Chapter 345 - 294: Sudden Inspiration
The next day, a few snowflakes began to drift from the sky.
Ian stood before the constant-temperature cabinet, his fingertips resting on the handle as he slowly pulled the door open.
A rush of cold air, mingled with the fresh scent of medicinal herbs, flowed out.
Deep inside the cabinet, a single crystal tube lay alone.
Inside the tube, the pale silver potion had long since solidified, its surface covered in a layer of grayish-white, flocculent precipitate.
This was the one Aidele had just sent back.
According to her, when the potion was dripped onto her father’s brow, it had only glowed for three seconds.
After those three seconds, the light went out, and the level of pollution remained completely unchanged.
"Almost completely ineffective..."
Ian muttered to himself, taking out the tube of failed potion and holding it up to the light for careful observation.
Under the light, the precipitate revealed an extremely fine crystalline structure, its edges glimmering with a faint, dark purple light.
Those were the traces left behind after the pollution had retaliated and devoured it.
’The approach was right, but the dosage was too weak. It was extinguished in an instant.’
He set down the failed tube and turned to walk over to the laboratory bench.
More than twenty ancient texts were spread out on the bench, their pages yellowed and the ink faded with age.
The topmost book, a transcription of an encrypted notebook, was open to its final page.
The line of trembling handwriting was particularly jarring under the light.
"All who attempt fusion... will ultimately be assimilated by the Abyss."
Ian stared at the line, his fingertip gently tracing the word "assimilated."
The rough texture of the paper felt like caressing the scars of time.
’A mixed pollution from the Abyss combined with the Time Trace bloodline...’
He closed his eyes, and in his Sea of Spirit, the Crystal Core slowly rotated.
The panel hovered silently in the depths of his consciousness, its edges flowing with faint golden Runes.
The image of Titus Justice in his slumber resurfaced in his mind.
The slight rise and fall of his chest, the faint, dark purple patterns flowing beneath his skin.
And in his Sea of Spirit... that strand of inky-black Tentacle that seemed to be alive.
This was no ordinary Curse, nor was it simple Energy Erosion.
It was a Rule-level pollution, woven from the Will of the Abyss, a Curse, and a bloodline anomaly.
’A conventional soul-stabilizing formula... is completely insufficient.’
Ian opened his eyes and took the dark silver Token from his Dimension Ring.
The metal felt cool to the touch, and the Time Trace Badge engraved on its edge gleamed faintly in the light.
He needed to enter the deeper parts of the library.
He needed to research the cases classified as restricted, those involving "mixed Rule-level pollution."
Especially... those related to extra-planar energy.
The next morning, when Aidele pushed the door open, her shoulders were still dusted with unmelted snowflakes.
The hem of her deep purple Wizard Robe was soaked with melted snow, turning a shade darker.
"The permission you wanted has been approved."
She placed a dark gold, diamond-shaped Crystal on the laboratory bench. Inside it, complex chains of Runes flowed.
"Access credentials for the Level Three Restricted Area. Valid for one day."
Aidele paused, her deep cyan eyes bloodshot.
"I applied for it under the pretext of ’researching advanced development of an Exotic Energy Contamination Neutralizer.’ The Elder Council... had some doubts."
Ian picked up the Crystal, his Spiritual Power seeping into it.
Instantly, a three-dimensional map of the library’s restricted area appeared in his mind, with dozens of points of light marking the locations of different categories of texts.
"Doubts about what?"
"Questioning why a Level Two Wizard like you would need to access such dangerous knowledge."
Aidele walked to the window, watching the snow fall outside.
"I told them... that your extensive experience with Purification Potions might be helpful... for the Clan Leader’s treatment."
She turned around, her expression growing worried.
"Ian... are you really confident about this?"
"No problem."
Ian put away the Crystal, his tone calm.
"I did indeed participate in the ’Exotic Energy Contamination Neutralizer’ project, and I have some insights into Purification Potions."
He thought of the Projection World, where extremely mature solutions for purifying Abyssal pollution already existed.
"This time... I need more specialized materials."
Aidele’s brow furrowed slightly. "What materials?"
"Rare test subjects that possess negative Rule Traits."
Ian walked to the laboratory bench, picked up a Feather Pen, and quickly wrote a few lines on a sheet of Parchment.
The nib scratched across the surface.
"Fragments of a ’Holy Radiance Crystal’ that have been lightly polluted; the original traces of pollution must be preserved."
"’Dark Erosion Petals’ formed from a withered ’Dawn Flower’; petals must be intact, with Rule Erosion below 30%."
"Remains of ’Order Metal’ excavated from an ancient battlefield; the surface must retain erosion patterns from extra-planar energy."
"Marrow from a Tier Three or higher Light Element or Order System Magic Beast; the marrow must contain pure Order Rules and be unpolluted."
He listed more than ten materials in one go.
Every single one was extremely rare, and every single one... was sensitive enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
Aidele took the Parchment, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"Ian... these materials—the first three all involve ’polluted high-Order substances,’ and the last one is a pure Order-core material."
She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion.
"You’re researching a Purification Potion... Why do you need these polluted materials?"
"Because I need to simulate ’targeting’."
Ian looked at her, his voice steady.
"The pollution inside your father’s body is a Rule conflict caused by extra-planar Chaotic Energy invading a high-Order bloodline."
He paused, tapping his finger on the Parchment.
"To purify this kind of pollution, the Potion must possess two characteristics simultaneously."
"First, it must contain an extremely strong Power of Order Purification capable of suppressing Chaos."
"Second, it must be able to precisely distinguish the subtle difference between ’polluted Order’ and ’pure Order.’ I need to calibrate its precision so the potion only attacks the former, without harming the host’s own Order bloodline."
Aidele’s pupils contracted slightly.
Although she didn’t understand Magic Potion Science, she understood Ian’s meaning.
It was like crafting a key for a set of intricate locks, a key that could only open the one that was corroded, without touching the others that were perfectly fine.
"So you need these materials... to test the Potion’s ’recognition accuracy’?"
"Correct," Ian nodded, adding,
"Especially the ’Holy Radiance Crystal’ fragments and the ’Dark Erosion Petals from the Dawn Flower.’ They were originally Order substances of the highest purity. After being lightly polluted, their Rule structure undergoes an extremely subtle distortion."
"This distortion... is highly similar to the state of the Clan Leader’s eroded bloodline."
He picked up the tube of failed potion and swirled it gently.
The grayish-white precipitate at the bottom swirled with it, revealing a hint of dark purple light deep within.
"The first version of the Potion had enough Power of Order, but its recognition accuracy was too poor. It couldn’t distinguish friend from foe, so the Pollution Source instantly retaliated."
"The second version... must solve this problem."
Aidele stared at the list of materials on the Parchment and fell silent for a long time.
Finally, she nodded decisively. "I’ll find a way."
"Fifth Sister Ashia... and some of our newest business partners have special channels."
She put away the Parchment and turned to leave quickly.
Ian stood where he was, listening to her retreating footsteps.
Gaga, on his shoulder, scratched at his collar with its small claws.
"Ian, those materials... they sound incredibly rare. I’m afraid it’ll take a lot of time."
"She can do it, and the clan will pitch in. Aidele... isn’t the same person she used to be."
Ian walked to the window and watched Aidele’s figure disappear around the street corner.
"On the Central Continent, as long as the price is high enough and the channels are secret enough... there’s nothing you can’t get."
He gently stroked Gaga’s small head, his voice low.
"Besides... these materials are the perfect cover for my true objective."
Gaga tilted its head. "True objective?"
Ian turned and walked toward the back of the laboratory, where a small Purification Array was set up.
In the center of the Array, a dark purple crystal the size of a grain of rice was suspended in the air.
This was the "Rule Residue" he had stripped from the Abyssal Energy using his panel. Its purity was extremely high, and its activity was incredibly strong.
At that moment, wisps of inky-black mist were slowly seeping from the crystal’s surface.
When the mist touched the Order Runes at the edge of the Array, it made a SIZZLING, corrosive sound.
It was like darkness gnawing at the light.
"The core of the Purification Potion I’m making... isn’t those materials at all."
Ian stared at the crystal, a silver light swirling in the depths of his pupils.
"Those are just a smokescreen, meant to hide ’why the Potion can precisely identify Abyssal pollution’."
He extended a finger, and a pale silver Starlight bloomed at its tip.
This was the Power of Order Stars cultivated through the *Starry Sky Festival*.
The Will of the Abyss he resonated with during his Meditation had been purified and absorbed by his panel, causing his Spiritual Power to exhibit a lustrous sheen of near-fundamental Order.
The Starlight slowly approached the crystal, and when it was about an inch away...
HUMMM...
The crystal trembled violently, the inky-black mist on its surface surging wildly.
It was like a wild beast that had scented its natural predator—terrified, yet also eager to devour.
The Starlight at Ian’s fingertip also brightened abruptly.
An almost instinctual, extreme attraction and repulsion arose between the two.
"The Power of Order Stars, purified by the panel, possesses an almost absolute sensitivity... and suppressive effect on the Abyssal Aura."
Ian withdrew his finger, and the Starlight dimmed.
The crystal also gradually returned to calm, but the mist on its surface was much fainter, as if it had been scorched.
"This is a Power unique to me."
His gaze lowered as a surge of pride welled up within him.
"*Starry Sky Festival* Cultivation, panel purification, Seed of the Stars resonance... the combination of these three gives birth to ’Absolute Order’."
"This Power, once it encounters an Abyssal Aura, acts like a magnet to iron—instantly locking on, entangling, and purifying it."
He walked to the laboratory bench and spread out a new sheet of Parchment.
He dipped his Feather Pen in ink and began to quickly write out the framework for the second version of the Potion’s formula.
The nib glided across the paper, leaving behind neat lines of text.
[Primary Ingredient: Holy Light Fruit (Three, harvested at dawn from a Holy Light Tree over five hundred years old)]
[Primary Ingredient: Holy Radiance Crystal Powder (Small amount, must be purified by burning three times in the Flame of Order)]
[Catalyst: Three Dawn Petals]
[Bloodline Compatibility Agent: Blood from the Time Trace Clan’s Direct Lineage (One drop, must be taken from an unpolluted individual)]
[Rule Guidance Agent: One gram of Star Sand]
The Star Sand must be tempered for seven days using the Seed of the Stars, guided by Ian’s own Meditation on the *Starry Sky Festival*.
...
As he wrote the final ingredient, Ian’s pen paused.
He looked up, gazing at the snow falling outside the window.
After a long moment, he slowly wrote the last line.
[Core Mark: The Refiner’s Spiritual Power Brand (Must be infused with the Origin of Order Star Power and resonate with the *Starry Sky Festival* Meditation Method)]
After finishing, he set down his pen and held the Parchment up to the light.
The formula was clearly visible in the halo of light, each step precise down to the smallest detail.
But only he knew...
...the true key was that final ingredient: the "Core Mark."
This was no ordinary brand.
It was a method, combining his panel and the *Starry Sky Festival*, to solidify a trace of the "Origin of Order Star Power" into the Potion.
Once the Potion was complete, every vial would carry his unique mark.
And this mark... had an extremely special effect!