Chapter 55：The Plant Mage's Song

Suppressing his desire to revisit the intriguing books, Allen methodically prepared to start brewing the Plant Mage's Song.

His Thornblood Vine clone, although slowly recovering with the nourishment of various animal flesh and blood, wasn't healing fast enough for his liking. With the Plant Mage's Song, Allen believed the Thornblood Vine would soon return to its peak state.

Humming a cheerful tune, he began setting up his alchemical apparatus.

"Oh, by the way! If there are Beastmen, why aren't there Plantmen?"

Allen couldn't believe that the daring occult predecessors would overlook this possibility.

The reason there weren't any must be because some barriers were too strong, even for the occult to break.

"Tortoise blood, diluted and boiled..." He took a small knife and bled the trembling tortoise.

Soon, the liquid in five cauldrons began to boil.

Since the sheepskin scroll "Dark Ritual" didn't specify the type and ripeness of the banyan figs, Allen had to set up several cauldrons for experimentation.

The figs he bought from an old farmer weren't many in variety, only three types, but their ripeness varied.

For brewing the Plant Mage's Song, the order of adding ingredients wasn't crucial.

So Allen first boiled the base potion in five large cauldrons, then used smaller cauldrons to add different types and ripeness of figs to test their properties.

"Tooth powder of the Black Bear from the rainforest..." Allen wondered why the Plant Mage profession favored black bears and tortoises so much.

"Bear Bee honey..." As he added the honey, a sweet aroma filled the air.

"Shell of the Star-Spotted Beetle..."

With four of the five ingredients added, Allen carefully controlled the flame's temperature.

In two of the cauldrons, as the charcoal gradually extinguished, the potion's boiling subsided.

Allen poured the potion into two large bottles to cool.

For the remaining three cauldrons, he continued heating them in smaller cauldrons, adding different types and ripeness of figs.

This was to verify whether stopping the heating and cooling the potion midway would affect the brewing process.

If it didn't, or if the impact was minimal, Allen could consider setting up a production line.

He could even establish a dedicated alchemy workshop, assigning each step to different apprentices, ensuring both formula secrecy and efficient production.

"If mass production is feasible, building an empire will be even more assured!"

This production concept, developed during Earth's industrialization, had never appeared in the wild world of Gondwana.

The continuously heated potion was quickly divided into dozens of small cauldrons, with figs added and heated.

Bubbling sounds filled the air as the thick potion boiled.

Allen, skilled in alchemy, made no mistakes.

Soon, he identified the suitable figs from the various types and ripeness.

The figs of the small-leaved banyan tree, specifically those at full maturity, were the best.

Among the dozens of small cauldrons, only five were successfully brewed.

Notably, the mature red figs of the small-leaved banyan tree were the best.

Having identified this, Allen planned to experiment with different material ratios to study the effects on the Plant Mage's Song.

But for now, he needed to confirm whether the cooled potion was still effective.

"Almost there." Allen tasted a spoonful of the cooled potion. It was time for the final step.

He brought out the green poison lizard, letting it feed on the failed potions.

Then he poured the potion into small cauldrons, reheated them to boiling, added the red figs of the small-leaved banyan tree, and continued brewing.

As time passed, a familiar aroma filled the cauldrons.

"It's done!" Allen's eyes lit up; his experiment was successful!

Stopping the heating and cooling the potion midway had no effect on brewing the Plant Mage's Song!

Or more accurately, stopping before adding the figs had no impact.

Although the sheepskin scroll "Dark Ritual" stated that the order of ingredients didn't affect the outcome, Allen, being meticulous, decided to verify this by cooling and stopping before adding each ingredient in reverse order.

This would confirm whether the entire process met the requirements for mass production.

If successful, he could have the orphans he adopted each handle a step, creating an alchemy factory with a production line!

"Ah!" Stretching lazily, Allen was exhausted after working all night and the entire morning.

"Maybe I'll read that fascinating book a bit more?" Allen felt a strong urge.

Among the three books he got from Wilbur, one was an illustrated guide to dragon species, another was a geographical atlas divided by occult influences, and the third was the intriguing book he read all night!

Allen, with his near-photographic memory, quickly memorized the dragon guide and the occult atlas.

But the intriguing book captivated him, making it hard to put down.

Reading it over and over, he found something new each time.

As Allen's fingers itched to read, he suddenly heard three rhythmic bird calls outside the dense forest.

Frowning, he heard the calls again, consistent in pattern: short, long, short, with a high pitch.

Repeated three times.

"It's Pete; something must have happened!" According to their agreement, Pete and Fisher wouldn't signal outside the forest unless it was a problem they couldn't solve.

Allen's academic enthusiasm was instantly extinguished. He quickly geared up with a hunting knife and dozens of flying needles and knives, then emerged from the hidden tree hollow.

The green poison lizard wanted to follow, but Allen, after some thought, tucked it into his pocket.

With a few leaps, he navigated through the treetops and soon arrived at Pete's boat.

Pete's face was bruised, his clothes torn, and his body bore marks of punches and kicks.

Anger surged within Allen. Pete had saved his life and was his trusted confidant. Seeing him beaten like this was intolerable!

"What happened?"

Hearing the restrained fury in his boss's voice, Pete, despite the pain of his broken teeth, said, "Boss, it was those bastards from River Bay Valley! They said we were selling fish without their permission and that our shop was something they had their eye on. They demanded we hand over the shop and the grilled fish recipe and leave the black market, never to set foot in Bacha again."

"And your injuries?"

Pete, feeling ashamed, replied, "It was a guy named Hound who did this. He has a giant mastiff. I... I couldn't beat him..."