Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

The moment the Light Rules made contact with the Shadow Crystal, the surface of the Scythe Blade trembled violently, and the dark purple rune patterns instinctively erupted with a glaring ghostly light in an attempt to resist.

But the suppression from the Light Divine Status made such resistance futile from the start.

After all, what’s involved is merely a mark left by Sanoros, completely lacking the strength and stubbornness of this Evil God’s true power.

Pale golden threads of light pierced silently into the surface of the Shadow Crystal like a red-hot tip into ice, and accurately wrapped around the will imprint left in the rune nodes by Salonos, then peeled them off layer by layer.

The dark purple glow struggled and jumped desperately under the encasement of pale golden light, weakening with each jump, eventually vanishing completely in the air like a candle flame being extinguished.

The dark purple luster on the surface of the Scythe Blade faded quickly after the will imprint was peeled away, and the previously deep and almost murky Shadow Crystal became clear and transparent under the wash of Light Rules, like an ink-colored crystal cleaned of impurities, with internal rune patterns no longer dark purple but pure dark gold.

Fully functional and its rune structure unharmed.

Duke left the purified surveillance core on the altar, while the other two Holy Artifacts, the Shadow Scythe and the Forbidden Magic Scroll, he put into the Space Ring.

He deliberately didn’t place them in the Light God Court, even though it would be safer and more concealed.

Sanoros, after all, is a Level 4 or higher Evil God, and although the will imprint remnants on these Holy Artifacts have been temporarily suppressed by him, within the embryonic form of a Plane completely controlled by him, any residual energy from external gods could be amplified by the rules of the Divine Court, providing Sanoros with a window to sense the existence of the Divine Court.

On the contrary, a Space Ring is merely an ordinary storage space, completely isolated from external Planes, and less prone to problems.

He put the ring on, left Marcus with a brief decree to continue guarding the fortress, then unfolded the Dark Gold Wings again, swept through the ventilation crevice, and surged toward the location of the other two Holy Artifacts sensed by the Divine Status.

The second stronghold is located deep within an ancient forest on the southwestern border of the Rising Sun District, in stark contrast to the grand fortress hidden in the barren mountain’s core guarded by Marcus.

From the sky, this place appears to be a continuous sea of dark green trees without any traces of artificial structures.

Duke retracted his wings and landed atop the crown of a giant tree requiring dozens of people to encircle, probing downward with Spiritual Power, then sensed a delicate underground palace beneath the thick layer of humus.

The entrance is cleverly hidden within the hollow trunk of a dead giant tree, the inner wall of which is inscribed with invisible runes. Were it not for the Divine Status directly locking onto the faith anchor points of the two Great Mages, even the Level 3 Mage’s spiritual scanning would struggle to locate the exact position within this forest.

He silently descended from the hollow trunk, passed through a winding stone staircase illuminated by Shadow Torches, and suddenly the view opened up.

This underground palace is far less grand in scale than the fortress guarded by Marcus, but every detail exudes a feminine delicacy and enchantment.

The dome is not high, extending in an arc to the sides, its surface draped with dark purple velvet curtains. Silver threads embroidered with the twisted shadow insignia of the Shadow Council show a faint gloss in the dim torchlight.

The floor is paved with smooth obsidian bricks, and the gaps between them are embedded with ultra-fine Shadow Energy flow, maintaining the hall’s temperature in a comfortably cool but not chilly range.

The air is suffused with a faint incense, reminiscent of Night Jasmine mixed with an undefinable sweet, cloying scent, prolonged exposure to which makes one’s bones radiate a lazy languor.

There is no obsidian high platform in the hall’s center; instead, there is a giant round divan carved from a whole piece of Shadow Crystal, with a thick dark purple velvet cushion on it.

On either side of the divan, two women were prostrated on the ground in completely identical postures.

Their faces are almost identical, features exquisite and well-defined, cheekbones slightly elevated, eye sockets slightly sunken, nose bridge straight, lips full and distinctly contoured, a beauty with a highly aggressive streak.

The center of each brow is adorned with a small dark purple diamond-shaped Crystal, which is the identity mark of a Great Mage within the Shadow Council.

But the most unignorable aspect is their physique.

Both women wear the standard black robes of the Shadow Council, but the robes have been intentionally tailored with a very low-cut neckline, almost exposing the entire exquisite collarbone and the full upper edges of their chests. The waist is cinched tightly, accentuating their slender waists and curvaceous hips, and one side of the skirt is slit high, revealing long, straight legs.

One wears pure black silk stockings, which in shadow torchlight exude a cold yet enticing luster, with every subtle movement creating a faint halo over the surface.

The other wears pure white silk stockings, so white it’s almost dazzling, forming an intense visual impact against her deep black robe.

These two are the other marked Great Mages by the Divine Status, Lucia and Caitlin.

Within the Shadow Council, their notoriety even surpasses Julius and Dominic, not because they are the most powerful, but because this pair of twins are the youngest Great Mages in centuries of Shadow Council history.

In their youth, they consumed a peculiar fruit called Eternal Beauty during an expedition in the northern wilderness, forever freezing their appearance at just over twenty years old.

The fruit extends beauty without prolonging life, but even this fact alone is enough to drive every woman in the Oracle Plane mad with envy.

After receiving the Oracle, they immediately bathed and changed, retrieved the two Holy Artifacts stored in the secret chamber, placed them on the Shadow Crystal altar at the center of the round divan, then prostrated on the ground waiting for the descent of their Lord.

As Duke’s figure slowly descended the end of the stone steps, both raised their heads simultaneously, their phoenix eyes in the eerie green glow of Shadow Torches brightening at once.

Lucia stared directly at Duke’s young and stern face, her eyes shifting, the corners of her lips painted in dark purple lip gloss slightly curved upwards, revealing a highly aggressive smile.

Compared to her, Caitlin remained far quieter, but a light blush rose on her sister’s identical face, her long lashes lowering to cover the glow in her eyes, yet unable to hide the bashful and devout smile at the corners of her mouth.

In their eyes, the appearance chosen by this projection avatar in front of them surpassed all of their preconceived notions of the word deity.

They knew that Sanoros’ true form was an ancient, indescribable Shadow Deity, but a projection avatar, since it’s a form personally shaped by their Lord, it represents their Lord’s willingness to show Himself in this guise.

They had long sensed their Lord’s descent through their respective Divine Format Anchor Points, but seeing this young deity clad in Dark Gold Armor step down the stone steps, both felt an unusually mixed emotion of awe and tremor.

Lucia was the first to speak, her voice lazy and sweet, with a slightly raised tone at the end, "My Lord, you’ve finally come. Over these years, my sister and I have kept these two Holy Artifacts for you, passing countless lonely nights."

She gently arranged her black silk-wrapped legs to one side, executing a seductive yet naturally fluid adjustment in her kneeling pose, tilting her face to catch the shadow torch light just perfectly upon her collarbone and that patch of alabaster skin at her neckline.

"Do you need these two Holy Artifacts? They are right here on the altar, you can take them anytime. But dare I ask, these two Holy Artifacts have accompanied my sister and me for decades, suddenly to lack them leaves my sister and me feeling void. Does my Lord have other Holy Artifacts to grant my sister and me, filling our void?"

Caitlin was made to blush by her sister’s bold words nearing flirtation, quickly tugging her sleeve with a soft summon, whispering the Lord’s descent surely bears matters, disrespect is not permitted.

However, she herself could not resist sneaking a glance at Duke, those white silk-wrapped legs gently shifting on the velvet cushion, inching closer to her sister.

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