Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

[Investigate unusual energy fluctuations in the "Withered Forest" in the east (Independent Mission)]

"Gah, this is great!" Gah poked its head out from the shadows. "No need to share the spoils with others!"

Ian's lips curled slightly; he thought so too.

After his match against Sterling, he became more accustomed to acting alone.

The more people involved, the more variables there are, and the greater the risk of the secret being exposed.

He clicked on the task details.

[Mission Location: Withered Forest (Edge of the Seventh District of the Eastern Theater Command)]

[Mission Objective: Investigate the source of recent unusual energy fluctuations, assess the threat level, and eliminate abnormal nodes if necessary]

[Quest Level: Level 1 (Recommended for wizards at the Mist Transformation level or higher)]

[Mission Reward: 800 base merit points, with additional points based on threat assessment]

[Special Note: Several apprentices have recently gone missing in this area, the energy environment is disordered, and there is a suspected presence of a mentally corrupting monster.]

Mental pollution?

Ian's eyes flickered slightly.

He recalled the special effect he gained from the second breakthrough of the Bloodline Purification Technique: "Soul Devouring".

It has the ability to specifically devour and purify spiritual energy and fragments of the soul.

"Accept." He pressed confirm.

The Demon Hunter Jade Token vibrated, and mission information flowed in.

[Task accepted]

[It is recommended to carry protective magical artifacts or potions.]

Ian turned around and began to prepare.

Ten bottles of "Concentration Dew" were put into his dimensional bag, the "Ring of Layered Peaks" was worn on his left wrist, and the portable array plate of the "Origin Annihilation Array" was also taken along, as they would come in handy for temporary camping in the wild.

Finally, he looked at the pile of blood essence in the corner.

"Gah! My snacks!" Gah immediately pounced on it, spreading its little wings to protect it.

"Take only half." Ian picked up a few drops of blood essence from the swamp pufferfish.

"The environment of a withered forest may require the replenishment of life energy."

Gaga reluctantly loosened its paws, its little eyes watching Ian's movements, squeaking every time it took a piece.

Ian chuckled and ruffled its hair: "I'll pay you back double when I get back."

"It's a promise, ga!"

Half an hour later, following the provided map, Ian arrived at the exit of a dimly lit cave.

He paused in mid-air and began to look around.

Ahead lay a forest, but not the forest he knew.

There are no branches or leaves, no greenery.

There was only a twisted, withered, black "tree" forest, as if all life had been drained from it.

The tree trunk is unnaturally bent, its surface is covered with honeycomb-like holes, and a faint dark purple sap is seeping out.

The ground was covered with a grayish-white fungal carpet that felt soft and yielded a dull "plop" sound when stepped on.

The air was filled with the stench of rotting corpses, mixed with whispers of some spiritual level.

Like countless tiny whispers in your ear, you can't make out what they're saying, but they're incredibly unsettling.

【Vigilant Eye】Activates automatically.

An energy eyeball appeared above the head, and the [True Sight] effect was activated, instantly filling the field of vision with many invisible energy flows.

The dark purple pollution energy, like a spider web, entwined itself around every dead tree, slowly seeping out from the holes and merging into the air.

"A field of mental pollution..." Ian whispered.

He mobilized his atomized spiritual energy to form a thin protective layer on his body.

At the same time, the [Soul Devouring] property quietly activated, and those whispers that tried to invade consciousness were swallowed up and purified as if they had collided with an invisible vortex.

"Ugh! I feel uncomfortable!"

Its feathers ruffled, and its heterochromatic eyes scanned its surroundings warily. "Something's watching us!"

Ian sensed it too.

Something was wriggling inside the holes of those dead trees.

He raised his right hand, and a pale purple [Frost Ray] condensed at his fingertips, but he did not fire it.

It simply maintained a state of readiness, moving forward slowly.

The fungal carpet beneath my feet sank with each step, then slowly bounced back, leaving shallow footprints.

After walking about 100 meters, a dead tree on the left suddenly trembled violently.

The holes in the tree trunk opened simultaneously, spewing out large plumes of dark purple mist.

From within the mist, dozens of translucent, tentacle-like things shot out rapidly.

It was extremely fast, accompanied by a piercing shriek.

Ian's eyes turned cold, and he raised his left hand, activating [Ring of Layered Peaks].

Three layers of dark silver shields instantly unfolded, overlapping in a semi-transparent manner in front of him.

Puff puff……

The tentacles struck the shield, causing the first layer to tremble violently and ripple across its surface, but it was not breached.

The tips of those tentacles even tried to pierce through the shield, making a "sizzling" corrosive sound.

"A mental attack?" Ian thought to himself.

He pointed with his right hand, and a pale purple [Frost Ray] shot out, directly hitting the trunk of the withered tree!

The energy of ice and fire exploded on the tree trunk.

The outer layer freezes and becomes brittle instantly, while the high internal temperature causes it to explode!

boom!

The withered tree burst open from the middle, splattering dark purple sap everywhere. All the tentacles stiffened simultaneously, then turned into mist and dissipated.

But the crisis is not over.

The dozen or so dead trees around them trembled at the same time, their holes opened, and more tentacles gushed out, like a purple wave!

"Wow! That's too much!"

With a shrill scream, [Shadow Leap] was activated, instantly appearing above and behind Ian.

【The Eye of Calamity】!

The gray light fell, enveloping the three nearest withered trees.

The trees' trembling rhythm suddenly became disordered, their tendrils spewing out in skewed directions and intertwining with each other.

Ian seized the momentary opening, his mental energy surging, and activated the [Crystal Energy Barrier].

Dozens of palm-sized, rhomboid "floating crystal guardians" shot out with a whoosh, like a swarm of bees, precisely striking the root of each tentacle!

Dozens of palm-sized, rhomboid "floating crystal guardians" shot out with a whoosh, like a swarm of bees, precisely striking the root of each tentacle!

Bang bang bang!

The whiskers were knocked off course and broken.

At the same time, Ian used both hands.

Left hand [Secondary Frost Ray], "Twin" effect activated, two icy blue rays crossed and swept across, freezing large areas of tentacles.

With his right hand, he used the "Burning Ray" to "focus" and compress it to the extreme. The bright white ray, like a scalpel, precisely targeted the core holes of every dead tree.

The alternation of ice and fire results in extremely high cleaning efficiency.

In just five breaths, all the withered trees around them exploded, and dark purple sap flowed all over the ground.

The fungal carpet begins to absorb the mucus, making a "gurgling" swallowing sound.

"Gah... Are they eating their own kind?" Gah landed on Ian's shoulder, its little eyes wide open.

Ian didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the depths of the forest. The battle just now had attracted even more attention.

Something is wriggling under the fungal carpet.

puff!

A pale arm burst from the ground, then a second, a third...

Three "corpses" crawled out from under the fungal carpet.

They wore tattered apprentice robes, had grayish-white skin, empty eye sockets, and dark purple mucus flowing from their mouths.

The movements were stiff, but not slow, forming a triangular encirclement.

"A contaminated corpse..." Ian's eyes were grave.

These corpses were likely missing apprentices in life, and now they have become carriers of polluting energy.

He didn't want to waste his mental energy.

With a thought, the Bloodline Purification Technique was activated, and the "Spirit Devouring" characteristic was fully activated!

An invisible vortex spread out from him.

The three corpses froze simultaneously, their empty eye sockets flashing with a dark purple light, as if something was struggling within them.

Then, wisps of dark purple mist were forcibly drawn from their mouths, noses, and eye sockets, merging into the vortex around Ian.

The body quickly shriveled, collapsed, and turned to ashes.

The extracted polluted energy, under the transformation of "Spirit Devouring," turned into pure fragments of spiritual energy, replenishing Ian's spiritual sea.

"Gah! This is useful!" Gah Gah flapped its wings excitedly.

Ian nodded slightly; "Soul Devouring" was practically a divine skill in this environment.

It can purify pollution, replenish supplies, and weaken enemies.

He continued forward.

The deeper you go, the denser the dead trees become, the thicker the fungal carpet grows, and the clearer the whispers in the air become.

Occasionally, hordes of tentacle-like trees will launch attacks, and occasionally, contaminated corpses will crawl out from underground.

But Ian countered them all with a combination of methods.

【Frost Ray】is the main attack, 【Soul Devourer】purifies and replenishes, 【Ring of Layers】is the defense, 【Gaga】interference, and 【Floating Crystal Guardian】controls the field.

The entire process was seamless and efficient.

After walking about two kilometers, a relatively open space appeared ahead.

In the center of the open space stood three figures.

Ian paused, and the other person turned to look at him at the same time.

The person on the left is wearing a dark gray robe with withered vine patterns embroidered on the hem.

"The symbol of the withering council."

The person's face was pale and translucent, and he was surrounded by a faint aura of death. He held a bone-white staff in his hand.

In the middle was a tall, slender male elf with blond hair and pointed ears, wearing light, dark green leather armor, carrying a longbow, and with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

On the right is a sea creature with light blue skin, gill-like structures behind its ears, wearing close-fitting soft armor with water patterns, and two short blades hanging at its waist. It moves with agility.

All three possessed the aura of a first-level wizard, but each had a distinct characteristic.

The wizards of the Withered Council were lifeless, the elves were naturally friendly, and the sea creatures flowed like water.

They were clearly there to complete a mission as well.

At that moment, three pairs of eyes fell on Ian simultaneously.

The air suddenly became tense.