At the very bottom of the Codex, within the log section, a new entry appeared:
[Discovered partial effects and applications of Wolfsmoke Grass on Lin Wolves. Lin Wolf Codex experience +100.]
[Fully understanding and developing the concrete effects and usage of Wolfsmoke Grass may grant additional experience.]
As expected!
An indescribable joy flashed through Su Ping's eyes as he stared fixedly at the Lin Wolf that had just completed its comprehension.
However, his brows soon knitted together.
As the glow faded, the small Lin Wolf reappeared clearly before him.
At the same time, the Eye of Truth immediately revealed the wolf's status:
Lin Wolf (Wild – Weakened)
Current Rank: Ordinary Rank Seven
Racial Potential: Elite Rank Ten
Skills: Sunlight Absorption (Beginner), Accelerated Growth (Beginner), Vine Strangle (Proficient), Self-Healing (Beginner), Wood's Heart (Beginner)
That was right. From the Eye of Truth's feedback, the little wolf didn't seem to have changed much at all. In fact, Wood's Heart had clearly manifested on it, and the faint fragrance of grass and wood it emitted confirmed this.
The Weakened state itself wasn't a big issue.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
Previously, to ensure the experiment wouldn't be affected by outside variables, Su Ping had deliberately chosen two Lin Wolves of the same rank to cultivate together.
Both of them had originally been Ordinary Rank Eight.
In other words, while Wolfsmoke Grass had further enhanced the Lin Wolf's receptivity to Wood's Heart, it had also caused its realm to drop.
What kind of principle was this?
Su Ping frowned, unable to figure it out for the moment. Only now did he truly understand the saying: you only realize how much you lack when you actually need it.
Still, he quickly marked the little wolf, carefully recorded this discovery in his journal, and treated it as an important data point.
After that, he didn't waste any time. He took out the sickle stored in his beast space and continued harvesting the vast stretch of Wolfsmoke Grass.
Before, he hadn't been confident enough, so he hadn't dared to attempt anything more complicated.
But now, it was clear that Wolfsmoke Grass held mysteries far beyond his expectations.
It required deeper refinement—extracting its essence directly—and further live-subject experimentation.
Unfortunately, while he did have basic refining tools at home, he was still missing many things. To say nothing else, although his medicine cauldron was usable, extracting Wolfsmoke Grass with it would be extremely inefficient. The time cost and labor cost were simply too high.
He also lacked proper instruments for observation and recording.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Su Ping felt a headache coming on while harvesting yet another large bundle of Wolfsmoke Grass.
There were plenty of channels, both online and offline, for buying materials and resources. But precision instruments used exclusively by breeders? He genuinely had no idea where to get those.
Thankfully, he wasn't completely without connections.
"Hello? Su Ping? You don't call often—don't tell me you've already completed your wager with Xiao Sun?"
In all of Linzhou, there were probably very few people more knowledgeable about such matters than Vice Chairman Liu.
Listening to the old man's hearty laughter, Su Ping deliberately played it coy.
"You'll find out in a couple of days, Elder Liu. I wanted to ask—where can I buy instruments for extracting material essences, as well as cultivation observation equipment? I have some new ideas I'd like to try."
"Haha, I figured as much," Vice Chairman Liu replied, not answering directly but instead asking, "Su Ping, do you know what's most important for a breeder?"
"What is it?" Su Ping asked cooperatively.
"A laboratory, of course!" Liu said without hesitation. "With your abilities, you can absolutely apply to rent a private lab at the Breeders' Association. Of course, if you want to buy the equipment yourself, that's also possible—we sell it internally."
Then he continued straightforwardly, "The Association has three types of essence-extraction instruments, each with its own strengths. There are also the other devices you mentioned. I'll send you the list—just take a look and place your order."
Vice Chairman Liu sounded particularly generous as he added, "Once you've placed the order, send me the order number. I'll use my authority to give you the maximum discount."
A smile spread across Su Ping's face.
"Thank you very much. I'll come visit you when I get the chance."
"Anytime—you just tell me, and I'll adjust my schedule," Liu replied cheerfully.
Su Ping paused, lips pressed together, just about to respond—when he heard loud laughter from the other end.
"Hahaha, I'm just joking with you. But if you have time, you can come by at the end of the month. I'll be giving a lecture at the Breeders' Association then. Only breeders specializing in wolf-type pet beasts are qualified to attend.
"I don't know how much it'll help you, but no matter how talented a breeder is, it's best not to shut themselves away and work behind closed doors."
This time, Su Ping's eyes truly lit up.
Even though he had the Myriad Spirits Codex, it was like being handed the answer to an advanced math problem. He could copy the solution whenever the same problem appeared again—but the reasoning process, the ability to infer by analogy and apply the logic elsewhere, had nothing to do with him at all.
You only realize how much you lack when you actually need it.
There was no way he would miss an opportunity like this.
Ending the call in high spirits, Su Ping opened the internal purchasing site link Vice Chairman Liu had sent—accessible only to registered association breeders.
One glance, and Su Ping froze.
Now he finally understood why, when he had asked about buying equipment, Vice Chairman Liu had directly suggested renting a lab first.
Because the prices were absolutely insane.
[High-Polymer Automated Mechanical Core Compression Extraction Unit: An integrated machine controlled by a mechanical core. It can compress all resource types except elemental resources and extract essences according to user requirements, condensing them into…]
There was a long-winded description full of technical jargon. Su Ping barely understood any of it.
All he could see was a machine that looked like a gigantic toilet fused with a washing machine and a computer screen—and behind it, a horrifying string of zeros.
At that moment, Su Ping fell into deep thought.
Vice Chairman Liu had said he could apply a discount within his authority.
But how big was that discount?
Could three hundred million be discounted down to one million? Fine—ten million would do too!
Unfortunately, that kind of dream could only exist in dreams.
This was reality.
And that price was just for one machine—there were also usage fees and other equipment to consider.
At once, the breeder who had just been thinking that "having enough money is fine" stared at the countless bundles of Wolfsmoke Grass stuffed into his tiny beast space and roared at the sky:
"I need customers! I need to make money! I need to build my own laboratory!"
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