Chapter 328: Shadow Portal

Actually, the real difficulty lies in how to approach Aquilain without alerting him; the subsequent steps are much simpler, and the key is to guide the arrival of the Tower of Time's spells.

The general plan has been determined; only a few details need further consideration.

While discussing, Xia Duo was also constantly calculating in his mind how to learn the method of entering the Shadow Plane from Bishop Anbulier.

Regarding gods, he does not have the same awe as Aiboke; he feels that the abilities gods can bestow must also possess certain specific rules!

As long as they possess specific rules, they can certainly be learned and transformed into specific spells of the Netheril Arcane Magic System.

Soon, the details between Xia Duo and Aiboke were discussed, and they only need to confirm them with Bishop Anbulier at the Temple tomorrow.

There is plenty of time!

And tonight, Xia Duo needs to get some good rest!

……

The next day, waking from his sleep, Xia Duo felt refreshed, with no signs of the all-nighter he pulled the day before.

"Tower Spirit, report the energy reserve status of the Tower of Time!"

"Agent Xia Duo, current energy reserves are insufficient: Fire Elemental Pool 6%, Water Elemental Pool 9%, Earth Elemental Pool 9%, Fire Elemental Pool 4%, Positive Energy Pool 3%, Negative Energy Pool 3%."

Although the total reserves are still insufficient, looking at the growth, the Positive Energy increased the most by 200%, and even the others increased by at least 50%!

A cause for celebration!

It's just that the work stoppages, production halts, and power outages like yesterday's cannot happen again; a little Elf Fruit Wine is secondary, as it is produced and consumed internally by the Tower of Time anyway.

Letting the Tower of Time return to normal operation, resuming work and production, is what matters most. Otherwise, once the initial repair project is completed, the Tower of Time will go completely bankrupt.

Although there will still be a large funding gap even after resuming work, every bit helps, and Xia Duo has no doubt about the profitability of the Tower of Time.

……

Savile Town, Temple of the Lord of Radiance, side rear hall.

This place was originally where the Temple stored Holy Relics and Magic Artifacts, but today the items originally inside had been cleared out, and a temporary Altar had been placed there instead.

Although it was only a temporary Altar, the main body material had already been crafted; it was roughly a blue-gray stone cylinder one meter high with a bottom diameter of one meter.

It was covered in mysterious, complex, and seemingly rule-abiding peculiar symbols; these symbols were both new and old, yet they looked perfectly harmonious.

Under the illumination of the holy radiance, it appeared exceptionally solemn.

Approaching noon, Bishop Anbulier was still before the Altar, maintaining the kneeling prayer posture he had held since the morning, without moving a muscle.

And not far behind him, near the door, Xia Duo and Aiboke watched and waited silently.

In the morning, after breakfast, Xia Duo called Aiboke to come over together, but he did not expect that entering the Shadow Plane would require such a long process.

After waiting for several hours, he had become somewhat restless; if not for the Holy Light above the Altar making him feel a powerful force awakening, he would have wanted to leave for a while and come back when the ritual was ready.

Suddenly, Bishop Anbulier shouted, "Beneath the radiance, there must be shadows!"

In an instant, the holy radiance that had been undulating above the Altar all fell down, but when these rays of light hit the Altar, they did not pour over the entire hall like water.

Instead, they projected a very dense patch of shadow in front of the Altar!

Immediately following, that shadow suddenly expanded and rose, like a pure black curtain standing before the Altar!

Seeing this scene, Xia Duo knew that the abilities of those shadow assassins Aiboke mentioned earlier would likely not work in the Temple of the Lord of Radiance!

"It is ready!"

Bishop Anbulier stood up, looked at Xia Duo and Aiboke, and said solemnly, "My Lord is the Lord of Radiance, the Lord of Order; shadows are also under my Lord's order!"

Aiboke stepped forward and first offered a greeting, "Thank you for your hard work, Bishop!"

Then he curiously examined the pure black curtain and asked, "Is this the Portal to the Shadow Plane? It seems one cannot perceive the scene on the other side?"

Bishop Anbulier wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile, "If the Shadow Plane you speak of refers to the shadows of our world, then this is it! As for why one cannot perceive the scene on the other side, I do not know; this Portal was shaped by my Lord's power and is not controlled by me."

After speaking, Anbulier looked at Xia Duo seriously, "Lord Xia Duo, are you sure you want to go with us? Actually, the two of us have a certain degree of confidence in catching him; you don't need to take this risk!"

"Yes! I am sure I want to go with you!"

To ensure the success of the operation, Xia Duo decisively rejected the other's kindness; this was not a life-or-death choice, and with the protection of the Tower of Time, he did not worry about his own safety.

"In that case—" Seeing Xia Duo's firm attitude, Anbulier stopped trying to persuade him and said, "I need to make some preparations. If you need to prepare, you can do so now; we depart promptly at noon!"

"Good!"

Aiboke did not need to prepare anything further, but Xia Duo needed to return to the Tower of Time to have the Tower Spirit apply Protection spells to him.

Although the Tower of Time could project power directly here, the consumption of crossing such a long distance, which even included a chaotic Magic Net area, was something Xia Duo would avoid if he could.

……

Before long, Xia Duo returned from the Tower of Time and came once again to the small hall at the back of the main Temple; Aiboke was quietly leaning against the wall, eyes closed in thought.

A wisp of Arcane Energy coiled around his fingertips, as if he were using this method to soothe his mood.

Bishop Anbulier had not yet arrived, so Xia Duo followed Aiboke's example, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes in thought, though he was fiddling with the Pioneer Scepter in his hand.

From now on, whenever possible, he intended to carry this scepter in his hand.

Mind spells are truly too evil! Freedom of thought is arguably Xia Duo's absolute bottom line!

He does not care if someone uses external objects to tempt or coerce him, but he absolutely abhors having his thoughts directly controlled; this is simply intolerable.

Regarding that Princess who is already a Great Arcanist, Xia Duo is very grateful; being able to gift a scepter that grants immunity to mind spells definitely shows sincerity, as well as deep meaning.

He is very much looking forward to seeing what role they, the Pioneers, will play!

……

Soon, Xia Duo and Aiboke did not wait long before a "tap-tap" sound approached from outside the hall.

Xia Duo opened his eyes and looked at the doorway with some confusion, but his confusion did not last for a few seconds before it immediately turned into surprise—

Bishop Anbulier had entered!