683: B-Class Talent Treatment at the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion
Locke raised his palm, and a cluster of Primal Fire appeared within it. After a moment of thought, however, the Primal Fire instantly extinguished.
Simultaneously, he pressed his palm against the wooden puppet. Immediately, the spirituality of the wooden puppet flew out along with the bronze cauldron in Locke's hand, turning into a torrent.
Locke recited an incantation, and the bronze cauldron grew from small to large, landing on the ground. At the same time, a 'human' composed of spirituality appeared within the bronze cauldron.
Locke manipulated a wood-element magic flame to appear beneath the bronze cauldron. The spirituality inside the bronze cauldron began to boil, and within that boiling spirituality was the 'human' formed from it.
"The bronze cauldron King Otto gave me has the function of forcing the spiritual flow of matter and compelling it out. The Reverse Refining Method should originally be a Second Ring level ability, because only Second Ring level magic pressure can utilize it. But right now, I'm only using it as the core for this set of refining methods, so it shouldn't be a big problem."
Locke looked at the wooden puppet in front of him. "The best part is that this person is a lifeless wooden puppet. Copied by the Third Ring Magic item, the Heavenly Light Divine Mirror, I don't have to worry about accidentally killing someone."
At this moment, the 'human' composed of spirituality gradually took shape. Simultaneously, three forces within its body were in conflict: spirituality tainted by Abyss Energy, spirituality tainted by Necromancy energy, and spirituality tainted by transformation energy.
Within the 'human' cauldron, the three spiritualities were intricately entangled, clashing with one another.
Locke said, "No wonder that wizard from the Southern Wizard Capital ultimately died from the conflict between Abyss Energy, Necromancy, and transformation magic. If it were only Necromancy and transformation magic, from a spiritual level, the coexistence of the two would be perfectly fine."
"But the Abyss Energy is too deeply entangled with the transformation magic, likely because the person frequently transformed into some kind of abyssal creature. This Abyss Energy then combined with the Necromancy, causing the two magical forces to mutate, and then..."
Locke saw the spiritual 'human' cauldron inside the bronze cauldron explode like a boiling water balloon.
"The most troublesome thing about Abyss Energy is that it abyssalizes all other forces. Once a force is abyssalized, it loses its tolerance and constantly attacks everything around it."
Locke looked at the collapsing spiritual furnace and pondered, "If it were a pure abyssal lifeform, as an energy lifeform, energy is life. Two mutually aggressive and colliding energies, after reaching a certain steady state of energy flow, would naturally... be reborn again."
"But ordinary lifeforms are different from abyssal creatures; their forms don't have such powerful plasticity. Once the body is broken, they die completely."
"That wizard from the Southern Wizard Capital died from the alienation caused by Abyss Energy. Once any energy is eroded by Abyss Energy, it loses its inclusivity."
Locke thought, "This is also one of the reasons why abyssal creatures are so aggressive."
Locke noticed that by using the Reverse Refining Method to force out a person's spirituality, one could see the internal physical state of the creature from a spiritual level.
In essence, this could serve as a diagnostic method.
The Reverse Refining Method King Otto taught him was indeed miraculous.
'Using the Reverse Refining Method can enhance my ability to diagnose others' physical conditions. Moreover, after confirming the problem from the spiritual level, as a Potion Master, it will be easier for me to formulate a potion recipe that can solve the problem.'
Locke pondered, "Since the problem lies in the Abyss Energy eroding the other two magics, I just need to prevent the Abyss Energy from doing so. If I use the zero potion to add a set of blank spirituality to both the transformation magic and the Necromancy, I can naturally isolate the energy erosion of the Abyss Energy by splitting the blank spirituality."
Locke fell into deep thought.
He discovered that King Otto's zero potion and Reverse Refining Method indeed had infinite uses. As long as he used the zero potion well and combined it with his own moon of evolution, he could use Abyss Energy without any side effects.
'Although I could design a potion recipe to solve his problem if given enough 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.'
"There isn't much for me to learn from it."
"I can completely use Full Moon Growth, combined with the small amount of remaining spirituality from the Stone Spirit, and borrow the [Mounting Characteristic] of the blank spirituality to mount it onto the two magical forces inside this wooden puppet. That will naturally solve the problem."
Although they were both users of Abyss Energy, he had never intended to let the Beholder's energy combine with any of his other magical energies.
Looking at the 'human' spiritual model created by the Reverse Refining Method, the other party seemed to have allowed the abyssal power to invade the most critical part of the transformation magic—the 'Ruler'—in order to strengthen the fusion between transformation magic and Abyss Energy.
This was akin to him letting Abyss Energy fuse with his Forest Sanctuary.
There was a reason the other party died a miserable death. It was simply too aggressive.
Even though he already considered himself bold enough, he hadn't expected someone would actually do something as suicidal as this.
Locke blinked his right eye, and a thin stream of Stone Spirit spirituality surged out. Guided by Locke's Reverse Refining Method, it entered the reassembled human spiritual furnace. Within the furnace, under the influence of the magic flame, it gradually moved toward the transformation magic energy and the Necromancy energy.
Locke's expression remained unchanged as he adjusted the elemental attributes of the magic flame, changing them eleven times in a row while also controlling the intensity of the fire. Then, he placed a White Birch leaf into the bronze furnace.
Immediately, the bronze furnace did not refine the leaf itself, but instead extracted its spirituality and mixed it into the 'human' spiritual furnace.
Under the radiance of Full Moon Growth, moon patterns actually appeared on the surface of the White Birch leaf, serrated patterns appeared on its edges, and the entire leaf turned into a silver-blue gradient.
Once this spirituality fell into the 'human' spiritual furnace, it acted as a mediator, stabilizing the combination of the special spirituality and the two magical energies.
Abyss Energy, Necromancy, and transformation energy—the three were harmonized yet clearly distinct.
Locke waved his hand, and the 'human' spiritual furnace automatically flew back into the wooden puppet. Subsequently, a specific energy pulse appeared on the wooden puppet's body.
What had just occurred within the 'human' spiritual furnace was essentially a potion refining process using various spiritualities as raw materials.
Therefore, everything that happened inside the 'human' spiritual furnace, including the states of those spiritualities and their flow patterns, was the result of a potion refinement.
It was also the second type of potion created by the Reverse Refining Method.
In a strict sense, this was also a type of potion.
Although there was a hint of Locke taking shortcuts—after all, Locke's special spirituality cannot be used on a normal person's soul—the wooden puppet, while simulating a human's physical state, did not possess a true soul.
Because of this, it could take effect.
At this moment, after the wooden puppet 'consumed' the spiritual potion Locke had specially formulated for it, three different colored lines appeared on its body.
Abyss Energy was a dark purple line, transformation energy was a white line, and Necromancy energy was a black line.
The three lines appeared on its surface. Originally, they had been entangled incessantly, but now they were clearly distinct and did not interfere with each other at all.
Locke raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect to succeed on my first try with the Reverse Refining Method."
Locke felt a wave of dizziness; his magic pressure was almost depleted.
The Reverse Refining Method was particularly taxing on a Potion Master's magic pressure. If not for the assistance of the second-ring magic item, he wouldn't have been able to successfully use it at all.
"With the Stone Spirit's special spirituality as the core material, his two magical energies as secondary materials, the spirituality of the White Birch leaf as auxiliary material, and my Full Moon Growth magic energy as peripheral material."
"Right on the human simulated by the Heavenly Light Divine Mirror, I completed my first potion refined using the Reverse Refining Method as a Potion Master."
Locke thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Spiritual Potion No. 1."
After all, spiritual potions produced using this line of thought were essentially custom-tailored for each individual's soul and spirituality.
Therefore, he was too lazy to give it a proper name. Since it lacked universal applicability, using a numerical designation was sufficient.
The wooden puppet waited in place for a while before turning to walk toward the Heavenly Light Divine Mirror. It stepped inside, and as it did, it soon transformed into a reflection within the oval magic mirror.
The reflection was illuminated by various magical glows, seemingly undergoing an inspection. Soon, the reflection completely vanished.
Seeing this, Locke guessed that the magic mirror indeed considered him to have passed the fourth round of the ladder.
'The Reverse Refining Method is essentially a completely new system of potion refining.' Locke lowered his head in thought. 'No wonder King Otto, with the help of the Archaeology Wizard Founding Ancestor and the Princess, crossed seventy thousand years to teach me this refining method.'
'This is definitely more than just a single zero potion.'
'Based on this, a whole new system of Potionology can be developed. But as an ancient, King Otto naturally couldn't publish it, whereas I, as the person who unearthed it...' Locke's expression turned strange. 'Well, I... I can publish it.'
"This is great. Just by doing some archaeology, I've managed to dig up a great invention that an ancient from seventy thousand years ago hid in his private notebook. I don't have to strain my brain at all, nor do I have to worry about someone coming out to fight me for the authorship. I can just publish a series of high-quality papers."
Locke nodded. "Archaeology truly makes one rich; the wealth of the ancients is unimaginable."
"If I get the chance in the future, I must do more archaeology."
The Reverse Refining Method seemed capable of custom-tailoring the most suitable potion for a wizard, maximizing its effects, and allowing for a clearer view of a wizard's current physical condition.
It could be said that with the Reverse Refining Method, Locke had finally pulled away from other Potion Masters for the first time.
He could now say that he possessed his own secret inheritance of Potionology.
Similarly, the zero potion had helped him a lot; from the beginning, combining it with the Stone Spirit had perfected the Moon Cultivation Method.
And now, Locke discovered that if he used the spiritual mounting method, he could allow animals and plants to safely use Abyss Energy.
Locke snapped his fingers, and a moon disappeared behind him.
"Currently, my future Great Magic possesses the ability to accelerate plant evolution, along with various other capabilities, including allowing animals to safely use multiple types of energy, including Abyss Energy. Of course, this function cannot be opened to humans; the 'humanity' part of a human soul conflicts with the special spirituality of Stone Spirits."
"The two are like 'yes' and 'no', representing two different concepts; only one state can exist in a person at a time."
Locke thought of Witch Camilla's younger sister.
Now, he was wondering what on earth Witch Camilla's sister had become; anyway, ever since her soul combined with the spirituality of the Stone Spirit, Locke suspected she was no longer a normal human.
This person—not just referring to humans, but a kind of intelligent biological entity similar to humans, possessing relatively lower, higher, or equal intelligence.
And Witch Camilla's sister, after combining with the special spirituality he gave her, gave Locke a bone-chilling sensation born of her eeriness.
If he hadn't needed the Natal Porcelain of Magic Hub City, he wouldn't have wanted to create such a strange existence.
"It doesn't matter; the Great Magic will continue to be forged in the future. I don't need to fully understand the problems I don't grasp right now."
Locke said, "Striving for perfection or trying to get to the bottom of everything would instead reduce my efficiency."
"I'll build this Great Magic first, then explore what 'Stone Spirits' really are."
Locke waited for a while, and then the secret room door opened.
The Green Dragon Half-Dragon Shopkeeper walked in, slightly surprised: "Distinguished guest, you passed the fourth round of the Ladder Test so quickly?"
He looked at the Heavenly Light Divine Mirror in surprise.
He had just gone downstairs to rest for a moment when he received a message from the higher-ups of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion via the Light Transmitter, stating that Locke Augustine had passed the fourth round of the Ladder Test.
The Green Dragon Half-Dragon Shopkeeper sniffed and looked strangely at the cauldrons in the quiet area that hadn't been used at all.
Because at this moment, there wasn't even a trace of the special scent produced by refining potions or extracting potion juices in the entire room.
If that was the case, how did Locke just pass the fourth round of the Ladder?
No recording equipment was installed inside this room.
Therefore, no one knew what happened during the entire refining process, except for the higher-ups at the headquarters of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion connected behind the Heavenly Light Divine Mirror.
But Locke's passing of the fourth round of the Ladder was confirmed by the higher-ups of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, so a hint of joy appeared on the Green Dragon Half-Dragon Shopkeeper's face.
Even a half-dragon, whose personality was generally cold, was very happy at this moment because he was about to be promoted.
"Distinguished guest, congratulations on passing the fourth round of the Ladder Test."
"Furthermore, you have been upgraded to a B-rank member in advance. This is the B-rank member badge of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion. You are currently recognized as a B-rank talent of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion. In addition to enjoying the previous benefits, you can also learn the secret special recipes of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion."
"Besides that, you can come to our Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion to study Potionology. Every month, you can get one hour of study time. That's twelve hours a year. You can request to learn from Potion Masters at the Sun Ring Wizard level or above from us, and you can also freely access the lecture videos of wizards below the Sun Ring Wizard level."
"The Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion once paid a group of Potion Masters to make some lecture videos, and we also regularly hire Second Ring Apothecaries as rookie mentors to train new Potion Masters."
Locke didn't expect that he could get so many benefits after passing the fourth round of the Ladder Test. "What round of the Ladder Test would I normally need to pass to be given B-rank talent status?"
The Green Dragon Half-Dragon Shopkeeper said, "You would need to pass the sixth round of the Ladder Test. And the difficulty of the fifth round is at the level of a Second-Ring Apothecary. Therefore, before you become a Second-Ring Apothecary, you cannot apply to immediately take the fifth round of the Ladder Test."
Locke raised an eyebrow.
The fifth round was at the level of a Second-Ring Apothecary, and he was previously only a C-rank talent.
For the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, ordinary Second Ring Apothecaries were not even B-rank talents, yet he was now enjoying B-rank talent treatment in advance.
Was it because of the Reverse Refining Method just now?
However, Locke didn't care much that his Reverse Refining Method had appeared before others' eyes.
First, this refining method was meant to be used eventually.
Second, the Reverse Refining Method was extremely complex and far from something that could be learned just by watching. Without King Otto's spiritual inheritance, he wouldn't have been able to learn and use the Reverse Refining Method in such a short time.
Even if someone knew King Otto's line of thought and wanted to research it, it would be too late.
As soon as he became a Second Ring Wizard, he could directly write it as an article and publish it.
Third, the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion was too mysterious, but judging just from its style of doing things, it was simply excessively extravagant for a wizard organization in the Yunze Wetland.
He still hadn't understood where the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion's profit point was.
Therefore, he didn't need to take any special confidentiality measures within the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion.
The Green Dragon Half-Dragon Shopkeeper placed a magic key and a magic box in front of Locke. "I have already applied for a reward category lock for you. This is an exclusive magic box containing a batch of magic resources helpful for Great Magic."
"As for what exactly you can get from it, that will depend on you."
Locke nodded, took the magic box from his hand, then put the magic key into the keyhole and turned it gently.
...
In a mysterious place, like within the magma of the earth's core, deep in the magma river, a voice called out to a Third Ring half-dragon wizard standing on the bank of the magma river: "Quinn."
The half-dragon Quinn bowed to the magma river: "Master. You have been appearing more and more frequently lately."
"Hehe..." An ancient voice sounded. "I want more and more excellent Potion Masters. I want more and more... The refining method that boy just used is very peculiar."
The half-dragon Quinn said, "Yes, I saw it too, Master. Just now, while I was inspecting the fourth round and above Ladder Tests of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilions everywhere through the Heavenly Light Divine Mirror, I discovered that he used a brand-new potion refining method."
"That is the No. 1 branch in the Golden Crown Mountain Region of the Yunze Wetland. Master, what are your orders? Do you need me to send someone to invite that Potion Master over?"
Within the magma river, that majestic and ancient voice appeared again. "Below the Third Ring, they are like ants."
"There is no need for him to see me."
The half-dragon Quinn took it as a matter of course and said, "Master, he probably won't be able to keep that special potion refining method. The Yunze Wetland makes a lot of money, but it also spends a lot; the temptations are great, and the methods used are even darker."
"Is it necessary to dispatch one of the Twelve Feathered Serpents to contact him?"
From beneath the magma torrent, the voice appeared again. "Quinn, we do not belong to this era."
"There is no need to contact him for the time being."
The half-dragon Quinn noticed that his master's power had departed, and he immediately whispered, "Is it because that wizard is not the creator of that sp