CH 3

Paladin, who was hiding in the distance, was dumbfounded. The dense alchemy runes that emerged around him were not only extremely esoteric and difficult to decipher, but also had never been seen before! These were the lost alchemy!

While Paladin was still stunned, blue light suddenly burst from the engraved seal surrounded by countless runes. With a "krrr" sound, the seal split in half. An underground passage large enough for an adult to enter gradually revealed itself.

"Hahaha! Here I come, Ripley Scroll!" Francis jumped up and down in delight. Feng Li Er had been rendered speechless by her own excitement. She then immediately lit up a magic lamp and walked in without hesitation.

Paladin slowly gulped. He closed the door and trailed behind them as carefully as he could after carefully checking his surroundings and confirming that no one else was alarmed by the sudden burst of light. The passage was pitch-black. Through the faint light produced by Francis from afar, Paladin could vaguely see the dilapidated and withered stone walls around him. Paladin then held his breath and softened his steps. He was afraid of being noticed by the two people in front of him.

Francis and Feng Li Er were obviously in a hurry. Their anxious steps echoed throughout the passage. An hour was indeed insufficient.

"Is it right here? Francis... Oh, it's amazing!"

Not long after, the two of them walked into a dead-end. Paladin hid in a corner as he watched them nervously. A massive stone slab stood in front of the two. The stone that was supposed to be broken now emitted an incredible amount of power!

The stone's surface was densely packed with mysterious runes, while its periphery was full of colourful runes cruising leisurely like fish in a pond. Feng Li Er's eyes instantly widened in surprise and disbelief at such a miraculous sight.

Francis, who stood next to her, enthusiastically took out a slab engraved with an ancient seal from his sleeve. Paladin could tell it was similar to the stone on the library floor with just a glance. Both had an ancient seal engraved on them.

"Hehehe, this is great! Ten thousand years ago, 325 top alchemists, led by the association's president—all powerful and knowledgeable alchemists in the entire Olosen Continent—were mobilised to incorporate Ai Menglik's great sealing technique. The entire technique contains 40,000 rune sequences. It’s regarded as the almost impossible-to-solve seal of God! The greatest spectacle in alchemy! A masterpiece!" Francis was so excited that his eyes got teary. With trembling hands, he continued to mutter to himself. The mystery of the myth would soon be completely unravelled.

Feng Li Er, who was initially perplexed, regained her composure. But then, she went silent for a while as suspicions arose in her mind. She asked, "Is it really just the Ripley Scroll in here, Professor? If it's just a scroll, why did so many powerful alchemists band together to seal the entrance that year? Isn't it enough just to destroy the scroll?"

Upon hearing this, Francis reigned in his excitement, turned around, and sneered. "What do you think we’re up to right now? Feng Li Er! We're alchemists. And at this moment, we're pursuing the legendary alchemist's pinnacle achievement! The key to enter God's domain! Ten thousand years ago, the president and those alchemists were just like us, freemasons who were pursuing the truth! Who would be willing to destroy this kind of art, no, a priceless treasure!? But still, we can't let the public know of it..."

"That's why they chose to seal it, right?" Feng Li Er nodded understandingly. She didn’t look offended in the slightest by the rude way Francis spoke.

Francis chuckled. He stroked the engraved seal in his hand and stared madly at the tiny gap in the middle of the huge floating magic circle

“You are really understanding. Back off, there might be arcane waves triggered by the chain reaction, don't get caught in it..." he said while lowering his voice.

Feng Li Er nodded slightly and took a step back. Seeing this, Paladin immediately squatted down and looked around for something to grab on the ground. His experience in alchemy might not be as high as Francis', but he was familiar with arcane waves.

In alchemy, arcane waves were defined as a chaotic riot of pure magic elements produced when the runes' order of sequence was destroyed, moved, and or increased. It spread out like ocean waves. Although its destructive power was not particularly strong, if one was not cautious, violent magical elements could penetrate their entire body. Consequently, all of the nerves and soft tissues in their body could get damaged. Hence, it couldn't be handled carelessly.

At this moment, Francis' originally wretched face suddenly became serious. Slowly lifting the engraved seal, he pointed it at the small gap and shouted, "Ali in fifty degrees! In the name of the lunar eclipse, open your arms, Ai Menglik!"

The engraved seal in Francis' hand immediately exuded an extremely dazzling light as soon as he chanted the spell. Paladin, who was lying on the ground, was horrified when he saw the light blue smoke wisps that flowed from the stone’s gap came flocking to Francis, who stood in front of the seal. It looked like a swarm of hundred birds returning to their nests!

Meanwhile, at this point in time, on the topmost floor of the entire Freemasons' Association castle tower, a white-bearded old man dressed in a white robe was sitting on the bed. He abruptly opened his eyes and jumped out of the bed. The golden band around his arm indicated that he was the school dean of this association branch, Capps Ryan!

Ryan had a terrified expression on his face. He ran to the window and looked up. His eyes, which had been calm before, became panicked in an instant!

"How could this be…." Ryan muttered.

The previously dimly lit night sky had now turned pitch black. The bright moon, which had hung high in the sky, also lost its last remnants of light. The entire world was enveloped in complete darkness. The most evil creatures that had lain dormant in the darkness were beginning to emerge....

The power of destruction and transcendence! Ryan gulped. Something crossed his mind. Like a drowning man grasping at straws to survive, Ryan immediately ran to the bookshelf and carefully took out a box made of pure gold from the dark compartment. After opening it carefully, he discovered a piece of sheepskin parchment that had to be extremely old inside.

When examined closely, it had to be a product of an unrecorded era in history. Definitely something with great research value. However, Ryan didn't have time to care about that right now. He hurriedly took out the parchment and unfolded it. As he read the simple words written on the parchment, his face became very desperate. It was as though he had fallen into the abyss.

Tap!

Ryan's hand trembled. The parchment fell to the ground as his grip on it loosened. He collapsed like a ragdoll, looking as if he had lost his soul. His eyes were filled with pain as well as panic.

"Why…. Why!? Why is it me? Why does it have to be on my turn?!"