69: Chapter 69 Elemental Erosion

"Bronk, over here."

Seeing Nie Ning enter the garden, Ivy stood up and waved at him.

"Mr. Bronk, please go in. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Helun said to Nie Ning, then turned and walked back the way he came.

Seeing this, Nie Ning had no choice but to walk inside alone.

As Nie Ning walked into the pavilion, Ivy introduced him to the others quite happily.

The man was Ivy's father, the lord of Ska City, Valke Waters, and the woman was named Audrey; Ivy did not mention her surname.

"Greetings, Lord City Lord and Ms. Aotili."

Nie Ning said with a slight bow, neither servile nor overbearing.

Audrey rested her chin on one hand, looking at Nie Ning with a hint of emotion.

"I didn't expect to meet a wizard about to advance to the first ring in such a backwater place. It's truly rare."

Hearing this, Nie Ning was startled; he hadn't expected to be so easily seen through by her.

Valke and Ivy were equally shocked by Nie Ning's strength, not expecting that this person with the strength of a Supernatural Knight was actually a wizard.

"You don't know how to hide your mental fluctuations, and your mana control is terrible. It seems you must be a wild wizard who happened to obtain a wizard's inheritance."

Audrey continued to speak to herself: "And..."

"Ms. Aotili's observation skills are truly impressive."

Hearing this, Nie Ning quickly interrupted Audrey.

If she kept talking, all his secrets would be spilled.

"You didn't come to see me today just because you're interested in rune weapons, did you? Take off your clothes and let me take a look."

Audrey's words were shocking, startling Valke, who was to the side.

"I have other things to do, so I'll be going."

Valke stood up and pulled on Ivy, who was beside him: "I have something to tell you, let's go together."

"No, I want to watch, I want to watch."

Ivy was clearly very interested in Nie Ning; she also wanted to see what could make Audrey so interested.

But Valke, on the side, dragged Ivy away forcefully without giving her a choice.

At this moment, only Nie Ning and Audrey were left in the area.

Nie Ning couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.

He had clearly come to ask Audrey for help, so why did it feel like he was here to sell himself...

"If you won't take it off, then you can leave."

Seeing Nie Ning hesitating, Audrey waved her hand impatiently.

Since he was the one asking for a favor, Nie Ning had no choice but to slowly take off his shirt, revealing his eight-pack abs and the crystal formations on his chest.

At this moment, Audrey walked directly in front of Nie Ning, carefully observing the colorful crystal formations on his body.

"So that's it. I was wondering why the elemental fluctuations on your body were so strange."

She had previously thought she was mistaken, but now it seemed Nie Ning's situation was much more serious than she had imagined.

"Ms. Aotili, I don't know what this is..."

Nie Ning asked cautiously.

Audrey sat back down on the stone bench and waved her hand: "Go back and prepare for your funeral."

Upon hearing this, Nie Ning's eyes widened immediately.

What does that mean?

Is this a death sentence already?

"My body is very healthy, how could I die?"

Nie Ning asked hurriedly.

"Heh, I have never seen anyone survive elemental erosion."

Audrey took a sip of water and said with a cold laugh.

"elemental erosion?"

Nie Ning was full of question marks.

Perhaps she couldn't bear to watch, so Audrey began to explain.

Normally, elemental erosion is considered a kind of virus; conventional wizard cultivation does not cause this disease.

The reason for contracting this disease is most likely being in an environment where elemental power is too concentrated.

Because the body cannot withstand the pressure brought by elemental power, elemental crystals rapidly form inside the body in a short period.

Now, Nie Ning's entire chest has been eroded by elemental power.

Next, it will continuously devour Nie Ning's flesh until the entire body is crystallized; at that point, Nie Ning will basically be a humanoid crystal core.

In the eyes of wizards, this is a precious, rare material.

...

After hearing Audrey's explanation, Nie Ning's face turned pale.

Thinking about it now, it was most likely caused by taking the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit last time, combined with fusing too many crystal cores.

"What if I just dig it out?"

Nie Ning gritted his teeth and asked, refusing to give up.

After all, he rarely gets to transmigrate; dying of an illness would be too sloppy.

Hearing this, Audrey couldn't help but take a few more looks at Nie Ning.

Now that his entire chest has been eroded by elemental erosion, anyone who could think of digging it out directly is a ruthless person.

However, sometimes being ruthless alone is not enough.

"Didn't I tell you? This is a virus; do you think it's just concentrated in your chest?"

Audrey shook her head slightly and sighed.

"Digging it out will only temporarily delay the elemental erosion."

"Elemental power is everywhere in this world. Unless you enter a land without magic, you might be able to live until you die of old age."

Hearing this, Nie Ning thought of Supernatural Adaptability.

Judging from the current situation, the elemental erosion is still spreading, so it seems Supernatural Adaptability is not having any effect.

It is also possible that Supernatural Adaptability simply cannot block elemental erosion.

Thinking of this, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Nie Ning's eyes.

Delaying it is enough.

If the speed of elemental erosion can be slowed down, perhaps he can wait until the moment Supernatural Adaptability can take effect.

Of course, it's also possible that it will have no effect at all; this is just his wishful thinking.

But regardless, it's definitely better than waiting for death.

But...

If he were to dig out his chest directly, whether he could survive it is another question.

As of now, his healing ability is not strong enough to regenerate in a short time.

And the crystal cores are inside those crystals; if he digs them out, he will probably be back to square one, with all his mana going down the drain.

"Actually, there is a way, although it might not necessarily succeed."

Audrey suddenly said with a smile.

But looking at Audrey's smile, Nie Ning inexplicably felt a chill down his spine.

But thinking about his current situation, with his abilities, digging it out is almost the only path he can take.

"I wonder what method you have, my lady?"

Nie Ning lowered his head and asked humbly.

"Wizards believe in equivalent exchange. If you want my help, naturally you must pay the corresponding price."

"Then what price do I need to pay for you to help me?"

Audrey scratched her ear: "If it fails, your remains will belong to me. If it succeeds... I haven't thought about it yet."

She also hadn't expected to encounter someone with elemental erosion.

And given Nie Ning's strength, he really can't help her with anything; to put it bluntly, it's just a dispensable promise.

But after hearing this, Nie Ning felt a bit uneasy.

This person wouldn't fail on purpose just to take his remains, would she?

"Don't worry, if I wanted your remains, I would just take them. With your current strength, you have no chance of defeating me."

Seeming to see through Nie Ning's thoughts, Audrey said with a smile.

...