Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Ian's expression remained unchanged: "Since it concerns the path of cultivation, we must give it a try."

Amos remained noncommittal, took out a leather booklet from his pocket, and casually flipped through it.

"Starlight Vine Marrow Crystals, Moon Essence, Tranquil Spring Water, Silver Soul Grass Pollen, Life Ancient Tree Bark Extract... I have all the main ingredients you need here."

He looked up at Ian: "But the price is high. Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal is equivalent to 80 magic stones, and Moon Essence is worth 60 magic stones. Neither of these two can be exchanged for magic stones."

As for the Tranquil Spring Water, since you've already inquired about it from Mira, you should know the market price. I have some with higher purity here, 15 magic stones a bottle.

The "Silver Ring" is indeed a treasure trove of knowledge; even a merchant could casually rattle off such a precious magical material.

The first two main ingredients are not easy to categorize, and just like the original "Furnace" camp, this is the price for ten portions.

Ian quickly calculated in his mind that, including the ancient tree extract he hadn't yet obtained, the cost of one [Concentration Potion] was close to 20 magic stones, which was obviously too high.

For a potion master with a slightly lower success rate, this price would result in a huge loss, but he didn't care.

He has enough magic stones on hand if he wants to buy more, but...

"I can trade it for medicine and special materials."

Ian rummaged through his bag, took out the prepared potion and the 10 top-grade blood essences, held them in his wizard's hand, and floated them in front of him.

Amos's gaze swept over the potion, pausing briefly on the blood essence.

He reached out and a dark red blood essence with flowing shadow patterns on its surface flew into his hand.

"The essence blood of the Shadow Viper... is highly pure, almost without any impurities." A hint of surprise flashed in Amos's eyes.

"You, a potion master, actually have such expertise in bloodline extraction."

Mira chimed in at the opportune moment, "Mr. Ian's refining skills are truly extraordinary. The life energy concentration of these few blood essences far exceeds what ordinary advanced apprentices can refine."

Amos then examined several other blood essences: the yellowish-brown Stone Skin Mountain Goblin Blood Essence and the dark green Rotten Swamp Porcupine Blood Essence. Each one was round and full, brimming with energy.

"The quality is indeed quite good." Amos put the blood essence back.

"This is a real unexpected bonus. Blood essence of this purity is a valuable commodity for apprentices on the bloodline path. In another year... I can take it back and make a fortune."

He was secretly pleased, but showed no sign of it on his face.

"Ten Blood Essences, that'll be 700 Magic Stones for you. Plus these... Healing Potions, with some special effects, will cost 5 Magic Stones each; Clarity Potions, standard quality, will cost 3 Magic Stones each."

In total... 1100 magic stones. These blood essences can be exchanged for 5 main materials.

Ian took a deep breath: "I'll exchange them all. Also, how much of the purest Tranquility Spring Water do you need?"

"High-purity Tranquilizing Spring Water, 20 Magic Stones per small bottle, standard volume." Amos closed the booklet.

Ian still chose to exchange for "Bark of the Ancient Tree of Life..."

"No." Amos interrupted Ian, turned and went into the carriage, taking out three specially made containers.

A palm-sized silver metal box, when opened, revealed a section of vine marrow crystal, resembling starlight, emitting a cool and soft glow.

A translucent crystal bottle contained a wisp of silver essence that flowed like moonlight.

Finally, there was a large bottle of spring water, clear as if it contained nothing, yet subtly rippled with a calming quality.

"Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal, Moon Essence, Top-Grade Tranquilizing Spring Water."

Amos handed the items to Ian. "Check them out."

Ian carefully used his mental power to sense and confirm that everything was correct before handing the blood essence and the potion to Amos.

"Oh, right," Amos said suddenly after putting away his belongings.

"I see you're collecting materials for the [Mind-Concentrating Potion], so you must be in urgent need of the finished product to aid your cultivation."

I still have 30 standard-quality [Concentration Potions] on hand. They were practice potions made by other pharmacists. They have stable effects, but they are not top-notch.

Each one costs 65 magic stones, but there's a condition: you must pay with the blood essence you just used.

Ian was startled. It seemed there was a large market for high-quality blood essence, and this man was indeed a shrewd businessman; the price of the [Mind-Concentrating Potion] was much higher.

Although the 30 doses of [Mind-Concentrating Potion] were only of standard quality, they were enough to support his meditation practice for ten days and slightly improve his cultivation level!

If others knew that he had taken so many drugs in just ten days, they would probably be astonished.

He did not respond immediately, weighing the situation in his mind. His previous experience at the "Furnace" camp made him somewhat hesitant.

But then I remembered that this was the "Silver Ring," and I had seen all sorts of good things here, so I couldn't hold back.

"I'll trade." Ian calmed himself down, took out the remaining 20 blood essences, and added some magic stones. This was almost all of his stock.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Amos's eyes. This young man was decisive and knew how to make choices.

"I hope you'll have more blood essence transactions next time I come. As for the [Mind-Concentrating Potion] materials you want, that's not a problem."

He took out another exquisite wooden box from the carriage, inside which were 30 light blue vials labeled "Concentration".

Ian checked it and found nothing wrong, then carefully put it away.

With the transaction complete, Amos said no more and led his caravan to trade with the other waiting apprentices.

Mira whispered to Ian, "Go back first, then we'll talk."

Ian nodded and quickly left the crowd with the valuable materials and potions he had acquired.

Back at his residence, after locking the door and setting up an alarm, Ian finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

He took out the materials he had received one by one and arranged them neatly on the simple worktable.

The Starlight Vine Marrow Crystals are warm and cool, the Moon Essence is gentle and pure, the Silver Soul Grass Pollen exudes a tranquil aura, and the Calming Spring Water makes him feel at peace just by being near it.

"Is there really no extract from the bark of ancient, living trees?"

Ian tapped his fingers lightly on the table, head bowed in thought. He wasn't sure if the other party truly had no stock, or if there was some hidden reason.

"It seems I'll have to make a trip to the Whispering Forest myself."

The map Mira provided flashed through my mind: deeper within the Silent Mountains, near the edge of the Whispering Forest, lay what appeared to be a subspecies of the Ancient Tree of Life, inhabited by the Soul-Eating Tree Spirits…

Dangerous, but not without hope.

Especially now, after the Bloodline Purification Technique has broken through its limits and gained the "Spirit Devouring" effect, his resistance to mental attacks has been greatly enhanced, and he can even devour the remaining mental imprints.

This undoubtedly increased his chances of surviving in that bizarre environment.

"Don't rush," Ian told himself.

He had just acquired the [Mind-Concentrating Potion], and his immediate priority was to use it to enhance his strength.

After a month, the advanced apprentices have only made 7.8% progress, which is far too slow.

If you can use the [Concentration Potion] to increase meditation efficiency tenfold, your proficiency will accumulate much faster. After using up 30 potions, you can also increase your realm by about 4%.

He looked at the proficiency level of [Secondary Frost Ray] on the panel; it was about to break the limit.

"First, break through to increase your strength, then go to the Whispering Forest."