Thinking of the death traps Kismet had created one after another, Saul recalled a scene he had witnessed when using Nightmare Butterflies to observe the diary’s history.

In that historical segment, one of the diary’s former owners was sitting atop a mountain of corpses, holding the diary and sighing.

He must have killed vast numbers of people for death energy.

Looking at the mountain piled high with bodies, he had probably killed enough people to populate an entire continent to reach such a scale.

Saul asked himself: did he want to become the next Kismet, or become an existence like the diary’s previous owner?

Without needing much thought, he already had his answer.

“Kismet didn’t have a good life at all. And the diary’s previous owner obviously abandoned the diary that required countless people’s sacrifice in the end.”

Saul had no intention of following his predecessors’ old path.

Moreover, regarding how to replenish the diary’s death energy, he vaguely had a new idea forming in his mind.

Saul left the wizard tower’s fifth floor, walking down the spiral staircase.

As Saul moved, several eyes sprouted from the walls as if in a stress response.

They would drill out from inside the walls when Saul approached, then close their eyelids again when Saul left, hiding as if they never existed.

When Saul reached the third floor, a mouth suddenly sprouted from the white door that matched the wizard tower’s color scheme.

“Tower Master!”

The mouth enthusiastically greeted Saul, but before getting Saul’s response, the door it was on was pulled open from inside.

Byron’s wooden face appeared, his eye sockets full of dark circles. “Perhaps we could recruit some assistants.”

Byron wore specially-made black wizard robes with steel needles stuck all over them.

“We also need to purchase a new batch of test subjects.”

Saul smiled. “Just discuss these matters with Hope. He’ll help you contact Jiajia Gu.”

Byron bared his teeth. “I need apprentices and true wizards to cooperate in experiments.”

His smile gradually distorting, Saul asked helplessly, “Senior, are you still researching the Inertization Formula? You should put more thought into advancement too. I can’t be certain when the Borderland will experience another Black Tide pollution outbreak.”

Byron’s small-scale Black Tide inertization experiments were complete, but he had been unable to expand the inertization’s range of influence.

At most, he could only treat one person at a time.

Later, Byron temporarily gave up expanding the inertization’s range and began researching the reverse experiment of inertization.

That is, reactivating already inertized black powder back into Black Tide, carrying powerful pollution.

Saul had repeatedly advised Byron to focus more on personal advancement, but Byron could be terribly stubborn sometimes.

He had buried himself so deep in Black Tide experiments that he refused to climb out of that pit.

As a result, over all this time, his magic power hadn’t changed much.

However, his mental strength had gradually become more resilient through the repeated cycle of being polluted and treated by Saul.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Byron brushed it off with his usual excuse again. “I need several assistants for long-term experimental cooperation. They might need to live in the wizard tower. Or if you find it inconvenient, I could also move to the mushroom forest.”

“No need for the trouble.” Saul waved his hand. “Although my wizard tower isn’t particularly spacious, housing another dozen or so people wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, I released the mouths and eyes from the interlayers precisely so there would be monitoring when others enter the wizard tower in the future.”

Saul thought for a moment, then continued, “I’ll be going out in a couple days and will take Agu and the others with me. Before then, I’ll arrange assistants for you.”

Byron nodded, not asking where Saul was going. If Saul needed him, he would be called.

With their exchange complete, Byron didn’t waste a moment, directly closing the door and returning to continue his research.

The mouth on the door continued talking.

“Tower Master, good evening! Do you need me to open the door for you?”

“Tsk.” Saul pulled his mouth corners in disgust. “Been out for so long and still doesn’t have a bit of brains.”

The mouth on the door laughed “hehe,” revealing yellowed, sharp teeth. “You’re absolutely right!”

Saul continued downward, the eyes in the walls following him down like a string of colored lights.

When he reached the first basement level, a mass of black mist blocked the stairway, completely obscuring the next level.

This layer of black mist would block unauthorized intruders.

Hidden deep within the mist was Black Tide pollution that Saul had extracted and processed. Even third-rank wizards entering would be blocked for a time by the suddenly appearing high-purity pollution.

If they continued to force their way through, those with insufficient strength would quickly be eroded by the pollution, their entire body mutating into unknowable monsters.

As the wizard tower’s master, Saul naturally wouldn’t be blocked by the black mist.

In the blink of an eye, Saul passed through the black mist and entered the first basement laboratory.

This was generally used for more dangerous and secretive experiments.

Monster limbs were distributed across several differently-sized experiment tables, most limbs still maintaining activity with various instruments connected to their tissues.

Books beside the instruments faithfully recorded various experimental processes and data.

Agu, who was monitoring the active limb readings in the laboratory, saw Saul approach and hurriedly put down his instruments to come over.

“Master.”

“I’m here to check on the Baisek Magic Mirror’s reaction. Continue with your work.”

Agu immediately recalled the relevant data and proactively introduced it to Saul: “Currently monitoring the souls remaining in the magic mirror, but due to the mirror’s influence, the readings are constantly fluctuating. Accuracy still needs confirmation.”

Saul and Agu came to a corner of the laboratory.

Here appeared to be just a row of shelves, but after removing the surface disguise magic, what appeared before them was an antique full-length mirror.

In the mirror was a woman’s silhouette.

She sat on the ground with her arms around her knees, curled up in a ball.

Her long hair was disheveled, falling to the ground and accumulating in several natural arcs.

Through the gaps in the black hair strands, one could see that this woman, with her back to the mirror surface, seemed to be wearing no clothes.

Her alluring body curves were faintly visible, emanating seductive charm.

If someone with impure thoughts saw this, they probably couldn’t help but press against the mirror surface, hoping that by drawing closer, they could see more beautiful scenery.

But whether Saul or Agu, both maintained calm expressions, standing a meter away from the mirror surface without moving.

After waiting a moment and seeing the figure in the mirror still motionless, Saul knocked on the mirror surface with his knuckles.

“No one here is interested in illusions. If you don’t want to get beaten like last time, you’d better come out immediately.”

The Baisek Magic Mirror’s surface rippled with water-like waves.

When the ripples stopped, the original woman’s silhouette disappeared, replaced by a mass of white smoke that constantly expanded and contracted.

Suspended in the center of the smoke was a human head very familiar to Saul.

It was Pei’er’s face.

But when this face opened its tightly closed eyes, the rich malice emanating from those eyes almost seemed to materialize and drill out from inside the mirror.

“You finally came.” The face of Pei’er in the mirror was extremely gloomy.

“Can you sense Pei’er’s consciousness now?” Saul ignored the resentment from the person in the mirror and asked calmly.

“I told you!” The head suddenly lunged forward, then crashed against the mirror surface with a bang, unable to break through. “I want to devour ninety-nine women’s souls, otherwise I won’t help you contact that fool!”

Saul crossed his arms. “Are you forgetting that you’re also a soul fragment stripped from Pei’er?”

The face laughed loudly. “What do you understand? I actively left her! Left that waste! That fool!”

“She doesn’t look particularly smart either.” Agu covered his mouth with the back of his hand and complained to Saul in a not-very-quiet voice.

But Saul didn’t continue joking with Agu.

“She’s the evil thoughts stripped from Pei’er. This kind of mindless frenzy might just be one layer of her disguise. Don’t be deceived. Everything according to the rules.”

(End of Chapter)

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