Though the Chip had been upgraded and enhanced multiple times, it still fell short in the bizarre world of wizards.
Faced with such a failure, Leilin had no heart to dwell on it.
Because at that moment, the Abomination had already charged after him once more!
The Specter Abomination had lost most of its arms, its body riddled with scorched marks, and a gaping hole had been torn open in its belly, spilling intestines and other unrecognizable organs.
But none of this had the slightest effect on the Specter Abomination's movements.
Quite the opposite — the Specter Abomination's eyes now blazed with scarlet light, making it far more ferocious than before.
Veins writhed and bulged across its body, twisting and overlapping like a tangle of green serpents, as it hurtled straight toward Leilin.
With so much of its fat and grotesque flesh burned away, the Abomination was now even faster than before.
"Damn!"
The scales across Leilin's body shuddered, shaking loose the dust and debris that had accumulated on them.
The Soul Blast just now had been devastating, but after the Falling Star Pendant's defense absorbed a layer of its force, the remaining impact had been fully blocked by the Komoin scales covering his body.
Right now, aside from some minor concussive injuries, Leilin had sustained almost no damage.
At that moment, the colossal Abomination was still charging at terrifying speed, clumps of green Soul Plague continuously spreading outward in every direction.
"Shadow Concealment!"
Leilin's lips moved rapidly, chanting one incantation after another. At the same time, the scales across his body began to emit an ethereal black glow, and under that dark illumination, Leilin's figure gradually turned translucent.
Moments later, the colossal Abomination barreled straight through the space where Leilin's afterimage had been, slamming into a crumbling flower bed behind him and shattering it into a skyful of fragments.
Over the course of more than a year, Leilin had accumulated enough contribution points to exchange for a number of first-order wizard spell templates. Among them was one that had left a deep impression — Shadow Concealment.
Previously, in Dylan's Garden, the Horall Black Snake's sudden ambush had been something Leilin would never forget for the rest of his life.
Had it not been for his innate vigilance and the fact that his companion had drawn the enemy's fire, the outcome of that battle could very well have been rewritten.
After that, he had deliberately set out to collect this dark-type stealth spell, and finally found its template in the Four Seasons Garden's exchange catalog.
"Shadow Concealment — Dark-type first-order wizard spell. Effect: Upon each use, conceals the caster within the gaps of the Shadow Realm, granting immunity to most attacks from the physical world. Lurk duration: 20 seconds. Elemental bonus: +14 seconds. Cost: Spiritual Power 10, Mana 10."
This spell was an excellent match for Leilin's elemental affinity, and moreover, the Komoin scales on his body seemed to amplify its effect as well.
For that reason, Leilin had devoted considerable effort to mastering this spell.
With this spell in his arsenal, his shortcomings in mobility and concealment had been completely compensated for.
Leilin carefully felt out the sensation of lying dormant.
It was a truly peculiar feeling — as if time had suddenly slowed tenfold. The surrounding air seemed filled with powerful adhesive, and every movement Leilin made required far more effort than usual.
Leilin glanced at the Wraith Abomination.
The Abomination, having lost its target, was venting its fury upon the surrounding terrain in a blind rage.
Deep furrows had been carved into the ground by the Abomination's massive axe, leaving the area in utter disarray.
And in Leilin's eyes, the Abomination's entire skin had taken on an eerie green hue. No — it wasn't just the Abomination. The surrounding scenery, the earth, the sky — everything was veiled beneath a layer of green luminescence. The color was so dense it made Leilin feel dizzy and on the verge of vomiting.
Leilin's entire body seemed to float in midair, slowly "swimming" toward the Abomination.
The Wraith Abomination seemed to sense something. Its left hand swung the great axe, and the enormous weapon — its blade coated in orange-brown rust — sliced through the space around Leilin's waist.
Had Leilin been in a corporeal state, he would have been cut clean in half.
But right now, in the real world, he was nothing more than a phantom. The massive axe passed through him, leaving only a ripple across his form like a wave on water.
The colossal Abomination flailed its axe in a frenzy, the blade occasionally sweeping through Leilin's body — yet it couldn't so much as clip the edge of his sleeve.
Closer! Even closer!
Leilin maintained his gliding motion, hovering above the Wraith Abomination's head. With just a slight downward glance, he could see the creature's mouth — its teeth jagged and uneven, yellow pus constantly oozing from between them.
Swish!
A dark shadow flickered through the void, and Leilin's figure materialized directly before the Wraith Abomination's eyes.
Leilin's eyes had transformed into amber-colored vertical pupils, radiating an eerie, otherworldly glow.
"Look into my eyes!" Leilin's mouth produced strange syllables, carrying a hissing tremor, like a great serpent flicking its tongue.
Innate Wizardry — Petrifying Gaze!!!
The words seemed to carry a mysterious power. The Wraith Abomination found itself drawn involuntarily to meet Leilin's gaze, a peculiar expression slowly spreading across its face.
Crack! Crack!
A ring of ashen gray began to radiate outward from around the Wraith Abomination's eyes, then spread across its face like a creeping frost.
"ROARRR!!!"
Just as the petrification was about to engulf the Wraith Abomination's entire head, the creature threw its head back and let out a heaven-shaking roar.