At the foot of the snow-clad Pieced-together Mountain, there exists a small town—Grafting Town.
The Flourishing Hybrid Master left behind five magic plants here: the Fountain King Lotus in the town center, the Golden Star Vine on the northern mountain wall, the Chili Tower to the south, the Withered Claw Tree to the west, and the Green Umbrella Tree to the east.
Upon arriving in Grafting Town, Mage Cai Jing, Master Da Bei, and Zhong Bei focused their investigation on these five magic plants.
They set up their alchemy laboratory directly within the Chili Tower to the south.
The top floor of the Chili Tower has been transformed into a sunroom.
The glass roof is a Silver Level alchemy component, known as the Sunshine Collector.
After being collected by the Sunshine Collector, sunlight can directly illuminate the magic plants within the room.
Greenish vines extend from the walls of the Chili Tower, with each vine’s end bearing an enormous pepper as big as a banana.
The elongated peppers are all bright red, their surfaces bearing human faces.
These human faces all have closed eyes, seemingly asleep and oblivious. Some even have their mouths slightly open, emitting snoring sounds.
Cai Jing cautiously observes the peppers, occasionally using the magic engraving pen in hand to fill in magic lines on the pepper surface or to carve new magic runes.
Footsteps approach, and Master Da Bei arrives on the top floor.
"Keep your voice down, do you want to wake all these explosive peppers?" Cai Jing transmits to Zhong Bei, reprimanding, "If they explode in a chain reaction, the whole town could be blasted to high heavens!"
Master Da Bei retorts grumpily, "Can you stop tinkering with your peppers all the time?"
"We’ve been in Grafting Town for so long and haven’t found any clue of Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritance!"
"Can’t you show some effort?"
Cai Jing glances up at Da Bei before lowering his head again, continuing to maintain the mini magic array on the pepper while saying, "Do you have a good idea?"
"We’ve turned Grafting Town upside down, not just once, but five times!"
"And yet we’ve gathered nothing."
"These five magic plants might be the clues left by Flourishing Hybrid Master for his inheritance, which is a conclusion reached through our mutual discussion."
"What I am doing now is attempting to find a clue from within the Chili Tower."
Master Da Bei shakes his head, "All I see is you cultivating your magic plants using the Chili Tower! Don’t blame me for warning you, but at this rate, we can’t report back to the Alchemy Guild."
With time passing by with zero progress, the pressure on Master Da Bei multiplies.
Initially, he found Master Cai Jing in hopes of enlisting his help to counterfeit and undermine the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ magic potion business. By chance, together with Cai Jing, they unearthed a trace of Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritance on Flower Skirt Island.
Even though Qian Xing launched an attack, they managed to escape without danger using the teleportation array.
Afterwards, they reached an agreement. Master Da Bei would introduce Cai Jing successfully into the Alchemy Guild.
The Alchemy Guild values the inheritance of Flourishing Hybrid Master greatly, assigning the continued excavation of this inheritance series task to the trio of Cai Jing, Da Bei, and Zhong Bei.
Based on clues, they hypothesized two suspect locations and chose one: Grafting Town. But up till now, they haven’t found the inheritance.
Cai Jing sighs, "There’s nothing more we can do. We’ve already given it our all."
"The places we’re suspicious of are here and Anqiu, and do you even know where Anqiu is?"
"This small town is actually our only option."
His pressure is slightly less than Da Bei’s.
Though both are Golden Level, Cai Jing is much stronger than Da Bei in terms of personal combat power and alchemy skills.
The primary executor of the task to explore Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritance is him. Da Bei is more like the Alchemy Guild’s composition sent to supervise him.
"Don’t be so impatient; it’s like you’re speedier than the explosive peppers I concocted," Cai Jing shakes his head. "Take it easy, mate. When I was on Flower Skirt Island, I lived there in seclusion for several years. We’ve only been in Grafting Town a short time."
With strength and talent, Cai Jing is not concerned about being temporarily replaced by the Alchemy Guild.
In the entire Alchemy Guild, who understands the inheritance of Flourishing Hybrid Master better than him? That’s his greatest assurance.
To excavate the inheritance on Flower Skirt Island, he spent several years on it. He has a lot of patience to search for clues here in Grafting Town.
But Da Bei’s situation is much worse than his.
Though Da Bei is an elder of the Alchemy Guild, he is not a power-holder elder like Shuanglian and Hua Ni.
Many people could replace him to come to Grafting Town to supervise Mage Cai Jing.
Da Bei does not want to let go. He understands well that if he accomplishes the task at hand, the contribution would be tremendous. It’s an essential opportunity for him, who lacks talent.
The Alchemy Guild has already urged him multiple times, making Da Bei more anxious than Cai Jing.
He knows the headquarters values this excavation task; they mobilize connections. They can’t move Cai Jing but can replace Da Bei, taking his place.
Da Bei persuades earnestly, "If we don’t find clues, I can understand. But the key is, the headquarters can’t!"
"Master Cai Jing, you’ve joined the Alchemy Guild, no longer the loner you once were. While enjoying the guild’s funding and equipment, you must produce some results."
Seeing Cai Jing keeping his head down without speaking, Da Bei glances around before bluntly saying, "There are already grumblings from the headquarters; we need to show a bit of progress to silence some people, even if it means fabricating some little achievements..."
"As long as we shut those people up, we can relax for a while."
Cai Jing coldly sneers in his heart; he has long seen through Da Bei’s predicament and understands his motive at this moment.
Just as Cai Jing is about to speak, hurried footsteps come.
Thum, thum, thum.
Mage Zhong Bei pushes open the door, practically runs up to the top floor.
Cai Jing’s face was filled with gloom, almost about to erupt.
Master Da Bei’s heart skipped a beat, and he was the first to reprimand his beloved son on behalf of Cai Jing, shouting through transmission: "Idiot, what are you doing again! Don’t you know we need silence here? Wake up these explosive peppers and trigger a chain explosion, the whole town will be doomed!"
"S-Sorry!" Master Zhong Bei quickly gestured, his face full of surprise, "Now there’s a major development. A stranger has come to visit, claiming he has the legacy clues of the flourishing master of hybrids!"
"Oh?" Da Bei and Cai Jing were taken aback.
The two exchanged a glance and hurriedly descended from the top floor.
Following the stairs, they arrived at the reception room on the third floor. On the way, they inquired with Master Zhong Bei about the mysterious visitor, yet Zhong Bei knew very little.
Soon, the three were in the reception room, meeting the mysterious visitor.
It was the Dragon-man youth.
No, in the eyes of Cai Jing and the other two, the young man was already a stranger, a Snow Elf Golden Mage.
"May I ask your name, sir? Have you really mastered the legacy clues of the flourishing master of hybrids? And how do you know our purpose during this visit?" Cai Jing asked directly.
The Snow Elf youth’s face remained calm, arrogantly scanning Cai Jing and Zhong Bei, his gaze unpleasant.
The youth slowly said, "You’ve turned Grafting Town upside down five times, yet still found nothing. I brought the clues you want."
"I came to seek cooperation with you."
"Cooperation?" Cai Jing furrowed his brows; his first impression of the Snow Elf youth was not good.
Da Bei floated with a smile, much more enthusiastic than Cai Jing, probing: "I wonder if sir is a member of the Alchemy Guild?"
The Snow Elf youth waved his hand: "None of this is important, let me first see if you have the qualifications for cooperation."
"If you’re not qualified, there’s no need to waste time discussing cooperation."
Cai Jing’s brows furrowed deeper, coldly scrutinizing the Snow Elf youth: "What counts as qualified? You even want to examine us?"
The youth remained expressionless: "This is indeed an examination. While I’m examining you, aren’t you examining me too? How about a duel."
Admittedly, this suggestion aligns well with the culture of the Ice Kingdom.
Dueling permeates every corner of daily life in the Ice Kingdom. Before negotiations start, confirming qualifications through a duel is very common.
Cai Jing and Da Bei exchanged a glance and then looked at the Snow Elf youth, nodding together.
Cai Jing said, "Then let’s have a duel!"
Though Grafting Town is small, it boasts five dueling fields.
They chose the largest and most completely equipped one, setting it for a private duel with no outside spectators.
The Snow Elf youth and Cai Jing faced off against each other.
Da Bei’s strength was far inferior to Cai Jing’s, making the latter the sole option for battle.
Hosted by Da Bei, after counting down a few times, he shouted: "Let the duel begin!"
In the vast spectator stands, there was only Master Zhong Bei.
Da Bei rapidly retreated, standing behind Master Zhong Bei.
But the Snow Elf youth and Cai Jing Mage did not rush to start the battle.
The Snow Elf youth leisurely said, "Cai Jing Mage, I heard you’re skilled in configuring Magic Plants. You’d better show your best prowess, otherwise, don’t regret being easily defeated by me."
Angered by the youth’s arrogance, Cai Jing sneered coldly. He squinted and knew the importance, gritting his teeth saying, "Then as you wish!"
Summoning Technique - Ascending Dragon Grass.
Holding a short-handled Magic Wand, he raised his arm and lifted the array, directly deploying the magic within the wand.
The summoning array instantaneously took shape in mid-air.
The next moment, with a fierce spatial fluctuation, a clump of grass several meters high was summoned to the dueling field.
The Ascending Dragon Grass swung its long grass leaves, as if gracefully dancing.
The tips of the grass were exceptionally sharp, shimmering with a metallic sheen, as pointed as a spear’s tip.
Space Magic - Void.
The magic ring on Cai Jing Mage’s finger flashed, activating the spell charged inside.
A second later, the space in the dueling field fluctuated fiercely several times, creating numerous pitch-black voids.
These voids were not large, concentrated around the Ascending Dragon Grass and the Snow Elf youth.
The grass tips of the Ascending Dragon Grass drilled into these voids, and the next moment, crossed the space to extend from the voids near the youth.
Dozens of grass tips simultaneously aimed at the Snow Elf youth.
The youth held a long-handled Magic Wand single-handedly.
He pressed the bottom of the wand to the ground, triggering the wand’s built-in Defensive Magic.
The next moment, a Water Ball formed, covering his entire body.
The grass tips struck the Water Ball, whose walls were thick, temporarily unable to penetrate.
The Snow Elf youth manipulated his Spirit, causing turbulent water to swirl on the Water Ball’s surface, accelerating its flow, forming vortices, firmly absorbing every grass tip.
The Snow Elf youth began chanting, and after just a few Magic Rune words, a chill spread.
The intense cold spread along the Water Ball, covering the grass tips of the Ascending Dragon Grass, then penetrated the void, eroding the grass’s body.
The Golden Level Ascending Dragon Grass was frozen into ice lumps within mere seconds, motionless.
The pupils of the Master Da Bei and Master Zhong Bei trembled simultaneously.
The Snow Elf youth’s defensive counterattack was incredibly sharp. In less than ten seconds, he had already gained the upper hand against the Ascending Dragon Grass.
"He only used two spells, one Water Magic and one Frost Magic. But the magic techniques he employed amounted to four: Quick Casting, Abbreviated Chanting, Magic Stacking, and Shield Spellcasting."
"The key is that the power of these two spells is very strong; is it his magical equipment, or is it his own Bloodline enhancement?"
The father and son had some insight; after only one round, they immediately understood that the Snow Elf youth was a formidable spellcaster.
Summoning Technique—Frost Leaf Flower.
A large area of white flowers covered the surface of Cai Jing’s body.
Summoning Technique—Absolute Frost Birch.
Two tall birch trees stood on either side of Mage Cai Jing. These birch trees have extremely high resistance to frost.
Spell—Activation: Giant Type.
The next second, under the effect of the Activation Skill, the Absolute Frost Birch uprooted its roots, forming large feet, and the branches entwined to form fists. A human face appeared on the trunk, eventually transforming into two giants.
The giants, one on the left and one on the right, charged toward the Snow Elf youth.
The youth continually maintained the Water Ball shield. The surface of the Water Ball rolled, carrying him sliding backward.
Leaving a trail of frost, it slowed the giants’ pursuit.
The youth chanted, and countless Ice Cones condensed in midair.
Hundreds of Ice Cones shot out, hitting the giant trees with a crackling sound.
The birch giants gradually became unsustainable and fell on the path of the pursuit.
The youth began to counterattack.
Cai Jing, while repositioning, performed mobile spellcasting, engaging in a counter-offensive with him.
The frost spells struck his body or covered a certain range; the power of the spells was largely absorbed by the Frost Leaf Flower, greatly reducing the impact. He himself was unscathed.
And the Magic Plants summoned by Cai Jing could do nothing to the Snow Elf youth.
Outside the field, the Master Da Bei and Master Zhong Bei watched intently without looking away.
"Cai Jing’s combat style is very obvious. He summons Magic Plants with different functions that he cultivated himself for attack, defense, and healing. His spells are almost all used to assist these magic plants, allowing them to unleash greater power more easily."
"This mysterious Snow Elf Mage is quite orthodox. Mainly using various Frost Magic, occasionally some Water Magic. He must be a dedicated combat mage, with various casting techniques at his fingertips, wielding spells with the natural ease of breathing. Watching him fight is simply a delight!"
The youth and Cai Jing engaged in a counter-offensive for a while, and Cai Jing gradually couldn’t withstand the intense pressure and revealed a hidden trump card.
He summoned a giant trumpet flower Magic Plant.
The trumpet flower sprayed out the loaded Magic Potions in all directions.
This Magic Potion was called the Mixed Color Potion, with strange and overpowering effects, capable of confusing energy.
The potion sprayed on the Frost Magic directly caused the Ice Wall and Ice Arrow to disintegrate into chaotic clusters of frost elements. Sprayed on the youth’s Water Ball, it almost caused the Water Ball spell to collapse.
The Snow Elf youth, undeterred by the situation, laughed heartily: "Now this is more like it."
The more intense the battle, the greater the pressure, the more efficiently he consumed Mage experience.
Spell—Rapid Freeze Light.
Spell—Flying Magic Mirror.
Over a dozen Magic Mirrors with shiny, smooth surfaces, like flying discs, soared in all directions. Five or six Rapid Freeze Lights shot out, refracted once by the Demon Crystals, splitting into three smaller paths. Refraction after refraction, the fine Rapid Freeze Light covered the entire dueling field!
The light far exceeded the potion in quantity and complexity.
The spraying efficiency of the trumpet flower was clearly weaker than the shooting of the light, and soon under the frequent bombardment, it was frozen into ice.
The faces of Master Zhong Bei and Master Da Bei changed slightly, both feeling uneasy.
The two sides attacked each other, and it was obvious that Cai Jing was not his match. This was a very bad sign.
Cai Jing fought back with all his might, releasing various magic plants one after another, including the recently cultivated explosive pepper.
These peppers, when thrown, had formidable explosive power, destroying many of the frost wolves that the Snow Elf youth had temporarily summoned.
The youth was immersed in the fun of battle, growing more skillful as he fought, using spells in succession, his various casting techniques quickly becoming more adept and natural in practice.
To pressure the youth, it needed someone at least of Golden Level.
To be honest, Cai Jing’s combat capability wasn’t weak, an elite among the Golden Level. He was a master of deception; before joining the Alchemy Guild, he roamed alone, unable to maintain his safety without some skill.
But as the battle continued, the youth grew stronger, Cai Jing wanted to turn the tables, but was always at a disadvantage, struggling and feeling increasingly powerless.
A large number of Magic Plants were frozen into Ice Bricks, and as Cai Jing tried frantically to rescue them, even more were frozen.
The youth’s Blood Core didn’t carry Snow Elf blood; his appearance was merely a result of the Deception and Disguise Skill. What actually enhanced him was the Ice Dragon Bloodline he had absorbed before.
Proven in battle, the bloodline’s augmentation effects were excellent.
At least, dealing with someone of Cai Jing’s level was no problem.
This allowed the youth to assess how much combat power he possessed in the Mage field.
"That’s enough, let’s end it this way." Observing that Cai Jing’s tricks had run out, the Snow Elf youth waved his hand and used a big one.
This time, it was not a spell, but Divine Arts.
The majestic power of Divine Arts swept the entire dueling field, blowing Cai Jing directly away, nearly out of the field.
The youth took the initiative to occupy, while Cai Jing landed on the ground with a very unpleasant expression.
Da Bei and Zhong Bei were dumbfounded.
The final Divine Arts cast by the youth were so powerful and mysterious, showcasing that his mastery of Divine Arts was at least as strong as that of Magic.
It turns out that the Snow Elf youth had only used half of his strength in the fight so far.
Even Cai Jing couldn’t help but ponder, "If he used Divine Arts, how long could I hold out?"
When the Snow Elf youth floated over to Cai Jing, the Alchemy Mage looked at the aloof face of the youth and no longer felt any resentment.
Cai Jing lowered his head, bowed slightly, and performed a Mage’s salute, sincerely saying, "I concede, your battle strength is extraordinary!"
The youth felt a burst of joy in his heart.
Conducting affairs in the Kingdom of Ice Sculpture is convenient as long as one’s strength is formidable; a duel can easily subdue others!
He said to Cai Jing, "Your strength is also commendable, worthy of cooperation with us. I can give you relevant clues, indeed, the inheritance of the Flourishing Hybrid Master is located in Grafting Town."
The Snow Elf youth displayed his magnanimity.
"So, what do we need to provide on our side?" Cai Jing inquired, unable to hide his nervousness.
The youth’s lips curled into a slight smile: "I want you to participate in this year’s Warm Snow Cup and help the Potion Mage of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps pass the second round of assessments."
"Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps?" Cai Jing was slightly taken aback.
He was merely a part of this mercenary group.
Back then, Da Bei had sought him out specifically to deal with this mercenary group.
Cai Jing harbored no ill feelings towards the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps; of course, he had no particular fondness for them either. He knew that Shuanglian, a Mage from the Alchemy Guild, seemed to have cooperated with this mercenary group. And Shuanglian had once embarrassed him, forcing him to produce a piece of the Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritance to smooth things over.
Yet, the conflict was mainly between Cai Jing and Shuanglian. In fact, the conflict was not deep, so nothing prevented Cai Jing from agreeing to this request.
"What about you?" the Snow Elf youth looked towards Da Bei and Zhong Bei.
The father and son exchanged glances and both sighed bitterly.
Back then, because Zhong Bei had failed to keep a close watch, Bu Quan had joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, triggering a series of events. Now, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps appeared in their lives once more.
The mysterious and powerful Snow Elf Mage requested that they cooperate with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Cai Jing had already agreed, so Da Bei and Zhong Bei had no choice but to opt for cooperation as well.
Both parties signed a Blessed Light Contract on the spot, and the Snow Elf youth used Divine Arts as an additional security measure.
"I’ll take you there now," the youth said, leading the three of them secretly to Jia Bing’s residence.
"So it was in Jia Bing’s Alchemy Room all along!" Da Bei and the others clearly knew this place as well.
Back then, after Zong Ge triumphed threefold, he and Zi Di accelerated their journey and secretly arrived at Grafting Town, looting Jia Bing’s Alchemy Laboratory.
Before they left, they finally discovered the secret door of the Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritance. They tried with all their might but couldn’t open the secret door. Unable to wait for the right moment, they deployed a classic combination of Deception and Disguise Skill and Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill on the secret door and then left.
They departed just in time; shortly after, duelists dispatched personnel to handle it. Since Jia Bing guarded the secret of the inheritance and never revealed it, the duelists did not discover it either.
Cai Jing and his group searched Grafting Town five times over, but as long as the spell’s effects remained, their mere strength could never uncover it.
In the unbelievable expressions of the three, the Snow Elf youth gently brushed his hand to dismiss the spell, revealing the secret door.
The three were thrilled beyond words, Cai Jing even moved first, nearly pouncing on it.
He ran his hand over the surface of the secret door, his voice slightly trembling, "Indeed, this is another of the Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritances!"
Despite his calm demeanor at Chili Tower, he valued this series of inheritances even more than Da Bei.
Because his abilities and alchemy research focused on Magic Plants, and the Flourishing Hybrid Master’s inheritance would be greatly beneficial to him.
Da Bei, on the other hand, was constrained by his strength and talent, making the inherited objects have limited improvement for him. What Da Bei truly valued was the contribution and achievements calculated by the Alchemy Guild upon task completion.
"Conceal the information first, and inform the higher-ups once we have unlocked the secret door," Da Bei suggested.
Discovering the secret door of inheritance made him no longer impatient. Instead, he was exceedingly cautious, apprehensive about being transferred away by the Alchemy Guild’s upper echelons on the verge of success.
Cai Jing stood straight, his gaze still fixated on the secret door, sighing lightly, "Unlocking this secret door won’t be easy and will take quite a long time."
His last attempt at opening a secret door had been a monumental endeavor. The moment he accessed the information contained in the secret door, he was utterly baffled. If one wished to create a Grafted Magic Plant product recognized by the secret door, it would require a substantial amount of energy and time for deep research and continuous trials.
Cai Jing looked towards the Snow Elf youth: "First, let’s help the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps pass the second assessment. This task is more urgent."
Da Bei looked grave.
Helping the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was not a simple act. The Alchemy Guild and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were engaged in a wager, with Hua Ni, a key elder, leading an effort to suppress, seeking to eliminate Yao Ma (Zi Di). How could Da Bei not be aware of this?
Now that the three of them were supposed to support Yao Ma, it would have a significant negative impact on their status and reputation within the Alchemy Guild.
The youth slightly shook his head, "If I said I could help you handle this secret door within half a day, what would you think?"
Cai Jing, Da Bei, and Zhong Bei froze simultaneously.
Zhong Bei could hardly believe it, instinctively retorting, "How is that possible?"
Cai Jing, uncertain and suspicious.
Da Bei, skilled in deep exploration yet lacking talent, was the first to respond, "What else do you want?"
The Snow Elf youth recalled Cang Xu’s words and repeated them, "In fact, I can offer you even more."
"For example, higher positions within the Alchemy Guild. Do you fancy the power and status like Hua Ni’s?"
Da Bei’s heart leaped wildly, Zhong Bei’s jaw dropped wide open.
Cai Jing, however, furrowed his brows, a sense of caution rising in his heart. He stared at the Snow Elf youth, "I get it; the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is backed by arms dealers, and you were sent by their patrons!"