Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The open space returned to silence.

Only the mist drifted slowly, and the five ice sculptures reflected a faint blue luster in the hazy light.

Ian slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and the "Soul Devouring" runes in his mental sea gradually subsided.

After absorbing five waves of mental impact, the runes became slightly brighter than usual, and the resulting mental energy replenished nearly half of his energy expenditure.

"It went more smoothly than expected."

He walked up to an ice sculpture and placed his hand on the surface of the ice.

He used his spiritual power to penetrate the tree spirit and confirmed that its life force fluctuations had completely disappeared.

He casually tapped it, and with a bang, the ice sculpture shattered.

"Hey! There's something good here too."

Amidst the scattered ice shards, a bluish-black crystal caught Ian's attention.

The crystal flew up and he caught it in his hand, examining it closely.

"Not bad, it's the core of the Soul-Devouring Tree Demon. It's somewhat useful."

Afterward, Ian smashed the remaining ice sculptures, picked up the magic cores, and without delay, turned and walked towards the three ancient trees of life in the center of the open space.

The closer you get, the more vibrant the life force in the air becomes.

The amber-colored resin crystals on the ancient tree trunk emitted a soft, pale golden glow in the mist, like solidified sunlight.

Ian took out a specially made extraction tool from his dimensional ring—several crystal bottles, a silver conduit, and a bone knife.

He selected the largest crystal on the trunk of an ancient tree, about the size of a palm and nearly two fingers thick.

The bone knife gently cuts open the junction between the crystal edge and the bark.

"laugh……"

A pale golden, viscous liquid seeped from the cut, emitting a refreshing fragrance that was invigorating just to smell.

Ian quickly inserted the silver tube, connecting the other end to the crystal bottle.

The pale golden sap flowed slowly into the bottle, each drop containing immense life energy.

He carefully controlled the flow, not daring to extract too much—excessive extraction would damage the ancient tree's roots and could trigger unknown backlash.

A full bottle contains approximately 200 milliliters.

Ian sealed the bottle and then used a second Tree of Life, drawing it from another crystal.

Three minutes later, the three bottles of pale golden extract from the bark of the ancient tree of life were collected.

Each bottle is priceless, enough to refine dozens of [Mind-Concentrating Potions].

Ian carefully put the crystal bottle away and looked up at the three ancient trees.

The tree trunk trembled slightly, as if expressing gratitude. Getting rid of the parasites, such as the Soul-Eating Tree Demon, was also a relief for the ancient tree.

"We're even."

Ian said softly, then turned and left the open space.

He did not clean up the battlefield; the shattered ice covering the ground froze the tree spirit into dust, almost erasing all traces of it.

Only the piles of white bones on the ground indicate that five terrifying tree demons once stood here.

This is the best warning, letting those who come after know that a powerful person has been here.

Returning along the same route, Ian was much faster than when he came.

The "Soul Devouring" rune continued to operate, rendering the mental interference from the Whispering Forest almost ineffective against him, and instead becoming a supplement.

An hour later, he walked out of the core area. The surrounding trees gradually returned to normal, and the fog thinned out.

Ten miles further ahead, we can return to a relatively safe area.

Ian stopped, took out a Lesser Healing Potion from his dimensional ring, swallowed it, and meditated for a moment to recover.

The continuous use of limit-breaking sorcery has consumed a lot of mental energy. Although "Soul Devouring" has provided some replenishment, it is still necessary to maintain the best condition.

Who knows what other things might emerge from this forest?

After resting, he continued onward, getting closer and closer to the outer perimeter.

Little did he know that less than five miles away, three pairs of eyes were peering through the mist, fixed intently on Ian's direction.

"He's out."

In the shadows of the dense forest, a hoarse voice whispered.

The speaker was a tall, thin man wearing dark brown leather armor. He had a scar on his face that ran from his forehead to his chin, making his otherwise fairly handsome features look ferocious.

He held a short, jet-black staff in his hand, the head of which was inlaid with dark red crystals, and a faint smell of blood emanated from it.

"My information was correct; the kid did indeed go to Whispering Woods."

Squatting beside him was a short, stocky man, bald, with a face full of scars, his bare upper body covered in twisted runes, his muscles bulging like rocks.

He licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with greed.

"To be able to stay deep in the Whispering Forest for so long and emerge unscathed... he must have something good on him."

The third person was a woman, around thirty years old, with a beautiful face but a cold and sinister aura.

She wore a form-fitting black leather outfit that accentuated her curves, and she toyed with two poisoned daggers in her hands, the blades gleaming with a bluish sheen in the dim light.

"That bitch Mira seems to be protecting him, so we don't dare to make a move in Misty Creek."

The woman's voice was alluring, yet carried a chilling undertone, "But here... if we kill them and bury them in the swamp, who will know it was us?"

They are "Blood Staff" Sachs, "Stone Skin" Barton, and "Poison Spider" Sera.

Hawke was referring to those villains who ran rampant in the Darkwood, specializing in robbing lone apprentices.

Previously, when Ian made a deal with Amos at the Dreamweaver's Hut, they were among the onlookers.

Sachi immediately recognized that the blood essence Ian had produced was of extremely high quality, far exceeding the products that ordinary advanced apprentices could refine.

After some inquiries, I learned from a few gossipy apprentices that Ian was a new potion master who lived alone on the edge of Hawke's settlement.

The potion master, along with high-quality blood essence, also traded with merchants from the "Silver Ring"...

These three pieces of information combined were enough to sway them.

So they secretly followed him, catching up with him as he left the gathering point.

But Ian was moving very fast and taking a tricky route, so they didn't dare to get too close. They simply set up surveillance spells around the Whispering Forest and waited patiently.

This wait lasted for two days.

Finally, Ian came out.

Ian stepped out of the edge of the Whispering Forest, where the fog was thinning and the light in the woods was becoming brighter.

He didn't stop walking, but his mental perception spread out like a spider web within a thirty-meter radius, and his eyes in the sky kept turning to look around.

He sensed three deeply hidden acts of malice not far ahead.

"My three friends, what is the meaning of this?"

Ian stopped, his voice calm, his gray robe swaying gently in the breeze, damp with the chilly dew from deep in the forest.

The three slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Blood Staff" Sachi walked at the front, his dark red crystal staff pointing diagonally at the ground, the scars on his face writhing in the dappled light and shadow: "Kid, your senses are pretty sharp."

"Stone Skin" Barton stepped out from the right, the ground trembling slightly with each step, the runes on his upper body glowing with a hazy gray light, and his muscles bulging.

"Hand over the items from Whispering Forest, and the potion you traded with the Silver Ring."

"Poison Spider" Sera slid out from behind the tree on the left, flipping two poisoned daggers between her fingers, the blue blades drawing arcs.

"I love little ones like you with your delicate skin and amazing skills... I'll be gentle when I slit your throat later."

Ian's gaze swept over the three of them, finally settling on the dark red crystal at the tip of Sachi's staff. The stench of blood was so strong it was pungent, mixed with the resentment of at least ten different creatures.

"Hey! How dare you steal my things?!"