The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

The moment you leave the protected area of ​​Darkmoon Academy, a wild atmosphere, a mixture of the scent of primal vegetation and the faint stench of demons, washes over you. The Shattered Star Mountain Range stretches across the northern part of Darkmoon Plains like a rugged ridge of the earth, shrouded in mist year-round. Legend has it that fragments of stars once fell here, hence the name, and it has also given rise to countless dangers and opportunities.

The trio of Rowe, Barton, and Lilith ventured northward along the rugged mountain path. Barton led the way; after his elemental training, he appeared even more robust, with a faint aura of heat emanating from him. He gripped a newly forged two-handed greatsword, shimmering with dark red runes—the very weapon he used to practice his "Exploding Flame Slash." He was responsible for clearing the way and dealing with any direct threats.

Lilith walked in the middle, wearing a set of dark green leather armor for ease of movement, with several potion pouches and a bronze compass that was constantly rotating slightly at her waist. She was responsible for guiding the way, warning of dangers, and providing logistical support.

Luo Wei brought up the rear. Dressed in a grey apprentice's robe, he appeared no different from an ordinary mid-level apprentice, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp. His [Low-Level Energy Vision] remained constantly activated, carefully scanning the surrounding environment. His main task was to sense energy anomalies, avoid stepping into natural energy traps or monster ambush zones, and be wary of potential pursuers.

Darkmoon Academy World Encyclopedia: The Shattered Star Mountains

This vast and ancient mountain range possesses a complex geological structure and contains various rare minerals and magical crystal veins. Legend has it that an ancient meteorite impact left some areas with unstable spatial structures, occasionally exhibiting unusual energy vortices or small spatial rifts. The mountain range is inhabited by numerous magical creatures, ranging from low-level armored boars and poison vine demons to mid-level winged serpents and rock-armored bears, and even rumored to harbor powerful beings approaching wizard level within its depths. Simultaneously, the mountain range also nurtures many rare magical plants, making it an important source of materials for apothecaries and alchemists. Due to its inherent danger and uncertainty, only formally certified wizards or experienced teams of senior apprentices dare to venture deep into its depths.

"According to Uncle Pip's description, the cliff covered in glowing moss should be on the east side of that 'Eagle Beak Peak' ahead," Lilith said softly, looking at the map and compass in her hand. "Everyone be careful, winged serpents are social creatures with a very keen sense of smell and energy."

As they ventured deeper, the surrounding vegetation grew increasingly dense, with towering ancient trees blocking out the sun and dimming the light. A faint smell of humus and a barely perceptible... sulfur odor filled the air.

"Something's not right." Luo Wei suddenly stopped, his brow furrowing slightly. "The energy flow here is very chaotic, the earth and fire elements are unusually active, and... there's a feeling of being watched."

Barton immediately raised his greatsword on alert, and Lilith's compass needle began to tremble slightly.

Hiss—!

Just then, several dark figures swooped down from the treetops on both sides! They were several serpentine creatures, nearly two meters long, with fleshy wings on their backs and covered in dark green scales—winged serpents! They opened their mouths, revealing venomous fangs, and spewed out a venomous mist with a paralyzing effect!

"Well done!" Barton roared, neither dodging nor avoiding, flames instantly erupting from his greatsword, unleashing a simple yet ferocious horizontal slash with unstoppable momentum!

"Explosive Flame Slash!"

boom!

The scorching sword energy erupted in a fan shape, not only evaporating most of the incoming poisonous mist, but also directly severing and burning the two winged snakes that were in the first line of fire! The remaining shockwave sent the other winged snakes tumbling away.

Barton (Peak Advanced Apprentice) demonstrates his strength: Elemental Body Refinement greatly enhances his physical strength and fire affinity, and his Explosive Flame Slash concentrates destructive power into a single point, making it incredibly powerful and far beyond the scope of ordinary advanced apprentices.

However, the number of winged snakes was far greater than expected. More hissing sounds came from all directions, the treetops swayed, and countless winged snakes were gathering.

"We can't linger! They're stalling for time, or trying to force us in a certain direction!" Luo Wei calmly assessed the situation, and with a flick of his wrists, two precise streams of water lashed out like whips, sending the two winged snakes that were trying to ambush Lilith from the side flying. He controlled the force of his attack perfectly, defusing the crisis without wasting any extra mental energy.

Lilith quickly sprinkled a handful of pale yellow powder, which formed a cloud of smoke in the air and emitted a pungent odor. "Snake repellent powder! It can temporarily interfere with their sense of smell! Follow me, there's a narrow crevice to the east; we can avoid their aerial advantage!"

The three fought their way back, and guided by Lilith, they rushed into a narrow crevice that could only accommodate one person at a time. Winged serpents circled and hissed outside the crevice, but were unable to swarm in on a large scale due to the terrain.

Once they were temporarily safe, Barton, panting, looked excitedly at his greatsword: "Haha, this new move is really powerful!"

Lilith looked at Luo Wei with concern: "Luo Wei, how are you feeling?" She knew that Luo Wei's soul was injured and he should not fight for a long time.

"It's alright." Luo Wei nodded, his face a little pale, but his eyes were still clear. "These winged serpents have a very consistent attack pattern, as if... they are being driven or controlled by something." He recalled the feeling of being watched and the chaotic energy flow. "There may be more winged serpents around here."

After resting for a while, they continued along the crevice. The crevice wound its way upwards, and the light grew increasingly dim. After walking for about half an hour, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a small valley surrounded by steep cliffs. In the center of the valley was a small pool of water, and on the cliff face opposite the pool, patches of moss, emitting extremely faint, stardust-like light, were faintly visible in the dim light!

"Starlight Moss!" Lilith exclaimed in surprise.

But Rowe stopped Lilith and Barton, who were about to go forward to collect the materials. "Wait! Something's not right!"

His [Low-Level Vision] revealed that the space surrounding the cliff face contained countless, extremely fine black fissures! These fissures, as thin as hair, constantly opened and closed, devouring the surrounding light and energy, emanating a chilling sense of instability. And the starlight moss grew precisely in the area where these spatial fissures were most concentrated!

"It's the Dark Moon Rift!" Rowe's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

Darkmoon Academy World Encyclopedia: Dark Moon Fissures

A unique and dangerous natural phenomenon in the Shattered Star Mountains is the formation of microscopic fissures in areas of extremely weak spatial structure. These fissures themselves lack intelligence, but instinctively devour all surrounding energy and matter. They are highly unstable, and any slightly larger energy impact can trigger a chain reaction, causing the fissures to expand and even lead to small-scale spatial collapse. Certain malevolent entities or wizards skilled in spatial magic sometimes use Darkmoon Fissures to set traps or hide important items.

"No wonder Pip's uncle said it was dangerous... This is not as simple as a winged serpent's nest!" Barton also gasped, he could feel the spatial cutting sensation coming from those black rifts.

The difficulty of collecting starlight moss has increased exponentially. Any improper action could trigger a catastrophic spatial collapse.

"Grey Tower...this was definitely Grey Tower's doing!" Lilith gritted her teeth. "They deliberately spread the news about Starlight Moss, precisely because they knew this place was dangerous, and they wanted to use someone else to do their dirty work!"

Loewy didn't answer; he was intently observing the distribution and fluctuation patterns of the spatial rifts. With the aid of the Book of Truth, he was trying to find a point where the energy was relatively stable and where he could safely contact the moss.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. At the edge of the pool, beneath a rock half-submerged in the water, he spotted an extremely concealed mark, outlined with shadow energy! The shape of the mark bore a striking resemblance to the gray tower emblem he carried!

"They've been here...and this marker seems to be...a remnant of a spatial beacon?" A terrifying thought rose in Lowe's mind. The Gray Tower not only wanted to use someone else to do their dirty work, they might have also set up some kind of teleportation or surveillance device here!

Just then, the suppressed abyssal mark deep within his soul suddenly throbbed violently without warning! A strong, malicious sense of being watched, like a cold, venomous snake, abruptly locked onto the three of them!

It didn't come from the cliff, nor from the winged serpent, but... from the depths of the pool beneath their feet!

"Watch out underwater!" Luo Wei shouted a stern warning, while simultaneously flying backward with all his might!

Pfft!

Suddenly, the center of the pool exploded, and a huge tentacle made entirely of murky water and shadow energy swept towards Barton, who was standing at the front, with lightning speed!

The tentacles were covered with countless distorted human face reliefs, emitting silent wails and exuding an aura that was the same as the abyss projection of the abandoned teleportation hall, but even more refined and evil!

A trap within a trap! The Winged Serpent was just an appetizer, the Dark Moon Rift was an obstacle, but this shadowy monster lurking at the bottom of the pool is the real killing move left by the Gray Tower!

Despite the sudden attack, Barton remained calm and unleashed his Explosive Flame Slash once more, the blazing blade slashing fiercely at the shadowy tentacles!

However, this time, the fiery sword energy struck the tentacle like a mud ox entering the sea, only stirring up a cloud of black mist. The tentacle only paused slightly before continuing its unstoppable surge! This monster's energy level far surpasses that of the winged serpent!

Lilith's purifying potion and Lovi's water manipulation had little effect on the tentacles.

Seeing Barton about to be swallowed up, a resolute glint flashed in Rowe's eyes. He could no longer use a large-scale field; his soul couldn't withstand the backlash. He suddenly concentrated his mental power to the extreme, and the "Heart of Analysis" operated frantically, trying to find the energy nodes or structural weaknesses of this shadowy tentacle!

[Target Analysis: Shadow Devourer (Projection, Weakened Version)]

[Energy Structure: A highly condensed mixture of negative energy and water, with its core consciousness located deep at the bottom of the pool, possessing extremely high resistance to conventional elemental attacks.]

[Weakness Analysis: Its energy supply relies on a fixed beacon at the bottom of the pool; attacking the beacon can significantly weaken its power. The entity itself is vulnerable to intense light and highly ordered energy impacts.]

A beacon! It's at the bottom of the pool!

"Barton! Hold on! Lilith, unleash the strongest Radiant Light! Target: the bottom of the pool!" Rowe shouted hoarsely. At the same time, he no longer held back, pouring all his remaining mental energy into the optimized version of [Miniature Blazing Flame]. But this time, he was not pursuing high temperatures, but rather the ultimate light and... a faint trace of "purification" intent derived from observing the Purifying Flame Rune!

A pure, stable, laser-core-like pure white light condensed at his fingertips, then transformed into a slender yet incredibly refined beam of light. Ignoring the churning water and shadowy tentacles, it precisely shot towards the beacon marked by the Book of Truth at the bottom of the pool!

At the same time, Lilith gritted her teeth and unleashed her strongest light magic spell—[Flash Spell Enhanced]—and a blinding white light exploded at the bottom of the pool like a small sun!

A pure white beam and a heightened flash simultaneously struck the shadow beacon!

"Awooo—!!!"

A silent yet soul-piercing shriek came from the bottom of the pool! The enormous shadowy tentacles instantly became illusory and distorted, as if they had lost their supporting power and could no longer maintain their shape. They collapsed into a sky full of black mist and finally vanished without a trace.

The pool returned to calm, as if nothing had happened. But all three knew they had just narrowly escaped death.

Barton, leaning on his greatsword, gasped for breath, his hands split open and bleeding profusely. Lilith was pale, her mental energy severely depleted. Lowe was swaying precariously, his soul imprint throbbing with pain from the full force of his attack.

"Quick... gather the moss... get out of here..." Lowe said weakly. The attack must have alerted the people who set the trap.

Lilith mustered her strength and, using her remotely controlled mage hand, carefully collected a small amount of starlight moss samples from the relatively sparse edge of the spatial rift.

The three dared not linger any longer and hastily retreated along the original route.

Shortly after they left, a blurry shadow emerged from a corner of the valley, watching the direction the three had gone, and let out a cold snort: "...You do have some skill, surviving all that... However, the seed has been planted; next time, you won't be so lucky..."