**Chapter 104: Adaptation**
As the entire Elosia plane buzzed with activity due to the massive bounties, Jie Ming and his team continued their trek through the desolate mountains.
The boost from advancing to a first-level wizard surpassed Jie Ming’s initial expectations. The Ring of Truth amplified his mental energy and cultivation speed to an astonishing degree.
In particular, his enhanced mental energy could be converted into tangible cultivation progress through the techniques of Internal Circulation and Refining Essence into Qi.
Over the past few days, both Jie Ming’s Qi Refinement cultivation and meditation speed had risen to a new level, spiraling upward as if one foot were stepping on the other.
As a result, after all three had advanced to first-level wizards, they faced issues with imprecise control over their newfound power.
Fortunately, this problem was easily addressed.
On their long journey to the wizard stronghold, they turned any non-threatening enemy units they encountered along the way into a training ground for “clearing” and “mastering their powers.”
Jie Ming led the way, his mental energy constantly linked to the Five Aggregates Rainbow Mirror.
Thanks to years of deliberate nurturing, the mirror’s spirituality was now strong enough to process the vast amount of information relayed by the swarm of micro-eyes, including the Eye of Scouting.As they passed through a forest shrouded in thick fog, the Five Aggregates Rainbow Mirror issued an alert.
“Ahead, a group of small forest sprites,” Jie Ming said in a low voice. “Around thirty in number, relatively weak, but their energy fluctuations are unusual.”
Victor and Amy immediately understood, preparing their respective offensive wizardry.
“There was no information about sprites near this forest in that shaman’s soul. Stay cautious!” Amy warned.
Jie Ming and Victor nodded silently.
Along their journey, besides honing their powers, they had witnessed the unique innate abilities of many of this plane’s native creatures.
Many of these abilities seemed unremarkable at first glance, but without familiarity, a single misstep could lead to disaster.
Take the orcs they encountered while destroying a shrine, for example.
Orcs were known for their tenacious vitality, but only after facing them did they realize just how resilient they were—capable of retaliating even when their bodies were riddled with holes.
As for the so-called sprites, they were a peculiar form of natural spirits in the Elosia plane.
Their nature—whether good or evil—and their abilities shifted in accordance with their natural environment, making them one of the hardest enemies to gather intelligence on.
As the trio approached the camp, a shrill screech laced with malicious intent pierced the air.
Dozens of forest sprites emerged from the fog, their forms varied—some resembling branches, others moss-like, all emanating a faint green glow.
They moved with astonishing speed, their sharp claws and mandibles lunging at the trio from all directions.
But Jie Ming was faster, striking first before they could fully launch their assault.
However, a barrage of energy bolts had almost no effect.
Under the white, flowing energy bolts, the sprites’ bodies shattered into fragments, yet they continued their charge as if unharmed.
“Careful! That outer material isn’t their real body!” Jie Ming shouted.
He keenly noticed that no matter how much damage their bodies took, the sprites kept moving, some even floating mid-air, completely unaffected.
This suggested the visible material was merely a deception.
From the energy bolts’ effects, it was clear their true forms were some kind of ethereal entity immune to physical attacks.
Having lost the initiative, the sprites closed in within moments.
Yet Jie Ming remained unshaken.
The instant the sprites attacked, his mental energy surged, activating a low-dormancy defensive rune artifact.
The sprites’ rapid movements suddenly slowed, as if trapped in a viscous quagmire!
This was Jie Ming’s outermost defense—“Slowing Field.”
A powerful energy field enveloped the area around him, causing the sprites within to move sluggishly, as if in slow motion.
Some sprites outside the field circled around, unwilling to give up, searching for gaps in the force field.
But they soon found their target blurring and distorting.
This was the second layer of defense—the “Refracting Lens” effect.
The air around Jie Ming was warped by a force, causing severe visual distortion for the sprites. Those that managed to push through the Slowing Field found their attacks veering off-target, striking empty ground or even hitting their allies.
Before the sprites could devise a counter, two more layers of defense activated around Jie Ming.
Four shimmering rune-lit “Force Shields” materialized, orbiting him. These rune-crafted barriers had a limited range but offered formidable protection in their frontal area.
The final layer was the most basic and closest to his body—an “Energy Shield.”
A transparent film of light coated Jie Ming’s body, like a translucent eggshell.
This multi-layered defense system rendered the sprites’ attacks utterly ineffective.
Jie Ming cautiously observed for a moment, confirming the sprites’ nature.
“Though completely immune to physical attacks, their resistance to energy is extremely low. Even the Slowing Field’s energy can deal significant damage… They have a ‘phasing’ trait, specialized for physical attacks.”
He slightly raised his wrist, where a bracelet spun, revealing an embedded rune artifact.
“Good thing I came prepared.”
The rune artifacts on his wrists corresponded to different attack types.
The left wrist’s rune unleashed pure kinetic energy bolts.
The right wrist’s rune triggered pure elemental erosion energy blasts.
“Elemental Erosion,” Jie Ming commanded mentally.
The next moment, the rune artifact on his right wrist whirred to life. Ten finger-thick beams of white light shot out like lasers, precisely striking the struggling sprites still caught in the “slowed” state.
The high-intensity elemental erosion bypassed their “phasing” trait, seeping like ink into their ethereal forms, directly disrupting their energy cores.
“Shrieeek!!!”
The sprites let out piercing wails as their bodies were forced to solidify, then rapidly withered into puddles of green liquid emitting black smoke.
Turning around, Jie Ming saw Amy and Victor swiftly dispatch the remaining scattered sprites, preventing any from escaping.
When all the sprites were eradicated, the forest clearing was left with only pools of green liquid.
“Tch, tch, tch… You’re getting scarier by the day,” Amy said, marveling at Jie Ming.
Victor sighed with a hint of resignation. “I thought developing my own offensive wizardry would close the gap with you, but it seems the distance is only growing.”
“Perfectly normal,” Jie Ming teased with a grin. “After all, like you said, I’m the ace of our alchemy department.”
After days of traveling and fighting together, the trio’s bond had noticeably deepened.
Just as Jie Ming was about to say more, his brow furrowed.
The Eye of Scouting alerted him to a team of extraordinary beings with distinct energy signatures entering his “vision” fifty kilometers ahead.