207: Chapter 207 Advantages and Disadvantages

Suddenly, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and thunder and lightning roared.

A bolt of blue lightning flashed from the clouds, striking straight down the volcano's crater toward the white ring.

Nie Ning felt as if he had been hit by a heavy blow; he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, and his entire consciousness showed signs of scattering.

"Teacher! Teacher!"

Heloise's shouts woke Nie Ning up.

Fortunately, the lightning only struck once, giving Nie Ning a brief moment to catch his breath.

Immediately afterward, Nie Ning endured the dizziness, steadied his mind, and began to connect with the ring.

...

Time passed, and several hours later.

Nie Ning's body suddenly jolted, and the ripples emanating from the white ring abruptly retracted.

A moment later, Nie Ning slowly opened his eyes and looked at the white ring in front of him.

At Nie Ning's summons, the white ring slowly shrank until it was only the size of a palm when it reached his hand.

Nie Ning examined the ring closely. A strange feeling lingered in his heart, a bizarre sensation as if he were looking at 'himself'.

"Teacher, was it a success?"

Seeing Nie Ning wake up, Heloise, who was nearby, hurried to ask.

"It should be considered a success."

Nie Ning thought about it carefully, feeling somewhat uncertain.

Although the god-forbidden ring in his hand looked exactly like the records on the Stairway to Godhood, Nie Ning always felt something was off.

He couldn't say if it was good or bad; it was just an inexplicable feeling.

Perhaps it was the self-made chaos crystal that made his subconscious produce this illusion.

At least on the surface, no difference could be seen.

"Is this really a divine artifact?"

At this moment, the Crimson Feather Fire Demon flew in front of Nie Ning with Heloise, its massive eyes staring intently at the white ring.

The scene of the lightning tribulation falling from the sky was still fresh in its mind.

But Nie Ning was only a Third-Ring Wizard; how could he possibly have refined such a lethal weapon?

It was abnormal!

It defied common sense!

Nie Ning didn't answer and shook his head; at this moment, he only wanted to have a good sleep.

He was simply too tired...

Before he could speak, a wave of inexplicable dizziness hit him. Nie Ning's head slumped, and his entire body fell uncontrollably.

Fortunately, Sensen reacted quickly, extending Green Crystal Vines to pull Nie Ning onto the back of the Crimson Feather Fire Demon.

"Let's go, we're heading back first."

Heloise supported Nie Ning and spoke to the Crimson Feather Fire Demon beneath them.

Unable to violate the contract, the Crimson Feather Fire Demon spread its wings and flew rapidly toward the city.

...

A week later.

Nie Ning lay on the bed, quietly watching the god-forbidden ring floating in mid-air.

Despite resting for a long time, Nie Ning's soul-splitting injury had still not recovered, and his consciousness remained in a groggy state.

Nie Ning couldn't help but sigh: "I was still too hasty; the disadvantages completely outweigh the benefits."

He had wanted to create the god-forbidden ring for so long, but now that it was actually made, it felt somewhat unworthy.

It wasn't that the god-forbidden ring was difficult to use, but rather that the side effects were too obvious.

First was the soul injury, which could only be slowly healed using the soul recovery methods recorded in the Stairway to Godhood; he would likely be in a state of 'mental exhaustion' for a long time.

Next was the issue of cultivation.

Originally, he only needed to improve his own cultivation, but now he had the additional burden of the god-forbidden ring.

Because while the god-forbidden ring seemed to be only for storing energy, it was actually more like a clone of himself, with the problem lying in the attached split soul.

To exert its proper function, the support of his full cultivation was indispensable.

Furthermore, while recovering his own soul, he also needed to increase the strength of the split soul.

However, to be fair, the god-forbidden ring was indeed extraordinary.

With the support of the god-forbidden ring, the casting speed of fusion sorcery had improved significantly.

His initial choice to imprint fusion sorcery was partly for its massive destructive power.

But he had still underestimated the difficulty of fusion sorcery; while the move was very powerful, its casting speed had not reached his expectations.

In fact, this was largely because 90% of his imprinted sorceries were elemental formulas.

Without formulas to enhance sorcery or formulas to increase casting speed, his imprinted sorceries could not be released at will.

With the god-forbidden ring, it could not only release sorcery but also actively increase damage and casting speed.

Regarding this, Nie Ning couldn't say if it was good or bad.

It mainly dragged down his rate of improvement, but other aspects were barely acceptable.

Furthermore, besides automatic attacks, the active damage of the god-forbidden ring was calculated cumulatively.

He only needed to raise the energy of the god-forbidden ring to the third rank, and his strength would double, which was an incredibly ridiculous rate of improvement.

...

Just as Nie Ning was pondering the god-forbidden ring, Heloise pushed open the door and walked in carrying a meal.

"How are things?"

Heloise glanced at the god-forbidden ring and asked with a cold expression.

Nie Ning sat up from the bed: "I'm much better. I estimate I should be recovered in about two months."

It had to be said that Heloise was indeed his lucky star.

When refining the god-forbidden ring earlier, if Heloise hadn't spoken up, the refinement would likely have failed.

And compared to his current troubles, a failed refinement would have truly driven him crazy.

"Then we shall set out for Ska City tomorrow."

Heloise nodded and placed the meal in front of Nie Ning.

"We've been out for a long time; it's indeed time to go back."

Nie Ning had no objection to this.

Having been out for such a long time for the first time, he quite missed returning to a familiar environment.

Moreover, the earth and fire elements here were too concentrated, which wasn't suitable for Heloise and Sensen's cultivation. They still needed to return to that place that might be Belvis.

While the two were talking, a staggering old man came to the door. It was Ogden, the resident wizard of this place.

Nie Ning raised an eyebrow, not understanding why he was here.

Since it was inconvenient to stay in the Wizard Tower with Heloise, they had been staying in an inn during this time.

"I wonder if Wizard Ogden has some business?"

Nie Ning looked at Ogden and asked in confusion.

Two days ago, he had the Crimson Feather Fire Demon suck out the fire poison from Ogden's body. Ogden's current state was clearly better than their last meeting.

Ogden looked at Nie Ning with a complex expression. He hadn't expected Nie Ning to actually defeat the Crimson Feather Fire Demon and even make it submit.

Thinking about it now, the expansion of the water source in the city must have also been Nie Ning's doing.

"Nothing special. Thank you for clearing the hidden danger here."

As Ogden spoke, he took out a small cloth bag from his robes: "I don't have much longer to live. Rather than leaving these things to others, I'd rather give them to you as a reward for this time."

Under the influence of Spiritual Power, the small cloth bag flew in front of Nie Ning.

Nie Ning did not refuse and took the spatial bag: "Then, thank you very much."

To be honest, Nie Ning quite liked the equivalent exchange among wizards.

Perhaps it was because his strength was so great that most wizards he encountered would give him something in return.

Of course, plundering and killing were just as common, just like how he had treated Skadi.

To increase one's strength, fighting and killing were inevitable; Nie Ning had even prepared himself for the day he would face such a thing.

Seeing Nie Ning accept the items, a smile appeared on Ogden's face.

After chatting for a while longer, Ogden got up and left the inn.

Nie Ning looked at Ogden's back through the window. Barring any accidents, this would likely be the last time they met...

...