If You Destroy Me, Can You Still Live?

"How much farther is it to the root server?" Zeref asked.

Dr. Shezhi said, "Still quite a ways. The root server was built in a rather concealed location. Ordinary people simply can't get in here, and there are layers upon layers of guards."

"And this place below is like an air-raid shelter. Without someone to lead the way, you could easily get lost inside."

Li Ran watched his body flicker repeatedly. Dr. Shezhi's voice in his ears also came and went, and he knew he could not continue forward here. Otherwise, he might get stuck in a crack in time.

Unless his real-world plane was also within this passage.

He did not know why, but it was truly strange.

"I may need some time. If you can't wait for me, continue onward and just leave markers along the way," Li Ran said.

"Alright."

Li Ran nodded and sent his spiritual power into the Source of the Time Mirror. Sure enough, he saw a small seal inside.

Zeref had already taught him the incantation for the seal. He only needed to silently recite it in his heart to open or close it.

His gaze sharpened as he silently recited the incantation and closed the seal within the Source of the Time Mirror.

The instant it closed, his body stopped flickering.

The scene before his eyes returned to the Mystic Stone Stele beneath the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

"This trip into the past lasted a little too long. The Mystic Stone Stele's energy alone is far from enough," Li Ran said as he looked at the stele before him.

He raised his left hand. The Source of the Time Mirror was clenched in his palm, and the energy within it had been provided by Zeref.

According to Zeref, once he opened the seal inside,