Double Blow

Benjamin pressed his right hand to his chest.

The entrance to his Internal Grotto-Heaven silently opened before him.

All manner of materials streamed endlessly out of the Internal Grotto-Heaven. Benjamin's hands moved swiftly through the air, the radiance of Alchemy flowing from his fingertips.

Under the influence of his mental power, the materials melted and took shape, turning into precise components covered in runes.

He distributed these components in a particular pattern across several kilometers around him, embedding some into the ground and suspending others in midair. Invisible threads of energy linked them together, forming a three-dimensional model of a magic array.

Before long, the entire array had been laid out.

Benjamin formed the final array seal with both hands. Every component flickered faintly at once, then vanished into the surroundings as though they had never existed.

Yet if anyone with keen senses entered this area, they would notice the space here was suffused with a heart-pounding sense of "coiled and ready to strike."

"The concealment is a little lacking, but... I wasn't counting on hiding it from them anyway. It'll do."

Benjamin nodded in satisfaction, then seemed to recall something, a trace of hesitation crossing his face.

He reached into his chest. This time, what he took out was not a tangible material, but a faint, misty aura shimmering with dreamy colors.

It had neither form nor substance, yet seemed to bear the joys and sorrows of all living beings, the myriad forms of the mortal world. It was Benjamin's most precious reserve, the Mortal Aura.

"This is all I have left. I really can't bear to use it... but if I don't, I might never get a second chance."

Benjamin gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

He took out a large quantity of supplementary materials once