Chapter 875: Core

After being burnt by the Illusory Soul Fire, the victim's soul would be ignited. If they had no distracting thoughts and their mind was clear, they wouldn't feel the burning at all.

Those with staunch resolve wouldn't be injured too much as long as they kept a firm mind.

On the contrary, if those with weak resolve had so much as a distracting thought or negative mood, those ideas would ignite and feel extremely painful, as if their soul was on fire.

In the future, many people would take the initiative to receive the burning of Illusory Soul Fire in order to temper themselves, and when powerhouses chose disciples, testing them with this was a necessary step.

But, this kind of tempering had to be done in moderation. If it was too excessive, one's soul would truly burn, which would be ruinous.

Lin Yun hadn't expected to see this thing in this era, let alone disguised as the flames of the Undead.

Sensing the burning in his soul, Lin Yun remained expressionless and didn't feel too much pain. He even felt some impurities in his soul being burnt clean.

After his first death, he had transmigrated to the End of the Magic Era and struggled for many years until he saw the end of the world with his own eyes. He even experienced that period two more times in illusions, so his mind was like already polished steel and the Illusory Soul Fire couldn't have too much effect on him.

On the contrary, the Illusory Soul Fire could purify his soul and make it even better. This was a very good opportunity, so how could he afford to miss it? He even scattered the Spirit Defense and let the surrounding illusory Undead pounce towards him.

Lin Yun smiled as he felt the ache of his soul being burnt, because he could feel that his soul was slowly getting purified and that his comprehension towards many things was increasing. He could recall even more things from the decaying library, and his understanding of magic was continuously improving. It even felt that the world, as perceived by his soul, slowly became clearer.

As for others, their situation was more or less the same. Xiuban was grimacing, but he didn't feel much pain. The only things this carefree and lazy Draconic Beastman was afraid of in this life were Lin Yun and Syudos. As for anything else...

This Draconic Beastman, with a brain made of muscles, completely didn't care. Moreover, after the fusion with the Three-Headed Gold Dragon Blood and Ancient Poison Dragon's heart blood, as well as the bath in God Blood, how could he be injured by something like Illusory Soul Fire that didn't place particular emphasis on doing damage?

The puppet had no soul so there wasn't the least bit of a reaction from it. As for Enderfa, he controlled the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel to remain atop the puppet with a very strange smile.

That old monster had lived a strange life for who knew how many years. How could he pay attention to something like an Illusory Soul Fire? To him, it was only a hot bath suitable for Magic Tool Incarnations...

Reina was even more expressionless, not reacting at all. As a Frost Dragon, she was able to guard her father's corpse for a few hundred years, so her heart was already as hard as ice. She completely ignored the Illusory Soul Fire before discovering its benefits. She threw a glance at Lin Yun as he removed his Spirit Defense to let his soul burn even more.

In the group, only Wagner seemed distressed as he kept casting Spirit Defenses on himself, only for his expression to become even paler. Cold sweat already soaking his gown.

As they kept moving forward, the thin layer of Illusory Soul Fire under their feet slowly rose higher and higher, and after a few hundred meters, it was already covering half the passage.

It was like they were walking waist-deep in a river guarded with those Illusory Soul Fires. Fire power also started becoming stronger.

Lin Yun's expression was as calm as ever since he didn't feel much, and the others were more or less the same. Enderfa specially came out of the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel and kept moving about this pale, flaming river. His three faces were relaxed, with a slight tinge of pain, as if he was in a hot bath.

Wagner was getting paler and paler, and his eyes started becoming unfocused. There were too many distracting thoughts running through his head, and his mind wasn't steady enough. Facing this kind of Illusory Soul Fire, his soul was rapidly igniting.

There were more and more Illusory Soul Fires in front, and their power kept on increasing. At this rate, that guy's soul would really end up being burnt away.

Lin Yun glanced at Wagner and noticed that the latter was already losing focus from time to time.

Lin Yun casually took a ring from his left hand and threw it to Wagner.

"Put it on."

Wagner was in despair, his face was distorted from pain, and his robe was already soaked in sweat. He shook as he caught the ring, just like a traveller in the desert finding an oasis.

Wagner unhesitantly put the ring on, not even thinking about what the ring was for, because he knew that if this continued, his soul would burn up completely.

And sure enough, after putting the ring on, Wagner felt the burning sensation gradually vanish, as if an invisible power was protecting his soul.

Enderfa, who was swimming within this pale river of flames, glanced at Wagner with a strange smile.

As they kept pressing on, the height of the flames continued increasing. They didn't make it far before the pale flames covered the entire passage and the surrounding illusions disappeared.

The power of the Illusory Soul Fire had already reached its peak, and everyone was wrapped completely in flames. This was the greatest degree of burning.

Lin Yun was somewhat pale, but he still resisted without any protection. This was a rare opportunity. When awakening, Lin Yun's first thought was to find this kind of Illusory Soul Fire. These flames were said to tighten the connection between soul and body and make them one whole, regardless of their origins. It would be like a rebirth.

After all, he wasn't the original master of this body, so there was a natural difference between his soul and Life Essence. This small difference might have been deadly in the process of advancing to the Heaven Rank, when his Life Essence and soul would step to a whole new layer.

Now, this potential weak point had been thoroughly eliminated. Even his soul had been purified, and his mental strength was rapidly increasing. This kind of benefit could only be given once, so he had to hang on with all his might.

He knew too much: There were too many secrets hidden in his mind, too much comprehension. He was bound to think more, so receiving some burns was inevitable. If he had been a newborn with a soul as pure as a blank sheet of paper, he wouldn't have felt anything.

While Lin Yun was using the Illusory Soul Fire to temper himself, Reina also did the same. Her Life Essence had improved over time, but she still had the soul of a Frost Dragon, and the improvement of her soul couldn't keep up with the improvement of her body. The Illusory Soul Fire was a chance to ameliorate this imbalance.

Xiuban's thoughts were simple. He would shout if it hurt, but he had ample vitality and he sensed no danger here.

As for Enderfa...

That old monster was already ignoring the Illusory Soul Fire.

After putting the ring on, Wagner no longer reacted to the Illusory Soul Fire.

They walked on and on, until with one last step, Lin Yun felt that he had left the passage. Just in front of him was a huge space with totem-like pillars erected on the smooth floor. Every visible part was covered in runes and array patterns.

Strands of light could be seen rapidly moving within these patterns, and the runes also kept flickering. There was a bright pillar of white light in the center, and within it, a floating golden gem was continuously rotating.

After everyone left that passage full of Illusory Soul Fires and entered this place, the runes started flickering more intensely and the entire base shook.

The sealed entrances on the wall of that circular area started opening, and terrifying auras spread from those entrances as puppets quickly advanced through them in orderly formation.

Lin Yun stepped out and flew towards the light beam before checking the golden gem within it with a frown.

"Sure enough..."

This huge circular space was equivalent to the control center of the puppet, and this gem was the key controlling this puppet. Fusing with that gem would equivalent to controlling the entire base, this huge puppet.

But the runes and frame of the gem created a special restriction.

Bloodline Restriction...

Only Bill George himself, or one of his descendants, could fuse with this gem!

For anyone else, attempting to fuse with it would result in death. If they tried to control it, the gem would be destroyed and the base would self-destruct.

Lin Yun wasn't surprised by this. Bill George didn't trust anyone and only cared about himself and his own descendants.

Lin Yun beckoned Wagner over.

"We only have one choice. This gem is the core of the base's control center. By fusing with it, we will be able to control the entire base.

"We don't have time to waste. The escape path has already been sealed off. When we entered, the base's ultimate defense system was activated, causing every puppet in the base to rush over.

"Those puppets' original tasks have probably been overridden because someone invaded this place. This includes the spider puppet we met before. Their primary order now is probably to hurry over and kill everything that shouldn't be here."