Published: February 11, 2025
The floating white frost monsters, the vanishing corpses, the cold underground...
All of this made Ye Zhongming and Garan feel an internal chill.
They weren't truly afraid of ghosts or monsters; it was just that this inexplicable phenomenon instilled a sense of unease in them.
And often, the consequence of this feeling was death.
They did not fear ghosts but rather feared death.
Ye Zhongming quickly scanned the surroundings, confirming that the corpses had indeed disappeared without a trace, then turned his gaze toward the countless frost monsters before him.
If the vanished corpses did not affect them, that would be best; if they did... they would have to deal with the living creatures in front of them first.
Ye Zhongming planted the Staff of Nature in front of him, but this time it was for offense rather than defense.
Embedded in it was a Fire Element Gem.
After purchasing this gem, Ye Zhongming had processed it.
Such a wasteful act could likely only be done by someone like Ye Zhongming, a 'rich man.'
Unlike the homogeneous strengthening of materials, Ye Zhongming discovered by chance that it was also possible to synthesize natural gems with the same attribute using mutated plant materials.
Of course, this was a strengthening method with a high failure rate and required high-quality materials. They had to be single, pure, and of the same attribute; if there were even a hint of impurity, it would end in failure.
Thanks to the materials base in the secret realm, Ye Zhongming found quite a few pure, single-attribute plants. He had a large number of water and ice element natural gems, many of which were of high grade, so he primarily synthesized and strengthened gems of other attributes, with fire elements being the most numerous.
After all, gems of other elemental attributes were still too rare.
This Fire Element Gem was a rare intermediate-level gem. Ye Zhongming had processed it twice, and he referred to it as Type II Intermediate Fire Gem, where Type II represented the intermediate level, and II indicated that it had been modified twice by Ye Zhongming.
The name was simple but represented the level of power. This modified natural gem was formidable, and Ye Zhongming kept it as a trump card.
However, faced with so many monsters today and given that the fire attribute was particularly effective against them, he decided to use it.
The Type II Intermediate Fire Gem was installed on the Staff of Nature, and immediately a warm aura appeared in the space, much stronger than the battle armor worn by Garan, even causing the nearest frost monster to pause momentarily.
Then, as the Staff of Nature emitted a glow, a huge phantom tree appeared above it.
Although it was semi-transparent, it was surrounded by blazing flames, raising the already elevated temperature even further.
The two ice birds, now of ice attribute, saw the flaming phantom tree and, even though it was their ally, they flew back in fear, keeping their distance.
Garan watched in shock.
Having seen Ye Zhongming instantly kill those frost monsters before, she had already realized the gap between them, but it was when the Staff of Nature appeared that she realized the immense chasm that existed between them in every aspect.
After the phantom fire tree appeared, it swayed a couple of times, and then flames began to gather at the crown, growing stronger with time.
When the light nearly illuminated the whole space, the frost monsters drew closer.
The fire tree's attack commenced.
When the fire tree first appeared, it had merely been branches, but as the burning flames emerged, leaves began to sprout forth.
Now, the flames gradually became concentrated, forming small fireballs, as if bearing fruit.
This magical and gorgeous scene captivated Garan; although both men and women appreciated beauty, women were generally more easily attracted.
After the fire tree 'fruited,' the red balls began to tremble, the frequency increasing.
As they vibrated, some of these fireballs shot out.
From the moment the first fireball flew out, the subsequent fireballs did not cease, and a rain of fireballs began to fall, targeting the frost monsters.