Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 683 The Treatment of B-Rank Talents in the Feathered Serpent Pavilion

Locke raised his palm, and a ball of primordial fire appeared in his hand. However, after a moment's thought, the primordial fire was extinguished instantly.

At the same time, he placed his palm on the wooden puppet, and instantly the puppet's spirit flew out along with the bronze cauldron in Locke's hand, transforming into a torrent.

Locke chanted the incantation, and the bronze cauldron grew from small to large, landing on the ground. At the same time, a 'person' composed of spirits appeared inside the bronze cauldron.

Locke manipulated a wood elemental magical flame to appear beneath the bronze cauldron. The spiritual energy within the cauldron was boiling, and within that boiling spiritual energy was a 'person' composed of spiritual energy.

"The bronze cauldron that King Otto gave me has the power to force the spiritual flow of matter and compel it out. The Reverse Refining Technique should be a second-ring level ability, because only second-ring level magic pressure can be used to utilize it. But at this moment, I am just using it as the core and applying this refining method, so there is not much of a problem."

Locke looked at the wooden puppet in front of him. "The best part is that this person is a lifeless wooden puppet. It was copied by the third-ring magic artifact, the Heavenly Mirror of Light, so I don't have to worry about killing it."

At this moment, the 'human' composed of spirits gradually took shape, while three forces within its body were in conflict: a spirit tainted by abyssal energy, a spirit tainted by necromancy energy, and a spirit tainted by shapeshifting energy.

Within the 'Human' Cauldron, three spiritual entities are intricately intertwined and conflict with each other.

Locke said, "No wonder that wizard from the Southern Witch Capital ultimately died in the conflict between abyssal energy and necromancy and shapeshifting magic. From a spiritual point of view, there is nothing wrong with the coexistence of necromancy and shapeshifting magic if there is only necromancy and shapeshifting magic."

"But the abyssal energy and shapeshifting magic are too deeply intertwined, possibly because the opponent frequently transforms into some kind of abyssal creature. And this abyssal energy combines with necromancy, causing the two magical powers to become distorted, and then..."

Locke saw the spiritual 'human' cauldron inside the bronze cauldron explode like a boiling water balloon.

"The most troublesome thing about abyssal energy is that it will abyss all power, and once a certain power is abyssified, it will lose its inclusiveness and constantly attack everything around it."

Locke looked at the disintegrating spiritual cauldron and pondered, "If it is a pure abyssal life form, as an energy life form, energy is life. Two energies that invade and collide with each other will naturally be reborn after reaching a certain stable state of energy flow."

"But ordinary life forms, unlike abyssal creatures, do not have such strong remodeling ability. Once their bodies are broken, they will die completely."

"That wizard from the Southern Witch Capital died from the mutation of abyssal energy. Once a certain energy is corrupted by abyssal energy, it will lose its inclusiveness."

Locke pondered, "This is one of the reasons why abyssal creatures are so aggressive."

Locke noticed that by using the reverse cultivation method to force out a person's spirituality, one could see the creature's internal physical state from a spiritual perspective.

Essentially, this can be used as a diagnostic method.

The reverse cultivation method taught to me by King Otto was indeed miraculous.

'Using the reverse alchemy method enhances my ability to diagnose others' physical conditions. Furthermore, once the problem is identified on a spiritual level, it becomes easier for me, as a potion master, to concoct potion recipes that can solve the problem.'

Locke pondered, "Since the problem lies in the abyssal energy corrupting the other two types of magic, we just need to prevent the abyssal energy from corrupting the other magic. If we use the Zero Potion, we can add a set of blank spirituality to our transformation magic and necromancy respectively. Naturally, by splitting the blank spirituality, we can isolate the energy corruption of the abyssal energy."

Locke fell into deep thought.

He discovered that King Otto's Zero Elixir and the Reverse Refining Method were indeed incredibly useful. Therefore, as long as he used the Zero Elixir well and combined it with his [Moon of Evolution], he could use Abyss Energy without any side effects.

'Although I could design a potion formula to solve his problem if given the time, I don't have the time or energy,' Locke thought. 'Moreover, based on my observations using the Reverse Refining Method, this person's situation is completely different from mine.'

"It's not very useful for me to learn from."

"I used the full moon's growth, combined with the small amount of residual spirituality from the stone spirit, and borrowed the [attachment] property of the blank spirituality to attach the two magical powers within this wooden puppet's body. This naturally solves the problem."

Although both are users of abyssal energy, he never intended to combine the Eye Demon's energy with any of his other magical energies.

Judging from the spiritual model of the 'human' created by the reverse alchemy, it seems that in order to strengthen the fusion of shapeshifting magic and abyssal energy, the opponent allowed abyssal power to invade the most critical position of shapeshifting magic—the ruler.

This is similar to merging the energy of the abyss with one's own forest sanctuary.

There's a reason the other party will die a horrible death. This is far too radical.

Even though I thought I was bold enough, I never expected that someone would do something like an old man who doesn't want to live much longer.

Locke blinked his right eye, and a thin stream of stone spirit energy surged out. In Locke's reverse refining method, it entered the newly formed human spirit cauldron. Then, within this spirit cauldron, under the influence of magical flames, it gradually moved towards a transformation magic energy and a necromantic magic energy.

Locke adjusted the elemental properties of the magical flames without changing his expression, changing them eleven times in a row, while also controlling the intensity of the fire. Then he placed a white yew tree leaf into the bronze furnace.

Suddenly, the bronze furnace stopped refining the leaf and instead extracted its spiritual essence, mixing it into the furnace containing the human's spiritual essence.

Under the illumination of the full moon, moon patterns appeared on the surface of the white leaf, serrated edges appeared on the leaf, and the entire leaf turned into a gradient of silver and blue.

After this spirituality fell into the spiritual furnace of the 'human,' it served as a harmonizing agent, stabilizing the combination of the special spirituality and the two magical energies.

Abyssal energy, necromancy, and shapeshifting energy are harmonized yet clearly distinct.

Locke waved his hand, and the spiritual furnace of the 'human' automatically flew back onto the wooden puppet. Then, a specific energy pulse appeared on the wooden puppet.

What just happened inside the 'human' spiritual cauldron was merely a magical potion I refined using various spiritual elements as raw materials.

Therefore, everything that happens within the spiritual furnace of a 'human being', including the spiritual states and the way spiritual energy flows, is the result of a potion-making process.

It is also the second type of magical potion created by the reverse alchemy method.

Strictly speaking, this is also a kind of magic potion.

Although there is suspicion that Locke was being opportunistic, after all, Locke's special spirituality cannot be used on the souls of normal people, and while the wooden puppets simulated the human body, they did not have a real soul.

Therefore, this is how it can work.

At this moment, after the wooden puppet took the 'spiritual' potion specially prepared by Locke, three different colored lines appeared on its body.

Abyssal energy is represented by dark purple lines, shapeshifting energy by white lines, and necromancy energy by black lines.

Three lines appeared on its surface. Originally, the three lines were intertwined, but now they were clearly distinct and did not infringe on each other.

Locke raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect to succeed on my first attempt at using the Reverse Refinement Method."

Locke felt a wave of dizziness, and the magical pressure dissipated.

The Reverse Refinement Technique consumes a lot of magic pressure from the alchemist. Without the assistance of a second-level magic artifact, it would be impossible to successfully use the Reverse Refinement Technique.

"Using the unique spirituality of the Stone Spirit as the core material, his two magical energies as secondary materials, the spirituality of the White Leaf Tree leaves as auxiliary materials, and the magical energy of my Full Moon Growth as peripheral materials."

"On the body simulated by the Heavenly Mirror, I completed the first potion I made as a potion master using the reverse refining method."

Locke thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Spiritual Potion No. 1."

After all, the spiritual potions produced according to this line of thinking are essentially designed to suit the soul and spirituality of every individual.

Therefore, I'm too lazy to come up with a name, since it doesn't have any significance in terms of widespread use, so I'll just use a number.

The wooden puppet waited in place for a while, then turned and walked towards the Heavenly Mirror, entering it. As it entered, it quickly transformed into a reflection in the oval-shaped magic mirror.

The reflection, illuminated by different magical lights, seemed to be undergoing an inspection, and soon it completely disappeared.

Upon seeing this, Locke guessed that the magic mirror truly believed he had passed the fourth round of the Heavenly Ladder.

"The Reverse Refining Method is fundamentally a completely new system of potion-making," Locke mused, looking down. "No wonder King Otto traveled seventy thousand years to teach me this method, with the help of the archaeological wizard patriarch and the princess."

'This is definitely more than just a Zero Potion.'

"Based on this, a whole new system of potion-making can be developed. But King Otto, being an ancient figure, naturally cannot publish it, while I, as the one who unearthed it..." Locke's expression was strange. "Well, I... I can publish it."

"This is awesome! While doing some archaeological research, I actually unearthed a great invention that an ancient person from 70,000 years ago had kept hidden in their private notebook. I don't have to use my brain at all, and I don't have to worry about anyone else coming out and competing with me for authorship. Then I can publish a series of high-quality articles."

Locke nodded. "Archaeology can make you rich; the wealth of the ancients is unimaginable."

"I will do more archaeology in the future if I have the chance."

The Reverse Refining Method seems to be able to tailor-make the most suitable potion for a wizard, maximize the potion's effect, and also provide a clearer view of a wizard's current physical condition.

It can be said that with the Reverse Refining Method, Locke was able to differentiate himself from other potion makers for the first time.

He could say that he has his own secret lineage of potions.

Similarly, the Zero Potion also helped him a lot, from the initial combination with the Stone Spirit to perfecting the Moon Cultivation Method.

Now, Locke has discovered that if he uses the method of spiritual attachment, he can enable plants and animals to safely use the energy of the abyss.

Locke snapped his fingers, and a moon disappeared behind him.

"My current ultimate magic has the ability to accelerate the evolution of plants, as well as various other abilities. It also allows animals to safely use various energies, including abyssal energy. Of course, this function cannot be opened to humans, because the 'humanity' in the human soul conflicts with the special spirituality of the stone spirit."

"The two are like 'yes' and 'no,' two different concepts, and only one state can exist in a person at the same time." Locke remembered Camilla the witch's sister.

Now, he's been thinking about Camilla the Witch's sister, wondering what kind of person she really is. Ever since her sister's spiritual union with the Stone Spirit, Locke has suspected that she's not a normal person.

This person does not refer to a human being, but rather to an intelligent organism that is similar to humans, possessing relatively low, higher, or equal intelligence.

Camilla's sister, after combining the special spirituality she received from him, possessed a kind of eeriness that Locke found unsettling.

If it weren't for the fact that he needed the natal porcelain from the Demon Pivot City, he wouldn't have wanted to create such a strange entity.

"It's alright. We'll continue to forge the ultimate magic later. There's no need to fully understand everything I don't understand now."

Locke said, "Pursuing perfection, or getting to the bottom of everything, actually reduces my efficiency."

"Let's build this massive magic first, and then explore what the 'Stone Spirit' really is."

Locke waited a while, and then the door to the secret room opened.

The green dragon half-dragon shopkeeper walked in, slightly surprised, and said, "Honorable guest, you passed the fourth round of the Heavenly Ladder test so quickly?"

He looked at the Heavenly Mirror in surprise.

He had just gone downstairs and was about to rest for a while when he received a message from the higher-ups of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion via the 'Light Transmission Machine', indicating that Locke Augustine had passed the fourth round of the Heavenly Ladder test.

The green dragon half-dragon shopkeeper sniffed and looked curiously at the unused crucibles in the quiet room.

Because at this moment, there was not a trace of the special smell produced by refining magic potions or extracting magic potion juice in the entire room.

If that's the case, then how did Locke get through the fourth round of the Heavenly Ladder?

There were no recording devices installed in the room.

Therefore, apart from the high-ranking members of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion headquarters, which is connected to the Heavenly Mirror, no one knew what happened during the entire refining process.

However, Locke's passage through the fourth round of the Heavenly Ladder was determined by the higher-ups of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, so at this moment, a hint of joy appeared on the face of the Green Dragon Half-Dragon Shopkeeper.

Even the generally aloof half-dragons were overjoyed at the moment because they were about to be promoted.

"Distinguished guest, congratulations on passing the fourth round of the ladder test."

"Furthermore, you have been upgraded to a B-level member ahead of schedule. This is the B-level member badge of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. You are now recognized as a B-level talent of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. In addition to enjoying the previous benefits, you can also learn the Feathered Serpent Pavilion's secret special formulas."

"In addition, you can also come to my Feathered Serpent Pavilion to study potion-making. You can get one hour of study time every month. That's twelve hours a year. You can learn from potion-makers who are at least Sun Ring Wizards, and you can also freely access lecture videos from wizards below Sun Ring Wizards."

"The Feathered Serpent Pavilion once spent money to hire a group of potion masters to make some lecture videos. At the same time, we also regularly hire second-ring potion masters as mentors to train new potion masters."

Locke hadn't expected to receive so many benefits after passing the fourth round of the ladder test. "How many rounds of the ladder test do I need to pass to get the original B-level talent benefits?"

The green dragon half-dragon shopkeeper said, "You need to pass the sixth round of the Heavenly Ladder Test. The difficulty of the fifth round of the Heavenly Ladder Test is equivalent to that of a second-circle potion master. Therefore, you cannot apply to take the fifth round of the Heavenly Ladder Test immediately before you become a second-circle potion master."

Locke raised an eyebrow.

The fifth round is at the level of a second-ring potion master, while I was only a C-level talent before.

For the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, an ordinary second-ring potion master is not even a B-level talent, yet they are now enjoying the treatment of a B-level talent ahead of time.

Is it because of the reverse cultivation method just now?

However, Locke didn't care much that his reverse cultivation method had appeared before others.

First, this refining method was originally intended to be used.

Secondly, the Reverse Refinement Method is extremely complex and cannot be learned simply by watching. Without the spiritual inheritance of King Otto, I would not be able to learn and use the Reverse Refinement Method in a short period of time.

Even if someone knew Otto's thought process and wanted to figure it out, it would be too late.

Once you become a second-circle wizard, you can write it down as an article and publish it.

Third, the Feathered Serpent Pavilion is too mysterious, but judging from its style of doing things, it is simply too extravagant for the wizarding organization of Yunze Wetland.

I still don't understand how Feathered Serpent Pavilion makes a profit.

Therefore, I don't need to take any special security measures inside the Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

The green dragon-man shopkeeper placed a magic key and a magic box in front of Locke. "I have already applied for a reward direction lock for you. This is a special magic box containing a batch of magical resources that can greatly aid in powerful magic."

"As for what exactly you can get, that depends on you."

Locke nodded, took the magic box from his hand, and then inserted the magic key into the lock and turned it gently.

……

In a mysterious place, like the depths of the Earth's core magma, deep within a lava river, a voice rang out, addressing a three-ringed half-dragon wizard standing on the riverbank: "Quinn."

Quinn, the half-dragon, bowed to the lava river and said, "Master, you've been appearing more and more often lately."

"Heh..." An ancient voice rang out. "I want many more excellent potion masters. I want many more... The alchemy method that kid used just now was quite peculiar."

Quinn, the half-dragon, said, "Yes, I saw the master too. Just now, when I was inspecting the fourth and higher Heavenly Ladder tests of the Feathered Serpent Pavilions in various places through the Heavenly Mirror, I discovered that he used a brand new method of potion making."

"That's the No. 1 branch in the Yunze Wetland·Jinmian Mountain area. Master, what are your orders? Do you need me to send someone to invite that potion master over?"

From within the lava river, that majestic and ancient voice resounded once more: "Those below the third ring are like ants."

There is no need for you to see me.

Quinn, the half-dragon, said as if it were a matter of course, "Master, he probably can't keep that special potion-making method. The Cloud Marsh Wetlands are lucrative, expensive, and tempting, and the perpetrators are even more ruthless."

"Should we send a Twelve-Feathered Serpent to make contact with them?"

Beneath the torrent of lava, the voice resounded once more. "Quinn, we are not of this era."

"There's no need to contact him for now."

Quinn, the half-dragon, realized that his master's power had left and whispered, "Is it because that wizard wasn't the creator of that special potion-making method, so whoever developed it would benefit my master?"

"In that case, let's do as the master says."

……

Inside the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, Locke turned the magic key and opened the magic box. Instantly, the magic key and the magic box disappeared at the same time, leaving only a 'door' in place.

Locke frowned as he looked at the 'door' radiating powerful magical light and said, "This is... an energy source with independent magical pressure?"

The green dragon half-dragon shopkeeper said, "This is the Comet Gate. It's a special magical artifact, a second-ring magical artifact, forged using the core of the Comet Plane. If placed within a major spell, it can become an independent source of power, reducing the difficulty of energy circulation for major spells."

"However, it's also excellent if you only use it as a functional magical artifact. Here's the instruction manual; according to the rules, this magical artifact belongs to you."

Locke blinked, thinking it was too exaggerated.

I have benefited greatly from the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. Upon careful consideration, I estimate that the information I have gained there is worth close to two million magic stones.

And now, even more outrageous, the other party actually gave him a second-level magic weapon.

Locke had no reason to refuse, but after placing the Comet Gate into his astral ring, he said, "I really don't know what the Feathered Serpent Pavilion is up to."

Locke was about to leave the Feathered Serpent Pavilion when he saw several wizards from the Storm Tower hurriedly entering the pavilion.

Wizard Smith was escorted inside; his face was extremely pale, and he looked dejected.

When Wizard Smith saw Locke, he paused for a moment, then turned to leave the Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

Locke looked at Wizard Smith strangely and asked in surprise, "Smith, you're still on our Golden Crown Mountain?"

As a participant in the Storm Tower's Great Magic Modeling Contest, Wizard Smith should logically have already returned to Storm Tower and begun preparing for the competition. Why is he still at Golden Crown Mountain and even inside the Feathered Serpent Pavilion?

Most importantly, he seems to be in very poor condition.

(End of this chapter)