Above the mage!

Chapter 532 Hoping for Mother to Become a Phoenix
A sapling, straight as a spearhead, was taken out by Gao De and displayed in front of Flora.

The silvery-gray trunk had a translucent ivory-white hue, and the tips of the branches were adorned with a few feather-like new leaves.

The edges of the leaves have a pale blue sheen, and tiny vortices swirl between the leaf tissues.

The roots of the sapling were covered with a clump of grayish-white wind-eroded soil. The soil was loose but not easily broken, and it carried a faint smell of gravel.

Along with the saplings, Gaode also retrieved thirty-six fruits that resembled upside-down elf horns, each only the length of a thumb.

"One second-tier Azus Feather Whistle Tree sapling, and thirty-six feather fruits produced by the Azus Feather Whistle Tree!" Gao De announced loudly, as if reciting a menu.

The first to be unveiled will definitely be the Azus Feather Whistle sapling.

As for the Feather Fruit, it is actually a species of the Azus Feather Whistle Tree, which Gaudre also gave to Flora.

Flora's eyes widened as she heard that God had brought back another elemental magical plant. She stared at the sapling closely, her face full of joy.

"So beautiful! So vibrant!"

With the addition of the previously acquired Eternal Frozen Oak, the Northern Territory now possesses two of the four elemental magical plants.

As for the remaining earth elemental magic plant, the Rock Ridge Giant Oak, and the fire elemental magic plant, the Angmar Flame Spell Tree, God had already asked Sarah to help acquire them.

Given Sarah's current status in Black Sails, there are certainly many people willing to go to great lengths to find what she needs in order to please her.

Therefore, Gaode is optimistic about collecting the remaining two types of elemental magical plants.

Of course, given his personality, he wouldn't make any boastful claims to Flora before he actually got his hands on the magical plant.

If we can't find it by then, we'll have to break our promise to Flora.

Although Flora certainly wouldn't blame him, and might even comfort him, it's precisely because she wouldn't blame him that he has to keep his word.

"And this too." Gao De continued to pull out more good stuff.

This is a tree species about the size of a fist, with a dark brown outer shell covered with sharp thorns, and a faint dark green halo lingering between the thorns.

Tier 3 Thorn Ironwood Demon Tree Species.

Currently, the highest-ranking magical tree species in Flora Forest is the fourth-rank Spirit Spring Dew Tree.

Therefore, a third-tier magic tree seed is quite a rare item, enough to make Flora a little happy.

In addition, thorny ironwood is very suitable as a construction material for mage towers.

Since acquiring the Heart of the North, Gao De has conceived a plan to build the first mage tower in the North.

Because the Heart of the North contains all the knowledge and records of the Western Kingdom, including knowledge related to the construction of the Mage Tower.

However, due to the limited national strength of the Western Kingdom, the knowledge of the Mage Tower was relatively basic.

The mage towers built using their skills were not highly regarded by Gaode, at least.

Therefore, he did not intend to start the construction of the mage tower hastily, but only to carry out preliminary material preparation work first.

Gaode's plan is to acquire more advanced mage tower construction techniques through the Sea Sentinels and the Blue Flame Islands.

Then, combining the wisdom and creativity of the Northerners themselves, they built a unique mage tower for the Northern.

Then came more than twenty low-level magical tree species, including fluorescent birch species that could emit a faint light, clear dew tree species whose leaves could purify water sources, and rock root tree species whose roots could solidify the soil.
These magical trees have all sorts of strange uses, many of which sound utterly useless, and it's impossible to imagine what they could possibly be good for.

But Gaode is well aware that as long as Phoenix develops sufficiently, these tree species will gradually be developed and put to use.

Flora, who has an extremely high enthusiasm for planting trees, still showed great delight in these low-level magical tree species.

She seems easy to coax.

After taking all the magic tree seeds he had brought back from the Blue Flame Islands, under Flora's expectant gaze, God took out a section of lotus root about the length of his forearm.

The lotus root segments have a pale blue sheen on the surface, and the inside has a flowing, watery sheen.

It is a water lotus root dug out from under the great marsh.

"Lady Flora, do you think there's any way to grow this Water Spirit Lotus in the Northern Territory?" God turned to look at the little figure with expectant eyes.

Water lotus root is an important part of his "idle game plan".

Upon hearing this, Flora stretched out her small hand and gently stroked the section of lotus root.

As she touched it, faint green veins could be seen appearing on the surface of the water lotus root, which was her way of communicating with the water lotus root.

In just a moment, the little person understood all the thoughts of the Water Lotus Root, even though it had so many minds.

"We need running water, pure water."

The water lotus root is naturally formed with seven orifices and nine openings, which can absorb free water elements, but at the same time, this water will also flow through its seven orifices and nine openings.

Therefore, they cannot survive in stagnant water and must live in a constantly flowing and ever-changing environment of living water to ensure the freshness of the water flowing through their seven orifices and nine openings.

Moreover, the water flow cannot be too rapid.

If the current is too rapid, it won't have time to absorb the water element energy, and the water will just rush past its seven orifices and nine openings.

This is actually not that difficult to satisfy.

Any relatively gentle natural water system can meet this requirement.

The second point, the requirement for pure water, is more difficult.

Pure water refers to water that does not contain any other elements or energy.

Because the Water Lotus root accepts all kinds of energy, once it ingests other elemental energy, it's like eating something unclean, and it can no longer generate Water Lotus Essence.

"Plant many, many plants, and you will find a mother!"

This means that when the planting scale of water lotus root reaches a certain level, and the growth is healthy and the energy is stable, a localized environment with a high concentration of water lotus essence will be formed.

In this environment, the lotus root mother will be induced to be born, which is the special lotus root that Yuanzi ate at that time.

The mother lotus root is extremely special, and its upper limit is unknown.

Other water lotus roots have a limited capacity to absorb water element energy, and they can no longer grow after reaching a certain point, but the mother lotus root can continuously absorb and grow.

As more and more essence of water is stored in the body, the grade becomes higher and higher.

If it undergoes a growth period of thousands or even tens of thousands of years, it is not impossible for it to become a fourth- or even fifth-order extraordinary aquatic magical plant.

Judging from these conditions alone, the fact that this Water Spirit Lotus could survive in the Great Swamp of Dorne and give birth to a Lotus Mother is actually quite lucky.

While the Great Swamp of Dorne is rich in water, it must also contain other elemental energies, such as wood from aquatic plants or earth from humus.

That body of water, due to its terrain and surrounding environment, coincidentally formed a small, special environment that isolated it from other impurities and elements.

After hearing what Flora had to say, Gao De was extremely satisfied.

At the foot of Mount Phoenix lies the Arctic Lake.

The lake's water originates from snowmelt from the Weskar Mountains and underground rivers, maintaining a slow flow year-round. The water is clear, perfectly meeting the requirement of "living water."

In addition, the purity of the glacial lake is the highest among all water systems.

The deep waters of Arctic Lake are even more so, as they are covered by ice year-round and filtered by underground rivers, resulting in water that is so pure that it contains no impurities.

Of course, the element of ice is inevitably present.

However, ice is essentially water, just another form of water in extremely cold environments, and for Water Lotus Root, there is not much difference.

Furthermore, the water lily was discovered in the deep waters of a large marsh. One characteristic of deep waters is their extreme cold, indicating that the water lily itself is an exceptionally cold-resistant aquatic plant.

The low temperatures in the North are not a threat to it; in fact, they make it grow even more vigorously.

All the conditions were met.

Gao De immediately made a decision: "Then let's plant it in the Arctic Lake as soon as possible."

Then, he turned to Sunafa and said, "I'd also like to trouble you to arrange some manpower here to accelerate the growth of the Water Spirit Lotus and expand its planting area as soon as possible."

Sunafa nodded in agreement.

As the sun set, it cast dappled light across the floor through the window.

Gao De glanced at the sky.

Upon returning to Phoenix, he first discussed the Blue Flame Islands with Sunefa, and then met with Master Sheep.

Next, they inspected Flora's Abundant Farm and the Ice Lizard Blood Fungus Industrial Park, and then studied the Magic Tree Species and Water Spirit Lotus with Flora, spending most of the day on the go.

Although there are still many things to do and decisions to be made, he plans to stay for a long time this time, so there is no need to rush. Therefore, he intends to stop here for today.

But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped talking.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

The next second, a knock sounded on the door, and Catherine's serious but clear voice came through: "Your Highness, Mother of War, emergency."

“Come in,” Gao De’s tone instantly turned serious. After Catherine pushed the door open and entered, he immediately asked, “What’s going on?”

He felt a little worried.

The fact that Deputy Chief of Police Catherine called it an emergency and reported it so urgently must mean something serious, possibly concerning Phoenix's safety.

Catherine reported quickly but clearly: "An unidentified creature was discovered to have infiltrated Phoenix. It was Master Sheep who made the discovery."

Upon being discovered, the unidentified creature immediately fled, and Master Yang gave chase.

"That unknown creature is too strong. Even Master Yang couldn't defeat it in time. It has now chased us out of Phoenix."

The task of tracking Master Sheep's movements was assigned to the Public Security Bureau, so when Master Sheep discovered the unidentified creature, Catherine also received the relevant information.

Even Master Yang, a fifth-ring mage, couldn't subdue that unknown creature, so she certainly couldn't.

Therefore, Catherine chose to report the situation immediately and leave it to Gao De and Sunai to decide, rather than following Master Yang in pursuit.

All her decisions were very clear.

Upon hearing Catherine's report, both God and Sunefa's expressions instantly turned serious.

They were well aware of Master Yang's strength; he was a top-tier fifth-ring mage.

The threat level of the unknown creature that even he couldn't subdue is self-evident.

"Unidentified creature? Can you see its general appearance? Are there any distinctive features?" Gao De pressed for key information.

Catherine recalled briefly, describing it with a hint of disgust and wariness: "It was hard to describe precisely, like a long, skinned, dark purple beetle, but with an unusually large number of segments, which were asymmetrical, and it moved very fast, almost gliding along the ground."

"In addition, dozens of eyes of varying sizes and shapes are irregularly distributed on its body, and they are constantly turning around, as if they can stare in multiple directions at the same time."

"The strangest thing is that it can turn its body into a shadow and hide itself. I don't know how Master Yang found it."

“This doesn’t sound like a creature from the ley lines in the traditional sense.” Gao De frowned.

The knowledge of ley line creatures includes recognizing various ley line creatures, as well as teaching how to determine their general classification, strengths, and capabilities based on their appearance and certain characteristics.

Based on his knowledge, this unidentified creature did not fit into any classification of ley line organisms; it was neither an elemental nor a crustacean.

Sunafa frowned slightly, as if she had thought of something, and asked uncertainly, "Eyes...?"

Reminded by Sunefa, Gao De immediately realized, "The All-Seeing Eye?!"

Yes, this isn't the first time Phoenix has encountered strange, unidentified creatures.

Sunefa had previously discovered an artificial all-knowing eye.

It was an extremely deformed eye monster, with a huge eyeball as its main body, purple pupils constantly expanding and contracting, and more than a dozen twisted and winding purple tentacles extending out.

These characteristics actually match up with the unidentified creature in many ways:
They are also deformed, unidentified creatures of unknown origin, and both contain the elements of eyes and purple.
According to their speculation at the time, this artificial all-knowing eye was most likely related to the Frostguard tribe, who had traveled to the eastern forbidden zone of the North, and was there to gather intelligence on the new King God and even Phoenix.

Because Sunefa discovered the operation in time, the investigation ended in failure.

However, the mastermind behind it is very likely that they will not give up and will send out more all-knowing eyes.
However, there has been no follow-up since then, so Gaode has temporarily put the matter out of their minds.

Unexpectedly, the follow-up still came, although it took a while.

Moreover, this time it wasn't more omniscient beings that returned, but a different monster.

Gao De and Sunafa exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with solemnity and worry.

They all knew that the appearance of such an unknown and strangely powerful creature in Phoenix was a huge threat and hidden danger.

"Is there any way to track down Master Sheep?" Sunefa asked.

She knew Catherine's abilities; she was extremely skilled at tracking.

“Okay.” Catherine did not disappoint Sunefa, nodding confidently.

“Take me there,” Sunefa made the decision immediately, glancing at God and saying, “My king, I’m going to support Master Sheep. Since that creature has infiltrated Phoenix, it may have already obtained intelligence or left unknown threats in the city. We must not let it leave like this.”

Gao De is very self-aware; he knows that going into a confrontation of this level would only be a hindrance.

In fact, the fact that the monster was able to escape from Master Sheep of the Fifth Ring means that, in the entire Phoenix, no one could do anything about it.

Only Sunefa dared to use the word "support".

Because her fourth ring is different from the fourth rings of other mages.

Gao De suppressed his worries and said in a deep voice, "Be careful. If you can't win, prioritize your own safety and don't be reckless."

“Yes.” Sunefa nodded, then turned and quickly left with Catherine.

The relaxed atmosphere vanished instantly due to this sudden turn of events.

Thinking of the monster that even a Five Rings Mage couldn't defeat, Gao De couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Phoenix's top mages are actually quite powerful, at least stronger than those of many duchies.

In particular, Sunaf is almost usable as a fifth-ring mage.

But in the North, there has never been a lack of undercurrents and crises, and this strength now seems to be somewhat insufficient.

I need to find a way to help Sunafa advance to the fifth ring mage as soon as possible. Gao De secretly made up his mind.

With Sunafa's exceptional talent, once he advances to the fifth ring, even in the early stages of the fifth ring, his Ice Magic and Blizzard will make him a formidable opponent among mages of the same rank, capable of holding his own.

But thinking about this, Gao De found it somewhat amusing.

In the biographical novels I read in my past life, the protagonists always overcame numerous obstacles and quickly grew into the "protective umbrella" of the team, shielding those around them.

But when it came to him, he was hoping that Sunefa would quickly become stronger so that she could continue to protect him.

I can only say that I'm definitely not the main character.
There's nothing we can do about it. He's only at the second level now and needs time to grow. There's no use rushing him. All we can do is hope he becomes a great success.

(End of this chapter)