Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy

937 The Psychic Arts Practitioners

After observing the surroundings, Vale confirmed that the land was indeed treacherous as described in the report he had read...

Although he didn't believe that anyone could hurt him in his current realm of strength, Vale moved cautiously while spreading his Divine Sense and other inspection skills throughout the surroundings.

'Interesting…' Vale muttered as he realized that there were indeed a lot of strange entities within this place.

It was as if this was the place where all Dark Practitioners would dump their summoned evil spirits from various dimensions.

The oppressive aura of the land had also started oppressing his spirit, to be exact, his mind…

However, he was unfazed by it all as he was strong enough to ignore it.

His current strength allowed him to fortify his mind against such psychic interference.

Not long into his exploration, he encountered the first obstacle that the agents of the Arcane Bureau must've faced.

He saw a pack of Ethereal Wraiths, malevolent entities that thrived on psychic energy.

They emerged from the ground as if they'd been waiting for him. They had translucent forms and seemed to be excited to devour him…

Of course, Vale could easily deflect these creatures if he just brings out his Dark Grimoire. Just its presence alone could deter any weaker dark entities. However, that wouldn't kill these Spirits.

Since some of the agents may have fallen because of these entities, he had to at least show them that they shouldn't be killing humans.

Vale did not hesitate. With a swift gesture, he summoned a sphere of darkness that expanded outward, consuming the wraiths in silence.

It happened too quickly…

Their forms flickered and vanished as they were unable to withstand the concentrated Divinity.

It happened too quickly…

Vale did not hesitate. With a swift gesture, he summoned a sphere of darkness that expanded outward, consuming the wraiths in silence.

Their forms flickered and vanished as they were unable to withstand the concentrated Divinity.

This was just a small obstacle and so, Vale continued on his investigation of the place.

As he ventured deeper, Vale soon started to find some signs of habitation—a village hidden within the Holy Land's forests.

The dwellings were ancient, constructed from stone, and reinforced with Arcane Energy that seemed to be related to Psychic Arts.

Vale also started feeling some form of energy that was trying to corrupt his mind. There were faint whispers, calls, or voices messing in his mind that seemed to emanate from the very ground.

"No wonder many agents died here… This place is a lot more sinister than I thought." Vale muttered as he continued to observe the surroundings.

He could tell that unless one had reached a level of Master Arcanists, any Arcanists that would enter this place would truly be in danger.

Vale thought for a moment before he concealed his presence. The skill he used wasn't too special as it was simply his mastery of shadows allowing him to observe undetected.

Soon, he observed the villagers, clad in robes bearing some insignias of the Ancient Families who had built the foundation of the Psychic Arts.

Vale didn't disturb these people as he watched them move around. He could probably extract their memories to obtain more information but after reaching the Immortal Realm, he had to think twice when taking the lives of mortals or karma might affect his current status and the Will of the Realm might target him.

In any case, as Vale listened, he confirmed that their conversations hinted at rituals and preparations that were about to happen somewhere.

It basically coincides with the reports he read about their plans to summon an Ancient Devil.

One name caught his attention: the Mind's Pinnacle.

It wasn't a simple artifact with the way they described it. It seemed to be an Arcana that they needed to summon the Ancient Devil. It seemed not to be included in the report he read.

Anyway, what made Vale confused, however, was their reason to summon the Ancient Devil.

No one was threatening them in their Holy Land as far as he could tell.

'Is it revenge?' Vale mused as he thought that the higher-ups of this community probably had some hatred piling up against an organization or even a country. Perhaps, they wanted to destroy those who had brought their Holy Land to such a state…

Well, he wasn't sure.

What he knew, however, was the strength of an Ancient Devil should be reaching the level of Immortals. Based on the books he read, the powers they had could flatten mountains. It could only be done if they were some sort of Immortal.

Vale then recalled the report from the Bureau.

'The ritual involves a Sanguine Crystal, the Essence of a Thousand Minds, and the psychic resonance of the Sanctuary of the Mind, located at the land's heart.'

"If the Ancient Families have indeed kept the Arcana and those things hidden here, they might really summon a powerful Devil." Vale thought but he also believed that the restriction that the Timeless King had placed should stop it.

After all, ever since the restriction happened, they could only access lower-realm summons and not the higher ones like the realms of Giants, Vampires, or even the Abyss.

Vale wasn't sure if they would be successful or not, but if they succeeded, it would be a huge catastrophe.

***

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Vale arrived at the next village. With his Divine Sense, he was able to tell that the villages were surrounding another settlement that seemed to be the main area for the huge ritual.

For now, Vale thought of going around the villages to gather information.

He had also decided to wear clothes similar to theirs after stealing some of them.

Just like that, he blended seamlessly into the local life. Furthermore, since he had already extracted various Psychic Arts, he was confident that he would not be found out at all.

No one was able to find anything wrong with the way he behaved as he gathered more and more information about the ritual.

'The ritual will take place in five more days… I can relax for now…' Vale thought as he calmly observed the village.

Smoke curled lazily from chimneys, and the faint scent of cooking filled the air. After being confident with his disguise, he even struck up conversations with villagers.

There, he learned that the main families of the Faction rarely interacted with the common folk but maintained an enigmatic hold over the region…

However, this didn't change the fact that these common people were actually using cruel methods to learn the Psychic Arts!

Indeed, Vale found out how everyone in the village learned how to use the Psychic Arts without the Philosopher's Elixir's assistance!