In the underground laboratory, lit by the soft glow of the crystal chandelier, Adam stood in front of a large, bronze cauldron with a solemn expression on his face.

Beside him, on the table, were kept rare herbs and other magical ingredients that he had handpicked for his new recipe after countless mental simulations.

It had been close to a month since he had obtained the Soma Lavender from the Spirit World. Only last night was he able to successfully create the recipe for the new potion. It was a difficult endeavor, but thanks to his vast Herbalism knowledge, he was able to prevail.

The youth glanced at the purple flower placed atop a cotton cloth on the table, his fists clenching tightly. "This better succeed. Or else I'm really going to lose it!"

Adam took a deep breath and finally began.

He grabbed a handful of powdered monocrystals and carefully measured it before putting it into a clay mortar. Next, he ground the monocrystals into fine silver dust and emptied it into the cauldron which already had a mystical blue liquid inside.

As soon as the monocrystal dust came in contact with the blue liquid, something magical occurred. The blue liquid inside the cauldron rapidly changed color, turning dark.

Within a few moments, the liquid turned into the color of the night. Moreover, the monocrystal dust inside started to resemble the stars.

Without wasting another moment, the youth grabbed one crystal vial after another from the table, each containing strange, mystical liquids inside, and poured them into the cauldron.

After he had emptied about a dozen vials inside the cauldron, the liquid inside seemed to have come alive.

It was swirling like a miniature galaxy!

So far so good. Adam wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and nodded to himself.

Next, he grabbed the main ingredient for his potion, the Soma Lavender, and carefully separated its petals from the stem. Then, he dropped the petals inside the cauldron in a mysterious sequence.

As the petals came in contact with the liquid, they glowed with ethereal light and slowly transformed into purple mist. To an onlooker, the liquid inside the cauldron would seem as if a purple cloud was lazily drifting through the star-filled void.

Adam then weaved a series of hand signs, resulting in the activation of a certain mechanism of the runic formation carved directly underneath the cauldron.

The next moment, the cauldron was engulfed in bright flames, causing the liquid inside to heat up rapidly. This was a method of removing impurities from the potion. However, this technique could only get him so far.

After all, no matter how hard one tried, there would always be a considerable amount of impurities in any given potion.

"Now, the final ingredient!" Adam's lips curled up into a grin as he glanced at a sparkling blue liquid inside a crystal vial beside him.

Neer Springwater!

Thanks to this precious ingredient gifted to him by the King, Adam's chances of successfully brewing this potion had increased exponentially.

The youth uncorked the vial and emptied its contents into the cauldron. The moment the Neer Springwater came in contact with the liquid, the cauldron started to tremble ever so slightly.

An intense reaction took place inside, causing Adam's breathing to turn ragged.

After waiting for close to a minute, the strong reaction finally receded. A large quantity of black mist slowly rose from the depths of the cauldron, escaping the liquid, and finally evaporating into thin air.

What was left inside the cauldron was a bright silver liquid with a mystical purple hue and countless specks of white dots in it.

A brand new potion with the least amount of impurities had been created!

"Hahahaha!" Adam burst into laughter, a grand feeling of accomplishment washing over him. "I did it! I finally did it! Kahahaha."

After reveling in the joy of victory, the youth gradually calmed down. He cast Magus Hand and poured the potion inside the cauldron into a large ceramic bowl.

As he gazed at the silvery-purple liquid that seemed to contain the very stars themselves, he couldn't help but grin widely. "Ehehehe, I really am a genius."

"Hmm, now what should I name it?" He stroked his chin, but the next moment, he waved his hand. "Silver Star? Purple Star? Silver Purple Starry Sky? Hmm I got it. I'll name this potion Purple Twilight!"

Soon, his face turned solemn as he thought about the amount of pain he would have to endure after he had consumed this potion. There was no turning back now.

After all, the potion's shelf life was only thirty minutes.

"No pain, no gain!" Adam clenched his fists and motivated himself.

He grabbed the ceramic bowl containing Purple Twilight and walked toward the other end of the laboratory where a large wooden barrel containing a chilly liquid had been prepared by him beforehand.

The liquid inside the barrel was so cold that the temperature around it had dropped significantly. The liquid had gone past the freezing point, but surprisingly enough, it hadn't turned to ice.

This was a special liquid that Adam had created that would help counter the effects that Purple Twilight would have on his body.

Adam gulped nervously as he gazed at the liquid inside the barrel, but the next moment, he resolved himself. He took off his robes and inner garments and entered the barrel without hesitation.

"Haa haa haa!" As the cold liquid came in contact with his skin, he couldn't help but rapidly and deeply take large mouthfuls of air.

During this process, he nearly dropped the ceramic bowl containing the potion from his hand.

With each passing second, a layer of frost was slowly beginning to form on his skin. His body shivered intensely and his breathing became labored. The next moment, however, his eyes flashed with determination as he downed the silvery-

purple potion in one go.

The moment the potion entered his system, it didn't take long for the layer of frost on his skin to melt. Then, his skin turned to a light shade of red, and steam started to rise.

As the potion circulated throughout his body, Adam felt as if every fiber of his being was being burned in flames. As if reacting to the heat emitting from his body, the icy liquid inside the wooden barrel dropped in temperature and started to enter his body through his pores!

"Aarrggghhhhh!" The youth cocked his head and roared in pain.

As two opposing forces raged a battle inside his body. Adam felt flames engulfing him, at the same time, he felt the chilling cold creeping in and taking a hold of him.

Gradually, the fire and ice properties merged within him, and a magical transformation started to take place.

The advancement to the next stage had begun!