No matter how wonderful the Four Seasons Secret Realm was, it wasn't his. Leilin couldn't afford to reveal his trump cards just for the sake of a secret realm.
And as a newly advanced Wizard, having a secret realm that was entirely and exclusively his own was nothing but a pipe dream.
Apart from daydreaming about it, Leilin had no better options.
……
Seven days later, a sharp eagle cry rang out as Leilin rode on the back of a Dragon-Crested Night Hawk, heading toward City of Eternal Night.
The task of managing the secret realm truly lived up to its reputation as one of the most sought-after assignments.
Leilin and his group had spent less than seven days clearing out the entire eastern portion of the realm—not only resolving the blight problem, but also driving away several packs of dangerous beasts along the way.
After that, with nothing left to do, Leilin and the others were escorted out of the secret realm. A generous sum of contribution points had been added to each of their identification tokens.
"The plan I had before—I can go ahead and try it now. Besides, I should find a few more retainers. Doing everything myself is just too time-consuming..." Leilin mused inwardly.
After four months, the side effects of using Dark System energy particle crystals had been completely eliminated. However, the supply of crystals provided by the Four Seasons Garden was still far from enough. Leilin had no choice but to turn his attention to that old witch in the City of Eternal Night.
He remembered that her shop had quite a few good things.
The City of Eternal Night was just as crowded as before. Leilin headed straight for the VIP passage reserved for Wizards, presented his Wizard Ring, and entered the city under the respectful bows of the guards.
Without warning, something trembled beneath the hem of Leilin's clothes, and a burst of green light stubbornly seeped through the fabric.
"Hm?"
Leilin's brow furrowed. He reached to his waist and pulled out a miniature notebook pendant.
A green arcane mark lit up, and an elderly woman's voice came through: "Hey! Leilin, have you arrived yet?"
Leilin could clearly detect a hint of urgency in the voice.
Ever since he had given the old witch some soul-related data from his apprentice days last time, she had shown tremendous interest and had even left an arcane mark with Leilin specifically.
Over these past few months, it seemed she had achieved some kind of breakthrough in her experiments, only to be stumped by a new obstacle. She had been sending messages to Leilin nonstop.
Unfortunately, Leilin had been buried in the Four Seasons Garden mixing potions and earning contribution points, so he had no bandwidth to deal with this—and naturally ignored her.
But the old witch was remarkably patient, contacting Leilin every few days without fail.
"What's going on? Didn't I already say I'd come as soon as possible?"
Leilin spoke into the arcane mark.
At the same time, he paused mid-stride and headed toward a quiet, secluded corner, casting a sound-isolation spell around himself to block any sound waves from leaking out.
"I've gotten my hands on some really good stuff this time. Remember those Dark System particle crystals from before? I've got a full 500 grams here. You'll regret it if you don't come—I swear..."
The old witch clearly understood Leilin's personality and went straight to laying her cards on the table.
"500 grams?" Leilin's eyebrows shot up, and the furrow between them completely smoothed out.
That many particle crystals, combined with the reserves he already had, would absolutely be enough to push his spiritual elementalization progress to a very high level.
Moreover, Dark System energy particle crystals weren't omnipotent. According to Leilin's estimates and the Chip's calculations, these crystals could advance his elementalization to just above 70% at best—and he should be grateful for that.
On top of that, the side effects were terrifying. If not for his constitution being far from ordinary, he wouldn't dare push it this far.
"That's right. I've invested heavily this time—owed quite a few favors to some old monsters... Remember our deal last time? Give me the second half of those materials, and the crystals are all yours. Plus, there's progress on that matter you mentioned to me last time. The details—I'll tell you at my shop..."
The old witch's voice gradually softened, suggesting she was fairly confident about what she had.
"Fine, wait there. I'm on my way!" Leilin deactivated the arcane mark and quickened his pace.
City of Eternal Night, 231 Elm Tree Street!
"Heh heh heh... You got here awfully fast. Looks like you're pretty eager for what I've got!"
The moment Leilin stepped into the shop, the old witch shut the front door. It was clear she had no intention of doing any more business today.
"We're both Wizards. If neither of us had something the other wanted, we wouldn't be standing here. Save the little theatrics!"
Leilin carefully studied the old witch's appearance.
Compared to their last meeting, she looked even more aged. Her hair was thinning and falling out, as though she had suddenly aged thirty or forty years.
"What happened to you?" Leilin asked casually.
"Nothing. Just some aftereffects from an experiment!" The old witch clearly didn't want to elaborate.