Chapter 446: The Seafloor

After landing, Saul didn’t hesitate—he immediately sprinted toward the ocean.

By now, Gudo had already entered the sea some time ago.

“Brother Saul, my sense of the phosphorus powder is being blocked by something. Could he have discovered us?” Penny suddenly warned Saul.

Saul kept moving without slowing down, pondering for a moment before replying, “No, it’s not him. The one blocking your senses should be this sea.”

He was reminded of the glowing fragments of wraiths at the seabed.

Back then, he had been surprised by the sheer number of soul fragments underwater, but only attributed it to the many people who had died here.

Looking back now, he realized that there must’ve been wizards stirring the pot behind the scenes. Otherwise, the deaths of ordinary people alone wouldn’t be enough to form so many wraiths.

Normally, when ordinary people die, their souls dissipate quickly due to their weak mental force.

But a wizard could seize that fleeting moment before a soul completely vanishes and forcibly turn it into a wraith.

The wraith extraction formation Saul had discovered was capable of this as well.

When Saul reached the coastline, he didn’t dive in like Gudo. Instead, he flew up directly above the sea.

Gudo had gone underwater from the start, using the fragments of wraiths in the sea to mask his presence—an extremely cautious approach.

But Saul, choosing not to submerge, was using those same soul fragments to mask the aura of his pursuit. His chase was bold and undisguised.

Even the shadow Saul cast on the water surface was a hazy blur. If someone looked up from below, they’d think it was just a big fish or a boat.

This was Shadow Web, another Zero-Rank minor spell.

The stronger Saul became, the easier it was for him to master lower-rank spells. Zero and First-Rank spells—so long as they were available for exchange at the registry—he had basically mastered them all.

As for Second and Third-Rank spells, he knew far fewer. In fact, for Third-Rank spells, he only had Shadow Bind and the offensive spell Flame Arrow, which he had begun studying after leaving the Wizard Tower.

But most True Wizards generally only mastered two or three Third-Rank spells. The higher the rank, the harder they were to exchange for.

There were only three such spells available for trade in the Wizard Tower’s registry, and Saul had naturally copied all of them before leaving.

If he wanted to learn new spells in the future, his only options were to trade with other factions, or to find a complete set of lost spell notes somewhere.

Both methods were difficult.

But Saul had an advantage—he could learn directly from the consciousness within the pages.

So, if he wanted to learn a particular kind of spell, he just needed to obtain the soul of a wizard who had specialized in that element.

Ordinary wizards had no way to obtain such clear and complete souls.

Of course, for a consciousness to completely dictate the rune structure of a high-rank spell, the soul energy required was massive. Without Saul replenishing it, the consciousness could fade away before even finishing the explanation.

Saul channeled his magic, accelerating over the sea with increasing speed, paying no mind to Gudo’s exact position below.

“Lokai, just tell me where the source of the soul tide lies beneath the sea.” Saul didn’t plan to follow Gudo this time.

Someone sneaking around like Gudo surely wasn’t doing it for a few drifting soul fragments.

He would definitely head for the place with the highest concentration of souls.

The origin of the soul tide!

Though reluctant, Lokai gave a very clear answer.

Now, the energy within Lokai’s page was nearly spent and about to fade.

No matter how powerful he had been, he was still just a Second-Rank apprentice. Suppressing his power meant limited mental strength. Even as a soul page, he wouldn’t last much longer.

Relying on Lokai’s description, Saul quickly locked onto the location using Flight.

He discovered that it was very close to the waters where he and Byron had first found the gray substance.

Splash!

Without hesitation, Saul plunged into the water.

This spot was farther from shore, and even the dark clouds overhead had begun to thin.

Had Lokai not pointed it out, Saul never would’ve imagined that a place where the environment was beginning to return to normal could be the source of the soul tide.

But as he descended into the water, he found that only the surface layer was clear. Near the bottom, the waters were even murkier than the clouds above.

Aside from the growing darkness, Saul couldn’t find a single soul fragment.

Yet although Lokai liked to lie, the diary compelled him to tell the truth.

Saul didn’t hesitate and continued to descend.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings but still found no sign of Gudo.

Since Gudo had traveled underwater, and didn’t specialize in water element spells—his speed would be much slower than Saul’s aerial flight.

Saul kept descending until his hands finally touched the seafloor.

“Even this place is clean. Though there are a few wraith fragments, they’re clearly fewer than around the shipwreck, and they don’t glow either.”

Saul began feeling around the ground, carefully turning over seaweed and rocks.

“Brother Saul! I can sense my phosphorus powder again—Gudo’s probably close!” Penny suddenly warned him.

Saul didn’t respond. His right hand trembled, suddenly recoiling as if shocked.

“This is it!” He had confirmed the location of a hidden cave.

The entrance was narrow, wedged between rocks and covered by seaweed and dust. If Saul hadn’t been this meticulous in his search, it would’ve been nearly impossible to find.

A faint smile crept to Saul’s lips as he slowly turned to face the direction Gudo was approaching from.

…

About five minutes later, Gudo finally arrived at this part of the seabed.

With something like a fish bladder clenched in his mouth, he looked around in confusion before mimicking Saul and began turning over the seafloor in search.

Clearly unfamiliar with the layout, Gudo even had to resurface for air at one point.

That fish-bladder-like sac could actively absorb and compress external air, allowing Gudo to stay underwater for such a long time.

After catching his breath, Gudo returned to searching the seabed. At last, he too found the cave on the sea floor.

It looked so narrow that only a child could squeeze through, but upon discovery, Gudo began forcing his way in. His muscles compressed little by little, and his body reverted to a skinny, bony form.

Though a tight fit, he managed to slip in head-first.

After crawling forward several meters while scraping against the reef, the space suddenly opened up.

The narrow tunnel gave way to a cavern where one could stretch out their arms freely.

Packed inside were dense, countless soul fragments.

These fragments didn’t glow, but the evil thoughts they radiated were far more intense.

As soon as Gudo passed through the tight tunnel and entered the cavern, it felt like he’d pierced through a barrier—his mind was instantly bombarded by howling and wailing.

“There are so many wraith fragments here!” It took him several seconds to recover his senses.

He wasn’t specialized in either light or dark element magic. Even as a True Wizard, he still felt immense discomfort facing such an overwhelming concentration of wraith fragments.

“I need to act quickly. Looks like another wave of soul tide is about to erupt.”

Gudo continued descending.

The sheer density of soul fragments was beginning to affect physical matter—his vision was becoming obscured.

A grayish haze filled the space, pierced intermittently by distorted screams.

Mutilated and warped facial features frequently appeared before Gudo, only to be swept away by the deep-sea currents.

He didn’t dare look too closely at the wraiths. Eyes narrowed, he focused entirely on descending further, avoiding further mental harm.

A century ago, the Battle of Bluewater Bay had buried many True Wizards as well.

At last, Gudo reached the bottom of the cavern.

There were still more tunnels branching downward, leading deeper into the dark abyss, but Gudo didn’t continue.

Relying on his mental strength, he barely managed to lock onto a specific spot. Brushing away slimy seaweed with both hands, he felt a rough and uneven surface.

A trace of a smile finally appeared on his face.

“Found it!”

(End of Chapter)

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