Chapter 343 - 293: Reminder, Requiem (Part 2)
The Laboratory fell silent once more.
Ian paused and looked at his shoulder.
Gaga had woken up at some point, its small, silver-gray eyes fixed on him.
"Ian."
It tilted its head, a childlike voice echoing in their Soul Link.
"Were you... lying to her just now?"
Ian faltered for a moment before shaking his head.
"I didn’t lie. I just omitted certain facts."
He stood up, walked to the temperature-controlled cabinet, and pulled open the door.
A blast of cold air, fragrant with herbs, rushed out. Dozens of unfinished Potion intermediates were neatly arranged inside.
’A Purification and tranquilizing Potion... definitely needs to be developed.’
After a moment, he picked up a dark red liquid in a Test Tube and held it up to the light.
Fine, black, flocculent matter slowly settled within the liquid, like congealed blood.
He had used his extensive knowledge of the Abyss to create a rough simulation of the corrupting aura on the Clan Leader.
’The Abyssal corruption within the Clan Leader must be dealt with as soon as possible.’
He put down the Test Tube and looked out the window.
In the distance, Edmund Manor was veiled by the deep night, resembling a great, crouching beast.
’Now I have a reasonable excuse to enter the clan’s library.’
Gaga nodded as if it vaguely understood, its small claws tightening on his collar.
"So what do we do now?"
Ian closed the cabinet door and turned toward the Meditation area.
"We’ll wait for Aidele to bring the authorization, then study the Justice Clan’s ancient texts. Combined with the panel... we should have results soon."
He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
In his Sea of Spirit, the Crystal Core slowly rotated, its Star Orbit patterns glowing with a faint silver light.
...
The next morning, Aidele arrived earlier than usual.
As she pushed open the Laboratory door, she was holding a heavy oak box.
The box was dark brown, its surface carved with simple preservation Runes and its edges bound with Dark Gold Metal.
THUD.
The wooden box landed on the lab bench with a muffled sound.
"I got the Level Three Authority."
Aidele opened the lid, revealing over twenty neatly arranged Parchment scrolls.
The paper was yellowed and the edges were heavily worn; some were even incomplete.
A faint golden Protective Rune shimmered on the surface of each scroll.
"This is the entire collection from the ’Abnormal Energy and Soul Damage’ category."
She paused, then added, "Including three from the restricted section."
Ian walked to the lab bench, his fingertips gently brushing across the surface of the topmost scroll.
The Rune sensed the aura of the authority Token and slowly dimmed.
He opened it to the first page. Though the ink had faded, the writing was still clear.
[The Seven Methods of Soul Stabilization · Third Era Revised Edition]
[Editor: The Seventh Generation Elder Council of the Justice Clan]
He quickly skimmed a few pages, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
The knowledge recorded in these texts was far more ancient and profound than he had imagined.
Some of the formulas even touched upon repairing the Soul at the level of fundamental Rules.
"Is this enough?"
Aidele stood beside him, her deep teal eyes filled with anticipation.
"It’s enough for now." Ian closed the text and looked at her.
"Give me three days. After that, I’ll test the first version of the formula."
Aidele nodded vigorously, the corners of her mouth turning up unconsciously as an expectant look crossed her face.
"Do you need my help?"
"No."
Ian was already organizing the texts, his movements swift and methodical.
"Go do what you need to do. Channels, resources, manpower... that’s what you need most right now."
Aidele bit her lip.
She watched Ian’s downcast eyes, watched his long fingers rapidly flipping through the texts.
That warm feeling in her chest swelled up again.
"Okay."
She turned and left, her steps much lighter than when she arrived.
The Laboratory door closed behind her.
Ian stopped what he was doing and looked at Gaga on his shoulder.
"Let’s begin."
He took a deep breath, and Spiritual Power slowly surged from between his eyebrows.
A faint silver halo swirled deep in his pupils as his Spiritual Power split into countless fine threads, seeping into the twenty scrolls.
Each thread acted like an independent eye, reading all twenty books simultaneously.
Words, diagrams, formulas, annotations...
A massive tide of information flooded into his mind.
An ordinary Level Two Wizard would have had their consciousness instantly overwhelmed by this torrent of information.
But Ian was different.
In his Sea of Spirit, the panel vibrated softly.
At the edge of his vision, a line of faint golden text appeared.
[Receiving information... Beginning classification and organization...]
[Ancient Soul Witchcraft Theory... Cataloged.]
[Abnormal Energy Erosion Cases... Cataloged.]
[Time Trace Bloodline Compatibility Analysis... Cataloged.]
[Unknown encrypted note fragment detected. Contains deep Rune encryption. Commencing decryption...]
Ian’s pupils contracted sharply.
’Notes encrypted with Abyssal Runes?’
With a thought, he focused his Spiritual Power on the most tattered Parchment scroll.
The edges of the paper were frayed, and it was covered in dense, tiny script written in dark red ink.
The handwriting was messy, with some parts even smudged and overwritten.
Most importantly... the entire scroll of notes was covered by an extremely well-hidden layer of shadow Runes.
Ian had never seen a Rune structure like this.
Twisted and chaotic, it exuded an unsettling aura.
’What is this...?’ His fingertip gently touched the surface of the paper.
The shadow Rune suddenly lit up. A dark purple glow seeped from the paper, forming tiny Tentacles that coiled toward his finger.
The surfaces of the Tentacles were covered in small, flesh-bud-like nodules. With every movement, they released a faint, putrid odor.
Twisted, decaying, chaotic...
Ian’s breath caught in his throat.
’This aura... it’s almost identical to the one inside the Clan Leader!’
He yanked his finger back. The Tentacles writhed in the air for a moment before slowly retracting into the paper.