Thousand Eyed Starfish
A day later, Leylin met the old woman from the Botelli Family once more.
This time, however, she looked to be pale and in a bad state, as if she had not rested well.
At the sight of Leylin, her eyes seemed to come to life and she spoke in a low voice, “I can give you information regarding the secret high-grade meditation technique that belongs to our family. However, I want to make this clear first. This technique is incomplete, and there are stringent limits and restrictions applied to those who train in it. If you were to forcefully train in it, there are sure to be residual effects.”
“That’s my problem. Just give me the meditation technique, and I’ll give you the solution to releasing the curse. It’s as easy as that!” Leaning against the comfy back of his reclining chair, Leylin’s fingers were crossed as he calmly spoke.
“Fine! But we will first need to make a contract with the presence of the Trial’s Eye!” The old woman straightened her back.
“Of course! I don’t trust you either.” Leylin nodded. “Let’s start…”
A moment later, the old woman took what she wanted and left. Leylin was left on his chair, fiddling with a light golden crystal ball, and looking to be deep in thought.
“What an interesting meditation technique!”
He had briefly looked through the contents of the meditation technique the old woman had given him. Due to the contract under the watch of the Trial’s Eye, she did not dare cheat him, though Leylin had found out she had pulled a few tricks as well.
For instance, she had either exaggerated or understated a few facts.
Based on what Hyder had said, male Magi in the Botelli family who had forcefully trained in this high-grade meditation technique had all died after going mad. However, all that was written here was that there would be aftereffects that would affect one’s mind.
The old woman had also exaggerated the effects of training in this meditation technique, distorting the fact that one could catch glimpses of some vague fragments of the future into one being able to see the future.
Upon seeing the frightening effects of a high-grade meditation technique that could aid one in seeing the future, most Magi would not hesitate to train in it. They would then fall into the old woman’s trap!
“How clever, but that’s it!” Leylin assessed as he played with the crystal ball that had information about the meditation technique recorded within it.
As the meditation technique the old woman had given him was real, it complied with the Trial’s Eye contract. There were only a couple of small changes that she made to the results and side effects, which would not cause the Trial’s Eye to retaliate against her.
However, in Leylin’s eyes, whatever she did was just a joke!
“However, the fact that there is an ability to predict the future is quite alarming. Through the spiritual force from the supernatural world, one can sense fragments of what’s to happen in the future…”
Leylin rubbed his chin. He had briefly looked through the technique, through which, with training, Magi could practice and form a unique type of spiritual force. With the extension of this spiritual force, one could then gain information and see images relating to the future.
In general, the results were astounding, but unfortunately, the technique was incomplete.
“A.I. Chip, how’s the scanning and recording process going?”
Leylin asked inwardly.
[Beep! Information on “Sacred Flame”, a high-grade meditation technique, has been recorded! Inputted into database, “Meditation techniques” …… Classified information as five stars]
The A.I. Chip intoned.
[After scanning through, the percentage of incompleteness of the meditation technique is at least 79.52%. If this technique is trained in, it will result in mental issues. Chances of developing bipolarism is at 98%!]
“98%!? Then there’s definitely going to be a problem!” Leylin sighed and then asked, “A.I. Chip, is it possible to complete this meditation technique?”
He suspected that the strict limitations of one’s body and bloodline, as well as the horrifying aftereffects, were all issues borne from the incomplete state of the technique. If the rest of it could be filled in, most of the problems would be solved.
[Beep! Due to a lack of information regarding high-grade meditation techniques, this technique cannot be completed.]
Unsurprisingly, this was the A.I. chip’s answer.
There was nothing he could do. High-grade meditation techniques were connected to the life or death of a Magi organisation or family. Even with his power now, he could only get ahold of two high-grade meditation techniques. One was his own Kemoyin’s Pupil, and the other was the incomplete Sacred Flame!
Based on his guess, the A.I. Chip would need a large number of samples to analyse and compare. Only after that would it be able to analyse and complete the Sacred Flame technique.
The samples required would be around ten high-grade meditation techniques! They also would have to be completed.
Ten high-grade meditation techniques? Leylin gave a long sigh. Even in the entire south coast, it was a uncertain if there were that many high-grade meditation techniques. With his current power, it would be impossible for him to obtain them.
“No matter what it is, this is still a high-grade meditation technique. It’s priceless!”
Leylin caressed the golden crystal ball in his hands. All of a sudden, black mist appeared within his hands. *Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* Cracks appeared on the surface of the crystal ball, and the ball turned into dust in front of Leylin’s eyes.
All the information about Sacred Flame had already been recorded in the A.I. Chip’s database, and he would not be able to lose it. There was no point in keeping this crystal ball, and Leylin was naturally a little suspicious of anything the old woman left behind, and he found it best to destroy it.
……
Within Leylin’s room, in a laboratory.
As one of the two current leaders of the Four Seasons Garden’s branch in the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane, arranging a better room and a laboratory for himself was nothing difficult.
This laboratory had once been provided to Magi who were team leaders. The equipment here was the best and newest technology brought in from the external world; no laboratory that Leylin had worked in in his previous world could compare to this.
Leylin was currently in front of a large, silver experiment table. On the surface of the metallic table, there was a black honeycomb-like coal briquette that silently lay there. There were many depressions on the surface of it, in the middles of which were dark green pearls that emitted dazzlingly bright lights.
This was one of the three most precious ingredients found in the main warehouse of Four Seasons Garden—the fossil of the Thousand Eyed Starfish!
After receiving the information regarding its name and uses from the formation genie, Leylin quickly found himself a laboratory, and prepared himself to make good use of it.
“The flesh of the Thousand Eyed Starfish has already turned into a fossil. It’s going to be troublesome to extract and use the useful portions of it; I’m going to need many potions to do that. Thankfully, I have this…”
Leylin laughed, retrieving a mysterious test tube from his pouch.
After obtaining the spatial high-grade magic artifact made from the skin of the Void White-eyed snake, Leylin had placed all his belongings into it. As all of his baggage was gone, Leylin now looked much slimmer.
The entire test tube was made from glass, and the liquid contained within had a very strange colour. The top half was an olive colour, while the bottom half was a greyish-black. There was a clear line of separation between these two.
“A high-grade Reactive Potion! Even in ancient times, this was one of the most precious potions used to awaken the life energy hidden deep within an item!”
The formula for making this ancient potion had been found within the database of the formation genie. As a few of the ingredients required to brew it had already gone extinct, this formula was not made confidential. For Reynold, this was probably something of little interest.
But Leylin was different! The resources he possessed through looting and extortion were plentiful, and he was easily able to gather the required ingredients.
As for the ingredients that were extinct? Fortunately, Leylin had them!
While he was still a level 3 acolyte exploring the Dylan Gardens, not only had he gained the high-grade meditation technique and the Book of Giant Serpents, he had even obtained a few extremely precious plants!
These ingredients were much too precious, so Leylin could not bear to use them. He kept all of them after going through some procedures to keep them fresh.
Now, however, after obtaining the formula to make the high-grade active potion, he suddenly came to the realisation that the few ingredients that were known to be extinct were, in fact, plants that he possessed!
This was simply too lucky for him! Now that he had gathered all the ingredients, coupled with the fact that Leylin himself was a highly-accomplished Potion Master, brewing the potion was a very simple task.
Along with Leylin’s chants, the test tube opened up like a flower, and a putrid stench spread around the room.
Drip by drip, Leylin carefully positioned each droplet onto the green pearls of the Thousand Eyed Starfish.
Leylin’s movements were extremely careful, smearing the amount evenly on every pearl.
By the time the last of the olive-coloured potion was used up, the fossil suddenly began to squirm.
“Awaken!” His eyes flashing with excitement, Leylin’s lips moved as he softly murmured.
He had used the ancient Byron language, which seemed to draw power from the supernatural world.
*Weng weng!*
Invisible strength wrapped the Thousand Eyed Starfish within, and the potion evaporated and emitted black and white gases.
The black and white gases merged in the air, forming the multiple black and white eyes.
*Whoosh…*
With what sounded like a big wave, the flesh of the Thousand Eyed Starfish constantly trembled, layers of rock falling off of it.
*Tss tss!*
Green eyes blinked open; those olive pearls in the depressions were actually the eyes of the Thousand Eyed Starfish!
“Begin deep heating! Preset temperature at 1548 degrees!”
Complying with Leylin’s voice, two large, mechanical arms suddenly rose from under the table. They were extremely shiny and seemed to be made of metal, but at the joints, there were traces of the slight movements that were reminiscent of real flesh.
The large arms scooped up the Thousand Eyed Starfish and placed it into what looked like a furnace.