Crystal lair

Jacob's domain in Crystal Valley. Entrance of the mine which was the former site of Crystal Lair where the crystal dragon Jacob was originally located.

There is a Crystal vein located there.

## Story

### Pool

Chen Rui followed Jacob out of the room and came to a place behind the manor. There were still many Dragon Inscriptions along the way. Finally, they came to a pool.

This pool gave Chen Rui a familiar feeling. It was a little similar to the fountain of vitality and a little similar to the fountain of life, which was full of a strange power.

The crystal dragon didn't enter the pool. Instead, he sat in a stone pit on the side. The pit was surrounded by various Dragon Inscriptions and extremely complicated magic circles. The main body was six stone slabs. Each had a strange mark that seemed to be a strange rune. They were placed at each end of the six-pointed star.

These marks seemed familiar. Chen Rui recalled that every time he tried to go to the fifth floor of the ancient magic tower, some strange runes and marks would appear which made people unable to move forward.

Even Deep Analysis couldn't decipher those strange marks and runes. From the data of [Deep Analysis], several marks around the stone pit had something in common with those runes.

"Master, you can watch at that distance, but don't touch anything." Jacob sat behind the stone pit and activated the Dragon Inscription. Chen Rui could see that Jacob used his dragon's bloodline to trigger the inscription. In other words, no one else could use the stone pit.

After the inscription was activated, the complicated magic circles were activated one by one. Under the effect of the magic circle, the six-pointed star array flashed with a strange light. The marks at the six ends lit up, floating in the air. It was exuding a mysterious power, and it was slowly changing its shape as if it was alive.

The water in the pool began to pour into the stone pit. Under the effect of the magic circle, it turned into a flashing mist and wrapped Jacob's body as if it was a steam bath. The mist didn't drift around but was "confined" within the scope of the stone pit.

"This spring water and magic circle seem to have a healing effect."

Jacob is impressed and offers to take Chen as a disciple, but Chen tells him about the Soul Shackles with Manu.

Jacob naturally knew the power of [Soul Shackles], so he grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Manu always uses these sinister tricks. That Azgalor isn't any better than him! Master, if I have a way to force Manu to release the [Soul Shackles], are you willing to chenfu to me?"

Chen Rui's heart was moved. *Jacob's words revealed a message. The three Demon Overlords, Manu, Azgalor and Jacob seem to be in a discordance.*

### Ancient runes

Jacob thought about it for a while. *At present, this genius is only a master. His true value lies in his grandmaster's potential. If I recruit him after he becomes a grandmaster, the benefits is definitely different.*

He nodded immediately, "Okay. That's it. When you become a grandmaster, I'll make Manu remove the Soul Shackles even if it means I'll turn my face with him. However, as a grandmaster, the master-servant contract is a little disrespectful. At that time, I'll give you an equal contract! Until then, I'll provide master with all the necessary conditions!"

Chen Rui looked surprised. He immediately agreed and swore with the name of Arthur. Actually, he understood that the credibility of Jacob's words wasn't high and the real purpose was to win him over in advance. Once he really became a grandmaster, Jacob would definitely use other methods to control him. However, he didn't come to the Crystal Valley to become a grandmaster. Whatever it was, his current stall tactics had been successful.

"Since you've promised, then I'll no longer hide from master. I'm a crystal dragon. There is a large crystal vein under the Crystal Valley. This spring water is the Fountain of Resurrection which can restore spirit and stamina at the same time. The role of the magic circle is to use the Fountain of Resurrection to turn the crystals in the vein into recovery and healing power that will heal my injuries."

If the crystal vein shocked Chen Rui, then Jacob's subsequent words had astonished him, "You guessed it right. Many of the complicated magic circles around this pit are Dragon Inscriptions, but the true core is those six marks. These six marks are ancient runes!"

*Ancient runes! The seal on Paglio is exactly these ancient runes!*

*Due to this seal, the poison dragon, Paglio can't restore his Demon Overlord strength. Unexpectedly, there are ancient runes in the hands of the poison dragon's enemy, the crystal dragon!*

*In other words, the fifth floor of the ancient magic tower was sealed by the power of ancient runes? What's there on the fifth floor?*

Seeing Chen Rui's shocked expression, the crystal dragon raised his eyebrows slightly, "You even know the ancient runes?"

Chen Rui nodded and said, "I've seen the relevant records in the Mechanic Alliance. The last mechanic grandmaster, the dark goblin, Lolo, is proficient in ancient runes. However, he never recruited any disciple in his life. Thus, the knowledge of ancient runes was lost after he died. I wonder if the ancient runes have anything to do with the grandmaster's mechanics. Sir, please teach me the knowledge of ancient runes."

"Unfortunately, I don't understand ancient runes." Jacob shook his head, "The ancient rune is called the God's language and it's broad and profound. These six ancient runes are extraordinary. They are part of a complete series of ancient rune stone slabs that I snatched from a rival. Although I don't understand the meaning of these six runes, I found that it can be used in this recovery magic circle after many trials. It can speed up the progress of my recovery. Unfortunately, it can only be used once every seven days."

It turned out that these six stone slabs were only part of a complete "article". The so-called "rival" that Jacob mentioned must be the fairy dragon, Laura who was proficient in ancient runes. This might also be the root of the grudge between the two dragons.

"I understand now. The legendary crystal dragon is immune to all magic, so those recovery magic items or potions have no effect on you. You can only use the magic circle to rely on extracting the crystals in veins to heal your injuries." Chen Rui took a look at the magic circle calmly, "It's just that these magic circles are too complicated. With my current understanding, I can only understand a part of them. If they're easily changed without fully understanding, it may bring unpredictable consequences. So, I plan to copy it down and then take it back to study and experiment carefully. Once there's a result, I'll report it to sir immediately. As for the Dragon Inscription, I hope sir don't mind giving me some guidance."

"You're truly an extraordinary genius for being able to understand a part of it in such a short time. As for the Dragon Inscription, master can rest assure... you can study this magic circle at any time! If master can really improve this magic circle by making it more effective, I'll have more rewards for you."

The crystal dragon was very satisfied with Chen Rui's performance, but he didn't know that this guy was actually thinking about how to modify his magic circle to make his injuries worse. *I need to take these 6 stone slabs and the Fountain of Resurrection with me at the very least.*

He definitely wouldn't miss out on the rewards, but he couldn't mess up the plan because of that. At present, he had to further gain the trust of the crystal dragon and Manu. The Crystal Valley had at least three chiefs, and their strength had reached Demon Overlord that could easily kill him. Regardless of the cruel, violent father, Azgalor that Fatilu mentioned or the smiling tiger old fox, Manu, both of them were extremely horrifying. Even the seemingly speculative crystal dragon in front of him was a moody man. If he was a little careless, he might be killed.

Even if his identity as an undercover wasn't exposed, every step was like walking on thin ice.

However, to a certain extent, danger was also synonymous with opportunity. The huge crystal veins underground alone could bring great wealth; while the Illusive Demon Shield (it was actually just the Demon Shield) that Manu promised should arrive in a few days...

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 428 (Steambun)
2. ↑ Chapter 273 (Steambun)
3. ↑ Chapter 274 (Steambun)