Chapter 1268: Liquid Substrate, Physical Recovery

A moment later, Yilisi suddenly stood up, said "It's here," and then opened an inscribed box on the bookshelf behind her, taking out a thin-necked bottle that emitted a bright light.

After handing the bottle to Xia Duo, Yilisi did not let go, but instead gave a reminder, "Negative Energy Erosion is extremely stubborn. Use this entire bottle of Purification Potion; do not think about saving any for next time!"

"Yes."

Xia Duo replied, only then feeling the bottle in his hand grow light. He put the bottle away, expressed his thanks once more, and then departed.

……

After leaving Yilisi's Study, Xia Duo avoided the pitying and probing gazes of other mission team members and headed straight back to Maikade's room within the base.

"Hoo—"

Xia Duo let out a long breath and lay down on the bed, thinking that he had finally muddled through. Of course, he knew very well in his heart that Yilisi might not necessarily believe him.

But regardless, this first step had finally been passed smoothly.

The next moment, Xia Duo "sat" up from the bed and took out the bottle of Purification Potion Yilisi had given him to examine it closely. The bottle was just an ordinary glass bottle, but the potion inside had an extraordinary appearance.

At first glance, it was a mass of glowing, translucent liquid, and when shaken slightly, it had a viscous, gel-like feel. However, under Magic Vision, a large part of the Purification Potion's light came from tiny Fuwu faintly visible within the liquid.

Of course, calling them Fuwu was somewhat inaccurate; in reality, it was the energy release phenomenon manifested by certain combinations of Magic Net String mapped into the liquid substrate.

Xia Duo had also attempted to craft magic potions at the Tower of Time, but he discovered that preserving magic through a liquid substrate was less stable than a Scroll; aside from having a lower threshold for use, there were no other benefits.

Therefore, he later simply gave up on researching magic potion crafting.

Seeing this bottle of Purification Potion now, Xia Duo truly felt a bit moved. As for the magic preserved in this potion, he could not yet discern it, nor could he study it.

The potion was too unstable; perhaps even a slightly intense observation could lead to deterioration. Additionally, a large amount of Positive Energy had been infused into this Purification Potion, which was also a major reason for its glow.

Ignoring the magic preserved within, it would be no exaggeration to call it a bottle of high-concentration Holy Water.

As for the method of using the Purification Potion, Xia Duo had already obtained it from Yilisi; it was very simple, just drink it directly.

Of course, ordinary potions cannot be drunk directly. The liquid substrate used to preserve magic often contains toxic substances; just a slight, violent shake can trigger the magic, and if one were to actually drink it, they might just die on the spot.

The substrate of this Purification Potion contained no toxic components and could be drunk directly, which was also to make fuller use of its Holy Water properties.

Xia Duo pulled out the stopper, brought the bottle mouth to his nose, and sniffed lightly. Perhaps for the convenience of the user drinking it directly, this Purification Potion did not have the pungent odor of ordinary magic potions; instead, it exuded a fresh, plant-like scent, giving one an urge to take a sip.

And that was exactly what he did!

The bottle was not large, about two hundred milliliters. Xia Duo raised the bottle and poured it into his mouth. Before he could even feel what the gel-like Purification Potion tasted like, the half of his body eroded by Negative Energy suddenly erupted with a burst of intense, stabbing pain.

"Ah—"

Xia Duo gritted his teeth, struggling to keep himself from wailing, but a painful groan still squeezed out from between his teeth. The next moment, with a *snap*, the empty bottle in his hand was crushed by him.

Blood instantly stained his palm, but Xia Duo could no longer care about such a small injury. He grabbed the bedsheet and bit down on it, letting out a muffled grunt.

The half of his body that previously had no sensation now had feeling, but this feeling was not pleasant; instead, it was like being in purgatory, being torn apart by countless evil ghosts.

……

He did not know how much time had passed when Xia Duo suddenly could no longer feel the pain. The contrast in this instant almost made him ascend to Heaven. He gasped for air in large gulps, and sweat had already soaked through his clothes and drenched a large patch of the bedsheet beneath him.

"Heh, that was truly suffering!"

Although the sensations in all parts of his body had returned, Xia Duo did not want to move at all now. He continued to lie there, and he did not know how much more time passed until his stomach began to protest.

He struggled to sit up from the bed, but the next moment, he let out a "hiss" and drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

Raising his hand to look, it turned out that the hand that had crushed the bottle earlier had completely healed, but the problem was that some glass shards had been healed inside the epidermis.

Any movement caused piercing pain.

Fortunately, having just gone through the pain of purifying the Negative Energy Erosion, Xia Duo was now somewhat numb to this minor pain. He calmly took out an Adamantine Knife and picked open the already-healed skin.

Amidst the bloody mess, he fumbled to pick out those glass fragments one by one, and afterwards, he guided Positive Energy to gather at the wound, stopping only when the bleeding had ceased.

Although his own healing ability was not yet sufficient to cure a "terminal illness" like Negative Energy Erosion, if it were just some small wounds, that would not stump him.

……

Just like that, Xia Duo spent three days recuperating in the branch base before basically fully recovering. During these three days, aside from exchanging some intelligence with another mission team, he stayed in his room familiarizing himself with Maikade's Spellcasting style.

The High Mage from the Vengeance Tribunal did not master many Spells, but they were all very characteristic, almost all related to missions.

Either it was running away, communicating, or efficient killing; there was nothing else.

The academy at the Headquarters base mostly taught the Principles of Spells; as for specific Spells, they taught very few, but one could exchange mission points for any Spell one desired.

Of course, the Vengeance Tribunal did not restrict communication between members, but very few people would share without compensation; it required fewer points than exchanging from the Vengeance Tribunal, or a promise to assist in a mission.

Maikade was considered a newcomer, having only been on a few missions, and he was the only one left in his mission team. Maikade did not master many Spells, which was relatively easy for Xia Duo to imitate.

Even using the word "imitate" was not entirely accurate.

The Arcane Empire of the Projection Plane had been greatly influenced by several mysterious Great Sages who were suspected to be visitors from the Main Plane during its development; its mainstream Spellcasting methods and style were almost identical to those of Netheril.

Xia Duo only needed to familiarize himself with the few Spells Maikade had mastered, so as not to give himself away when going on missions with others later.

With Maikade's complete memories, this level of familiarity was sufficient for a Senior Arcanist with fairly skilled Spellcasting techniques in just three days.

He could even, if necessary, imitate some of Maikade's habitual mistakes during the Spellcasting process.

Of course, these did not have to be imitated; after all, people grow, and mistakes can be eliminated.

……