681: Has the immortal ruler of the past been resurrected once again?
Locke Augustine did not indulge Witch Camilla; he sent her a message directly, warning her: "Watch your tone. This is not the attitude you should have when speaking to a collaborator."
On the panel of the water gourd system, Witch Camilla did not reply immediately.
However, after a while, Witch Camilla sent a message: "I am very sorry. I lost my composure just now."
"Locke, for the sake of our first pleasant transaction, please tell me, do you really have any way to obtain a dragon viewing peach?"
Locke glanced at the message he had just sent to Witch Catherine, requesting to trade for a dragon viewing peach.
Witch Catherine refused immediately: "The dragon viewing peach is an asset of Golden Crown Mountain. I have signed a special contract with Golden Crown Mountain. My dragon viewing peach orchard is maintained and upgraded with resources provided by Golden Crown Mountain, and the output of the dragon viewing peach orchard is strictly controlled by Golden Crown Mountain."
"It is impossible to give a dragon viewing peach to a One-Ring Wizard. However, you have no use for a dragon viewing peach anyway."
Witch Catherine sent another message: "Additionally, regarding the Great Magic, I have two things to tell you."
"First, the owner of the Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard, one of the twelve peach orchards of Golden Crown Mountain, a Moon Ring Wizard, has been killed by a Third Ring Wizard from the Twin Demon Realm. The Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard has automatically flown back to Golden Crown Mountain. This peach orchard is equivalent to half a Great Magic; using it to build your own Great Magic can save you a vast amount of resources."
"Currently, the Senate, the Academic Committee, and the Deacon Inspection Group are all vying for the ownership of this peach orchard. Do you want it? If you need it, I can spend some resources to secure it for you. Of course, I will need to expend some resources, but you don't need to worry about those things."
"Second, the Grand Magic Modeling Competition is imminent. At the request of Dean Gaia, I have invited the Golden Crown Mountain participant from the previous Silent Grail Competition for you. Come visit me in a week."
"The participant from the competition ten years ago was a wizard from Lu Xu Bridge, and that person is now a Moon Ring Wizard."
Locke was stunned for a moment. The person who represented Golden Crown Mountain in the competition ten years ago turned out to be a wizard from Lu Xu Bridge, and this time, the other party was actually willing to help Golden Crown Mountain by coming to guide him.
Right, Witch Catherine had mentioned before that the relationship between Lu Xu Bridge and Golden Crown Mountain was special. The world only thought the two were in constant conflict, rarely noticing that Lu Xu Bridge and Golden Crown Mountain had always been in a state of fighting without breaking, maintaining a close relationship throughout.
In the eyes of the White Wizard Association, these two Wizard Academies were still effectively one single Wizard Academy.
Locke thought for a moment and sent a message to Witch Catherine: "Teacher, if I take the Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard, will I still be able to leave Golden Crown Mountain? Also, what impact will this peach orchard have on my Great Magic?"
Witch Catherine sent a message: "No. The Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard is a high-quality fixed asset of Golden Crown Mountain, passed down for a thousand years; it is impossible to allow a wizard to take it away."
"Dragon Saliva Peaches can grant a wizard special vitality and have various marvelous uses. Simply put, they can repair a wizard's physical body and spirituality, even if both have suffered severe pollution. The characteristics of the Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard will greatly influence your Great Magic."
After careful consideration, Locke refused. "Teacher, I am very sorry. I believe I do not need the Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard."
To become a Second Ring Wizard, one only needs to build one Great Magic.
And the framework for his first Great Magic had already been completed: the moon of evolution. As long as he combined it with the Spell Model of the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow, he would possess the Spell Model framework for an attack magic.
At this point, if he were to add the Dragon Saliva Peach Orchard, it would undoubtedly force him to adjust his Spell Model framework to make way for this so-called millennial heritage.
Furthermore, once he took this thing, he feared he would never be able to leave Golden Crown Mountain in this lifetime.
Therefore, it was best for him to refuse.
Witch Catherine did not seem very surprised by this. "I understand."
Locke then sent a message to Witch Camilla: "The dragon viewing peach is an important asset of Golden Crown Mountain; I cannot help you obtain it."
Witch Camilla replied: "How disappointing. Then our transaction is canceled."
Locke hesitated for a moment. "Camilla, bring your sister over. I might have another way to help her solve the problem."
"Of course, I only said it is possible. Just bring her to the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion."
Locke blinked his right eye and, through his vision, saw that special Stone Spirit of his within the demiplane.
He still had a large amount of blank spirituality available. If he took out a portion and, through the Full Moon Growth Spell Model, fused this spirituality with the spirituality of Witch Camilla's sister, he might be able to restore the part of her human spirituality that had been stolen.
...
On the first floor underground of the castle in the Longevity Peach Orchard at Golden Crown Mountain, a plane gate had appeared in a deserted secret room.
The next moment, Douglas walked out of this plane gate. His face was gloomy, his wizard robe was tattered, and there was a wound on his left arm that was oozing black pus, with some foul-smelling substance flowing out.
The magic pressure in Douglas's body was incredibly chaotic. "Damn it, how could there be a Void Great Snake in there?"
"Teacher, I almost died in that Plane."
The Lagemen Witch King's voice appeared in his ear: "Void creatures can survive in the void. That was just a young snake, with only ordinary Second Ring level magic pressure. It must have been blown into the Plane I use to hide treasures along with the void currents."
"The young snake is in a state of hibernation and only attacked you unconsciously just now. If it weren't for that, you would already be dead in there."
Douglas was somewhat terrified. "Then what should I do?"
The Lagemen Witch King whispered: "That young snake is lying on top of my treasure vault; if you don't get rid of it, you cannot obtain the treasure vault."
"If you want to quickly reach the First Ring Crystallization Stage, you need to obtain the special resources inside the treasure vault. But to deal with that young snake, you must have a Second Ring Wizard help you."
Douglas was overjoyed. "Teacher, by possessing my body, wouldn't you be able to exert the combat power of a Second Ring Wizard!"
The Lagemen Witch King said: "No. That Twin Demon Realm might be related to the Black Sun Tower, and now the Twin Demon Realm is in the low-Earth orbit of the Wizard World. I cannot risk helping you during this critical period."
"Golden Crown Mountain has so many High-Ring Wizards; just find any one of them."
Douglas frowned in conflict. "Golden Crown Mountain has many High-Ring Wizards, but if I look for someone else, I will have to share the treasure with them. Moreover, I am only a One-Ring Wizard; if I cooperate with a Second Ring Wizard, it would be like negotiating with a tiger for its skin. It's questionable whether I would even get a share of the treasure."
"Unless... unless I invest in advance and befriend a Second Ring Wizard while they are still in their One-Ring stage. Build a relationship in advance."
The Witch King's voice appeared in his ear: "This is also a way. Weigh it yourself. In any case, the incantation to enter this secret room is already in your mind."
Douglas recalled that the person in Golden Crown Mountain most likely to become a Second Ring Wizard and who also had a close relationship with him was, in an instant, someone who appeared in his mind — Locke Augustine.
Douglas left the secret room and then pretended to be just strolling around the Longevity Peach Orchard. Occasionally, when he bumped into servants and Wizard Apprentices in the castle, he maintained a natural and calm appearance.
There was not a hint of guilt, to prevent anyone from noticing any issues.
Douglas thought to himself: "Do I have anything on hand that can attract Locke Augustine? Not much. However, my teacher once taught me how to create a Kingdom Domain."
"That wizard might be interested in this knowledge."
"Very well, I will first find a way to befriend him. My aptitude is limited; whether I can successfully achieve mental power crystallization requires the special resources in that treasure vault. And to open that treasure vault, I need the help of a Second Ring Wizard."
"So, I have no choice but to pin this hope on Locke. Or wait until the Demonic Realm War is over, but I hear the Demonic Realm War lasts for quite a long time."
...
On the third day, inside the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, Locke saw Witch Camilla and her foolish, simple-minded sister in a quiet room.
Witch Camilla looked at Locke nervously and asked: "Locke, do you really have a way?"
Locke checked her sister's condition. "This is indeed not something an ordinary Potion Master can cure."
"I don't have complete certainty either. I can only say I will try my best to help you."
Witch Camilla hesitated for a moment and said: "I have brought a sufficient quantity of natal witch porcelain this time. As long as you can help me cure her, I will trade this natal witch porcelain to you."
"Each one only costs 200,000 magic stones."
Locke nodded. 200,000 magic stones was quite reasonable; it should even be just the cost price.
Generally, the price of a First Ring crystallization level Magic item is around 100,000 magic stones, and those of better quality are around 100,000 to 200,000 magic stones.
As the most advanced research achievement of Magic Hub City, this 200,000 magic stones was not expensive for natal witch porcelain.
This thing did not belong to Witch Camilla either, so the other party could only choose to trade with him and could not give it to him.
Otherwise, she would not be able to balance the accounts.
Thinking about it, the fact that she was able to carry such a large quantity of natal witch porcelain here meant she had already shouldered a great deal of pressure.
Locke opened his palm, and a spell moon appeared in the center of his right hand, with bright moonlight dancing between his fingers.
Witch Camilla's eyes widened. "The perfection of this spell... is it actually this high?"
Her eyes were somewhat bewildered.
She saw that this spell moon was so perfect in her eyes, so close to the real moon, and the complexity of its Spell Model had reached a level she could not imagine.
It was even difficult to understand.
She looked up and looked at Locke in surprise, unable to believe that Locke had once used this spell to deal with her Cannibal Flower Jungle.
In less than half a year, Locke's improvement was actually this significant.
A hint of admiration appeared in Witch Camilla's eyes; compared to him, she had made almost no progress in these few months.
"Locke, the complexity and level of perfection of this Spell Model of yours made me think it was a Great Magic at first glance."
"My mentor's Great Magic is only at this level."
"It is a pity, it is still missing a world stone."
Witch Camilla sighed, "I will subscribe to this year's Silent Grail Competition."
"But how is it? Can my sister be cured?"
At this moment, Locke extracted the spirituality of the Stone Spirit from the demiplane within his right eye, fused it with moonlight, transformed it into lunar essence, and cast it upon Witch Camilla's sister.
The spirituality within the witch was resisting fusion with the lunar essence, but the level of resistance was not very high.
One minute later, the two successfully fused.
In an instant, her sister suddenly raised her head, as if someone who had been sleeping for a long time had suddenly awakened.
The witch looked up at Witch Camilla in astonishment. "Sister?"
"No, Lady Camilla."
The witch remembered that Witch Camilla had once told her not to call her "sister" within Magic Hub City but to use an honorific, so she quickly corrected herself.
Witch Camilla first showed a trace of astonishment, which then turned into a look of pleasant surprise.
She looked at Locke and said, "Locke, thank you. I didn't expect you to really have a way."
"It is hard to believe that you could actually solve a problem that so many Potion Masters could not."
The witch then looked at Locke, her eyes suddenly filled with confusion, and then she said, "Master?"
"No, why should I call you Master?"
The witch clutched her head, seemingly feeling a terrible headache. "Ah, my head hurts so much."
Witch Camilla immediately turned to look at Locke, her eyes full of anger. "Locke, didn't you promise to treat my sister?"
"What is going on here?"
Locke had been treating a dead horse as if it were alive, fusing the special spirituality with this witch to replace the part of her human spirituality that had been stolen.
But who knew this would happen.
Moreover, judging from the situation just now, human spirituality and special spirituality are inherently incompatible, like water and fire.
If it were not for the fact that this witch had part of her human spirituality stolen and was in a state of turning from human to beast, he likely would not have been able to use Full Moon Growth to fuse the special spirituality with her own.
Locke looked at Witch Camilla and said, "Don't be anxious. Your sister has at least regained her human reason. Do you see that?"
Witch Camilla wore a speechless expression. "She has regained her human reason. But she has also been mentally controlled by you. What kind of method did you use!"
"Don't think you can bully us. You... you... mentally controlling a White Wizard, if I go to the Sacred Master Court, you definitely won't get away with it!"
Witch Camilla instinctively wanted to threaten him, but thinking of Locke's Full Moon Growth from earlier, she realized she was no match for him in any way, so she shifted to saying she would go to the Sacred Master Court instead.
Locke frowned. At this moment, Witch Camilla's sister was clutching her head and sat down on a stool.
'Will fusing with the special spirituality spontaneously lead to allegiance to me?'
'This should be related to the Stone Spirit itself. I still don't know what exactly the Stone Spirit is. According to the information I've consulted, it is neither a native god nor a totem god. I don't know what it is.'
'In any case, this thing has formed an allegiance to me, and things that fuse with its spirituality will also form an allegiance to me. But it seems that there is a conflict between the identity of a "person" and this thing, so I cannot fuse this spirituality with a "person".'
Locke thought of something, suddenly reached out, pressed his hand on Witch Camilla's sister's forehead, and then extracted the special spirituality from her.
In an instant, her sister's eyes became vacant again, and she sat on the chair, dazed.
Locke then found the half-dragon clerk of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion and requested a white mouse used for testing potions. Locke then tried to fuse the special spirituality with the white mouse, but the two could not combine at all.
'Can it only fuse with plants?'
'The witch just now didn't actually fuse with the special spirituality I gave her; it was just attached to her due to the properties of the zero potion. So, it cannot be said that a spiritual fusion occurred.'
'Therefore, the witch fell into a contradiction between obeying me and not obeying me. If it were a complete fusion, she should have turned into someone loyal to me by now.'
'This special spirituality can only fuse with plants.'
Locke realized.
But as long as this mechanism is utilized well, any Magic Plant affected by his moon of evolution can be made to voluntarily pledge allegiance to him.
Seeing her sister return to her original state, Witch Camilla immediately became anxious. "Locke, what are you doing now? I just said a few words to you, why did you let my sister turn back to her original state?"
Locke was speechless.
He stated directly, "It was you who minded earlier, feeling that I had manipulated your sister. But with my current abilities, this is the only way to save your sister."
"At worst, she can just avoid seeing me in the future. As long as she doesn't see me, she naturally won't fall into that contradictory state."
"However, if you mind, then I can't help it."
Witch Camilla fell into doubt. "Can you really not get a dragon viewing peach?"
"Witch Catherine is your teacher. And she dotes on you very much."
Locke coughed. "I am just her collaborating wizard; she treats me the same as everyone else."
Locke looked at her strangely. "I really don't know what you are talking about. Teacher is a Third Ring Throne Wizard; what way could I possibly have to get a dragon viewing peach?"
Witch Camilla sighed and fell into a dilemma.
She looked at her sister, who was in a daze. "Alright then. Even if she is mentally controlled by you, at least she can return to being a normal person first."
"At most, I will just take her away from you. Distance is the best defense against special magic; at worst, I will send her to another Wizard Land."
"With the barrier of the natural chasm, I don't believe your magic can still take effect."
"Besides, we can also use the sealing magic of the Protection School."
Witch Camilla said, "Locke, then control my sister again..."
Locke reminded her, "Watch your words. I am a serious Potion Master; I am just treating your sister. Don't make it sound like I care about mentally controlling an ordinary One-Ring Wizard."
"What is the point of me controlling a wizard of this level?"
Furthermore, the other party would fall into a special state of mental contradiction upon seeing him, basically rendering her incapacitated.
Locke placed a zero potion on her forehead, and the witch's eyes immediately regained consciousness.
She raised her head and looked at Witch Camilla and Locke. "Sister... Master..."
Witch Camilla had just looked excited, but now she pursed her lips and looked at Locke questioningly.
"Didn't you say you didn't care about mentally controlling an ordinary One-Ring Wizard?"
Locke shrugged his shoulders.
The reason he did not care and spent most of the special spirituality on this witch, besides the fact that he really needed a large amount of natal witch porcelain, was that the zero potion was an unobtainable, out-of-print resource for him right now.
But the moment he entered the Silent Grail Competition, he was confident he could immediately become a Second Ring Wizard.
After all, he had used the Second Ring experience card twice before.
As long as he became a Second Ring Wizard, he could use the bronze cauldron and the Reverse Refining Method to concoct the zero potion.
And this step was also a crucial step in constructing his Great Magic.
Therefore, gifting a large amount of special spirituality from within the Stone Spirit to Witch Camilla's sister for the sake of a large amount of natal witch porcelain was not a loss for him.
Witch Camilla exchanged a few words with her sister and was relieved to find that, apart from the strange behavior of intermittently calling Locke "Master" and questioning why she should call Locke "Master" upon seeing him, everything else was normal.
It was just that her memory seemed to be stuck at the time of the Spell Fighting Competition.
The witch asked Witch Camill