News of the disappearance of Saqi and his two companions quietly spread throughout the Misty Creek area.
At first, only a few apprentices who had dealings with them noticed sothing was amiss. They failed to show up on the agreed-upon eting day, and their usual hideouts were all empty.
Soon, more and more signs began to surface. Traces of intense Witchcraft were discovered at the edge of the Whispering Forest.
Soone found a fragnt of a half-burnt piece of Leather Armor under a pile of rotting leaves, still carrying the distinctive bloody stench of the "Blood Staff."
"Three High Level Apprentices, just gone like that?" soone whispered. "Not even a body to be found..."
"Maybe they were out robbing people again and ran into soone they couldn’t handle. Serves them right!" another person said, gloating.
"Yeah, a friend of mine died in the Wilderness not long after he arrived. Soone saw those three do it..."
Amid the discussions, so gloated, so celebrated, and so grew secretly vigilant.
Talia listened to these rumors from a distance, her fingers unconsciously stroking the short blade at her waist.
She rembered the calm expression on Ian’s face when he returned that day, and the faint, peculiar aroma of potions wafting from within his tent.
She didn’t ask. Everyone has their secrets. But the aura of mystery around Ian quietly grew stronger in her mind.
Inside his tent, Ian was completely unconcerned with the commotion outside.
His entire focus was on the glass vessel before him.
A pale blue liquid swirled slowly, the fragnts of the Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal having completely dissolved, intertwining with the Moon Soul Essence to form a flowing light like a river of stars.
He maintained a stable output of Magic Power with his left hand, while his right hand slowly stirred with a silver rod in a specific rhythm. His Spiritual Power seeped into the liquid like fine threads, feeling the rhythm of every iota of energy as it fused.
’Now is the ti.’
Ian’s eyes narrowed as he flicked three drops of Silver Soul Grass Pollen into the mixture with his left hand.
HUMMM...
The liquid in the vessel suddenly glowed with a soft silver light, and a clear, calming fragrance filled the air.
He imdiately added a small spoonful of Ancient Tree of Life Extract. The pale golden liquid seeped in like a living thing, completely fusing all the ingredients.
Finally, he added ten milliliters of top-grade Calm Heart Spring Water.
The mont it was added, the liquid beca crystal clear, yet it seed as if a nebula was swirling within.
Ian quickly withdrew his Magic Power and used a special Crystal Bottle to collect the resulting potion. Five vials of standard-quality Concentration Potion, pale blue with fine specks of light floating and sinking within.
"It’s done." He let out a long breath, sealing each vial of the potion one by one.
Refining five potions at once had gone much more smoothly than expected.
In the following days, Ian fell into a regular cultivation rhythm, his schedule packed to the brim.
Every morning, he would begin by taking a vial of Concentration Potion to enter a deep ditation.
The potion was cool as it went down. In his Sea of Spirit, the twenty-seven Will Runes were now all the sa size, which ant he could begin outlining new ones.
As the potion’s effects took hold, the Rune Array, nourished by its power, began to operate and solidify at ten tis its normal speed. The accumulation of his Vaporized Spiritual Power increased at a visible rate.
A new, small Will Rune gradually began to form...
In the morning, he cultivated his Witchcraft. The Limit-Breaking Runes for Secondary Frost Freeze Beam and Scorching Beam seed to faintly resonate with each other, as if sothing wondrous was about to happen.
He also took the ti to ticulously study the Invisibility Technique and Energy Shield.
For the latter in particular, he tried to integrate the Crystal Rune from his mind into the shield’s model.
This would line the entire inner wall of the shield with a dense layer of hexagonal crystals. Although the integration was slow, he was on the right track.
In the afternoon, he practiced Alchemy and refined Blood Essence. Every ten days, Mira would have soone deliver a batch of fresh Demonized Beast corpses.
Ian would process them with his Control Level Bloodline Purification Technique. He kept the top-grade Blood Essence for himself and used the rest for trade.
In exchange, Mira provided him with an ample supply of potion ingredients and so scarce information.
Ti flowed on, and another month passed.
Amos’s rchant caravan also appeared right on schedule.
"We et again, Ian." Amos took the Dinsion Bag that Ian handed him.
He opened it and saw a pile of over twenty plump, round, top-grade Blood Essences in a corner, along with neat rows of Rock Bear Potions.
An imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes as his Spiritual Power gently swept over the surface of the Blood Essence.
’The quality of this Blood Essence is purer every ti, and these potions... This kid’s Refining Technique and Magic Potion Science are still improving.’
’Excellent... In preparation for the Demon Hunting, if I take this Blood Essence and these Bloodline Potions back, I can sell them for at least double the price.’
Amos calculated ntally, but his face remained impassive.
"Very good. By the way, we got a new shipnt of ’Star Sand’ this month. It works wonders for stabilizing the Sea of Spirit or for Refining potions. Would you like to take a look?"
He then seed to add casually, "You’ve been buying a lot of materials. Looks like your Magic Potions are coming along nicely. Hmm... keep up the hard work with your cultivation!"
Ian keenly caught the underlying aning in Amos’s words, but the man was clearly unwilling to say more, leaving it at that.
He calmly traded for the Star Sand and another batch of potion ingredients, pushing his doubts to the back of his mind.
After the transaction was complete, Amos was counting the Blood Essence when he suddenly looked up.
"Ian, if... if I could provide you with the fresh heart of a Level One Demonized Fierce Beast, could you process it?"
Ian was slightly shaken inwardly, but his expression remained calm. "You overestimate . I’m just a High Level Apprentice."
"Forget it, then." Amos gave him a deep look, packed up his goods, and turned to leave.
Ti flowed by amidst the fragrance of potions, ditation, and the outlining of Witchcraft Models.
In the blink of an eye, Amos had already visited seven tis.
On this day, Ian ended a six-hour-long deep ditation and slowly opened his eyes. For a mont, it was as if the stars and moon swirled within his pupils before vanishing.
About two months ago, though he couldn’t recall the exact day, he had quietly turned a year older.
With a flicker of thought, he called up his panel.
[Na: Ian Marcus]
[Age: 18]
[Realm: High Level Wizard Apprentice (90.6%)]
[Talent: Moderate Light Attribute Affinity]
[Skills: Star Moon Middle Level ditation thod (Control), Energy Shield (Skilled), Invisibility Technique (Control), Secret Magic Mark (Skilled), Bloodline Purification Technique (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Scorching Beam (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Crystal Energy Barrier (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Secondary Frost Freeze Beam (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Other Skills...]
[Magic Potion Science: Concentration Potion (Skilled), Rock Bear Potion (Control), Spirit Recovery Potion (Skilled)]
Ian looked at his "luxurious" panel and nodded to himself in satisfaction.
The Spirit Recovery Potion was only a Middle Level Potion, but Ian had recently started practicing it again.
During his battles, he cast too many Witchcraft spells, consuming Spiritual Power too quickly. The recovery rate from regular ditation could no longer keep up with his expenditure.
His other skills had also improved to varying degrees. He had incorporated the cultivation of the High Level Witchcraft, Invisibility Technique, into his daily life, grinding it to the Control stage, where it now possessed imnse practical value in combat.
For seven months, he had never paused his cultivation. Refining potions... practicing Witchcraft... ditation. His life was a straight line between these three points. He had never taken a single day off, nor had he gone out for leisure even once.
What looked like self-torturous cultivation to outsiders was sothing he reveled in.
Watching himself grow stronger little by little every day brought a sense of accomplishnt that was beyond words.
Thanks to Amos’s ample supplies, he took at least three vials of Concentration Potion daily, and both his ditation thod and Spiritual Power were growing at a trendous rate.
Such a terrifying rate of improvent would undoubtedly attract prying eyes back at the Shadow Moon Tower, where they knew of his background.
But here, he was just an unknown, unremarkable wandering Apprentice.
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