Chapter 414: Half a Day?

Chapter 414: Half a Day?

After the discussions ended, Zheng Yichen had a little over an hour of free time. This was mainly because it was his first time at Border Great Wall, and he didn’t know much about this place. They wanted him to walk around and get the lay of the land. With the Teleportation Arrays here, an hour was enough for Zheng Yichen to visit quite a few spots.

But just after leaving the Potion Department, Zheng Yi saw a group of people arriving. The people in the group felt quite familiar to Zheng Yichen…

“Look at that person!” Gale, spotting Zheng Yichen emerge from the Potion Department, patted Oss and pointed in his direction. They all looked over and locked eyes with Zheng Yichen. Talk about Zheng Yichen had been trending recently on the Magic Weapon Forum, and since Zheng Yichen had never hidden his appearance, they recognized him immediately upon seeing him here.

Looking at Zheng Yichen, Oss also felt a bit impressed. This guy had no reason to come to Border Great Wall at this time. After all, this place could easily erupt into danger. Coming here now was clearly a risky move, yet here he was.

“I’ll be right back,” Deya said to Dekoff and Achille upon seeing Zheng Yichen. The two didn’t object. They had hurried here and needed proper rest before venturing deeper into the Containment Barrier for some investigations.

“Don’t take too long,” Dekoff said, glancing at Zheng Yichen. As for this young man… Well, it took some courage to come here now, but unfortunately, he was tied up with a Witch. Even though he seemed on good terms with the Saintess now, Dekoff saw him as merely a pawn between the Saintess and the Witch.

“I won’t.”

Huh~ Lena looked at Zheng Yichen and revealed a slight smile. She wore a light smile every day, so even if the curve of her smile deepened a little now, no one would notice anything off. Zheng Yichen hadn’t told her he was coming here voluntarily. She only found out from the Magic Weapon Forum, which clearly meant… he had his own plans.

Deya caught up. Zheng Yichen, of course, noticed her, so he slowed his pace and waited for her to reach his side. “Hey, looks like I got here a bit earlier than you all.”

“Um… We arrived yesterday, but we ran into some problems which delayed us a bit,” Deya said, giving Zheng Yichen a slightly puzzled look. “You seem to be in a very good mood?”

“I guess you could say I’m a bit excited to finally be on a trip,” Zheng Yichen said. Since this identity of his was almost exposed, he no longer bothered to maintain his previous image strictly. He would just go with the flow.

“Is that so? Hmm, that’s actually pretty good,” Deya said after thinking for a moment. “I just saw you coming out of the Potion Department at Border Great Wall. Are you planning to join them?”

“No. I just thought since the Undying Witch came here, I should also come and do something,” Zheng Yichen said. “Although I’m not great in combat, I am somewhat confident in research. What about you all? How are you planning to deal with the Undying Witch?”

“…” Deya hesitated a little. After thinking for a while, she said, “This situation is a bit special. The position the Undying Witch occupies is very important. We can’t act against her lightly…”

A very important position? Zheng Yichen slightly raised an eyebrow. The Containment Barrier was also a product of Magic, and like anything magic, it had Nodes. But as an immense magical structure, the Containment Barrier’s Nodes weren’t like those of a typical Magic Rune Array, where finding the right method would easily break it.

Regarding the Nodes of the Containment Barrier, they were basically sustained by Element Hearts. Trying to tamper with these Nodes would likely result in backlash from the power of the Element Hearts. That backlash power was enough to reduce any troublemaker to ash; even a Witch wouldn’t fare well. However, if a Node went wrong, even if the great Containment Barrier didn’t collapse completely, it would become imbalanced and its containment strength would weaken.

“Is that so? Is there anything you need my help with?” Zheng Yichen asked.

“This… If possible, we do need some Magic Potions,” Deya said. They had used up a large amount of Fixation Potion when dealing with the Backlash Curse before. Added to the fact that Fixation Potion was perpetually in short supply, even the Sanctuary Church was experiencing a certain degree of shortage…

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford it, but that it was unavailable. Given more time, the Sanctuary Church could accumulate enough Fixation Potion, but the potion’s appearance was too recent. Church members in need of it weren’t limited to their team; other teams needed it too.

The Abyssal radiation leaking from within the Containment Barrier constantly affected anyone who entered, not just weakening them but also causing a corrupting effect that made the bodies of those inside start taking on traits of Fiends. The Sanctuary Church had resistance potions, but their effects were much weaker compared to Fixation Potion.

After all, tests showed that Fixation Potion had zero side effects. Because of this, it had become an extremely crucial resource at this time!

“How many do you need?”

“Two hundred vials,” Deya said somewhat helplessly. Two hundred vials of Fixation Potion wasn’t a lot, but there were just too many places that needed it now. So when this gap appeared, the Sanctuary Church actually struggled to fill it. The main issue was… well, this was a newly emerged high-end Magic Potion.

Also, its Elixir Formula and such were top secret and hadn’t leaked. Production simply couldn’t be ramped up by throwing money at it like other high-end potions when a situation arose!

Even if the Purple Vine Guild was more lenient about the formula during this critical time, it would be too late. After all, getting a new potion formula didn’t mean you could start making it immediately. It required Magic Pharmacists to get familiar and master it to a certain degree before they could produce a qualified potion.

It wouldn’t take too long. For a high-end potion, getting some skilled Magic Pharmacists to study it could probably solve the problem in about three or four days. But they couldn’t afford to wait three or four days.

“Two hundred vials?… How long is your rest period?” Zheng Yichen asked.

“Half a day.”

“Hmm. If the materials are sufficient, I should be able to produce the amount you need in half a day.”

“Is that possible?” Deya looked at Zheng Yichen with surprise. Making two hundred vials of Fixation Potion in half a day was no joke. That was a high-end potion, not just filling bottles with water. Success rates and Mana were also limiting factors in production. So making two hundred vials of Fixation Potion in half a day… was she dreaming?

“If I say it can be done, then it’s not a problem!” Zheng Yichen laughed. “The question is whether you can supply the materials.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Deya said seriously. “The Sanctuary Church also has some influence at Border Great Wall.”

Normally, they couldn’t interfere too much here. But during this critical time, they were sending people here not just to contribute but to risk their lives; they were the main force. Of course, Border Great Wall wouldn’t skimp on resources. Getting the resources Zheng Yichen needed was just a matter of saying the word.

“Alright then. Let’s head back now.”

Less than ten minutes after leaving the Potion Department, Zheng Yichen turned back. The guard who had just returned to his post saw him come back and twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. If it was just Zheng Yichen returning, that would be one thing, but bringing the Sanctuary Church’s Saintess with him? What was the meaning of this?

Jenna, who had just returned to her office, was also somewhat stunned upon hearing the news of Zheng Yichen’s return. The hour was not just for Zheng Yichen to familiarize himself with the environment, but also for her to have time to arrange the tasks he would undertake later. Magic Pharmacists didn’t rush to the front lines when fighting started, but they were crucial for logistics. But it had only been ten minutes! She hadn’t even begun arranging anything yet…

“Let him rest first… What? The Church’s Saintess is also with him? Fine, I’ll go over again.” Jenna immediately left her seat. When she arrived at the reception room, Achille was already there. Seeing this young man, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Although he wasn’t sitting in the main seat, Jenna could tell from certain details in his demeanor that he was the primary speaker here.

“Time is short, so let’s skip the formalities,” Achille said after Jenna took her seat, getting straight to the point. “The Church hopes you can quickly arrange a Workshop for him to use…”

Regarding the shortage issue with the Fixation Potion, Achille didn’t hide it. Jenna wouldn’t leak this information. Although Border Great Wall was an independent force, it had many ties with the Church. The Church was essentially its biggest supporter. So during special periods, many things could be discussed without negotiation or pleasantries.

“A shortage of Fixation Potion… I understand,” Jenna said, glancing at Zheng Yichen before agreeing. Due to the secrecy of the Fixation Potion’s formula, many factions were conducting research to reverse-engineer it, but with little progress. The only way to obtain Fixation Potion was to purchase it from the Purple Vine Guild.

Even if the secrecy surrounding the formula was slightly lowered because of this situation, obtaining the formula would still be a future matter. However… now that Zheng Yichen was here—the Creator of Fixation Potion—with his help, perhaps they could understand the true core of the potion.

“But half a day… doesn’t that seem a bit rushed?”

“That’s his concern. Whatever he can make, we’ll take. We can’t wait too long.”

When Achille heard from Deya that Zheng Yichen claimed he could make two hundred vials of Fixation Potion in half a day, he was indeed surprised. Judging from the potion’s current output, its success rate must not be very high. Otherwise, with the Purple Vine Guild’s capabilities, its current shipment volume wouldn’t be so limited.

That stuff was in high demand, and with its ability to forcibly extend life, even if the output doubled, the price wouldn’t be affected! This potion could be considered one of the most value-preserving Magic Potions at this stage. After all, while other potions were good, even life-saving, aside from Fixation Potion, how many could actually extend lifespan?

Well, some certainly existed! But which of those wasn’t practically impossible to obtain? And which could be bought directly like Fixation Potion? None. So why would its value drop?

If output increased, more people would just try to buy several more vials. With such promising prospects, as a guild, why would the Purple Vine Guild do anything to hurt its own interests, like holding back stock? Artificial scarcity? This product didn’t need scarcity marketing at all. Once output increased, those who got some would want even more!

Therefore, Zheng Yichen saying he could produce two hundred vials of Fixation Potion in half a day was a bit hard to imagine. Even if he was the Creator of Fixation Potion…

They didn’t expect to fully fill this temporary gap; they just needed to cover part of it. In fact, a shortage of two hundred vials was just the minimum requirement. For a truly ample supply, that number needed to be multiplied several times.

Time was urgent. Jenna arranged things quickly, directly clearing out a Workshop for Zheng Yichen. This Workshop still had signs of recent use and hadn’t been cleaned, clearly having been vacated hastily. However, the tools inside were quite comprehensive. Seeing the Otherworld-style equipment inside, Zheng Yichen was really glad he had previously, for the sake of his disguise, taken the extra effort to master using Otherworld-style tools.

“Greetings… We are your assistants. Please feel free to give us any orders,” several young Magic Pharmacists standing behind Zheng Yichen said as he observed the Workshop’s equipment. When Jenna was arranging this, some older Magic Pharmacists had also wanted to come, but she refused them.

Older Magic Pharmacists had already solidified their styles. Moreover, Zheng Yichen was primarily here to produce Fixation Potion, not for research exchange or discussion. Having them here wouldn’t be very meaningful. It was better to let some of the Potion Department’s outstanding young people come. After all, Zheng Yichen was also young. Without those older folks around, it wouldn’t create extra feelings of restraint.

“Don’t be scared,” Zheng Yichen said, then began the first round of production under the puzzled gazes of the young Magic Pharmacists. They were here to help, but also with the intention to learn. They didn’t understand the meaning of his words now, but they would soon…

As for providing materials, that wasn’t a big deal. Simply knowing the ingredients wouldn’t be enough to crack his Elixir Formula. Many steps in his potion-making relied on creating new effects through conflicts between materials and subsequent neutralizations of those conflicts. This style had emerged purely from times when he was at a dead end during his potion research. That choice had then opened the door to a new world.

“This… We…” A female Magic Pharmacist, seeing Zheng Yichen perform his potion-making so openly, suddenly wanted to say something but was pulled back by another Magic Pharmacist beside her, choking back her words. Although this little detail happened behind Zheng Yichen’s back, he wasn’t relying solely on his eyes, thanks to his Alchemical Avatar.

He could naturally detect such small actions. Slightly pursing his lips, Zheng Yichen pretended not to notice and quickly began his work. He was already very familiar with making Fixation Potion. Regarding the formula, he had gained new research insights afterward. What did truly mastering a skill mean?

It wasn’t just about being skilled; it was also about deep understanding. Zheng Yichen knew how important Fixation Potion was. Even compared to Semi-Awakening Potion, Mana Enhancement Potion, or even Body Purification Potion, Annie had placed particular importance on the effects of Fixation Potion. As for other potions, she just thought they were good—nothing more. Only for Fixation Potion did she say ‘excellent’!

For a Witch who stood at the pinnacle of the Life Domain to call it ‘excellent’, one could imagine just how good its effects were. Zheng Yichen also valued Fixation Potion highly. Not only could it be used in combat, but it could also act as a stabilizer in Life Domain research.

Therefore, Zheng Yichen had always placed great emphasis on researching Fixation Potion.

Take the method he was using now… It made the young Magic Pharmacists look at him as if he were a god. It wasn’t just the production process; the production process itself shattered their worldview and overturned the basics they had learned. Most of the preparations created concoctions by using conflicting methods to produce a Base Potion.

Well, ‘Base Potion’ was a term Zheng Yichen used. They didn’t quite understand it but felt it was impressive. In the span of an hour, under their watchful eyes, Zheng Yichen produced five large bottles of differently colored Base Potions. These weren’t Fixation Potion yet.

“Hmm, alright. Now, you just need to mix these Base Potions together in a ratio of 1, 0.3, 0.7, 0.7, and 0.1. That will become Fixation Potion,” Zheng Yichen told the slightly dizzy young Magic Pharmacists. Ah, youngsters. Did you think just because I didn’t kick you out, you could secretly learn my craft?

Not possible. Although the method of mixing Base Potions to produce Fixation Potion was somewhat complex—basically making a simple problem more complicated—the outcome wouldn’t change. It was just like turning multiplication into addition. The result would be the same, but the process and efficiency differed.

But this kind of complexity wasn’t a problem for Zheng Yichen. After all, mixing these few bottles of Base Potion could yield at least forty or so vials of Fixation Potion. Time was more than enough.

“Is… is this really okay?” a young Magic Pharmacist asked Zheng Yichen with a disbelieving expression. Never mind the process of making the Base Potions that had confused them. Just this unconventional mixing method made it feel very unreliable. Could Magic Potions really be produced by simply mixing things together like that?

That was too naive. Go ahead and try mixing two different potions together for no reason; see if drinking it lets you ascend to heaven or descend to the underworld.

“Why not? Young people, don’t overthink things. While tradition is important, new methods hold significant weight too. If such a simple operation makes you doubt, then your future achievements probably won’t go very far,” Zheng Yichen said earnestly. All that talking boiled down to one meaning… Trying to secretly learn his craft? They could keep dreaming!