Arriving at Thunder Valley, Luo Wei turned to the animal handler beside him and instructed, "You can head back now."
Then, he settled the bill for the journey.
The talent mixture's activation and absorption process was known to take several days at minimum—possibly stretching to ten days or even half a month.
The beast trainer nodded without much expression, pulled the reins of the swamp behemoth, and rode off into the distance.
Luo Wei entered the modest residence—three rooms and a hall—placed his pharmaceutical ingredients and tools in their respective spots, and locked the main door. Though Shilut was generally obedient, he was still a child in many ways.
"Stay inside, don't go wandering around. Wait until I return," Luo Wei warned.
"Buzz," Xiao Shilut replied lazily while gnawing on a stone chunk near the entrance.
With that handled, Luo Wei donned his dragon-leather armor, approached the edge of Thunder Valley, and pulled out the map outlining the distribution of lightning trees. He had compiled the maps after numerous field surveys.
Studying them for a moment, he activated Divine Protection and stepped into the electrified zone.
With the protective gear on, his resistance to thunderbolts had increased significantly. Combined with Divine Protection, he faced minimal risk.
"Boom—!"
A bolt of lightning struck him as he crossed into the valley, sparks erupting across his armor.
Although the hit made Luo Wei tremble, he pressed forward at full pace, heading for the nearest tree known to bear lightning fruit.
He arrived within two minutes, only to find the tree barren—no sign of any lightning fruit.
Undeterred, Luo Wei advanced to the next one. Several strikes landed on him, but his gear held strong. Eventually, he harvested one lightning fruit, roughly the size of a fist, glowing electric blue with small arcs crackling across its surface.
He immediately invoked the Holy Deed for assessment.
[79% substitution compatibility with lightning core]
Not bad, but Luo Wei was seeking something more optimal.
His armor had handled the punishment well so far, so he decided to continue exploring Thunder Valley.
He placed the fruit safely into his pouch and moved on.
"Boom... Boom…"
Lightning relentlessly rained from above as Luo Wei weaved through the valley. After nearly thirty minutes and four fruits collected, he finally discovered a high-grade specimen with a 94% substitution compatibility.
Despite his precautions, Luo Wei had sustained serious injuries by this point. He dared not linger further. Quickly, he chugged a Swiftness potion and bolted for the exit.
"Boom—!"
Another strike slammed into him mid-sprint, causing him to stagger.
It was strange, but he couldn't help feeling that the faster he moved, the more frequently he got struck. He half-joked to himself that Laheimd should conduct a proper experiment on this phenomenon.
Still, Luo Wei didn't dare slow down. The longer he stayed inside the valley, the more vulnerable he became. In total, speeding through seemed to minimize cumulative strikes.
"Boom!"
The final bolt hit him just before he crossed the valley's threshold.
"Whoo—"
He exhaled heavily, activating his Divine Faith healing ability to mend his body. In a few moments, his injuries had notably improved. Then he made his way back.
"Buzz!" Shilut waved at him with a mouthful of rocks before returning to his snacking.
There were more than enough stones here to keep him fed for weeks.
Luo Wei entered the alchemy chamber and laid out the nine components needed for the talent mixture: silver leaf grass, lightning core, arcane dust, heather root, golden thorn vine, sands of time, purple lotus, dragon's blood, and the mountain-blood substitute.
After more than two decades of searching, he had finally gathered them all.
After taking a short rest to fully restore his focus, Luo Wei began to chant a meditative incantation and commenced crafting with the utmost precision.
The mixture was divided into three phases, each composed of three distinct ingredients. The production process was excruciatingly intricate.
Although the initial preparations had already been completed in Asgard—saving considerable effort—the creation of the first dose still took nearly a full day.
This was largely due to the lightning fruit, which had just been harvested and required an extensive series of preliminary treatments.
With those hurdles cleared, Luo Wei moved on to the second and third doses, finishing both in half a day thanks to the groundwork already laid.
In total, one and a half days were spent to complete all three doses.
Having trained for over 20 years as a pharmacist, Luo Wei now demonstrated the full maturity of his craft. Despite the mixture's extreme complexity, he didn't make a single mistake throughout the entire process.
Now, three crystal flasks lay on his alchemy table, each containing a uniquely vibrant potion. Though they were only partial doses, each emitted different hues and potent waves of magical energy.
All three phases were effective in talent enhancement. Even consuming one would grant benefits, albeit limited.
Luo Wei composed himself, picked up the second flask, and carefully poured its contents into the first.
As the liquids mixed, the potion radiated dazzling light, flooding the room in a multicolored glow.
Despite their volume, the merged liquid only filled one bottle.
He repeated the process with the third flask.
This time, as the fusion took place, intense energy surged, generating visible shockwaves from the bottle.
If not for the high-grade reinforced container, a normal flask would've shattered from the strain.
Eventually, the explosive light and tremors settled. The vibrant hues faded, replaced by a serene, milky-white liquid.
Indeed, it looked like milk.
In fact, among ancient pharmacists, this concoction had an alternate name—Titan's Milk.
After more than twenty years of planning and searching, Luo Wei now held the completed talent mixture in his hands. Yet instead of overwhelming joy, he felt a deep and unexpected calm.
With a slight smile, he carried the crystal flask out of the lab.
He said to Shilut, "Don't go anywhere until I wake up, okay?"
"Om." Xiao Shilut nodded solemnly.
The room was spartan—no furniture, only rocks and space—but sufficient for what came next.
Luo Wei sat on a flat stone, gently swirled the liquid in the flask, and looked toward the horizon.
Now was the moment to witness the miracle.
Taking a deep breath, he raised the flask to his lips and drank every last drop.
"Ah—!"
It might look like milk, but it tasted like fiery liquor. A searing sensation spread from his throat through his entire body, as if he were being plunged into a furnace.
In mere moments, Luo Wei was soaked in sweat.
He looked down—and was stunned. His "sweat" had turned into a thick red substance, like blood.
Before he could contemplate it further, his consciousness slipped away.
He slumped back onto the stone seat, completely unconscious.
The crimson ooze spread across his body rapidly, forming a semi-translucent blood cocoon that soon encased him completely. It resembled amber, glowing faintly in the dim light.
Within that blood-colored chrysalis… a new power began to take shape.
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