Chapter 1158: Palace Of Light

“Deal, let’s get to preparing then.” After saying that, Lin Li resolutely returned to the Tower of Dusk’s side, and began to let the crowd prepare for the next exploration.

On Edmund’s side, Poer and Zumar immediately approached Edmund after seeing Lin Li leave. High Priest Poer glared at the Tower of Dusk’s team, and then respectfully asked Saint Edmund, “Saint, how did the negotiation with Felic go? He looks so smug, as if he has gained some benefit.”

In the eyes of High Priest Poer, Lin Li was utterly detestable. Now that Lin Li had a calm expression, he immediately thought that Edmund had given Lin Li some benefit. At the thought of it, he felt even more disgruntled, and thus immediately asked Edmund about it as soon as he came over.

“Nothing, I just agreed to let him read our scriptures after the matter here is settled,” Edmund said indifferently, seemingly not taking this matter to heart.

However, after hearing Edmund’s answer, High Priest Poer almost lost his temper and leaped up. Although he, like the Illuminati, also believed in the ancient god Zagar, he was not a member of the Illuminati, but one of the royals. Hence, despite having a high status in the Gilded Kingdom as the high priest, he was not qualified to read the Gilded Kingdom’s scriptures.

Although there was generally no need for High Priest Poer to read the Illuminati’s scriptures, that difference in treatment was still unacceptable for him. He might not be a member of the Illuminati, but they at least believed in the same god, and he was close to the Illuminati. If he couldn’t have the right to read the scriptures, why was Lin Li granted permission!?

“Saint Edmund, this seems a little inappropriate. Felic is just our temporary partner, and we might even officially go to war with him in the future. Besides, he’s also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. He might just use this opportunity to develop a conspiracy against us.” In order to keep Lin Li from getting what he wanted, High Priest Poer made the matter sound as serious as he could in hopes of talking Edmund round, and making him change his mind.

However, Edmund was not convinced. Instead, he skipped that topic, and said to High Priest Poer, “Tell all of them to get ready, we will set off immediately once the Tower of Dusk’s team is ready too.”

High Priest Poer dared not show any displeasure despite being brushed off. He had no choice but to turn around and inform his team to prepare for the departure. However, he naturally hated Lin Li even more.

After waiting for High Priest Poer to leave, Elder Zumar hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn’t help but politely say, “Saint, it doesn’t seem too appropriate for an outsider to read our scriptures.”

“Hmph, if possible, I would want to see that punk read our scripture because that would mean that we succeeded in our mission this time. Anyway, after we enter, follow my arrangements for everything. Let’s hope nothing goes wrong,” Edmund said. It was rare for him to explain more than he should. Although he had promised Lin Li that kind of condition, he seemed to be in a good mood.

Indeed, he could tell from the Envoys of Light that they just faced that the journey ahead would not be easy. Now, with the help of the Tower of Dusk, the possibility of completing the mission was increased greatly. Just like Edmund had said to Lin Li, there was no big deal in letting others read the scripture.

After Lin Li returned to the team of the Tower of Dusk, he immediately told them to start checking their equipment as they made arrangements to deal with the next possible danger. At this point, a faint metallic odor of blood suddenly spread over from afar, and the vampire Norfeller appeared in front of the Tower of Dusk immediately afterwards.

After coming close to Lin Li, Norfeller presented a huge ice-blue egg that seemed to be carved out of crystal to Lin Li with both hands. He said, “Master, according to your instructions, I searched the Ice Phoenix lair and found this.”

Seems like I guessed correctly! Lin Li was overjoyed as he grabbed the crystal egg, and began observing it carefully in his hand.

However, the observation made Lin Li’s heart sink, and the joy that had surfaced on his face disappeared. He soon began frowning instead. The Ice Phoenix’s egg was completely different from what he had imagined. If he had not trusted Norfeller entirely, he would have thought that the real egg had been replaced by something else in the process.

Logically speaking, the Phoenixes were reborn through such a method, and so their eggs should contain endless vitality that gave them the ability to gain a new life. However, now that Lin Li had obtained the egg, he did not feel a trace of vitality in it. In fact, the egg even emanated a rich Undead aura that was even denser than that of most genuine Undead creatures.

In this case, was it still possible for the egg of the Ice Phoenix to be reborn in nirvana? Besides, it was not just a question of whether it could be reborn or not. The phoenix egg in Lin Li’s hands even gave Lin Li the creeps. It was as if the aura of death that was emanating from the egg was able to penetrate one’s soul and erode it.

Lin Li did not mind it, since his most competent subordinates, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, were Undead creatures. There was also a Retribution Knight in the Eternal Furnace. However, he couldn’t keep holding onto the peculiar phoenix egg.

Hence, after Lin Li got the Ice Phoenix egg, he merely looked at it, and then threw it back to Norfeller. It was full of death, and Lin Li was unsure if it could be used for the rebirth of the Ice Phoenix. He decided to let Norfeller, an Undead creature, play with it.

At this moment, the Gilded Kingdom’s team had already rested and reorganized themselves, all keeping their guard up in a formation and ready to start entering the palace. After Elder Zumar deliberately came over to inform them, Lin Li issued an order, and the team from the Tower of Dusk immediately followed closely behind, walking together towards the palace in the light.

The palace that was shrouded in the light was still blurry from afar, and although the light was not blinding, it made the palace seem foggy. Only once the two teams came closer and were about a few meters away from the gate did they get a clear glimpse of it.

The first impression they had of the palace was that it was massive and majestic. Instead of a palace, it seemed more like a city. Standing in front of the gate of the palace, they could not see the borders at all. The outer wall was hundreds of meters high, and even the top had been obscured by the light, and looked just like a mountain that reached the clouds.

They then found it opulent, and the palace was extremely luxurious. Besides, it was different from the extravagant style of the High Elves. However, all in all, it was still personable and pleasant. It looked as if it was created with a massive amount of wealth. The outer walls of the palace were also covered in purple and golden patterns that added a touch of splendor to the gold which might seem tacky alone. Between those purple and golden patterns, there were also countless large gemstones that were bedazzling like the stars in the night sky.

God knew how much wealth had been spent on the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. The current national treasury of the Gilded Kingdom probably could not be compared with the value of this palace. They were truly an incredibly wealthy nation. If an ordinary person were to scrape off a gem on the wall, it would be enough for him to live in luxury for several lifetimes.

The gemstones were not only beautiful. Each one was a specialty of the Endless Ocean, and the material used for the purple and golden patterns was a precious magical metal: purple adamantine. Each gram of purple adamantine was worth a massive amount of gold, and it was usually priceless.

However, those things did not mean much to Lin Li, and he wouldn’t lose his composure over it. In his opinion, only the things he could use were considered valuable. Otherwise, they would just be considered ordinary stones and metals even if others marked up the price. Besides, with his attainments in various fields, it was not difficult to find a few ores in the Endless Sea, so there was no need to be surprised at all.

On the other hand, on the Gilded Kingdom’s side, High Priest Poer seemed to be shivering with agitation. If not for Edmund and Zumar, he would have probably ordered everyone to demolish the palace and bring the gemstones back. After all, it was considered a shockingly massive amount of wealth which would almost immediately increase the power of the Gilded Kingdom.

Unfortunately, with Edmund of the Illuminati around, High Priest Poer could only think about it without taking any action. Although the palace had already been abandoned, it was the sacred land of the Illuminati at the beginning. Those items were considered the wealth of the Illuminati, and even the Gilded Kingdom did not have the power to casually use them.

Finally, the two teams passed through the open door, and walked into the palace, only to see that the interior was even more luxurious and opulent. Words couldn’t describe the ostentatiousness of the interior where the ground, the walls, the roof, the massive pillars, gold, gems, and all sorts of rare and magnificent magical elements as well as magical elemental crystals made it difficult for them to walk.

However, although the palace was extremely beautiful and luxurious, the interior was obviously in a mess as the decorative furnishings were mostly destroyed and placed randomly. There were broken pearls, crystal ornaments, twisted silver lamp sands, and many other golden ornaments.

Lin Li could tell from the extravagance of this palace that the Illuminati were not slipshod with their offerings to their god. Without the previous conversation with Saint Edmund, Lin Li would have probably thought that the Illuminati’s faith in their god had reached a terrifying height. However, Lin Li found it ironic when he looked at this magnificent palace and recalled what Edmund had said to him just now.

As both teams advanced towards the depths of the palace slowly under Saint Edmund’s lead, the sounds of heavy footsteps came from the depths ahead. Immediately afterwards, a group of Spiked Earth Dragons charged over from the depths of the palace.

The Spiked Earth Dragons were similar to the earth dragons of Anril which looked like wingless dragons. They were magical beasts that carried the blood of wyrms, and had thick hind legs, with two rows of spikes that trailed from its head to its tail. In the Endless Abyss, the Spiked Earth Dragon was considered a relatively common abyssal magical beast which could be found in the first 10 floors.

There were nearly 100 Spiked Earth Dragons, but they were no match for the teams of the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk at all. Before the Spiked Earth Dragons could reach the teams, a large wave of magic spells had been blasted at them, turning them into ashes in the blink of an eye.

Although the Spiked Earth Dragons did not pose any threat to the two teams, Edmund seemed more and more prudent. In fact, he even ordered the team to slow down their advance again.

While some people felt that Saint Edmund was a bit too cautious, a group of Abyssal Demons dashed out from the depths of that palace once again. This time, it was a group of Azteks from the Darkness Abyss. They were flapping the fleshy wings on their backs, and swooping over to the two teams with peculiar howling.

The test from Tutankhamun that Lin Li had accepted in the past required him to enter the Darkness Abyss where he encountered the attacks of the Aztek demons. At that time, Lin Li was just about to touch the threshold of the Legendary-realm. In order to avoid the Aztek demons’ pursuit, he had to resort to various methods. However, it would now be a piece of cake for the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk to deal with the Aztek demons, let alone for Lin Li.

The Aztek demon’s most powerful and sharpest method of attacking was to pounce in front of the enemy, and go into self-destruction. The power of that self-destruction was even near the Legendary-level. However, here, the Aztek demons’ self-destruction saved the two teams the hassle of killing them. They just had to open up their magical defense, and let the demons explode.

Amidst the bloodbath, the two teams resisted against the flesh bombs, and almost continuously rushed towards the depths of the palace. Soon, a bunch of Azteks self-exploded, leaving only a ground full of flesh and blood while the unique stench of the Abyssal Demons, Azteks, permeated the air.