Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 229 Return to the Holy Tower

Three more days passed, and Luo Lin felt that he had recovered about 70-80% of his condition, which did not affect long-distance transmission or general activities.

Researcher Duden also sent detailed itinerary arrangements and handover documents from Santa Cruz headquarters.

On the evening before departure, Rowling went alone to a lookout tower on the outskirts of the base.

From here, one can see the eternally dark red sky of the Scorching Hell, the undulating plains of ash, and the faint afterglow of energy still visible in the direction of the Throat of the Dead in the distance.

My shoulders slumped slightly as a familiar weight settled on me.

Its feathers bore the dark red hue characteristic of the scorching hell, and its six eyes gleamed eerily in the dim light—it was his magical pet, the mutated six-eyed raven Baha.

Before Rolin carried out the key mission, this little guy was sent on a separate reconnaissance mission to monitor several suspicious energy nodes in the Ash Plains.

After Rowling returned to the base, it followed the contractual contact to find its way back. It seemed a little tired, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Gah." Baha gently combed the hair by Rolin's ear with its beak, letting out a low, hoarse cry, its six eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

"We need to go back to the Holy Tower," Roland said softly. "Perhaps we can find some answers over there."

Baha tilted his head, seemingly trying to understand.

As a mutated magical pet, it possesses considerable intelligence and can roughly understand Rolin's meaning.

Rolin took out a small piece of dark red crystal containing pure fire elemental energy, which he had exchanged at the base, from his dimensional bag and handed it to Baha.

Baha happily caught it and swallowed it in a few bites, the luster of its feathers seeming to brighten slightly.

"Next, we may be heading to an even more complicated place." Roland stroked Baha's smooth feathers.

"Stay close to me."

Baha nuzzled his cheek to show he understood.

The next morning, Luo Lin packed his simple luggage.

Aside from essential personal belongings and research materials, the most important item was the pot of silver flower seedlings.

He carefully placed the small ceramic pot into a specially made portable constant-temperature box with an internal stabilizing magic array.

Ella and Liana came to see them off.

Ella handed a bag of dried meat she had baked herself, mixed with long-lasting magical plant seeds, to Rolin: "Eat this on the road. The food from the Santa headquarters might not suit your taste."

Liana then gave her a small bottle of calming essential oil that she had refined herself, which was much more effective than commercially available products: "Research is mentally taxing, this will help."

Luo Lin thanked him and accepted the gift.

Without further farewells, Rowling, carrying the constant-temperature box and with Baha perched on his shoulder, walked into the dedicated teleportation room leading to the headquarters of the Holy Tower.

A flash of light, and the familiar aura of scorching hell was replaced by the air of the Holy Tower headquarters, a mixture of knowledge, energy, and a faint dust.

Stepping out of the teleportation room, Researcher Duden was already waiting outside.

His eyes lit up when he saw Rowling, especially when he saw the Baha on his shoulder and the incubator in his hand.

"We've finally arrived! Let's go straight to the seventh deep laboratory where the Origin Pact project team is located."

"Master Veranika and several other project leaders are already waiting," Duden said quickly, his voice tinged with the eagerness of a researcher.

Following Duden, Rowling navigated through the intricate internal passages of the Santa headquarters, taking a dedicated elevator platform downwards.

The surrounding decorations gradually changed from ornate to simple, until only smooth, cold metal walls and complex energy circuits remained.

The air became unusually quiet, and the energy field was stable yet oppressive.

This is clearly one of the most core and highest-secret research areas in Santa.

The seventh deep laboratory occupies an entire floor.

The interior space is extremely large and is divided into several functional areas.

At the center was a massive analysis platform surrounded by multiple layers of protective arrays. Floating on the platform were the physical entities of the Civilization Stele, as well as scanned images of some items that Rolin had brought back from the Scorching Hell, including the cracked, grayish-white oval object.

Around the platform, various sophisticated instruments, energy generators, and recording crystal arrays are scattered.

A dozen or so wizards dressed in dark research robes, exuding a solemn aura, were busy at work. Among them were elderly men with gray hair and wise eyes.

The real body of Master Veranika was also present.

She stood beside the platform, whispering something with two elderly wizards who appeared to be of high status.

Seeing Luo Lin come in, she nodded, gesturing for him to come over.

"Rolin, this is Aldrich, a master of the Contract School," Master Veranika introduced an old man with a serious face and sharp, eagle-like eyes.

"This is Ms. Serena, the director of the Institute of Life and Spirituality." The other was a middle-aged woman with a gentle demeanor, but whose eyes seemed to contain endless vitality.

Both masters nodded to Rowling, their gazes lingering for a moment, especially on Bach and the constant temperature chamber.

"Duden should have given you a general overview of the situation," Master Veranica said, getting straight to the point.

"Project Root of Origin aims to analyze the potential connections between the key fragments you brought back, the data on the Moon Silver Flower mutation, and the records related to the Civilization Stele, and to assess the potential risks and opportunities they may bring."

"You are a key party and the carrier of the items; your perceptions and experiences are crucial to the research."

Master Aldrich's voice was deep and had a unique rhythm: "That ancient contract, though incomplete, had extremely high-level rules, involving the binding of the soul's essence with the rules."

"The changes in spiritual qualities exhibited by the Moon Silver Flower seedlings are likely due to contact with or resistance to the residual power of the contract, resulting in rule infection or spiritual awakening."

"We need you to describe in detail the specific sensations and energy changes of the Moon Silver Flower's mental struggle against the crack during the Throat of the Dead."

Ms. Serena said gently, "The line between the natural evolution of life's spirituality and the changes guided by external forces is sometimes very blurred."

"The foundation of this Moon Silver Flower is a symbiotic relationship between an ordinary magical plant and a girl with exceptional talent."

"But its current state has transcended the scope of ordinary symbiosis."

"We need to monitor its spiritual growth trajectory, analyze changes in its energy structure, and try to trace the source of any rule imprints it may have acquired."

Luo Lin placed the incubator on the designated analysis table and turned it on.

In a stable magic array environment, the leaves of the silver flower seedlings unfold slightly, their silvery light soft.

He described his final battle at the Throat of the Dead, especially every detail of how the Moon Silver Flower flew out on its own, emitting spiritual fluctuations to fight against the rift's intent, as clearly as possible.

At the same time, he also shared his observations from the previous experiment on the symbiosis between Moonflower and Ellie, as well as his perception of the subtle evolution of Moonflower's energy structure.

The two masters listened very attentively, occasionally asking questions. Their assistants around them took notes rapidly.

Subsequently, a series of sophisticated tests and analyses began.

The seedlings of the moonflower were placed in a special spiritual resonance device to undergo energy scans of various frequencies and regular probe tests.

The remains of the grayish-white egg-shaped object were also taken and compared with the energy fluctuations of the Moon Silver Flower.

The relevant projected segments of the Civilization Stele were retrieved and studied repeatedly.

As a participant and extension of perception, Luo Lin also cooperated in some tests, such as resonating with the Moon Silver Flower using his own star power, or using the power of [Quiet Dust Star] to perceive the possible residual rules inside the Moon Silver Flower.

Research is tedious and lengthy.

Rowling quickly became engrossed in it.

Working with these top masters and being exposed to the most cutting-edge knowledge and technology has greatly benefited him.

His understanding of contractual rules, the spirituality of life, and the nature of energy is rapidly deepening.

Baha stayed quietly on the small perch specially prepared for it in the corner of the laboratory, spending most of its time preening its feathers or dozing off. Occasionally, it would open its eyes, its six pupils darting around as if observing everything around it.

Its existence didn't attract much attention; it was just a magical pet.

The days passed by.

The research has made some progress, but it has also encountered more challenges.