The Philosopher's Stone

Leaving the Dark Moon Valley, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation to save time, sprinting toward Red Water Lake in the southeast.

Players heading toward the Dark Moon Valley along the way could only see Shi Feng rushing past like a gust of wind; his speed was so astonishing that they couldn't even make out his appearance.

"Who is that? Which Assassin is so fast?"

"No, look at the sword hanging at his waist, not a dagger. He must be a Swordsman."

"Damn, are Swordsmen this overpowered now? The internet is buzzing about how the mayor of Red Leaf Town was killed by a mysterious Swordsman, and there's also a powerful Swordsman in the Dead Silence Forest who received an invitation from the Ice Goddess. If I'd known, I would've played a Swordsman too."

"Do you think it could be the same person?"

"He's definitely not that guy. I saw the Swordsman who killed the mayor with my own eyes. That male Swordsman was tall and sturdy, built like a black bear with arms thicker than my thighs. He flat-out crushed a Level 15 mayor."

The passing players discussed as they watched Shi Feng depart, feeling deeply speechless about the Swordsman class. If they had known there was such a powerful class, they would have chosen it, but it was too late now.

If Shi Feng knew, he would likely just smile it off. In God's Domain, there is no strongest class, only the strongest players.

Shi Feng sprinted across the vast plains for over two hours, activating Gravity Liberation more than a dozen times to evade high-level monsters. He passed through the Level 6 Gnoll Ruins and the Level 8 Oulu Fortress before finally arriving at the Level 10 zone, Red Water Lake.

Red Water Lake was a paradise for Level 10 Water Elementals and Murlocs. Looking down from a high vantage point, one could see groups of three or five Murlocs patrolling everywhere. The closer one got to the lake, the more Murlocs there were. The center of Red Water Lake was the Murlocs' lair, while the lake itself was inhabited by annoying Water Elementals.

Because the lake was densely packed with monsters and the Murlocs' curse skill was incredibly disgusting—allowing them to absorb a player's stats to boost their own, making them harder to kill the longer the fight lasted—and because there were no quests here, very few players in his previous life were willing to come here to level up.

However, Shi Feng had no choice but to venture deep into Red Water Lake.

The metal box dropped by Axel Mador was extremely precious. If Axel Mador knew what was inside, he would likely be so angry he'd bleed from his seven orifices, for it contained a treasure map, and the treasure marked on it was hidden right here in Red Water Lake.

Having played for ten years, Shi Feng had conducted considerable research into the history of God's Domain.

He truly hadn't expected Axel Mador to possess this treasure map. It was no simple item; it recorded a monumental secret.

Nine hundred years ago, the alchemy master Morodo exhausted his efforts to create something. This object sparked wars between many great nations in God's Domain and was contested by over a dozen legendary heroes, but its final whereabouts remained unknown, becoming one of the great unsolved mysteries of God's Domain.

The treasure map in Shi Feng's hand happened to record the location of this very item.

This item was the Philosopher's Stone.

It was the holy relic of alchemy. If an Alchemist obtained the Philosopher's Stone, they would possess the ability to turn stones into gold, amass infinite wealth, and even resurrect the dead, perfectly shattering the alchemical principle of equivalent exchange.

Who could have imagined that this holy relic was hidden in this unremarkable Red Water Lake?

However, the threats within Red Water Lake were dangerous for Shi Feng. After all, there was an 8-level gap. With the 8-level suppression, Shi Feng was no match for Level 10 monsters, let alone the stat-stealing Murlocs.

Still, Shi Feng had to take the risk. Getting the Philosopher's Stone a step earlier would give him peace of mind. If he waited until he was level seven or eight, someone else might have already taken it, and he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Shi Feng took the metal box from his bag, carefully removed the treasure map, and began to study it in detail.

The treasure map was marked very clearly: it was directly beneath the Murloc lair. The problem was how to bypass these Murlocs. At the same time, he had to deal with the Water Elementals. Although Water Elementals had low HP, they were 60% immune to physical attacks and possessed a slowing skill, which was a massive headache for melee fighters.

After observing for half an hour, Shi Feng discovered that these Murlocs didn't patrol constantly; they would always rest for a while. Furthermore, the Murlocs only operated on the shore and almost never entered the water. Once they entered the water, their movement speed dropped by 60%. He could take advantage of this window to dash into the lake, where the Murlocs wouldn't be able to catch him.

As for the Water Elementals underwater, he could use his Phantom Kill clone to lure them away, allowing him to enter the cave beneath the Murloc lair alone.

If this series of operations wasn't executed perfectly, Shi Feng would surely die. Dying once would be a significant loss, but with his advantage as a reincarnator, he could quickly make up the lost experience. The real issue was that dying once meant returning to the city, and running all the way back would take too much time.

"Ten seconds left." Shi Feng watched the patrolling Murlocs, calculating the timing for his sprint in his mind.

Seconds ticked by. A group of patrolling Murlocs looked around, found nothing unusual, and walked into a small wooden hut by the lake to rest, leaving a clear path along the shore.

Shi Feng exerted sudden force and sprinted toward the bank.

Just as he was within 30 yards of the water, another patrol of Murlocs spotted him. They immediately sounded the alarm and charged at Shi Feng, brandishing their short blades.

Facing four Level 10 Murlocs, Shi Feng was no match, no matter how skilled he was. His only hope was to jump into the water.

However, the Murlocs were extremely fast. They quickly caught up to Shi Feng and swung their blades toward his back.

Knowing he couldn't outrun them, Shi Feng spun around, using Abyssal Bind to trap one and his Abyssal Walker to parry another, blocking the Murlocs behind him.

Leveraging the force of the Murlocs, Shi Feng gained a 3-yard lead, activated Gravity Liberation, and leaped into the lake.

The other Murlocs quickly caught up and dove into the water after him.

Splash.

The four Murlocs fell into the water, but Shi Feng was sprinting across the surface.

The "Water Walking" technique required 80 points of Agility to activate, but Shi Feng had the Gravity Ring, which made his body nearly weightless. Combined with his 30-plus Agility, he could walk on water just the same, unaffected by the water's slowing effect.

Before long, Shi Feng shook off the relentless Murlocs and dove into the water not far from their lair.

As soon as he entered the water, he discovered a large number of Water Elementals circling a massive cave entrance on the lakebed, as if guarding something.

Water Elemental, Common Monster, Level 10, HP 750/750.

Shi Feng used Phantom Kill, and a clone swam over to lure the Water Elementals away.

Just as Shi Feng had planned, the group of Water Elementals spotted the clone and charged toward it. The clone turned and swam upward. Water Elementals were fast in the water but very slow on land—the exact opposite of the Murlocs.

Watching his clone lure the Water Elementals away from the cave entrance, Shi Feng swam over rapidly.

Before he even reached the entrance, the system notified him that his clone had been destroyed, having bought Shi Feng only about 20 seconds.

The Water Elementals, having finished off the clone, discovered the intruder and rushed back toward the cave entrance.

Upon spotting Shi Feng, these Water Elementals increased their speed significantly, darting toward him.