Chapter 552: Return

The demigod 'Mirage Whale' that Li Mochen killed not only provided him with a magic energy crystal ten meters in diameter, but also a large amount of top-tier materials.

This creature's life was incredibly long, possibly exceeding sixteen thousand years.

If it had been on land, having gained enough worship from living beings, the 'Mirage Whale' would have become a god long ago. Even now, this demigod creature had one foot already across the threshold of an ancient god.

The problem was that the 'Mirage Whale' had no bloodline of any great being. In this regard, it was even inferior to the Blue Swamp Demon Vine.

Li Mochen had initially guessed it might be a descendant of the Kunpeng, but it turned out not to be. It was just a big fish, only resembling a whale in appearance. Besides, this creature must have eaten some extraordinary item that seized the wonders of heaven and earth to have lived so long.

And those sixteen thousand years had turned all the flesh and every structure in its body into crystals of magic energy, filled with the purest magic power.

Its scales could be used to forge sturdy holy armor; its flesh could be made into potions to extend life; its spine and bones were excellent weapon materials; its eyes naturally possessed the ability to induce illusions and cause destruction.

Inside the 'Mirage Whale's' brain, Li Mochen also found a blue crystal bead with slight flaws, whose illusion ability was ten times that of the eyes—this was a wondrous object nurtured within the 'Mirage Whale', housing all its divine soul.

It was expected that when all the flaws in this crystal bead disappeared, it would become the 'Mirage Whale's' second elixir, and would also allow the 'Mirage Whale' to truly step into the realm of an ancient god.

And this hunt, even excluding the two biggest gains—the magic energy crystal and the crystal bead—could still bring him over a billion gold shields in profit.

This was something others could only envy; no one else could accurately deduce the location of the 'Mirage Whale' using wish magic like he could. Even a powerhouse like Professor Einstein, knowing its immense value, would pass by without recognizing it.

Li Mochen did not use the Gladiator Divine Authority this time to copy the 'Mirage Whale's' abilities. Although the latter had a mountain-like body and astonishing strength, its combat effectiveness was indeed mediocre.

The process of purifying the 'Gladiator' Divine Authority was still very troublesome and would cost two to three hundred million gold shields. Li Mochen was unwilling to waste the remaining two slots on the 'Mirage Whale'.

Next, he returned to the Light World and headed north. A day later, Li Mochen reached the Arctic ice sheet, then tore through the void again and entered the Dark World.

There, he found a two-headed demon wolf, also a demigod-level magical creature. It lived at the border between volcanoes and endless ice mountains, with a lifespan of seventeen hundred years. It was extremely powerful and the overlord of that region.

Unlike the 'Mirage Whale', this two-headed demon wolf had an extremely powerful bloodline. It was a descendant of Fenrir, the true demon wolf Fenrir, not the one from the Fenrir Hunting Group.

Its ancestor was the first child of Loki, the god of mischief, lies, and fire, and the giantess Angrboða; the elder brother of Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, and Hel, the goddess of death. It was regarded as 'the monster that shakes the earth'.

It was ferocious by nature. The Norse gods once tried to bind it with a chain called Leyding, but Fenrir easily broke it. Then the gods tried a second time with a chain called Dromi, but Fenrir broke free again. Helpless, the gods had to seek help from the dwarves, who were skilled in making weapons. The dwarves forged a magic chain called Gleipnir from six rare things: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the breath of a fish, the wariness of a bear, and the spittle of a bird. They sacrificed the god Tyr's hand to bind Fenrir.

Some prophesied that in the future, it and its siblings would bring about the true twilight of the gods. Jörmungandr would bite the World Tree, and Fenrir would break its chains, bringing the power of ice and fire to kill Odin, the king of the gods—but all this had yet to happen.

It also had two powerful children, Hati and Sköll, who chased the sun and the moon respectively until they devoured them—possessing power similar to the Eastern world's Howling Celestial Dog.

It was worth mentioning that, according to legend, Fenrir was also one of the bloodline sources of some allies Li Mochen had recently befriended.

Li Mochen's battle with the two-headed demon wolf began with a bullet. He first opted for a long-range sniper shot, twenty kilometers away, using the pseudo 'Dragon's Might' to blow off one of the wolf's heads.

Then the battle between them lasted four hours. The two-headed demon wolf was exceptionally fierce and had extraordinary vitality.

Although Li Mochen, clad in the 'Crimson Dragon Armor', had strength comparable to a god and was extremely versatile with almost no weaknesses, he still could not subdue the already severely wounded two-headed demon wolf.

Their battle sank an entire island, caused a massive volcanic eruption, and turned the entire sea into a sea of fire.

But the more intense it got, the more excited Li Mochen became.

The two-headed demon wolf's ice and fire divine authority was only at the medium level, similar to his. But it also mastered the divine authorities of 'Wind Riding' and 'Sharpness', making it extremely fast and unpredictable, with exceptionally sharp claws and teeth and powerful destructive force. Moreover, its defense and recovery abilities were extraordinarily strong, not much inferior to the Crimson Dragon Armor.

Especially the conceptual divine authority of 'Undying', which was close to the high level.

If it weren't for the fact that the law of 'Undying' did not exist in this world, the two-headed demon wolf would have directly become a law god.

But this also meant that the benefits of killing the two-headed demon wolf one-on-one would be exceptionally great.

Only when the Crimson Dragon Armor was nearing its limit did Li Mochen cut off both hind legs of the two-headed demon wolf. The latter finally exhausted its strength and fled—but that played right into Li Mochen's hands. He pursued it and killed it with two level-27 magic energy bullets.

After acquiring the power of the two-headed demon wolf, Li Mochen was confident that he could kill even those weak gods with relatively strong divine authority in one-on-one combat.

But for now, he had no suitable target.

The key was that the target's strength must match his own; otherwise, obtaining it would be of little use. For example, what use would he have for Thomas Milan, the god of alchemy, machinery, and craftsmanship?

Li Mochen knew that the same Light Demon No. 8 would perform completely differently in his hands versus Anthony's. The latter, mastering the divine authority of machinery, could enhance the Light Demon No. 8's power by more than ten times.

But the problem was that Li Mochen had not studied it before, and he wouldn't know how to use that power even if he obtained it.

For divine authorities like 'Solidity', 'Eternity', and 'Piercing', Li Mochen at least had some foundation or even understood them by analogy. But machinery and alchemy meant he would have to start learning from scratch, with difficulty akin to building a skyscraper from the ground up.

He did have some minor accomplishments in alchemy and machinery. With the help of the 'Divine Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda', he could claim to be a grand alchemist, but when it came to the specific field of laws, Li Mochen was completely at a loss, having never delved deeply.

So the third demigod creature Li Mochen targeted was a 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' that lived and roamed on the west side of the Lightless Sea, near the Eastern Heavenly Dynasty.

The 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' also had an extremely powerful bloodline. It was a dragon species, a descendant of the dragon son 'Yazi'—according to Western classification, this would be considered a lesser dragon.

But in the East, there were nine types of lesser dragons that were very impressive. As the saying goes, 'A dragon gives birth to nine sons, each different.' Although they originated from dragon species, they developed their own power and entered the ranks of the top-tier mythical creatures.

And Yazi was one of them, listed as the second son of the dragon.

In Eastern Daoist legends, Yazi mastered more than a dozen extremely powerful divine authorities, including 'Reflection', 'Severing', 'Shattering', 'Shadow Flash', 'Piercing', 'Sharpness', 'Armor Piercing', 'Solidity', and 'Combat'.

Because of its love for killing and fighting, its fierce temperament, bloodlust, and murderous nature, it was often carved onto sword rings and sword hilts by ancient war gods to increase the power of blades. Its divine image was often depicted with a sword in its mouth and a glaring, angry expression.

Li Mochen decided to hunt the 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' to enhance his close combat abilities. Unfortunately, this 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' had not inherited the most powerful conceptual divine authority of 'Reflection'.

Of course, if this 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' had 'Reflection', Li Mochen would not dare to provoke it easily; he would have to be prepared to suffer a thousand casualties to injure the enemy by eight hundred, unless one day he could elevate the divine authority of 'Eternity' to the medium level.

Even so, the 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' was very troublesome. Although it had no void abilities, its innate ability was flight; it could transform into an extremely sharp streak of light, shuttling through the clouds and air with almost no resistance, and it also had the ability of Shadow Flash.

Li Mochen, with the help of the small dragon vein's power, fought it for about thirteen hours. The dragon vein's magical power was almost exhausted, and the 'Crimson Dragon Armor' had reached its limit—this mythical armor had even been cut with three gashes by the 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon'. Even though Li Mochen had elevated the four domains of 'Solidity', 'Indestructibility', 'Magic Resistance', and 'Eternity' to the divine authority level, and had obtained the two defensive divine authorities of 'Toughness' and 'Wind Armor' from the two-headed demon wolf, and he himself had the 'Ice Dragon Armor' and an already extremely powerful source armor, he still could not fully defend against the opponent's slashes.

If it weren't for the 'Crimson Dragon Armor's' self-healing ability, he would likely have suffered a disastrous defeat.

And this was the toughest battle Li Mochen had experienced since coming to the Light World.

Although this 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' was only at the demigod level, its actual combat strength could rank among the weak gods.

Fortunately, Li Mochen had already obtained the power of the two-headed demon wolf before. Although the process was arduous and even dangerous, he ultimately managed to take it down.

After this battle, Li Mochen's main body rested for a day and a night in the magic tower before recovering.

Only then did he have the strength to inspect his spoils. The primary gain was naturally the horn of the 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon', which Li Mochen held in his hand and played with for half a day.

The 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' was called a blade dragon because its horn was shaped like a knife and was exceptionally sharp. This was inherited from its ancestor Yazi, whose 'blade horn' was unstoppable and unbreakable, notorious in Eastern mythology, and even Xing Tian and Chi You had to be wary of it.

Like the two-headed demon wolf and the Blue Swamp Demon Vine, the 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' was a demigod creature. But their levels were slightly different. If the latter two had one foot in the ancient god rank, then this 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon' had most of its body squeezed in. So this 'blade horn' had become a true mythical-level material.

If he had obtained this item a few months ago, Li Mochen would have unhesitatingly forged it into his own mythical weapon, but now time was insufficient.

And after passing the hurdle of Philip I, Li Mochen would look down on this item. If he were to forge a new sword or blade besides the 'Sun-Moon-Star Celestial Sword', it would have to have the potential to become a 'Supreme'-level mythical weapon.

The 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon's' blade horn was undoubtedly strong, but its potential was limited.

However, it was still useful to Li Mochen. The medium-level 'Shattering' divine authority already fixed on the 'blade horn' was something Li Mochen also possessed, but he was not very proficient in it, and he could use this to study and comprehend it.

Also, if he had time, he could use this item as the main material to craft a mythical weapon for Hairo and the others.

Then there were the 'Golden-Winged Blade Dragon's' scales, the golden feathers on its wings, its dragon elixir, dragon teeth, dragon claws, dragon blood, etc.—its entire body was full of treasures. Its bones could also be used to make dragon bone puppets or weapons.

If sold on the black market, this would be at least 3.5 billion gold shields.

This was far better than the two-headed demon wolf. The latter, also a mythical creature, had very low value. Apart from the ice and fire magic crystals, only its claws, teeth, and two eyeballs were valuable, worth about 300 million gold shields—a tenfold difference.

Whether in the East or the West, dragon-related items were always the most valuable and had the highest utility.

Two days later, Li Mochen drove his 'Destiny's Home' back to Atlanta, fully loaded.

Just as he anchored the 'Destiny's Home' above the Question Sword Manor, Angela, pale-faced, hurriedly entered the top floor of the magic tower.

'Rest assured, okay, Angie? You have to trust your boyfriend. There's nothing in this world I can't solve. Since you came to Linden Academy, I haven't lost, right? I am the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, the will of heaven and earth. As long as I don't allow something, it can never happen.'

Li Mochen put on the expression and demeanor of 'Heavenly Heart' Li Mochen. After seeing Angela laugh, he inquired about the details: 'Can you tell me more about the situation over there? Especially the complete structure of that formation.'

Angela didn't answer verbally but directly used illusion magic to show all her experiences at the Money Wing Building.

Especially the magic array, which was almost fully laid out in front of Li Mochen in a physical form.

'I've consulted many magical texts and determined that they intend to recreate the underworld in America.'

Angela then used illusion magic to display the entire map of America before them.

'Once they succeed, it will trigger drastic changes in the earth's veins. It will cause massive disasters. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and the eruption of Yellowstone Park will follow one after another.'

'The key is, I don't think they will succeed. The Statue of Liberty, the Goddess of Magic, and the New Light Church on this land will all do their utmost to stop it. I believe the Dragon Witch Cult has no intention of fully pushing this through. In their view, they probably have two plans: it's good if it succeeds, and it doesn't matter if it fails. Their most important purpose lies only in the disaster caused by this magical ritual itself, which will help them achieve some goal.'

'But if it fails, it will still cause the deaths of many innocent people, and your father will face a catastrophic disaster.'

Li Mochen stared intently at the complete array diagram: 'Angie, your guess is similar to mine. But we are not without ways to stop it. What we need to do now is, first, find a way to hinder them from completing the magic array, and second, quickly improve your strength. This time, I've brought you a powerful external elixir. Then, within at most two months, I can upgrade your 'Loki's Hand of Deceit' to a demigod-level or even mythical-level weapon. If we're lucky enough to acquire a powerful illusion-type mythical material this week.'

'Mythical weapon? I have a mythical-level illusion material in my hands!'

A hint of joy appeared in Angela's eyes: 'I'll also go to Egypt in the next few days to seek help from my mother's close friend. She is a powerful sorceress who can help me improve my strength, at least to Legendary Level 2.'

Noticing the doubt and worry in Li Mochen's eyes, Angela explained further: 'You don't have to worry about safety. Although it's near the Old Continent, my mother's old friend is very powerful, and the Medici family wouldn't dare to provoke her on her turf. As for the method I'll use, A Mo, you should know about the 'Great Vow' of the Hindu Buddhism, right?'

'Great Vow?'

Li Mochen frowned. The Great Vow was a Buddhist secret technique, making a grand vow to gain power from one's 'future' self and all sentient beings.

But although the Great Vow was a shortcut to improving strength, the person making the vow must 'fulfill the vow' in the future; otherwise, they would never be free for life.

Although, since three hundred years ago, many Western mages had studied the Buddhist vow technique, and some had even improved upon it, the essence of the Great Vow remained unchanged: one must pay a price while gaining power.

He wanted to dissuade her, but then he saw in Angela's eyes an unshakable determination.

"Fine, though I don't think it's necessary. Just be careful yourself. And the third thing: let's go get our marriage certificate."

"M-marriage certificate?"

Angela was clearly taken aback, caught off guard: "Why all of a sudden, out of the blue, do you want to get married?"

"It's about time we reached this point."

Li Mochen directly took Angela's hand, a smile in his eyes: "The key is, if the Dragon Witch Cult dares to make a move against you, then things become much easier to handle, don't they?"

But Angela could no longer focus on his words; her face was flushed crimson, flustered and at a loss.

Just then, a flicker of electricity suddenly flashed around them.

In an instant, Consul's figure was projected before them.

Li Mochen frowned deeply at the sight: "Hey, old man! Could you not just barge into someone else's home? That's against the law, even if you are my grandfather."

—Since Consul had contributed greatly to the construction of this magic tower, he was thoroughly familiar with the magical array of Fate's Domain, second only to Li Mochen and Bethel Eistendin.

And Consul's magical abilities seemed particularly adept at intruding into others' territories.

Li Mochen was naturally very displeased by this; fortunately, they hadn't been doing anything here.

"Because you've rejected my communication requests nine times in the past few days!"

Consul's expression was cold and hard, then he noticed Angela beside him, her expression unusual: "Angie? I'm sorry. But why is your face so red? Is it—"

"That's none of your business, Consul!" Li Mochen's face had turned a livid black.

"Alright, it really is none of my business."

Consul realized the impropriety of his question and nodded apologetically: "Then let's get down to business. Andre, you went to the West Coast to see Rafat de Robespierre, didn't you?"

"Since you guessed, why ask?"

Li Mochen crossed his arms, his gaze sharp at the other: "Consul, don't try to change the subject! You need to promise there won't be a next time."

"I'll try my best from now on."

Consul clearly lacked any sincerity: "I assume you fought a battle. So who won between you and him?"

"Isn't it obvious? Of course I won. Robespierre applied for a loan from the Atlantic Intercontinental Bank just two days ago. I know you have people in my bank."

What left Li Mochen speechless was that the guy had actually submitted a loan application for three billion gold shields. He figured the mage must be really short on cash lately.

He certainly was. Robespierre had risen too quickly and hadn't achieved much in alchemy. He mainly relied on the annuity from the New Continent Magic Association, leading government academic projects, undertaking magic array construction, and even mission commissions and hunting magical beasts to earn funds.

But the guy's debt repayment ability was definitely not an issue. If it weren't for the need to fill two slots in the 'Gladiator Divine Authority' this time, Li Mochen would have wanted to take this guy and the 'Night Void Lord' Delphinia out to hunt those mythical creatures.

With Li Mochen's Wish spell and the 'Celestial Mechanism Mystic Lock Star-Sealing Secret Art' for tracking and guidance, their small hunting group would surely reap great rewards, earning tens of billions in a month without any problem.

"I've heard something about that."

Consul was momentarily stunned, as if unsure how to react. His gaze at Li Mochen was complex, mostly relief and excitement, but it also seemed like he was looking at a monster.

After a long pause, Consul spoke again: "And Jennifer? You didn't bring her back?"

"She prefers to stay there, by Robespierre's side."

Li Mochen hesitated slightly: "That mage seems to like her very much—"

Consul was stunned again, taking a while to come to his senses: "Is that so? Are you sure, Andre?"

—This was clearly an unexpected turn of events for him as well.

Seeing that the old man's expression wasn't feigned, Li Mochen's demeanor softened slightly: "It shouldn't be wrong. If the outside world's assessment and understanding of Mr. Robespierre are accurate, then his attitude toward Jennifer is indeed very strange. Their relationship is quite intimate."

"Is that so?"

Consul's eyes flickered with a strange light, as if he was plotting something. He then lost interest in continuing the conversation with Li Mochen: "Then you already know about what happened three days ago, right?"

"I've learned about Ms. Drew's situation."

Li Mochen's gaze sharpened, revealing a hint of cold murderous intent: "I have to thank you for this incident. I'll handle it. That guy might be a big trouble for the Vanderlik family, but for us, he's nothing."

Three days ago, Nanette Drew, who was planning the acquisition of 'Southern Music Television,' was assassinated.

The murderer was the Fenrir wolf, whom the Vanderlik family, along with several Atlanta families, had failed to capture. The man appeared again in Atlanta and shot Nanette Drew in the head.

Fortunately, Li Mochen, as a precaution, had created a spare body for Nanette Drew, stored at Sward Manor. A wooden doll carried by Ms. Drew could perfectly contain and preserve her soul.

But if Consul hadn't intervened in time, nothing of Ms. Drew might have remained.

Now Nanette Drew was still recuperating at Sward Manor, and the acquisition of 'Southern Music Television' had to be handed over to someone else.

This would certainly slow down the development of 'Sunrise Media.' Ms. Drew's abilities and influence were incomparable to the other professional managers Li Mochen had hired, and they didn't have his full trust.

Additionally, two other senior executives of Sunrise Group were shot by the Fenrir wolf, but unlike Ms. Drew, they died on the spot.

This incident made Li Mochen very angry, but it could serve as an opportunity to resolve a matter he had been longing to settle.