Chapter 28

Amidst the rain of fire falling on the black earth, it seemed as if it was landing on a pot of boiling oil, instantly becoming intense. In just a moment, the sea of fire had spread to cover an area of over a hundred meters. The sleeping skeleton warriors were startled awake, their eyes flickering with phosphorescent light, and they ran around chaotically like headless flies in the sea of fire.

This was a level nine spell, the Fire Rain, which, among the area-of-effect spells of the mage level, was second only to the Thunderstorm. Moreover, when dealing with undead creatures, its power even surpassed the Thunderstorm. How could large groups of skeleton warriors running around chaotically possibly avoid this sea of fire that covered over a hundred meters?

In just a short while, at least a dozen skeleton warriors had fallen in the sea of fire...

If this had happened earlier, Lin Yun would have been very happy. The fall of a dozen skeleton warriors would mean several pieces of necromantic essence in his hands. However, Lin Yun didn't have the time to be happy now...

He had been hesitant to use such a large-scale spell like the Fire Rain, fearing that the commotion would lead to him being surrounded by undead creatures. But now, Lin Yun no longer cared. A vein of Nether Iron ore hundreds of meters long, even in the peak era of magical civilization ten thousand years later, would still be a treasure that could make the most powerful factions envious.

Let alone now...

Even if he couldn't mine it, as long as Lin Yun could take advantage of the chaos to grab a magic gem associated with the ore vein, it would be enough to match today's entire harvest.

As for whether this would alert more skeleton warriors or even the Bone Demon sleeping underground, Lin Yun couldn't afford to worry about that anymore.

Such an astonishing vein of Nether Iron ore was right in front of him. If he didn't take some souvenirs, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Even a regular associated magic gem was worth over 100,000 gold coins, which could elevate the Gilded Rose to a higher level, equivalent to the old butler's efforts for half a year. If he could get a better one, like a Abyssal Diamond, it would be even more valuable...

With another Abyssal Diamond, Lin Yun could upgrade the Grandmaster-level alchemical array, extending the duration of the Planar Path to at least an hour!

An additional half hour in the Bone Plane wasn't just about gaining a few more pieces of necromantic essence; it meant Lin Yun could expand his range, delve deeper into the Necromantic Plane, hunt more advanced undead creatures, and obtain more valuable resources.

All of this was based on the duration of his stay.

"I need to hurry!"

A Mage's Eye and a Fire Rain spell had already taken about a minute. The time for Lin Yun to leave the Necromantic Plane was not far off. Moreover, as the sea of fire spread wildly, Lin Yun clearly felt a slight tremor in the ground, and a deep roar echoed from the depths of the black wasteland.

Lin Yun knew that the Bone Demon sleeping underground was likely awakened. He had to act before the Bone Demon appeared, or he would be forced to face the power of a near-Archmage.

As the deep roar echoed, Lin Yun tightly pressed himself against the rock behind him, not chanting any incantations or casting any spells. He just pushed his magic vortex to its limits, reaching new heights and breaking through his limits. In just ten seconds, Lin Yun's magic power had reached a boiling state.

Then, a burst of fire suddenly lit up.

Lin Yun transformed into a ball of flame, instantly crossing hundreds of meters and arriving at the center of the sea of fire...

Once a mage shattered their magic vortex and entered the Grand Mage realm, they would completely merge with their magic power. Not only would their strength increase tenfold, but their spellcasting would become effortless. More importantly, Grand Mages could master a terrifying magical ability called Elemental Incarnation, where their body would be completely transformed into an element, almost immune to all physical attacks and possessing all the characteristics of the element.

However, this powerful magical ability lasted for a very short time. Even the most skilled Grand Mages could only maintain it for about a minute.

And Lin Yun's duration was even shorter...

Lin Yun was not yet a Grand Mage, and what he was displaying was not the true Elemental Incarnation. This burst of fire was entirely due to Lin Yun's advanced magic control, forcibly simulating the magic flow of Elemental Incarnation in a nearly impossible way.

This was itself a spell beyond the limits, and the duration would be even shorter than that of a typical Grand Mage.

Lin Yun estimated he had at most ten seconds...

If he couldn't complete everything in ten seconds, once the Elemental Incarnation disappeared, he would not only face the enraged Bone Demon but also the weakness from his boiling magic power.

So, almost as soon as he arrived at the center of the sea of fire, Lin Yun cast five Fire Blasts in quick succession.

Thanks to the instant casting of fire spells provided by Elemental Incarnation, Lin Yun's five Fire Blasts were cast one after another without any pause. A series of muffled explosions, "Boom, boom, boom..." instantly opened a gap of over ten meters in the Nether Iron ore vein...

The ore, glowing with a dark light, scattered in all directions. Each piece could be considered high-quality and could easily sell for thousands of gold coins. But Lin Yun didn't even spare them a glance. He braced himself against the incoming curved blades and lunged towards the points of light.

The speed of Elemental Incarnation was already unimaginably fast, and with Lin Yun's forced magic power, it was increased by another 20%. A streak of brilliant fire flashed through the sea of fire, and before the points of light could even fall to the ground, Lin Yun had already collected them in his hands.

Almost simultaneously, the ground beneath him trembled violently.

Then came a deafening roar, and a monster covered in bone spines burst out of the ground. Its terrifying body was four to five meters tall, with over a hundred flickering phosphorescent lights surrounding it. In the center of its skull, a fist-sized soul fire burned fiercely.

The power that could rival an Archmage radiated out, and the densely packed skeleton warriors in the sea of fire bowed their heads. Even if they were burned to ashes, not a single skeleton warrior dared to move. The chaotic scene instantly stabilized as the Bone Demon emerged from the ground.

After calming the skeleton warriors, the Bone Demon roared again. With a violent surge of magic, several phosphorescent lights shot out from its chest.

The target was Lin Yun, who had just collected the points of light...

The Bone Demon's Shadow Fireball was something even Archmages feared. How could Lin Yun dare to face it with his makeshift Elemental Incarnation? Almost as soon as the Bone Demon attacked, Lin Yun cast a Flame Flash...

At this moment, the importance of the Fire Rain spell became evident. The sea of fire that had spread over hundreds of meters became Lin Yun's best escape tool. With Flame Flash, Lin Yun moved through the sea of fire like a fish in water. Before the Bone Demon's Shadow Fireball could even land, Lin Yun had already used three Flame Flashes to escape to the edge of the sea of fire.

Then, Lin Yun uttered the rune to open the Planar Path to Noscent.

Lin Yun took a few quick steps onto the Planar Path, glancing back at the black wasteland through the distorted space. He wouldn't return for at least a month.

As the surrounding space distorted, Lin Yun stepped back onto the land of Noscent. The three Abyssal Diamonds, drained of magic power, were now dull and lifeless, looking like ordinary stones. Without the brilliant light of the Abyssal Diamonds, the basement darkened again.

"Three is far too few..." Lin Yun shook his head. A Grandmaster-level alchemical array required an enormous amount of magic power. Three Abyssal Diamonds were just the bare minimum. Each time the magic power was depleted, it would take at least a month to recharge.

This meant Lin Yun could only enter the Bone Plane once a month, and his stay would be limited to thirty minutes.

This was a serious problem...

Thirty minutes was far too short for Lin Yun. This wasn't just about the amount of gain; it was about a plan he had been working on. If he succeeded, he might obtain an extraordinary magic item!

Yes, the Death Book, the extraordinary magic item held by the Heaven-tier mage Bain!

But this required time...

Thirty minutes was far too short. Lin Yun estimated that he needed at least three days to complete the task, and there could be no interruptions. So, four days would be a safer estimate. Such a long time could not be satisfied with just three or four Abyssal Diamonds.

Without hundreds of Abyssal Diamonds, it was impossible...

"Far too few..." Lin Yun touched his pocket, which contained a dozen pieces of necromantic essence and six magic gems associated with the Nether Iron ore.

The dozen pieces of necromantic essence were set aside by Lin Yun. Their only use was for enchanting weapons, and their price was relatively stable. Handing them over to the old butler was a good choice.

Then, Lin Yun took out the six magic gems one by one.

"Wow!" The first magic gem surprised Lin Yun.

It was a high-quality Shadow Fire Gem, naturally possessing both poison and fire attributes. It was generally used for embedding, and whether in weapons or accessories, once a Shadow Fire Gem was embedded, it would have a terrifying destructive power. This destructive power was independent of the user's strength, and even in the hands of a three-year-old, it could easily kill a dozen strong men like Jimmy.

This meant the price of the Shadow Fire Gem would be very high...