Chapter 844: Developing a Second Circle Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow and Searching for Locke’s Weakness

One month later, in the underground floor ten laboratory of Research Group Two, the place was filled with subspecies of the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow everywhere, specifically the First Circle subspecies known as the rapid-growth strain, like a sword tomb.

In just one month, Locke had spent five million magic stones in this laboratory.

The cost of cultivating First Circle subspecies was incomparable to that of cultivating apprentice-level magical plant subspecies.

Locke planned to spend another five million magic stones next month to continue cultivating these First Circle subspecies of the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow.

At the same time, Witch Mason and two other crystallization wizards were helping him record the phytogen mutation information for these magical plant subspecies.

Wizard Douglas, meanwhile, was working alongside Locke on the phytogen sequencing of the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow.

All of this was the foundational groundwork needed to complete the final finite element cultivation method.

At that moment, special spiritual fluctuations from magical plants drifted throughout the magical fields in underground floor ten. This was the hallmark of a Second Circle wizard using the finite element cultivation method. For Second Circle wizards, the approach was not limited to working from the phytogen alone. They could also work from the plant's spirituality.

A magical plant's spirituality could be grafted, hybridized, propagated through cuttings, excised, added to, caused to mutate, and naturally it could also be spliced together.

So the four crystallization wizards helped Locke work on the magical plants' phytogen, while Locke himself used the research system he had built, combining the Synthesis Cube with the Lunar Cultivation Method and the Flowers Bloom and Fall spell to cultivate subspecies of the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow. At the same time, he recorded the spirituality of these subspecies and practiced identifying and grafting combinations using the spirituality found within them.

"But I must remember that a magical plant's spirituality and its phytogen are simply two different ways of identifying the same thing."

"I cannot put the cart before the horse and mistakenly think they are two separate things. This practice method can also serve to train the Spirit Breath cultivation method that a Second Circle breeder should know."

Locke gestured toward a rapid-growth strain of Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow growing in a magical field before him. Immediately, under the action of the Star-Shape Spirit-Drawing Wizard Formation, the spirituality within the plant was forced to manifest.

At the same time, Locke carefully distinguished the hundreds of subcategories of magical plant spirituality within the plant. Each form of magical plant spirituality corresponded to one plant factor.

These were simply the spirituality corresponding to those plant factors.

If one mistakenly believed that spirituality and plant factors were two separate things, one would inevitably go down the wrong path and achieve half the results with twice the effort.

Many breeders outside Golden Crown Mountain struggled to master the Spirit Breath cultivation method precisely because they had taken too many wrong turns.

Too many fundamentals were flawed. Flawed fundamentals led to flawed understanding, which led to errors in perception, and because of those flawed fundamentals, even as the errors accumulated, they were difficult to detect.

And on the many materials Locke had borrowed, he had seen reminders about this content throughout, so he knew that in the Second Circle stage, while practicing the finite element cultivation method as a breeder, one must absolutely never make the mistake of thinking that a magical plant's spirituality and its plant factors were two different things.

They were simply different outward expressions of the same thing.

'I want to use the opportunity of participating in the Golden Cup and cultivating a Second Circle flying magical plant to improve my breeding level, elevating all my cultivation methods to the Second Circle tier and gradually learning the Spirit Breath cultivation method.'

Locke operated Group Two's own formation, the Star-Shape Spirit-Drawing Wizard Formation, causing the spirituality of the second Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow subspecies before him to manifest.

Then he used the magical force field to excise two target spiritualities from the two rapid-growth subspecies, and used the grafting method to graft the two magical plant spiritualities together.

Locke looked at the cluster of green radiance in his palm.

"At the core, this is just combining two plant factors together. But a First Circle breeder can only, within the finite element cultivation method, piece these plant factors together and assemble them into a phytogen set, then inject it into a magical plant's seedling or seed."

"A Second Circle breeder can use the spirituality level to elevate what they are capable of doing, accomplishing more complex tasks by using the finite element cultivation method to extract target spiritualities from two magical plants and then grafting them together."

"In this way, the two plant factors do not merely combine but fuse, which creates a new plant factor that simultaneously possesses all the characteristics of both original plant factors."

It was obvious that because Second Circle wizards could directly observe planar force with the naked eye and perceive spirituality at a deeper level, the five cultivation methods combined with the Spirit Breath cultivation method available to Second Circle breeders could achieve a far deeper degree of precision.

This was a capability that entirely surpassed what a First Circle breeder could do.

But it also brought with it a far more complex body of knowledge in the field of breeding studies.

Many wizards found themselves stuck at this step and gave up on the possibility of developing further in breeding studies.

"With the First Circle breeder's foundational finite element cultivation method as the basis, one can then perform grafting, hybridization, propagation through cuttings, and resonance cultivation on plant factors at the spirituality level."

Locke came to understand: "At my current level, I can only use the finite element cultivation method combined with the grafting cultivation method, grafting the spiritualities of two magical plants to produce a new plant factor that combines the best of both."

"Reportedly, those sun ring level breeders can even extract the spiritualities corresponding to the plant factors of multiple magical plants simultaneously for grafting, creating a super plant factor."

Yes, a super plant factor.

This was something that only Second Circle level breeders could create.

Because at the First Circle breeder stage, breeders could generally only apply the five cultivation methods to the magical plant itself and could not directly manipulate plant factors. So whether one could obtain a powerful super plant factor was entirely dependent on luck. But a Second Circle breeder possessed far greater capability.

"After this, I will also need to practice the finite element cultivation method combined with the cutting cultivation method, the finite element cultivation method combined with the hybridization cultivation method, and the finite element cultivation method combined with the resonance cultivation method. Of course, each of the five cultivation methods also has many subcategories of research within itself. It is truly as vast and deep as the sea."

Take the grafting cultivation method mentioned earlier, for example. An ordinary grafting cultivation method, upon reaching the Second Circle stage, could include the approach-grafting technique, as well as even more advanced and distinctive grafting methods.

So looking at the enormous scope of breeding studies as a discipline, Locke felt joy welling up inside him, and he was completely immersed in an ocean of knowledge.

He would keep advancing toward the truth ahead.

"Spirit breath remains the key." After Locke had grafted a thread of spirituality from two magical plants together, the spirituality was about to separate.

Spirituality was inherently difficult to graft together, and even a Second Circle wizard could not do it alone. Special Spirit Breath was needed to stabilize the spirituality.

Locke used a Emerald Spirit Breath purchased from the Golden Peach Garden. It was a commonly used form of Spirit Breath.

This Spirit Breath could stabilize spirituality. So at the Second Circle cultivation stage, regardless of which spirituality-level cultivation method was used as a foundation on top of the finite element cultivation method, producing a super plant factor always required the use of Emerald Spirit Breath.

Of course, Emerald Spirit Breath was only the most ordinary and common variety of Spirit Breath. More accomplished breeders would even cultivate their own unique proprietary Spirit Breath to produce super plant factors.

So ultimately, the foundation of a Second Circle breeder still came down to the Spirit Breath cultivation method.

The better a breeder's Spirit Breath cultivation method, the higher their breeding level.

Locke sent the special plant factor in his hand into an ordinary rapid-growth seedling of a Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow. At the same time he applied a powerful growth accelerator and directed the formation to channel energy into it to assist its growth.

Soon a mature rapid-growth specimen of the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow appeared.

Locke then used the magical force field to excise the implanted plant factor from it and placed it in the palm of his hand.

"Done. A super plant factor like this is considered complete."

Locke placed the super plant factor in his hand into a Factor Bead crafted by alchemists. It looked like a glass marble, and once the super plant factor was placed inside, the transparent glass sphere lit up as if it contained a tiny green firefly within.

Wizard Douglas held a time gold crystal magical box with many small compartments inside, which already contained quite a few Factor Beads.

Locke said to Douglas, "This is a super plant factor that can triple the secretion of Type 2 natural magical force structural component Feather-Fall, which is analogous to the feather-fall technique, in the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow. The drawback is that it seems to suppress the expression of plant factors related to the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow's body size, so it will cause the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow possessing this super plant factor to become smaller in size."

"But other super plant factors can be used to enhance the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow's body size to compensate for this deficiency."

Locke said, "Record this super plant factor as the Triple Feather-Fall Super Plant Factor. I believe one week ago I produced a 1.5x Feather-Fall Super Plant Factor, did I not? Put them together."

Locke said, "Although that 1.5x Feather-Fall Super Plant Factor is somewhat ordinary compared to this one, it does not suppress the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow's body size and force miniaturization."

"So that super plant factor is worth keeping. It might come in useful later."

Douglas nodded and followed Locke's instructions methodically.

Wizard King Laghemaon in Douglas's mind, seemingly already accustomed to speaking directly with Douglas in Locke's presence, said in his mind: "This later-era young wizard actually has something to him. His speed of progress in breeding studies, his speed of research, is unlike that of an ordinary breeder."

"The research system he has constructed possesses the ability to allow a magical plant to rapidly complete one growth cycle, and it seems also capable of producing more subspecies in a short time. Furthermore, his intuition and accuracy in judging which different spiritualities can be grafted together to produce different super plant factors are remarkable."

"Impressive. By the standards of my era, he would be considered a figure of consequence. Had I encountered such talent in my time, I would certainly have brought him into my royal wizard corps. I would have given him a position and arranged for him to have a connection with my crown prince, planning for the next generation."

Douglas did not understand breeding at all and simply did whatever Locke told him to do.

So he said inwardly to his Wizard King teacher: "Teacher, do you also understand breeding studies?"

Wizard King Laghemaon said, "Not at all."

Douglas was immediately left speechless, looking at the Wizard King teacher in his consciousness sea with a puzzled expression.

If he understood none of it whatsoever, why was he able to comment on a Second Circle wizard level breeder with such an air of authority?

Wizard King Laghemaon said, "I may not understand it, but I can learn. Do not forget, I am a Third Circle wizard. I can manage to force my way into understanding some of it."

Locke glanced at Douglas, then returned his attention to the rapid-growth magical plants before him.

"These rapid-growth magical plants can only serve for research purposes. They are superficially imposing but inwardly hollow."

"Right now, this magical plant sword tomb of mine is conducting three tasks. The first task is to use the ordinary finite element cultivation method to continuously accumulate subspecies and obtain excellent plant factors, then attempt to assemble a complete Second Circle level phytogen for the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow."

"This is the main body of the sword tomb's work."

"The second task is to use the finite element cultivation method combined with the grafting cultivation method to create super plant factors, then select the excellent super plant factors and add them into the assembly work of the first task."

"And the third task is to use the grafting cultivation method alone to cultivate seeds of the Magical Dragon Rose, then find a way to produce a second Magical Dragon Rose. After that, I will graft the best Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow subspecies I have cultivated through the finite element cultivation method onto it, allowing my Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow to obtain the Magical Dragon's phytogen."

"Then I will use atavistic evolution to force the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow to revert to the Magical Dragon's true power. I do not know what will happen. According to my design, this should create a flying magical plant into which the Magical Dragon's true power has been atavistically revived. It will be the king among ordinary Second Circle magical plants, and will help me win the championship in the Golden Cup's flying competition."

Only this step still had issues to resolve.

Because according to his design, the grafting of the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow onto the Magical Dragon Rose could not use those superficially imposing but inwardly hollow rapid-growth strains.

That is to say, both magical plants might need to be mature adult specimens rather than the rapid-growth variety.

But the resources required to cultivate a true Second Circle magical plant adult specimen were unimaginable.

So this was an extravagant investment of resources, and throwing in a mere five or six million magic stones would be like tossing them into water just to hear a splash.

After weighing it in his mind, Locke made his decision.

'So I must first complete the first two tasks. I need to produce a super Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow that most closely approaches a Second Circle magical plant, and only then can I proceed to the third step.'

'Otherwise, if I invest tens of millions of magic stones, successfully cultivate the Magical Dragon Rose adult specimen, but the first two steps still have not been completed, that would put me in an embarrassing situation.'

This was also why research consumed so much money.

He was also fairly lucky in having the Synthesis Cube as an advantage. By grafting the spiritualities of different magical plants together and injecting them into seeds using the finite element cultivation method, he could cultivate them into mature specimens, then use the Flowers Bloom and Fall spell to sacrifice the plant and obtain three cultivable seeds.

These could then be cultivated and synthesized to obtain a plant that had been optimized with a new type of plant factor implanted.

The key was that he could read the information related to this new plant factor, and from the entries he could learn which points had gone wrong and whether this direction was correct.

He could then adjust the next round of spirituality grafting accordingly.

In this way, it naturally became far easier for him to produce super plant factors.

So in some people's eyes, the speed at which he used the finite element cultivation method combined with the grafting cultivation method to produce high-quality super plant factors for the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow was truly remarkable.

'The finite element cultivation method combined with the grafting cultivation method is the golden combination for grafting spiritualities. It is the easiest approach for producing new categories of plant factors.' Locke thought.

'The finite element cultivation method combined with the cutting cultivation method can duplicate a spirituality from nothing, and by then placing this spirituality into the magical plant, the plant can be made to produce multiple copies of the same plant factor internally, making the plant's expression of that plant factor more pronounced and complete. But this requires a star ring wizard to use. It seems related to the Grand Magic.'

'The finite element cultivation method combined with the hybridization cultivation method cannot be used before the moon ring level. It seems related to the binary transformation of spirituality. I will need to become a moon ring wizard first before I can do this.'

'The finite element cultivation method combined with the resonance cultivation method can more easily cause spirituality to mutate. But it requires a special large piece of equipment called a Mana Fusion Furnace. Group Two does not have this equipment, and I cannot afford something that costs hundreds of millions of magic stones on my own.'

'Unless I were a sun ring wizard, in which case I could rely on my own capabilities to use the finite element cultivation method combined with the resonance cultivation method.'

Locke thought: "Beyond that, I also need to focus on building my foundational understanding of the Spirit Breath cultivation method while working on this project. I hope that for the next Second Circle magical plant, I will be able to use this Spirit Breath cultivation method to cultivate it."

No matter what, he would first use the finite element cultivation method to complete the cultivation work on the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow.

Without the first and second steps, he could not dare to start the third step, which would cost tens of millions of magic stones.

But by all accounts, as long as he completed the first two steps, he could at least upgrade the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow to an ordinary Second Circle magical plant.

So there were two ways to become a Second Circle breeder. One was to use the Spirit Breath cultivation method to cultivate magical plants and successfully cultivate three different Second Circle magical plants.

The other was to use the traditional five cultivation methods, combining improved observational ability at the spirituality level with combinations of the five cultivation methods, to complete the cultivation of a Second Circle magical plant.

This path could also lead to becoming a Second Circle breeder.

Witch Freya walked over, admiring the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow subspecies that filled every corner of the sword tomb.

"It truly is magnificent, Team Leader. Only, I do not understand why you also need to use the finite element cultivation method combined with the grafting cultivation method for spirituality grafting."

"Is the finite element cultivation method alone really insufficient to cultivate a Second Circle magical plant?"

Locke knew Witch Freya was asking him a question.

She was also a breeder, and when she encountered something she did not understand, she naturally asked an extra question to seek guidance from a more accomplished breeder.

Locke said, "Of course it is insufficient. The finite element cultivation method, at best, can optimize a magical plant in a specific direction under the premise that the plant is already a Second Circle magical plant."

"But it is insufficient to allow a First Circle magical plant to form a Second Circle magical plant's phytogen by collecting plant factors from magical plant subspecies and assembling them together."

"The reason is simple. The gap between a First Circle magical plant and a Second Circle magical plant is simply too vast."

"The finite element cultivation method is no longer sufficient to make a magical plant become a Second Circle magical plant."

The tall Witch Freya, wearing high heels, nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. So spirituality-level grafting is needed to create what you call a super plant factor."

"And that super plant factor is used to reduce this gap."

Locke said, "You are right. But discussing this knowledge is still too premature for you, Freya. There is no need for you to think about this."

The prerequisite for becoming a Second Circle breeder was that one had to at least be a Second Circle wizard.

If one was not even a Second Circle wizard, there was no possibility of becoming a Second Circle breeder.

Freya stuck out her tongue. She knew Locke was right.

Because she had no need to cultivate a Second Circle magical plant, she naturally did not need to think this far ahead.

Locke showed no reaction to Witch Freya's obvious display of playfulness. After all, Witch Freya was a socially outgoing witch who behaved this way with everyone.

Witch Freya said, "Team Leader, do you not have a way to directly turn a First Circle magical plant into a Second Circle magical plant? Why not just turn the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow directly into a Second Circle magical plant?"

Locke gave a slight nod. Atavistic evolution and the Lunar Cultivation Method did indeed have such effects.

But the Lunar Cultivation Method could only turn a First Circle magical plant into a wild Second Circle magical plant.

And it required one dose of the Zero Potion.

He currently had no spare Zero Potion on hand.

And he did not want to create a wild Second Circle magical plant.

As for atavistic evolution, the reason the previous two applications could revert the climbing fern and the Golden Foxtail Grass to Second Circle magical plants was that those magical plants were already Second Circle magical plants to begin with. Even so, those plants were essentially still wild magical plants.

After all, the plant factors had been mixed together without much refinement.

This time, Locke was entering the Golden Cup's flying magical plant competition and needed to produce a true Second Circle magical plant at the level cultivated by a proper Second Circle breeder.

Locke smiled and asked Witch Freya, "By the way, how is your Tier 1 grant project coming along?"

Witch Freya's face flushed, and she looked at Locke with admiring and respectful eyes. "Team Leader, with your help, Mason, Barrett, and I have all been making rapid progress. You only needed to give us a few hints, and all those muddled ideas of ours suddenly opened right up."

Locke nodded. The air bromeliad varieties the three of them were researching had been synthesized by him using the Synthesis Cube, so he could naturally hint at what equipment to use and which direction to research in. That way they would easily find the key mechanisms and action pathways and produce results.

Of course, the three of them simply believed this was his remarkable judgment.

The air bromeliads those three were researching were all also suitable for use in wizard shoes.

The better a magical plant's energy-locking structure, the more suitable it was for making into wizard shoes.

Because the energy utilization rate was higher.

Locke smiled at Witch Freya and said, "I am now looking forward to you all concluding the Tier 1 project grants in your hands. I wonder which of you will be the first to complete theirs. After all, the reason I can conduct my own research so openly in Group Two is built on the foundation of the special energy-locking structure research on the three air bromeliads you have."

When Locke used the Synthesis Cube to synthesize those air bromeliads, he had made use of the plastic flower. So these three air bromeliads each essentially had a special energy-locking structure derived from the plastic flower through plant mimicry and grafting cultivation methods.

Just like the Pixiu Horn Spiral Structure and the Glandular Root Pouch.

Witch Freya bowed to Locke and said, "Understood, Team Leader. You have only just become a Second Circle wizard, and already you are acting just like those Second Circle wizard team leaders. Always urging us underlings to work. Sigh."

Locke said, "Then how about I treat all three of you to a big dinner at the Witch's Kitchen tonight?"

Witch Freya's eyes lit up. "Yes."

At that moment, Witch Mason came running from the other side of the magical field, holding a journal in her hand. "Team Leader, Myriad Phenomena Crossroads sent you a copy of this month's issue."

"Your paper is on pages seventeen through twenty-seven of this journal."

Witch Freya turned her head in surprise.

"A Tier 1 Second Circle journal? Let me see it too, Mason. Oh, and quickly call Barrett over. Team Leader is treating us to dinner at the Witch's Kitchen tonight!"

Wizard King Laghemaon in Douglas's consciousness sea let out a sound of surprise.

"Hmm? I did not expect this later-era young fellow to publish papers so quickly."

Douglas asked inwardly, "Teacher, when can I invite him to open the secret treasure?"

Wizard King Laghemaon said, "Wait a little longer. The last time, we suffered no small setback at the hands of that idiot Brandy. This time we cannot rashly reveal our hand. It would be best to wait until he needs the secret treasure, while we only need to obtain a portion of what is inside."

"Raising it now still carries too much risk. I need to wait longer, and raise it when his research hits a wall. At that point he will have a need, which means a weakness."

"As long as a person has a need, that need is a weakness we can exploit."

"We will be able to hold some leverage over him. My secret treasure vault contains some ancient magical plants that should interest him."

"This research he is doing is of extreme difficulty. Let us wait and see whether he runs into an insurmountable obstacle at the Golden Cup. That will be the moment I seize his weakness."