Reaching inside the second shelter that was extremely close to the damaged spot on the mana vein, Jason was able to start investigating further without any hindrances.

First of all, he had to figure out what exactly the transmuted mana, the mana vein released, was.

At the same time, it was important to get to know all possible problems the damaged mana vein caused, and what kinds of problems existed, in the first place.

What he had already found out was that the damages on the mana vein were not only caused by one phenomenon, but multiple overlapping causes.

From the looks of it, someone, most likely the Oceanfolk, had aimed to weaken the combat prowess of the Mewi by damaging the mana vein by simply clogging it up.

That was, hands down, the easiest way to drastically reduce the amount of mana that could be naturally released by the vein.

However, this bottleneck caused a few more issues such as the overflow of mana in one direction, with a lack of mana on the other side of the clogged spot.

As such, the mana on one side was being held back from flowing freely by a mass of corals, algae and all kinds of other materials, or whatever else the perpetrator found suitable to clog the mana vein.

The mana kept on pressing on this obstruction, pushing it deeper inside the mana vein. The resultant mix slowly turned more solid, blocking off even more mana to pass through.

Seeing this, Jason began to wonder how he should remove this mass because it was lodged deep inside and it was imperative to remove the culprit of the mana shortage and transmuted mana.

In the end, the mass of ocean materials used to create a blockage was also not as simple as one might think at first glance.

Rather, it was extremely complicated because it seemed to have corroded the mana vein, which was also the reason for faint green threads to spread through the mana vein.

They originated from the mass of ocean materials, and Jason could tell that this was also the reason for such a limited quantity of mana to be released from the gigantic mana vein, to deteriorate over time.

The amount of mana that was released was still much more than Jason had expected, but the quality of the released mana was simply too bad.

Because of that, not much mana reached the valley, to begin with, which was probably also the biggest issue the Mewi had.

The mana that reached the surface was not deteriorating anymore because its quality seemed to be the worst possible, and Jason had to think hard to find a proper solution.

In the end, the mana directly next to the mana vein was extremely strong, but that was not something he was surprised about because it was still the weakened form.

Furthermore, there was a reason why the mana vein was seen as a threat by the Oceanfolk, to block it off more than a century ago!

After freeing the mana vein of the blockage, it would be able to heal itself over time, slowly recuperating and negating the corrosive side effects the mass of ocean material had caused.

This would take time, and Jason knew that the required period was much longer than what he was awarded to stay inside the second trial, but that was not important.

The clogged-up mana would gush out of the vein and be extremely strong, once the ocean materials were to be removed.

There was only one big issue!

How would he protect himself from the outburst of mana when he would successfully remove the mass of ocean materials clogging it? Being squashed by mana that was suddenly freed of the blockade was not something Jason wanted to feel!

Obviously, he liked mana and wanted to improve his cultivation rank, but that was everything mana should do to him right now!

He had no idea how to remove the mass of ocean material either, and the most logical solution was to use Solaris, just like every single time something had to be removed from somewhere.

Jason didn't even doubt that it would be a problem to use Solaris for all of this, but the bigger issue was that he couldn't control Solaris' flame from a long distance.

At least, not with seemingly endless mana around it that would distract Solaris from its task.

It was eager to become stronger, and Jason knew that.

As such, the mana vein would be the best possible source to absorb tremendous amounts of mana.

Thus, the moment Jason would be unable to control Solaris' flame, it would spread out and devour everything in its wake.

That was definitely not what he wanted to witness because it would be even worse than the aftermath of the removal of the mass of ocean material caused.

Devouring the entire mana vein was unlikely for Solaris to achieve over a short period, but Jason knew that he wouldn't be able to control his little black origin flame once it got free reign to greedily absorb the mana released by the mana vein.

Because of that, Jason had to find a different approach to remove the mass of ocean materials from the mana vein, or he would have to restrict Solaris' instincts.

To him, both finding a different approach and restricting Solaris seemed difficult, but in the end, Jason decided to use the tried and tested method of using Solaris.

Now that he had perceived and deciphered the issues the mass of ocean material had caused and that he had found a way to remove it through Solaris, Jason tried finding a way to approach the mana vein, without entering the stream of mana by himself.

This was difficult and close to impossible.

Thus, Jason simply ignored his doubts as he dug his way towards the mana vein.

Even if that could be deemed as insane, Jason had almost reached the spot at which the mass of ocean materials was located.

As such, it would be too much of a hassle to leave the shelter and return to the underwater cave in which he had to pay attention to not breathe, which was simply not possible.

With that in mind, Jason dug his way through the ground, approaching the mana vein.

This took a few hours because Jason was careful in not injuring the structure that radiated a bright light, dazzling him the moment he reached the seemingly faint membrane of mana that held everything together.

In the end, Jason had no idea what the mana vein had been made of, and it was extremely interesting because the mana stream was held together, and it could be damaged by materials, but grasping it with his hand as possible.

There was a small hole in the mana vein, created by the mass of ocean material that had been pushed deep into the vein.

However, to Jason's fortune, the entire mass of ocean material was still connected to the tiny opening the Oceanfolk had somehow created.

Because of that, Jason thought of using Solaris to use the crevice in order to properly remove the harmful substance from the mana vein.

With that in mind, he smiled lightly, trying to give himself more determination, only to release a tiny black flame that he inserted into the gap.

Yet, just a moment later, Solaris' flame flared up, as it spread through the vein, devouring the mana as well as the blockade while barely being restricted by both Jason and Solaris itself.

Foreseeing this possibility well in advance, Jason had warned Solaris to control its flame properly, otherwise, they would face a disastrous consequence.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the surrounding mana was actively surging into the tiny black flame, nurturing it.

Through this, it was growing stronger and bigger, and Jason, who racked his brains to think of a proper solution for this issue, had only one idea.

Because he had been unable to trust the corroded mana, Jason had already thought of a solution before.

Thus, he released a long thread that was made out of Solaris' black flames.

Connecting it to the enlarged black flame, Jason controlled it in order to lead the mana it was naturally absorbing, right into his body through the black flame thread.

There, he absorbed the mana that had been expelled from its corrosion owing to the purification effect Solaris had.

Owing to this, Jason was able to annex the neutral mana, and he began to use it in order to cultivate, which was quite beneficial.

However, not everything was advantageous, and the fact that he had to absorb the mana from the black flame thread was quite a big hindrance!

But, that was something Jason noticed later.

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