Epoch of Twilight

Chapter 337: Illusion

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In nature, there were very few substances that could shine on their own and they were all radioactive substances.

These substances undoubtedly contained an enormous amount of energy. Take enriched uranium for example. One gram of enriched uranium could release 20 joules of energy, which was equivalent to 1.5 tons of anthracite coal power that had the capacity to generate an output of 5555.56 kWh. This might seem insignificant, but the energy generated could melt 70 to 80 tons of steel into iron and burn people to ashes two times over.

Of course, artificial uranium had existed for a billion years. If one gram of uranium decayed naturally, it needed hundreds of billions of years to release even half its energy. The energy released in the form of radiation every second was so little, it was almost negligible.

Luo Yuan did not know what substance this crystal stone was, but it certainly was not radioactive. Judging by the way it released light and heat, its energy would diminish in just a few years.

Then again, the solar thermal energy released from the crystal was a thousand times stronger than that of enriched uranium, and its weight was about 50 grams. He could not tell the amount of energy contained in the stone. Taking a level eight mutated beast's giant body and fearsome power into account, Luo Yuan estimated that it had to contain no less energy than one gram of enriched uranium.

Luo Yuan put the glass tube down with a serious expression. This stuff was too dangerous. He planned to process the horn first, and come back to the crystal later. He carefully placed the glass tube inside the box and closed it before opening the box that contained the spiral horn.

Inside the box was a two-meter long wooden bar. The box was made of fine wood, and it was as dim as golden steel. Even without identification, Luo Yuan could roughly estimate that it was dark blue level timber.

The wooden box was tightly sealed with dried vine, so he could not open it by using force. He had to use his Will to separate those vines.

He was just about to open the box but as his hand touched the lid, he felt a slight numbness in his fingers, as if he had been pricked by needles. He quickly pulled his hand back and looked at them. He was surprised to see that they were full of fine red dots.

Fortunately, his skin was tough, so he wasn't bleeding.

The horn was terrible. Someone had cut it from a dead beast, but its power was not even half of what the creature had. Luo Yuan could imagine it being a powerful weapon when it had still been intact on the mutated beast. It would have pricked its opponents with a hundred holes before even coming into contact with them.

Luo Yuan did not dare look at it anymore. He gathered his Will and covered his whole body in a soft light. He gently opened the wooden box, his eyes squinting unconsciously. He could not even look at it if he did not take any precautions.

The horn was seemed to glow a whitish-gold color and it exuded a threatening force. Luo Yuan could vaguely feel an invincible force raging in the air. The wooden box under the horn had almost been eroded by the power of the horn and a layer of fine sawdust had piled up under the horn. Compared to the pictures on the website, it did not do the horn's power any justice.

Luo Yuan reached out to touch and feel the horn, all the while still consuming his Will.

Although the force exuded from the Zhanmadao was compelling enough, it was still just a feeling, which was simply incomparable to such power.

Luo Yuan used his identification technique.

"Phantom Unicorn"

"Rarity: Dark Green"

"Weight: 65 kg"

"Additional Abilities: Bloody Tear"

"Remarks: The Phantom Unicorn is the darling of nature blessed with unnatural speed. It has no fixed territory and just wanders around to its every whim and fancy. Its speed and horn are its only means of self-protection."

Luo Yuan took a look around and realized that the additional capabilities of the horn matched the Zhanmadao. The most important feature of a weapon was its sharpness. Any other extra capabilities were insignificant.

Luo Yuan pulled out the Zhanmadao and concentrated his Will. Then he stabbed the saber into the middle of the horn and started to use the synthesization technique.

The horn gradually began to heat up, and soon it was sweltering. With a saber in its center, the color of the white-gold horn quickly faded away as powder fell from it. At the same time, the Zhanmadao, which had originally been black-and-white, gradually formed a slight white-gold pattern. An invisible force began to spread through the blade of the saber.

As time passed, most of the horn was slowly reduced to ashes. Only one-third of it could not be synthesized.

Luo Yuan pulled out the knife and saw that this time the whole Zhanmadao had turned into an amazing weapon. It exuded an extremely threatening invisible force. He felt like he was being stabbed in the heart by a needle just by looking at it. He concentrated his mind, and the threatening force immediately converged within the blade of the Zhanmadao. Then, as he released his Will into the blade, it exuded a powerful raging force that was even stronger than what he had seen.

After looking at the original wooden box that had held the horn, Luo Yuan flicked the Zhanmadao and the tip seemed to cross the wooden box from the top without even touching it. The distance between the two was about two feet, yet something amazing happened. The Zhanmadao flashed and the whole box was split into two in an instant. The incision was smooth and delicate like the surface of a mirror.

The blade of Luo Yuan's concentrated Will was about half a meter long, and it was very sharp. The power did not immediately dissapear abruptly after half a meter either. Instead, it gradually weakened until it was not enough to cut a wooden box anymore.

Of course, this was merely an additional ability. The blade formed by his Will was several times more powerful than this.

Through that test, Luo Yuan had discovered that his weapon could now complement his Will. With its help, the power of his Will could be supported, making it more stable and sharp. He could also expand its attack distance to a maximum of five meters and reduce the consumption of his Will greatly.

"Phantom Zhanmadao"

"Rarity: Dark Green"

"Weight: 24 kg"

"Attack: 40-46"

"Additional Ability 1: Attack Speed +3"

"Additional Ability 2: Passive Tearing. It can easily cut any sharp objects with a moderate effect."

"Additional Ability 3: Passive Bleeding. It can make wounds suffer incurable bleeding."

"Remarks: This is a Zhanmadao with a mysterious force. It is very sharp, and no one can use it except for its owner."

As he checked out the powerful properties in his mind, Luo Yuan looked pleased. To some extent, this dark green, level seven horn was far more valuable than a level eight material.

Its only disadvantage was that the knife was almost five pounds heavier. It made Luo Yuan, who was used to the original Zhanmadao a bit uncomfortable, but he just needed a little more practice to adapt to it. Aside from this minor flaw, everything was perfect.

After the synthetization, one-third of the horn was left. When Luo Yuan picked up the horn to tidy up the room, he noticed something strange. The threatening force the horn exuded had completely disappeared after the synthesization.

"Could it have been fully integrated by the Zhanmadao? Is the Zhanmadao’s absorption capacity infinite?"

Luo Yuan was a little curious, as this was the first time he had noticed this. After all, when the Zhanmadao synthesized, either the material to be absorbed was limited or its ability was hidden. However, he could not know just by looking at it, which was why he had not paid any attention to it before.

As he lacked any evidence, all he could do was make a note for future reference.

Luo Yuan controlled the compelling force of the Zhanmadao until it was back to its normal state. Then he inserted it into the scabbard and put it away.

As he looked at the small box next to him, his heart began to stir. He could not resist taking a look at such a powerful substance.

He reached out to open the box and took the stone out of the bottle carefully. He removed the wax seal quickly before he pulled the cork out.

Suddenly, a threatening aura spread out and stifled Luo Yuan’s breath. His expression quickly changed. This feeling was comparable to a real level eight mutated beast, but even so, his felt much difficulty in repressing this feeling in his heart.

Luo Yuan took a deep breath as he knew how powerful a real level eight mutated beast would be. Just the thought of one would have made anyone desperate. By the time one faced such a beast, they may not even dare go near it because of the powerful aura it would exude.

He shook his head to get rid of any distractions. He dared not hesitate. The energy of the crystal could easily oxidize, and further exposure to air could reduce its power.

To avoid any incidents, he covered himself with a thin layer of Will and quickly grabbed the crystal with his hand.

However, when the palm and crystal came into contact, the crystal, which was a living thing started to tremble severely. Meanwhile, Luo Yuan was absent-minded and an invisible roaring noise rose in his mind. He could vaguely see a giant beast with vivid colors roar angrily in his head.

Luo Yuan took a few steps backward. When he recovered, his face had turned pale.

His Will had unknowingly dissipated by more than half and the layer of Will he had surrounding his body became too difficult to maintain.

He looked down at his palm and found himself unconsciously holding the crystal. He shrugged. The energy of the crystal was still in his hands, it just wasn't as violent as before. The crystal was not moving at all. It felt like the whole scene had been just a hallucination.

Luo Yuan exhaled softly and shivered. He was already soaked in sweat.

"What's going on?"

His face was serious, and he was still afraid.