Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The open space was deathly silent.

The four first-level wizards looked at each other, but none of them spoke first.

The wizards of the Withered Council were the first to act.

He slowly raised his bone-white staff, its tip pointing at Ian, his voice hoarse and rough: "Which faction?"

Ian did not answer, his right hand hanging naturally at his side, a faint purple glow emanating from his fingertips.

The [Ring of Layered Peaks] on my left wrist glowed faintly.

"Gah!" Gaga poked half its head out of the shadows, its heterochromatic eyes warily staring at the three of them.

The elf frowned and raised his hand to signal his companion to calm down.

"Don't be nervous, we're here on a reconnaissance mission too."

His voice was cold and clear, with the unique aria of an elf, "Something's wrong with this forest; it's too risky to go it alone."

The sea-folk wizard silently moved to the flank, his pale blue eyes scanning the energy flow around Ian, seemingly assessing his strength.

"The lone wolf," Ian finally spoke.

"The Withering Council, Hector." The grey-robed wizard put away his staff, but his eyes remained cold.

"Emerald Grove, Legolas." The elf nodded slightly.

"People of the tides, tide," the sea creature said briefly, its voice like water flowing over rocks.

The atmosphere did not ease after the brief self-introductions.

All four knew that their temporary partnership was only to deal with greater dangers, and they would not be any less wary of each other.

Hector's death aura, Legolas's natural perception, and Tide's affinity for water were all silently probing Ian's true nature.

Ian was also observing.

The wizards of the Withered Council are skilled in death and dark magic, and thrive in this environment filled with negative energy.

Elves are sensitive to life energy and can detect abnormalities in advance.

Sea creatures...why have they come to the forest?

"The Tide People are skilled in water warfare, so why have you come to the Withered Forest?" Ian looked at tide.

tide Danlan's face was expressionless.

"The mission requires it, and... water can sense the flow of the earth's veins. There's something 'breathing' underground in this forest."

breathe?

Ian's eyes flickered slightly.

He had vaguely sensed that the fungal carpet beneath his feet would undulate slightly and regularly every so often, and he thought it was a fluctuation of polluting energy.

"There is indeed a pattern," Legolas replied, a pale green glow emanating from his fingertips as he pressed them against the ground.

"It's like a heartbeat, but very slow, about once every ten minutes."

Hector sneered, "Whatever it is, find the source, clean it up, and take the credit."

Even so, he showed no intention of leaving on his own.

Clearly, even the wizards of the Withered Council felt this place was dangerous.

"We can cooperate for now," Ian said calmly.

"But let me make this clear first: each person is responsible for their own safety when danger arises, and the spoils belong to whoever kills the enemy. Those who fight together will be rewarded according to their contribution."

"That makes sense," Legolas nodded.

tide silently agreed.

Hector snorted, which was taken as agreement.

The four formed a fragile alliance and continued their journey deeper into the forest.

Ian walked on the left flank of the group, Hector on the right, Legolas in the center to sense the enemy, and tide scouting ahead.

The sea shaman's movements were indeed light, leaving almost no trace on the fungal carpet. Occasionally, he would squat down to touch the ground and feel the flow of the earth's veins.

"The energy concentration has suddenly increased three hundred meters ahead." tide suddenly stopped and whispered, "Something's not right."

Almost simultaneously, Legolas drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and a vibrant green energy arrow materialized.

"Underground, at the ten o'clock position, three signs of life... no, signs of contamination."

Hector's staff struck the ground, and a ring of grayish-white ripples spread outwards.

A hoarse, piercing shriek came from beneath the fungal carpet!

Three monsters covered in pustules and crawling with their limbs twisted in reverse emerged from the ground.

They have a humanoid outline, but their heads are split into four parts, filled with densely packed sharp teeth, and flowing with dark purple mucus.

They were incredibly fast, rushing towards us in a triangular formation!

"Rotten Walker," Hector said with a hint of disgust.

"Deeply contaminated mutants have high physical resistance and are weak to purification attacks."

Before he finished speaking, Legolas's arrow had already been shot!

The emerald green arrow struck the monster on the left in the chest, instantly exploding into countless vines that entangled and bound it.

But the monster roared and tore the vines apart, pus gushing from the wounds and completely corroding the vines!

tide drew her twin blades and glided towards the monster on the right like water, the short blades tracing a strange arc before stabbing straight at the joint.

Ding!

The blade tip was blocked by a layer of bone armor, and sparks flew everywhere.

"The defense is very strong." tide retreated, her brows furrowing slightly.

The monster in the middle lunged straight at Hector.

The Withering Wizard sneered, waving his bone-white staff: "[Touch of Decay]".

A gray-black ray struck the monster.

The monster's charge suddenly slowed, its skin visibly dried and cracked, and pustules burst one after another, but it still stubbornly crawled forward.

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"Your life force has been corrupted and amplified." Hector's expression was not good.

Just then, Ian moved.

He did not use [Frost Ray].

Instead, he raised his hand and activated the Bloodline Purification Technique at full power, unleashing the "Soul Devouring" ability!

An invisible vortex enveloped the three monsters.

They froze simultaneously, and a piercing scream, as if their souls were being torn apart, emanated from their cracked heads!

Strands of dark purple polluting energy were forcibly extracted and flowed into Ian's body.

The whole process took less than three breaths.

The open space was quiet.

Ian stepped forward, picked up two pieces, and said, "I'll take two pieces based on how much effort I put in."

Hector's eyes darkened as he stared at Ian: "Devouring magic? When did wild wizards acquire such abilities?"

Legolas and Shio also looked wary.

The ability to directly extract polluted energy and convert it for one's own use is terrifying in the withered forest.

It can weaken the enemy and has unlimited endurance.

"Personal opportunity," Ian replied casually, without offering any explanation.

He actually held back; he only made his move to intimidate the three of them and prevent them from causing him trouble.

I only used half the power of "Soul Devouring" just now; if I unleashed its full potential...

"Let's move on," Hector broke the silence. "But... I hope you don't use your abilities on your teammates."

"Same to you," Ian said calmly.

The four set off again, but the distance between them had invisibly increased by a few steps.

trust?

In places like this, it is a luxury.

We went about another kilometer deeper.

The surrounding withered trees began to change, with dark red veins appearing on their trunks, pulsating like blood vessels.

The color of the fungal carpet also changed from grayish-white to dark red, and it felt sticky when stepped on, as if stepping on flesh and blood.

The whispers in the air became clearer; upon closer listening, they turned out to be countless repeating fragments:

"Come back...return...become one..."

tide suddenly stopped, squatted down, and placed her palms on the ground.

Pale blue ripples spread from his palm and seeped into the fungal carpet.

A few breaths later, he suddenly looked up, his expression unusually solemn:

"There's a huge cavity underground, at least 500 meters in diameter... It's filled with this kind of fungal carpet, and..."

He paused, lowering his voice:

"There's still a heart beating."

Legolas closed his eyes to sense them, then opened them: "Not just one, but many, but they are synchronized in frequency, like a single entity."

The bone-white gem at the tip of Hector's staff lit up, spreading an aura of death and probing for signs of life.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

"Back off!"

late.

The entire fungal carpet beneath my feet writhed violently, like a living carpet of flesh and blood!

Countless pale arms burst forth from the ground—not just three or five, but hundreds and thousands!

At the same time, the surrounding dead trees cracked open, and the dark red veins on the trunks burst open, spraying out blood-red mist!

Wherever the fog passes, the air is distorted, and even the flow of energy is polluted and assimilated!

"It's a trap!" Legolas drew his bow and fired in rapid succession, the emerald green arrows exploding into a barrier that temporarily blocked the fog.

tide's twin blades danced like a curtain of water, severing the arm that lunged at her.

Hector unleashed a gray-black death field, corroding any approaching arms into ash.

Ian activated all three layers of shields around him, and the [Soul Devouring] vortex expanded to its limit, frantically drawing out the polluted energy from the surrounding area.

But there were too many arms and the fog was too thick.

Even more frightening is that after those arms break off, the fungal carpet quickly "recycles" them and regenerates new ones.

"We can't afford to waste time!" tide shouted. "Something's controlling things underground; we have to find the core!"

"How do I find it?!" Hector cleared a section of his arm with a [Touch of Decay], but it was instantly filled again.

Ian's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he was about to unleash the Frost Ray.

boom!

Fifty meters ahead, a large hole burst open in the fungal carpet!

Inside the cave, a dark red tumor, three meters in diameter and covered with blood vessels, was exposed and pulsating slowly but powerfully.

With each pulsation, a spray of blood mist is released, and the surrounding fungal carpet and arms become more active.

"Core!" Legolas' arrow was already aimed at the tumor.

Hector's staff was raised high, and death energy gathered.

tide moved with lightning speed, rushing straight ahead.

But at that moment...

The tumor suddenly split open with a slit.

A huge, pure black eye peeked out from the gap.

His eyes darted around, his gaze sweeping over the four people.

Then, a low, overlapping murmur, as if countless voices were mixed together, resounded directly in everyone's minds:

"Welcome...to...my world."