Chapter 413: Summon

A black shadow the size of a person moved across the trees that had been burned to charcoal.

These large trees, one meter in diameter, originally had lush branches covered with green leaves, which they used for photosynthesis to provide themselves with energy.

Those flourishing leaves, layered thickly, were enough to block sunlight and cast shade, but now they have all been incinerated by the intense energy.

The leaves that once shaded the sky no longer swayed; much of the forest's canopy now showed a bald appearance.

The black shadow flipped over on the bare tree trunks, stepping with its jade-green legs on the rough bark.

Magic surged, the figure instantly became illusory, its speed suddenly increased, like an illusory shuttle darting between the trunks.

The black shadow finally approached the center of the explosion, gently touching the scorched earth with its jade-green hand.

What surprised it was that, although some time had passed since the battle, it could still feel warmth emanating from its palm, like touching frozen ground in a bitter winter and yet sensing heat.

It stood up, a flowing green shadow flickered across its body, and its jade-green hand returned to a human appearance in the blink of an eye.

He wore a pure white shirt, draped with a palm-brown shawl, wore a black round hat on his head, and had a mischievous smile on his face.

Although his face bore an almost pure smile, his eyes revealed a hint of coldness.

Guleimlin, also known as Takikawa Sora, had been drawn here by the explosion, but judging from his recent sensations, it seemed he had discovered something very interesting.

"Hahaha, such a mighty battle—who exactly were the combatants? Who exactly were they?" Guleimlin burst out laughing, finally unable to stop, he could only hold his stomach against a tree to keep from falling, yet he kept laughing nonstop.

"If the Sage knew, he would surely take this seriously, haha." Guleimlin gave a light chuckle, then his smile gradually faded, he twisted his neck, and walked briskly into the depths of the forest.

"I didn't expect there to be so many mass-produced Phantoms of the Sage." Jiang Xia raised a golden magic circle on his right hand, from which a glowing ball of sunlight rose, illuminating the surroundings.

The light ball hovered beside Jiang Xia, like a lamp that could constantly float, but although it emitted light, it could not illuminate the surrounding bottomless darkness.

This is an extremely dark yet vast space; the ground is bronze-colored, with deep grooves constantly twisting like snakes intertwining, etched into the ground, and in Jiang Xia's sight these grooves retain a faint purple magical residue.

The residual magical energy forms patterns like a huge circular magic circle, branching and intertwining, finally all converging into the silent center of that magic circle.

If viewed from above, that speck of light stands at the center of different rings; endless magical characters flicker within the ground, forming a perfect circular magic circle that encircles the central pillar at the heart.

On the central pillar are several chained, single-horned white monsters; these are the mass-produced Phantoms. When Dimu Zuo manufactured artificial Phantoms, many defective products existed, and part of those defects were used by him as the magical energy source to sustain the magic circle.

However, only by enduring the despair of mages and reaching a certain level of magical power can the power of the Witch's Feast be unleashed to its fullest.

Otherwise, Dimu Zuo would have long used mass-produced artificial Phantoms or genuine Phantoms as human pillars; Phantoms are useless, and even the original ancient mages are useless.

Here, looking up reveals no sky; within the space of a huge magic circle, time seems to have slowed; this is a completely sealed space.

This is an absolutely safe place, a small space opened up by magical power, though here the consumption of magical power is doubled.

"Is this where the Dragon Timer was born? Dimu Zuo truly is a genius." Jiang Xia surveyed this dim space and praised. Dimu Zuo used magic to open such a place, fully unleashing the power of the magic dragon within Cao Zhenqing's body, thereby creating a magical tool capable of evolving elemental avatars or merging them into one.

And if the remaining three mages were to be born, Dimu Zuo would also use some means to stimulate their inner magical power, reaching the magical level of full dragon form, which is the requirement for a human pillar.

However, this space is of little use to Jiang Xia.

"Hand over your magical power to me." Jiang Xia glanced at the artificial Phantoms bound to the pillar, and his body began to transform.

His body gradually extended outward; his wrists completely changed shape, white scales with a purple tint covered his arms, his palms turned into claws, sharp talons sheathing his nails, his chest gained a huge purple circular relief, white with black stripes spreading from the central purple relief, bones protruding.

Like a wave of water, instantly upon those artificial Phantoms, the originally slumbering artificial Phantoms, under this strong suction, let out near-instinctual howls; their white skin cracked inch by inch, and the magic power contained within was absorbed by Jiang Xia.

Although Jiang Xia's transformed Phantom resembled those defective products not much, the artificial Phantoms had no strength to resist; in an instant their bodies collapsed, turning into faint purple points of light that gradually faded.

Under this near-unstoppable extraction, the magic circle on the floor of this space began to emit a faint glow, then became fully bright, and the whole dark space lit up, revealing the outside scenery.

The magical domain was forcibly dispelled, all magical power in this space was drained, yet a gemstone emitting golden light appeared in Jiang Xia's palm.

The outside wind blew in, a pale yellow curtain swayed, and the surrounding rock walls plus the curtain perfectly formed a small room; through the translucent curtain, only the moving shadows outside could be seen.

This is just an ordinary cave, but it is used as the place where the Sage commands Phantoms; the outside likewise has a magical barrier, and if no one guides, one can only circle where the barrier is laid.

"You have awakened, Sage."

Outside the cave, a beautiful girl wearing a light purple skirt, with black long hair, upon seeing the black shadow appear inside the cave, respectfully knelt and bowed her head.

"Medusa, summon all Phantoms, I have an announcement to make." Jiang Xia, seeing through the sheer fabric, gazed at this most loyal chief subordinate of the Sage.

"Sage, does this include the companions who are causing the Phantom Gate to despair?" Medusa asked respectfully, raising her head.

"I mean all of them, didn't you hear clearly?!"

A huge surge of energy burst forth; a powerful golden impact instantly straightened the sheer fabric before it, a tremendous roar exploded, and the shockwave, laden with magic, fiercely struck the Medusa kneeling on the ground.

"Boom!"

At the moment the beautiful girl was struck, her body's surface instantly began to change; her whole body turned into pink-and-white snake scales, her beautiful face was covered by a serpent-like visage, and an enormous snake head grew on the side of her skull.

Medusa was blasted away by the impact, accompanied by sparks scattering in all directions; her body was slammed hard into the cave's rock wall, instantly creating a huge pit, like a spiderweb crack gradually penetrating the wall.

Debris filled the air, dust and smoke spread everywhere, the whole rock wall trembled; Medusa let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground, but she dared not lift her head, merely maintaining a submissive posture, for though lifting her head would reveal the Sage's true face, that is precisely why she dared not.

"Go, don't miss any." Jiang Xia said lightly, as if the attack he had just made were an illusion.

"Yes, Sage." Medusa became even more respectful, leaving without raising her head the whole way. (End of chapter)