Chapter 96 - 91: Wind Elemental Spirit

Chapter 96: Chapter 91: Wind Elemental Spirit

"Sir, a VIP room has been arranged for you. The hovercraft will depart in half an hourglass. You can rest in the waiting hall until then."

Chen Shang nodded and headed to the waiting hall. The space wasn’t large; it featured a few rows of wooden benches and a corner stall selling drinks and snacks. He found a corner to sit in, and the voices of the people around him immediately quieted down.

While he waited for the vessel, a young man in a dark blue robe suddenly sat down next to him. He was also a Second Level Apprentice. He wore a flame-shaped badge on his chest, appeared to be in his early twenties, and had light brown hair with a freckled face. His smile was very amiable.

"Friend, are you heading to Grid 36 as well?" the man initiated the conversation, his tone casual.

"Yes," Chen Shang nodded. It was quite rare to encounter a Wizard Apprentice here.

"I’m Dennis, a Second Level Apprentice from the Flame Heart Laboratory. I received an investigation mission stating that there’s an anomaly with the Wind Elemental Spirits over there, so they asked me to take a look." He paused before asking, "What about you, friend?"

Chen Shang’s heart skipped a beat. An anomaly with the Wind Elemental Spirits? His destination was Wind Eye Canyon, and there happened to be Wind Elemental Spirits roaming nearby. Was it just a coincidence?

A system panel popped up silently.

[Extractable entry detected: Thermobaric Bomb (Green) — Source: Dennis. Completeness: 58%. Extract?]

[Extractable entry detected: Heat Transfer (Green) — Source: Dennis. Completeness: 62%. Extract?]

Chen Shang made a mental command.

[Extraction successful. Obtained entry: Thermobaric Bomb (Green)]

[Extraction successful. Obtained entry: Heat Transfer (Green)]

"I’m Chen Shang, an Apprentice from the Starfall Laboratory. I’m heading to Wind Eye Canyon for some personal business."

Dennis didn’t press further. He nodded, pulled a Crystal Plate out of his bag, and started flipping through some documents.

Chen Shang also fell silent. He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes for a while.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the pale gold halo on the surface of the Second Magic Spring spun steadily. His connection with the Samadhi True Flame had deepened significantly compared to a few months ago.

Once aboard the hovercraft and settled into the VIP room, the surroundings fell quiet.

Chen Shang felt that his meditation results over the past few days were very solid, so he took a bottle of High-Grade Spirit Condensing Potion from his Space Book.

The light blue liquid glowed faintly in the glass bottle, which bore the certification emblem of the Magic Potion Association. Victor had given him three bottles in total. Twisting off the cap, Chen Shang drank it in one gulp.

The moment the Potion slid down his throat, a cooling sensation spread from his neck to the rest of his body, making him feel as though he were enveloped by something gentle and warm. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the liquid Spiritual Power surrounding the Crystal Core began to surge. Like boiling water, fine bubbles surfaced across it.

His body absorbed energy from the Void, precisely transforming it into Spiritual Power before slowly condensing it.

The High-Grade Spirit Condensing Potion’s effects were truly remarkable. Chen Shang could feel his Spiritual Power growing denser, weightier, and more textured bit by bit. The amount of Spiritual Power that previously required a full day of deep meditation to accumulate was now gathered in an instant. The pale gold halo on the surface of the Crystal Core grew a fraction brighter.

Chen Shang opened his eyes. The time displayed on the Crystal Plate indicated that only half an hourglass had passed. The Potion’s efficacy was even better than he had anticipated. Furthermore, its medicinal effects were continuous and would last for one to two months.

Victor was right; these three bottles would save him several years of meditation time.

He stowed the empty bottle back into his Space Book and leaned against the chair. His Eye of True Sight activated silently, gazing through the window toward the distant skyline. To the northeast, a blurry cyan-white halo slowly rotated on the horizon. It was a sign of gathered Wind Elements, boasting a higher concentration than anywhere he had ever seen.

Wind Eye Canyon was right over there.

The hovercraft arrived at its destination.

After disembarking, Dennis came over to greet him. He now had a waist-high metal box strapped to his back, its surface flashing with Runes—likely specialized equipment for his mission.

"Chen, I’ll be going now. My mission location is to the north. Are we heading the same way?"

Chen Shang glanced at him and shook his head. "I’m heading east."

Dennis nodded, turned around, and left.

Chen Shang stood in place and watched him for a moment. Once Dennis’s silhouette disappeared behind the rolling hills, he finally changed direction and headed east. He took a few detours to confirm that Dennis’s objective wouldn’t intersect with the Wind Elemental Eye he was searching for.

The north, where Dennis headed, was an expansive plain, whereas Wind Eye Canyon lay to the northeast, separated by a low ridge. Retracting the peripheral gaze of his Eye of True Sight, Chen Shang quickened his pace.

Over an hourglass later.

Chen Shang stood at the entrance of Wind Eye Canyon. The canyon was narrower and deeper than he had expected. The rock walls on either side were grayish-brown, their surfaces riddled with honeycomb-like wind-eroded holes. The smallest were the size of pinholes, while the largest could fit a person.

Wind surged from the depths of the canyon with a piercing howl, biting at his skin like countless fine needles.

A layer of light blue light lit up across Chen Shang’s body as the One-Element Heavy Water transformed into a water membrane, clinging to his skin as thin as a cicada’s wings. The Wind Blades struck the membrane, emitting a crisp CLINK CLINK, like raindrops hitting sheet metal. The membrane vibrated slightly but didn’t break, allowing Chen Shang to advance deeper into the canyon.

This was a forbidden zone that the local indigenous people would never enter. The tale of the "Wind God’s Breath," passed down for generations, made even the boldest Hunters steer clear of the area.

However, for Chen Shang, although the wind was fierce, it wasn’t enough to stop him. Protected by the One-Element Heavy Water, the gusts only served to make his robes flutter violently.