Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Special Effect: Deep Tie

The next morning, before dawn, Ian quietly left the gathering point.

He headed north for about an hour and found a small clearing deep within the dense forest, far from any known paths.

The clearing wasn’t large, but it provided enough room for him to work.

Ian placed simple Warning Runes around the area, released an Eye of Vigilance above his head, and lit a stick of Calming Incense beside him before finally sitting down cross-legged.

[Secondary Frost Freeze Beam: First Limit-Break (798/800) (Limit-Breaking Effect: 1. Twin)]

He was only two points away from the Secondary Limit-Breaking. Once he achieved it, the spell’s power would undoubtedly reach a new level, perhaps even rivaling that of Scorching Beam.

He took a deep breath. In his Sea of Spirit, the Frost Rune representing the Secondary Frost Freeze Beam slowly materialized.

After its first Limit-Break, the Rune had become much more complex. It looked like two intertwining, ice-blue vortices, with intricate frost patterns extending from their edges.

But to Ian’s Perception, the Rune’s structure still had many indistinct areas, and the paths of Energy flow were not entirely smooth.

"Let’s begin!"

Ian closed his eyes and began running the Witchcraft Model.

He didn’t fire the beam directly. Instead, within his Sea of Spirit, he traced, perfected, and optimized every detail of the Rune, over and over again.

From the Energy absorption nodes, to the conversion structure for the Ice Attribute Magic Power, and then to the Rune Array for compression and firing...

He broke the entire model down into dozens of parts, refining them one by one.

[Secondary Frost Freeze Beam Skill Level +1]

Skill Level wasn’t gained solely by casting the spell; it could also be acquired by continuously analyzing and perfecting the Witchcraft Model.

Time slipped by as he remained deep in Concentration.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the vines into the grotto, the intense midday glare gradually giving way to the slanting rays of the afternoon.

Fine beads of sweat dotted Ian’s forehead. The toll of such intense concentration was considerable, yet his eyes remained perfectly clear.

Finally, as he reconstructed the entire rune model one last time...

Within his Sea of Spirit, the Twin Rune suddenly flared to life!

An ice-blue light spread out like a tide, brilliantly illuminating his entire Sea of Spirit.

The Rune’s structure began to change dramatically. The two vortices spun faster and faster, intertwining even more tightly.

The frost patterns on the edges grew and wove together frantically, forming even more complex and arcane designs.

Countless insights into the very essence of "frost" flooded his mind.

Extreme cold was not stillness, but another active state that manifested after Energy dropped to its absolute nadir.

Freezing was not just a drop in temperature, but the collapse and Reorganization of a substance’s internal Energy Structure.

Penetration Power stemmed from highly condensed Energy and frequency resonance...

CRACK...

It was as if some invisible barrier had shattered.

Amidst the light, the Frost Rune completed its final metamorphosis!

Its once-hazy structure was now as clear as if it were carved, its complexity having increased severalfold.

At the center of each vortex, a minuscule, constantly rotating hexagonal ice crystal pattern appeared, emitting a heart-stoppingly frigid aura.

Stranger still, Ian felt the connection between these two Runes and his Sea of Spirit grow stronger. A subtle, balanced resonance seemed to form between them and the Limit-Breaking Rune for his Scorching Beam.

[Secondary Frost Freeze Beam: Secondary Limit-Breaking (0/1600) (Limit-Breaking Effect: 1. Twin 2. Deep Tie)]

’Deep Tie...’

Ian opened his eyes, an ice-blue light flashing in their depths before vanishing.

He raised his right hand, and with a mere thought.

With no Spell and no gestures, two ice-blue beams, each only as thick as a finger, instantly shot out!

HISS...

The air crackled as it froze in the beams’ path, leaving behind a faint, frosty trail.

A man-sized Rock a hundred meters away was struck by the beams. There was no explosion, no shattering.

Instead, a thick layer of frost spread out instantly from the point of impact, freezing the entire Rock into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye!

The layer of ice was so clear that the texture of the Rock within was perfectly visible. On its surface, delicate, hexagonal frost flowers continuously formed.

Ian walked up and tapped it lightly.

CRUMBLE...

The entire Rock shattered like fine crystal. The broken surfaces were as smooth as a mirror, as if its structure had been disintegrated from within by the extreme cold.

’The frigid energy is much stronger, and it has a Strong Effect freezing attribute... and the Penetration Power...’

Ian’s gaze followed the beam’s trajectory. ’The range really did reach a hundred meters, putting it on par with Scorching Beam.’

He raised his hand again, this time activating both Runes at once.

From the fingertips of his left hand, two ice-blue beams shot out, as piercing as a winter gale. From the fingertips of his right, a bright white beam surged, as scorching as molten lava.

Two ice, one fire. The three beams spiraled and intertwined in the air, but they didn’t cancel each other out. Instead, under Ian’s precise control, they simultaneously struck another Rock twenty meters away.

BOOM!

As ice and fire intertwined, the Rock’s surface was first encased in thick ice before its interior was detonated by the intense heat. It exploded into countless frost-covered fragments that rustled as they rained down.

’The Twin Runes complement each other, their clarity and complexity greatly enhanced... Now, these two beam Witchcrafts can finally be called true trump cards.’

Ian dismissed the Witchcraft, sensing the drain on his Spiritual Power.

After the Secondary Limit-Breaking, the power of the Secondary Frost Freeze Beam had increased dramatically, but its cost had also risen by about ten percent.

Fortunately, he could freely control the spell’s power, giving him complete mastery over its Spiritual Power consumption.

Besides, with his current reserves and recovery speed of his Vaporization Spiritual Power, the cost was well within his limits, even when casting at full power.

’Time to head back.’

Ian cleaned up his tracks, retrieved the Warning Runes, and, under the fading light of dusk, quietly returned to the gathering point.

Inside his tent, he took out a Concentration Potion and drank it down.

A cool stream of Energy surged into his Sea of Spirit, soothing the fatigue from the day’s Cultivation.

He didn’t get greedy, only meditating long enough to absorb a single Potion’s worth of Energy before lying down to rest.

He needed to rest and gather his strength.

Tomorrow, he would venture alone into the perilous region known as the Whispering Forest.

「The next morning.」

Ian left his tent in silence, disturbing no one.

He had changed into a set of dark gray outdoor clothes, with his old gray robe worn over them.

He left the old wooden box in the tent, taking only his Dimensional Ring and a few essential items: several Potions, materials for Warning Runes, and the map from Mira.

According to the map, the Whispering Forest was located deeper within the Silent Death Mountain Range, about sixty li northwest of the Glowing Forest.

The first thirty li were relatively easy to traverse. It was a region frequented by Adventurers, and one could occasionally encounter hunting parties.

Ian avoided any potential crowds, moving swiftly through the woods.

The morning light grew brighter, yet the mist in the forest grew thicker and thicker.

This was not the hazy splendor of the Glowing Forest, but a tangible, grayish-white fog carrying a damp chill and the stench of rot.

Visibility dropped rapidly to less than twenty meters.

The trees began to take on strange forms as well.

The trunks were twisted and gnarled, the bark a dark purple or grayish-black, and their surfaces were covered with tumor-like protrusions that resembled diseased tissue.

The foliage was sparse, and the leaves were not the usual green, but rather dark red, deep brown, or an eerie grayish-white, with serrated or downy edges.

The ambient Magic Concentration was rising, but its nature had become chaotic and frigid, laced with a cloying, sweet scent of corruption.

’I’m about to enter the depths of the Silent Death Mountain Range...’

Ian slowed his pace, keeping his Eye of Vigilance at maximum range while extending his Spiritual Power outward in all directions like a spiderweb.

Except for the sound of the wind and the occasional rustle of branches, the woods were deathly still. Not even the chirping of insects or the calls of birds could be heard.

This kind of silence was all the more unsettling.

After another ten li, the fog was so thick it seemed almost solid, with visibility dropping to less than ten meters.

Ian had no choice but to dedicate more of his Spiritual Power to Perception, taking each step with extreme caution.

He was approaching the first danger zone marked on the map.

A wetland known as the Crying Blood Swamp!