Inside the Golden Peach Garden, after the Treant Wizard finished signing the contract with Locke, it took out a crimson gold peach tree from a storage cabinet. This was the Crimson Gold Holy Peach. Its entire body, leaves, and bark looked like some kind of crimson metal. Its overall shape resembled a cane, as if it were a branch broken off from a large tree. The top of the branch had a Y-shaped fork, the middle was a section of natural spiral trunk, and the bottom had some roots growing from a straight stem.
At the same time, it possessed the imaginary root unique to Star Ring-level Magic Plants. It was an imaginary root with a main root; having a main root was a characteristic of Star Ring-level imaginary roots. This meant that this imaginary root could penetrate deeper into the Imaginary Sea to fish for higher concentrations of magic energy tides.
Locke inspected the Crimson Gold Holy Peach, and after judging that there were no issues, he handed over five hundred Magic Crystal Cards.
He admired the Crimson Gold Holy Peach in his hand. This Magic Plant resembled a cane. The Crimson Gold Holy Peach cane looked like an ordinary Magic Plant, but it was filled with powerful Magic Pressure. When Locke held it in his hand, he immediately felt a heavy, sinking pressure.
Locke looked at the Treant Wizard in surprise, because in the Treant Wizard's hands, this Crimson Gold Holy Peach looked so light, but the moment it was given to him, it was so heavy.
The moment this Magic Plant with twenty thousand points of Magic Pressure piled onto his hand, it almost made him unable to hold on, forcing him to let go of the Magic Plant. The next moment, he immediately invoked his Botany Root Realm, directly lifting the Magic Plant to share the pressure.
The Treant Wizard nodded imperceptibly upon seeing this scene.
"Wizard Augustine, your level of Botany magic is quite good. The Crimson Gold Holy Peach can absorb the gold of the world and combine it with its own xylem fibers, giving it immense weight. This point is difficult to describe clearly in the documentation. The Crimson Gold Holy Peach requires a special magic metal, [Adamantine], to grow. Its interior contains a variety of rare magic metals, which makes the xylem of this Magic Plant very tough, but at the same time, it is incredibly heavy. If this Crimson Gold Holy Peach can be made to absorb more rare magic metals, it can possess even higher hardness."
"Its alias is the Gold-Devouring Ancient Peach, precisely because its xylem can combine with large amounts of metal and, through complex reactions, compress and condense these metals."
Locke nodded slightly.
No wonder this Magic Plant was so heavy.
Holding the Gold-Devouring Ancient Peach—the Crimson Gold Holy Peach cane—in his hand, he used the connection of the Yunze Wetlands Root Realm to forcefully graft his mana onto this Magic Plant. The Magic Plant was still struggling, seemingly unwilling to complete the Mana Grafting relationship with Locke.
The next moment, he immediately activated his Three-Eyed Tiger-Eye Cat bloodline. Instantly, his physical strength and mana were enhanced. He immediately turned the tables to control the Magic Plant and then completed the Mana Grafting relationship.
The Treant Wizard shook its head slightly upon seeing this.
"You must love trees; you should be gentler. Trees also have feelings; you should be more tender."
At this moment, the Crimson Gold Holy Peach cane sensed the Magic Pressure fed back from Locke and danced its branches and leaves in delight. He was stunned for a moment, then stopped saying anything more.
The Treant Wizard said, "The contract has been signed. I will now place the plane coordinates you gave me into the black hole created by this black hole witch peach."
It used two branch-like fingers to pick up a letter, then tossed the letter into the black hole. The black hole vanished instantly.
The Treant Wizard said, "In this way, we can use these plane coordinates on the void battleship, but no wizard will know these plane coordinates."
"The black hole witch peach's ability to seal all things allows an item to be used without being known by others."
"This is the true sight crystal of that fleet. You can monitor their actions through this crystal ball. Of course, wizards are all selfish. I think it is best if you send your Second-Ring Wizard student or your own clone to specifically supervise this construction wizard team. Otherwise, if no one is watching them, and it's just a crystal ball or some unimportant students supervising, I don't think that will be enough to suppress those wizards."
The Treant Wizard warned Locke, "We at the Golden Peach Garden have done all that we can. If the wizards in that construction team do something in your world, such as looting resources, but do not violate any wizard law, then we will not interfere." Locke said, "Good."
However, this was troublesome because he did not have any Second-Ring Wizard students. It seemed he would have to send one of his clones there.
But the problem was that his current main body and both clones were all busy with their own tasks.
Locke frowned. He thought of Douglas. If it really came down to it, he could have him help supervise. After all, he knew many of Douglas's secrets, and the two had formed a certain cooperative relationship. At worst, he could sign a contract with him and pay him a salary.
He currently couldn't spare any time because of the Silver-clad Peach Garden, White Cardamom Farm, and Potions classes; none of these places could stop. This was probably the benefit of cultivating one's own subordinates and students.
After all, as he became a higher-ring wizard, he would only get busier in the future, and his time would become a kind of precious resource. Every minute needed to be cherished.
When he was at Golden Crown Mountain, he had seen many Sun-Ring Wizards in their laboratories who, in order to save time, not only skipped sleep but also cut out all time for entertainment and eating.
After exchanging a few words with the Treant Wizard, Locke left the Golden Peach Garden and saw the specific location and notification message from the Sea Queen Throne on the lingzhi magic plant regarding his third Potions class.
At the same time, he found Douglas in a seat at the Dragon Blood Auction, which was taking place within the Dragon Blood Market. When Douglas saw Locke, he was stunned for a moment.
"Boss Locke, are you here for the auction too?"
The wizards around him, seeing a Star Ring Great Wizard approaching, stood up from their seats one after another, looking at Douglas with suspicious and uncertain eyes.
Most of the wizards at this auction venue were only First-Ring Wizards, and many were not wizards from Golden Crown Mountain, but rather wizards from the Golden Crown Mountain Region, or passing wizards. Because the Dragon Blood Gathering at Golden Crown Mountain was a nearby commercial center, many wizards often wanted to come here to browse the market to see if they could find resources useful to them.
A developed commercial society meant that many precious magic resources did not require risking one's life in secret realms or desolate places to try one's luck. Locke explained the ins and outs of the situation to Douglas.
"I need you to help me. Aren't you trying to forge Green Dragon Lightning? You need money badly. I can give you 150,000 magic stones every month." Douglas's eyes went wide instantly.
Although this was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the cost required for Green Dragon Lightning—even if he worked for half a lifetime, it would be hard to gather the resources to forge Green Dragon Lightning—the problem was that money had to be earned step by step; it needed to be earned slowly. He needed to slowly improve his own abilities before he could find his own opportunities.
And the price of 150,000 magic stones per month offered by Locke already exceeded the price of hiring a Crystallized Wizard. This was quite a generous salary, and supervising the construction of a large mining project could also allow him to accumulate credentials.
Douglas's eyes brightened slightly. That's right, for Locke, only inter-wizard-level competitions, tier 1 journals, and White Wizard Association-level second-ring funds could count as credentials. Only entering a Key Laboratory or joining a particularly important research group had value as a credential. But for Douglas himself, being able to supervise such a large-scale project was also a kind of credential. In the future, when going to other academies, it could potentially become an advantage on his resume.
Douglas said to Locke, "Sure, Boss, I am of course willing to help you with this favor. We can sign a confidentiality agreement." Locke nodded and took out a wizard contract worth 30,000 magic stones that had been certified by the eye of truth.
"We can sign the contract now. Then you will head to the Three Caves World with the people from the Golden Peach Garden."
"Douglas, the Attila Enchanted Lightning Chain you helped me make previously had good results. I achieved good results along the Sky River." Douglas bowed to Locke and said, "Thank you for your praise, but what I have done is far from enough."
Locke sensed that some wizards present had hostile gazes toward Douglas, while being full of wariness toward himself. He looked at Douglas and asked, "It seems you have had conflicts of interest with many wizards recently."
Douglas nodded and said, "Yes." At this moment, an Orc Princess possessing the ancient phoenix bloodline was brought onto the auction stage. Once this female slave appeared, the auction price was bid up from the initial 100,000 magic stones to 500,000 magic stones.
Douglas said to Locke, "At Golden Crown Mountain, there is a very important social occasion among the First-Ring Wizard tier: societies. These societies can help each other, build common interests, and exchange resources. But I found that there were no societies established by wizards of the School of Evocation at Golden Crown Mountain, so I established a society called the Lightning Society. I recruited some Lightning-specialized wizards from the School of Evocation to join, but this led to conflicts with certain societies."
Locke was stunned for a moment, then realized that this was because his position was too high; he was a Star Ring Great Wizard, so naturally, he had never entered the ecological position of the First-Ring Wizards at Golden Crown Mountain from beginning to end, and naturally would not know about things like societies.
"You run your society, they run their societies; what could be the problem with that?"
Douglas explained, "Societies at Golden Crown Mountain have rankings. The top thirty societies receive some rewards issued by the academy every month. Currently, my Lightning Society has entered the top thirty and has been holding its head high within the academy. We Lightning-specialized wizards have therefore strengthened our status among the societies at Golden Crown Mountain, but many Breeders, Power Masters, and meteorology wizards look down on us, believing that we have occupied their positions. After all, the three major key disciplines of Golden Crown Mountain have nothing to do with the School of Evocation."
"Therefore, we came into conflict. That is what I think." Locke asked, "Then what do you intend to do?"
Douglas whispered, "Societies are all run by First-Ring Wizards. I agreed to a private duel with those wizards. If I lose, I will voluntarily disband the Lightning Society; if I win, then they will have to apologize to all of us."
Locke looked at Douglas in surprise and asked, "Douglas, do you not know that I am a Star Ring Wizard of the Academic Committee? The Academic Committee of Golden Crown Mountain manages the academic affairs department and is responsible for relevant issues."
"These behaviors of yours have seriously violated the rules and regulations of the academic affairs department. You are asking me to turn a blind eye."
Douglas reacted immediately. Locke had a close relationship with the Red Dragon Witch, the leader of the Academic Committee, and yet he had forgotten this point. He had directly spoken in front of Locke about how they were going to violate the academy's rules and regulations, and that they were actually going to use magic to duel in private to compete for the reward interests of the societies.
"Boss, I'm sorry. If that's the case, I will reject their proposal. The academy's rules and regulations are of the utmost importance." Locke raised his hand and held up his palm to him.
"No, I'll just pretend I didn't hear what you just said. Actually, in the Cloud Marsh, and especially among the wizards of the Golden Crown Mountain Region, competition is fierce. All that fighting is just for a pittance of resources. If you want to fight, then go ahead. But there is one thing, Douglas: you are not an ordinary Crystallized Wizard. You possess the inheritance of the War Hammer Lightning, and your combat power is formidable. Do not cause any deaths."
"Otherwise, no one can protect you. Do you understand?"
"You must know where to draw the line."
A phantom image of Witch King Lagermun appeared beside Douglas. "I told you that you don't need to be afraid. When it comes to violence, who is more violent than Locke Augustine? These little matters of yours are nothing in his eyes. Am I right, Locke?"
Locke nodded at Witch King Lagermun.
"Witch King, this time when heading to the Three Caves World, I ask that you please look after the wizards of the construction team from the Golden Peach Garden. I am worried they might ransack the Three Caves World. The exposed planar principles of the Three Caves World hold great temptation for wizards; it is a special world that has already formed its own integrated divine race power."
Witch King Lagermun said, "Very well. You can rest assured. With me there, even a Second-Ring Wizard won't be able to pull any tricks in front of me."
"Besides, you previously told me about the anomalies in the Three Caves World. I am very interested in the Creation Cave of the Three Caves World. Also, I have been wanting to lay low recently, because..."
Douglas lowered his voice to explain to Locke, "We recently discovered that there are many wizards from the Gemini Demon Realm in the Golden Crown Mountain Region. They seem to be accelerating the capture of reviving Ancient Witch Kings. I don't know what their ultimate goal is, but I even killed a wizard from the Gemini Demon Realm a few days ago."
"I've let you down, Boss. Quite a few things have happened to me recently."
Locke nodded. "That's fine. It means you are starting to adapt to life here in our Golden Crown Mountain Region."
"Douglas, keep at it. I hope I will be able to see you in the Second-Ring world soon."
Locke rose and left. As Douglas watched him go, his mind was filled with the echo of Locke's words: "I hope I will be able to see you in the Second-Ring world."
Douglas clenched his fists and whispered, "Teacher, can I catch up to Boss Locke? He looks like such a perfect wizard." Witch King Lagermun glanced at him and said, "Hmm, everyone starts one step at a time."
"You will probably... well, you can try your best."
"It's just that the Golden Crown Mountain Region is ultimately only a midpoint station. After some time passes, you had best leave here and head to my next wizard secret treasure area." Douglas's eyes suddenly became dazed.
So, was he ultimately going to leave the Golden Crown Mountain Region, leaving behind this place that made him feel the Wizard World was so united and beautiful?
He wasn't a fool; he could sense that other wizard academies might not be as harmonious.
And would he have to move far away from here, never able to meet with Wizard Locke Augustine again?
Witch King Lagermun said, "All good things must come to an end. Besides, even Locke won't stay here for a long time. True geniuses cannot stay in one place forever. I understood this principle a long time ago, although in my era, there were always people who wanted to control geniuses through some means."
"In my opinion, such things are not uncommon in your era. It is a paradoxical issue."
Douglas whispered, "Teacher, I understand."
"I will catch up to Boss."
Witch King Lagermun looked at him and began to ponder.
'I should praise Douglas; I think he will work harder. As long as you praise someone enough, even a sow can climb a tree. Although his hope of catching up to Wizard Augustine is slim, it's not good to discourage him. Giving him a reason to work hard is fine.'
'Sigh, to inherit the magic of the Lightning Gate, Douglas's talent seems insufficient. But things have come to this, so I'll just have to see it through to the end. I wonder how far Douglas, this wizard who is so compassionate that he doesn't even seem like a wizard, can go.'
After Locke left, those knife-like gazes landed on him once again, but Douglas and the wizards of the Lightning Society behind him were not afraid in the slightest.
Douglas sat in his seat at the auction and returned the gaze of those wizards from higher-ranked societies with a provocative look.
Next, Locke went to find Witch Mason and the others who were still in the Dune Plane in Group Two. Because he had entered the Key Laboratory, the three-person group he had formed with Witch Mason had effectively dissolved again. However, all three of them had already earned a tier 1 fund project. With his help, they had written a pile of articles and applied for tier 1 project funds, so the three of them were very satisfied with him.
He maintained a certain level of friendship with the three of them.
After Locke finished a simple catch-up with them, he found the Magic Wolf Giant, Julian, and Gregor, who were helping out here. Because the three of them could not enter the White Cardamom Farm, they had been lent by Locke to Witch Mason and the others to assist.
Locke communicated briefly with the three of them to understand their learning progress. Julian still had to learn from the beginning and was currently only a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice. The Magic Wolf Giant was already a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, while Gregor was still attempting to break through to become an Official Wizard.
Locke felt a bit speechless watching Gregor earnestly explain to him how he was attempting to break through to become an Official Wizard.
Was this Official Wizard breakthrough really that difficult?
Gregor had been attempting to break through for a year continuously, but still had no confidence.
However, Locke still comforted him a few words and indicated that if he had anything he didn't understand, he could come to him.
Locke said to Gregor, "During this time, you all stay here and work with Witch Mason and the others; they can teach you a lot of things. Also, Gregor, you might want to try accessing some special resources that lower the difficulty of breaking through to become an Official Wizard, such as the spinal fluid of a Tartarus Crypt Worm."
Gregor thanked Locke, "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. I hope I can break through to become an Official Wizard this year."
The Magic Wolf Giant also said, "Senior Brother Gregor is already very close to becoming an Official Wizard; he should become an Official Wizard very soon." Julian also nodded, looking as if it were a matter of course.
Locke immediately left, heading toward the library. He wanted to look up some materials on Potions to preview the relevant content in advance. This clone could study more in the library before the next Potion class started.
Along the Sky River, Locke's Ancient Tree Fruit Clone had already found the laboratory of the Golden Crown Mountain witch who had fled here, based on the coordinates Witch Yekaterina had given him.
It was a forest located on the frontier of the Sodom Empire. This mortal empire already possessed advanced steam machinery; some coal-burning logging machines were operating within the forest, and the villages were all built of stacked red and white bricks.
The rules and regulations within the empire seemed to be very well-established. While flying in the sky, Locke discovered many toll stations along the way. On the edge of this forest, there was also a wizard academy, which seemed to be a primary wizard academy, an institution similar to the Aurelian Academy on Corfu Island.
Wizards ruled this world through various major academies.
The academy was the core of this civilization.
However, the Aurelian Academy was an intermediate academy that would directly train corresponding Wizard Apprentices, while this primary academy before him only taught some basic knowledge and, more importantly, local social knowledge of the mortal world, then selected the outstanding ones from among them as Wizard Seeds to be transferred to the intermediate academy for further study.
Some advanced academies could directly train Second-Class Wizard Apprentices, who would then be transferred to their headquarters' wizard academy. Of course, some advanced academies were essentially already semi-independent wizard academies. For example, the place where his first student to become an Official Wizard, Williams, went was the Magic Peach Garden, which was originally just an advanced academy established by the Golden Crown Mountain in the mortal world, but later, as its strength increased, it officially became a wizard institution.
Locke looked at the map and confirmed that directly beneath this primary academy of the Tide Great Wizard Tower was the secret laboratory of that traitor from the Golden Crown Mountain. Locke walked directly into the entrance of this primary academy, because according to the information his teacher had given him, the entrance to the laboratory was on a door in a basement of this primary academy, which was a [Two-Way Door] created by the School of Protection.
That is, one door leading to two different locations. Only a wizard who met specific conditions could open that door and enter the correct location; others who opened the door could only enter the basement behind it.
This type of Two-Way Door was a special type of door lock developed by wizards of the School of Protection.
He walked into the primary academy and then walked along the corridor, where he saw many young boys and girls reading books in the classrooms.
Locke exhaled a breath of turbid air; this scene reminded him of his own study days at the Aurelian Academy.
In one classroom, a teacher was reading from the textbook. Many students dressed in fine clothes were absent-minded, passing notes to each other, and some were even making eyes at female students. Of course, there were also students writing furiously, taking notes.
The air here was filled with the atmosphere of youth.
This teacher was also just a mortal; after all, it was only a primary academy, which itself had not yet completely broken away from the mortal world.
Only by entering an intermediate academy could one be considered to have entered a certain circle.
At this moment, Locke walked down a corridor and came to an office door. He saw a teacher dressed in fine clothes inside the office, smiling and saying to several adults, "With these grades, your children simply cannot stay in our academy."
These adults immediately understood what he meant, and then one by one, they scrambled to hand him gold bars.
Locke was not surprised to see this scene, because in all the major primary academies, many astute people could sense the prospects of attending this academy, so these people would scramble to give gifts to the staff within the academy, hoping to receive special care. This was a kind of anxiety.
Although this had absolutely nothing to do with whether they could eventually become a wizard, or, going further, whether they could enter a better wizard academy to study.
But giving these gifts could resolve their anxiety, and some people indeed needed to give some money to stay in the academy. When the right to education became a very important right, then this kind of right would summon corruption.
The wizard academies in the Cloud Marsh were relatively strict about this, but to be honest, these mortal students did not affect the true selection of Wizard Seeds, so generally speaking, they would not be too fussy about this aspect, which led to a mix of good and bad in these lower-level academies.
That teacher suddenly became alert and looked toward his office door.
"Who is it?"
Locke gripped the office door, "Found you."
He directly closed the office door, then turned the door handle. When he opened it again, behind the door was not the primary academy's teacher's office, but a gloomy stone passage. He walked directly into it, and the door behind him closed automatically.
Locke took a glance at the automatically closing Two-Way Door.
Immediately after, a scene created by a spell model of the School of Illusion appeared within the stone passage. He saw a hooded witch whose face could not be seen clearly.
"Who is it?"
"Ah, it's you. You are a wizard from the Golden Crown Mountain, you are a member of the Golden Crown Mountain Ethics Review Committee."
"You still managed to track me down."
Locke stood with his hands behind his back, thinking, "Looking at her panicked state, I can tell she hasn't managed to obtain membership in the White Wizard Association of the Tianjiang Coast yet. If she were to obtain it, that would indeed be troublesome. The Tianjiang Coast lacks high-level wizards, so they might forcibly use wizard law to protect her."
The witch wearing a black hood whispered, "Committee Member, I was about to sign a contract with the White Wizard Association, but an hour ago, they suddenly stopped responding to me entirely. Did you have a hand in this?"
"We had already reached the final step, and we were getting along very well; there is no reason for them to suddenly stop responding to me."
"The wizards of the Tide Great Wizard Tower have betrayed me."
Locke realized the truth. He had previously guessed that her building such an important laboratory near the Tide Great Wizard Tower must have some connection to them, and now his suspicions were confirmed.
After all, a laboratory cannot exist entirely independently; it requires the transport of supplies and the recruitment of talent. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is difficult to maintain normal operations here for a long time without reaching an agreement with local wizard forces.
I am afraid that Wizard Seeds from various primary and intermediate academies within the Sodom Empire are being sent to this laboratory. However, once the Tide Great Wizard Tower realized that I and Golden Crown Mountain had taken notice of them, they must have immediately wanted to cut their losses to survive, hence betraying this witch. Furthermore, since I have just reached a commercial cooperation agreement with the Tide Great Wizard Tower, the other party does not want to offend me here.
The witch continued, pleading, "Committee Member, could you please spare me? I am not a bad person; I am just a poor soul pursuing truth."
"We all want to find the truth, don't we?"
The witch in the black hood whispered, "In Botany experiments, as long as we can loosen ethical restrictions, our research in many fields will make rapid progress. During the Great Void Exploration Era, we wizards did whatever we wanted without any restrictions, and that era was also the golden age of magical growth."
"If research into undead Magic Plants is restricted by those ethics, progress is simply too slow. I have no ill intentions; I just want to pursue the truth."
Locke said to the witch, "As a wizard of Golden Crown Mountain, even if you haven't entered the White Cardamom Farm, you shouldn't be ignorant of why the Great Void Exploration Era ended."
The witch fell silent. Then, she spoke again, her phantom attempting to continue quibbling.
"Previously, research related to undead Magic Plants had been stagnant, but Magic Plant Crystallization Technology gave me new hope. By using undead Magic Plants, we can crossbreed them with crystallized Magic Plants. Through the Hybrid Breeding Method, we can create undead Magic Plants that can grow normally, and they can even pollinate with ordinary Magic Plants..."
"Think about it, a forest naturally turning into an undead forest—what a magnificent feat. We could even find a few worlds to conduct related experiments..."
Locke was stunned. "Wait a moment, I have a question. What is the benefit of doing this?" "Turning normal Magic Plants into undead Magic Plants?" "What benefit does that bring us?"
The witch shrieked, "Benefits? Why do you need benefits to pursue truth? We can understand many mechanisms—the physiological mechanisms of Magic Plants, the mechanisms of undead Magic Plants. We can make many discoveries; why ask for benefits! Committee Member, you shouldn't be such a third-rate wizard. We wizards exist only to explore the truth."
Locke said, "Witch, you have gone mad. You are not exploring truth; you are simply venting your neurosis on the normal world. Moreover, as long as you can pass the Ethics Review Committee, your research is permissible."
The witch replied angrily, "That is too slow, too slow. I cannot wait!" "It seems you, too, are unable to understand me. This is my last warning: leave my laboratory, or I will use all my power to stop you."
The witch suddenly looked up. Under her hood, her entire body was green, and it did not resemble a normal human form; she seemed to have fused with some kind of plant. Her face bore the appearance of vines.
Locke frowned. This lunatic had clearly gone completely insane; she had actually performed such deep modifications on her own flesh and soul, and had even actively fused with some kind of undead plant. Locke wanted to examine her brain to see if there was some pathology that had caused her to lose the normal self-control of a wizard. The witch said, "Committee Member, leave this place."
Locke said, "Witch, you don't need to debate with me. When you return to Golden Crown Mountain, you will have plenty of time and opportunity to debate with the wizards of the Ethics Review Committee; they will decide how to deal with you." "I advise you not to resist." "Given your current state, I even think you truly need outside help, to let you go to the Wizard Prison and calm down. If you continue to modify yourself like this, your soul will even be occupied by plants."
Locke had realized something was wrong with this witch. Her modifications caused her human attributes to constantly decline while the attributes of the undead plants constantly rose. As a Star Ring Wizard, it shouldn't have been this extreme, but the problem was that she seemed to have fused herself with quite a few Star Ring-level undead Magic Plants, which meant she was on the verge of death at any moment.
The witch let out a sharp scream. It seemed to be a spell from the School of Conjuration, as the bricks around Locke began to crack under the sonic waves. Immediately afterward, many withered vines suddenly burst out from the surrounding bricks, and all of these vines attacked Locke.
Seeing this, Locke immediately took out the Crimson Gold Holy Peach staff. He waved it casually, and these withered vines were severed one by one under the attacks of the staff. "They are just some ordinary undead Magic Plants."
Locke also realized that the so-called undead Magic Plants seemed to be a variant application of Necromancy. After all, humans, animals, and other entities are living beings, and one can use spirit-calling techniques to create the undead; there is no reason why one cannot use Necromancy to create special undead plants from ordinary vegetation. Of course, this was clearly only at this level—at most, content studied by a first-ring Breeder.
And this Star Ring Wizard from Golden Crown Mountain had gone a step further on this foundation, actually starting to use the Hybrid Breeding Method to try and create a special type of undead Magic Plant that could propagate itself in the natural world. In essence, this behavior of hers had already violated multiple ethics. Once this behavior was made public, even Golden Crown Mountain would suffer great reputational damage and be targeted by peers.
Locke easily dealt with the guard undead vines in this stone corridor. He passed through the corridor, used the Crimson Gold Holy Peach to directly split open a magic door, and saw the Botany laboratory behind it. Inside this laboratory were many petri dishes, and inside the petri dishes were special seeds and plants infused with black magic. "Is this where you manufacture ordinary undead plants?"
Locke saw a few Second-Class Wizard Apprentices hiding in the corner in terror. These people were already half-human, half-ghost due to long-term exposure to Necromancy. As a result, their bodies looked pale and skeletal. Locke ignored them, as these people were only forced to be there, merely poor wretches manipulated by that Star Ring Wizard.
Locke glanced at the various pieces of equipment in this laboratory and found that there was quite a bit of high-level breeding equipment, especially special devices used to connect to the spirit breath of Magic Plants. He walked toward the deeper laboratory.
At the same time, Locke activated his Innate Magic Eye. The Innate Magic Eye of the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eye Cat could enhance the special vision of a Second-Ring Wizard. "Hmm? As expected." "There is a second force here."
Locke, relying on his Innate Magic Eye, perceived that the entire laboratory was shrouded under the Star Ring-level Magic Pressure of that witch, but there was another strange Magic Pressure hidden beneath this one. "That witch's brain looks completely insane; I knew she had been instigated by someone else."
Locke thought, "Generally speaking, conducting dangerous forbidden experiments is done to publish papers faster and secure projects. But that witch does not think according to the logic of benefit at all. Although there are such completely idealistic people, her madness and obsession have reached an incomprehensible level." Locke waved his hand, and the laboratory door in front of him automatically opened, and he walked into the next laboratory.
In this laboratory, there was a Gasification Wizard who was looking at him in terror. At the same time, this laboratory was a magic field, planted with ordinary undead Magic Plants and crystallized Magic Plants. "It seems this is where the crossbreeding is done." Locke swept a glance across the magic field.
Locke looked at the Official Wizard and asked, "You are not from the Yunze Wetlands, are you? Where are you from?"
The Official Wizard looked terrified. "I... I am a wizard from the Dalton Woodland. I was originally just a First-Class Wizard Apprentice, but later I was captured by Witch Heidi and became an Official Wizard under her training. My Lord, I have no autonomy; I am merely her servant, I..."
Locke raised an eyebrow, wearing a smile that was not quite a smile. "A servant? She helped you break through to become an Official Wizard and even helped you gasify your mental power. In a way, she counts as your teacher. There is no need to distance yourself from her in front of me."
The Official Wizard looked awkward. He knew that Locke had seen through his rhetoric, knowing that he had not been kidnapped but had defected to her, and had helped Witch Heidi with many things, effectively acting as an accomplice. At this moment, he was desperately trying to distance himself, but Locke was not a fool and saw through his little schemes at a glance.
Locke looked at him and said, "You should be familiar with the space inside this laboratory, right? Take me to find Witch Heidi." "This can count as you atoning for your crimes." "By the way, is there any other Second-Ring Wizard in this laboratory?"
The Official Wizard immediately said, "Yes. That is a wizard who claims to be an Eleventh-Ring Wizard!"
Locke was dumbfounded. What the hell? Eleventh-Ring? Is this ring count inflated? Are there that many magic levels? That's not right; he only sensed the Magic Pressure of two Star Ring Wizards here.
Locke suddenly realized. "This wizard, is not a wizard from the Wizard World?"
The Official Wizard nodded and said, "Yes... I think so too."
Locke pondered. Eleventh-Ring... With such severe inflation, it made Locke instantly realize that this was a typical characteristic of second-ring, because second-ring can constantly open up new realm levels, easily falling into a loop, and then the magic levels become more and more numerous, but in essence, they are all second-ring.