Ivan sat cross-legged on the central stone stool, and the rune lines engraved on its surface came to life, emitting a faint glow. The light spread along the rune lines, illuminating the four stone stools around them and thus activating the entire runes sorcery array.
Black Magic Wind arose, swirling around the small plaza where the sorcery array was located.
Under the pull of the Black Magic Wind, that pervasive special aura within the magic stone mine was drawn towards the sorcery array.
The special aura in the magic stone mine, fundamentally, was the innate power of the mine, capable of continuously producing magic stones; however, the aura itself was difficult to utilize and far less convenient than the magic stones.
The Black Magic Wind Fire Array undoubtedly solved this problem by converting the drawn special aura into pure mental energy through the Formation, which then transformed into Black Magic Wind.
As the wind became fire, the Black Magic Fire ignited.
The Black Magic Wind did not dissipate; together with the Black Magic Fire, they refined the mental energy even further.
“Not enough, it still needs adjustments,” Ivan remarked.
Under Ivan’s control, the encompassing force of the Black Magic Wind Fire came abruptly to a halt.
Determined to achieve perfection, he would stop immediately upon detecting any flaws and make more meticulous adjustments to the runes sorcery array.
This adjustment took a week, and Ivan finally made all the necessary preparations, placing numerous mid-grade magic stones around the runes sorcery array and two high-grade magic stones as catalysts.
Once more, the runes sorcery array was activated; soon after, the Black Magic Wind rose, the Black Magic Fire ignited, and their combined forces enveloped the space above the small plaza, causing the Silkworm Queen and other insects guarding the area to feel a terrifying palpitation.
“Will it work this time?” Scented Butterfly looked at the shifting aura with both longing and concern.
“Nonsense, when has Sorcerer Ivan ever failed?” Silkworm Queen watched Ivan, who was amidst the black wind and fire, with a look that seemed more worried than anyone else.
Within the Black Magic Wind Fire Array, Ivan was integrating strands of perfectly refined mental energy into his body, transforming them into his spiritual power through Meditation Method.
He was extremely restrained, yet the speed of his spiritual power enhancement was still quite significant.
42.5 graduated degrees
43.3 graduated degrees
44.0 graduated degrees
——
52.4 graduated degrees
After an indeterminate amount of time, the special aura pulled from the surroundings thinned, and Ivan, resisting the temptation to increase his strength, ceased to absorb the energy around him.
“Greed leads to loss; there’s not much of the special aura left nearby, and further enhancement might leave potential dangers.” He muttered to himself, a sensation only Cultivators could truly appreciate—the challenge of resisting such a tempting force to timely hit the brakes.
Ivan checked his condition; his spiritual power had reached 53.5 graduated degrees. This enhancement had exceeded ten degrees—indeed a substantial gain.
He pointed casually to one side, a wisp of Black Magic Wind flew out, lifting a gray copper door not far from the ground into the runes sorcery array, floating in front of him.
The Black Magic Fire blazed fiercely, enveloping the gray copper door in flames, sending the power of the fire into the interior of the door, beginning to burn the unknown rune lines inside.
“Impressively resilient, not sure which Enchanter worked on it,” he remarked as he drew more wind and fire, significantly amplifying the potency of the Black Magic Fire, watching the unknown rune lines burn away into nothingness.
By now, the gray copper door had turned into a malleable metal, its hue bright and as he had analyzed before, a material extremely sensitive to mental energy, ideal for inscribing the power of the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
“Suitable for Enchantment Artifact Refining, it could at least be used to create a mid-level magicalized item,” Ivan thought, feeling his investment of 1900 magic stones was worth it. Deciding what kind of magicalized item to create would require more thought and consideration.
“Ivan, how did it go?” As soon as the Black Magic Wind Fire Array ceased operation, Silkworm Queen hurried over.
“It went well,” Ivan responded as he directed the remaining refined energy into a medicinal solution, adding a mass of black energy to the large glass bottle before ceasing his efforts.
“Here, take this, remember to use it wisely,” he said, handing the large glass to Silkworm Queen, seeing its eager look. Although these were leftovers he had not used, they had been refined several times and would definitely be worth over a thousand magic stones in a square.
“Okay, I know how to use it, just like you do experiments, I definitely won’t be rash,” Silkworm Queen joyfully took it, vowing sincerely.
Hanging around Ivan for so long had allowed it to learn quite a bit, understanding the best methods to enhance the rapid wood silkworm kind.
In this regard, Ivan also trusted Silkworm Queen, willing to let it handle the matter.
Ivan himself had significantly enhanced his powers and needed some time to adapt. This period could be used to contemplate several issues, such as how to attract further afield special auras, or even those pervading the entire magic stone mine.
Additionally, he considered the use of the gray copper that comprised the ‘Gate of Netherworld Blood’ and how to properly combine it with the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
…
Mongna Ant Land Cottage.
The Hunting Team, the chief steward’s office.
Andaya, diverging from her usual aloofness, occasionally initiated conversations with Christian, a demeanor that would surely surprise anyone who saw it.
“I truly underestimated Sorcerer Ivan, not only in terms of his Enchantment proficiency but also his own strength, which has reached this level in a short period,” Andaya remarked somewhat emotionally.
In the timeframe of sorcerers, Ivan had not been a sorcerer for long, yet his achievements were remarkably notable, providing a substantial boost to their plans.
“Can you find out who has offered a bounty for Sorcerer Ivan?”
“It’s difficult, those powers still hold some credibility.”
“Then let it be, Ivan likely has an idea, and with his current strength, unless the people offering the bounty up their stakes, not many would dare to make a move.”
Resources are clearly more important than life; according to the message from a few months ago, the targeted Ivan had already become one of the top sorcerers at Level 1. Anyone considering targeting him had to measure their own strength.
Moreover, he could flee swiftly; once he rode a Guardian Beast into the sky, others found it hard to catch up, a fact proven by the incident at Floating Clouds Square.
“Where exactly has Sorcerer Ivan gone? We can’t possibly keep waiting like this. Everything is prepared on my end, just waiting for his presence,” Andaya couldn’t help but ask.
“Don’t rush; this matter has been on hold for so many years, another year or two won’t matter.” Christian, of course, knew where the other party had gone, a location he had recommended, but given the importance of the task, it wasn’t right to disturb him.
“The situation is different now, the sooner we find the Ant Beings Sacred Altar, the sooner we secure an advantage—,” Andaya mumbled, stopping only when Christian signaled by waving his hand.
As the chief steward of the Hunting Team and one of the six highest-ranking individuals of the academy, Christian’s authority might not surpass that of the dean or vice deans, or even Ove Watkin, but that didn’t mean he lacked status or power.
With that status and power, he could create opportunities for people to study the Ant Being barrier or the Purple Dew Garden Secret Realm, or others.
However, with the Three Great Families wielding significant power, he could only act covertly, often unable to personally arrange things. He knew very well how closely the Three Great Families watched him, making Andaya’s support essential at such times.
Previously, Christian’s searches had never succeeded, but after careful consideration, he realized the reasons: the lack of a highly skilled Enchanter and the right opportunity.
Now, with the situation on the Moon Pincer Peninsula becoming turbulent, the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived, and he had invited a master of Enchantment as well.
Regrettably, at such a critical juncture, the individual had not returned to the academy for almost four months.
Elsewhere, inside the Solo Magic Stone Mine.
Ivan was unaware that someone was eagerly anticipating his return to the academy; he was focused on deepening the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
Over the past period, he had refined multiple simplified array daises for the Black Magic Wind Fire Array, placed at different locations within the Solo Magic Stone Mine, and found a way to connect these daises to the main runes sorcery array.
For this purpose, he had also expended a Level 4 Light of Great Wisdom.
The gray copper, which composed the Gate of Netherworld Blood, also proved useful; he had fashioned it into several copper spheres, serving as key items to stabilize the simplified array daises.
With the simplified array daises as starting points, he had nearly encompassed the whole magic stone mine, which allowed him to channel most of the mine’s unique miasma along the channeled runes lines into the central Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
“The higher the strength, the harder it is to elevate, and spiritual power is no exception; I wonder how much I can enhance this time.”
Ivan cautioned himself to restrain his inner desires, to avoid greed leading to potential problems, and then he activated the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
A spectacular sight unfolded in the Solo Magic Stone Mine, as the Main Array began to operate, activating one simplified array dais after another along the pre-drawn runes lines, from the center outwards, each glowing luminously.
As time passed, a vast amount of the magic stone mine’s unique miasma converged into the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
Ivan’s figure was enveloped in the Black Magic Wind and Fire, along with the repeatedly refined black miasma, which he gradually absorbed into his body, transforming it into spiritual power within his mental ocean.
His strength increased steadily, though not rapidly.
Soon, Ivan opened his eyes and casually dispersed the surrounding Black Magic Wind Fire, converting it entirely into black miasma, which he then collected into the previously prepared medicinal solution, sealing it into several large glass bottles.
“The consumption is huge, the energy waste is significant, there’s room for improvement.”
Reflecting on the process, he identified small issues with his arrangement, which he could adjust gradually later. Discover exclusive tales on empire
Strength: 13.3, Agility: 13.4, Body Constitution: 13.9, Spirit: 69.8
Ivan glanced at the attribute panel, with the data clearly displayed. His physical strength had increased by about one graduated degree, and his spiritual power had significantly increased by 16 graduated degrees.
This meant that by merging the corresponding element crystals and completing the elementalization of his spiritual power, he was only ten graduated degrees away from the Level 1 Limit of 80.
From 42.3 to 69.8 graduated degrees was a considerable change, and the gains from this trip to the Solo Magic Stone Mine had exceeded his original expectations.