Chapter 1562 Failing At Seed Collection.
Chapter 1562 Failing At Seed Collection.
?1562 Failing at Seed Collection.
Unfortunately, after weeks of meticulous exploration within the heavenly garden, Felix and his companions found themselves still without a single SSS natural treasure.
They had scoured every corner, climbed the tallest trees, and waded through the clearest streams, hoping to discover an elusive SSS+ natural treasure. Yet, despite their unwavering determination and Ancestor Imyr's guidance, they had come up empty-handed.
Frustration and disappointment were etched across Felix's face as he sat on top of a mountain's summit with Nimo lying on his head.
'We have gathered more than ten thousand natural treasures with grades B and A being the majority...This should be enough to push past a mark or two if I was lucky.'
While those results were extremely promising, Felix truly hoped to locate another SSS natural treasure. Alas, they had gone almost through the entire dimensional pocket, but to no avail.
The only places left were the ones lacking in elemental energy like the depth of the underground.
"It's expected, that the majority of SSS natural treasures are based on rare elements and have their unique mystical areas in some corners of the universe." Lady Sphinx shared, "Just because this place is rich with elemental energy, doesn't mean it qualifies to host multiple SSS natural treasures. Even the dark moss's existence is peculiar in itself as it defied those laws."
"I guess you are right, I have been expecting too much." Felix smiled, "I should feel gratified with our current loot, it sure helped a lot with breeding new plants."
In the past weeks, Felix had focused on two things in his free time...His training and crossbreeding new plants under his master's guidance.
The books he had read about the field had helped him greatly, allowing him to kick off his botany journey smoothly.
He struggled a bit at the start, but now, he was able to crossbreed new plants after a thorough analysis of their structure, history, species, evolutionary paths, and the list goes on.
"While it hasn't been a long time, I feel like I am ready to start crossbreeding SS+ natural treasures," Felix informed.
"You haven't even succeded in crossbreeding a SS natural treasure and you want to jump to SSS?" Lady Sphinx said calmly.
"Well, I don't think it's worth doing." Felix remarked, "The dark reaction occurs only in SS+ crossbred natural treasures and I feel like it's best to start getting to deal with it early."
"As you wish."
Lady Sphinx was usually stricter with her training schedule, but she would never stop Felix from running at his own pace at this stage of his life.
If he failed, he could always return to the schedule.
"As always, reach out when you face a wall."
Felix nodded in understanding and swiftly switched his focus to his clone inside the UVR. Since the UVR's connection wasn't in the dimensional pocket, he had to rely on a wisp he left behind in a crystal clone in his eternal nautilus.
...
In a secluded corner of his illusionary lush garden, Felix meticulously selected two SS natural treasures.
The anticipation hung in the air as he carefully brought the parent plants closer together, their vibrant leaves and unique characteristics promising a new, extraordinary creation.
With delicate precision, he attempted to coax the plants into producing seed, a key step in the crossbreeding process. He gently brushed their leaves together, encouraging them to release their pollen and ovules into the air.
The plants responded, emitting a subtle, almost hesitant, exchange of their reproductive materials.
Felix sped up the time, knowing after successful pollination, the seeds needed to develop on the female parent.
They will typically mature within a few weeks to months, depending on the plant species.
'Hmmm?'
However, as Felix watched closely, it became apparent that something was amiss. The two natural treasures seemed incompatible, their genetic codes refusing to intertwine.
Despite his best efforts, they failed to produce a single viable seed.
"It can't be? I have picked the most compatible SS-graded treasures I found in the dimension." Felix knitted his eyebrows in confusion, "They should have at least produced a seed at minimum."
Felix understood that by doing this, he lowered his chances of having an SSS-graded plant be born from those two treasures.
That's because compatibility while it would make crossbreeding easier, would also not create an evolutionary miracle.
He did this to ensure a small win before facing the real challenge.
"This has worked just fine for other natural treasures, am I missing something? Are there other conditions that have to be fulfilled?" Felix held his chin thoughtfully.
This was just the seed collection step and Felix never paid much attention to it since he understood that as long as the parents were compatible genetically, a seed had to be born.
He never ran any issue with lesser-graded natural treasures.
"I should first find out the reason for their inability to reproduce."
Not wanting to turn to his master's help so soon, Felix decided to make some changes, which were usually done during the plant's growth.
Seated at his makeshift laboratory table, Felix started jotting down notes in his holographic note while wearing a lab coat, resembling any other professional researcher.
He knew he had to run a series of experiments, testing various factors that might affect the crossbreeding process. He needed to understand what made these two plants refuse to produce a seed together.
First on his list was the soil.
Felix planned to collect samples from different parts of his garden, each with its unique composition, and see if the parent plants would respond differently.
He needed to determine whether the soil's pH, nutrient content, or microbial composition played a role.
Next, he considered the environment. Felix would move some of the parent plants to different areas of his garden, exposing them to varying amounts of sunlight, humidity levels, and temperature fluctuations.
He wondered if these elements influenced the success of pollination.
Weather and time differences would also be crucial variables. Felix decided to document the climate conditions during each pollination attempt and noted the time of day to see if patterns emerged.
Perhaps there was a specific climate condition or time frame that triggered successful seed production.
Seasons would undoubtedly play a role too. Fortunately, he was like a game master in a server, allowing him to possess all the cheats any researcher would kill to obtain.
So, Felix experimented on the plants from the bloom of spring to the harshness of winter in less than a minute between seasons.
Unfortunately, the seasons' experiment produced no results and was shelved.
Time went by and before long a month passed since Felix started his experiments.
"I have tried almost everything to make those two work. If only their genes were incompatible, I would have dropped them." Felix kept scratching his head with a frustrated look, not feeling this desperate for a long time.
He knew that his journey to create an SSS+ plant variety would be long and filled with challenges, but he didn't expect that he would be stuck in the seed collection stage.
He had yet to even deal with the growth phase and the dark reaction.
'Aren't you going to give him a hand?' Thor inquired while glancing at Lady Sphinx.
'He didn't ask and I doubt he will.' Lady Sphinx replied indifferently while reading a book.
The moment she said this, Felix stood up from his spinning chair and walked back to the laboratory with a determined expression.
"I can't be defeated by this...There has to be something I am missing. Has to be.'
Felix popped off his wisdom eyes and manifested all the unsuccessful experiences he run through before him into screens.
Then, he started scanning and analyzing anything out of interest, hoping to find the absent link in his past mistakes.