986: Advancement Resources for Star Ring Wizards
Locke deliberated for a moment and asked, "Teacher, may I ask if there is some hidden knowledge involved in this?"
Witch Yekaterina said, "There is some, but it's trivial; it's related to certain interests of mine. However, if I tell you, you won't be able to help me complete a certain task. And that task is very important to me. I can't even tell you the details because once I do, with your intelligence, you'll quickly figure out my entire plan."
"And once you figure it out, someone else will surely be able to know as well."
Locke looked at Witch Yekaterina with surprise.
Witch Yekaterina said, "A tiny minority of Third-Ring Wizards, those from the School of Prophecy—as long as a thought crosses your mind, it means they might be able to prophesy it. Therefore, as long as I discuss this plan with you, there's a possibility it will be fully prophesied. Thus, I cannot tell you."
"Secondly, if you knew, you would not have the capability to execute this plan."
"Of course, you can refuse. But to be honest, if it wasn't you, only Zeno would be suitable."
Locke fell into deep thought.
He was hesitating over whether to agree.
Clearly, Witch Yekaterina wanted him to stay at Golden Crown Mountain. This wasn't out of selfishness but a common sentiment; after all, he had received extensive training from the Red Dragon Lineage and had demonstrated his talent. Thus, Witch Yekaterina certainly wanted to do her best to retain him, and many high-ring wizards at Golden Crown Mountain likely shared this thought.
Now, a difficult situation had arisen.
If he refused, it would be even harder to leave later; if he agreed, he didn't know if it would delay his departure from Golden Crown Mountain. Various thoughts flashed through Locke's mind, and he quickly made a decision. If he tried to leave directly now, the probability of success was fifty-fifty, but if he insisted on going, he could probably leave eventually, though it would mean a fallout with his master's lineage and the loss of almost all his properties here. That was not his goal.
If he was to leave, it was best to do so with Witch Yekaterina's blessing and trust. Therefore, he needed to gain more trust from this Throne-level Breeder teacher. Furthermore, he still needed to accumulate the exaggeratedly massive amount of resources required to break through to a Moon Ring Wizard. For now, staying with Witch Yekaterina allowed him to earn a lot of money.
Leaving now was not a wise move.
After weighing the pros and cons, Locke bowed to Witch Yekaterina and said, "Teacher, I understand. Since you don't want me to encounter this knowledge too early, I will follow your lead."
Witch Yekaterina curled her lips. She looked into the mirror, using the reflection of her gaze to command the magic hair stylist to leave the bedroom. Then she said to Locke, "Locke, you won't lose out. According to my plan, this will be of great benefit to your breakthrough to becoming a Moon Ring Wizard. Accepting my proposal only brings you benefits with no downsides."
"Every forging of a Great Magic involves exchanging your own possibilities for actual forging progress. Therefore, as the degree of forging increases and your magic level rises, your possibilities will decrease."
"Thus, while every forging means a definite improvement, this improvement isn't necessarily positive. Have you seen Jikong Yue? He was also a genius in his youth, but he took the wrong path and didn't have a Throne Wizard behind him to bail him out. Consequently, he could only remain a Moon Ring Wizard for his entire life along the Tianjiang Coast."
Locke suddenly realized that not every Second-Ring Wizard had a Throne Wizard as a teacher like he did.
For most Second-Ring Wizards, once they took a wrong turn, there was no one to correct them, making it extremely easy for them to go astray. This was the advantage of entering a top-tier wizard academy.
Because the better the environment, the smoother your progress.
This was especially true for wizards with mediocre talent, as only true geniuses could completely ignore their environment.
Witch Yekaterina seemed to be in high spirits.
"Locke, how are things going with Planknia?"
Locke said, "I assigned her a task to help me plant the iron tree seed from the sub-project you gave me. But to be honest, she keeps thinking it's a new test I'm giving her, while in reality... I'm quite confused myself. Because Teacher, that's just an iron ball. If you hadn't told me it was a tree seed, I would have definitely thought it was just a piece of iron. Teacher, you didn't give me the wrong seed, did you? After all, you gave it to me through Wizard Trajan."
Witch Yekaterina covered her mouth and laughed. "No, iron tree seeds are just like that. If you say it's an iron ball, you're not wrong either. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a sub-project of a major individual item. Alright, I'm leaving this matter entirely to you. Locke, I hope you don't tell me you can't handle it."
Witch Yekaterina's face suddenly turned serious, though she soon smiled again.
"You're at the Tianjiang Coast, right? I have a good assignment for you."
"From now on, you are a consultant for the Golden Crown Mountain Ethics Review Committee. I want you to execute a mission. A Star Ring Wizard from Golden Crown Mountain was discovered conducting undead plant experiments strictly forbidden by the White Wizard Association in his laboratory. All his labs in the Yunze Wetlands have been shut down, but due to the legal isolation between wizard lands in the Wizard World, while he would be arrested and put in a Wizard Prison in the Yunze Wetlands, he is currently considered innocent along the Tianjiang Coast."
"Therefore, I command you to enter that wizard's laboratory on the Tianjiang Coast and bring him out. Then, persuade him properly to return to our Yunze Wetlands." Witch Yekaterina smiled faintly. "However, as he is innocent on the Tianjiang Coast and is still a White Wizard, and since I believe the White Wizard Association there might try to win him over for profit, I hope you can 'legally' persuade him to return to the Yunze Wetlands voluntarily."
Witch Yekaterina emphasized the word 'legally'.
"It just so happens she is a witch. I think with your charm, perhaps she will be swept off her feet."
Locke coughed. "Teacher, please stop joking with me."
Locke was somewhat speechless. He knew every word in 'undead plant,' but when combined, he had the illusion that he didn't recognize the term at all.
Witch Yekaterina said, "You need to be quick. If you're any slower, she will likely obtain membership in the White Wizard Association of the Tianjiang Coast, making it difficult for us to bring her back at will. According to my intelligence, she should receive that status within two or three days. This is the location of her laboratory on the Tianjiang Coast, situated in the Tide Great Wizard Tower region. She set up a lab in the borderlands of a mortal empire called Sodom within that region, where she is conducting a large number of illegal experiments."
"Although she is a wizard of our Golden Crown Mountain, it is precisely for that reason that we must punish her strictly."
"Undead are already illegal, let alone creating plant undead. Research in this direction has caused countless ecological collapse tragedies in the past. Research in this field must receive special authorization from the White Wizard Association and can only be conducted in small amounts for analytical purposes under the supervision of a team of Holy Masters."
"This person's academic reputation is ruined, but it will also drag down the academic reputation of our Golden Crown Mountain. This is no small matter, and since this person is a wizard from our Academic Committee faction, it is even more of a blow to our academic prestige. The reputation of Golden Crown Mountain will be dragged down by her individual actions; you must bring her back. Here is the map."
Locke looked at the map and found that he didn't know how Witch Yekaterina had done it, but she seemed to have completely mapped out the location, personnel configuration, and even several pieces of important equipment in the laboratory.
He wondered how this was accomplished.
His teacher's intelligence-gathering capabilities always seemed to be very strong.
Locke said, "I understand, Teacher."
Witch Yekaterina said, "There should be many ongoing research projects and experimental data in the lab. You can keep a copy of these things when you raid it. Although the research is illegal, the data produced is not. That's why I said this is a good assignment."
Locke's eyes brightened slightly as he nodded.
Witch Yekaterina said, "Before you go, I already sent another wizard to handle it. You should know her—it's Witch Shari."
Locke was stunned for a moment. "Senior Shari is back?"
Witch Yekaterina said, "Yes. It took some effort, but with the help of a dream-weaving expert from the Siming Waters, she was rescued and has become a Second-Ring Wizard."
"Witch Shari is already in the Tide Great Wizard Tower region executing the mission. It was she who sent the distress call to me."
Locke said, "Alright, Teacher. I will head over as soon as possible."
Witch Yekaterina reached out and tapped the air. Immediately, the Golden Crown Mountain badge Locke was wearing began to vibrate, then split into two. One remained the Golden Crown Mountain badge, while the other represented his status as a consultant for the Golden Crown Mountain Ethics Review Committee. This meant he had the authority to investigate that wizard's laboratory.
However, because the target was in the Tianjiang Coast wizard land, he couldn't go there openly.
Locke said, "I happen to be going to the Tide Great Wizard Tower soon to open the first branch of Teacher's Silver-clad Peach Garden. Therefore, I can head over right then." Witch Yekaterina nodded, her attention seemingly drawn by something else. "Good, report the situation to me once you succeed. Also, congratulations, Locke; you've done very well with the Silver-clad Peach Garden. But I hope Anna's Olaye does not enter the Tianjiang Coast wizard land. If you can achieve that, I can even give you half of the wizard shares of the Silver-clad Peach Garden; this Shop Alliance can be considered a joint venture between us. Of course, that depends on your future performance. I am currently very satisfied with your handling of the Silver-clad Peach Garden."
"I have other things to attend to. Locke, bring back that wizard who violated academic ethics; I don't believe you will fail." She closed the image dialogue via the lingzhi magic plant.
Meanwhile, as Locke was on his way back to the Silver-clad Peach Garden, he received another image call invitation from a Sun-Ring Wizard. It was the High Elf Queen Ella, a Sun-Ring Wizard of Arthas and one of the high-ranking members there.
Queen Ella was wearing a green, elaborate wizard robe that looked like a formal dress, along with two emerald earrings. She spoke directly: "Locke, the war suits for our five major wars with Quenjoel are complete. This time we earned a total of eighty million magic stones. We will split it evenly, so you can earn forty million magic stones."
Queen Ella seemed very pleased.
"This transaction was completed through my personal connections. Therefore, according to the special reward authority Arthas granted me, I can split these forty million magic stones directly with you."
Her gaze toward Locke became more fervent, replacing the somewhat aloof indifference she had before.
AI Model: gemini-3.1-flash-lite
Previously, she and Locke were just colleagues, but now Locke had taken on a different meaning in her eyes.
Queen Ella said to Locke, "Locke, I don't know how you did it, but the folks over at Quenjoel have nothing but praise for the Wizard Shoes you made. This is the combat recording footage they gave me."
"Oh, right, the money will be transferred to you shortly through the Elf Family Bank."
Locke received the information. He saw that a special unit of Second-Ring Wizards from Quenjoel had bypassed the first layer of the Abyss, the large number of Tanarri Demon troops in the Wilderness of Ten Thousand Demons, and launched a direct attack on the high-level Baroque Ice Demon troops located behind the demon army, severely damaging that unit and greatly influencing the course of the battle's victory.
And what allowed them to achieve this were the Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple Wizard Shoes on the feet of those Second-Ring Wizards.
It was clear that those Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple Wizard Shoes allowed them to walk on flat ground even in the Wilderness of Ten Thousand Demons, and they moved faster and faster. While walking, they were also absorbing abyssal energy, which caused the Demon army strategist, the Abyssal Werewolf King, to completely misjudge the marching speed of Quenjoel's Second-Ring Wizard unit, ultimately leading to the entire demon army being routed.
In the recorded footage, on the Wilderness of Ten Thousand Demons, the Abyssal Werewolf King erupted with Sun Ring-level Magic Pressure, and the Wisdom Magic Eye on his forehead was continuously releasing magic light, wantonly venting his roar.
He looked up to the sky and let out a roar, "Quenjoel."
Queen Ella said with a smile, "The Abyss war for Quenjoel hasn't ended yet. It seems that because the battle was going too smoothly and they achieved unexpected results, Quenjoel has continued deeper into the Abyss."
Locke looked at Queen Ella curiously.
"Deeper into the Abyss?"
Witch Ella smiled and said, "Yes. But these things have nothing to do with us. The point is that the Wizard Shoes you made gave them the motivation to go deeper into the Abyss. Currently, they have fought from the Wilderness of Ten Thousand Demons to the third layer, the [Thousand Crocodile Swamp]. Guarding that place is the Demon [Great Scissor-Mouthed Crocodile Demon King] born from violence."
"And the Demon God responsible for this Demon Realm War is [Papalier], a Third Ring Throne Wizard who fell into the Abyss from the Yunze Wetlands in the past." "In the past, he was a Throne Wizard of the Smith Family at the Storm Tower in your Yunze Wetlands. Later, because he researched secret knowledge, he violated Wizard Law and was investigated by the Ethics Review Committee. They closed several of his laboratories and suspended his association subsidies, so he simply defected into the Abyss and became an Abyssal Demon God."
"They are fighting right now. Locke, Quenjoel wants to place more orders with you through me. Is that okay?"
Locke nodded. He had directly invested about fifteen million in total to cultivate the Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple, and he had also utilized resources within the White Cardamom Farm.
So, of course, this was fine.
Quenjoel wanted to keep fighting, and he couldn't stop them anyway. Moreover, from the perspective of the Augustus Shop Alliance, this was actually a good thing.
Witch Ella asked, "By the way, my wizard friend in Quenjoel, a Sun Ring-level Breeder, wants to ask you: why are the Wizard Shoes you made so adaptable to the Abyssal environment? This has allowed Quenjoel to be like a fish in water in the Abyss for the first time in a hundred years." "Your Golden Dragon Claw seems to have traces of being hybridized."
Locke knew that the other party clearly wanted to reverse-engineer his breeding technology.
This was not strange.
It was a relatively common practice.
Otherwise, the other party wouldn't have been able to point out that he used the Hybrid Breeding Method.
Witch Ella said, "But isn't the Hybrid Breeding Method unusable on Abyssal Magic Plants?"
Locke smiled. "That is a trade secret, Ms. Ella."
Normal Abyssal Magic Plants and ordinary Magic Plants indeed cannot be hybridized, but he had created the Abyssal Devourer back when he was a First-Ring Wizard. Coupled with the resources of the White Cardamom Farm and his special relationship with the 78th layer of the Abyss, he was able to accomplish it.
Clearly, even a Sun Ring-level Breeder could not perform hybridization without so many coincidental conditions. Witch Ella nodded, a smile in her eyes.
"I understand. It's just that I owe him a favor, so I had to ask. Your answer suits me perfectly. Now I can reply to him."
"There is one more thing. Locke, can you produce more Air Pineapple Wizard Shoes? This way I can stimulate Quenjoel to place more orders."
Witch Ella was so enthusiastic about this matter; after all, obtaining forty million magic stones in a single transaction was a significant fortune for her.
But Locke pondered for a moment and still refused, "I'm sorry, Ms. Ella. Currently, I don't plan to continue putting too much effort into the Air Pineapple Wizard Shoes. The Air Pineapple Wizard Shoes already have two super-single products, which are enough to handle most orders."
"And my current focus is on concluding the special funding and completing the tasks given to me by my teacher."
A faint trace of regret appeared on Queen Ella's face, but she quickly adjusted her emotions. As a High Elf Queen, she knew how to behave to get closer to Locke, this young and talented Breeder.
"Of course. Completing your teacher's task is the most important thing."
"I can continue to get plenty of orders for you from Quenjoel."
"In addition, the High Elf world of Arthas can also provide you with production chains, supply chains, and logistics services."
Witch Ella said, "I look forward to our continued cooperation, Wizard Locke."
"Although the task your teacher gave you is certainly more important, our Augustus Shop Alliance is now a second-tier Wizard Shoes Shop Alliance in the Yunze Wetlands, with an important status. I think there is still plenty of room for development. I hope that after you find time in the future, you can attach importance to continuing to develop this Shop Alliance."
Locke nodded. The two talked for a while longer, and then Locke agreed to have Witch Scarlett send the breedable seeds to the Arthas headquarters within a week before they hung up the call.
Anyway, with his main body at the White Cardamom Farm, his main body had been spending time dealing with the iron tree seeds given by his teacher. Unfortunately, after using various cultivation methods, the iron tree seeds showed no signs of germinating. Since that was the case, he might as well have his main body change its approach and make another batch of breedable seeds for the Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple and the Black Great Hummingbird Air Pineapple.
As for the iron tree, he could let Planknia handle it first.
By the way, the two people in his team at White Cardamom seemed to have been getting more and more excessive with their dating recently.
And his cooperation with Arthas, looking at it now, although still cost-effective, would become less and less cost-effective as time went on.
For example, the current cooperative relationship between him and that High Elf Witch was clearly one where the Elf Queen occupied a higher commercial ecological niche. He still needed to provide products, while she only needed to build relationships with those friends and discuss contracts.
This was only because she was a Sun-Ring Wizard and possessed more academic connections, which was why she could do it.
Therefore, for some time in the future, he would still need to accept this position where his commercial ecological niche was relatively lower than theirs, but as time passed, he would gradually change this trend.
It was just like the past development trajectory of Solas Lightfoot and Melechi Magic Step.
On the magic carriage, Locke told everyone to return to the Silver-clad Peach Garden headquarters first, while he changed direction and headed to the Tide Great Wizard Tower region. Currently, he was located on the banks of the Sky River; in the White Ice Tower region, while the Tide Great Wizard Tower region was just upstream from here.
The magic carriage was driving on the road, and Locke checked the time.
"Teacher, oh teacher. The terrain along the Sky River is narrow and long, making movement very slow, but you only gave me two days. Fortunately, you gave me the specific address. It would definitely be too late to take the magic carriage, so I can only use the Da Ming Li Dragon Sparrow and the Great Spring Wind Dragon Sparrow Incantation to force my way there by flying."
"By the way, I can also contact the Tide Great Wizard Tower through Witch Biki and have them send some people to obstruct that witch from obtaining membership in the White Wizard Association on the Sky River coast."
Before he went to the Rose Building, he didn't have this influence, but after the Tide Great Wizard Tower completed commercial cooperation with him and took the initiative to pay for the construction of a Great Green-Leaf Dragon Sparrow service station there, he might be able to get the Tide Great Wizard Tower to do such things.
Locke walked out of the magic carriage. After saying a word to the coachman, the Da Ming Li Dragon Sparrow appeared behind him. Then, his whole body transformed into a firebird, and he leaped up and soared into the sky.
In the Golden Crown Mountain Region, Locke's Avatar Potion clone collected forty million magic stones from the Dragon Blood Gathering, and then he went straight to the Golden Peach Garden.
This time, Locke did not look for Wizard Bruce of the Golden Peach Garden, because he definitely couldn't handle what he wanted to buy.
Although this trader could be considered his old friend at the Golden Peach Garden.
Locke walked up to the second floor of the Golden Peach Garden, but didn't stop and walked straight toward the Star Ring area on the third floor.
After the werewolf in the magic painting guarding the door to the third floor saw Locke, his fierce and evil expression immediately turned into obedience. He saluted Locke from within the painting, beat his chest with his fist, and knelt on one knee at the same time.
"Hello, respected Star Ring Wizard."
Locke pushed open the door to the third floor, and what met his eyes was an area similar to a grocery store.
It was filled with all kinds of magic items, some of which posed a life threat to him.
However, he couldn't find anyone.
Locke said, "Is anyone there?"
Books from the pile of books rolled down one by one. A treant, only about as tall as a child and with very thin branches, walked out from the pile of books. He was wearing a wizard robe, was clearly a wizard, and looked like a Star Ring Wizard.
"Didn't you see me?"
"Am I not a person?"
The treant seemed a bit angry, "What do you want to buy?"
Locke glanced at it in surprise, because he rarely saw treants who had become wizards, and the other party seemed to be a treant of some very short apple tree variety, with a red trunk.
Locke said, "I want to buy a Star Ring-level one."
His original Second-Ring-level Golden Holy Peach had already been used as a magic medium, entering his abyssal power and dragon power. In other words, he essentially had no handy spring Magic Plant to use the Peach Blossom Spell.
And the Golden Holy Peach was a Magic Plant on the verge of extinction; the cost of buying a second one was simply too high. Therefore, he chose the Red Gold Holy Peach, which could be a perfect substitute for the Golden Holy Peach, and it had Star Ring, ordinary Second-Ring, and Moon Ring versions.
Since that was the case, he could just buy a Star Ring-level Red Gold Holy Peach.
In this way, the Peach Blossom Spell would be his most powerful defensive magic at the moment.
The Treant Wizard said, "Oh, I see. That's simple. An ordinary Star Ring-level Red Gold Holy Peach is five million magic stones each."
"A hundred-year-old Star Ring-level Red Gold Holy Peach is seven million magic stones each."
"A two-hundred-year-old Star Ring-level Red Gold Holy Peach is ten million magic stones each."
Locke asked, "Do you have any five-hundred-year-old or one-thousand-year-old ones?"
The Treant Wizard's eyes suddenly became very dissatisfied.
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
"What are you talking about? Anything over five hundred years is considered strategic material. How could a Magic Plant of that level be sold casually? Even if I had it here, you wouldn't have the qualifications to trade for it."
"That requires a few specific certificate-type qualifications for direct purchase, and the price is exorbitant."
Locke said calmly, "I understand. Then just give me an ordinary Star Ring-level Crimson Gold Holy Peach."
The Treant Wizard said, "An ordinary Star Ring-level Crimson Gold Holy Peach is a Magic Plant that has been mature for ten years."
Locke nodded slightly. In any case, he could use the special resources of the Sky-Filling Bucket Tree at White Cardamom Farm to quickly increase the number of growth rings of a tree-type Magic Plant, thereby increasing its age.
Locke took out five hundred Magic Crystal Cards. Seeing that Locke was so straightforward, requiring no loans or installments, the Treant Wizard's expression softened somewhat.
Locke continued, "Besides that, I want to buy some defensive Magic Plants. Do you have any good suggestions? Additionally, I want to purchase [Molten Heart Spirit Breath]."
The Treant Wizard handed a stack of documents to Locke.
"These are common Star Ring-level defensive Magic Plants. You can take a look for yourself."
"Molten Heart Spirit Breath?"
"Where did you hear about this kind of spirit breath?"
Locke said, "I am a student of Witch Yekaterina. I learned about this spirit breath while reading my teacher's articles. This is a special spirit breath she developed when she was a Sun-Ring Wizard, right? It's also a rare special resource that can directly increase a Star Ring Wizard's Magic Pressure." The Treant Wizard looked at Locke in surprise, moved away from the stack of books, and leaned in closer to look at him.
"I see. One portion of Molten Heart Spirit Breath costs ten million magic stones. Furthermore, each wizard is limited to purchasing only one portion per month."
Locke asked, "Is it a matter of safe dosage?"
The Treant Wizard said, "No. It's because the production volume has never been very high, and this special spirit breath can also be used to make Molten Heart Potions. Molten Heart Potions are one of the essential Potions for entering ice and snow-type worlds, so most of the Molten Heart Spirit Breath is sent to produce those Potions. Therefore, there hasn't been much promotion for Molten Heart Spirit Breath; those who know, know, and those who don't, don't. I never actively recommend it either, but it is indeed a rare resource among publicly available materials suitable for Star Ring Wizards to directly increase their Magic Pressure."
"The fact that you know about it is thanks to your teacher being a Throne adult. In that case, how many portions do you want to buy? Let me tell you upfront, you'll need to wait in line." Locke inquired, "Wait in line?"
The Treant Wizard said, "Of course. This is a hot commodity, and there are plenty of wizards in this world who know their stuff. You definitely won't make it this month. You can try queuing for next month or the month after. However, Golden Peach Garden has a rule: you must purchase a sufficient value of magic stone goods before you are eligible to join the queue."
Locke was speechless. If it weren't for the fact that Molten Heart Spirit Breath was truly one of the few resources publicly tradable that could increase a Star Ring Wizard's Magic Pressure, he would have wanted to turn around and leave.
But actually, this situation was quite normal.
After all, everyone must be eyeing this kind of resource.
If he weren't Witch Yekaterina's student, he might not even know of its existence. There must be many similar resources in Yunze Wetlands; he should think of a way to find relevant information.
Locke asked, "How much worth of goods do I need to buy?"
The Treant Wizard let out an ambiguous chuckle and then held up three fingers made of twigs toward Locke.
Locke said, "Three million?"
The Treant Wizard's eyes immediately became dissatisfied again.
"What are you thinking? It's thirty million magic stones!"
Locke fell silent. The business practices of Golden Peach Garden were too overbearing, requiring a wizard to spend so many magic stones just to be eligible to buy Molten Heart Spirit Breath. But on the other hand, it showed just how many resources Star Ring Wizards truly needed to advance.
Therefore, every advancement resource related to it would be fought over by a large number of wizards.
It seemed that to obtain more resources, he had to think of other ways, and at the same time, he needed to earn more money.
Otherwise, he would soon be penniless.
Just buying advancement resources could potentially exhaust all his money; how would there be any spare cash left for research or savings? Moreover, for a Star Ring Wizard, once they entered a relatively low-magic world, these so-called advancement resources were not just used to enhance their Magic Pressure, but to a greater extent, to restore the Magic Pressure lost in that low-magic world. Thus, advancement resources were a hard currency for all Star Ring Wizards.
Locke tried to negotiate with the Treant Wizard.
"I am my teacher's personal disciple, and Golden Peach Garden is part of my teacher's Shop Alliance. I'm not asking for a price reduction, but could the requirements for this bundled purchase be reduced? Thirty million magic stones is truly too much; it's roughly the price of six Star Ring Magic Plants that have just reached ten years of maturity." "I don't need that many Star Ring Magic Plants."
The Treant Wizard didn't seem to fall for Locke's tactics.
"My dear Wizard, every penny you spend will eventually flow back into your teacher's hands. Since that's the case, you should spend more, not less."
Locke..."
The Treant Wizard continued, "Furthermore, if you don't need that many Star Ring Magic Plants, you can buy Star Ring Magic Plants that are older and have more growth rings. The older a tree-type Star Ring Magic Plant is, the stronger its Magic Pressure and the greater its total Magic Pressure volume. You'll find a use for them eventually." "If that's really not an option, we have many other services here. You can take a look. In short, I will absolutely not budge on the bundled purchase requirement." Locke looked at the other party quite speechlessly.
At this point, the Treant Wizard showed Locke a document—a purchase record of a Star Ring Wizard from Magic Hub City. That person had actually bought about sixty million magic stones' worth of resources here, taking thirty years to finally qualify for the Molten Heart Spirit Breath. In other words, to maintain eligibility for the queue, that person had to buy two million magic stones' worth of goods from Golden Peach Garden every year. The Treant Wizard said, "Do you see? This is the scarcity of advancement resources for Star Ring Wizards. Everyone is waiting in line. I've already reduced your bundle requirement because of your identity; otherwise, you would also need to bundle fifty to sixty million magic stones to get a spot in the queue." The Treant Wizard stood with his hands on his hips.
"Unless you can bring a direct order from the Throne adult, and she intervenes through legal means like the Golden Peach Garden Council to change the rules, I will absolutely not reduce the bundled purchase quota again."
Because the Treant Wizard was so short, he could only stand with his hands on his hips and look up at him.
Locke was speechless for a moment and could only look at the data on defensive Magic Plants in his hand, as well as the other business services of Golden Peach Garden that the Treant Wizard had handed over—things that weren't their main business but were still offered.
Locke discovered that Golden Peach Garden actually provided services related to infrastructure construction in colonized planes.
Locke said, "You can also help wizards build important infrastructure in other worlds? Can you build excavation shafts for spirit breath mines?" The Treant Wizard said, "spirit breath mines are essentially petrified products of Magic Plants or by-products of the imaginary roots of Magic Plants. Although we aren't particularly specialized in it, we can do it. What scale do you need?"
Locke said, "The largest scale within a second-ring spirit breath mine."
The Treant Wizard paused for a moment, and his attitude toward Locke immediately became even better.
"Then you must have discovered a very large spirit breath mine. Of course we can. An excavation shaft of that scale costs about twenty million magic stones. If you need to speed it up, you can invest more magic stones. If you can add five million magic stones, I can apply for expedited service for you. We'll strive to complete the excavation shaft within a year."
Locke handed the data on defensive Magic Plants back to him.
Because looking at it this way, he still needed to save a bit of money.
He had just earned some money from the Abyssal War at Quenjoel Academy, and as it turned out, he was about to spend it all because of Golden Peach Garden's bundled purchase system.
He would have to postpone his plans to add more new Star Ring Magic Plants; for now, he would just add one new Star Ring Magic Plant, the Crimson Gold Holy Peach. For such major consumables, he could only replenish them one by one.
Fortunately, he currently had the Sky-Propping Date and Pagoda Broccoli, and with the addition of the purchased Crimson Gold Holy Peach and the core of the Tree of Prosperity—the Ancient Tree of Life—these four Star Ring-level Magic Plants should be enough.
Moreover, he still had to modify the Moon of Evolution, replacing the lunar Magic Plants on it with Star Ring-level Magic Plants.
Therefore, his idea of buying a defensive Magic Plant could only be realized later.
To quickly obtain funds, the orders generated by the Abyssal War at Quenjoel were one way, and the plan for the Silver-clad Peach Garden along the Tianjiang Coast needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. This way, he could recoup his costs and obtain a large amount of capital through the Silver-clad Peach Garden to buy advancement resources. Of course, the teacher had just given him a house-seizing task; if he could handle it well, he might gain some harvest.
Additionally, if his level in Potions could be raised, he might also be able to obtain some funds through Potions.
Naturally, developing the super Verdant Spirit Breath Mine in the Three Caves World was also necessary.
Locke looked at the Treant Wizard and said, "So, if I spend twenty-five million and request Golden Peach Garden to expedite the construction of an excavation shaft sufficient to develop a super Verdant Spirit Breath Mine, plus the Crimson Gold Holy Peach I bought earlier, do I have the qualification to queue for the Molten Heart Spirit Breath?" The Treant Wizard immediately nodded and said, "Of course. That's for certain."
He said attentively, "Dear Wizard, do you also need to purchase staff to work in the excavation shaft? We have debt slaves available here. You..."
Locke said, "That won't be necessary."
He had the two hundred Red Orc Demons that the Red Orc Demon King had practically given him for half-price.
The Treant Wizard was momentarily disappointed but remained very energetic.
"Then let's go sign the contract. Rest assured, we have a logical process to ensure our team cannot obtain the planar coordinates of your world. Shall I start adding your name to the list and let you begin queuing now?"
Locke nodded.
Regardless, these advancement resources for Star Ring Wizards were simply too expensive.