"If I want to heal the injuries in my sea of consciousness and remove Avik's mark from my body, the cost is that half of my Spiritual Power will be unusable for a period of time?"
Leilin stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.
After a moment, he made his decision: "Let's begin!"
Hum hum!
The instant he issued the command, the silver Spiritual Power within his sea of consciousness constantly crept toward the outermost cracks and crystallized into solid form!
Silver-white crystals instantly blanketed nearly half of his sea of consciousness, and within the crystals, the original milky-white speck of light was also frozen in place, like a tiny insect trapped in amber.
After solidifying nearly half of his Spiritual Power, Leilin finally found that the fine cracks around the edges of his sea of consciousness had stopped spreading and were being filled by the solidified Spiritual Power. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Now, the troubles afflicting his body had been thoroughly dealt with — though the cost was that for a period of time, he would only be able to use the power of a First-rank
Only after stabilizing his injuries did Leilin have the leisure to take stock of his surroundings.
The area around him was extremely dim, illuminated only by patches of phosphorescent moss that barely allowed him to make out objects within a few meters. Beyond that, everything was pitch black.
"This must be the interior of some cave! I wonder what's outside…"
Leilin exhaled slowly and glanced at the teleportation array once more.
The teleportation array here was identical in design to the one inside the Soul Slaughter secret realm on the opposite side, but one of the runes at a corner had been destroyed by Leilin himself.
Moreover, Leilin figured that if he were the Third-rank Wizard on the other side, he would either personally stand guard there or simply destroy the teleportation array outright. So this array would be unusable for a very long time.
On this side, the Soul Slaughter Cult wizards had set things up very spartanly. The entire cave contained nothing but the teleportation array — no other man-made objects at all. Apart from that, there was only an extremely narrow passage that appeared to have been carved directly out of the rock wall.
"Dark Vision!"
Leilin casually added an apprentice-level auxiliary spell to himself.
Instantly, a faint sheen of black passed over his eyes. The darkness could no longer obstruct his vision, and everything in his surroundings came into full view.
"The concentration of dark energy particles here seems to be much higher than on the South Coast!" As he cast the spell, Leilin clearly felt the difference between the two places.
If the concentration of dark energy particles in the air of the South Coast was rated as one, then here it was at least 1.5 — possibly even approaching two.
"Chip! Detect the concentration of energy particles in the air. And compare it with the South Coast!"
"Task established! Commencing data collection! Generating comparison chart!"
In no time, the Chip transmitted two different sector charts into Leilin's field of vision.
Within the charts, the colors representing each type of energy particle occupied different proportions, displayed clearly before Leilin's eyes.
"The one on the right is the data generally collected from the South Coast, while the one on the left is the latest data from this location!"
Leilin compared the differences between the two images.
The latest data showed that the concentrations of dark energy particles — along with shadow, necromantic, and other negative energy particles — had all risen dramatically here, nearly one to two times those of the South Coast.
Meanwhile, the concentrations of positive energy particles such as light, plant, and life-type energy particles were universally lower.
"Also, the concentration of earth-type energy particles here is quite high. But fire-type and water-type are extremely scarce…"
Leilin stroked his chin, a contemplative gleam flashing in his eyes.
"In other words, the actual total energy particle concentration here is roughly comparable to the South Coast — it's just the specific proportions that differ. The negative energy particle concentration is nearly on par with a small secret realm, but the positive energy particle concentration is at most equivalent to what you'd find in the Keli Archipelago…"
A few speculations formed in Leilin's mind, and he promptly strode forward into the narrow, elongated rock passage.
The passage was quite long, and Leilin was traveling on foot. He walked for over ten minutes before finally reaching its end.
At the very end of the passage stood a massive stone gateway.
Calling it a gateway might even be too generous — in Leilin's view, it was essentially a huge, irregularly shaped boulder blocking the passage's exit.
Through the crevices in the rock, Leilin could still hear the faint sound of wind seeping in from outside.
"I'd best keep this stone gate intact. If I ever need to use a teleportation formation again, I can always come back!"
Leilin focused his will, and a first-tier spell materialized under his command: "Shadow Concealment!"
Instantly, a dark halo enveloped Leilin's entire body, and within it, his figure gradually began turning transparent.
The effect of Shadow Lurk was to temporarily render the caster intangible, allowing them to slip into the gaps between shadows and pass through most solid objects. However, while in a lurking state, the caster could not attack — doing so would immediately break the spell. Additionally, large-scale energy and sonic attacks were the bane of this magic.
But right now, he only needed to pass through a single rock, so it was effortlessly easy.
Leilin's phantasmal form glided through the shadow gap in the boulder without the slightest resistance and emerged on the other side.
"Phew! This is..."
Leilin stared at the scenery beyond and fell into a brief stupor.
He was standing atop a small hill of piled boulders, and stretching out before him was a vast, sprawling plain dotted with thickets and scrub.
A gloomy darkness blanketed the entire land without a single glimmer of light. The sky hung heavy and oppressive overhead, as though it could collapse at any moment.
Vast, dark, and deathly silent! That was Leilin's first impression of this place.
With the aid of his Dark Vision, Leilin could clearly make out his surroundings.
"The external features of these plants are very strange!" He picked up a withered branch from the ground.
"No leaves — mostly thorns. And it's not just this one type! Every plant visible nearby seems to share these same characteristics!"
Leilin reached forward with his right hand and seized a small mole-like creature from the earth, pulling it out into the open. It squeaked frantically without pause.
"Tiny eyes — nearly useless. Its appearance also shows signs of albinism! This kind of mutation only occurs from prolonged absence of light exposure!"
Leilin murmured to himself, his suspicions growing ever clearer.
Snap! He tossed the mole aside. A dark crimson glow radiated from beneath him, lifting his body into midair.
Leilin's silhouette rose higher and higher, feeling the oppressive weight pressing down on the crown of his head grow more and more suffocating. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached the top.
Before him stretched a colossal wall of rock, its surface gleaming with a metallic luster, looming before his eyes like the canopy of the world itself.
"So this is it — above this place lies a layer of the earth's crust!"
Leilin descended slowly, a lingering look of shock still on his face. "This is an underground world!!!"
……
On a flat plain composed entirely of rock and moss.
Two small grey beasts, similar to wild boars but much smaller in size, trotted along merrily, occasionally using their long, blunt snouts to root through the ground in search of edible food.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Two black arrows suddenly shot out, their sharp tips piercing straight through the backs of both beasts and pinning them to the ground.
"Good haul today — two grey-skin pigs!
On a nearby earthen mound, Leilin watched the scene unfold, a delighted smile spreading across his face.
In just over a dozen minutes, a simple wooden rack had been erected on the spot, and the two grey-skin pigs — now skinned and cleaned — were roasting over it. Drops of glistening fat slid slowly from their searing skin, and the mouth-watering aroma mingled with the scent of pine, making Leilin's stomach growl with anticipation.
"Come to think of it, it's been over a month since I left the stone hills where the teleportation circle was!"
After devouring an entire grey-skin pig, Leilin let out a satisfied sigh and stowed the remaining one away.
Over the past month of wandering, he had gained a deeply personal understanding of just how barren the underground world truly was.
Here, one could walk for days on end without encountering the faintest trace of larger life — only moss and insects clung stubbornly to existence.
The creature he had dubbed the "grey-skin pig" was the largest animal he had come across so far, and also the best-tasting.
At the thought of this, Leilin could not help but feel a pang of regret.
Spatial pouches were exceedingly rare and limited in capacity, and his was packed nearly to bursting with precious materials he had gathered through various means — materials valuable enough to make even a third-tier Wizard's eyes gleam with desire.
But unfortunately, not a single morsel of fine food or drink had made it in. Compared to those rare materials, their value was far too low to justify occupying precious storage space.
And so, Leilin found himself, to his dismay, once again living like a savage.
Clean water was manageable — he was a Wizard, after all, and a single water-aspect spell could summon a large supply. But food was where he truly drew a blank.
He was already a second-tier Warlock, so going without a meal for ten days or even half a month was no real problem. But going without for several months on end was out of the question.
To say nothing of the fact that, in both his previous life and this one, he had been accustomed to comfortable living conditions — three meals a day, with even strict standards for the dishes themselves.
The result was that, after searching far and wide, he had managed to identify only a handful of starchy plant roots that were edible, along with a few wild birds and berries here and there.
And he was getting sick of eating those.
This rodent-like creature he had named "Gray-Skin Pig" was, so far, the most palatable food he had found.
"Damn it! Don't tell me this is a desert?"
After walking for over a month, encountering nothing but deserts and plains, with barely any large animals in sight, Lei Lin couldn't help but grow suspicious.
Truth be told, after getting used to sunlight, Lei Lin had never realized just how precious light could be.