Pries just couldn't understand why Fran didn't continue the pursuit after attacking the airship, only speculating that Fran encountered other troubles.

He never considered that Herag's side could have finished off Fran, never entertained that possibility.

Herag asked, "So what did you tell the Eye of the Storm?"

"What else could we say? Let them figure it out themselves. If people ran into the pollution zone and disappeared, who can they blame? Besides, it's very likely he was the one who attacked the airship, so they're already lucky we haven't settled that score with them," Pries said.

The Eye of the Storm has only raised doubts but lacks evidence that Serlandir's people did anything to Fran.

In fact, it's quite normal for a Level 3 Wizard to wander around occasionally; it's just that he hasn't gone missing like this before.

The Eye of the Storm learned through the talisman stone's last known location that he was within Serlandir's borders, but it was in the pollution zone, not in the city.

Herag said, "Let me know if there's any news about this. I'll head back first."

"Yeah, coming back safely is the best. You've got quite the luck, surviving an ordeal like this," Pries laughed.

"Maybe next time I won't be so lucky," Herag self-mockingly said.

...

After returning home, Herag began preparations for the refining process of the Heart of Molten Fire-related magic potions.

The refining of the Heart of Molten Fire-related magic potion formula requires some rare materials, such as Dragon's Beard Grass, Moon Mist Stone, Wilderness Demon Vine, and so on, all costing several hundred to thousands of magic stones in potion materials.

Some magic potion materials are not easy to purchase in the market and have very limited stock.

However, thanks to Vernon's channels, Herag wasn't worried about not being able to buy the ingredients.

About half a month later, Herag finally gathered all the materials needed for the Heart of Molten Fire potion.

Refining the Heart of Molten Fire potion is already considered a Tier Two Potion, with relatively high difficulty and a special refining method.

The Heart of Molten Fire, as a Key of Rules, looks like an ordinary dark stone.

To transform it into something that helps people comprehend the Power of Rules, it needs to be peeled away layer by layer.

This peeling process is the refining process of the Heart of Molten Fire potion.

The outermost layer of the Heart of Molten Fire has a black stone skin, which looks ordinary but is extremely hard.

To peel off this layer of black stone skin, one can't use brute force; it requires a specially concocted magic potion to slowly dissolve it.

Herag spent four hours concocting a purple solution that had a faint herbal fragrance.

But this is no sweet drink; it's a deadly potion with strong corrosive properties.

Herag placed the Heart of Molten Fire in a specially-made large reaction beaker, applied an Absolute Defense shield onto himself, and then slowly poured the purple solution into the beaker.

When the purple solution was poured into the beaker, initially there was no reaction.

About three minutes later, faint sizzling sounds gradually came from the beaker.

Wisps of purple smoke rose and dispersed.

The next moment, bang!

A violent explosion sounded from the beaker, like thunder out of a clear sky.

A lot of purple solution splattered, landing on Herag's shield with a sizzle, constantly corroding the Absolute Defense shield.

Herag was in the basement laboratory, a specially built magic potion laboratory.

He had anticipated this and cleared the surroundings.

Although the purple solution splattered everywhere, no other equipment was damaged.

The reaction in the beaker grew more intense, and soon the laboratory was filled with pervasive purple mist.

This purple mist is highly corrosive and toxic gas, continually corroding Herag's Absolute Defense shield with a sizzling sound.

Herag's laboratory has a sealing function to ensure that none of the purple mist would escape.

If even a trace escaped, it would be considered an experimental accident, and Herag would be punished.

Herag did not rush to handle the purple mist but waited for the reaction in the beaker to complete.

After all, with the Absolute Defense shield, the purple mist posed no harm to him.

Herag continuously observed the situation in the beaker, where the black stone skin on the Heart of Molten Fire was slowly dissolving, revealing a blood-red interior beneath.

About half an hour later, the black stone skin completely dissolved.

In the specially-made beaker, a blood-red mass floated within the blackish-purple solution.

This blood-red mass continued to bubble, with bits of red tissue peeling away.

This is the second layer of skin to be removed.

Herag used tweezers to extract the blood-red mass and placed it on another tray.

The tray was padded with a type of bark that was highly absorbent, appearing in an old yellow color.

Once the mass was placed on the bark, the purple solution on its surface was quickly absorbed by the bark below.

Even the solution distributed on the top of the mass was sucked in by the bark.

After all the solution was absorbed, the process wasn't over; the bark continued to actively draw liquid from within the mass.

Liquid like fresh blood seeped from the surface of the mass, absorbed by the bark beneath.

The originally wood-yellow bark took on a dark red hue after absorbing this blood-like liquid, as if stained with old bloodstains.

Once all the blood-red liquid was absorbed, Herag picked up the now-dry mass and then forcefully split it in two with his hands.

A blood-red crystal embedded in the mass glistened brightly, emitting a strange glow.

Within the crystal lay a burning flame, resembling a piece of art.

Herag held the small red crystal, feeling it slightly hot to the touch.

Next is the crucial step: breaking the outer crystal layer to complete the final peeling step.

Herag glanced around; before proceeding, he needed to first clear the purple mist from the area.

He took out a milky white bead, which, after being imbued with magic power, emitted a strong suction force, drawing in all the surrounding purple mist.

In just three minutes, the laboratory's purple mist was absorbed clean by the bead, not a trace left.

Herag put away the bead, checked to ensure nothing was missed in the room, and then took out the red crystal.

Magic power surged within him, his form quickly enlarging as he entered the Titan Power state, his body covered in dark golden armor.

Herag's head nearly touched the ceiling—a consideration during the initial construction, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to use Titan Power here.

He then cast another Absolute Defense shield on himself and officially prepared to peel away the Heart of Molten Fire's final layer of skin.

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