Page 166

The mission was accomplished smoothly, and I immediately turned to flee.

For those who wished to enter, the gate of the underground palace was an insurmountable obstacle. Even "Battle Saint" Leimen could only sigh in frustration before it back then. However, for those inside, it was not impenetrable, especially after losing its powerful core. Following Li Jia's instructions, I activated several hidden mechanisms and used brute force to pry open a gap, easily escaping the underground palace.

As the saying goes, "He who plans well wins; he who plans poorly loses." For this plan, Old Man Leimen had been setting up for a century, Master Dajiaxi had been in hiding for twenty years, and I had spent over a year entering the human world. We planned for half a year on Saint Spirit Mountain, with countless hardships and sacrifices that cannot be measured. Yet, the actual operation took less than half the time of burning incense. At that moment, even the Temple guards stationed on the third level had not fully evacuated. Fortunately, we succeeded in the end; otherwise, how could we honor the spirits of those who sacrificed?

Taking advantage of the chaos as the Temple personnel evacuated, I safely rushed out of the "Sevenfold Lock Prison." Once all personnel left the underground palace, it would automatically close, activating all defenses. This would not bring me trouble but instead help repair all the barriers broken by the divine sword "Divine Punishment," making my actions even less detectable.

Using the shadows of buildings and the confusion of people, I returned to the entrance of the five-level underground palace where I met Master Dajiaxi. I casually inserted the divine sword into the stone platform and turned to dash down the mountain.

Once I was far from the stone platform serving as the entrance, I looked back to see it glowing brightly. Master Dajiaxi's figure appeared, calmly pulling out the divine sword and walking slowly toward the core area of the Temple. By the time I flew down the mountain, powerful and icy auras erupted one after another from the summit of Saint Spirit Mountain. Three were condensed and heavy, two were wild and unrestrained. Simultaneously, numerous shouts echoed across the summit, with the lights of magic, divine arts, and martial auras flickering. Massive magical shields or divine light domes rose, plunging the entire Saint Spirit Mountain into chaos.

The chaos at the summit drew the attention of the guards stationed halfway up the mountain. Naturally, no one noticed me descending. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Golden Eagle Sword Emperor Bisate, with his sharp eagle eyes, found me without a word and immediately carried me into the sky. Within half an hour, we returned to the embassy seven hundred miles away. Then, carrying the "Doomsday Horn," we returned to the Orc Alliance overnight. The entire operation went unnoticed, truly seamless.

Quietly returning to the embassy, my apprentice Xi Luo was still meditating. My magical illusion beside him remained unchanged. I found an opportunity to undo the barrier, entered the room, and restored the illusion to my true form, all without anyone noticing.

After a night of meditation, I had mostly recovered from the injuries sustained on Saint Spirit Mountain. Although my face was still slightly pale, when my apprentice Xi Luo woke up the next morning, he thought I had stayed up all night guarding him, which moved him deeply.

When everyone gathered for breakfast, as expected, the Holy Maiden and High Priest Silver Stripe had already learned about the events of the previous night through magical communication and conveyed the news to our core members. The outcome was even more shocking than I imagined. According to the Temple, last night, researcher Dajiaxi went mad and opened the seal of the "Sevenfold Lock Prison," releasing the prisoners inside. Despite the Temple's swift response, three liches and two demons escaped the prison and returned to the surface. Later, the three High Priests and many priests and holy knights could not capture them. Eventually, the Pope, who had been in seclusion, suddenly appeared, along with the "Divinely Blessed Holy Knight," who fought despite being injured, to resolve the situation. Still, one lich managed to escape. Meanwhile, Dajiaxi, in desperation, forcibly activated the power of the divine sword "Divine Punishment Light Thunder," killing himself and injuring many Temple personnel. During the search of Dajiaxi's residence, they discovered a large amount of dark and necromantic magic materials, leading to the conclusion that Dajiaxi had been secretly learning corrupt magic, attempting to enter the underground prison to seek knowledge from liches or make pacts with demons, ultimately causing the chaos of the previous night.

Since the Temple had already provided their explanation, I had nothing more to say. While mourning Master Dajiaxi in my heart, I asked, "What kind of formidable lich could escape from the Pope and the 'Divinely Blessed Holy Knight' on Saint Spirit Mountain?"

"The escaped lich is the notorious Grand Lich Pino Dalamis, known as the 'King of Zombies' and the inventor of the infamous 'Zombie Powder,'" the Holy Maiden answered. "'Zombie Powder,' as one of the ultimate results of sacrificial rituals, curses, and alchemy, can grant liches the ability to continuously transfer their souls by extracting the life force of thousands. By detonating their current bodies, they can transfer to other skeletons within hundreds of miles. Though they lose their powerful lich bodies, they retain their magic and will, allowing them to evolve into liches again. Last night, he escaped Saint Spirit Mountain by self-destructing his body."

In short, with the "Doomsday Horn" now secured, my journey to Sacred Dragon Mountain has just begun.

Chapter 70: The Legendary Sword Seal of Dragons

Sacred Dragon Mountain, located between the Western Temple's territory and the Eastern Sovereign Dragon Empire, controls the main road connecting the eastern and western parts of the Mainland. It also holds the authority to forge dragon knight contracts and commands the powerful warrior group, the Dragon Emperor Knights, rivaling the "Holy Grail Knights." With the strongest human Sword Saint, the "Supreme Dragon Saint," residing there, if they desired, they could establish an empire larger than the Mercenary Empire. However, contrary to expectations, Sacred Dragon Mountain has no intention of expanding its influence and instead continually reduces its control. To date, the population under their dominion has never exceeded a million, making it smaller than the smallest nation on the Mainland. Various theories abound regarding the reasons, but Sacred Dragon Mountain remains tight-lipped. The most convincing explanation is that the ancient Holy Dragon, descended from the Dragon God, imposed strict limitations on those who sought strength through dragons, thus preventing significant development over centuries. Despite the lack of territorial expansion, Sacred Dragon Mountain remains one of the top military powers in the human world.