Chapter 73: Departure, the Brass City!
Hua Mi gripped the magic box.
His mental power delved into it, smoothly establishing a connection with the mighty bee swarm.
With a thought, the entire swarm appeared in front of him instantly, not flying out one by one as he imagined but collectively transported through space.
Aim the magic box at the swarm again, and it was instantly absorbed back in.
No need to unfold it anymore.
Truly an epic enhancement.
Master craftsmanship lives up to its name.
"Time is limited; I can only achieve this level." Alyss said, perhaps a bit modestly. Then she changed the topic, "Did you meet Uno yesterday?"
Uno, the Abyss Scholar.
"Yeah, left quite an impression." Hua Mi reminisced about the strange encounter from last night.
After exchanging greetings, the Abyss Scholar disappeared into the depths of the forest and hadn't shown up since. Quite a peculiar character.
Hua Mi couldn't help but ask, "Your companion, is he a bit..."
"He stutters when talking to strangers; you'll get used to it."
"Not that... I mean his mental state, it's a bit off."
"Borui people are like that by nature."
Hua Mi had learned from the seven little ones that Borui people were a rare and short-lived intelligent species in this world. Despite being shorter-lived than humans, they had a good relationship with the elves and were under the strong protection of the powerful elf tribe. Due to their highly developed brains and fast thinking, they were well-suited for research work. However, their language expression couldn't keep up with their thinking speed, often giving people a feeling of speaking incoherently.
In other words, the guy's performance last night wasn't just because of the influence of the Abyss; it was largely due to the nature of his race.
"You can trust him; there's no need to doubt his intentions," Alyss said calmly. "The Brass City fell due to the Abyss invasion, and it undoubtedly preserves some traces of the Abyss. The place is equally attractive to Abyss Scholars like him and me; we're simply going for academic exploration."
Hope so.
Just don't create any trouble.
Although he was invited by Alyss for this journey, Hua Mi had his own purposes.
Firstly, to bring back the unique flowers of the Brass City, the "Mother's Blessing," as mentioned by Huayu, and cultivate them. With his magic greenhouse, he could simulate various growth environments, ensuring successful cultivation.
Secondly, he wanted to see the legendary lost city and maybe find the owner of the notes. He had wanted to meet them for a long time.
And, if possible, collect some other alchemical materials. Although he couldn't use them, he could provide them to the alchemy prodigy Hillar.
"By the way, I wonder what she can make with unicorn horn powder... Good luck, let me see your potential."
Speaking of alchemical materials, he couldn't forget the body of the teleportation beast from last night.
Hua Mi had checked the alchemical notes and learned that the fangs, eyeballs, and tail's magic core of the teleportation beast were usable alchemical materials. The other parts were useless. However, there was a low probability that a magical crystal called "Phantom Beast Jade" would form inside the beast, but he found none during the dissection.
So, he pulled out two fangs, dug out two eyeballs, and extracted two flexible, ink-black magic cores, storing them carefully. The remaining wreckage was thrown directly into the greenhouse's "well."
The wreckage would decompose inside, with the nutrients fully integrating into the soil for farming.
Making the most of everything.
...
Following Hua Mi's instructions, before departure, Alyss arranged his two sets of activated armor to patrol around the greenhouse, serving as guards during his absence.
These things had built-in magical energy and could last for several days without any intervention. Even without manual control, as long as the preset was done, they could perform simple patrols and defense functions.
Moreover, the greenhouse itself was protected by magical wards.
Unless invited by the owner of the flowers, others couldn't enter through the black mist and would only repeatedly return the way they came.
Of course, if encountering powerful characters, the protective magic wouldn't help.
A bit like not guarding against gentlemen but guarding against villains.
For this trip, Hua Mi brought the Painful Sting Bees, Iron Armor Swift Bees, Ring Cutter Bees, Mighty Force Bees, and Reconnaissance Bees. In addition to these combat bee species, he also brought four ordinary Chinese bees as backups.
The rest of the bee swarms stayed in the greenhouse, freely collecting nectar.
The new queens of several bee species hadn't reached sexual maturity, probably needing another five days.
It should be enough time for them to mature when he returned.
This trip to the lost city was essentially an exploration and collection mission, not taking much time.
Bow, arrows, scrolls, notebooks, and other items were naturally carried with him.
Most of the honey was also brought along, leaving only a portion for the seven little ones.
Then, he put up a sign in front of the wooden house that read "Temporarily Closed."
"Have a safe journey."
"Please be careful."
"Hope you don't die."
"I really want to go on an adventure together."
"Come back alive~ Even if you die, die in the Black Forest~"
"..."
"When can we finally taste the Thunder Flower Honey?"
The seven pseudo-flower spirits gave their respective blessings.
Hua Mi turned around to see them waving at him at the greenhouse door, waving back as a response.
At some point, he found that his sense of belonging here was slowly catching up with his old home on Earth.
...
In front of them was an arched gate constructed of black stones, with red magical inscriptions glowing densely all over the door frame.
A semi-transparent white film filled the doorway, like a curtain, gently swaying.
Uno, Hua Mi, and Alyss stood in a row from high to low.
Only Uno, excitedly said something in Elvish, seemingly talking to the air. Alyss responded briefly, then scattered the powder in his hand onto the arch.
Upon contact, the powder and the white curtain immediately turned into a pale flame, instantly spreading across the entire doorway.
Alyss handed each of them a star-shaped pendant.
Hua Mi held it and felt a gentle force field spreading, enveloping his whole body.
Alyss explained that it was a protective charm, limited in defense against charged attacks but could isolate harsh environments to some extent.
Hua Mi had checked the guide in advance and knew the environment there should be fine.
According to the notes, the Brass City was like a drifting island separated from the mainland, forming a fragmentary plane self-sustained under the protection of the Fire Seed.
Nevertheless, it was better to be prepared.
Alyss stepped into the gate first.
The small figure was instantly engulfed by the pale fire, disappearing.
Next was Uno, who had been muttering excitedly on the side, occasionally having conversations with the air. He rushed in eagerly after Alyss.
Equally disappearing in an instant.
Hua Mi hung the pendant around his neck and approached the arch.
The pale flames almost touched his face, yet he couldn't feel any warmth.
"Phew."
Hua Mi took a deep
breath and stepped inside.
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This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦