Chapter 179 - 174: Molten Blood-sucking Vine
It was a rare Magic Fruit, transported at great expense by the Golden Sail Commerce Association via its southern routes.
Its shape was similar to a slightly smaller pineapple, but unlike a pineapple, its skin was neater, appearing as a series of tightly interlocking, dark red dragon scales.
This fruit possessed a unique fibrous structure and a waxy skin with high water content. Combined with the weak Fire Element contained within, it granted the fruit astonishing Flame Resistance.
In its land of origin, the native tribes used its outer shell directly as cookware.
In warfare, they would even rivet the Dragon Scale Fruit’s skin to wooden shields to defend against Flame Magic.
In some intense battles, even when the rivets melted, the Dragon Scale Fruit’s skin still wouldn’t ignite.
Velin’s goal was simple: using [Extraordinary Grafting], he would fuse the naturally fire-resistant skin of the [Thorn-Crowned Dragon Scale Fruit] with the bloodline of the [Blood-sucking Vine].
He wanted to create the ultimate war plant—one that could constrict its foes like a great serpent, yet had no fear of being consumed by flames.
A nemesis tailor-made to counter the sulfurous breath of the [Lord of the Gray Swamp].
The experiment began. First, Velin put on a pair of gloves tanned from dragon hide and picked up a dissection knife.
His movements were precise and steady as he sliced off a runner from the parent Blood-sucking Vine.
The cut was as smooth as a mirror. A dark green sap slowly oozed out, carrying a rich aura of life.
He then cut a perfectly matching wedge-shaped opening at the crown of a Dragon Scale Fruit branch.
The grafting began.
Velin inserted the Blood-sucking Vine runner into the incision on the Dragon Scale Fruit. The two fit together seamlessly.
Then, he took out a pre-mixed Alchemy Potion—a viscous liquid made from the sap of an animated treant, the saliva of an Earth Dragon, and a small amount of powdered Original Blood Crystal—and applied it to the joint.
[Spring Messenger]
With a flicker of his will, a soft, emerald-green light appeared in his palm, which he pressed against the graft.
A vast amount of life energy flowed into it like a gentle stream, catalyzing the fusion of the two plants.
At first, everything went smoothly.
The Alchemy Potion at the graft site began to glow faintly. The tissues of the Blood-sucking Vine and the Dragon Scale Fruit slowly started to permeate and merge with each other.
However, a sudden mutation occurred!
BZZZZ—!
The previously quiet Blood-sucking Vine began to tremble violently. The rocky cuticle covering its surface cracked inch by inch.
Dozens of sharp, white bone spikes erupted from the cracks!
The tips of the spikes had a strange purple hue, clearly indicating they were highly venomous.
"HISSS—"
The vine twitched and grew frantically, lashing against the cultivation base with a series of dull thuds.
More terrifyingly, countless tiny pores on the vine’s surface opened, spraying out a cloud of pale green spores that filled the sealed laboratory.
Facing his out-of-control creation, Velin calmly walked to a corner of the lab, took out a Demon Crystal, and inserted it into a slot. Immediately, an ice-blue magical glow flickered in the center of the lab.
A chill spread out as a halo of light expanded, enveloping the thrashing vine and the spreading cloud of spores.
In the blink of an eye, the out-of-control failure was frozen solid, transformed into a grotesque ice sculpture. Even the venomous spores solidified into harmless ice crystals, falling to the ground with a TINKLE.
Velin put on a pair of special gloves, picked up an alchemical hammer, and began methodically tapping at the ice sculpture.
The ice sculpture was shattered into uniformly sized fragments.
Finally, he swept all the fragments into a pulverizer at the side. With a low hum, the remains were quickly ground into a harmless white powder, which was then poured into a crystal jar, sealed for storage, completing the decontamination process.
The first attempt was a failure.
But Velin’s face showed no sign of frustration or annoyance.
’This is research.’
’Randomness is an unavoidable part of biological genetics, but that is also where its charm lies.’
He recalled a story a senior student had told him back when he was still kowtowing to his culture mediums in the lab.
During a catalyst experiment, the senior’s hand had slipped, and he mistakenly poured ethanol instead of water into the reaction solution. This surprisingly caused the nickel-iron-based catalyst to form a peculiar flower-like structure, boosting the efficiency of hydrogen production via water electrolysis by dozens of times.
The team seized on this lead and conducted further research, ultimately creating a record-breaking catalyst that could operate stably for over 19,000 hours, and their findings were published in the top journal *Nature*.
From that moment on, Velin understood that many great discoveries are sometimes born from a single, unintentional accident.
He calmly cleaned up the mess and cut another segment from the Blood-sucking Vine.
The second graft began.
Failure. The vine and fruit had a violent rejection reaction, directly melting into a puddle of black, smoking ooze.
The third time.
Failure. The product became a "Vine-Crisp" that would slowly squirm but crumble at the slightest touch.
The fourth time...
The fifth time...
Velin repeated the tedious process again and again. His patience and focus were beyond ordinary.
But without [Spring Messenger], the observation period for each graft would have been measured in weeks.
Now, however, backed by the Golden Sail Commerce Association’s nearly limitless supply of materials, he could exhaust hundreds of possibilities within a single day and night.
Finally, on the thirteenth attempt, a change occurred.
When the emerald-green light enveloped the graft again, the Blood-sucking Vine did not undergo another detrimental mutation.
Its surface began to slowly reveal a fine, mesh-like pattern similar to the skin of the Dragon Scale Fruit.
The vine’s color also gradually shifted from its original scarlet to a Crimson Red with a dull, metallic luster.
A glint flashed in Velin’s eyes as he increased his Spiritual Power output.
The process of scale formation on the vine’s skin began to accelerate. Tiny, hard, Crimson Red scales "grew" out from the vine’s flesh, covering its surface in a tight, seamless layer.
’Success?’
The system promptly sent a notification.
[Extraordinary Grafting Successful!]
[New Species Acquired: Please name the new species!]
[Level: Level 4]
[Abilities: High Flame Resistance, Blood Siphon, Suffocating Constriction, Rapid Growth, Rock-Armor Hardening]
[Overall Evaluation: A dancer in the ashes, it craves the flesh and blood of high-level Magical Beasts. Flames cannot destroy it; ample Fire and Earth Elements will only make it grow faster. This is a perfect weapon of war, one that could hardly have evolved in the natural world.]
Velin named this new creation—[Molten Blood-sucking Vine].
He then picked up the new vine.
It felt warm and tough to the touch. The vine’s body was flexible, entirely Crimson Red, and covered in fine, scale-like plates resembling those of a dragon. A faint, earthy-yellow light seemed to flow across its surface.
He took a Level 2 Magic Scroll, [Scorching Beam], from his tool rack and aimed it at the vine.
TSSS—
The beam of fire licked at the vine’s surface.
Under the high heat, not only were the Crimson Red scales completely undamaged, but they also grew even brighter and more translucent, like a red-hot branding iron.
The corners of Velin’s mouth turned up slightly as he watched the effect with satisfaction.
This was the first "gift" he had prepared for the [Lord of the Gray Swamp].