Chapter 819 The Talisman Vault
Several hours later, Kael had confined every former academy official, military commander, slave overseer, and suspected war criminal named in the recovered records. Their cultivation had been sealed, but none of them had been harmed.
The senior cultivators who had never participated in Sunlance Academy’s government were permitted to leave after registering their identities.
“Begin examining the records,” Kael ordered. “Forge only enough Soul-Locking Collars to restrain those who are eventually convicted. Every collar must be numbered and entered into the tribunal’s registry.”
“Understood.”
The human cultivators immediately headed toward the archive halls and the Artifact Forge. For the first time, they were not creating instruments of slavery. They were building restraints for those who had once placed an entire race in chains.
Kael strode into the heart of Sunlance Academy.
This was where the Dean had once cultivated in seclusion.
“Hm?”
Something was wrong.
The private residence of an academy dean should have been dry and immaculate. Instead, the Dean’s meditation chamber was dark and damp.
Kael surveyed the room, his attention settling on one corner. When he walked over, he discovered several empty insect husks left behind after molting.
“Was the Dean of Sunlance Academy infested by the Insect Race as well?”
Kael picked up one of the empty husks and examined it carefully. Finding these remains inside the Dean’s private chamber was enough to prove that the Insect Race had infiltrated the highest levels of Sunlance Academy.
He could not determine when the infiltration had begun or how much information had already been passed on. However, he could no longer assume that his actions here had remained a secret.
The Broodmother might already know that Sunlance Academy had fallen into his hands.
Kael’s expression hardened. He put the empty husks away.
Kael crossed the distance in several flashes and arrived at the Talisman Vault in the heart of Sunlance Academy.
The Golden Dragon cultivators who had once guarded the vault had either been reassigned or taken into his Inner Cosmos.
With a thought, Kael summoned a figure before him.
“Kael, are you finally willing to release me from your Inner Cosmos?” the Stellar Realm Golden Dragon asked eagerly.
“I brought you out to explain the functions and effects of these talismans.”
Kael gestured toward the rows of shelves filling the vault and the countless boxes arranged upon them.
“After I explain them, will you still force me to wear a Soul-Locking Collar?”
“Only if the tribunal finds you guilty,” Kael replied.
“Then what do I gain by helping you?”
“You get to live and face the tribunal. If the records prove you guilty, you will serve your sentence under a Soul-Locking Collar. If you are cleared, you will be released.”
Kael clasped his hands behind his back.
“To a Golden Dragon, what difference is there between slavery and death?”
The cultivator backed away several steps.
“Given enough time, I could identify these talismans myself. Cooperate, and the tribunal will take your assistance into account when determining your sentence.”
The threat in Kael’s voice left no room for doubt.
“I...” The Golden Dragon hesitated before finally giving in. “Very well. I’ll explain them.”
He walked over to the first shelf.
“These are the Sunlance Talismans for which the academy is best known. There are forty-seven left in storage. Each one is powerful enough to kill a Stellar Realm cultivator, provided the target cannot evade the attack. You would need some way to immobilize them first.”
He moved on to another set of boxes.
“These are Golden Lance Talismans. There are nine in total, and each one can kill an early-stage Galactic Realm cultivator. Again, the target must be immobilized first. If a Galactic Realm cultivator is free to dodge, even a Golden Lance Talisman poses little threat.
“And these are the famous Thunder God Talismans. Both are replicas. The genuine Thunder God Talisman was apparently the one used against you.”
The Golden Dragon’s tone grew solemn.
“Even these replicas are more than powerful enough to kill an ordinary Galactic Realm expert. Once activated, a Thunder God Talisman is almost certain to claim a Galactic cultivator’s life.
Trying to dodge is useless. The talisman’s creator accounted for that during the refinement process, so each one contains a faint trace of Heavenly Law. ”
Kael nodded.
He knew little about crafting talismans, but his cultivation and experience were more than sufficient to judge the man’s explanation. The Golden Dragon was telling the truth.
“Your name is Roderic Yu, correct?” Kael opened the Celestial Warden Talisman Codex and glanced at its final page. “The last talisman recorded in this codex is called the Godfall Talisman. Does Sunlance Academy have any in storage?”
“No one has ever succeeded in refining a Godfall Talisman. Even those inferior Thunder God Talismans weren’t created by the most recent Dean. They were refined by the Dean from two generations earlier.
“He was considered the greatest master of talisman arts in the academy’s history. His talent ranked among the finest in the entire galaxy, yet even he managed to produce only one genuine Thunder God Talisman and two replicas.
“As for the Godfall Talisman, perhaps only the cultivator who wrote the Celestial Warden Talisman Codex was ever capable of refining one.”
“That makes sense. The name Godfall speaks for itself. It should be capable of killing a Real Deity, correct?”
“That is what the legends claim, but I have never seen one. The recorded history of the Blood Jade Galaxy contains no account of a Real Deity ever being killed, so there is no way to verify whether the legends are true.”
Kael acknowledged this with a quiet murmur and put away the Celestial Warden Talisman Codex. He then beckoned to Roderic, sending him back into the Inner Cosmos.
Afterward, Kael emptied the entire Talisman Vault.
He stored most of the less valuable talismans in his spatial ring. The more valuable ones—Sunlance Talismans and anything of higher quality—went directly into his Inner Cosmos for safekeeping.
A year passed.
Accompanied by Arthur and the Goshawk Patriarch, Kael inspected the Soul-Locking Collars forged by humanity’s artificers.
“Torin, come explain the functions of these Soul-Locking Collars to my father.”
Arthur beckoned to a slender man standing in the distance.
The man hurried over. He had reached roughly the late stage of the Deity Transformation Realm.
“Torin Ding pays his respects to Patriarch Lin and Senior Stone.”
He dropped to his knees before Kael.
“There’s no need for such ceremony.”
Kael personally helped Torin to his feet.
“Patriarch, I used to specialize in forging Soul-Locking Collars for Sunlance Academy, but I never put my full effort into them. Because of that, cultivators who had opened an Inner Cosmos could enter their internal worlds and remove the collars themselves.
“This time, I spared no expense in crafting them. Even if cultivators from the four races enter their Inner Cosmos, they will be unable to remove these Soul-Locking Collars.
“Furthermore, the collars will constantly drain their Origin Energy and stamina. Any Origin Energy they cultivate each day will be absorbed by the collar before they can retain it.
“Once a month, I can extract the accumulated Origin Energy and use it to power the academy’s grand defensive formation. That way, we will no longer need to consume Prime Essence Stones to keep the formation active.”
Torin smiled as he finished his explanation.
Kael stared at him in silence.
Then he gave the slender man another slow examination from head to toe.
This fellow was thoroughly devious—and utterly ruthless.
“Excellent work.”
Kael summoned Gawain first.
After spending a year inside the Inner Cosmos, Gawain’s cultivation had actually improved considerably.
Kael’s Inner Cosmos contained both the Blackcloud Tree and the remains of an Immortal. Even with his cultivation sealed, the Origin Energy within Gawain’s body had grown purer than before.
“Gawain, fasten this Soul-Locking Collar around your neck.”
Kael selected an especially ornate collar and handed it to him.
“Look,” Torin said, pointing to the engraving on its surface. “It even bears a Golden Dragon design. It won’t make you look any less impressive.”