Chapter 648: The Ancestor

Luo Qi stepped out of the door, heavy with thoughts, only to bump into the large group in the corridor that had been rushing to find him. Seeing him roll out on his own, Majiang's expression eased; he took a few steps over to grab Luo Qi's arm and pushed him toward their own people, with Wusu following behind them automatically. He looked up and saw Guan Xinyue huddled together with Liu Ziyi, standing not far from them, her face somewhat pale.

As they walked, Majiang whispered, "Two situations."

"What situations?" Luo Qi asked, lifting his head higher to search for Du Zhengyi's face among the many faces. Face after face looked toward him with curiosity, and their similar heights heavily obscured his line of sight; the approaching figures were like a matrix of clones, and he couldn't tell who was who, feeling a wave of dizziness.

Majiang said briefly and in a low voice, "The first situation: the Sacred Mountain Curse has appeared; the second situation: Du Zhengyi and Clownfish have gone missing."

Luo Qi's footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He suddenly realized that dozens of faces were looking at him, some masking their intent and others not, each watching his every move with their own hidden agendas; among these people were Lotus Burners and Battle Mages alike. Some looked to him with helpless, inexplicable expectation, while others were critical of him, as if he were wrong simply because he had stepped forward with his left foot first. Others held cold, hostile gazes, with malice and murderous intent whispering behind their Consciousness Barriers. Luo Qi restrained himself from engaging or responding, suppressing the unease, vigilance, and desire for self-defense against provocation within his own consciousness. He steadied his pace and kept his consciousness deeply hidden.

With an expressionless face, he continued his conversation with Majiang as they walked, "What's this about my brother going missing with Clownfish?"

"Is that what you're most concerned about right now?" Majiang asked.

Luo Qi gave Majiang a startled look and whispered angrily, "Doctor, you should know that the only thing that can kill Du Zhengyi is Clownfish! Now they've both gone missing!"

"Ah, that's not necessarily true anymore." Majiang gave a cynical smile. "Now there's the curse, and the curse might kill them both—and us, of course."

"The curse," Luo Qi muttered. They had already walked into the girls' hearing range. He looked at Liu Ziyi and said, "Radiation?"

"Yes," Liu Ziyi said uneasily. "Just now, the Magic Energy level in the Seal Land suddenly rose... I... and then the radiation was produced. I tried... but the Magic here is too profound. I don't know why the Magic level rose, and I don't have the ability to close this magic valve."

It was the first time Luo Qi had seen Liu Ziyi so frustrated, so he swallowed the complaints he wanted to make. "It's okay," he comforted her, thinking of some positive aspects. "None of us are bleeding from our noses yet, so it should still be manageable."

"Oh, yes," Liu Ziyi perked up a little; at least this question was within the scope of what she could answer. "The current dose of radiation has a potential impact on our bodies, but it's not enough to cause harm yet. Of course, I wouldn't advise anyone to have children within a year..."

She stopped herself; these things were no longer important. She chose a key point, "But the radiation level is increasing."

Luo Qi pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there a pattern to the increase in radiation levels?"

"Currently, it's a slow, linear increase. At this rate, I believe it could cause irreversible damage to our bodies in nine hours," Liu Ziyi said.

"We have nine hours to find Du Zhengyi and then leave here," Luo Qi said. This might be good news; nine hours was not a short time.

"That's assuming the rate of radiation increase remains stable. Given that the radiation appeared along with unstable energy, and the energy is now even more unstable, I think it's very likely the radiation will also suddenly intensify," Liu Ziyi said worriedly.

"Let's be optimistic for now," Luo Qi said. "There's no time. We'll finish discussing the radiation in one minute. Based on your knowledge of Progenitor Magic, do you think it's possible that the radiation is a method left behind by the Ancestor to kill the Seal Beasts?"

"No," Liu Ziyi said briefly. "There are many signs that the radiation is a byproduct of the collapse of Progenitor Magic; it is the dark side of Magic."

Luo Qi pondered for half a second; the storm of consciousness in his mind had already reviewed and organized everything that had happened today. They had entered the Seal Land, a place that did not use world Magic, which had reached its end after tens of thousands of years. The energy was exhausted, and the remaining Magic Energy was insufficient to maintain the Seal Beasts in a static state. The Seal Beasts began to break their seals, the brain-dead animals began their life in the free world, and the residual Magic began to summon Battle Mages to clean up this mess according to the original agreement. Du Zhengyi had come here, and his attitude had always been simple: he wanted to shut this place down completely—provided that people like them didn't delay his work progress.

Things should have been normal up to this point; the complication was that too many of them had entered. The Lotus Burners had their own goals and had done many unnecessary things. But Luo Qi could not deny that he also had his own agenda and had done plenty of unnecessary things as well. After the Seal Land opened its doors for Du Zhengyi, it seemed to think its master had returned home; the entire Seal Land was like a human's smart home AI servant, activating all the appliances to welcome its master, while their diesel generator was already running out of fuel.

"There are too many of us," Luo Qi said suddenly.

They were exploring here in groups, opening more and more of the Seal Land, which consumed more and more local Magic, and this might have accelerated the process of the Seal Land's fall.

"What do you mean?" Liu Ziyi asked.

Luo Qi didn't want to waste time and said directly, "You're right, the radiation increase shouldn't be stable. Majiang, Great Mage Wusu, gather everyone together. From now on, no one is allowed to explore any rooms, no one is allowed to separate, and no one is allowed to trigger any extra Magic. Ziyi, we must find Du Zhengyi immediately. I believe he has a way to seal the Seal Land once and for all."

He looked up and saw more people slowly approaching, seemingly wanting to hear what they were saying. He raised his voice, "I'll say it again: if everyone continues to stay here, in a few hours you will all die, melting your entire bodies from the inside out in a miserable state. If you want to survive, first, everyone stay together, and then find Du Zhengyi. Du Zhengyi will solve this little problem of the Du Family that we are facing. Then we can return to the outside world and continue our disagreements. Zhao, you have no objections, right?"

The leader of the Lotus Burners, standing outside the crowd, nodded gloomily, "I'll take you to the door where they disappeared."