Chapter 397

Cassandra moved her hand away from Yifu's forehead and turned to face this projected ancient Great Wizard.

She still maintained that performative smile on her face, but her eyes were chillingly cold.

"Senior Saierna, what do you mean by 'not quite right'?"

Cassandra's voice sounded very flat.

But Luo En noticed that her left hand had already unconsciously clenched into a fist.

"I mean..."

Saierna walked slowly toward Cassandra; with every step she took, the magic flow on her body became more targeted.

"Deep in your soul, something is slowly changing your essence. That is not a trace left by normal meditation practice, but..."

She stopped three steps away from Cassandra, her silver-blue eyes staring directly at the other party like sharp blades:

"Something external, heterogeneous, that is devouring your original personality."

This sentence was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge waves.

Yifu looked at her mother in surprise, her eyes full of confusion and worry.

Gu'erde stopped stroking the ancient coin, his entire person becoming exceptionally alert.

But Cassandra's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations.

She was not angry, nor did she argue; instead, she chuckled:

"Senior Saierna's perception ability is still as sharp as ever, but..."

The witch's smile gradually disappeared, replaced by a dangerous indifference:

"Some things are not for outsiders to ask about."

As soon as she finished speaking, a strong Void Remains aura began to emanate from Cassandra.

The purple compressed magic spread in all directions like a tide.

That sense of pressure was as heavy as a mountain, and even the air became as viscous as glue.

The historical runes on the walls began to flicker violently, as if warning of the impending danger.

But Saierna did not back down.

Facing this level of pressure, a look of excitement appeared on the Great Wizard's face instead.

"So that's how it is..."

She chuckled, her voice full of sarcasm:

"A descendant of Hector, actually reduced to using this method to avoid questions; it's truly disappointing to the extreme."

The next moment, Saierna's figure began to undergo a terrifying change.

Several cracks split open on her back, from which surged countless tentacles of varying thickness.

These tentacles appeared a sickly pale white, their surfaces covered with vein-like patterns, and their ends connected to various bizarrely shaped organs.

Some looked like eyeballs, some like mouths, and others were completely unrecognizable twisted structures.

These tentacles and organs were constantly changing form as soon as they appeared, as if demonstrating the infinite possibilities of life.

Luo En frowned, but then nodded.

The other party's current form was similar to the plate records of one of the successful practitioners of the True Path in the book Lady Ailan had shown him.

Judging from the power attributes, Cassandra represented conquest and domination, while Saierna represented change and adaptation; the two were distinct.

As Saierna fully revealed her Void Remains form, the organs at the ends of the tentacles began to emit various sounds.

Some were the roars of animals, some were the buzzing of insects, and others were strange noises completely beyond understanding.

These sounds mixed together to form a noise that caused mental confusion.

Several Great Wizards quickly erected isolation barriers to protect the two young people and the ritual site.

"Now..."

Saierna's voice came from countless organs simultaneously, forming a bizarre harmonic effect:

"Let me 'check' properly what changes have occurred in you."

The tentacles extended toward Cassandra like snakes, but were blocked by a purple energy barrier the moment they were about to make contact.

The two forces collided violently in the air, producing visible energy ripples.

But as time passed, Saierna soon revealed a disadvantage.

After all, she was only a historical projection and could not exert her full strength from when she was alive.

Cassandra, however, was a Great Wizard in her complete state, occupying an absolute advantage in terms of pure power comparison.

The purple energy pushed forward like a tidal wave, gradually suppressing Saierna's tentacle domain.

"Enough!"

Youte'er's voice erupted in the room like thunder.

His phantom instantly became solid, and silver light inserted itself between the two like a sharp sword:

"This is a treatment room, not a dueling arena!"

The Eye of Observation's single eye also shot out a golden light, forming a stable energy barrier to isolate the powers of the two Great Wizards:

"Stop! If this continues, the entire ritual room will be destroyed!"

Gu'erde also stood up, a peculiar scepter appearing in his hand.

The top of the scepter was a constantly rotating hourglass, emitting fluctuations of time power:

"Ladies, we are gathered here today to save a life, not to resolve personal grudges!"

Under the intervention of the other three Great Wizards, the tense confrontation was finally eased.

Cassandra withdrew her Void Remains aura and returned to her human form, but the coldness in her eyes did not dissipate.

Saierna's tentacles also slowly retracted into her body, but her gaze fixed on Cassandra remained full of vigilance.

Luo En stood to the side, witnessing this short but intense confrontation, and gained a new understanding of Saierna's personality.

So this was what Gu'erde meant by "not having a good temper."

When Saierna faced an existence she deemed problematic, she would choose to confront it directly without hesitation, even if the other party's strength exceeded her own.

But at the same time, he also noticed another detail.

When Saierna's gaze turned to him and Yifu, that sharp hostility would disappear, replaced by full concern.

Luo En remembered the selfless help Saierna gave to Calix in historical records.

This ancient Great Wizard was indeed, as the legends said, a person who loved and hated clearly.

"Now, can we discuss the problem quietly?"

Youte'er's tone carried obvious dissatisfaction.

As the host of this treatment, he was very annoyed by the chaos just now:

"Yifu's condition is already very complex; if we can't even achieve basic cooperation, what are we talking about regarding treatment?"

Cassandra took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger in her heart:

"Of course, teacher, I apologize for the impulsiveness just now."

But her apology seemed somewhat perfunctory, more like fulfilling necessary social etiquette.

Saierna also nodded, but the vigilance in her eyes did not completely dissipate:

"I also apologize for my recklessness. However..."

She looked at Cassandra, then turned to Yifu:

"We do need to understand first what the little girl's specific symptoms are."

When Saierna's attention turned to Yifu, her entire temperament changed.

The sharp aggressiveness from just now disappeared completely.

She squatted down to be at eye level with Yifu:

"Little Yifu, don't be afraid. Tell sister, what kind of pain do you usually feel?"

Yifu felt somewhat confused by Saierna's sudden change in attitude.

After glancing inquiringly at her mentor and receiving a nod of affirmation, she replied:

"I... whenever I try to mobilize magic, I feel a tearing pain. It's like something is roaring deep in my soul..."

Her voice began to tremble:

"And this pain is getting worse; sometimes even if I don't actively cast spells, it will suddenly flare up..."

Saierna gently stroked Yifu's hand, a look of heartache appearing in her eyes:

"How long? When did it start?"

"Since I was five years old..." Yifu recalled:

"At that time, Mother wanted to teach me the most basic magic perception, but as soon as I tried, I..."

She didn't finish, but everyone understood.

Saierna turned to Cassandra, the gentleness in her eyes disappearing completely:

"Five years old... exactly the critical period for bloodline awakening. What did you do to her?"

This question made Cassandra's expression become complex.

She looked at her daughter, then at everyone present, as if undergoing a fierce internal struggle.

"I... just performed some bloodline optimization."

She finally said, but her voice was very small: "In order to let Yifu have better talent..."

"What kind of bloodline optimization?"

This time it was Youte'er who spoke, his tone becoming extremely severe:

"Cassandra, I taught you the basic principles of bloodline studies. Normal bloodline modulation cannot produce this kind of rule-level backlash!"

Facing her teacher's questioning, Cassandra could no longer maintain her mask of pretense.

A look of pain and struggle appeared on her face, as if every word needed to be squeezed out from the depths of her soul:

"I used... some special materials."

"What kind of special materials?"

Gu'erde pursued, his recording instinct telling him that there was important historical information here:

"Materials capable of producing rule backlash are extremely rare in the entire history of wizards."

Cassandra was silent for a long time, and finally spoke:

"Star crystals, sands of time, phoenix heart blood, scale powder of ancient dragon species..."

She listed a series of precious material names, each a priceless treasure:

"And... the tear essence of a primordial siren, and..."

"These materials are indeed precious, but not enough to trigger a rule backlash."

Alexander's projection spoke, his semi-transparent body flickering slightly:

"There must be other more special things."

Lans also nodded in confirmation:

"What could cause this level of overload is definitely not an ordinary precious item."

Cassandra hesitated, clearly considering whether to reveal more information.

"There are also some... relics from the previous epoch."

She finally said, but her voice became even weaker:

"Including time crystals, space essence, and... and some authority fragments."

"Authority fragments?"

The Eye of Observation's single eye dilated sharply:

"You mean, the authority fragments left behind by the Kings of the Epochs?"

Gu'erde and Saierna's complexions also became exceptionally serious; they all realized the severity of the problem.

Using such things to strengthen a bloodline was simply playing with fire.

"Where did you get the authority fragments?"

Youte'er's voice became even more severe, the usual gentleness disappearing completely:

"With your status and resources at the time, it was impossible for you to come into contact with items of that level."

Facing her teacher's aggressive questioning, Cassandra could no longer remain silent.

"It was... the Other-Dimensional Box."

She almost whispered the name, her voice carrying deep despair:

"An item left by the ancestor in the clan treasury."

The moment this name was spoken, the air pressure in the entire room dropped sharply.

"Other-Dimensional Box..."