Since the holy artifact would be useless to Lin Li, it only made sense for him to use it in exchange for better things.
Edmund only snapped back to reality when he saw the holy artifact landing in the hands of Elder Zumar. His eyes radiated an inconcealable glow of excitement.
“Th-this! This is the Eye of Light. We have finally found the Eye of Light! We finally have the hope of resurrecting Lord Aquilo!” he said with trembling lips after he turned to Elder Zumar.
Edmund’s words erased everyone’s despair, and even the people from the Gilded Kingdom started cheering. Although it was High Priest Poer who promised to lead the Gilded Kingdom to eternal glory, the Illuminati seemed a lot safer and more reliable to the people from the Gilded Kingdom.
It was Lin Li’s first time hearing the name of the artifact. However, its name did not matter to Lin Li. “Alright, Saint Edmund. Now the holy artifact has been recovered. Do you have any other tasks on hand?” asked Lin Li.
Edmund suppressed his delight, and received the Eye of Light from Zumar. “Yes, we will be able to complete the resurrection ritual with the Eye of Light once we find Lord Aquilo’s body,” replied Edmund.
“Oh, you can continue with your tasks then. I’ll go take a break,” Lin Li said indifferently as he turned towards his camp for a much-needed rest. Now that the holy artifact had been found, it was as though nothing ever concerned him. While he seemed to be alive and kicking, the drainage of his mental strength was terrifying in the minute when he tried to understand the secrets within the mageweath. This was despite his massive amount of mental strength. If he had been a common man, he would have turned into a demented soul after consuming the same amount of mental strength.
Lin Li had managed to turn a minute into a dozen of days to allow himself time to gain a little knowledge about the mageweath on the monuments. Yet, this amount of knowledge was sufficient to help Lin Li get rid of Poer, a demigod. This was enough to prove that the mageweath was a formidable existence.
And this was not the only benefit that Lin Li had gained from the interaction with the mageweath. While he had only managed to understand a small portion of the divine-level mageweath, this bit of knowledge was enough to raise his status beyond a Guru-level artisan. He was now akin to a demigod in his credentials as an inscriptionist. Although he had yet to become a divine, it was definite that he had surpassed the Guru-realm.
Of course, it would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that he had become a demigod. Yet, this experience was like a lighthouse that directed Lin Li by giving him clarity on his progress towards becoming a Divine Smith. He knew that it would only be a matter of time for him to become one, and it was now definite that he had found his way in the vast ocean.
Furthermore, since there was still a complete divine-level mageweath on those seven monuments, it meant that it was not a lighthouse, but a sea route that was secured by countless lighthouses. Lin Li would not need to explore or worry that he might be going on a detour, for he knew he could simply follow the route all the way to his destination.
Therefore, after returning the holy artifact to Edmund, the first thing that Lin Li did was to send his men to duplicate the entire mageweath from those monuments. With the Void Spirit Mageweath that he acquired previously, Lin Li’s confidence of becoming a Divine Smith was quadrupled now that he had acquired two kinds of divine-level mageweaths. It was as though he had bought double insurance for himself to clinch that achievement. If that would not let him advance to a divine smith, Lin Li would certainly not forgive himself.
Under the command of Lin Li, the mages from the team started their work around the seven monuments. Each of the monuments was at least 100 meters tall, and the magic runes on it were like a sky of stars, while the magic nodes on it were as complicated as spiderwebs.
Edmund, who had been part of the meeting to plan for the search of Aquilo’s body saw the people from the Tower of Dusk working on the monuments. He could not help but leave the discussion to Elder Zumar and the others to join Lin Li.
“President Felic, it seemed like you have used the powers from these seven monuments to defeat Poer. I suppose you are very familiar with the mageweath on these monuments?” asked Edmund.
“Saint Edmund, you might have misunderstood. I just happen to be interested in inscriptions, and thought that it would be nice to bring the blueprint of this mageweath back for a closer look. It would be an exaggeration to say that I am familiar with it as I merely got to skim through it,” replied Lin Li very frankly.
Lin Li was not trying to be humble. The mageweath on the seven monuments was a divine-level mageweath. It was an extremely great achievement for him to even understand the surface of the mageweath. Not to mention that he was an inscription Guru, even if he were an inscriptionist at the divine-level, it would be impossible for him to fully understand an unfamiliar mageweath within a short while.
Although Edmund had little understanding of inscriptions, he could guess how powerful this mageweath was from how it could suppress the God of Light. And it was definitely remarkable for Lin Li to use it to defeat a demigod despite only having a superficial understanding of the mageweath.
However, this was not the only reason that motivated Edmund to approach Lin Li. After some hesitation, Edmund started, “President Felic, I learned from our scripture that as long as there was someone who could master the mageweath from these seven monuments, we would be able to speed up the resurrection of our Lord. So, I would like to ask if you—”
“Saint Edmund, you really think very highly of me. This is a divine-level mageweath. If I had been able to comprehend it, I would not have been in such dire straits facing Poer. I’m afraid I do not have that power, and I have to reject your request,” Lin Li interrupted Edmund before the latter could finish his speech.
Edmund was not troubled by Lin Li’s rejection. “Not now, President Felic. I know that it would be too much for you to handle it now. What I meant is, I hope you could help us resurrect Lord Aquilo once you comprehend this mageweath,” explained Edmund smilingly.
Is Edmund booking an appointment with me? thought Lin Li. He finally understood what Edmund was trying to do. Frankly speaking, he was not even certain how much time he would need to master the divine-level mageweath. He might even take centuries, yet come to no conclusion.
However, it would not hurt for Lin Li to make an empty promise in exchange for future benefits. This pact would certainly make the Illuminati more careful in their relationship. This would definitely be of considerable impact to himself and the Breezy Plains.
Therefore, Lin Li did not continue to reject his request. “Sure, I will return to help you resurrect your lord once I fully comprehend this mageweath,” agreed Lin Li without further hesitation.
“I am so grateful for your promise,” thanked Edmund profusely. The first thing he did when he heard Lin Li’s agreement was to thank Lin Li, regardless of whether the task would succeed. He did not have the mental capacity to think about any other matter.
Now that the high priest had been defeated, the God of Light became more settled than before as well. Hence, the mages from the Tower of Dusk had a simple job as they concentrated on their work with the seven monuments. The mageweath on the monument was very soon duplicated by the mages.
At the same time, the people from the Gilded Kingdom had regained most of their energy. Of course, they were all waiting for the people from the Tower of Dusk to finish their work. Although Edmund and Elder Zumar suffered heavy injuries, they were recovering very quickly as well. While the two Sanctuary powerhouses had yet to return to their peak condition, they had regained enough energy to continue their journey at this time.
After Edmund and Elder Zumar confirmed the details with Lin Li, the two teams left the place that suppressed the God of Light, and advanced towards the expected location where Lord Aquilo’s body should be. This time, they did not encounter any attacks by magical beasts. Perhaps the latter were all intimidated by the aura of the demigod.
Very quickly, the two teams reached the ruins that once seemed to have been a palace in the desert. When they saw the ruins, Edmund and Elder Zumar sighed in relief. They recognized the ruins as the place where their founding lord, Aquilo, died.
Edmund and Elder Zumar had been feeling rather shameful in front of the people from the Tower of Dusk due to the trouble they had with High Priest Poer. They would be even more embarrassed to think of accomplishing their mission if they could not find Lord Aquilo’s body now.
After ascertaining that there was no danger in the ruins, Edmund instructed his team to stay put. Then, he went to Lin Li to invite him into the ruins. By right, now that they had found the place, the task to resurrect Aquilo should fall back to the Illuminati. There was no reason why he would want to bring an outsider like Lin Li into the place.
It was Lin Li’s promise that motivated Edmund to do so. Edmund hoped that Lin Li could help to speed up Lord Aquilo’s resurrection after he gained mastery of the mageweath. Hence, even though there was nothing for Lin Li to do right now, Edmund felt that it would only be respectful if he were to invite Lin Li into the ruins to witness Aquilo’s resurrection.
Lin Li would be lying if he were to say that he was not curious about the founding lord Aquilo. Furthermore, according to Edmund, Aquilo was a man who had fought alongside the Immortal King. Lin Li would not want to miss anything that might be related to the Immortal King. Hence, he readily agreed to Edmund’s invitation.
Lin Li did not bring anyone from the Tower of Dusk into the ruins. He let Connoris and his two Undead servants stand guard outside in case of any unexpected accidents. After all, Lin Li did not feel safe in this strange place after the trouble he had with the God of Light.
After settling everything, Lin Li entered the ruins alongside Edmund and Zumar. They walked through a tattered cloister, and got to the main building. The main building was half-collapsed, and had huge chunks of broken stone pillars leaning everywhere. After they passed by some piles of rubble, the three people saw a limp figure that resembled a dry corpse sitting in the center.
The figure had a head that hung low and a body that seemed to have completely lost its water content, just like a corpse that was dried up in a desert. Dry and wrinkly skin was tightly wrapped around the bones, and the black robe that it donned had a very distinct Dark Age fashion style. One would be able to tell that the black robe was a valuable and exorbitant treasure from the vigorous mana waves that it continued to emit even though a few thousand years had passed. In his boney right hand was a broken magic staff. The other end of the staff had rolled a short distance away from the body, and the gem that was etched on top had long shattered into smithereens. The same wrinkled left hand that was placed on his lap was showing a very weird gesture, as if a magic seal of a certain spell.
Although they could not see the face of the dry corpse, Edmund and Zumar were extremely certain that this corpse belonged to Aquilo. They rushed to the corpse the moment they saw it, and bowed deeply before the dry corpse reverently.
“Almighty Lord, please forgive us for our incompetence, for we have only reached you now. You have been compromised for all these thousands of years!” cried Edmund. Underlying his voice was a sense of guilt and indignation.
Lin Li stood at the side quietly. He had little thoughts about Edmund and Zumar’s reaction to the corpse. As the souls of Sanctuary powerhouses were immortal, Lin Li believed that they would be able to find Aquilo’s soul or at least his soul print in the dry corpse.
After using half of the time to plead for forgiveness, Edmund and Zumar finally stood up, took out the holy artifact, Eye of Light, and prepared to start the resurrection ritual for Aquilo.
However, when Edmund retrieved the Eye of Light, the space in the ruins turned dark. It was as though the day had turned into night. The transition shocked Edmund and Zumar. They were so fearful of potential dangers that they even brought out their magic staffs.
