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"Oh..." Chen Xuanfeng was momentarily surprised, but when he saw the shocking wounds on the grand mage, he immediately set aside his doubts and cast several healing spells in succession.

However, there was no effect.

"Don't bother, young man," the grand mage said, shaking his head. "The power of forbidden spells is even more resistant to divine energy than the Sacred Realm, so our bodies cannot be healed by divine magic."

"Is there any other way? Your injuries are very severe," Xi Luo said with concern.

"I’m afraid not," Yudila sighed. "The werewolf's power is very unique; besides his combat aura, there is another peculiar force continuously eroding my body. Earlier, I could still use magic to move, but now, I can barely move except for my hand. What's more, this ruin has only one entrance. Although your companion is a Sword Master, that orc's strength is no less formidable, and his subordinates are exceptionally powerful. Even if I could heal my injuries, it would be difficult to escape. Although they haven't deployed their full strength yet, it's only a matter of time. So, no matter what, we will ultimately face total annihilation, and the forbidden spell marks will be taken by the orcs."

At this point, the grand mage suddenly looked up and stared intently at Xi Luo, saying, "After much thought, there is only one way now that might allow you to escape alive. At the very least, it can ensure that the forbidden spell marks do not fall into the hands of the orcs."

Xi Luo couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"

Yudila struggled to extend his remaining hand, holding out the two forbidden spell mark crystals with intricate light-wheel structures inside, and said, "The only way is to use your 'Hero Sword' to destroy these two forbidden spell mark crystals and absorb the power within."

"What? Are you serious?" Xi Luo was momentarily stunned and exclaimed.

Casting a forbidden spell comes at the cost of the caster's life. In other words, all forbidden spell casters are fanatics who would rather give up their lives to explore the pinnacle of forbidden spell magic. For them, forbidden spells are their faith, forbidden spells are everything. But now, Xi Luo heard a forbidden spell caster tell him to "destroy the forbidden spell mark crystals," which was as unbelievable as the Pope suddenly saying, "Let's kill the Light God," naturally shocking him greatly.

Yudila, of course, understood Xi Luo's confusion and said with a bitter smile, "If you could protect these two crystals and escape, I would even use self-destruction to help you. But after repeatedly assessing the current situation, I really couldn't find a more feasible way..."

Xi Luo lowered his head in silence, weighing the situation in his mind. On his side, there was only himself, Morova, a Sacred Realm expert, and a half-dead grand mage; on Chen Xuanfeng's side, there was Chen Xuanfeng, who was close to the Sacred Realm, Jin Luosha, who was no less than a grand mage, Li Jia, Ye Ge, and Xue Li, who were at least equivalent to three top Sword Masters, and they also had three Crystal Dragons and a Black Gold Treant, all super magical beasts. Additionally, the six-winged Holy Angel-form summoned by Jin Luosha was clearly no less powerful than Morova's "Phoenix," and Chen Xuanfeng had once summoned a giant wolf nearly at the level of a super magical beast in front of them. With such a power gap and this nearly enclosed space, not only was it difficult to protect the forbidden spell mark crystals, but even escaping seemed impossible.

However, destroying the precious forbidden spell mark crystals without even a fight would mean forever losing two forbidden spells for humanity, something Xi Luo found hard to accept. Although he had done something similar before, it was when he was a mere first-level Sword Hero facing a top orc Sword Master, a desperate choice. Could he do it again now?

The grand mage, seeing Xi Luo's silence, continued, "We forbidden spell casters probably know more about the secrets of the Hero Sword than you do. In fact, even if absorbed by the Hero Sword, the forbidden spell marks would not disappear; they would still exist within your sword. Although with our current level, we cannot replicate or restore them, if a genius mage appears in the future, having the Hero Sword as a reference would make recreating the forbidden spell marks much easier than the work of the Twelve Sages back then. So, you don't need to be too pessimistic."

Xi Luo finally nodded with difficulty, then asked, "Can't I absorb just one?"

Yudila shook his head, "That would be of no use. Your current Sword Master-level combat aura, though remarkably advanced, is still too weak to fully control the power of the Hero Sword. According to some ancient texts, to continuously unleash the Hero Sword's power, one needs at least Sword Master-level combat aura to connect with the 'Sea of Stars' and bear the immense energy consumption. If it weren't for your special combat aura, which can somewhat simulate the power of a Sword Master, you wouldn't even be able to unleash the basic power of this sword. However, the Hero Sword is not an ordinary epic divine weapon but a crystallization of magical civilization. The Twelve Sages had already considered the possibility of the user's insufficient power and thus preset a solution—once the Hero Sword recognizes its master, it can immediately activate the 'Dream Sage's' spiritual secret technique, combined with the power of the Hero Sword, directly elevating a Sword Master-level warrior to Sword Master level. To activate this function, at least three forbidden spell mark powers are required."

"Is that so..." Xi Luo was slightly surprised by the information and nodded, saying, "If I can ascend to Sword Master, I can freely use the power of the Hero Sword, and my attack power would then approach the Sacred Realm. Working together with Morova, even turning the tide of battle wouldn't be impossible..."

The grand mage interrupted Xi Luo, saying, "Alright, young 'Holy Grail Knight,' we’re out of time. The enemy's search is heading this way. Place your sword before me; there's one more thing I must do."

Although Xi Luo didn't know what the grand mage meant, he still placed the Hero Sword horizontally in front of him.

Yudila placed the wind and fire forbidden spell mark crystals in front of Xi Luo, freed his hand, and placed it on the Hero Sword. A pure stream of magical energy slowly infused into the longsword as he softly chanted an obscure incantation. As the spell took effect, Xi Luo gradually felt the crystal longsword in his hand come to life, and a strange sensation welled up in his heart, as if he could now communicate with the sword in his hand.