End of the Magic Era

Sauss didn’t guess wrong. Besides the Magic Spring potion that could restrain the poison fog, Lin Yun had indeed also prepared a potion to strengthen the poison mist.

This was the real reason that Lin Yun had dared to enter the Poison Fog Canyon alone. He knew that he was at an overwhelming advantage inside it.

The current Poison Fog Canyon wasn’t very well-known…

Thousand Sails City’s people didn’t understand why Sauss’ Viper Nest would occupy such a poor territory.

The only person in Thousand Sails City that could make sense of Sauss’ decision to expand there was Lin Yun.

This was because he knew that a hundred or so years later, numerous forces would fight over the Poison Fog Canyon. Initially, a mercenary group found a temple from the 3rd Dynasty in the depths of the canyon. Later on, that group became one of the peak mercenary groups of the kingdom by relying on the wealth that they brought out.

For some unknown reason, rumors about the place leaked out many years later.

Suddenly, all the powers of the kingdom were like sharks who had smelled blood. They all rushed to try to gain control of the Poison Fog Canyon.

Lin Yun remembered at least three wars that involved more than 10 000 people each. Blood dyed every corner of the Poison Fog Canyon.

The Magic Spring potion that Lin Yun had taken out and the Sunset potion in his pocket had appeared in one of the wars. At that time, the Sunset potion had brought about a true bloodbath. Countless corpses were left in the Poison Fog Canyon, and one of the peak powers of the kingdom was destroyed in the war.

That war was viewed as one of the classic examples of the power of alchemy and would be repeatedly mentioned by alchemists for the following years.

Lin Yun found the formula of the Magic Spring and Sunset potions in the notes of those alchemists.

When he heard Sauss, Lin Yun knew that he wouldn’t have to use the Sunset potion.

But Sauss didn’t really need to worry about Lin Yun.

After all, what Lin Yun wanted wasn’t the wealth of the temple. He just wanted the opportunity to get five Magic Arrays quickly.

Moreover, whether Sauss would be able to obtain the wealth in the temple wasn’t set in stone. Unless he had the luck of that future mercenary group or had the help of an Archmage, Sauss wouldn’t be able to catch sight of the temple he was yearning for.

But Lin Yun obviously wouldn’t tell him that.

“I know that Leader Sauss has been painstakingly expanding in the Poison Fog Canyon for years and definitely wouldn’t allow outsiders to go inside. How about this, Leader Sauss. My caravans will establish a path only in the south, and only for a period of three months. After three months, even if the Silver Moon Mercenaries have yet to clear Edge Rift, our Gilded Rose will think of another way to supply them.”

“South?” Sauss finally looked better when he heard this proposal.

He would be able to accept it if they only passed through the southern part of the Poison Fog Canyon. After all, the temple was located in the northern part of the Poison Fog Canyon. If they stayed in the south, then even if the Gilded Rose’s people had wings, how could they influence his plans?

“That’s good, three months.” Sauss still felt like he was losing out, though, so he added with clenched teeth, “But I want ten bottles of that potion!”

“That can be done. Come get them at the Gilded Rose tomorrow.”

Now that they had agreed, Sauss handled business straightforwardly. When Lin Yun came out of the wooden house, the five Apprentice Alchemists were already there waiting for him. At the same time, Sauss told Lin Yun that he had sent someone to deliver the batch of alchemy items and that they would definitely reach Edge Rift before dark.

Lin Yun said a few things to the Apprentice Alchemists before sending them back. Lin Yun then told Sauss that he wanted to take a look at the southern part of the Poison Fog Canyon to see if there was a location suitable for a road.

Sauss naturally didn’t dare to stop him. The Magic Spring potion was in his hand, but he was sure that the young Great Mage still had a potion that was capable of strengthening the poison fog in his hands…

After watching Lin Yun’s silhouette fade into the distance, Sauss made a decision while gnashing his teeth. Regardless of how he did it, he had to get a group of mighty alchemists, or else the poison fog of the Poison Fog Canyon would remain a rope tied below his neck, leaving the Viper Nest forever unable to escape the control of that young Great Mage.

Lin Yun was unaware of Sauss’ decision, but even if he knew about it, he wouldn’t care about such a trivial matter. Regardless of whether it was the Magic Spring or the Sunset potion, they were both just parts of a strategy. For a mage, the most reliable strategy would always be the magic that they controlled. Lin Yun was confident that once he had five Magic Arrays, he would be able to kill every member of the Viper Nest in an hour even without the Sunset potion. This included Great Mage Bell, who currently seemed quite formidable.

Far from the line of sight of the Viper Nest’s sentry towers, Lin Yun took out a Magic Spring potion and drank it. Although he had told Sauss that the potion should be placed in a ventilated place to gradually grant his followers resistance to the poison over the course of three days, that would only be effective in the places where the fog was thin.

If one wanted to enter the depths of the Poison Fog Canyon with the densest poison like Lin Yun, they would have to drink the Magic Spring potion.

In this era, no one understood the Poison Fog Canyon more than Lin Yun.

Not even Sauss who had been exploring the area for over a decade.

The current Sauss still didn’t know that if he entered further into the depths of the Poison Fog Canyon, the concentration of the poison would become extremely frightening, to the point that it eradicated all life apart from those magic beasts who fed on the poison fog. Even weeds couldn’t survive.

Even the Magic Spring Potion in Lin Yun’s hands, which would become known as the pass for travelling through the Poison Fog Canyon in the future, could only protect a person for ten minutes per bottle.

But thankfully, Lin Yun had come prepared.

He had over a dozen Magic Spring potions inside his bag.

In other words, Lin Yun would have close to two hours to explore the depths of the Poison Fog Canyon.

After drinking the Magic Spring potion, a faint green mist began spreading on Lin Yun’s body. It looked thin, but it was condensing over him, not scattering. Regardless of how Lin Yun moved, that green mist would keep lingering around him.

By this time, Lin Yun had already gone very far into the southern part of the Poison Mist Canyon. The red fog in his surroundings became denser and denser. It was visibly thicker than it had been back at the Viper Nest base.

But after Lin Yun drank the potion, the red mist transformed like ice under sunshine, melting away.

Indeed, melting…

As the red fog came into contact with the green mist, steam drifted into the air.

Lin Yun relied on the protection of the green mist to go deeper into the Poison Fog Canyon.

‘It should be near here…’ After drinking the 3rd Magic Spring potion, Lin Yun stopped.

The description left behind by the alchemists of the peak era only had vague descriptions of the Poison Fog Canyon. There weren’t any maps or even any precise paths to follow. All that Lin Yun could do was to blindly move about while relying on those unclear directions, hoping that he would reach his destination. In any case, he still had a decent stock of potions in his bag, enough to turn back in case of an unforeseen event.

After drinking another potion, the red fog cleared up once more, and Lin Yun could clearly see crimson-colored barren soil ahead of him… It felt as if someone had watered the soil with blood.

‘There should be a cave here…’ After making a rough assessment of the distance, Lin Yun didn’t immediately hurry to find the cave. He instead whispered a few incantations and quickly cast Haste, Levitation, Poison Resistance, Stoneskin, and some other buffs on himself.

Sure enough, just as Lin Yun summoned his Ice Fire Shield, a sudden sound came from below, followed by a bright red color blossoming under his feet. It was like a huge red flower blooming.

But Lin Yun was already prepared, having made his move just when the sound echoed.

The power of the Magic Array was put on full display.

After merging with the Magic Array, the Haste spell was almost twice as effective as an ordinary Haste spell. It was comparable to a Great Mage Magic Conducting Rune.

With this superior Haste spell, Lin Yun’s speed was like a gust of wind. Before the bright red blossomed, Lin Yun had already rushed ten meters away, and with the Levitation effect, Lin Yun broke away from the pull of gravity as he hovered above the ground.

At the same time, an instant cast Magic Array was activated, and a huge Fireball hovered in Lin Yun’s palm.

Instant cast Flame Burst. A loud rumbling sound thundered out, making it seem as if the entire Poison Fog Canyon was shaking.

A mournful scream echoed. Lin Yun looked down, and sure enough, it was a Rotten Flower.

Rotten Flowers weren’t actually flowers. They were merely flower-like magic beasts. They normally hid underground in the Poison Fog Canyon, unmoving for months, or even a year. However, once one of them smelled fresh flesh, it would immediately come out and spread its maws of red petals and swallow its prey in one bite.