After crossing the long desert no-man's land, Ian and Hughes finally arrived at the great eastern country - Xing.
Ian did not sneak in like a stowaway, but swaggered into the Xing embassy, showing his passport and visa that had been prepared. Although this country has few Western visitors due to the desert barrier, its diplomatic institutions are still functioning well.
However, when Ian revealed his identity as "Master Alchemy", the reception standards instantly changed qualitatively.
That kind of enthusiasm can even be said to be "flattering".
"Wow, I didn't expect Xing people to be so hospitable. They are such a warm nation."
After attending the reception banquet held by the embassy, Hughes, smelling of alcohol, loosened his tie and sighed sincerely.
"They are not hospitable."
Ian was sitting in the carriage, looking out the window at the buildings full of oriental charm, and said in a calm tone, "They just want something."
"What do you mean?" Hughes sobered up for a moment.
"Xing's emperor is dying."
Ian's gaze seemed to penetrate layers of palace walls, looking directly at this ancient Empire center of power.
"The peak of power is often accompanied by the ultimate fear of death. The emperor is frantically searching for the art of immortality. The reason why they are so enthusiastic about me, a foreign alchemist, is simply because they hope that I hold some kind of secret method of 'life extension'."
"Immortal? Humph, that sounds like the beginning of disaster." Hughes frowned. As a soldier who has seen too many tragedies caused by greed, he is naturally wary of such words.
"Be prepared." Ian adjusted his cuffs, "If nothing happens, the emperor will summon us within a few days."
As expected.
Three days later, an imperial edict was delivered to the embassy, announcing that Ian and Hughes would enter the palace for the banquet.
In the palace hall, the sound of silk and bamboo was melodious, and the dancers were graceful. This was an extremely luxurious state banquet. The air was filled with the smell of fine wine and incense, and there was singing and dancing.
At the highest point of the hall, there sat a middle-aged man wearing a bright yellow nine-dragon robe.
Xing Emperor.
Although he strives to maintain the majesty of an emperor, in Ian's "Arcane Sight", this man's fire of life is like a candle in the wind, which may be extinguished at any time. His face is pale, his eye sockets are sunken, and every breath seems to be overdrawing his remaining energy.
"Mr. Ian?" The emperor's voice was a little hollow.
"Exactly, Your Majesty." Ian nodded slightly, neither humble nor arrogant.
"I have a question." The emperor's cloudy eyes suddenly became sharp, "Are you born in the Imperial Family?"
"Huh? No, I'm just a Alchemy teacher."
"The reason why I ask this is because of your speech and behavior, and that kind of... aura. That is not something ordinary people can have. It is the pressure of someone who has been in power for a long time."
In fact, it was not just the emperor who felt this way.
Hughes nodded silently. During the days he spent with Ian, he often had the illusion that he was not facing a young scholar, but a ruler who was even more unfathomable than President Bradley.
That kind of indifference to having everything under control cannot be faked.
"You have given me the award. I am just a scholar pursuing Truth." Ian responded calmly, without admitting or denying.
"In that case, I wonder why sir came all the way this time?"
"For knowledge."
Ian looked directly into the emperor's eyes and was surprisingly honest, "I travel the world just to learn from others' strengths. I heard that Xing's 'Alkahestry' has miraculous healing powers, so I came here to study."
Hearing the word "study", the light in the emperor's eyes dimmed a bit. If the other party came to study, it meant that the other party might not have mastered the art of immortality.
But Ian's next words ignited his greed again.
"Of course, as a Alchemy teacher, I follow the principle of 'Equivalent Exchange'."
Ian stood up slowly and put his hands together.
"To show my sincerity, I am willing to use my knowledge of Western Alchemy in exchange for Xing's Alkahestry."
Zhi--!
As Ian opened his palms, there was no light of the forging reaction, but the structure of the space was forcibly torn apart.
A blue space rift opened out of thin air in the center of the hall.
Through the crack, everyone present - including the emperor, ministers, and royal family - saw a breathtaking sight.
It was an endless giant Grand Library. Countless books were suspended in Void, the brilliance of magic flowed like a galaxy, automatic quills wrote quickly on parchment, and arcane puppets shuttled busily between the bookshelves.
This is the private dimension the Library built by Ian using the dimension technology parsed from Gluttony and combined with Undetectable Extension Charm.
"This is my treasure trove of knowledge."
Ian's voice echoed in the hall, full of temptation.
"In exchange, Your Majesty can send the top alchemists in the country to enter it to read and study. The knowledge here may be something you have dreamed of."
The emperor stared at the crack, the greed in his eyes almost overflowing. But he quickly suppressed his gaffe and restored the emperor's reserve.
"It is the honor of the new country to communicate with a great alchemist like you. Please give me a few days, and I will convene the best alchemists in the country to have academic exchanges with you."
"Then I'll just wait for the good news." Ian waved his hand to disperse the gap and sat down again.
The banquet continued, but the atmosphere had completely changed. Everyone was whispering and discussing the miracle just now.
After returning to his residence, Hughes immediately closed the doors and windows.
"Hey, are you sure you want to show that level of knowledge base to the emperor?" Hughes was worried, "That guy doesn't look like a good person, his eyes are going to eat you up."
"You read that right, that is greed."
Ian took off his coat and hung it on the hanger, speaking in a relaxed tone, "If he didn't throw out a big enough bait, how could this old fox take out the Alkahestry cheats from the bottom of the box of Xing? He would only use some basic knowledge to fool me."
"But I always feel like you're playing with fire."
"Playing with fire?" Ian chuckled, with absolute confidence in his eyes, "Hughes, you are worrying too much. In this country, if I want, I can overthrow the imperial power at any time and establish myself as king. In the face of absolute strength, conspiracy and tricks are meaningless."
Hughes flipped over to Byakugan. Although he admitted that Ian was very strong, such arrogant words still made his stomach ache.
Xing Emperor's movements were faster than expected.
In just three days, top alchemists from all over the country were forcibly recruited to Beijing. The emperor obviously couldn't wait any longer. He urgently needed to find a life-saving straw from Ian's knowledge base.
Thus, a top-level exchange meeting between East and West Alchemy was officially launched in the dimension the Library of Ian.
Within Dimensional Laboratory.
Ian stood in front of a complex Transmutation Circle. In the center of the array was a rabbit with a deep visible bone wound on its back.
"Start testing."
As Ian injects energy, Transmutation Circle emits soft white light.
In just the blink of an eye, the wound on the rabbit's back healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving no scars. The rabbit even jumped up in high spirits.
"As expected."
Ian looked at the experimental data, Blink's eyes were filled with the light of reason.
"My theory is correct. The essence of Alkahestry is to use the energy of the planet's earth - that is, 'Dragon Vein' - to repair and reorganize the life level."
"The so-called 'Dragon Vein' is essentially the vitality network that connects all living things. It is the 'qi' flowing in the earth. By sensing this flow, alchemists can achieve ultra-long-distance refinement and even reverse injuries."
Ian quickly recorded in his notes:
What Izumi·Kadis mentioned, "One is the whole, and the whole is one" is actually the Western philosophical expression of the Dragon Vein theory.
Whether it is Alchemy or Alkahestry, the energy source comes from the ground.
In my original world, the earth's veins flowed with magic power. In this world, the earth's veins flowed with structural energy and vitality.
This means that this system can be used universally on planets with earth veins.
This discovery is of great significance. It proves that Ian can integrate the principles of Alkahestry into the magic system of the Arcane Empire, creating a brand new "Life Magic".
After thinking, Ian started the next step.
He grabbed a handful of herbs and threw in another Transmutation Circle.
"Decompose. Recombine. Purify."
Under the shocked gazes of all Xing alchemists, those herbs instantly decomposed into molecular states, removed impurities, and then re-polymerized under high pressure.
A few seconds later, a crystal clear elixir with a strong medicinal fragrance appeared in Ian's hand.
He swallowed the pill without hesitation.
A majestic life force instantly poured into his lungs, nourishing every cell. Although he was in good health, this energy still made him feel comfortable.
"It's become a pill... It's become a pill in one go?!"
The eyes of the royal alchemists who were watching were about to pop out.
You must know that "alchemy" is the highest level of Alkahestry. Only the imperial doctor in charge of the emperor's body can barely achieve it in Xing. And this Westerner only learned it for three days!
This is the crushing of talent and the crushing of the system.
For Ian, Alkahestry of Xing is essentially a combination of "Herbology" and "Alchemy". As a wizard who is proficient in Potions and material transformation, this is simply a dimensionality reduction blow.
"The principle of Alkahestry has been analyzed."
Ian ignored the looks of monsters around him and silently checked off the task list in his mind.
"Next, is the key point - 'qi'."
Ian's gaze became profound.
Xing People can sense Dragon Vein and strengthen their bodies by practicing "qi".
If this system can be introduced into the Arcane Empire, it will completely solve the fatal weakness of wizards' "high attack and low defense". Just imagine a group of wizards who are as powerful as Warcraft and can cast forbidden spells instantly...
That will be the ultimate weapon to conquer Multiverse.