Chapter 346 - 295: Purification Potion or Abyss Potion?
「Three days later.」
Aidele returned to the Laboratory, followed by two gray-robed Stewards.
The two men carried a heavy, lead-sealed box, its surface covered in engraved Isolation Runes.
The Runes shimmered with an interwoven luster of Dark Gold and milky white, completely sealing away any fluctuations from within the box.
THUD.
The box landed on the lab bench with a dull thud.
"The things you wanted."
Aidele waved her hand, and the two Stewards bowed before withdrawing and closing the Laboratory door.
She walked up to the box, her fingertip tracing a line across the lead seal.
The Runes dimmed, and the lid slowly opened.
In an instant, the light inside the Laboratory distorted.
It revealed... a strange brilliance born from the interweaving of Order and Chaos.
On the left, six fist-sized crystals were neatly arranged.
The crystals themselves were milky white, with a gentle Holy Light flowing within, but their surfaces were covered in a spiderweb of dark purple cracks.
Deep within the cracks, an inky-black liquid writhed slowly, as if alive.
"’Holy Radiance Crystals,’ lightly contaminated by the Abyss. They come from the ruins of an abandoned Divine Hall of Order."
Aidele explained in a low, tense voice.
"During collection... three Level One Wizards died. The pollution spread over dozens of meters."
Ian nodded, his gaze shifting to the side.
There sat three sealed crystal jars.
Submerged inside were twelve petals. They should have been pure gold, but now they possessed a decaying, grayish-black color.
Their edges were curled, and their surfaces were covered in fine, dark, erosive patterns.
"’Dawn Flower’ Dark Erosion Petals. Picked in the third hour after withering, with a Rule Erosion of 28%."
Aidele paused. "These came from the Black Market. The seller demanded absolute confidentiality."
Ian said nothing, looking to the right.
A palm-sized metal fragment lay there, its surface mottled with rust. Beneath the rust, however, delicate Rune engravings were faintly visible.
Along the fragment’s edge were several extremely fine marks, as if it had been gnawed by something invisible.
A disquieting trace of the Void’s fluctuations lingered deep within the marks.
"’Order Metal’ unearthed from an ancient battlefield. The surface has residual erosive patterns from an otherworldly Energy. Age... at least three thousand years."
Finally, there was a Crystal Bottle, only the size of a knuckle.
The bottle contained a viscous, milky-white liquid. Deep within it, faint golden specks of light spun slowly.
It was like a miniature, sealed-away galaxy.
"The marrow of a Tier Three Light Element Magic Beast, the ’Holy Light Unicorn.’ The Order Rule within the marrow is the most concentrated."
After she finished, Aidele let out a long breath.
The fine beads of sweat on her temples shimmered faintly under the light of the Crystal Stone Lamp.
"For these items... I used all of my fifth sister’s secret channels and even traded away a significant amount of future profits."
"Don’t worry," Ian said. "I will give you an answer you’ll be satisfied with."
Aidele’s eyes flashed, then she nodded lightly.
"Then... I’m counting on you." With that, she turned and left.
Ian organized all the materials and began to process them.
He reached out, his fingertip hovering over the first Holy Radiance Crystal.
His Spiritual Power extended like the finest thread, slowly probing and seeping into the cracks on the crystal’s surface.
HISS...
Countless mad ravings echoed in his mind!
Distorted images, vicious Curses, chaotic information on the Rules...
They flooded into his mind like a torrent!
But in the next second, the panel vibrated silently.
[Abyssal Contamination Energy detected... Contamination Level: Level Two... Purifying...]
A translucent Light Curtain unfolded in his consciousness, filtering and stripping away all the ravings, images, and information.
It left behind only a wisp of pure Spiritual Power Origin and some fragments of knowledge.
[Partial Rule structure of the Holy Radiance Crystal... logged.]
[Analysis of Abyss Erosion traces... seventeen points of Erosion, depth of Erosion...]
[Conflict model for Order and Chaos Rules... established.]
Ian withdrew his finger, a silver glint flashing in his eyes before vanishing.
’The purity is high enough, the erosion structure is intact... Perfect.’
He inspected all the materials one by one.
The panel analyzed and recorded the Rule Traits, contamination status, and residual Order levels of each material.
When he examined the bottle of Holy Light Unicorn Marrow, Ian’s pupils contracted slightly.
The Order Rule contained within the marrow... was terrifyingly pure.
’As expected of a Tier Three Material.’
It was an absolute Order, nearly fundamental in nature, that rejected all Chaos.
It shared a similarity of over seventy percent with his Power of Order Stars.
’This... is the real key.’
He murmured to himself as he carefully picked up the Crystal Bottle.
The wall of the bottle was warm to the touch, as if it were alive.
Gaga stood on his shoulder, its little head also constantly eyeing the Crystal Bottle.
The thing was anathema to its own attributes; even standing near it made Gaga a little uncomfortable.
Ian turned and walked to the lab bench.
He lit an alcohol lamp, and a pale blue flame danced quietly under its glass cover.
He took out a special Star Stone Mortar, placed three Holy Light Fruits inside, and began to grind them slowly.
The fruits broke apart at the bottom of the mortar, oozing a milky-white juice that released a fresh, herbal fragrance.
This time, however, he didn’t pour it directly into a flask.
Instead, he took out the bottle of Holy Light Unicorn Marrow and used the finest Crystal Stone Pipette to draw up half a drop.
The moment the marrow dripped into the mortar...
VMMMMM...
The juice in the mortar suddenly lit up!
The milky-white luster turned a pale gold as countless tiny specks of light emerged from its depths. The specks spun slowly, forming a miniature vortex of Order.
At the center of the vortex, the faint phantom of a unicorn flashed and vanished.
"Order Resonance..."
Ian’s expression grew serious as he proceeded to the next step.
He took a Holy Radiance Crystal and used his Spiritual Power to guide a minuscule amount of cutting energy, scraping a powder finer than dust from the crystal’s edge.
The powder fell into the mortar, mixing with the marrow-infused juice.
TSSS... TSSS...
A soft, corrosive sound came from the mortar.
Wisps of dark purple patterns appeared in the pale golden juice.
The patterns constantly twisted and struggled, trying to erode the surrounding Order Energy like living things.
But the powerful Order contained in the marrow acted like a Furnace, searing and purifying the patterns bit by bit.
Next came the Dew of Dawn, Star Sand, and the Time Trace Blood from Aidele...
With each new ingredient, Ian would guide a sliver of his Power of Order Stars into the mix.
The liquid in the mortar was constantly changing.
Its color shifted from pale gold, to a starlit blue, and then to a deep Dark Silver.
Deep within the liquid, the vortex of Order spun faster and faster, gradually coalescing at its center into a miniature, complex, three-dimensional Rune.
This was the "Core Mark" that Ian had branded into it with his Spiritual Power.
Every stroke of the Rune shimmered with the luster of the Power of Order Stars.
Every line resonated with the Starry Sky Festival Meditation Method.
When the final ingredient... a drop of Ian’s own blood from his fingertip... fell in.
BOOM!
The liquid in the mortar instantly erupted!
The Dark Silver liquid shot into the air and, a meter above the mortar, condensed into a fist-sized sphere of light.
Inside the sphere, the vortex of Order spun wildly, and the Mark Rune at its center blazed with a blinding light.
Countless tiny points of starlight burst from the sphere’s surface, weaving and spreading through the Laboratory’s air.
It was like a miniature galaxy unfolding.
Wherever the starlight passed, the Chaotic Energy that had escaped from the contaminated materials was instantly purified and devoured.
The air in the Laboratory became unprecedentedly "pure."
So pure... it was almost suffocating.
"Gah! Ian, what is this?!"
Gaga, who had been dozing off, was startled and flew into a corner with a flap of its wings.
It could feel the fluctuations of its own bloodline becoming sluggish under that starlight.
It both longed to draw closer and feared being devoured.
"Is this... the Power of Order Stars you mentioned?"
Gaga’s voice trembled. It had never seen Ian display this kind of Power.
"No need to be afraid. It won’t hurt you," Ian comforted it casually.
His full attention was now focused on the sphere of light hovering in mid-air.
His Spiritual Power, acting like the most precise instrument, guided the sphere to descend slowly into a waiting Crystal Flask.
The moment the sphere entered the flask, the liquid grew calm again.
But the deep Dark Silver hue, the slowly spinning vortex of Order within, and the faint starlight...
all declared that this Potion was fundamentally different from the first version.
Ian poured the Potion into a Crystal Tube, sealed it, and held it up to the light to observe.
Inside the tube, the liquid flowed slowly, the Mark Rune deep within appearing and disappearing from view.
It was like a spark in the darkness, waiting to be ignited.
"Version two... no, this is the final version."
He said softly, putting the Potion away in a Constant Temperature Box.
"Gaga, how much time has passed?"
Gaga flew down and landed on Ian’s shoulder, looking at the stubble on his face with a pained expression.
"It’s been five days since Aidele left. You haven’t rested once."
"I know. But before I rest, I need to get the Potion to her."
"Let me take it for you! I promise I’ll be fast and safe."
Ian thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"This time, tell Aidele the dosage can be increased to one-fifth of the vial. After dripping it on the Clan Leader’s brow, tell her to watch for two changes."
Gaga took the Potion. As its claws touched the tube, it could feel a faint warmth.
"What changes?"
"First, the reaction time between the Potion and the contamination."
Ian looked at Gaga, his gaze profound.
"If the reaction time is longer than ten seconds, it means the recognition accuracy is up to standard, and the Potion is precisely locking onto the Pollution Source."
"Second... tell her to pay attention to whether any ’starlight’ appears in the Clan Leader’s Sea of Spirit."
He paused, then added, "Even if it’s just for an instant, she has to remember it."
Gaga nodded vigorously, carefully stowed away the Potion, and nuzzled his cheek with its little head.
"Ian, can you cure him this time?"
"I don’t know," Ian answered honestly, as always.
"But at the very least... his condition won’t worsen. That’s enough for now."
Gaga didn’t ask any more questions. Its body slowly melted into the shadows and disappeared.
He walked to the window and looked in the direction of Titus’s chambers.
The night was deep. Stars twinkled in the gaps between clouds, like a lighthouse illuminating a path through the darkness.
Ian settled his mind, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the Starry Sky Festival.
In his Sea of Spirit, the Crystal Core spun slowly, its Star Orbit patterns glowing faintly.
He could sense the newly solidified Mark Rune—faint, hidden, like an inconspicuous star in the night sky.
Deep within the Rune, his Origin of Order Star Power was flowing.
At that moment, it was racing in a specific direction.