Leilin's current mastery in potionology had already surpassed that of a Grandmaster, reaching an even more terrifying level.
Although the Dragon Potion was considered an exceptionally rare and difficult-to-prepare potion even in the ancient era, for Leilin, it was merely a matter of failing a few more times.
In fact, even those few failures weren't due to any deficiency in his craft, but rather the inherent failure rate at play.
"Now that the Dragon Potion is complete, we can begin!"
Leilin surveyed his surroundings. This was a vast little plaza located inside the Dawn Star
The ground of the plaza was covered in intricate patterns and magical symbols, along with fierce totems and the like.
Standing solemnly at the four corners of the entire magical array were four enormous stone pillars, each one as thick as three men standing abreast. They were covered in massive channels and grooves, as if carved out by blade and spear, radiating an aura of ancient savagery.
"
"Hades's magical array — we really are fated!" Leilin chuckled.
Hades was one of the most terrifying Dark Wizards in ancient mythology, having cultivated dark magic to an unprecedented level. It was said that he had even completely mastered the Laws of
Of course, from the perspective of wizards like Leilin, the so-called Hades was merely an exceptionally powerful Dark Wizard. Many Dark Wizards even looked to Hades as their goal to pursue and surpass.
When Leilin had advanced to the Second Rank, he had relied on the other's magical array to harvest souls.
Of course, this current flesh and blood magical array was several tiers above the one from back then, capable of forcibly extracting the bloodline of sacrificial offerings to enhance the constitution of a Dawn Star Wizard.
Leilin glanced at his status: "Leilin Farell — Warlock Tier 4 — Bloodline: Coamoy Giant Serpent (Complete Form) — Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Constitution: 65, Spirit: 956.8, Mana: 956 (Mana determined by Spiritual Power synchronization), Soul Force: ???"
"My Spiritual Power is sufficient, but my constitution just won't catch up!" Leilin's lips twisted into a bitter smile. This was the aftereffect of his several rapid breakthroughs.
Moreover, if his constitution couldn't break through to 100 in time, it would become even more troublesome once the seal on the Multi-Armed Power broke.
"Let's begin!"
A flash of blood-red light appeared in Leilin's eyes.
Click! Click! Under the Tower Awakening's control, the entire magical array on the plaza began to tremble. From not far away, the mournful wailing of howls could be heard.
Those were the shrieks of the enhanced kobold warlocks. After extracting their bloodlines, these flesh-and-blood creatures had simply been repurposed by Leilin as waste material.
A bloodcurdling aura continuously rose within the magical array, and as the kobolds' wailing grew weaker and weaker, the entire array began to undergo a subtle transformation.
The four massive stone pillars at the edges of the plaza began to shake. From the channels at their tops, large quantities of thick, blood-red slurry poured out, occasionally mixed with white bone fragments.
This crimson liquid first filled the tops of the pillars, then gradually flowed downward, as if blood coursing through veins, turning all four pillars entirely blood-red.
The crimson flowed downward until it finally reached the runes of the magical array.
The thick red slurry steadily filled each rune one by one, the entire process suffused with a solemn atmosphere that could almost suffocate an ordinary person.
As the entire magical array gradually activated, a massive aura of blood-colored light suddenly erupted from every rune.
"Arrrgh..."
Drawn by the crimson light, the void above the magical array shattered entirely. Radiant beams coalesced into a ritual circle, emanating waves of summoning.
A phantom of a two-headed monstrous wolf suddenly materialized above the magical array, letting out a terrifying roar. Its green eyes brimmed with greed, and copious amounts of drool spilled from its jaws.
"I've never seen this kind of summoning mechanism before. Could it be an otherworld summoning? Or a space-time summoning?"
A faint blue glow appeared in Leilin's eyes. For a scene like this, he ordered the Chip to record every detail without missing a single frame, to serve as future reference material.
"Arrrgh!!!"
The monstrous wolf didn't immediately begin to partake in the flesh-and-blood offering. Instead, it turned its gaze toward Leilin, its eyes radiating vicious intent, as if it regarded Leilin as another offering.
"It possesses a degree of intelligence? Could it truly be the legendary avatar of Hades?"
Leilin stroked his chin, studying the monstrous wolf with considerable interest. This nonchalant attitude immediately infuriated the wolf phantom. It let out a furious roar and lunged forward.
"Hsss..."
With an earsplitting hiss, an enormous phantom of the Coamoy Giant Serpent materialized behind Leilin. Crimson stripes adorned its scales, its appearance utterly fearsome. It opened its massive maw toward the monstrous wolf.
The terrifying aura spread outward instantly, forcing the monstrous wolf to halt in its tracks, hesitation flickering across its lupine face.
"Hmph! Summoned entities from other worlds are always the most troublesome!" Leilin snorted coldly and activated the mechanisms laid into the magical array.
Crash! Blinding white lightning lashed downward, striking the wolf phantom squarely and eliciting howls of pain. Even a portion of its dark energy dissipated.
When the lightning subsided, both of the wolf's necks now bore collars of white lightning with inward-pointing barbs — a rather comical sight.
However, under direct threat, the monstrous wolf dared not vent its anger again. Instead, it rushed down into the crimson light below and began voraciously devouring the flesh and blood.
The magical array fell silent. Only the bone-chilling sounds of the wolf's consumption continued to echo.
After a few minutes, all the flesh and light within the array had been devoured by the wolf. It threw back its heads and howled at the sky, the sound waves sweeping outward in all directions.
"Arrrgh..." "Arrrgh..." "Arrrgh..."
Accompanied by the terrifying wolf howls, the sacrificial magical array underwent another mysterious transformation.
Starlight pierced through the Wizard Tower's barrier and shone directly down, and even a phantom of a bright moon appeared.
Amid the wolf's howling, the full moon gradually turned crimson, then elongated, forming the shape of a human eye.
A single sweep of that icy gaze sent a chill through Leilin's heart, filling him with a sense of impending catastrophe. His entire body tensed. "This sense of threat! This is absolutely the pressure of a high-ranking wizard!"
Leilin let out a long breath.
Fortunately, the blood-red eye hadn't targeted him specifically. After a brief glance, it turned its gaze upon the two-headed giant wolf.
Under the blood-hued moon, the two-headed wolf howled ceaselessly, forming an exceedingly eerie tableau.
Pop! As if a soap bubble being pierced, accompanied by a crisp sound of bursting air, every supernatural phenomenon on the plaza vanished without a trace.
The monstrous wolf, the full moon, and the sky full of starlight — all of it seemed to have been nothing more than an illusion.
Filaments of purple light began to circulate throughout the entire magical array.
"Aroused the avaricious thoughts of other worlds! Summoning of the ancient Hades's main body phantom complete!" the Chip's notification sounded, letting Leilin know that everything just now had not been an illusion.
"What a bizarre magical array! The ancient Dark Wizard King, Hades — truly a terrifying being!" Leilin exhaled deeply and stepped into the center of the magical array.
Boom! As if triggered by a signal, vast amounts of purple light surged toward Leilin like countless fine threads, burrowing through his clothes and into his body.
"Mmm!" Leilin let out a muffled groan as his entire body began to convulse.
The moment those purple threads entered his body, they writhed like earthworms — a sensation that was simply indescribable. Had it not been for his extraordinary constitution and iron willpower, he would have likely collapsed on the spot or even died from the pain!
"The Dragon Potion!" Leilin maintained his composure and poured the purple-red potion he had been holding at the ready into his mouth.
Boom! After the potion entered his stomach, it seemed to trigger some chemical reaction, and the pain intensified tenfold or more!
Leilin's vision went black, but he endured through sheer force of will.
"Warning! Subject undergoing Hades's Flesh and Blood Sacrifice! Muscle fiber reinforcement in progress!"
"Warning! Subject beginning to absorb essence substances, constitution increasing!"
"Warning! Dragon Potion taking effect, establishing medicinal curve, radiation coordination in progress!" the Chip's notifications continued to ring out.
After this wave of excruciating pain subsided, Leilin felt a searing current of heat, like boiling water, flood through every limb and bone.
"Warning! Subject's constitution increasing — currently 66.7! 67.5! 68.3! 69.9!"
In the Chip's data readout, the column representing Leilin's constitution began to climb rapidly, breaking through 70 in virtually an instant, and continuing to rise without stopping.
The numbers surged by nearly ten points as if riding a rocket, only halting at 74.9.
Bang! After the medicinal effects subsided, Leilin straightened his body. Crackling sounds echoed from his frame.
"Subject's physical data has changed. Re-collecting!"
Leilin then glanced at his status panel and found that his current data had undergone a dramatic transformation.
"Leilin Farell — Warlock Tier 4 — Bloodline: Coamoy Giant Serpent (Complete Form) — Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Constitution: 74.9, Spirit: 956.8, Mana: 956 (Mana determined by Spiritual Power synchronization), Soul Force: ???"
"Good! Constitution jumped by 9.9 in one go — very close to the Chip's projected estimate!" Leilin nodded with satisfaction.
His body had now reached an extraordinarily terrifying level.