Chapter 202 The Patriarch (1/2)
The Patriarch's voice sounded in Arran's h Arran had given no voice to his fear, it was clear that the Patriarch knew his thoughts without needing him to speak any words
”While your memories are of interest to me, I would not harm you for them I would not offer you such poor repayiven h of relief The Patriarch had no reason to lie — if he intended har that Arran could do to stop hi me the cure for that wretched poison Heavens know I've had to endure it long enough”
Arran understood that the Patriarch could easily force him to deliver the cure That he did not do so was likely intended as a token of goodwill — a good sign, if nothing else
”A token of goodwill? In part, I suppose But I would not lightly force an ally to do so — not unless it was absolutely necessary Now hurry up A few drops of blood sprinkled acrosshis unease at having his thoughts read so easily, Arran approached the Patriarch's motionless body, then used his sword to make a deep cut across his hand In the brief ain, he released a thin stream of blood across the shriveled body's lips
”Excellent! With this, I should recover in a matter of weeks!”
The Patriarch's casual words hid a deep sense of joy, and Arran needed little iination to understand that after decades spent trapped in his own body, the prospect of freedom was no small matter to the ain, I can take care of Elder Feng's formation If not, you will have to wait until I recover and remove it myself But I think you'd prefer not to spend the next feeeks locked in here with a withered old reed He had no desire to spend another hour in the room, much less several weeks
Once more, he could feel the Patriarch take control of his body Ainto his body — far more than he would be able to control himself
Several hundreds of strands of Essence formed, then slowly stretched out towards those parts of the fornized as its weak points Yet just before they touched it, they unexpectedly dissipated
”Attacking these weak points would be an effective way of destroying the forainst a ht it to Elder Feng, but he did a supremely lousy job at it Had he used one of his own formations, you would not have passed it so easily — but then, his ould have been easy to recognize”
With a start, Arran realized that the Patriarch was offering hi the for how it could be done
”Of course,” the Patriarch's voice came ”It would not do to waste an opportunity like this Now pay attention”
In quick succession, he demonstrated nearly a dozen different ways to attack the forhts on the functioning of seals It was like watching aArran's body, even the slightest detail was easy to see
Finally, the Patriarch's words sounded in Arran's ain ”But the h a counter-formation”
In the blink of an eye, the Patriarch for of thousands of strands of Essence Although , he could tell that the pattern was like an opposite of the one used in the forrew in size, expanding until it perfectly covered Elder Feng's for snuffed, the formation dissipated in an instant, not a trace of it left behind
The scene left Arran in awe The Patriarch's skill was beyond anything he could have iined And as he observed this, an idea for's formation this easily, then perhaps he could remove Master Zhao's seal as well
”I could, but I won't,” came the Patriarch's reply ”That seal is more valuable than the Realm it covers Study it well, and once you are able to break it, you will havea master of seals yourself”
Arran nodded silently, understanding that the Patriarch was right And now that he knew that seals and for, he realized thathim tre else for you If you reive you soic”
”All right,” Arran replied quickly
”Pay close attention This opportunity will not coain, and it will save you years of study”
The Patriarch gathered a large aan to cast a series of spells
The spells were all ones Arran already knew — Windblade, Force shi+eld, and Battering Force — but the difference between his own versions and the Patriarch's was like night and day Even li himself to an amount of Essence that Arran could control, the Patriarch's spells were somehow farhis body, it was as if he was casting the spells hiainedthan he had in years of practice
”Of course, they can also be used with different kinds of Essence”
The Patriarch cast the spells once more, but this time, he used other types of Essence The Windblade became a Force Blade, the Force shi+eld a Shadow shi+eld, and Battering Force beca the variations will ireater control of Essence — so”
Arran did not dispute this He kneell that control of ic was a weakness of his, and one that he needed to address sooner rather than later
”Next, I will show you a new spell It's called Flamestrike, and you have already seen it used ive you a powerful new attack but also qualify you to become a novice”
The Patriarch crafted an intricate spell, far more complex than the previous ones, and a moment later a thin streahtning