Chapter 19: Three Divine Artifacts
Lei stared at the dark red little axe before him.
“Not long ago, this axe was over a hundred meters in size, yet now it can shrink to such a small form,” Linley mused inwardly, placing great importance on this bloodthirsty giant axe. “Most importantly, that Flame Sovereign was only at the peak of the Saint realm. But with this axe in his hands, he could unleash such terrifying power.”
Linley thought of his own Violet Blood Soft Sword.
“Both are divine artifacts, yet the Violet Blood Soft Sword in my hands can only display the power of an ordinary soft sword.”
Linley also understood that his Violet Blood Soft Sword might be more formidable, but his Saint-level strength was still insufficient to fully unleash its potential—just like the ‘Coiling Dragon Ring.’ As of now, Linley could barely utilize the Coiling Dragon Ring at all.
The more powerful a treasure, the harsher the conditions required to use it.
However… this divine axe could be wielded even by a Saint-level expert. In the eyes of Saints, this axe was actually better.
“Linley, just take it. You contributed the most in killing that Flame Sovereign,” Desri said as he flew over.
Linley thought of Barker and then said, “Then I won’t refuse.” He accepted the dark red little axe and directly stored it in his spatial ring. “I hope Barker survives. If he really doesn’t… then I’ll give this axe to Gates and the others.”
Toward Barker, Linley still felt a sense of guilt.
“The Flame Sovereign is finally dead, but Hayward and the others…” Desri was also grieving at this moment. In the distance, Higginson, Olivier, and the other twelve experts flew over. Originally, there had been over twenty of them. Now, only this many remained.
“Big brother,” Higginson said, pained.
Desri and Higginson looked at each other, both with sorrow in their eyes. But they understood… ever since they entered this Necropolis of the Gods, they had chosen this path. Dying here left no room for blame. After all, Hayward and the others had lived for thousands of years; dying now wasn’t such a big deal.
They had already experienced much of what life had to offer.
Olivier glanced at Linley, a helpless smile on his lips. “This Linley, he’s saved me again.” Olivier was a very proud man who disliked owing favors. Yet Linley had already saved him twice.
“Linley, your attack is quite peculiar,” Rutherford exclaimed in amazement. “That Flame Sovereign had the strongest defense I’ve ever seen. But your attack seemed to ignore his defenses entirely.”
Linley didn’t hide it. “It’s an attack I’ve comprehended, one that bypasses external defenses.”
“How bizarre, how astonishing,” Fain marveled as well.
The surrounding group of experts was inwardly shocked. As a Dragonblood Warrior, Linley’s innate talent was already at the pinnacle among humans. And now, his comprehension of the laws was so unique and fearsome. In both aspects, Linley surpassed everyone else.
Combining the two, his offensive power could be called the strongest among all Saint-level experts on the Yulan Continent!
“The number one Saint-level expert on the Yulan Continent is you,” Desri said, looking at Linley with admiration.
“I’m only strong in offense and decent in defense. In terms of speed, I’m still inferior to you, Desri, and Fain,” Linley replied honestly. His comprehension of the laws of wind elements was still far from the limit.
“By the way, what about Tulily?” Rosalie, whose complexion had improved significantly, said. “Let’s go check on him. I hope he’s still alive.”
“Alright,” Fain, Desri, and the others nodded.
Tulily, after all, was the strongest in attack among the five Saint-level limit experts. To go further in the Necropolis of the Gods, such a pillar of strength was indispensable. Linley and the others immediately flew toward where Tulily’s body had fallen.
Moments later…
On the bank of the scorching lava river, Tulily, covered in bloodstains, sat cross-legged on a rock. Both his arms were completely shattered, one of his legs was broken, and there was a large amount of blood on his chest.
“Tulily,” Desri flew down. “You really are lucky to be alive.”
Tulily saw Desri approaching and gave a bitter smile. “I was nearly done for. Desri, do me a favor… your ability to heal injuries is unquestionably the strongest among Saints.” Desri immediately reached out and cast a healing spell instantaneously.
At Desri’s level, he could cast ninth-level light magic instantly.
As for Olivier, although he also comprehended the laws of light, he was a warrior and far inferior to Desri in healing.
Rosalie, Rutherford, and Fain also flew down. Tulily looked at the four of them and asked in surprise, “Desri, you’re all so relaxed. Did you kill the Flame Sovereign? How?”
Tulily was inwardly astonished. He had witnessed the Flame Sovereign’s power firsthand.
“Linley killed him,” Rosalie said, pointing to Linley hovering in the air in the distance.
Tulily looked up at Linley in the distance. “Linley?”
“Yes, he alone struck the Flame Sovereign’s body with his sword, and then the Flame Sovereign died,” Desri said admiringly. “In terms of attack power, among the Saint-level experts on the Yulan Continent, Linley ranks first.”
Soon, Tulily’s injuries were fully healed.
“The passage to the seventh level is at the center, where the large group of Blaze Rock Demons gather.” The group of experts from the Yulan Continent advanced in a mighty procession, heading directly toward the center of the sixth level.
There, indeed, was the gathering place of the Blaze Rock Demons.
“That Dragonman is here, run!” Seeing Linley, a large number of Blaze Rock Demons fled in terror.
“Calling me Dragonman again!” Linley shook his head with a sigh. Bebe chuckled and said, “Boss, those guys are ignorant. They don’t know about Dragonblood Warriors; they only know the more common Dragonman race from other planes. The Dragonman race is far inferior to you, Boss, as a Dragonblood Warrior.”
As they spoke, the group of experts descended.
Without needing to act, the lingering might of Linley killing the Flame Sovereign sent the Blaze Rock Demons scattering in all directions.
“The passage!” Everyone immediately spotted the staircase passage not far away. It was the entrance to a cave in a volcanic rock formation, with a staircase emitting a unique black light. This staircase passage led to the seventh level.
“Hey, what’s that?” Bebe darted over.
Beside the staircase passage, two weapons were placed. One was a blood-colored curved blade, and the other was a staff. The massive crystal at the top of the staff emanated powerful energy fluctuations that startled Linley.
“Two divine artifacts,” Desri said joyfully. Fain, Tulily, and the others were also overjoyed.
“Two divine artifacts?” Linley was somewhat surprised.
But then he understood. Lord Beirut had said that in this Necropolis of the Gods, divine sparks would only appear starting from the eleventh level. The first ten levels wouldn’t have divine sparks. However, divine artifacts could appear in the first ten levels.
“This is the Necropolis of the Gods, where so many gods have died. It’s normal to have a few more divine artifacts,” Linley thought. He knew that divine artifacts were far less valuable than divine sparks.
The sixth level was so difficult to traverse, so having a total of three divine artifacts wasn’t unusual.
“There are two more divine artifacts here. How should we distribute them?” Bebe stood beside the artifacts and said bluntly.
“This…”
The group fell silent for a moment. Many looked at Linley.
In the sixth level, the one who had truly made the greatest contribution was Linley. Of course, Rosalie and the Six-Eyed Golden Lion had also contributed. When it came to distributing divine artifacts, at least those who had contributed were most qualified to receive them.
Linley didn’t speak.
He had already taken one. If he took too many, others might feel resentful.
“Everyone, I’ll take this curved blade. For the divine artifacts that appear in the higher levels from now on, I’ll forfeit my share. Consider it a personal favor from me, Tulily,” he said sincerely. “This curved blade is exactly the type of weapon I like.”
A curved blade.
On the far eastern grasslands, warriors used curved blades as standard weapons. Tulily had also achieved great mastery with the curved blade.
However… at Tulily’s level, ordinary so-called good weapons were less useful than his own hands. But divine artifacts were different. Divine artifacts were typically used by gods. If even gods used them, their power was unimaginable.
“Linley, what do you think?” Fain, Desri, and the others looked at Linley.
Tulily also looked at Linley with anticipation. To be honest, Tulily rarely felt so anxious. But now, he was genuinely worried that Linley might refuse. If Linley didn’t agree, there was nothing he could do… after all, in the sixth level, Linley had essentially saved his life.
“I have no objections,” Linley said with a smile.
Even with his deep mental cultivation, Tulily couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
“Linley, thank you,” Tulily said solemnly.
Tulily wasn’t a man of many words, but those two words ‘thank you’ contained immense gratitude.
Since Linley had no objections, Rosalie naturally didn’t either. As for the others… they had no right to object. Tulily immediately took the blood-colored curved blade. “With this blade, my strength will improve several times over,” Tulily said, ecstatic.
“Alright, the curved blade is taken. What about the staff?” Bebe pointed at the staff.
“Boss, Dylia needs a staff too, right?” Bebe said.
Rosalie, a Saint-level magician, had originally wanted a divine-level staff, but hearing Bebe’s words, she found it hard to speak up.
Linley, however, noticed Rosalie’s expression.
“Divine artifacts will appear in the seventh and eighth levels and beyond. Whether Dylia needs one can be discussed later,” Linley transmitted to Bebe. He wasn’t one to be inconsiderate. He smiled and said, “It’s better to use divine artifacts sooner. That way, our chances of survival in the higher levels increase.”
Linley looked at Rosalie and Desri. “Rosalie, Desri, you’re both Saint-level magicians. Decide among yourselves who will take this divine artifact.”
“Rosalie, you take it,” Desri said directly.
…
In the sixth level, the group of experts rested and prepared for a month. Rosalie and Tulily adapted to their new divine artifacts. Of the ten experts in the first group, all remained on the sixth level. As for the second group, only three stayed behind. The others gave up and returned to the fifth level.
Among the three who stayed from the second group was Olivier.
Higginson, however, gave up. Hayward’s death had clearly dealt him a heavy blow. After all, the dangers of the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels wouldn’t be any less than those of the sixth.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
The lava river flowed beside them. “Let’s set out!” Desri announced.
Linley, Tulily, Rosalie, Fain, Rutherford, Olivier, and the others all stood up. After a month of rest and recuperation, everyone was in peak condition.
Including Olivier and the other two, a total of thirteen experts stepped onto the staircase passage one by one.
…
Necropolis of the Gods, Seventh Level!
“Whoosh!”
The thirteen experts from the Yulan Continent appeared on the seventh level and immediately felt the strong wind.
“Comfortable,” Linley said with a hint of a smile. Compared to the scorching environment of the sixth level, the seventh level was much more pleasant.
The seventh level was a desert world, but the area where Linley and the others appeared was an oasis within the desert. The oasis was vast, at least ten miles in radius. The thirteen experts carefully looked around, staying vigilant.
“There’s water in the distance,” Bebe said excitedly, spotting a lake in the oasis.
“Huh? What’s with the vegetation here? Those weeds have such sharp thorns,” Desri said with a frown.
Suddenly—
The ‘oasis’ began to move. Thousands upon thousands of roots shot up into the air, and the ten-mile-radius ‘oasis’ instantly enveloped all the experts. Linley found himself trapped in a crushing mass of grass blades.
“Not good,” Linley exclaimed, his face changing drastically. A sinister purple light flashed in his hand.
“Ah!” A scream rang out from the distance.
In an instant, one of the experts was severely injured or killed. No one knew which of the thirteen it was.
A Request!
For the past two weeks, Tomato has been very tired, constantly owing chapters to everyone and then working hard to repay them. Pushing myself with pressure to keep writing.
Tomato is a bit worn out.
How about this: could everyone give Tomato three days off a month? That is, three days a month when Tomato won’t update. Although those three days have no updates…
For the rest of the month, Tomato will occasionally have bursts of extra updates. This way, the average for each month will still be at least two chapters per day.
What do you all think?
Three days! Let Tomato have three days of real rest. Otherwise, to be honest, 365 days a year, even on New Year’s Eve, Tomato feels the pressure.
After a few years like this, the heart gets tired.
Three days a month. For the rest of the time, occasional bursts will ensure the monthly average exceeds two chapters per day.
October 7th and 15th had no updates, but they were made up for later. Today, the 21st, will be the third rest day for this month.
Writing novels is a very tiring profession. Tomato also wants to be able to write for longer. Work and rest in balance.