Chapter 2898 – Mana Advances

The instant Shi Feng made for the temple’s exit, the mysterious youth took action.

Now that the mysterious youth no longer had most of his strength and attention tied up with the Fallen Archangel, he had recovered to his peak condition. With a wave of his staff, he summoned three fourfold magic arrays around him.

Tier 5 Curse, World Severance!

Tier 5 Curse, Space-time Seal!

Tier 5 Curse, Holy Spirit Collapse!

Triple silent-casting?! Shi Feng was thunderstruck when he saw the three magic arrays.

In God’s Domain, the difficulty of silent-casting a Spell increased along with the tier of the Spell. Even Tier 5 Divine Mages would have difficulty silent-casting one Tier 5 Spell, while double silent-casting Tier 5 Spells was something only the best among Tier 5 magical classes could accomplish. Moreover, this applied only to Tier 5 Spells, not Tier 5 Curses.

Only Tier 6 Gods could double silent-cast Tier 5 Curses. As for triple silent-casting Tier 5 Curses, Shi Feng had no recollection of anyone ever accomplishing this feat in his previous life.

Nevertheless, the mysterious youth had accomplished this feat.

Before Shi Feng could reach the exit, he suddenly found himself immobilized inside the void. In the end, not only was he forced to exit the void, but his mobility was also severely restricted by the surrounding space. A distorted barrier enveloped the entire temple hall. Six pillars of light then appeared around Shi Feng, forming an intricate magic array that caged him. Afterward, the ground lit up with a divine glow, causing the Mana within the affected space to disintegrate rapidly.

Just as the mysterious youth was about to obliterate Shi Feng, the five Dragons simultaneously chanted an incantation in the language of Dragons. A five-colored disk of light formed around Shi Feng, isolating him from the outside world.

Boom!

When the divine light dissipated, Shi Feng remained perfectly intact. However, the brightness of the disk of light protecting him had dimmed significantly as a result. Evidently, it could withstand only a limited number of attacks from the mysterious youth’s Holy Spirit Collapse; it wasn’t an invincible Defensive Spell.

The mysterious youth glared at the five Dragons hatefully and said coldly, “A futile struggle! All of you will die here today!”

After saying so, the mysterious youth waved his staff, and the space within the temple darkened. Countless dark-purple chains emerged from the void and instantly bound three of the five Dragons, thoroughly immobilizing them. Only the leading Bronze Dragon and a Fire Dragon had managed to evade the chains’ initial assault by relying on their skills.

Shi Feng had also managed to evade the chains, thanks to his 36 doppelgangers. However, now that chains surrounded the entire hall, he was in a tight spot.

With World Severance and Space-time Seal acting on the hall, even a Tier 6 God-ranked player would have trouble breaking out, let alone a Tier 5 player like Shi Feng.

It’s all or nothing!

Looking at the nearby distorted barrier, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and used the Light of Two Worlds’s second Skill, Golden Soul. After he had reached Tier 5, the Skill had also undergone a qualitative transformation. Instead of providing a boost to his perception and control of Mana, it now upgraded the quality of his soul. Activating the Skill would grant him a soul bordering that of Tier 6 Gods.

However, activating this Skill came with risks.

When activated at Tier 5, Golden Soul would leave his soul in a weakened state for a short period once the Skill’s duration ended. A side effect like this would significantly impact a player’s performance. This made Golden Soul a Skill reserved for last-ditch stands. After Shi Feng activated Golden Soul, his perception of the world around him changed completely.

As if he was a three-dimensional being looking at a two-dimensional world, he could see everything around him with incredible clarity. The ambient Mana also became an extension of his body, and he could freely manipulate it at will. It was much better than when he manipulated it using his Mana Domain.

He had finally reached the level of actually manipulating Mana!

Immediately, Shi Feng brandished the Light of Two Worlds at the distorted barrier before him.

Third Sword, Holy Annihilation!

Compared to the Holy Annihilation Shi Feng executed before, the one he executed now had undergone a heaven-defying transformation. Now, even the space around him had become one with his sword. He felt as if he was swinging space itself at the distorted barrier.

Boom!

The distorted barrier shook violently from Shi Feng’s Holy Annihilation. A small crack also appeared on the barrier, although the barrier quickly repaired this damage.

Now, this is the true Holy Annihilation! I was mistaken when I tried to guide ambient Mana using my own Mana. Instead, I should’ve converted the ambient Mana into my own Mana! Only by doing so can I maximize my attack’s power! Shi Feng didn’t despair when he saw the distorted barrier repairing itself. On the contrary, excitement burned within him.

He finally understood how to progress to the next step of Mana manipulation.

Initially, he had used his own Mana to force ambient Mana into doing his bidding, an incredibly crude method of manipulating Mana.

Afterward, he had learned to guide ambient Mana into doing his bidding. While this method had indeed significantly increased the power he could exert, it still wasn’t the best method of utilizing ambient Mana.

Instead, the optimal way of utilizing Mana was to convert ambient Mana into his own Mana.

However, accomplishing this feat was easier said than done. Firstly, players needed to have an in-depth understanding of Mana’s operating principles. Secondly, players’ Concentration needed to be close to the Tier 6 standard. Only by having a near-solid mental will could players perfectly integrate their Mana with the ambient Mana. Players needed to have such a powerful Concentration that they could project their will beyond their physical bodies and exert it over the Mana surrounding them.

Thirdly, players needed the ability to multitask to the extreme. The more Mana players tried to influence, the more multitasking they had to do. If players wished to improve their ability to integrate and manipulate ambient Mana, they had to keep refining their understanding of Mana to reduce the mental burden from controlling Mana.

Meanwhile, after finding a clear path of advancement, Shi Feng began frenziedly executing Holy Annihilation against the distorted barrier.

Every time he executed Holy Annihilation, his control over Mana also became increasingly smoother. Simultaneously, admiration for the Heavenly Blue Saint Eliadi filled his heart.

Holy Annihilation’s use of Mana far exceeded the basic standard.

The basic use of Mana only allowed one to create inanimate objects like the Mana bridge. However, Eliadi’s usage allowed her to create living objects. Her technique, Holy Annihilation, basically modified ambient Mana into a true extension of the body.

If Shi Feng hadn’t reached the Grandmaster Magician standard, he would’ve never understood this concept.

After he gained this understanding, every subsequent Holy Annihilation he executed was more powerful than the previous one. By the time he had executed two dozen attacks, the colorful disk of light was close to dissipating. Fortunately, he had finally achieved a breakthrough.

The next time Shi Feng executed Holy Annihilation, a white light enveloped the world around him.

Mana, space, and even the void disappeared.

The next moment, a 30-meter-long gash appeared in the previously invincible barrier. The barrier failed to repair the damage and collapsed.

So, this is what it feels like to employ the advanced method of using Mana? Shi Feng was startled when he saw the barrier generated by World Severance crumble. The attack he just executed had undoubtedly reached the Tier 6 standard-far stronger than even an attack using the Light of Two Worlds’s World Breaker.

However, after executing this attack, Shi Feng felt his mind stagnate slightly. In his current state, he definitely couldn’t execute the complete Holy Annihilation. Unless he upgraded his Concentration to the Tier 6 standard, he could only keep this move as a trump card.

As the distorted barrier shattered, the mysterious youth finally restricted all five Dragons. He then sent his remaining chains after Shi Feng.

Upon seeing this, Shi Feng promptly activated Void Shield, his last trump card, increasing his Movement Speed by 300%. Even under the suppression of the mysterious youth’s Space-time Seal, he still managed to escape from the temple instantly and flee the primordial ruin.

However, the mysterious youth did not give up. Several hundred dark-purple chains relentlessly tried to hinder Shi Feng’s escape. Every collision with a chain inflicted over 10 million damage. If not for Void Shield’s protection, he would’ve died after receiving a few hits.

After exiting the primordial ruin, Shi Feng contacted Zero Wing’s members, who were close to dying to the Evil Blood monsters, and commanded them to leave the Evil God’s Secret Land immediately. If they got caught by the mysterious youth’s chains, they couldn’t die even if they wanted to.

Although everyone was confused by Shi Feng’s command, they still obeyed it without hesitation and were out of the Evil God’s Secret Land in no time.

As for Shi Feng, because the mysterious youth’s Space-time Seal stopped affecting him after he left the primordial ruin, none of the dark-purple chains could do anything to him. In less than ten seconds, he exited the secret land.

Two seconds later, the mysterious youth appeared by the secret land’s exit, with an indescribably cold light in his eyes.

When the mysterious youth failed to kill Shi Feng, the restrained, leading Bronze Dragon laughed and said, “Scholar, how pitiful of you! Not only did your many years of planning come to naught, but you even let the cause of your failure escape!”

“So what if he escaped? Do you think I can’t do anything to him outside?” The mysterious youth did not get angered by the Bronze Dragon’s words. Sending a calm glance at the Bronze Dragon, he said, “I will settle his debt with me eventually. So long as he is inside this cage, he will not escape my hands. I will also escape this cage sooner or later!” After saying so, the mysterious youth waved his staff and turned the five Dragons into ash.

On the other side, Shi Feng finally arrived back in the City Lord’s Mansion’s control room. After staring at the Evil God’s Secret Land’s entrance for some time, he breathed out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, Seeing as there’s no reaction after all this time, I should be fine now.

Shi Feng did not wish to meet the mysterious youth a third time.

The mysterious youth’s combat power exceeded common sense. If not for the five Dragons’ assistance, Shi Feng would’ve perished just now.

“Guild Leader, what did you do inside the ruin? How are you Level 172 already?” Fire Dance asked in confusion after seeing Shi Feng exit the secret land.

Shi Feng had only been Level 167 when he entered the primordial ruin, yet he was now Level 172. He had gained five whole levels in a matter of minutes. His leveling speed was out of this world.

When Shi Feng took a look at his own level, he, too, was slightly surprised. He never thought that killing a Level 180, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel would grant so much EXP.

Not to mention, he hadn’t killed the Fallen Archangel by himself. What he had done was basically kill-steal, so he hadn’t received all of the EXP the Fallen Archangel granted. Yet, he still leveled up five times. Through this, he could tell just how powerful the Fallen Archangel was. If he had come across her under normal circumstances, he would’ve died without a doubt.

“You killed a Level 180, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel?!”

“Guild Leader, you’re not lying to us, right? That’s a Fallen Archangel we’re talking about!”

Everyone was momentarily stunned when they heard Shi Feng’s explanation. They couldn’t help doubting his words.

Fallen Archangels were existences rivaling Divine Dragons. A Tier 5 Fallen Archangel was an existence standing at the apex of the current God’s Domain. A Tier 5 player would be fortunate to escape a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel, let alone kill one.

“Of course not.” Shi Feng chuckled when he saw the skeptical looks they all gave him. “What good would lying to you do? Moreover, I also grabbed some items that Fallen Archangel dropped.” After saying so, Shi Feng took out the four items he looted from the Fallen Archangel.

As soon as he did so, the Mana in the control room froze, and everyone gasped inadvertently.

They all felt their hearts palpitating in fear in the presence of the four items, and they stumbled back despite themselves.

Meanwhile, after Shi Feng took a look at one of the items he took out of his bag, he, too, was stunned. Astonishment filled his eyes as he stared at the rainbow-colored crystal ball before him.

“An Ancient God’s Eye?”