Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 485 Descending into the Abyss

Back on Mount Luna, Ian had just entered his study when his soul contract vibrated—it was a message from Kerrigan.

The channel connected, and Kerry Gan was filled with both nervousness and excitement.

"I tracked down Zagara's last trace; the void here is completely filled with distorted rules."

"My instincts repel that place; not a single Zerg under my command is willing to fly forward."

"There are Zerg corpses everywhere," Kerrigan said. "Some of them are parasites I've never seen before."

Ian did not interrupt.

"I also detected some pheromones," Kerrigan said in a low voice. "They must be an overflow of Abyssal rules; they're very uncomfortable."

"This is a rejection reaction from the rules of the abyss," Ian said. "Don't worry, as long as you don't go too deep, the impact on you will be negligible."

"I know."

Kerrigan replied quickly, "But I want to go in."

"The instincts of the Voidlings are urging me on," Kerrigan said, a hint of tension in her voice.

"That feeling—it's hard to describe. My instincts told me that if I went in and devoured it, I could evolve."

After she said that, there was a few seconds of silence in the connection. "But I didn't go in."

Ian let out a soft sigh. "You did the right thing."

"Your current task is to gather intelligence on the surrounding area. Once you rendezvous with Tassadar, you can proceed together. Do not venture out alone."

"I know." Kerrigan then hung up the connection.

Ian leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a while.

Kerrigan has changed so much. Before, she was completely centered around Ian, and she could complete orders precisely and efficiently without complaint.

The current Kerrigan can think and weigh options, and can also resist the urges of instinct.

This is a good thing, it just takes a little time to get used to.

Ian stood up from his chair and walked to the window.

Just then, a guard outside announced that Isera had arrived.

A moment later, Ysera entered the study, her face somewhat pale, but her eyes bright.

Ian asked her to sit down and poured her a cup of warm tea.

Ysera held the teacup with both hands, took a small sip, and began to report.

"My lord, I have successfully reached the outer layer of the Black Corrosion Realm."

"The mimicry runes functioned normally throughout, and the will of the abyss did not detect me, remaining there for about two breaths."

Two breaths may sound short, but Ian knew it was a remarkable achievement.

Ysera's talent lies in perception. She doesn't need to actually enter the Black Eclipse; she only needs to stand on the outer edge and use her talent to "touch" the boundary.

Even so, two breaths is the limit. Any longer and her own fluctuations of rules might penetrate the protective layer of the mimicry runes.

"Tell me what you sensed," Ian said, leaning back in his chair, his tone relaxed.

Isela put down her teacup and thought about it carefully.

"My first feeling was — dirty."

She hesitated for a moment, as if searching for a more accurate word.

"The rules are extremely distorted. The rules of the Black Corruption Realm have been corrupted beyond recognition by the abyss, and this distortion is still ongoing."

She looked up at Ian. "I feel like that world is dead, being digested."

Ian nodded slightly; this description matched Alistair's information.

The Black Corruption Realm has not been dragged into the abyss for long, and its order and rules have not been completely eroded.

But the digestion of the abyss is a continuous process, and in a few hundred years, perhaps nothing will be left.

"Also," Ysera's expression turned serious, "there are many monsters there."

"I didn't actually see it, but my innate ability sensed a large number of life signals—dense, chaotic, and full of violence."

"How strong?" Ian asked.

"The strongest signal—" Ysera gripped her teacup, "probably close to level five."

Level 5? Ian frowned slightly, questioning this information.

The Black Eclipse Realm has been dragged into the abyss for many years, so it's impossible for it to be a monster of this strength. Perhaps there are monsters deeper in the world that Ysera cannot perceive.

"My lady," Isera's voice lowered, "the traces of that world's native civilization have almost disappeared."

This made her feel a pang of sympathy; if it weren't for Ian's help, Essock might very well have ended up like this.

"I vaguely sensed some remaining architectural structures, but I couldn't determine what civilization it was, nor could I determine whether there were any living native intelligent beings."

Ian didn't press further, and slowly exhaled; this information was enough.

The effectiveness of the mimicry rune was verified, and a weight was finally lifted from his mind.

Ysera is a level 4 peak Summoner. If the Mimicry Rune can conceal Ysera, it will be more than enough to conceal his weak projection.

"Your talent is outstanding," Ian said, looking at Isela with genuine praise.

"Very few of the league's predecessors could have achieved this."

Isera's face flushed slightly as she stared down at the surface of the water in her teacup.

"It's nothing—it's all thanks to the adult runes."

Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of being overheard.

Ian stopped praising her, took out a vial from his storage space, and handed it to her.

The purplish-red liquid glowed faintly in the glass tube, like a small section of frozen sunset.

Isera's gaze was drawn to the potion, and she carefully caught it.

"This is the Purple Soul Potion, which I personally concocted. It can help you break through your current realm."

Isera's hands trembled slightly as she looked up at Ian, her lips moving.

"Thank you, sir."

The gap between level four and level five is a chasm that countless wizards can never cross in their entire lives.

Some people are stuck at the peak of level four for hundreds of years, and eventually die without ever taking that step. But this potion in front of her can help her cross that threshold. She bowed deeply, her eyes slightly red, and slowly got up and left the study. Her footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor and finally disappeared into the twilight.

Ian watched the direction she left in and sighed softly.

He is talented, hardworking, and knows when to advance and retreat; few of his subordinates can compare to him.

After Ysera left, Ian entered the underground chamber of Mount Luna.

The secret room was small, with dry air and bright light. The four walls were covered with densely packed isolation runes.

Ian sat cross-legged in the center of the secret room, closed his eyes, and golden light surged slightly in his mind.

【Multiverse Projection Descent Technique】

[Current number of projections: 1/10, projection number 1 is active]

[Number of empty seats remaining: 9]

Ian's consciousness sank deep into the panel and selected position number two, where a brand new coordinate had been inscribed.

He took a deep breath.

"Let's begin."

The Descent Technique is activated, consciousness leaves the body, and the world rapidly recedes into the consciousness.

The stone walls of the study, the silver light that blocked the runes, and the mountain of Moon Goddess Peak all turned into blurry outlines in the far distance.

The projection accelerated faster and faster, passing through layer after layer of world barriers as it plummeted downwards.

The surrounding light changed from gold to gray, from gray to black, and then to a distorted dark purple.

Ian felt a sense of pressure, as if he were enveloped by something and couldn't breathe.

The Abyss Mimicry Rune operated silently, compressing all fluctuations of the projection into an extremely small area.

The fall lasted for an unknown period of time, then suddenly, the pressure disappeared.

The projection passed through the last layer of rules and entered the Black Erosion Realm.

The mimicry runes flickered slightly, their projections disappearing into the air.

Every rule here is shrouded in a greasy chaos. The mimicry runes automatically shield most of this perception, but the remaining parts still make people uncomfortable.

He turned his attention to the outside world.

The sky in the Black Eclipse Realm is a sickly dark red; there is no sun, no moon.

High up, a slowly rotating vortex of chaos was embedded there, emitting a faint red light.

The ground was barren, covered only with dry, cracked rocks, some of which had deep fissures from which a faint, dark red light seemed to surge.

On the distant horizon, some twisted architectural ruins stood starkly in the gray fog.

Nearby, several wolf-like creatures were gnawing on a carcass covered in bone spurs.

A little further away, a group of two-meter-tall humanoid creatures were patrolling.

With grayish-black skin, curved horns, and a thick tail, they travel in groups of three or five, as if carrying out a routine mission.

Further away, more life signals spread out, like a giant net covering every corner that Ian could perceive.

Without hesitation, Ian began searching for a target to possess.

The nearest Bone Spike Wolf's projection drifted over and gently covered the Bone Spike Wolf's soul.

A strong sense of repulsion came over me, and Ian's projection reappeared.

The Bone-Spiked Wolf's brain capacity is too small, and its soul structure is as simple as a rope, making it impossible for it to contain a complete intelligent consciousness.

The possessed Bone Spike Wolf didn't even react; its soul collapsed, and it fell to the ground dead.

Ian changed his target to a lone horned demon.

His consciousness swept over it, and this time, he barely managed to squeeze into the horned demon's soul.

But the horned demon's soul structure was too crude, filled with pure violent instincts.

There is no rationality, no logic, only the most primal impulses.

As soon as Ian's consciousness entered, it once again scattered the other person's soul.

The projection trembled violently and nearly collapsed, swaying in mid-air a few times before stabilizing.

The projection hovered in mid-air for a while, and after Ian fully regained consciousness, he retrieved it.

In the underground chamber of Moon Goddess Peak, he opened his eyes, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

The first projection consumed more mental energy than expected, and the backlash from the failed possession was much stronger than if it had been withdrawn directly.

He closed his eyes, rested for about two hours, and then started the second projection.

This time he changed his strategy, no longer looking for the most convenient target, but instead spending time searching first.

He hovered the projection high in the sky, using his consciousness to carefully scan the soul structure of all living beings on the ground.

He ruled out the Bone Spike Wolf and the Horned Demon, and then he saw some larger monsters, Stone Skin Demons, Abyss Spider Demons, and some other things he couldn't name.

Their soul structures are either too simple or too violent, neither of which is suitable for bearing an intelligent consciousness.

Ian's consciousness searched the ground for a long time.

Finally, in a crevice of a pile of rocks, he sensed a faint signal.

It was very small and weak, like the last flickering candle flame in the wind.

The projection floated over.

The gaps in the pile of rocks were very narrow. After the projected view squeezed through, it saw a small, curled-up figure.

It has a humanoid form, is about 1.3 meters tall, has grayish-white skin, and is so thin that the outline of its ribs can be seen.

His body was covered in wounds, his left arm hung limply at an unnatural angle, probably broken, and there were several deep cuts on his body that exposed the bone, the dark red blood of which had congealed into black scabs.

Its presence is so faint that it is almost imperceptible.

But its soul structure surprised Ian; it was far more sophisticated and complex than the horned demons and bone-spiked wolves around it.

This creature's soul structure is similar to that of humans, with a clear consciousness layer and an emotional layer.

However, both of these layers were extremely weak at the moment, as if they might go out at any time.

Unlike the burly horned demons around him, this creature's features were closer to those of a human; in fact, it could be said that it resembled a human more than any other abyssal creature Ian had encountered along the way.

A young Tanari.

The Tanaris are one of the most common and powerful races in the Abyss.

They are numerous and widely distributed.

The young Tanaris were born with the mind of beasts, but their power was already enough to slaughter an army of hundreds of mortals.

They possess scales that can resist ordinary physical attacks, have magical organs within their bodies, and are born with innate talents.

Tanari are no ordinary creatures. From birth, their lifespan is almost infinite. They can evolve by devouring flesh and blood. When a young Tanari accumulates enough power, it will undergo its first advancement and become a "little devil".

This advancement will determine its future evolutionary path.

The one in front of us is about to die.

Ian's consciousness gently enveloped the dying soul.

This time there was no rejection; the young Tanari's soul was too weak to even initiate the most basic resistance.

Its consciousness was almost a blank, with only the most primal will to survive still faintly pulsating.

When Ian's consciousness touched that blank space, it was as if he had finally found a winter coat to keep out the cold wind.

Possession successful!