Chapter 722: Chapter 364:
Looking around, a few decayed skeletal soldiers huddled in the corners sensed the teleportation’s fluctuation and were limping towards this direction, dragging their rusted weapons.
Ronan flicked his fingers, sending out a thin golden moon blade made of titanium with a sharp whistle, scattering the skeletons one by one before flying back.
Everything was roughly the same as when he left, dark and calm, with no unusual occurrences.
He slightly sensed Heather’s aura, which was still active.
Ronan squinted his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then stretched out a hand, aiming at a vacant spot in the waterway ahead.
From the center of his palm, a white vortex appeared and slowly expanded, followed by pure fluctuations of elemental energy emanating from it.
Ronan released seven or eight Level 4 Elemental Life, ordering them to patrol around, then with a popping sound, his whole body flickered and disappeared like a television turning to a black screen.
He arrived at the mist space of the "Void Mirror."
He needed some alone time and space to sort out the gains of this unexpected trip.
In the fertile black soil of the mist space, so rich that a handful could squeeze out oil, the seeds of flowers and grasses Ronan had casually scattered had all sprouted.
In an energy-rich environment, sunlight and dew seemed not as essential.
A lush, vibrant green scenery, with Dudor the Third running wildly between the fields.
"If Ariety came here, I bet she’d be delighted..."
Ronan strolled among them, casually thinking, and his constantly tense nerves slowly relaxed.
He found the spot where Molli’er’s half Red Lotus Staff was once stuck in, seeing the wooden stick still bare.
He tried pulling it and easily uprooted the entire stick; no root-like things had grown from its end in the soil, nor did it have any dirt on it.
Moreover, the small area where this stick was planted became extremely dry, with no flowers or grasses around.
Ronan’s eyes flickered, reinserting the stick into the soil.
It seemed he had overthought it; this was simply not something that could be transplanted to survive, or perhaps his planting method was flawed...
Ronan didn’t dwell on this matter for long and walked leisurely to where the Element Pool was set up within the space.
He hadn’t been away from the Ancient Waterway for long, just a few days, yet the Element Pool appeared slightly larger than before, constantly accumulating energy every moment.
Next to the Element Pool, mid-level magic crystals obtained from the Goblin Treasure Vault were piled up like a small mountain.
The total volume was around fifty units.
Ronan’s eyes flashed, his spiritual power lifted a pile of magic crystals, flowing like a river through the air, flying towards a distant white mist wall.
Just as they were about to touch the wall, they spun around, flew back, and returned to their original position.
"Forget it."
Ronan shook his head, abandoning the idea of immediately expanding the space.
"Wait for Alazan to awaken, Benny to arrive with the Holy Blood Tree... then make plans."
Ronan sat by the Element Pool, his right hand gently sweeping across the void in front of him, the golden transformation of titanium appearing like an exquisitely fine golden silk, flowing slowly with the movement of his palm.
He could feel the lively and joyful emotional fluctuations of titanium, and as his most trusted battle companion, Ronan was equally pleased with titanium’s advancement.
Thinking of this, Ronan casually summoned a fragmented golden book page and a heavy black metal slab to fly into his hand.
Landing in his hand, Ronan gently rubbed the image marked "Songlin’s Hammer" on the last page of the golden book page.
He pointed at the small hammer surrounded by thunder and flames in the book page, speaking softly to titanium.
"If you can find it... how about feeding it to you?"
Titanium nudged up, using its cold body to nuzzle Ronan’s cheek like a little dog.
"Meh~~"
Dudor the Third appeared from somewhere, extending its tongue to constantly lick Ronan’s cheek, its two black bean-like eyes gazing at him eagerly, as if wanting to share in the treat.
Ronan casually brushed Dudor the Third aside, picking up the metal slab Dudor the Third had spat out earlier, bringing it in front of him for a detailed examination.
Only now did he have time to carefully study what this thing was.
On the glowing side of the metal slab, there were many flows akin to incomplete runes, gently maneuvering them seemed able to form some pattern.
Ronan clicked his tongue with his eyes slightly gleaming, picking up the fragmented golden book page for comparison, "Could this stone slab piece together a real map leading to the buried spot of ’Songlin’s Hammer’?"
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, but unfortunately, the golden book with information concerning the treasure of "Songlin’s Hammer" had been gnawed beyond recognition by Dudor the Third.
To verify this point, he had to completely piece together the entire pattern.
The floating beams of light on the black metal plate were as numerous as the stars. Piecing it together seemed like a long and arduous task.
However, Ronan, who habitually pieced together the Ten Ancient Origin Runes using the Ancient Spirit Text as a pastime, had an extraordinary interest and patience for this kind of thing.
He enjoyed it for a while until he felt a little mentally fatigued, then tossed aside the metal plate and the golden book pages together.
This was not something that could be accomplished overnight, and he wasn’t currently in the mood for puzzles.
Clearing his mind, Ronan picked up the "Deep Knowledge Crown," placed it on his head, and closed his eyes to enter the meditation realm of the [Ancient Star Meditation Technique].
In the void of meditation, he observed the operation and evolution of ancient stars. The mental energy consumed in successive battles was gradually replenished, like being gently watered by a trickling stream.
When Ronan opened his eyes, the fatigue had vanished completely, and he returned to a fully energized state.
"The Basic Meditation Technique, after all, is just a basic meditation technique. Even if the proficiency level rises to the master level... at this stage, my spiritual power is too vast. It’s hard to replenish quickly even with the [Clear Sky Realm]..."
However.
Ronan opened his character panel. The proficiency level of the [Ancient Star Meditation Technique] was already (Mastery 398/400), and it was about to advance to Expert. He felt the loosening of the next level’s bottleneck while simulating star disk calculations.
When the [Ancient Star Meditation Technique] breaks through to the master level, the derived extraordinary effects are expected to be even more powerful.
"Lastly, it’s... [Ascetic Body Refinement]!"
Ronan’s eyes gleamed as he immersed his mind into his body.
Under the function of the Evolution Holy Shrine, the last imperfection of his [Pure Body] was also replenished, marking a tiny transformation from inside out.
His body became more resilient, each cell full of vitality, and the Vital Light Ball blazed like the sun. Even the Storm Runes hidden in flesh and bones became a bit more complete, though Ronan seldom used this so-called "Storm Bloodline" ability.
But that might not be the case in the future.
For example, concerning the heritage of the [Golden Country], the seven Pillar Gods of the Golden Country, and the [Golden Fire Spirit Mo Ye] being just one of them.
Once he gains the [Golden Wind], or a legacy like [Golden Thunder], the talent of the "Storm Bloodline" will naturally be put to great use.
It is not yet the blossoming period of the "Storm Bloodline."
"The Sixfold Spiral Palace has reached its current limit, and I cannot construct the Seventh Spiral Palace at all.
I’ve now reached the complete mastery and limit of the master level [Ascetic Body Refinement]; only one opportunity remains to pierce through the last thin layer of paper..."
"Crack, crack, crack—"
Ronan naturally entered the state of the "Ancient Mara’s Body," as an indescribably powerful Life Force Field erupted with vigor, stirring up invisible and distorted transparent airwaves in the tranquil Mist Space.
The black aura was more profound and dense than before, flowing like mercury through every pore, rolling up layers of waves around Ronan’s feet, with a faint dark red revealing underneath.
"Dead Sea.. Dead Sea..."
Ronan squinted, unfocused eyes, with fingers like hooks repeatedly slicing through the void in front of him, leaving trails of pitch-black cuts.
In the Dead Sea illusion, which only he could see, the black Dead Sea surged with waves, and the hidden mysterious power continued to emerge, containing some ancient and obscure realizations.
Ronan always felt as if he was about to capture something, just a bit short. In the battle with Thomas, if continued, he might have achieved understanding, but unfortunately... Thomas had no desire for a life-and-death fight to the end.
During the fight with Thomas, Ronan had discovered that the [Instinct Grip] evolved from [Basic Swordsmanship] actually contained some techniques related to rule application.
This, precisely, was the opportunity to unearth the hidden power in the black Dead Sea.
Without [Instinct Grip], even if he advanced to the next stage of [Ascetic Body Refinement], what he could wield would merely be some ’Death Force’ brought by the [Ancient Power] runes.
Ronan had a strong premonition that an ultimate killer move was about to be conceived, which might be crucial for transforming the physical combat system.
But to accomplish this, he needed more time to accumulate and more battles to catalyze.
"When the Dead Sea turns completely red, I shall perhaps attain the final breakthrough..."
Ronan murmured softly, "Pressure, I need pressure far greater than Thomas could provide..."
Greater than the immense pressure brought by a Level 5 Late Stage Great Wizard, Level 6?
No.
Sometimes it’s not necessarily about pursuing the quality of a single opponent.
If the quantity is sufficient, it can also achieve a qualitative effect.
And now, apparently, Ronan had just such a great opportunity right in front of him to accomplish this.