Chapter 121: The Amulet Necklace (Extra Update 2/4)

Alice fled several times, but the fiery serpent relentlessly pursued her, the heat behind growing ever more intense. With no other choice, Alice resolved to stand her ground. Her wings glowed with a vibrant emerald light, forming a vast protective shield that encased her tightly.

“Bang!”

The fiery serpent collided with the barrier, unleashing a thunderous roar. Under the scorching heat of the fire dragon, the shield quickly melted away. Alice’s face turned pale; her magical energy was nearly drained in an instant.

As the fire serpent dispersed, the dragon-winged staff of Thunderwing Dragon unfurled its bone-like appendages, resembling dragon wings, seemingly ready to press the advantage. Qi Xiao sensed its excitement and swiftly enveloped it with his magic, restraining it.

After the fire dragon vanished, Alice was too weak to continue. Her face was ashen, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her wings drooped lifelessly. She plummeted from the sky, but fortunately, the referee appeared just in time to catch her steadily and declared Qi Xiao the victor.

Qi Xiao had roughly gauged the rank of the Thunderwing Dragon staff and chose not to continue competing. After bowing, he left the arena.

Upon entering the battle hall, Qi Xiao finally felt the world quiet down. Although still bustling with voices, it was a vast improvement over the endless howling winds of the canyon. With two swift movements, Qi Xiao returned to the island at the lake’s center, contemplating his upcoming plans.

Even wielding just the Thunderwing Dragon staff, it was conservatively estimated he could easily rank within the top 50. Perhaps only the top 10 possessed the strength to match it, but reaching the top 10 would consume too much time and offer little opportunity to further hone his skills. For the foreseeable future, he resolved to rely primarily on his Phantasmal Energy Elemental Gun.

Though the Phantasmal Energy Elemental Gun might not withstand battles at this level, Qi Xiao still had an alchemical item slot available if he set aside his storage ring. He intended to fill that slot in the coming days.

He had long contemplated this: while his offensive and physical defenses were solid, his mental defenses were lacking. He planned to forge an alchemical item that would provide balanced offense and defense for the soul.

Qi Xiao first drafted the design, drawing inspiration from many other alchemical formulas. Ultimately, the item would be a necklace, but instead of a pendant, it would feature an amulet.

For the necklace chain, Qi Xiao chose to use mithril as the main material, mixed with some other lightweight metals. He was never stingy with the alchemical tools he used himself.

The amulet’s base was crafted from secret soul mulberry wood. Qi Xiao combined the Soul’s Tear with half of the Dreamstream Essence he had left over and fixed them together, then carefully dripped the mixture inside. With his carving knife, he swiftly etched intricate runic patterns—complex magical glyphs. The blended soul water flowed continuously within the grooves, yet never overflowed.

Next, Qi Xiao produced a Soulstone. Once exceedingly precious even in the hands of official wizards long ago, the Soulstone’s value had plummeted with the widespread harvesting of mortal souls. Now, it was only useful to white wizards like himself, who refused to use mortal souls as materials.

After all, mortal souls were cheap and abundant, and the Soulstone was primarily used by soul mages and alchemists—among the most morally dubious even among reckless wizards.

Dead Sea Iron, as its name suggests, was salvaged from the Dead Sea. This type of sea had branches throughout the wizarding world, dangerous yet rich in unique resources. Dead Sea Iron greatly enhanced soul magic.

Qi Xiao then took out some Starlight Sand, which he had empowered with ancient star fragments given to him by Afelipus, rendering their properties quite special.

These materials originated from meteorites in distant star regions. When such meteorites streaked across the sky and burned up, some residual fragments remained unconsumed. Starlight Sand was one such remnant, twinkling faintly in the night sky as if imbued with the power of the stars.

Starlight Sand possessed a strong affinity for souls. Not only could it serve as a medium for star magic, but when crafted into alchemical items, it could resonate with the wearer’s soul, enhancing its strength and stability.

In alchemy, Starlight Sand was often used to create ring or crystal orb weapons, boosting the potency and range of spells.

Qi Xiao embedded the Soulstone at the center of the amulet, ensuring perfect integration with the secret soul mulberry wood and the flowing soul water.

He evenly scattered the Starlight Sand over the amulet’s surface and used alchemical forces to fuse it with the wood and Soulstone, forming a protective membrane.

Qi Xiao forged the Dead Sea Iron into finer chains, serving as connectors between the mithril links, reinforcing the necklace’s structural stability.

On every link of the chain, Qi Xiao meticulously inscribed runic arrays, which would grant additional protection and mental fortification.

After completing all components, Qi Xiao began the solidification process and activated the runes across the necklace. Slowly, he infused his own magical energy, ensuring each link worked in harmony while also perfectly attuning the necklace to himself.

Following the initial activation, Qi Xiao entered the testing chamber to conduct a series of trials on the Soulguard Necklace, assessing its soul defense, mental attack reflection, and the anticipated dream projection effects.

Based on the results, Qi Xiao made final adjustments and improvements but was disappointed to find the necklace offered little in the way of dream magic. Perhaps his crafting technique was flawed, or maybe too little dream essence had been added. In any case, it was quite normal for a newly designed item to diverge somewhat from initial expectations.

Holding the amulet necklace in his palm, Qi Xiao studied it carefully. The mithril chain shimmered softly under the light, the surface etched with delicate runic patterns that flickered faintly, as if whispering ancient secrets.

The amulet’s base, secret soul mulberry wood, naturally soothed the spirit, exuding a rustic, steady aura. On its surface, the fluid mixture of Soul’s Tear and Dreamstream Essence slowly flowed within the runes, displaying a deep blue hue like star trails left by shooting meteors. These liquid ribbons traced luminous paths across the amulet, sparkling variably with changes in light and angle.

The Soulstone was set at the amulet’s heart, radiating a warm, gentle glow that harmonized perfectly with the surrounding runes and soul water. Its light reflected across the amulet’s surface, creating tiny spots of brilliance. If the soul water was the star trail, then the Soulstone was the brightest morning star in the night sky.