The spell, Shadow of Destruction, was somewhat similar to an enhanced version of the Corrosion Curse, not only more powerful but also inherently silent and lightless. However, this spell was actually meant to be used in conjunction with an alchemy tool called Lightless Dust. Alan had found quite a few of these during his previous inventory check; they were a pile of small, flask-like metal cans. Alan had inspected these containers and found them quite ordinary, possessing only the function of automatically bursting open when thrown.
In fact, this alchemy equipment was very similar to a smoke bomb, except that the Lightless Dust that spread out had stronger vision-obscuring properties and also carried some perception-blocking functions. Once covered, it was almost like being blind, as everything would turn pitch black. At the same time, it had strong wind resistance, making it difficult to disperse with an ordinary Hurricane Curse, and could only be waited for to naturally settle.
In Phoenix's notes and handbooks, it was clearly recorded that this Lightless Dust was meant to be paired with the Shadow of Destruction. In battle, first using Lightless Dust to obscure the enemy's vision, and then casting the silent and shadowless Shadow of Destruction spell, was simply a great trick for ambushing opponents.
As for the other magic, Soul Elegy, it was a large-scale area-of-effect type of magic. To use this magic, one had to collect enough souls in advance and store them within their body or a container. Upon casting, it would first emit a piercing shriek that struck directly at the soul. The shriek would form a composite attack with sound waves and souls, inflicting fear, knockback, and mental attack effects on enemies within at least a fifty-meter radius.
Following that, all souls stored within the caster's body would be released, forming multiple soul aggregations that would autonomously seek out and attack enemies. These soul aggregations' attacks not only carried corrosive and fear-inducing properties but also possessed a splitting characteristic. Upon suffering a destructive blow, a soul aggregation would first self-detonate, then split into multiple smaller soul aggregations, continuing to entangle the enemy.
If Alan hadn't acted decisively earlier, casting the extremely powerful Wild Lightning to obliterate those souls, these soul aggregations, even if they couldn't cause casualties among the wizards, would have entangled them for a long time. However, after reviewing the description of the Soul Elegy magic in the material, Alan noticed that the Soul Elegy Phoenix had cast earlier was noticeably lacking in power. This was because the intensity of this magic, in addition to being limited by the caster's resolve and magic control, was primarily related to the number of souls sealed beforehand.
Alan then shifted his gaze to the pile of alchemy tools he had previously sorted out and retrieved several can-shaped urns made of magic metal from within. During a previous inspection, Alan had discovered that these urns had the function of storing souls, but he hadn't immediately understood why Phoenix collected these souls, so he had set them aside. He had, in fact, found several other items with unclear purposes like these. It now seemed that these urns were the casting materials for using Soul Elegy. Phoenix had probably only been able to use the souls sealed within her body because she was forced into an engagement on short notice. If she had possessed these urns at the time, the power of Soul Elegy would likely have been terrifying!
Both Shadow of Destruction and Soul Elegy required the use of alchemy tools or casting materials to unleash their true effects. Yet, even without these materials, Phoenix was still so formidable, which made Alan realize once again how much of a gap there still was between him and these old immortals who had lived for an unknown number of years. After all, most of Alan's strength was also reflected in his equipment; if he were only given a wand, his performance would probably not have been as good as Phoenix's tonight.
However, as a gain, these magic notes were indeed invaluable to him. The magic of Soul Elegy was, to be fair, somewhat against heavenly principles, and its use also required mental contact with those souls. He would not learn such a self-destructive magic. But from the incantations alone, he could extract ample knowledge and information, which also gave Alan a chance to glimpse into the extremely profound magic category of the soul.
And items and magic like Lightless Dust and Shadow of Destruction were even better, as they could be picked up and used immediately. Especially the Lightless Dust; he had actually thought about creating a smoke bomb-like item very early on when he was making tactical equipment, but as someone who frequently engaged in practical combat, he knew that ordinary smoke had little effect in wizard battles. If one wanted to obscure vision, the Dispersing Mist spell was usually sufficient, but in actual combat, the Dispersing Mist spell was not as effective as imagined, because an ordinary Hurricane Curse could easily blow it away. At the same time, wizards who were slightly stronger could use their magic perception to detect opponents, and for ordinary wizards with poorer magic perception, dealing with them was even less troublesome. But with Lightless Dust, Alan could now create true tactical smoke bombs. The thought of new equipment being available for sale immediately brightened his mood.
After calming himself slightly, Alan re-examined Phoenix's information. In Phoenix's research notes, he discovered that her research in the fields of the soul and death was extremely deep, almost reaching a grandmaster level. And these things, when translated into strength, manifested as various bizarre spells, along with vast numbers of Inferi and undead armies.
Alan also learned that those Inferi and Netherworld Guardians, which seemed to be infinitely summonable, actually had limits. These undead creatures were all created by Phoenix using bodies she had continuously collected over the past hundred years, with the sources of these bodies being enemies she killed, grave robbing, and wars. During wartime, she had collected a truly massive number of bodies. It should be known that Phoenix was a person who had personally experienced World War I and World War II, and Germany was a major belligerent in both wars. Phoenix clearly recorded in her notes how easy it was for her to acquire bodies for experiments back then; she only needed to find a concentration camp established by Germany, and she could pick freely from a mountain of corpses, even choosing the body's build, specifications, and size. Alan also found that Phoenix often complained in her notes that German soldiers always starved the prisoners in concentration camps until they were emaciated, making her chosen materials very fragile.
These collected bodies, after being processed by Phoenix, transformed into the Inferi and Netherworld Guardians Alan had seen. Phoenix also specifically built a sizable corpse-raising ground to store these bodies. When needed, they only had to be summoned to be immediately converted into combat power, and whether it was the summoning ritual Phoenix used by sacrificing herself, or those Inferi Summoning Bags, they were merely portals that could connect to the corpse-raising ground. However, the corpse-raising ground storing the Netherworld Guardians was very far from here. Even with a one-way portal, summoning them still required the aid of casting materials, and only in the absence of casting materials was the method of self-sacrifice necessary.
The main reason Phoenix was so passionate about studying souls and death was that she wanted to find a way to achieve true eternal life. Unlike the other naive leaders in the club, Phoenix never believed that merely relying on the Elixir of Life could achieve true immortality. Firstly, she considered it very foolish to entrust her life to others, and she also felt that the Elixir of Life probably had its own limits and could not be absolutely trusted.
In Phoenix's notes, such words were recorded:
'Foster father said he would grant us true eternal life, but if eternal life means turning into his ghostly appearance, then it proves that the so-called Elixir of Life is nothing special.'
'We still took the potion given by father, half-willingly and half-forced. The volatile Gerald almost fell out with father over it, but in the end, we couldn't refuse.'
'The effect of the Elixir of Life was even more astonishing than imagined. I felt like I had returned to twenty years old, both in appearance and physical function. This feeling was truly intoxicating, but I still had to constantly remind myself that the Elixir of Life could never be trusted. If I didn't want to end up like father, I still had to find another way out.'
'Why is it that all the so-called methods of eternal life throughout history turn people into neither human nor ghost, and why are their flaws so great? A method like a Horcrux, which entrusts the soul to an external object, is simply idiotic!'
'Did the inventor of the Horcrux not know that all objects gradually decay with the passage of time? Even sacred artifacts can only last for a few thousand years. What I want is true eternal life. It's hard to imagine an idiot splitting their soul for a few hundred or even a thousand years of life.'
'Is the only way to achieve eternal life without side effects through the Philosopher's Stone? But the only known Philosopher's Stone in the world is in Nicolas Flamel's hands. He is a legendary wizard who has lived even longer than father. How can I obtain it?'
'It is said that father exchanged some flamel alloy from Nicolas Flamel back then. I wonder if he and Nicholas are still in contact now.'
'Nicolas Flamel might be in France, father is very certain! I must go to France too!'
'It's been twenty years, why can't I find him? Is this path truly a dead end?'
'Philosopher's Stone! Even if you just let me see you for a moment, I feel like after so many years of research, I seem to have run into a dead end. Does eternal life not mean abandoning death and letting the soul live forever? Or is there another explanation?'
'Oh my God! Recently, I've actually had the thought of creating a Horcrux for myself. I feel that the side effects of the Elixir of Life are slowly beginning to show. It's gradually making me stupid. Splitting the soul will only make oneself incomplete and more fragile. Perhaps only the product of inbreeding would pursue such a brain-dead Horcrux!'