Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

  Near the Venom Spiritual Tree, a modest hut had been built—a simple yet comfortable dwelling nestled between the vibrant greenery and poisonous flora.

  Inside, Devor sat cross-legged before a furnace, its silver-lined cauldron glowing under the intense heat of the flames. His hands hovered on either side of it, guiding the temperature with meticulous control.

  A subtle shift in the cauldron’s contents caught his attention.

  Now.

  He lifted the lid, releasing a dense wave of medicinal smoke into the air. The sharp, herbal aroma stung his nose, yet he remained unshaken, his focus unwavering.

  With practiced precision, he tossed in a prepared herb, followed by a careful pour from a special vial set aside for this moment.

  The moment the liquid hit the cauldron’s surface, the reaction was instant—a deep, violet hue spread across the concoction, bubbling furiously before settling into a simmer.

  For the next five minutes, he carefully introduced each ingredient, measuring them by instinct rather than by written formula.

  Precision. Balance. Control.

  These were the tenets of alchemy.

  Just as he relied on his instincts to cultivate the finest plants, the same level of attunement was required when refining them into potent elixirs.

  Yet… there was a difference.

  "I know every plant by heart," Devor murmured, his black eyes reflecting the swirling mixture inside the cauldron. "But the moment they enter this fire… everything changes."

  A deep understanding of Spiritual Plants was invaluable in alchemy, but knowledge alone wasn’t enough.

  Once a plant was placed into the furnace, the rules governing it transformed.

  He exhaled slowly, remembering a letter he once received from Nyuru.

  "Alchemy follows formulas," Nyuru had told him. "It overlaps with Spiritual Farming more than you think. But the difference is… once you refine a plant, you aren’t just nurturing it anymore. You’re forcing a metamorphosis."

  A metamorphosis…

  Devor had spent years mastering the balance of natural energies, guiding plants to achieve their full potential.

  Yet now, he was breaking them down, reshaping them into something new.

  "If I recall correctly," Devor mused, eyes locked on the cauldron, "back on Earth, physics could explain countless mysteries. But the moment it entered the quantum realm, classical physics no longer applied. Reality became bizarre, paradoxical, nearly incomprehensible."

  He chuckled to himself.

  "Just like Spiritual Plants."

  He could study them, nurture them, guide their growth.

  But once they entered the fire, their nature changed—no longer bound by the same laws.

  The foundation remained the same, yet the result depended entirely on the execution.

  Alchemy was both an art and a gamble.

  After another ten minutes of careful brewing, the mixture inside the cauldron finally settled. The once-vibrant liquid had transformed into a milky-white fluid, its surface dotted with small black specks—like sesame seeds suspended in moonlight.

  Devor slowly removed the lid, only to be met with a strange, unfamiliar scent.

  His expression tightened.

  "Uhhh… That smell is… weird."

  He pinched his nose, grimacing slightly.

  Did it work or not?

  Devor reached for a glass container and carefully poured the elixir from the cauldron into it. The liquid swirled, its unusual coloration making it difficult to discern its true properties.

  Holding it up to the light, he examined its consistency, searching for clues—for any sign that the experiment had yielded something usable.

  But even with his experience, he couldn’t be sure.

  He let out a sigh. "Well… here's hoping it works."

  Without wasting another second, he grabbed the vial and stood.

  His destination?

  The Venom Spiritual Tree.

  More specifically, the poison-element garden he had been cultivating for nearly three months.

  Two months had passed, and the four elemental gardens had reached full maturity, each cultivated with a different type of elemental energy.

  For now, however, Devor had only granted the Venom Spiritual Tree access to the Poison and Dark Element gardens.

  The Water and Earth Element gardens had been meticulously nurtured to perfection. They were ready—but Devor wasn’t about to rush the process.

  Rather than simply feeding new elemental energy to the Venom Spiritual Tree, he wanted it to learn how to merge and refine the energies in a way that would genuinely enhance its evolution. A crude mix of elements would do more harm than good.

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  Cultivation wasn’t about stacking power blindly.

  It was about control.

  Mastery.

  Refinement.

  Before moving on to the next stage, he had to ensure the Venom Spiritual Tree had fully adapted to the first two elements.

  Only when a foundation was perfected could true progression begin.

  With measured steps, Devor entered the Poison Element garden, a small glass container in his hand.

  Inside was the elixir he had crafted earlier—a concoction he had spent nearly a month refining.

  The Venom Spiritual Tree’s trunk trembled as Devor approached, subtle vibrations pulsing through its bark.

  Devor exhaled, his expression unshaken.

  "There’s no need to worry," he said, swirling the elixir lightly in his hand. "This is only failure number thirty-four."

  Failure meant progress.

  Each mistake brought him closer to success.

  This wasn’t the first time he had attempted to create an elixir tailored for Spiritual Plants, and it wouldn’t be the last.

  "Nyuru has been a huge help with alchemy," Devor muttered to himself, rubbing his chin. "But even with my strong foundation in Spiritual Plants, becoming a competent alchemist is going to take a lot more time and effort."

  He sighed, shaking his head slightly.

  Nyuru was skilled, but waiting around for her to send results wasn’t an option.

  If he wanted to push his research forward, he needed to refine his elixirs himself.

  And that meant trial and error.

  Devor’s black eyes flickered as he turned his attention toward a particular plant—a Bloodbane Lotus.

  It stood out among the garden’s flora, its blood-red petals and dark crimson stalk giving it a sinister, almost predatory aura.

  This was no ordinary specimen.

  It was a grafted stem from a Sky-Grade plant—one of the highest classifications of Spiritual Flora.

  Of course, grafting alone wouldn’t replicate the full power of the original Bloodbane Lotus.

  But for Devor’s purposes?

  It didn’t need to.

  He didn’t need the real thing—not yet.

  What he needed were test subjects.

  Sacrificial plants he could use to refine his method before applying them to something truly valuable.

  This was the essence of experimentation.

  "Let’s see if this has any effect on you," he murmured, carefully pouring the milky-white elixir onto the plant’s surface.

  The moment the liquid touched the petals, the Bloodbane Lotus shuddered violently.

  It wasn’t simply reacting.

  It was resisting.

  A thin layer of spiritual poison bubbled across its surface, almost as if the plant’s very core was rejecting the elixir.

  For a brief moment, the Bloodbane Lotus began to wither—its rich crimson hues darkening into a sickly shade.

  Devor narrowed his eyes but said nothing, merely watching.

  And then—

  The change stopped.

  The black seeds within the elixir had begun to seep into the plant’s roots, drawn in by the same mechanisms that allowed poison-based flora to absorb toxic nutrients.

  Devor’s fingers tightened slightly around his notebook as he carefully recorded the sequence of changes.

  At first, the elixir weakened the plant…

  But now, it was stabilizing.

  Not only that, but the damage had been halted before it could spread further.

  Interesting…

  This reaction wasn’t entirely unexpected, but the speed of the recovery was.

  "Alright, your turn, Venom."

  The Venom Spiritual Tree stirred lazily, its dark purple energy swirling above the Bloodbane Lotus in anticipation.

  Unlike before, however, Devor didn’t instruct it to nourish the plant.

  Instead—

  The tree attacked.

  A wave of negative energy descended onto the Bloodbane Lotus, inflicting carefully controlled damage that Devor and the tree had planned in advance.

  This wasn’t an act of destruction.

  It was a test.

  The goal was simple:

  To determine whether the plant’s core structure had changed.

  If the plant could endure the attack, it would mean the experiment had worked.

  If it withered too quickly—

  The elixir was a failure.

  A tense silence settled over the garden as Devor observed the plant’s reaction.

  Would it hold?

  Or would he have to start from scratch again?

  The Venom Spiritual Tree unleashed a relentless barrage of negative energy, striking the plant with carefully calculated curses, toxins, and weakening effects.

  For thirty seconds, the Bloodbane Lotus endured the assault.

  Then, without hesitation, Venom withdrew its power and went still.

  Devor’s expression remained calm. This was only the first test.

  "Proceed to phase two," he commanded.

  Immediately, a new vortex of black-purple energy spiraled into existence.

  This time, however, its purpose wasn’t to destroy—but to overwhelm.

  An immense surge of energy poured into the plant, saturating its delicate structure far beyond its natural limits.

  Devor narrowed his eyes. Too much of anything was dangerous.

  Even beneficial energy, if absorbed incorrectly, could turn toxic.

  This was the true test—whether the plant’s capacity to store and refine energy had increased.

  If it hadn’t, then any improvement in its quality would be marginal at best.

  The Bloodbane Lotus trembled violently.

  Its once-proud stalk began to droop, unable to endure the influx of power. The crimson petals darkened, their edges curling inward as if withering under the strain.

  Devor let out a slow breath. Another failure.

  He lifted his hand slightly, about to signal Venom to stop—

  But then—

  Something shifted.

  From within the plant’s damaged core, a new stalk began to sprout.

  It was slow, almost imperceptible, but Devor’s sharp gaze caught it immediately.

  His eyes flickered with sudden excitement.

  "A mutation?"

  "Reduce the pressure!" he ordered.

  Venom instantly lessened the energy flow, dropping it to a level just strong enough to sustain the process without overwhelming the plant.

  The new stalk continued to grow.

  Steady. Stable. Resilient.

  But something was off.

  Instead of the deep crimson hue characteristic of the Bloodbane Lotus, the new stalk was—

  Pitch black.

  A darkness clung to it, faint but undeniably unnatural.

  "Stop!" Devor’s voice cut through the air, sharp with urgency.

  Venom halted its energy output immediately, its form still and watchful.

  Silence settled over the garden.

  Devor crouched down, carefully studying the plant.

  It still retained the general shape of a Bloodbane Lotus, but its aura had changed.

  It was subtle—so subtle that most people wouldn’t even notice.

  But Devor was not most people.

  His perception of plants was far sharper than ordinary cultivators.

  He closed his eyes for a moment and activated the Spiritual Analyzer in his mind.

  [ Plant Name: Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus ]

  [ Quality: Yellow—Earth Grade-C ]

  [ Status: Weak ]

  [ Essence: 67/100 ]

  Devor’s eyes snapped open.

  His breath hitched.

  "Its name changed?!"

  That had never happened before.

  Not only that—

  Its grade had shifted.

  This plant had originally been Yellow-Grade.

  Now, it bore the label Yellow—Earth Grade-C, meaning it had the potential to reach Earth-Grade once it fully recovered.

  His hands clenched slightly.

  "Have I… actually succeeded?"

  Devor wasn’t someone who jumped to conclusions.

  He was methodical. Precise.

  Even now, his mind raced through every possible explanation for what had just happened.

  It was clear that some sort of transformation had taken place.

  But why?

  Alchemy had no records of this kind of advancement.

  Spiritual Farming had no existing method to force this kind of evolution.

  Then—

  "Could this… be a form of Synthesis?"

  His voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of the thought struck him like thunder.

  Most cultivators understood Synthesis as the act of fusing two seeds—combining their essences before planting them to create a hybrid species.

  But what if that understanding was too limited?

  Who said Synthesis had to involve seeds before planting?

  "What if…"

  His gaze darkened in thought.

  "What if I can introduce different essences while the plant is still growing—guiding its evolution in real-time?"

  This wasn’t just an incremental improvement.

  It was something entirely new.

  A fusion of Spiritual Farming, Alchemy, and Adaptive Cultivation—a method no one had ever recorded.

  Devor slowly stood, his heart pounding.

  If his theory was correct…

  Then this experiment wasn’t just a success.

  It was a revolution.