Obtaining Elemental Essence (Please Follow and Vote Monthly)

Luo Lin could not immediately determine their exact purpose, but his intuition told him these things were anything but ordinary.

The complexity and ingenuity of their rune structures far exceeded his current knowledge.

He carefully put away the metal plates for future study.

Aside from these more conspicuous gains, Luo Lin also found quite a few scattered materials unique to the secret realm with Baha's keen insight.

For example, in corners where energy had accumulated, he collected some Tear Crystal Vine. This vine was a supplementary ingredient for certain spatial-attribute potions.

After smashing several waves of metal constructs, he gathered several relatively intact energy conduction cores and fragments of spiritual metal. They were excellent materials for crafting constructs or strengthening enchanted weapons.

He even discovered a small pool of uncontaminated Elementally Active Water deep within a broken pipe. The water contained faint life energy and elemental affinity. Whether drunk directly for recovery or used to brew advanced potions, it was an excellent choice.

Taken individually, these gains might not have seemed earth-shattering, but together, they were still worth a considerable sum.

More importantly, most of them were related to attributes such as energy, stability, and the starry sky, perfectly matching the needs of his future cultivation of the Star Source Meditation Method.

During this time, he also detected the traces and battle fluctuations of other explorers from afar.

On one occasion, he sensed Kyle Silverglow's familiar elemental fluctuations, blazing and razor-sharp, erupting in the distance. He was clearly fighting a powerful enemy.

On another occasion, Baha warned him that Lina's ghostly figure had flashed through nearby shadows, seemingly pursuing some target.

Luo Lin cautiously chose to avoid them all.

This was not yet the time to clash with them. His primary goals were obtaining Elemental Essence and ensuring his own safety.

As his exploration deepened, his understanding of this region at the edge of the secret realm gradually increased.

The map Luo Lin drew became increasingly detailed, marking dangerous areas, resource sites, and possible safe routes.

The days passed, and the secret realm had been open for nearly ten days.

Luo Lin felt that he had more or less adjusted himself, while his supplies had been replenished and optimized.

It was time to face that violent energy pit once more.

He returned to the original low hill and observed the pit again.

The energy turbulence still raged, but the glows of those clusters of Elemental Essence appeared even more alluring amid the violent energy.

Luo Lin sat cross-legged and adjusted himself to peak condition.

In his mind, he repeatedly worked through the plan to seize the essences.

He intended to use the intervals when the energy turbulence was relatively calm. With his optimized armor and whatever stabilizing means he might have found, he would quickly approach the edge, grab a cluster of essence at top speed, and immediately retreat.

This required precise timing, extreme speed, and a little luck.

He glanced at Baha beside him and conveyed his plan through their link.

Determination gleamed in Baha's dark golden eyes as it signaled that it would assist with all its strength.

Luo Lin took a deep breath and removed the Mind-Calming Silverleaf, placing it in his mouth. A cool, tranquil aura immediately spread through his Mental Sea, sharpening his focus.

Next, Luo Lin held a Corrosive Rune Bomb in his hand in case of emergencies.

His gaze remained fixed on the clusters of Elemental Essence rising and falling at the center of the pit, waiting for that fleeting moment.

Time passed slowly amid the tense wait.

Like a stone statue, Luo Lin lay concealed behind the low hill, his mental power intensely focused as he sensed every subtle change within the energy pit.

The Mind-Calming Silverleaf in his mouth continued to emit its cool aura, allowing him to remain exceptionally calm under such pressure.

Baha rested silently on his shoulder, its three pairs of eyes locked onto the pit, especially the unstable clusters of Elemental Essence. Through their mental link, it continuously relayed real-time information on the energy flow to Luo Lin.

"The essence cluster is moving toward the southeastern edge... The turbulence is beginning to weaken..."

Baha's message came through.

Luo Lin's spirits lifted. The opportunity had come!

Mana within him began to accelerate silently. The light of the optimized Weak Force-Field Armor drew inward, and its energy distribution shifted into the most suitable state for withstanding energy impacts.

The muscles in his legs tensed slightly, like springs compressed to their limit.

Now!

The instant one cluster of Water Elemental Essence, radiating a gentle blue glow, drifted closest to the edge of the pit and the surrounding turbulence became relatively sparse, Luo Lin moved.

He explosively pushed off the ground, shooting out from behind the low hill like an arrow loosed from its bow, straight toward the blue essence.

The runes on his Levitation Boots activated instantly, increasing his speed by another thirty percent as he skimmed low over the ground toward the edge of the pit.

However, the relative calm of the energy turbulence was only calm compared to its most violent periods.

The moment Luo Lin entered the edge of the pit, several multicolored energy aftershocks lashed at him like whips.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A blinding glow erupted from the force-field armor, and it began to fluctuate violently.

Luo Lin felt chaotic, scorching energy trying to tear apart his defenses and batter his body and mind.

He gritted his teeth and pushed his perfect-grade meditation method to its limit, using his mental power to desperately stabilize the armor's structure.

At the same time, he did not slow down in the slightest and continued charging forward.

Baha let out a sharp cry in the air. The Dark Silver Eye continuously guided Luo Lin along the weakest paths through the energy turbulence, helping him make minute evasions.

He was less than twenty meters from the blue essence!

Luo Lin could even sense the incomparably pure aura of water elements, cool and vast.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred!

Perhaps Luo Lin's intrusion had disrupted some delicate balance. The relatively stable energy turbulence at the center of the pit abruptly froze, then erupted like a volcano. A thicker, darker mixed energy current, carrying an aura of destruction, swept toward the edge.

Its range happened to envelop both Luo Lin and the cluster of Water Elemental Essence.

"Not good!"

Luo Lin's pupils contracted sharply. The intensity of this energy current far surpassed anything from before. His armor absolutely could not withstand it.

At that critical moment, inspiration flashed through Luo Lin's mind. He recalled the simple rune array recorded on those pages, one used to temporarily stabilize an energy field.

Though it was meant to stabilize environmental energy, perhaps the underlying principle was similar.

Luo Lin had no time to understand the runes. Relying instead on his deep understanding of energy structures and the extraordinary control of his perfect-grade meditation method, he pressed both hands forward, pouring out mental power and mana in an unprecedented frenzy.

He did not create a shield. Instead, he rapidly formed an extremely simple Deflection Field structure of pure mental power in front of himself.

The structure borrowed the concept of the stabilizing runes, but it was cruder and more unstable. Its purpose was not defense, but to slightly divert the direction of that destructive energy current.

At the same time, Luo Lin cast Mage Hand at the Water Elemental Essence within arm's reach.

Under Luo Lin's control, Mage Hand condensed into an exceptionally gentle, invisible force. Like flowing water, it enveloped the essence and, following the force of the energy turbulence itself, gently guided it outward.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

BOOM!!!

The thick energy current slammed violently into the Deflection Field Luo Lin had hastily constructed.

The field could not hold for even an instant before collapsing.

But that infinitesimal deflection caused the central axis of the energy current to graze past Luo Lin.

The terrifying energy at its edge still struck his armor head-on.

Pfft!

Luo Lin spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Weak Force-Field Armor shattered at once.

His body was hurled away like a kite with a broken string. Tearing pain surged through his entire body, while his mental power felt as though it had been struck by a heavy blow, plunging his vision into waves of darkness.

Yet even as he was blasted away, that gentle invisible force successfully acted upon the Water Elemental Essence.

Drawn by that clever force, the essence broke free of its original trajectory and shot toward the relatively safe outer side of the pit like a blue meteor.

"Baha!"

Luo Lin sent out a hoarse cry through their mental link.

Baha, which had been ready for this moment, dived down like black lightning and precisely seized the cluster of Water Elemental Essence in its claws. It radiated a deep blue glow and struggled continuously.

The icy touch and immense energy of the essence made Baha's body sink, but it beat its wings with all its strength and chased after Luo Lin in the direction he had been flung.