The numerous First-rank Wizards on the first floor of the hall filed out one after another, exiting through the doors on both sides.
Though they knew nothing of the specifics, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere had begun to permeate the hall ever since the announcer spoke, pressing down on their hearts like a mountain.
Whoosh!
The crowd departed at great speed, and in an instant most of them had vanished. Only a scant few First-rank Wizards remained, scattered across their original seats.
Not a single
Bang! The great doors slammed shut, and the atmosphere in the venue became unbearably tense!
"Hm? Is it about to begin?"
A faint smile curled at the corner of Leilin's lips as he surveyed the center of the venue with the eager gaze of someone watching a show.
"Very well! I'll start from here!"
From the VIP room farthest to Leilin's right came a very mechanical voice, neither male nor female, clearly disguised through layers of concealment.
"I have a portion of Heart of the Ocean potion here. I'm looking to trade for three Fire-type Earth Scorpion hearts, or a Lava Tyrant's core! Is anyone willing to trade?"
As the words were spoken, a projected image of the potion was transmitted for all the Wizards in the hall to see clearly.
"I have two Fire-type Earth Scorpion hearts here. The remainder can be paid in Magic Stones — how about six million?"
An aged, hoarse voice rang out.
"No! I only need fire-attribute materials! But I can buy the two Fire-type Earth Scorpion hearts from you — whatever price in Magic Stones you want..." Unfortunately, this proposal was rejected by the first Wizard, and the two began conversing through their communication devices, unheard by the Wizards outside.
The announcer who had previously stood on the raised platform had moved entirely to the side, leaving the floor to the Second-rank Wizards.
Leilin waited quietly, watching as all manner of rare items were put up for trade. His expression remained as still as an ancient well — like a leopard before the hunt, silently waiting for prey to take the bait.
Through his earlier conversation with the
And the items they had put forward were ones that Airest, at this point in time, would be unable to refuse.
At that moment, something that made Leilin's eyes light up was also displayed in the hall.
"An advanced alchemical notebook containing terrifying knowledge from the Abyss. Those with insufficient Spiritual Power will experience hallucinatory effects when reading it. Its previous owner went completely insane and died — buyers beware..."
Along with the voice, a projection of a notebook appeared — black on the outside with a blood-red eye at its center.
The notebook was already very tattered in appearance, with several corners torn and damaged, yet the blood-red eye at its center was remarkably vivid. Even as just a projection, Leilin felt as though the eye was gazing directly at him, sending a chill through his heart.
Moreover, on the surface of the black notebook, Leilin noticed something peculiar.
Surrounding the blood-red eye were countless blood vessels and black runes. The runes twisted and writhed, looking for all the world like tiny black snakes.
"This is..." A flash of silver light flickered across Leilin's palm, and the Great Serpent's Tome, previously stored in his spatial pouch, automatically materialized in his hand.
Several of the runes on the surface of the Great Serpent's Tome bore a striking resemblance to those on the notebook.
"The Crimson Archmage! This is very likely a notebook left behind by the Crimson Archmage..." Leilin murmured softly, a blood-red gleam shooting from his eyes.
At the same time, a burst of blood-red light suddenly erupted from the crystal on Leilin's wrist.
"Warning! Warning! Subject's adrenaline secretion is excessive — 89% probability of stimulating nerve endings and producing adverse mental effects!"
The Chip also flashed a line of blue text across Leilin's field of vision.
"What a... what a troublesome thing!" Leilin growled under his breath, unhooking a black water skin from his belt and taking a fierce gulp.
The water, laced with a calming potion, worked steadily to soothe the impulses surging through Leilin's mind.
Meanwhile, bidding voices rose and fell outside one after another. Clearly, this notebook containing Abyssal knowledge had sparked the interest of numerous Second-rank Wizards.
After advancing to the Second Rank, many Wizards without advanced Meditation Methods lost all direction for further progress. As a result, they became deeply enthusiastic about studying various ancient records and knowledge from other planes, hoping to find a path to advancement within them.
The Abyssal aura on this notebook was so dense that even Leilin's expression had shifted.
It was precisely because of this that the alchemical notebook attracted such fervent attention from the Second-rank Wizards.
"I quite like this notebook. What do you want for it?"
Leilin also contacted the Wizard selling the notebook through his communication device, his voice low and steady.
"What can you offer?"
Clearly, the notebook was in high demand, and the seller had begun to hold out for a better price.
"Three standard portions of Ancient Spiritual Power Potion — effective even for Wizards breaking through bottlenecks — and I can add five hundred grams of Corrupted Magic Dust! Since you possess this alchemical notebook, you've clearly been researching things related to the Abyss, and this Corrupted Magic Dust is a rare material produced directly from the Abyss!"
Leilin considered briefly, then directly named his bottom price.
The
Moreover, he was currently disguised, so the other party was unlikely to trace it back to him. And even if they did, who would dare to trouble a Second-rank Wizard?
The current Leilin already possessed a degree of self-protective strength on the South Coast and feared no challenge whatsoever!
"Hisss... Ancient Spiritual Power Potion? Effective for Wizard bottlenecks? And Abyssal Magic Dust?"
Clearly, the price Leilin had named stunned the Wizard on the other end, who fell into a long silence after his initial exclamation.
Several minutes passed before Leilin received the other party's reply.
"Show me the potion's properties!"
"Certainly!" Leilin pondered for a moment, then produced a test tube containing Maria's Tears. A wisp of silver light enveloped a drop of the potion and drifted into the Wizard's room.
"It really is an ancient potion! Good! The trade is on!"
Though the Wizard on the other end tried hard to restrain himself, Leilin could still detect a note of barely contained eagerness in his voice.
"Hm! But I'm still getting the worse end of the deal, so you must tell me the origin of this alchemical notebook!"
Leilin, by contrast, now took his time, hoping to glean more clues.
"...Very well. I'll tell you everything I know..."
The voice fell silent for a moment, then transmitted a packet of information to Leilin's room.
Leilin carefully read through the message, then nodded.
The transaction between the two VIP rooms proceeded with remarkable speed, while outside, the spiritual perception of numerous Second-rank Wizards continued to surround them, seemingly curious about the content of their deal.
But neither Leilin nor the other party had any intention of revealing themselves.
Moments later, trading among the Second-rank Wizards resumed, with one VIP room after another displaying several extremely rare items.
"The next item up is a treasure from the Ganges Secret Realm!"
At that moment, from the VIP room directly in the center, came a somewhat languid voice.
In an instant, the entire trading hall seemed to hold its breath, all eyes fixed on the room from which the voice had spoken.
The Ganges Secret Realm had been the hottest topic of late, and the rare resources that had surfaced from it were all fetching extraordinarily high prices.
Upon hearing that a Second-rank Wizard in one of the VIP rooms was about to sell, even the First-rank Wizards below, after their initial shock, began whispering among themselves.
"Is it coming out now?" The Komoan Scales spread across Leilin's body as his gaze locked onto the VIP room.
From his prior intelligence, Leilin knew that the Second-rank Wizard Airest had simply seized the treasure from the ruins, but what Airest didn't know was that the treasure could only unleash its full power — even aiding a Second-rank Wizard in breaking through — when used in conjunction with another resource found within the ruins.
Given Airest's desperate desire for a breakthrough, Leilin was certain that even if he knew this was a trap, there was still a high chance he would charge straight in.
What appeared on the screen was a mass of rich green liquid, gathered into a sphere and floating in midair.
"This is the sap of a Wisdom Ancient Tree, with a purity reaching the highest Fifth-rank standard. The ancient Wisdom Ancient Trees possess powerful effects of enlightening a Wizard's intellect and enhancing Spiritual Power. When combined with other treasures for a breakthrough attempt, the effect is remarkably significant even for Second-rank Wizards!"
The entire hall erupted in a tremendous uproar.
Even Spiritual Power Potions that could help apprentices and First-rank Wizards break through would spark fierce competition, and a precious item that could help a Second-rank Wizard advance to the Third Rank had never before appeared on the entire South Coast.
"The Wisdom Ancient Tree, is it?"
A look of understanding flickered through Leilin's eyes.
"Indeed — only the legendary crystallization of ancient wisdom could possess sufficient Spiritual Power to help a Second-rank Wizard break through..."
In legends and mythology, the Wisdom Ancient Tree was depicted as a very benevolent elder, and many famous ancient Wizards had received its teachings and enlightenment, even obtaining its blessings and gifts, which enabled their subsequent achievements.
In previous ancient texts, Leilin had read many stories of various Wizards receiving the Wisdom Ancient Tree's gifts and breaking through to a higher Wizard rank after drinking the tree's sap.
"For Second-rank Wizards, the sap alone might not be sufficient — especially sap that had been stored for an unknowable length of time. It was precisely because of this that Airest's treasure was needed as a complement..."
Leilin instantly pieced together the full picture. "Now, the question is whether Airest will come or not!"