Chapter 186: A Ritual After More Than Twelve Hundred Years
"It wasn't until nearly the year 2000 of the Starlight Calendar, when the Plane Barrier had nearly fully recovered, that those Wizards gradually returned."
After perusing the information recorded in the books, Su Nan finally understood why the Starlight Continent had remained peaceful for a millennium without any Wizards entering.
It turned out that it wasn’t due to lack of desire but rather an inability to do so.
"But now, aside from the Elemental Plane, I can't leave the Starlight Continent to venture to other planes either."
Su Nan shook his head.
He wasn't overly troubled by this. After all, he lacked the ability to travel between planes, so even if he wished to leave, he could not.
In a way, viewing it positively, the current situation on the Starlight Continent wasn't necessarily disadvantageous for him.
Although cultivation was a bit more challenging, it afforded him a stable environment for development.
At least for the next seven hundred years, he wouldn’t have to worry about other Wizards or more powerful life forms bothering him.
"Regardless, let's focus on steady development for now."
Su Nan thought to himself as he set down the book.
Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Karolina walked in, presenting a battle report.
"Master, this is a battle report from Flash City."
Su Nan took the report, opened it, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
The Azure Gold Empire had surrendered?
However, after the initial shock, Su Nan quickly realized that the Scepter must have played a significant role behind the scenes.
The battle report also mentioned that the condition for the Azure Gold Empire's surrender was that the Star Alliance would guarantee not to harm the Azure Gold Royal Family, and Ke Yi had already accepted this condition.
"The establishment of the Academy needs to be expedited," Su Nan pondered.
Once the war ended, the Starry Sky Empire would likely hold a new round of Aptitude Tests soon, and more Apprentices would be sent to the Base, so establishing the Academy as quickly as possible was imperative.
Starlight Calendar Year 1269, Harvest Moon (September).
The Azure Gold Empire announced their surrender.
With this, the overlord empire that had dominated the continent for over four hundred years came to an end.
"Star Alliance swiftly accepted the Azure Gold Empire's surrender, allowing the occupying army to assume control of all the empire's territories.
In this conflict, the Starry Sky Empire emerged as the biggest victor, claiming approximately two-thirds of the combined territories of the Azure Gold Empire and Three Points.
The remaining one-third of Three Points' territory was redistributed among the other eight nations.
In the same month, the Starry Sky Empire announced its name change to the Prosperous Star Empire.
By stepping over the remnants of the Azure Gold Empire, the Prosperous Star Empire ascended to become the new overlord of the Southeast Region of the continent.
However, following the war's conclusion, the atmosphere in the Southeast Region did not become peaceful. Instead, it grew increasingly tense.
Many eyes turned toward the Prosperous Star Empire.
No one could predict whether this nation would pursue the unfinished ambitions of the Azure Gold Empire and strive to transform from the overlord of the Southeast Region into its sole ruler.
In a quiet cottage, moonlight streamed through the window, casting a silvery veil over the long table.
Rose opened her eyes and immediately looked toward Su Nan's position. The moment that familiar figure entered her view, a complex mix of emotions surged within her.
When she sensed the activation of the Trading House and Key, she realized that Su Nan was behind it. After hesitating for a long while, she ultimately decided to attend the gathering.
Her curiosity about Su Nan's purpose in summoning them was overwhelming.
Before long, Traveler and Scepter entered one after the other.
Seeing Su Nan, both of them wore complicated expressions.
Witnessing someone who had only recently been at their level as a Level Three Wizard Apprentice attain the realm they all aspired to created a whirlwind of feelings.
After all, as a Wizard Apprentice from a royal family background, Scepter quickly adjusted his mindset. He looked at Su Nan and respectfully asked, "Might I inquire about the reason for your summons, my Lord?"
In the presence of Su Nan, who had ascended to the Wizard realm, he appropriately adopted a more respectful tone.
Su Nan's gaze swept over Rose and Traveler. Noticing that both were listening intently, he wasted no time and got straight to the point: "I plan to establish a Wizard Academy. Would either of you be interested in serving as instructors?"
A Wizard Academy? Instructors?
Scepter, Traveler, and Rose were all taken aback, their expressions a mix of confusion and disbelief."
They had thought Su Nan might be trying to recruit them, but they never imagined they'd be invited to become mentors at the Wizard Academy.
Before they could react, Su Nan continued, “The duties of an Academy mentor mainly consist of teaching and maintaining order. When necessary, they can also participate in some Star Alliance operations.”
"All of these can earn Contribution Points, which can be exchanged for resources."
“This includes materials, potions, puppets, dimensional magic items, talent crystal models, and construct potions, among others.”
All those offerings paled in comparison to the allure of the last sentence.
The eyes of Scepter Three lit up in unison.
Rose was the first to respond.
“My lord, I accept the invitation!”
Back in Youhu City, under Karolina's persuasion, Rose had considered joining the Star Alliance. Now, with the added draw of the construct potion and talent crystal model, he didn’t hesitate.
Scepter soon agreed as well.
Traveler, however, looked conflicted.
His greatest desire was to explore various places in the Starlight Continent.
Once he joined the Academy, though he wouldn’t completely lose his freedom, he would be somewhat restricted and unable to leave on a whim.
Freedom versus becoming stronger; it was a tough choice.
In the end, Su Nan's casual words shattered his hesitation completely.
"Those at the Wizard stage live for at least seven or eight hundred years. If you advance to the Wizard stage, you'll have more time to explore. Perhaps you may even get to see the scenery of the Outer Planes in the future."
"...I'll join."
Seeing all three agree, Su Nan's lips curled into a slight smile.
All of Scepter Three were exceptional among Level Three Wizard Apprentices. The youngest was over a hundred years old, with vast knowledge and rich experience. They were well-equipped to mentor a group of Second Level Wizard Apprentices at the Academy.
Though three mentors might seem insufficient, they would be sufficient for the initial stage of the Academy.
He would look for more suitable candidates in the future.
"Then, my three new mentors, I'll be awaiting your arrival at Flash City Base."
Spider City.
The quiet of the deep night enveloped the entire city.
The rules of the Dark Elves were extremely strict. Without permission, no races other than theirs were allowed on the streets at night. Even male Dark Elves often faced strict restrictions.
On the dimly lit street, a lizard scurried, its limbs moving rapidly.
The Dark Elf guard patrol, hearing the sound, turned their heads in unison, their hands pressing against the hilts of their curved sabers, revealing cold, wary gazes.
Only when they clearly saw the graceful figure atop the lizard did they relax their grip on their weapons, offer a distant salute to the rider, and continue their patrol.
Ta Jiana paid no attention to the guards, silently riding her lizard mount through the street until she arrived at a massive mansion.
She patted the lizard on its head, causing the eight-clawed giant to halt, and then nimbly jumped down.
The fine gold-forged gates were tightly closed, and the two enormous spider statues coiled on either side silently rotated their eyes, recognizing the newcomer’s identity, yet remaining still in the darkness.
The young woman approached, softly uttering an incantation to activate the platinum brooch on her robe.
A dim, soft light emanated from the brooch, taking the form of a delicate and beautiful dark-skinned elf, which then transformed into a spider.
"Ta Jiana Philia."
The young woman spoke her name, and the gate swung open on its own.
"Welcome home."
A hoarse, grating voice echoed slowly from the darkness behind the door.
Ta Jiana stared into the darkness, pursed her lips, and then stepped inside.
The figure of the "Gatekeeper" slowly emerged from the shadows.
It was a wraith—or more accurately, a fusion of many wraiths.
Every family among the Twelve Families of Spider City had such a Gatekeeper.
This powerful being was created by the Dark Elf family using secret techniques to guard their lineage, serving as the final resting place for the souls of every strongwoman in the Dark Elf family (limited to females).
The older the Dark Elf family lineage, the more powerful the Gatekeeper became.
Any enemy seeking to attack the family must first overcome the obstacle of the Gatekeeper.
The "Gatekeeper" before Ta Jiana was precisely the soul amalgamation of two hundred seventy-two powerful women from the Felier Family lineage.
It looked like a heroic drow female, with a lithe and alluring figure. Her slender body was clad in jet-black leather armor, and only her eyes glowed a dark red, akin to agate.
Ta Jiana waited until the form of the Gatekeeper became clear, then bowed slightly before stepping forward, passing straight through the ghost's body and into the mansion.
This seemingly rude and childish act did not harm the young woman—so long as she wore the Family Brooch, she would be shielded from the Negative Energy that the Gatekeeper carried.
Of course, it would not harm the Gatekeeper either.
The Gatekeeper slowly faded behind her, and the mansion gates closed once more.
The air inside the mansion was somewhat chilly.
The Demon Fire flickering on the walls provided only a little light, but no warmth.
Ta Jiana pulled her cloak tighter around herself and followed the spiderweb-like path through the stalactites and stone pillars, eventually entering the main building of the Felier Family.
It was a circular temple, its top flickering with a sinister purplish-black light. The outer walls were adorned with exquisite reliefs, most of which featured spiders as the main motif.
The massive building loomed in the darkness like a monstrous creature, its entrance resembling a gaping maw.
Everyone who entered the temple felt like prey being swallowed by the beast.
The temple was pitch black, but Ta Jiana didn’t mind. Her Dark Elf innate dark vision allowed her to see every detail around her clearly.
She navigated the narrow, winding corridors, changing direction accurately at every turn, finally arriving at the center of the temple.
It was a spacious hall.
At the very center stood an altar made of black marble.
Eight enormous braziers burned along its edges, black flames rising from them, morphing into various spiders.
Upon the altar was an approximately ten-foot-high statue.
It depicted a mature and beautiful elven woman riding a giant, hideous spider, looking down upon the Dark Elf below as if she were a goddess.
Surrounding the altar were hundreds of Dark Elves, all of them women.
Most of them were clad in soft, well-fitting chainmail, draped with black cloaks, and adorned with the same white-gold brooch as Ta Jiana, marking their kinship. Only the eight figures standing in the far corner wore full-length robes, obscuring their faces and forms.
Ta Jiana's gaze swept over the crowd before she quickly made her way to the outer edge and stopped. Most people’s attention was fixed on the statue on the altar, and few noticed her arrival, except for a tall, slender female Dark Elf standing beside her.
"You're late," Vinya said in a low voice.
"I couldn’t help it," Ta Jiana replied softly. "Breaking the city took longer than expected, and I had to abandon the slave convoy and rush back overnight."
"It’s good you didn't miss the ceremony." Vinya looked up at the statue on the altar, her eyes gleaming with fervor and excitement. "It’s been over twelve hundred years, and we can finally receive a divine revelation. The great Misha hasn't abandoned us after all!"
Ta Jiana's eyes flickered, but she didn’t respond. Although she had personally witnessed the miracles of Misha, she still harbored a trace of doubt. After all, Misha had not appeared for a whole twelve hundred years, and now they were demanding that Spider City launch a war to unify the Underworld. She wasn’t sure if this was a good thing for the Dark Elf Clan. In fact, many young Dark Elves shared her doubts, but these voices were suppressed by the fanatical upper echelons.
"Silence!" A melodious yet commanding voice suddenly rang out, silencing all murmurs. The hall abruptly fell silent. Everyone turned to look at the woman who had spoken.
She was a slender, delicate-looking Dark Elf woman. Her light blue eyes were as pure and clear as crystal, and her long silver hair was soft and lustrous. Judged solely by appearance, she seemed like a young maiden. Yet in reality, this Matriarch of the Felier Family had celebrated her one hundred and forty-eighth birthday last year and was already the mother of more than a dozen daughters.
Her gaze sweeping over everyone, the Philia Matriarch said in a deep voice, "Let the ceremony begin."
As her voice faded, a rustling, eerie sound suddenly erupted from the darkness all around. Countless spiders, both large and small, crawled out of the shadows, heading toward the altar. Their eight jointed legs tapped against the ground, creating a peculiar rhythm and cadence.
In the blink of an eye, the altar was covered in a dense layer of spiders. They glared at one another, seemingly intent on killing their own kind, yet not making a single move. Meanwhile, eight Dark Elf women standing in the corner shed their robes, revealing their beautiful, shapely faces and exquisite, bare bodies. They walked through the swarm of spiders, lightly leaping up the steps to ascend the altar, each taking position in one of the eight corners before kneeling and chanting verses of praise in unison.
Then the spiders began their brutal slaughter. They swung their long legs, tore apart their opponents' carapaces with their mandibles, stabbed into flesh with their fangs, injected venom, and gnawed and devoured. The delicious flesh and souls of the fallen made the victors even stronger, and with each eighth of the spiders that fell, a Dark Elf woman at the edge of the altar would melt away like butter, transforming into mist and vanishing.
Death was terrible, yet no one fled. The number of spiders rapidly decreased until only a single victor remained. The enormous, ferocious spider took heavy steps toward the last standing Dark Elf woman, its blood-red eyes fixed coldly upon her. The Dark Elf woman showed no fear; instead, she opened her arms, revealing an ugly yet dangerous smile.
The spider suddenly opened its massive mandibles, biting down and accurately piercing her skin with its fangs. A burning and numbing sensation spread through her body in an instant. Before everyone's eyes, the Dark Elf woman and the spider melted like wax, merging together before quickly reforming into a peculiar creature—its lower half was a black spider, while its upper half retained the body of a Dark Elf woman.
Spiderfied Elf! A legendary creature favored by a certain god, possessing fearsome and formidable power!
Looking at the newly born Spiderfied Elf at the Altar, the surrounding Dark Elves revealed expressions of excitement and fervor.
Many couldn't help but softly chant verses of praise.
The beautiful face of Philia Matriarch shone with a joyful smile that came from the heart.
Success!
As long as this ritual was upheld, they could continuously produce Spiderfied Elves.
This would serve as the foundation for the Dark Elves to unify the Underworld!
Stuck in a terrible traffic jam, the second update will be delayed.
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