Chapter 631: Notes

"...The path to 'immortality' has been unraveled before us. If our 'experiment' goes well, we will surpass the longevity limit of human beings..."

"...During our experiment, I accidentally discovered a strange and interesting world where there are undead creatures everywhere. The messy reflections of everything in the main material world except life can be found... After a few explorations, I discovered magnificent palaces deep inside the World of Souls, which were defended by the spectres that were more than the number of the legends in the three magic empires. Thankfully, most of them were unwise. I was able to sneak in and see the 'curtain', or maybe 'furnace' if you will, that indicated the true nature of souls..."

"...When I studied the curtain of souls, a primordial mummy in a gold crown discovered me. His defense was truly unbelievable. I was unable to escape and could only hide in the grey pathway behind the curtain of souls. I dared not approach the entrance on the other side because I had a strong sense of danger. A prophet can never survive without believing in his intuitions."

"...This place is almost a 'world of gates'. There are infinite grey halls and black gates. Thankfully, many unusual worlds lie behind certain gates, in which there are uncanny monsters and precious materials..."

"...I discovered certain familiar and strange magic patterns, and a world that I cannot believe. I can't even imagine why it exists here... My research and experiment have made significant breakthroughs, but my sense of danger is stronger and stronger. Perhaps, I should invite a few friends to explore it with me. The primordial mummy outside should be sluggish already..."

"...After a long communication, Viken, McLeod, Solins, Albert, Illinois, Eugenia and some other friends understood the value of the World of Souls and joined my team. Wilfred, on the other hand, was otherwise occupied and could only wait for the next operation..."

"...The nine of us are from different empires. We are as strong as one third of the whole magic society when we go out together, but I strongly felt uneasy before I left. Therefore, I performed divination with the Mirror of Fate, and I saw my possible fate as well as 'the non-believer who roams between light and darkness'..."

The content so far was similar to the notebook that Lucien read inside the Grand Cross lock, but it was more elaborate and detailed. Lucien was informed that of the nine legendary sorcerers who explored the World of Souls, five were level-three legends, and four were level-two legends. They perhaps did not amount to one third of the total number of legendary sorcerers, but they were more than one third when it came to strength. No wonder their disappearance collapsed the three magic empires.

"Nine legendary sorcerers went missing here. The Realm of Gates is truly a dangerous place." Rhine was not far away from Lucien. He stayed on alert against the gate while he read the notebook. "However, they were not as strong as your team in general. There are no more than ten top legendary sorcerers in the entire history of magic."

Lucien nodded and did not say anything. He kept on browsing through the magic notebook and cracking the crown of the Primordial Mummy.

"On the third day inside the Realm of Gates, we found certain weird ghost creatures that were similar to our experiment results. Had it been otherwise, we could've barely discovered them... I believe that our experiment will make more breakthroughs after we study them..."

"On the fifth day inside the Realm of Gates, Viken found certain strange items. Somebody was here!"

"...The 'Chamber of Immortality' as mentioned in the items has been determined to be the entrance enshrouded in illusionary ripples, because that's the only place which matches the description. The secrets of immortality! I never thought that we could get in touch with the secrets of immortality! I was only trying to break the limit of life and become somewhat undead! Viken, McLeod and Eugenia are too excited to say anything right now, not to mention other people... Has the owner of those items reached the Chamber of Immortality and achieved real immortality?"

"The discovery exalted us. We cannot calm down enough to do the experiments. So, we decided to explore the Chamber of Immortality first..."

"On the ninth day inside the Realm of Gates, we watched Solins and Eugenia disintegrate and disappear in the pathway leading to the Chamber of Immortality which was beyond our imagination... They had been through so many dangers, but they died while confused and helplessness... No! We will not stop! They must've been full of regrets when they died. Perhaps, we need special ways to pass the channel?"

Lucien took a breath. It seemed that two legendary sorcerers died on the other pathway.

"On the tenth day inside the Realm of Gates, we calmed down to study the strange items. After consuming the Mirror of Fate again, we finally discovered the enormous, hidden laboratory..."

"It was actually Mr. Thanos who came, studied the weird ghost creatures, and searched for a way to enter the Chamber of Immortality earlier than we did!"

Lucien's finger bounced. Thanos, the Sun King, was really one of the toughest people during the last years of the ancient magic empires. Even the World of Souls and the Chamber of Immortality were discovered by him at the beginning!

He was known as the strongest sorcerer of the school of astrology, and he was praised to be a demigod, but he perished during the prime years of his life. Everybody who reads history would feel sorry for him.

In history books, the demise of the Sun King was exactly the seen as the beginning of the decline of the magic society.

"So, the Sun King did not perish but went missing in this place. The Sylvanas Magic Empire must've announcement that he died in an experiment to pacify the people." Lucien had a weird feeling of satisfaction after solving the history puzzle.

The Sun King went missing here... Suddenly, the words struck Lucien's head like lightning. The sense of familiarity immediately congregated into a crazy tide that broke the dam of memories.

"Right, the Sun King's 'Devil' experiment! Those whom the Devil project will be stronger than themselves! For the people of lower ranks, the improvement brought by the projection may be several levels, but for those in the higher ranks, the improvement will only be two levels, one level or even half a level. The domain of legends should be the same! No wonder I felt it so familiar that the 'monster' happened to be one level about the target!"

"However, the 'Devil' is projected into one's own heart and increases one's own strength, whereas the monster in the Realm of Gates exists in reality and improves its own abilities. That's why I didn't think it through at the beginning!"

Noticing Lucien shock, Rhine asked, "What's up?"

Through the telepathic bond, Lucien talked about his speculation.

Rhine stopped his casual smile and was deep in thought. "The seven primeval devils... I once explored the primeval relics in the deepest part of hell. Now that I think of it, they were rather similar to this monster. They also couldn't reach the level of demigods, also couldn't be destroyed easily, and were also good at prying into the mind and memories. However, this monster does not affect our mind and personality or 'improve' our strength. Instead, it is weirdly separated from us. They are different in nature."

"Perhaps, it cannot be projected into the mind of legendary experts and could only deceive and fight externally. From that point of view, I'm beginning to understand why those legendary sorcerers were so crazy and hysterical in the words they left behind. They must've been affected and compromised by the monster because they were not strong enough, and their personality was twisted." Lucien continued his speculation.

Rhine nodded his head. "Fair enough, but why did the monster not destroy the notebook and the scraps, and why could we find them so easily?"

He asked the question that Lucien had before.

"To create panic?" Frowning, Lucien ventured. "Let's keep reading. Perhaps, the answer to the puzzle is behind."

"On the eleventh day inside the Realm of Gates, Viken proposed that we delete everything about this experiment on our own notebook in case of any careless exposure, and that we should only read the files in the laboratory. I couldn't agree more. So, I deleted certain things that I wrote before, and I may have to skip them in my future recording... In the end, allow me to pay respect to Mr. Thanos. Although he failed, he has illuminated the path forward for us. He deserves to be called the greatest sorcerer ever, and his demise is the greatest loss in the history of magic..."

"On the fifteenth day inside the Realm of Gates, we collected the 'weird shots' and began to create a medium according to Mr. Thanos' approach, exploring how it could work on us to transform our 'status' in order to enter the Chamber of Immortality..."

"On the twenty-sixth day inside the Realm of Gates, something went wrong in the experiment. The 'medium' we created became a terrifying monster, an apparition that wandered inside the Realm of Gates! We only managed to beat it back by joining our hands..."

"On the twenty-ninth day inside the Realm of Gates, Viken was horrified and wanted to leave. He kept telling us crazily that the devil was more terrible than we thought..."

"On the thirtieth day inside the Realm of Gates, Viken 'went missing'. What a coward..."

"On the thirty-first day inside the Realm of Gates, Albert went missing. Has he also deserted?"

"On the thirty-second day inside the Realm of Gates, Illinois also went missing. Things may be trickier than we thought. I suggest we leave the Realm of Gates first..."

"In the afternoon of the thirty-second day inside the Realm of Gates, we were deceived by the monster... It is really terrifying, and it can mimic any other person... McLeod went missing, too..."

"On the thirty-fourth day inside the Realm of Gates, we have been blocked by the monster. Also, we accidentally discovered the puppet parts that McLeod left behind. Perhaps, he is trying to say something... I think I can predict the monster's weakness with the Mirror of Fate, right?"

"...The two of them went missing, too. The Mirror of Fate gave me a fuzzy hint. Based on the things that I already know, I think I'm onto something. It is not a monster, not a ghost, not a primeval devil that we feared, but a..."

Maskelyne's journal came to an end. The most critical part had a long trail of ink, as if something happened and he had to leave the secret chamber in a hurry, never to return again.

The most critical sentence was not finished! Lucien almost tossed the magic notebook to the ground. Why couldn't you just write a few more words, Mr. Maskelyne?