Hill walked through the deep corridor and passed through the layers of arches. As the bright light gradually fell from the top of his head, the darkness and coldness around him dissipated.
Looking up, Hill is now in a huge atrium. This is a typical highly symmetrical courtyard, surrounded by four cloisters, each of which supports high vaults and protruding balconies.
The style of the building shows its unique slender, curved and embellished features. The cloister is covered with rows of raised arch brackets, forming an intertwined arcade, with a very unique artistic style.
More footsteps came from all directions. Many apprentices like Hill were walking into the atrium. Under the special structure of the cloister, they were gradually amplified and echoed repeatedly.
Many young apprentices would stop in the corner, because they were always unfamiliar with the complex structure of the building. The same was true for Hill at first. He would set off well in advance every day to avoid getting lost.
Hill continued to move forward. Here, in addition to the figures of scholars, there were also many workers busy. They were changing the buildings according to the drawings given by the scholars.
No one knows what kind of building the Grand Master wants to create. Ever since Hill became his apprentice and came to this building a few years ago, this building has been under constant construction, and its scale has continued to grow over the years.
As it expands, complex corridors intersect with each other, and densely packed houses are arranged in invisible places.
Every day when he wakes up, this building will change to a certain extent. Sometimes, Hill even feels that this building is alive and is some kind of weird alchemical creation.
Hmm... This does sound weird, but with the ability of the Grand Master, it is not impossible.
Hill still remembered that the Grand Master said that no matter how much he optimized the structure of the building, it would eventually be constrained by space. He planned to add many winding doors to the building in the coming days.
A building will be completely transformed into a living maze.
This is not the end yet. According to the Grand Master's ideas, this building will continue to expand until it becomes a great city-state that accommodates all scholars.
It sounds crazy, but Hill is used to this.
after all……
Hill passed through the last gate, and the bright golden light came into his eyes. He seemed to have entered a world made of gold, and his eyes were filled with golden light.
After a brief dizziness, Hill's vision gradually became clearer. Apprentices often called this place the Golden Palace, but in fact it was not entirely made of gold, but was covered with layers of shining gold.
The alchemical matrix, when the whole building is running, the bright golden light seems to be burning.
The light in the Golden Palace dimmed. The hall was filled with books, manuscripts and experimental equipment. A group of scholars were busy working. Some were reading manuscripts, some were instructing students, and others were conducting experiments.
The air was filled with the smell of various chemicals. At a long table, several scholars were manipulating strangely colored gases and igniting them with burners to explore the composition and properties of the gases.
On another table, a scholar was conducting anatomy experiments, carefully taking out the organs for observation and research, while a student next to him carefully recorded the experimental results and mastered how to apply this knowledge to the fields of medicine and biology.
Maps and charts hanging on the walls provide scholars with an initial understanding of modern subjects, including astronomy, mathematics, and anthropology. Each subject studied symbolizes the boundaries and realm of knowledge, encouraging scholars to
Be aware of the importance and complexity of the areas they explore.
Hill continued to move forward, passed through layers of strict inspections, turned into the deep spiral corridor, and arrived deep underground in the Golden Palace. In a faint blue light, he saw his great mentor.
"Great Master."
Hill saluted the busy figure, but the other person did not respond, as if he was obsessed with his own research. Hill was accustomed to this. He came directly to his seat and continued his previous research.
A few minutes later
, two figures entered the room one after another. They were also apprentices of the great mentor and friends of Hill.
"You're so early, Hill."
The man came to Hill and patted him on the shoulder, with a cheerful smile on his slightly dark face, "Why, you didn't get lost this time?"
Hill stopped what he was busy doing, and a helpless emotion appeared on his face.
At this time, another figure also came over, pinched Hill's cheeks with soft hands from behind, moved them up and down, and made strange faces.
Amid bursts of laughter, Hill raised his head and saw a pair of beautiful eyes looking down at him.
Hill's mind paused for a moment, and then he broke free from the woman's restraints, and his expression once again changed to the previous helplessness and indifference.
"I really envy you two..." Hill turned sideways and looked back at his two friends, "You are really inseparable."
"You are too withdrawn, junior brother." Susie raised her hand and ruffled Hill's hair.
Sa Qin looked at his junior brother with a smile. Everyone liked Hill very much. From the first day he was brought back by the Grand Instructor, he showed extremely powerful talents. The Grand Instructor even said that Hill
His achievements may surpass everyone...including himself.
Hill rarely cares about other people's praise of himself. More often, he just likes to stay in a corner alone and study what he likes.
He is indeed a lonely guy, with almost no friends, except for Susie and Sachin... These two people are surprisingly familiar with each other, and no matter how much Hill expresses resistance, they ignore him.
Hill sighed. It was like a desensitization reaction. He felt that he was used to this, and then he asked.
"So when are you two going to get married? Are you still putting it off?"
At the moment of the threat, Sa Qin and Su Xi froze on the spot, their smiles froze, with an inexplicable sense of embarrassment.
This time, Hill looked triumphant. He knew the thoughts of these two people very well.
Susie suppressed her blush, while Sa Qin hesitated. He wanted to say something to explain, but the words reached his throat and his words became stuttered.
Just when the awkward atmosphere was about to explode, the busy master at the side finally spoke.
He stopped what he was doing, turned around, and asked the three of them, "Has there been any progress in the research?"
The Great Master is a workaholic and rarely cares about things other than work.
"Yes, yes."
Sa Qin said repeatedly, feeling relieved. Susie also nodded repeatedly and picked up the thick stack of documents she had prepared.
Hill's lips raised slightly, and he also stood up. This research material was completed by the three of them. Of course, the main research was led by Hill.
The genius Hill, the next great mentor, scholars always use these words to praise Hill.
In this golden palace, the Grand Master is the supreme scholar. As his apprentices, the three of them have long been able to assume the position of mentor, but they are still practicing as apprentices.
"The research project this time is a bit too scattered, so the results we obtained are also a bit loose," Hill reported to the Grand Master. "But I feel that as long as we continue to study, the information can be connected together and reveal
the truth."
The Grand Instructor nodded and motioned for Hill to continue speaking.
"The first is the study of the contamination of matter by ether..."
When mentioning this, Hill felt his breathing quicken.
Research in the Golden Palace is absolutely confidential, and every piece of knowledge studied here is enough to subvert scholars' understanding of the world.
Just like what Hill is going to say next.
"After exploring deep underground and drilling for several months, we drilled through the earth's crust and took out many samples of solid and molten materials."
It was a big project. With the support of the etheric and alchemical matrix, drilling continued day and night, constantly drilling deep into the earth's core.
Dig.
"From these samples, we extracted a substance that was not contaminated by ether, which verified our idea that ether is alien energy. At the same time, it also broke the cornerstone of our knowledge based on ether."
Hill's expression became serious, and he glanced at Susie and Sachin, "After the three of us decided, we call this substance the original thing."
"Original thing?" The Grand Master nodded gently, "It's a good name."
He looked through the document and read the text on it. If other scholars read the contents, the scholars' cognition will be subverted, and they may fall into complete madness.
"Your guess is correct. According to the samples we collected during the excavation, the material excavated at first still contained the soul of cold iron. However, as the excavation deepened, the content of the soul of cold iron in the material became
It becomes less and less, and even completely loses the existence of the soul."
Hill continued, "But it did not annihilate into a pile of dust after losing its soul according to the rules we know. It still maintained its material form."
Susie said, "The soul is not necessary for matter...at least for the original thing."
The Grand Master said, "Go on."
Sa Qin said, "According to your speculation, teacher, the ether came to this world in a certain period of time in the past. We suspect that after its arrival, it gradually infiltrated all the matter in the outside world and gradually moved towards the center of the earth.
Going deeper, we can see the process of etheric contamination from the cold iron soul content of the sample. We can even deduce based on the speed of etheric contamination when it came to this world."
The Grand Master pondered.
Hill flipped through the document and then said, "Ether affects the entire world from the outside, and as the concentration of ether gradually increases, it will completely infiltrate the entire world bit by bit. I don't know yet what will happen then.
, but based on the existing information..."
Hill paused as he spoke and became hesitant.
"Don't hide it, just say it if you have anything to say, Hill," the Grand Master said, "What we are studying is taboo knowledge. In the past, we would have been burned on the rack."
Hearing what the Grand Master said, Hill smiled bitterly. The knowledge they studied was simply a blasphemy to outside scholars. Every line of text could easily penetrate their understanding of the extraordinary system.
.
"Obviously, from the study of primitive things, we can find that matter does not have a soul. The so-called soul is just a derivative born after the reaction between ether and matter."
Hill said, "The original thing can actually be regarded as a kind of..."
He paused and used a new word to describe it.
"Soulless matter."
"The world composed of soulless matter is the original appearance of this world. If ether is regarded as an intruder, then the world today will be completely different.
Maybe even pure human beings have become less pure under the influence.”
Is the soul really innate to human beings?
Hearing what Hill said, the Grand Master frowned and pinched his forehead hard.
Hill's meaning is very clear. Human beings can survive even without souls, and they will not become demons or some kind of twisted monster.
Perhaps real human beings do not have souls in the first place.
These simple words directly penetrate the body, mind, soul, and the law of the Trinity.
The Grand Master murmured, "Then what is the connection between the soul, the secret source, and the devil?"
No one responded, and after a dead silence, Hill continued to talk about his speculation.
"I don't know the connection between souls and them, but what is certain is that there must be a close connection between ether and the devil and the secret source. Maybe they came to this world together."
Hill said, "The secret source remains silent, unable to be explored, and has no response, but the devil is different. They must know something."
Sa Qin's expression became serious, and there was anger in his eyes, "Do you want to make a deal with the devil?"
"I just regard them as a tool, a tool to achieve my purpose." Hill's words were particularly cold.
"Hill!"
Sa Qin's voice became louder. For Sa Qin, this was a bottom line that could not be crossed.
"Sa Qin, calm down." The great master said.
Sa Qin fell silent. He took deep breaths repeatedly to adjust his emotions, "Sorry, I'm still a little too impulsive."
"Nothing, this shows that you are alert enough to the devil."
The Grand Master continued, "But I still hope you can be more sensible. I don't want my name to be inherited by an angry guy."
Sa Qin smiled helplessly, "Teacher, we all know that Hill will inherit your name in the end."
[An app that has been running stably for many years. It is comparable to the old book-chasing tool. It is used by all old bookworms.
Gaining the power to fight the devil and giving this power to people - this is regarded as the origin of the alchemical matrix."
"Thank you, teacher."
Hill thanked the Grand Master for his praise and carefully observed the Grand Master's face. He remembered that when he first saw the Grand Master, he was still a young man wielding a thunderbolt. Now he has become old, and he
He has also changed from the child he was back then to what he is.
The Grand Master, or in other words, Wolfgang Gold, he just looked at Hill's eyes with a smile. In that cold look, he could see nothing but abyss-like darkness, just like Hill
's heart.
"Soulless? That sounds really good, Hill."
A weird sound sounded in the Golden Palace. For a moment, everything froze, and everyone's expressions froze into a frozen scene. The man holding the cane sat in the position where the Grand Master had just been, and he smiled.
Look at Hill.
"In exchange for the knowledge to fight against us... just being a soulless person may not be enough."
Hill was used to the elusiveness of this devil, and he said, "Of course I know that the soulless one is not enough, not to mention that this thing cannot be born at all."
He didn't lie. With the current knowledge system, Hill didn't know how to create a life out of the mother's body.
Pure humanity has become extinct.
"Hmm, I smell something interesting."
The devil suddenly disintegrated into black smoke, and then gathered behind Sa Qin. The two of them clung to each other, and after sniffing vigorously, the man smiled and said, "I smell jealousy on him, he is jealous of you."
"
"It has nothing to do with me." Hill didn't care.
The man looked at Sa Qin playfully, as if he was planning something in his heart. He then walked towards Hill, but just as he was about to approach Hill, Hill suddenly spoke.
"The ether must have descended through some channel, such as a 'door'."
Hill analyzed that he should have said these words to the Grand Master, but he pretended not to know anything.
"The world is like a pasture, and humans are the lambs living in the pasture. You need our furs, but these furs need to be processed by the ether..."
The man stopped where he was and listened to Hill's words.
"Since the door can be opened in this world, it must also be open in other worlds. Maybe in your long life, you have colonized countless such worlds."
The man became serious, "What do you want to say?"
"I want to say...Leviathan, do you want to get a new pasture?"
Hill asked as if he had seen through everything.
"Compared to being a soulless person, discovering another world and opening a new door is enough to satisfy your desires?"
Leviathan froze on the spot. After reacting for dozens of seconds, his expression changed. Leviathan was a little panicked. He never thought that Hill could vaguely guess the truth from just a few words. At the same time,
He became extremely excited again.
There is nothing more tempting than a new pasture and a flock of lambs ready to be slaughtered.
Leviathan picked up his cane with both hands and narrowed his eyes.