Following Halen Vera's previous instructions, Locke arrived at the edge of the academy's port city, at an alchemy cottage whose roof was a crucible. The crucible at the top of this alchemy cottage continuously emitted hot steam.

This hot steam rose to the upper part of this alchemy cottage, where it would form rain clouds, then turn into rainwater and fall back down again, returning to the crucible.

In this way, the potion liquid inside the crucible on the roof would maintain a certain quantity for a very long time.

Locke stood before this alchemy cottage and sniffed lightly, immediately raising his eyebrows. "Seems to be some kind of potion that temporarily enhances mana."

"Should be not just one potion, but a mixture of over a dozen potion types."

"And their grades are all quite high. Mixed potions are in the domain of formal potion masters. But this quantity is really too exaggerated. An ornament created using potion evaporation techniques combined with alchemy equipment? It seems to be more than just an ornament."

He looked up at the swimming pool-sized crucible of that alchemy cottage, which was actually filled entirely with some special potion.

Locke suspected that if combat occurred nearby, the potion in that crucible decoration would play some role in some form.

From inside the alchemy cottage came a somewhat aged voice. "Please come in."

"Student, what can I do for you?"

The alchemy cottage's door opened. An elderly witch wearing white wizard robes walked out. Behind her were some crucibles mounted on iron frames, with various magical flames burning fiercely below those crucibles.

Locke bowed to this witch. She was one of Lilith's Cottage's seven Senior Advisors, Claudia Forbes, one of Lilith's Cottage's most formidable potion masters. Her representative work was the Purebred Potion.

The main direction of the potion studies field she researched was studying the direction of potions unlocking special talents in the human body.

This potion direction was almost the most difficult direction in the potion studies field to produce results, so very few people would study it.

As long as one studied this direction, it almost meant that for a very long time, one wouldn't publish any high-quality articles or produce any results.

It required studying day and night, either wasting one's entire life or suddenly producing something major one day.

Except for truly brilliant potion masters, generally no one would choose to research this direction, and the geniuses delayed because of this were definitely not few in number.

Locke bowed to Witch Claudia and explained his purpose. "Lady Forbes, I am a student of Wizard Halen Vera, Locke Augustine. I've come to collect an advancement potion."

"My mental power has already reached 800."

"According to academy regulations, I've come specifically to apply for an advancement potion."

Old Witch Forbes looked at Locke with surprise, a flash of cunning passing through her eyes. "Locke Augustine, I have an impression of you."

"That Bear Spirit Jade Bile Potion of yours is quite interesting."

"I remember you only advanced to first-class wizard apprentice less than two years ago, right? Am I remembering correctly? You're already applying for an advancement potion so quickly?"

Old Witch Forbes looked Locke up and down, then nodded and said, "Not bad. Your mana has indeed nearly reached that threshold, and even vaguely exceeds it."

She was slightly surprised and said, "Very few students can reach this level in such a short time. The last one was still Witch Sophia."

"Oh, that's your teacher."

Claudia Forbes invited Locke inside, "Then come in. Did your teacher tell you all the rules?"

Locke indicated to Old Witch Forbes, "Yes, Teacher Halen told me about many taboo matters, and I still need to sign a highest-level association confidentiality contract before I can obtain a bottle of advancement potion for free."

"As a trade, I need to sign an agreement with the academy that if I become a formal wizard afterward, I'll prioritize choosing this institution. If I don't choose to stay at the school, I must make corresponding compensation to this academy."

This was also relatively reasonable.

After all, he had obtained so many resources through the Lilith's Cottage platform. If he ultimately chose to leave, Lilith's Cottage wasn't a charity organization and would naturally need him to make some compensation.

Of course, the price Lilith's Cottage offered was basically still quite reasonable.

The reason Witch Sophia previously needed to kill a formal wizard to leave was only because she wanted to shorten the time before departure.

Otherwise, ordinary formal wizards who worked for the academy for thirty to fifty years could pretty much obtain the right to leave.

Formal wizards' lifespans were extremely long, so this point didn't really matter.

Essentially, the academy wouldn't proactively have a falling out with formal wizards it had cultivated. Both sides still belonged to a mutually beneficial relationship.

After formal wizards left the academy, the achievements they obtained could still indirectly increase the glory of the wizard organization they came from and obtain the right to recruit more outstanding students.

Claudia Forbes smiled strangely and looked at Locke, "Then sign these two contracts."

"After signing these two contracts, I'll give you the advancement potion."

"Locke, sit."

Locke sat down at a table. After reading both contracts, he signed the agreements.

After Old Witch Forbes saw him sign the agreements, she turned around and walked toward the depths of the room to a pile of messy potions on the floor. She began searching, casually grabbing several bottles of potions and looking at them, then turned around with the Sacrifice Potion in hand and handed it to Locke.

Old Witch Forbes said, "Here you go, young genius."

"This is the portion of Sacrifice Potion that should be given to you."

Locke pressed his lips together. He turned his head to look at the garbage pile behind Old Witch Forbes and discerned that this Sacrifice Potion was actually thrown on the ground like garbage, piled up into a mountain.

After receiving the Sacrifice Potion, Locke couldn't help but speak, "Lady Forbes, I thought... thought this kind of potion was very precious."

"After all, the confidentiality level is so high."

Old Witch Forbes blinked, surprised, "How is that possible? Sacrifice Potion is the simplest grade of potion. The difficulty of concoction is very low. With your current level, as long as I patiently teach you for a few years, you might even be able to concoct it yourself."

"You wouldn't even need to become a formal wizard."

Locke said in surprise, "Then doesn't Sacrifice Potion not lack quantity at all?"

Old Witch Forbes' eyes dimmed. "The quantity isn't lacking, but what's truly lacking isn't it, but wizards' talent. This potion is very terrifying. Its formula's circulation must be restricted, the people who can concoct it must be restricted, and its sales channels must be restricted."

"Its most terrifying aspect is that its concoction is really too simple, the materials used are all too common. The effects after taking it are too fixed, and the side effects are too clearly defined."

"And if the association didn't restrict it, it could directly destroy an entire wizard community."

Old Witch Forbes was slightly proud. "Thank the association for trusting me, so I was selected as one of the relatively few Sacrifice Potion Preparers in the southeastern quadrant."

She proudly pointed to the special badge on her chest symbolizing Sacrifice Potion Preparer. "The memories related to this part are protected by the association's Mind School's Second Circle magic, Mind Confidentiality Curse."

"Therefore, no one can steal this potion's formula from my brain, or seize it, or spy on it, or control me to make me proactively tell them the formula by various methods, or occupy my body to read my sea of consciousness to obtain this formula, or deceive me to make me tell them the formula unintentionally."

Locke nodded admiringly. "That's really thoroughly considered, Lady Forbes."

Just hearing Old Witch Forbes say this, Locke felt this defense was truly incomparably tight.

He couldn't think of any other method to forcibly obtain the formula from her.

Old Witch Forbes herself couldn't tell anyone the formula.

Moreover, this Sacrifice Potion's finished product must surely have very high-level confidentiality measures at the formula level, so potion masters couldn't reverse-engineer its formula from the finished product.

Old Witch Forbes said, "Alright, I'm going to tell you the true effect of Sacrifice Potion now. This damned cursed effect has harmed so many wizard geniuses."

"How many people have lost all their futures because of it."