After arriving at a huge forest in the northwest of the Varyan Province, Goris ordered the coachman to stop. He paid the coachman and sent him away.
Looking at the huge forest in front of him, Goris was in a very good mood. Only by returning to this place would he feel satisfied. Thirty years ago, he moved here mainly because there were many precious herbs and minerals in the Psychedelic Forest. After living here for a long time, he got used to it. In the past thirty years, other than occasionally going out to buy some daily necessities and special items, he rarely left this place. After thirty years of experimentation, he was finally confident that he could fulfill his wish from many years ago. And the key to fulfilling his wish lay in the hands of this silly Dumby.
"Let's go, we will have to walk for the rest of the journey," Goris said calmly.
Dumb had never seen such a vast forest before. He said excitedly, "Teacher, do you live here? The air here is so good! "
Goris ignored Dumb and walked into the forest alone. Dumb hurriedly followed and followed closely behind Goris.
The main reason why this forest was called the Psychedelic Forest was because there were no continents in the forest. Due to the growth of so many plants, it was very difficult to tell the direction in the forest. In addition, the terrain was relatively high, and the occasional fog would create a sense of mystery. Even those who lived nearby would rarely go deep into the forest for fear of not being able to walk out. After Gorris came here, he set up many magic gears in the forest, especially the one that attracted the fog, which was his proudest work.
After walking for half a day, Dumb was already tired and hungry. He clenched his teeth and followed behind Goris. The surroundings were white, and the visibility was less than three meters. If he lagged behind a little, he would not be able to see Goris's body. The feeling of fear stimulated the potential in his body, so he did not fall behind.
After entering the forest, Goris did not say a word. The thick fog around him made him feel abnormally comfortable. Those who studied dark magic did not like sunlight, and Goris was no exception. With the positioning magic circle he had set up in his residence, he did not need to tell the direction at all.
Dumb followed closely behind Goris. Suddenly, he tripped and fell to the ground. Goris did not seem to notice and continued to walk forward.
It hurts! Dumby propped himself up and sat up. After a whole morning of rushing, he could no longer support himself. His vision was turning black, and a sense of dizziness filled his brain. He wanted to call out to Goris, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound. The surrounding white fog seemed to swirl, and Dumby could no longer support himself. He fell to the ground and fainted.
His vision brightened, and the scenery became clear. A few small houses appeared in front of Goris.
"Yup, I'm finally back." Goris looked at the inconspicuous houses in front of him. Who would have thought that this was the laboratory of the Demon Flame Warlock, Goris? Looking down at Dumb under his armpit, Goris's body was filled with excitement. He could finally carry out the final preparations before the experiment. His many years of hard work would be realized in a year.
After entering the forest, Goris deliberately ignored Dumb, wanting to see if he would beg him. However, Dumb's tenacity really surprised him. He actually persisted for more than half of the journey before fainting. At his age, even if he ate the Nine Revolutions Marrow Changing Pill, it was not easy for him to do this. Yup, it's good to have a tough personality. Goris carried Dumb into the southernmost wooden house. The wooden house was empty except for a wooden bed and a few chairs. After throwing Dumb onto the bed, Goris sat on the side and drew a hexagram in the air with his hand. The red light lit up, and he silently felt the waves of magic elements. After a long time, Goris opened his eyes, and he smiled with satisfaction. Through the magic arrays he had set up in the surroundings with magic, he felt that no one had come here while he was away.
Goris chanted an incantation and drew a crack in the air. From the crack, a bamboo basket floated out. This was the basket he had bought in Ninuo City. Back then, when he left to find a suitable partner, he didn't have a destination in mind. He kept walking north, and before he knew it, he came to Ninuo City. He chose Dumby because he felt that it was a child that could be controlled. If the child was not willing to cooperate with him in the experiment, he would not be able to do it no matter how good his character was. Dumb was silly and looked very gullible, so he chose him.
Goris carried the bamboo basket to an orchard not far from the wooden house. There were many kinds of fruits in the orchard, and it took Goris a long time to figure out the names of the fruits and which ones were edible and which ones were inedible. After picking some fruits that could satisfy his hunger, he returned to the wooden house and ate a few. Then he sat with his legs crossed and meditated.
Dumb did not wake up until the evening. His body was sore, and the unfamiliar surroundings made him feel scared. He sat up immediately and could not help but let out a sigh of relief, because he saw Goris meditating on the other side of the bed. He did not disturb Goris, and only looked around. The surroundings were empty, and there was nothing special. His eyes were quickly attracted by the empty chair next to Goris. No, to be more precise, he was attracted by the basket of brightly colored fruits on the chair.
As soon as his right foot touched the ground, the piercing pain almost made Dumb scream. However, the temptation of the fruits was too great. He endured the pain and carefully limped to the chair. He looked at Goris, who was breathing evenly, and quietly picked up the basket and walked back to the bed. He carefully counted the number of fruits. There were seventeen in total, and they were of different colors. Very few of them were the same. The hunger in its stomach made Dumby throw away all its worries. It picked up a piece of fruit and took a big bite. The sweet juice flowed down its throat, and Dumby felt an indescribable refreshment in its body. Even its feet didn't hurt that much anymore.
Dumb ate eight fruits in a row before stopping. Although he was not full, he still kept most of them and carefully put them back where they were. Opening the unlatched door, Dumby walked outside. What entered his eyes was a vast expanse of white. Including the wooden hut he had been in, there were a total of three huts here. The one in the north was the largest, about fifty or sixty square meters in size. There was no fog or plants within a radius of thirty meters around the house. Beyond thirty meters, it was completely shrouded in fog. Tall trees could be vaguely seen in the fog, and even the top was shrouded in fog, preventing sunlight. As it was already evening, the sky gradually darkened, and there was a strange feeling in the surroundings. This, this is teacher's home?
When Dumb walked out of the room, Goris opened his eyes. The moment Dumb got off the bed, he had already woken up from his meditation. He clearly knew everything that Dumb had done. Looking at the remaining nine fruits in front of him, Goris's heart was constantly changing.
Standing up, Goris sighed softly and walked out of the door. He saw Dumb standing there in a daze.
"Dumb."
"Ah! Teacher, you're awake. I, I just ate a few of your fruits. "Dumb lowered his head.
Goris said gently, "Those were originally prepared for you. This is teacher's home, and in the future, it will also be your home. "
Dumb was startled by Goris's sudden gentleness. In his memory, he had never seen Goris with such an expression. The cloak that had been covering his head had been taken down, and there was a faint smile on his wrinkled face. "Tea-teacher, what can I help you with?"
Goris took a deep breath and said, "You don't have to do anything today. From tomorrow onwards, you will be my assistant. Teacher needs to conduct some experiments. "
"Oh, okay."
The next morning, before the sky was bright, Dumb was woken up by Goris. After putting on his clothes, Goris brought him to the forest where he picked the fruits yesterday and said, "The fruits that grow here will be our food in the future. You must remember, when you pick the fruits here, you must not go too far, or else you will not be able to tell the direction. Understand? "
Dumb nodded his head. Looking at the large number of fruits in front of him, he recalled the wonderful taste from yesterday. His saliva flowed down unconsciously.
Goris casually plucked a few red fruits and gave them to Dumb. He said, "This is Rice Fruit. Eating it will provide most of the nutrients that the body needs. It will also be our main food in the future. You must remember what it looks like. Although there are many fruits in this forest, not all of them can be eaten. Some of them are poisonous. I will slowly tell you in the future. Your task today is to remember the shape of this fruit, understand? "
Dumb carefully looked at the red fruit that looked like a gourd in his hand and carefully remembered its characteristics.
"Eat it, this is your breakfast. We still have a lot of things to do when we get back. "
After breakfast, Goris brought Dumb to the largest wooden house in the north. As soon as he entered the wooden house, Dumb was stunned. This house was very different from the one he stayed in yesterday. There were all kinds of strange things inside. What surprised him the most was the circle of big cabinets against the wall. Each cabinet was made up of many small drawers. There were labels on the drawers. However, for Dumb, the words on these labels were just symbols that he couldn't recognize.
Goris looked at these familiar experimental tools and sighed. He said, "From now on, you must remember the names of a few things every day. I will test you tomorrow. If you can't remember, you will be punished to eat one less meal. Today, you must remember all the labels on this row of cabinets. " After saying that, Goris walked to the leftmost cabinet and pointed to the top drawer. He said, "The two words on this shelf are saltpeter. Saltpeter is something that we alchemists often need. All the drawers here are used to store all kinds of things. "
"Saltpeter? Saltpeter. "Dumb kept repeating.
Goris recited the labels of the leftmost drawer from top to bottom. Dumb followed and recited them. Goris left him there and went to the side to start preparing.
Dumb's memory was really bad. After a whole day's work, he actually asked Goris more than thirty times before he could barely remember the names of the ten labels. From this day on, Dumb also began his memorization process. In the beginning, he would forget the things he remembered on the first day. Although Goris said that he wouldn't give him food, he would always give him more fruits on the second meal. Dumb felt Goris's concern and diligently memorized these words that he had never seen before. His daily task was to pick the fruits that he and Goris needed to eat and memorize the names of these labels. Goris, on the other hand, was fiddling with his experimental tools every day, using magic to fuse and configure something. At night, Goris did not let Dumb sleep. Instead, he made him meditate. At first, Dumb was not used to it. He would often fall asleep the next day while memorizing the labels. However, after a period of time, Dumb's spirit became better and better. Meditation became his best sleep. A night of meditation could make him a hundred times more energetic the next day. Dumb's only regret was that ever since he came here, Goris did not teach him any magic incantations. When he had nothing to do, he could only use Inferior Fireball and Flame Spell to relieve his boredom. Occasionally, when Goris was happy, he would teach him some simple words.
Three months later, Dumby had finally memorized all of the labels and the names of all the fruits in the orchard through unremitting efforts. Although he was slow at memorizing, once he memorized something, it was hard to forget it. No matter which label Goris mentioned, he could immediately find the corresponding drawer.
"Alright, from today on, you are officially my apprentice and will assist me in my experiments," Goris said calmly.
"Yes, Teacher." For the past three months, Goris's attitude towards Dumb had been lukewarm. All the housework was done by Dumb. Other than meditating at night, Goris spent all his time in the laboratory.
Goris stared at the small cauldron in front of him and said in a deep voice, "A small piece of saltpeter, one tael of silver ingot, and three coins of Tianfeng Flower. Quick."
"Yes, Teacher." Dumb quickly handed the items that Goris needed. Goris placed the items into the small cauldron and said, "One tael of Hongmian, and a basin of clear water. Quick."
After receiving the items from Dumb and placing them into the cauldron, Goris glanced at Dumb and said, "Use your Flame Spell to heat up the cauldron. Do not stop without my permission."
"Yes, Teacher. The fire element that fills the heaven and earth! Please bestow upon me the power to burn. In my name, with your power, appear, scorching flame. " With a puff, a red flame with a slight hint of green appeared on Dumb's hand. He carefully placed his hand into the cauldron and concentrated on controlling the size of the flame.
Looking at the green flame, Goris couldn't help but be stunned. The flame released by Dumb had already reached the level of a Beginner Magician. It had only been three months. He didn't expect that this stupid brat's magical power would increase so quickly.
What surprised Goris even more was yet to come. He originally thought that Dumb would be able to endure for ten minutes. However, after twenty minutes, the water in the cauldron had almost dried up. Dumb's forehead was covered in fine sweat. Goris didn't expect him to be able to endure for so long. A murderous intent flashed in Goris's eyes again. He thought that if he really taught this brat well, he might be able to reach or even surpass his current level in less than ten years.
"Alright, extinguish the flame. Go get some water and some crystal powder."
"Yes, Teacher." Dumb let out a sigh of relief. Using the Flame Spell for a long time made him feel dizzy. Of course, he didn't know that it was because he had consumed too much magical power. Persevering for more than 20 minutes was already his limit. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he hurriedly took the items that Goris wanted.
The black flame in Goris's hand had already replaced the Flame Spell that Dumb had just used. The items in the cauldron had completely melted into a light green paste. Goris grabbed a handful of crystal powder from the container in Dumb's hand and scattered it evenly on the small cauldron in front of him. With a sizzling sound, a green flame soared into the sky. The flame was extinguished in a flash, and a faint fragrance wafted in the air.
After living with Goris for three months, Dumb was no longer surprised by these abnormal scenes. He just watched from the side. A green solid mass condensed in the cauldron. Goris frowned and sighed, "It still doesn't work. It seems that without the lavender, I can't do it."
Dumb knew about the lavender. There was such a drawer on the cabinet, but the light blue grass inside had already been used up.
Goris closed the small cauldron and turned to Dumb, "Dumb, I might have to leave for a while to find some lavender. Only the Hwasin Empire has lavender. How troublesome. While I'm gone, you stay here and look after the house, understand? "
Hearing that Goris was going to leave, Dumb suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. He asked, "Teacher, how long will you be gone for?"
Goris said, "If it's fast, about a month. If it's slow, I'm afraid it'll be two months. If you're hungry, eat the fruits in the forest. If you're thirsty, drink the spring water behind the house. Remember, don't go too deep into the Forest of Illusions. Otherwise, if you get lost, you'll starve to death. Do you understand? "
Dumb nodded and said, "Teacher, come back quickly."
Gorris's heart warmed. For the past three months, no matter how he treated Dumb Kid, Dumb Kid would gladly endure it. He would immediately carry out any tasks that Gorris asked of him. Later on, there were times when Gorris only had to stretch out his hand and Dumb Kid would know what he wanted. Where else could he find such an obedient apprentice! But, for the last experiment, he had no choice … Goris shook his head forcefully, shaking away his kindness. He said coldly, "Alright, go meditate. I'll leave tomorrow morning."
"Yes, teacher." Using the flame spell for a long time made Dumb feel very tired. He walked back to his room alone to meditate.
The next morning, Goris packed his simple luggage and prepared to leave.
"Dumb, don't forget what I told you yesterday. Right, this is for you." Goris took out a book that wasn't very thick and handed it to Dumb.
Dumb was startled and said, "Teacher, what is this?"
Goris looked at him with a complicated expression and said, "This is my experiment notes. It's divided into three parts. It's the method to refine medicine, the method to identify poisons, and the method to refine weapons. You can take a look when you're bored. The words on it are basically the names of the labels. You'll be able to understand most of the related simple words. However, you have to remember, reading a book is just reading a book. You definitely can't go to the lab and experiment by yourself, understand? How much you can understand will depend on your own luck. "
Dumb held the book made of leather, and his eyes turned red. He never thought that he would be able to read a book one day. He said sincerely, "Thank you, teacher. You must go and come back soon. Dumb will miss you."
Goris was stunned for a moment. He turned his head and said coldly, "What do you mean miss me? I don't need you to think about me. Memorize well. I'll test you when you come back. Got it? "After saying that, he left without looking back.
Dumb hugged the book tightly in his arms. Tears flowed down his cheeks. In his heart, there was one more person who was more important than Mantou.
After Goris left, in order not to disappoint his teacher, Dumb memorized the contents of the notes every day besides meditating and eating. The words that Gorris used in the notebook were easy to understand. Coupled with the fact that they had been together for such a long time, Dumby could basically understand the meaning of the words. The more he read, the more he was attracted by the magic within. However, he was a very obedient child. No matter how curious he was, he didn't go into the lab to try.
One day, he woke up early in the morning and briefly read through the notes. Goris had been gone for more than a month. Dumb's unremitting efforts in this month had finally paid off. He had actually memorized all the contents in the notes. When he finished reading, he realized that the last page of the notes seemed to have been torn out. He didn't think much about it. He thought that Goris was afraid that the contents were too profound for him to understand, so he tore it out.
After memorizing the contents of the notes again, Dumb walked into the orchard and prepared to pick his three meals for the day. As soon as he entered the orchard, he suddenly smelled an abnormally rich fragrance. After identifying the direction of the fragrance, he couldn't help but walk over. He couldn't be more familiar with this orchard. Even if he closed his eyes, he could still walk out.
The fragrance came from the depths of the orchard. That rich smell constantly stimulated Dumb's sense of smell. So fragrant! He didn't know what it was.
Finally, after continuous exploration, Dumb finally found the source of the fragrance. It was a fiery red small tree. This small tree didn't exist in the past. It seemed to have grown overnight. The small tree didn't have any leaves. The fiery red tree trunk was crystal clear. At the top of it, there was a milky white fruit. Under the skin of the fruit, there seemed to be a constant flow of light. The bursts of fragrance were coming from the fruit. Dumb squatted down and carefully looked at the fruit in front of him. He recalled the plants in the alchemy chapter in the notes. However, even after he recalled the entire alchemy chapter, he still couldn't find the exact answer.
What kind of fruit is this? It really smells so good! Dumb carefully touched the fruit with his finger. Under his touch, the milky white fruit suddenly fell off the small tree. Dumb was shocked and subconsciously caught the fruit in his hand. A warm feeling came from the fruit, and the fresh smell became even stronger. After the red fruit fell off, it gradually withered. In just a few seconds, the red small tree had completely shrunk into the ground.
Although he didn't know what it was, the hunger of the morning made Dumb excited. He held the fruit in front of him and carefully looked at it. Such a fragrant fruit couldn't be poisonous, right? Thinking of this, Dumb couldn't resist the hunger in his stomach anymore. He bit the fruit and a cool juice flowed into his mouth. The juice had no taste, so Dumb swallowed it subconsciously. The cold feeling went straight to his heart. So comfortable! In just a few bites, he had already finished the white fruit.
Just as Dumb wanted to get up and return to the wooden house, a cold current suddenly surged from his lower abdomen. The cold current quickly expanded and instantly filled his meridians. Cold, so cold. Dumb couldn't stop shivering. The cold current from his body made him unable to stand anymore. He fell to the ground with a plop. The cold current seemed to freeze into his bone marrow, constantly stimulating Dumb's nerves. Dumb thought to himself, It's over, it's over. It seems like I'm going to freeze to death because of a momentary desire for good food.
A layer of frost gradually formed on Dumb's skin, and everything in front of him gradually became blurry. Suddenly, in the blur, he seemed to see a red light flickering at the place where the little red tree had withered. Dumb's whole body was trembling, and he unintentionally grabbed a soft red fruit in his hand. A burning sensation was transmitted from the fruit to his palm, and Dumb's frozen palm suddenly became more agile. Dumb was delighted, and he didn't care whether the fruit was poisonous or not. While he could still move, he stuffed the red fruit into his mouth.
The scalding heat flowed down his throat and instantly rushed into his lungs. The coldness from before was immediately alleviated by a lot.
Just as Dumb let out a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Two streams of air, one hot and one cold, were suddenly divided into two distinct factions. They kept entangling and attacking his internal organs, as if they were going to tear everything apart.
"Ahh-" Dumb rolled on the ground in pain, constantly groaning in pain. However, in this boundless Psychedelic Forest, who would come and save him? Cold sweat dripped down, and Dumb's face alternated between red and white. Under the ravaging of the two streams of air, his body kept spasming. In fact, what he didn't know was that if it weren't for the Nine Turns Marrow Changing Pill that Goris had given him, with his originally broken body, he would have died from this powerful energy breaking through his meridians.
Even if Goris saw the two fruits that Dumb had eaten, he wouldn't be able to recognize them. With Goris's cautiousness, he would never eat a fruit he didn't recognize. These two fruits were bred by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and needed thousands of years to ripen. They were called the Fruit of Rebirth. This kind of fruit had to be eaten together with the red and white fruits in order to bring out its greatest effect. However, its medicinal power was also very strong. Once the medicinal power was completely absorbed, the person who ate them would have their life force constantly expanding, and their life force would become endless. It was the most precious treasure in the eyes of the monks of the Holy Hall. The greatest benefit of the Fruit of Rebirth was that it allowed the body to produce a kind of life force, which could reduce the damage caused by any kind of dark energy.
In the long entanglement of the two energies, Dumb's skin had gradually seeped out fine beads of blood. After enduring the intense pain for a long time, Dumb couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. The blood sprayed on a plant nearby, and one side of the plant instantly withered, while the other side was covered in frost.
Until the night came, the two energies in Dumb's body finally merged into one, turning into a warm stream of air that began to circulate continuously.
Dumb let out a long breath. His clothes had long been completely soaked in sweat, and the feeling of joy after extreme sorrow made his whole body weak. He was surprised to find that his skin was faintly emitting a white light. Wherever the warm stream of air passed, there was a warm and comfortable feeling. He lay on the ground and looked up at the sky. His mind was abnormally clear, and the notes that he had memorized before kept flashing in his mind. Dumb thought to himself, It's finally over. I'm not dead yet? I won't eat random things in the future.