"An invitation to the Abyssal Beck Subplane?"
Yin Ming had just taken out the metal sphere when Anthony Silvercoin's eyes widened. He pulled out a magnifying glass and examined it closely.
Turning his head, he said in disbelief, "Even Official Wizards rarely have these. Where did a Junior Wizard Apprentice like you get one?"
Even Official Wizards rarely had them?
Then it truly was an extraordinary treasure.
Yin Ming tapped the metal sphere with his finger, producing a crisp metallic ring, and questioned, "Is it genuine? Can you be sure?"
Anthony Silvercoin patted his chest and declared with absolute certainty, "Of course! Because I have one too. The association happens to need to purchase some Abyssal specialties."
As he spoke, he took a metal sphere from his storage witch artifact.
Their size, color, and weight were completely identical, as if they had just been copied out of a cornucopia.
"Eh... they really are exactly alike. I can't even tell which belongs to whom."
A glint of surprise flashed in Yin Ming's eyes as he took the other metal sphere from Anthony's hand.
He spun it rapidly with one hand. After fiddling with the External Core for three months, he had honed his hand speed to the extreme—there was not even a shadow to be seen.
"Here, take it back!" Yin Ming casually picked one, then turned and left without hesitation.
"Uh... did he take mine? They're completely identical. Was there even any need to swap them?"
Anthony Silvercoin wore a suspicious expression.
Watching Eno's retreating back, he felt that this person was particularly mysterious.
A proper Junior Wizard Apprentice at this time would either be meditating and cultivating, or doing menial labor for Wizards. Some would even willingly become test subjects, all just to obtain a little cultivation resource and rune knowledge.
Memorizing and mastering a single Sorcery Rune took ten days, perhaps even a month.
After painstakingly accumulating 10 points of mental power, if the Permanent Mental Rune failed, they had to start all over again. Their faces always carried the sorrow of someone adrift in a boundless sea of suffering, unable to see the opposite shore.
Between Wizards and Wizard Apprentices lay an enormous gap in power, as well as an uncrossable chasm in status.
Granted, the scholar identity gave them authority equal to that of a First-Ring Wizard, but other Wizard Apprentice scholars would always remain humble before a true First-Ring Wizard.
"..."
"Huff..."
Yin Ming had indeed swapped away the invitation in Anthony Silvercoin's hand.
Since they were identical anyway, he might as well make an exchange!
It was not that he had discovered any problem. He was simply suspicious.
How had Red Nose, a Zero-Ring Quasit, obtained an invitation that even First-Ring Wizards found difficult to acquire from the Abyss?
By living off someone else?
Who had such heavy tastes?
"There are only three days until the next New Moon."
Yin Ming decided to make some preparations. There was no need to mention Red Nose—he had seen his appearance with his own eyes.
As for the other Monkey Quasits, although they wore masks to conceal themselves, he could still vaguely identify them through their build and aura.
"Collect..."
Inside the meditation chamber.
Yin Ming stored himself inside the Scavenger Gourd.
Through the gourd's perspective, his body became a transparent, illusory model, revealing countless pieces of data.
[Optimizing...]
He lightly tapped the muscles of his face with a finger, and before long, he became a square-faced middle-aged man with upright features.
Then he tapped the muscles of his body, and his frame became far more muscular, making him look more like a brawny warlock.
As for changing his own extraordinary aura, the Element-Revealing Potion could remove the aura clinging to the surface of his body.
"..."
[Name: Element-Revealing Potion (Variant).] [Ingredients: Spirit-Eating Tree sap, Soul Crystal, blending perfume...] [Note: This potion can cause all attached magic power to react, thereby achieving the effect of altering one's own aura.] [Without using magic power, duration: 15 days. With magic power, duration: 1–3 days.]
Yin Ming removed the Gold-Eroding Water from the potion, then used flavor-altering perfume as the blending agent.
He also used the Soul Crystals extracted with sorcery scrolls as potion ingredients.
To brew potions, one had to understand the function of every ingredient. If one merely followed formulas and prepared them without changing a single thing, one would discover that this world held countless kinds of potions, rather than just a few categories undergoing constant refinement and variation.
"There are only enough materials for one bottle. I'll use it when New Moon Night arrives."
Yin Ming recorded the body optimization data: occipitalis 5%, orbicularis oculi 6%, facial muscles 3%, nasalis 4%, biceps 4%...
Then his body returned to its original state, and he resumed his ordinary life, waiting for New Moon Night to descend.
"..."
Landon Duchy Calendar, Year 223, January 20th. New Moon Night.
At night, both the royal capital and the forests were eerily silent. Countless shadowy phantoms bred within the darkness, and Baleful Entities awakened.
On the surface of the Beck Subplane's Abyssal invitation, the metal sphere suddenly sprouted several profound runes. Energy circuits threaded into the sphere's interior, making it resemble a concentric orb twisted and fused together. The spell structure within had been concealed by its creator through a unique method.
"It only appears on New Moon Night. Was it originally suppressed by something?"
Yin Ming adjusted his body data and became a square-faced, brawny man. Then he took out the Element-Revealing Potion and sprayed it evenly over every part of his body.
Firefly-like specks of light flickered, and his aura changed completely. There was no longer any trace of a Wizard's magic power.
"Activate!"
Yin Ming took out the metal sphere.
As magic power continuously flowed into it, the runes upon it began to light up one after another.
The instant the final rune lit up, the sphere began to spin, releasing a strange magic power. Space rippled faintly.
The next moment, Yin Ming and the sphere vanished from where they stood in an instant.
"..."
Beck Subplane, wasteland.
Yin Ming felt the world spin around him as he descended into another unfamiliar land.
Jagged rocks, withered grass, and several half-dead trees filled his sight.
There was no sun in the sky either, yet scorching white light shone through the Crystal Wall on the left, illuminating the entire subspace. Unlike the Flameburner Undercity, where light spread evenly across every inch of space without the slightest regard for reason.
"Crack..."
Not far away, a middle-aged man teleported in.
After snapping several dead branches, he brushed off the dust and fallen leaves, then headed east wearing a mask.
"A mask..."
Yin Ming followed suit. An extra layer of disguise was always a good thing, so he took out a black-and-white mask and put it on.
He also headed east. Before he had gone far, he discovered a stone slab engraved with a map. It marked his current location as well as the layout of the entire Beck Subplane.
"Bonewood Tower, Crimson Leaf Gallery, Maple Spirit Ancient Tree. I'll scout them out first."
Yin Ming saw that the Crimson Leaf Gallery was closest, so he continued eastward.
Before long, a small town appeared in his view. The white buildings bore sculptures and decorative patterns, resembling one palace after another. At the center of the town stood a black-and-red domed building, exuding a strange beauty steeped in the Abyss's dark tones.
At the town entrance stood a small shop where travelers could rest.
The moment Yin Ming stepped inside, a short, lean Demon Bloodline with short ears approached him with a fawning smile. "Two Element Crystals, please!"
"Clang..."
Without speaking, Yin Ming took out two Element Crystals and tossed them into the tray. Entering further inside, he found the place bustling with people, Demons, and other kinds of extraordinary creatures.
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