Lord of Mysteries: The Cultivator - Chapter 7
“Philosopher’s Stone?!”
Above the gray fog, the questions of the group simultaneously sounded in their minds.
“Justice’s” eyes were sparkling, and she couldn’t restrain herself from asking: “Mr. ‘Emperor,’ is the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ you’re talking about the legendary one that can turn stone into gold and grant eternal life?”
Quinn nodded and said: “Uh… judging from your description, the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ in our knowledge should be the same thing.”
“Does it exist then?” “Justice” couldn’t suppress her inner curiosity and pressed the question.
“Ah, it does exist, and I am currently preparing to create one.” Quinn said.
Wuwuwu! The moment Quinn said those words, an invisible gust of cold wind seemed to sweep across the illusory gray fog, and he suddenly felt the atmosphere of the Tarot Gathering become strange—
“Justice,” “Hanged Man,” “Moon,” “Magician”…
The eyes of everyone seemed to have changed their flavor: Miss “Justice” was excited like a little girl who had spotted a cute and exquisite doll, Mr. “World” was frozen like a puppet with cut strings, Mr. “Hanged Man’s” breathing suddenly became heavy like a sea wind, Mr. “Moon’s” eyes seemed redder, and “Sun” apparently hadn’t quite understood what was said yet…
He even felt that the gaze of the mysterious and enigmatic “Fool” had changed its flavor somewhat, though he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion.
“Goddess above, I never thought such a thing actually existed. It turns out that the fantasy novels I read before weren’t false!” “Justice” thought in disbelief.
“Well…” After looking at the members with their varied expressions, Quinn subtly took a deep breath and continued with some embarrassment, “It’s just that… its practicality is a little…”
“A little…?” All the other members of the Tarot Gathering subconsciously followed up in their hearts.
“A little… not very useful (lit. chicken ribs). The power of the Philosopher’s Stone is not infinite; eternal life does not mean the same permanence as a Deity.
If it is used as an Elixir of Immortality, it can only extend life for a period of time, enough to last a few thousand years.
Among Beyonders of the same Sequence, their lifespans are quite similar, and the Philosopher’s Stone would be difficult to have any effect on them.”
He added another line: “Also, if ordinary people use the Philosopher’s Stone, it often leads to terrifying mutations.”
“Furthermore, non-eternal immortality often brings torment.”
“Even if the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ isn’t as perfect as we imagine, that is still an extremely long life!”
“Moon,” Emlyn White, couldn’t help but exclaim.
This would make almost everyone go crazy! he thought.
The life of a “Moon” is much longer than that of ordinary people. As a Sequence 7 Vampire, he has a long lifespan of several hundred years. But facing several thousand years of time still seems brief.
“What about the ability to ‘turn stone into gold’?”
At this moment, “World,” who was sitting opposite “The Fool” at the end of the bronze long table with a gloomy, corpse-like expression, suddenly spoke.
Yes! That’s the question we want to ask, too! The others quietly perked up their ears.
“Turning stone into gold, huh… Heh, the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ can indeed achieve the conversion of materials and create gold worth tens of thousands of Pounds. However…”
“However??” The curiosity in the hearts of the Tarot Gathering members surged like a midnight tide.
Stop being such a tease! Klein roared in his heart.
“The cost of the Philosopher’s Stone is extremely expensive. It requires multiple Mid-Sequence level Beyonder materials, the value of which is almost equal to the gold that can be produced, and they are hard to find even if you have the money.
Heh heh, you can treat it as a large wallet… just one that’s easier to lose. If those old folks who were almost turning themselves into Alchemy ingredients knew that the Philosopher’s Stone was converted entirely into gold by some people, they would probably lose control on the spot from anger.”
Ah… what a pity… This was the shared thought of the Tarot Gathering members at this moment. Although they knew this world was not a bedtime fairy tale, the feeling of shattered dreams still left the members feeling lost.
“So, what is the use of the Philosopher’s Stone after all?” “Justice,” Audrey, asked curiously. She immediately realized her bluntness and felt ashamed, quickly adding: “I will try my best to pay a reward equivalent to this information…”
“It’s fine. This thing is not only known to everyone in our circle but can also be called common knowledge,” Quinn waved his hand and said carelessly. “Its true value lies in alchemy—it is an extremely excellent catalyst. It can promote or slow down the reaction between various Beyonder materials. With just one Philosopher’s Stone, one can cross countless mountains of knowledge and achieve all kinds of incredible experiments.”
As he said this, his face showed the yearning and covetousness of all academic fanatics for being able to publish a paper without having to do the experiment.
Circle? Common knowledge? Catalyst? These terms sounded very unfamiliar to “Justice,” Audrey.
Did they come from some unknown saying of Emperor Roselle?
“The Fool,” Klein, who was shrouded in gray fog at the seat of honor, listened quietly, a faint smile on his face.
In fact, Quinn had another use for the Philosopher’s Stone that he hadn’t mentioned: In fact, his Sequence 5 Druid had already been fully digested through the acting he’d managed to squeeze in during his years of proselytizing.
And refining a “Philosopher’s Stone” was the ritual he needed to become a Sequence 4 demigod, the “Ancient Alchemist”!
Although this was quite costly, it was safe and simple. As long as the materials and knowledge were sound, achieving demigod status wouldn’t take too long.
Fortunately, I am both a bishop of the Mother Goddess of Earth and one of the largest suppliers of agricultural products from Feysac to the Loen Kingdom. He legally owned more than a dozen farms and plantations in the Feysac Kingdom.
If he wanted to, he could even become a nobleman without a title because of this. “But the Apocalypse is only a dozen years away. If I give up now and choose to slack off, how can I face the fellow transmigrator fathers and brothers who struggled tirelessly, like Emperor Roselle?”
Through the diaries of Emperor Roselle he had collected over the years, he understood that even True Gods might meet their demise in those higher-level worlds, and only achieving the status of an Old One might ensure safety.
“Only by being strong enough can I protect the people and things I cherish before the Apocalypse arrives.”
Quinn fell into a daze, unconsciously stroking the ancient bronze long table. “I have already obtained the formula and corresponding ritual for the ‘Ancient Alchemist’ potion. I’ll apply to the Church for the main material using the contributions I’ve accumulated over the years. As for the rest of the materials…”
He looked up at the endlessly rolling illusory gray fog before him, saw the mysterious “Fool” and the gathering members of different backgrounds, and smiled, half-sad and half-absurdly: “I can only hope for the grace from this enigmatic existence, hehe.”