However, Jared smiled and shook his head, saying, “Old Mr. Seizon, it wasn’t because of the sealing stone’s power. You’ve been tricked. The arcane array on this wooden doll is flawed, and that is why it ended up falling apart. It looks like the guy who sold you the wooden doll is only an amateur mage.”
Renault was instantly enraged. “F*ck! How dare he lie to me? I spent hundreds of millions of spirit coins on this! If I see that guy, I’m going to skin him alive! Mr. Chance, what do we do now? Should I send one of my disciples to test it out?”
“No need.” Jared waved dismissively before breaking a nearby tree branch to hold in his hand. Then, as he muttered an incantation, the branch began moving. As though it had turned into a human, it started wriggling. In the next second, it leaped onto the sealing stone.
Then, with Jared’s control, the branch started jumping on the stone, but neither the stone nor the altar showed any response.
Seeing Jared’s skills, Renault could not help but feel admiration for the young man. Regardless of Jared’s actual strength, with this technique alone, he could surely make a fortune in the Ethereal Realm.
Alas, Jared was not in the Ethereal Realm to make money, he had no attachment to wealth. “It seems like this sealing arcane array has already become ineffective. No issues here,” Jared casually remarked as he waved his hand, turning the tree branch into powder.
“I had a feeling there wouldn’t be any issues. There’s no way an arcane array would have no spiritual energy fluctuations. Judging by the level of damage to this stone, it’s probably been here for thousands of years,” Cloud said as he approached and touched the sealing stone.
It did not react at all. Upon realizing that Cloud had touched the sealing stone without any consequences, Jared was confident that the sealing arcane array had indeed become ineffective.
Otherwise, to protect the seal from being broken, there would be defensive arcane arrays integrated into the sealing arcane array. If anyone touched or deliberately damaged it, the defensive arcane array would activate and harm the intruder.
That was why Jared initially discouraged Cloud from touching the sealing stone. “It appears to be an abandoned altar and no longer of any use.”
Renault sighed, a tinge of disappointment lacing his words. Stumbling upon an ancient altar like this, anyone would hope to discover valuable magical items. However, it appeared that this altar had been abandoned for quite some time.
“It seems like there’s no point in lingering here. We should continue our exploration elsewhere.”
Jared assessed the surroundings. The unadorned altar didn’t seem to hold any immediate promise, so he called out to move on.
Nevertheless, at that very moment, Cloud, who had placed his hand on the mysterious sealing stone, unexpectedly channeled a surge of spiritual energy into it.
Buzz! The vibrations started instantly as Cloud’s action triggered an unexpected response from the sealing stone. A powerful force then thrust Cloud away.
“Cloud!”
Seeing this, Renault reacted swiftly, jumping into the air to catch Cloud. Cloud appeared shaken, his face displaying discomfort.
“Are you okay?” Jared inquired. “I’m all right; it wasn’t too serious. However, the energy that surged from the stone was extraordinary,” Cloud replied, still recovering from the shock.
“It seems that this sealing arcane array hasn’t lost its potency. In fact, it remains rather formidable. The reason it appeared as an ordinary stone, devoid of spiritual energy fluctuations, is likely because its creator intentionally concealed its true nature. This deliberate camouflage served as a protective measure for the arcane array. What a brilliant mind…”
Jared couldn’t help but admire the genius behind this setup.
“But, could it be that this sealing arcane array is here to contain some truly ominous creature or entity beneath this altar? Otherwise, why go to such lengths?” Renault mused, gazing at the sealing stone now emitting a faint, eerie glow.
