Chapter 1546: Delivering News, Continuing the Search

Hearing this, Iolum's expression darkened for a moment; the Keman performance of the Ambassador and that investigator was far too eager, making it hard not to associate them with the Elf Mage from just before.

Of course, the suspicion toward Ilfaran could not be ruled out either; after all, that Elf Mage was a Gold Elf. If it had been a Moon Elf, perhaps it wouldn't be Ilfaran, but a Gold Elf—who could say for sure!

Even allies have days where they turn against each other. Think back to how close the relationship between Netheril and Yierlan once was; examples of human-elf unions were everywhere, yet once interests were involved, they turned against each other just the same.

Although the relationship between the two countries has eased now, it is impossible to return to how it was back then. Of course, there is no need to return to the past; after all, while it was called close back then, it was essentially a vassal relationship, unlike the independence and autonomy of today.

"Elf! Elf!"

Iolum muttered softly, then his gaze became resolute, and he asked Haichenisi again, "Can you still get out on your own now?"

"I should be able to. It was just too sudden before; I had never encountered that kind of monster before."

"That's good. Once you are out, immediately seal off the core Laboratory area. You can let the people from the Seven Towers in to inspect the situation, but as for the Elves, have the Seven Towers find an excuse to dismiss them first."

"Master, the outside is already sealed."

"Sealed is good. Then you should go out now. Remember to return the Calm Divine Talisman to the Temple of Arcane Magic, and also thank Archbishop Nielson on my behalf."

Iolum knew that Haichenisi alone would not be enough to borrow such a Holy Relic from the Temple of Arcane Magic; this favor, and even the Divine Grace, would ultimately be credited to him.

After speaking, he personally cast a Protective Spell on Haichenisi, as well as a Magic Mark containing a certain message.

After Haichenisi left, Xia Duo couldn't help but ask: "Did Teacher tell the Seven Towers about the situation here? I mean the distorted Phantom?"

"I did. There is nothing to hide there. The Seven Towers has specialized personnel hunting these creatures in the Ether Plane. Even if we could monopolize this place now, we would still inevitably have to purchase them from them in the future. As for now, hurry up; we have already made the first move, we can't end up with less of a harvest than them!"

After speaking, Iolum flew upward again.

Xia Duo followed closely behind, and while flying, he told Iolum about how he had already killed one distorted Phantom earlier, then asked: "Teacher, how many more can we find if we keep looking?"

"Don't worry about this problem. If hunting in the Ether Plane, I can tell you that after finding one, you can at most find three or five more. But this place already possesses certain characteristics of the Material Plane; distorted Phantoms cannot move quickly here. In a sense, this area has become a cage trapping them. If I am not mistaken, there should be a small settlement of distorted Phantoms here."

Having said this, Iolum looked back at Xia Duo and asked: "Do you know now why I wanted you to hurry?"

"I know, is Teacher worried that they will concentrate and break through this area?"

"Correct. Once they enter the full Ether Plane, we won't be able to find them again. Besides, us acting together is also to guard against them merging."

"They can still merge?" Xia Duo asked in surprise.

"Yes, but these creatures naturally repel their own kind and can even feed on their own kind to strengthen themselves. Merging means that both sides, or even more, perish simultaneously. Unless it is a last resort, they will not make this choice."

Having said this, Iolum added another point, "There is another situation of offering. A merged distorted Phantom can only exist briefly and will perish entirely afterward. But if multiple distorted Phantoms choose to offer themselves to one, a distorted Phantom King will be born, comparable to a Psionic Master of Dasi in the south. However, this situation almost never occurs."

"Almost never occurs, so that means it is possible? Has the Seven Towers encountered it?"

"Yes! The Seven Towers has encountered it! About a hundred-plus years ago, a fifteen-person hunting party from the Seven Towers was wiped out shortly after entering the Ether Plane. It caused quite a stir at the time."

Iolum's look of emotion and nostalgia made Xia Duo quite envious. A hundred-plus years ago, he hadn't transmigrated yet, and even for the vast majority of Netherese Mages, a hundred-plus years is considered a very long history.

And for Iolum, a hundred-plus years is only half of what he has personally experienced; there may be many more hundreds of years in the future.

However, after multiple Bloodline Awakenings, even if Xia Duo does not use any Life Extension Spell now, his maximum lifespan has already far exceeded that of ordinary people.

As for how much it exceeds, Xia Duo can only barely infer from the rate of his body's aging that his maximum lifespan is at least a thousand years.

And that is only the natural limit of his lifespan; if one counts Life Extension Spells, it is even longer.

The current Xia Duo is only twenty-something years old; if one counts the passage of time in the Projection Plane, it is only thirty-something. It is truly hard to imagine a hundred or a thousand years.

But one thing he is certain of is that as long as he is willing, he can watch his own civilization grow up. This is an experience that countless sages in his hometown sought but could not obtain.

……

"Teacher, situation discovered, above!"

"Hmm, I discovered it too. Let's go together, there should be more than one!"

"More than one?"

Xia Duo was puzzled in his heart, carefully feeling the strange sensation of the telepathy. It was indeed a bit different from the one just now, but how could he judge there was more than one?

The Perception Field he established in his heart was, after all, not a real thing; it was merely an imagined feeling and could not be used for quantitative analysis, and even qualitative analysis was difficult.

In his view, this kind of telepathy was more like an intuition born out of thin air, a bit like Prophecy, but it did indeed have a foundation in Reality, which was different from true Prophecy that requires no real-world information.

On this day, Xia Duo saw too many things that surprised him, whether it was the origin of the Tower Spirit, telepathy, or the hunting customs of the Ether Plane.

"Truly, the more you know, the more ignorant you become!"

Because Iolum said there was more than one, Xia Duo did not fall behind to repeatedly feel it like before, but quickly followed.

And in the process of flying toward the target's location above, the telepathy also became clearer and clearer, only compared to being able to have a precise target before, this clarity now was more like a clear double-exposed image.

The content of the image itself was a double exposure; no matter how high the clarity was, it would not become other content, unless there were other special means to separate the double exposure and analyze them one by one.

Perhaps Iolum had mastered such a means of telepathic analysis!

Xia Duo was thoughtful; Teacher is indeed Teacher! Several hundred years were truly not spent in vain!