From Prisoner to Si Chen

Baron Opal is worthy of being a veteran member of "Midnight Rose" and a mysterious businessman with a lot of power.

He relies on his extensive network of contacts and channels to work very efficiently.

That evening, just as night fell, Jilan received another call from him.

The list of materials Jilan handed over, a total of 22 materials, all of which were purchased without missing a single one.

"Mr. Blood Owl, the number of materials you asked me to help you purchase is really quite a lot, and four or five of them are relatively rare and scarce. It took a lot of effort to get them from some friends..."

Baron Opal said on the phone.

"Fortunately, I lived up to your expectations, haha."

"Thanks, Baron Opal, I owe you a favor."

Jilan held the microphone and said close to his ear.

"How much do these materials cost?"

"Well... it's not a small amount, a total of 8078 Caesars. Some of them are taken from my material warehouse. Let's just give your lowest price and remove the decimals, a total of 8000 Caesars, how about that?"

Baron Opal said.

Jilan was also stunned when he heard this.

8000 Caesars...

So expensive? !

In fact, he was mentally prepared, but he didn't expect that the cost of the materials was even higher than expected.

However, considering the preciousness of the "Philosopher's Stone", this material cost seems not so important.

"Okay." Jilan said to the microphone. "After deducting the 3800 Caesars of dividends, I will pay you 4200 Caesars in cash."

"Let's use the hotline alchemy array and trade remotely."

"Of course, no problem, Mr. Blood Owl."

Baron Opal readily agreed.

Jilan picked up the metal microphone and turned it upside down on the workbench. The golden light shone, and a complicated alchemy array emerged.

He counted his belongings, and fortunately, he still had more than 6,000. So he took out most of them, a thick stack of gold foil banknotes with a face value of 100 yuan, stacked them neatly, and put them in the center of the alchemy array.

Looking at the remaining 18 gold banknotes, and some small silver banknotes and Meilang coins, Jilan sighed secretly, and now he was in a tight spot again.

Whoosh--

A flash of golden light.

The stack of Caesar disappeared.

The next second, some bottles and wooden boxes suddenly appeared on the alchemy array.

Jilan took them one by one and checked them, using the ability of "guidance and prompts" to make more accurate identification.

"Mr. Blood Owl, did you get the things?"

Picking up the microphone again, Baron Opal asked.

Jilan smiled and said:

"I got it, there is no problem with the materials."

"That's good." Baron Opal smiled. "Happy transaction, Mr. Blood Owl."

"Happy transaction."

Click.

The hotline was hung up, and Jilan breathed a sigh of relief.

The main and auxiliary materials needed for the "Philosopher's Stone" are now ready, and the only thing left is to start refining.

As for the specific refining method, we need to find teacher Pala.

So Gilan didn't waste time, put the materials directly into the alchemical leather pocket, and then took a car to leave Morales Street.

When he arrived at the Triumph Building, it was already night.

And this building, which symbolizes the center of power, is still brightly lit. Among the hundred-story building, at least seventy or eighty floors are still lit.

From this point, it can be seen from the side that the empire has been running at full speed recently, just like a tightened spring. Whether it is preparing for the war with the Owena Federation externally or remedying the losses caused by the miasma disaster internally, all departments are working intensively.

Gilan took the elevator to the 70th floor and knocked on the door of the chairman's office directly.

After hearing the old man's voice of agreement from inside, Gilan pushed the door open.

"Gilan, you're here."

The white-haired old gentleman looked up and smiled.

The teacher was still sitting behind the curved desk, concentrating on annotating his work. In front of him, there were already piles of documents with red seals.

"How are the materials prepared?"

"All ready, teacher."

Jilan strode over, and at the old man's gesture, he sat down on the high-backed chair in front of the table.

"However... in terms of the main materials, I only captured six devil lords, including three viscounts and three barons."

"Too little." Pala shook his head.

Jilan was startled, and then heard the teacher say:

"The soul content required to refine a standard 'Philosopher's Stone' is 673 'Hu' (a unit of soul measurement in mysticism, 1 unit is equivalent to the soul of a normal human), while the soul of a baron-level devil is 50 'Hu', and the soul of a viscount is 100 'Hu'."

"The main materials you have on hand, added together, should be between 450 and 500 'Hu'... If there is a vacancy in spiritual energy, it is likely to cause mottled impurities in the refining of the 'Philosopher's Stone', and thus fail."

"Sorry, teacher, I missed it."

Jilan said in a deep voice.

Pala waved his hand and sighed.

"It's not your fault... I've been too busy recently and haven't had time to tell you these specific information."

"Then I'll go to the Land of God again and continue hunting the devil lord."

Jilan raised his eyes and said.

Pala shook his head, stretched out his hand, and spread out his five fingers.

"Bring me your 'merit book'."

"Hmm?" Jilan was a little surprised, but did not ask any questions. Instead, he took out his committee merit book and handed it over.

The old man took it and opened it directly.

The last line of each entry in the small book contains Jilan's current merit points, which are 260 points.

"The merit points are not enough..."

Pala smiled helplessly.

Immediately, Jilan saw the teacher pick up a pen and write the following paragraph on the blank page of the merit book:

"As a foreign minister, he successfully reached a cooperation agreement with the Kingdom of Fosaka, promoted trade activities between the two sides, and helped the empire's diplomacy and defense to go further..."

"Specially approved reward: 2000 merit points."

Jilan was very surprised and puzzled when he saw this.

Immediately, what puzzled him even more was that the old man picked up the gear seal of the mechanical structure and directly tapped it twice on the merit book.

Duoduo!

Jilan's 2260 merit points were directly erased.

After doing this, Pala snapped his fingers.

Crack!

The scarlet arc burst out from between his fingers and jumped onto the table in front of Jilan.

A glass jar as big as a fist condensed out of thin air.

Inside, there was a yellow-green flame floating and swaying.

"What is this...?" Gilan asked.

"Equivalent exchange." The old man said calmly. "This is the soul fire of an earl-level devil, with a content of more than 300 'Xiu'."

"Add it, and you can start refining your 'Philosopher's Stone'."

Gilan was stunned.

He immediately understood the teacher's intention.

Pala saw that Gilan did not have enough materials, so he took out this soul fire. It was just that due to the principle, Pala did not give it directly, but first increased his merits, and then deducted it as an exchange.

In an instant, Gilan was quite touched.

From the beginning of knowing Pala Celsus, he knew that this was an old man who regarded the principle of "equivalent exchange" as the truth.

But the way the other party found reasons to increase his merits clearly revealed his preference for students.

It did not violate the principle, and it could reasonably give materials.

This may be the real Pala.

"Thank you, teacher." Jilan picked up the glass jar and said in a deep voice.

"Okay, now that the materials are ready, let's start refining."

Pala smiled.

"Okay." Jilan nodded, took out the prepared materials one by one, and put them on the table.

Pala glanced at them and nodded silently.

He also picked up the six colored glass balls, looked at them with interest, and smiled:

"You turned those devil lords into these glass balls?"

"Yes, teacher."

"Very interesting." Pala smiled with satisfaction. "You are worthy of being my student, Pala Celsus."

Jilan immediately understood the old man's subtext.

Because he remembered something.

Pala seemed to like to decompose the enemy and reconstruct it into a tiny model for collection...

The reason why Jilan wanted to refine the devil into glass balls was just for easy storage and carrying. Unexpectedly, this casual move was recognized and loved by Pala.

Pala stood up from his chair, took out the king chess piece, and threw it into the air.

The chess piece hung upside down, shining with golden light.

"Come with me, to the 'Chessboard Manor'."

After he said that, he took a step and stepped into the translucent golden round door.

Jilan took the materials and followed closely.

…

…

The refining process of the "Philosopher's Stone" was much more complicated than Jilan had imagined.

There were thirty or forty steps before and after, as well as the temporary alchemy array. There were also many details that needed to be paid attention to. Without Pala's hand-in-hand teaching, Jilan would have almost been unable to complete this task.

The master and apprentice stayed in the Chessboard Manor for a whole night without stopping. It was not until noon the next day that the "Philosopher's Stone" was barely refined.

And this was the result of Pala's countless modifications and optimizations.

It can be seen that the refining method of the "Philosopher's Stone" is indeed a secret that is not passed on and is extremely precious.

The sun is shining in the Chessboard Manor.

Tables and chairs were placed on the wide green lawn, and the master and the apprentice sat opposite each other.

On the ground around them, there were still dense arcs, triangles and symbols, and a strong mysterious magnetic field filled the surroundings. For ordinary people, it was a level of death to get close to it.

Jilan sat upright, playing with an egg-sized, oval-shaped thirty-six-sided solid in his hand.

The stone was scarlet and crystal clear, and it emitted a hazy red glow under the light.

An extremely powerful, even tyrannical magnetic field escaped from the stone. But Jilan could see through his spiritual vision that the energy contained in it was more than a hundred times stronger than the one that escaped.

"Is this the 'Philosopher's Stone'..."

Jilan looked at the stone in his hand, his eyes reflecting the red light, and murmured.

"It really contains huge energy."

"Have you remembered the refining method of the 'Philosopher's Stone'?"

Pala poured a cup of warm black tea, pushed it in front of the purple-eyed young man, and asked softly.

"I remember everything, teacher."

Gilan raised his eyes and said seriously.

"Very good." Pala nodded. "This not only involves the future of the empire, but also the ultimate dream of the Knights... Gilan, you must not forget it, and you must not tell others."

"I know." Gilan nodded.

This small stone in his hand is enough to serve as the core of the body of the Ascendant or even the Apostle.

Its importance is self-evident.

"Hmm." Pala picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Put this refined 'Philosopher's Stone' into your body. It will merge with your spirituality and serve as a reserve energy source to provide energy for your 'Sage's Secret Mark'."

"In this way, you can use alchemy at will."

"At the same time, it can also provide the most intuitive and rapid treatment when you are injured, poisoned or sick... In a sense, there is no panacea in the world. If there is, it can only be the 'Philosopher's Stone'."

"But remember-"

Pala put down the teacup with a serious face.

"Don't use the 'Philosopher's Stone' to extend your life unless you have no choice... Otherwise, you will be like me, unable to ascend forever and bound to the world."

"This is an 'equivalent exchange' that cannot be violated!"

"Follow the teacher's teachings."

Jilan lowered his head slightly and took a deep breath.

Pala shook his head and smiled, sighing:

"It's too early for you to extend your life... but I don't have much time left, so I'll try to tell you everything I can."

"Teacher..." Gilan's heart trembled, and he couldn't help asking: "How much time do you have?"

Pala fell into silence.

He finished the tea in the cup and refilled it.

Immediately, he said calmly:

"At that time, Deputy Captain Agni offered his own self and served as the main material of the alchemy array that sealed the volcano, trying to reduce my burden... But even so, I should only have less than a year left."

"One year..." Gilan couldn't help but take a deep breath and lowered his eyes.

How could he not feel sad when his teacher's deadline was approaching.

Pala Celsus still carried the dream of the Knights on his shoulders and the responsibility of the chief staff of the empire.

Once he fell, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Gilan actually had an idea.

That was to save teacher Pala, just like he saved the white gull Alevia and others.

But he still doesn't understand the principle behind this.

Therefore, there is no guarantee that he can repeat the original move and use "Colorful" to capture the teacher's soul for subsequent resurrection.

In addition, the three people of Alevia at the time were just ordinary people, which is completely different from the current top powerhouses in the world, as Celsus.

Thinking of this, Gilan felt heavy.

"Don't worry about it, Gilan."

Pala looked relieved and smiled slightly.

"Everything should have a price. If you get it, you should pay it... No one can avoid it, not even God, let alone me."

"Fortunately, I still have a year, which is enough for me to do a lot more."

"Before I die, I will lay everything out for you. And what you have to do is to have enough strength to hold the situation by then..."

"Yes, teacher." Gilan said in a deep voice.

After speaking, he raised his hand.

The "Philosopher's Stone" held in his palm suddenly emitted a dazzling red light, and then flashed and turned into countless bright stars, twisting and spinning, and drilling into the mark on his palm.

A huge force suddenly surged into his heart!