Chapter 454: Witch King Magic Codex
Half a day later, in the afternoon, inside the potion room of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, Locke only used one set of ingredients to successfully refine the Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion.
The old Black Wizard looked greedily at the purple-black potion bottle in Locke's hand and reached out to grab it. But the next moment, his hand grasped empty air. He suddenly snapped to his senses, looking at Locke as if waking from a deep dream.
The old Black Wizard chuckled, "As expected of the Eye Demon Wizard."
"You only used one set of ingredients and half a day to prepare such an Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion for me. In the future, if any of my friends need a difficult potion prepared, I will recommend them to you."
"Originally, I only came here to give it a try, without holding much hope, after all, you are simply too young. If it weren't for seeing your name on the list of Potion Masters invited by Great Wizard Sura, I would have found it hard to even see you."
Locke understood. So that was how it was; that was how this old Black Wizard had investigated him.
That made sense. As long as he did something related to Potionology, whether good or bad, as long as it spread, it would bring him a specific reputation.
Locke said, "Give me the magic codex, and I will give you the potion."
"We have a contract, and the contract stipulates that you cannot deceive me, nor give me fake goods, or a magic codex with intentionally missing knowledge, and I must let you leave the Six Towers Land."
"Although contracts overseen by the Eye of Truth can still have loopholes, these loopholes are not easy to exploit, and I do not have the time to tangle with you."
The old Black Wizard chuckled, "Of course, we are both serious people, busy people with our own affairs."
The old Black Wizard handed the magic box to Locke while softly chanting a spell. The magic box opened instantly, and Locke immediately handed the Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion in his hand to him.
Locke picked up the magic codex and immediately began to flip through it. Indeed, this was a complete set of First Ring Archaeology magic, and its logic continued the ideas from the previous Tombstone Grimoire.
Although some of the logic didn't align due to potential version differences, Locke only needed to let his mind jump a little and think, and he could figure out the specific content of the missing parts.
For a One-Ring Wizard, this was not a difficult problem.
The point was, this is how the knowledge inheritance of Black Wizards is; it is very hard for him to read it as comfortably as he reads White Wizard materials.
Locke quickly scanned through the Witch King Magic Codex. "So that's it. First Ring stage Archaeology actually studies all these things; no wonder it's called the Witch King Magic Codex."
From the magic codex, Locke could discover that many First Ring Archaeology spells were more complex than apprentice-level spells. For example, the apprentice-level Archaeology magic is [Historical Projection], while the First Ring level Archaeology magic is [Historical Reproduction].
The apprentice-level magic is [Summon Tomb Spirit], while the First Ring level Archaeology magic [Summon Tomb Spirit] is a broad category, with several summoning spells subdivided under it!
For example, Summon Tomb King, Summon Earth-Bound Spirit, Summon Grave Keeper...
This entire set of spells contained the complete spell inheritance and knowledge inheritance of First Ring Archaeology.
Locke was eye-opening, especially the part about ancient creature bloodlines, which was extremely detailed—much more detailed than the apprentice-level ancient creature knowledge.
"Hmm? It mentions quite a bit of ancient creature information here, and it actually mentions that within the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat race, there exist Second Ring Level creatures—namely, the Cat King in every Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat tribe."
Locke's eyes were opened. "Archaeologists, through Archaeology spells and using Historical Reproduction, overcame the complex influence of magic pressure and the loss of information in the negative energy particle field, discovering an important mechanism for the advancement of the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat race."
"The Cat King of the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat is advanced acquiredly; that is, through acquired means, a Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat can become a Second Ring creature."
"However, the specific advancement mechanism is unknown and is currently still under research..."
Locke felt a little regretful, but this was also normal; after all, there are relatively few Archaeologists who, like him, mainly study Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cats.
Locke looked at the Witch King Magic Codex. First Ring stage Archaeology had a world of difference compared to the apprentice level.
If apprentice-level Archaeology was just reading one page of a book, then First Ring level Archaeology was directly reading a whole book.
The amount and level of modo language that needed to be read were completely different.
Furthermore, First Ring level Archaeology spells could overcome more complex environments with changing magic pressure, and could even use Archaeology magic in situations where the negative energy particle field was already damaged, still allowing one to read the damaged negative energy particle field as if reading an intact negative energy particle field.
This involved a concept—comparison.
A damaged negative energy particle field could no longer be repaired, but by continuously comparing different details of the same negative energy particle field, one could find the original negative energy particle field and infer the details of the lost parts.
One could also compare different negative energy particle fields that had similar environments, or related negative energy particle fields, using this method of comparison to increase the accuracy of the inference.
This was equivalent to creating a reference book for oneself.
Whenever a damaged negative energy particle field was discovered, one would consult the reference book, look up a similar negative energy particle field within it, and through comparison, infer the relevant details.
Using this method, one could not only see further into the past but also minimize the impact of strong magic pressure and the passage of time on the negative energy particle field.
Locke instantly realized. "So, First Ring stage Archaeology is a job that relies on experience. Experienced Archaeology professors naturally possess more detailed reference books and higher inference accuracy than new Archaeology professors."
"Or... I can directly purchase the reference book of an old, experienced Archaeology professor, and I can immediately make up for this shortcoming." Locke realized, "So, for First Ring stage Archaeologists, because of the existence of this reference book, historical materials become extremely precious."
"Whoever reads more historical materials is the more excellent Archaeologist. Of course, for this reference book to be useful, it also needs to be compiled conveniently, meaning the Spell Model must be constructed reasonably."
"And Archaeologists have given this reference book a name, which is [Sovereign]. In other words, First Ring level Archaeologists need to create a [Sovereign] that belongs to themselves."
Locke looked up at the old Black Wizard in front of him, only to see that the old Black Wizard, in his joy, did not hesitate at all and drank the potion directly.
Instantly, he clutched his throat and mouth, and blood could be seen flowing from his seven orifices.
"Locke, what happened to him?" Alicia turned her head to look at Locke with worry, fearing that there was a problem with the potion. However, Locke had already signed a contract guaranteed by the Eye of Truth; if he had provided a fake potion, he would also be punished by the Eye of Truth.
The old Black Wizard covered his mouth and nose, emitting painful wails while waving his hand to say, "It's fine, it's fine."
"I just drank the potion directly as a precaution. In the past, I had the experience of getting a treasure and not wanting to use it, holding it in my hands all day, only for it to be snatched away by someone else a few days later, so I drank it immediately."
"This potion... it's the right taste. This is exactly the feeling."
"I have already transplanted the bloodline of the ancient creature Moon-Howling Magic Wolf, and by taking this bottle of Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion, I can become a special, powerful werewolf."
"My life level will be elevated, my lifespan will increase, and I can have more time and higher talent to pursue becoming a Second Ring Wizard."
"Hahahaha..."
Along with the old Black Wizard's laughter, his body suddenly swelled up and he began to go mad, his claws forcefully tearing at his own face, peeling off his skin bit by bit. Then, a silver-cast wolf head emerged from within. The werewolf was still laughing, its teeth opening and closing...