Chapter 341 The Final Gains

They condensed mana and mental energy over time to fuel the Arcane Fire, burning through the Defensive Spells, making the mages almost forget the passage of time. Although three mages took turns at this task, Shaoke still found it extremely taxing, while the other two Eighth Tier Mages fared much better.

It turned out that when Shaoke used the Arcane Fire to scorch these arrays, the energy within the arrays constantly resisted his flames, generating special fluctuations that transmitted through the fire into Shaoke's Meditation space. Under these unique disturbances, the mental energy and mana in the mage's meditation space became turbulent. This turbulence often required Shaoke to spend three to four days calming down after Spellcasting.

He spent the remaining two days meditating to recover from his earlier exhaustion. However, Shaoke knew this was mainly due to the impurity of his mental energy and mana. Of course, if his meditation space were sturdy enough, it could completely block out these fluctuations.

After countless cycles, as Shaoke was burning the array, it suddenly erupted in violent upheaval and then vanished entirely. Unable to control the Arcane Fire, Shaoke burned a deep pit into the wall of unknown stone. The upheaval also made the mental energy in his meditation space even more volatile, causing some of the plants inside to die.

Once the array was broken, the four did not enter the treasure the Blue-robed Mage had mentioned. Instead, they sat quietly on the ground, adjusting their states to achieve optimal spellcasting or combat readiness. Shaoke's adjustment took a full ten days, during which he reorganized the damaged plants in his meditation space and channeled large amounts of mana and energy to restore them.

After Shaoke had adjusted, the Blue-robed Mage reminded him again what to watch for in the treasure vault inside, then released Arcane Fire to burn through the wall.

When the wall broke open, a space several acres in size was revealed, with stone coffins similar to those Shaoke had seen in his past life scattered about. The ground was etched with countless arrays, and Shaoke noticed these arrays and the coffins formed a peculiar Six-pointed Star Magic Array. Black light flowed through the arrays and the coffins covered in magic script.

The Blue-robed Mage and the Gray-robed Mage nervously observed the situation, while the Flail Warrior kept watch at the entrance, as if expecting someone to burst in. Shaoke felt the sensation of being watched growing stronger. Then the Blue-robed Mage quickly waved her staff, signaling the start of their dismantling work.

Shaoke and the other two mages simultaneously chanted a spell—one that the Blue-robed Mage had taught him. After the chanting, a small altar slowly emerged at the center of the massive Six-pointed Star Magic Array, upon which sat a strange Giant Beast.

Shaoke was stunned. He hadn't expected the images of giant beasts conveyed to him by the golden horn to appear here in stone form.

The stone beast was identical to the one in his vision, only smaller. As the altar with the beast statue appeared, a desolate atmosphere filled the entire space. The Blue-robed Mage then produced a golden horn from her ring, larger than the one Shaoke had obtained, but with a similar aura.

Without much delay, she chanted a spell, and a beam of golden light from the horn's tip enveloped the beast. Under the light, the stone beast slowly dissipated, and another horn appeared on the altar.

Seeing this, both mages and the Flail Warrior breathed a sigh of relief. Shaoke understood why: in the past, after completing this task, strange giant beasts would be summoned by the Six-pointed Star Magic Array, but this time none appeared.

"There are twenty-one chests here. We each take five, and the remaining one is mine," the Blue-robed Mage said, slowly scanning Shaoke and the others, following their previous agreement. None of them, including Shaoke, showed any dissatisfaction, as they were here solely because of the Blue-robed Mage; these items were all unexpected gains.

Each selected five chests, and Shaoke floated to the altar. With everyone's consent, he took the golden horn.

He then put away the horn and began clearing the stone coffins he had selected.

Three coffins contained precious magic materials, while the other two held a large number of books, which Shaoke immediately recognized them as ancient texts. This discovery thrilled him, and he quickly stowed the books into his ring before surveying the area.

After everyone had gathered their items, the Blue-robed Mage signaled for Shaoke to stop observing, as they now needed to seize the final treasure here.

"Are you ready?" she asked, noticing Shaoke, still greedily eyeing the Six-pointed Star Magic Array on the ground. She smiled slightly and said, "I believe among our gains, there must be books describing this array. You can study it thoroughly when we return." Then she signaled everyone to prepare.

She hovered silently above the small altar, while Shaoke and the Gray-robed Mage each held an Eighth Tier Spell at the ready. The Flail Warrior then unleashed a golden Aura, striking the altar heavily. The altar exploded, revealing a black staff at its center. The Blue-robed Mage, using a cloth-wrapped hand, pulled out the staff and then flew swiftly outward.

As soon as the staff was pulled out, a massive beast emerged from the wall, roaring and charging toward them. It opened its mouth wide, spewing a stream of golden flames.

Death Disintegration, an Eighth Tier Spell that Shaoke had been preparing for a long time, was released. Simultaneously, he instantly cast the special spell Disintegration from the Eight-pointed Star Magic Array. The Gray-robed Mage threw a swirling wind mass that howled toward the beast. At the same time, Shaoke quickly fled the chamber, unwilling to stay and get torn apart.

Shaoke's Disintegration neutralized the golden flames, while Death Disintegration struck the beast heavily, causing large chunks of flesh to fall off. The wind mass hit the wound Shaoke had created, inflicting even more damage.

Driven by the pain, the beast let out a deafening roar, sending out a pale golden wave that struck the four Eighth-order Practitioners fleeing the area. Shaoke felt his protective spells shatter. Afraid his last layer of protection would break, he tore open two Sixth-tier protective scrolls, but they were completely dispersed by the golden wave.

Fortunately, the four escaped the chamber. Following the Blue-robed Mage's reminder, they frantically flew outward. Shaoke glanced back at the pursuing beast and saw that the damage he had inflicted had already healed up. The beast roared continuously, each roar sending golden waves or flames their way. The four Eighth-order beings, as per their prior agreement, took turns resisting the beast's attacks.

"Hang on a bit longer," the Blue-robed Mage said, noticing Shaoke struggling with defensive spells. She slowed slightly to fly alongside him.

"Remember what I told you when we came," she secretly transmitted to Shaoke via mental energy, then focused on fending off the beast's attacks.

Shaoke nodded slightly to her, then stopped resisting the beast's attacks, instead flying ahead to join the Flail Warrior. After just half a magic hour, the beast stopped pursuing them. Everyone couldn't help but relax.

Though they relaxed, they kept all their protective spells active, as they were still in the tunnel. Shaoke felt the sensation of being watched even more intensely. They didn't slow down but continued flying swiftly outward. Based on the Blue-robed Mage's past experience, entering the tunnel at this point would attract swarms of monsters created by ancient Arcane Secrets. Even if destroyed, they would revive within moments and attack again.

"Let's rest here," the leading Flail Warrior suddenly stopped in a wider section of the tunnel. Shaoke and the others halted, though the mages remained hovering in the air. He glanced at Shaoke and quietly added instructions on what to do once they exited.