Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 601 - 554: Ancient Studies

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Two shadows wandered through the silent underground city, passing street after street, eerily quiet. The light and heat from the gem sun, as well as the buzzing of magical energies, made their rustling movements seem insignificant.

Lyle pulled Zhiyan back into the shadows of the alley; he had been so engrossed in the murals of the Manu People that he had unwittingly followed the wall.

"Please bear with it a little longer, Mr. Zhiyan, even more precious treasures lie ahead."

Zhiyan’s body trembled, his limbs flailing in the air. "Just a little more!!! Just that last picture around the corner, and I’ll understand the subtle differences in the Manu People’s mimicry of males and females!!! Just one more look!! Just one more look!!!"

Lyle scratched his head, allowing Nia’s tentacles to secure Zhiyan’s jawbone as if fitting him with a muzzle, a pity since Liches do not speak through their mouths. "That kind of useless knowledge can be studied in detail later, Mr. Zhiyan."

"What do you mean by useless? That’s very important knowledge; within it lies the key information about the reproduction of the Manu race. We can use this to adjust the male-to-female ratio of the Manu People. I tell you, the more a race has unique gifts, the more complex and controllable its breeding process is!! We can... we can produce many potential Manu gems!!!"

"Uh..." Lyle fully entangled Zhiyan with tentacles, making him flop on the ground like a mudfish pulled ashore. "Thank you for the thought, Mr. Zhiyan, but I already have a good mate. And, I have a certain psychological shadow over the reproduction of magical mysteries, you see, Nia does not agree either." As if in agreement with Lyle, the tentacles binding Mr. Zhiyan slammed him several times until he was completely silent.

"@￥%##@%..." Mr. Zhiyan’s warning beeps continued all the way until Lyle stepped onto the slopes where the deep red Crystal Cluster lay.

It was established on the upper levels on the side of Ashpurin, with a specially crafted winding staircase adorned with bits of amber—these unique geological products do not produce gemstone magic but are quite pleasing to the eye.

Mr. Zhiyan understood the importance of the mission, or perhaps became reacquainted with personal safety, and stopped struggling, silently following Lyle on the path to the Crystal Dragon’s Nest.

Hidden detection magic and traps were eroded one by one by the creeping omens. Nia’s twisted limbs grew behind the Plague Doctor, and the stretching tentacles shattered the internal circuits of the warning runes. From a distance, Lyle looked like a black tree or a diseased blood vessel, slowly climbing the bright red crystals, climbing those dazzling gems.

The reason Lyle dared to display the power of the dark god so openly was because he heard the prolonged prayers. The sounds were like chants, yet they contained strong magical fluctuations. The scholar had mentioned that the dragon language carries magic, which is why their breath is so destructive. In Dragon Speech magic, there exists a special power known as the Dragon’s Roar.

That was the Dragon Priest Kolosis, who was now immersed in his own prayer or ritual.

The voice came from the tall Crystal Cluster, reaching Lyle’s ears like a giant ancient wind instrument through the cluster. Each individual crystal was two meters high; the thick blocks were opaque, or maybe due to the light, Lyle could only see his own twisted, grimacing reflection looking back at himself from within the crystal.

They were not sealed. In the continuous crystal, there were gaps, left from the crystal’s own growth. Those were passages, the pathways through which the Manu People would go to worship the dragons. This was not only the Dragon’s Nest but also the Manu People’s temple.

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Lyle quietly moved through the passage, peering into the interior of the old nest, and couldn’t help but marvel, "Their god, how truly beautiful."

It was like the essence distilled from crystals, its dazzling body resonating with the pale sun overhead. Every crystal reflected its shadow. The translucent body was adorned with gemstones, over thirty meters in length, with its head and tail curled up, coiling into a circle. Every thread, every speck was of great value, not to mention those massive gemstone dragon wings, one of their joints fixed onto a crystal cluster, maintaining the posture of a dragon spreading its wings. Proud, holy, wild, and empty. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

That was the gemstone body of the dragon Koranac, the remains of the first-born of dragons.

Although he was part of Andrey’s Spirit Summoning Studies, Lyle still sighed from the bottom of his heart. Those pale, deathly powers tinged with a hideous green that twined around the gemstone dragon’s body were quite a blight. A slender, petite figure knelt underneath the suspended dragon’s head, every utterance spraying the deathly magic onto the exquisitely beautiful gemstone body.

The Dragon Priest Kolosis combined his half-baked Spirit Summoning Skill with the dragon’s roar, corrupting the dragon with the power of death.

Lyle did not cast his gaze towards the Dragon Priest, as mages are always sensitive. But the Spirit Summoner’s sensitivity to the power of death still allowed Lyle to quickly perceive the full scope of this evil ritual. A large-scale, crude spiritual ritual, yes, just like the basic course the dragon sir taught them.

The first lesson, Spirit Possession Ritual, imbue with spirituality.

The second lesson, Spiritual Ritual, awaken the dead.

This was indeed Spirit Summoning, but the soul of dragon Koranac had vanished, and in those shining gemstones, his soul was not present. Instead... Lyle suddenly felt his skin crawl, and the majestic dragon’s remains also became a thing of terror in his mind. The soul of dragon Koranac had disappeared, replaced by the thousands of Manu souls imprisoned in the shining gemstones, slain by the Dragon Priest.

This dragon’s remains were created from the death of thousands of Manu people; what Kolosis was resurrecting was not the dragon, but an evil, twisted gemstone carcass. Sin and pain bred something terrible within the Dragon Priest and his creation, driving this mad soul deeper into the abyss. These hurt souls, once followers, now merely coerced into serving as conduits for the power of death, animating the remains. The dragon sir was right, this wasn’t even a basic creature of Spirit Summoning—without a soul to communicate with, the gemstone dragon was just a puppet driven by the mad, solitary decision of the Dragon Priest. That’s also why the Dragon Priest needed to chant spells for the ritual at this moment; he needed to keep replenishing the dragon’s remains with the power of death to keep it moving, yes, just like charging a battery.

For the moment, Lyle and Mr. Zhiyan had not been discovered.

Lyle turned back and nodded at Mr. Zhiyan.

With his approval obtained, Mr. Zhiyan no longer restrained himself, and stretching out a finger bone etched with runes, he reached toward the tall crystal cluster. The crystal clusters inside the Dragon’s Nest were not as smooth as those on the outer layers because they were all inscribed with dragon’s script. Here lay the memories of the dragon Koranac, the most valuable treasure in Zhiyan’s eyes.

Ancient learning, initiate.