Chapter 178: Mana Detector Alarm

"Um, Great Mage, tell me, is there any spell that can make my scales smoother and shinier?" In the sky, Di Luonaou flew toward the Death Rainforest, turning his head to ask the old Mage on his back.

Although he is an extremely old red dragon, Di Luonaou still respects powerful Spellcasters; in fact, many shameless five‑colored evil dragons tend to seek a sufficiently powerful evil Mage to serve, and after that one's death they seize the former owner's all possessions and spells.

After learning he would act together with a Ninth Circle Mage, the red dragon not only didn't find it troublesome, but his attitude became especially pleasant.

For example, while hurrying, Di Luonaou unusually generously allowed Sai Faer and Xia Nai to ride on his back; of course, whether there was any intention to covet the Mage's rich inheritance remains unknown.

The red dragon was polite, and Sai Faer naturally answered his question generously: "Of course there is."

"The Ninth Circle transformation spell 【Guiano Taz's Dragon Scale Gilding Technique】 can well meet your needs; after casting this spell, all your scales will permanently become real gold, and under sunlight will emit an extremely dazzling holy Mana light."

"However, this spell has a fatal drawback," Sai Faer added, looking at Di Luonaou's expectant eyes: "Your Dragon Might defense will drop dramatically."

Sai Faer knew this spell originated from an accident; many years ago, when he was still a Sixth Circle Mage, he broke into the lair of an ancient giant dragon that had long since died.

Inside the lair was a massive stone pillar that recorded spells the owner had researched and created in life; 【Guiano Taz's Dragon Scale Gilding Technique】 was one of them.

This spell can be called a practical chicken rib; as a prestigious Ninth Circle spell, its effect is merely to permanently turn scales into gold that can sparkle with holy Mana light. It should be noted that giant dragons capable of casting Ninth Circle spells, apart from Juan Ce Long, already have physiques far beyond ordinary human level.

These giant dragons' scales are so hard, yet they would replace their own scales with gold out of vanity; one can only say that only a giant dragon could do such a thing.

So, just after Sai Faer finished stating the drawback, Di Luonaou did not immediately reject it; instead he actually hesitated about whether to replace, never considering that his scales, which can defend against most mid‑low Circle spells and hard weapons, are one of the reasons he roams the Maztec continent.

The red dragon thought for a while and finally "reluctantly" rejected the idea; the main reason was not that he realized the importance of his scales, but that he was confident he could break through the Ancient Dragon stage, wanting to wait until his body grew larger before beautifying himself, to prevent newly grown scales from intermixing with gold.

For most giant dragons, the extremely old dragon is their endpoint; many dragons exhaust their lifespan before breaking the Ancient Dragon stage, only a few geniuses, or those Juan Ce Long who strictly adhere to sleep schedules to maintain growth speed, can meet the conditions to break the Ancient Dragon stage before death.

The so‑called Ancient Dragon is one that lives toward death, gaining rebirth in its twilight, returning as a retrograde ancestor of the primordial dragon race.

When a giant dragon reaches the Ancient Dragon stage, it gains a massive amount of natural lifespan, and the time required to break the Pre‑Ancient Dragon stage also becomes extremely long.

Naimi Xisi is not worried about this; first, his growth speed is astonishingly fast, and as long as he no longer pulls all‑nighters for ten days to half a month as he did when researching spells, and maintains sufficient sleep, crossing the Ancient Dragon stage will be a matter of course.

But for most True Dragons, this is a threshold of life and death; crossing it grants a celestial‑scale lifespan lasting thousands of years, while failing to cross caps a True Dragon's lifespan at eight hundred years.

And Di Luonaou, also the former, strictly adheres to sleep schedules, and his growth speed far exceeds his peers.

"Master, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Xia Nai asked anxiously from beside.

Sai Faer felt it was a bit tricky and said: "I'm not sure either; most brain‑eating monsters are Mana beings, only they have such a strong craving for brains." "Mana beings are too mysterious, often only appear within the Star Realm; on Frelen, the only known relatively famous brain‑eating Mana being is the Mind Flayer."

"However, with this Mana detector, I think we should be able to find some clues."

Sai Faer took out a rectangular metal box, its surface inlaid with a silver orb.

"How do we use this thing, Master?" Xia Nai asked curiously, looking at the Mana detector.

Sai Faer stroked his white beard and laughed: "This device is highly intelligent; as long as a Mana fluctuation appears within a radius of one thousand meters, it will sound an alarm. Mana beings are extremely scarce on the continent; by following the Mana traces we can more easily locate the true culprit behind the annihilated vanguard."

The old Mage tossed the box to Xia Nai, then looked toward the dense rainforest on the ground far away; while they were in the clouds, they didn't know when, the surroundings began to be enveloped by thick cumulonimbus clouds, occasional lightning streaked across the distant clouds.

"This rain… seems off." Sai Faer's gaze darkened.

The rainforest's horizon suddenly darkened, black clouds thickened like a heavy curtain obscuring day and night. At first, only scattered raindrops tapped the broad leaves, producing a delicate sound. Yet this prelude quickly turned into a grand symphonic performance.

Torrential rain poured down from the sky, like a waterfall cascading over the ancient forest.

The old Mage had seen many such downpours on Frelen; though the rain accompanied by lightning and thunder is terrifying, for the rainforest's creatures it is a revelry, a tribute to life.

Yet the current state of the rainforest seemed off.

!

A massive python twisted its body, frantically coiling around nearby conspecifics, a brutal internal fight silently unfolding in the rain. Monkeys leapt anxiously among the treetops, their eyes full of fear and unease, sharp cries echoing through the rainforest, as if narrating the horror of the chaos.

On the ground, wild boars and rhinoceroses charged recklessly, their horns like swords repeatedly thrusting at each other's bodies, blood mixing with rain to redden the soil. By the creek, schools of fish flailed on the surface, their bodies battered by the downpour, powerless against fate.

The old Mage focused his gaze, observing that the rainforest animals' emotions grew unusually agitated, as if driven by some unseen magic into madness.

Di Luonaou said indifferently: "What's the deal, these little rainforest critters are like mad dogs, causing a ruckus every few days; Dragon Might scares them but it doesn't work, I'm used to it."

Sai Faer's face grew serious, his eyes strange as he said: "Dragon Might doesn't work? Have you never suspected something was off? You are an extremely old red dragon; how could these little animals not be affected by you?"

Before Di Luonaou could speak, Xia Nai, trembling slightly, said: "Um, Master, you said if it encounters Mana, how does it alarm? It can't be like this, right?"

Sai Faer turned his head; at that moment the silver orb on the Mana detector glowed crimson, flashing wildly like a demon's eye in the abyss.

(End of Chapter)