Chapter 591: Breaking into the 78th Layer of the Abyss: Thousand-Eye Abyss! |
After leaving the Rex Bronze Furnace Workshop, Locke directly took the Dragon Holding Longevity Peach wand and headed to the Feathered Serpent Pavilion.
Locke went to the third floor of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, which was the potion laboratory he had rented. A month ago, the half-dragon shopkeeper had given him a pile of recommendations, from which he selected three First Circle crystallization stage wizards. These wizards basically all came from small and medium-sized wizard organizations near Golden Crown Mountain.
Locke walked into the potion laboratory. The three wizards were momentarily stunned, then they all nodded to Locke, the boss who had hired them.
Locke said, "Everyone, how is the third phase experiment for Tyrant's Eye going?"
The ages of the three wizards were one hundred fifty years old for one, and three hundred years old for the other two.
Basically, wizards of different levels from different level wizard organizations had similar ages.
This was because the requirements of small organizations in Cloud Marsh Wetland couldn't possibly be as high as the Seven Great top-tier wizard organizations, but they still had age requirements for wizards.
Therefore, the ages of these First Circle crystallization stage wizards followed a traceable pattern.
Moreover, although wizards from these small and medium wizard organizations didn't have an "up or out" policy, they did have "promote or transfer," "promote or demote," and with more and more foreign wizard population coming to the Three Marsh Lands, these small and medium organizations had recently also started implementing "up or out."
Of these three, one came from Seven-Colored Nursery, one from Shanks' Grass Hut, and one from Black Market Cauldron.
Seven-Colored Nursery was a small to medium-sized wizard organization mainly composed of breeders, primarily researching nutrient soil studies within breeding science, specializing in researching various nutrient soils to provide services for some wizards at Golden Crown Mountain.
Therefore, this First Circle crystallization stage wizard from Seven-Colored Nursery was usually quite flattering toward him.
Shanks' Grass Hut and Black Market Cauldron were both small potion study wizard organizations, without even a single Second Circle wizard inside, all making their living by researching small subdivided fields within potion studies.
They were all wizard mentors, but wizard mentors from small places couldn't stand up straight when facing researchers from Golden Crown Mountain.
Because they only enjoyed treatment equivalent to wizard mentors within their respective wizard organizations, rather than being truly recognized wizard mentors acknowledged by the White Wizard Association.
Moreover, all three knew just how difficult it was to enter Golden Crown Mountain.
Half a month ago, with the help of these three people, and with Locke not sparing any expense in spending money, they finally successfully developed and improved the Tyrant’s Eye Potion.
Then after spending a large amount of magic stones, rushing frantically, they finally completed the third phase experiment today.
Before him was a group of third-class wizard apprentices conducting third-phase drug experiments, basically students that the three wizards he hired had pulled over from their respective academies.
Leon Edwards from Seven-Colored Nursery said to Locke, "Boss, the experiments are all done. We had these apprentices drink diluted Tyrant’s Eye Potion, and through control group experiments, we proved the effects of Tyrant's Eye as well as related side effects. Except for long-term outcome experiments which we didn't have time to complete, all other experiments are finished."
"The Tyrant’s Eye Potion is already quite refined."
Locke picked up an ordinary cylindrical potion bottle placed on the table in the middle of the potion laboratory. He didn't greet those wizard apprentices either, since after all, the third phase experiments and large amount of miscellaneous work were all done by the three wizards he hired.
He had basically never met those apprentices more than a few times.
"Have these apprentices leave here." Locke finished reading the materials while picking up the potion. "Finally completed."
The Spell Combat Tournament was about to begin, and he urgently needed the Tyrant’s Eye Potion to raise his magic pressure to 9999. This was his only chance.
Fortunately, with his efforts in investing one million five hundred thousand magic stones, within a month, he managed to complete the potion before the competition.
Those wizard apprentices quickly left the potion laboratory under the arrangement of the three wizard employees.
Although the three wizards from small wizard organizations were all First Circle crystallization wizards, at this moment they looked at Locke with respect, naturally feeling themselves a head shorter than Locke.
Look at wizards from Golden Crown Mountain, making a move that was a million-level self-research project, directly using money to produce a finished product within a month.
Most terrifying was that he could actually use money to produce results.
Most people couldn't produce results even if they threw money at it.
The three wizards from small wizard organizations, Leon Edwards, Cassius, and Upton, exchanged glances with each other.
When they were first hired, discovering that their employer wanted them to create the Tyrant’s Eye Potion within a month and complete formula improvements to reduce pharmacological toxicity, they originally thought this employer had gone mad.
Another wizard with too much money and nowhere to spend it going crazy.
There were far too many such wizards in Cloud Marsh Wetland.
Too many wizards driven insane by performance requirements.
They had encountered before those employers who, having a bit of money, thought they could do whatever they wanted, often wasting money and time, ending up with nothing but a mess, and might even blame them for being all talk and having no ability to produce actual results, better off cooperating with potion masters from shop alliances from the start.
But Locke actually completed the formula improvement in just half a month, and with terrifyingly high accuracy.
This led to them following Locke only doing many miscellaneous detailed work, as well as providing skilled procedural experience.
Was this the level of a senior researcher at Golden Crown Mountain?
Golden Crown Mountain truly deserved to stand at the academic pinnacle of the Three Marsh Lands, indeed able to represent the magical level of their Cloud Marsh Wetland.
Locke took out a syringe, drew out the potion, then directly injected it into his blood vessel.
The three wizards' expressions changed slightly at this sight.
Although there was no problem with the potion, that was only under theoretical conditions. After all, using this potion required tremendously exaggerated physical strength, and also required very strong abyssal energy resistance.
Ordinary wizards wanting to take it would best prepare a pile of antidote potions nearby, even prepare a blood filtration separation device, so that in cases where the drug properties were too fierce and the body couldn't withstand it, they could filter and extract the potion components from the blood.
For Locke to directly consume it like this caught these three completely off guard.
Before the three could speak, in just an instant, the magic pressure on Locke's body immediately expanded.
Locke's forehead automatically manifested the Three-Eyed Tiger Cat's amber-colored innate magic eye. The cold innate magic eye rotated in a circle, sweeping across the three First Circle crystallization stage wizards.
In an instant, the three First Circle crystallization stage wizards felt as if they were placed in an ice cellar.
At the same time, they felt the magic pressure on Locke's body continuously rising. Heavy pressure appeared on their shoulders, on their backs, behind their heads, in every position on their bodies.
Every second that passed, the magic pressure on Locke's body would increase somewhat, and so violent and terrifying was the spiritual presence that it formed an eye behind Locke.
The eye of a beholder.
That was the eye of a Tyrant Beholder. The Tyrant Beholder also had many tentacles, and even at the top of the eyeball was a small beholder crown.
Tyrant Beholders were great lord-level existences even in the abyssal planes.
Only one step away from the Demon Archdukes who controlled entire planes!
The planes of the abyss, small planes might only be controlled by a single Demon Archduke, while large planes were controlled by many Demon Archdukes.
If it was a larger world-class plane, then it might be directly controlled by Abyssal Princes and Demon Princes.
They could already represent the opinions of the Abyssal Will.
The spiritual presence belonging to the Tyrant Beholder swept toward the surroundings like a tide. The three wizards couldn't help but use their respective permanent defensive fields, Bamboo Sea Sword Formation, Mercury Mirror Shield, and Emerald Mist to protect themselves.
Leon Edwards had bamboo swords circling around his body, protecting him. "How can the magic pressure from the boss form such powerful suppression on us!"
"We're all wizards of the same level."
Cassius from Shanks' Grass Hut had a pale face and hurriedly took out a status recovery potion to drink. "The boss has very powerful abyssal energy on him, seemingly forming resonance with the Tyrant’s Eye Potion. However, the potion itself was designed by the boss, so actually the boss understands the hidden effects best."
"It's the magic pressure from the existence behind the resonance that's forming such terrifying magic pressure suppression on us."
A small shield flowing with mercury condensed in front of Cassius's chest, seemingly possessing special power to block the magic pressure released from Locke.
The other potion master from Black Market Cauldron muttered to himself, "Is this the gap between Golden Crown Mountain and people like us?"
Emerald-colored mist surrounded his body to prevent his body from being impacted by the magic pressure emanating from Locke.
"We've only just entered the First Circle crystallization stage. Whether we can become Second Circle wizards in the future still depends on luck. And that's something a hundred years from now. But I think the boss is already attempting to break through to Second Circle. Though we and he are both First Circle crystallization stage wizards, we're people from different worlds."
This wizard said, "I'm convinced. Golden Crown Mountain indeed has a completely different gap from wizards from my Black Market Cauldron."
Leon Edwards glanced at him without speaking.
He was different from the two wizards from small wizard organizations without Second Circle wizards. His Seven-Colored Nursery was a small to medium-scale wizard organization.
So, it did have Second Circle wizards.
There was even one star ring wizard!
Currently, their Seven-Colored Nursery was hoping to produce more star ring wizards and formal wizards, then through increasing student numbers and annual journal output and article output, enable them to reach medium-scale organization status, ultimately possessing a sun ring wizard!
Therefore, Leon Edwards's gap with Locke wasn't quite so large. He also planned to attempt breaking through to Second Circle wizard within the next fifty years to try.
He had always maintained thoughts of comparing the gap between Locke and himself, not out of a challenging mentality.
But rather to learn.
At this moment, feeling the terrifying spiritual presence emanating from Locke that seemed like the world was ending, time freezing, all things withering, he showed a bitter smile on his face. "Comparing people really can't be done. No wonder he could become a First Circle crystallization stage wizard at twenty-two years old."
"Though I'm over a hundred years older than him, his current accumulation is actually deeper than mine."
The next moment, Leon Edwards's eyes became resolute. "But the path to exploring truth isn't about who is younger or who advances faster. As long as one becomes a Second Circle wizard, it's all a bright path ahead. I will work hard to accumulate wealth for advancing to Second Circle wizard."
At that moment, Locke briefly fell into a hallucination. His body automatically deployed two types of Myst's Power through the Hydra magical plant, protecting himself.
At the same time, Locke seemed to come to a place beneath a blood-colored sky filled entirely with eyes. The ground of this world was a vast ocean.
A sea of silver tears.
Some of those eyes in the blood-colored sky were flowing tears down from within.
At the same time, this world also had countless beholders floating about.
Ordinary beholders, beholder lords, beholder elders, beholder tyrants...
'Where is this?' Locke looked up toward the sky, at positions that seemed like cracks. At the intersection of countless eyes and bloody substance, there was a dark, profound Abyssal River.
This river came from bottomless dark profundity, and also went toward bottomless dark profundity.
Countless rivers gathered together. Large quantities of demon eggs surged within, countless demon larvae thrown into this layer of the abyssal plane.
Falling into that sea of silver tears.
Then, a miracle occurred. After those abyssal demon larvae fell into the sea of tears, ninety percent violently convulsed and died, but the remaining ten percent of abyssal larvae actually gradually transformed into ordinary beholders.
Seeing this scene, Locke finally confirmed that after taking the Tyrant Beholder potion, the potion clashed intensely with his own spiritual presence, triggering a chain reaction, so his consciousness actually came to this mysterious place.
"In other words, abyssal demon larvae can transform into multiple types of abyssal demons?" Locke surveyed his surroundings. "The larvae in the Abyssal River are a basic form of abyssal power, the primitive state of energy life. The different planar powers of the Endless Abyss can individually empower them, so abyssal demon larvae will develop toward different abyssal demon forms."
"But why exactly did I come here after drinking the Tyrant’s Eye Potion? This is different from the effects of the original version of Tyrant's Eye."
Locke sensed something and turned to look behind himself, only to see behind him was a terrifying King of Tyrants, its form as tall as a mountain, wearing a beholder crown on its head.
Behind it followed many ordinary beholders, beholder elders, and beholder lords.
Clearly the appearance of a major force leader.
That Tyrant Beholder, upon seeing Locke's spiritual presence projected to this plane, flashed excitement in its eye. "Thanks to Demon Archduke, Supreme Beholder Lord's gift. Thank you for using your supreme great power to summon this soul with deep connections to our plane. Hahaha, as long as I occupy your body, you will be a natural abyssal plane exit."
"You even dare to contaminate yourself with abyssal energy. Abyssal energy is the essence of our world's world power. Unlike other worlds, our abyss's world power is abyssal energy, just with different degrees of purity!"
The Tyrant Beholder pressed forward, attempting to directly devour Locke's spiritual presence.
Locke observed his surroundings and indeed saw a gaze that had summoned his spiritual presence here.
He closed his eyes, seeming to see a Supreme Beholder coming along the spiritual presence of the Tyrant’s Eye Potion he had consumed. That body as huge as a plane was deeply impressive.
Locke quickly removed the Angel's Tears soul artifact from his left wrist, but even after removing it, he didn't sense any malice from the other party.
It seemed to be without sorrow or joy, a purely observational attitude.
Locke looked toward the Tyrant Beholder charging at him and frowned. "This is very likely the 78th layer of the abyssal plane, Thousand-Eye Abyss. Even in the Wizard Wars, they rarely fought to the rear of the abyss."
"I didn't expect that after taking the Tyrant’s Eye Potion, because of the abyssal energy circulation already in my body, it would produce a chain reaction, and I'd be summoned here by a Second Circle stage beholder. The other party doesn't seem to be an ordinary Second Circle, very likely moon ring, possibly even sun ring stage Second Circle. But toward me there's actually no particular hostility."
"Why did he summon me here?"
Locke looked toward the 78th layer plane Thousand-Eye Abyss, seeing countless beholders devouring each other within to evolve.
Seeing the Tyrant Beholder rapidly approaching him, Locke instinctively used his permanent defensive field, Myst's Power. Immediately the two sides collided together, like thunder striking earth fire.
Heaven and earth shattered.
Both sides were forced to retreat.
The Tyrant Beholder looked at Locke incredulously, "Although both are First Circle stage, how could a mere human wizard contend with the power of an upper-tier abyssal lord like me among First Circle?! How is this possible!"
After retreating, Locke summoned a Tyrant Sea Gold Sand composed of spiritual presence, deployed the Tyrant Domain, suppressed the three beholder lords approaching him, suppressing their power.
"Abyssal creatures rely on devouring each other to break through racial soul limits. It's the nature of abyssal creatures... also the method by which the abyss, symbol of chaos, can break through limits. And I devour various levels of beholder potions. Beholder potions themselves require some abyssal creature materials. Essentially it's not much different from the evolution method of abyssal creatures."
"Or rather, allowing mutual devouring is itself a world law of the abyss."
"And I've combined too deeply with the abyssal power of the beholder line, to the point where the Supreme Beholder can actually lock onto my position through the spiritual presence of the Tyrant’s Eye Potion I consumed, summoning my consciousness over."
"The danger of consuming abyssal potions is indeed very high. This only happens in special situations like mine when taking the Tyrant’s Eye Potion, which is why this phenomenon never occurred once during the previous third-phase experiments."
Locke gradually understood what had happened.