“I already told you what I know, what else do you need to know!” the Fire Demon King yelled in agony.
“Okay, let me remind you. I heard that you once had a powerful weapon. Is that true?” Lin Li said calmly, but didn’t mean to stop the mageweath from running.
“Horrendous, it must be the damned Goblin who told you about it. I don’t know what weapon you’re talking about. My weapon is my power!” the Fire Demon King roared and continued to scream, but he refused to say anything.
“Let’s wait slowly, then. Maybe you’ll get used to the feeling of your soul burning.” Lin Li yawned and sat beside the corpse of the Fire Demon King, closing his eyes to meditate.
Under such circumstances, Lin Li was probably the only person who could enter meditation with peace of mind. Even Andoine and Rosen couldn’t remain calm under the spiritual fluctuations emanating from the Fire Demon King. The painful roar that came out from it was extremely unbearable for everyone. He was a powerhouse that was near the Sanctuary-realm, yet he got tortured to such an extent. He had completely changed their notion of a powerhouse.
Time passed minute after minute, but the pain suffered by the Fire Demon King did not dissipate over time. How could one get used to such pain? In the memory of the Fire Demon King, Osric had once used this method against his enemies’ souls. However, after being tormented for almost 100 years, the souls of the enemies had become laden with agony.
“Yes, there is a weapon. I remember it now. Hurry and stop this damned mageweath!” the Fire Demon King yelled, unable to tolerate it anymore. Death was nothing compared to this horrendous torment that would make anyone collapse.
“I hope this is the last time. If you try patronizing me again, I will no longer be bothered to ask you anything. I will not be reluctant to sacrifice a magical crystal for the mageweath to continue running,” said Lin Li who stopped the mageweath which grew dimmer and revealed the corpse within.
“That damned Goblin. I really should have melted and forged him together with that pile of metal.” The burning pain began to fade a little and the Fire Demon King barked angrily, but when he heard Lin Li’s warning, he quivered again, and frantically said, “There is a weapon, a spear that contains a massive destructive power. However, that weapon does not belong to me, and Osric would only let me use it during a battle.”
“Spear? Are you sure it’s a spear?” Lin Li asked as his expression changed a little. As the former owner of the debris of the stars, Lin Li obviously knew what the debris of the stars, Nothingness, looked like. Could it be that the weapon used by the Fire Demon King is not the debris of the stars Nothingness, but another weapon created by him or the Immortal King? Or maybe, the Fire Demon King has yet to be tormented enough, and still doesn’t wish to tell the truth?
“It’s a spear, it definitely is a spear. However, the power of the spear is very special, and it’s not just powerful.” Afraid that Lin Li wouldn’t believe him, the Fire Demon King added, “The spear has the ability to transform all power into nothingness, and regardless of how strong the defense may be, it will all be useless under the attack of the spear. It’s not as simple as destroying the defense of others. It has a strong penetrating power too. The spear can pierce through space, and a small strike will create a crack in space. Even time will be changed under the power of the spear!”
Lin Li was disappointed when he heard that the weapon was a spear, but when he heard about its power, he began to find that it was like the debris of the stars Nothingness. Hence, Lin Li stopped the mageweath, and continued to listen to the Fire Demon King’s words.
Although his body had already died and his soul was the only thing left intact, the Fire Demon King suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. He said, “Back when Osric first released me from the prison and I was leaving the mountain, I encountered two dragons that attacked me. They were not too strong, but due to the fact that they were twin dragons, I had a hard time handling them. At the time, Osric did not intervene, and simply gave that spear to me. It was the first time I used that spear, and I managed to stab the twin dragons with one strike. Their defense was as fragile as paper.”
Hearing this, Lin Li could not help but freeze for a moment, because the mention of twin dragons sounded rather familiar. The Fire Demon King was originally locked in the Sky Castle. Since they passed the Haiga Mountain Range, could it be that the twin dragons they encountered were the Double Death Dragons that I risked my life to destroy and defeat in the dragon graveyard back then?
Lin Li still remembered clearly that the Double Death Dragons already had level-22’s strength at that time. Hence, before they died[1], they should have had at least level-23’s strength. The characteristics of the Double Death Dragons allowed them to exert power that was more than level-23’s. It was not impossible for it to reach level-24, either.
Meanwhile, the Fire Demon King had been imprisoned in the Sky Castle for several years, and after he was released, he had a battle with Osric, and even signed the Soul Contract. Hence, his strength had definitely been reduced. In that case, even if his strength had reached level-24, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to exert level-24’s power. It could be said that the blow that killed the twin dragons was mostly because of the power of the spear.
Although the characteristics of the so-called spear were indeed very similar to those of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, it was actually much stronger in terms of power. Back when he was facing the Double Death Dragons, Lin Li already had three pieces of the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, Holy Light, and Rebirth. Yet, he was forced to the brink of death.
“Although Osric often allowed me to use the spear, it was much more powerful when he used it. Although I don’t know how he manipulated the spear, I know that he managed to pierce through tens of floors of the abyss when he used that spear at the time. The three Sanctuary-level Demon Lords on the 72th floor of the abyss were also killed by that blow,” said the Fire Demon King who was trying to recall the past events, his soul trembling as he felt fearful of the power exhibited by Osric.
Hearing this, even Lin Li could not help but feel amazed deep down. When a piece of the debris of the stars was used by a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, it could indeed exert enough power to kill those of the Sanctuary-realm. However, it would be rather exaggerated and absurd to say that the spear could pierce through tens of floors of the abyss and kill three Sanctuary-realm powerhouses in one go!
“Is this the other reason you were staying here? You want to get the spear, don’t you? You should know where it is now, then.” Lin Li posed the question that he was the most concerned about while trying to suppress the shock and bewilderment within him.
“Although I used to always wield the spear, I was only allowed to use it during battles. It was usually controlled by Osric himself. When he died, the contract was terminated; hence, it was even more impossible for him to give that spear to me. Otherwise, do you think I’d really have been defeated by you like this? I opened the Gates of the Abyss and released the Fire Demons on the 66th floor of the abyss also because I wanted them to help me find the spear,” the Fire Demon King answered helplessly.
“Okay then. As Osric’s most trusted servant, you know what you can do to avoid suffering in this Eternal Furnace.” Although Lin Li was disappointed to hear the Fire Demon King’s answer, he had also expected it. The debris of the stars Nothingness was an artifact-level treasure, and the Fire Demon King was not Osric’s son, anyway. How could he have obtained this extremely valuable relic? Since the whereabouts of the debris of the stars was still unknown, Lin Li had no choice but to retreat and ask the Fire Demon King about the Eternal Furnace which he had been living in for over a thousand years.
In a self-deprecating manner, the Fire Demon King said, “I was the most trusted servant, and the trust between us was also built on the soul contract. In this eternal furnace, I was both Osric’s servant and prisoner. Do you think he’d let me know more? The only thing I can tell you is that Osric’s coffin was originally designed to be placed in the center of the Eternal Furnace, on the top of the minaret floor.”
“Really, is that all? Are you sure you haven’t missed anything? In that case, I have to tell you that I’m very dissatisfied with this answer. Why don’t I start the Celestial Purification Fire and then go inside while you wait for me to come back out safely to stop it for you. Of course, if I can’t come back, you’ll have to wait for someone else to enter and help you.” Lin Li then extended his hand towards the mageweath, and got ready to activate the mageweath again.
“Wait a minute, I remember something that Osric said before his death.” The Fire Demon King was a little confused; he could not figure out who the demon between them was.
However, the Fire Demon King soon got the answer. Lin Li didn’t stop the mageweath at all. Instead, he reactivated it and caused the Fire Demon King to yell and wail in a shrill voice. The Demon Lord finally understood that he was far from being a demon compared to Lin Li.
After a full minute, Lin Li finally stopped the Mageweath again, and turned to say to the Fire Demon King, “If you haven’t had enough thrill yet, we can continue.”
“Enough! Enough! Osric once said before his death that anyone who interrupted his sleep would be buried under the Stars of Fury. I don’t know what this sentence means, but it should be referring to a very powerful trap.” The Fire Demon King immediately said what he knew, not daring to hesitate for a moment. However, after saying those words, he didn’t get an answer from Lin Li for a long time. He began to tense up again for fear that Lin Li would use the damned Holy Fire to torture him again.
Overwhelmed with fear and worry, the Fire Demon King felt like he was waiting for the final judgment, but Lin Li was filled with shock because he felt that he had heard Osric’s last words somewhere before.
Yes, Lin Li still remembered the Well of the Sun from the Endless World. When he was speaking to the spirit of a High Elf back then, the latter once told him, “Buried under the Stars of Fury.”
It was the Stars of Fury! Lin Li finally understood that the Stars of Fury was actually in the hands of Osric. The Stars of Fury could take any form, and it was no wonder that it could turn Nothingness into a spear. A powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could exert the limit of the debris of the stars to the fullest; it was really not a myth.
From the moment that he obtained the first debris of the stars piece, Holy Light, Lin Li had been thinking about the whereabouts of the Stars of Fury. Even an ordinary spear would be able to exert extremely strong power because of the debris of the stars and Stars of Fury. Lin Li had been suspecting that it was hidden somewhere because he was sure that its whereabouts definitely wouldn’t be unknown otherwise.
In the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Sky Castle, Lin Li only saw a replica of the Stars of Fury. At that time, he thought that the real Stars of Fury might have been taken away from Anril by the Immortal King. To his surprise, he found some news about the Stars of Fury now that he was in Osric’s mausoleum searching for Nothingness. It was definitely a big surprise for Lin Li. If he could really get the Stars of Fury, he would definitely be on par with powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm.
However, Lin Li also knew that it was not an easy task to get Stars of Fury at this juncture. Back when he was in the Seven-Realm Spiral, the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was only manipulated by a replica, yet the power it exerted was already difficult to handle. Even if Lin Li had four pieces of the debris of the stars and had reached level-23, he still felt confused. Perhaps the only thing he could do was pray for Nothingness and Stars of Fury to be placed in separate places.
Lin Li calmed himself down and again asked the Fire Demon King a few questions. Unfortunately, the Fire Demon King, who was known as Osric’s most trusted servant, knew very little about the Eternal Furnace. In fact, he could not even compare to Lin Li, an outsider.
The conversation between Lin Li and the Fire Demon King was done through mental strength. Hence, no one knew what the two of them said to each other. The only thing they could hear was the shrill sounds let out by the Fire Demon King.
[1] As in before they became undead.
