Chapter 717: Encountering Augurevi Again

Time Stop!

The entire palace was enveloped within the range of this Nine-ring Technique; the surface of the brain pool turned mirror‑smooth, completely still, the air solidified, everything seemed pressed on pause, no sound could be heard, becoming a dead silent world.

Though the people standing at the edge of the brain pool sensed the opponent the instant they appeared, they were too late to react and were instantly hit.

Their bodies could not move, and the expressions on their faces froze.

Even their thoughts stalled.

In the next instant, deep within Reslin's pupils a primitive gate formed of countless writhing worms flickered, and in the star‑lit sky reflected by the lake of stars in his mind, a star shone with a strange, eerie brilliance, illuminating this meditation space, reviving his frozen soul and instantly restoring his consciousness.

Reslin's heart was startled, then immediately understood.

After the Key of Doors is raised to the eighth ring, it can resist even time‑space spells, and even a Ninth‑ring Time Stop can be deflected.

Reslin felt his magical flow, able to cast spells within Time Stop.

However, any spell cast during Time Stop will only take effect after Time Stop ends, for both friend and foe alike.

Reslin's thoughts rushed, and at this moment Reslin finally saw the enemy.

On the surface of the brain pool a vague light mass, over two meters tall, layered shadows blocked sight and detection, making it impossible to discern what it was. The All-Seeing Eye barely penetrated, vaguely revealing a tall, slender humanoid silhouette.

That silhouette's outline grasped something resembling a staff and began casting.

Its casting was extremely fast!

Spell after spell erupted from the shadows, advancing slowly toward the target.

Annihilation!

Mind Blast!

Death Finger!

In the first second of Time Stop, it launched three spells, all Ninth‑ring and instant‑cast. The three spells targeted Kuilu; once Time Stop ended they would hit her immediately, leaving no chance to counter or dodge.

Then came the second second, again Annihilation, Mind Blast and Death Finger.

This time the target was Yizite.

In the third second the casting target was Reslin, who watched helplessly as three Ninth‑ring spells flew out from the light mass on the brain‑pool surface toward him.

The three spells emitted no dazzling light, no earth‑shaking sound, not even a visible ray—only three extremely dim, invisible glimmers. If not for Time Stop, the spells would have acted on the target instantly.

Yet within Time Stop there was a visible hit process.

This is a small drawback of Time Stop.

Reslin watched the three spells flying toward him, belonging respectively to Arcane, Mind and Necrotic.

The effect of Annihilation is similar to Disintegrate, directly breaking the target's body into powder, but it is stronger and more concealed;

The Ninth‑ring Mind Blast cracks the target's mental shield, destroying willpower;

Even if Mind Blast does not kill the enemy, the mental shield is essentially shattered, exposing the soul completely, making it impossible to evade the ensuing Death Finger.

A triple‑death spell; even a Saint Rank cultivator would die on the spot!

A familiar battle pattern, terrifying casting ability… Even without seeing through the shadows, Reslin could be 100 % certain who the opponent was.

It did not use large‑area killing spells, clearly not wanting to damage the palace.

That gave Reslin a chance to resist.

Fourth second.

Twelve Mirror Images scattered around the perimeter moved; Mirror Images resist Time Stop less than the main body, only breaking free after half of Time Stop had passed. The light mass on the brain‑pool surface never treated the Mirror Images as casting targets from the start, apparently believing they posed no threat as long as the main body was killed, the Mirror Images would vanish.

But its judgment was wrong.

All twelve Mirror Images moved in unison, locked onto the light mass and began casting.

Dispel Magic!

Anti‑Magic Ray!

Tim Kainen Disintegrate!

Disintegrate!

The spells were respectively seven‑ring, eight‑ring, eight‑ring and seven‑ring, rays or magical energy shooting from all directions toward the light mass on the brain‑pool surface.

Reslin's Mirror Images cast far slower than the opponent, but their numbers gave them an advantage; a seven‑ring spell took one second, an eight‑ring three seconds. Twelve Mirror Images cast simultaneously; in the last three seconds of Time Stop this equated to thirty‑six seconds of casting time, totaling twenty‑four spells.

Nine Dispel Magic, three Anti‑Magic Rays, three Tim Kainen Disintegrate, nine Disintegrate.

Reslin knew the Mirror Images' spells were unlikely to threaten the opponent, the chance of effect was extremely slim, but merely causing the opponent to feel wary was enough.

At the same time, another person also participated in the battle within Time Stop.

The Moon Dancer's body erupted with silver light.

The cold, moon‑like silver light let Kuilu resist Time Stop but not fully exempt; her thoughts, actions and casting were slowed, like an insect struggling in amber. Although she could counter from the first second of Time Stop, she only unleashed her first spell in the final second.

Eternal Freedom Technique!

This Ninth‑ring spell can break all movement‑restricting spell effects, completely freeing the caster from Time Stop's shackles.

Kuilu's silver‑moon robe was also activated.

A semi‑transparent full moon rose above her head, moonlight enveloped her body, and the Ninth‑ring spell "Silver Moon Disc" could absorb all spells targeting her.

Two Ninth‑ring spells were enough for her to escape disaster.

Unexpectedly, the light mass on the brain‑pool surface was unmoved by the casting of Reslin's Mirror Images and Kuilu; it simply selected Asina, Daoensosi and Beilake in turn, cast on them, and completed the remaining three rounds of spells.

This made Reslin feel as if he had fallen into an abyss, realizing his tactical choice was wrong.

The opponent was not at all afraid of spell retaliation.

Time Stop had reached the sixth second and was about to end.

In the final half‑second, Reslin's Mirror Images abandoned casting and flashed forward. The twelve Mirror Images split into six pairs, each pair standing in front of Reslin's main body and five allies, timing perfectly to block the very last instant of Time Stop.

Time resumed its normal flow.

In an instant, dozens of spells erupted simultaneously.

A series of faint sounds.

The five Mirror Images at the front were hit by the Annihilation Technique; their prismatic shields and resistances were useless, instantly turning to powder and revealing the Mirror Images behind them.

Only the Mirror Image shielding Kuilu remained intact; the incoming Annihilation Technique veered off course and was absorbed by the silver moon disc above Kuilu's head. The beautiful magical disc cracked in several places, and after absorbing the ensuing Mind Blast, it burst with a bang, collapsing into countless fragments.

The other five Mirror Images in front of the teammates were not so lucky; they were struck by a Nine-ring Mind Blast.

The incomplete Truth Willpower could not fully exempt the mental attack; the heads of the five Mirror Images exploded simultaneously, turning into bubbles that vanished.

Death Finger followed in quick succession.

At this moment, all teammates except Kuilu were completely exposed to the Death Finger.

They didn't even know what was happening.

Clap—clap—clap…

At the hair's breadth of a thousand pounds, a cracking sound rang from their bodies; their figures vanished in an instant, narrowly escaping the Death Finger by a hair.

In an instant, only Reslin and two Mirror Images remained in the palace, facing the terrifying enemy.

Death Finger struck Reslin, but his spiritual pearl, extreme-effect spiritual protection Divine Technique, and Willpower easily exempted the attack.

At this moment, the various rays and lights emitted by the Mirror Images, like a river receiving all tributaries, all shot toward the light sphere on the surface of the mind pool, but within half a meter of it, every ray and spell suddenly slowed a hundredfold, crawling like snails; the nearby distance felt as if it were light‑years away, forever unreachable.

Spatial barrier!

Reslin was utterly horrified; even though he had long anticipated the opponent's spatial barrier, the outcome still shocked him.

In theory, while the spatial barrier provides protection, one's own spells have already hit the opponent.

As long as it hits, dispelling magic, Anti-Magic Ray, and Disintegrate have a certain chance to work, then Disintegrate can slip in, possibly causing instant death. Seven-ring and Eight-Ring Spell, dispelling the Nine-ring spatial barrier, have low probability but not impossible.

Reslin originally thought the opponent would enter a time jump.

But it didn't.

It stayed in place, allowing various spells to hit it, showing extreme confidence in its own protection and complete disdain for evasion.

At the same moment, several li outside the city of Yilaientu, in a cavern, Kuilu, Yizite and the other three appeared in a dim corner, seeing Reslin with a solemn expression, just having finished casting.

This is his true Mirror Image.

When Reslin sensed the terrifying enemy in the palace, the true Mirror Image outside the city immediately cast a spell, sensing the rune beacon he had left in the transmigration gem, remotely activating the rune, and at the instant Time Stop ended, crushing the gem.

During Time Stop, the transmigration gem could not be crushed, so he could only wait until the last moment.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

"What's happening?" Beilake asked with a bewildered expression, very puzzled: "Why did we suddenly get teleported out?"

Axina and Dao En Suosi were equally at a loss.

They had just noticed something appearing in the palace, but before they could see clearly they were teleported out, having no idea what happened, feeling inexplicably confused.

Kuilu and Yizite's eyes were filled with terror.

The Moon Dance Maiden was the most aware of the situation besides Reslin; Yizite, as a Saint Rank strongman, had some resistance to Time Stop, though unable to counterattack, his thoughts were extremely sluggish during those six seconds, but having witnessed part of the process, he knew he faced a truly terrifying enemy.

Now is not the time for explanations.

"Run quickly!"

Kuilu, almost losing composure, shouted, "Leave this place immediately, or we'll all die!"

As she spoke, Reslin's true Mirror Image standing before everyone paled, flashed outward a half‑step too late, and his figure was still engulfed by a burst of light.

The group hadn't yet understood what was happening when the scene shifted, revealing the palace's mind pool and the light sphere on the water's surface.

At the edge of the mind pool, Reslin's true form and two Mirror Images stood there, and traces of ten other Mirror Images that had not fully dissipated could still be seen.

They were teleported back again!

"Ah!"

Kuilu and Yizite's faces were filled with sheer horror, while the others didn't understand the situation.

They looked at the light sphere, sensing a soul‑shaking terrifying aura, and without hesitation prepared to strike. Suddenly, the sphere emitted an indescribable eerie glow, as if a gentle breeze brushed it, causing the surrounding space to ripple like water, then instantly froze.

Yizite and the others found themselves immobilized, as if frozen within solid ice.

Their thoughts continued to function, but their bodies were rigid; not even a finger could bend, nor could their eyes rotate.

Nine-ring Technique—Space Freeze!

The only one still able to move was Kuilu; the freshly cast Eternal Freedom Technique freed her from restraints. She let out a scream, and her right hand gathered a ball of silver fire imbued with mysterious power, ready to unleash her strongest attack spell on the enemy.

After the Silver Fire appeared, the light sphere on the mind pool's surface rippled slightly, as if drawn by the Silver Fire's attention.

However, before Kuilu could finish the casting, the anomaly regenerated.

Reslin's true form, which hadn't moved a single step since the first second of Time Stop, kept casting—not to attack the enemy—but to let the Mirror Images block the Annihilation Technique and Mind Blast; even when facing Death Finger, it did not evade, and finally completed the spell.

Mass teleportation technique!

Reslin's true form, Kuilu, and the teammates vanished from the palace in an instant.

Kuilu's Silver Fire was only halfway cast when the scene shifted again, and she found herself teleported out of the palace. The teammates also regained their freedom of movement, looked around, and saw a long tunnel surrounding them, not the cavern from which the gem had previously leapt.

A Mirror Image of Reslin stood before them.

Kuilu instantly understood that Reslin's true form used its link with the Mirror Images to precisely locate the teleportation beacon, guiding the mass teleportation technique to escape the palace.

Even so, the group didn't teleport very far.

This place lay on their route to Yilaientu, less than ten li away.

The moment they arrived via teleportation, Reslin's Mirror Image completed a spell—spacetime disturbance! A Seven-ring spacetime disturbance made the area extremely unstable, preventing teleportation spells from locating, and temporarily disabling the Nine-ring spatial transmutation.

This time, without urging, the teammates sprinted, wanting to get as far from Yilaientu as possible.

In just a few seconds, everyone passed through the tunnel and entered a spacious cavern.

Halfway into the cavern, the flying Reslin suddenly halted, and the teammates likewise stopped, looking toward the road ahead.

A Spirit-absorbing Monster with six tentacles floated halfway in the air, blocking the path. It exuded a vast spiritual energy aura, indicating it was a Saint Rank strongman.

Behind them, at the tunnel exit that had just emerged, another terrifying Spirit-absorbing Monster teleported out.

It is also a Saint Rank!

On the left side of the cave, a human in a black magical robe teleported in; his appearance was ordinary, looking just over twenty, wielding a twisted staff as tall as himself, emitting a magical aura unique to a Grand Mage.

On the right, a withered, pale‑skinned Lich stood there, its deep‑set eye sockets burning with two blue flames, clad in an ornate magical robe—enough to show its identity as a Holy Soul Lich!

Reslin and his teammates wore rigid expressions, their limbs cold, their eyes filled with shock.

Four Saint Ranks, and all of them are casters!

This completely exceeded their expectations; a Spirit‑absorbing Monster city should only have one Saint Rank, right? Why are there two?

And where did that Grand Mage and Holy Soul Lich come from?

Kuilu also panicked; she never imagined in her dreams that what was supposed to be a simple escort for Reslin to see a Spirit‑absorbing Monster city would lead to encountering such terrifying foes, surrounded by four Saint Rank casters whose strength was not inferior to hers!

Terrifying magical waves echoed through the cave as the four enemies began casting.

In the palace, Reslin's true Mirror Image, which had been fleeing, suddenly halted, gazed at the glow on the surface of the brain pool, and spoke, "Augulevi Master, please stop."

This chapter is really hard to write…

(End of chapter)