Stepping out of the Wizard Tower, Ian didn’t head straight back to his residence. Instead, he turned and made his way toward the Magic Potion Department.
He needed to take care of one last thing.
The Magic Potion Department. Malena’s laboratory.
The door was ajar. From inside came the soft bubbling of a heating Potion and the sound of Malena humming a low tune.
Ian knocked on the door.
"Come in." Malena’s voice held its usual crisp efficiency.
As he entered, he saw Malena standing before a lab bench, carefully dripping a pale blue solution into a flask.
She wore a simple, dark blue Magic Potion Alchemist’s robe. Her long golden hair was loosely pinned up with a wooden hairpin, a few strands framing her face.
A flash of surprise crossed her eyes when she saw Ian, and she set down the dropper.
"Ian? What a rare guest. What brings you here?"
"Mm," Ian nodded, his gaze sweeping over the familiar laboratory.
The instruments were arranged in perfect order. The air was filled with the fresh scent of Moonlight Moss mixed with several basic potion ingredients.
"So, you need something?" Malena asked, wiping her hands on a cloth as she walked to a nearby tea table.
"Have a seat."
"I won’t be sitting," Ian said, shaking his head and walking toward the back of the laboratory.
His gaze fell on a pot of Moonlight Vine by the window, which was growing exceptionally well.
"I came... because I wanted to entrust something to you."
"Entrust?" Malena raised an eyebrow, leaning against the lab bench and crossing her arms.
"Sounds like you’re going on a long trip."
"A very long one," Ian didn’t deny.
He took out an exquisite Jade Box from his Dimension Ring. It was the length of his forearm and was engraved with Constant Temperature and Gathering Spirit Runes.
The Jade Box opened, revealing a small tree, only about a foot tall, lying quietly inside. Its entire body glowed with a gentle, silvery light.
The small tree had slender branches and leaves, and at its top hung five smooth, silver fruits, each the size of an egg.
It was the Alchemy Tree and its five Activation Fruits.
"This is..."
Malena’s breath hitched. She quickly walked closer, her eyes fixed on the small tree and its fruits.
As a Magic Potion Alchemist, she could clearly identify the strange aura emanating from the plant.
An aura rich with life and bloodline Power.
"A rather special Alchemy Magic Plant, and its five ’children’."
Ian gently placed the Jade Box on the lab bench.
"They need a stable supply of Energy, mainly High Tier Blood Essence and Flawless Magic Crystal Powder. They like quiet, safe environments."
"They’re very smart and can communicate. They’re just a bit... noisy and greedy."
He added, a hint of tenderness he himself didn’t notice flashing in his eyes.
Malena reached out, her fingertips stopping an inch from one of the tree’s leaves without touching it.
She could feel the subtle wariness from the little tree, as well as the curious intent from the five fruits as they "sized her up."
"You... you’re entrusting them to me?"
She looked up at Ian, her expression complex.
"Yes," Ian nodded gently.
"I’m leaving Shadow Moon and going to a very distant place. They’re rooted here, so I can’t take them. There’s also the Starlight Magic Pharmacy. You’re a Magic Potion Alchemist; you have the ability and the resources to take good care of them."
He paused, his voice growing a little deeper.
"Besides... you’ve helped me a lot, in Nightfall Town, at the Star Leaf Magic Pharmacy... I’ve always remembered that kindness."
Malena was silent for a few seconds, her gaze shifting between the small tree and Ian’s face.
Finally, she let out a soft sigh.
"Alright, I’ll do it." She took the Jade Box, her movements gentle.
"I’ll keep them in my private cultivation room. It’s very safe, and the Energy there is plentiful."
Ian then took a bulging leather pouch from his Dimension Ring and placed it next to the Jade Box.
"Inside is enough High Tier Blood Essence and my specially made Magic Crystal Powder for three years. After that... I’ll have to trouble you."
"Don’t worry," Malena said, putting away the leather pouch as well.
Looking up at Ian, she hesitated for a moment before asking:
"This time you’re leaving... will you be coming back?"
Ian didn’t answer directly.
He looked out the window. High Towers dotted the landscape, and in the distance were the familiar sights of the Anoroya Continent.
"Perhaps," he said, his voice distant.
"Maybe... a long, long time from now."
Malena didn’t press him further.
For a Wizard, partings and reunions were the norm.
The light in her eyes dimmed, but she finally nodded.
"Take care."
Ian turned to leave.
"Take care, Malena. May the stars and moon guide your path."
With that, he didn’t linger. He turned, opened the door, and walked out.
The sound of his footsteps faded down the hallway.
Malena stood rooted to the spot for a long time.
Finally, a low sigh escaped her.
She looked at the small tree in her hands, radiating a soft, silvery glow, and at the five fruits, whose silvery tendrils were swaying slightly.
They seemed a little uneasy about their new environment.
She reached out a fingertip and gently touched one of the small tree’s leaves.
"From now on, you’ll be keeping me company," she said in a low voice.
"Your ’Great Demon King’... has entrusted you to me."
The small tree’s branches and leaves swayed gently, conveying a faint sense of attachment and confusion.
The five fruits also quieted down, gathering around their mother.
The laboratory fell silent again, with only the soft sound of the heating Potion.
Ian returned to his residence. The courtyard was empty.
Where the Alchemy Tree and its five fruits had once been rooted, only a shallow pit remained.
And in the air, their faint aura had not yet completely dissipated.
Gaga crouched on his shoulder, its small eyes looking at the pit, then at Ian’s calm profile.
"Ian... does this mean we don’t have a ’home’ anymore, gaga?"
Ian walked into the courtyard and stood by the edge of the pit, silent for a moment.
"’Home...’" he repeated in a low voice, then shook his head.
"Wizards don’t need a fixed ’home’."
Wherever their Power reaches is where they belong.
He turned, entered the house, and went directly down to the secret chamber fifty meters underground.
The Abyssal Altar stood silently. Runes flowed across the surface of the dark red Rock, and the vortex of Shadow at its center slowly turned.
This time, he was activating the altar.
He intended to use the huge time flow difference between the two worlds to efficiently handle his affairs on the Yalan Continent.
He sat cross-legged before the altar and closed his eyes.
In his Sea of Spirit, the pale gold Crystal Core began to slowly rotate, resonating with the world-spanning Link deep within the altar.
The Phase Soul Weaving Technique activated quietly.
His main consciousness did not leave. Instead, he split off a highly condensed projection of his Soul.
It traveled along the Soul Link, which had been strengthened tenfold, toward the distant coordinates of the Yalan Continent.
Almost in an instant, far away on the Yalan Continent, inside the Star-Attracting Tower on Blue Cave Mountain, "Li Xing" slowly opened his eyes.
He had long black hair, a pale gold Star Seal on his brow, and the vast Power of the Peak of Manifestation surging within him.
The time flow ratio between the two worlds was 1:24.
This meant that for every hour Ian spent in the Wizard World focused on handling his projection’s affairs, a full day would pass on the Yalan Continent.
Ian wasted no time. He immediately summoned Li Yao and the thirteen personal guards who had become the "Starlight Guard."
In the "few days" that followed in the Wizard World, Ian used an iron fist to consolidate Blue Cave Mountain and the seven cities and thirty-six towns under its protection, completely solidifying the power structure.
He ensured that even if he "slept" for a long time or left, the system could rely on Li Yao and the Starlight Guard to maintain stability.
He ensured the strong alliance with the Chixia Business Alliance would operate automatically.
He fully delegated the daily management of the Starlight Shelter system to Li Yao and several of the most level-headed Starlight Guard captains.
He secretly met with Chen Jingshan for a long talk.
He used a portion of the future "Starlight" quota, as well as the development rights for several key Star Vein Nodes, in exchange for the Business Alliance’s long-term, unconditional support for the Blue Cave Mountain system and a guarantee of material supplies.
He personally entered the depths of the Blue Cave Mountain Earth Veins.
Using "Li Xing’s" Power, which had reached the Peak of Manifestation, and his understanding of the Star Rule, he combined it with knowledge fed back from his original body in the Wizard World to perform a final, and most powerful, reinforcement and upgrade of the Star-Attracting Tower and the Earth Vein core’s Defense Array.
Finally, in a secret chamber at the very top of the Star-Attracting Tower, he left behind an "Inheritance Star Seal" containing a portion of his Rule Perception and the power of his Star Bloodline.
He also left a message for Li Yao.
If he didn’t return for a long time, or if Blue Cave Mountain faced an irresistible crisis, they could try to activate the Star Seal. It might point the way and offer a sliver of hope for survival.
By the time he had done all this, more than three months had passed on the Yalan Continent.
But in the Wizard World, less than four days had gone by.
In the secret chamber, Ian, who was sitting cross-legged before the Abyssal Altar, slowly opened his eyes.
Deep within his pupils, the vast Starlight belonging to "Li Xing" slowly settled, transforming back into the quiet depth of "Ian."
His affairs on the Yalan Continent had been settled.
The foundation for his projected body was stable, the path ahead was clear for his blood relative Li Yao and the Starlight Guard, and his partnerships were solid.
Next, Ian carefully dismantled the twenty-eight Anchor Stones and the Abyssal Rune Stone, storing them back in his Dimension Ring.
On his shoulder, Gaga seemed to sense the change in his aura.
It asked in a small voice, "Is... is everything over there sorted, gaga?"
"Yes, everything’s sorted."
Ian returned to ground level and took one last look at the residence he had lived in for several years, a place that held countless memories.
The Alchemy Room, the study, the courtyard...
Then, with no more attachments, he turned away.
He turned and pushed open the heavy oak door of his residence.
Outside, another ordinary morning had dawned on Shadow Moon Tower.
The first light of dawn was breaking, Apprentices were beginning their daily bustle, and the sound of Witchcraft practice whistled from a distance.
Ian pulled his hood low, hiding most of his face, and, with Gaga, silently blended into the crowd on the street.
He didn’t go to hand over his Core Elder privileges; that would leave a record.
Since Tower Master Morton said he would handle it, Ian chose to trust him.
Nor did he go to see anyone else to say goodbye.
The necessary goodbyes had already been said.
The debts of kindness had been repaid.
He walked straight toward the Teleportation Area on the outskirts of the High Tower.
There, he would use a long-prepared, unregistered long-distance teleportation credential to travel to the port city at the westernmost tip of the Anoroya Continent.
Wert, the "Anchor of the Long Voyage."
From there, he would embark on the perilous journey across the Endless Sea.
To reach that vast and unknown land called the "Central Continent."
Ian’s steps were steady, his posture erect.
The morning sun stretched his shadow long, until it gradually blurred into the shadows of the towers and the bustling crowd.
Like a drop of water merging into the ocean, leaving no trace behind.