Chapter 243: Chapter 231: Stockpiling Black Hole Potion
In his bedroom, Ian slowly exhaled.
His breath condensed, forming a thin, pale golden line in the air.
’81.8%...’
He didn’t look particularly pleased. Instead, his brow furrowed slightly.
’I’m still a hair’s breadth from Level Two, but the ruins open in only three months.’
For a Wizard, three months was barely enough time for a few deep Meditation sessions.
Achieving another major breakthrough in his Realm was nearly impossible in that time.
Unless he could find another Wondrous Item like the Eye of the Gazer.
But Wondrous Items were rare.
Ian stood up and walked over to the Alchemy Platform in the corner of his secret chamber.
The Alchemy Platform was piled high with various materials, all requisitioned from the warehouses of the Star Library and Shadow Moon Tower.
A few items were particularly conspicuous: three fist-sized Void Crystal Fragments, a small jar of Star Dust, and five bottles of Dimension Stone Dust Essence that shimmered with a faint silver light.
These were the key to improving the Black Hole Potion.
He pondered for a moment before taking out the remaining Abyssal Crystal Fragments and Sun Crystal Powder from his Dimension Ring.
Although the focus of this modification had shifted toward spatial attributes and stability control, the two conflicting energies from the old version could still serve as a "catalyst" during detonation, playing a supporting role in the new structure.
’The power can only reach the peak of Tier One Witchcraft...’
Ian reached out and picked up a Void Crystal Fragment, his fingertips caressing its cold, smooth surface.
’It’s a shame I’m limited by the materials.’
He closed his eyes, and memories from his four-plus years on the Yalan Continent surfaced. Li Xing awakening her Star Bloodline, her instinctual Perception of Starlight Energy... The way Starlight condensed, collapsed, and erupted... And the delicate balance between the Gravity Field and Space-Time Curvature...
’Perhaps... I can try a different approach.’
Ian opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.
He was no longer fixated on increasing the absolute power of the Black Hole Potion.
He only had so many materials; no matter how much he optimized it, the upper limit was already fixed.
The real breakthrough should lie in "controllability" and "tactical value."
He got to work immediately.
Ian ignited the miniature Fine-Controlled Furnace Fire on the Alchemy Platform, and a phantom-blue flame licked the bottom of the special Crucible.
He first took out a Void Crystal Fragment and swiftly carved into it with a special Alchemy Engraving Saber.
The tip of the saber glided across the Crystal’s surface, leaving behind dense and intricate Rune patterns.
These patterns weren’t random; they were based on Li Xing’s understanding of the "Gravitational Lens" effect from when she awakened her Star Bloodline.
Every single line was a precise guide for the refraction path of the Energy.
Half an hour later, all three Void Crystal Fragments were fully engraved.
The Crystals, which had originally only emitted faint spatial fluctuations, now had a pale silver halo flowing across their surfaces, like three miniature stars.
’First step: stabilize the Energy Conduction.’
Ian evenly sprinkled the Star Dust into three small Crystal bowls, then took out the jar of Dimension Stone Dust Essence.
This was the essence he had obtained after a full week of Purification, starting with five bottles of Dimension Stone Dust.
The essence was a translucent gel, inside which floated countless silver specks of light, invisible to the naked eye.
Ian carefully divided the essence into three portions, dripping them into the three Crystal bowls respectively.
TSS!
The moment the Star Dust came into contact with the Dimension Stone Essence, a soft silver light erupted from the bowls. The light wasn’t glaring but carried a profound sense of stability.
’It’s done.’
The corners of Ian’s mouth turned up slightly.
The Star Dust provided the "stability" property, while the Dimension Stone Essence bestowed "spatial stability."
The combination of these two properties would make the Black Hole Potion’s Energy Structure more robust and its blast radius more controllable.
Next was the fusion medium.
Last time, he had used purified Solid Realm Dust Essence. The effect was good, but not good enough.
Ian took a small Jade Bottle from his Dimension Ring and uncorked it.
Inside the bottle was a viscous, pale golden liquid he had named [Secondary Star Realm Gel].
This was a new medium he had spent half a month Refining through repeated experiments. It was based on the Star Dew he had exchanged for at the Star Library, combined with his understanding of the projected Starlight Energy.
’Star Realm Gel... its greatest characteristics are Order and stability.’
Ian took out the Rune-engraved Void Crystal Fragments and evenly coated them with the gel.
The gel seeped into the Rune patterns, the gold and silver intertwining to create a strange and beautiful aesthetic.
’Order can suppress Chaos, and stability can restrain volatility... It’s perfect for balancing the three conflicting energies inside the Black Hole Potion.’
After finishing these steps, Ian carefully picked up the three processed Crystal Fragments and placed them into a special Alchemy Crystal Shell.
The inner wall of the Alchemy Crystal Shell was also covered in dense Runes.
This time, he drew inspiration from the idea of optimizing Gravity Field control precision. The Rune structure was more refined, and the Energy Guidance efficiency had increased by thirty percent.
The final step was encapsulation.
Inside the Alchemy Crystal Shell, he had pre-placed a trace amount of purified Abyssal Crystal Powder and Sun Crystal Powder.
These two would no longer serve as the main Energy source, but as a "conflict fuse" for the triggering phase.
The moment the powder touched the Crystal Fragments, the Alchemy Crystal Shell sealed itself shut.
Faint silver patterns appeared on the surface, pulsing slowly like blood vessels.
The three improved Black Hole Potions, Starlight-Stabilized Type, were complete.
Ian picked one up and examined it carefully against the light.
Inside the Crystal Ball, the Void Crystal’s spatial properties, the Dimension Stone Essence’s dimensional stability, and the Star Dust’s orderly harmony were woven together by the stabilizing Secondary Star Realm Gel, forming a slowly rotating, three-layered energy vortex.
At the core of the vortex, the trace amounts of Abyss and Sun Crystal powder were embedded, lying in wait as the "fuse."
This ensured that, when needed, they could instantly trigger a violent conflict, thereby inducing the collapse and eruption of the total energy.
’The power is still at Tier One Peak, but...’
Ian gently tossed the Crystal Ball into the air and caught it securely.
’The stability has increased fivefold, the activation delay can be precisely controlled to within 0.1 seconds, and the blast radius can be preset to three, five, or ten meters in diameter.’
His eyes burned with fervor.
’This is a true tactical weapon!’
The previous Black Hole Potion, while powerful, was an indiscriminate area-of-effect weapon once activated, harming friend and foe alike.
This improved version could be thrown with precision in a chaotic battle, blowing up only enemies without harming allies.
It could even be preset to "trigger mode," detonating automatically when an enemy came within a certain distance, turning it into a mobile trap.
’Three... isn’t enough.’
Ian put away the finished products and sat back down at the Alchemy Platform.
For the next two months, aside from his mandatory Meditation and Witchcraft improvements, he practically lived in the underground secret chamber.
He refined twelve of the improved Black Hole Potions.
He refined thirty bottles of the high-efficiency meditation Support Potion, the [Starlight Potion].
The new version of the potion integrated the stable properties of Star Energy, increasing Meditation efficiency by another 20% with extremely low side effects.
As for Strong Effect combat Potions:
Twenty vials of [Instant Stone Skin Potion], which, when applied, increased skin hardness to the limit of Tier One Protection Witchcraft within three seconds, lasting for ten minutes.
Fifty vials of an enhanced [Strong Healing Potion], with double the hemostatic and tissue-regenerating effects of the standard version.
Thirty vials of [High-level Antitoxic Potion], capable of neutralizing 95% of all known poisons on the market.
And various other recovery, enhancement, and reconnaissance Potions...
In total, he made over two hundred vials.
By the time Ian emerged from the underground secret chamber, two months had passed.
He pushed open the heavy stone door of the chamber. Sunlight slanted in through the High Tower’s window, casting a long patch of light on the floor.
"Gaga! Ian, you’re finally out!"
Gaga leaped up from the living room sofa, flapping its wings and landing on his shoulder, its small eyes looking him up and down.
"If you didn’t come out soon, I would have starved to death, gaga! Lucy and the others were talking about you every day, wondering if the Great Demon King had refined himself into a potion..."
Ian rubbed the bridge of his nose. Two months of high-intensity Alchemy had consumed a massive amount of his Spiritual Power, and he was indeed a bit exhausted.
"Any news from Alevia?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Gaga pulled a silver envelope from its feathers.
"It arrived three days ago. Said the assembly point for the ruins expedition is at ’Longgu Port’ in the ’Broken Islands’, and that you should set off by the beginning of next month at the latest."
Ian opened the envelope. Alevia’s handwriting was elegant.
The letter’s contents were brief, instructing Ian to present it at the Star Moon Commerce Association’s local branch to rendezvous upon his arrival.
Most importantly, members of Deep Red, Withered, and the Silver Ring had already begun to arrive.
Among the Outer Island factions, people from the "Tide Association" and "Storm Hall" had also arrived.
It warned him to be careful.
At the bottom of the letter were the spatial coordinates for Longgu Port.
’The beginning of next month... that’s twenty days from now.’
Ian put the letter away and walked toward the room next to his bedroom.
He pushed the door open. A silver-gray mist of Energy filled the air. The Alchemy Tree stood quietly, its branches and leaves unfurled.
The Five Fruits were huddled by the tree’s roots. Hearing the door open, they all "looked up" in unison.
"Great Demon King!" Lucy was the first to cry out, her voice full of grievance.
"You finally remembered us!"
Vivian followed up with a complaint, "Yeah, really! Gaga always steals the Blood Essence when it feeds us..."
Amy muttered under her breath, "And it’s always poking us..."
Rice Grain: "Waaah... I want to drink Star Dew..."
Benny: "Hungry..."
Watching them chatter away, a hint of a smile flickered in Ian’s eyes.
He took out the Star Dew from his Dimension Ring, dripped three drops for each of the fruits, and set down a small pile of Blood Essence.
The Five Fruits immediately quieted down. Silver tendrils extended from them, contentedly absorbing the Energy.
Perched on Ian’s shoulder, Gaga looked at them with contempt in its small eyes. This time, it resisted the urge to snatch the Blood Essence.
"Oh, right, Ian," Gaga suddenly remembered something. "When are we leaving, gaga!"
"No rush. It’ll be in the next few days."
Ian’s mind stirred, and his consciousness sank into his Sea of Spirit.
The Witchcraft panel appeared:
[Frost Ash Beam: Mastery (3178/3200)]
He was just over twenty Skill Level points away.
Ian opened his eyes, looked at Gaga, and said, "Let’s go. To the practice room."
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