New Moon Night Arrives

"Abyss Beck Subplane Invitation?"

Yin Ming had just taken out the metal sphere when Anthony Silvercoin's eyes widened. He pulled out a magnifying glass and examined it carefully.

Turning his head, he said in disbelief, "This thing is rare even among formal wizards. Where did a Junior Wizard Apprentice like you get it?"

Rare even among formal wizards?

Then it truly was an extraordinary treasure.

Yin Ming tapped the metal sphere with his fingers, 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 Abyss specialties."

As he spoke, he took a metal sphere from his storage witchcraft tool.

The size, color, and weight of the two spheres were completely identical, as though they had just been copied from a cornucopia.

"Eh... they really are exactly alike. I can't even tell which belongs to whom."

A flash of surprise lit Yin Ming's eyes as he took the other metal sphere from Anthony's hand.

He spun it rapidly with one hand. After three months of handling an External Core, he had trained 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 decisively turned and left.

"Uh... did he take mine? They looked completely identical. Was there even any need to swap them?"

Anthony Silvercoin wore a deeply suspicious expression.

Watching Eno's retreating back, he felt that this person was especially mysterious.

A proper Junior Wizard Apprentice would either be meditating and cultivating at this time, or doing dirty work for wizards. Some would even willingly become test subjects, all to obtain a little cultivation resource or rune knowledge.

Memorizing and mastering a single spell rune took more than ten days, sometimes even a month.

After painstakingly accumulating 10 points of mental power, if they failed to permanently solidify a mental power rune, they had to start all over again. Their faces always carried the sorrow of drifting through an endless sea of suffering, unable to see the other shore.

The gap in power between wizards and Wizard Apprentices was enormous, and there was also an insurmountable chasm between their statuses.

Granted, a scholar's identity gave him authority equivalent to a First Ring wizard, but other Wizard Apprentice scholars would always remain humble before a true First Ring wizard.

"..."

"Phew..."

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.

An invitation that even a First Ring wizard would find difficult to obtain—how had Red Nose, a Zero Ring Quasit, gotten it 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 builds and auras.

"Retrieve..."

Inside the meditation room.

Yin Ming stored himself inside the Scavenger Gourd.

Through the gourd's perspective, his body turned into a transparent, illusory model, revealing countless pieces of data.

[Optimizing...]

He lightly tapped his facial muscles with a finger, and soon transformed into a square-faced middle-aged man.

Then he tapped the muscles across his body, making his physique much more robust. He now looked more like a powerful warlock.

As for altering 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 react with all attached magic power, achieving the effect of altering one's own aura.]

[Without using magic power, duration: 15 days. With magic power usage, duration: 1–3 days.]

Yin Ming removed the Gold-Eroding Water from the potion, then used perfume that altered scent as the blending agent.

He also used Soul Crystals extracted through spell scrolls as potion ingredients.

To formulate potions, one had to understand the function of every material. If one only followed recipes and mixed them without alteration, one would discover that this world contained countless kinds of potions, rather than merely a few categories endlessly improved and modified.

"There are only enough materials for one bottle. I'll use it on the New Moon Night."

Yin Ming recorded the body optimization data: frontalis muscle 5%, orbicularis oculi 6%, facial muscles 3%, nasal muscle 4%, biceps 4%...

Then his body returned to its original state, and he resumed his normal life while waiting for the New Moon Night to arrive.

"..."

Landon Duchy Calendar, Year 223, January 20th, New Moon Night.

At night, both the royal city and the forests were eerily silent. Countless sinister specters bred in the darkness, and evil spirits awakened.

On the surface of the Beck Subplane Abyss invitation—the metal sphere—several mysterious runes suddenly emerged. Energy circuits threaded into the sphere's interior, making it resemble a twisted, fused concentric orb. The spell structure within had been concealed by its refiner through a unique method.

"It only appears on the New Moon Night. Was it originally being suppressed by something?"

Yin Ming adjusted his body data and turned into a square-faced, brawny man. Then he took out the Element-Revealing Potion and sprayed it evenly over every part of his body.

Specks of light flickered like fireflies, and his aura changed completely. There was no longer any trace of wizard magic power.

"Activate!"

Yin Ming took out the metal sphere.

As magic power continuously flowed into it, the runes upon it lit up one after another.

The instant the final rune lit up, the sphere began to spin, releasing a strange magic power. The surrounding space rippled faintly.

The next moment, Yin Ming and the sphere vanished from the spot in an instant.

"..."

Beck Subplane, wasteland.

Yin Ming felt the world spin around him before descending into another unfamiliar land.

Before his eyes lay scattered rocks, withered grass, and several half-dead trees.

There was likewise no sun in the sky, yet blazing white light shone through the crystal wall to the left, illuminating the entire subspace. Unlike the Flameburner Undercity, where light was spread evenly through every inch of space without the slightest regard for reason.

"Crack..."

Not far away, a middle-aged man teleported in.

He snapped several dead branches, dusted off the dirt and fallen leaves, then headed east while wearing a mask.

"A mask..."

Yin Ming followed suit. An extra layer of disguise was always a good thing. He took out a black-and-white mask and put it on.

He also headed east. Before he had gone very far, he found a stone slab engraved with a map. It marked his current location and the layout of the entire Beck Subplane.

"Bonewood Tower, Crimson Leaf Gallery, Maple Spirit Ancient Tree. I'll scout them out first."

Yin Ming found that the Crimson Leaf Gallery was the closest, so he continued eastward.

Very soon, a small town came into view. The white buildings were covered in sculptures and decorative patterns, resembling palaces one after another. At the town's center stood a black-and-red domed building, radiating a strange beauty steeped in the dark tones of the Abyss.

At the entrance to the town was a small shop for travelers to rest their feet.

The moment Yin Ming stepped inside, a short, lean Demon Bloodline with small ears approached him with a fawning smile. "Two Element Crystals, please!"

"Clang..."

Yin Ming said nothing. He took out two Element Crystals and tossed them into the tray. Once inside, he found the place bustling with people, demons, and other kinds of extraordinary creatures.