Fifth Hundred and Twentieth Chapter: Turning Stone into Gold

"Could it be that you have... extracted the Philosopher's Stone?" Achill asked in a trembling voice.

The hall was silent for a moment – this was probably the answer everyone wanted to know.

The Philosopher's Stone is the pinnacle of alchemy in legends. It possesses the ability to transform all things, and it is also the reason why alchemy is called the scholar of sages. When used as a medium, it can turn ordinary iron and lead into precious metals, giving people inexhaustible wealth, which is the origin of turning stone into gold.

"A stone that transforms all things... that thing is just a gimmick created by ancient alchemists who wanted to be lazy," Kaimo waved his hand, "What I want to show you is the secret of the world."

He took out a peculiar crystal glass tube from his pouch and generously displayed it in front of the alchemists.

Everyone craned their necks, Lightning was no exception. The tube was about the thickness of two fingers, sealed at both ends, and contained some brownish-red powder, simple and dull, looking like dry soil at first glance. No one knew how it was filled in.

Then, Kaimo asked for a cup of clean water and picked up a piece of green vitriol from the table, smashing one end of the glass tube to pieces.

A commotion arose in the crowd.

Even Lightning felt a pang of heartache. The transparent, flawless color was clearly high-quality crystal glass, and it would take a craftsman a lot of effort to fire it into such a uniform tube. As a result, the other party just smashed the tube open. However, this also made him realize that the Fourth Prince was not lying when he said that crystal glass had been developed in his territory – the alchemy association in the royal capital would never produce such a strange container.

The water was quickly brought up. Kaimo poured the powder in the tube into the cup, and the water slowly turned yellowish-green, and the powder disappeared.

"Do you have lead rods here?" he turned around and said, "Bring two of the best quality."

"Wait!" Reilly exclaimed, "Since it's an alchemical reaction, shouldn't it be the same no matter who does it? I've seen some street performers who are very good at sleight of hand, and can turn copper eagles into gold dragons in full view... I'm not doubting you, but in this kind of situation, it's better to be cautious," he looked at the other two chief alchemists, "What do you think?"

"Indeed," Achill slowly said.

Lightning hesitated for a moment. Everyone could see that Reilly was clearly suspicious, and comparing the other party to a street performer was a bit rude, but at this time he had to stand on the side of the alchemy association, "I also... agree."

He thought the chief alchemist from Border Town would be furious, but Kaimo Streel just smiled, "Of course, the final step is the same whether it's done by an alchemist or an apprentice. As I said, the essence of alchemy is simple, orderly, and straightforward. Who wants to do it?"

"Let me do it," Lightning felt his heart beating violently. He didn't even dare to look at Kaimo, but he couldn't resist the youhuo of the art of turning stone into gold – could this cup of yellowish-green liquid really turn lead into gold?

The apprentice quickly brought the materials. These were repeatedly refined lead rods, with a bluish-white appearance, usually placed in a wooden box lined with cotton cloth, considered the best quality stock. Lightning picked up one and carefully put it into the cup. Then he was surprised to find that a touch of gold appeared on the surface of the lead rod!

He felt his hands tremble uncontrollably.

"Look! It looks like something is growing out!"

"Golden... my god, it's golden!"

"Is that gold?"

"It could be copper!"

The voices behind Lightning suddenly became louder. He turned around and saw all the alchemists and disciples staring wide-eyed, staring at the changes in the water cup on the long table, their voices full of shock and disbelief. Achill had a confused look on his face, as if he had lost his direction.

He himself felt the same way... could it be that alchemy is really as Kaimo said, without any change in itself, completely simple and clear, and that what he thought was chaotic and disordered was just because he had gone down the wrong path?

Then what was the point of their decades of research?

When the lead rod was taken out, its surface had bloomed with fine threads like coral.

"These are all... copper!" Reilly bit his lip and roared with the last of his strength, "You can't possibly know the method of turning stone into gold! This is not common sense! Otherwise, you could use gold dragons to buy the entire Graycastle, instead of just becoming the chief alchemist of a small town lord!"

"I chose this path not for gold dragons, but to understand this world," Kaimo's voice seemed to come from a very far away place, "If you don't believe me, you can test it... I think the chief alchemist of the royal capital should know how to distinguish between copper and gold, right?"

However, the subsequent verification did not have any reversal. The golden threads on the lead rod were shaved off and placed on a plate, baked on the fire, and quickly melted into a ball. This was clearly not copper – under high temperature, copper would turn into an ugly solid, while the rolling metal solution in the plate shone even more brightly, like a brilliant golden sun.

True gold fears no fire.

This was real gold.

The hall was already boiling!

"The alchemy formula for turning stone into gold actually exists!"

"Lord Kaimo, what do those symbols you wrote on the paper represent? Are they formulas of a higher realm?"

"Where did you learn this knowledge from?"

"Chief, are you still accepting disciples? I'm willing to start as an apprentice!"

Kaimo Streel reached out and pressed down the noisy shouts, "Listen carefully, everything you have seen today comes from a more ancient discipline. It not only includes all possible alchemy formulas, but also reveals the secrets of the composition of all things! Through it, you can even predict alchemy formulas that have never been seen before, and turning stone into gold is no exception! As long as you follow me to the Western Region, I can teach you all of this!"

Go to the Western Region? Looking at Roland Wimbledon, who was smiling aside, Lightning froze in place... Was this his real purpose? But it was too late to wake up at this moment. The enthusiastic atmosphere on the scene was completely beyond his control. It was conceivable that if one could learn the art of turning stone into gold, who would be willing to work for the association? The alchemists in the hall would probably not continue to stay here. The royal capital alchemy association with a hundred years of history was about to collapse in one day.

In a daze, Lightning saw Kaimo slowly walk up to him.

"Do you still remember an apprentice who wanted to configure melting gold liquid twenty-seven years ago?" he leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Because of two failed tests, you took away his money bag and refused him to step into the door of the association again... In fact, that was just because the acid concentration you provided was not enough."

Lightning shuddered, and the memories in his mind overlapped with the figure in front of him. He opened his mouth in surprise, "You are the apprentice I reviewed at that time--"

"That's right," Kaimo nodded, "I'm just here to get back what I deserve."

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Recommend a book "Wanku Evil Emperor" by Kaihuang, the name is slightly secondary, but the content is pretty good, those who are interested can check it out ~!