Chapter 355 - Salt, Sulfur, Mercury

The triple trials began, Belli was busy around the operating table, while Bologue lay honestly on it, letting Belli do her work."First, awaken the ether."

Belli’s voice rang out as Bologue breathed steadily. Intricate light patterns emerged on the surface of his body, with dense trajectories crawling and flashing with a blue glow, outlining a holy and solemn diagram.

Even though Bologue was merely a First Stage Condenser, at such close proximity, Belli could faintly sense the extraordinary in him.

This was an Alchemy Matrix replicated from Overlord Xilin’s body by the Sublimation Furnace Core. It could be said that in the whole world, there were only two such Alchemy Matrices: one on Overlord Xilin’s corpse and one in Bologue’s possession.

Bologue’s ether resonated with the surrounding ether, and the ground beneath his feet began to change. The ether concentration around increased steadily, until the ethereal ether directly liquefied out of thin air, becoming golden raindrops that gradually filled the grooves on the ground.

"Quite cooperative, Bologue."

At such times, Belli would not forget to tease Bologue and raised an eyebrow at him.

Bologue showed no expression and simply ignored her.

Normally, Bologue would avoid Belli when he saw her, but now things were different. Belli was responsible for his triple trials, whatever she said, Bologue had to comply.

Sometimes it’s like this: if someone suddenly tells you to strip for a physical check, you’d smash their head with a hammer and throw them into the trash bin, but if a doctor tells you this in a hospital, you’d cooperate entirely and even ask how long you have to live...

Well, this is probably what is called doctor-patient trust, but such trust can become strange if mixed with personal feelings.

Bologue resisted the vigilance in his heart and tried to completely trust Belli, believing she would conduct the ritual honestly without suddenly inviting him to some test halfway through.

This was something Belli could possibly do.

"Next, I’ll start extracting alchemy materials, and you’ll begin to endure tests of body, mind, and spirit. I believe you can get through it."

Belli suddenly became serious, her smile disappeared, "Palmer got through it, you definitely can too."

"Has Palmer become an adjective now?" Bologue rarely joked.

Belli was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily.

Bologue was a serious fellow, but that didn’t mean he lacked humor. On the contrary, whenever Bologue became humorous, he talked like a professional stand-up comedian.

"As everyone knows, there are three kinds of people," Bologue said to himself during a casual chat, "Men, women, and Palmer Clarks."

After the laughter, the tense atmosphere lightened, and Bologue also smiled.

This wasn’t about possibility, it was certain that Bologue could do it, this wasn’t about tier advancement, this kind of issue posed no difficulty to Bologue.

"However..."

Suddenly, Belli showed a hesitant expression.

Having just said those words, and now revealing such an expression, it was too ominous, like a doctor sharing good news before preparing to deliver bad news.

Indeed, it was the case, Belli said.

"Doing it simultaneously carries too much risk, you might become lost, you must remain clear-headed."

"It’s okay."

Bologue assured Belli, then closed his eyes, ready to face everything.

Whether during trials or ascension, the Condenser resonates with the Secret Source, getting closer to it.

Secret Source.

The origin of ether, the end of all transcendence and unknowns, till today people cannot clearly explain what the Secret Source truly is, and anything connected to it is full of mysteries.

During trials and ascension, some Condensers encounter unexpected situations, with the distance to the Secret Source suddenly shortened, staring directly into that mysterious power, even sinking into it.

After the event, the Condenser’s body remains intact, the soul stays complete, but their consciousness falls into the Secret Source, like a vegetative state, unable to awaken.

This is the confusion, one of the many dangers on the Path of Transcendence.

Bologue would not die, but once consciousness falls into the mysterious confusion, what would truly happen, no one knows.

Belli took a deep breath, next it was her turn, obviously it was just a triple trial, yet she was inexplicably nervous.

Maybe because of those old fellows.

Belli thought and looked up, she couldn’t see the people behind the observation window, but she could see the heavy shadows, standing like phantoms.

"Start the ritual."

Belli turned her head and gave orders to the others.

In an instant, the ether surged, and golden liquid overflowed, gradually filling the grooves on the ground, until it lost gravity, floating into the air and shattering into countless droplets, transforming into brilliant, golden stars.

The alchemy materials required for the triple trials are neither numerous nor precious, just substances that any regular Alchemist can extract.

Through trials, then transform.

Opening the sealed iron box, she took out one piece of alchemy material after another, and the liquid ether in the sky surged, enveloping them completely.

At this moment, Belli also unleashed her Secret Energy, holding the Light Forged scalpel in her hand, casually slicing through the golden expanse in the sky.

The golden liquid rolled up the fine crystal powder; these were not ordinary crystals but salt processed by an Alchemist.

Now the mortal materials already possessed the initial capacity to fuse with the ether, but it still needed Belli for the final step.

The golden liquid suddenly boiled, with dense bubbles appearing on the white crystal, and amidst the piercing noise, a subtle cracking sound echoed.

The pure white crystal seemed to be scorched by intense fire, acquiring a pitch-black hue, yet it did not become contaminated but rather more sanctified. This is the Corruption of Black during the substance’s transformation towards the Philosopher’s Stone.

This transformation effect on the Condenser signifies the Sublimation of advancement.

The metamorphosed black salt began to spread, instantly dimming the golden liquid, but amidst the darkness, there still floated dazzling gold, mixing into a deep dark gold, forming Alchemy Material: Dark Salt.

First is the Trial of Salt, corresponding to the body of the Condenser.

But Belli is not eager to conduct the ritual immediately; instead, she begins preparing another piece of alchemy material.

The special aspect of this ritual is that Bologue will undergo triple trials simultaneously, as doing them one by one lacks any particular significance.

Bologue craves power, and Belli needs experimental records; she refers to this kind of matter as a win-win.

"The next one."

Belli pushed the dark golden liquid, which drifted to the other side, orbiting around Bologue like a planet.

Another piece of alchemy material rose, the sulfur also treated with alchemy, enveloped by the liquefied golden ether. Under the glow of the Alchemy Matrix, it began undergoing the Corruption of Black transformation.

A familiar boiling sound arose, with the floating bubbles resembling a planet. Inside, the sulfur ignited, and azure flames soared continuously, like a burning blue stellar core.

"The Sulfur Core Fire is ready too."

Belli muttered, this was the result of sulfur after the Corruption of Black transformation. It appeared as fireworks, but it was still solid, merely extremely flammable, thus in usual circumstances, it remained in a burning state.

The flames spread outside the bubble, igniting the entire sphere. It resembled a burning planet, and then Belli pushed it into a predetermined orbit, revolving with the dark salt around Bologue.

"And lastly... mercury."

The silvery white serpent slowly rose. At first glance, Bologue almost mistook it for Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid, but it was merely mercury that had been processed. Its peculiar properties in such a special environment caused it to display this eerie form.

The scalpel in Belli’s hand acted like a conductor’s baton, orchestrating this grand symphony. Guided by her blade, the serpent slithered, devouring one floating golden droplet after another.

Amidst the silvery white hue, hints of gold began to infuse. Then, resplendent golden flames ignited on the serpent, as fiery snakes danced wildly.

The intense burning didn’t last long; once the flames subsided, the silvery white serpent was gone, replaced with a blinding crimson color.

Bologue lay flat on the operating table, knowing what Belli was doing. She was transforming these alchemy materials, while the advancement of the Condenser could also be seen as a transformation. Yet what puzzled Bologue was that the transformation of mercury shouldn’t result in this.

"There are many transformation paths for mercury, Iron-Repelling Paint is just the most well-known one."

Belli commanded the crimson serpent, and it too slipped into the stellar orbit, coiling around Bologue like a serpent encircling the world.

"If the transformation direction of the Iron-Repelling Paint is absolute inertness, resisting steel, then this transformation direction is complete activity, capable of reacting easily with any matter."

As Belli narrated, Bologue slowly recalled the contents from the books and recognized this crimson serpent.

Red Mercury.

Also known as Red Mercury, just like Iron-Repelling Paint, it is a product of the first transformation of mercury, but the slight difference is that Iron-Repelling Paint is often used to make armor, while Red Mercury is regarded as a potent explosive, used in various offensive weaponry.

Both originate from the same source, yet exist at completely opposite poles.

Golden dust scattered, resplendent golden droplets forming out of thin air, like stars suspended high above.

The pitch-black planet and the burning planet continued to orbit, while the crimson serpent slithered between them. The three ran stable for a long time until at one moment, the endlessly lengthening, slithering crimson serpent greedily devoured its own tail.

The instant head and tail connected, it was as if gravity reversed, and the liquid ether in the grooves on the ground rose up, transforming into an upward storm.

The ether roared, and the stars shone brilliantly.