The Magus Era

　　

When Ji Hao was following a group of Wind Bird people in Silent Forest, Taisi was confusingly sitting on a hill in a daze. He was on a boundless grassland. Grasses were long, reaching to his neck, and were thrivingly green. The wind blew across, making the grass wave like water; the scene was especially beautiful.

A sparse few brushwoods scattered on the grassland. Small hills with gentle slope could be seen, with great rivers winding across, nourishing the grassland. The grassland seemed to be fertile, and animals and birds could be seen all over the ground and sky. This was a lively, thriving area.

After coming out of the portal, Taisi couldn’t find Ji Hao and the others, but the pair of magic snakes which were lying on Ji Hao’s shoulders were now weirdly coiled on Taisi’s lap.

Taisi and the two baby snakes looked at each other in confusion for a while, then he took out a leather-made small handbook from his sleeve, opened the first page and started reading in a low voice.

”Shaosi said that when I arrived in a strange place, I should firstly check the surrounding environment? To see if there’s a dangerous thing that I can’t deal with?”

The two fire snakes smoothly climbed up to Taisi’s shoulder while letting out hissing noise, then comfortably coiled their bodies on his shoulder and began looking around curiously.

They were raised by Ji Hao for a long time and knew Taisi and his other friends. Therefore, since they couldn’t find Ji Hao after coming out of the portal, it was totally reasonable for them to follow Taisi. The two baby snakes had been very quiet, not causing Taisi much trouble.

Taisi grabbed the small handbook, looked around for a while, then murmured, ”Dangerous thing that I can’t deal with?” He was deeply confused now, as he couldn’t figure out what Shaosi meant by ‘dangerous thing’.

Remaining silent for a while, Taisi pulled out the bone wand from his sleeve, incanted a spell with a deep voice then stuck the bone wand into the ground heavily. Buzz! The air within the area over ten miles in radius began shaking strangely as waves of dim gray light sparkled and spread out swiftly.

Wherever the gray light flashed across, no matter be it grass, bush, mushroom or any other plant, or animals on the grassland, even birds flying in the sky; all living creatures in this area were killed immediately. Streams of gray air gathered back toward Taisi’s body. The death power generated after these creatures were killed was the most nourishing thing to Taisi. Tasi’s body quickly absorbed all the death power.

Centering Taisi’s body, a withered area with a diameter of around thirty miles was weirdly and abruptly sealed on this beautiful grassland. In this round-shaped empty area, all plants were turned into ashes, all living creatures perished, and even the dead bodies of those animals had been turned into ashes.

Taisi blinked his eyes and confusingly looked around. Quite a few small flocks of animals were turned into nothingness by this move of his, and those small things that he could destroy easily with one hand were obviously nothing dangerous.

”No dangerous things, so according to what Shaosi said, this place is quite safe!” Taisi chuckled, then scratched his head and continued, ”So, the second thing…food and drinking water?”

”Water, water, water!” Taisi murmured. Right in front of him, about two to three miles away, was a stream winding across. But this over ten miles long stream seemed so deathly now that the surface of it was covered in a layer of deathly pale, gray mist. But still, in Taisi’s eyes, this was the water source.

As for food, Taisi had just slaughtered so many living creatures, and by now, his body was suffused by death power. So he felt rather full.

”I’m not hungry, so no need to find food for now. And Ji Hao gave me this bangle which has so many foods in it.” Taisi raised his arm and waved the bangle worn on his wrist. A huge amount of food and other daily supplies that Ji Hao carefully prepared for Taisi was piled in the bangle like mountains. All that was more than enough for Taisi to eat and use for over a hundred years.

”The third thing, ensure the safety, stay with food and water, then do not move… wait for the others to find me?” Taisi turned to the third page of the small handbook and read seriously, ”Hm, wait for Ji Hao, Shaosi, Man Man, Feng Xing and Yu Mu come to find me.”

Putting the magic wand back into his sleeve, Taisi sat down on the small hill and looked at afar.

What Taisi didn’t notice was that when he killed all living creatures within the area over ten miles in radius, a dark cloud that carried a thunder trail silently gathered upon his head. However, after he launched that move, the power of sense released from his body was instantly restrained. He then sat down on the hill like a hazy shadow, without any movements or any more power vibrations.

The dark cloud carried thunder trial floated above Taisi’s head for quite a long while, aimed at the two snakes lied on Taisi’s shoulders for a couple of times. But the two baby snakes remained perfectly still too. The pair of snakes seemed to be under the protection of a magical and protective power that came from Taisi’s body as well, because of which, the senses of power released from their bodies had also become extremely weak, almost not sensible. The dark cloud floated above for about a quarter of an hour, but dispelled at last. This empty area created by Taisi was suffused by death power. All animals living on the grassland sensed Taisi’s terrifying power and the threat given off by it. Within five days, no living creatures dared to enter this area.

”So boring…” Taisi, who was sitting on the hill, lied down and stretched his limbs. While showing the whites of his eyes, he looked at the sky and complained, ”Ji Hao, bloody fatso and flying monkey, what are you doing?”

The climate of the grassland changed frequently and suddenly. As Taisi murmured to himself, thick and dense dark clouds gathered over and next, a heavy rain poured down. Within the blink of an eye, Taisi, who was lying on the ground, was soaked thoroughly by the rain.

He took out that leather handbook again and turned to the last few pages.

”Shaosi said that when the rain comes, find somewhere to take shelter…Caves are the best tree holes are not safe as they might be struck by lightning?”

Taisi stood up, moved his stiff body and looked around. The surrounding area was flat and empty, without even a small mountain. Where could he find a cave? He couldn’t even find a tree hole in this place. Small brushwoods were everywhere, but none of those could shelter Taisi from the rain.

”Cave? Tree hole? Are you joking?” Taisi was confused and didn’t know what to do. All these years, Shaosi had been taking care of his daily life. Without Shaosi, he wasn’t even sure about when to eat or drink.

Violent thunderbolts flashed across the sky one after another. Taisi raised his head, looked at the sky and knitted his eyebrows.

”Eh, I should find a mountain first! It’s not sweet to be struck by a thunderbolt, truly.” Frighteningly glancing at those scary thunderbolts in the sky, Taisi’s body suddenly became transparent. Meanwhile, his body turned flat, as if it was compressed, and turned into a hazy silhouette.

Not only him, the bodies of the pair of baby snakes lying on his shoulder changed in the same way.

Looking around for another while, Taisi threw his bone wand into the sky. After the bone wind fell back on the ground, he trod on a cold gust of wind and drifted to where the magic wand pointed, like a ghost.