Anyway, if he died, he could just consume energy to be reborn.
The energy needed to nurture his true body wasn't even as much as what was consumed to create a single avatar.
That day, Luo Fan once again began researching the planetary-level Bloodline Evolution Elixir.
This time, he wasn't doing it to cut costs.
He simply wanted to see whether, after all this time studying and running simulations, he could create one on his own.
After several attempts, he felt as though he had hit a bottleneck.
He decided to consult Grandor.
While at it, he would also refine a C7-grade Bloodline Elixir for Grandor to complete their wager.
After all, configuring a C7-grade Bloodline Elixir was easy for him.
What mattered more was receiving Grandor's guidance.
A King-level five-star alchemist, especially one deeply versed in Bloodline Elixirs, had insights Luo Fan could not yet compare to.
At the very least, Grandor's depth of understanding far surpassed Luo Fan's current level.
Inside the Virtual Universe, Luo Fan sent him a message, asking when he would be available.
The next moment, Grandor replied instantly.
He didn't say much, only sent over a teleportation address.
Luo Fan didn't hesitate.
With a flash of white light, he vanished from his Virtual Universe villa.
In the next instant, he appeared inside a laboratory.
He found that this lab looked somewhat similar to his own.
It was clearly an alchemist's workspace.
"Do you have any questions for me?"
Grandor was standing at a workbench, sipping a blue drink while looking at Luo Fan kindly.
"I greet you, Lord Wood Spirit King."
Luo Fan bowed respectfully.
"Oh? So you know my identity?"
"Don't be nervous. Here, I'm just an alchemist."
"Whatever you wish to ask, just speak directly."
Luo Fan didn't raise his question immediately. Instead, he said,
"I can already configure C7-grade Bloodline Elixirs."
Grandor, who had been leisurely drinking his unknown beverage, brightened instantly.
He eagerly set down his cup and pulled Luo Fan over to a nearby workbench.
"Come, show me. Don't worry about materials, they're all free here."
As a five-star alchemist, and especially one in the Virtual Universe Company's Alchemy Department, Grandor had an enormous free material quota.
In fact, Luo Fan had one too.
Roughly every hundred years, he was allotted one hundred mixed-element units worth of free materials.
Of course, that was within the Virtual Universe.
But there, material values were only about one percent of their real-world worth.
So that allowance was already quite generous.
As for Grandor, being a department chief, his quota was undoubtedly far larger.
Luo Fan wasn't nervous. He directly listed the materials he needed.
"This is a C9-grade HNNFK7338-type Bloodline Elixir, isn't it?"
"This one's quite difficult, actually even beyond my original request."
Grandor immediately recognized the formula with a glance.
With a wave of his hand, all the ingredients Luo Fan needed appeared before him.
There were ten sets of materials in total.
Grandor smiled and said,
"If you can configure this successfully, I'll give you a little surprise."
Hearing that, Luo Fan's eyes brightened, though he didn't ask what the surprise was.
He immediately began inspecting each material's properties.
He didn't overlook a single one.
Even the tiniest auxiliary ingredient was carefully examined.
Grandor silently observed from the side, not interrupting.
When he saw how meticulously Luo Fan was testing each material, a trace of admiration flashed in his eyes.
A C9-grade Bloodline Elixir was exceedingly difficult.
Even among Domain Lord-level elixirs, few were more complex than this.
Therefore, one had to fine-tune the formula according to the materials' individual traits.
Soon, Luo Fan finished his inspection.
He double-checked the material properties once more.
To avoid any mishaps, he even had his Mechanical-Race clone simulate the process first.
After confirming a successful simulation, he began refining.
Every movement flowed like water, textbook-perfect.
He didn't need to measure or weigh anything.
Each time he added an ingredient, it was precise to the smallest fraction, never too much or too little.
Grandor nodded to himself in secret.
He could tell that Luo Fan's fundamentals were solid.
Before long, Luo Fan completed the elixir.
He handed it to Grandor.
"Not bad. This C9-grade elixir was refined successfully."
"And it's near perfect."
Grandor praised him with satisfaction, his eyes full of appreciation.
"I mentioned a little surprise earlier, didn't I?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand.
Two books appeared in his grasp.
"I recall you purchased The Blood Codex, didn't you?"
"Seems we're fated to meet."
"These are Volumes Three and Four of The Blood Codex. They're yours."
Luo Fan's face lit up with joy.
He immediately set a task.
[Task: Obtain Volumes 3 and 4 of The Blood Codex. Reward: Volumes 5 and 6 of The Complete Alchemy Compendium.]
"Thank you, my lord!"
Luo Fan accepted the books respectfully.
"The later volumes aren't suitable for you yet."
"In fact, even the fourth one might be a bit too advanced."
"When your alchemy skills have progressed further, I'll give you the rest."
"Have you encountered any problems recently with your alchemy research?"
"You can ask me directly."
Luo Fan didn't hesitate and explained the issues he had run into while developing a planetary-level Bloodline Evolution Elixir.
Grandor listened carefully and answered each question in detail.
Moreover, he extended his explanations, giving broader insights.
As Luo Fan's questions grew more intricate, Grandor gradually understood his true intent.
"So you're trying to create a new top-tier planetary-level Bloodline Evolution Elixir?"
He was visibly surprised.
After all, creating a top-tier planetary-level Bloodline Evolution Elixir was no easier than developing a stellar-level Bloodline Elixir.
Improvement and creation were two very different things, creation was vastly harder.
Luo Fan didn't hide it. He scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
After all, he never thought he could hide anything from Grandor.
With Grandor's mastery of Bloodline Elixirs, it would've been impossible not to notice.
"Good. Having a goal is important."
"In that case, if you can create it within ten years, I'll give you the remaining two volumes of The Blood Codex."
"If you manage it within a hundred years, I'll still reward you with Volume Five."
Luo Fan's eyes lit up once again.
"Thank you, my lord!"
Grandor's eyes flickered as he suddenly asked, testingly,
"By the way... do you currently have a master?"
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