Sefris knew very little about Anbaixiu. His impressions of this lich were limited to just a few labels: divination wizard, lich, member of the Elegy Poetry Society, and apparently an alchemist as well.
Judging with his ossified old mind, Anbaixiu was merely a petty figure who dabbled in everything yet mastered nothing.
As for the banishment of the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn, what Sefris had heard was that the instigator had sacrificed himself, while Anbaixiu was merely a silver-tongued intermediary playing games before an Archduke of Hell.
This lich had once been so broke that he took in his own son-in-law and survived off the rent he collected from him.
Reduced to such a wretched state, Sefris couldn't help but wonder if the President had been half asleep when he allowed such a lich to join the Elegy Poetry Society.
Were it not for the prestige of the Elegy Poetry Society's name, Sefris would have hardly spared him a second glance.
Thus, upon hearing Anbaixiu claim he could find a way to satisfy both sides, Sefris's immediate internal reaction was: *With just you?*
Unfortunately, dragonkind was far past its prime and genuinely lacked the courage to offend a formidable organization like the Elegy Poetry Society. Moreover, they had ostensibly come to avenge his daughter; in terms of both reason and sentiment, turning friends into foes was unwise.
Sefris let out a long sigh. His colossal body shrank and shifted into an old man clad in a white robe. He said to Anbaixiu, "Then please, follow me. I will tell you everything."
At this moment, Sefris had no idea what kind of person he was bringing into the Dragon Tomb.
Behind his father-in-law's back, Gareth quietly gave Anbaixiu a thumbs-up.
This brother of his was truly something else. To fabricate a lie about avenging Canggu—the excuse was so airtight that even a stubborn old coot like Sefris had no choice but to accept it.
Anbaixiu flashed Gareth a subtle smile, then led Aige and Melina to keep pace with the briskly walking elder.
From the shore to the Dragon Tomb proper was a trek of a full twenty kilometers.
Small wonder Sefris moved so fast; otherwise, they would have walked until nightfall.
It wasn't because the island itself was vast, but rather because the Island of Eternal Rest was blanketed with layered spatial labyrinths. Taking one step forward required three steps back, soaring upward meant plunging downward next; one had to follow Sefris closely, or they would inevitably get hopelessly lost within this spatial maze.
After walking for a while, Melina couldn't resist asking Anbaixiu through their soul link, "Father, is going home always this troublesome for dragons?"
"Silly child, this old dragon is making a show of force. Along this path, there's not just a spatial maze, but also numerous potent magical traps. He's demonstrating that dragons are not to be trifled with, hoping to stifle any notion we might have of causing trouble."
Melina asked in confusion, "If it's so troublesome, why doesn't he just say so? Out of respect for Uncle Gareth and Aunt Canggu, we wouldn't fight him anyway."
"Because he's not just looking out for himself. In his heart, the old man is still thinking about the rest of dragonkind. He wants to warn us not to provoke other dragons lightly either. How intriguing—aren't dragons typically selfish by nature? Why does this old man care so much about other dragons, even going so far as to guard them in death?"
Dragons were solitary creatures. Back during their reign, each dragon claimed an entire city for itself; unless bound by direct blood, there was hardly any affection among them. What on earth had Sefris gone through to exhibit such behavior? Did it have something to do with the ancient pact?
Anbaixiu grew increasingly curious.
Still, caring about his kin was a good thing. The worst-case scenario would have been the old dragon sealing the Dragon Tomb and sleeping inside while ignoring everything. As long as he cared, he exposed his weakness.
Turning these thoughts over in his mind, Anbaixiu casually plucked a Dragonbone Vine growing along the path. An alchemical ingredient worth thousands of gold coins a stalk—he'd be a fool not to take it. This was already the fifteenth precious magical reagent Anbaixiu had collected along the way; aside from Dragonbone Vines, there were mushrooms resembling dragon eggs, broken dragon fangs, and more.
Sefris suddenly halted in his tracks and whirled around to face Anbaixiu. "Do you possess not a shred of guest etiquette? Taking one or two Dragonbone Vines is one thing, but stuffing every single thing you come across into your pockets—aren't you going a bit too far?!"
Anbaixiu wore an expression of mild shock as he said to Sefris, "Ah? We've already entered the Dragon Tomb? My apologies, Lord Sefris. We've been walking for so long that I thought we were still on the road. Truly, my apologies! I assumed these were just wild weeds sprouting by the wayside, so I was merely picking up bits of garbage you didn't want. I had no idea these belonged to your estate."
Though words of apology tumbled from his mouth, Anbaixiu showed not the slightest intention of returning anything.
Sefris's face turned dark with fury. He had originally planned to lead them around in a few more circles to showcase the Dragon Tomb's grand magical array, but he had never anticipated Anbaixiu protesting in such a fashion.
While these trinkets were insignificant compared to the entirety of the Dragon Tomb, Sefris knew he couldn't keep taking detours. This fellow was shameless enough to scavenge the entire way.
What a devious lich!
Sefris waved a hand to open a corridor. The twisting, shifting space instantly smoothed into an unobstructed path.
This time, Anbaixiu could finally see the true face of the Dragon Tomb.
This was simply... nothing short of a mass grave!
Countless dragon skeletons carpeted the ground as far as the eye could see. Enormous dark magic drifted through the air, naturally creating a terrifying necropolis that warned off the living without requiring anyone to actively control it.
Moreover, the dark magic born of this death seemed alive. When Anbaixiu attempted to probe and manipulate it, he found that it actively shrank away from his perception.
It was clearly dark magic, yet Anbaixiu couldn't control it, unable to draw even a single wisp.
Not only Anbaixiu, but Aige and Melina also noticed this, both of them appearing somewhat unnatural. It was a bizarre sensation—like having a sumptuous feast laid out before them, only for the dishes to sprout legs and run away when they tried to eat. Such a peculiar state left even undead deeply discomfited.
Anbaixiu remarked with admiration, "Fascinating. The dark magic in this Dragon Tomb seems to carry something extra, rendering it unusable to outsiders."
Sefris chuckled coldly. "Naturally, we dragons have our own means. How else could we hold our ground in these brutal seas?"
Anbaixiu asked, "Do you mind if I take a look around?"
Sefris replied casually, "Be my guest. However, if you wish to pry into the secrets of the Dragon Tomb, I advise you to save your breath. This is not knowledge a mortal can comprehend."
Hearing this, Anbaixiu paused slightly.
*Not knowledge a mortal can comprehend?*
His soul fire flickered. Anbaixiu extended his perception once more, attempting to ensnare those evasive strands of dark magic.
This time, Anbaixiu succeeded.
His perception smoothly enveloped a wisp of dark magic. Under his guidance, the power flowed into his palm, coalescing into a faint, shimmering emerald light.
"Necrotic Aura?!"
This time, it was Sefris whose eyes went wide! He could sense the flow of Anbaixiu's casting. This lich was actually capable of manipulating the Dragon Tomb's dark magic? This was...
"An exquisite design!" Anbaixiu marveled. "You harness geothermal heat to maintain the magical array, using the deaths of dragons merely as a primer... You converge the deaths of countless sea creatures here, siphoning power directly from the concept of death itself! You're quite bold. Aren't you afraid of drawing the wrath of deities of death?"
Sefris stared at Anbaixiu in utter shock. "How did you see through that?! This is not knowledge a mortal can master!"
"Heh, I happen to be quite well-acquainted with several deities."
Anbaixiu smiled faintly. It was a sheer coincidence; had Leira not shared her divine knowledge with him, he truly wouldn't have grasped the underlying truth of this Dragon Tomb.
If one had to describe it, this Dragon Tomb was essentially a very feeble 'conceptual deity'—perhaps not even qualifying as a lesser deity, and possessing no consciousness of its own. Yet a conceptual deity was still a conceptual deity, capable of drawing power directly from the concept of death.
To be precise, it was akin to the magical array in the City of Alchemy, which had transformed Gary Watts into a godlike state capable of casting Wish without limit.
This Dragon Tomb was a successful realization of that concept, save for the fact that they had expunged any emerging 'divine will,' utilizing the tomb purely as a tool to steadily provide augmented dark magic.
"However, I am curious: what are you trying to accomplish by risking siphoning divine power?" Anbaixiu asked.
Usurping faith was already enough to earn a deity's eternal hatred, tantamount to slapping them across the face. But siphoning power directly from the concept of death? That was equivalent to defecating on their head.
The concept of death... which deity governed death right now?
Anbaixiu suddenly realized he couldn't quite recall. Myrkul, the Lord of Bones? Bhaal, the God of Murder? Cyric, the Prince of Lies? Or... A succession of divine names surfaced in Anbaixiu's mind, yet he couldn't pin down who currently held that crucial divine portfolio of death.
It had been so long; Anbaixiu couldn't remember when he had last reviewed records on the pantheon. Perhaps his memory was getting muddled.
Never mind, that wasn't important. What mattered was: what were these bone dragons playing at?
If you slapped a deity, they might at most spit back in your face, constrained because Ao was watching. But if you defecated on a deity's head, Ao would turn a blind eye, granting that deity free rein to strike back.
Just as if someone attempted to seize the concept of alchemy, Anbaixiu's teacher would unhesitatingly blast all involved into cinders with alchemical bombs.
It was precisely for this reason that the 'deity' fabricated by the City of Alchemy had nothing to do with the concept of alchemy; otherwise, the plan could never have been put into motion.
The question now wasn't how the dragons had pulled it off, but rather what death wish they were courting. Why hadn't the deities of death stepped in to squash them like bugs?
Sefris's demeanor had shifted entirely. He no longer dared to look down on this lich.
No member of the Elegy Poetry Society was a mediocrity. He had been dead for so long that his own thoughts had grown rotten and dull.
For a split second, Sefris had even entertained the thought of silencing him.
Yet how could one silence a lich? Moreover, if a fight broke out, his son-in-law might not side with him. If Gareth intervened in the slightest, Sefris might not be able to kill Anbaixiu even with the full might of the Dragon Tomb at his disposal—to say nothing of the master of the Silent Night Sea and that enigmatic undead girl.
Since silencing them was out of the question, Sefris could only say to Anbaixiu, "I shouldn't have brought you inside. Yet on second thought, this must be the arrangement of fate. We have much to discuss now: the pact signed by dragonkind back then, the choices offered by the Githyanki, and the secrets of the Dragon Tomb. Which do you wish to discuss first?"
Anbaixiu replied, "Business first, of course. Tell me what that ancient pact entails."
Sefris answered, "The terms of the pact were simple: all living dragons must stay away from the continent, forbidden from returning for the rest of their natural lives, or else perish from withering decay. And the condition to break it was equally simple—to obtain the forgiveness of every kingdom across the continent."
Chapter 373