Chapter 455: Palace of Darkness

As the Abyss of Tharlen had no day and night, the sky above was a constant dull gray. While the black flames could be seen everywhere, they did not provide any warmth in the world filled with haze and cold. Staying here for a long period of time made one feel as though their body was rotting away.

Lin Li could barely remember how long he had been flying along the Water of Death; the only thing he knew was that the sky above him was always a dull gray and the water beneath his feet was a dark red. As the world seemed to only consist of two colors, the whole journey was dry and boring.

If he had to think of anything that added a little something to their journey, it would be the fact that Hutton’s mana would be depleted every once in a while, and the two of them would have no choice but to take a rest by the Water of Death. The low-ranking demons that would appear then were the only excitement in their boring journey.

Hutton had to take a rest 14 times throughout the whole journey….

The 14th time he took a rest, Lin Li finally noticed that the river started flowing faster.

“I finally made it to the end…” Lin Li could hardly wait to fly into the sky after Hutton regained his mana.

Indeed, Lin Li noticed that the Water of Death ceased to flow after they flew another 2000 or so meters. A massive waterfall appeared before Lin Li’s eyes as water fell with a deafening noise from the top of the waterfall. There was no end to the waterfall that they could see, just as if it was a never-ending abyss.

“The Palace of Darkness is down there.” After getting Hutton’s attention, Lin Li plunged into water and dived down while closely following the edge of the waterfall.

The scenery whizzed past them on both sides like a movie on fast-forward. Lin Li dived for a good half an hour before he finally saw a huge lake.

He cast a Levitation Spell and slowed down the speed at which he was diving before coming to a stop and lightly landing at the edge of the lake.

After waiting for Hutton to land, the two of them circled the lake.

“This place is little strange…” Lin Li said as he brushed his chin with a face filled with doubt.

This place was strange indeed as they could not hear the sound of water even though there was clearly a waterfall coming down from the sky. There was not even a ripple in sight; it was as if the waterfall did not end at the lake, but went through an invisible door to another world instead.

“Mage Felic, look… look here!” Hutton exclaimed and pointed at the middle of the lake just as Lin Li was deep in thought.

“What?” Lin Li paused before he looked at where Hutton was pointing at.

Then Lin Li’s eyes became big…

There was a reflection in the middle of the lake!

“What… What’s going on?” In his surprise, Lin Li did not even bother to think about whether the lake might be poisonous before he flew over to the center of the lake with a Levitation Spell.

Then, he inhaled sharply. The reflection in the center of the lake was clearly that of a towering palace. It was mysterious, solemn, and eerily enchanting, all at the same time. What else could this be if it was not the legendary Palace of Darkness?

But where was this reflection coming from?

Lin Li looked around with wide eyes, but there did not seem to be anything besides the gloomy gray skies, dark red water, and raging black flames. Even the demons that roamed everywhere seemed to have disappeared without a trace, much less the Palace of Darkness!

“I must be seeing things…” Lin Li stared with wide eyes as his mouth hung agape. Wasn’t this too strange? The legendary Palace of Darkness did not exist, so why was there a reflection in the middle of the lake? Wasn’t this too much of a joke?

“See, I told you! If not for my help, you might not even find the true Palace of Darkness even if you ask around all your life.” After staying quiet the whole time on Lin Li’s back, Connoris finally spoke. “Huh, I’m not tooting my own horn, but besides the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, there could not have been more than three people in the whole of Anril who knew where the true Palace of Darkness is!”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Perhaps it was because he had been cooped up in the Ring of Endless Storm for too long, but there seemed to be no end to Connoris’s singing his own praises. Unfortunately, Lin Li had a favor to ask of him, and thus he did not dare to cut him off out of frustration, and even had to add a few words of affirmation occasionally so as to satisfy this lonely hammer’s twisted sense of achievement.

Connoris’ praises for himself lasted a good 10 minutes—until Lin Li thought his ears might drop off and Connoris realized there was nothing more that he could praise himself about. Only then did he happily say, “Alright, step aside, both of you!”

“Sure.” Lin Li nodded before he quickly came up with an excuse and dragged Hutton to the side of the lake.

Then, Lin Li heard an incredibly convoluted string of chants coming from afar…

The chant was incredibly strange: it was not said in the common language, nor was it in the language of the High Elves. It was not even in language of the ancient deities nor that of the ancient dragons. It was a language that Lin Li had never heard of. However, the language had simple sounds, and was merely a mix of repeated vowels and consonants. There were even a few sounds that sounded like the growls of magical beasts; based on that, Lin Li wondered if it could be the legendary language of the demons?

Hutton fared no better than Lin Li. In fact, he had been in a constant state of shock ever since Connoris made his appearance.

It was not that Hutton was making a big fuss out of nothing—anybody in his position would have the same reaction. After all, his companion had suddenly produced a hammer that could chant spells! Anyone else would have been terrified to the point of insanity, so he was quite impressive to only be in a state of shock…

“Mage Felic, this… this…” Hutton had a glazed look the whole time, and he even stuttered when he spoke.

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“Well, this…” Lin Li scratched his head before seriously replying, “I picked it up along the way. At first, I thought it was left behind by a human blacksmith, but I didn’t think that this fellow was capable of speaking. I think this must be some twisted demon, so you should be careful not to ever go too near. Who knows whether this fellow will hurt anyone…”

“I see.” Hutton nodded firmly, but he started cursing away in his head. Damn it, I knew you wouldn’t speak the truth, but could you at least put in a bit of effort when you’re lying? What do you mean a twisted demon, you think it’s the first day I met you?

But of course, this was all in Hutton’s head, and he would never dare say it aloud…

Connoris’ chanting lasted a long time, almost as long as the ritual at the altar.

He finally ended the long and mysterious chanting with a loud growl after a good 10 minutes.

Then, Lin Li realized that the calm lake water started boiling over.

It started out with a few ripples, but then the surface of the lake started bubbling. In the end, the water started churning, and the deafening sounds of the thrashing water filled their ears. It looked as though the whole lake was boiling.

“BOOM!”

In an instant, a loud noise could be heard, and it sounded as if the world was collapsing. When Lin Li came back to his senses, a towering palace had abruptly emerged from the surface of the lake, spanning across nearly half of the lake. The sight of it emerging from the surface could only be described as breathtaking. Even though Hutton and Lin Li had seen many things in their life, they still couldn’t help but stare with their mouth agape at that instant. It did not even cross their mind to dodge the splashing water as they were still in shock.

Thankfully, Connoris had thought of that, and had the both of them stay aside and out of the water’s way.

Nobody knew how long it was until Lin Li started to regain his senses as he studied the palace that had suddenly appeared with a face of disbelief.

Mysterious, solemn, and eerily enchanting all at the same time. It was as if the reflection in the lake had suddenly been turned around.

“This… This is the Palace of Darkness?” Hutton gulped, and his voice seemed to be unusually hoarse.

“I guess so…” Lin Li was not much better than Hutton in that moment. After wondering what he should do for a while, it finally occurred to him that he should call Connoris over to ask him a few questions…

Lin Li calmed himself down before he picked Connoris up and placed him on his back again, and used his mental strength to ask, “My noble Soul Trader, where exactly is this chant from?”

“Huh? Don’t bother asking where this chant is from, since you won’t get it anyway. This chant has to be recited in the language of the demons, and unless you are of a devil’s lineage, your chant won’t have the same effect. As for why I know this chant, there’s an interesting story behind it…”

“What story?”

“Something that can drive the lord of the Abyss crazy…” Connoris suddenly stopped here. “Alright, stop asking so many questions I won’t answer anyway. You’re a person of questionable credibility, so before you help me create a new body, I will not tell you this secret. Of course, if you can make me a new body as soon as possible, I may reconsider and tell you a part of it…”

“What secret could be so powerful?”

“I’m not blowing my own horn, but if you know this secret, you’ll be able to do whatever you want in the endless Abyss, and not one Demon Lord will dare disrespect you. Why else do you think Geresco tried so hard to capture me then…?”

“Wait a second, what did you say just now? Geresco tried so hard to capture you?” Even though Connoris spoke quickly, Lin Li still picked up on the tiny detail. “Say, noble Soul Trader, didn’t you tell me that you were once the lord of one of the levels of the Abyss and that Geresco sealed your soul in this hammer after attacking your palace?”

“Did I say that…?” Connoris sheepishly said before he realized that he might as well continue with his bluff. “Alright, alright, take it that I did say that. This happened so many years ago, so how could I remember everything clearly? You must know that this happened over 1,300 years ago! Would you remember what you had for breakfast today 1,300 years later?”

“…”

“Alright, alright, stop wasting time asking questions like that. If you don’t hurry into the Palace of Darkness, I won’t help you if Mephistos catches up with you.”

“That’s true…” After hearing what Connoris said, Lin Li realized that now was not the time to ask questions. Mephistos was after the Palace of Darkness as well, and wouldn’t he be inconveniencing himself if he met him here?

“Alright, Hutton, let’s go.”

Lin Li intended to head into the Palace of Darkness after calling upon Hutton, but he suddenly heard the sound of wind coming from the surface of the lake. Lin Li looked up in shock, and saw a black figure flying over from afar. It was a thin figure in a black long robe—who else could it be but Stephen?

“You finally caught up, Stephen.” Hutton was pleasantly surprised to see that Stephen had caught up with them. There was no telling what was hidden in the Palace of Darkness, after all, and it was better to have Stephen’s help if they met with any danger.

“Yes, I was delayed on the way.” Stephen nodded at Hutton in a greeting, but did not even spare a glance at Lin Li.

However, Lin Li did not mind it this time. Oh, no… more than that, Lin Li even warmly welcomed him despite his apparent nonchalance. “Could it be that you met demons along the way? Mage Stephen, I nearly forgot to ask you: how did you manage to find your way here?”

After finishing his question, Lin Li stared closely at Stephen.

“Only a few Minion Demons.” A trace of panic flashed across his face, and if not for Lin Li staring closely, nobody would have noticed that. “Don’t forget that I, too, am an Archmage. It is a basic skill for an Archmage to track others using magical waves.”

“Hehe, I see…” Lin Li smiled and nodded as though he never noticed that trace of panic.

The door to the Palace of Darkness was still wide open, and after the trio finished their short chat, they flew into the open doors of the Palace of Darkness with the Power of Flight.

As they passed through the door, Connoris moved on Lin Li’s back. “He’s lying, I sense Mephistos’s aura on him!”