The testing ground of the Forerunners was larger than Richard had imagined. In the sea of lava spanning thousands of kilometers, various semi-elemental creatures of different sizes thrived.
From thumb-sized magma sardines and basin-sized magma jellyfish to flame giant lizards over ten meters long and magma whales exceeding a hundred meters, it was a complete spectrum from small to large.
These semi-elemental creatures all possessed the bloodline of fire elementals, which allowed them to survive and reproduce in the sea of lava. They formed a complete ecosystem in this lava sea, and the intricate designs almost made Richard believe it was a natural formation—if not for the towering crystal pillars of the Forerunners scattered throughout the area.
In this vast expanse of several thousand kilometers, there were numerous crystal pillars, which Ulysses considered to be significant evidence of the Forerunners' ruins.
Moreover, the nearly perfect anatomical structures of these semi-elemental creatures supported the view that they were artificially designed.
Naturally evolved creatures could not lack redundant structures; these structures might have provided necessary assistance in the past. However, as evolution progressed, when creatures no longer needed these structures, they would not disappear immediately but would gradually degenerate.
These redundant structures were entirely unnecessary for the current creatures, akin to an extraneous component on a precision instrument, detracting from the aesthetic of biological structure.
But these creatures had none.
After dissecting these creatures, Richard found that their anatomical structures had no redundancy; every organ and system was essential, and the absence of any one would trigger a chain reaction.
Furthermore, the Forerunners had adhered to symmetrical aesthetics in designing these creatures, with nearly every creature's anatomical structure being symmetrical.
Research, search, research, search...
Richard spent a full ten years in this manner. The creations of the Forerunners were nothing short of artworks, and these exquisite creatures could drive any Alchemist Wizard who had studied flesh mad.
In these ten years, Richard had prepared over three thousand specimens, averaging nearly one new creature discovered each day. From the bottom of the food chain to the top, Richard had collected them all.
Throughout this process, Richard's understanding of semi-elemental creatures deepened, and his knowledge continued to accumulate.
Of course, during this time, Richard was also constantly searching for the source of the mutation in the flame giant lizard.
But to be honest, after ten years without finding it, Richard himself was starting to feel discouraged.
Perhaps there was no source of mutation at all, or maybe the source had already vanished.
...
"Ga, are you sure you don't want to keep looking?" Ulysses asked Richard, somewhat skeptically.
Richard had only searched underground for ten years. While that sounded exaggerated, for a wizard with a lifespan of thousands of years, it was roughly equivalent to just two or three months.
"I'm done looking," Richard waved his hand. "I've basically collected specimens of all the creatures in this ecosystem. There's no point in staying any longer.
Besides, my physical condition is about at its limit."
Over the past decade, Richard had also been using the extreme conditions of the lava sea to train his physique, and after ten years, he had increased his physical attributes by twenty points.
This was already the limit of what Richard could achieve in the lava sea.
If Richard wanted to advance further, he would need to dive deeper into the lava, but the deeper he went, the stronger the fire element's erosion became, and Richard's adaptive body could not handle the fire element's erosion at those depths.
"Ga, you're the boss; you decide."
Ulysses lay lazily in the bird's nest, surrounded by several sacred tree spirits controlling mycelium to massage him.
In the scriptures compiled by Ulysses, he was Richard's demigod and the guide of the sacred tree spirits, so the spirits had no objections to serving Ulysses; they even considered it an honor.
Almost all the sacred tree spirits were fervent believers of Richard.
However, Richard was too lazy to care about this. The power of faith was merely a life-saving charm for him now; his growth in strength still followed the wizarding system.
Opening the rift to the secret realm, Richard began to swim upward.
The upper layer of the lava sea was the rock wall; once he found the rock wall, he could use magic to return to the surface.
However, ten years of exploration had left Richard somewhat disoriented; he didn't know what lay above him—was it a wizard-controlled area? Or the territory of the Fire Lizard?
As he ascended, Richard's body continuously emitted waves of magical energy.
These magical waves came from a creature Richard had named the magma dolphin, which could emit energy waves like a bat to probe its surroundings.
Richard learned about energy waves from its body structure and used his wizarding skills to simulate it.
But as Richard continued to rise, the messages from the magical waves revealed some issues.
Nearby, there seemed to be a black hole that devoured magic. Richard's heart stirred, and he immediately swam toward the detected direction.
Half an hour later, Richard looked at the swirling mass of magma mixed with blue flames before him and couldn't help but smile wryly.
"I really am an idiot; I searched down there for so long, yet I didn't think to look up here. This flame giant lizard could have mutated in its youth."
Richard spread open a Magic Barrier and opened the rift to the secret realm, pulling Ulysses out.
"Ga, what's going on... Did you find that thing?" Ulysses exclaimed upon seeing the mass of magma before him.
"I found it. I searched down below for ten years, even thought about the source of the mutation being at the bottom of the lava sea, but I never considered it could be up here."
Richard's tone was filled with emotion; he had given up searching for the source of mutation and found it instead.
Ulysses cleared the way, and Richard soon saw the source of the blue flames—a mass of blue flames encased in fire element crystals.
The fire element crystals surrounding the flames looked very regular, resembling a crystal ball, likely the previous container of this flame, now a product of erosion by the fire element. This flame was probably an experimental product of the Forerunners, but after their disappearance and the destruction of the laboratory, it had finally reemerged.
Richard attempted to collect the flame, but the fire element's erosion in the lava sea made his magical hand extremely unstable. Moreover, the intensely high temperatures of the blue flames around him made him retract his hand.
"Ulysses, you should handle it; I can't use sealing magic in the lava sea."
"Ga, I knew it," Ulysses replied somewhat helplessly.
Ulysses extended his bird claw, grasping the fire element crystal encasing the blue flames, then opened the rift to the secret realm and tossed it inside.
Richard then returned to the secret realm.
Inside the secret realm, the fire element crystal encasing the blue flames was supported by the world mushroom's mycelium tendrils, and the air occasionally flickered with blue flames.
After leaving Ulysses' protection, Richard could clearly feel a strong energy radiation emanating from this flame.
This radiation affected his body, causing his skin to itch incessantly. When Richard grabbed at it, his skin, reinforced by dragon skin and hardened glands, was even scratched, leaving several blood marks.
His epidermal cells were beginning to collapse under this radiation.
"What a strong radiation."
Richard exclaimed, and countless runic chains burst forth from his hand, wrapping around the fire element crystal. Within seconds, a layer of cyan ice crystal shell formed around the fire element crystal.
Looking at the blue flames within the cyan frost, Richard couldn't help but smile.
This thing was a treasure.
Based on the abilities of the mutated flame giant lizard and the earlier investigation, this blue flame possessed at least ultra-high temperature and energy combustion capabilities, and judging by the previous situation, this flame also exhibited strong radiation.
This radiation was likely the cause of the mutation in the flame giant lizard.
Ulysses entered the secret realm and casually landed on Richard's shoulder.
"Ga, this flame looks pretty good; it seems stronger than my Oblivion Flame. You really struck gold this time."
Richard shot him a glance. "Is it the original version of the Oblivion Flame or your improved version?"
Ulysses looked at Richard as if he were an idiot. "Ga, of course, it's the improved version. The original version of the Oblivion Flame is just an ordinary bloodline talent of our race. While our Oblivion Ravens are powerful, our racial talent can only be considered barely usable."
"Oh, is it that impressive?"
Richard's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected Ulysses to hold such a high opinion of this flame.
"Ga, if it weren't impressive, that big lizard wouldn't have nearly destroyed my body. I estimate that the lizard's physical condition reached this level thanks to the flame's assistance."
Richard looked at the sealed flame with some surprise, a hint of fervor flashing through his mind.
He wanted to study this flame right now.
But soon, Richard's rationality suppressed his fervor.
Richard's expression was calm as he said, "Perhaps, but this thing is a bit too dangerous. I need to find a sufficiently protected laboratory to study it."
"Ga, if you're not going to use it now, how about you let me play with it for a couple of days?" Ulysses suggested.
"Mm?" Richard looked at Ulysses; this was the first time Ulysses had asked him for something other than items to heal his soul injuries.
"Here you go."
Richard casually tossed the sealed blue flame to Ulysses.
"Ga, that was straightforward." Ulysses was somewhat surprised. "With your personality, wouldn't you normally interrogate me about what I plan to do with this?"
"There's no need for that." Richard waved his hand dismissively. "We've known each other for quite a while; there's some trust there."
Ulysses looked at Richard suspiciously. "Ga, why do I feel like it's because you don't understand this thing and also don't understand the Master of the World? So when I say what I want to do, you can't discern the truth from the lies?"
Richard's expression stiffened; he had been seen through so quickly.
But being seen through didn't stop Richard from being stubborn.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Richard frowned and declared solemnly, "We've had a friendship for hundreds of years, and we've fought side by side as comrades.
You're really underestimating me."
Ulysses looked at Richard once more but ultimately said nothing further.
Their contract lasted for ten thousand years, and there were many days ahead.
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