Early the next morning.
Reilo went to the pumpkin vines in the backyard of the tavern, leaned against the wooden fence, and studied the silver candle.
"Look at that two-legged creature, it's sitting down next to us!"
"It stinks! It's so close to me, it's not trying to eat me, is it?"
"Don't worry, you're so ugly, if anyone's going to eat you, it'll be me first. Look how fresh and juicy I am..."
Reilo glanced at the pumpkins with a strange expression. Although he couldn't hear them speak, he could sense a vague consciousness that he could understand. The plant Elves' talents were quite interesting. As long as they were in a quiet environment, they could sense the vague consciousness of some plants.
As for this silver candle, it was a top-grade Magic Props left behind by Prince Ling.
Top-grade Magic Props all have corresponding requirements for their users, and the requirement for this silver candle is that the user must replace the container of the sealing Magic Props.
The <Book of Sealing>, which contained the Gulan Sand Flame Gulan Sand Flame, had already been removed by Reilo and was now a vessel that could be used to replace the sealed object.
but.
Although Reilo already had some understanding of Alchemy due to his knowledge of Star Core Alchemy, he knew nothing about this kind of Alchemy that involved changing the medium, and needed to study it carefully.
"Wahahahahahaha!"
The Plant Ginseng Elf kept fiddling with its two tiny rootlets, chasing after a group of newly hatched yellow chicks as they trotted under the pumpkin vines.
Chirp chirp chirp...
The chicks squealed.
The Plant Ginseng Elf exclaimed excitedly, "Even if you scream your lungs out, no one can save you! Wahahahahaha!"
"Brother Whitey, slow down!"
Lili was a little afraid of small animals and could only stay by Reilo's side. Unbeknownst to her, three leaves had already grown on the top of her head.
Time passed.
"Hehehehehehe!"
The sudden, sinister laughter startled Reilo, who was intently studying the silver candle, and he looked over.
At such close range, I didn't even notice!
A gaunt old man was squatting on the ground with his back to me, watching Whitey chase a group of chicks around, letting out a hoarse, eerie laugh.
Who are you?
Reilo put away the silver candle and looked at the other person cautiously.
The old man slowly turned around.
Only a few strands of grayish-white long hair remained on his head. His large and small, bubbly eyes, like those of a dead fish, seemed not to blink, staring straight at Reilo. From his eyes, Reilo seemed to see endless darkness, an abyss-like depth, a terrifying feeling that his soul was about to be pulled in. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and his pale silver Mental Power receded.
His uneven teeth, revealed with the old man's grotesque laugh, resembled the image of the devil from the Church.
hiss!!!
"You are...?"
When Reilo saw the old man's appearance, he immediately gasped.
Such a familiar image...
Am I dreaming?!
"Your Mental Power is quite impressive."
After praising him, the old man reached out and grabbed a handful of the faint black smoke beside Reilo. The black smoke transformed into a twisted human head in the old man's hand, seemingly bearing a resemblance to Prince Ling. It struggled incessantly but could not escape the skinny, bony old hand.
"Special Mental Power for raising mutated vengeful spirits? And so many of them? Interesting, very interesting! Hehehehehe!"
A hoarse, bizarre laugh rang out, and the old man released his grip, causing the vengeful spirit to flee in terror.
The two fish, one large and one small, with their bulging eyes, struggled to flip their eyelids, and the old man looked at Reilo.
"You recognized me?"
Glug.
Reilo swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Respected Academician Corleon!"
"It's the great Academician Corleon!!"
The old man corrected Reilo's respectful address, then turned his head to look at the scene of Whitey Bai chasing the little yellow chick carefree. His withered and old face once again showed a playful expression, but because his appearance was so terrifying, this playful expression looked rather ferocious.
"Run faster, yes, we'll catch it soon, grab it, that's it! Hehehe, hehehehehe!"
This Old Monster was none other than Academician Corleon, the Dark Seal Master, who stood in the corridor of the Grand Natural Sciences Academy' teaching building!
Reilo took a deep breath and stood awkwardly to the side.
This is a real Old Monster!
One of the Old Monster has lived for hundreds of years, sealed away an Ancient Dragons, established a biological specimen research institute, and stands at the pinnacle of Gran Scholars!
Trying to remain calm, but with his heart pounding uncontrollably, Reilo watched the harmonious and beautiful scene of Whitey laughing and chasing after the little yellow chicks.
Who would have thought that I would meet a great Royal Academician in this way?
Do you like small animals too?
Lei Lu tried his best to appear natural and amiable.
Lili is somewhat afraid of strangers.
"I love it!"
hehe.
Reilo smiled matter-of-factly, about to reply with his prepared lines, when the Old Monster said, "After all, we can't do without them at every meal, hehehehehehe."
Well?
Reilo's smile froze, becoming somewhat stiff.
The Old Monster added, "Of course, I'm only interested in those little things that can't talk. As for those little things that can talk, I prefer to soak them in formaldehyde preservative solution."
"Haha, Master, you're joking."
Reilo's smile seemed somewhat forced.
The Old Monster stood up from the ground, its large and small, dark, dead fish eyes looking at Reilo.
"Judging from your backlash, it seems it hasn't been long. If you find a way to remedy it as soon as possible, you can still recover. If you drag it out, you'll end up like me. If you don't care, then it doesn't matter, hehehehehe!"
"Please enlighten me, Master!"
Reilo quickly bowed.
In the past two days, although Reilo had found three ways to restore his appearance and had recovered some of it after nourishment, Reilo would certainly not refuse if he could take this opportunity to establish a relationship with this Old Monster, which would benefit him immensely no matter what.
"I happen to be visiting an old Troll Clan; he should have some potions that can help you. I can help you, but in return, due to certain special circumstances, my movements are very inconvenient. There's a task here that requires a little guy like you with special Mental Power to complete. Are you interested?"
"You're not talking about the mission to investigate the source of the Blood Demon Flower's mutation, are you?"
Reilo asked tentatively.
"Hehehehe, you guessed right."
Ten days later.
" The Hengduan Mountains are truly vast."
At this moment, although Reilo had obtained a vitality potion from the old troll witch doctor, his appearance remained at the age of twenty-six or twenty-seven. He had not fully recovered and looked more mature with sharp features, having lost the naivety and immaturity of Enlightenment Scholar.
There's nothing we can do about it.
The unexpected consequences of the experiment instantly consumed decades of Reilo's life. Every step of a scholar's exploration inevitably comes at a price, which is also part of the law of conservation.
There are gains and losses.
The <Starry Sky Academic> granted Reilo a qualitative change in his life form and power, but it also cost Reilo half of his life and youthful appearance, forcing him to mature prematurely.
Life can be enhanced through the improvement of its essence, but appearance, unless one deceives oneself with a transformation, can only be restored and maintained, or cursed to preserve youth. There is no return to youth; it is the rings of time etched on the body, the price of growth.
It is surrounded by steep mountain walls and dense vegetation.
Deep in the Hengduan Mountains, Reilo and Corleon sat facing each other, a fire burning between them, roasting a goat's leg.
Along the way, Reilo finally understood what this Old Monster meant by not being able to do without them at every meal.
Academician Corleon, just like Reilo now, was a pure carnivore.
Of course, Reilo's carnivorousness stemmed from his innate talent as a plant Elves; eating other plants was tantamount to cannibalism, something he wouldn't consider unless absolutely necessary. This Old Monster, however, was simply pursuing it out of pure hobby.
"This area is about seven times the size of the Furnace Mountains. Besides several large clans protected by temples, there are more than twenty medium-sized clans that worship guardians, and countless small clans. Along with the Thorn Forest and the Death Swamp, it is one of the three major alien race gathering places in the Starveil Land."
Corleon looked at the crispy, golden-brown mutton skin, let out a strange laugh, took out his secret spices and sprinkled some on it, which stuck to the fat on the skin, releasing a fragrant aroma.
"Master, if we travel so slowly, what if those mercenary groups find out the results first? Wouldn't we have made a wasted trip?"
Reilo swallowed hard and asked the question that had been bothering him.
"I was the one who posted this task. Did you think it would be easy?"
Well?
Reilo opened his mouth in astonishment.
The Old Monster continued, "I never expected you to be that little guy's disciple, hehehehe. I heard that all these years, he's been competing with another little guy at the academy for the honorary position of Vice Dean that Fladick relinquished. How's that going?"
Reilo felt ashamed.
When Gubo was mentioned, he was referred to as "little guy".
"It is Master An Liya, who created the academic discipline of ' <Alien Spirit Communication>.' The academy will make the final decision on her graduation assessment in a year and a half."
"Whether you can secure a position as Vice Dean, obtain research resources, and thus gain entry into the ranks of Royal Academician, this is your mentor's last chance."
Just then...
From the distant forest, it seemed as if horns were sounding, which startled Reilo was staring intently at the roasted meat.
"War? In these deep mountains?"
Whitey White, who was sucking on a candy bean on Reilo's shoulder, suddenly perked up.
"War? Let's go rob copper coins!!"
Ever since witnessing the power of Reilo exchanging copper coins for cream candy, this guy has become deeply fascinated by copper coins. Reilo, rather unkindly, gave Whitey one copper coin as a precious gift to witness their friendship.
With its tongue lolling out, the Plant Ginseng Elf resembled a thirsty puppy, its eyes shining.
"Wow, once I've saved up 10 copper coins, I'll buy 30 pieces of butter candy all at once, and Lili and I can eat our fill!"
Reilo then took out a map and glanced at it briefly.
" Twilight Elves?"
Reilo shook his head. He didn't know much about this tribe. They seemed rather isolated and were probably just a small tribe in this area. There were countless small tribes like them in the Hengduan Mountains.
"Let's go take a look!"
The Old Monster seemed intrigued; his smile was somewhat terrifying.
"I think I can smell a brand new specimen..."
Reilo felt a chill run down his spine.
The biological specimen research institute established by this Old Monster is a human specimen exhibition center. It is the largest, most complex, and most numerous specimen collection in all the major duchies, which shows how fanatical this old guy is about collecting biological specimens.
However, the troll witch doctor actually said that this Old Monster had broken through again?
Is it possible that being Royal Academician is not the end of a scholar's exploration, or that there are hierarchical differences among Royal Academician, which are simply difficult for lower-level scholars to comprehend?
To this day, Reilo can still recall the shocked expression on the old troll witch doctor's face.
It seems these top scholars are hiding secrets from some lesser scholars...