Chapter 558: Phoenix Nirvana

Spirit-absorbing Monster!

Lei En felt a slight startle in his heart; he had previously read about this race.

Perhaps in the era when this book was written, over five hundred years ago, Spirit-absorbing Monsters were still unknown. But today, most Wizards have at least some knowledge of them.

Because the branch of spiritual energy users founded by Duke Hong Shi drew its inspiration from Spirit-absorbing Monsters.

Spirit-absorbing Monsters, also called Heart-stealing Demons, may be one of the world's oldest races; legend says that in distant ages they ruled a vast empire spanning multiple world planes and subjugated countless intelligent species. Later, for unknown reasons, their rule was overthrown, their empire shattered, and some fled to the Prime Material Plane, living in the Dark Realm deep beneath the New Continent.

Their appearance is like half‑human beings with octopus heads; they have no hair on their heads, smooth slick skin, and four winding serpentine feelers around their mouths, while the most powerful Spirit-absorbing Monsters have six.

Spirit-absorbing Monsters use their feelers to seize prey—usually some kind of sentient creature—sucking out their brains and thereby absorbing their memories, personality, and inner fears.

Spirit-absorbing Monsters are innate casters; from birth they can wield spiritual energy spells.

Every adult Spirit-absorbing Monster has its own slaves, controlling many creatures; they generally avoid direct combat and instead have their slaves attack.

The slaves serve as extensions of the Spirit-absorbing Monster's body, standing between enemy and master.

This combat style resembles that of the Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, differing in that the wizard controls dead demon souls, whereas the Spirit-absorbing Monster controls living slaves.

Lei En already knew these.

However, the "Memoir of Strange Creatures" records some deeper details.

The author is a wandering Wizard of the Legendary Realm, who spends years adventuring on the New Continent, repeatedly entering the Dark Realm, and possesses an unparalleled familiarity with that vast, profound underground world.

He once befriended a Spirit-absorbing Monster, and they actually became friends.

That oddly‑tempered Spirit-absorbing Monster even invited him to visit a Spirit-absorbing Monster city called Hellfire City, a hidden settlement located in an underground lava canyon, rarely visited by sentient beings other than Spirit-absorbing Monsters.

He was the first visitor to Hellfire City who did not enter as a slave.

There, the author lived for six years, closely observing the ancient, malevolent race of Spirit-absorbing Monsters—their breeding, birth, and growth, as well as their social structure, hierarchy, and governance—recording everything in detail to produce this "Memoir of Strange Creatures."

Lei En read with great interest; this is a truly distinctive race, and his eyes were opened.

And on page 43, the book mentions a characteristic of Spirit-absorbing Monster society.

Each Spirit-absorbing Monster settlement or city is devoted to a "Primary Brain," which resides in the central nest of the city or community; the author never had the chance to enter and thus never saw the Primary Brain firsthand.

But he learned from that Spirit-absorbing Monster friend that all the monsters in the city are the Primary Brain's subjects, and, to some extent, the monsters are also the Primary Brain's slaves.

The Primary Brain can remotely control Spirit-absorbing Monsters, communicate mind‑to‑mind, and perceive all their thoughts.

The entire Spirit-absorbing Monster society is like a beehive, and the Primary Brain is the queen bee!

The Primary Brain maintains the city's operation, builds the mother nest, cultivates new Spirit-absorbing Monsters, promotes and punishes, coordinates, teaches spells, and its nature is akin to a computer chip.

Lei En understood the gist upon reading this.

The future‑self's hint is clear enough: the answer to miniaturizing the Titan Furnace lies in the Spirit-absorbing Monster's Primary Brain!

He searched the library for the Primary Brain and only found a few fragments of information.

The "Book of a Thousand Souls" and other works on demon‑soul Elements contain no record of which Elements the Primary Brain possesses, and most books don't even know such a creature exists.

The most detailed account remains this "Memoir of Strange Creatures."

Lei En read the chapter on Spirit-absorbing Monsters from start to finish and found that the author omitted the location of Hellfire City, likely out of consideration for his Monster friend's feelings.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the New Continent and enter the Dark Realm,"

He closed the book, his mind becoming active.

The Dark Realm is an underground world beneath the New Continent, vast in size—said to rival the continent's surface—its environment dim and complex, inhabited by countless evil creatures, the most famous being Dark Elves, known to people as the Drow.

There are also Gray Dwarves, Stone‑Blind Barbarians, Dilo Dwarves, Eye Demons, Koutao Merfolk, Ogres, Night Goblins, and so on.

Because they have lived underground without sunlight for generations, the Dark Realm's races have developed varying degrees of deformities and harbor intense hatred toward surface dwellers.

Hatred breeds sin and slaughter, making the Dark Realm a breeding ground for evil‑god worshippers.

When Transcendents adventure on the New Continent, they inevitably encounter underground creatures; some elite Soul‑Hunting squads also venture into the Dark Realm to hunt.

Both sides have been slaughtering each other for millennia, a blood feud that cannot be resolved.

In a sense, the Dark Realm is more dangerous than the New Continent's surface. After all, unless one delves into the continent's interior or the northern ice plains, one rarely encounters powerful monsters; pollution on the east and west coasts is waning, many safe zones have been established, and even new cities have been built.

But for Lei En, the Dark Realm isn't that frightening; that's all there is to it.

What danger could compare to his current situation?

Unless the Dark Realm also harbors terrifying Wizards of the forty‑first level!

As for Spirit-absorbing Monsters, Lei En isn't particularly worried.

Spirit-absorbing Monsters are innate spiritual energy users, but he possesses the Willpower of Truth, a legendary Element that renders him immune to all mind‑targeting spells, making him the natural enemy of spiritual energy users!

The only trouble is how to locate the Spirit-absorbing Monsters and enter their city.

One must see the Primary Brain with one's own eyes, observe its Elements with a soul‑eye, and then know how to solve the Titan Furnace's miniaturization problem.

Lei En already senses that he must hunt down the Primary Brain's demon soul!

"Send the main body?"

"Or have Reslin go to the New Continent?"

Lei En pondered that the most pressing issue now is Augulevi Master's fall; whether exposed or not, Weizelan and Naiser will likely clash, sparking a conflict that could engulf the entire Empire and be impossible to resolve quickly.

Weizelan, after all, is short of manpower and cannot leave the front lines.

Finding the Spirit-absorbing Monster city could take an unknown length of time; even an optimistic estimate is several months, and bad luck could delay it by years.

Whether it's Weizelan, Gra Morgan Territory, or the Augustus Duchy, he cannot be away for long.

"I'll have to make Reslin endure this hardship."

Lei En made the decision cheerfully.

In the Withered Sun Plane, within the Anse Mausoleum's pyramid, Reslin, who was meditating on a spell‑crafting model, opened his eyes and cursed, "Damn it!"

He has been lingering here for over two months.

Each day, aside from meditating and crafting spells, he spent the rest setting up a cross‑plane teleportation array, sleeping only two hours; the array is finally nearing completion. His next plan was to leave the mausoleum, enter the surrounding desert to hunt Mantis‑men and Desert Giants, harvest souls, and hasten a strike against the Holy Soul Wizard, preparing for his own ascension.

He never expected to remain a mere tool after all.

"I want to become a god; you go on your own!"

Reslin protested internally: "The New Continent is so vast, the Dark Realm so dangerous, old coins everywhere; I'm a fragile wizard—one slip and I'd die."

"It's fine; you can resurrect."

"That won't work; it would delay my ascension."

"You are me, I am you; we are not separate, don't split us so clearly. The matter of ascension can't be rushed; there are many uncertainties, we can take it slowly, first steady yourself," Lei En counselled earnestly, "If you're afraid of dying, I'll assign you a strong MT to carry monsters for you on the road, guaranteeing you won't die."

"Fine, fine," Reslin reluctantly agreed.

The original self and the split self bargained; the two are essentially one person, minds linked, indistinguishable, but Lei En found this game rather amusing.

"When we reach the New Continent, we should also scout the situation there. Be especially wary of those Lich and Death Knights; if we can locate Naksa's Fu Kong Cheng, that would be ideal," Lei En continued.

He hadn't forgotten the undead calamity that dealt a heavy blow to Weizelan.

Whether it's the Death Knights of the Calamity Legion or the Lich of the Dead Knot Seal, this blood debt will be repaid sooner or later.

And the stolen Fu Kong Cheng—Lei En has been scheming about it for a long time.

"Got it. The teleport array will be ready in half a month; once that teammate arrives, I'll set out," Reslin said and fell silent.

He immediately rose and went to the teleport array, accelerating the progress.

At BrewotzAcademy, Lei En walked to the window, his gaze sweeping over Master Mediv on the tree; the Soul Eye and All-Seeing Eye surveyed the surroundings, everything as usual.

The sky brightened quickly.

Lei En's heart eased a bit after surviving the first night most likely to be ambushed; as time passed, the chance of Augulevi Master intervening gradually waned.

The Wizard exchange tournament entered its second day.

Lei En went out to the Phoenix Arena, appearing to watch the match for a while. Master Mediv moved like a shadow, a raven hidden within his silhouette, unnoticed by anyone.

The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day…

As days passed, the points competition of the exchange tournament reached its final stage; the strongest casters in each group saw their scores climb, gradually pulling ahead of the others.

During this period, the Mid-stage and High-stage groups also held rotating duels.

Lei En spent one or two hours on site each day; as a spectator he remained the most conspicuous focus—not solely because of the opening day's climax duel, but because his four students each stood out in their respective groups.

Darama, Perari and Anvira were in the High-stage group.

Remarkably, the three were drawn into different groups and suffered no defeats; each claimed the top spot in their group with an unbeaten record.

In the Mid-stage group, Galu, a half-orc Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, was obscure in Weizelan, keeping a low profile.

Yet he made a stunning breakthrough in the competition.

Galu's combat style closely resembled Elder Harava's; after a demon soul possessed him, his melee prowess was ferocious, with strength, defense, resistance, and speed surpassing most High-stage transcendents. The demon soul he summoned was also a "Beast Garden" deck, a massive herd of various magical beasts, numbering over three times that of a typical Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard; most of the time he needed not act himself, the herd alone could overwhelm opponents.

Riding a twenty-match winning streak, Galu sang triumphantly, becoming the most vocal contender for the Mid-stage championship wizard!

At first, the audience hadn't noticed.

Later the news spread: all four were Lei En's students, and the arena erupted.

Lei En's own power was unfathomable, already hailed as the top beneath the Holy Soul; even his students turned out to be such prodigies, each a once‑in‑a‑century genius!

It was said Lei En had three more students, not far behind the four who entered this exchange tournament.

For a moment, the news spread like wildfire.

Whenever the four students took the field, Lei En would be present, making the match the arena's most watched; each bout projected images onto the sky for clearer viewing.

Perari and Anvira, two peerless beauties, were adored by countless fans.

The most watched was Anvira.

She is a Half‑elf; since the competition began she has defeated every opponent with only an exquisite single‑handed sword, never casting a spell, moving gracefully with light steps, her speed a blur that made people think she was an elven ranger.

Some uninformed spectators doubted her, wondering if she was a Wizard.

But after hearing she, like her teacher Lei En, was also a battle Wizard, everyone fell silent, no longer doubting.

Such a gathering of talent made many think Weizelan's rise was unstoppable!

The points stage lasted twelve days.

Lei En's four students all achieved perfect records, entering the knockout stage as group leaders.

During those ten‑plus days, no one knew how Lei En managed, even with Master Mediv's constant protection; he never relaxed, sleeping only half an hour every three to four days. Lack of sleep was secondary; perpetual vigilance and sustained high concentration wore him down.

Even at Lei En's cultivation realm, some aspects were exhausting.

He only possessed the Element of steel, not a true iron man; fundamentally he remained a mortal flesh‑and‑blood human.

Yet the countless simulated ambushes never occurred.

After the opening day, the four Naiser elders never appeared again, leaving only two legendary novice Wizards to lead teams. Consequently, Naiser's competing Wizards performed poorly on the stage, the number advancing to the knockout round setting a record low.

Lei En had been waiting for news from Elder Harava, but none came.

Elder Harava remained completely silent.

The teacher stationed in Weizelan sent the same magical message each day: "Keep waiting."

Naiser Fu Kong Cheng seemed to become a silent entity; no sound emanated from within, and outsiders could not glean any news. Though the exchange tournament continued, legends from the major Fu Kong Chengs and academies sensed a dark current stirring.

The exchange tournament rested for a day, then entered the knockout stage.

That day, before the knockout matches officially began, tens of thousands of spectators sat in the arena waiting when a clear, bright call rang up into the clouds.

A massive flame, scorching like the sun, rose within BrewotzAcademy, like a sunrise; its glow lit the sky, turning the clouds crimson, visible even dozens of miles away.

Within the blinding flames, a colossal phoenix was reborn in the fire!

(End of Chapter)