The research base for legendary artifact development was not located within the forging workshops. Instead, it was situated beneath the base, in a spacious area where peculiar vines were cultivated.
Dozens of top researchers from the organization had already gathered here. This included individuals like Liu Ji and Liu Meng from the cultivation department, and Long Junji and Han Xie from the forging department. Despite starting their journey in mystical arts from scratch, they were guided by industry-leading experts and had access to the most advanced equipment of the era, which naturally led to rapid progress. They were now on par with the chief researchers of many Super Oases. After all, most chief researchers in Super Oases were only at the Six Senses stage, whereas Han Xie and others were at the Mythical stage. The processing speed of a Mythical's mind, their memory, and their logical capabilities far surpassed those of the Six Senses stage, giving them a significant advantage in learning.
However, there were very few Mythical-level existences in most factions. They had to oversee their Oases, dedicate vast amounts of time and effort to developing their abilities, and cultivate to improve themselves. Who had the leisure to dabble in a side profession? Having strong logical processing abilities did not equate to being a top student or a genius. If one's learning ability was only 0.01 before ascending to the Mythical stage, even an increase of ten to a hundredfold after ascension would not elevate them significantly. Yiluo Xi was a prime example; despite being on the path to a high position, she remained an utter academic slacker.
Naturally, Master Wang Chui and Liu Shang were also present. To Fang You's surprise, Yin Ling was also there. All three 'giants' of the Xinhuo Organization's life professions were present.
Master Wang Chui rubbed his gleaming, reflective bald head and spoke, "The biggest challenge in creating standard legendary artifacts lies in the primary material. We believe that if we can find a legendary-grade primary material that can be acquired in large quantities, we can overcome the greatest hurdle in the research and development process."
"However, acquiring large quantities of legendary-grade primary material seems impossible. After much deliberation, we've turned our attention to plant-based materials."
This was due to Xinhuo's unparalleled advantage in plant cultivation, possessing invaluable treasures like special soil and the Tree of Idola's life. Furthermore, with the Seed of the Forest, a treasure capable of randomly generating various mystical plants, Xinhuo had no shortage of plants to experiment with. This was an advantage, and naturally, they intended to leverage it.
The plant-based and wood-elemental materials were a significant category of materials, and Master Wang Chui was no stranger to them. However, he was completely unfamiliar with plant cultivation and directed evolution. This was Liu Shang's domain. Although this plan involved the creation of legendary artifacts, Liu Shang was responsible for more aspects of the development process.
She bowed slightly and began her narration. Her voice was as ethereal as someone meditating in a secluded bamboo grove, bringing a soothing coolness on a sweltering summer day. However… when it came to her professional field, Liu Shang could speak for one to two hours without interruption.
Fang You opened his mouth, but still did not interject. Master Wang Chui subtly wiped away some sweat. He was clearly accustomed to Liu Shang's process and had heard these development stages more than once. 'Liu Shang is as… diligent as ever,' Fang You thought to himself. He was also listening carefully. In the past, he sometimes found it difficult to cope with Miss Liu's seriousness because he didn't understand the professional terminology. Now, although he wished he could skip the process and go straight to the results, he could still clearly understand the obscure terms in Liu Shang's speech. In addition to requiring a high level of professionalism, Liu Shang's narrative logic was very clear, with each step flowing seamlessly into the next.
Fang You mentally skipped some of the details and reached a conclusion. Initially, Liu Shang, using her expertise, talent, and core skills, directed the evolution of a legendary artifact called 'Ice Netherwood,' which she then handed over to Master Wang Chui for forging. Soon, a legendary weapon was produced. However, the resulting legendary weapon was only suitable for a few Mythicals. Although Liu Shang had the ability to selectively cultivate Ice Netherwood, the process required an immense amount of time, energy, and materials. She had to be personally involved in every step. This research phase was not entirely successful, but it did result in the 'cultivation' of a few legendary weapons. The research was not entirely in vain.
In the second phase, Liu Shang began researching defensive materials. While weapons offered a greater boost to a Mythical's combat power, armor had broader applicability. Liu Shang started by researching materials from the vine family, something she was most familiar with, and after some time, she cultivated another 'legendary artifact.' This was the legendary artifact 'Bloodvine Armor,' forged from it. This artifact had a very wide range of application and possessed some offensive capabilities, making it suitable as a 'standard legendary' item. However, it faced the same problem – the cost of cultivation.
Of course, the research was not a complete failure. Even though the cultivation of the primary material required significant wealth and time, the overall cost of manufacturing one piece of Bloodvine Armor was far lower than purchasing it from other major factions. However, the production of Bloodvine Armor was still not high. This was because such directed cultivation and evolution had to rely on the legendary skill 'Tree of Life.' It required Liu Shang or Fang You to personally cultivate it. The human cost was too high.
This research phase occurred six months ago. Fang You had discussed it with Liu Shang at the time, and they ultimately decided to create a subordinate skill that could replace the Tree of Life. He did create it, but not entirely. The skill was named 'Hand of Growth,' an Epic-grade purely auxiliary, farming-type skill with some directed mutation and catalysis capabilities. Mythicals using the Hand of Growth could indeed cultivate specific legendary primary materials, but it took several times longer and required more resources. Overall, Bloodvine Armor could barely be considered a standard legendary artifact. However, Instructor Fang was not very satisfied. Liu Shang was even less satisfied. Thus, the research for the third iteration of standard legendary items began.
Liu Shang said, "...Ultimately, we decided to use 'living materials' as the primary material for the artifacts." She produced a vine. The vine was blood-red, somewhat similar to the previous Bloodvine. However, the Bloodvine was a harvested artifact after cultivation, a dead thing. This vine, on the other hand, was alive. Even without intelligence, it was filled with a strong life force.
"The Luo Yun Vine possesses extremely strong toughness and regenerative capabilities, making it very suitable for crafting armor. Currently, this Luo Yun Vine is of top Epic grade, but by sacrificing blood, spirit, and life energy, it has the potential to ascend to the legendary grade." This idea was inspired by Liu Shang's path to high position. One of the conditions for her path to high position was similar to Liu Feng's, requiring sacrifice and advancement. Liu Feng needed to sacrifice and forge his life-bound sword, while Liu Shang needed to sacrifice and cultivate her life-bound plant.
"However, how to forge a living plant into an artifact is the challenge we currently face." Liu Shang only understood plant cultivation. Master Wang Chui only understood artifact forging. The Luo Yun Vine armor forged by him was already a dead object. Yin Ling… Yin Ling was there just to make up the numbers. By refining some essence, she enhanced the Luo Yun Vine's recovery ability and gave it negative effects when attacking. However, she was unable to figure out how to fuse the living plant with the equipment materials.
Thus, Instructor Fang arrived. Fang You was not as skilled as Liu Shang in plant cultivation, nor as skilled as Wang Chui in artifact forging, but he happened to understand a little of everything. He had already become Fang, the Master of All Trades, You! He picked up a Luo Yun Vine and activated the Tree of Life skill, carefully examining it. Then, he loaded Master Wang Chui's core skill, 'Ingenuity,' and instantly, the world before him changed. Lines and textures appeared, and energy flow became clearer. After some thought, Fang You also loaded Yin Ling's core skill, 'Immortal Spirit Medicine Body,' and took out auxiliary materials one by one. There were no legendary-grade materials, but there were twenty to thirty Epic-grade materials. In his imagination, the artifact created would only be of top Epic grade, or perhaps half-step legendary. This would allow it to ascend to the legendary artifact stage in the shortest possible time. It would also reduce the cost and cultivation time of the plant. It could be considered perfect.
"But how do I knead these things into one?" Yin Ling poked the vine. The vine that extended from it quickly retracted, curling into a ball as if trembling with fear. Yin Ling: "?" You were just in Liu Shang's arms, and you weren't like this!
Fang You picked up the vine. The rich life force caused the vine ball to snuggle into his embrace. He entered the high-level vision. The materials appeared with a treasure's brilliance, floating around. "The principle is much like skill fusion." "In that case..." "Power of Destiny, let me try!"
...
A month later, the living equipment was complete. He named it the Luo Yun Vine Armor. On the surface, it looked like just a ball of vines, but as long as a drop of blood was shed to contract with it, the vines would rapidly transform into armor and attach themselves to the user. Moreover, due to the contract, the user could continuously refine this artifact until it ascended to the legendary grade. This was a true standard legendary artifact that could be mass-produced, with low cost and short manufacturing cycles! It had only one flaw. Normal legendary artifacts could be passed down as heirlooms for thousands of years. However, the Luo Yun Vine Armor, which required a blood contract, could only have one user in its lifetime. If the user perished, the armor would also disappear. But compared to its advantages, this flaw was insignificant. Even Instructor Fang was a little envious; he didn't have any powerful legendary defensive equipment.
"Excellent. From now on, we will vigorously cultivate the Luo Yun Vine and search for and procure corresponding auxiliary materials, aiming to forge a thousand pieces within a year." "Also, the research on standard weapons must not stop." The three giants nodded. Epic-grade vines could be cultivated by individuals like Liu Ji and Liu Ru, but Liu Shang was still personally involved, constantly improving the cultivation methods. Master Wang Chui began optimizing the forging methods and aimed to train as many Luo Yun Vine Armor smiths as possible. Yin Ling… skipped.
Fang You and Liu Shang worked tirelessly for over a month, consuming countless materials and divine crystals, and finally produced a precious experimental crystallization – more than a dozen legendary-grade Luo Yun Vines. Fang You took one of them and operated it himself, crafting the highest standard vine armor. He then refined it with numerous treasures, essence blood, and laws. One day, his armor might transform into a divine or demonic weapon.
Thus, Xinhuo entered the era of legendary equipment.