Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

One month later, on the top floor of the Jiangzhou City Supernatural Abilities Management Bureau.

Wei Song stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the clear sky outside.

"It's time to wrap this up."

The figure left a scorching afterimage in the air, and the next second it appeared a thousand meters in the sky, the pressure of a legendary late-stage figure sweeping across the entire city.

The people below looked up, and some recognized the figure in the gray robe.

"It's Ashbringer!"

"Commander Wei is about to set out on another expedition!"

Cheers erupted from all over the streets, forming a wave.

Wei Song did not linger, but transformed into a streak of light and shot eastward, where one of the last three level-five fissures that needed to be dealt with lay.

This fissure was formed on the coast of the East China Sea two hundred years ago.

Pollution has been leaking out for two hundred years, with putrefactive bacteria covering the entire coastline, dark purple tumors crawling on the reefs, and the corpses of deformed fish floating in the sea.

Within the rift, twelve legendary mutant beasts guarded the exit, some resembling giant starfish, others like rotting whales...

When Wei Song descended into the rift, all the mutated beasts roared to the sky at the same time.

"Noisy."

Wei Song loosely clenched his fist, and a small grayish-white spark appeared in his palm.

There was no dazzling light, no earth-shattering explosion.

The next second, the space within a radius of 100 kilometers centered on him suddenly froze, the roar of the mutated beast was stuck in its throat, and the corrupted fungal carpet on the ground was frozen in time.

Wei Song gently blew a breath, and the sparks drifted away, turning into billions of ashes-like particles.

It landed on the mutated beasts, on the fungal carpet, and on the contaminated earth.

In an instant, everything, from matter to energy, from physical entities to pollution, vanished into nothingness in the ashes.

The twelve legendary mutant beasts did not struggle at all; their bodies disintegrated into grayish-white powder from the outside in, which then scattered in the wind.

The fungal carpet disappeared within a hundred miles, revealing the eroded rocks beneath.

Then, Wei Song's figure flickered continuously, scattering gray sparks until there was no trace of the abyss's aura left.

Wei Song reached out and grabbed, and from the depths of the rift flew out a fist-sized, dark golden fragment of origin.

Just as the fragments were about to struggle, they were silently purified by the panel.

Wei Song didn't even look at it, put it into a specially made spatial container, and turned around to disappear through the rift.

In the Northwest Red Sands, the fifth-level fissure is even more hidden, concealed deep within an underground karst cave, and is in an open state.

Five legendary mid-stage aberrant beasts slumber here. They are humanoid in form but have six arms, three heads, and skin as hard as obsidian.

Wei Song appeared directly in the deepest part of the cave, making no attempt to conceal his presence, thus waking the slumbering creature.

Dozens of scarlet eyes opened simultaneously, and a terrifying mental shock, like a tangible spike, pierced the intruder.

Wei Song took a step forward, and a circle of gray-white ripples lit up the ground beneath his feet.

Wherever the ripples passed, the poisonous mist dissipated, flesh and blood withered, and the mountain of bones turned to dust.

The five mutant beasts sensed the deadly danger and attacked simultaneously.

His arm tore through the air, and his obsidian-like fist slammed toward Wei Song's head, but stopped three meters away.

"Aww!"

All the mutated beasts screamed in agony, their eyes filled with terror and bewilderment.

I watched helplessly as my body, starting from my fist, spread to my arms, torso, and head, gradually turned into grayish-white dust.

Five seconds later, the cave returned to silence, all traces of pollution disappeared, leaving only a thin layer of ash on the rock walls and the ground.

Wei Song reached out and drew out an even larger mass of dark golden primordial energy from the core of the rift.

"It's 30% more concentrated than the one in the East China Sea." He nodded slightly and disappeared again.

The rainforests of southern Xinjiang are unique in that a fissure coexists with a thousand-year-old banyan tree, and the mutated species merges with the plants, forming a bizarre ecosystem that is half plant and half flesh.

The entire rainforest is alive; every leaf is an eye, and every root is a tentacle.

The moment Wei Song arrived, the entire rainforest awoke, and countless vines burst forth from the ground, coiling around him like giant pythons.

Leaves detach from branches, transforming into sharp flying blades that whistle as they cut through the air; tree roots are pulled from the soil, their ends splitting open to reveal mouthparts filled with sharp teeth.

This is no longer just a simple mutant beast, but a monster that the entire forest has transformed into.

Wei Song finally became more serious, hovering in mid-air and forming an ancient hand seal with his hands in front of his chest.

"Ashes - The Demise of Heaven and Earth".

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole world fell silent.

All the attacking vines, leaves, and roots stopped a hundred meters away from him.

Immediately afterwards, gray spread from under Wei Song's feet, quickly permeating the entire rainforest.

The rainforest transforms from lush green to deathly gray-white, then turns into fine dust, falling softly.

Those fleshy parts were even more vulnerable, melting away silently like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

Ten seconds later, the rainforest within a radius of hundreds of kilometers turned into a gray-white desert.

The ancient banyan tree in the center is now just a huge stump, with a cluster of dazzling golden essence floating in the center of the cross-section.

"Fortunately, the panel helped; this source is more than other level five sources." Wei Song put away the source and looked into the distance.

On Xuanhuang Star, all the level-five rifts, except for the two that Ian deliberately left behind, have been completely purified.

"Cleaned up, it's ready to be absorbed by the main body."

The underground secret room of Jiangzhou City Administration Bureau.

Ian sat cross-legged in the center of the magic array, with three golden primordial elements of the world floating in front of him.

He opened his mouth and gently inhaled; the essence, like swallows returning to their nests, flew into his mouth.

The next second, a bright white light shone on the surface of his body, and the air in the sealed room instantly became ten times fresher.

Within the spiritual sea, the circle representing the "purification" rule, which was originally at 93% progress, is now rapidly advancing.

95%...97%...99%...

The fragments of the world's origin not only have rules, but also contain enormous energy.

Everything was absorbed, analyzed, and reconstructed by the star core, and integrated into Ian's own rule system.

The star trails of the purification rules are getting brighter and brighter, and the patterns are becoming more and more complex.

"Buzz!"

The blazing star core trembled slightly, and the purification rules were finally completed.

Almost simultaneously, the orbits of "Time" and "Earth" were also nourished, with their progress increasing from 55% and 60% to 68% and 75% respectively.

Ian opened his eyes, and with a slight thought, a wisp of pure white flame appeared in his palm.

The flames seemed to have no temperature, yet Wei Song instinctively took a half step back; this was a sense of "repulsion" at the level of life.

It was as if that flame was "wrong," and shouldn't exist in this world.

"After the purification rules are perfected, even the nature of the rule domain changes again."

Ian murmured to himself, and pure white flames transformed into a curtain of light, enveloping his entire body.

The mere existence of this purifying light barrier is enough to cause the source of pollution below Morning Star to collapse.

"The star core body is more stable now."

Ian clenched his fist, and the space groaned and cracked.

If his body was able to "easily tear through space" when he first broke through to the Morning Star realm, now space is "actively avoiding him."

This is a qualitative difference.

"Congratulations." Wei Song smiled. The stronger Ian became, the stronger he would become.

Congratulations!

Ian looked at him. "You're not far from the pinnacle of legend, and you still have no clue about the Path of the Morning Star?"

Wei Song shook his head. "I am you. If I want to take another path, there's too little time... and it's too difficult."

"Let's put this matter aside for now. When do you plan to go to the other world?"

Ian got up and walked to the west wall of the secret room.

A huge map of the Xuanhuang Star hangs on the wall, with all known rifts marked in different colors.

Red marks indicate purified areas, while black marks indicate unpurified areas. Currently, only two black marks remain.

One is deep within the Arctic ice cap, and the other is in a cave beneath the Kunlun Mountains of the Great Yan.

"In the next few days."

Ian reached out and lightly touched the two black dots with his fingertips, a flash of intense white light in his eyes.

"That corrupted world on the other side... I must go and see it for myself."

Wei Song paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you confident?"

"At least there won't be too much danger," Ian said casually.

"I only caught a glimpse of something like the 'Big Eyeball' before, but a world that can be corrupted by the abyss to that extent can't only contain that kind of thing."

"There is a high possibility that there are more advanced contaminants, or even... surviving civilizations."

His tone was somewhat subtle when he uttered the last four words.

Wei Song immediately understood. "You mean, there might still be living people on the other side?"

"It might not be a living person anymore."

Ian sighed softly, "They might be 'humanoid creatures' that have been corrupted and twisted, or they might simply be a distorted society established by slaves of the abyss."

"But in any case, it is a complete world."

"Resources, knowledge, rules... and even the potential 'level 5' opportunities."

He walked to the center of the secret room, pressed his hands together, and simultaneously activated the three realms of gravity, heat energy, and purification.

This time, the domain did not expand, but instead contracted inward, eventually condensing into a fist-sized "miniature star core" in the palm of his hand.

Three regular patterns of light flow across the surface of the star's core, and the faint shadow of a star can be seen inside.

"I need to test the adaptability of the Star Core God Body in a highly corrupted environment."

With a thought, Ian unfolded a small domain.

The rules within the domain have changed, simulating an extremely polluted environment where the air contains highly toxic spores, the earth flows with corrosive slime, the rules have been distorted, and even the light carries a kind of mental pollution.

He slowly pushed the star core into the domain, and the purification light curtain automatically unfolded, isolating the pollution from the outside.

Ian frowned; the exertion was much greater than he had anticipated.

On Xuanhuang Star, his purification domain could naturally absorb environmental energy to sustain itself, but on the other side, the environmental energy itself was polluted; absorbing it was tantamount to self-harm.

"It still needs optimization." He sat down cross-legged and began adjusting the rule combinations.

Wei Song left the secret room quietly without disturbing them.

He knew that the next step, the preparations, was the key.

Three days later, in the management office's top-floor conference room.

Li Yan, Zhou Zhen, and the three legendary figures of Xuanhuang in their later stages—Li Hao, Wang Chongyang, and Philip—were all present.

Wei Song sat in the main seat and presented a list without any politeness.

"I need the following supplies, please prepare them as soon as possible."

Li Yan took it, glanced at it, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Some of the items on the list he had heard of but never seen, and some he didn’t even recognize by name.

"Void Stabilizing Anchor... This is only recorded in ancient books. It is said to be able to fix spatial channels and prevent rifts from suddenly closing or expanding."

Li Hao continued, "There are three similar defective items in the Great Yan Treasury; there isn't a single complete one."

"Defective products are fine too." Wei Song nodded. "We can refine them ourselves as long as we refer to the structure."

"Rule-isolated reel... I've never even heard of that."

Wang Chongyang smiled wryly, "It says that it requires the blood essence of a legendary rune master to draw, and the success rate is less than 10%, but we don't have many rune masters."

"Just provide the materials listed above," Wei Song said calmly.

The three legends exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

Void Anchor, Rule-Level Scroll, Runemaster—this was knowledge they had never encountered before.

But considering that the other party is a being beyond legend, it seems... very reasonable.

"You should allocate these materials as quickly as possible; they will be of great use to the Guardians."

Li Hao decisively made the decision: "I guarantee we'll collect them all within a week."

"Thanks," Wei Song said, unusually politely.

……

Inside the training room, Ian looked at Gaga, who was absorbing source crystals, and asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

The little guy tilted his head, not answering immediately, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

With a flap of its wings, it landed back on Ian's shoulder, its head gently resting against Ian's neck.

"Okay." Ian smiled and reached out to rub Gaga's head.

"Then let's go and see what the other side is like."

Seven more days passed.

With all the supplies gathered, Ian secluded himself in an underground chamber for three days to forge the necessary equipment.

A silver, palm-sized, stabilizing anchor in the void, its surface engraved with spatial patterns.

Three brand-new, rule-isolated reels, with subtle starlight flowing through the patterns.

A set of close-fitting protective inner armor, woven from purification principles, is normally hidden under the skin, but when activated, it can block more than 90% of pollution and erosion.

There are also twelve "rule bombs," which Ian named himself.

Essentially, it is a highly compressed purification field that expands instantly upon activation, purifying all contamination within the field but harmless to normal substances.

"That's about it." When Ian walked out of the secret room, Wei Song was already waiting outside the door.

"Which rift should we enter from? The one in Kunlun, Ian said, looking up at the northwest sky."

The fissures beneath the Arctic ice cap connect to the deep sea, creating a complex environment, making the Kunlun underground caves more stable.

Moreover, Ian sensed that the terrain on the opposite side was relatively open.

"What do you need me to do?" Wei Song asked as he walked over.

"Continue to collect resources. After all, it's the foundation of a world, and there are bound to be valuable things we don't know about."

When he was away, Xuanhuang Star was handed over to Wei Song, which was also an advantage of not retrieving the projection.

If Ian senses something is wrong with the other side, he will return immediately; he won't risk completing the deal.

"If I don't return in a short time... I will continue according to the previous plan."

He made arrangements in advance to avoid ending up in a place where spiritual communication could be isolated.

This world is full of wonders, and his knowledge is still too limited; his abilities are somewhat out of sync with his vision.

Wei Song's face darkened. "Don't say such unlucky things."

"Just in case." Ian's eyes showed no worry, only boundless anticipation.

An expectation of the unknown, an expectation of power, an expectation of a higher level.

This is the wizard's instinct.

The Kunlun Mountains lie three thousand meters underground.

This area was originally a solid rock layer, but now the force of the fissures has eroded a huge cavity.

The cave is over ten kilometers in diameter, with a dark red fissure suspended in the center.

Ian stood before the rift, hovering in mid-air with a creaking sound, cautiously observing his surroundings.

Dense black mist seeped from the edges of the cracks, only to be dissolved by the purification field.

"Much denser than any fissure on the Xuanhuang Star."

Ian reached out and touched the edge of the crack. His fingertips felt sticky and slightly corrosive, as if trying to penetrate his consciousness.

"Hmph!" His eyes turned cold, and his purification domain trembled slightly.

"laugh!"

White smoke rose from the area around the crack, and the feeling of erosion vanished instantly.

"It seems the other side really doesn't welcome me as a guest."

He stopped probing and attached the Void Stabilizer to the left side of the fissure.

The silver light shimmered, the anchor body merged into space, and the creeping speed of the crack slowed down significantly, becoming stable.

"I'm gone."

Ian nodded to Wei Song behind him, took a step forward, and disappeared into the dark red rift. Ga Ga transformed into a black shadow and followed closely behind.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the crack, then returned to calm after three seconds.

Wei Song stood there, staring at the crack, without moving for a long time.

He only turned and left after the communication token vibrated and Zhou Zhen asked him a question.

Before leaving, he set up a triple-layered security formation at the entrance to the underground cavern.

"I hope it goes well."

As Ian stepped out of the spatial passage, a strong stench of decay hit him.

The air here isn't thin, but it's polluted, making it impossible for ordinary people to survive.

The sky was dark red, and the sun was also abnormal, hanging overhead and emitting a distorted purple halo.

The earth was covered with a thick fungal carpet, with pustules bulging on the surface that would burst from time to time, spewing out yellowish-green mist.

The outline of mountains appeared in the distance, but those "mountains" were writhing, becoming living, distorted mountains of flesh.

Further away, the ruins of the city are faintly visible, but the buildings have long been twisted into indescribable shapes.

Ian expanded his domain, and the purification light curtain cleared away the pollution within a ten-meter radius.

However, it was immediately discovered that the pollution outside the domain was frantically eroding the light barrier, at a rate more than five times that of Xuanhuang Star.

However, it was immediately discovered that the pollution outside the domain was frantically eroding the light barrier, at a rate more than five times that of Xuanhuang Star.

"As expected, the environmental level is at least Level 5 pollution world."

At that moment, Ga Ga, emerging from the shadows, transmitted a telepathic message.

Look in the direction it warns you to.

Three hundred meters away, the fungal carpet suddenly bulged up, and a three-headed humanoid mutant crawled out.

They have a roughly human-like outline, but their skin is dark purple and covered with pustules. Their skulls are split into four pieces, and inside is not a brain, but a dense array of tentacles.

Ian noticed the tattered pieces of cloth on them, which, although filthy, were clearly some kind of standard uniform.

"There are indeed some relatively advanced civilizations..." Ian pondered.

The three-headed mutant also spotted him, its split head emitting a shriek as it lunged at him on all fours.

Its speed is extremely fast, comparable to the early stages of a legendary character.

With a slight thought, Ian expanded the purification field by ten meters.

The three-headed mutant rushed into the area, its body melting, evaporating, and disappearing like a wax figure under the scorching sun.

Not even ashes remained; it vanished into nothingness.

"They're not strong, but their numbers..." Ian looked up and gazed into the distance.

In his perception, there were at least tens of thousands of similar life signals within a radius of 10,000 kilometers.

Further away, there were several other enormous auras that made his heart tremble.

One of them was slowly "turning around" and "looking" at him.

"We almost got caught."

Ian's lips I felt no fear, only excitement.

"Then let me see what secrets this corrupted world holds."

He slowly walked toward the nearest city ruins, and along the way, all the mutated beasts within ten kilometers of him disappeared.

The cawing shadows quietly unfolded, concealing the figures of the man and the bird into the environment.

The exploration has officially begun.