Spellcasting Gods

Instead, the prophetic witch roared in anguish: "No! No! No! How could you refuse me! You cannot refuse me! Give me your power of destiny! It belongs to me!"

In less than thirty seconds, her skin began to age rapidly, transforming her from a well-maintained, mature, and intellectual woman in her forties into an old woman with gray hair and wrinkled skin all over her body.

"Rapid aging? Does anyone know what just happened?" Zhang Cheng asked, carefully maintaining a safe distance.

"Master! I believe this woman seems to have used some kind of secret technique to try and seize your power, but failed and suffered a backlash from the spell." The supreme authority of the divine artifact was the first to offer its explanation.

Like its creator, it is also a half-baked prophetic magic idiot, only able to make rough guesses based on energy operations and phenomena.

In contrast, AI X was undoubtedly much more reliable, explaining through the Bluetooth earpiece hanging on her ear: "Sir, under the observation of the micro-electronic detection device, this lady just released a strong micro-electro-induction, which created an unidentifiable energy field around her. At the same time, a similar but even stronger energy field was activated on your body. When the two energy fields resonated, you happened to utter a 'no,' ending this resonance. As a result, the micro-electro-induction caused biological cell disorder in your body, followed by rapid aging."

"Wow! That's a good explanation! Thank you, X, I think I understand now. Also, have you read those occult books I sent you last time?" Zhang Cheng asked with great interest.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't quite understand the contents, but I'm trying to analyze and calculate it. If I had a physical body, I could try repeatedly and believe it would speed up the process considerably," the artificial intelligence replied meticulously.

"Hehe, don't rush, I will give you a body, a body that can truly contain consciousness and soul..."

After saying that, Zhang Cheng ignored X, who was communicating with him via satellite, and stepped in front of Ansia, saying with a sneer, "Madam, how do you plan to justify what you just did? Do you know that it has been a long time since anyone dared to take something from me without my consent?"

"No! You don't understand! The power of fate is of no use to you! But to me, it is life, soul, and everything. Give it to me, give me your power of fate..." The witch stretched out her aged arm, trying to grasp the mysterious power in the air that was invisible to the naked eye and even imperceptible to the senses.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you, and I certainly don't believe the nonsense you just spouted. Besides, if you really could see into the past, present, and future as you said, then when you came to see me, did you already foresee the terrible fate that awaited you? Did you foresee that I would invade your brain and search for answers in your memories and consciousness?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Cheng activated his psychic abilities in full force, using extreme violence to tear down the other party's psychological defenses and recklessly destroying parts that had no value to him.

In about two or three minutes, he found what he wanted from a childhood memory.

To be precise, it was a book, a thick parchment book the size of a 24-inch monitor, filled with secrets about the family of prophetic witches. Inside the cover of the Last Night, there was an even older and more worn notebook, left by Warren before he went to the first seal.

Unfortunately, the book is not in New York, but in a secret underground chamber of an ancient castle on the Iberian Peninsula, which is now outside Valencia in Spain.

"Hmph! Prophecy? There's no magic more ridiculous than that! If there really is such a thing as fate, then why do people work so hard? Why not just accept their predetermined destiny?" With that, Zhang Cheng stomped on Ansia's head and crushed it with a crack, releasing a beam of green light that instantly decomposed the corpse into an unrecognizable cloud of dust.

When it comes to destroying evidence, there is no spell more useful than the sixth-circle arcane spell of Faerûn – Disintegrate.

The old, dilapidated car listening nearby was also not spared; under the power of the magic, it was eventually turned into a pile of iron filings and flowed into the sewer.

After finishing all this, he used teleportation magic to return to the Long Island villa, intending to go to the study alone and sort out the events of the past two days.

If all goes well, we will set sail next week as planned to retrieve the key that unlocks the gates of the Golden City.

After all, with the reappearance of the Golden City's entrance drawing ever closer, Faust had been urging them again and again, and he had to make a show of it, otherwise the alliance between the three of them wouldn't last long...

Chapter 0689 The Man Behind the Scenes

Valencia, located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, is the most dazzling pearl on the western Mediterranean coast, and is also one of the top three cities and the second largest seaport in Spain.

As early as a hundred years ago, the Romans built the initial prototype of a city here, which was later developed and expanded by the Arabs. During the Age of Exploration, it became one of the important supply ports for the Spanish Armada.

Whether viewed from a historical or modern perspective, Valencia is undoubtedly an important city standing on the European continent.

However, few people know that this place is actually the birthplace of a family of prophetic witches in the underworld, and also the only place where at least one qualified prophet is born in each generation.

At this moment, in an ancient castle on the outskirts of the city, an old woman with long silver hair and a body that looked like a dried corpse sat in a wheelchair, as if she might take her last breath and leave this world at any moment.

Not far in front of her, the mysterious man who had previously obeyed Ansia knelt on one knee and reported in a slightly sad voice: "Great Camilla de Silva Velázquez, it is with great regret that I inform you that your granddaughter is dead, murdered on the streets of New York."

"Who killed her?" The old man with the long list of names showed no sadness whatsoever. Instead, he raised his head slightly, revealing an expression of interest.

“He’s an Easterner who’s become quite famous in the underworld recently. Also, Ancia seems convinced that he’s the fourteenth chosen one repeatedly mentioned in the prophecy.” The man gave his answer without hesitation.

Undoubtedly, his current attitude is both humble and submissive, a stark contrast to his previous arrogance towards Ancia.

"Oh? The fourteenth Child of Destiny has appeared? Could it be that Ancia was too eager to seize the power of destiny from the other party, but ended up being killed instead?" A glint of light flashed in Camilla's eyes that was not in line with her age, and she slightly raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a half-smile.

The man nodded seriously: "You guessed right! Ansia used forbidden power, attempting to seize a portion of the power of destiny through a forced contract, but that Easterner was more vigilant than expected and successfully resisted the temptation. Moreover, I think he seems to have obtained a lot of secrets about this place from Ansia's memories through some kind of mysterious magic. You'd better be careful."

“Be careful? Why should I be careful? No, you don’t understand at all. If I weren’t too old to leave, I would have gone to New York to meet him myself long ago. Ansia is too arrogant and doesn’t understand who she is about to face. But I am different. I have been preparing for this day for a hundred years. Now, you give this book to the fourteenth chosen one and tell him to come and see me within three months.”

After saying that, the old woman shakily stretched out her arm and pressed down on the base of the statue in front of her.

With a series of clicking sounds from the operation of a mechanism, thick parchment books hidden behind the wall were revealed.

"A book of prophecy?! Are you sure you want to entrust something so important to an outsider?" The man's eyes widened in surprise.

"I don't want to explain too much, just do as I say. Also, as long as you do this well, I promise I will release you from your restraints before I die and let you regain your freedom."

"From...freedom..."

Although Camilla's tone remained completely calm as she spoke, the man's body trembled slightly, and some parts even lost their shape, forming large plumes of thick black smoke, demonstrating just how excited he was.

A full minute later, he picked up the heavy parchment book, bowed deeply, and then vanished without a trace in a puff of black smoke.

Gazing at the torches hanging on the basement wall of the castle, the old woman stroked her chin and murmured to herself in a voice only she could hear, "Patience! Be patient! Camilla! If he really is the one repeatedly mentioned in the prophecy, any rash action would be foolish. I must wait for him to come to me, not for me to go to him."

……

Meanwhile, in New York, on the other side of the Atlantic, Zhang Cheng was alone at his desk, dealing with some trivial business matters.

In particular, the huge cultivation base has been completed, and many magical plants have been transplanted into it. His ambitious mother keeps urging him to increase production significantly in the shortest possible time.

Of course, that's not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that the nominal father has been in New York for so long, but he has never shown his face. He only occasionally sends people to deliver some strange little gifts, such as beautiful coral ornaments, a wild pearl or two that have been salvaged from the seabed, and so on.

It must be said that, as an expert and scholar engaged in public welfare and marine life conservation, this behavior is truly baffling.

"What a bizarre and strange family relationship..." Zhang Cheng complained as he tossed aside the gadget in his hand and casually turned on his computer to connect to the 24-hour surveillance camera at the breeding base.

Just as he had predicted, with the activation of the entire enlarged Arcane Garden, the concentration of magical energy inside the factory far exceeded that outside, and even grew faster than when watered directly with the Sunwell's water.

It is estimated that the first batch of low-grade herbs will be ready for harvesting in less than a week.

Although its medicinal effects may not be as good as those of wild plants, they are not far off, and at least the average person would not be able to tell the difference.

Just as he was hesitating whether to go there in person the next day, a thick plume of black smoke suddenly appeared in the study, slowly forming the shape of a young man. He was holding a heavy book in his arms, one hand on his chest, and bowed slightly: "Greetings, powerful chosen one of destiny. I am entrusted to you by Camilla de Silva Velázquez to deliver this book and a message. You must go to the castle outside Valencia to see her within three months."

“Camilla de Silva Velázquez?” Zhang Cheng frowned subconsciously.

Because he had never heard of this name before, and he didn't understand why the other party would give him a book out of the blue.

"Yes! She has a granddaughter named Ancia, who just died at your hands today. But don't worry, Camilla has no intention of being your enemy, nor does she care about her granddaughter's life or death. There is only one thing she cares about, and that is to talk to you face to face. One last reminder, she is about to die, so if you don't want to miss any important information, you must set off as soon as possible."

As the last word fell, the man gently placed the book he was holding on the table, and then, as if transformed into a black cloud, slipped out through the crack in the door.

Zhang Cheng didn't stop the other person from leaving; he simply flipped to the first page of the ancient book and was instantly captivated by its contents...

Chapter 0690 Reinterpreting Time

A whole night!

Zhang Cheng read the ancient parchment book, which contained countless secrets, at least ten times from beginning to end, until he could no longer find anything worth pondering. Only then did he stop, rub his temples, and take out the long-unused magic sword—the Soul-Binder—from his magic pouch. He asked directly, "Tell me, did your creator, Warrent, leave any descendants in this world?"

"Descendants? You mean..." The Demon Sword's tone revealed a hint of surprise.

“That’s right! A guy who calls himself Camilla de Silva Velázquez sent me a book, a book full of prophecies about the Chosen Ones, which mentions the fourteenth Chosen One, that is, me. Can you explain what this is all about? What exactly does the so-called power of destiny refer to?” Zhang Cheng tapped lightly on the last line of blurry print on the page, his eyes filled with doubt.

Because among the many prophetic passages in this book, some happen to be parts of my own experience.

This means that hundreds or even thousands of years ago, someone foresaw his arrival and some of his actions.

It must be said that this caused him, who had never been interested in prophetic magic, to become highly vigilant and mentally confused.

"You've finally come this far? That's quite beyond my expectations. Yes, my creator, Warrent, awakened the ability to foresee the future, so he faced his own death and chose to leave behind his bloodline, waiting for the right moment to be resurrected. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially as time goes by and his bloodline becomes increasingly diluted in his descendants," the Demon Sword explained with a rather sentimental tone.

"Resurrection? How can I be resurrected? Also, I don't quite understand what this so-called ability to glimpse the future is. Is it prophetic magic?" Zhang Cheng asked several more questions in one breath.

He couldn't help it; he was just too curious about this "senior" who had broken the first seal.

"The method of resurrection is simple! Use the blood of your descendants to reactivate the corpses buried in the deep-sea ruins. As for the soul, it will be captured, reshaped, and awakened through the power of fate. The so-called power of fate, simply put, is a powerful force that interferes with and changes the future. I'm sure you know a lot about time, right? In fact, most of them are wrong. Time is not a straight line that cannot be changed, as you imagine."

At this point, the Soul Collector paused deliberately, letting out a cold laugh: "Heh! Quite the opposite, it's never been a straight line, but more like a dense, towering tree. As long as there's a possibility of change, it will constantly branch, branch, and branch again, forming one parallel world after another. Usually, from the initial stage, each parallel world will develop along a certain path until it reaches the end of time. But some people can forcibly change the direction of time's progress at certain specific points..."

"You mean, I'm the one who can change the direction of time?" Zhang Cheng's face showed an extremely strange expression.

Just as the famous time paradox illustrates, if someone at this point in time suddenly learns from a prophecy about a terrible future and takes measures to change the predetermined outcome, will the timeline change as a result? Can the changed prophecy still be called a prophecy? Or will the prophecy itself change?

The continuity of time makes it illogically impossible to explain.

In simple terms, according to the understanding of most intelligent life in the known world, time is a channel planned by countless coincidences and chance occurrences. It always runs through three-dimensional space, thus forming a continuous and uninterrupted historical evolution, which is the timeline often mentioned in science fiction or fantasy stories.

Strictly speaking, if someone from the future were to travel back in time and arbitrarily alter any fragile, accidental event in this timeline, the entire timeline would drastically change and develop in a completely different direction.

But the paradox is that if this guy changes the past, will the future he knows in his mind also change? After his memories are changed, will he still have the motivation and desire to travel back in time and change history?

For example, what if, by some coincidence, this guy's parents didn't get together as originally planned, resulting in him never being born? What would happen then, and would the changes persist?

Of course, according to the new understanding mentioned by the magic sword, the relationship between time and space is not as unchangeable and contradictory as people imagine.

If time is not a straight line running through space, but rather a three-dimensional network connecting parallel universes composed of possibilities, then the so-called time paradox can be explained.

The past altered by people from the future is merely a connection to another parallel universe at this point in time. From the moment of the alteration, time moves in a different direction, while the original established facts remain unchanged and coexist in another parallel universe.

In this way, no matter how time is disrupted, it only leads to another parallel world that already exists, rather than changing one's own past and future.

"Hahahaha! No! In fact, every intruder entrusted with a sacred mission possesses incredibly powerful destiny, but the problem is that most people cannot use it well and instead let it go to waste, even you are no exception. But my creator, Volent, is different; he foresaw everything, including your arrival. Do you know what that means?" The Soul Collector questioned with a loud laugh.

Zhang Cheng stroked his chin and hesitated for a moment before quickly replying, "This means he knows all the possibilities for the future! He knows what I will do next, whether it will be a success or a failure."

"That's right! This is the greatness of the power of destiny! So I sincerely suggest that you go and meet Volent's descendant, and if possible, resurrect him. He will become your most powerful helper. If the two of you join forces, no one or no god in this world will be able to stop you." The Demon Sword tempted you with an excited tone.

"That sounds interesting! Thanks for your suggestion, I'll seriously consider it."

After saying this, Zhang Cheng completely ignored the Soul Collector's desire for further communication, stuffed him into his magic pouch, and silently sat down to digest the information he had just received.

Without a doubt, just like the creative power he gained after the seed within him awakened, Warrent acquired a magical power called the power of destiny, and his mastery of it far surpassed that of his own.

He was really unsure whether the guy's resurrection would be good or bad for the whole plan, and what kind of relationship the two of them should have.

brother?

ally?

subordinate?

Chapter 0691 Beast Tamer

Undoubtedly, both the Soul Collector's redefinition of time and the power of destiny wielded by Warrent caused Zhang Cheng great distress.

Since neither of these two points is strictly speaking his area of ​​expertise, he could neither verify them from a certain perspective nor force an understanding by applying some existing theories. So after hesitating for several hours, he resolutely decided to put the matter aside for the time being.

Anyway, he still has three months, so he can take his time to consider things. Maybe he can even travel to another world to find the answers he needs.

The most important thing right now is to head to the Atlantic Ocean and retrieve the key to unlock the city of gold.