Chapter 131: The Breath of the Gods

From afar, amidst the vast and misty expanse that resembled a long hanging veil, a magnificent city suddenly appeared. The midday sun shone through the mist, creating columns of light that seemed as if the gods themselves were descending. Under the golden sunlight, though broken walls and ruins could be seen, giving off an air of ancient grandeur, the place still appeared profoundly sacred and solemn.

In his past life, Donald had seen many spectacular special effects scenes; there were indeed some more magnificent than this. Yet, standing in this real world, he felt his heart surge with emotion. No amount of artistic skill could capture such a marvel, and it was beyond description in words.

As everyone was awestruck by this magnificent sight, Hordon, the Silver Mage of the Thorne family, suddenly snapped out of his daze. Trembling, he said, “Is this your goal? No wonder you kept it so secret—not a hint given. It’s a relic from the era of the ancient mages!”

With a look of regret, Hordon lamented that he hadn’t thought more carefully when agreeing to their plan. If he had known their goal was such an ancient relic, he would have risked everything—even sacrificing the Poison Dragon Lizard Orchid—to get involved. Even if he wanted to back out now, he doubted he could overcome them, and going against his earlier agreement would surely anger them, likely leading to a poor outcome.

Donald reassured him, “Mr. Thorne, there’s no need to be disappointed. This relic is so vast that it must hold many treasures. As agreed, our goal is the core area. There might be unexpected finds in the outer buildings as well. Since we’ve met by chance in this great swamp, we won’t hesitate to protect the entire relic!”

Donald’s message was clear: Don’t interfere with my goal. As for any treasures found in the relic, as long as they’re not crucial, I won’t compete with you.

Edwina and the others shared the same view. As long as they could take control of the main parts of the relic, the rest was less important. Besides, the Thorne family was only a few people—they couldn’t take much. They could explore the rest over time. It was better to be generous and even forge an alliance with such a powerful mage family as the Thornes.

“Look! That chimera has stopped!” Ferdinand suddenly pointed ahead as they discussed.

Everyone looked up and indeed saw a strange sight.

Previously, that chimera had led them, in an attempt to escape their pursuit, and unexpectedly guided them to the location of the ruins. But now, the chimera hesitated outside the mist surrounding the ruins, as if there were some terrifying monsters inside that filled it with fear. Thanks to its strong dragon bloodline, the chimera was a highly intelligent creature; most could speak dragon language, and some could even learn elvish and common human languages. Typically, they had three heads—one capable of casting lightning spells, a power derived from their draconic bloodline; another that could spew deadly corrosive acid, which Donald guessed might be related to their green dragon ancestry; and the third head had no special abilities and could only attack by biting. If such a powerful sub-dragon monster was afraid, there must indeed be significant dangers within those ruins. Everyone present considered this possibility, but the allure of an ancient archmage’s ruins was too great. Even if there were monsters on the level of golden sacred beasts inside, they would still have to muster the courage to venture in. However, before exploring the ruins, there was one thing they needed to take care of first. “Let’s work together to quickly deal with this chimera so as not to waste too much time. Once it gets dark, the ruins will likely become even more dangerous, and searching will be much harder!” Hearing Edwina’s words, everyone looked at the chimera with hostility. Sensing the murderous intent from those behind it, the chimera, which had been standing still outside the ruins, immediately turned to flee in another direction. But Donald didn’t give it that chance. He said to his teacher, “Teacher, let’s take care of it together! Otherwise, it will interfere with our exploration of the ruins!” With that, he vanished from sight in an instant and reappeared about ten meters in front of the chimera. Seeing the enemy suddenly appear before it, the chimera tried to unleash its most powerful attack, but before lightning or acid could be emitted, its three heads were struck by three icy blasts, freezing half of its body. Its brain, affected by the icy power, stopped functioning, temporarily losing control from its heads. The chimera’s massive body crashed to the ground with a loud noise. By then, the old mage Maysel had also flown over. Donald immediately said, “Teacher, my Frost Nova probably won’t be able to keep this guy frozen for long. Do you have any spells that can control it?”

“I’ve been ready! Ice Ball!”
Messer approached Donald, and a light blue ice ball the size of a basketball formed in his hands before being hurled at the chimera, exploding instantly on its body.
With several cracking sounds, the chimera’s entire massive body was instantly encased in a thick layer of ice crystals. Donald felt its life force weaken significantly—clearly, this Ice Ball spell not only froze the target but also carried considerable offensive power.
This was the true strength of a level 5 powerful spell. Donald realized that although his Frost Nova had a wide range, its offensive power was scattered, making it only useful for holding off strong opponents above silver rank. But combined with this Ice Ball spell, its effectiveness could be ten times greater.
Secretly deciding to learn this spell, Donald stored the frozen chimera in his storage space, after which the master and apprentice rejoined the others outside the ruins.
A level 7 chimera, such a powerful sub-dragon, was worth as much as several beasts of the same rank. Moreover, their magic cores were evolving toward dragon cores, making them the most valuable treasures within them. Their blood, bone, and scale claws were also extremely valuable materials.
However, the master and apprentice worked together skillfully, quickly taking down the powerful beast that would have required a group effort to kill. Though the others were envious, they had no right to demand shares of the loot, as they hadn’t contributed at all, so it was rightfully theirs.
Besides, there was an ancient archmage ruin waiting for them. Compared to that, the corpse of a mere chimera seemed insignificant. Everyone present was reasonable, not greedy scoundrels, so they didn’t insist further on this matter.
Fourteen people stood before the ruins, their faces showing excitement, enthusiasm, or longing. Finally, Donald, Edwina, and Horton led the way into the mist.
After taking just a dozen steps, they passed through the mist. There was no need to look from afar—the entire ruin was shrouded in fog, as if covered by a veil, making it seem incredibly mysterious.

Donald heard his teacher’s voice in his ear: “This is an Arcane Lock, invented by ancient mages. It’s a group of arcane arrays said to be capable of covering an entire large city. Today, only one complete and functional Arcane Lock remains in the sacred grounds of the elven royal court—it was a gift from the Great Arcane Emperor to the High Elves. Since this Arcane Lock is still active, it’s likely that thousands of years have passed and its energy has diminished, so many of its defensive effects haven’t activated. But it should be fairly well-preserved. You must get your hands on it later!”
After hearing this, Donald understood what his teacher meant. How important such a defensive array capable of covering a large city would be to his territory—he could figure that out even without much thought!
Seeing that the expressions of the other mages hadn’t changed, likely because they hadn’t considered that aspect yet, he decided he had to act first. Even if it meant doing something unfair to the Ansel family, he could compensate them later when he had the means.
Only after passing through the mist did Donald realize that this ruin was at least ten times larger than the Giant Stone City. And this was just a city established by a Great Arcane Lord outside his own domain. One could imagine how prosperous this world must have been under the rule of those Great Arcane Lords.
However, the distances between buildings were quite large, making it seem somewhat sparse. This was because the population was thin in those times, while other resources and living conditions were relatively abundant.
It was easy to imagine how many precious ancient artifacts and knowledge could be unearthed from these buildings.
But Donald wasn’t concerned about any of this at the moment. As soon as he entered the mist, the Book of Truth began flashing continuously in his mental space, warning him.
It was the presence of a true god—though faint to the point of being barely detectable—it couldn’t be concealed from a powerful high-tier artifact like the Book of Truth, which mastered numerous laws.
As for the chimera, it might have instinctively sensed danger and thus dared not step into the ruins. A magical beast of its rank couldn’t distinguish the presence of a true god unless the god’s power was displayed right before its eyes. But as a living being, its instincts made it feel fear emanating from within, knowing that there was something extremely dangerous here for it.
Since there was the presence of a true god, it was certain that this place was where the Great Arcane Lord Sera had sealed away the evil god, not the tomb of the City of Heavenly Banquets.

Thinking of this, Donald couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Although it was the result he had already guessed, a guess remained just that because of its uncertainty. After all, the Sky City—one of the greatest creations in human history—was not something he wanted to share with others. The stakes were too high; even the Ansel family might turn on him and kill him to prevent information from leaking, let alone the Thorne family, whom he had just met.

At the same time, Donald felt somewhat worried. “The most precious thing in this ruin must be that sealed evil god!” “It’s a true god! The knowledge passed down to me through the Book of Truth describes various ways to handle divine bodies, divine blood, divine souls, divinity, and even the most precious divine essence. Even a single hair or nail of a true god possesses powers far beyond anything ordinary.”

Yet, even a sealed true god was beyond the reach of these mere mortals, who were at most at the silver rank. If the seal were broken, all of them would surely die.

But Donald wasn’t greedy. Based on the knowledge from the Book of Truth, he only wanted a drop of a true god’s blood or a trace of divinity. With these, he could, through the Book of Truth’s transformation, endow himself with divine bloodline—a path toward the legendary realm and the demi-god status. As for those powerful entities like divine bodies, essences, and souls, he didn’t even dare to hope for them. Even if given such things, his current strength wouldn’t allow him to handle them; it might even cost him several teeth or even kill him outright.

Of course, aside from his teacher Mersel and Kelthas, Donald didn’t reveal any of this to anyone else present. Even if he was on good terms with Ferdinand, he wouldn’t reveal it rashly, as it might not help him but instead harm him. After all, no mortal could resist the temptation to become a true god. Legends said that several true gods in the sky today became gods themselves after mortals acquired the powers left behind by fallen true gods during the great war a thousand years ago, when the abyss invaded and the orcish god was destroyed.

With Mersel’s wisdom, he naturally understood the great risks involved, so he was even better able to resist the temptation of true gods than Donald.