Sealing his own bloodline power to delay the onset of the Myriad Snake Curse had been Leilin's previous approach.
When faced with danger, he could naturally unseal it and restore his peak Level 5 combat strength — but doing so would also allow the Myriad Snake Curse to absorb even more energy.
Even if he successfully resealed it afterward, the original deadline would be pushed forward by a full seven months.
Leilin currently had barely over two years left. Unless there was absolutely no other choice, he would never resort to this method.
However, if it came down to a matter of life and death, he would have no choice but to drink poison to quench his thirst.
Leilin's eyes fixed coldly on the Level 5 warlock before him.
"Good! Very good! To be able to withstand my attack — you've earned the right to speak with me as an equal!"
To Leilin's surprise, the other side's Grand Elder forced a stiff smile onto his face at this point. "Allow me to introduce myself — my name is Im! Im Lias! A Level 5 warlock and Grand Elder of the Lias family!"
Watching the electric arcs across the other man's body fully withdraw, Leilin was somewhat at a loss for words.
He now understood — Im was clearly one of those warlocks who looked down on everyone else. Without first demonstrating enough strength to pose a genuine threat, there was no point even thinking about an equal conversation.
But now, after having tested Leilin's strength firsthand, the other party's attitude had actually improved.
Although Leilin still harbored some wariness inside, he was more than happy to avoid a pointless dispute. "I've already introduced myself — my name is Leilin! Lord Im, your way of greeting people is truly… unique!"
"Heh heh…" In response to Leilin's pointed remark, Im simply smiled without answering. Instead, he regarded Leilin with keen interest. "You're not a wizard from the underground world, are you?"
"That's right!" On this point, Leilin admitted it openly — there was no hiding it anyway. If he had been a Tier 2 or Tier 3 wizard, it would have been understandable to have no prior reputation.
But a Level 5 Radiant Moon warlock with no background to speak of? That would be far too suspicious.
Bloodline legacies, in particular, could not possibly go entirely unrecorded. If there were a Level 5 serpentine warlock clan in the underground world, how could the Lias family possibly be unaware of it?
And here was Leilin, a suddenly emerged Level 5 warlock whose face was completely unfamiliar and who had no prior feats to speak of — it was impossible for Im not to be suspicious.
"Just as I suspected — you're a wizard from the surface world!"
Seeing Leilin admit it, Im nodded, a look of certainty settling onto his face.
"Yes, I truly am from the surface world, and I happen to be the leader of the
If he wanted to develop the route between the surface and the underground, he would need to find a proxy or representative down here. At first glance, Im and the Leias family seemed perfectly suited for the role.
Not only did they possess formidable strength, they were far from ignorant about the passage. More crucially, they had already seized control of this exit long ago.
"Of course we know. In truth, it was one of my ancestors who first uncovered this secret. And ever since that generation, the Leias family has made this place our home, ceaselessly attempting to establish contact on both sides of the seal..."
Although the other party's account was rather vague, Leilin could well imagine the bloody storms hidden beneath those words. It wasn't merely a struggle over territory — how to break the seal, how to lure adventurers here for blood sacrifices. Those were probably just the most superficial layers.
In the shadows, who knew how many schemes they had employed. And more remarkably, they had persisted in this for so long.
"Judging by the fact that you've managed to come here, the seal on the surface world must be close to collapsing?"
Im looked at Leilin, his brow furrowing slightly. "By my estimation, that seal should still hold for some time yet..."
"In fact, I slipped through a gap in the seal to get here. On our surface side, this seal can withstand at least another hundred years..."
"A hundred years? That seems like quite a long span. Did something go wrong with the previous sacrifice? Or were the coordinate constructs on both sides improperly calibrated, consuming far too much energy?"
Im's expression darkened at once, while Leilin maintained his silence, offering no admission that he himself had been the one to act.
"However, Lord Leilin, the fact that you can traverse the gaps between seals — your mastery of formations must have surpassed the Grandmaster level..."
Im's gaze toward Leilin softened considerably. A Grandmaster-caliber figure in the ways of magic was universally respected.
"These humble little tricks are hardly worth mentioning. So then... since we each control one end of the passage, and both wield broad influence in our respective territories..."
Leilin finally spoke the words he had long prepared.
"Therefore, forming an alliance between our two parties would be mutually beneficial — a win-win for everyone!"
Im said it outright, a few threads of a smile actually squeezing onto his normally arrogant face. He stepped forward a few paces and extended his right hand toward Leilin.
"Welcome, my partner!"
"It is my honor!" Leilin smiled and extended his right hand as well.
The two palms clasped together, golden streams of light flickering across them. Tiny golden characters crawled back and forth across their skin, like minuscule ants scurrying about.
The alliance between Wizards is even more significant and solemn than forging a contract, often requiring a very serious ceremony. Sometimes, a third party must even be invited as a witness.
However, both Leilin and Im were Fifth-grade Warlocks. While they didn't need to go to all that trouble, a basic covenant was still necessary. What they were signing now was merely a general agreement; the subsequent details would naturally be negotiated and supplemented by their respective subordinates.
Once the covenant was complete, both of them smiled with a tacit understanding, feeling that their relationship had grown much closer.
Although such a covenant could technically be broken, under circumstances where both parties controlled access to important channels and had a vast array of beneficial cooperation, Leilin figured that no one short of a madman would be thinking of tearing it up right now.
As for how things would develop in the future? That probably wouldn't have much to do with him anymore.
By then, he would either have shattered the shackles of his bloodline, soaring into the distance and leaving Im far behind, or he would be completely sealed by the Myriad Snake Curse Mark, severing all power of his bloodline and perishing.
Either way, the issues here would no longer be issues.
"Lord Im..." Leilin began with a smile.
"Just call me Im! You have earned that right, Leilin!" Im replied with a slight smile. Although it looked a bit stiff due to the condition of his facial muscles, it seemed all the more genuine for it.
"Very well, Im! The Wizardry you used earlier, and especially that instantaneous casting effect, I am very interested..."
Leilin chuckled as he posed his question.
The opponent's earlier lightning spell, cast in an instant, was already terrifying. But the fact that Im could unleash five bolts in succession spoke to a technical mastery that greatly piqued Leilin's interest.
"Oh! That?" Im nodded. "Our Leias family inherited the bloodline of the Thousand-Spine Thunderbird. We are all highly proficient in lightning-attribute Wizardry. Flash Thunder is one of the ultimate techniques developed by Morning Star Warlocks and above, through experimental combinations of different innate Wizardries! While its destructive power isn't as immense as a true Morning Star killing move, its effectiveness is still quite impressive!"
Leilin couldn't help but nod. Developing the correct combination for a killing technique through experimentation with different bloodline Wizardries sounded easy, but in practice, it was absolutely no simple task.
A Morning Star killing move involved the fusion of first to fourth-grade bloodline talents, while Im's Flash Thunder only utilized one or two bloodline Wizardries, combined with specific energy fluctuations and other Wizardry templates to form this special technique.
"I don't mind explaining the principles behind this technique to you, but unfortunately, Leilin, you do not possess the Thousand-Spine Thunderbird bloodline, so you cannot use this killing move..."
Such custom techniques often required specific bloodline Wizardries to work, and some even needed direct participation from the power of the bloodline itself. Therefore, Im wasn't afraid of leaking the information.
"Actually, what I wanted to know wasn't that, but rather the technique you used just now to instantly amplify a bolt of lightning fivefold..."
Leilin quickly shook his head. He couldn't show interest in a Wizardry ability based on the opponent's specific bloodline. Doing so would be perceived as coveting their bloodline. No matter how good his relationship was with Im, it would still plant a thorn in the other's heart.
What Leilin truly wanted to know was just the method Im used to amplify the power of his lightning.
He had observed everything very clearly through the Chip. The Im from before had only released a bolt of Flash Thunder; its power was only slightly greater than the Morning Star Wizard's earlier attack. Yet, when it passed through some inscribed Wizard Array on his opponent's body, it underwent a strange transformation, generating an amplifying force of terrifying magnitude.
"Oh! That!"
Im patted his own Wizard's robe with some pride. A dazzling ring of light emerged from his body, forming a massive circle of lightning. Overwhelmingly complex lightning runes rippled across it with a kaleidoscope of colors.
"This is also one of my proudest creations!"
Im gazed at these intricate lightning runes, a look of intoxicated fascination on his face.
"These are runes I transcribed from a section of ancient Lightning
The silver circle of the lightning rune array contracted and condensed into brilliant silver runes that shimmered with flowing light across Im's Wizard's robe.
"And with this [Ancient Lightning Robe], the amplification for my other lightning-type spells is minimal, but for Flash Thunder, it boosts the power fivefold!"
Im ran his hand over his robe with tender affection, a faint, obsessive glint in his eyes.
"If luck counts as an ability, then Im, you are truly Heaven's favored child!"
Leilin offered a faint smile and this flattering remark, while a faint blue glow flickered within his eyes.