"Just one last problem to solve."
Ian finally opened his eyes, the depths of his pupils flashing with an interwoven silver and crimson light.
He grabbed the feather pen and quickly wrote a few lines in a blank space on the draft of the formula.
"Fusion Key: Use the Iron Spine Vine King Rootstock as a ’scaffold’ to construct a temporary bloodline network."
The Iron Spine Vine King is naturally endowed with extremely strong Energy Conduction and structural resilience. Its rootstock contains a natural network of "Energy Conduits."
"First, use Original Blood Origin Tracing to infuse the Rock Armor Attribute from the blood essence into the rootstock, giving it a ’malleable rock structure.’ Then, guide the ’Earth Vein Origin’ from the Earth Barbarian Bear Essence Blood to flow along this network, permeating it and ultimately fusing deeply with the Rock Armor Attribute."
"Location for the Alchemy Array: Three meters into the northeast corner of the laboratory, seventeen meters underground. There is a nexus of faint energy channels."
While not a true "living node," a complex Guiding Array could be used to temporarily simulate a similar environment.
"Guidance Timing for Original Blood Origin Tracing: When the potion’s temperature rises to 187 degrees, and the first ’mountain illusion’ begins to circulate within..."
After the information from the two bloodline sources achieved initial resonance, the Rule guidance had to be completed within three seconds, or the potion’s properties would fail to solidify correctly...
At this point, he had found a solution for every key problem.
Ian set down the pen and exhaled a long breath.
Gaga, perched on his shoulder, nuzzled his cheek. "Ian, are you done writing?"
"Yes, the theoretical part is all sorted out."
Ian rubbed his throbbing temples. "Next... comes the practical application."
He stood, walked over to a storage cabinet in the corner of the laboratory, and opened its doors.
Inside, all the ingredients were neatly arranged, along with the various Auxiliary Materials Aidele had delivered over the past few days.
Main Ingredients:
A Special Crystal Bottle containing a dark brown liquid resembling solidified magma: the complete Heart Blood Essence of a Tier Two Earth Barbarian Bear.
Three smaller Crystal Bottles containing a viscous, dark gold liquid: the Blood Essence of a Tier One Rock Armor Demon Bear.
A palm-length section of Iron Spine Vine King Rootstock with grayish-brown bark and intact roots.
There were enough main and Auxiliary Materials for him to attempt the complete Refining process three times.
Ian did not start immediately.
He first walked to the center of the laboratory, sat cross-legged, and entered a state of deep Meditation.
In his Sea of Spirit, the pale gold Crystal Core slowly rotated, and his depleted Spiritual Power began to recover rapidly.
Half an hour later, Ian opened his eyes again. The exhaustion was gone, replaced by a crystalline clarity.
He stood up and walked to the lab bench.
Step One: Constructing the Alchemy Array
Ian walked to the northeast corner of the laboratory and pressed his hands on the ground.
His Spiritual Power, like the finest of probes, seeped into the ground.
One meter, three meters, ten meters... seventeen meters.
’Found it.’
Two faint energy channels converged here, creating a stable flow of Earth Vein Energy.
Ian took out twelve special Rune Stones from his Dimension Ring.
These stones were dark yellow, their surfaces covered in complex Earth Runes.
These were the "Earth Vein Guide Stones" recorded in Ashia’s notes.
He buried the Rune Stones in the ground in specific positions, his fingertip lightly tapping each stone.
Pale gold Energy Threads surged out, activating the Runes.
VMMMM...
A low hum sounded, and the twelve Rune Stones simultaneously lit up with a dark yellow glow.
The lights connected with each other, forming a complex two-meter-diameter Array on the ground.
In the center of the Array, Earth Vein Energy began to slowly gather. The air grew heavy, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on his shoulders.
’A temporary Earth Vein node... It’s done.’
Ian let out a breath. This first step alone had consumed nearly ten percent of his Spiritual Power.
Step Two: Pre-processing the Main Ingredients.
Ian returned to the lab bench and placed the Earth Barbarian Bear and Rock Armor Demon Bear Blood Essences together.
With his hands hovering over them, the effect of his thrice Limit-Broken Original Blood Origin Tracing activated!
Pale gold Energy Threads split into two strands, burrowing into the two types of essence.
This time, it wasn’t just about activation; he needed to ’trace the origin.’
Within the Earth Barbarian Bear Essence Blood, the illusion of a colossal, mountain-sized ancient Earth Tyrant Bear began to manifest.
A weighty Domain fluctuation caused the air in the laboratory to practically solidify.
On the side of the Rock Armor Demon Bear essence, a slightly smaller but more solid illusion of an ancient Rock Bear emerged, letting out a silent roar.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ian’s forehead as his Spiritual Power drained away like an ebbing tide.
He meticulously guided the tracing process, causing the ’source information’ within the two types of Essence Blood to gradually clarify and intensify...
This process lasted for a full three hours.
When Ian retracted the Energy Threads, the two materials had undergone a fundamental change.
The Earth Barbarian Bear Blood Essence turned from dark brown to dark gold. Within it, golden fragments of Law expanded into complete Law Patterns, flowing slowly like the veins of the earth.
The Rock Armor Demon Bear Blood Essence, in turn, shifted from dark gold to amber. Natural, rock-like patterns surfaced within, and its energy level had clearly increased.
’The tracing is complete... Now I can begin the fusion.’
The most critical step was processing the Iron Spine Vine King Rootstock.
Ian picked up the section of Iron Spine Vine King Rootstock and placed it on a special Jade Tray.
He didn’t cut it directly, but first soaked it in diluted Moon Soul Essence for ten minutes to soften the defensive structure of its surface.
His Spiritual Power pierced the rootstock’s microscopic structure like fine needles, guiding its dormant energy channels to awaken.
’I can’t damage the structure... I also need to ’awaken’ the Extraordinary Information.’
Fine, vein-like patterns surfaced on the rootstock, undulating slightly under the heat as if they had a life of their own.
Next, Ian used his Spiritual Power to vaporize the origin-traced essences into minuscule dewdrops, which he then sprinkled evenly over the rootstock’s surface.