you'll take forty!"
Leilin made a proposal.
It was obvious. The proposal seemed to hit the old witch right where it hurt.
In terms of strength, she couldn't take down the current Leilin. Moreover, the background standing behind Leilin made her somewhat wary as well. And above all, this potion was truly of vital importance to her.
"This revenue split is way too low! Capturing spirit bodies, the preliminary preparation—dangerous work like that is all on me. If the White Wizards catch me, they'll hunt me down to the ends of the world!"
The old witch emphasized her contributions.
"This is the split! It can't go any lower!" Leilin's expression was cold. "After all, the formula is in my hands. If you agree, we can sign a contract immediately and summon the Eye of Judgment as witness!"
"…Fine!" The old witch sank into a long silence before finally squeezing two words out from between her teeth.
After rearranging their meeting time, Leilin left with a smile on his lips.
Cooperating with the old witch had been his plan ever since their last meeting.
The Spiritual Power potion he had just shown her was, naturally, the authentic ancient formula—
Back when he was still an apprentice, he had already completed a simplified version of this ancient potion—the Blood Grudge Potion.
But after advancing to first-tier Warlock and upgrading his Chip, Leilin finally had the ability to fully restore this ancient potion formula.
This potion truly lived up to its reputation as one created by ancient Wizards for their own use. According to the Chip's rough estimation, Maria's Tears would be enormously effective even for Leilin at his current stage, capable of rapidly increasing his Spiritual Power.
The mass collection of souls, along with all the preliminary preparation, was both extremely tedious and bloody—its cruelty even surpassing that of refining the Blood Grudge Potion! If the White Wizards ever discovered it, the only outcome would be being hunted to death and having the formula tortured out of him.
Leilin simply didn't have that much time and energy, nor could he afford to shoulder such enormous risk.
Moreover, due to the unique nature of the potion formula, any Wizard capable of handling the raw materials would need to be at least a formal Wizard, with a deep understanding of the soul.
Of such Wizards, the only one Leilin currently knew was the old witch.
As for the Four Seasons Garden, there were certainly Wizards there who could meet this requirement, but Leilin hadn't even mentioned it.
A Spiritual Power formula suitable for formal Wizards was far more expensive than apprentice-level ones, and being an ancient potion to boot, even with half a brain Leilin knew he couldn't possibly keep this formula to himself—it would certainly be confiscated by the organization under some noble pretext.
Even though the organization would undoubtedly throw him some benefits, how could that compare to keeping it all for himself?
A potion capable of enhancing Spiritual Power was an absolute irresistible temptation for any formal Wizard.
And so, under Leilin's persuasion, the old hag readily agreed.
Moreover, the two of them swore an Unbreakable Vow under the witness of the Eye of Judgment.
The old hag was even forced to swear that she would never divulge any information regarding Leilin or the potion formula.
This was naturally Leilin's demand — that way, even if someone discovered the old hag's secret, they would have no way of tracing it back to him.
In reality, Leilin had transferred every last bit of the risk involved in crafting the potion onto the old hag's shoulders.
He hadn't even hesitated to grant her a forty percent share of the finished product!
As for the potion formula, Leilin had handed over the majority of the earlier stages to the hag, but kept the final and most critical refinement steps firmly in his own hands.
As long as he held those, he would never have to worry about the old hag slipping out of his control.
Because those final steps were not only extremely tedious, but many of them also required the Chip's assistance to truly succeed — even if someone else obtained the complete potion formula, they might not be able to produce any results.
And so, in order to obtain the potion, the old hag had no choice but to toil away on Leilin's behalf, shoulder enormous risks collecting spiritual entities, and complete all of the gruesome preliminary preparations.
Now that the contract had been signed, the old hag and Leilin were, to some extent, on the same side — so arranging an introduction was only natural.
"Still, that old hag's reaction was a bit odd. She made concession after concession just to get her hands on the potion. I'd originally thought I'd have to give up far more, but she agreed far too easily... as though it wasn't for herself, but for someone else entirely..."
Leilin walked on at a leisurely pace, his thoughts churning ceaselessly.
"Then again, this is even better — the more she has to worry about, the easier it is to threaten her..."
The sun sank westward, hanging midway across the sky, stretching Leilin's shadow into a long, twisted shape across the street. It looked eerie and monstrous, like the silhouette of a demon...
Back inside the shop.
The old hag stood motionless, waiting in silence until she was absolutely certain Leilin had left for good. Only then did she approach the counter and press a concealed spot.
Rumble!
The sound of mechanisms echoed through the room. The back wall of the shop receded inward by a section, revealing a passageway that led downward.
The old hag carried the black cloak, moving slowly downward.
The staircase was short — only a few steps before it came to an end.
This was a cellar, positioned directly beneath the old hag's shop. On its walls and floor, numerous witchcraft runes had been carved.
In the farthest corners, scattered white human bones lay strewn about.
On the bones, many marks of torture were still visible. One could only imagine what inhuman treatment they had endured in life, what unimaginable pain they had faced.
A dark, icy aura continuously drifted through the cellar.
Had Leilin been here, he would have recognized it at once — it bore a strong resemblance to several spots in Polar Night City where he had arranged natural spirit births.
Hiss! The old hag lit a candle at the center of the cellar.
The candle was entirely white, yet its flame burned a ghastly green. Under that green glow, the old hag's grotesque face looked even more hideous.
"Mother…"
Whoosh! A black whirlwind spun through the cellar, and after a wisp of dark gas flickered past, a semi-transparent figure suddenly appeared.
The figure was that of a young girl, wearing an extremely simple white dress. Her entire body was ethereal, as though it might dissolve at any moment.
"My daughter!" The old hag's face softened with both tenderness and anguish.
"What just happened? I sensed a powerful and malevolent force erupting above…" The girl's face held a trace of confusion.
"No! Nothing at all — just a business dispute…"
The old hag's expression turned tense. "Did it hurt you?"
"I'm fine, it's just…" The girl crouched down, hugging her knees with both hands. "Please, don't trouble yourself over me anymore. Maintaining my existence has already cost you too many resources. If not for me, you would have advanced long ago, wouldn't you?"
"My dear daughter!" The old hag's eyes reddened. She reached out to embrace the girl, but her hands passed uselessly through the figure's translucent form.
Then the girl's arms began to grow even more ethereal, as though she might dissolve at any moment.
"No! Why is it so much faster than usual?"
The old hag's face twisted in terror. She frantically pulled all manner of objects from her robes and laid them out on the ground, arranging them into the shape of a small magical formation.
At its very center sat a spirit bound within a crystal ball.
"Great Mother of Filth! I offer you the fear of living souls, hoping to receive your gift…"
The old hag chanted ceaselessly in a harsh, archaic tongue, her finger jabbing forward.
"Ahh…" From inside the crystal ball came the spirit's wails of terror and agony. Wisps of silvery-white gas were being steadily drawn out of the spirit's body.
The silvery-white gas quickly flowed into the girl's form, and her slowly dissipating spirit gradually stabilized once more.
"It's happening again! I don't want this… It's too… too cruel…" The girl wept softly.
"I found a potion today — an ancient Wizard's Spiritual Power formula, absolutely certain to work on you! Just hold on a little longer! Hold on, and Mama will give you a body again, I promise…"
The old hag kept murmuring her reassurances.