Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

Compared to when Dago first entered, Bernal's private sanctuary is now vastly different.

More than half of the entire secret realm is occupied by the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God. Its dense golden leaves form a huge canopy, while the branches below are a beautiful agate red.

The ever-growing Blood Tree of the Imprisoning God greatly encroaches on Bernal's living and research space. The few experimental tables that originally existed in the secret realm have now been moved to a corner in the northwest.

As soon as Dago entered the space, the Blood Tree of the Imprisoning God emitted waves of joy and delight. Its soft red branches, like tiny baby hands, caressed Dago's cheeks and neck, welcoming him home.

"rustle--"

At this moment, in the lush demonic plant garden beneath the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God, a figure quickly emerged from the swaying vegetation.

He was a strong young man with thick brown hair, handsome and robust, looking only a few years older than Dago. If it weren't for the white shirt with the obvious oil stain that Dago recognized so well, Dago would hardly have recognized him.

The person in front of me is Bernal!

"Your experiment was a success?!"

Dago looked at Bernal, who had almost been "completely transformed," and his eyes flashed with a strange light. He immediately strode forward to meet him.

"We've made some initial progress."

Bernal nodded calmly in response, his hands still covered in damp soil, as if he had just finished his daily work of loosening the soil and weeding the Magic Plant Garden.

His voice also sounded much younger and more magnetic.

Dago instantly released his mental energy and swept it towards Bernal. The latter did not show any unusual expression and stood in place, allowing him to investigate.

After a moment, Dago took a deep breath and said, "Your strength has begun to recover, and even your vitality has become much stronger. It seems that your research has truly been successful."

From the moment the seed of the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God sprouted, Bernal had been conducting his research on the topic of "bloodline purification".

There is very little information or literature about the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God, so how to guide the power of the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God to achieve the ideal evolution of its own bloodline is a major problem.

In the two previous bloodline purifications that Dago underwent, he first purified the bloodline of the Ice Crystal Serpent before transplanting it into his own body.

This method greatly reduces the risk of having an overly mixed bloodline and being unable to control the purification direction.

However, after the Wizards' battle for the title, Dago "lost" the Great Ice Serpent, making the method of purifying and then transplanting it unusable.

It was at this time that Bernal, who had been trying to use the Blood Tree of the Imprisoning God to solve his own soul decay problem, proposed a bold idea: the "Bloodline Deduction" experiment!

Before undergoing formal bloodline purification, repeated route deductions are conducted until the most ideal purification direction is found.

The principle is simple, but it is fraught with difficulties in practice. During the nine months that Dago returned to the Thorn Circle, Bernal had been conducting related experimental research.

Now, he looks more than twenty years younger, and his soul decay disease is almost cured. It is likely that he has undergone a purification of his entire bloodline, which has greatly increased the concentration of gray elf bloodline in his body.

Bernal was a very steady and cautious person. He wouldn't take risks easily without sufficient certainty, so Dago guessed that his research had made a major breakthrough.

The "Bloodline Deduction" experiment was specifically set up for Dago. Bernal's success also meant that Dago's third bloodline purification had a sure hope. This was related to his future chance to win a glimmer of hope from the resurrected Behelit. How could he not be eager and excited?

"The rune knowledge you shared was a great help to me."

Bernal led Dago through the overgrown weeds to a lab bench covered with papers and drafts. Bernal casually wiped the dirt off his hands with a rag and began to explain to Dago:

"I designed a miniature rune array, similar to the talent transplantation method used by the ice magic wizards in Ice Fortress, but it needs to be engraved on the heart. During the flow of blood, it can be repeatedly purified and deduced until the optimal result is deduced."

"Are there any risks?"

Dago picked up the sheets of calculation paper on the lab table and scanned them one by one, then asked in a deep voice.

"certainly."

Bernal nodded. "Each simulation requires a large amount of active essence blood, which will put a great burden on your body."

"I'm physically strong, this is nothing to me."

Dago shook his head, immediately ignoring the impact.

The life force contained within the energy sphere in his body had long reached a level of immense power unimaginable to ordinary people. If actively activated, it could transform into a human-shaped blood-producing machine in no time. Even the most precious essence blood would not have a significant impact on him.

"It may also damage the very essence of one's bloodline."

"The origin of bloodline?"

Dago was puzzled; he had never heard the word before. "What is that?"

"A term I defined myself."

Bernal explained, "Whether the deduction succeeds or not, it will continuously reduce the concentration of the precious bloodline inherent in your bloodline. I have tried many methods, but I have not been able to avoid this situation. It feels more like a loss at the level of life rules, so I named it 'Original Loss'."

"Don't let my current good condition fool you. Just half a month ago, the gray elf bloodline in my body had almost completely disappeared. I was already preparing to activate the backup plan."

"Losses at the rule level."

Dago frowned.

He was able to understand what Bernal meant.

The purification of a living being's bloodline by the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God is essentially the creation of a "seed" of a more powerful bloodline based on an existing one. This "seed" takes root and sprouts within the body, absorbing the "nutrients" of the original bloodline, and eventually completely replaces the original bloodline once it matures. This is the entire process of "bloodline purification and upgrading".

Bernal's "bloodline prediction" technology uses external force to interfere with the process of this "seed" generation.

Unsatisfactory "seeds" are discarded one by one until a satisfactory "seed" is cultivated.

This process of constantly discarding and starting over will inevitably cause some losses. However, Dago did not expect that these losses could not be replenished and were completely irreversible.

"In other words, bloodline deduction will cause the concentration of the Despair Winter Dragon bloodline in my body to continuously decrease."

"If I continue to be unable to deduce the direction for purifying the Despair Winter Dragon bloodline, is it highly likely that I will eventually lose this bloodline completely?"

After Dago figured it out, he asked Bernal, who calmly replied, "Yes."

"How much 'bloodline essence' will be consumed in each simulation? How many simulations can my current Despair Winter Dragon bloodline sustain in total?"

"I don't know, it varies from person to person."

"There's one more thing I must remind you: the stronger the bloodline, the lower the probability of a successful deduction."

"This is the law of natural evolution. It becomes increasingly difficult for any living organism to climb upwards. You should be able to understand this principle."

Dago fell silent.

After a moment, he raised his head and looked calmly into Bernal's eyes.

"I see."

"When can you begin inscribing the magic array for me?"

Dago had thought it through very clearly.

If he cannot make a major and crucial breakthrough in the original bloodline of "Desperate Winter Dragon", then he will never be able to defeat "Beheilite". How can someone who uses the bloodline of others as the source of power defeat the original who possesses this bloodline?

Rather than waiting to die with a 6% concentration of the Despairing Winter Dragon Beheilite bloodline, he might as well take a gamble.

Even if we fail in the end, it's not a big deal.

Today, the Despair Winter Dragon bloodline is no longer an indispensable part of his power system; it's as if he never possessed it at all.

Bernal was not surprised by Dago's decision at all; it seemed he had long expected Dago to make such a decisive choice.

"You're not at the point where you need to head to the central region right now, are you?"

"no."

Dago shook his head. "Something unexpected happened, and I might have to stay for a while longer."

"Then there's no rush."

Bernal said calmly, "Some details of the magic array still need to be improved, and I also need to spend time developing a targeted deduction plan for you."

"How long will it take?"

"About three months."

Dago nodded and said nothing more.

He left the experimental table and slowly walked to the location of the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God in the center of the secret realm. He reached out and gently stroked the smooth and delicate trunk of the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God, which was as delicate as jade.

Bernal's voice came from behind.

"If you have time, think more about how to settle it in the future. This place is almost too small for it."

"I know."

Dago stood under the tree, looking up at the magnificent crown of the Blood Tree of the Imprisoning God, his eyes flickering slightly, as if he were deep in thought.