Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1384: Source of Power

A long time later...

Adam stood amidst a sea of corpses. These creatures were a twisted parody of what they were before the corruption got to them.

Some belonged to the four great races, while others were once fantastical beasts. All of them had either gotten lost and ended up here or had come here of their own initiative in search of riches.

Whatever their reasons, all of them had been corrupted beyond doubt.

Adam watched their cold corpses still twitching with tendrils. He didn’t go anywhere near them, for he feared that the corruption would get to him.

That was why, since the moment he’d arrived at this forsaken place, he had dealt with its inhabitants through spells. He hadn’t gotten his hand dirty by engaging in physical combat.

He exhaled a sigh of exhaustion and retrieved a flask from his ring. He only took a tiny sip of water before putting it away. Leaning on the Staff of Calamity, he whispered:

”Just how long have I been fighting?”

He didn’t know.

Inhaling deeply, he turned toward the heart of the valley. He was exhausted. He was malnourished. He was severely weakened.

Yet, he continued to make his way into the depths.

Adam had tried flying straight upward, but after a certain point, the space turned abnormal and seemed to stretch infinitely.

He had anticipated this, of course. After all, this place was somehow related to the spirit world. And if time could be distorted, so could space.

Time was space, and space was time.

What he didn’t understand was how the Dark Valley was related to the spirit world.

But more importantly...

How did Aldo Wagner make his way out of here?

He wondered.
The journal didn’t say anything about that. Did he travel to one of the ends of the valley and exit this place?

If I could have flown upward, I could have gathered more food and water from outside. How long has passed? My rations are about to be over...

He was trapped here.

And the only way out... was through.

In the distance, faint silhouettes started to become visible. Adam activated the enchantment of the Stealth Cloak.

There were far too many of these corrupted creatures here, and it was taxing for him to fight them all. Moreover, he refrained from summoning the serpents of war. He was certain that they’d be corrupted after coming here.

Corruption...

He couldn’t help but ponder this problem deeply.

My reason for coming here was to transplant the eyes of the abomination into myself. But if the corruption runs so deep, is it wise to even carry out this operation?

The corruption led to Aldo Wagner’s death.

But...

Adam’s hand, clasping the staff, tightened.

He didn’t have the Eternal Soul Lotus, he thought.

Besides, if my assumptions are even remotely true and the source of the abomination is an existence at the level of an Emperor Magus or even greater, do I really want to pass up on this opportunity?

If the lotus can suppress the ravings of the Faceless Mask, it can also suppress the direct mental corruption of this abomination. And it has. After all, the sinister voices permeating this valley have already been effectively countered inside my mind.

That brings me to the corruption on the physical level...

Adam thought about what would truly happen if he transplanted the eyes of the abomination into himself.

Would he also turn out like the creatures he fought?

If so, did he have a solution to that problem?

I might...

Although I’m not certain, it’s worth a shot, he mused.

From time immemorial, opportunities have always coexisted alongside danger. Although what Adam was walking into now could be considered to be the most dangerous of all his endeavours.

But there is definitely a chance.

And as long as there’s a chance, I’m willing to fight for it...

This could only be possible because of the vast trove of knowledge Adam had inherited after absorbing the souls of the experts from the Greater Universe.

Knowledge was the source of power!

He continued to walk towards the depths, concealing his presence from the corrupted creatures in his way. None of them could sense him. They moved right past him.

Adam had to conserve mana. Even though he had vast reserves of energy after advancing to the Mana Core Rank, he still chose to be cautious. If he could avoid a fight, he would do it.

In the distance, a massive silhouette slowly took shape against the warped horizon.

When Adam’s senses washed over it, his steps came to a gradual halt. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. He didn’t think something like this could grow in this forsaken place.

A tree.

It was giant, its trunk rising from the valley floor like a blackened pillar driven into the ground itself. The bark was dark and twisted, layered with petrified flesh rather than wood. It pulsed faintly as if something inside it still lived.

Its leaves were pitch black, jagged, and uneven, blotting out what little light touched them.

But here was what truly surprised Adam...

Hanging from the branches were bloated, red fruits. They resembled apples, and looked wet and pulpy, each one the size of an adult human’s head. They throbbed faintly, heavy with immense vitality, as though filled with blood rather than sap.

The air around the tree felt wrong. It felt thick, oppressive, and twisted. No creatures approached it willingly. That was why, in a radius of a few miles, Adam found no corrupted beings here.

The ground near its roots was cracked and warped, as if the land itself recoiled from its presence.

It was not a tree meant to give life.

No.

It was something that fed on it.

The moment Adam’s senses noticed the fruits, he felt an overwhelming desire to consume them. An abnormal feeling of yearning bloomed in his heart. Somehow, he had to consume the fruit.

At once, the Eternal Soul Lotus released a wave of tranquil energy that washed through his spirit sea.

He had been momentarily bewitched!

Adam snapped back to his senses, his back drenched in cold sweat. Only then did he understand why no creatures lingered near this tree. He hadn’t even looked at the fruits directly, merely sensed them with his spirit energy. And yet, that was enough to ensnare his mind.

His senses swept downward to the base of the unholy tree. There lay yet another reason to steer clear of it.

Standing there was the tree’s guardian.

And it was staring right at him.