Beneath the White Tower, the magical elevator continued descending, passing the seventh floor, then the third, before finally reaching the first floor.
Eventually, it even passed below what would normally be considered the ground level of the White Tower and continued sinking deeper underground.
Standing beside Cecilia, Victor could feel the mana concentration around them steadily increasing, which made Victor even more curious about this place they were heading to.
Roughly half a minute later...
Buzz!
The elevator finally came to a stop.
The silver white metal doors slowly opened to both sides. What appeared before them was not an ordinary room, but an underground corridor constructed entirely from white mana crystal stone.
Every few meters along the walls was a fist sized blue crystal. Countless intricate magical patterns spread outward from those crystals, completely enveloping the underground space.
The moment Victor stepped outside, the system notification appeared automatically.
[High intensity isolation type magic formation detected.]
[Current area’s mana fluctuations have been almost completely cut off from the outside world.]
[Multiple purification formations detected.]
[Life support formation detected.]
[Spatial seal detected.]
"Follow me." Cecilia’s calm voice drifted into his ears.
The two continued until they reached the deepest part of the corridor where a massive silver white door over four meters tall stood before them.
She raised her right hand. Her palm pressed against the mana crystal embedded in the center of the door.
"Identity verification."
A cold, emotionless voice immediately sounded.
[Royal bloodline confirmed.]
[Cecilia Saint Laurent.]
[Authorization accepted.]
Rumble!
The heavy door slowly parted, revealing a circular treatment chamber more than thirty meters in diameter.
Dense golden and blue magical patterns covered the floor, while at the very center stood a white jade pool roughly five meters wide.
The water inside was clearly not ordinary. If one looked closely, they would see faint silver motes continuously rising from its surface.
Simply standing here, Victor could feel the surrounding air becoming unusually fresh. Even the circulation of mana inside his body seemed slightly faster.
He could stay here for days without getting tired. Yes, that was how rejuvenating this place was.
"Is this a Moonlight Sacred Spring?" he asked a moment later.
"No." Cecilia shook her head. "This is ordinary Mana Purifying Water. It only maintains the treatment formations."
She walked to the edge of the white jade pool and turned toward Victor.
"The true Moonlight Sacred Spring is still inside House Alves’s territory, but if the method you mentioned can indeed work, we can try it out here. The reason I chose this place is because, in case whatever method you plan on using doesn’t work, it can always serve as a backup."
’She still doesn’t trust me, huh? Fair.’ Victor thought, not offended. If anything, he liked this cautiousness.
But there was still a problem. Could this place be as effective as the Moonlight Sacred Spring?
The ninety three percent success rate calculated by the system assumed the assistance of the Moonlight Sacred Spring.
Without it, the success rate was only sixty one percent.
Betting his life on that was obviously not worth it.
Especially because his life was not the only one on the line.
If Cecilia died here, things would become even more troublesome.
"System." Victor spoke inwardly. "Is there anything here that can temporarily substitute for the Moonlight Sacred Spring?"
[Analyzing current environment.]
[High grade Mana Purifying Water detected.]
[Tier Six Purification Formation detected.]
[Royal grade Life Support Formation detected.]
[Target’s High Level Light Element Affinity detected.]
[Temporary substitute plan available.]
[Estimated success rate: 82%.]
"How can it be increased?"
[Host may first absorb the peripheral polluted mana within the target’s body to reduce the overall activity of the curse, then proceed with core separation.]
[The process must be completed in stages.]
[Stage One carries relatively low risk.]
[After Stage One is completed, subsequent success rates may be recalculated.]
Indeed, there was no reason to swallow the entire curse in one go.
He could devour the outer layer first and see whether [Mana Devour] could actually handle this kind of thing.
"We won’t use the Moonlight Sacred Spring yet," Victor spoke.
Cecilia frowned slightly. "Didn’t you just say..."
"I said I had a method. I didn’t say it had to be completely resolved today."
Victor walked toward the treatment pool.
"First, I need to confirm whether this thing can actually be dealt with."
Cecilia looked at him, perplexed.
"How?"
"Give me your hand."
She looked down at her right hand, then back at Victor, the confusion on her face growing.
"That’s all?"
"What else?" Victor asked. "Do you need me to prepare a bed first?"
Cecilia’s gaze instantly turned several degrees colder.
"Victor."
"I’m just joking." Victor flashed a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Cecilia’s information, specifically at the Favorability tab.
Favorability: twelve.
’Better not court death.’
Cecilia eventually removed the glove on her right hand; the black markings were exposed once again.
Compared to earlier on the seventh floor, Victor could now see them much more clearly.
The dark lines had already spread from her wrist to her forearm, with the thickest one nearly reaching her elbow.
At first glance, they resembled some kind of sinister tattoo.
But upon closer inspection, those black lines would lightly pulse once every few seconds as if something was parasitizing her flesh.
Victor extended his hand. "I need direct contact."
Cecilia hesitated for a moment. She gave Victor a suspicious look.
"If you don’t want to do this, you can bail out now." Victor shrugged.
Those words seem to have eradicated any silly thoughts she might have had in her mind as she placed her hand into his palm.
Cold. Cecilia’s palm was very cold. It was not the ordinary coldness from low skin temperature. It was a chill constantly seeping outward from the depths of her body.
In less than two seconds of contact, Victor’s fingertips already felt faintly numb.
[High concentration Abyssal polluted mana detected.]
[Mana Devour can be activated.]
[Absorb?]
"Absorb."
...
I was not supposed to post another Chapter now, but a friend of mine forced, ahm, bribed me to release two more. Y’all should pls thank lordTee for sponsoring this Chapter.
And don’t forget to check out his novel!