Chapter 718: Augulevi's Weakness

The humanoid silhouette in the light and shadow clearly paused for a moment, but its casting did not cease because of it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two annihilation spells each struck the two remaining Mirror Images of Reslin, instantly turning them to ash. Another ray fired from the light cluster, heading straight for Reslin, who stood still as if having given up resistance; this was his true Mirror Image, which identified the ray as an Anti-Magic Ray.

The Nine Ring's Anti-Magic Ray easily shattered the prism light shield, exposing the true Mirror Image; the ray pierced its chest, constructing a barrier between soul and mana, severing their resonance, and instantly stripped it of all casting ability.

At the same time, black Void Chains sprouted from the void, binding it tightly.

Unable to cast, the Void Chains also cut off its connection to space, preventing Reslin and the true Mirror Image from freely swapping positions.

This is not the end.

The light cluster erupted with a surge of vast spirit energy, instantly unleashing a Nine Ring Mind Control Technique that poured directly into the true Mirror Image's brain.

The true Mirror Image possesses exactly the same abilities as the original, including the full version of the Truth Will.

The Mind Control Technique was immune.

Reslin inwardly rejoiced; Augulevi Master was terrifyingly strong yet overly cautious, and having given up resistance himself, he could not be a match, yet still attempted to control him.

If it weren't for the Truth Will, it would have been total ruin.

In a cave outside Yilaientu City, four Saint Rank casters seemed to receive some command and halted their attacks simultaneously.

Kuilu, puzzled, was about to use the chance of the opponent's ceasefire to cast a spell and flee, when she heard Reslin beside her say, "Don't move."

She looked at Reslin and saw him shake his head firmly at her.

At that moment, the human Grand Mage in a black robe lightly bent his staff, and an invisible force field enveloped the entire cave, making the space unusually solid and barring all teleportation spells.

Space sealed!

A Holy Soul Lich and two Saint Rank Spirit-absorbing Monsters stared at everyone from outside the spatial field; their gazes bore no emotion, yet the terrifying aura they emitted chilled everyone's hearts.

Surrounded by the four Saint Rank casters, few in the whole world have ever experienced such despair.

But for some reason, they only prevented escape and ceased attacking.

Everyone looked at Reslin.

Belak asked in a slightly trembling voice, "What should we do?"

"Wait."

Reslin gave a brief one-word reply and fell silent.

In the palace.

The magical fluctuations of the light cluster finally subsided, lingering in silence for a few seconds, then a gender‑indistinguishable voice emerged, devoid of any emotional variation, speaking calmly and nonchalantly, "Truth Will, a fine legendary Element."

Hearing that voice, Reslin, bound by the Void Chains like a rice‑wrapped parcel, felt great joy, as if a glimmer of hope had appeared in the most desperate predicament.

He was most worried that the other side would refuse communication.

The matter of Augulevi Master's fall into a Lich is riddled with doubts; even after watching a Lich be slain before his eyes, Lei En still harbored suspicion. The Lich's soul, polluted during the transmutation ritual, is destined to become a pawn of the Lord of the Dead; the longer it endures, the less normal human feeling it retains, and eventually it despises all living beings, speaking not a single word unless it has another purpose.

Given its control over everything, the Lich would kill all living things.

Yet it does not do so.

Its reply, though sounding extremely cold, at least indicates that communication is possible, its mind remains, and Augulevi Master's fall still has a chance of reversal!

Immediately, Reslin sensed a gaze observing him.

That gaze contained an indescribable will, as if it could perceive the true nature of all things, leaving none of his secrets hidden.

He was more familiar with this feeling than anything else.

Key of Doors!

Reslin usually relies on the Key of Doors to see through space and time, discern all things, and pry into others' secrets; today he became the observation target of the Key of Doors.

It turned out Augulevi Master also possessed the Key of Doors, and his ring count must be higher than Reslin's!

His Key of Doors is already at Eight Rings; if higher, it would be Nine Rings.

The last time he sparred with Augulevi Master in that minor plane, he failed to notice this; he wonders whether he intentionally concealed it or the Lich's condition was abnormal.

While pondering, the subconscious of the true Mirror Image locked eyes with the vague figure in the light cluster.

The two Keys of Doors observed each other, instantly producing a wondrous change, and the collision point of their gazes erupted with eerie radiance.

In an instant, countless light spheres seemed to burst forth with billions of glimmers; behind the flickering light, a massive writhing mass of flesh with innumerable eyes, mouths, and tentacles could be vaguely seen, emitting an indescribable terrifying whisper that drove the mind mad.

It resembled the situation when opening that ancient grand gate upon choosing Arcane, and Reslin, experienced with this, quickly closed his eyes.

The radiance faded, and the maddening whisper in his ears vanished.

"Hm?"

The light cluster on the surface of the mind pool let out a surprised sound, "Indeed it is the Key of Doors; no wonder it can resist Time Stop and transport your friend out of my frozen space."

"Yes, Augulevi Master," Reslin replied respectfully, again acknowledging the other's identity.

The light cluster fell silent again for a few seconds.

Amid Reslin's unease, it vanished from the surface of the mind pool, leapt spiritually to the pool's edge, only a few steps away from him.

The light gradually dispersed, revealing the figure within.

Reslin had imagined many possibilities for Augulevi Master's current appearance; yet when he saw the true visage, he was shocked beyond words. He strained to keep his expression calm to avoid angering the other, but the change in his eyes could not be concealed.

Hovering before him was a Spirit-absorbing Monster.

It was slightly taller than a typical Spirit-absorbing Monster, nearly two meters tall, its gaunt body clad in a luxurious magical robe of black and violet, the long hem dragging on the ground; the robe, radiating massive magical energy, enveloped its whole body, exposing only its hands and head.

Its hands were desiccated, with only a layer of wrinkled skin covering bone claws; its left hand bore three magical rings, each of different design and color, none ordinary, one apparently Legend Grade!

Its right hand grasped a silver‑gray staff.

The staff's shaft was covered with dragon‑scale patterns, its tip sharp like a spearhead, thickening toward the head where it resembled a clenched dragon claw clutching an odd gem. The fist‑sized gem looked like a bizarre eye, surrounded by twelve faint concentric rings encircling a sand‑glass‑shaped pupil at its core.

Time's End!

The world's most powerful Legend Grade staff, its might comparable to a divine artifact!

This Time's End fully confirmed the identity—it is Augulevi Master. Yet Reslin could barely recognize it, finding few similarities with the Augulevi Master he had seen in books, records, and portraits.

On the Oriense Empire's Gold Shield and banknotes, there is a portrait of Augulevi Master.

For more than two thousand years, Augulevi Master has always kept the appearance of a man in his early forties, with jet‑black, thick hair, neatly trimmed short beard, dignified looks, resolute temperament, a warm smile constantly on his face, and eyes filled with unfathomable wisdom.

But now, he possesses an oversized, ugly head that seems forcibly grafted onto his body, looking extremely incongruous.

The brain's chin bears six withered pale‑purple tendrils, limp and hanging in front of the chest, like lifeless dead snakes.

The most terrifying part is the top of its head, as if the skull has been stripped away, exposing the furrowed gray matter of the brain to the air; where the face should be are two recessed hollows, within which two clusters of flickering blue flames stare back.

Lei Silin felt a chill rise within.

Human? Spirit‑absorbing Monster? Lich? Master brain? Or a fusion of the four?

He could not accept that this hideous monster was Augulevi Master, the universally acknowledged, epoch‑shaking strongest wizard in history!

However, its subsequent words made Lei Silin push his astonishment to the back of his mind.

"Ryan Augustus, this is our second meeting," Augulevi Master said, though he did not open his mouth; his voice resonated directly in Lei Silin's mind.

Lei Silin took a deep breath; indeed, his identity could not be concealed.

"You seem quite surprised?" The flame in the Spirit‑absorbing Monster's eye sockets flickered, and its inner voice carried a barely perceptible sigh: "Three hundred plus years have passed, and I never expected to meet an Empire person again in Yilaientu, and you also possess the Key of Doors; fate is truly wondrous."

Lei Silin's mind suddenly cleared, and a flood of thoughts rushed in.

It turned out that the Key of Doors had revealed his identity.

Back then, in that minor plane, Lei En relied on the Key of Doors to resist the Lich's Time Stop, and together with Sabbath Dean repeatedly escaped the barrage of spells. From this we can see that the Lich suspected to be Augulevi Master had all its actions under the control of the Spirit‑absorbing Monster before us.

The moment he invoked Augulevi, the true natures of both parties were exposed.

"Lei En has met the Master," Lei Silin, bound and unable to move, could only nod in acknowledgement.

"Hmm."

Augulevi responded coolly with a single word, scrutinized Lei Silin's true Mirror Image, and suddenly said, "Mirror Image Technique... swap your true self back, or I will kill everyone in the cave."

Lei Silin's eyelids twitched, and he honestly replied, "Yes."

The Void Chains released his body, the effect of the Anti‑Magic Ray vanished, and Lei Silin's true self and Mirror Image swapped places, appearing in the palace.

The comrades in the cave, seeing this, cast puzzled glances.

Lei Silin gave no explanation.

Augulevi looked at the swapped Lei Silin, the two blue flames flickered once, and he, clearly displeased, said gravely, "Still a duplicate!"

His emotions fluctuated slightly, instantly triggering a sea‑like surge; three distinct forces erupted from his brain—Arcane Energy, spiritual energy, and the power of death. Even a minuscule strand of any of them rivaled the Nine-ring Technique, twisting the surrounding void to its extreme, forming a bottomless black void that even swallowed light.

Lei Silin, nearly suffocating, hurriedly flashed to one side of the palace.

Fortunately, Augulevi's loss of control lasted only half a breath, and he quickly regained composure, and the terrifying anomalies he had generated vanished.

Lei Silin flashed back.

He never considered fleeing; such a terrifying foe could not possibly be escaped.

This anomaly exposed some of Augulevi's issues; evidently, his current state is highly unstable, teetering on the brink of loss of control, and even his emotions cannot fluctuate much.

The Soul Eye saw more, and although it could not discern Augulevi's soul state—like looking through a thick fog—it could judge by the soul's color that Augulevi Master's soul was untainted, starkly different from the evil souls of those Liches.

Although clearly transformed into a Lich, he could break free from the Lord of the Dead's control; this unprecedented situation led Lei Silin to vaguely suspect the truth.

This is undoubtedly good news, and moreover an astonishing secret capable of shaking the world!

Lei Silin instantly felt more confidence and bowed in salute.

"Master."

Augulevi steadied his emotions, examined Lei Silin again, and with a light hum said, "What is this duplicate of yours?"

Even the strongest wizard in history encounters things beyond comprehension.

The Soul Eye sensed Augulevi's genuine mindset; he was intensely curious about his own mysterious duplicate, for unknown magical knowledge exerts a great allure on a caster—the stronger the power, the greater the temptation. Augulevi Master clearly mastered duplication spells, and naturally could not help but ask.

Lei Silin's thoughts shifted rapidly; this was an excellent chance to draw closer to the other.

Thus he replied honestly: "Master, this is a magic soul I obtained by accident; it carries a legendary element, and I have named it Mysterious Touch."

Augulevi showed no concealment of his interest, "Tell me about it."

Lei Silin conveyed the details of Mysterious Touch and the mysterious duplicate to him, including that it possesses independent consciousness, synchronizes its thoughts with the original, can cultivate, and can act freely away from the original, among other things; he concealed almost nothing, even openly admitting its ability to resurrect.

He only concealed one ability, that being castling.

After listening, Augulevi nodded.

His octopus brain had no face, revealing no expression, yet the Soul Eye could sense his satisfaction, and he evaluated, "A very powerful legendary element; although it can only create one duplicate, it surpasses both illusion and projection techniques, with immense potential."

"Mysterious Touch is clearly an accidentally born magic soul, a singular one; no wonder I never encountered it before. Had I obtained it back then, it might have been of great help."

"Now, it is of no use to me."

Augulevi, upon reaching this point, looked at Lei Silin and asked, "You just said the mysterious duplicate's thoughts are synchronized with the original?"

"Yes, Master."

Lei Silin gave a slight smile, replying with implication, "At this moment, my original self is in Weizelan, ready to meet you at any time."

"Are you threatening me?" Augulevi's inner voice suddenly rose sharply.

His voice, like a piercing psychic shriek, echoed in Lei Silin's mind; a mere thought could unleash terrifying spiritual energy to blast Lei Silin's head. The emotional fluctuation again triggered an anomaly, but it was not as intense as before and was quickly suppressed.

"Master, please calm your anger."

Lei Silin, confident, having already understood Augulevi's weakness, said unhurriedly, "My visit to Yilaientu has another purpose; meeting you was merely a coincidence. Regarding you, Master, I hold boundless admiration and harbor no ill intent whatsoever."

Augulevi's eyes' flames continued to leap.

In the end, he did not act to kill this infinitely resurrectable mysterious duplicate, and in a calm voice said, "Speak, what brings you to Yilaientu?"

(End of chapter)