Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 640 Entering the River of Abyss and the Eighteen Levels of Dungeon
The witch Shirley snorted and frowned. The reputation of the Flower Enclave for its utter lack of values ​​was comparable to that of the Spiral Basin in the Eastern Frontier.

The black and white wizards in these two wizarding lands are always mixed up.

Of course, there are still subtle differences between the two.

Spiral Basin is known for its unconventional approach to talent recruitment, attracting a large number of talented black wizards. Furthermore, the nearby Six Towers area draws many wizarding geniuses there.

Meanwhile, the Black Wizard Alliance of Qionghua Enclave used money to purchase a large amount of real estate and identities, disguising themselves as members of the "Celestial Beings".

At least from a legal perspective, there's nothing wrong with it.

As a foreign holy priestess, Shirley naturally wouldn't meddle in this matter.

At the gates of the Ashes Cult Academy castle, Warwick said, "Let's hurry up and enter the River of the Abyss, then locate the tomb of the Nameless King's Wife by searching for the dragon."

"The three of you, let's go."

The four entered the castle of the Ashes Cult Academy, passed through the castle corridor, and entered a dungeon. Inside the dungeon, they saw severed limbs and bodies of various races.

Some people were wailing in their cells.

Shirley the witch glared at Warwick and McKinley with hostility.

The witch Shirley whispered to Locke, "Junior brother, be careful. This is, after all, the territory of the dark wizards."

"If you sense anything is wrong, immediately use the spell model [Summon the Ferryman of the Styx] to leave."

Warwick the Wizard looked at Locke and the witch Shirley and explained, "This is our Ashes Cult Academy's laboratory material storage. The people imprisoned here are all rebels from various colonial worlds who resisted the spread of civilization."

"Although it may look a bit scary, rest assured that there is nothing in this dungeon that violates the laws of our Qionghua Enclave White Wizarding Association. Even if there are some borderline cases, we have already paid sufficient fines."

"This is a legal dungeon."

Locke glanced at Warwick and said, "I don't care about that. Don't forget why we came here together."

Warwick the wizard removed his layers of magical robes and returned to his own territory, finally free from constant fear.

His entire body resembled a silver-cast werewolf, with a naturally occurring demonic eye appearing on his forehead, like a deep, abyssal eye of wisdom cast in silver.

At the same time, the wizard McKinley glanced at Locke, and his body also changed. His hands turned into the wings of a dark butterfly, and the butterfly wings had many patterns of abyssal fire on them.

Those are the characteristics of the Abyss Demon Butterfly.

Wizard McKinley said, "It's been a long time since I've seen a white wizard with such courage, actually following us deep into the black wizard's dungeon. But rest assured, we are all archaeology wizards."

Even if you don't care about the monks, you should at least care about the Buddha.

“In this world, archaeology wizards are already rare enough. Even at the Ashes Cult Academy, there are only a few dozen archaeology wizards, and they are taught in secret.”

"On the surface, the Ash Cult is not an archaeology wizarding academy."

"Therefore, don't worry, we will be in this dungeon and do you harm. The source of the Abyss River comes from the Abyss and has passed through countless Abyss planes. The river water has long been tainted by the power of the Abyss. If we don't use the resentment and death energy of these condemned prisoners to suppress the power of the Abyss, I'm afraid all the creatures on the floating reef will be polluted by the energy of the Abyss, their bodies will become Abyss creatures, and their souls will become Abyss-like."

"By then, my Ash Cult will have suffered heavy casualties, and the wizarding organization will be as if it has been disbanded."

Therefore, the entrance to the River of the Abyss is indeed at the deepest part of this dungeon.

The witch Shirley looked at the pitiful humanoid creatures in the dungeon, suppressed her urge to vomit, and forced herself to walk down.

Locke, having witnessed the Abyss Plane before, was somewhat tolerant of this bloody scene.

At the same time, he realized that neither McKinley nor Warwick had clean hands.

Warwick could behave so orderly in his presence only because he was Warwick's equal.

Some people are polite and gentlemanly in their own social circles, but that doesn't mean they will remain the same gentleman in lower-class communities.

Sometimes, a person's gentlemanly nature and his demonic personality can coexist.

The four continued down the steps, the stench of decay, the smell of blood, and the increasingly intense power of the abyss wafting through the air.

A skinned, abyssal-transformed pig-headed man howled in the dungeon, "Please, save me!"

"Please."

In front of him was a first-class apprentice black wizard, who was conducting some kind of cruel experiment with a skinning knife.

The dark wizard was clearly a necromancer; his eyes were filled with fanaticism. "The muscle distribution of different branches of the pig-headed people is indeed different. I've skinned over five hundred pig-headed people and finally confirmed this..."

"Especially the pig-headed people who have been infected by abyssal energy and turned into abyssal beings are different."

With a cold wave of her hand, the witch Shirley killed the pig-headed man instantly, relieving him of his suffering.

The dark wizard was immediately enraged and was about to shout an insult when he looked up and saw Warwick and McKinley, along with two other first-ring wizards he didn't recognize, whose magical pressure was incredibly powerful. He was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” said Valentine’s apprentice. “I must have done something wrong and angered my mentor.”

"Please forgive me."

"Four esteemed gentlemen."

The witch Shirley glanced at him with disdain, a fierce glint in her eyes. "Hmph, it would be better if all filthy things were dead."

Valentine's apprentice was so frightened that he trembled all over.

The Ash Cult is strictly hierarchical, and it wouldn't matter if a high-ranking wizard killed an apprentice like him, even without any reason.

Therefore, unlike ordinary white wizard students, Valentine's apprentice was genuinely terrified, trembling all over and pale-faced.

If the witch Shirley were to kill him now, he would surely die unless a legitimate wizard intervened to protect him.

Warwick the wizard chuckled tactfully, saying, "Valentine, your methods are too cruel; even I find them distasteful. Let alone this Lady Shirley."

"You should apologize to this gentleman. He is a big shot from a top wizarding academy."

"Do you know about Jinmian Mountain?"

A look of doubt flashed across Valentine's apprentice's eyes.

He knew about Golden Crown Mountain; it was a renowned wizarding academy among white wizards, a representative academy of efficient agriculture.

But why would Golden Crown Mountain, a prestigious school with a thousand-year history in the White Wizarding Society, be willing to set foot in the deepest and most terrifying eighteenth level of the Ash Cult's dungeon today?

Valentine's apprentice immediately came to his senses and bowed down to the witch Shirley.

Regardless of Shirley's identity, she was a formal wizard, a being completely different from others.

If you want to kill him, you can do it directly.

The White Wizard Society of Qionghua Enclave emphasizes the survival of the strong and the elimination of the weak, and advocates the elimination of the weaker beings.

The dark wizarding society of the Qionghua Enclave takes this to an extreme.

Valentine's apprentices kept kowtowing on the cold, hard granite floor.

The witch Shirley, however, was completely unmoved, only showing disgust. "This is utterly disgusting."

"Junior Brother Locke, let's go."

Warwick the Wizard shrugged, floated on the water, and followed. "I understand. Actually, McKinley and I don't like this kind of scene either. We're archaeologists, not death wizards."

We understand you.

The witch Shirley looked at the wizard Warwick with a puzzled expression and said, "If that dark wizard apprentice was truly doing evil for the sake of conducting experiments, then so be it. Although it violated the law, it is still understandable."

"But part of the reason he did that was to torment that mortal being and commit such a vicious act."

"You two are both archaeologists, you shouldn't even lack this little bit of pride."

McKinley listened to her words, but just smiled and did not reply.

Warwick explained, "The eighteenth level of the dungeon is basically the territory of the necromancer academy. They can't go in openly, so they're resentful."

"However, you're right, they are psychopaths. Of course, I want to emphasize again that all the death row inmates in the entire dungeon are from biomes that have colonized the world, disrespected our wizarding civilization, and launched attacks against us."

"So, there's nothing illegal in the entire dungeon!" "We even hired a contract lawyer from a law firm to help us assess the situation, and our academy has won several cases before."

Locke suddenly spoke up: "That river ahead, that must be the River of the Abyss. It looks like an ordinary river."

Suddenly, at the deepest part of the dungeon, the terrain opened up, revealing a dock.

On the magic alloy dock, there were some magical devices, some wizard apprentices, and a full-fledged wizard, all dealing with something.

The dock is located on a very wide river, which is as vast as a lake, allowing boats to navigate and move easily.

The river surface looked quite ordinary.

Before Warwick could speak, the witch Shirley said, "Locke, look at that dock. It's covered in sealing magic from the Protective School."

"The river may look ordinary, but its surface is covered with sealing power, which is why it is so calm. It is not an ordinary river as you see it with your naked eye."

Locke used his wizard's vision, "Spiritual Vision," and immediately saw a series of magical models on the river surface in front of the dock, suppressing the river.

Otherwise, the abyssal power within the entire river might erupt instantly, corrupting everyone around.

Kill all life force around it.

Warwick chuckled, “The witch Shirley is truly insightful.”

"It seems you've seen a lot. No wonder you're traveling with Locke this time. But you don't need to be too wary of me. Locke and I are very close friends."

"I am very grateful to Locke for preparing the Abyss Werewolf Potion for me. In the future, I will need to rely on Locke in many ways."

The witch Shirley did not answer this.

At that moment, Wizard McKinley picked up a stone from the ground and threw it toward the river near the dock.

The pebble fell into the river, and the once calm and still surface of the river suddenly erupted with intense abyssal demonic energy. Many wizard apprentices on the dock were shaken and staggered by the abyssal energy.

The formal wizard quickly deployed a permanent defensive force field, enveloping the dock, and cast a protective spell model called "Forced Seal" on the river surface, adding another seal, which finally suppressed the river surface.

The formal wizard launched into a tirade against McKinley. "McKinley, what are you doing! Are you out of your mind?"

McKinley chuckled, then said to Locke, "See? This tributary of the Abyss River isn't as docile as it seems."

“Just keeping our college ‘quiet’ requires a huge amount of resources every year.”

"If we don't use the resentment and death energy of the eighteen death row inmates to counteract the overflowing abyssal energy, I'm afraid..."

Shirley the witch sneered.

Locke also realized that the true purpose of the deathly aura in the dungeon was probably to conceal the energy of the abyss and prevent the ethics review committee from investigating.

In any case, creating such a large tributary of the abyss in the Qionghua enclave may trigger a thorough investigation by the ethics review committee.

After all, the Ash Cult is not an ordinary dark wizard organization; it also has the identity of a member organization of the White Wizards' Guild.

If the White Wizards Association insists on coming to investigate, then it has no reason to refuse.

Of course, this is only theoretical.

From a practical standpoint, this academy is indeed not under the supervision and control of the local White Wizarding Association branch.

The four arrived at the dock, where the wizard McKinley exchanged a few words with the official wizard on the dock and thus gained the right to step onto the River Abyss.

Many dark wizard apprentices secretly glanced at Locke and the witch Shirley, seemingly quite surprised that two white wizards had come here.

When Locke looked at them, the dark wizard apprentices either immediately bowed their heads in submission or smiled obsequiously.

Warwick chanted a spell, and instantly a ferryboat belonging to the Ferryman of the Styx appeared on the surface of the River Abyss. "The three of you, I have noted down the coordinates of that ruin on the River Abyss. Let's take turns using the Summon Ferryman spell to reach that area."

"The journey is long, and the surface environment of the Abyss River is harsh, complex, and dangerous. Therefore, to ensure maximum safety, I suggest that we take turns using the spell to summon the ferryman of the underworld."

Locke and the witch Shirley are perfectly acceptable.

After handing over four Netherworld coins, the four boarded the ferry together. The ferryman of the Styx glanced at them, then picked up his oars and began to move across the deep river.

Warwick said, "The River of the Abyss is different from ordinary rivers. Ordinary rivers flow from high to low, while the River of the Abyss flows from low to high."

"The River of the Abyss comes from one of the lowest planes of the Endless Abyss. No wizard has yet confirmed which plane of the abyss it originates from."

"The River of the Abyss traverses many abyssal planes and intersects with many planes of the endless void, including our Wizarding Plane."

"Therefore, some current methods of traveling to the colonized planes involve using the waterways of the Abyss River and traveling by void warship."

"Back then, the various Witch Kings of the Age of Stars who drew upon a great deal of Abyss power were to repay their debts to the Abyss by placing their tombs in the Abyss after their deaths. They did not want their corpses to be defiled by the Abyss and turn into corpse demons, so many Witch Kings chose to build their tombs into magically sealed places with impenetrable walls and place them somewhere in the Abyss River."

Warwick said to Locke, "That's a very clever approach. Because the River of the Abyss is part of the Abyss, but a large part of the River of the Abyss lies outside the Endless Abyss."

“In this way, the witch kings can preserve their honor after death.”

"Preserve their last shred of dignity."

Wizard McKinley couldn't help but laugh, "Such a tomb gathers a lot of magical power, and there must be many treasures inside."

"If we could develop an abyss ruin, it would be enough to feed an entire academy for a very long time."

By this time, they had sailed away from the dock, which had become small and invisible. A tributary of the Abyss River had blown them away to who knows where.

The sealing energy on the river surface has gradually weakened.

Furthermore, streams of abyssal energy were being released toward the four people on the ship.

The river the ferry traversed was deep, black water, bottomless and not devoid of life.

On the contrary, there are many different kinds and an exaggerated number of them.

Those are all demon fish!
The devil fish were excitedly splashing in the river, and their bodies were constantly hitting the bottom of the ferry.

Locke saw that beneath the surface of the Abyss River, there were not only various demon fish with red eyes and screaming mouths, but also many primordial demon worms. These worms wriggled like insect larvae in the water, greedily watching the four wizards on the surface of the river.

Warwick sneered, exuding the aura of a werewolf from the abyss.

Immediately, the demon fish and the abyssal primordial demon worms, sensing the aura of the high-level demon race, all fled at breakneck speed.

The low-level demons that had been relentlessly ramming the ferry vanished in the blink of an eye.

But the river was never calm again.

Demon fish were scrambling to escape everywhere, and splashing water was everywhere, with shadows of primal demon worms surging about.

At this moment, the witch Shirley took out a peculiar piece of witch porcelain from her astral ring.

This witch porcelain looks exactly like her.

All the abyssal energy converged into this porcelain doll, but it had no effect on her.

In addition, the witch Shirley activated her bloodline, and some features of a deep-sea octopus appeared on her body.

Her hands remained unchanged, but six enormous octopus tentacles grew from her back.

Locke recognized it as the ancient deep-sea monster, the Kraken, a second-ring level ancient creature said to have the power to destroy countless islands and unleash tsunamis in ancient times.

Thanks to the Kraken's physical enhancements, and the fact that the scapegoat porcelain can bear the abyssal energy, the witch Shirley is immune to the abyssal energy.

Warwick's eyes lit up slightly. "That's impressive technology. That must be witch porcelain. I didn't expect the witch porcelain technology in Yunze Wetlands to have advanced so quickly, it can even help the master withstand the energy of the abyss."

"This is something I didn't expect."

"But the deeper we go, the denser the abyssal energy becomes. This little trick can't last until we reach the abyssal ruins. This time, we're going to venture deep into the River Abyss."

"After all, the abyssal ruins of that nameless king's wife drifted on the surface of the abyssal river for a long time before finally settling at that location and temporarily stopping."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so lucky to discover that ruin in the section of the Abyss River near the Wizarding World."

The witch Shirley said, "Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

(End of this chapter)