Chapter 535: Sage's Stone

Duran froze in place.His gem-like, deep blue eyes reflected everything in the church, and his face was filled with disbelief!

The statue of the God of Truth, originally in the church, had been reduced to fragments scattered across the floor. This magnificent building, seven or eight stories high, was now filled with countless rare metal materials, and gold covered the ground, making the entire church shimmer brilliantly.

Yet, none of this impact on Duran compared to the mercury moon hanging high in mid-air. As ripples spread wildly across its surface, the sphere continuously underwent material transformations...

Duran could feel that within half a second of a ripple expanding, at least three hundred types of materials—including metals, non-metals, organic compounds, and even complex composite materials beyond Duran's perception—appeared out of thin air. Simultaneously, nearly a thousand other substances vanished and transformed. It was like a primordial sphere of creation, melding everything together!

"Lord Wuji??" Duran exclaimed in shock. "Lord Wuji has awakened? Does that mean the Wuji Realm..."

"Don't worry, Lord Wuji's condition is far more stable than you imagine."

Brandt stepped forward, knelt before the mercury moon, bowed his head, and spoke respectfully:"Lord Wuji, I have brought him... This is Duran, the most talented young man on the path of alchemy. With his addition, our efficiency might significantly increase."

As Brandt finished speaking, the rippling mercury moon suddenly agitated violently. A gigantic eyeball, seemingly composed of a glass-like material, bloomed within it, indifferently gazing down at Duran by the entrance.

The moment he was fixated by that eye, a sense of oppression immediately settled upon Duran. His brow unconsciously furrowed, and his deep blue eyes instinctively grew wary.

"Duran, do you know what Lord Wuji's authority entails?" Brandt turned to look at Duran.

"...What?"

Brandt smiled slightly. He rose from the ground and, as if in prayer, spoke to the mercury sphere: "Lord Wuji, please display your might to this ignorant, fledgling believer."

The next moment, strange hands extended from the mercury sphere. These hands were long and slender, with a metallic silver sheen, like perfect works of art... But now, thousands of hands simultaneously stretched out, resembling countless mercury snakes swimming through the void, causing an involuntary shiver.

These hands stretched out for dozens of meters, randomly grasping objects within the church: some were rubble from a corner, some wooden chair legs, some a handful of soil, some raindrops falling from above. A few even began to clench in mid-air, as if grasping dust in the wind...

The thousands of mercury hands, having absorbed various substances, clenched simultaneously. When they reopened, the materials within them had transformed.

Berkelium (Bk), Fermium (Fm), Californium (Cf), Helium-3 (He3), Uranium-235, Plutonium (Pu)...

Countless rare elements were gently held within the mercury hands. Some were super-rare elements that humanity had discovered but found extremely difficult to obtain, while others were unknown even to humans. All of them had been transformed from countless common materials...

Thousands upon thousands of mercury hands, holding countless rare elements, descended upon the human world, like a deity wielding authority over all material substances.

With a casual rub of these hands, several materials, under their control, fused and reacted, causing a fist-sized miniature sun to bloom in the center of the church. What humanity could only achieve through immense human and financial resources—nuclear fission and fusion—it accomplished with a mere flick of its hands.

The artificial sun hung high in the church as Brandt burst into laughter, watching Duran's stunned expression.

"Well?! Isn't it ironic?"

"The pinnacle of alchemy we've pursued our entire lives, the alchemical path we walk, the rules of material transformation we believe in—they are all mere playthings in Lord Wuji's hands! What a load of crap, equivalent exchange! What a load of crap, complex formulas! It's all absolute nonsense!!!"

Amidst Brandt's almost manic laughter, Duran gradually grasped the reality. He took a deep breath, calming himself:

"The authority of the Nine Lords inherently transcends comprehension... But I don't understand why Lord Wuji is in this form?"

"Because Lord Wuji is undergoing a metamorphosis," Brandt explained. "He is attempting to forge a new body, to break free from the lifespan limitations of carbon-based life forms, and to pursue immortality."

"Human transmutation?" Duran paused, then shook his head. "No... Human transmutation is creating a human body from nothing. He's trying to create a body that transcends organic structure... But how is that possible? Crafting a composite body that can replace human functions is simple, but what about the spirit? Without a vessel to contain the spirit, even if he succeeds, it would only be a walking corpse."

"Haha, Duran, you truly are our most brilliant alchemist. You immediately grasped the core of the problem... However, that issue has already been resolved."

"How was it resolved?"

"The Philosopher's Stone." Brandt spread his arms. "The Philosopher's Stone is the only known substance capable of containing a soul, and it is the pinnacle of the alchemical path... As long as enough Philosopher's Stones are created to bear Lord Wuji's spirit and soul, he can achieve immortality!"

Duran was stunned. A moment later, as if realizing something, he forcefully grabbed Brandt's collar!

"Crafting Philosopher's Stones... So, the large-scale alchemical arrays that annihilated two major regions were your doing?! You're using the lives of the Wuji Realm's people to create Philosopher's Stones for Lord Wuji??"

"Duran, don't get so agitated," Brandt said, resignedly. "As long as Lord Wuji can achieve immortality, what do a few civilian deaths matter?"

"But can't he create anything he wants? Why doesn't he just transform into the Philosopher's Stone himself?"

"The Philosopher's Stone is too unique. It's not merely an aggregation of matter but the concentrated essence of human souls... So even Lord Wuji cannot transform into it now." Brandt smiled. "This can only be achieved through the path of alchemy."

"But Lord Wuji is a Ninth-Tier Demigod! How much Philosopher's Stone would be needed to perfectly contain his spirit and soul? Two major regions weren't enough... Are you planning to transmute the entire Wuji Realm?"

"The Wuji Realm is our base of operations. If it weren't urgent to stabilize Lord Wuji's condition, we wouldn't have acted against those two regions... We already have other targets for the materials needed to create the Philosopher's Stones."

A corner of Brandt's mouth lifted. He turned to look at the mercury moon hanging high in the church and slowly said:

"The population of that realm is sufficient to provide enough Philosopher's Stones for Lord Wuji to complete his metamorphosis, making him the only immortal existence among the Nine Lords...And the Wuji Realm, too, shall become eternal."