Spellcasting Gods

In contrast, Zhang Cheng was in much better shape. He managed to conjure a series of protective spells, including Ice Armor and Mana Shield, in just one second. Although he looked a bit disheveled, at least he wasn't seriously injured...

Chapter 246 The Secret of the Tower to the Sky (Part 2)

Feeling the pain of the sharp stones carving deep and shallow wounds into his body, Zhang Cheng stared at Deli behind him, who was trying to hide, and asked with a cold smile, "You want to kill me?!"

"No! No! No! Please believe me, what just happened was an accident, a misunderstanding. I never intended to get rid of you," Derry shook his head desperately in protest.

However, judging from his slightly flustered reaction, he was definitely lying. Perhaps in his eyes, the explosion just now would have killed the young man in front of him, or at the very least, seriously injured him.

Surprisingly, Zhang Cheng's protective spells were much stronger than he had imagined. Although they couldn't stop all the high-speed flying stones, they did manage to prevent the vast majority of them from hitting vital organs. The most serious wound he had was just a scratch about half a finger deep near the corner of his eye.

As for the shockwave that had given so much hope, it was completely absorbed by the magic shield, not even touching the hem of her clothes.

"Hmph! Misunderstanding? Accident?" Zhang Cheng revealed a sarcastic smile, then said to the Soul-Binding Messenger in his hand, "Teach him a lesson! Remember, don't break him. He's still somewhat useful to me for now."

"As you wish, my wicked master."

As the hoarse, deep sound of the demonic sword echoed in the air, Derry's soul immediately began to tremble involuntarily. In less than two or three minutes, it could no longer maintain its form and condensed into a ball of bright red, transparent matter.

Through the blurred face, one can clearly observe his hoarse roar, as if releasing some kind of pain that cannot be described in words.

But for some reason, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't make a sound.

It was this extreme, unbearable pain that drove Derry into a state of utter madness, to the point that he began to tear at his own soul, attempting to escape the torment through eternal death.

Unfortunately, under the absolute control of the demonic sword, he didn't even have the ability to commit suicide and was quickly frozen in place.

Ignoring the Soul-Binding Messenger's torture of the enemy, Zhang Cheng picked up the fallen hardwood staff and returned to the center of the explosion, carefully clearing away the scattered rubble.

Before long, he found a groove in a corner that was exactly the same size and shape as the bottom of the hardwood staff.

To confirm his guess, he gently inserted the wooden staff into the hole.

moment!

The already bright dragon crystal emitted a blinding light!

Then, a large number of strange characters slowly appeared on the ground, walls, and ceiling. Immediately afterwards, a crack suddenly appeared in the dusty ground, and a strangely shaped black statue slowly rose from below.

What makes it so peculiar is that the upper body of this statue is that of a naked woman, while the lower body is that of a fish-like tail. Her face is filled with a sorrowful expression, and her two eyes, inlaid with sapphires, seem to be telling a tragic love story. Anyone who gazes at her for more than ten seconds will experience a moment of mental disorientation.

Fortunately, Zhang Cheng possessed an extraordinary level of vigilance and quickly realized that he had been affected by some unknown magic. He hurriedly pinched his bleeding wound hard, using the pain to regain his senses.

Once his pupils began to refocus, he noticed that the female statue was holding a pigeon-egg-sized deep blue pearl in her hands, which was constantly emitting a dazzling light.

That extraordinary spiritual influence was precisely the effect of this pearl, and when it appeared, the seawater flowing quietly in the surrounding grooves suddenly seemed to be affected by a mysterious force, making a splashing sound.

As a mage, Zhang Cheng was able to keenly perceive that the pure and vast energy contained within the pearl, while perhaps not as much in total as that of the crimson meteorite, was several times higher in purity.

In particular, the unparalleled power of the water element surrounding the surface can be clearly felt even from a distance of more than ten meters.

If this pearl is crafted into a magical item using Dalaran's technology, the wearer's frost spells will be greatly enhanced immediately; if it is given to a water elemental, such as Melroyas, the elemental's power will be strengthened, or even elevated to a higher form.

It goes without saying that Delhi and the organization behind him are after this precious and rare blue pearl.

Zhang Cheng carefully removed the pearl from the statue and held it in his hand. Through direct contact with his skin, he immediately realized that this thing was not solid as he had thought, but rather liquid or semi-liquid. It could change into various shapes under external pressure, but would immediately return to its original state as soon as the external force disappeared.

“Interesting…this is really interesting! Can you tell me what it is?” Zhang Cheng asked without turning his head.

The tormented Deli, his eyes filled with terror, hatred, and resentment, took a full minute to answer in a trembling voice: "It is the Tear of the Deep Sea Queen. It is said that whoever possesses it can control the entire ocean, including seawater, schools of fish, and sea monsters. The Tower of Babel is able to unleash towering waves because of it. As for the Tidal Mark on your hand, it is merely one of the side abilities it bestows. You have no idea of ​​its power, nor do you understand the meaning of its existence."

"Tears of the Queen of the Deep Sea? It sounds like there's a story behind it." Zhang Cheng continued to probe, trying to figure out the specific purpose of this thing.

However, whether it was due to the wrong method or some other limitation, he was unable to activate the hidden energy inside.

"As I mentioned before, the Tower of Heaven was built by a wizard who defected from the organization and a woman from the deep-sea race. And this woman is none other than an exiled queen."

I don’t know the specifics of what happened, but the two of them quickly fell in love and even planned to build a city by the sea and have their own mixed-race offspring.

Clearly, neither the deep-sea races nor any organization would tolerate the birth of a hybrid, and they joined forces to launch an attack one night.

Although the traitorous wizard repelled the invaders with his powerful magic and the help of the tower, the queen suffered a fatal wound and, on her deathbed, condensed all her power into this deep blue pearl.

As you can see, it is so breathtakingly beautiful that no one who knows it could easily give it up.

To ensure that the only memento left by his beloved in the world would not be taken away by outsiders, the wizard created a mechanism that protected it through the accumulation of energy over time.

If anyone dares to use violence, the immense energy will explode, burying the tower along with the pearl.

Fortunately, before the wizard died, he made a key, which is the wooden staff you are holding, and gave it to his most loyal servant.

I followed vague clues and finally managed to find the wooden staff. It took me five whole years to find it…

Chapter 0247 The Shift in Mindset

Through Derlina's emotionless description, Zhang Cheng gradually figured out the ins and outs of the matter, and finally had a definite answer regarding the origin and builder of the towering tower that had been troubling him.

At the same time, he also realized that the world of A Song of Ice and Fire was not as low in magic as he had initially imagined, but rather that the story took place in an environment where magic was relatively scarce.

In the far east, in places like Ashar, near the Shadowlands, magic is by no means rare. On the contrary, it is ubiquitous, and spellcaster organizations of all kinds abound.

If one could go there in person, it would be of great benefit, both for the still-developing theory of magic and for absorbing new knowledge and perspectives.

Unfortunately, he no longer had enough time to complete such a perilous journey. He had to suppress his burgeoning curiosity and turn to the anxious soul with a meaningful tone, saying, "Dear Derry, could you please tell me how to use this interesting little thing? Since you've come all the way from Asshai, you must know how to make it work, right?"

"No! I don't know!" Derry instinctively shuddered and shook his head frantically.

"Oh? Are you sure? You should know that lying is not a good thing, especially lying to me." Zhang Cheng threatened, gently stroking the sharp blade of the Soul-Binding Messenger.

He simply couldn't believe that anyone would risk their life to traverse the entire known world and arrive at this tower that had been sealed away for thousands of years without knowing how to use this so-called "Tears of the Deep Sea Queen".

“Damn it! Don’t force me! I can’t say! I really can’t say!” Derry started yelling like a madman.

Looking into the other person's tormented eyes, Zhang Cheng suddenly smiled, comforting them as he laughed, "Relax, don't be so tense. I'm not forcing you; I just want to offer a suggestion that benefits both of us. Just tell me how to use it, and I'll release your soul. Don't worry, no one else will know about this except you and me. Besides, after dealing with that idiot outside, I'll disappear for a long time, and your organization will never know that you've revealed some secrets you shouldn't have."

"Really?" Delhi's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

As an unlucky guy who has lost all his trump cards and even his soul is in someone else's hands, he naturally cannot easily give up this lifeline, even if this lifeline may break at any time.

"Of course! You've been with me for so long, when have you ever seen me break a promise I made? Not even once! So you should believe me." Zhang Cheng nodded, feigning sincerity.

Even he himself didn't realize that after half a year of training in the world of ice and fire, his mindset had unknowingly undergone a transformation. He had changed from being cautious and timid to being able to calmly analyze his opponent's psychology under any circumstances and then react quickly to make the situation develop in a direction that was favorable to him.

In fact, he had just grasped Delhi's eagerness to break free from being controlled by others and wanted to get information from him about how to use the "Tears of the Deep Sea Queen".

As for fulfilling his promise, he never considered it from the beginning.

Because in his subconscious, there is always a yardstick to measure the value of things. When the value of fulfilling a promise is lower than his mental standard, he will choose to generously fulfill the promises he has made, regardless of whether doing so will result in a loss of his own interests.

But when fulfilling a promise is more valuable than his own moral compass, he will not hesitate to show the other side of himself, which is to tear up the agreement or even kill the guy who made the agreement with him.

Whether he keeps his promises or breaks them, it's not absolute for him; things can change at any time. The current situation undoubtedly falls into the latter category…

Delhi was clearly unaware that he had one foot in the abyss of death, and was still reflecting on the days they had spent together and Zhang Cheng's actions.

To his surprise, he discovered that the young man in front of him had never broken any promises; at most, he had simply added some loopholes to his promises beforehand.

Having figured this out, he immediately and impatiently proposed, "Give me a promise! I guarantee that as long as I tell you how to use it, you will immediately release my soul."

“I promise that as long as you tell me how to use it, I will immediately release your soul.” Zhang Cheng repeated the other party’s request without hesitation.

His expression was so sincere that no one would believe that the guy with that face would soon tear off his disguise and reveal his hideous fangs.

"Good! Very good!" After receiving the assurance he wanted, Derry breathed a sigh of relief and began to explain in a somewhat ambiguous tone: "As you can see, the Tears of the Deep Sea Queen is a magical substance made of pure energy. We don't quite know how it was formed, but one thing is certain: only women can resonate with it."

"You mean... I'll never be able to use it unless I change my gender?" Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Gender restrictions!

Is there any more incredible magical item in the world?

According to the basic theory of Dalaran, the reason why all magical energies repel each other is mostly because two energy properties are opposed to each other, such as holy light and shadow, nature and fel energy, etc. Arcane magic used by mages is a relatively neutral energy that can not only simulate elemental energies such as frost and fire, but also simulate various energy forms such as shadow, nature, and death.

He couldn't understand why an energy substance with water element energy as its main component would have such a bizarre situation as gender restriction, which was completely illogical.

“Yes! According to the organization’s records and my personal research, it does indeed only resonate with women, and the younger and purer their hearts, the better. In addition, I suggest you find it a master as soon as possible, otherwise, if you wear it for too long, it will have some kind of unpredictable influence on you. That’s all I know. Now you can keep your promise and release my soul.” After saying that, Delhi’s soul slowly floated up, indicating that it wanted to leave immediately.

A strange light flickered in Zhang Cheng's eyes, while a slight smile played on his lips as he replied, "Sorry, I'm afraid I have to go back on my word. Devour him, Soul Collector!"

“I have been waiting for your instructions! You have no idea how delicious his soul is, like a delicious feast placed in front of you, an irresistible temptation.”

The magic sword, which had been granted permission, made a very rare joke, and then released a thick black mist that enveloped the entire Derry.

Despite his desperate struggles, screams, and curses, he was eventually pulled little by little into the blade, leaving only a painful and desperate relief at the end of the hilt...

Chapter 0248 Hints from the Demon Sword

"What does his soul taste like? How is he different from an ordinary person?" Zhang Cheng asked with great interest, admiring the lifelike relief on the sword hilt.

Although he had read many books on necromancy and souls, he had not studied them in great depth, let alone distinguished the extremely complex nature of the soul.

"Ah! This is a flavor that has been refined by time, a dream woven from shadows and life..." The Soul-Binding Messenger tried to express his feelings at this moment in the form of an aria.

Zhang Cheng clearly didn't want to hear that, and immediately interrupted, "Stop! Just tell me directly how his soul differs from a normal person's. Speak plainly and simply."

"Sigh, well, well, you really don't know how to appreciate things. You know, my previous master really liked it when I spoke in this tone. She thought it was very classy and made her stand out from the crowd." The Soul Collector complained softly with a hint of regret.

As it devours more and more souls, its intelligence increases day by day, and it even begins to develop a personality similar to that of a human, far less gloomy and terrifying than when it first awakened.

“But she’s dead! You don’t expect me to learn from a loser, do you?” Zhang Cheng asked bluntly.

He would never forget the true nature of the demonic sword, nor would he forget that the other party had tried to drag him into the abyss of darkness several times, so he always remained vigilant.

The Soul Collector was undoubtedly well aware of this, and chuckled as he retorted, "So what if you're a loser? In your original world, there was a famous saying: 'Failure is the mother of success.' Losers aren't entirely useless; they have their own strengths. At least in my opinion, they know how to enjoy life far better than you, and they understand when to be tense and when to play. You must understand that everyone's nerves have their limits. Perhaps you can endure more than most people, but if you maintain your current state, it won't be long before you break down. By then, it will be too late for you to relax."

"Hmph! You talk as if you know me very well." Zhang Cheng curled his lip in feigned disdain.

He wasn't an idiot, so he naturally understood the importance of balancing work and rest. Proper relaxation not only allows tense nerves to rest, but also greatly improves the efficiency of subsequent study and research.

The problem is, his current situation is really not good; to be precise, it's fraught with danger. He's surrounded by either menacing enemies or people with ill intentions. How can he dare to let his guard down easily? That would be no different from suicide.

"Alright, since you're the master, it's your right to choose. I'm just offering a suggestion. Actually, you don't need to be on guard against me like a thief all the time. After all, our interests are intertwined. Only if you go far enough in this dangerous situation can I have a chance to retrieve the important parts I've lost," the Soul Collector explained meaningfully.

“The missing important part?” Zhang Cheng keenly grasped an important word.

"Yes! What you see now is not my full form. It's too early to tell you these things now. I'll tell you the answer when you're strong enough. You just need to remember that the real test is coming soon, so you'd better prepare yourself quickly, both in terms of strength and mental strength. Otherwise, I guarantee that death will not just be the end, but the beginning of suffering." After saying that, the demonic sword seemed to fall into a deep sleep and never moved again.

Zhang Cheng stood there, carefully considering the implications of the Soul-Binding Messenger's words. He quickly smiled and muttered to himself, "The real test? Bring it on! I want to see who's pulling the strings behind all this, and what their purpose is..."

There is no fear of the unknown!

All that remained was a strong expectation and longing!