Body Tempering, Fourth Layer: Golden Blood; the New Verdant Shadow Set; the Crimson Eye Coalition, Wiped Out!
Crack!
A large hand seized the phantom's head and squeezed. It shattered into motes of light.
"Easier than I expected!"
Ian slowly withdrew his hand. Ahead of him, a Body Tempering Witchcraft Artifact drifted down: a belt.
"The Bloodscar Belt. Mid-tier First Ring. It should give a Wizard a decent boost to explosive power."
He put it away.
In the Illusion Tower, clearing each floor earned a reward, usually Witchcraft Artifacts or cultivation resources.
This was already the twelfth floor.
A mid-tier First Ring reward was hardly surprising.
"According to Instructor Horton, the Illusion Tower changes tiers every ten floors. He got three pieces of the Verdant Shadow Set on floors five, fifteen, and twenty-five. The Earthvein Dragon Blood I need for the fourth layer should be above floor thirty."
Ian murmured to himself.
He had come to gather resources for his next advancement. Earthvein Dragon Blood was essential for Golden Blood.
Once he had it, he could begin cultivating the fourth layer of Body Tempering.
The materials needed afterward would not be as hard to find. He could get them even within the Elemental Mysteries.
"And this is a rare chance to hone my fighting skills. I can stay here a while longer."
Ian took a deep breath.
Three enormous Bloodburn Elks, each over ten meters tall, appeared ahead. Their muscles bulged, and their breaths steamed.
"Bloodburn Elks. So many extraordinary creatures have vanished from Veridian Forest."
Ian recalled what he knew of them.
At the same time, his fully restored aura surged.
Crystal Skin, Steel Muscle, and Silver Bone activated together. His aura rose like a pillar of smoke.
The next instant,
he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was above a Bloodburn Elk, faint runes shimmering across his fist.
A heartbeat later,
**his punch crashed down, exploding the